Chapter 2

May 18th, 2013

After Kate saw her fellow detectives out, she sighed.

Through all the panic, all the flurry of untangling an intricate weave of decades of lies, all the emotional drain of agonizing waits and tending to the injured, Kate had not set aside time to talk to the one woman who needed answers as much as she did. Evelyn Montgomery deserved to know not only her husband's sins but also his dedication to righting them, and the whole of his honorable sacrifice. Such a conversation demanded more than a few minutes of harried conversation. She needed dedicated, uninterrupted time, and she had needed to wait until she had a better handle on how things were going to proceed.

Evelyn had sent Castle a card in the hospital while she was still naïve as to her husband's involvement in the muddled affair that had landed him there. More than relaying heartfelt sentiments for Castle's well being, the card served to stir bittersweet memories in Kate of her old skipper, and amplified the weight felt by one who would bear a heavy blow to a very sweet innocent party.

With these thoughts she returned to the lounge where Castle sat alone.

"The party must be over?"

As Castle activated Robochair he answered, "Yeah, I never knew that an hour of cards could be so exhausting."

Kate broke her own rule and helped him stand the rest of the way then kept hold of his elbow as they walked. "It's going to take time, Castle."

"Seems like a running theme. I just get tired of waiting, I want to be useful again."

She replied in a low voice, "Don't worry, Castle, I'll find a use for you."

She hugged his arm as he looked at her with a resigned expression.

"I can't even tell you how miserable I am that I can't act on that double entendre."

"I have no doubt that once you're better you'll make up for lost time."

"You know me so well." And he knew her well enough to know something was weighing on her. "Care to share with the rest of the class?"

Kate had felt like her relationship with her husband since the incident had been a balancing act. At first she had been focused on putting Castle's fears about his father's health to rest. Then he had to start navigating a new relationship with his father and even though that was going well, she hesitated to press her worries on him. But, as Castle's strength returned, she knew he was trying to reclaim his place as a steady support in her life. She didn't want to add her emotional exhaustion to his, but it wasn't fair to keep it from him, either.

They walked in silence as she formulated an answer. When they got back to his room she helped him get situated then he tugged her to recline in the bed with him. She tucked herself under his right arm and after a few breaths of silence he prompted,

"Kate, as we've established, I have very few uses right now, but I'm still your husband and I want to feel like I can do something for you, even if the extent of my ability is to lay like a slug and listen."

Kate remembered the feeling of helplessness when others were out fighting a battle that had branded her physically. She ran her fingers along his side and she understood. She wanted him to rest, to release him from worry, but she had to give him this. She would have demanded nothing less in his place.

She confessed. "Evelyn Montgomery." He held her against his side and kissed her hair.

'Hmmmm. I've been thinking about her and the kids, too."

"How do I even begin? This is going to destroy them, Castle."

His fingers massaged her arm as he spoke, "Montgomery was a great man, but he made grave mistakes. He loved his family and sacrificed himself for them. It will be hard, but they need to know the truth."

Kate thought back to the web of consequences that she and Castle had stumbled upon in Blakely's apartment during the case they worked with Sofia Turner. She thought of all the destruction that could spring from one linchpin event and wondered what threads Montgomery's kids would weave from the aftershocks of a single shot decades ago. The Dragon, Thomas West, had started spinning this crippling web of doom, but Montgomery grafted his family into it with that one split second error.

Since her captain's funeral, the fear of one of Montgomery's daughters showing up at Kate's door with a fiery determination to avenge her father's death haunted her. Before West was caught Kate knew she would have done everything to keep Montgomery's children away from the case, to keep them safe. It made her sick to think that she would deny another daughter the truth when she had fought so hard to find it for herself, but she came to understand why Montgomery kept her away as long as he had. He'd seen the web. He understood the consequences.

Now, though, things were different. She didn't have the luxury of waiting for the day when she'd get a knock on her door. The investigation was looming and it forced her hand.

"It would mean a lot to Evelyn if it came from you."

She breathed in deeply then sighed, "I'll go tomorrow."

"I want to go with you."

"That's sweet, Castle but no field trips 'til you're cleared."

"Can you wait a few more days?"

"Castle, you were worn out by a friendly card game. I want you to go with me, but you will not be up for that kind of exertion, not anytime soon. IA is already poking around. I would never forgive myself if they got to her first."

"Can the guys go with you?"

She played with his fingers, wishing she could twist the ring on the other hand, and replied, "No, Castle, it's you or I'm going solo. You know I love 'our kids,' but I don't want to emotionally scar them."

