Chapter Seven
The darkness of the night touched most of the corners of Castle's office. The dim light from the lamp on his desk cast dull shadows over the floor space where Castle and Kate sat working. They'd sat for hours, the night closing in around them as they laid out the crime scene photos, setting their timeline, going over the facts again and again.
Kate rolled her neck as she worked, grimacing at the tightness that had coiled there, her hunched position wasn't helping but she ignored the cries from her muscles as she continued to reread reports.
Castle lent over her, placing a hot cup of coffee next to her, the smell floating up warm and inviting. She lent her head back to flash him a quick smile. He paused to take in her features, the smile warming him more than the coffee ever could. He pressed a kiss into her forehead, letting his hands fall to her tense shoulders, rubbing gently to dispel the knots that had formed there. A soft sigh escaped Kate's mouth as she lent back into his touch, relishing the feeling of his powerful hands over her tired skin.
"Anything jumping?" He asked, his voice low against her ear.
She shook her head, he could see the frustration circling in her exhausted eyes.
"Talk Shakespeare to me."
He smiled warmly at her, running his fingers down her cheek.
"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day? Thou art more lovely and more temperate."
Kate chuckled softly, capturing his fingers and pressing them against her lip.
"That's not what I meant."
She kissed his fingers again as Castle smiled back at her. He dropped down opposite her, sitting cross legged on the floor before her so he wouldn't have to release her hands.
"I get the Romeo and Juliet. Two teenagers in love, banned from seeing each other, both end up dead with society to blame. I understand the themes of the play and can see it in their lives. I still don't quite understand MacBeth and the relation."
"MacBeth is told by witches that he is destined to be king but in order to become king the current king, Duncan, must die. Lady MacBeth belittles and pressurises her husband into killing Duncan so he can claim the throne."
Understanding began to light Kate's eyes.
"Just as Jessica tried to bully her husband into blackmailing his boss?"
"Exactly." Pride gleamed in Castle's eyes. "MacBeth gives in to his wife and kills Duncan. Lady MacBeth becomes obsessed with the blood on her hands, unable to wash it off. Eventually she kills herself."
Kate bit her lip thoughtfully.
"So the red hands could be the blood stains? And the death staged as a suicide to fit with the play?"
"It could."
Kate tried to stifle a yawn and covered her face with her hand. Castle tugged gently on her hand, pulling her up with him.
"Come" he instructed, pulling her along behind him, leaving the steaming cups of coffee on the floor untouched. "Let's sleep."
The small sounds of protest Kate began to make were cut off by Castle's tender lips.
"Bed. Now."
She sighed into him, pressing her face into the warmth of his neck before following him into the bedroom. They were asleep within minutes.
Xxx
When Castle awoke he felt tireder than he had before he'd gone to bed. He rubbed a hand over his rough face, cursing inwardly at the dawn that was creeping through the blinds. He rolled over, searching out Kate's warmth to bury his face into. Pressing his hands into the cold sheets he could feel she was gone, he sat up glancing around, wondering how many hours sleep she'd had.
Castle showered and dressed quickly, walking into the kitchen to find her sat at the countertop, a fresh steaming cup of coffee waiting for him on the marbled top. He glanced at the cup of coffee then back to her face, her eyes flashed up to greet his, her ready smile welcoming him. He stepped closer, she looked rested after their short sleep, ready to attack the world. Castle reached for the cup of coffee, pressing a kiss to her mouth as he did. She already tasted like sweet vanilla. The thought caused him to smile as he pulled his own coffee towards his mouth.
"I feel like the more this case makes sense, the less it makes sense, you know?"
He swirled the mouthful of coffee around his mouth, waiting for the caffeine to kick in as he looked questioningly at her.
"The Shakespeare element makes more sense. The deaths were staged as those plays. But I don't know why, or how the victims were chosen. Was it random? Or is there a link I'm not seeing?"
Kate began to move across the kitchen, the questions pouring through her mind making her restless. Castle watched her for a moment, the whirlwind of her that brought so much colour into his life. He could watch her all day.
"Let's go and find out." Castle held his hand out to his wife, quickly falling in time with her as they walked out of the loft.
