Thanatophobia
Season 9, Episode 13
Written by rippedateveryedge and thebazilelord
This is a work of fiction by writers with no professional connection to ABC network's Castle. Recognizable characters are the property of Andrew Marlowe and ABC. Names, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Kate grimaced as she glanced up at the clock and quickly threw the chicken onto the pan, rushing to have dinner prepared before Castle got back from his appointment with Dr. Burke. Thank God they had leftover sauce from the other night; all they'd have to do was heat it up and boom, a nice meal with minimal effort. Sliding the raw meat into the oven and setting a timer, she was finally able to sit. The throbbing ache in her back from carrying around the extra weight in her middle immediately began to dissipate when her body sank onto the nearest kitchen stool. She leaned forward, resting her head on her arms and closing her eyes.
Only to have them pop back open about a minute later.
The front door opened and Castle walked through, causing her to stumble to her feet, her usual grace hindered by weariness and her ever-evolving center of gravity. His eyes slid to hers and he managed a small smile as he walked towards her, draping his coat over the kitchen chair next to her.
"Kate," he sighed, pressing a light kiss to her temple. "You okay?"
She studied him; he looked tired and worn, his nose still red. Like she'd look after her therapy appointments, those long months after her first shooting when she was picking up the shattered pieces of herself that hadn't really been whole since her mom was murdered.
"Yeah, m'fine. A little tired, maybe. Though I feel like I should be the one asking you that. How was your appointment? You look...?"
"It was fine, I guess. As much as therapy can be."
The slight frown on his face that he was unable to fully mask told her otherwise.
"Castle," she chastised softly. "You know that I know when you're lying. What's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, really. It's just... therapy makes me feel so... cut open and vulnerable, you know? And talking about my PTSD just lets me know how messed up I still am, how I still have a long way to go to be where I want to be."
"I do know how that feels," Beckett murmured in sympathy, moving a hand towards his face. "But I'm so proud of you for continuing to go even though it's hard." She cradled his cheek, her thumb stroking along the dark smudges under his eyes in soothing circles.
His shoulders began to visibly relax as he leaned his head into her hand, breathing deeply as his eyes fluttered closed. He banded his arms around her in return, enjoying the feeling of her ever-growing body against him.
They remained like that for a few moments before she stroked her hand down his shoulder and arm to grasp his hand, squeezing his fingers. She pulled back, giving him a shy smile.
"I was trying to have dinner ready, but as you can see, my timing was not exactly... ideal," she huffed on a laugh.
He snorted softly, his lips curving into a thin smile. "I've spoiled you in the cooking department, haven't I? You're out of practice." That earned him a half-hearted swat on the arm. "What do you say about just ordering in and vegging on the couch? We can save what's in the oven for later, when we both have more energy."
She exhaled. "That sounds..."
The ringing of her phone cut her off mid-sentence.
"...perfect," she deadpanned, before she answered the call in a clipped tone.
Castle put his head next to her phone, trying to pick out words from the voice on the other end. After a few moments, she ended the call and turned to him, an apologetic expression on her face.
"The boys got a body. Apparently it's the daughter of a City Council member, James Berland. He wants me to look into it. Guess he thinks there's foul play and believes there need to be more eyes on this than usual. They're at 14th and Lex. You comin'? Or would you rather-"
"Is the Pope Catholic?" he interrupted, adopting his 'famous' accent and earning an eye roll.
"Babe, I love you, but that Christopher Walken impression still needs work." She patted his cheek, before pushing past him and heading towards the door. Passing the oven, she switched it off, glancing forlornly at the chicken she wouldn't be able to eat anytime soon.
"I think I'm offended," he scoffed in mock indignation as he followed behind her. "Is there something unusual about this victim? Her dad does have more power than the average person, but is there another reason they want a very pregnant captain going out to the scene?"
"Not that Esposito told me," Beckett responded on a sigh. "But I can handle this. It's just one case."
It was about 7:30 when they finally reached the crime scene.
"You sure you're up for this? You already had a long day of meetings." Castle went to place his hand over the swell of her belly, but she swatted it away.
"Not here," she hissed, which only elicited a grin from her husband.
"You okay to be here right now?" Espo questioned as he and Ryan approached them. "I know the councilman requested you be here but if you're too tired, we can handle this."
