A/N: I'm very glad you guys are enjoying this story so far. Thank you so much for all the reviews!
Four
By the time Kate arrived back at her apartment it was nearly one thirty in the morning. Fortunately, due to the late hour, she did not hit any traffic on her way back, but given how long of a day it had been, that did not ease her exhaustion in any way. She stumbled into her apartment, kicking off her boots and shrugging off her jacket, which she dropped on the floor by the kitchen. She made no other effort to get undressed; she simply collapsed into bed and fell immediately to sleep.
When Kate's alarm went off just a few hours later at six a.m., she groaned and smacked at it four times until it actually stopped beeping. As she brushed her teeth and showered, she thought back to the events of the prior evening, and her annoyance with the situation immediately returned. She was right back there, fighting against the zip ties in a desperate attempt to free herself before the Hamptons PD arrived (a mission at which she failed miserably).
It was not the first time the suspect she'd been pursuing got the drop on her nor was it the first time a suspect had used her own weapon against her (though, fortunately the number of occurrences of that was in the low single digits). It was, however, the first time she had been tied to a chair.
In all honesty, Kate wasn't sure what irritated her more: the fact that she had to be freed by chuckling local cops making jokes about women not being as skilled in the field as men, or that she knew she would face endless ridicule and condescension from Banner once she was back in the FBI office.
The prior evening, after the Hamptons PD released her from her restraints, Kate went out onto the back deck of the home and found her cell phone resting on the railing. Unlocking the phone, she saw the last call dialed was to 911 and realized that her hostage taker had done exactly as he promised. Still irritated, she phone in to dispatch and apprised them of the situation. She was then instructed to wait until a Federal investigative team could arrive and search the home for evidence.
Kate waited dutifully in the house, watching as the Hamptons PD searched the premises. Naturally, they found nothing. She was not surprised. The house clearly was not currently being lived in and she'd watched Castle take the only thing of interest: the laptop computer. She warned the FBI team of this when they arrived, but they assured her they would do a full house sweep just in case the local law enforcement team missed something.
Not yet feeling the effects from her first cup of coffee, Kate arrived at the office on time and took a seat at her desk to find there was already a morning briefing packet waiting for her. One positive thing she could say with absolute certainty about working with the FBI over the NYPD was the ease of accessing information. For a government entity, their briefing packets were certainly detailed and prompt, which she appreciated.
Scanning the summary report, Kate learned that overnight several test results had come through regarding the double homicide of almost thirty-six hours prior. The blood by the sink at the detective's residence was confirmed to be that of Pamela Mackey, the first victim. The bullet striations on the slugs in their wounds matched each other as well as the gun found at the scene, confirming it was the weapon used in both crimes.
Kate was not surprised to learn either of these facts. The third test result, though, did perplex her. Gunshot residue tests performed at the scene confirmed that their suspect, Mr. Castle, had residue on his left hand, but not his right. Rubbing her chin with her index finger, Kate thought for a moment. Was Castle a righty or a lefty? The prior night when he was holding her gun, he held it in his right hand until he began to use the computer. To her, this indicated that he was right handed. Thus, it did not entirely make sense to her that gunshot residue was on his left—presumably non-dominant—hand only.
Another intriguing fact she found in the packet was the information regarding Castle's blood and urine sample analysis. Tests confirmed the BAC level of one point two and also showed no other foreign substances in either sample, thus poking more holes in Castle's tale of innocence.
Before she could think any further on the facts she had been provided, Kate was interrupted by Banner. "Ah, Beckett, I'm glad you weren't too tied up to join us this morning." He smirked as he stood beside her desk, looking down at her.
Doing her best not to react facially or verbally to his jab, Kate forced a smile. "Well I thought about taking the day off, but then I realized I might be of some help."
"Yes, some help." Banner gave her a slight and obviously mocking smile. "Morning briefing in ten; don't be late."
When she joined her colleges in the conference room, she could feel all their eyes on her as she took a seat. She didn't mind a bit of teasing when it came to on the job performance. She was a big girl; she could handle it. After all, it had practically been mandatory at the NYPD. It did, however, add fuel to the already burning desire to apprehend the illusive writer as soon as humanly possible.
