Chapter 7
Castle awoke with Beckett beside and strands of her hair against his cheek. He breathed in the smell of popcorn that still clung to her, mixed with hot dogs, jujubes and the ever-present cherries, thinking that it must be the world's greatest meal. Turning toward her, he couldn't resist a little nibble along her collarbone. Eyes still closed she brought her hand to the spot and catching it, he sampled her fingertips as well. Beckett rolled on top of him and took a gentle nip of his shoulder. "Beckett," he murmured, "if you're gonna bite me, you better buy me dinner."
"Tit for tat, Castle," she purred. "Want to start with breakfast?"
"Mmmm," he answered, boosting her body so that their lips met. He was salty and savory and she couldn't get enough. She feasted on him, everywhere, as he stroked her smooth back, finally moving lower to pull her body to join with his. Drinking from each others' lips, Castle twined his fingers in Beckett's hair. She wrapped her legs around him as he filled her and they moved together until no more sensation was possible and they lay replete.
Before going to the 12th, Beckett and Castle paid a visit to Maggie Burns' best friend Monica Mayfair. She invited them into a kitchen filled with bridal magazines and samples of invitations and place cards. "I don't know what to do with all this stuff now that Maggie's dead," she told them, indicating the array. It seems like if I throw it away, I'm throwing her away. I still can't believe she's dead." Monica dabbed at her eyes with a tissue.
"Ms. Mayfair, why don't you sit down," Beckett asked gently. Monica sat in a chair next to the kitchen table and Beckett drew up another one so that they sat almost knee to knee.
"Can I get you some water, Ms. Mayfair?" Castle asked. Monica nodded and Castle filled a glass with water and set it on the table near her. She took a couple of sips and cupped her hands around it.
"Ms. Mayfair," Beckett began, "we are trying to find out as much as we can about Maggie Burns to help us catch her killer. I know its hard, but I need to ask you some questions. How were things going between her and her fiance?"
"You think Roger did this?" Monica asked.
"We just have to cover all our bases," Beckett explained.
"Maggie was going to have Roger's baby," Monica said. "She was over the moon. I'm not so sure about Roger. He said he was happy about it, but there was something in his eyes."
"What?" Beckett asked.
"It looked like fear," Monica answered, "Not just nervousness about having a baby, but he looked really afraid."
"Was there anyone who might have wanted to hurt her?" Beckett asked.
"She was looking into something at Up, but she really didn't tell me much about it." Monica daubed at her eyes again. "I was so busy helping her with the wedding."
"Would you have a list of Maggie's friends?" Beckett asked.
"I do," Monica answered."We were all working on the wedding. I'll e-mail it to you."
"Thank you for your help." Beckett told her, handing her a card. "My e-mail is on here but please call me anytime if you think of anything."
Monica just nodded. Beckett and Castle let themselves out.
"Beckett," Castle said as she drove to the 12th, "if that child was a boy, he would have had hemophilia. That would have scared any father."
"The question," Beckett stated, "is how much?"
At the 12th, Beckett asked Ryan to find out what kind of a car Roger Donnegan drove and recheck the video in the kill zone for it.
"Will do," Ryan told her.
When Monica's e-mail came in, she gave half of the names to Esposito to check. Before starting on the other half herself, She called Lanie.
"What do you need, girl?" Lanie asked.
"Lanie, I need to know if Maggie Burns was pregnant with a boy or a girl."
"It was too small to tell by looking," Lanie told her. "Let me check the chromosomes and I'll call you back."
"Thanks, Lanie," Beckett told her.
Beckett started to systematically go through the names on Monica's list. Most of her call went to voice mail, but there were a couple who were willing to talk. One, a nurse named Ruthie Gilchrist was willing to meet at the hospital on her break.
Castle and Beckett sat at a table in the hospital cafeteria with Ruthie. "Nurse Gilchrist, Beckett said, "would you know of any reason why Maggie would not have had her clotting factor?"
Ruthie looked horrified. "No! That was like breathing to her. She never missed. She was very careful. Even with that, she had the problems that hemophiliacs have, she had deep bruising and joint pain. Sometimes it got pretty bad, but she took it in stride."
"How did her fiance take it?" Beckett asked.
"I don't think he was comfortable with it," Ruthie answered. "If he thought she wasn't looking, he'd look at the bruises and cringe. Of course, no one wants to see someone they love suffer."
"Of course," Beckett agreed.
As Beckett and Castle were leaving the hospital, Beckett got a text from Lanie. The child would have been a girl.
Martha was at the loft. The heating system had broken down at her school and she hd canceled classes until it was fixed. In a rare mood of productivity, Hurricane Martha had hit the kitchen, covering it in pots, pans and sauce. "Hello darlings!" she greeted Castle and Beckett as they came through the door. "Dinner is ready."
Castle cast a glance toward the kitchen, "Mother," he said, "always interesting when you cook."
After Castle and Beckett shoveled their way through kitchen when Martha blithely proclaimed that she cooked, she didn't clean up, Castle lit a fire. Castle and Beckett gazed into the flames, taking large sips of glasses of red wine. "I think Mother confuses teaspoons and tablespoons," Castle said, sticking out his tongue. "Salty!"
"I can fix that, Castle," Beckett told him, bringing her lips toward his." She pulled back as the phone rang.
Castle picked up the receiver, saying his name. "Mr. Castle," came a voice on the other end of the phone. "This is Buttons Dutton. Alexis is in the hospital."
