Genre: Angst, Crime, Drama, Romance
Rating: M for language, violence and sexual situations
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: Forgot to mention in my first chapter that I'm not really familiar how four year olds talk. I have cousins that age but aren't around them enough for me to be able to remember how they talk, so if I'm making a mistake there, that's the explanation as to why.
A/N #2: With this chapter, I'm not a medical doctor, I only know a very little amount of facts, so if there are mistakes concerning that I do apologize. Another thing, I'm not an expert at digitalis either.
A/N #3: I really don't think Beckett's apartment is a two bedroom one; I can assume that in NYC one would have a fairly high rent; however, for my story I needed to take a little artistic license with that, just imagine it's a very small bedroom.
A/N #4: And I wanted to say thank you to Reyhane 41319 and caskettmania for your reviews and that you're letting me know what you like about this story, really great to hear and I grateful!
A/N #5: Please don't flame this story, 'cause I know it's not really the best. But I hope that readers might leave a positive review. Thank you in advance if you do!
Dropping All Around You
"What have you got for us Lanie?" Beckett asked as she and Castle walked into the morgue.
"You got here in time," Lanie said in reply as she looked up from the file in her hands. "I was able to do a quick exam with our vic; she didn't have much wrong with her. Except for this," she said, motioning to the gash on the arm.
"So she bled to death?" Beckett asked.
"Actually she did not," Lanie said. "I suspected as much, as nothing major was cut. It was deep, but not deep enough to cut the artery completely; as I had initially thought."
"Did the killer know what he was doing?" Castle asked. "Or he just couldn't get a better cut."
"Well, I think he knew what he was doing actually," Lanie said. "Because I noticed that her nose was slightly swollen and I x-rayed it, found it broken. Besides the cut, that was it."
"So the killer disarmed her by punching her; likely the other two attackers distracting her; got rid of the bat and then cut her," Beckett said. "But if the cut wasn't fatal and all she has by the way of injuries is a broken nose, what exactly killed her?"
"That's why I'm glad you got here when you did," Lanie said, walking to the counter she'd set the file on. "I just got the preliminary toxicology report. That green substance? Digitalis."
"Foxglove?" Castle asked in surprise. When the two women looked at him in surprise, he said quickly, "It's from the plant foxglove, it has medicinal qualities, but too high a dose is deadly." Beckett and Lanie still were still looking at him, so he said, "It's in an episode of The X-Files, Alexis' favorite."
"He's right," Lanie said, looking at Beckett. "In small doses it's an herbal medication for the heart, but large doses, it will kill."
"And this is what the green substance is on her arm?" Beckett asked.
"Yes, it's likely that the killer soaked the knife that he used in some kind of resin to make it sticky, and then powered it with the digitalis. A concentrated enough dose to kill her," Lanie said. "And that's all I have with our vic. No other trauma but the gash and her broken nose. They were quick and pretty efficient too."
"So they've done this before?" Beckett asked, seeing it was a possible lead. When Lanie nodded the said, "Thank you, we need to get back to the Precinct and see if there've been any other murders using digitalis."
"How's the little girl?" Lanie asked before Castle and Beckett could turn to leave.
"She's with social services," Beckett said quickly before turning around and heading for the doors.
"She's a little stressed, the girl, Julia, is still in danger from the killer and attackers," Castle explained quickly so the pathologist wouldn't be angry at her friend's reaction. He was relieved when Lanie gave a quick nod of her head and then he headed out after his partner.
"I'm guessing you explained to her why I answered like that?" Beckett said, slowing down enough for him to catch up to her once she had heard his footsteps.
"The easier version of why," Castle said simply. "But not the one that explains your reason for being a little more… angrier than normal."
"You know my mother's story," Beckett said, clenching her hands into fists.
"That's not the only connection though," Castle said once they were in the parking garage for the building.
"And what other connection could there between me and Julia?" Beckett asked, stopping at the car, turning to Castle.
"For some reason, something inside you made the connection to Julia as a, as a daughter basically," Castle explained, bracing himself for her reaction.
"We don't have time for this," Beckett said simply before she turned and went to the driver's side door. "We need to search the murder weapon and to see if there have been any other murders using that in the city."
Castle nodded, though Beckett was already inside the car, and he went around to the passenger side, knowing it was way too soon to try and push her on the subject of the little girl. He hoped though that he'd at least gotten her to think about what she was going through emotionally before she completely shut herself off from him concerning Julia, watching her as she left the parking garage, staring resolutely out of the windshield.
"Digitalis?" Ryan asked as Beckett was writing the name down on the murder board underneath the picture of the victim.
"Yeah, the episode of The X-Files it was on had twin girls killing their dads with it and then the woman that created them with in-vitro fertilization. Causes seizures," Castle explained to him as Beckett remained staring at the board which by then had a picture of Julia next to a photo of her mother before her death.
"That would explain the blood pattern on our vic's face," Ryan said. "It was smeared all over her right cheek."
"Anything about family trying to fight our vic in court for custody of Julia?" Beckett asked, wondering what the woman had been thinking those last moments of her life, thinking of her daughter upstairs in the hidden room all alone.
"Nothing, actually, our vic is an orphan, I tried to dig into her family as much as I could, but no parents or even cousins, aunts or uncles," Ryan said, shaking his head as he looked over the paper he was holding. "And Julia's father is actually a man from the same orphanage that our vic grew up in, but according to the fertility clinic that she went to, he was only the donor. In vitro fertilization."
