Disclaimer: I don't own Castle or any charters from related books.
The Ghost in the Room
The gumball on her car spun, highlighting the surrounding snow banks with an eerie crimson glow as she passed. Nikki had gotten the call to meet at Raley's apartment just as Ochoa had. A body had been discovered there, thankfully not his, but she hurried none the less. Normally in a situation like this, it would have been pedal to the metal time. Even though the roads had just been plowed and salted, they would still have contained slick spots that would make an officer of the law look pathetic if they had gotten themselves stuck. Nikki Heat didn't want that to happen.
The weather report blared on the radio. Twelve inches had fallen since last night, and more was expected before the storm was over. The worst seemed to be yet to come. A batch of freezing rain was expected to be mixed into the next day's forecast of foul weather, which was sure to create sheets of ice across the roadways. Winds were going to pick up, only fifteen mph this morning, but escalating to thirty tomorrow, and gusts near fifty. Whiteout conditions in most areas were likely.
Most of the flights to and from the area had been grounded, and the airports were shut down and potential passengers stranded inside. The public transportation system in the city was all but nonexistent, the only working transit system was the subway and that was expected to shut down by tonight for safety's sake. The normally busy thoroughfares that her car crossed were deathly silent now. This storm was turning New York into a ghost town.
The silence that she experienced traveled as far as inside of her own car. Rook was sitting shotgun and had turned to a foul mood when she didn't answer him and ran out of his bar. When she got the call she granted him the courtesy of a ride-along, but their conversation had not extended further than that. The radio was the only sound she heard until pulling up near Raley's apartment, applying just enough brake to stop, but not too much that would slide her car along the ice. She killed the engine and stepped into the frigid air.
Heat entered the building, almost marveling at how cold she got after only traveling a few feet from her Crown Vic to the entrance to the apartment complex. She had been to Raley's place only a handful of times before, usually game nights with the rest of the gang, way before Rook's time. Those nights were some of her best memories with Roach, when they all could be themselves and not have to worry about titles or who was 'technically' the boss of whom. Those memories vacated her mind the instant she noticed the body splayed across the living room carpet. All she could think of was how hard this would hit Raley, and how long it would take him to overcome this tragedy.
The footprints of CSU, a handful of beat cops, and the tracks that were made by the stretcher had etched themselves into the welcome mat that she strode over as she entered the apartment. One person died, many people had to respond.
"Evening Detective." The charming uniform gave her a smile, and blatantly undressed her with his eyes.
A mind full of faces scanned for his, and she finally remembered him from a year and a half ago. It was the cop that hit on her at the Guilford crime scene. He'd chosen a bad day and a worse place to try his luck again.
"Don't." Her tone told him to back off.
"Yes detective," he said instantly, a flicker of fear emerging from his throat. One word was enough for the rest of the evening, because afterwards, that particular uniform did his best not to meet her eyes.
After clearing her thoughts and taking a moment to let the world settle, as per her ritual, her mind went right to work, piecing together the connection between the two women before she even knew any information about the body in front of her. The only thing that popped at the moment was Raley. She didn't remember him telling them he had a lady friend, although it seemed that Rook was correct in estimating that he had a date that evening. The most junior of her detective team wasn't speaking however. It appeared that he couldn't despite Detective Ochoa's best effort to break his partner out of what looked to be an out of body experience.
Rook had entered after Heat, giving her some space after the cold shoulder she game him during the car ride. He was the fool that brought his emotions to the table way too early in the game. He couldn't blame her for shutting herself down, at least to him. The corner of the apartment nearest to the bedroom where no one was would be the best place for him. That way he would be out of the way of the true professionals, letting them focus on their work instead of his harassing queries. It was a perfect place so he could still keep his eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary. Even though he was hurt by Nikki's reaction, he would fire up if he perceived anything abnormal. It was the right thing to do, not to mention the professional thing to do.
He had been to Raley's place once before, just after he and Heat had become mutually exclusive. He, Roach, and Captain Montrose had watched the Super bowl together, happily indulging in the cigars the Captain had brought to the party. Although they had much more fun then, it would not be imprinted into their memories like tonight would be.
