Around the World Book Four

Escape to New England

Chapter 4

. . . . .

Rick held Kate's hand as they headed into the precinct the next morning, stopping her in her tracks, his eyes directed towards her desk. With a wrinkled brow, Kate followed his gaze to see a redhead perched on the corner of her desk. She was flashing a smile at some of the officers, a pad in hand and Kate arched an eyebrow.

"Know her?"

"Yeah." He winced when she hit him. "Not like that. I've never met her."

"But you know her."

He grinned widely, almost childishly, squeezing her hand and kissing her head before anyone caught on they were there. "No need to be jealous, Detective. I've seen her picture in the paper. Right beside her byline."

"The paper. A reporter." A chill raced down her spine. She hated reporters on a good day.

"A reporter," Rick confirmed, his hand letting go of hers to press against her lower back. It wasn't enough to urge her to move, but enough to provide comfort Kate needed but would never admit to. All of this, the case, the press hoopla that came with it, the infighting, was too much, too fast and too close together. Rick knew her nerves were frayed and the last thing she wanted to or needed to deal with were questions from the press.

"Detective! Mr. Castle!"

They both winced this time at the cheery greeting. Kate stepped forward, heading for her desk while Rick headed off in a different direction. She'd kill him later for his abandonment. "Can I help you, Miss…?"

"Hill. Rebecca Hill. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Kate folded her arms across her chest as the woman held out a hand. "You're sitting on my desk."

"Oh! I'm sorry. Right." She shuffled, dropping into Rick's chair and propping her pad on her knee. "What can you tell me about the man who killed Molly Carroll?"

"Nothing," Kate replied, dropping into her chair and moving pages around. She needed to do some research on beta blockers, see who had access to Molly's pills…

"Come on, Detective," Rebecca said with a smile. "I'm young and new at the game but I know how it works. I used to do Society."

If that was supposed to endear the reporter to Kate, she'd failed miserably. If anything, it irritated her more. So Kate kept her mouth shut, pulling a pad of Rick's Post-It's out of her drawer.

Rebecca leaned her elbow on Kate's desk. "Look, Molly was one of our own, okay? She was one of us and she deserves to have her story told."

"She does," Kate agreed, finally looking over. "But not by jumping to conclusions and trying to harass the officers involved in her case. I won't be feeding you information, Miss Hill." She turned back to her work, but Rebecca didn't move. Too much practice ignoring Rick worked in Kate's favour though and Rebecca faded into the background hustle and bustle of the precinct.

At least for a few minutes.

"You're just as bad as the others, you know."

Kate looked up, curious and irritated. "What others?"

"Cops. If it was another cop you'd be rallying around each other, protecting each other, insulating each other, yet when it comes to some other profession, you don't give us the same courtesy."

Kate leaned towards Rebecca, her smile sweet, but feral. "Miss Hill, if it was another cop, I wouldn't be talking to a reporter. I'm affording Molly Carroll the same respect I give all of my other victims. So you're not going to get your sound bite, your quote, or anything like that when it comes to this case. You're just going to have to find out about it through the statements of the NYPD, like everyone else."

She turned back to her work, only a little thrilled when Rebecca said nothing. Yet, the reporter didn't move. Finally, Kate looked up with a raised eyebrow, only to find the woman looking at her with serious consideration and maybe a hint of admiration that hadn't been there before.

"You're not what I expected."

"Thanks," Kate said slowly, unsure if the woman meant to be complementary or not. "I think."

Rebecca leaned back in her seat. "I always thought you were cold. Aloof. But you're not."

Kate stayed silent, tamping down the irritation at the backhanded insult.

"Detective Juddoo sent me your way," she said finally. "I usually work over there. Bad crime area, better stories, you know? But when I asked him about Molly… He said you'd be more than willing to talk to me."

The detective actually let out a loud bark of laughter. "Miss Hill, no offense, but I hate reporters."

Rebecca looked up at the doorway to the break room and Kate followed her gaze. Rick was watching them out of the corner of his eye – Kate could tell because his gaze kept darting towards them – but he, Ryan and Esposito seemed deep in conversation. When Kate looked back to the journalist, she was smiling.

"Yeah," she said. "I can see that." She pushed herself up. "Detective, it's been a pleasure. Really."

And Kate believed her. Then Rebecca stopped and turned back. "Molly was really my friend. We went to school together and she was genuinely a good person. So if you do end up talking to the press, I'd appreciate it if you came to me first

Kate's smile was genuine. "I'll seriously consider it."