"And his family?" Castle asked. "Unless he's like the victim."
"He is," Ryan said. "Believe me, I've spent the last hour and a half trying to get as much as I could about them and their pasts, but it stops basically at them, that's all that Julia had and now…"
"So she has her father," Beckett said, thinking they had a suspect finally.
"No, I should have said first thing," Ryan said. "He passed away about six months after Julia's mother was pregnant with her, and I don't think he ever knew he was going to be a father. Not according to the few people I talked to that were old friends of his, and they were all pretty shocked that he'd had a child until they learned the circumstances exactly."
"So we're back to square one with the idea of the murder being about someone wanting custody of Julia," Beckett said in slight frustration. "Then we need to check our vic's background and see if there's anything in her past or her work that might point to why Julia led to her being killed. Espo?" she said as the detective walked up to them then.
"Found only two guys in the criminal system with scars that are next to the eye like our sketch, but both are in jail at this time so they definitely have alibis," Esposito answered.
Beckett looked back at the sketch hanging on the board and frowned deeply as she tried to think of what exactly they could do next.
"You know, maybe the killer hired-" Castle began, watching Beckett for a while before he started to talk.
"Detective Beckett," Gates said suddenly, making the four look over at her. "My office now."
Looking at her partners, Beckett quickly said, "Start looking into her past Ryan." She hurried down to Gates' office, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw Julia on the other side of the table next to the couch opposite Gates' desk. "What's wrong?" she asked, noticing then the social worker who had taken Julia from the Precinct earlier.
"I'm at a loss at what to do exactly Captain," the social worker said to Gates as she closed her office door. "It's why I asked you to bring the detective here. Two hours ago I took Julia to the offices where she was going to be under my custody until such time the threat to her is over. But I have never tried to care for a child who will do absolutely nothing and refuses to interact with me."
"She's shut down then," Gates said, glancing at Julia who was looking at Beckett. "She's in shock."
"I don't think so," the social worker said. "It's more a matter of trust, and the only person she's trusting is the one she's calling by name." She turned to Beckett, who was looking at Julia around the table, and said, "Kate."
Gates looked at Beckett and saw that she was glancing down at Julia and said to the social worker, "What exactly to you propose we do?"
"I spoke with my supervisors, and we've decided the best thing would be to give temporary custody to Detective Beckett, just while the child is under threat," the social worker replied.
"Detective Beckett is my lead investigator on this case and I can't just-" Gates began.
"Actually sir," Beckett interrupted. "I wouldn't mind taking custody for now. She does know the voices of our suspects."
"That's true, but would you still be able to effectively handle the investigation along with the care of a child?" Gates asked, seeming to be surprised by Beckett's first statement.
"I would, so far all we have to go on is the vic's background and that's being looked into by Detectives Ryan and Esposito," Beckett said.
"You're right that she is a valuable witness, and if you're the only one she trusts then for now, I'll agree to this," Gates said. "However," she quickly said as Beckett smiled slightly at Julia. "If you have any conflicts with your investigation, the child will go back to social services. Is that understood detective?"
"Clearly sir," Beckett nodded.
"I just need you to sign this paper stating you're taking custody of Julia detective," the social worker then cut in, setting a sheet of paper on Gates' desk. "And it's only temporary. Once she's no longer under threat, then we'll back custody of her."
Nodding absently, Beckett quickly signed and turned to Julia saying, "I'll get her something to eat Captain, and see where exactly we are on in the investigation after."
"And will you be taking this child through the Precinct? Letting her see those pictures?" Gates asked.
"No sir, I may need to have Castle watch her then," Beckett said. "I will make sure to continue my job."
"I leave all that up to you," Gates said.
Walking over to Julia, Beckett reached out her hand and smiled when the little girl smiled back at her and took her hand. She nodded to the social worker and then led her out of the office, standing at the entry to the main room, motioning to Castle with her hand when her partners were all looking at her. "I've got temporary custody of her," she said once he had reached her.
"Hey Julia," Castle said, smiling down at her, surprised when she merely hid her face behind Beckett's hand she was clutching, peeking around at him with one eye. "So you're off the case?" he whispered to Beckett.
"No, but she's not eating or responding to anyone," Beckett whispered, noticing that the other detectives and officers in the room were glancing over at the child. "And she keeps saying my name, so they want me to take care of her."
"And protect her," Castle said quickly. "I can't imagine anyone else more qualified." He turned and glanced at the whiteboard next to Beckett's desk and said, "The pictures are down, I told Esposito to get them off when you walked out of Gates' office. You better tell him and Ryan what you just told me."
Beckett nodded and then looked down at Julia and smiled saying, "Would you like to see my desk?"
"Kay," Julia whispered, glancing up at Castle for a moment. She followed Beckett down to her desk, hugging her Stitch doll to her tightly when she saw the people around them were watching them.
"Hi, so she's joining us?" Ryan asked once Beckett and Castle had joined them next to her desk.
"No," Beckett said, picking Julia up and setting her in her chair. "Want to look at this for a little sweetie?" she asked the child, handing her the figurine of an elephant she had on her desk. When Julia nodded, she handed it to her and while the little girl was touching the carved back she turned to her partners. She quickly explained to Ryan and Esposito what had occurred in Gates' office finishing with, "So I'm not sure if I'll be able to go out of the Precinct right now, not with her not trusting anyone."
