Richard Castle (castlewriter) wrote in thedoorway, @ 2014-09-30 10:13:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | !log, kate beckett, richard castle |
Who: Kate Beckett & Richard Castle
When: Backdated to last Thursday
Where: The precinct
What: Solving a murder & talk about the baby
Rating: PG
It didn’t make sense. Eleven years with the homicide division and there’d rarely been a case that had left Kate this stumped. All their evidence pointed towards the victims girlfriend but for two things, there was no clear motive and, in her gut, it just didn’t feel right. Angela Morrison had been in a loving, monogamous relationship with her girlfriend until it’d ended in Tonya Reynold’s murder in their one bedroom apartment. Forensics had Morrison’s prints on the weapon, her metrocard and security camera footage had indicated she’d been in the apartment building in the kill window. Neighbors had heard what could have been an arguement playing out underneath loud music and Morrison had been found hiding with a friend in Harlem. Damning evidence to be sure, but she had never worked a case where a killer hadn’t had a motive, no matter how large or how small. Even the psychopaths had something that made them tick and drove them to kill. With a sigh, Kate turned away from the murder board to carefully perch herself at the edge of her desk. It wasn’t the most comfortable position but she knew better than to drop herself into her desk chair lest she never manage to get up. And, right on cue, the reason for her tiredness made himself known, aiming a kick right against her abdomen. It didn’t hurt, per day, but she still hadn’t gotten used to the sensation of her internal organs being someone’s personal soccer ball. “Jack, baby, don’t kick me while I’m working,” she muttered under her breath, aware that the homicide floor was empty at nearly nine at night. Day shift had long ago gone home, night shift were out on patrol. It was just her, and Jackson, spending the hours staring at the murder board in the hopes that something would --- the sound of the elevator pulled her from whatever direction her thoughts were spinning, the double doors sliding open to reveal the other half of her life. “Castle, I thought you had a chapter due,” she called, hand smoothing against the spot where Jackson was aiming all his attention as she stood. Richard was bored. No, bored wasn’t the right word. He was disinterested in the latest Nikki Heat novel that he was working on. His books did well enough here and he made a great deal of money, but it was nothing compared to back home where he was a best-selling author. Here, his books were mostly read by fans of the show, which was fine, yet there were days where Rick wished he’d be asked about what would happen next with Nikki and Jameson, rather than with him and Kate. Especially with the premiere of the show getting closer and closer. Rick was also missing Kate, solving the latest homicide at the precinct and even that wasn’t the same without Gates, Javi, Kev, and Lanie. While he thought about it, now was a good opportunity to take a break and see Kate at work, see if she needed any help solving a murder. If she didn’t have a murder, at the very least he was going to take a break from writing for the day. “Well, hello to you too,” Rick said as he walked over to her. “The chapter? It can wait. Now this….” He had spotted the murder board and glanced over it. It seemed like an open and shut case at first glance. “What is going on here?” Rick asked as he began to carefully examine each item on the board. He was bored. Kate could tell from the way he headed straight to the murder board, choosing to stare and absorb its contents over their usual greeting for one another. Not that she really minded, the rules about no physical displays of affection in the precinct were those that she had self-imposed, but there was a distinct lack of people around and she hadn’t seen Castle since 7 a.m. when she’d brushed a kiss over his forehead before heading to work. She doubted he had been awake enough to remember it. “Hey, no,” she laughed, reaching to grasp the tail end of his blazer and gently tug her wayward husband away from the murder board, “You don’t get to come in my precinct and neglect me for murder buddy,” she said, “I didn’t have any coffee with me,” Rick told her sheepishly as he was being pulled away from the board. He then turned and gave her a hug. “How is my favorite wife and son doing? I haven’t seen you all day.” He vaguely remembered a kiss on his forehead, but he wasn’t sure if that really happened or if he had dreamed it. “Who says I’m after you for your coffee” she asked, tipping her head back to brush her mouth against his, “Only wife and son, Rick,” Kate replied, gently sliding her arms around him for a moment, “I know, sorry. We caught this right before lunch and have been going at it ever since. And it just….it doesn’t make sense.” Kate released him then, moving herself off the perch at the end of her desk to stand in front of the board, “Looks open in shut, in fact the Captain wants it to be, but there’s no clear motive. Two women in a committed relationship, moving into a new apartment together, one of them turns up dead, the other