Rick sidled up, coffee in hand, as Kate watched Rebecca leave. "You just cost me fifteen bucks, Detective."

"Oh?"

"I had my money on you chewing her up and spitting her back out again. It actually looks like you left on friendly terms," he answered, settling into the seat Rebecca had just vacated.

Kate rested her chin on her hand as she looked over at him. "Juddoo sent her over."

He raised an eyebrow.

"I know," she responded, shuffling papers around her to reorient herself with the case. Rick rarely let her stay too late at the precinct, but it meant the first thing she often had to do in the morning was come in and refresh her memory. It was both a blessing and a curse.

"I don't get it," he admitted. "Was he hoping you'd freak out? Expecting you to tell her everything?"

Kate snorted, looking for Lanie's autopsy report. "I've had my fifteen minutes of fame, thanks, and it was fifteen minutes too many."

"You were beautiful for every minute," he said, picking up her hand and dropping a kiss to the back. It was one of the quick little displays he allowed himself at the precinct.

She rolled her eyes, but there was a smile on her face and a blush in her cheeks. "Sweet talker." Then she drew in a breath. "Okay, so we know Molly Carroll OD'd on beta blockers…"


Ten hours later, a full day at the precinct with no new leads, Rick put his foot down and tugged Kate out of her chair. She protested, vehemently, but Rick was too insistent. He'd allowed Kate to work without interruption until the end of her shift. He'd been good, stealing Ryan's computer while the other man was out checking for witnesses and interviewing anyone at the station who could know the name of their mysterious boyfriend. However, when shift's end had rolled around, he'd been adamant that she take a break. Though they'd been cheery heading into the precinct, it was obvious that the case was wearing on her already, that, as irrational as it was, Kate blamed herself for Molly's death. Some serial killer had targeted Molly because of Kate and Rick knew his detective too well not to understand that she felt at least partially responsible.

So, he'd let her stew in silence until they stepped in the door, then announced it was his night to cook and left her to the couch. She'd been carrying on a conversation about the newest exploits of Rook and Nikki until about ten minutes ago, when Rick could tell she was starting to fade. When he'd glanced over, he could see her playing with the edge of a piece of paper. A piece of paper he knew she'd all but smuggled out of the precinct. A photocopy of the killer's note.

Kate was sure there was something in those few concise words that would help them, something that would clue them into something other than the method of death. For the life of them, and no matter how long she'd spent staring at the note that afternoon, they couldn't come up with anything. It wasn't surprising, but Rick knew it was disheartening. It was obvious the man wasn't going to stop, that this probably wasn't the first one, and it was a terrifying notion. Kate didn't often get targeted by serial killers, and both of them were glad for it. But this…

And he couldn't help feeling a bit of guilt himself. They'd been together over a year now, just over eighteen months actually, and he knew that despite their best efforts, their relationship hadn't been totally media free. They'd both been plastered on tabloids once or twice, especially from the few parties they'd attended in the Hamptons after Kate's shooting. Heck, he'd been collecting the clippings half in amusement. He couldn't help but think that Kate wouldn't be so high profile if they weren't together.

"What about a jail break?"

Kate glanced over the back of their couch to where Rick was cooking in confusion and annoyance. "Why would Nikki need to break Rook out of jail?"

He grinned as he dished up dinner. She may feel partially responsible for Molly's death, but that didn't mean he couldn't distract her.

"Who said it would be Nikki breaking Rook out?" Rick questioned as he brought two plates to the couch. They were usually anal about eating at the table, just to have that time together, but he wanted Kate as relaxed as possible. She looked it, except for the tension he could see in every line of her body as she reclined against the arm of the couch.

Kate shot him a look. "Nikki's too straight to get herself caught," she replied, setting the photocopy aside to take the plate he held out to her. "Plus, if she's going to do something that would hypothetically get her arrested, she wouldn't get caught."

"You have a lot of faith in Nikki's abilities," he murmured, leaning over to kiss her and skilfully balancing his own plate of food. She lifted her legs and he slid into the spot, waiting until her feet dropped back into his lap to settle his food on her shins. "What makes you so sure she wouldn't get caught?"

"Please, Rick," she responded, her eyes darting to the note even as she speared some of the chicken pasta he'd thrown together. "With the connections she has? Lauren alone would help simply because they're best friends." She shot him a look. "And I guarantee she knows all the good ways to hide the evidence."

He frowned. "Are we talking about Nikki Heat or Kate Beckett?"

