Genre: Crime, Drama, Action, Romance, Humor and Family
Rating: M for violence, language 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: I don't have any clue as to how exactly the winglets are painted for airplanes, but they are detachable, so to me it'd make more sense to paint them separately. But that's just me, lol, so that might be a mistake, I don't know.
A/N #2: Just wanted to note the Air Alaska accident I mention is actually based on the accident of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, I changed some things, as that was going to be in my first book, the accident and then the investigation. And the other accident and incidents I mentioned I took from actual ones too.
A/N #3: Definitely need to say thank you to my reviewers for the last chapter, as they were great to see! TORONTOSUN (Was nice to read your reaction, and yeah, more of Skye as you said, you're right. And you'll have to see if your guess was right of course! But it was also great to see you speculating about the case!), vetgirlmx (It's great to see that you're enjoying this story as it goes, lol, always great to see as a writer of course. And I'm not surprised that you want to see Beckett and Skye interacting more, it's that reason why I thought of this story, we rarely see Beckett working with women really, plus I had written Skye quite a lot like her, so wanted to have them sort of working together. Had to laugh though at what you said about wanting Castle to annoy them, I wasn't surprised to see that you did, just made me laugh at that since it would make sense, lol), LoveAbby (I'm also glad to see you're enjoying this story, and that you're finding it intriguing! And as for the next chapter, here you go, lol) and sammysgirl78 (I was happy to see the word suspenseful, lol, actually wasn't sure I could write that well enough to warrant it in a review, so was nice to read it in yours. And yep, gotta see what happens with the FBI agent to see how things turn out. But was nice to read you thought this was another good installment, and that you're waiting for this chapter too!). So thank you all so much for your reviews and you taking the time to do so, I definitely loved reading them and of course appreciated all of them!
A/N #4: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song This Guitar (Can't Keep from Crying) by George Harrison, from his album Extra Texture (Read All About It).
Can't Understand Or Deal With Hate
Stepping out of her car, Beckett watched as Skye did the same from the backseat and told the investigator, "You should probably stay here."
"I can't, I have to know if it's Olivia," Skye replied, a pleading look in her eyes though she didn't realize it.
"We have her picture," Beckett began.
"Please, I'm asking you, begging, to let me see if it's her," Skye said, her hands together in supplication.
"Fine, but once we have an ID, you need to leave the area," Beckett said, looking at Castle as they walked around the car to him.
"I'll bring her back to the car," he said quickly, picking up on her expression.
Skye nodded absently, and then followed the two into Central Park. She was quiet as their shoes crunched in the snow and she saw ahead a group of police officers and other people.
"Perlmutter," Beckett said when they'd ducked under the tape and came up to the body which was covered. "What do you have?"
"A middle aged woman, throat cut," the ME said, glancing up at them before he stopped catching sight of Skye. "Investigator McDouglas."
"Doctor," Skye said, nodding to him. "May I?" she asked.
"Do you know her?" Perlmutter asked. When Skye nodded again he stood and gestured with his hand, watching as she pulled down the sheet after kneeling next to the body. "Who is she?"
"Olivia Hurst," Skye said, covering the woman's face before standing up quickly when she saw the state the woman was in. "She is… was a trainer at the NTSB training facility. She was my teacher for Air Accident Investigation 101."
"Were you close?" Castle asked, seeing the steely expression on Skye's face betrayed by her paling skin.
"After I left her class we became friends, when I first became an IIC, I contacted her if I found it necessary. We still exchange e-mails… we used to. She was my mentor," Skye said. "I think I'll stand over there, you can stay," she said to Castle who started to walk after her. "I have her husband's number; I'd like to contact him unless that's your purview Beckett."
"Go ahead, but don't relate any details to him," Beckett said. She waited to watch Skye go outside of the crime scene and lean against a tree before putting her phone to her ear.
"You know her?" Castle asked the ME as he knelt back down next to the body.
"I was one of the MEs that performed autopsies on victims of a crash at La Guardia, she was one of the people from the NTSB that came in," Perlmutter said absently as he uncovered the victim's head again. "That was eleven years ago."
"And you still remember her," Castle commented as Beckett knelt down.
"I think it's obvious to everyone here right now that I did," Perlmutter snapped. "So Detective," he said, turning his attention to Beckett. "It was a quick death if you want to tell her that," he nodded to Skye who was still on the phone. "I'm going to place the time of death at about eleven this morning."
"Castle," Beckett said, looking up at him. "Ask her if she knows where our vic lived." When he'd gone she then said to the ME, "Was the weapon left behind this time?"
"Same as this morning," Perlmutter confirmed. "Whatever this is, it's most likely the same as the weapon that was found in the alley," he said, holding up a bag with a piece of metal with a sharp edge, making it almost triangular in shape. "Along with this," he said as he held up a bag with a piece of paper with Skye's full name on it; that time the ink red. "And the same as your previous victim, the killer held her from behind," he said, glancing over at Skye as Beckett did the same. "A quick sweep across the throat that was a little jagged at first as she tried to fight back. Most likely the killer held onto her tighter, and…" he finished with a sweeping motion across his own neck.
"Yeah, I got that," Beckett said absently. "Was there anything besides the manner of death you found with the first vic?"
"There was significant bruising on the body and I'll take a look at this body once I get her down to the morgue for anything similar. And I'll let you know what I find," Perlmutter said before Beckett stood up and left the area.
"She lived a few blocks from here," Castle said after Beckett had spoken with Ryan and Esposito.
"Her husband is going to head to the Precinct," Skye said. "I told him you might want to talk with him. What he told me though, is that Olivia got a call this morning, and told him that it was about me, I was in the hospital undergoing some kind of surgery."
"So he's luring them out," Beckett said absently.
"Of course, with me as bait," Skye suddenly snapped.
"So you know Perlmutter," Castle said to try and change the subject quickly.
"I heard you speaking," Skye said. "And yes, he was the ME for the crash I was helping Peter with… oh no," she suddenly trailed off, looking back the way they'd walked to the crime scene. "Wait, don't!" she yelled as Peter King suddenly came running to them. She ran to her colleague and grabbed him, trying to hold him back.
"I have to see her Skye!" Peter said, trying to get past her. "It's her isn't it?" he said, seeing the body covered by a sheet.