Tim the M.E. went right to work, examining the body ever-so-closely. Both victims were similar in appearance, blonde, attractive, and appeared to be close to the same height and weight. There was no bruising on her wrists and ankles, indicating that she not been bound. The similar MO told him to make note that they could be dealing with a serial killer, but the lack of bruising told him that it could be a coincidence.
Heat eyed Rook in the corner. Knowing him as she did, it was obvious to her that he was trying to be good. A lump formed in her throat when she saw him, alerting her that she was actually sorry for the coldness she had shown earlier. She would apologize later; there were more pressing matters to attend to right in front of her.
With no signs of a struggle apparent in the apartment, Kaylee was either killed elsewhere or she knew her attacker. Both scenarios were possible at this point, and Nikki knew she would have some hard work ahead of her trying to figure out which was the case.
She swore, loud enough to get a few looks from faces around her. The first thing she wanted to do was rule Raley out, but friend or not, he was still a potential suspect. Depending on TOD, he would most likely have an airtight alibi because he was working. Cops made trustworthy people to confirm alibis. It all depended on if Tim could give her a better window on the time of death. She hoped he could do that soon so she could quickly pull Raley off the suspect list. The last thing she needed was to feel duped by working with and being friends with, a dirty cop.
Detective Heat approached the irritable Medical Examiner, who sensed her approach and turned his head to greet her, nodding.
"What can you tell me Tim?" She asked the M.E. as she crouched at the body with him.
"Time of death was around eight thirty, since she hasn't gone into full rigor yet.
Nikki let out a sigh of relief, thinking, Raley had just left the precinct when it occurred. "Thank goodness for small favors."
"Yes, too true detective, may I continue?" Tim asked harshly, continuing before she could respond. "She has the same type of mark on the side of her neck. This tells me it may be connected to the Baker woman's murder for last night. Also as you can tell she is wearing a white sundress just like Ms. Baker was. The clear difference to me was that she wasn't bound, though the faint odor of chloroform seems to be emanating from her mouth."
The detective leaned over the victim and waved her hand toward her. Even though it wasn't strong, the distinct smell of chloroform wafted into her nose. "She was knocked out before she was killed?"
"Near as I can tell, but I won't be able to determine that for sure until I've done a proper autopsy."
The savvy detective sprang back to her feet. "I'll let you get back too it then."
"Tell Detective Raley that my thoughts are with him," Tim the M.E. expressed.
"Will do," Nikki tried to smile, but it turned out like a grimace.
As Heat turned a member of CSU stopped her in her tracks. He was beefier than most of the other members, as well as the only one with salt and pepper hair. "Can you spare a minute detective?"
"What can you tell me?"
"This place is clean, and by clean I mean no prints, what so ever, except for Detective Raley's and the victims."
"So they either wore gloves or cleaned up after themselves"
"Looks that was for the moment."
She read between the lines. "If you're not done sweeping, why did you come over?" She questioned, trying not to sound too harsh.
"Reason I came over, was to tell you that the Baker crime scene is clean for prints as well. The truck had no discernable identification and the VIN number was scratched off. If I had to guess it was stolen."
"Thanks for that," Nikki shot sarcastically, not appreciating his guess work.
"Did your people find any vomit?" The reporter's voice questioned from a distance.
Heat turned toward the direction the question was asked. Her mouth opened to say something to him, but quickly clamped it shut. She smiled and nodded in thanks instead.
"Yeah, we found a bit of sick near the back entrance to the convenience store, looked to me like the clerk lost his lunch when he saw the body."
"Thanks," Heat stated simply. Her attention turned this time toward Rook who was once again staring at her.
Across the room, Ochoa was trying his best to comfort his young partner, but had little luck consoling him. Raley seemed catatonic and unable to move. Their partnership would never be quite the same after this moment, but he would still try to make the best out of it.
He tried his damnedest to make Detective Raley smile or show any kind of emotion.
"Hey Rales remember this? Wolverine, no!" He cried weakly, trying to mimic the joke that Raley had told him earlier that day. Raley's face twitched, almost wanting to snicker, because of the smile that was evident on his partners face.
"Wolverine, no!" He said louder, from the back of his throat this time, and noticed a clear response. Raley was laughing; it was true that dumb joke always made him laugh.