Kate huffed out a breath. "I don't know," she admitted, closing her eyes.

His hand started moving on her leg, rubbing up and down out of comfort. She focused on her food and neither of them spoke for a few moments.

"There's something in that letter, Rick. I know it."

"Then you also know we'll find it," he replied, squeezing her knee gently. "Kate, you've been on this case less than twenty-four hours."

"And already I've had a fight with another officer, been called a media whore and hit more dead ends than I have leads," she shot back.

"Hey, hey, hey," he said, leaning forward to place his dish on the coffee table, then doing the same with hers. He tugged on her leg until she shifted into his lap with a heavy sigh, resting her head against his shoulder. "First of all, we both know how much you hate the media," he said, his hand stroking up and down her back. "Second…"

"I know," Kate interrupted. "Logically, I know, but since I've started hanging out with you, logic just doesn't seem to cut it anymore."

"Hanging out with me," he asked with a raised eyebrow. "We're doing much more than 'hanging out', Sweetheart."

She rolled her eyes despite the heat that zipped through her body. "You're missing my point."

"I'm not," he promised, pressing a kiss to her hair. "I just…" Now, it was his turn to sigh.

He didn't have to explain it further than that. This was an odd one for both of them, partially because there was so much more pressure on them with the addition of an extra precinct, but also because this was the most public their lives had been since Kate had been shot. The press wanted quotes, wanted a line, wanted information from them about Molly Carroll's death that Kate couldn't release. And wouldn't release. She had no time for the press and the paparazzi and she wasn't about to start making time for them because of a woman's death.

She heard Rick groan when her phone sounded from her purse. She sighed, tilting her head up to kiss his cheek gently. "You know I have to get it."

He let her go, and Kate frowned as she saw Lanie's name on the caller ID. "Lanie?"

"Girl, turn on your TV."

When Lanie called, Kate generally did as she was told. Lanie had yet to steer her wrong and more than that, and though she'd never admit it, Kate was a little bit afraid of the ME. "Why?"

"News," was Lanie's only response.

Kate barely withheld a growl. It turned into a loud groan when she flipped on the TV and caught the end of an interview with none other than Detective Jason Juddoo.

"You have got to be kidding me," Rick murmured as Kate settled in beside him, the phone still pressed to her ear.

"He's been talking about how you stole his case, about how the darling of the NYPD is really just –"

"Lanie," Kate interrupted, "I get it."

The phone dropped away from her ear as Kate turned her full attention to the TV. Part of Kate wanted to laugh. With all of his accusations on how much time Kate spent in the media, it seemed like a hypocritical move on his part.

"Accidental my ass," Kate murmured. "No accidental death leaves a note quoting an old NYPD case. And if Molly had been taking beta blockers for as long as Tim Acheson said, there's no way it can be accidental. People who take medication that long don't screw up."

Rick chuckled slightly, pulling her closer. It wasn't the first time Kate had gotten defensive of her cases and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. She was a stickler for truth, and what Juddoo was saying was definitely not the truth. He bit his lip against the smile that threatened to break through when she started mumbling to herself, correcting the things Juddoo was saying.

Once the clip on the case was done, Rick changed the channel without a word. The sitcom was a distraction, and meant as such, but Rick could still feel the stiffness of her body that told him she wasn't likely to relax any time soon. He slid his hand into her hair, scratching her scalp and slowly moving her head to rest on his shoulder. She relaxed under the touch, like he knew she would.

"Sweetheart, we should move this to the bed," he whispered when she eventually relaxed to all but limp against him.

She just mumbled and curled further into his body. Even knowing they were going to ache in the morning, he didn't want to move her. He liked feeling her against him and he didn't want to risk waking her up enough for her brain to re-engage. The case was away for the night and because he knew her, and knew that sleep was a precious commodity on cases like this, he wanted to make sure she got at least some sleep.

Rick didn't realize he too had drifted off until the shrill ringing of Kate's phone at seven. She grumbled, moaned as her body stretched, then answered.

"Beckett."

"Detective Sookhold," came the crisp voice. Then there was a pause. "I think I've got something you're going to want to see."


I promise to do my best to make sure the next update doesn't take another month! I looked and was honestly and utterly surprised by how long it's been since I updated.

I do hope you enjoyed this one and to those of you who kept poking at me, I actually appreciate it. With the way things are going, I needed to update to hear from all of you, so thank you for pushing me to do so!

Let me know if you loved it, hated it, if it made no sense... you know, the usual. Thanks in advance!