"Peter, stop," Skye said before Castle started to help her. She then put her hand on his cheek and turned him to her, speaking to her fellow investigator rapidly in another language.
Glancing at Beckett who was standing behind them, Castle gave her a questioning look when Peter suddenly relaxed and he let go of the man.
"It's alright," Skye said, turning Peter and walking with him back to the street. She had directed that to Castle, and talked to Peter again in the same language, soothingly before she took him over to his car.
"I wonder what she's saying," Beckett said. "I wonder how he knows our vic."
"Do you need to speak to him?" Skye called to her then.
Walking over, Beckett said once she was close, "I'm sorry Investigator King, but I do have some questions."
"Not that I killed her, please don't ask me that," Peter said roughly, his eyes reddened as Skye gripped his shoulder. He spoke a few words to her in the language she'd used and then said to Beckett after Skye's reply, "We dated once, when I had finished the course that Livia had taught. We were close but… we wanted different things, she was very much rooted to one place for her work, I didn't mind traveling. We broke up but stayed close and I don't think I ever stopped loving her though I didn't realize it until now."
"How did you feel when she got married?" Beckett asked.
"I accepted it, we were… we'd grown too far apart, but that didn't stop what I felt for her," Peter said.
"Do you need me to take over for the rest of the day?" Skye asked.
"No, no, I just need a second," Peter said, shaking his head. "Her husband loved her too Detective, you'll see that if you speak with him. This is someone else. How did she… was she killed?"
Skye immediately spoke the same lilting language and when Peter shook his head, replying in the same manner she sighed and said, "Like Lenora."
"God, how long until they get you?" Peter asked her.
"I don't matter, what we need to worry about is you, and everyone else even remotely connected to me," Skye said. "You need to head back to your hotel."
"She's right," Beckett said, letting him know the interview was over. "There's really nothing you can do here."
After speaking a few words to Skye, Peter squeezed her arm and then got into his car, the three watching him drive away.
"What were you speaking to him?" Castle suddenly asked.
"Welsh," Skye replied, turning to Beckett with a sigh. "Is he a suspect?"
"I doubt it, at eleven he was in the station, as were the rest of us," she replied. "So unless he has an accomplice he's clear. Ryan, Espo," she then called as she saw the two detectives walking up to them. "Did anyone see anything?"
"Someone saw a tall man, black top, pants, motorcycle helmet and sunglasses running in that direction," Ryan said, pointing southwest of their location. "They discovered the body after but never actually saw the man with the body."
"How tall?" Beckett asked.
"About six to six foot six," Ryan replied.
"Tall then. Espo?" Beckett said, turning to him.
"Got some people from the direction the suspect was running towards, they confirmed the description, and mentioned a motorcycle," Esposito said. "So black boots as well."
"Any description on the bike?" Castle asked.
"Kawasaki, white with a red stripe, but no one was able to make out the license plate," Esposito said, referencing his notebook.
"Okay, I need you two to head back to the station," Beckett said. "I don't care how you do it, but our second vic's husband is going to be there, and I need you to get an alibi for him. Someone needs to try and see about the phone call she got; if it's legit. And I would love to have security footage once we get back from the morgue."
"You want us to check it out?" Esposito asked.
"No, I'll be looking at it," Beckett said before turning to Skye. "I'll need your help on that."
"So I'll be able to take a look at the killer?" Skye asked. When Beckett nodded, she nodded in return and said, "Whatever I can do."
"What do you need to look at, at the morgue?" Ryan asked.
"She needs to go," Beckett said, nodding to Skye.
"You know Welsh?" the investigator asked in shock; the others looking at their colleague in surprise as well.
"You said morgue a couple times in English. The victims from the crash?" Beckett asked. When Skye indicated with a nod that she was right she nodded to Ryan and Esposito saying, "We'll see you back at the Precinct."
"Hey Perlmutter," Castle called as the ME was walking towards the van ahead of the victim's body. "Are you in charge of the crash victims too?"
"Hell no," Perlmutter said, startling them; except for Skye. "I told myself once was enough, that's why Dr. Parish is in charge," he directed towards the investigator at the latter end of his sentence. "She'll do better than I will. And good luck if he butts into your investigation at all," he told Skye, indicating Castle.
Watching the doctor leave with the body as Ryan and Esposito walked to their car, Castle turned to Beckett and Skye saying, "I really didn't expect that reaction."
"You weren't there, they were mostly children," Skye said, her body tense. "I don't blame him. And I take it he's not a fan."
"We should go," Beckett said, wanting to get them to the morgue. "We'll meet Perlmutter there Castle, and take a look at the fist vic before he… looks at the second," she said, glancing at Skye as they went to the doors of her car.
"Sure," Castle said, watching Skye. "Are you okay?" he asked before she got in the backseat.
"Fine," Skye said shortly. She hesitated for a moment and said, "You would think that after so many years seeing the results of crashes I wouldn't be affected but… I've never had to look at a victim who was someone I knew. Not since I was a little girl."
"Don't," Beckett said quickly to stop Castle from saying anything as Skye slammed the door shut after herself.
"She still remembers the crash," Castle commented.
"I know," Beckett stated simply before she got in the car herself. "Let's go Castle," she called before he seemed to jump and got in.
"Lanie?" Beckett said, standing in the doorway of the main room of the morgue with Castle and Skye.
"Are you Investigator McDouglas?" Lanie asked as she walked up to them.
"I am, I'm here for Investigator King," Skye said. "I understand you've been able to take a look at some of the victims?"
"I have," Lanie replied. She then turned to Beckett and Castle and said, "He's down the hall. This way please," directing Skye inside the room.
"You forget the casualties," Castle suddenly said as they looked inside the room and saw nearly all the tables were occupied.
"I don't think she does," Beckett said, watching as Lanie uncovered one victim and Skye seemed to tense up as she'd done before at the crime scene.
"Excuse me," a man said suddenly behind them. "Skye," he called as Beckett tried to stop him before he started pulling on an NTSB jacket.
"It's alright," Skye called. "He's in charge of Survival Factors in the go team. Come on in Denny."
"We should go," Beckett said.
