She gasped for breath. She could hear the blaring TV from next door. A child was wailing at the top of his lungs.
The midday sun was right overhead and her skin was coated with a shin of perspiration. The exertion of the fight was taking its toll.
But she wouldn't give up. She couldn't afford to give up this fight; not when she was fighting for her life.
She ran as fast as she could across the backyard of her own home, trying to get away from the devil. But she was not fast enough. She was out of her breath soon. She shrieked as a pair of hands grabbed her from behind in a vice grip. She struggled hard, trying to maul her attacker's face but it wasn't effective as she was already on her knees. All she came up with was a chunk of fabric from the devil's garment.
She wished she had paid attention to those self defense classes in school. She promised to herself that if she made it out alive today, she would be extra sincere in the martial arts classes.
Even as she made the promise, she knew it was useless. She wouldn't make it out alive.
She struggled hard as the merciless fingers closed over her mouth and nostrils. Her eyes bulged, trying to take in the view of the earth for the last time. Gathering every ounce of strength she had, she elbowed her attacker in the stomach. The devil stumbled back with a grunt. She was up on her feet as fast as her asthmatic lungs would permit and started running again. As she reached the bank of the pool, her body failed her. She grabbed the railing and wheezed for breath, unable to think anymore.
Those cruel pair of hands grabbed her again, this time by her hair and chucked her into the pool, face first. Before she could make her move to the surface, she felt the person grab her ankles from the above the water, not letting her turn upright.
She held as much air as her fibrotic lungs would allow and twisted and turned in a frantic effort to cheat death.
The person above the surface of water sat calmly on the bank, maintaining the tight grip and waiting patiently for her to give up.
The apparent weightlessness in water acted against her as she tried and failed to gain leverage. In her struggle, her head hit the wall of the pool with a thud. She gasped involuntarily and watched in horror as the first bubble of precious air escaped her mouth. More bubbles soon followed. At last when she could take it no more, she heaved in a futile attempt to breathe and gulped in the chlorinated water. She felt the sting of cold water in her lungs. She knew she was crying but she missed the warmth of her tears as they escaped into the surrounding water. She couldn't believe it. She was dying.
As the last of her reserve air bubbled out amidst the splash of waves, the killer sighed. It wouldn't take much longer now.
She probably didn't feel anything anymore. If she did, she wouldn't live to tell others. Convulsions wracked across her body as her oxygen deprived brain made its last protest. Her pupils dilated and her eyes bulged further, not seeing anything. Soon, all the fight left her body and she went limp.
It was over.
The killer waited for a few more moments before releasing the grip on the dead girl's ankles. An expressionless pair of eyes took in the sight as her body sank to the bottom of the pool.
The loud TV next door blared on. The child kept wailing.
(…..)
"Hey, no, pumpkin, listen to me!" Castle stammered into his cell phone.
He closed his eyes as he listened to his daughter's angry voice and sighed. "I know that you're mature. I know you're responsible. It's just that I don't think you should go on a trip with Wilson alone. Why don't you invite a couple of your other friends too?"
He fidgeted for a moment before speaking again, "But you hardly know him. You two have just met." After a moment of listening in, he cut in again, "No, I'm not questioning your choice but honey, you should be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you… No, listen…"
He sighed as he heard the beep indicating that his daughter had just hung up the phone on him.
He flopped dejectedly on the couch of the break room of the 12th Precinct.
After a few minutes, the door opened and the click of four inch high stilettos broke the silence.
Castle didn't look up.
The espresso machine whirred to life and rich aroma filled the stale air of the break room.
Castle kept staring at his cell phone still clutched in his hands.
"Hey Castle, you alright?" The warm comforting voice broke him out of his reverie.
He looked up to see Detective Kate Beckett standing in front of him, offering him a mug of foamy rich coffee. He took it with a grateful smile.
"Yeah, I guess so…"
"Liar!" Beckett smiled and sat down beside him on the couch, not too close to be intimate but not too far to be professional. "Rough conversation with Alexis?"
Castle let out a sigh mournfully. "Yes." His voice was small.
"Don't worry, Castle. She's a good girl. She'll understand."
"She just said I meddle too much in her personal life." The usual childish whine in Castle's voice was absent. His voice was slow and tired. After a moment of silence, he continued, "I had this book signing once. Alexis was three at that time. I was sitting there, facing the crowd. She must have been on a sugar rush or really bored or something because she was like a whirlwind inside the bookstore."
