Summary – Kate is at mandatory police training and Castle gets into trouble while researching a story. Can the 12th save him in time?
FYI – There are more characters is this story than I can select. And warning about how an autopsy is performed. And language.
Disclaimer – Don't own Castle, just writing for fun.
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This Is Castle We're Talking About – Chapter 2
Even though he wasn't necessarily a religious man, Perlmutter always performed a little ritual before he began an autopsy. He would stand at the head of the deceased and wish them God's speed in whichever direction they were going, if any at all.
Studying the man lying on the stainless steel table in front of him, he wasn't sure which direction that would be but he knew that whatever direction it was, Castle was sure to make a big splash – this was Castle they were talking about.
Perlmutter was a practical, by-the-book man who thought that Castle was a hindrance when it came to him doing his job efficiently and the ME hated inefficiency. He based his findings on facts, not fiction, and wasn't particularly fond of the crazy theories that Castle would dream up for why things happened. However, he couldn't begrudge that some of Castle's crazy theories turned out to be true.
Perlmutter allowed himself to think outside of the box for a minute. What would Castle say now if he were here? Ah, the man found a secret document of the Chinese mafia and they retaliated by putting too much thai pepper into the food, causing the man to gasp for air as the heat seared his mouth and throat and then choked when he inhaled the food. Or better yet, aliens had taken Castle away during the night and experimented on him, only returning him when he provided no more useful information.
The ME shook his head. No, this was much more simple, just a case of choking alone while eating. No Chinese mafia, no aliens – just a senseless death that would affect a number of people, most of them in the 12th precinct.
Perlmutter pulled on his gloves, turned on the video camera, and aimed it at the body on the table.
"Dr. Sydney Perlmutter, autopsy of Richard Egdar Castle, May 13, 2014, 1738 hours," Perlmutter stated for the record.
He quickly measured and weighed the body and stated that information and the gender before moving on to a quick summary of any identifying marks on the face and hands.
"Small scar above left eyebrow," Perlmutter stated. He carefully examined the face and hands. "Slight bruising on the right side of the jaw. No other noticeable scars or identifying marks on face and hands."
Next were the fingerprints even though Perlmutter knew they were already on file with the department due to the 3XK case.
Then came the meticulous inspection of the clothed body, but he didn't find anything out of the ordinary – just sweat pants and a t-shirt, no socks or shoes.
"Small amount of emesis on chin. Appears to be Chinese food." Perlmutter swabbed the inside of Castle's mouth. "No other food present in oral cavity." He would check the airway later during the autopsy for the food that caused the death.
Perlmutter took the camera off of the stand and slowly made a close-up recording of Castle as he walked from head to toe, being sure to capture every angle.
Next, he carefully cut off Castle's clothes, being sure to preserve all of them in an evidence bag.
"Signs of bladder and rectal incontinence resulting from the relaxation of muscles at the time of death," Perlmutter continued.
He then repeated the process of filming the body, making various remarks about the condition.
"Small, rectangular bruising on the right side of the ribs, possibly from a chair arm; also bruising on the right forearm, and small bruises along the spine. May have occurred from a fall before the victim died."
He focused on the lower part of the body. "Genitalia – no marks – adequate size," Perlmutter said as he moved things around for inspection. He then covered Castle with the modesty towel they used for all victims before leaning over and whispering something in his ear.
As he stood back up, Perlmutter frowned. At this point, there should be signs of livor mortis and rigor mortis setting in since it had been almost six hours since the call came. But Castle didn't present that – he just looked incredibly cold.
Perlmutter pulled out the small flashlight he carried in the pocket of his protective lab coat and gently pried one of Castle's eyelids open, flicking the light back and forth, watching for a pupillary reaction.
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The bright light hurt his eyes and Castle was sure that someone had stuffed him back in the freezer that he and Beckett had almost died in. This time though he was naked, with nothing to protect his flesh from the frosty metal that burned on contact or the freezing air that made him shiver.
But Kate wasn't there – where was she? Out shopping for her bridal gown? But no, his mom had gushed last week about how the 4 of them had already found the perfect dresses for the wedding and what a beautiful bride Kate was going to make.
Hell no, Castle thought as the light became brighter – he had fought too hard to get to where they were now and he wasn't giving up no matter what. But his body ignored his commands to move, to do something other than lay like a cold clump of clay, leading to a mounting tension that just brought tears of frustration to his eyes.
And that simple reaction is what saved his life.
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Perlmutter shook his head as he pocketed the flashlight – he shouldn't have expected any response – and then paused, moving closer to look at the thin trail of liquid coming out of the corner of Castle's left eye. Bodies could leak fluid after death, but this looked more like real tears, not the expected mixture of fat and mucus. But dead people didn't cry – so was Castle really dead?
He quickly wheeled over the state-of-the-art EKG that Castle had purchased for the department after what had nearly happened to Kyle Jennings in the autopsy room. Castle had joked at the time that if he ever wound up here on one of these tables, he wanted them to make sure he was really dead before they cut him open. Needless to say, Beckett was pissed at that comment, but didn't stay mad at the writer for long.
Perlmutter attached the leads and turned on the machine, watching the lines. He then turned the machine up to its most sensitive setting and held his breath. A minute passed and then another – wait – there, thought Perlmutter, looking at the slight blips in the lines. Yes, there was a heartbeat – slow and faint – not enough to be detected manually or by a stethoscope in a noisy room – but there definitely was a heartbeat. Hmmm, Castle was a zombie? he thought as the unwarranted thought crossed his mind.
Perlmutter ran to the phone and called for an ambulance.
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It was late and CIA Agent Martin Danberg was just putting files away when a lady in the blue skirt and white blouse walked into his office. "Sir, you wanted to be notified when we had a hit on ER4-SER." She handed him a file. "A Richard Castle in New York City was taken to the hospital this evening after he was presumed dead; traces of it showed up in his blood tests."
Danberg looked up at his assistant. "And why does that not surprise me?" He flipped open the file and stared at the picture for a moment. "Call the director and tell him we have a Tango Alpha Black – a contain and decontaminate. And, Candace, cancel all my meetings for the week. This could take a while."
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