A/N: So, not a whole ton of reviews, but I'm not picky. There were a TON of Author alert and Story alerts so that made me so happy! But, since there were a few reviewers, let me thank them personally: Jessimicah, thank you so much for your encouragement! Tansypool, I thought about that, but I disregarded it because I figured there would be some sort of traffic jam-thing in NYC of all places, but thank you for pointing that out. Kie Santiago, thank you so much! Thecatchisdeadliest, I hate Josh too...really. Bella Paige, you made my life! I loved your comment. Thank you so much for posting it on your FB group. I'm trying to promote on tumblr too. If anyone who reads this has tumblr, mine is .com. Or you can follow me on twitter QueenKatherineL.
Disclaimer: After that long Author's note, I'm sad to say none of these characters are mine.
Chapter Two: Lines
"Dad, come on, your phone is ringing," Alexis spooned some eggs onto her father's plate as he stared at the wall, his eyes half closed. "It's Beckett!" she sing-songed, waving the phone in front of his face. A picture of Kate Beckett, scowling as her usual, flew in front of his eyes.
He took the phone and pressed talk. "Hell-, I mean Castle?" he murmured sleepily.
"Did I wake you?" Beckett asked, more amused than apologetic.
"I wish," he said as Alexis put a cup of coffee in front of him, and two slices of bacon on his plate. "I just haven't been sleeping well." That much was true. Even Alexis had noticed that ever since Josh had come back into town, Castle just hadn't been sleeping. He would stay up half the night surfing channels or obsessing over a case file, but he was never writing. Alexis, though she would never say it aloud, speculated that he was slowly coming to terms about being in love with the only woman who wasn't fawning over him, and that same woman had a boyfriend.
"Well, you can just sit this one out, Castle, if you want. I can take care of it," Alexis heard her say. Immediately, Castle sat up a little straighter and sprinkled some cheese on his eggs.
"Nonsense, I'll be there in a few minutes with coffee," he said, sounding perky. He hung up the phone and manically spooned breakfast into his mouth.
"Dad, that's disgusting," Alexis wrinkled her nose as she placed the dishes in the sink. "You look like a garbage disposal."
"Honey, there's a body at the Upper East Side that I gotta get to," he said, gulping down coffee. "Ahh, hot!"
"Are you sure you should be doing this? You haven't had a good night's sleep in weeks," she asked, looking concerned.
"I'll be fine," he dismissed her with a nonchalant wave of his hand.
"You'll be fine because you'll be around Beckett," she muttered under her breath.
"What was that?" he asked, placing his mug in the sink.
"Oh nothing."
He looked perplexed, but kissed her temple. "Okay, have fun at school, sweetie!"
He ran out the door and slammed it closed. Alexis smiled and started washing the dishes. "It's Saturday, dad."
"What took you so long?" Beckett asked, taking her usual coffee cup from Castle as he skidded to a stop next to her. Even though it was chilly, she was wearing a plain black t-shirt, low cut and black pants, black boots, and her usual leather jacket. Castle shivered. She looked like the Black Widow from the comic books he had hidden in his room from his teenage years.
"Traffic," he said in lieu of an explanation. In reality, he had fallen asleep in the cab and the cabbie had to jerk him awake outside the crime scene.
"What do we got?" she asked Lanie, who was watching Castle's wandering eyes with a knowing smirk. Castle cleared his throat and looked up at the sky, pretending to find something incredibly interesting in the clouds.
"It's a pretty weird one," she said, turning over the victim. Castle had to stifle a gasp. The girl, who had been lying face down, was now facing up, beautiful green eyes wide open in terror. Her hands were clenched in fists, her neck clearly broken. But that wasn't the disgusting part.
"Is that her collarbone?" Beckett asked, no small amount of surprise and apprehension in her voice. Her throat and collarbone were completely exposed, like the skin had been torn roughly away.
Lanie hastened to explain. "Her neck was broken somehow, which is what killed her but there was a blockage in her throat, like she was choking, that would have killed her soon enough. My guess is the killer got impatient."
"Why is she half-buried?" Castle asked, tossing his full cup of coffee into the dumpster.
"She was buried under her mother's rose bushes," Lanie said, pushing aside a bushel of white roses. "The killer tried to get rid of the body, but when the mom decided to uproot these plants, she found her daughter."
"Was there a missing persons report out on her?" Beckett asked, keeping an eye on Castle, who looked green.
"Not that we know of yet, you would have to talk to the parents," Lanie said, turning the girl's head side to side. The muscles in her throat pulsed and Castle gagged. "You gonna be okay there, writer boy?" Castle turned away, nodding. Beckett placed a hand tentatively on his shoulder.
"You sure?" she asked. "It's pretty gruesome." He looked down at the hand on his shoulder and she removed it, stepping away. He hadn't even noticed how close she was. The powdery smell of her perfume surrounded him and he closed his eyes, pretending to steady himself, and took a deep breath, inhaling her perfume.
"I'm going to go interview the parents," her voice wafted into the darkness surrounding him, and his eyes opened.
