They were looking at the picture of a boy onscreen.
The boy was Hispanic with black curly hair. He had a thin face with wide black eyes. He looked no more than eighteen. His chin was beginning to grow wisps of facial hair. Though it could hardly be judged from a digital photograph, his eyes seemed to have an intelligent twinkle in them.
"This is Alejandro Martinez. A year ago, he was picked up for underage drinking. The fingerprints we lifted from Megan's room today belong to him." Ryan stated.
Beckett nodded thoughtfully. "What's his connection to the victim?"
"He goes to the same school as our victim, a year senior."
"So he's the bully's classmate?" Castle observed.
"Yes."
Kate leaned forward to read Alejandro's file. "Alejandro Martinez a.k.a Al, seventeen, was the top of his class until last year, a Mathlete, he's a part of school soccer, running and swimming teams… won as the model student of the year twice… hmm."
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Castle spoke out from behind her.
"What are you thinking, Castle?"
"That how a soccer jock is also a Mathlete! It's a contradiction!"
Kate rolled her eyes. "No, I'm thinking that he's athletic enough to enter and leave without getting caught, strong enough to overpower our victim and smart enough to have a fool proof plan."
Castle was staring at the boy's face intently. "Why is this face familiar to me?"
They heard Esposito shuffle in response to Castle's question. "I'll tell you why. Take a look at this."
The two detectives and the writer gathered around Esposito's table. The Hispanic detective had opened a file recovered from Megan's computer. "Look at these pics."
"Looks like Megan and Al were dating!"
"Yeah. Look at the date of the last pic, Beckett."
"A year ago… and Jimmy said that he was together with her for the last year. So, Al was her ex."
"And Jimmy was his replacement… That could be motive." Ryan pitched in.
"There's only one way to find out… Let's pick up Al."
(…)
Beckett placed the coffee mug in front of Castle.
"You made me coffee?" the writer asked gleefully.
A small frown crossed Kate's forehead. "You sound surprised."
"Yeah… No… I mean, this isn't a regular occurrence."
"You did remind me how many coffees I owe you… So, I figured…" Kate shrugged.
"Hey, I was just kidding."
"Yeah…" she wanted to change the topic of conversation. "So, why were you late in the morning?" She immediately regretted asking the question as she saw Castle's face darken. She hurried to control the damage, "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it."
"I had a fight with my daughter," he replied quietly. "The worst fight I ever had with my daughter."
"About her new boyfriend?"
"Yeah… last night she wanted to talk about this whole 'relationship' thing… She wants to go on a tour to France with her boyfriend... She wanted my permission. I didn't give her my permission and… You know, I always thought Alexis is mature for her age. I still do… which is why I cannot understand why she's behaving like this."
"Hmm…"
"Day before yesterday, we had a scheduled movie time together but she went out saying she had a date. I'm afraid for her… Look at our mathlete suspect… model student… and he was picked up for underage drinking… God knows what my daughter could be doing… Alcohol, drugs…" He buried his face in his palms.
"Whoa, whoa, Castle, I still don't see Alexis doing drugs."
"I think the Stanford rejection along with her break up with Ashley has really messed her up. She's looking for change or thrill or something. She's falling for bad boys." Castle made a sour face.
"Every girl goes through a bad boy phase, Castle."
"Do you think I'm doing the right thing by not letting her go to France with that guy?"
"Yes. Of course."
"But she'll hate me."
"She will… but eventually she'll see your side if things as well. This phase will pass."
"Exactly how long can this phase last? How long did it last in your case, Kate?"
Kate began to answer the question but was interrupted by Ryan, "Did he just call you Kate, Beckett?"
"Don't you know it's impolite to eavesdrop on others' conversation?" Kate asked incredulously.
"Well, when you're talking in the middle of the precinct…" Ryan trailed off under Beckett's glare.
"Don't you have work to do, Detective Ryan?" She asked in a tone uncannily similar to Captain Gates. Ryan shrank involuntarily. Kate smirked.
"But he called you Kate," Ryan grumbled.
"Yeah, that's my name."
"But…"
"I'm so sorry Kevin." Castle cut in. "I should have called you by your first name too but I forgot Ryan isn't your first name. That happens when you've two first names."
Castle was really good at yanking the Irish Detective's chains because the latter walked away from them, muttering something under his breath.
"Yo, Beckett! Picked up Al from school… where should we place him?" Esposito called out.
"Interrogation 1," Beckett called back.
"Castle, do you want to go in?"
"Of course, detective. I was shocked when you didn't let me in during Tess' interrogation."
"You liked Rhonda Jones, didn't you?" Kate smirked.
"Uh, are you jealous?" He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender when Kate glared at him. "Please, the only thing smart about the woman was her phone."
(…)
Al Martinez was sitting on the steel chair patiently. He hardly moved and kept staring ahead. He was tall and lean but muscular. He was wearing a blue hooded jacket… just as Matt had described. His unruly black curls fell on his forehead. His dark eyes were wide. It looked like he was making a conscious effort to breathe evenly.
"Al, I'm Detective Beckett. This is Richard Castle, my partner."