is found hiding at Harlem with her prints on the murder weapon. But she can’t remember it, and has no reason to kill her girlfriend so she’s either a psychopath or….well, I actually don’t have an or right now.” "Yes, Kate, only wife and son. However, still my favorite. Unless it's miraculously twins and then that would be awkward." Rick teased. Rick kept an arm around her as he listened and looked on toward the murder board. "I agree, it doesn't make sense." He missed this, coming up with potentially off the wall ideas that could make more sense than what the detectives currently had. He followed her over towards the board. "Interesting. Why would she be hiding? You know, what if she is one of the lucky ones to be gifted with these new powers that have popped up and it was all an accident?" Rick would be slightly jealous if that were the case. He was disappointed that he hadn't developed any powers, as it was something he'd love to scratch off his bucket list. “Castle, she was stabbed in the back with a butcher’s knife. That’s not exactly an accident,” Kate replied, tucking a piece of hair back behind her ear. “The knife goes with the set found in the kitchen, and that’s the only one missing from the set. She claims she was hiding because she knew how it looked and she panicked, but is still maintaining that she’s innocent and honestly….” she shrugged, glancing over her shoulder at him. It wasn’t often that Kate placed blind faith in suspects, but this one just felt different. Which made it all the more likely she was simply missing something, letting her emotions dictate the investigation. It was just as dangerous as getting complacent, not allowing yourself or a team to cover bases and double check alibis and follow through on every lead, no matter how big or small. “It’s just wrong. All of it is wrong, and I don’t know why,” Kate sighed, reaching down to again brush against her stomach, “And your son keeps distracting me.” There wasn’t much hope of quiet to let the pieces of case slip together when your body was someone’s personal punching bag. “Could have been doing some weird dance or something,” Rick suggested to keep it all an accident. “Or perhaps she was using the butcher knife previously and someone else used it to stab the victim. We now live in a world where vampires and superheroes exist, could have been someone invisible wanting to kill.” To Rick, that was the most likely scenario and it was definitely possible. At the mention of their son being a distraction, Rick knelt down so he could easily talk to Jackson. “Are you distracting mommy, Jackson? You know, she’s a very busy woman right now trying to figure this case out. Think you could give her a little break?” Rick stood back up and gave Kate a cheeky grin. “If he decides to keep you up all night tonight, I’ll be happy to be up all night too. Is he still really active?” “Invisible killer? That’s your theory?” Kate asked, mouth quirking in that half grin that she so often got when Castle started in on one of his wild rides. No matter how outrageous, most of the time she found it cute rather than the annoying edge it took in their first days together. But that half smile turned into a full-blown grin as he knelt down, forehead brushing against the loose fabric of her shirt. She was quickly getting to the point in her pregnancy where even loose, billowy tops weren’t going to hide the obvious, but in an effort to avoid questions from relative strangers, Kate still wore them. He was adorable. In fact, they both were, she decided, quickly brushing a hand through the soft hairs at the top of Castle’s head, “He doesn’t listen. I wonder where he got that from,” she asked, one eyebrow curving upward in a silent tease of her husband, “Very active. He kicked me hard enough earlier that it nearly jerked the file I was holding out of my hand.” “Why? Got a better one? I like it. It makes sense.” He knew she didn’t take it seriously. None of his outlandish theories ever worked out, but it sure was fun. Although, there was that time traveler that Rick was not about to let go of. If what the time traveler said was true, he was going to talk about it all the time. “Too bad Javi and Kevin aren’t here. I’m sure they’d find some way to tease me about how you found the body.” Rick chuckled. “Sounds like he’ll be just as a handful as his old man. Perhaps he’ll be my offspring with the wildly inappropriate stories. Alexis is such a stickler for the rules still. I miss her. So what do you think he’ll be? Soccer player? Baseball player?” Rick asked. "Not at the moment," Kate sighed, ignoring the swell of emotion at the mention of their friends and work partners. It had been over a year since she had seen them or Lanie outside her television screen, almost two for Castle. It wasn't a secret that they both missed them, but there were nights like this one that Kate really felt their absence. At home, she would never be working at nine at night alone in the precinct. Castle, Espo and Ryan would've right there with her. Alexis. She wasn't a subject that Kate had broached much since the young woman had gone home in May. Not due to lack of interest but because there was little she could say to make it better. Despite continual