A/N - Thanks to everyone who has read, reviewed, followed and made this story a favorite.

Those of you familiar with me won't be surprised by this chapter. Those of you just climbing aboard my wagon: I'm sorry...nah, not really. ;-)

Hope you're having fun!

~GeekMom

P.S.

If you're following Breaching, I'll post an update as soon as this is finished this week. Thanks for your patience.

The Mysteries of Crystal Cove

Chapter 4

It's a Prank...Right?

"Beckett? Did you hear from Espo?" His six foot plus frame sprawled across the dark green bedspread. He had kicked his shoes off and had had his fingers laced under his head, on the verge of a nap. Until he heard the pounding. Castle sat up on the bed. "Did you hear that?"

She peeked around the doorframe from the bathroom, also green although more of a sea foam shade than the darker Hunter of the rest of the room. "Yeah, no sign of Ryan, but he still couldn't find a light source so it was hard to check everywhere. He's thoroughly convinced he's pulling something." She disappeared for a second and then went back into the bedroom. "He's thoroughly convinced you are in collusion."

He narrowed his eyes. "Does Espo even know the word collusion?" Castle struck back as his honesty and integrity were being impugned. "Ass."

Kate approached the bed, climbed up and onto her fiancé's lap. "I think the actual word he used was conspiracy and as for being an ass, I think he learned that from the best," she whispered the last part in his ear.

Castle was too distracted by the electricity her warm breath in his ear sent jolting along his central nervous system to realize he'd been insulted. He closed his eyes and rode the sensation; he'd never tire of it. When he opened his eyes, fully in control of his sensibilities once again, he flipped her so he had her pinned under him. She half-heartedly struggled to free herself at first but then just gazed back into his eyes. He studied her face. "What?" she asked.

"The dark green looks good on you, or actually you look good on it. The chestnut of your hair compliments the darker color and it brings out those tiny green specks in your eyes. The decorator could stand to learn about complimentary colors and shades from you." It was true; like the other rooms they had encountered, the room was completely green.

He felt like they had fallen into a lush green meadow. Maybe that was the goal, but it was too much. A room needed the various shades, colors and textures to be interesting. It was a nice size, though. The windows had been covered like the windows on the first floor. That was still puzzling; he couldn't conjure a credible reason for the black-out paint. The floor was hardwood but the deep green area rug covered most of it. Besides the queen sized bed, there was an arm chair; green, a love seat; also green, in front of a wood burning fireplace. The fireplace was adorned by more candle sticks and a large ornately framed oil painting of a man in a mourning suit. Castle declared him as creepy and that he could swear the portrait's poorly painted, bottomless black eyes followed him as he moved around the room. Kate refuted his claims, saying that it must have been a combination of the way the candles flickered and his over excited, overblown imagination. The room had a fairly modern private bathroom, although the tub and shower were tiny. Castle would have a hard time in there by himself; not that he wouldn't try his best, later, to make room for Kate in the shower with him. He always told her that they were being good citizens and conserving water, by sharing the shower: like sharing a ride only without strangers or clothes.

"I know that look," she said pushing on his chest in an unsuccessful attempt to wriggle out from under him, "We need to go and find Ryan."

"He's messing around, I'd put money on it. The problem is that his prank fell flat because no one believes he was taken," he pursed his lips, "Everyone would rather believe that I'm behind it and now he doesn't know how to get out of it without looking like an idiot." He smoothed her hair out of her face, leaned down and kissed her. "He'll come out from wherever he's hiding soon." He kissed her again and this time felt her whole body shudder under his attentions. Castle smiled but it dropped as he heard the pounding again. "There it was again. Jeez," he said as he chuckled. "Maybe the gag was that he would slip into a room and hide out for a bit, but then he got himself locked in?" Castle smiled broadly. "God, that would be classic." He rolled off of her.

Kate propped herself up on her elbows and ran a hand through her hair. She scowled and said, "I'm not sure. I don't think he would worry Jenny like this, ya' know, not like you would worry me if you thought it would get a laugh."

"Like you'd worry." He rolled onto his side to look at her. "Think about how boring your life would be if I was always so…"

"Considerate."

"Ouch. No, I was going to say predictable." He heard the pounding again. Shaking his head, but still wearing an amused expression, he said, "I'm gonna go find him and free him from his self-imposed prison, the dork." He sat up, scooted to the edge of the bed and bent over to slip on his shoes. He glanced at her over his shoulder, "Coming?"

"Hmm." She stood. "Walk me back down to Lanie & Jenny. You can collect Espo and rescue Ryan, oh unpredictable one."

