I hope you guys liked the last chapter. I decided to put bigger spaces and stuff to make it easier to read, too. This chapter is where it stars getting a bit slash-y. Just barely, though.
"Hey, bro, are you alright?" Esposito questioned, playfully poking his partner's shoulder. In truth, he himself wasn't feeling too well. Anger and frustration boiled beneath his surface of calm. His grip on the wheel was unnecessarily tight.
"I don't know, man." Ryan sighed from the passenger seat, running a hand through his hair. Esposito's frustration was temporarily cut off by the abrupt though of 'Has he always been that cute when he does that?', but he quickly cleared his head of thoughts like that. He pulled into his regular parking spot, the two stepping from the vehicle and towards the precinct. When they walked up to their desks, they noticed that Beckett had already set up a board and was furiously scribbling down facts and evidence that could help. The before-death picture of the two men was clipped up. It was a single one with John and Danny standing next to each other, looking as happy as ever. Ryan noticed there was an unopened can of Sprite on Beckett's desk as well, probably from Castle breaking the jinx rule. Everybody knew how much cases like these affected the entire team, and not even Castle was spinning off wild theories like usual.
"So, Beckett, do you have any idea where to start?" Esposito asked. Beckett straightened, exhaling slowly.
"This isn't exactly a normal case. We know motive, we just don't know who. So, let's take a look through the living family tree that wasn't there and see if any of them weren't there and give them a call, okay?" she ordered. Ryan and Esposito nodded, walking out to retrieve files from the victim's family. After they were gone, Castle glanced back at Beckett. Her shoulders were slumped oh-so-slightly, and the corner of her mouth was downturned from the straight line to the point that it was barely noticeable. Of course, Castle was a writer, so he saw little details like that.
"Are you okay?" he asked. Beckett sighed and crossed her arms over her chest, staring at the mostly-bare board.
"They were so young and happy. It's a shame what happened." She muttered. Castle frowned.
"Ryan and Esposito seemed pretty pissed, too." He mused. Beckett knew the two men so well she didn't even turn her head from the murder board.
"They act all tough most of the time, but when it comes to cases like these, they're almost as emotional as you in protective father mode. Castle couldn't stop his slight smile at the stress on the word almost. That smile was a chain reaction to brighter thinking, which in turn began his insane theories.
"Maybe John was some sort of spy that decided to go clean and the CIA had to stop him from sharing any secrets, and decided to take out Danny just in case!" Beckett only shook her head and rolled her eyes, leaning back over to begin scribble on the whiteboard.
"And they made sure to do it in one of the most public way possible, with plenty of witnesses?"
Castle paused.
"Yeah, well, no one would suspect them, then." He countered. Beckett noticed he didn't mention the CIA after that. Castle spun off a few more theories containing aliens, time-traveling Nazis, and over-pressured wine bottles, but was cut short by Beckett's cell phone. The piercing sound was cut off as she pressed the 'answer' button and pressed it to her ear.
"Beckett."
Esposito's voice came in through the phone. "Yeah, we found someone through the records. Turns out, Danny has an uncle; Robert McCord."
"And?" Beckett urged for more information. Ryan's voice took over, and it was apparent she was on speaker.
"And he wasn't at the wedding, along with the fact he has two assault charges that happened in the same bar against two gay men." Beckett laughed a bit at the pride in her men's voice at themselves.
"Oh, and he lives four blocks away from the scene."
"Great. Bring him in."
Beckett sat down, her hands folded calmly. McCord watched her, obviously no idea why he was there. He probably thought he was there for ignoring a parking ticket or not paying for a pack of cigarettes, Castle thought smugly. Through the glass, Ryan and Esposito watched, frowning.
"Where were you in the afternoon hours of 2:30 and 3:00, Mr. McCord?" Beckett asked. The man paused, eyebrows furrowed.
"Why are you asking this?" he questioned. Guilty, Castle thought. The guilty ones always ask before answering. Beckett tapped her fingers against the back of her opposite hand.
"Answer the question, Mr. McCord." She ordered. The man seemed to get more and more uneasy by her tone.
"Just tell me why!" he protested. Beckett was never the patient type. All she could think about was John and Danny's family, the bloody, gory scene, and how they'll never get to spend the future together—
"Answer the question, or you'll be charged with withholding information vital to a murder!" she snapped loudly. McCord froze, mouth halfway open.
"Murder? Who was murdered?" he finally managed. His genuine shock and surprise made it obvious he had nothing to do with it, but Beckett still pressed.
"Your nephew, Daniel Son." She informed stiffly. McCord gazed blankly at the table, mouth pressed into a thin line.
"Danny? The-The one with his boyfriend?" he stammered. The hurt and confusion in his eyes suggested even further he was innocent. Castle spoke up from the sidelines.
"Not boyfriend anymore, Mr. McCord; husband. He and John were both killed at their wedding." He said grimly.
"That's awful." He murmured. Castle's tone was so grim, it surprised no one when he spoke McCord's first name.
"What, Robert? I thought you weren't exactly supportive of people like him." He said, eyes hardening. McCord raised his hands defensively.
"Listen, I was drunk both times, okay? I just dislike gays, alright? And, for the record, I love… loved my nephew. Do you have any leads?" he asked. Beckett and Castle glanced at each other. Behind the glass, Ryan and Esposito did the same.
"You."
Eventually, McCord gave them his alibi (that happened to come with a receipt that put him halfway across town at the time of death) and he was free to go. As he walked back through the doors, the four drifted back to the murder board. Beckett uncapped the blue pen and crossed out McCord's name, letting out a breath.
"You know, this is the first time I've never been sure what to think of somebody." Castle mused suddenly. He was met with the three casting confused looks his way, looks that said, What the hell are you talking about now?
"I've always been able to tell myself, 'Hey, I like this guy,' or 'God, he's a real jerk.' With him, I sort of hate him for being a bit of a homophobic bastard, but I still have a bit of respect for him for admitting he loved his gay nephew on tape. I'm not sure what to think." Castle explained. Obviously, no one was in the mood for talking, because Ryan and Esposito leaned farther back into their chairs and Beckett simply gazed at the board.
"Alright, guys, how about we go home for the night and see what we can find in the morning." Beckett suggested, glancing at the clock. It read 11:25 pm. Time had seemed to escape all of them. The boys didn't need to be told twice, and got up from their desks and left, leaving only Beckett and Castle.