"Javi, I'm fine," Beckett sighed on an eyeroll. She was pregnant, not an invalid, for God's sake. "It's his daughter, I get him wanting answers as soon as possible."
"Berland insisted every available officer look into this case. I guess he thinks whatever happened isn't as open-shut as it appears, but he didn't really explain why over the phone," Ryan added as they arrived at the scene.
"What do we have, Lanie?" Beckett asked, peering at the body sprawled out on the street. She was young, probably several years younger than Beckett, her brown hair fanning out in every direction. Blood stained a large patch of ground beside her, most of it coming from what appeared to be a massive head wound.
"30-year-old female - ID in her wallet says she's Makenzie Berland. Witnesses didn't see her jump, but they heard her scream and saw her hit the ground, called 911. She's been here about half an hour. Looks like she fell from that building over there."
Castle and Beckett looked directly up to where the ME was pointing. It was a tall apartment building... and there was an open window on the tenth level.
"The address on her ID says she lives here," said Ryan.
"I know Councilman Berland wants us to look into his daughter's death, but isn't this probably a suicide?" Beckett asked, annoyance creeping into her tone. The untimely summons to the crime scene had effectively ruined her dinner with her husband, and given that she was still eating for two, such an interruption provoked her more than usual.
"It might be, but then I noticed this." Lanie knelt down and gently picked up the victim's limp left arm. "It took me a minute to spot it, but I think we might be looking at a homicide."
She gently grasped the victim's hand and lifted it for Beckett to see. Long scratch marks marred her wrists, as if there had been a fight.
"It looks like she put up a struggle," Kate observed, pressing her lips into a thin line. "Get her back to the lab to see if you can find anything else. Maybe the killer left some DNA. We're going to need a little more than a few scratches if we're going to make a case."
Lanie nodded, turning to give the coroner her orders.
"Odd."
Beckett turned around to find her husband frowning down at the body, brows furrowed."What's odd, Castle?" she asked, bracing for a wiseass comment.
"It's odd that it's so messy. Most women who complete suicide will take pills or slit their wrists. Not jump off a building."
"Well, let's talk to the family, see if we can get any insight on who she was," Beckett replied before adding to Lanie, "Call me if you find anything."
"She was so young." James Berland, the victim's father, a graying angular man, paused for the twelfth time to wipe at his eyes with a Kleenex. "Too young." His wife, Alice, stared straight ahead, seemingly beyond any capacity to answer questions.
"Was your daughter... was Makenzie depressed at all?" Ryan asked gently. It was odd, seeing the normally stern and powerful city councilman looking so desolate. But as a father himself, he could only begin to imagine the older man's pain.
"No! Not in the slightest!" James exclaimed, causing Alice to jump slightly in her seat. "Makenzie was doing great. She had a job as a nurse, made several friends in the area, and was in a serious relationship with a wonderful guy."
"Sorry, sorry," Ryan placated, as Esposito jotted down notes beside him. "We just have to rule out all possibilities."
"I understand," Mr. Berland replied, his voice calmer. "It's just... my baby girl..." His voice trailed off and he had to look away, his eyes blinking rapidly. "How could this have happened to her?"
"Do you know of any reason why she would have wanted to jump from her window?"
"None. Mak hated heights. They terrified her more than anything else. She used to be in therapy for it even. Living in an apartment so far up was part of her treatment plan. It seemed to be helping her a little, but she was still very afraid. She never would have wanted to die like... like this. That's why I asked Captain Beckett specifically to help with her case. None of this adds up."
Esposito nodded as he jotted some notes down in his notebook.
"What about enemies? Was there anyone at work that she was having problems with, or maybe an unhappy patient that would want to hurt Makenzie?"
"No, no. I mean, the nursing field can be competitive, but she never had issues with anyone."
"You said she had a boyfriend. What was his name?" Esposito asked softly.
"Kyle Palmer. They met at nursing school her senior year. She really loves... loved him." The anguish at now having to refer to his daughter in the past tense was palpable on the older man's face and he once again had to turn away from the detectives.
"And you're sure that everything was good between them?"
"I'm positive," Alice reassured them, covering for her husband, who was still visibly distraught. "He... he came to us only a couple weeks ago asking if he could have our blessing to - to marry her. Oh God, we're going to have to tell him that she's..."