"She trusts Castle," Esposito pointed out. "She wasn't trying to hide when he went over to you."
"We'll see if we get to that point," Beckett finally said. "I think the most important thing is you two trying to see what you can find out about our vic's background and past."
"And you and Castle?" Ryan asked.
"We need to get her something to eat," Castle said, looking at Beckett. "She's really pale."
"I know, I noticed it too," Beckett nodded. "You're welcome to join us if you find anything out."
"Great, we'll get right on it," Ryan said. "I'll check out her financial records."
"I'll call CSU and see if they found anything," Esposito said before he and Ryan went to their desks.
"Julia," Beckett said, going to her chair and kneeling down next to the child. "Are you hungry at all?" When the little girl nodded rapidly she smiled and said, "Then we can get you lunch, what would you like."
"Don't know," Julia shrugged, looking at Castle who was sitting at his chair behind Beckett.
"Do you like Chinese at all?" Beckett asked. When Julia nodded, hugging her doll to her tightly, she squeezed her hand and asked, "Then we'll order that, what do you like?"
"The orange sauce," Julia said. "And the greens."
"Orange sauce?" Beckett said in confusion. "You mean the sweet sauce?" Julia nodded and she then said, "And broccoli?" The little girl nodded again so she stood up and took out her cell phone. "I'll grab some extra for Ryan and Esposito," she said to Castle. "In the meantime, can you find Lanie's report we brought back? I want to take a look at the levels for the…" she trailed off, glancing at Julia.
"No, I know what you mean," Castle said quickly, getting up and looking through the papers on Beckett's desk before he found what he was looking for. As she went to the side of her desk as she called in the order, he glanced at Julia as she hopped down from the chair and went to the whiteboard. "Julia," he asked as the child stood as close to Beckett as she could, looking up at the whiteboard intently. "Can you read?"
Looking at Castle with wide eyes, it took Julia a moment before she slowly shook her head.
"Oh, what are you looking at?" Castle asked in relief.
"I know letters," Julia replied softly, burying her face into her doll as soon as she had spoken.
"That's pretty good," Castle said. "Do you know any written here?"
"I know d and a, and j too," Julia replied as Beckett hung up her phone.
"Any others?" Beckett asked, having half listened to the conversation as she'd been on the phone.
"Lots," Julia said, hurrying the few steps in between her and Beckett and wrapping her arms around her legs.
"Okay, we better take her to the other room," Beckett said to Castle, gently stroking the child's hair as she could feel her trembling a little. She led the way to the room in the back and set Julia on a chair before she sat down next to her. "Where did your crayons and paper go sweetie?" she asked.
"I don't know," Julia said, looking down at her doll and smoothing the tuft of hair on the top of its head.
"She had it in Gates' office," Beckett said. "I'll be right back."
Castle watched as she left, and then turned to Julia, seeing that the little girl was watching Beckett and looking like she was going to run after her to catch up with her. He glanced over at his girlfriend and knew that their conversation concerning Julia was likely going to be a long time in coming. While she was taking care of Julia and working on the case, she would be even more reluctant to share her emotions. He only hoped that once the time Beckett's custody of Julia finished, there wouldn't be any serious emotional problems for either Beckett or Julia if she wasn't going to admit what the little girl meant to her after only a few hours of knowing her. He smiled at Julia then and when she smiled slightly at him, he had the feeling that she wasn't likely going to be out of Beckett's, or his life for that matter, any time soon.
"Anything left or did you guys take it all?" Esposito said as he and Ryan walked into the room where Beckett, Castle and Julia were eating lunch, the little girl giggling softly at Castle trying to offer her doll his spring roll.
"Some," Castle said as Beckett stood up after rubbing Julia's back. "Think you'll be okay with Espo?" he asked the little girl.
"I'll give your friend here some of my mu shu pork," Esposito said to put the child at ease, gesturing to her doll. Luckily Julia nodded slightly and he nodded to Castle as he stood up.
"What'd you find?" Castle asked after he joined Beckett and Ryan just outside the doorway to the room.
"Money, and a lot of it," Ryan replied. "About three million in three years all together."
"From where? Her job?" Beckett asked in surprise.
"That's what I was about to tell you," Ryan said. "There's nothing that indicates she had a job outside the home. I called CSU to get a hold of her computer and see what they can find, anything related to money."
"Was there any kind of name to the deposits?" Castle asked.
"Just FS," Ryan said. "And I tried, the best I could, to find out what exactly that stands for, but I kept running into a dead end."
"Offshore company?" Beckett suggested as she glanced at Julia.
"Everything's legit, as far as I could see. I did place a call to the Feds, to see if they have anything on the company name, but they didn't have a thing about FS," Ryan said.
"And her background besides financial?" Beckett asked.
"Nothing except for Julia," Ryan said. He hesitated slightly as Castle and Beckett looked at him in bewilderment and then he finally said, "She kept her pretty much locked up in the house. Nothing to do with abuse," he quickly added as Beckett opened her mouth to speak. "Just for protection. I saw money, a lot of money for the hidden room in her closet, a safe which CSU I believe is trying to open now since Espo called them about the vic's papers. But she also had a tutor; a former preschool teacher for Julia so she wouldn't have to leave the house for school. And even a private ballet teacher for her as well. Actually, a lot of the people in the neighborhood after you came out mentioned that they had no idea there was a kid living at that home, they just thought it was our vic there."
"Any staff she kept on?" Castle asked, as Beckett covered her mouth with her hand as she looked at Julia.