"Detective?" Perlmutter said as he came out a door into the hall. "I just got the second victim prepared for the procedure, the first victim is ready. Taking a look at her earlier," he told them as he led the way to another room where there were two tables, their vics occupying both. "I noticed specific bruising in different areas on her body and I took some photographs since it was hard to get a good look at them," he said, handing Beckett a stack of them.
"A gun," Castle said, trying to discern where the bruising pattern was on the body in the obviously enhanced photograph.
"Stuck into her back, right at her liver, and also at her chest, above the last rib to the left," Perlmutter said. "Then there are the bruises over her face. You can see here that they're pretty pronounced."
"The killer kidnapped them after he lured them to him," Beckett said since the vic's wrists had bruising on them. "But she fought back, and I'm going to guess now that our second vic did the same thing. This muzzle though," she said as she went back to the first picture. "With the measurement, I would say a .45."
"So our killer owns a Kawasaki, and also has a .45," Castle mused. "You said the second vic died at eleven?" he asked the ME.
"That's what her temperature would indicate," Perlmutter replied, looking at a file.
"But the call came in about two, so he killed her somewhere else-" Castle started to say.
"I'm pretty sure I mentioned there was little blood around the second vic," Perlmutter interrupted him.
"No, of course, but I'm just saying, what if he had them held together until he took them," Castle said. "And the first victim was able to escape, that's why he killed her where he did."
"You think he wanted to send a message?" Beckett asked, starting to get a sense of what he was thinking.
"To Skye," Castle said, nodding out the door. "The first vic escaped from him for a while, but I bet if you get enough security footage from the street around it, you'll see him trapping her there. It sends the message that he wants the body to be Skye's, that the victim herself is nothing."
"And with the second vic it's more of a warning," Beckett mused. "I can drop her in Central Park in broad daylight and no one will see who I am or be able to find me. I can do the same to you. He's stepping up the intimidation, he's going to try and get closer to her. Excuse me," she said suddenly before she left the room.
Castle was a little startled when he looked to her at that and found her gone, so he turned to leave and then stopped to quickly tell Perlmutter, "I'm sure she'll want to know if you find anything after the autopsy." When the ME didn't even bother to respond he ran out the room and saw that Beckett was a little down the hall from where Skye and the other NTSB investigator were standing, watching them.
"Did you tell Perlmutter-" Beckett began.
"Yeah, taken care of," Castle said quickly. "Are they finished?"
"I don't think so," Beckett said.
"Thank you Denny, I'll send this to Peter, let him know what you found," Skye was saying before she closed the tablet she had been writing on and walked over to Castle and Beckett. "I'm set," she said, closing her bag that was hanging from her shoulder.
"Anything unusual?" Castle asked as they walked down the hall.
"No, the cause of death were all internal injuries, one of them had a severe concussion and another lacerations," Skye said. "Which would make sense with a rougher landing."
"Did they not realize they were flying a glider?" Beckett said.
"Good question, everything's going to depend on the CVR and FDR," Skye said simply. "But you would think with these injuries that they weren't sufficiently prepared for the landing. I don't believe it though, it's hard to."
"Do you know the pilot?" Beckett said as the investigator looked a little troubled.
"And the co-pilot, they're experienced, and they've flown a plane in some form or another since they were young," Skye said. "If I could speak with them…" She shook her head and then said, "I don't really have anything else I can do at this point."
"Do you mind going back to the Precinct?" Castle asked.
Smiling briefly, Skye said, "No, I need to look at some things, and I have to help you with that security footage don't I?" she directed to Beckett. When she'd nodded, Skye then said, "I have to ask, your partner was talking about a motorcycle the killer used to escape."
"It was likely parked there beforehand," Beckett said. "And used once the killer… after he set the body in the park."
Nodding Skye then said, "So he's planned all of this out. I don't envy you your job, it's usually easier to look into a crash, there's usually no questioning who, instead how and why."
"Most likely why you're with the NTSB," Castle commented.
"Not really, but it's an interesting theory," Skye said before she lengthened her strides and walked ahead of them.
"Are you still going to look deeper into her background?" Castle asked Beckett once they were alone.
"I need to," Beckett said simply. "These victims, the manner of death. It's all incredibly personal and brutal, there is someone that wants her dead and is willing to taunt her until he has the chance to kill her," she said as she saw that Skye was waiting for them at the door.
"Pick up anything from the interview?" Castle asked, staying back as Beckett and Skye walked over to her desk ahead of him.
"Not really, he's got a solid alibi," Ryan said. "He was going to his private practice on the west side at the time of the murder; cab driver confirmed it. Apparently his wife got a call at about ten this morning before she left the apartment in a rush, saying she was going to the hospital."
"Just checked on the bike, the owners of a white Kawasaki with a red stripe checked out and none of them registered in the city have been stolen recently. Got our second vic's phone record too," Esposito said, walking over from his desk. "About the time the husband said his wife got the call, another burner phone."
"A different phone?" Castle asked as he looked at the paper.
"He might be trying to get us to start thinking of accomplices," Ryan suggested.
"I would be surprised if she really did have enemies, besides the FBI agent," Castle said. "I'll show this to Beckett." As he walked over to her desk, he watched as Beckett and Skye were talking before the investigator pulled her phone out of her pocket and walked over to the conference room; speaking rapidly in what he guessed was Welsh again.
"Anything?" Beckett asked.
"Another burner phone," Castle explained, handing her the file. "The husband's alibi is solid and we don't really have anything concerning the motorcycle."
"Which I expected," Beckett said, looking at the highlighted number and nodding. "Okay, so we know now from the doorman at the vic's building that she got into a car without license plates. A standard black sedan that could have come from any rental car company or been stolen, or from out of state," she said, stepping up to the murder board. "And that was at about ten this morning. An hour later she was dead. But he held the body for another three."
"He was waiting," Castle said. "Maybe to see what we were doing concerning the case. Maybe he wanted to lull us into thinking we would only have one murder on our hands. And when he thought he'd waited long enough, he brought out the second body. But, with him killing her three hours before it doesn't work."
"He might be watching her," Beckett said.
"He might have made Skye wait," Castle said. "Thinking the longer she had to dwell on what happened the more terrified she might be."
"He probably forgot about her case," Beckett then said, turning to him; neither of them noticing Skye was standing a little down from them, watching them and trying to get their attention. "And once he realized he wasn't going to be able to see a reaction from her, or get her to make a mistake and expose herself to him, he dropped the body at the park."
