A flurry of activity was going on in the 12th after Detective Beckett briefed her team; she wanted everything from financial reports to an every minute account of Jenkins whereabouts from two weeks out up until his death. While Ryan focused on the video streamed footage of the area around the warehouse, Esposito focused on the financials of a credit card that was in the wallet. The one thing that perplexed Beckett was the finding of that wallet, and if they were "meant" to find that wallet. Had someone truly wanted to kill Jenkins and then have her precinct find this? Why now? She looked at the empty coffee cup, man she really wanted a cup of coffee right now, but Castle wasn't here, the proof being the empty cup itself. She looked a minute at her cup, Castle always kept her cup filled, and not just filled but always demonstrated his prowess at the ability to draw stuff in the foam on top, much to the boys complaint. They always carried on about how they never rated getting coffee delivered to their desk, or drawings in their foam. Oh, Castle, she thought, why are you always willing to lunge straight into something that could have severe repercussions down the line, but that is what she loved about him most, his determination even when it meant not giving up on her or anything in his way.
She got up and slowly made her way to the machine, stopping to check in to see if Ryan or Espo wanted a cup as well, then she entered the break room ready to face that Castle brought much more than coffee, his presence was missed while solving this case. She thought she might call him and tell him about Jenkins, but she thought it might be better to not tell him rather than risk him coming down to the station and causing a scene, which at this time Beckett didn't want or need.
As she walked out of the break room, with no pretty crème filled picture on her Latte, Ryan got her attention,
"Beckett, I think I got something!" Ryan bellowed
"What is it Ryan?" Beckett inquired, walking over to his desk; she set down his coffee and listened,
"Well, I scoured the tape from the area and not much popped up as most of the cameras were disabled but one camera which was a block away, they missed,"
Or wanted us to think they missed, Beckett thought
"It shows a white box van with a license plate from New Jersey, I'm having Turner run it now, so we should be able to locate the vehicle that dropped Jenkins off at the warehouse."
"Did you look to see if there is indication of who the driver is?" Beckett asked
"The pixels were not in our favor but the funny thing is that they seemed to slow up long enough for the camera to catch the plate and then sped up, very unusual, do you think they may have "wanted" us to know they were there, or involved?" Kevin's look of concern touched Kate, ever since the involvement of Ryan and Javier in the Tyson case they were more cognoscente of people wanting to be found, wanting to be seen, having an ulterior motive for what they did, but Beckett didn't like this, didn't want it voiced because of what it might mean. But how? How could it have been connected to Castle's disappearance, it just didn't jive.
"Okay, let's not go down that trail because we really can't go by conjecture, run it again and again, see if you can't get more information, and please don't alert the rest because I don't want to go down that path unless I have to," Beckett requested,
"Sure thing Beckett"
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Later in the afternoon, when the sun was hanging low in the sky, Captain Gates called Kate into her office and shut the door behind her,
"Detective Beckett, I have yet to address a certain issue, with Castle,"
"Before you begin Sir, let me just state that I have no doubt that you had no choice in that matter and you really don't have to explain,"
"Kate, as a boss and a friend, I hope, I just want to say that if there was any way, you know,"
"I know Sir, yes, I do consider you a friend as well, and I really feel that although you don't share a strong liking for Castle, you do admit that he is a very valuable asset to the department and" Kate had to convince the Captain not to try to bring him back to the precinct,
"Yes, I'm so glad you understand, so glad we had this talk." Gates let out a big sigh, feeling this was easier than she thought, she was in for a fight or at least some negative air between the two of them, and so out of relief she smile as she dismissed her.
Beckett left the Captain's office overwhelmed with how that turned out. While on the one hand the Captain was very strict about matters of the precinct, she did care, and knew that she would expect her to be mad about it, so when Becket let out a little smile, it was Esposito who noticed,
"So, you and the Captain on good terms again? No fighting for our man Castle?" He smiled,
Kate's demeanor instantly changed, "Back to work, no need to bring Castle back until we know what we are dealing with here, understand?"
"Like totally," Esposito countered, "But how long will Castle wait, and how are you going to dodge talking to him about this when you are married to him?"
How indeed, Kate thought, this was going to be a very sticky situation.
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Rick Castle was not a stupid man and when he set his mind to doing something it usually went his way, that is why when the application for a Private Investigator's license needed the specific information and accreditation on his end, he could definitely provide it. One online course and the recommendation from Kate, back ground check, and he would be free and clear, of course she would do it, why not?