"Alright team," Banner said, taking his usual position at the back of the conference room, facing the wall on which the information projected. He flicked the remote towards the projector and Castle's mug shot appeared on the wall. "Our suspect, Mr. Castle, is still at large. He was last seen in the custody of our own Agent Beckett," Banner said, gesturing to Kate.
Annoyed, she cleared her throat. "Excuse me, sir, but he wasn't in my custody. If anything, I was in his."
"Right, that makes it better," another agent at the table muttered, causing a ripple of laughter.
"As Agent Beckett reported, Castle was last seen at his home in Southampton." Banner clicked the remote and a zoomed in map of the Southampton area appeared on the screen. Castle's home was marked with a red star. "The Hamptons PD and the FBI field team did a thorough sweep of the area, but unfortunately Mr. Castle was not found. We believe he may still be in the area, so we have alerted all local police departments to be on the lookout for him."
Banner then went around the room delegating tasks to each of the pairs of agents who were joining in the meeting. Finally, he said, "I will be conducting an interview of Mr. Castle's mother and daughter, both of whom live with him at his Manhattan residence. Dismissed!"
As the others left the meeting, Kate approached Banner and cleared her throat to catch his attention. His eyes fell on her and he sighed. "Right, Beckett. I forgot about you. Why don't-"
"Actually, sir, I was hoping to go with you on the interview." Kate did not feel her request out of line given that she was technically Banner's partner, though knew very well he more often viewed her as a nuisance than an asset. Given that, she also knew she occasionally needed to be a bit pushy when it came to her assignments. She liked to choose her moments so that he would be more apt to approve her idea rather than shoot it down, and this was one of those moments.
In response, Banner laughed at her—not a rolling laugh, but more a courtesy chuckle, as though one of his coworkers had told a mildly amusing joke and he was merely trying to be polite. "Agent Beckett, I'm sure you're not trying to imply that I am incapable of handling a family interview."
"Not at all, sir," Kate replied immediately. "I just thought I may be some help. After all, I am the only person on this team who has actually spoken with Mr. Castle."
Banner caressed his mustache with his forefinger and thumb as he thought. Kate noticed a few crumbs of what she assumed to be remnants of his breakfast fall to the ground as he did this and she suppressed a gag. "Very well," Banner concluded. "I guess you'd better come in case you might be useful."
Ignoring his implication that she would more than likely be useless, Beckett hurried back to her desk, grabbed her coat and joined Banner in the elevator on the way to the underground parking structure. It wasn't until they were out on the bustling Manhattan streets that Banner spoke again.
"You know, Beckett, I didn't really want to say anything to you in the meeting in front of everyone, but you really fucked this one up for us, you know? You made us look like fools in front of the Hamptons PD—the goddamn Hamptons PD!"
Kate glanced over to him, feeling not even the slightest singe from his comments. If anything, she found it amusing how whenever he criticized her performance, he always pointed out that he was doing her a favor by not doing it in front of their colleges, when, really, he did many other things in front of them that clearly indicated he thought she to be nothing more than an irritating child.
Deciding to play the part he clearly wanted her to, she sighed dramatically and dropped her chin. "I'm sorry sir. He got the drop on me and that was my mistake, but I made the best of the situation. If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at the Hamptons PD. At least 10 minutes passed between the time they were called and the time they arrived on scene. If they had arrived sooner, they would have been able to arrest Mr. Castle."
"Unless he overpowered them too," Banner muttered. "You gotta keep your head in the game, Beckett. This isn't the NYPD; we're not chasing purse snatchers and doggie kidnappers here. These are dangerous people."
This, she would not stand for. Kate Beckett's head was always in the game when she was in the field—always. "Sir, you are aware I worked homicide for five years, right?" Banner said nothing, so she continued. "I followed procedure and I called for backup, but without knowing when Mr. Castle would be leaving the residence, I had to make a judgment call. I decided to try and apprehend him myself. It didn't end as I planned, but we did learn something valuable."
Banner glanced at her sideways. "Which is…?"
"He's not dangerous; he's just running because he's scared."
"And what makes you think that?"
"He didn't take my gun," she said simply. "If he was planning on killing more people—more cops—there's no way he wouldn't have left that house armed, especially since he already had my gun in his possession. Instead, he left it."
Banner huffed into his mustache, but did not otherwise respond to her deduction.