"Which was more public," Castle said. "And since she's here in the city and with you; the lead investigator; he'd be able to watch her reaction."
"Not much of a reaction," Beckett said.
"But enough for him to…" Castle began to say before trailing off.
"Get a thrill," Beckett finished for him. "So we need another canvas done here in this area," she said as she waved her hand over the map on the murder board that was marked with the two places the victims had been found. "Ryan, Espo," she called to the two who were at their desks. She then turned to the room Skye was in, and was startled to find it empty.
"Sorry about that," a voice suddenly said behind them. They all turned at nearly the same time to see that Skye was walking towards them from the break room. "But I saw you were a bit busy and I decided to chance a cup of tea since it didn't look like you'd be stopping any time soon. There was something I wanted to ask you."
"Just a second," Beckett said quickly before turning to her partners. "I need you to canvas the Dakota, the shops, restaurants, everything across the street from where we found our second vic, see if anyone saw a man about the height we know our killer is watching us."
"Got it," Esposito said before leaving.
"Ryan, I need security footage again," Beckett said. "Hopefully we'll get something better than we did with the footage of our first murder."
"I'll see what I can find," Ryan said with a nod.
"Alright, what did you want to ask?" Beckett asked, turning to the NTSB investigator.
"Do you know the murder weapon used to… that was used to kill Lenora and Olivia?" Skye asked, hesitating for a moment before continuing.
"All we know is that it's a metallic object, with a really, really sharp edge," Castle said.
"He's right," Beckett said as the investigator looked at her. "Why?"
"I know what it is," Skye said, breathing in deeply for a moment. She stepped over to the murder board and pointed to the pictures of the weapons. "I'd like you to take a look at this, versus this," she then told Castle and Beckett as they stepped closer to her while she put up a picture against the top picture.
"It's the same color paint," Castle said.
"The end of the wing," Beckett said, looking at Skye as the bright blue on the murder weapon matched the one on the picture of an Air Signapore plane.
"The winglet. It's detachable, but if you used the right tools to cut it off, that metal is sharp," Skye said. "And this, will be the second murder weapon," she said, holding up a picture of a United Airlines jet, the winglet on it matching the picture to its right.
"How would the killer be able to get those?" Beckett asked as Castle clipped the pictures to the board.
"The Boeing plant in Washington state," Skye said. She began to pace then as she said, "They have the winglets, prepared but unpainted in one room. When they get an order from an airline, they'll paint it to match the airline's livery and attach it."
"They're not made with the winglets already on?" Castle asked, looking at the picture.
"No, they're detachable as I said, which would likely mean the killer knew they'd be easier to get a hold of as a murder weapon," Skye said.
"Is there any significance to these two airlines?" Beckett suddenly asked.
"There is, the Air Singapore was the airline Lenora flew on when she was in that crash," Skye said. "And as for the United… there was a crash in DC of one of their 747s, and Olivia managed to secure it with Peter for me to look at the crash site. It was my first time in the field."
"I'll call Boeing," Beckett said. "They should have security footage that we can look at and see if there's a better shot of the killer there."
"How's your case?" Castle asked as Beckett went to her desk and picked up the phone.
"Alright," Skye shrugged. "We're at a bit of a standstill, the Powerplants people are still taking the two engines apart, and that takes time. Besides that we're waiting on what we can get from Center, the CVR and FDR. But I think I can check on the list of the cases I've done, see if they can be tracked. Excuse me."
Nodding, though the woman didn't see it, Castle turned to Beckett, sitting down as he watched her wait to talk to someone from the Boeing plant. He eventually started to time the conversation, as she was put on hold for at least ten minutes, and then had to be transferred numerous times before she was finally hanging up. "Is it that hard to get security camera footage?" he asked her.
"Apparently there was a break in three nights ago, the FBI is investigating it," Beckett said. "But when I explained who I was and what I was investigating, they transferred me to the SAIC, and was told all they can tell that was taken were some winglets."
"What airlines?" Castle asked, wondering if that would be a break.
"There were over fifty taken," Beckett said. "Each one a different airline."
Leaning back in his chair Castle said, "He's smart, evil, but smart."
"He's had a lot of time to work this out," Beckett said. "I'm going to check and see what Ryan has. If you're going to tell Skye about what happened, tell her we'll be getting footage tomorrow morning, the FBI was nice enough to offer to get what we need ready for us since they need the same."
"Yeah," Castle said absently before he walked over to the room where Skye was, wondering how she would handle hearing so many winglets had been taken. He couldn't blame Beckett then for trying to get out of telling her that, the number was staggering. But it surprised him she trusted him enough to not screw things up; though he guessed she thought it would be easier for the investigator to hear that coming from him since he'd spent more time with Skye than she had. Taking a deep breath, he stepped inside, ready to speak. But when he saw Skye hanging up her phone, her face pale as a sheet; he realized she knew already and there was nothing he needed to say.
Looking at the papers spread over the table, Beckett set down the last one that Ryan and Esposito had found with information about Skye. She knew almost everything there was about the woman, but there was a large chunk missing from what she knew; the crash Skye had been in at six years old. All she had was basic information, the date, time and cause of the crash. She wasn't sure why she needed to know about that, since it was obviously a moment that the investigator preferred to forget and didn't have much to do with the case based on what they had so far. She stood up and started to get everything in order before picking up a pile of the papers and files and leaving the room, nearly running into Castle.
"Hey, I thought you could use some coffee," he told her, handing her the cup as he took the papers.
"Thanks, and I could after what I've been reading," Beckett said. "And seeing." She saw that Castle was looking at her questioningly, so she said, "There were pictures of the crash she was in at age six. It was… bad."
"Is it alright if I look through these?" Castle asked then.
"Go ahead, I'm going to call Julia, I feel the need to call her," Beckett said, checking her watch and seeing it was almost five.
Castle didn't say anything, but he'd already known she was going to do that, as she'd been touching her pendant, a habit she'd picked up when she was thinking about her daughter. He watched her walk over to the break room before he sat down next to her desk with the papers, starting to read over them.
As Beckett entered the room, she was a little startled to hear someone talking on the phone and she looked over to see it was Skye, murmuring in another language before she hung up. "Sorry, I was about to call my daughter," she said when the investigator looked at her in surprise.