"Too late, Mrs. Castle. I think Kevin will be okay, but Javier's fate is still a bit iffy." She almost laughed.

More seriously Castle asked, "You'll come over afterwards?"

"Of course." She smiled up at him. "I've been practically living here with you so I'm not sure I could avoid you if I tried."

He squeezed his fingers around hers. "Thanks for that. I know our bed at home is more comfortable."

"Castle, it's not the bed I'm in love with."

She leaned up and pressed a kiss to his lips. He kneaded his fingers through her hair keeping her in place. Being limited with affections seemed to make every touch, every kiss, feel so much deeper; relay so much more. He had never spent so much time evaluating the power of a kiss before he was so limited, but he infused all the ways he wished he could be there for her into what he thought of as a 'romantic mind meld.'

When their lips parted, Kate rested her forehead against his, massaged his hair with both her hands and panted, "Yeah, definitely not the bed."

May 19th, 2013

Evelyn Montgomery opened the door and immediately pulled her into a hug. Kate had not seen her since the funeral and the physical contact was overwhelming. They hadn't even started talking and she had to fight to stay in control.

Evelyn released her but kept hold of one of her hands. "How are you, Sweetie? How's Rick?"

"We're okay. Rick's getting better; thankfully it was just bone and muscle damage."

"And you – you're healed?"

Kate nodded, realizing that this meeting was just as difficult for Evelyn.

"Back to one-hundred percent."

Evelyn's eyes started watering, "Oh, Honey, I'm so sorry I didn't visit you in the hospital. It was all too much but I should have –"

Kate cut her apology short, "Evelyn, your husband died while protecting me, then at his funeral you and the kids had to watch me fall. I understood. There is no need to apologize."

"Still, I should have been to see you sometime since."

"That goes both ways." Kate pulled Evelyn into another hug and said, "Let's just call it even."

Evelyn said, "Okay, only because I know you're as stubborn as Roy was."

Kate gave a wan smile at what she considered to be a compliment.

Evelyn showed Kate to the living room. When they were seated Evelyn began. "I hate to ask, Kate, I know Rick's still recovering and you might not know, but I've had a few phone calls and I'm not sure what's going on, but I've been asked if Roy's death had something to do with the allegations against Senator West. At first I thought it was nonsense, but now I just don't know what to think."

Kate hesitated and placed a hand on Evelyn's knee, "There is more to tell, and you deserve to hear it from me."

"Oh, Lord, please tell me he wasn't mixed up in all this." Kate thought that it had been meant as a prayer and hated that she had no comfort to offer.

"You have to know that your husband was a good man. He was the best captain in the NYPD, and what I felt for him went beyond respect to loyalty. I saw him as a father figure. He did more than lead those of us under his command; he cared about us, watched out for us. You know that he died protecting me, but there was more to it. He didn't go there as my back-up. He went knowing full well that he would not walk away."

Evelyn just whispered 'No" repeatedly under her breath as Kate continued.

"He made that choice because West had something over him. Plus, your husband had a file that could incriminate him, and West knew it so he threatened to kill not only me, but you and the kids, too. If he had done what West had wanted, West would have gone on hurting people and there was no guarantee that he would have left you alone. He would always come back to demand more of him. The only way to keep you safe was to eliminate either West or himself."

Kate paused to let what she had said sink in.

Evelyn was covering her mouth with her shaking hand. Finally she asked weakly, "What did he have on Roy?"

"He made a poor choice as a rookie but he spent the rest of his career making up for it. He was a superior cop, a model detective and he made the 12th homicide division the best in the NYPD. The good he did outweighs the bad. He was a great man. Even knowing what I know, I have the highest respect for him. I . . . I had the chance in those last few minutes of his life to tell him that I forgave him. I hope that gave him peace."

Kate had to stop as the memories started flooding back to her; looking into her captain's eyes when Castle dragged her from the hangar, then sobbing over his lifeless body just moments later pleading for a different outcome. Evelyn handed her a tissue box and Kate came back to the moment and took one, offering an apologetic smile for getting overly sentimental.

"Honey, I hate to ask, but I need to know what he did. What started all this?"

"When he was a rookie a few older cops who he respected started kidnapping members of mob families. They justified it to Roy as a fine for all the pain they were inflicting, and any money funneled away from them was less spent on drugs or weapons or any other vice. He was just out of the academy and they preyed on that. West found out, demanded a cut and started running the operation. It went on until one kidnapping went wrong and an undercover Federal Agent was accidentally shot and died."