Ten minutes later, they arrived at Castle's residence: a two-story loft on Broome Street towards the southern end of Manhattan. As they climbed into the elevator, Banner instructed Kate that he and he alone would be asking the questions and she was not to intervene—this was his investigation. Rolling her eyes, Kate followed him onto the appropriate floor and up to the door of Castle's apartment.
Banner knocked and tapped his foot impatiently. When the door opened, he announced them both to the red-headed, colorfully dressed woman who answered the door and introduced herself as Martha Rodgers, Castle's mother. Inside the apartment they met a teen girl, also with red hair and a porcelain complexion, who said her name as Alexis. Both women led them to the sitting area in the apartment.
As she sat on a chair beside the couch, Kate took a moment to glance around the apartment to see how the celebrity half lived. The major difference, Kate noted immediately, was space. For instance, the kitchen in Castle's apartment appeared to have room for more than one person to stand at a given time without those people touching in any way, which was more than she could say for her own kitchen. The apartment was also decorated with many eclectic and worldly pieces and, as expected, contained many, many books.
"First, I just want to thank you both for your time," Banner began as he sat on the chair opposite Kate. "I realize this must be a very trying time for you both."
"Well, yes, obviously. Thank goodness it's not every day my son is accused of murder. Most of the time he's doing that to other people," Martha said. Kate smiled slightly, but Banner remained expressionless. "You know…in his books," she clarified for him.
Banner grinned. "Ah yes. Now I know you both gave statements to the NYPD, but I just want to clarify a few things." He turned to Alexis and broadened his smile. "Now, uh, I don't mean to sound like the truant officer, but should you be in school Miss Castle?"
Kate resisted the urge to cover he face with her hands at his comment. From his tone, she almost expected Banner to tack the term "little tyke" on to the end of his question. Predictably, the girl, who Kate estimated to be around fifteen or sixteen, shot Banner a glare.
"Well, due to the media attention right now, I decided it would be best if Alexis stayed home at least until…until this is all resolved," Martha explained. Kate imagined she really wanted to say until Castle was brought back in to custody, though clearly as a mother that was not something she looked forward to. "Besides, Alexis can keep up with most her classes online."
"Sure, sure." Banner nodded. He pulled a pad of paper from the inside breast pocket of his jacket and gazed down at it. "Can you tell me the last time you saw your son?"
"Well it would have been in the morning two days ago—shortly before lunch—when I left for my audition. I did text him later that day to tell him I was going out to celebrate my callback, but he didn't respond to my text."
"And about what time did you text him?"
"Around five, I believe."
Banner jotted something down and then turned to Alexis. "And when did you last see your father?"
"When I came home from school," she said. "I asked if I could go over to Sarah's to work on a group project and he said I could."
"What time was this?"
"I left about four thirty, I guess."
"And what time did you get home?"
"Shortly after ten."
"Yes we both did," Martha interjected.
"And neither of you have spoken to Mr. Castle since then?" Banner asked. They shook their heads.
Kate watched Banner jot down a few more notes and then looked back at the women on the couch. As far as she could tell, their stories were consistent with Castle's. As she had been waiting for the FBI backup the night before, she had finally been able to read the full transcription from his NYPD interrogation.
"Perhaps," Banner began with a pained expression towards Alexis, "it would be best if we asked the next round of questions just to you, Mrs. Rodgers."
"It's Ms. Rodgers," she corrected with a sharp tongue, "and Alexis is sixteen; she can stay."
"It's just…" Banner leaned forward, resting his forearms on his thighs. "We're going to have to ask some very blunt questions and she might not want to be around to hear that."
"You can say or ask whatever you want," Alexis informed him, defiance showing in her tone. "I know my dad is innocent and nothing you can say will change that."
Kate smiled inwardly, her like for Castle's daughter growing instantly; the girl had spunk.
Martha cleared her throat and rested a gentle hand on the younger girl's upper back. "Alexis, dear, maybe it would be best if you went upstairs and checked in on your school email."
She turned to her grandmother, jaw agape. "But, Gran-"
"Alexis," Martha said, her tone even, but warning. "You don't want to fall behind on your school work."
With a perfectly teenage dramatic groan, Alexis stood from the couch, shot Banner one more glare for good measure and then stomped her way up the stairs, muttering audibly to herself.