"Quite alright," Skye said with a shrug. "I was talking to my kids actually." She started to leave, but when Beckett passed her she paused and turned saying, "I wanted to thank you Beckett."
"For what?" she asked, turning to face Skye.
"For contacting the LAPD, and having my wife and girls put under a protective detail," Skye said.
"And your… guardian as well it turns out," Beckett said.
"Yes, I spoke with him just now," Skye said with a slight smile. "He's a little irked at what's going on, but when I assured him I could use his help protecting my children he eased off. My dad is rather gruff," she finished with as she saw Beckett looked a little confused. "He prefers his home, but he understood why he's had to temporarily move into my house."
"Your dad," Beckett said slowly.
"Hmm, surprised it wasn't in those papers you have on me," Skye said, nodding towards Castle who was looking into a file. "He's technically my guardian; my father gave him custody of me in his will. I call him Dad."
"I'm sorry if it seems like I'm prying-" Beckett said.
"No, no, I did the same myself when I was looking into flight crews," Skye said in understanding. "It's intrusive, but necessary. I'd like to look at my case before that list gets here. By the way, how is your case developing?"
"Nothing really, that canvass didn't reveal anything. Most of the bystanders were watching the crime scene across the street and not around them," Beckett answered. "And there wasn't much we could get from the little security footage there was. The killer most likely was aware of the cameras and took care to get out of the way of them."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Skye said. She nodded then and left the room saying, "I'm sorry also that my information isn't complete."
Not surprised that she had mentioned that, Beckett took her phone out of her pocket, and called Castle's mother before starting to talk with Julia once the phone went to her.
At Beckett's desk, Castle set down the picture of the plane that Skye had been on when she was six, understanding why his fiancée had had a hard time looking at it. Most of the plane was burned, all except for the front section which had broken apart from the fuselage, but had slid off the runway into a building, the nose and what looked like the cockpit mostly destroyed. He shook his head slightly and put the picture away before setting the papers on top of the desk, looking up to see Beckett walking to him. "She alright?" he asked.
"She's fine," Beckett said absently as she set down her cup of coffee. "You saw?"
"I saw," Castle said. "Are we so sure it's not her, with a partner?"
"I've tossed that idea around, but no, I think she embraces her career choice," Beckett said. "And you saw the picture of her in that article; if that's her office then she loves planes. I don't think she would use one of those winglets to kill people who she was apparently close to."
"Yeah, I'm thinking about starting one myself," Castle mused.
"Passenger jet models? I thought you'd be more into military vehicles," Beckett said in amusement.
"Those too," Castle said. "Do we have any idea when we'll get the summaries of the reports?"
"Soon," Beckett said, looking at her watch again. "If you're impatient, I would suggest you take a look at… her case," she started to say before trailing off as he looked at his phone. "Seriously?" she asked.
"What? I'm not needed for anything am I?" Castle asked, looking up at her.
"No," Beckett said, shaking her head as she looked at the screen of his phone. "That's a nice one," she said, seeing the model plane he was looking at.
"She's right, but I should warn you to be sure you have space for a model at a 1:200 scale ratio, they take up quite a lot of room, especially the A380 like the one you're looking at," Skye said, coming up behind Castle and seeing the model British Airways plane on his phone. "Sorry, I was checking to see if there'd been a delivery for me. Some pictures from the hangar at JFK," she said when he and Beckett looked at her in surprise.
"How could you see that so far away?" Castle asked, looking down at his screen and where the woman had walked from.
"Don't let the glasses fool you," Skye said, walking over to the room as she gestured to the black oval frames. "I know a plane when I see it."
"Yo Beckett," Esposito said, walking out of the elevator as he carried a large box. "They said these were for you."
"Are they from the NTSB?" Beckett asked, looking over at him.
"Yeah, there are three of them," Ryan said, following his colleague with an officer behind him, all of them carrying large boxes.
"Back there," Beckett said as she waited for them to pass her. She followed them into the back room, and opened the box that Esposito set down.
"Holy… Beckett, we're supposed to read these?" Castle asked, picking up one of the reports which was easily two inches thick.
"They sent all the files? Bugger it all, I told the chap I spoke with on the phone I needed a list with summaries," Skye said, walking in then. "I'm sorry."
"Were you planning on leaving?" Beckett asked, seeing the investigator was holding her bag.
"Not at the moment," Skye said, putting her bag on one of the chairs. "I can help you with a list though if you'd like."
"That would be nice," Ryan said, looking up from the report he was holding. "I have no idea what this one's talking about."
"That would be my first case; the Air Singapore that Lenora was on," Skye said. "And that I explained to you already, Beckett, Castle, was CFIT due to spatial disorientation."
"Get the murder board in here," Beckett told Esposito. "We'll write out the list on the other side." She then turned to Skye who was looking through the box that Esposito had held and asked, "Did anyone have any problems accepting your findings?"
"Not that I know of," Skye said, stepping out of the way as Esposito pushed the board into the room. "There was never any legal action taken, though I tried to let the media know that losing your bearings in that way isn't something you do intentionally, and even the best pilots can go through that. My father nearly did, going out of East Midlands in the early 90s."
"How'd he get out of it?" Castle asked as Esposito was writing down the airline and flight number on the board in black.
"Had his co-pilot take over the takeoff until they got to Stoke on Trent which was more populated with lights that he could use for reference," Skye said. "Alright, next is flight 82, the airline was Southeastern Airways. That was… mechanical, those I'm not sure you really want to write down."
"How was it mechanical failure?" Beckett asked, looking at the report for a moment but seeing that Ryan had been right; it was almost impossible to gather what it was about exactly.
"The engine had a faulty fuel valve that cut off fuel to the right two engines; this was an A340," Skye said. "The company that made the valve took acceptance for the fault, fixed it, and that was the end of that."
"Even if it costs them money to take the planes out of service," Castle said. "The airlines I mean."
"It's more a matter of common sense in that case," Skye said, pulling out the reports in the box and stacking them. She sat down then and said, "They leave the planes as they are, they lose passengers who are too scared to fly and they lose money. So no, nothing that would have anyone seeing me as an enemy in that case."
"Alright, then let us know which ones are the cases that will have a potential suspect," Beckett said.
