Chapter 16

                                    

                                          
12th Precinct
Mystery Novelist Richard Castle and Detective Katherine Beckett stood in front of their whiteboard with their case information.
"So, master baker Jimmy Whelan, long-time purveyor of caloric yet delicious baked goods, sponsor of a local kids' softball team, charter member of the small business roundtable, but what was he doing with 50 grand in cash, and why the secret trips to Staten Island?" Richard asked.
"Sounds like you're not the only one keeping secrets, Castle." Kate remarked.
"I'm going to ignore that." Richard sighed. He had been keeping a secret from her, during his sleep, he had muttered the name 'Jordan' which Kate was determined to find out and Richard didn't want her know... but it wasn't what she thought.
"That's peculiar." Kate said.
"What's so peculiar about wanting to ignore..." Richard asked, but Kate cut him off.
"No, no, no, I mean these purchase orders. They show that Jimmy spent over $70,000 on kitchen equipment. Like a 20-foot-wide walk-in freezer." She said, looking at the paper.
"I don't remember seeing that." Richard furrowed his eyebrows.
"That's because there wasn't one. It wouldn't even fit in his kitchen." Kate said.
Just then, Detective Javier Esposito walked in. "Yo. So, I ran '68 Chargers. There's only a handful of them on the road, but get this. One of 'em is registered to a Robert S Shannon, AKA Bobby S. He's a shot caller for the Irish mob over in Staten Island. He's a ruthless son of a bitch, too... drug trafficking, assaults. He's suspected of half a dozen murders over in Staten Island." He said.
"Wait a minute. Secret trips to Staten Island, all that cash... What if the cupcake shop is actually a mob front? Jimmy Whelan the baker is actually Jimmy Whelan the money launderer. Bobby S could've had a falling out with him, could've whacked him." Richard theorised
"Maybe, but we're going to need more than just his car at the crime scene to connect him to that murder." Kate said.
"Well, I may have somebody who can help us out with that. I pulled Jimmy's phone records. In the last three days, he received numerous calls from a woman named, um... Sibhan... Siob... Siob...Sib..." Javier struggled to read the name.
"Siobhan." Richard helped him.
"Siobhan?" Javier questioned.
"Yeah, the Irish are notorious for spelling names in wild and unpronounceable ways." Richard said.
"I don't even see how you get that from..." Javier commented
"You're not alone." Richard agreed.
"Anyway, Siobhan O'Doul, she runs a bar over in Staten Island. And according to organized crime, it's a place where Bobby S does a lot of his business." Javier said.
"Does Siobhan happen to own that bar?" Kate asked.
"She does, yeah." Javier nodded.
***
"Thank you for coming in, Ms. O'Doul." Kate said to Siobhan, as she sat in front of her.
"Anything for New York's finest." Siobhan smiled.
"Yeah, especially considering that a felony charge like obstruction would cost you your liquor license."
Siobhan's smile dropped. "What do you want?"
"I need some answers about Jimmy Whelan." Kate answered.
"Never heard of him." Siobhan shook her head.