"Thank you," Banner said to her. "I need to inform you that last night Agent Beckett had a run in with Mr. Castle." Banner gestured across the room in Kate's general direction, though he did not look at her.
Martha did look in Kate's direction and her tone immediately changed to one of utmost concern. "You saw Richard? Is he alright?"
Kate opened her mouth to respond, but before she could make a sound, Banner stepped in. "He took Agent Beckett hostage, Mrs. Rodgers."
Martha's head snapped in Banner's direction. "It's Ms." Then, turning to Kate, she said, "I do apologize Agent Beckett; I taught him better than that." Kate smiled and shook her head, brushing off the concern; she liked Martha, too. "Where did this happen? Where did you see him?"
Though Martha asked Kate the question, it was Banner who answered. "At his residence in the Hamptons. Do you have any ideas where your son might be hiding? Did he have any other places he went or stayed? Friends' houses maybe?"
Martha shook her head and wrung her hands together as she leaned forward on the couch. "No, none that I can think of. I gave the NYPD all the addresses for his publishers, agents and lawyers, but other than that I can't think anyone else. His ex-wife Gina, perhaps, though I very much doubt she'd take him in if he was on the run. They're not on the best of terms," she added to Kate. "Then again…maybe if he paid her a lot of money…"
For another half hour Banner questioned Martha, asking her over and over again where she thought her son might be, where he might be hiding and who might be hiding him. She consistently answered the same and as her tone grew increasingly short, Kate could tell Banner was also growing bored trying to trap her in a lie. It was Martha who snapped first, standing up and insisting she had told him absolutely everything that she knew.
"Very well," Banner said, standing as well and nodding towards Kate. "We appreciate your time and-"
"Just one more question, if you don't mind Ms. Rodgers," Kate said, interrupting Banner. She could feel his eyes boring into her, but she refused to look in his direction. Instead, she locked eyes with Martha, whose expression had relaxed into a more pleasant one. "I was wondering if you knew anything about the case Mr. Castle was researching with Tony Ciardi?"
Kate tensed her gut, waiting for Banner to interrupt, but he never did.
"No I'm sorry I don't. Was there a case?"
Kate nodded. "Yes, last night Mr. Castle said something implying that he and Detective Ciardi were working on a case together."
"Well I'm afraid I don't know anything about that. I'd tell you to check his laptop, but you probably already know that's missing," Martha said gesturing behind Kate. Kate turned and saw a doorway opening in the wall-to-wall bookcases through which a large desk could clearly be seen. She did, in fact, know that the laptop was missing; she had read that in the NYPD's report about their search of his residence.
"The only thing I know about Tony Ciardi is that Richard was using him as inspiration for his latest book character because they suspected that Tony's father was actually murdered instead of dying in some sort of traffic 'accident,'" Martha explained with air quotations.
Kate's gazed whipped back to her. "Tony's father was-"
"Well thank you for your time, Mrs. Rodgers," Banner interrupted, walking towards the apartment exit. "We'll be in touch if we have any more questions."
As he was already at the door, Kate was forced to scurry after Banner while giving the politest goodbye to Castle's mother she could manage in that situation. Out in the hall, she found Banner pressing the elevator call button incessantly until the doors opened with a ding and they were able to step inside. Once they closed, he turned on her.
"I specifically told you that I would be the one asking the questions, Agent Beckett!"
"And you did ask the questions," she replied. "But, as I said to you before we left, I'm the only one on our team who has spoken with Mr. Castle and last night-"
Banner scoffed. "Last night you heard the desperate ramblings of a guilty man."
"But Ms. Rodgers was giving us valuable information!"
"About what! Who cares about this Tony fellow anyway?"
Kate folded her arms over her chest and narrowed her eyes at Banner. "Are you suggesting that we should not care about the death of Detective Ciardi, a valued member of the NYPD?"
Banners flippant expression relaxed. "Of course not. The detective's murder was a tragedy, but who cares about they why now? We have more than enough physical evidence to put Mr. Castle away for both crimes. End of story, Beckett; end of story."
Kate decided to drop the point, knowing there would be no arguing with Banner, but she wholeheartedly did not agree with him. This was not the end of the story; not even close.