"I can't believe you would want to be a Private Investigator, you do know they don't make very much money and you have to actually solve the case or provide information to get paid, and" Kate was not happy, oh she knew that he couldn't be serious about this, give up writing to be PI and work all the different hours and stake outs, sure she knew he could but what did that mean for them, this really blind-sided her, his ambitions were never centered around her job or being in some form of police capacity but as an author, had he really strayed that far from his desire to write for others and the joy he got from that,
"I can't believe you are saying this, I thought you would be happy, the opportunity to work along with you again, maybe not in the same way we did before, and I could still write the books, my Derek Storm novels are taking off, oh and I could still roll out new Nikki Heat books when we get chances to work," what was he saying, he knew it would be a little difficult to juggle both, together, "ohhhh, I get it now, you don't think I can do this without you, you think that this is something that is just a whim, a fancy," he really couldn't believe it, she wasn't in support of this, she gave him all of these reasons but not once was she giving him credit, the credit for helping her with all of those cases he had at the precinct, what was really going here?
"Rick, it's not that I don't believe that you can do it, it's just," Kate was losing her grip, how did she tell him without telling him that they had just found the man that had met with him in Montreal, that something was not right about this case, that she was scared to death that she would lose him, just like, Royce,
"Kate, what is it?" Rick could definitely tell that she was going to lose control, this was something more than just him getting his PI license this was a fear, a fear that goes back to something she hadn't come to grips with, "It's Royce, isn't it?"
And with that Kate stood stock still, she lowered her head and began a soft cry, and then she looked up she softly said, "Yes, Rick, Royce worked himself into a situation he couldn't get out of, that got him killed, when we build theory and solve cases you are right by my side, you won't be by my side all the time as a PI and," She started to really cry now and Castle moved over to her, wrapping his strong arms around her and caressing her hair,
"It's okay Kate, I know, it must be hard knowing how dangerous it can be but I will be very careful and if I get into a situation that I cannot handle myself, well, I guess I can call my back-up, right?"
She broke away to look up at him, how did she fall so hopelessly in love with this man before her, yes, she knew he could handle himself, that he would be careful, all of her years with him had one up side, it taught him the right and wrong ways to go about getting information, and he was even getting much better than her with a gun, he wasn't a stupid man, child like sometimes but never stupid, she kissed him long and slow, savoring everything about him, loving him,
"Okay, Richard Castle, as your wife I will support you, and as your partner, I will back you up"
He smiled one of the biggest smiles she had ever seen other than their wedding day and she smiled back, it was hopeless, and he was so happy, besides it will take time for the online course and the license, hopefully.
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"It took you how long to wait for this license?" Martha looked astonished, holding the license in her hand,
"Only two weeks, mother, because when I want to do something I put my whole heart into it" Castle responded,
"And your check book as well," Alexis chimed in while believing in her dad having the ability to do this, she also wondered why it took so short of a time,
"Now, now, sweetheart, I only wrote one check and that was to the licensing bureau, my credit card sufficed for the rest," He quipped back,
"But I thought you needed a full background check, and," Kate stood astounded as her new found family crowded around the counter over their late night snack of ice cream,
"Well, that was the hardest hurdle to solve, but you know how fast my lawyer can process things, um like your divorce? Well he was able to take the combined records and background checks I had from my CIA shadowing and sort of "speed" them along" Castle spoke with an air of accomplishment in his voice and although Kate was happy to see him happy she was so hoping that this would take so much longer, with no new leads in the case she was at a standstill over the death of Jenkins.
"Well, congratulations Darling, you are now a what is it they call them "gum shoe", Martha retorted,
"Thank you mother, and Kate I thought you were on board with this?" Castle looked at Kate with his biggest puppy dog eyes,
"Oh no, I know this look and it signals our good bye, come on along gram, we need to exit stage left," Alexis, who was very wise for her years, knew that this signaled a good argument between Kate and her dad and it was best to make a very quick exit. As she got up from her stool she took Martha's left arm and pulled her towards the stairs,
"Oh yes, well very good Richard, I am very shocked and proud of you! Good night dears," As Martha and Alexis walked up the stairs Kate picked up their dishes and walked them over to the sink, she opened the dishwasher and rinsed them to deposit inside,
"You are on board with this aren't you Kate," Castle asked again, watching her every move, he could see she was upset but didn't quite understand why she would be, he thought this was settled,
"I'm not upset, just stunned that it took you two weeks, when it took forever for me to complete rounds of training and course work to become a police officer and I don't know, I guess it just hasn't soaked in yet," Kate wiped her hands on the dishtowel and started the dishwasher, she rounded the counter and gave him a quick smile, she knew that she needed to not press this or he would surely ask more questions about her concern, she couldn't let on that there was a real fear of him finding out about the one person who held the key to his two months of off the grid activity and that person was dead, so she did what many great wives have done throughout the ages, she changed the subject, "Come on Private Investigator Castle, let's investigate the bedroom."
With that last comment Richard Castle took the whole thing hook, line, and sinker, because after all, to him if his wife was pleased, he was please.
"Ohhhh, why Detective Beckett, can I get my magnifying glass, I might need to investigate you further," And with that the lights were out in the case of Beckett vs. Castle.