"I'll go with you," he replied. He glanced down at the body and shuddered again.
"Mrs. Marlow, did you report your daughter missing?" she asked, taking a seat at a dinner table across from a distraught mother and stone-faced father.
She sniffled and wiped her eyes. They were the same color as her dead daughter's. Castle found he couldn't take his eyes off them. "I tried, but the police station said she had to be missing for at least another 24 hours. I told them if she wasn't home something was wrong."
A blonde girl stood in the doorway, leaning against the wooden frame, her arms crossed, eyes dry. Beckett looked up at her, and smiled bracingly. "My name is Kate Beckett, I'm the detective working this case. Were you related to the victim?"
Mrs. Marlow replied for the blonde. "This is Sloane, Hadley's twin sister."
Castle thought back to the body in the rosebushes. "Twin?"
"Fraternal," the blonde clarified. Her voice was musical; she sounded like an angel. Even Beckett looked transfixed by the gorgeous blonde teenager. Castle wondered if Hadley had sounded the same.
"Okay, well Sloane, when was the last time you saw Hadley?"
"About three days ago," she said. "But that's not out of the ordinary. We're both so busy that we can easily go a week without seeing each other, and we live in the same house." She took the seat next to Beckett, instead of next to her distraught parents. "She was always at dance or theatre practice, I was always at the library or at chemistry labs."
Castle and Beckett exchanged a look. "Did your sister have any enemies at school?"
Sloane laughed, but it was a light, cynical sound. "We both have enemies. Think about it, Detective. My sister and I were the top of the class, president of clubs, stars of shows. We weren't exactly wallflowers. And to be honest, we were even each other's enemies now and again. We have friends, sure, but over half of our school hates us. It's jealousy, really." She leaned back and crossed her arms.
Castle stared at this girl, who, though she was radiating Upper East Side privileged snob right now, had shaking hands. Beckett noticed too, and made a note of it.
"Castle, why don't you go talk to Sloane while I finish up here?" she asked, smiling sweetly at Sloane, who stood up.
"I'll give you a tour," she said. Her mother nodded.
Castle stood and followed her out of the room, watching Sloane's hands as she kept them tightly clenched to stop the shaking. "This is where I spend most of my time," she said, pushing open a heavy door. Castle, expecting to see a warm and friendly bedroom, was instead greeted by walls of bookshelves and a huge, menacing desk in the middle of the room with a chair usually reserved for people of great importance.
"In your own personal library?" he asked.
"My father's library, but yes," she finally let go of her fingers, and they were still. "I find that I like to escape into books, or work, most of the time."
Castle looked down at the petite girl, beautiful and frail, smiling at the rows of dusty books. "I like to read too."
"I know," she said without looking up. "You're Richard Castle. I've read all of your books," she pointed to a shelf, full with his novels. All were dog-eared, and had obviously been read multiple times. Castle smiled.
"That detective," she said, finally looking up into Castle's eyes, "That's the girl you based Nikki Heat off of, right? Kate Beckett?"
Castle nodded.
"She's even prettier than I imagined." Castle smiled, not noticing the slightly bitter look on Sloane's face. "She reminds me a little of my sister." She stared at the shelves of books, and a small tear fell down her porcelain cheek. Castle, spotting it immediately, reached for one of his books, "Hell Hath No Fury" that looked the most dog eared of them all, and opened it.
"Would you like me to sign this for you?" he asked cautiously, hoping something, if anything, could take her mind off her dead sister.
She sniffled. "Sure," she said, wiping her eyes. Castle took out his pen and signed it, with a flourish, to "Sloane, one of the most beautiful Upper East side teenagers I've ever met, and a strong one to boot." He closed it and replaced it on the shelf, knowing she would come back to look for it later, and hoped she would smile when she found it.
She led him back the way they came, down the stairs to the table, where Beckett was already standing and waiting, chatting with the parents, assuring them, like she always did, that they would catch the person who did this to them. Sloane wordlessly stood next to her family, but did not accept the hug her mother offered her.
"We'll stay in touch," Beckett said, placing a hand on Sloane's shoulder as she turned to leave.
"Wait!" Sloane called out.
Beckett, with her hand on the doorknob, paused and turned around. "Yes?"
"Violet Baines. Look into Violet Baines. She was Hadley's best friend until Hadley started dating her ex-boyfriend and was elected captain of the dance team above her. It sounds trivial, but Violet is pretty crazy."
Beckett made a note of it. "I'll do that. Thank you, Sloane." She placed a hand on Castle's arm and led him from the house, while he took one last look back at the small blonde.
"Castle, don't be getting any ideas," Beckett said, sounding more stern than she needed to. She immediately softened her tone. "I know you're drawn to her because she's Alexis's age, but keep in mind that everyone is a suspect, including her."
Castle looked astonished. "What? Why?"
"I spoke to the parents. The rivalry between those two sisters were staggering. They hated each other. And neither parent knows where Sloane was last night."
"Well, you're still going to look into this Violet character, aren't you?" he asked, sounding disgruntled.
Beckett started the car and backed out of the long driveway. "Of course I am. I am not about to disregard a possible suspect because I have another one. You know me better than that, Castle."