Nodding, Skye then proceeded to go through her past cases, and once they finished the first box she looked at the list on the murder board. "It's odd to see it like this. My career," she commented.
"I get that way looking at my books on a shelf," Castle said.
"Interesting similarity," Skye said suddenly before she continued. "Alright, China Guangzhou Air was pilot error. It crashed after takeoff because there was actually a typhoon going on during the time. And there was strong wake turbulence from another plane that had just taken off. He ignored the tower to hold since it had been a 747. The airline nearly sued me for that actually, but the co-CEO was a friend of my father's, just managed to get them to drop it once we played the CVR for them, it helped it was in Mandarin."
"Do you know how to speak that?" Ryan asked.
"Pretty well, I go to Chinatown back home in LA, and am able to keep it fresh in my mind," Skye said. "Alright, this one was Southwest, but merely an incident, there was an explosive decompression event, a chunk of the fuselage at the top came off during flight, but the pilot was able to land safely. I don't know the CEOs that well, but I would guess they don't have anything against me. Everything was settled well."
"Didn't that happen a second time?" Esposito asked. "I had an old army buddy on that flight, he told me about it," he said when the others looked at him.
"It was basically the same, explosive decompression event," Skye said with a nod. "And then we pressured the FAA to strengthen their regulations on the tests that airlines must take to check for metal fatigue. If Peter was here he'd be able to give you more information on that, since he's a top metallurgist. But there you are."
"Write down the airline," Beckett said. "What?" she asked Castle as she saw he was standing up.
"Sorry, I just needed a break, I was going to get coffee for everyone… and tea," Castle said, nodding to Skye.
"Go ahead," Beckett said. "Alright, Skye? What's this?"
"Air Alaska, yeah, that one… was a tough one," Skye sighed deeply as she took the report that Beckett handed her. "You may have heard of it."
"I've heard about the confrontation you had in court," Beckett said.
"I was hoping you hadn't seen that," Skye said with a slight groan. "I was incredibly angry and I don't think it was my finest moment."
"What are you talking about?" Ryan asked as Esposito wrote down the flight number on the board.
"An MD-80 had a failure of the horizontal stabilizer trim system; the flaps on the t-tail shape of the fin basically; and the pilots were unable to recover from the inversion and dive the jammed horizontal stabilizer put the plane into," Skye said somberly. "It crashed off of Monterey Bay, and it turned out the co-CEO was instructing maintenance employees to extend maintenance checks on different parts of the airplane. Each maintenance procedure has a set time period between checks and they were disregarding that. Until finally the jackscrew in the tail that made the horizontal stabilizer move, which is supposed to be lubricated, dried out and there was no way to stop the accident from happening. His name was Walter Morcamb, and we tussled a bit in court after he was found guilty of negligent homicide."
"Tussled?" Castle said, appearing in the doorway. "You almost got into a brawl with the man."
"You heard what he said to me," Skye said simply. "And his disregard for those eighty-eight passengers and crew… it infuriated me and I couldn't drop it."
"Is he in prison?" Esposito asked.
"He was, he's dead now," Skye said, taking the mug that Castle handed her. "Thank you. He killed himself by hanging."
"Any family?" Beckett said.
"Not that I'm aware of," Skye said. "A lead?"
"Person of interest," Beckett said.
Nodding, Skye reached into the box for the next report when Esposito said, "Something about the NTSB."
Turning, Beckett looked at the TV closest to the room that he was looking at and saw that a woman with an NTSB jacket appeared to be giving a press conference. She stayed back as Esposito and Ryan left to listen in and said, "I think they're interested in your case."
"It appears they all are," Skye said, looking over and seeing that Castle had joined them. "I would guess it doesn't interest you as much, or are you more focused on your own investigation Detective?"
"Our cases are a little… entwined at this point," Beckett said, looking at the cover of the case report the investigator was holding. "But for me the most important thing is ensuring your safety and finding the killer."
"I'm glad to hear that," Skye said quickly. "Are we waiting for them or shall we continue on?"
"Continue, this one?" Beckett asked.
"An incident, the door of this Athens Airways 757 was failing to lock properly and wasn't pressurizing in its ascent. It was just a faulty lock, a check of all other 757s in use were negative, so it was a one in a million kind of thing," Skye answered. "This next one was in Thailand, turned out to be a mix of pilot error and also problems with the airline; South Thai Airlines; in its infrastructure. It was a mess."
"How did you investigate it?" Beckett asked as she went to the board and wrote down STA 51 and made an asterisk to note that it was an international investigation.
"It was an MD-82," Skye said simply.
"Guys," Beckett said as she saw the three men were still watching the press conference. "We can use some help here with the rest of her reports."
"She's almost finished, she mentioned Investigator McDouglas," Ryan said.
"Feel free to call me Skye," she said. "Both of you, alright, do you mind if I sit for a moment?"
Murmuring that it was fine, Beckett watched as the woman sat down, realizing she looked a little strained. "Only a few cases left," she commented.
"Yes, okay, this one was an accident, it was an Airbus 340, from Trans Airways; a French airline. It crashed outside of Las Vegas, turned out the level it was flying had made the wings ice over, and the deicing components were overwhelmed," Skye said, taking off her glasses and rubbing her eyes.
"And this last one?" Beckett asked, marking the flight in black meaning it wasn't significant to their investigation.
"That was last year, and that one was one that I was in," Skye said simply.
"You investigated the accident you were in?" Ryan asked as he, Castle and Esposito walked into the room.
"Unofficially, quite as I'm doing at the moment," Skye said simply, looking down into her mug of tea. "And… it was engine failure, a fan blade cracked and exploded and the flight crew was unable to regain control since the explosion managed to take off the engine itself and ripped out the hydraulics. We went down just outside of San Diego Bay. I survived as did the pilot, but we were in the water, on the wing of the plane for five hours until the Coast Guard was able to find us."
"The airline?" Esposito asked.
"No, that one, was a Kyoto Airlines flight, I'm friends with a lot of the company, they were helpful," Skye said, taking off her glasses and covering her face with her hands. "It was tough though, the pilot; who I know; and I were the only survivors in the end." She looked up at the others who was watching her and said, "There were survivors but… there are sharks in the waters where we were."