Xxx
The team assembled before the whiteboard, the timeline had been extended to include both crime scenes. Kate paced before the board, her eyes studying her own block lettering, searching for something she'd missed as she waited for Espo to finish his phone call to forensics.
The second Espo hung up the phone Kate's eyes were on his face. He stepped forward.
"CSU had little to report. The cyanide was home made, just like the ink and the quill. No finger prints or hairs were found at either of the scenes, but they did find a purple cotton fibre. Lanie was able to create a mould of the weapon and confirmed it was a dagger."
Kate wrote the new additions up onto the whiteboard, before turning back to face her team.
"Ryan, Espo, can you chase CCTV around the park. See if you can follow the kids route, if anyone stands out or seems to be following them. Possibly someone wearing purple. Also reach out to universities with Shakespeare specialists. I know it's a long shot, but see if any one of them stand out or if anyone stands out to them."
Kate took the copies of the notes from the whiteboard.
"Castle and I will follow up on the notes. He had to have bought this paper from somewhere, it's quite rare, CSU haven't been able to identify the watermark yet. Hopefully he bought the ink ingredients at the same shop."
Before they split, Ryan passed Kate the list of possible shops that sold the specialist paper, the list appeared endless and Castle sunk into his chair with a sigh.
"Isn't this the kind of grunt work we pass off to them?" Castle whined, gesturing to Ryan and Espo across the bullpen. Kate rolled her eyes at him.
"Sorry Castle, is the real police work too much for you?"
Her grin was teasing, the challenge in her eyes clear.
"Ooh, Detective Beckett. Your words make me tremble."
She bit her bottom lip, her eyes darkening as she looked at him. He raised a suggestive eyebrow causing a blush to rise over her cheeks. Shaking her head at him she turned back to her screen, her fingers tapping quickly over the keys, pushing her thoughts of him from her mind.
"Here we go."
Castle pulled out his phone, his fingers typing just as quickly against the tiny keys. Both of their thoughts lost in paper.
Xxx
"Beckett"
Castle's voice broke through the endless monotony of the searching, it was a welcome break for Kate. She looked at him, her eyes squinting to refocus on his face instead of the screen.
"I think I've got one here."
Kate lent back in her chair, rolling her shoulders as she did, looking into her empty coffee cup.
"Parchmates – they specialise in English Literature and finding old, rare texts. They also sell the paper we're looking for and hold regular classes on ink making and other techniques. Oh, they also hold mini seminars on Chaucer and Shakespeare."
Kate met his eyes, anticipation blooming within them.
"Let's go."
Xxx
The shop was small and quaint, seeming totally out of place on the bustling streets of New York. The small glass windows were shaded, preventing the sun from touching the rare books held within the store. The door was a mixture of stained glass, the pattern Castle recognised as the Globe theatre. They pushed open the door, a small bell tinkling announcing their arrival. They instantly felt transported back in time, across the Atlantic.
The dark wooden floors creaked underfoot, and the small room smelt like old leather mixed with dusty pages. Castle inhaled deeply, closing his eyes to the scent.
"I feel like Shakespeare could just step out." Castle whispered, feeling a need to be quiet in the tranquil space. Kate mirrored his smile, feeling like she could stay within the store forever. The stained glass window created a rainbow of colours on the wooden floor, creating a burst of light in between the dark hues.
Walking along the shelves, Castle brushed his hands over the old leather spines, his fingers delighting at the touch.
"Please don't touch." An older gentleman stepped out, speaking in a clear British accent. Castle pulled his hand back quickly, smiling sheepishly as Kate raised an eyebrow at him.
"I'm Detective Beckett and this is Mr. Castle. We're with the NYPD." Kate introduced as she took in the short man. His grey hair was neatly combed, a small pair of spectacles perched precariously on the end of his nose. Despite the heat he wore a green shirt covered by an old, brown waistcoat.
"Beckett." He mused, pausing just for a moment before his face broke into a well worn smile. "Dance first, think later. It's the natural order."
Kate stared at him, waiting for his words to make sense to her, she looked questioningly at Castle whose face broke into a smile.
"No relation." He replied. The gentleman threw his head back and laughed, clasping Castle's hand.
"Giles Worthington." He introduced, shaking Castle's hand vigorously. "Always a pleasure to meet a man who knows his literature."
