Aunt Theresa
Chapter 1
It was thirteen degrees outside but the bright sun streamed through the windows of the loft, giving an illusion of warmth. Rick and Kate snuggled under the covers. "I love it when you don't have to go into the precinct early," Rick murmured, stroking Kate's hair.
"You mean you love it when you don't have to go to the precinct early," Kate teased.
"That too," Rick agreed. "There are things I want to look after here."
"Like what?" Kate asked.
"Edit a chapter, check my portfolio, install updates to my laptop."
"That's all you want to do, huh?"
"Well," Rick said, running his finger over the vee of soft skin peeking out from her sleep shirt, "not all."
"Good," Kate told him, pulling up the edge of his t-shirt, "that's not all I want you to do, either."
The shirts stood no chance, finding a resting place on the floor. As their skins heated, bedding fell as well, leaving only the rays of the winter sun reflecting off suddenly damp skin. Rick could taste the salt on his tongue as he explored Kate's body, while she stoked a rising fire with her every touch on his. Their mouths collided as Rick pulled Kate against him, centers of sensation meeting. Kate was almost frantic as she guided him, but no less so as they joined. They moved with an ever accelerating rhythm, reaching for what seemed just beyond their grasp, until it was suddenly theirs, moving through them in mighty waves. They clung to each other as if thrown on a beach, as crests became ripples and finally calmed.
Kate was just getting her breath when her phone chimed, eliciting a groan from Rick. "It's my Dad," Kate soothed as she picked it up. Kate looked anything but calm as she listened to the voice on the other end. "It's all right," she assured Jim Beckett. "I'll take care of it."
"What?" Rick asked as Kate finished her conversation.
"My Aunt Theresa called my dad. She found a body."
Castle regarded the crime scene. Lanie bent over a body on the floor of the "Snug Room" in Theresa's Public House. A woman sat in the farthest corner from the corpse. Despite appearing to be in her fifties, she was trim, sported bright magenta hair, and wore clothes that looked as if they had been purchased in the junior department with a pair of high heeled boots reminiscent of those favored by Kate Beckett. Her hand was being held by Jim Beckett.
Kate crouched down in front of the pair with Castle behind her. "Aunt Theresa, I'm so sorry you have to go through this. Can you tell me what happened?"
"I came in to prepare for business this morning and I found him here. His name is Declan Price. He's the drummer in our pub band. I thought maybe he had tied one on, then I saw the blood. I didn't know what to do, so I called your father." Theresa looked up at Castle. "Is this your fiance?"
"Yes," Kate answered. "Theresa Beckett, this is Richard Castle."
Theresa's eyes narrowed. "You better not be cheating on my niece with that ex-wife of yours."
"No ma'am," Castle assured her. "Kate does carry a gun, you know."
Theresa laughed. "I think I like you, as long as you behave yourself."
This time Kate laughed. "Good luck with that! Aunt Theresa, I'm going to send Detective Ryan over to get your statement. Castle and I need to talk to the medical examiner."
Beckett hurried back to the body with Castle quick on her heels. "Ryan," she called, indicating her aunt with a tilt of her head. "What have we got, Lanie?" she asked.
"Time of death sometime late last night or early this morning," Lanie told her. "I'll have to let you know later. It looks like he was stabbed with that." Lanie pointed to a cylindrical piece of wood with a long bloody screw sticking out of it.
"That's part of a billiard cue," Castle noted.
"That's right, Writer Man, there are two other pieces. And there's something else. It looks like he's got something in his throat, but I'll have to check that at the lab too."
Kate returned to her aunt. "Aunt Theresa, if you can give me any records you have on Declan Price and a list of employees who know him, I'm going ask Dad to take you home. Castle and I will come see you later when we know more about what's going on."
Theresa took Kate and Castle to the pub office and handed them Price's personnel file and payroll records. She also printed out a list of employees, after circling some names as well as adding some stars. "All the employees knew Declan," she told Kate, "but the ones I circled knew him better. That especially goes for other members of the band. I put stars by their names."
"Thanks, Aunt Theresa," Beckett said, giving her a light kiss on the cheek.
Castle and Beckett sat at Beckett's desk at the 12th going over the records Theresa had given them. "Hmmm," Castle said as he studied a printout, "that's interesting."
"What?" Beckett asked.
"There are three years of payroll records here. For most of that time, Price was getting advances, as if he was chronically broke. Then about six months ago, he stopped. I wonder what happened six months ago."
"We may find out," Beckett answered, just as her phone beeped with an incoming text. "It's Lanie. She has something for us."
"Hey Lanie," Beckett said, as she and Castle entered the lab.
"Hey yourself! I've got time of death for you, between one and three this morning. Also, the thing in Price's throat, here it is." Lanie handed Beckett a small disk in a plastic bag.
Castle looked over Beckett's shoulder. "That's a gambler's anonymous chip," he said, "six months. That explains why he stopped taking advances on his paycheck. He stopped gambling. Lanie, did he try to swallow that?"
"No," Lanie answered. "From the abrasions I saw, I say someone forced it down his throat."
"Looks like someone was really annoyed that he stopped gambling – or just wanted him to stop talking about it," Castle commented.
"I'd go with your first guess," Lanie said. "He'd already stopped talking. That thing was stuffed down his throat postmortem."
Theresa's apartment, not far from the pub, could have belonged to a teenager. There were posters on the wall from the latest vampire sagas. One wall had a life sized vinyl Fathead of a Harley Davidson motorcycle. Shelves were filled with beer memorabilia. Castle and Beckett were in a double papasan chair and Castle was idly wondering if he'd ever get out again. Theresa sat in a chair bearing a remarkable resemblance to an iron throne.
"Aunt Theresa," Beckett asked, "Do you know if Declan Price had a gambling problem?"
"He wasn't the only one in the band or the pub who did," Theresa told her. "Our billiard tables get quite a workout and they aren't just playing for beer. From what I know, Declan stopped gambling six months ago. Speaking of beer, you want to try our new micro-brew?"
Castle started to say yes and Beckett put a warning hand on his arm. With a smile she told her aunt: "When I'm not on duty." Beckett steered the subject back to the investigation as fast as she could. "Can you think of anyone Declan might have owed money to?" Beckett asked.
"There's a guy who hangs around the pub who sometimes fronts people money. His name is Rory something. If you come by when I'm open again, I can point him out to you."
"Can you think of anyone besides Rory who might have a reason to kill Declan?" Beckett continued.
"The band has had some not so friendly rivalries over women over the years. I can keep my ears open about how those have been going."
"We'll check it out," Beckett told her.
Back at the loft after an unexpectedly long day, Rick finally had his beer and Kate a glass of her favorite red wine. "Your aunt is quite a character. I always thought your wild child genes came from your mother's side of the family," Rick said. "It looks like you got a double dose."
"You," Kate told him, "are still finding just out how much."