hoping, Alexis hadn't come back. It was naive to ignore the gaping hole left behind, or just how much their little family lacked without her. "I know, babe. I keeping hoping she will come back," she replied, stepping closer to place her head against his shoulder, "Baseball, definitely." Kate grinned, "He can play for the Mets, maybe they'll be good by then." “We’ll find the answer together. Besides, it has certainly gotten my interest. Do you mind if I hang around until the case is solved?” If this were home, he wouldn’t have asked. It looked a lot like home, but it wasn’t. This precinct believed that they were fictional characters and he was glad that Kate was working there, but even though he was allowed to help Rick still felt out of place so he kept his visits and his help to a minimum. He nodded his head as he wrapped an arm around her waist. “I do too. I’m sure she’ll turn up when we least expect it.” Rick smiled when she mentioned that it would definitely be baseball. He could even picture it now, be the old man sitting behind the dugout with his wife, watching as their son played for the Mets. “I bet he’ll be the one that makes them the best team ever.” “Do I ever mind if you hang around?” Kate asked, lightly bumping her hip into his. They didn’t talk about it often, how Castle largely kept himself to his writing and his duties in the tower and their crime solving was generally limited to theory batted around during dinner or in bed. It wasn’t something she brought up because Castle had made the choice to keep himself scarce, but Kate wasn’t going to deny that she missed him, missed this part of their life that was so wonderful at home. The contact at her waist, just the casual sling of an arm had her smiling, body orienting itself so she was curled comfortably against him with a clear view of the murder board. “If he’s gonna be a baseball star, you need to learn how to throw, babe,” she teased, tipping her head back to gently press a kiss against the hard line of his jaw. Rick laughed. “Maybe in the beginning,” he teased. Those days were fun. Kate was the only one who didn’t want him around, but the boys loved having him around. “I sometimes miss those days, but I love the outcome.” He had to learn how to throw? No, that wasn’t going to happen. Ride a horse, yes. Shoot a gun, yes. But baseball? No. Rick thought Kate would be more suited for all the baseball stuff. “Can’t I just hire someone to do that for me? I can just stand on the sidelines and cheer my heart out.” After she kissed his jaw, he kissed the top of her head. “However, if you insist, I suppose I could learn along with him.” “What? You want me to pretend to hate you for a few days?” she chuckled, biting on her bottom lip as a thought sprang to mind. It wasn’t new, per say, she’d certainly been attracted to Castle from the beginning and considered what it’d be like, but she hadn’t considered it in years. Hadn’t needed too. “I’d give you thirty minutes before you snapped and pushed me up against a wall.” And she really wasn’t kidding because if Castle didn’t give in, Kate was fairly sure she would. With the benefit of hindsight, it was a feat she’d lasted four years. “Castle, no, you can’t hire someone to teach your son to play baseball. Not when he’s five and just wants to throw in the park with his dad,” she laughed, fingers slipping in the gaps between his, “But I can teach you. It’s not hard.” "Wait, did you really hate me? I thought that was all pretend! Oh you've wounded me, Beckett!" Rick exaggerated being shot in the heart and pretending to collapse on a nearby desk. Then he stood up and walked the few steps back to his wife. "Yeah, thirty minutes sounds about right," Rick said casually. He doubted it would even be thirty minutes before he caved. When he felt her hand in his, Rick gave it a squeeze. "I thought you meant professionally. If he's only five and wants to play catch with his old man in the park, I can oblige. I can't very well disappoint him. I will take you up on that offer though, if he wants to get serious about playing baseball. Then the three of us can play." Rick looked at Kate and smiled. He couldn't wait to meet their son. Never let it be said that Castle didn’t have his mother’s flair for the dramatic, Kate thought, wrinkling her nose up at his antics even with a smile. “Maybe not hate…” she answered, that tiny crease forming between her eyebrows while she tried to think of how to answer him, “...I’d been reading your books for years, and I had this idea in my head. In some ways you were just like that guy, and in others you were a nightmare. But I just hated how easily you got under my skin, pushed me out of my comfort zone and challenged my authority,” Kate shrugged, “But once you stuck around, the more you talked about Alexis and your mom...I couldn’t hate you then.” There was that little twinkle in her eye as he squeezed her hand, and she grinned stepping forward to cup his face with her hand and gently pull him in for a kiss, “You want me to fill you in on the case?” she asked, brushing her mouth over his one more time. Rick could understand what she was telling him. He may have pushed it a little far from time to time. Rick had snuck into the women's restroom