"I just don't see how torturing this girl by accusing her of her sister's murder is going to help anything."
Beckett paused. "Are you...angry with me?"
Castle chose not to answer. "She's torn up about her sister's death. How do you think she's going to feel if you walk in there and arrest her for murder?"
"Castle , if she was really willing to help us find her sister's murderer, and if she is indeed innocent, she would have no objection, because she would have nothing to hide," Beckett, getting impatient, drove a little faster.
"And how do you think she's going to be treated at school?"
"Is your rebuttal really based in her school reputation!" Beckett almost laughed, and stopped when she saw his face. "What?"
"Have some consideration for this girl," he said seriously.
Beckett pursed her lips in annoyance. "Okay, this conversation is over."
"Why?"
"Because you're snapping at me, and I don't want to snap back at you." Beckett pulled into a lush school parking lot, where a group of cars were parked by a side door.
"Why are we here?" he asked, momentarily dropping his pouty face.
"Because this is where Violet Baines is right now." She turned off the car and got out, putting on her sunglasses as she did so. Frustrated as he was with her, Castle still could not keep himself from admiring her walk as she strode to a group of over privileged teenagers who surely earned their degree is "cattiness" in the fourth grade.
"This is a private rehearsal," said a striking girl with electric blue eyes and jet black hair. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
Beckett ignored her. "I'm looking for Violet Baines. I'm Detective Kate Beckett, I'm investigating a murder that took place the other day."
All of the girls immediately turned to each other and started whispering. The black haired girl turned to them and snapped, "Enough of your prattling. Do the routine, double time."
"But –," said one girl.
"I don't want to hear it," the girl retorted, and pushed a button on the remote. Ke$ha's song "Blow" blasted from the speakers and the dancers leaped into action. She turned her back on them and faced Beckett and Castle.
"My name is Violet. What can I do for you?" she asked, crossing her arms.
"I need to ask you a few questions about Hadley Marlow," Beckett said. "She was murdered sometime yesterday."
Violet's eyes instantly misted over, and her hand went to her heart. "Are you serious?"
"We don't lie, Violet," Castle said.
Violet looked sick. Her already pale skin tinged gray. "I..I don't believe this. I just saw her the day before yesterday."
"That was the last time you spoke to her?" Beckett asked.
"Well, yeah. We argued, again. I mean, it wasn't really a shock, we fought all the time, but we loved each other," she looked down at her hands, and clasped them together.
"We were informed that she started dating your ex-boyfriend, and then she was elected captain of the dance team above you and that's why you two were fighting."
Violet looked confused. "Yeah, she started dating Ryan, but it didn't matter. They were only together for a day. And we were elected co-captains. That's not why we were fighting."
Beckett glanced at Castle, who shrugged. "Then why were you fighting?"
Her face turned red. "Do I really have to tell you?"
Beckett glanced at Castle again, who nodded encouragingly. "Violet, we need to know everything. Every detail is important."
"Hadley broke up with Ryan because she was in love with someone else," Violet said quietly. Castle raised his eyebrows at Beckett, who seemed clueless.
"Okay, go on," Beckett said, narrowing her eyebrows.
"Come on, Beckett, are you going to make her say it?" Castle asked, looking comfortingly at Violet, who smiled the tiniest smile.
"I'm afraid I don't understand."
"Beckett, Hadley was in love with Violet," Castle explained. Violet's face turned so red it was almost purple. Beckett turned to Violet, and felt her own face heat up.
"Is that true?" she asked. Violet nodded.
"You know that one person that has always been there for you? The one that has stood by you no matter how many times you've told them to leave? The one that understands you and why you do what you do and instead of loving you in spite of those characteristics, loves you for them? Hadley understood me better than anyone else I had ever met, even more than my family, or my other friends. She understood everything, and she was an angel to me, no matter how many times I pushed her away. She was that person that I had fireworks with. When I kissed her, it was like, everything was right in the world," tears were rapidly coursing down Violet's face now. "I loved her. I would never do anything to hurt her."
"So why were you two fighting?" Beckett asked, letting her hair fall in her face to hide her red cheeks.
"She wanted to tell everyone about us, but I just wasn't ready. Do you know what those girls would do to us if they found out? What our parents would do? But Hadley said that love could conquer all."
"Maybe she was right," Castle said, giving Violet a small smile.
"She was a free spirit, Detective. She didn't care what people thought or said about her, and she excelled in everything. It earned her a lot of enemies, and very few friends. But I loved her. I would never do anything to hurt her. I would have died for her."
Beckett, even though she knew protocol would call to keep Violet as a suspect, had already crossed her off her list. She turned to Castle, and saw that he was already looking at her, a faint smile on his face. "What?" she asked.
Castle shook his head. "Nothing. I just liked her little speech, that's all."
"Thank you, Violet. We'll keep in touch, okay?" Beckett placed a hand on her shoulder and let her walk away.
A/N: If I missed any reviewers, it's because the review came through after I wrote the first Author's Note. Sorry if I missed you!
