A/N: I am honestly not sure about this one. It's just case details, so it's a short chapter. I promise it'll get better and more interesting after this, so just bear with me. I am now setting my update days on either Fridays or Saturdays, but if I don't update on those days, I'll try to update on the following Wednesday. School is pretty hectic right now, so please forgive me if I don't update frequently. I'll do my best because I am really excited to get to the fun part. Anyway, enjoy, and thanks again for the lovely reviews and for giving this story a chance!
Chapter 2
The duo walked towards the apartment building in comfortable silence, sipping their warm coffees to fight off the chill of the evening air. They briefly engaged in small talk about the usual family and work – namely, his daughter and latest book. A small smile grazed Beckett's face, partially due to the good coffee and company.
They finally reached the crime scene, and Beckett immediately entered into detective mode. Castle briefly noticed the unique front door of apartment number 205, with black cursive phrases written on a yellow background, before following Beckett inside.
The apartment itself was tastefully decorated in dark colors and well kept. Not many personal items like photographs were present, suggesting whoever owned the apartment kept to themselves and probably lived alone.
Large windows in the living room offered a beautiful view of the city.
The victim was by the coffee table in said living room. Her honey curls, paired with striking blue eyes, gave her an almost angelic aura.
"What've we got, Lanie?" Beckett asked, already doing her own scan of the apartment.
"Kimberly Logan, 19. Time of death is somewhere between 3 and 5 PM today. Cause of death seems to be asphyxiation," Lanie replied, looking up from her clipboard.
"Any idea what caused the asphyxiation?" Beckett asked.
"There're no abrasions around the neck and no puncture wounds, so I'll have to get her back to the lab to give you a more thorough COD."
"Thanks, Lanie," Beckett turned just as Esposito and Ryan walked up.
"A neighbor named Miles Peterson, art student, found her around 6. He and Kimberly were friends, and he came to see if she was up for a movie after he got back from school. He said Kim typically kept to herself and didn't have many friends, but she did have a boyfriend named Henry Lance. Kim moved to the city a few months ago from Boston and didn't mention any family to Miles."
"Okay, Ryan, check the surveillance cameras to see if anyone went into the apartment around our time of death window. Esposito, see if any of the neighbors remembers seeing anyone visit Kimberly or witness her arguing with someone. Castle and I will talk to Lance. Maybe he knew of any problems Kim was having that could've gotten her killed."
"You got it, Boss," they both said before turning to their tasks.
Beckett was about to say something to Castle when she noticed he wasn't beside her. She scanned the room and found him in the office.
"What are you doing?" she asked after watching him look through the room for a moment. She startled him a little, but he quickly recovered.
"The painting is slightly off-centered," he said, pointing to the one he was talking about.
"And?"
"And why would a woman, whose apartment is immaculate, have a painting not perfectly-aligned with the others?" he pointed out.
She quirked an eyebrow.
"Maybe she's hiding something?" he suggested, carefully moving the painting with his glove-cladded hands.
At first, he noticed nothing out of the ordinary and was about to put the painting back dejectedly when he noticed a slight difference in the wall. He carefully carved the outline out with a letter opener on the desk to reveal a safe.
"Not bad. Now, we just need to figure out the combination. Maybe Lance knows. CSU can take it from here until we find out more about the safe. For now, let's head back to the precinct," Beckett said.
"Right," Castle replied, carefully setting down the painting and taking his coffee mug. The duo soon headed back to the precinct in Beckett's car with Castle annoying her by constantly changing the radio station.
Just another normal day, another ordinary case…