"Nothing, she seems to have taken care of everything herself," Ryan answered. "She was expecting this, likely since Julia was born because the hidden room was actually built when she was six months old."
"And what about doctors, anything about her hiring them?" Beckett asked, turning back to them.
"She had a doctor that paid house calls," Ryan said. "A dentist too."
"What exactly was the reason she knew her daughter was going to be kidnapped?" Castle said as Beckett walked out a little away from them and the room.
"I think at this point we're going to need to look at the attackers if we try and answer that," Beckett said, not turning around. "Was Esposito able to look at any murders involving digitalis?"
"Espo," Ryan called into the room.
"Yeah?" Esposito asked as Beckett turned around and walked over to them before quickly glancing at Julia, smiling slightly as the little girl glanced at them.
"Did you look into any past digitalis deaths?" Beckett asked softly.
"I did," Esposito answered. "Nothing that was a murder though, everything was basically accidental, kids eating foxglove flowers… that kind of thing."
"We have nothing," Beckett said in frustration under her breath. "And without anyone in custody, Julia hearing the attackers in the house is going to be pointless."
"We can try and dig further into that FS name," Ryan said. "Maybe try the CIA?"
"That might be going too far, but save it for a last resort," Beckett said. "Were you able to see where the company, if it's a company, or a person, whatever it is, is here in the US?"
"It is," Ryan said. "You want me to try and check companies with those initials?"
"If you can. I get the feeling its name is just those two letters though," Beckett said. "I think we only have one thing right now that's a solid lead."
"The digitalis," Castle said, to Beckett's nod. "You know, it might not be that easy to make it into a powder by hand, so maybe there could be a recent purchase of a large amount. Could be this isn't the first murder we'll see with a knife coated in this stuff; it could have been overlooked in an investigation."
"I can take a look at that, see if any pharmacies or stores sell that," Esposito said. "And I'll look at our vic's papers too once CSU can get them all to me."
"Finish lunch first, I have the feeling this'll be a long, very long night," Beckett said. She went back into the room when she heard running behind her and turned to see an aide coming up to them.
"Detective Beckett?" the woman said. "Captain Gates wants to see you and Mr. Castle in her office; she says it's an emergency."
Looking at Castle, Beckett rushed out of the room and over to Gates' office with him following behind. She hurried inside as the captain was hanging up on her phone and asked, "What is it sir?"
"I just got a call from the social services office where Julia was taken earlier today," Gates said. "They were just attacked by three men, a few workers shot, all of them being asked where Julia O'Malley was."
Beckett's eyes went wide and she turned to Castle who was standing next to her. "Was anyone killed?" she asked, trying not to run out of the office and grab Julia to hide her.
"No, but the social worker who had custody of Julia before she was turned over to you was shot in the leg after she repeatedly told her attackers that she had no clue where Julia was," Gates said. "I was just talking to her before she went in for surgery to reconstruct her knee, she insisted that I be apprised of what happened, they likely found out the child is here with that paper you signed for temporary custody detective."
"Then they'll be coming here next," Castle said.
"It's likely, you'll need to take her out of the Precinct Detective Beckett, and hide her," Gates said.
"Where exactly can I go, they'll be on the lookout for us," Beckett said.
"I can have you return to your home with her, and set up an armed guard for the time being," Gates said. "Take her out of here quietly, only one car, and remain there while we wait here for them to see if they did figure out you've been given custody of her." She was going to continue when her phone rang and she quickly answered it, talking shortly with the person on the other end. "Okay, we've got a break," she said once she had hung up. "According to the social worker, she forgot to file the paper you signed taking custody of Julia and it's still in her bag according to the responding officers at the scene. And no one informed the three men where Julia is. So we have the advantage, but I want that child out of the Precinct and under a full armed guard."
"What about the crime scene at social services sir?" Beckett asked.
"Detectives Esposito and Ryan can take over the case for the remainder of today and tomorrow if it's necessary," Gates said. "Julia O'Malley needs to be able to ID the suspects and the only way she will be safe is with you detective, you're worth more to this investigation with her, Mr. Castle, you will be joining Detective Beckett."
"Of course sir," Castle said quickly, earning him a glance from Beckett.
"I'll call in a guard detail to your building, tell Esposito and Ryan that I want them at the crime scene once you and the child are safely at your home," Gates said, picking up the phone.
"Yes sir," Beckett said, before she turned and almost ran out of the office, Castle behind her. "You didn't really fight her decision to send you home with me," she commented to him.
"It's not a problem, Julia's the key and I want to help you," Castle said simply.
"Julia," Beckett said, smiling widely at her as she saw the little girl was curled up in Castle's chair next to her desk. "Sweetie, how would you like to see my home right now?" She smiled and stroked Julia's hair gently before saying, "I just need to talk to my friends really fast and then we'll go okay?" She stood up and motioned to Ryan and Esposito by the whiteboard and hurriedly whispered to them the conversation in Gates' office.
"I'll get a car ready to go," Esposito said quickly once she had finished speaking, rushing to the stairs.
"Does she want you to stop investigating completely?" Ryan asked Beckett as she watched Castle sitting on her chair.
"Hey, never really get to sit here that much," Castle said, smiling a little at Julia who was looking at him around the doll she had her face pressed up against. "Beckett, Kate, doesn't usually let other people sit here, so you're pretty lucky. That's usually my chair." He was surprised when Julia started to get up and he said quickly, "No, no, it's okay Julia, I'm glad you're sitting there, I can sit here for a little."
