It's Not About the Books Anymore

Chapter 1

It was a few days after Christmas and the normal holiday murder count had been higher than usual. Detective Kate Beckett was exhausted and was looking forward to some much-needed days off. She was finishing up the last few forms of what had been a mountain of tedious paperwork when the phone rang.

"Beckett."

"Detective Beckett? Oh, thank goodness. This is Gina Cowell…" After a short, awkward pause, the caller clarified, "…Rick's publisher."

And second ex-wife, Kate thought. Why on earth would she be calling?

"Oh, hi Gina…What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you've seen him lately."

Kate was intrigued. Castle's girlfriend was calling her to locate her missing boyfriend?

"Not for a few days," Kate answered.

Seven actually, but who's counting?

Kate was.

She glanced over at his empty chair. She wouldn't have admitted it to anyone, but she missed him. She couldn't help when her response to Gina came off a tad snarky. "Why, have you lost him?"

"Not exactly," Gina answered. "I just can't get a hold of him. I've been calling him for almost a week and he won't answer his phone."

It wasn't unusual for Castle to ignore Gina's calls; He'd done it before. Kate asked the next questions very delicately.

"You haven't spoken to him? Aren't you two…cohabitating?"

"No…why would you think that?"

"I just assumed…since you're…together."

Gina laughed. "We're not together."

"I'm sorry. I just thought…since you'd gone to the Hamptons…"

"Yes, I went with him to the Hamptons…for the summer…so I could stay on top of him while he finished Naked Heat…you know how he can get distracted. But we're not a couple…we're just friends. If Rick told you anything to the contrary, it was exaggerated. He may have said it to protect himself."

Protect himself?

"From what?" Kate wasn't sure what Gina meant, but she definitely wasn't prepared for the answer.

"From you." The publisher paused for moment. "He's in love with you, Kate."

What?

Kate couldn't believe what she was hearing. She didn't know what surprised her more: finding out that he loved her, or hearing the revelation from his ex-wife.

"He told you?"

"He didn't have to…I could tell. It's obvious. By the way he looks at you, the way he talks about you, and especially the way he writes about you."

"Maybe he went out of town," Kate supplied, still trying to process the words he's in love with you.

"No, Kate. Something's definitely wrong. I probably shouldn't have said anything, but I really could use your help. And since this has to do with Nikki Heat, I figured it probably has something to do with you."

Nikki Heat?

"Gina, what are you talking about?"

"Earlier this week a certified letter was delivered to my office; It was from his lawyer. Rick is suing to sever his contract to complete the Nikki Heat novels. It says he's reached a dead-end with the series and he's no longer interested in pursuing the character." Gina paused for a moment. "Kate, did something happen?"

Had something happened?

Kate's thoughts reeled back to the last time she'd seen him.

They had been at The Old Haunt. Castle had hosted a Christmas party for the entire team. There had been good food and lots of great booze. They'd laughed and sang. Eddie, the bar's official piano man, had been more than thrilled to accompany them.

Everyone had been there: Esposito, Lanie, Ryan and Jenny, Captain and Mrs. Montgomery. Castle had even insisted she'd bring Josh. Kate had been sure it had been so he could interrogate the doctor. But she had been certain that Josh would have never revealed the true nature of their relationship. Gina had been surprisingly absent from the festivities. Kate now knew why.

They'd partied well into the night. As far as she'd known, everyone had had a wonderful time. Nothing had seemed out of the ordinary. The last thing Castle had said to her had been that he was taking a break for the holidays because he'd wanted to spend time with Alexis; Said he'd see her after New Years.

Had she missed something?

"I have no idea what's going on with him, Gina. But I'll see what I can find out."

#######

Kate stood outside of Castle's penthouse loft, wondering what mysteries might be revealed behind the large metal door. She could have called, and perhaps he would have answered the phone, but she wanted to do this face-to-face. Martha answered the door soon after Kate rang the bell. She was always welcoming and greeted Kate with a warm smile.

"Detective Beckett. Please, come in." Martha waved her in with a flourish.

Kate made her way into the living room as Martha closed the door behind her. "Martha, please call me Kate."

Martha smiled. "What can I do for you, Kate?"

"Is Castle here?"

"No, sorry."

"Do you know where I can find him?"

Martha paused. "Is this about a case?"

"No, why?"

"Well…he just asked that he not be disturbed. He only told me where he was so I could contact him in case there was an emergency with Alexis."

"Alexis? She isn't with him?"

"No. She's gone to California to spend the holidays with Meredith. They've been planning it for months. Didn't Richard tell you?"

"Not exactly."

Not at all, actually. The story that he'd told Kate was almost the exact opposite of what Martha was saying.

"Martha, would you please tell me where he is? I really need to talk to him and it can't wait until he gets back."

Martha put her arm around Kate and began leading her into the kitchen. "Kate, darling, I'll make you a deal. You tell me what this is about and I'll tell you where he is."

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