"Did Roy . . . Tell me he wasn't the one who pulled the trigger."

Kate decided to spare Evelyn this one thing. "We don't have evidence of which one it was, but it wouldn't have mattered to Montgomery. The guilt that an innocent man died and another innocent man was in prison for the murder, ate at him."

"Ragland and McAllister. It was them, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

"I knew something had happened. He worshipped those two when he joined the force but then he just stopped talking about them and not too long after he was transferred to a different team." She shrugged, "I just assumed it was a regular shift of position, but he never did mention those two again. I saw in the news both of them died in the past few years, and not peacefully."

"No. It was all connected."

She gathered herself and gave Kate a penetrating look. "Honey, I know why he died protecting us, but why was he protecting you? You said you forgave him. What for?"

Kate took in a deep breath, slowly blinked then said, "My mother tried to build a case to exonerate the man who was charged for the murder of the Federal Agent. Senator West had her killed."

"Oh, Lord. Oh, Lord. You knew about this? He knew what happened and didn't come forward?" She was near to hyperventilating and pleaded through her tears, "The sniper at his funeral – that wasn't random, was it?"

Kate looked down and quietly said, "No."

Evelyn hunched herself into her lap as she sobbed into her hands, isolating herself as she took it all in. Kate didn't know what to do, there was no real comfort to offer. The truth was painful and terrible and this poor woman would be feeling it the rest of her life. Finally Kate rested a hand on the older woman's back and rubbed as she added.

"Captain Montgomery . . . he protected me for years while I investigated, knowing that one day I'd find out what happened. He tried to get me to back down. He knew what West was capable of, and he was worried about my safety, but he never once tried to defend his actions once I knew. He owned up to it. He did what he could to make it right. He did everything he could; he died trying to make it right. He died a hero."

Evelyn still quietly sobbed, and Kate understood. It was quite some time before the wails turned to sniffs and she quieted down. Eventually she raised her head and dried her puffy eyes.

"Kate Beckett," she smiled at the detective who she'd seen mature from a rookie to the woman who sat with her, "I suppose it's Kate Castle now?"

"Outside the precinct."

"I'm sorry I didn't go to the wedding. I didn't feel right after not seeing you-"

Kate shook her head, "It's okay."

"I just was going to say that you, Kate Castle, have a big heart. After what he did . . . what you went through . . . I know that hearing you forgive him must have meant so much to Roy, and for that I thank you."

"Evelyn, it was West who had my mother killed, not your husband. It was West who ordered a hit on me. That is where the guilt lies. His sniper shot Castle and a CIA agent last week. Now he'll pay. Finally, he'll pay for what he did to your family, to my family and for all the pain he's caused probably hundreds of other people."

Kate could tell that Evelyn was the wife of a cop. Despite the emotional overload she calmed herself, poised to accept her new reality.

"I assume there will be consequences."

"We'll keep him out of it as much as we can and his service record will help."

"The press; do they know."

"They haven't put together West's connection with Montgomery's death yet. It still looks like he died only in the line of duty by Lockwood, one of West's men, without a personal connection. But West will be trying to take people down with him. IA is digging and the Feds are involved. They don't have evidence, and they won't have any corroborating witness statements. It's conjecture at this point."

"If he's found guilty, what will that mean for me and the kids?"

"I honestly don't know. The only people who know exactly what happened are Detectives Ryan and Esposito, Castle and me and we'll fight to protect his reputation and shield you and the kids. Because Castle and I were victims in this, our word should hold weight."

"But what about the family of the man who was shot all those years ago?"

"Armond had no kids, and had just divorced his wife. His ex-wife has been remarried for 15 years with a family. I will appeal to her personally if it comes to that, but we're hoping it won't."

"And the man that was in prison, Pulgatti, was it? What of his family?"

"He didn't have any personal visitors his entire time in prison."

She nodded, feeling guilty that she was thankful for both men's lonely existence.

She shook her head again, pressed a hand to her temple, "What do I tell the kids?"

"Whatever measure of the truth you think they can handle. Their dad died a hero protecting a lot of people from a very evil man. When they start asking more questions or if the press starts releasing more, you'll know how much to tell them. If you ever need anything, if you want to talk about it, or if they do, our door is always open. As far as Rick and I are concerned, you're family."

She reached over and placed her hand over Evelyn's.

"You too, Honey, you too."