"Okay, I need to pack up my things and then we can go," Beckett said. "I'll look into the digitalis records while I'm at home with her," she whispered to Castle as he stood up.
"Anything I can really do?" Castle asked.
"I'm not sure," Beckett said, hurriedly throwing some paperwork from the case into her bag. "Once we get to my place and I'm a little calmer I can answer that better." She closed the bag securely and then went to Julia, picking her up out of her chair. "We need to hurry sweetie, are you ready?" When she nodded she turned to grab the bag the social worker had brought earlier, with some of Julia's clothes from home, before she saw that Castle had grabbed it and her own bag as well. "Okay, let's go," she said, and she hurried after Ryan down the aisle to the elevator.
Down in the parking structure for the Precinct, Esposito had a car waiting and running, Castle and Beckett sitting in the back with Julia in between them as Ryan got into the passenger seat. The four looked around them furtively as they left, trying to see anything suspicious around the car.
"You okay?" Beckett asked Julia softly when they were nearing her building. She smiled at the little girl when she nodded slowly in response, her green eyes wide and she held her against her tightly.
A few minutes later they reached the underground parking garage of Beckett's building, and the team rushed into the elevator with Julia, going up to her floor. Inside Beckett's apartment, Ryan called the undercover policemen that were stationed in the lobby of the building, letting them know that they had arrived. Esposito contacted the two officers in a car, staking out the entrance to the parking garage and was told that no suspicious cars had been tailing them as they'd entered.
"Looks like we're good," Ryan said. "We'll call you once we go over the crime scene at social services and if we turn up anything."
Beckett closed the door to the entry of her apartment, glancing at Julia who was walking over to her picture that was next to her couch, and turned to the other two detectives. "Ask any eyewitnesses if there was a man with a scar, we might be dealing with more than three guys. And also if they were able to get more of an ID than at the brownstone earlier today," she told them.
"We will, keep that kid safe Beckett," Esposito said.
"We'll look into FS as soon as we're back at the Precinct," Ryan said. "And we'll try and talk to the social worker since she heard one of them speak."
Beckett nodded as the two men left and closed the door behind her before she leaned against it, looking up at Castle. "I'm not sure I can do this," she said as they stared at each other.
"Julia?" Castle asked. When Beckett nodded he was about to speak, when she cut him off.
"I've never really taken care of a child like this before," Beckett said, looking through the door at Julia who was looking up at her picture closely. "Starting with something to keep her occupied while we're working."
"I can go get something," Castle said. "What about food, or milk, that I can get too."
"I'm going to need it," Beckett said. "I wasn't expecting to take a four year old girl into my home today," she smiled slightly as he squeezed her hand tightly. "But I'm happy to do it; I don't think I really would be comfortable knowing she was with someone else."
"I'm not surprised. I'll make a run to a market," Castle said. "And I'll be careful," he said when Beckett started to speak. "I know, I can't let anyone tail me, I'll keep an eye out." He kissed her quickly and then left, hearing Beckett locking the door behind him as he hurried down the hall to the elevator.
After she walked out of her entryway, Beckett saw Julia was staring up at her picture still, and she realized it might be traumatizing to the little girl. She rushed over, and carefully turned her around asking, "That doesn't scare you at all?"
"No, it's pretty," Julia said, turning back to look at it. "Who is she?"
"Just a woman," Beckett said, smiling at her. "Come here, sit with me okay?"
"This is where you live?" Julia asked as Beckett sat her down on the couch and then joined her. "Oh, this is pretty," she said, touching the Union Jack pillow she was next to. "I've seen this, it's from where Paul is from, and The Beatles too."
"That is their flag," Beckett said, relieved the little girl seemed more open than she had been at the Precinct. "Who's Paul Julia?"
"He's one of The Beatles; I love his songs, my mommy…" Julia began before her eyes filled with tears and she started to cry.
Beckett quickly hugged Julia to her, stroking her hair gently, wondering if Julia was going to be effected psychologically with the death of her mother and her understanding the concept of it. She was startled to realize that she wanted to try and help her get over that, something she was aware that was going to take a longer amount of time than just a temporary custody order from social services. She quickly pushed the thought out of her mind and tried to comfort Julia, remembering how the name Paul had triggered a question she wanted to ask her. She pulled the little girl onto her lap and held her tightly, trying to calm her tears the best she could, feeling; a little unsettlingly; as if she'd been doing that for years.
"How is she?" Castle asked as he walked into Beckett's apartment when she had opened the door for him.
"She ran screaming behind the couch when you knocked," Beckett said, looking a little harried. "You were gone a while."
"I needed to get something to keep her busy," Castle reminded her, putting some bags on her kitchen counter. "And maybe you can get her out with these," he said, handing her some coloring books and crayons.
"Great, thank you," Beckett said in relief, squeezing his arm. "Esposito and Ryan called while you were gone but I wanted to wait until you were here and they try and speak to the social worker in the hospital before we discuss the case." She took the books and crayons and went over to the couch saying, "It was just my friend Castle sweetie, he actually brought you something you can do while we do some work. It's okay to come out now."
Peeking around the back of the couch, Julia saw that Castle was in the kitchen and she looked at Beckett, seeing that she was holding crayons and coloring books. She walked out when she saw the character her doll was on the cover of one and took it into her hands.