"We don't need to add that one," Beckett quickly said to Esposito. "And let's try and get information on those cases; the airlines, see if there's any legal action pertaining to them at all." She then turned to Skye and said, "Were you able to sleep on the flight out?"
Sighing, the investigator stood and looked at Beckett for a moment before she reached for her bag. "I believe this is the point where I'll head back to my hotel. I'm sorry I can't be of more help," she said.
"You've given us some potential leads, besides that agent," Ryan pointed out.
"Whatever I can do to help," Skye said, looking angry for a brief moment.
"Where are you staying?" Beckett asked, walking out with Skye after the investigator had said goodnight to the others.
"The Waldorf," Skye said simply. "At my dad's insistence," she continued quickly at Beckett's surprised glance. "Since he knows I'm not exactly eager to be on the East Coast. Nothing against your city though, I just miss my home and family, and he prefers me to be comfortable as well."
"Alright, Officer Baker is going to escort you to the Waldorf," Beckett said, motioning to the man who walked over to them. "He'll remain outside your door until another officer will relieve him later on tonight."
"Right, thank you Beckett," Skye said, nodding to her. She turned then and walked to the elevator, the officer leading the way.
"She's all set?" Castle asked as Beckett walked back into the room.
"She is," she replied before she stood in front of the board. "Alright, let's get the airlines we made notes next to. Right now they're going to be closed, and I also want one of us to contact the NTSB itself, see what they have to say about these cases. She might have held back any risk to herself or not realized it. We'll call first thing in the morning. And we'll also have, hopefully, some security footage from the Boeing plant."
"What's the story with that FBI agent?" Esposito asked as Ryan got out a notebook and began to note the airlines by using the case reports and the list on the board.
"He's got a flight scheduled tomorrow at one in the afternoon Lisbon time," Beckett said. "So he'll get here about nine in the morning; weather permitting. And once he does get here, they'll allow you two to go to the airport to escort him in."
"We couldn't really find anything on this guy though," Esposito said.
"No, but he's got the ability to do this subtly, and likely has contacts to have an accomplice," Beckett said. "But I don't want to keep with him; Skye seems to think it's someone else."
"She's an interesting… investigator," Ryan said.
"Yeah, you two were talking earlier in that room," Castle said. "What about?"
"She asked me if I was Irish, started to talk to me in Irish but I only know a few words, not enough to reply to what she'd said," Ryan said. "And she also asked about you."
"Why me," Beckett stated absently as she flipped through the pages in a case report.
"Just a few things she's heard about you," Ryan said. "And the main question was about her being able to go to JFK even though you have to guard her basically."
"Sounds like she read that Cosmo article," Esposito said.
"That and she's intimidated by you," Castle said.
"Intimidated," Beckett scoffed. "Really? You think I'm going to do that to a federal investigator?"
"She doesn't really know you," Ryan commented. "So you could tell her that she can still conduct her own investigation, she's just going to be more restricted than she's used to."
"He has a point," Castle said as Beckett looked at the detective for a moment.
"Okay, let's, let's get back to the case we have," she said finally as she set aside the case reports. "And we need to figure out what to do with these, Gates will not want these hanging around the station."
"I doubt Skye would either," Esposito said.
"I'll ask her tomorrow," Beckett said. "Alright, first one I'd like to look at is South Thai Airlines, after that GO Airlines and the third major one is definitely Air Alaska."
"Split it up?" Ryan asked.
"Split it up," Beckett said in agreement. "I'll take Alaska; that one seems to be a little more personal for her. And despite you guys thinking I'm intimidating her, I'm pretty sure she'll find it easier to talk to me."
"What about the first crash she was in?" Ryan asked.
"So she was in two of them," Esposito said. "How the hell did that happen? Aren't you pretty safe in an airplane?"
"She's around them a lot," Castle said. "So I'm sure for her the statistics change… to a degree."
"About that plane crash," Beckett said. "From what I've managed to read about it, it was mechanical and pilot error. I would ask Skye about it, but I'm hesitant to; she'll likely shut down."
"Anything that would point to a possible suspect?" Esposito asked.
"It was a fuel leak, they were flying to LAX, but had to land in Kansas," Beckett said. "And I'm not sure why it was pilot error; it was a little unclear on the details there, something about no brake application. I'm not sure." She sighed slightly and said, "I'll have to try and ask her next time I see her."
"You know, this flight here, the Laos Freight Airlines is one that caught my eye," Ryan then said. "It sounded like what was in the cargo was classified."
"That reminds me, with all this traveling that Skye does," Castle said. "You don't think she could possibly have a hit out on her? She could have offended a government, and they-"
"I doubt it," Beckett said, cutting him off though she wasn't even looking at him. She glanced up at him when he stopped talking and said, "Sorry Castle, no conspiracies, just airlines. And if you're talking about governments, they're the ones that basically ask her into the country to investigate since the investigating parties are run by the government."
"You could have that set aside to look at later if there's nothing else coming to light," Castle said.
"Sure, we'll do that," Beckett replied vaguely, picking up a case report. She flipped through it, and came to a few pictures before she closed it and set it down saying, "It has to do with her career, because that's all she's known and all she's ever really done. And it has to do with one person, if it was a government agent or spy; she would probably be dead by now. Alright, do you have the rest of the names down?" she asked Esposito. When he nodded she said, "Then let's get the board back out, pack everything up and get some rest; we'll be making a lot of phone calls tomorrow."
Opening the door to his loft, Castle let Beckett walk inside first as he usually did, waiting for the inevitable discovery of their return as he locked the door behind him.
"Mommy!" Julia cried as she jumped down from the couch where she was playing with her two Stitch dolls.
"Hey sweetie," Beckett said with a smile as she set down her bag and took her daughter into her arms, hugging her quickly. "You didn't let me take off my coat."
"Sorry, I missed you Mommy, I didn't think you were gonna come home," Julia said eagerly, hopping from one foot to the other as she waited.
When she finally had her coat, scarf and gloves off, Becket picked Julia up and shared a kiss with her asking, "How was your day at school?" Before her daughter could answer, she let Julia lean over and share a quick hug with Castle before she walked over to the couch to sit with her.
"Sorry if we're later today," Castle was saying to his mother as she walked over to him. "We're not too late right?" he asked as he looked at his watch.
