Chapter Seven:
Rick returned to his loft a few hours after the four detectives celebrated with drinks at Clancy's. While both Ryan and Esposito both took advantage of his generosity, enjoying several drinks, Kate nursed a single glass of red wine and left only a few minutes after arriving. She thanked Rick for the gesture, but said she had promised to help her father with something, unwilling to elaborate. After declining his offer to drive her home, he thanked her for coming and wished her a good night.
He walked into his office and opens his laptop for the first time in what seemed like months. He had kept a journal of sorts since he became a detective, documenting the more interesting cases that he had worked over the years. The idea was that one day he'd figure out a way to make a novel from his adventures. The problem was he needed a lead character to focus the stories around. Someone that readers would care about. One thing that he was certain of was that he, or someone like him wasn't it.
He thought about his new partner. She was beautiful, smart, mysterious and had a justification for her being a cop. For the first time in years, he wanted to write. His lead character would be based upon Kate Beckett.
Over the next few weeks, Rick fell into a routine of work, dinner with his daughter and writing into the early morning hours. The words seemed to flow to the page with an ease he never expierienced in the past and before he knew it his novel was done. Martha put him in touch with her agent, who forwarded him to a literary agent named Paula Vincent. Paula was thrilled at the idea of representing the Richard Castle and knew that she could get top dollar for his novel.
Rick advised her that as Black Pawn was the publisher that gave him his start, they should get the first chance at the rights. She reluctantly agreed, but appreciated his loyalty. He was adamant that his identity was to be kept a secret, which did not please his agent one bit. But she was also smart enough to that if she pressed the issue, he'd find someone else that would respect his wishes.
It took a few weeks and several threats to walk away before Black Pawn won the rights to publish his novel. He retained all rights to option his story for either the stage or screen and the signing bonus was impressive. The only catch was that it was a three book deal. Rick was reluctant to commit to such a deal, but knew that it would provide him with enough money that he would never have to worry about Alexis' needs. He was a realist and knew that he could be killed on the job every day.
The final point of contention was the name of the lead character. While Black Pawn had no problem with the last name Heat as it gave them a clever way of using it in the title, the first name of Vicky didn't have the 'zing' that they thought she needed. Exasperated as every name he suggested was either too feminine or too butch, he threw out Nikki as almost a joke. Black Pawn loved it and thus Nikki Heat was born.
While Kate may have been the inspiration for the character, the real life version was quite a bit different from her fictional counterpart. At times as he wrote it, he felt as if he was creating a version of Kate that would be interested in a guy like him. As observant as he was, he knew little about the real woman other than what he was allowed to see in her files and his brief discussion with Montgomery when she first came in. She was always guarded with anything personal and she never mentioned her mother's murder - until their last case.
A woman's body was found at a construction site. It was obvious that the woman had been frozen somewhere and dumped like a piece of garbage. Lanie said that the victim could have been dead for years. Luckily, they were able to identify the victim as Melanie Cavanaugh through dental records and learned that she had been reported missing five years earlier. When they tried to contact the victim's husband, they learned that he had been murdered in an apparent mugging gone wrong a year before this gruesome discovery.
Rick and Kate made the drive to New Rochelle, to notify the victim's parents in person. They learned that the children were being raised by the grandparents and appeared to be doing well. Neither was surprised to learn that their daughter had been murdered and had been convinced from the beginning that her husband was behind it all. They talked about how the detectives assigned to the case were quick to assume that their daughter had simply ran away to return to her old boyfriend. The father spoke with such bitterness as he recalled all of the times that he contacted the detectives requesting any news on the case only to be told that there was none. Rick promised them that he would do everything that he could to find out who was responsible for their daughter's death.
They spoke to the lead detective who handled the victim's case five years earlier to see if he could shed some light on the matter. He had left the NYPD years ago and was now a sheriff in a small Pennsylvania town. The more that they talked to him about the case, the more Kate seemed to withdraw. He was surprised to learn that she had been murdered as he had written her disappearance off as nothing more than a case of wanderlust. She had been involved with drugs and had a two time felon as a boyfriend before meeting her husband and settling down. Two children soon followed and to the casual observer, everything was fine. The sheriff revealed that the victim had ran off before with her former lover, but had returned a few weeks later. He simply assumed that this was the case again. He spoke about it so casually as if her death was inevitable and Kate found it hard to maintain her composure.
The drive back to the city was spent in uncomfortable silence. Rick knew that there was something about this case that Kate had taken personally. Deciding that it was none of his business, he opted to wait until she decided to speak. They had nearly made it back to the city before she breaks the silence. "I hate cops like him... he made up his mind the moment he was given the case and never looked for anything that would prove him wrong..."
All Rick could do was nod his head in understanding. The force was filled with cops just like the old sheriff, unwilling to look any deeper than the surface for clues. Granted, most of the time you don't have to look very deep to find the perpetrator. All murders were committed for one of three reasons, love, money, or power. Some times it was a combination of two, if not all three, but in the end you could boil it down to those reasons.
They arrived at the precinct near the end of the shift and Rick sat down to do the paperwork from their interview with the sheriff. Kate had asked to borrow the cruiser for an errand she had to run and promised to drop it by his place later. While Rick told her that he could take a cab to and from work, she insisted that she only needed the car for a couple of hours and would drop it off later. He wished her a good night and she left as soon as the shift was over. He stayed on for a little while to follow-up on some information he had requested about the victim's husband.