"Why don't you color here?" Beckett suggested, carefully leading the little girl to the coffee table in front of the couch. "I'll be in my office; you'll be able to see me." She then motioned to Castle and together they went to the other room, keeping an eye on Julia who was staring to color. "Ryan," she said once she had dialed his number on her phone. "Castle's here with me, what do you and Espo have?"
"Well at the crime scene we checked out the security footage, and it's obvious they staked out the place in advance," Ryan said. "They got in there like SEAL Team Six, shooting the guard in the arm and the receptionist, but luckily she just got winged in the shoulder and was able to talk to us. She said one of them had a scar."
"Crescent shaped? They must have staked out where they knew Julia would go if they couldn't find her. They planned for that," Castle said.
"So they knew she didn't have anyone by the way of family," Esposito said on the other end. "Social services actually confirmed it for us when we were interviewing some people. They searched after you were given custody of her Beckett, and she has absolutely no one."
"Our vic might have someone in her will," Beckett said. "If she knew this might happen she could have given custody of Julia to someone there, a friend possibly," she said, feeling a sinking feeling in her stomach before she pushed the sensation aside.
"I'll check with CSU," Esposito said.
"Were they able to get anything from the other two men?" Beckett asked.
"Nothing, they took care to cover their faces," Ryan replied.
"Just called CSU," Esposito said suddenly. "They have a will, but she has specific instructions on the outside of the packaging it's in that it can only be opened by her lawyer, a Janet Roy."
"Get the will over to her as soon as you can," Beckett said. "Our vic could have left a clue for us about the killer and attackers. And the rest of the paperwork they found?"
"They said it was just basic things like birth certificates, bank statements, nothing out of the ordinary," Esposito said. "But I asked them to send over the statements in case there's anything that can clue us in on FS."
"Great, I'll be looking into the digitalis after we finish here," Beckett said. "But back to the social services shooting, the woman who took Julia from her home… Victoria Knowles?"
"She was heavily drugged, we couldn't talk to her," Ryan replied.
"Try to speak with her tomorrow Ryan," Beckett said. "For now we focus on the paperwork and the digitalis." After she and Castle said goodbye to the two detectives she sighed as she looked at him. "It's just dead end after dead end."
"Not the first time we've come up against that," Castle said. He grabbed Beckett's arm before she could turn to her computer and said, "Her mother probably didn't leave custody to anyone. It doesn't look like she had any friends along with family."
"I know," Beckett said, glancing behind her. Julia was touching the arms on her doll she had set next to her on the coffee table, and she smiled slightly before she looked at Castle.
"Bad time to talk?" he asked. "Okay, I was expecting that," he said when she nodded slightly and he let her go. "So what will you check first?"
"First I'd like to find out if it's really that easy to make powdered digitalis on your own," Beckett replied.
"It might be, it's just a plant. I was just guessing when I said that earlier," Castle said as he sat in front of her desk as she sat at her computer. "But we'll have to check it out. I don't really get the feeling these guys are botanists though."
"Neither do I, but I have to see," Beckett replied as she searched the name of the drug into her computer. She came up with a site that had a step by step process and said, "Apparently it's easy, but making enough for a large dose; at least the one that was on the knife that killed our vic; had to come from at least ten plants."
"Gonna check nurseries?" Castle asked, leaning over the desk as she typed some more.
"I am," Beckett said absently, looking closely at the screen. "Nothing in the immediate area." She typed again and then shook her head saying, "There've been some large purchases of foxglove, but companies mainly. And I checked, no FS on anything."
"Try some Chinatown stores," Castle suggested. "They might sell it."
"And some apothecaries," Beckett said. "They sell natural medicines. I'll search again for larger purchases." She typed on the keyboard and then shook her head, sitting back in her chair. "Nothing, absolutely nothing," she said, her voice tinged with frustration.
"How far did you search?" Castle asked, going around to look at the screen, seeing there was a list for a store in Trenton, New Jersey open on it.
"Far, into New Jersey," Beckett replied. "The thing is this substance is so rare that there hasn't been anyone buying any. And what I've seen is in small quantities and with cash."
"And it looks like a long time ago too, so no one would really be able to ID anyone," Castle said, sounding frustrated as well. "There's not much we can do until we get that will opened and the papers she had in her home searched."
"Until then," Beckett sighed, closing the computer screen. "I'll give a call to Ryan and Espo; let them know we've exhausted everything here."
"Wait," Castle said quickly. "What about globally?"
"I thought of that, but the search came up blank for digitalis, anywhere in the world, it's illegal to ship it in," Beckett replied.
"Then maybe someone smuggled it in," Castle pointed out.
"True," Beckett said quickly, realizing he was right. "I can make a call to Customs, see if they've had anyone recently smuggling in foxglove or digitalis." She got out of her chair and hurriedly dialed a number, feeling Castle squeeze her arm before he stepped past her. "Yes, this is Detective Kate Beckett of the NYPD," she said a little absently as she recited her badge number from memory, looking over to see that he was looking at Julia. "Yes, I need some information for a murder investigation, if there's been any recent activity of smuggling the plant foxglove or else the herbal substance digitalis… yes I realize that foxglove is legal, but anything in large quantities? Of either material."
Castle turned back to Beckett when she said, "Alright, thank you for your help, bye." Once she had hung up the phone he asked, "Nothing?"
"Nothing, so we're still at a dead end," Beckett said. "I can't think of another angle to look at in this case."