to tell Kate about the sex scene on page 105 of Heat Wave. The thought made him chuckle. "Do you remember that one time when I told you what you wanted to know, with Heat Wave? I can see how I got under your skin then. Or that other time when I took the crime scene photos?" Rick knew she did. Frankly, he wasn't sure how anyone could forget that. "I'm glad that everything brought us together." He returned her grin, kissing her back. "Yes, let's do this." “I do,” Kate replied, reaching up to gently tweak his ear, “And I remember how our one time thing in my cruiser somehow ended up in the latest one. Weird how that happens, huh?” But she let it go for the moment, pulling up her chair and the one from the desk across so that they faced the board. “Angela Morrison and Tonya Reynolds have been in a relationship for three years, two months ago they moved into an apartment on Houston. Neighbors loved them, the bodega on the block knew them by name. Tonya was murdered somewhere between 6 and 8 p.m., and we have video evidence from the ATM camera across the street of Angela both arriving and departing during that time. Her prints are on the weapon, a butcher knife from the set in their kitchen, but there is no motive for the murder. No money troubles, no relationship problems, nothing in the usual round.” “Angela admits to coming home and finding Tonya cooking, that she left to pick up some wine. Surveillance video proves that part of her alibi is true but those activities are all within the kill window. Despite the lack of motive and her insistence that she’s innocent, she’s the best we’ve got at this point.” "Ow ow ow." It didn't really hurt, Rick just expressed the "pain" out of anticipation of what those tweaks to his ears or nose usually ended up being. "Yes, very weird. Must be something in the air in this alternate New York." He followed Kate over to the chairs and sat in the one she had pulled up for him. He would have done it, but she was too quick for him this time. As she explained in detail what had happened, Rick's eyes followed the board, trying to piece together all the information in his mind and what it all could mean. This case may mean a long night or two, but Rick was going to stick through it until it was solved. "Hmm. Interesting. Any idea the reason for the move? Anything missing?" Rick was wondering if they moved for a safety reason. Or if it was a botched or attempted robbery. “Typical New Yorkers, lease ran out, they found a better place in a neighborhood they liked more,” she replied, twisting their fingers together again on top of her chair arm, “Inventory would point to no, tv, computers and the usual items were all accounted for. I’m going to take a list to her once CSU is finishing with the sweep and catalogue, just to make sure.” It was strange. Abnormal how completely perfect their lives had been. Everyone had some sort of discord and tension, but a day of working at it and Kate had yet to find out a thing. “She was a kindergarten teacher,” Kate added after a moment, eyes sweeping over the DMV photo of the victim, “Worked for the sort of private school you’re going to want to put Jackson into.” Typical. Rick had done that numerous times before purchasing the loft, which he missed every once in a while. Everything was accounted for as well. That eliminated two possibilities that he had thought of. Then Kate mentioned a school that he'd want to put Jackson in. While he didn't know what she was thinking, but Rick was thinking the same thing. How strange it was how perfect these women's lives were. "I think this requires a visit to the school." It was far too late in the day to visit, so they would have to go the next day. Someone there might know more about the couple, at least that was what Rick hoped. To anyone else it was probably odd that she had such a huge smile while discussing a murder case but, beyond it being her day to day life, it just felt right to have Castle right here next to her. “First thing in the morning, Castle,” Kate said, using her thumb to trace a small circle against the back of his hand, “Should give you plenty of time to come up with a theory.” Rick smiled at Kate. "That is more than enough time to come up with a theory. So first thing, a visit to the school. Sounds like a date." Rick said. He was already beginning to formulate a theory, which would be perfected between now and the morning. "How about we go home and get some sleep now. You must be exhausted." There wasn't much they could do now and a good night's rest was what he was prescribing for them. “Oh you have to think about it, I see,” she teased, shifting her hips to the edge of the chair to make it easier to stand. Her baby bump was a fraction of the size that it would become, but Kate could already feel the difference and how her center of gravity was on a slow and steady shift, “Should be a good one then,” Kate said, cutting her eyes over towards him, “But yeah, its a date - in which you aren’t getting lucky and you buy my breakfast.” She wasn’t really going to admit she was exhausted, but she also knew she didn’t have too. Castle could read her, knew all of her little tells, "Mmm, let go home,” she agreed, pushing her chair back towards her desk. |