Al's eyes lit up, "Castle, the writer?"
Rick smiled and nodded while Kate tried hard not to roll her eyes.
"Mr. Castle, I've read all of your books. Derrick Storm is my hero… And Nikki Heat is smart too."
Castle started to reply but stopped when he caught the look on Kate's face. So he just nodded.
Beckett cleared her throat. "So, Al, do you know why you're here?"
"No."
"Did you know Megan Williams?"
"No."
"You didn't know her?"
"Not really. I mean I knew there's a girl named Megan but that's it."
"Really?" Kate raised an eyebrow and slipped a picture of Al and Megan together on the table. "Care to revise your story?"
Al was silent for a full minute. "I had no idea she still had those pictures," he whispered finally. He sighed and then slumped forward. "We… she was my girlfriend."
"Why did you guys break up?" Castle prodded.
"I guess you already know I was picked up a year ago for underage drinking. She broke off with me after that."
"And how did you feel about it? Were you angry?"
"I was disappointed." He said softly. "I made a mistake. But she didn't give me a chance. I come back home from station, my parents tell me how disappointed they're in me, my drinking friends have already disappeared, others are showing me sympathy and I come back to my room, pick up phone and I see it… A text sitting in my inbox… She broke up with me over text. I was very disappointed."
"Jimmy is your friend, isn't he?"
"Yes, he is… I help him with Calculus…"
"So how did you feel when she immediately got together with Jimmy?"
"Bad. I felt bad. But Jimmy apologized to me… Besides, Megan didn't break up with me because of Jimmy. We broke up because I screwed up and she wouldn't give me a second chance."
"Al, we've reason to believe that you broke into her house this morning."
"What? No!"
"We've your fingerprints at the scene."
"What?"
"And shoe prints too… and since you're sure that it wasn't you who broke in, I'm sure that you wouldn't mind if we compared the prints to your shoes."
"Uh…" Suddenly the well spoken boy had turned speechless.
Beckett leaned forward as she always did when closing in on a prey. "Al, the way things are going, I really think that it's looking bad for you. If you don't co-operate, it will get worse."
"Look, I meant no harm. I didn't know Mr. W was there. I thought he'd be in office."
"Tell us what happened."
"I just wanted to… uh… take something that she had… it belonged to me."
"What was it?"
He looked first at Beckett and then at Castle pleadingly, hoping that they would drop the issue. However, he soon realized that it wasn't going to happen. "A picture of us… together. I gave it to her last week."
"You broke into a crime scene for a picture of you two? Why?" Beckett asked incredulously.
"Uh… I didn't want you guys to find it."
Castle was more interested in the story. "Why did you give her a picture of you two when she was dating another guy?" He paused for a moment and then it struck him. "Wait, you were trying to get back with her, weren't you?"
The boy fidgeted in his seat.
Kate went ahead for the kill. "So what happened, Al? She refused… You got angry and decided to kill her?"
"No, no," the boy shook his head frantically, "I don't have anything to do with her death, I swear."
"Then tell us the truth."
"Look…" He cleared his throat nervously. "I wasn't planning to get back with her… I'm in love with another girl. It was a part of a deal… She would be my girlfriend only if I could help her break Megan's relationship with Jimmy. She wanted me to pretend."
"So that Megan would leave Jimmy for you and then you'd leave her… That way, you get over your 'disappointment' and you get the girl." Castle completed his story for him.
Al nodded.
Kate shook her head in disgust, "Where were you yesterday between 11 am and 2 pm?"
"I was with my girlfriend… at her place…"
"What's your girlfriend's name?"
"Tess… Tess Jones."
(….)
"Really? Really?" Castle flailed dramatically. "How can someone so dumb be a mathlete? Can't he see that she's just using him? What does he see in her anyway?"
"Castle, he had his own interests too… Revenge… and the girl would be an added bonus."
"I wonder why Tess didn't mention it."
"I don't know. We will pick her up again. She lied to us, on record. This should make it easier for us."
"Hmm… but if Tess confirms, that would mean both our lead suspects have alibi."
"No," Kate looked up at him from her files. "It might also mean that they're in it together. Maybe Megan is the planner, Al the executer."
Castle flopped back in his chair. "When I was a teenager, I didn't plot murders to please girlfriends. I always had other ways." He chuckled. "This one time, when I was sixteen…"
"Castle, I don't wanna know."
"Oh, okay… the point is, when I was a teen, I was still debating with my friends about the coolest aliens of all times."
"Really, Castle?"
"What were you doing as a teen?"
"None of your business."
"Come on, Kate."
She leaned forward. They were so close that he could feel her warm breath on his face. "Call me Kate in the Precinct again and I'll tear off your ears."
The minty breath on his face and her rumbling voice made him incoherent. "Uh…um… uh…"
"Yo Beckett… oh, we're interrupting something." The two detectives turned around and started to walk away.
"What's it, guys?" She called out but didn't look at them. She was smirking at Castle instead.
"Uh, we just wanted to say that we've processed Al in holding under charges of criminal trespassing and obstruction of justice. But we've to find something soon before he is bailed out." Ryan looked like a school boy in the principal's office.