"Well," Castle said. "Maybe we should let Ryan and Esposito finish looking at what they can and come back at the case tomorrow. I'm finding myself out of ideas."
"Really? I find that hard to believe," Beckett said with a smile, sitting on the edge of her desk. "I was half expecting you to try and fit in the plot of that episode of The X-Files you keep talking about to this case."
"If I could have I would," Castle said. "But it would mean the killer was actually… better I not say anything," he said before stopping himself.
Frowning, since she recalled him saying earlier that the plot had twin girls the killers of their fathers, Beckett stood up and went to the doorway to her office, looking at Julia who was sitting, leaning back against the couch. "You okay?" she asked as she hurried over to the little girl, sitting on the floor next to her and hugging her to her.
"Yeah, I got scared," Julia said, scooting closer to Beckett and wrapping one arm around her. "Do I stay here now? Or are they taking me to somewhere?"
"For now you're staying here sweetie," Beckett replied softly. She quickly changed the subject then, knowing the little girl was thinking of how she had been constantly moved from place to place that day when she had spent all four years of her life in her mother's brownstone home. "Are you finished coloring?" she then asked as Julia hugged her with both arms, glancing up at Castle who had remained in the doorway to her office.
Nodding, Julia glanced over at Castle as Beckett looked over her drawing and she pressed a little closer to her.
"Should I go?" Castle asked.
"No, it's alright, he can sit here with us right?" Beckett asked Julia, motioning to the armchair across from them. When the little girl nodded slightly she smiled and said, "Thank you." Once he was sitting down, she remembered something and said, "Julia, do you know if your mother had any boyfriends?"
"What's that?" Julia asked in nearly a whisper, glancing at Castle a little warily again.
"Well, it's a man who-" Beckett started to say.
"No, no, no!" Julia cried. "They were bad men."
"Who?" Castle asked, surprised at her outburst.
"All of them, all the men there are my mommy said," Julia replied, curling up in Beckett's arms. "She didn't like them."
"So before today, no man was ever at your house?" Beckett then asked, trying to speak as gently as possible to calm the child down.
"No, they were always girls," Julia said. "Mommy said I cannot trust them."
"Some you can Julia," Beckett replied, glancing at Castle. "Castle is a good man, so are Detectives Ryan and Esposito, the men that I work with."
"They don't scare you? Mommy said men do bad things to girls," Julia said, visibly trembling by then.
"Things like what?" Beckett asked, terrified that something had happened to Julia.
"Mommy won't say, she said not to talk to them, but I never saw any before up close," Julia said, looking down at her doll absently then. "Just outside the window upstairs."
Glancing at Castle, Beckett said quietly, "Your mother was right, some men can be bad, but Julia, there are some men who are nice and will never do anything to little girls."
"Is Castle one of them?" Julia whispered, though he still heard what she had said.
"He is," Beckett assured her. "You know he has a daughter himself."
"He does?" Julia asked, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.
"I do," Castle said then, not wanting to enter the conversation until he absolutely had to. "Her name is Alexis, she's actually in college now, but I'm sure she'd like to meet you one day."
Julia smiled and looked at her doll shyly before she hugged it to her.
"Are you hungry at all?" Beckett then asked. When Julia nodded she set her on the ground and stood up. "We'll make dinner, but I'm going to take a second to talk with Castle okay?" She took his hand then and pulled him out of the chair, taking him to the entryway and slightly closing the door. "She kept her a prisoner. What kind of mother would do that?" she whispered heatedly, looking out at Julia who was looking at her coloring books. "I know she was right, her paranoia, but still, between shrinking my child's world to my home versus letting her have as normal a childhood even with the threat hanging over her…"
"You'd pick the latter," Castle finished for her. When Beckett nodded he said, "I was going to ask her if she had any friends, maybe they could take her in once we catch the killer and attackers, but I doubt she'd have even one. Maybe just that doll."
"Yeah, she's going to need a lot of help," Beckett said, shaking her head slightly. "If she goes into foster care…" She then turned to Castle and said, "We should get dinner started, I don't want her going hungry again."
Castle followed her out to the kitchen, knowing that something was going through Beckett's mind then. He already had an idea of what it might be, but didn't want to push her on the subject, knowing she would shut down if he asked. He helped her start out the meal, both of them glancing at Julia once in a while, wondering what would happen to the child once they solved the case and she was free from any future threats.
"I can head over to the Precinct and see if Ryan or Esposito got the victim's papers," Castle was saying later on that night as he was preparing to leave. "We can start taking a look at them tomorrow here."
"I don't like this," Beckett sighed, closing the door to the entryway slightly. "I'd rather be working from the Precinct, but I can't trust anyone at this moment with Julia."
"I could try and figure something out," Castle said. "I actually have an idea about that, because I agree, I want to be at the Precinct."
"Want to share it with me at all?" Beckett asked in confusion when he didn't say anything else.
"Once I get it figured out," Castle said, putting on his jacket. "I'll give you a call in the morning."
"Right, I'll try and look into the digitalis again before you come over," Beckett said. "Or I might look at the copies of the vic's financial records; see if we might have missed something." She shrugged when Castle started to open his mouth to speak and said, "I know, Ryan and Espo got all they could, but I want to make double sure since we don't have anything; except for that will."
"She probably left something in there," Castle assured her.