"No, no, still another half hour before Kate wanted her asleep," Martha said. "I saw you two on the news this afternoon."
"Yeah, she's got a protection assignment," Castle said, watching Beckett and Julia on the couch. "Beckett, I'll get some soup alright."
"Go ahead," she replied, waving her hand before her daughter took her attention.
Using that as a cover, Castle took his mother over to the kitchen and hurriedly explained their case and Beckett's assignment.
"You went to a plane crash?" Martha asked in surprise when he'd finished.
"It wasn't pretty," Castle said as he busied himself with preparing dinner for him and Beckett. "But that's where she was when we met her."
"How morbid you had to go through all those cases," Martha then said. "And she's investigated all of them?"
"It's not much different from what we do," Beckett said, walking over to them as Julia was on the couch still. "Just one major difference and that's the amount of victims of course. But… I'm hoping we don't have to visit another site like that again."
"I'll agree with you there," Castle said. "Wine?"
"Please," Beckett replied immediately. After he'd gotten them a glass; and refilled his mother's; they sat down at the table and she pulled her daughter onto her lap. "Is this your homework?" she asked as she saw the sheets of paper her daughter was setting on the table.
"Yeah, Martha helped me today," Julia said. "But will you check it?"
"Of course," Beckett said, kissing her temple. "But let me eat dinner because I'm starving."
For a while Castle and Beckett were quiet as they ate, but Julia then peppered them with questions about what they'd done at work that day. She did that all the time, and as was their normal response, her mother and Castle easily skated over any details; enough to keep her satisfied that nothing bad had happened at work to them.
After they had finished eating, and while he was taking care of the bowls and glasses, Castle listened in as Beckett and Julia talked about the little girl's homework. "Everything set?" he asked as Beckett helped her daughter down to the floor.
"It is," Beckett said, watching Julia hurry up the stairs to put away the papers. She looked over at Castle as he sat next to her again, looking down at his tablet and she smiled when she saw the website he was looking at. "Are you serious about that?"
"Why not?" Castle asked. "They are fascinating and some of these models have interesting paint jobs."
"Livery," Beckett said as Julia; having come back down the stairs; ran over to her and clambered back up on her lap. "It's called a livery."
"Did you know that already or was it from Skye?" Castle asked as Julia leaned over to look at the screen.
"Are you getting a plane?" Julia asked.
"Maybe," Castle said. "I was thinking about getting one of them, and seeing how it looks in my office. Why don't you help me pick one out?"
"Kay," Julia said before she was transferred to his lap. She watched as he looked through some models and then she stopped him by saying, "That one, it's prettiest."
"Korean Air, nice," Castle said as he opened a larger picture of what she was pointing out. "What do you think of your daughter's choice?" he asked Beckett.
"Helicopters, tanks, trains," Martha said. "And now planes, what else Richard?'
"These don't fly, they're meant for… decoration I guess," Castle said, looking at Beckett who merely shrugged.
"Alright, well I believe I will head upstairs. I have a few plays that I might like to take with me to my class, and I think they're best read alone with a nice merlot," Martha said. "So I will say goodnight, goodnight Julia, Richard, Kate."
"Goodnight Mother," Castle said as his mother hugged Julia before going up the stairs. He glanced at Beckett, and smiled when she stood up saying, "I think it's your turn to go to bed too," to the little girl.
Letting out a huff, Julia allowed herself to be picked up by her mother, and as they were going up the stairs she played wither her mother's pendant, twirling her fingers around it a few times as she liked to do before they were inside Alexis' room. "We talked to Alexis today," she told her mother as she was put on the bed.
"I'll talk to her soon, she's in class right now," Castle said, looking at his watch and trying to remember his daughter's schedule along with changing the time to the time at Berkley. "How is she?"
"Good, she said it's foggy all over and you would like it," Julia said as she sat up to hug him.
"I probably would," Castle said, kissing her cheek before she kissed his back. "Sweet dreams Julia."
"Thank you," Julia giggled slightly before she lay back down as mother sat next to her. She sighed and said, "I'm sleepy Mommy."
"You must have had a pretty fun ballet class today," Beckett said, slightly surprised at that. "But I'm glad to hear you'll go to sleep no problem tonight." She leaned over then and hugged Julia before sharing a kiss with her and kissing her forehead. That done, she tucked her daughter in and said, "Goodnight Julia, I love you."
"Love you," Julia sighed, a sleepy smile on her face as she held her Stitch dolls to her and snuggled down under the covers more.
Castle preceded Beckett out of the room, and stood just behind her, watching as she turned off the lights and then closed the door. "Would you like some more wine, or are you ready to turn in?" he asked as they went down the stairs.
"I think I'm good with wine, but not ready for bed myself yet," Beckett said. "Though if you wanted to share a glass I don't think I'd be adverse to it."
"Great, I'll grab something light," Castle said, heading to the wine cooler.
Before he could grab a bottle, Beckett was startled when her phone started to ring, and hurriedly grabbed it from the table. She didn't recognize the number, so she answered it with a cautious, "Beckett."
Castle turned when he heard his fiancée say, "Who is this?" Seeing the expression on her face, he walked over to her and when she put the phone to speaker, heard whoever it was saying, "…not that dense, I said… gone…"
"Who's gone?" Beckett asked.
"…McDouglas…" the voice said, most of the message riddled with static.
"Oh god," Beckett said as the caller hung up on a laugh broken by static. She quickly went to her contacts, and dialed Skye's which she'd saved earlier. "Pick up," she said impatiently after the phone rang three times. When Skye's voicemail message began, she hung up, dialed again, but the same thing happened. "I need to call Officer Baker," she said.
"I can keep trying," Castle said. When Beckett handed him Skye's card, he hurriedly dialed the number, but only got the woman's voicemail as Beckett had as well.
"He's not answering. Damn it, we need to go," Beckett said after she'd called the officer twice.
"Mother," Castle said, running up the stairs to her room and knocking on her door. "I'm sorry," he said after she had stepped out. "There's an emergency and we have to go."
"Go, I'll take care of Julia," Martha said, a little startled at her son's rushed demeanor.
Hurrying back down, Castle joined Beckett in putting his outer layers back on, and as soon as she was ready; her gun transferred to her hip from her bag; they ran together out the door, barely checking on it closing behind them.