"What about Tess?"
"She's on her way to the Precinct."
"Good."
(…)
"What are you thinking, Castle?"
Castle was staring far ahead of him. He was quiet … something which was highly unlike him.
"I'm thinking that I never thought about how my books could affect teenagers. Al read my books… He's younger than Alexis and I still don't let her read my books."
"Castle, it doesn't work that way… We don't know for sure if Al committed the murder. Even if he did, it's not because he read your books."
He looked at her pensively. "How do you know?"
"Because, if he had read your books attentively, he'd have at least worn gloves to the scene… No one can be so careless if he's learning crime from your book."
Castle seemed to consider her for a second. "You mean I write good plots?"
"Yeah, you do think like a pro criminal." She smiled. When she saw a smug smile on his face, she hastily added, "That's not a good thing, Castle. Don't let it get in your head."
"Huh," Castle grinned, "you just admitted that I write good books."
"Hey, I never said that."
"You did, Detective. You did!"
"Whatever…" Kate rolled her eyes.
(….)
Tess was sitting yet again in the interrogation room with the lawyer by her side. This time, thankfully, her hare brained mother was absent.
"Tess, you lied to us about your alibi." Beckett started without a preamble.
The girl jerked back to reality, "What? No! I told you, I was at home."
"Can anyone vouch for that?"
"My mother did."
"It doesn't count because she wasn't there. Maybe you were not at home."
"Detective," the counselor started, "this is bordering on harassment."
"Not when we have evidence that your client provoked someone to break into the victim's house a day after the victim was killed."
The lady looked pointedly at her client. Tess averted her eyes.
"Tess, we know that you were with your boyfriend Alejandro Martinez."
"He's not my boyfriend. He's a dork. Besides, I don't date chocolates." Tess said loudly, wrinkling her nose as if she was being forced to smell trash.
Kate clenched her jaws and suppressed her urge to slap the girl. "That's the least of your worries, Tess. Al is already in custody. We've proof that he broke into Megan's house today morning. He has confessed that you wanted his help to break up Megan and Jimmy. We know the two of you were together at the time of Megan's murder and no one can prove that you were at your place… We only need to place you two at the crime scene… Given the pile of lies that the two of you are trying to feed us from the start, it'll be easy… So speak up or the counselor will not be able to help."
Tess glanced at her counselor.
"I think you should clear up the confusion with the detective, Miss Jones."
Tess gulped before facing Beckett again. "I… I have proof… We… I have a video of the time we spent at my place."
"A video?"
"Yeah… I needed leverage… Something that would stop him from ever spilling the secret that I sent him after Megan."
(….)
"Ugh!" That was Castle's response as they played the video.
Al was on the video, doing a strip tease for the person who held the camera, that's Tess.
"Do we really need to watch it? We've seen the time stamp. Please… This is torture!"
"Castle, you've a porn stash hidden in the back of your closet and you can't watch a piece of evidence?" Beckett countered.
"Wait, how do you know about his porn stash?" Esposito asked with raised eyebrows.
"Castle mentioned it… Remember that one time he thought he was cursed and he wanted to get rid of his porn stash if he ended up dead?"
Ryan sniggered, "Yeah, we remember. Anyway, this video looks legit and the time stamp doesn't look altered. I'll send it to the crime lab for double checking anyway."
Beckett sighed and dropped down on her chair. "Our two prime suspects just alibied out. We're back to square one."
The three men nodded grimly in agreement.
Beckett's phone rang. "Beckett. Okay, we'll be right there." She hung up the phone and looked at the guys. "Lanie said she found something important. Come on, Castle."
(…)
"What've you found, Lanie?" Beckett marched into the morgue with Castle in tow.
"Well, hi to you too."
"Lanie, our suspects just alibied out. So get straight to the point." She took in the sight of Lanie standing in front of her with hands on her hips and glaring at her; so she added for good measure, "Please?"
The M.E's face softened. "Now that you put it nicely… I've found something. Remember the piece of grey fabric that we found under the victim's nails? I ran it for DNA and we've some."
"That's great. Do we have a match?"
"The DNA didn't belong to the victim but the mitochondrial DNA from the sample matched to the victim."
"That means the killer is related to the victim?"
"That means the DNA belongs to the victim's mother."
A/N: Dun, dun, dun… Can you hear the music? ;)
Thanks guys for the awesome reviews… Gloriajv, Nat, Imhereforthestory, crazy4castle, Lauren Pannell, tiff098765, sourmelonsoup, sophiadelancy, Ariel119. Also, thanks to everyone on FB, tumblr and twitter who've liked, commented on, reblogged or retweeted the link.
I dedicate the story to Imhereforthestory. Your comment, "Are you sure you are not Andrew Marlowe in disguise:D" made me laugh out loud! You rock!
I know it's all about the case but Caskett is not the type to have some 'fun' when the case is going nowhere… and we want them to have some ' fun', right? ;)
Please review. Please.
Disclaimer: As much as I love the comparisons (and they boost my ego :P), I'm not Mr. Marlowe.