"Let's hope our vic's lawyer gets here quickly," Beckett said, referencing the call she'd gotten from Ryan as they'd been eating. Their partner had been able to contact the victim's lawyer, who had been on vacation in Hawaii. She was going to be on the first flight out of Honolulu that she could catch, likely not until the next afternoon, heading back to NYC as she was the only lawyer at her firm who was authorized to open the will in the case of the victim's death.
"It's about ten hours from here," Castle said. "But we'll see the will." He started to speak, and hesitated for a moment before finally saying, "You think she ended leaving custody of Julia to someone?" It wasn't what he meant to say, but knew she wouldn't answer if he had asked if she was afraid custody of Julia was given to someone specific.
"I don't know, I doubt it," Beckett said, not looking at him. "No one's come forward to get her. And her mother kept them pretty isolated too, not many friends to leave her to; like you said before."
"I'll be back tomorrow," Castle then said quickly, as he could see she was starting to withdraw from the question. He put his hands on her arms to get Beckett to look at him, and he glanced out in the apartment to see that Julia was sitting on the couch, looking to be occupied with her doll again. He then leaned down and kissed Beckett tenderly before she wrapped her arms around him and they deepened the kiss at the same time. "We'll figure this out," he said when they finally parted.
"We will," Beckett said with a nod, knowing that was meant to reassure both of them, not just her. "See you tomorrow." She smiled when Castle squeezed her hand and then walked down the hall. She watched him until he was out of sight, and then locked the door securely. When she turned around, she was started to see that Julia was peering around the chair in front of the kitchen counter. She had the feeling the child had seen her and Castle kiss, but she smiled at her and said, "Are you tired sweetie?"
"Little," Julia whispered, looking a little perplexed. She raised her arms up to Beckett and let her pick her up, carrying her over to the room she would be using. "How come you kissed Castle like that?"
Beckett was silent, not sure how exactly she wanted to answer that, or if she should, since she and Castle were still trying to hide their relationship from everyone at work. "Julia," she said then, grasping for something else to talk about as she decided it would probably be best to ignore the question. "Do you have any friends at all?"
"Stitch," Julia said, the question making her forget her question about what she'd seen. "Why?"
"I was just wondering," Beckett said, setting her down on the bed. "Let's get you changed."
After Beckett had changed Julia into the pajamas that had been placed with the girl's other clothing, she got her ready to sleep; thanking Castle in her mind for getting a kids' toothbrush for her earlier. She tucked the little girl into the bed a few minutes later, and stroked her hair gently, watching as Julia's eyes eventually lowered and stayed closed. She stood up and went to the doorway as carefully as she possibly could, looking back from the doorway. She sighed slightly as she turned off the light, and hurried out to her office, going on her computer.
Dialing on her cell phone, Beckett was put on hold a few times and redirected, before she was finally got a voice mail. "Mrs. Perkins, this is Detective Kate Beckett from the NYPD, I was given temporary custody of Julia O'Malley this afternoon. When you are available, I'd appreciate it if you could give me call. I would like to discuss the steps I would need to take to file to adopt Julia. Thank you," she said quickly before she could lose her resolve. She hung up and closed her eyes tightly, wondering how exactly things would change in her life with that phone call.
Changing for bed after that, Beckett sat at her computer for a while, trying to look into the digitalis records that she had found, but was unable to focus on the screen. She finally gave up after twenty minutes of reading the same page twice and having the numbers and words blur together. She went to the doorway to the room Julia was in, watching the child before she forced herself to go to her room and she laid down, thinking in her mind what exactly she would do raising a four year old child.
Shaking her head, she chided herself for thinking too far ahead and so optimistically, it was unlikely that she would get custody of Julia on a permanent basis, especially with her line of her work. Sighing, she closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep when a scream made her sit up. "Julia?" she said, throwing back the covers and running to the room. "What's wrong?" she asked as she sat on the edge of the bed, taking the little girl who was sobbing into her doll into her arms.
"It was dark, they were shouting they were gonna get me," Julia cried, grabbing onto Beckett tightly. "And then they ran and chased me in my house and they got me."
"Shh, it's okay," Beckett said tenderly as she kissed the top of her head. "They're not here and they won't be able to get here either. Let me show you something," she said as she stood up with Julia in her arms. She carried her out to the main room and opened the blinds slightly. "See that car right there? With the two people inside?" she asked, motioning to a black car that had some movement in it. When the girl nodded she said, "They're police officers watching to make sure no one comes in."
"Will they stay there all night?" Julia asked.
"Yes, and there are two police officers in the lobby too," Beckett said. "They're watching who comes in very closely. So we're safe here Julia, I promise."
"Kay," Julia said. She then wrapped her arms around Beckett's neck and asked, "Can I sleep in your bed?"
"Yes," Beckett said instantly, carrying her to her room. She helped her under the covers and then pulled her against her as the child snuggled closely to her side. "Get some sleep okay, I won't let anyone hurt you Julia," she said softly, stroking her hair. She was relieved when Julia nodded and fell asleep shortly after.
Beckett leaned down and kissed the top of her head, knowing that she was somehow, inexorably bound to the little girl, and her life was going to be changed forever, whether or not she was able to adopt her. She closed her eyes then, focusing her thoughts on the case, to try and forget the emotional parts of that day; ever since she had seen Julia come out of the hidden room. She reminded herself that to help Julia, she needed to find the killer and attackers, before they could hurt the child. With that thought she hugged Julia closer to her, the surge of protectiveness that rushed through at the thought startling her, and making her more determined than before to find the killer.