Castle paused for a moment, lost in his own memories. Beckett sat beside him, imagining a little cute girl with flaming red hair and large blue eyes rushing through the book store. A small smile crossed her lips. "What happened then?"
"One of the organizers offered to take her for a walk. I was reluctant to let a stranger take her but Gina insisted that I take up on his offer. I agreed. After two hours, I was done but there was still no sign of him or Alexis. Trust me, those were some of the worst moments of my life."
"When did they come back?" It wasn't very difficult picturing Rick Castle as a concerned father. It might have been, four years ago but not anymore.
"Twenty minutes later. Alexis had fallen asleep. But for those twenty minutes, my mind kept conjuring up the most horrible images. I almost had a panic attack. I was so relieved when I held my sleeping baby girl in my arms again." A wistful smile crossed his face. "And now, she's all grown up. I don't like her decisions and she thinks I'm interfering too much. It seems like an ever widening gap has formed between us… The bridge is broken. When did this happen?"
"Hey, nothing is broken. It's natural," Kate reached out and squeezed his hand gently. "She's a barely eighteen, Castle. She's all riled up with hormones. Give her some time. She'll settle down."
"I hope so."
"I'm sure, she will. She's a good kid, Castle."
She smiled at him and he returned it, though it wasn't the wide and cheery smile that she loved.
They heard the desk phone ring.
Beckett stood up instantly and walked off towards her desk.
"Beckett. Yeah, where?" She scribbled down the address. "Okay, we'll be there in twenty."
She replaced the receiver and turned around to find Castle standing behind her.
"We've got a new case… but you may go home if you want to…"
"Let me see, do I want to join you on a case or do I want to languish at home all alone?" He screwed up his face exaggeratedly in mock confusion. "Tough choice but I think I'll choose to be on the case. Thanks for your offer anyway, detective."
Beckett shook her head while trying to suppress her smile. "Okay, Drama Queen. Let's go."
(…)
They parked the crown vic beside the police cruisers and got out of the car.
Castle took a look around. "Houses instead of apartments, spacious and green… Looks like a nice neighborhood."
"Yeah, except for the murder." Beckett muttered before heading to the house.
They stood by the side of the pool. The CSU had already fished the body out of the pool. Dr. Lanie Parish was crouched over the body, engrossed in examination.
"Hey Lanie, what've we got?" Beckett called out to the ME.
"Well, victim in female, Caucasian. Name is Megan Williams. According to her father, she turned sixteen last month." Their heads turned instinctively to the sobbing man standing in the corner, surrounded by Detectives Esposito and Ryan. Lanie continued, "Based on temperature of the water and the body and also the lividity, I'd say she died four to six hours ago. Cause of death appears to be drowning although I can't be sure before I cut her open."
"What about the nature of death?" Beckett inquired.
"Here comes the interesting part. The father said she had asthma since early childhood. As a matter of fact, she needed inhaler today. That is a strict contraindication to swimming and she must have known that."
"So what was she doing in the pool?"
"Exactly. She could've rebelled in a fit of stubbornness and gone swimming. So, this could be accidental…" Lanie trailed off.
"Something in your tone tells me that's not all."
"Yeah, look, I'm not sure but there appears to be a circumferential bruising around her ankles and there is a scalp hematoma at her left parietal eminence."
"Uh, doctor, care to translate in English?" Castle spoke over Beckett's shoulder.
"Well writer-boy, in English, it means there might have been some struggle involved. But as I said earlier, I cannot tell you anything conclusive before I get back to my lab."
Beckett's brow furrowed. "So it might be homicidal. Okay, thanks Lanie. Come on Castle, let's hear what the father has to say."
She walked a few paces before realizing that he wasn't following her. She turned back. Castle was standing there alone, staring at the dead teenager. It was, as if, he was taking in the sight for the first time. It didn't take her long to figure out what was going through his mind. She sighed. Why did the sensitive cases always hit people at their most vulnerable moment?
"Hey Castle, are you okay?" The question was redundant because obviously he wasn't okay. But then again, Kate Beckett wasn't exactly an expert of small talk.
"Wha… Yeah, I'm fine. Let's go talk to the father."
With that, Castle strode past her with determination, leaving her behind to follow him. Kate sighed.
This case was going to be difficult.
A/N: You guys have been asking for another mystery for quite some time now… Took me a while to plot the murder. I'm still ironing out the rough edges. Let me see how it goes. Hope you like it… Review, please? I love you guys!
Disclaimer: Really?