"Danny Son, 19."
Blood. The first thing he saw was blood. Why was there so much blood? Even in the chipper environment, the happy gleam from the decorations around them, loss seemed to haunt the atmosphere. Ryan circled the dead young man, shaking his head slowly. Danny's eyes were wide and empty. They were uncomfortably deep brown, like Esposito's…
"John Mann, 21."
Tears, still wet and sad on John's face, glistened in the bright sun. Mixed with blood, it made for a gruesome sight. The way they seemed to still be trickling down the dead man's cheeks was eerie. The sadness and melancholy feeling of the air around them was thick as sludge. Esposito felt his stomach lurch at the incredible sharpness of John's clear blue eyes; at how much it reminded him of Ryan's.
"So, Lanie, cause of death?" Beckett's voice cut the two men's thinking short. It was obvious for Danny; a bullet hole was smack dab in the middle of where his heart was. Lanie turned John onto his stomach, revealing another bullet hole in his back.
"Bullet to the chest, to the back. By what they tell me, it happened only about 30 minutes ago." She said. Beckett, with an oddly silent Castle behind her, nodded as if she understood everything.
"God, this is a real shame…" she muttered, leaning down and examining the bodies. Ryan and Esposito weren't so fast on the intake, though.
"Wait… Who's 'they'?" Ryan asked. Beckett faltered and glanced at the two.
"You weren't told what they were doing when they got killed?" she asked. The two looked around, frustrated. Of course they hadn't; they'd arrived later than everybody else because of traffic. But the more they looked around, the more the wheels in their heads spun; the fancy decorations, the flowers, the rows of chairs…
"This is a wedding." Esposito stated. Beckett nodded.
"Whose wedding was it?" Ryan asked. Lanie and Beckett exchanged glanced again, frustrating the two further. Castle, unable to keep quiet despite the fact he'd been reverse-double jinxed again, butted in.
"Don't you see? John and Danny's dress ware? The matching roses in their tuxedoes? The same rings on their fingers? They were the ones getting married!" he exclaimed. Suddenly, a sick bubbling feeling rose up within both Ryan and Esposito. No wonder Beckett seemed troubled. The entire team hated cases like this.
"So this is probably some homophobic killing?" Ryan murmured. Lanie answered that question.
"Well, whoever it is, really wanted to make sure they were dead. From the accuracy of things, unless our shooter was in the crowd and a championship shooter, they used a sniper of sorts." She informed them. Ryan nodded numbly. He and his partner went off to ask the attending guests and possible witnesses.
Ryan and Esposito glanced at each other, then back at the sniffling woman who sat in front of them. Ryan clicked the end of his pen while they waited for her to calm enough to speak; sure, they've had grief-stricken witnesses before, but the woman had been sobbing for thirty minutes without a pause for breath. Finally, when she sucked in a lungful of air, Esposito saw his chance.
"So, Ms. Mann, what was your relation to the victims?" he asked quickly before she could start all over again. The woman paused, taking a few shuddering breaths before speaking.
"John was my cousin." She said. Esposito scribbled it down in a small notebook while Ryan continued.
"Did John have any other family?" he asked. Ms. Mann shook her head.
"Not really. His parents died a few years back, and my folks refused to acknowledge him after he announced his relationship with Danny. They live in Texas now." She sniffled. Ryan nodded, writing in his own notebook.
"And what was your view on his… sexuality?" Ms. Mann looked as if they had said something disturbing.
"Detectives, I loved my cousin very much. I don't even know how you can ask that." She said sourly. The two stammered awkwardly; they hadn't meant to offend in the slightest.
"We're sorry, ma'am. It's our jobs to look into every possibility." Ryan said quickly, probably saving the two from a verbal lashing.
"Is there anyone who would want to harm John or Danny?" Esposito continued, choosing his words carefully. Ms. Mann's eyes misted up again and the two held their breath.
"N-No. Mom and Dad weren't thrilled, but they wouldn't kill anyone. And there's no way they could've found out about the wedding and come from Texas to New York by now, either; they sort of broke off contact once they got to Texas. Everybody else in the family, Danny's included, had nothing wrong with it." She murmured, voice becoming wet with tears. Ryan stood quickly, having asked everything needed.
"Thank you for your cooperation, Ms. Mann. We're very sorry for your loss." He said. Esposito, realizing that was all the time needed to be there, scrambled after his partner, anxious to get away before the waterworks started again.
Ryan and Esposito questioned many other witnesses in the crowd, but only one remembered the entire thing through the shock of witnessing a murder; Mrs. Son, Danny's mother. Both detectives hated having to spark back up a painful memory, one the woman's mind was probably already working on burying. But, they ignored the uncomfortable feeling in their stomach as they sat in front of the woman.
"So, Mrs. Son, you say you remember exactly in what order it occurred?" Ryan asked quietly. The woman nodded her tears at bay for the moment.
"It, uh, happened just so quick, but… But, I remember." She murmured, stammering softly over her own sorrow. The two nodded, silently urging her to go on.
"Well, they had, er, just put on the rings…
'You may now kiss the groom.' The preacher announced. John and Danny, eyes bright and sparkling, leaned in for their first kiss as a married couple. As their lips met, applaud burst forth from the audience. Danny laughed against the kiss.
'I love you, Johnny…' he murmured happily.
'I love you, too, Danny-'
BANG!
A piercingly loud pop rang through the happy atmosphere. John's eyes flew open at the feeling of hot blood spatter his face. Before he could realize what was happening, the audience was under their chairs, screaming, and Danny was slipping from his hands to crumple to the ground. John quickly leaned over Danny's dead body, eyes wide at the sight of a gaping hole in his new husband's chest. The once-happy tears streaked down his cheeks, now sad and terrified.
'Danny?' he begged, silently willing the young man to get back up. But he was only replied with another loud pop and a sudden cold feeling seeping through him as he tumbled to the ground as well.
… and that's really all that I remember." Mrs. Son finished. Her voice caught in her throat, and she quickly lowered her head as not to let her tears be seen. Ryan finished scribbling down the details and gave Esposito a quick glance.
"Thank you so much, Mrs. Son. We'll do everything in our power to get whoever did this." He promised. Esposito nodded along. Mrs. Son smiled at them, then gingerly wiped at her eyes as the two went back to Beckett to inform her on all the details.