Kate looked between the men, totally lost.
"Samuel Beckett, he was an Irish playwright." Castle explained. Kate nodded, smiling at Giles.
"I'll have to look him up."
Giles returned her smile before glancing around him. His hand fell upon the small, leather bound book he was searching for before he pressed it into her hands.
"A gift"
"Oh, no, I couldn't."
"You can and you will. I can see the intelligence in your eyes, you deserve to know your name sake."
Kate ran her fingers over the fine gold lettering on the front of the collection of plays.
"Thank you." Her eyes were earnest as she looked at him.
"Now what can I do for you?"
Kate pulled the evidence pouches from her bag and laid them out on the table before Giles.
"We're trying to identify where this paper was bought."
Giles hunched over the paper immediately, his wrinkled face frowning into well worn lines.
"Shakespeare." There was no question in his voice, he recognised the lines immediately.
"They were found with bodies posed in scenes from the plays."
Sadness filled Giles' eyes, he paused to look at them, his face downcast.
"I'm so sorry."
"Do you recognise the paper?"
Giles turned the paper over in his hands.
"If it's mine it will have our watermark, it's hard to spot. I'd need to remove them from the bags."
Castle looked at Kate who nodded, pulling out a pair of latex gloves.
"You need to wear these."
Giles quickly pulled on the gloves before touching the paper. Castle could tell he spent his life touching old, crumbling paper from the delicate way he touched the edges of the documents. Using a magnifying glass he leaned closely over the paper, studying it's form.
"It's mine." He sounded devastated, as though by having created the paper he had killed the people himself. "This ink isn't mine though, it appears handmade."
Giles fell back into the chair behind him, tears glistening in his pale blue eyes.
"I'm sorry. I just need a minute." He sat looking around at his old books, appearing lost as Castle and Beckett shared a look. "It's just, he's been here. In my shop. You say he killed people?"
"Three people." Kate said quietly. "Does anyone come to mind? Someone with a good knowledge of Shakespeare, who buys this paper, who makes their own ink?"
Giles shook his head before standing slowly. He seemed to have aged before them. He leant over to his handwritten records and flipped through the pages.
"Only a handful of people buy that paper, it's quite expensive. Here, take their names."
Kate thanked him for his help, squeezing his weathered hand.
"Please, if there's anything else I can do to help, let me know."
Kate promised they would as they moved towards the door, as they reached the stained glass they paused, hearing his voice behind them.
"Give sorrow words; the grief that does not speak whispers the o'er-fraught heart and bids it break."
As the door shut behind them Kate looked up at Castle, questions in her eyes.
"Put your sorrow into words, the grief you keep inside you will whisper in your heart until it breaks."
Kate stopped in the bustling street, the contrast to the tranquility of the shop was intense. She lent her head against his shoulder.
"He was devastated."
"Please tell me we can rule him out?" Castle rested his head atop of hers.
"We'll check his alibi, but he doesn't seem strong enough to lift a body, let alone hang one."
They stood that way for a moment, just leaning on each other, their fingers interlinking behind her back.
"I'll take you to England one day." Castle murmured against her, "You'd love the British Library, thousands upon thousands of old books, all with that smell."
Kate smiled up at him, pressing a tender kiss into the corner of his mouth.
"Sounds magical."
He held her gaze for a moment, feeling lost in time before they turned back into the madness of the city.
Xxx
There were seven names on the list Giles had given them, the first address they'd visited belonged to an elderly gentleman in a wheelchair who used the paper to write to his daughters. At the second address the doorman told them the lady they were looking for was summering in London and wouldn't be back until September. At the third address they found the apartment door slightly open, silence radiating from the room beyond.
Kate pulled her gun from it's holster, stepping before Castle as she slowly opened the door. As she stepped across the threshold her nostrils were flooded by the thick metallic smell. She quickly cleared the corners, allowing Castle to step into the small space behind her. They stood together, staring at the scene before them.
A long curtain hanging from a rail covered the body, the outline of it visible through the thin fabric. A sword through the stomach pinned the body to the wall, the blood still freshly pouring through the curtains. Kate saw the foot twitch underneath the curtains.
"He's still alive!"