"Ma'am, that's okay, you can leave that up to us," Ryan assuaged his interviewees.
But Makenzie's mother shook her head, wiping stray tears from her eyes. "I appreciate that, but he should hear it from us."
"Well, we will still want to talk to him, rule him out as a possible suspect. But thank you for your time. I promise we will do everything on our power to find out what happened to your daughter."
As the couple turned to leave, James stopped suddenly.
"Detective Ryan?"
"Yeah?"
"Find who did this. It wasn't a suicide, I can tell you that much. Makenzie was very afraid of heights. She would've been far too scared to jump."
Visibly saddened by the grieving father's final statement, the boys once again assured Makenzie's parents that they would find the truth and had LT escort them out of the precinct. They headed to Beckett's office to give her an update.
"Okay, thanks, guys. Given who the victim's father is, I want to get this wrapped up as quickly as possible before the press gets involved. See if you can find out anything from her co-workers, and Castle and I will talk to her boyfriend."
"Will do, boss."
"Nothing."
Beckett jolted up from her interview notes from Kyle Palmer to find Ryan and Esposito once again at her desk, both looking frustrated.
"Beg your pardon?" she asked, pushing her chair out and instinctively placing a protective palm over her stomach.
"We got nothing from the coworkers," Espo elaborated with a scowl. "All of them said she was easy to work with and didn't cause any problems. What did you and Castle make of the boyfriend?"
"He was just like her parents described," Beckett replied, scanning her notes. "He wanted to propose to Makenzie and clearly loved her very much. He was also with a friend at the time of her death and the friend corroborated the alibi. I'm thinking that if this was murder, Makenzie was killed by someone outside her normal circles. Maybe she got into something she shouldn't have."
Just then, Castle walked in, carrying two steaming mugs.
"You're a lifesaver," Beckett murmured with a shy smile when he placed one of them into her outstretched hand. Only Castle would be able to make a cup of decaf as good and flavorful as regular.
"Anything for the woman who's carrying my baby girl," her husband replied, eyes twinkling. "Did either of you get a lead?"
"Nothing," Ryan repeated, shaking his head in annoyance.
Beckett's phone buzzed, ending the frustrating lull. She picked it up and briefly glanced at the message illuminated on the screen.
"It's Lanie. She has something to show us," the captain said, motioning slightly to Castle. "Ryan, Espo, keep looking into all known associates, see if something shows up." The boys nodded and swiftly exited the room, Castle and Beckett following suit heading the opposite direction.
The morgue had its usual chill when Castle and Beckett entered, the sharp scents of sterilization intended to mask the stark odor of death permeating the air. Their victim, Makenzie, was laid out on the slab, perfectly still, in a far more graceful position than she had been when they found her sprawled out on the ground, the scratch marks a vivid red on her ashen skin.
"Whatcha got, Lanie?" Beckett inquired as she approached her best friend, her husband close behind.
"Well, tox screens came back and our victim tested positive for ketamine, also known as Special K. It's a sedative. It entered her bloodstream shortly before her death. It would explain why she didn't brace herself as she fell. If this were a suicide, I would say she took it just to make the jump painless. But if you ask me, that wasn't the case "
"What do you mean?" Castle questioned, brows furrowing.
"Well, in addition to the ketamine, she has the indicators of a struggle. There are bruises on her upper arms and torso that are consistent with someone who would be trying to shove her backwards. The lack of coloring indicates that she received them right before her death. And of course there were the scratches that you saw at the crime scene. But the most compelling piece of evidence is that the injection mark is in the side of her neck."
"The side of her neck?" Beckett asked. "Someone else drugged her?"
"It would be a very unusual place to inject anything if this were a self-inflicted administration of ketamine," Lanie confirmed. "In addition to the sedation effects, this substance would act as a type of paralytic. It would make her lose all form of control while she still remained conscious. I believe that it was used to incapacitate her before she was pushed off the roof."
A tense silence filled the room.
"This really was murder," Castle breathed.
Tune in tomorrow for Chapter 2.
As a reminder, after this week's episode, we will take a short hiatus. We resume on Monday, March 20th, and episodes 14-22 will air weekly without any more breaks.
Thanks for reading!
