Henry decided not to dwell on Adam's issues anymore; his focus was entirely on the flintlock pistol he clutched in his hands. "Rick, are you sure this is the same gun from back then?"
"Yes, Henry, didn't I just tell you? For Adam, you were his true love. He not only found the sunken Queen of Africa but also salvaged this gun. When I found this gun at his place, it was the one that shot you in the left chest... and now, it's yours!!!"
Castle responded seriously to Henry's question, knowing he could not afford to mislead him on this matter.
"Rick, I've always had a doubt, and now under these circumstances, I don't want to keep it to myself any longer, I hope you'll understand!"
As Henry spoke, Castle smiled, finally, the moment he had been waiting for when Henry couldn't hold back any longer, and luckily, Castle was fully prepared.
"Your doubt is about how I know so much about you and Adam, right?"
"Yes," Henry admitted straightforwardly, fearing that Castle might be deceiving him. Although Castle had helped him find Abigail and Adam, Henry couldn't fully ease his mind. Yes, Castle didn't seem to have any ulterior motives, but what if?
Now that they were all in the same boat and had shared in wrongdoing, Henry felt it was time to lay his cards on the table.
"Henry, what if I told you that you and Adam aren't the only immortals in the world, how would you feel?"
Henry finally burst into laughter: "It's you, isn't it? I've had this feeling from the beginning, but I couldn't confirm it, and now that you've said it yourself, it confirms my guess..."
Castle successfully misled Henry by using a classic diversion, letting Henry fill in the blanks himself and confirming Castle as another immortal like him.
"Henry, want me to demonstrate to put your mind at ease?"
Castle offered a way out, suggesting a method Henry would certainly decline.
"Forget it, there's no need. If you wanted to harm me, it wouldn't be so complicated. You'd just stand by, and Adam alone would be more than I can handle. By the way, where do you resurrect?"
Indeed, Henry's response was just as Castle expected; he knew the man wouldn't let Castle, his benefactor, do such a thing. Despite their immortality, resurrection still required one to expose themselves embarrassingly, and the kind Dr. Henry didn't believe Castle would lie about something so easily debunked, completely unaware that all this was part of Castle's plan, and also unaware that this blustering guy's ability to resurrect had limitations.
"I resurrect in the Hudson River…"
Castle, having achieved his goal, was quite candid in sharing his resurrection spot with Henry.
Only Abraham looked on enviously, almost splitting with jealousy at the two immortals.
"No wonder you suddenly helped me; you were actually helping yourself, right?" Once Henry regained his composure, his high intelligence led him to deduce that Castle was also afraid Adam would come after him, so by helping Henry, he was also helping himself. "Are you also afraid that Adam will find you?"
"Hehe, no, you're mistaken there, Adam only knows you, not me," Castle earnestly explained, "Didn't I tell you I already knew about your situation? It was only when Adam caught my attention during the train derailment that I investigated him and discovered his target was you, but I didn't know what he intended at that time. It wasn't until we met at the Dorset Brothers' butcher shop that I realized he wanted to control you.
Under such circumstances, I couldn't just stand by, so I decided to reveal my identity and fight him with you!"
Castle energetically persuaded Henry, and of course, Henry wasn't particularly inclined to clarify everything as long as he knew Castle meant him no harm, and he didn't want to probe too much.
But Castle still had a task to coax Henry into teaming up, so he strained his brain to explain that his intervention wasn't out of fear of Adam, but out of a sense of justice.
He needed Henry to feel indebted to him, making it easier to invite him to team up later.
Just as Castle was laying his traps for Henry, hoping to recruit him like a John Wick team-up, Moz's call came through again.
"Rick, bad news, Neil has been caught by that FBI agent Pete Bockel. He was recaptured after his escape, and it's likely his sentence will be extended. What do we do now? Just
watch?"
Castle took the call in front of Henry. As soon as Moz spoke, Castle already knew Neil's fate. The lovestruck man hadn't planned to run; he just came out to find his missing girlfriend, so getting caught was inevitable, right?
Unfortunately, this call also gave Henry, who was about to fall into the trap, a chance to buffer: "Rick, if you have other important things to handle, go ahead. For our matter, as you said, let's talk at the police station tomorrow?"
With a heart full of curses, Castle was reluctant to leave, but since Moz had just helped him, he couldn't very well abandon him right after crossing the bridge. Moreover, Henry was regaining his clarity of mind, so any further persuasion might backfire. Reluctantly, Castle agreed to Moz's request to meet and stood up to say goodbye to Henry and his son, preparing to pacify the distressed bald little man.
Knowing the inside story of Neil Kavry's escape, Castle had to leave Abraham's antique shop late at night to meet Moz and try to comfort him, truly a frustrating task.
Reluctantly, Castle drove to an unremarkable apartment in Brooklyn. After a phone call, Moz appeared from somewhere with a large paper bag, got into the car, and immediately handed the keys to Adam's house to Castle.
"You're not going to take another look?"
Castle was curious. Was Moz so anxious about Neil's recapture that he could even neglect his own hobbies? Wasn't Neil just arrested? It wouldn't be long before the guy made a deal with the FBI, ended up with an ankle monitor, and lived in Joan's big house, all comfy.
There was really no need to worry about Neil.
But since these events hadn't happened yet, Moz's concern for his good friend was understandable, and it also indirectly proved that if Moz truly considered someone a friend, he was genuinely heartfelt.
"No more looking. How can it feel like mine no matter how much I look? Not only does my heart itch, but now that Neil's been captured again, how can I have the mood to appreciate those artworks?"
Moz, downcast, spoke with a tone of melancholy.
"Who says those things can't become yours? How about it, are you interested in helping me handle that, to get rid of those artworks?"
Castle aimed to divert Moz's attention, finding a topic that would surely interest him.
"What? Have you really changed professions? Not writing books but becoming a grand thief?"
Moz was indeed intrigued, setting aside his depressed mood for Neil's capture and looking at Castle exaggeratedly.
"You just tell me, are you interested? And don't worry about Neil, there'll be good news within a week!"
Castle still let slip a little spoiler to comfort Moz.
"Are you serious?" Moz perked up immediately at Castle's words: "You're not joking, right?"
"Of course…"
Castle played it cool!!!
___________________
Read Ahead
P@treon.com/Mutter