Esposito carefully walked back down the staircase. He held the lone candle aloft and periodically called for his partner. "You stupid son of a bitch," he nodded for emphasis, "If you even try to scare me, I will open a can of my private stock of whoop…" He heard scraping, like a swollen wooden door on a humid day sticking in its frame and then pulled open over a gritty floor. "Kev?" He moved toward the sound. Still too dark to see he held the candle closer to the floor; maybe he'd see evidence of the door that had been moved. He stood and swept the candle around so its light illuminated the hall. It would have been creepy in broad daylight. Portraits hung on the walls of people he guessed had been long dead; some of them, he suspected were already dead when the portrait was commissioned. He chuckled; these portraits were decommissioned. That's what he would do to Ryan if he was messing around. He didn't need this shit. He explored the hall where his partner disappeared; beyond the staircase, there were three doors, all locked or jammed. He called at each of the doors with no response. He tried the main entrance door again, but it was still locked tight. Shaking his head and muttering about killing his partner, Espo texted Kate and Lanie his findings before he returned to the steps to begin the climb to the second floor.

"Chica?" he called when he reached the floor; there were several doors and he did not have the patience to open each one, but not receiving an answer, resigned, he began to open them. 'This would be just like Castle,' he thought, 'the dude is always looking to prank, and Ryan is in on it. What the hell? How could his partner, the man he called his brother, side with the writer? Since when did Ryan side with Castle?' Espo opened another door to an all purple room and shook his head and said to no one, "Looks like a porn set." He closed the door and ventured further. 'Almost always,' he continued his musing, 'If Castle came up with a theory that was out there, Ryan acted like an enthusiastic fan girl; first in line, camping on the sidewalk, waiting for the store to open, so he could get a friggen signature, fan girl. Way out, bizarre ideas, too, anything having to do with zombies, aliens, mob hits, CIA or FBI conspiracies, dimensional rifts, time travel. There was also the weird stuff he was into on his own; vampires: really?'

He heard noise from the far end of the hallway. Years of training and experience had him crouching next to the wall, making himself as small a target as possible before he remembered that they were on vacation. Exhaling loudly, he straightened up just as Beckett and Castle came into the candle's circle of light.

"Hey Espo, what'cha doin'?" Beckett asked teasingly.

"Oh, you saw that?"

"Yep, we did. You could be in one of those training DVDs, man." Castle said. Beckett shook her head.

"Yo, thanks Castle."

"Yeah, really show the academy cadets how to plaster your carcass to the wall and crouch in the face of clear and present friends slash coworkers." He met Espo's eyes solemnly, "Your performance moved me, bro."

Esposito frowned. "Ah, shut the hell up, Castle."

Kate rescued Castle. "So, did you find him?"

"Who? Ryan? Nah, I'm pretty sure your boy there put him up to pulling a prank." He sneered at Castle.

"Hey! Why am I suspect? I'm standing right here." He pointed to the carpeted hallway floor. "Whoa, déjà vu."

Kate rolled her eyes. "You two go see if you can pry him out of whatever mess he's gotten himself into. I'm going to see Lanie and Jenny."

She walked about five feet away when Castle heard an exasperated, "God!" He smiled in amusement; she was fun to tease and always had been even before they were them.

The two men turned to descend the steps once again and heard the pounding again. Both men skipped down the steps, eager to locate the sound.

"It's coming from over there," Espo said, pointing toward the entry door.

"Yeah," Castle grabbed Espo's shoulder and grinned. "Do you think he got himself locked out? How cool would that be?"

Espo, who had been perfecting his imitation of Oscar the grouch, suddenly matched Castle's grin. "He's such a dork."

"I know, right?"

The pounding continued, but at irregular intervals. Esposito approached the door, grabbed the knob, but it would not turn. Castle pulled with him, but nothing happened.

They heard a muffled voice from the exterior. "Is someone in there? This is the sheriff."

Espo and Castle looked at each other for a half a second and then began pounding and shouting themselves. Although Enid's offer was generous, none of them had any desire to be imprisoned; well maybe Ryan, but no one else did, in the house.

After some shouted communications and debate, they heard the order to, "Stand back," and so they did. A moment later they heard a heavier thump on the door. You would have thought that the oak door was some reinforced eighteen inch steel safe door given how resistant it was but after the third thump, the wood started to splinter. By the sixth, they were through.

Sunlight filled the hallway as the town's sheriff and his deputy climbed through the opening left in the door by the battering. The sheriff was an unassuming man who had sandy brown hair and blue eyes. He was about Castle's height, but leaner. Castle read facetiousness in his face, as if he took life seriously when he needed to, but most of the time, like now, he was amused by the absurdity around him.