Rick arrived at the loft about an hour or so later, Chinese take-out in hand. He was surprised to learn that the sitter had been sent home already and that Martha was staying in for the evening. They enjoyed a quiet meal as Rick listened intently to his two favorite women in the world discussing their days. As it was Wednesday, the usual routine was a friendly round of laser tag with he and Alexis after dinner. It was one of the few expensive indulgences that he allowed for himself, justifying it as something that both he and his daughter could share. Martha excused herself soon after the meal was over, leaving Rick to deal with the dishes as usual. While he cleaned up, Alexis gathered up their vests and laser pistols.
They were well into their second match of the evening. Rick had won the first one by only a point and unless he won this one also, there would be a third. Martha had returned from her room and was reading a book and providing assistance to her granddaughter regarding where her son may be hiding at that moment. Alexis had just scored a point and was making a hasty retreat up the stairs with her father in pursuit when the doorbell rang.
Curious as to whom would be calling on them at this hour, Martha went to the door to answer it, forgetting that her face was covered in a cucumber based facial mask. Throwing the door open with her typical dramatic flair, it would be a close call at which one of them had the most surprised look on her face.
Regaining her composure, Kate inquires. "Is Richard Rodgers here?"
Martha smiles at the stunned expression on the young woman's face and turns towards the staircase. "Richard darling, there's a beautiful women here to see you..."
The next sound heard was two sets of feet making their way down the stairs mixed with giggles from a young girl. Kate sees Rick decked out in his vest, goggles and carrying his laser pistol and has to fight the urge to laugh. She could only imagine the ribbing that he would take from the other cops at the precinct if they knew. Standing directly behind him was a beautiful young girl with flaming red hair and a face full of freckles. She was similarly dressed and they both appeared to be out of breath.
"Beckett!" Rick calls out as he approaches where she is standing. "I forgot that you were bringing back the cruiser tonight..." Martha gives him a poke in the ribs and a stern look. He realizes his faux pas, and offers a goofy smile while placing his pistol to his head. "Where are my manners! Katherine Beckett, I'd like you meet my mother, Martha and my daughter, Alexis."
The younger redhead emerges from behind her father and extends her hand to Beckett. "It's nice to meet you Ms Beckett. Dad talks about you all the time."
Kate arches her eyebrow in mild surprise at the statement before speaking. "Well, I hope it wasn't all bad. And please, call me Kate."
"No, Kate, all dad ever says is how much he enjoys working with you." Alexis offers sincerely, which causes Rick's cheeks to flush a wonderful shade of crimson.
Ever the hostess, Martha takes control of the conversation again by offering Kate a drink. Before she could answer one way or another, Rick nearly sprints to the kitchen and pours her a glass from the bottle of red that Martha had opened with dinner. Martha guides Kate into the living room and she takes a seat on the sofa just as Rick returned with her wine. She thanks him as he takes a seat on the sofa with his mother and daughter.
She takes a small sip from the glass and smiles. It was obvious that Martha had good taste, Kate thought as she enjoys the wine. She takes an appraising look around the loft and is more than a little surprised that the decor is not what she had expected given the flamboyant nature of Martha Rodgers. In fact, she thought the muted colors and conservative furnishings were more suited to Rick, or at least how she would envision an apartment of his.
"You have a lovely home Ms Rodgers." Kate offers as she takes another sip of her wine.
"Thank you darling... And no one calls me Ms Rodgers. Please call me Martha." The woman responds with her normal dramatic flair, causing Rick and Alexis to groan, then giggle simultaneously.
"Did you get your errands done?" Rick inquires as he takes a drink from his glass.
"Yes, thank you." Kate replies.
"Anytime you need the cruiser, feel free to ask. Most of my evenings are spent here with my two red headed masters." Rick replies with a chuckle which earns him a poke from both women.
"I'm sure that you have a lot of embarrassing stories about my dad... Care to share?" Alexis asks with a mischievous smile.
"Do I ever..." Kate offers her own mischievous smile, seeing the look of panic of Rick's face. "But he's my partner and I'd like to keep it that way..."
Alexis looks at the clock over the fireplace and comments. "It's past my bedtime... It was nice to meet you Kate." The youngster moves towards her father wrapping her arms around him and giving him a kiss. "Goodnight daddy." She whispers as he returns the hug and gives her a kiss on the cheek of his own.
"Goodnight pumpkin. Sweet dreams." Rick replies as he watches her nearly run up the stairs to her room.
Martha decides that it was time for her to turn in also and rises up from her seat. "Well, I think that it's time for me to turn in also. I've got an audition for a role tomorrow and I want to be at my best." She turns to Kate and extends her hand. "Katherine darling, it was a pleasure to meet you. Try to keep Richard in line... if that's possible."
Rising up from her seat, Kate takes the proffered hand and gives it a gentle squeeze. "Same here Martha. And I'll try, but I cant make any promises..."
"You wound me detective." Rick replies in an overly dramatic manner that earns a smile from Kate and a frown from Martha as she turns and walks up the stairs to her room.
"It's getting late and I should be heading home." Kate remarks as she starts to walk to the door.
Rick offers a sad smile and replies. "Yeah, you're right. We've still got a case to solve, and I certainly need my beauty sleep."
She has to laugh at his comment and stops as her hand starts to turn the knob. "It was nice to meet your family. Alexis is a wonderful child."
"Isn't she? She's everything that I could only hope to be." Rick replies with such pride and sincerity that Kate couldn't help but feel touched, as she felt that way about her son. "Good night Kate." He offers as she exits his apartment.
"You too... Rick." She replies as she walks away.
Kate spent entire cab ride back to her apartment, marveling at how comfortable her partner appeared to be as a father and son. The love he felt for both women was obvious. She wondered if she would ever be comfortable enough with her partner to share the fact that they have more in common than he could know. Maybe someday...
But not today.
