"Uh… I think someone's missing," Kevin said, frowning as he checked the guest list. He pointed to the only unmarked name on Esposito's list. "Mike Waits. Did you talk to him?"
"Isn't he one of the groomsmen? No, I didn't," Esposito replied after a glance, shaking his head.
"Has anyone seen groomsman Mike Waits?" Kevin called out to the crowd of murmuring guests.
"No," Keith Murphy, the groom's brother, said, looking puzzled as he scanned the room. It seemed even he had just realized someone was missing.
"Oh my god, I remember now!" Laura Shealy, one of the bridesmaids, exclaimed in alarm. "Last night during the wedding rehearsal dinner, I saw him getting cozy with Sophie."
"Yeah, later, when we were chatting at the bar, they were glued to each other," Teddy Murphy, the groom's portly uncle, chimed in, shrugging nonchalantly.
"Could something have happened to him too?" Keith Murphy's comment sparked a wave of concerned murmurs among the guests.
Kevin and Esposito exchanged a look before quickly resuming questioning the guests one by one. They then hurried off to consult with hotel security.
When they returned shortly after, their expressions were notably more serious, as though they had uncovered something significant.
"Confirmed. No one has seen Mike since last night," Kevin reported.
"We checked his room. The bed was untouched, and his suit is still hanging in the closet. According to the room key log, he last entered his room at 2 a.m.," Esposito added.
2 a.m.—roughly an hour before Sophie's earliest estimated time of death. Jack and Castle exchanged a glance but said nothing, waiting for Beckett to take the lead.
"Was there anything unusual in his room?" Beckett asked.
"No. His toiletries and bag are all there," Kevin replied, shaking his head.
Beckett thought for a moment before instructing, "Have the hotel security conduct a thorough search of unoccupied rooms and storage areas."
"Do you think we'll find a second body?" Castle asked.
"I'm more inclined to think Mike might be the killer. After strangling Sophie, he fled," Beckett replied, issuing further orders. "Put out an alert for him. Distribute his photo to all airports, train stations, and ferry terminals leaving the island."
Esposito began making phone calls, diligently following his boss's directives. The duo, known for their comic antics, proved highly reliable when the situation demanded it.
"I'll ask if any guests captured photos or videos of Mike and Sophie together last night," Kevin said, about to leave.
Castle, however, stopped him. "Or we could just look for ourselves." He gestured to the pile of digital cameras on a nearby table—seven or eight in total, presumably used during the rehearsal dinner.
American wedding traditions often involved extensive pre-ceremony events. Having attended a few weddings himself, Jack had some familiarity with the process.
The rehearsal dinner, typically held the night before the wedding, was one of the final steps. Attendees usually included close family members, groomsmen, and bridesmaids. It involved two main parts: the rehearsal itself and the dinner, with the groom's family traditionally covering the costs.
Compared to the wedding day, the rehearsal dinner was more intimate and festive, while the actual ceremony carried more formal significance and included a broader circle of relatives and friends.
The detectives secured a room in the hotel to review footage from the rehearsal dinner. While they couldn't find videos of the post-dinner bar gathering, likely due to most guests being intoxicated, they did discover something intriguing during Mike's speech at the dinner.
In the footage, Sophie abruptly left her seat after receiving a phone call.
"Does anyone else think Sophie leaving midway is odd?" Beckett asked.
"Looks like she was going to meet whoever called her," Esposito mused.
"But who could it be?" Castle wondered. "She flew in from Los Angeles. Anyone she might know should've been at the dinner."
"Didn't you get her call records? Check for any numbers from that time," Jack suggested.
Kevin quickly consulted the documents. "Uh, the call was made from the hotel lobby."
Jack recalled noticing surveillance cameras in the lobby earlier. Kevin and Esposito rushed downstairs to review the footage, and their efforts paid off surprisingly quickly.
The person who called Sophie was identified as Boyd Gambol, a street-level drug dealer. Kevin immediately recognized him from the footage.
Boyd primarily dealt in cocaine and marijuana and had previously served time for assault during a turf dispute. Kevin had been the detective on that case.
Within an hour, Kevin and Esposito completed Boyd's arrest and interrogation. However, the results were unexpected.
Sophie hadn't sought Boyd out for recreational drugs but for a specific substance: FM2.
Commonly known as a "date-rape drug" or "cross," FM2's scientific name was flunitrazepam. It could induce deep sleep almost instantly. The question was, why would Sophie, a woman, need such a drug?
While Kevin and Esposito pursued that angle, Jack, Beckett, and Castle decided to talk to the bride and groom again. They seemed to know Sophie best.
Walking down the hallway, the three discussed their leads. Beckett was still puzzled. "Why would a bridesmaid need FM2?"
"If a woman wanted to take advantage of a man, knocking him unconscious doesn't sound like the best approach. Usually, a simple 'no' works," Castle quipped, elbowing Jack with a mischievous grin.
"Or she could opt for the full set of knockout lingerie and stockings," Jack replied, nodding in agreement. Beckett, however, responded with a sarcastic smile.
Castle suddenly stopped and greeted a woman chatting animatedly with others. "Ah, Sheila?"
Jack recognized her as Sheila Bryan, the bride Kyra's mother, notable for her expressive mannerisms during earlier interviews.
Sheila's demeanor shifted instantly upon seeing Castle. The warm smile vanished, replaced by a classic "disapproving mother-in-law" look.
"Richard? Disasters seem to follow wherever you go," Sheila said, her tone dripping with sarcasm.
Castle lifted his chin slightly, glanced at Jack and Beckett, and raised his voice just enough to be heard. "Detective Beckett, Agent Tavoller, may I formally introduce Sheila Bryan, mother of the bride."
Then, turning to Sheila, he said, "You seem disappointed I'm not homeless or teaching at some third-rate college in New Hampshire."
New Hampshire, one of the original thirteen colonies, was historically the poorest and least significant state. Castle's comment was a clear jab.
From their silent exchange, it was evident Sheila Bryan had played an antagonistic role in Castle and Kyra's past.
Jack and Beckett exchanged a glance, instinctively taking a half-step back to spectate as Castle faced his "moment of reckoning."
But Sheila proved far more adept, effortlessly dismantling his provocation. "Time will tell," she said with a cutting finality.
(End of Chapter)
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