He looked first at Esposito then at Castle; taking his time, assessing each man. The deputy behind his shoulder presented as the embodiment of the right hand man. He literally stood on the sheriff's right, was shorter than the man with the tin star, and obediently waited for his next command. The deputy was slightly younger, considerably rounder and somewhat balder, unless you reckoned the contrasting eight inches of combed over dark brown hair covering his dome, held in place by some sticky hair product. The look was completed by the black framed glasses perched on the end of his nose. As cliché as it was; Castle could picture him spending his shifts on a round bar stool at the counter of a favored doughnut shop or diner in town; the visual interpretation of the archetypical small town cop; the root of the cliché.

The sheriff spoke first. "What're you boys doin' in here?"

The question hadn't been what Castle, or, from the look on his face, what Esposito had been expecting. Espo stepped forward. "I'm Detective Javier Esposito, NYPD." The sheriff, who would be a terrible poker player, narrowed his eyes at Espo's mention of his profession. Espo continued, "This is Richard Castle." The deputy's head whipped up in recognition of Castle's name.

'Great,' Castle thought, 'a fan.'

"The novelist turned investigator?" The sheriff asked. Castle's ego and chest inflated marginally upon hearing the sheriff's recognition. Esposito shook his head.

"Yes, um, sheriff?"

"Carter, Ethan Carter," he supplied as he held out his hand. Castle returned the handshake. Then Carter shook Javi's hand. "Pleased to make your acquaintance. This is Buzby, my deputy."

Buzby pushed his glasses up the slope of his nose, stepped forward and grasped Castle's hand which he began to shake vigorously. "Wow! I just can't get over that it's you. I've read all your books, even the comic books…"

"Graphic novels," Castle corrected.

"Yep, them too. You're just…" he paused, looking skyward for a word. All he could come up with was, "awesome," the man gushed.

Castle, in an effort to calm the deputy, quietly said, "Thank you." The whole time he tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to relinquish his hand. "This is my partner, Javier Esposito." He indicated Javi with his free hand. It was a ploy to get the man to release him. It didn't work.

The sheriff and deputy looked back and forth between the men. Carter raised his eyebrows. "So you fellas came up from the city for a little weekend getaway?"

"Yeah," Castle began casually and then realization hit. "Oh…oh no, um, we're not here together…oh, well we are here together, but not…" Taking a breath to look to Espo for corroboration, Castle regrouped and practically shouted, "his girlfriend is upstairs along with my fiancée."

"Yeah, man…God, we're not…to-ge-ther, like that," Javi confirmed.

Carter smiled; a tight, impatient 'I'm done with the nonsense' smile. "Still haven't answered my original question."

Castle shut his eyes, replaying the conversation. "Oh, here. Why are we here," he repeated. Carter nodded. "We have permission."

"Really, from whom?"

Castle appreciated the sheriff's correct grammar and his delight played in his expression. "Um, Enid...Enid McAllister."

The sheriff's eyebrows shot up in surprise, revealing time-worn creases across his forehead. "That's mighty interesting."

"She gave me the address and the key," Castle supplicated, retrieving both from his pocket. "We had reservations," he mimicked air quotes around the word 'reservations'. "Or at least I thought we did. I guess I fell victim to one of the town's hauntedest pranks. We were supposed to stay at Dale's Bed and Breakfast, but I confirmed with Robert," the sheriff reacted to that name as well. Castle made a mental note of the reaction, but continued, "Yesterday, but Abe told me today that there were no vacancies. Funny; not so much, by the way. Enid approached me on the street and offered rooms here."

Espo continued the story. "We got here and once inside, the door slammed and we were trapped."

"Hm," Sheriff Carter commented. "How many people are in here?"

"Six," both men said simultaneously.

Castle looked at Espo who said, "We've lost one, though. He's another detective; Ryan, Kevin Ryan, but we think he's just pulling a practical joke on us."

Carter openly assessed both men. Castle knew he was holding something back. Buzby had taken out a notepad and was writing everything down.

"Where did your friend go missing?"

Castle blinked; the sheriff's phrasing of the question set off alarms in his head. "Um, in here. We were walking up the steps and by the first landing, he was gone. But really, we think he hid and got stuck somewhere."

"It'd be just like him to mess up the joke," Espo added while fist bumping Castle's waiting fist. Both men smiled but they were short lived.

Carter said, "Show me where, exactly."

"You don't think there is anything to worry about, do you?" Castle asked while communicating his worry to Esposito.

Carter sighed. "He wouldn't be the first to disappear from this house."