"Thanks man," Raley continued to half-chuckle between words, "I really needed that."
"No problem," the slightly embarrassed detective responded. "You going to be okay from now on? Because I am not saying that stupid joke again."
"No worries, I think I can manage. I still can't believe you don't think that joke is funny."
"It's growing on me," Ochoa said and smiled.
Raley turned and looked at his girlfriend's lifeless body again, the cloud of hurt never leaving his eyes. "Do you think it's the same guy that killed that Baker woman?"
"Maybe, you think of anyway that they may have been connected?"
"She was also a member of PETA, but not a vocal member. A few monetary donations to a few of their rallies was all she really did."
"A connection is a connection, it's better than nothing. I'm sorry man, I really am."
"I know you are, but it's not like you can really understand what is going on, can you?" He said softly.
"I don't know what I would do if…" Ochoa stopped in his tracks for a moment. "…oh to hell with it, if something was to happen to Lauren."
"Lauren? You mean to tell me, you and she…?"
"…have been seeing each other for a while now, yes," Ochoa finished his partner's declaration.
"Congratulations man, why didn't you tell me sooner," Raley slapped his partner on the back.
"We wanted to keep it quiet for a while. Sorry not to say anything sooner."
"Anyone else know about this before me?" Raley pondered, needing to get his mind off of Kaylee.
"Heat already knew Lauren told her, and Rook just guessed at the bar tonight. Otherwise you're the first one that I've told."
"Thanks, that means a lot, man. Oh, and I was about to tell you about Kaylee. But now…" He trailed, gesturing.
Ochoa sighed, "I know man. Come on, I want to see if the boss has found out anything useful."
Roach walked toward Heat and Rook, watching them share theories like they did in the past, each with a slight smirk on their face.
"Hi boss, Rook, sorry about earlier…I…"
"Save it Raley, I get what you're going through. I went through the same thing a few years back. According to Captain Montrose, it made me a better detective. But just know, if you ever need anyone to talk to..." She trailed.
"I will keep that in mind. Thank you. I just want to catch this son of a bitch before he kills again."
A heavy clicking sound stirred them from their conversation. Tim had placed Kaylee Jacobson's body on the stretcher and zipped up the body bag. Heat, Roach, and Rook all watched as Tim rolled the stretcher towards the door. She was not one of the officers that they worked with, but she was Raley's girl. If she was important to him, she was important to them.
After the body had headed to the morgue for further investigation, Nikki Heat, with her team still at her side, had to decide what their next step was going to be. She decided her first step was to call their skipper, Captain Montrose and inform him on what had occurred at Raley's place just a few short hours before. She pulled out her phone from her jacket pocket.
After the first three rings a voice responded at the other end. "Hello?"
"Captain its Heat, someone killed Raley's girlfriend. It appears to be the same person that killed the Baker woman as well. There was no sign of forced entry or a struggle. It was as if she knew her attacker."
"It wasn't…"
"No sir," Nikki interrupted, reading the Captain's mind. "He had just left the precinct when the murder transpired. He was probably lucky that we kept him as late as we did."
"How is Detective Raley holding up?"
"Okay. Better than I did when I found my mother in the kitchen. He does have more experience with death than I did."
"I want you to question him about her when he's up to it. Remind him that the faster we find out information about the victim the sooner we can catch her killer."
"The thing is, Sir, he wants to be part of the investigation. Do you feel that's wise?"
"I would give you the same opportunity Detective, so why not give him a chance as well. Just make sure that he can handle looking into her case and won't go off on his own."
"Yes sir," Heat said to finish the conversation.
"I want a black and white to tail each of you during this investigation. I want to make sure that the killer isn't following you and trying to take you or the people you love out one by one."
"But Sir…"
"No buts Detective. I don't want anything to happen to any of you, so it is best to play it safe." The phone clicked off on the other end. She knew that he would call the precinct next and send any available squad cars to their locations.
The savvy detective looked back at her team. They had been watching her on the phone the entire time, trying to guess what the Captain was saying on the other end.
"Raley you can still be a part of this investigation, if you keep your cool."
"I can do that, if it means I can look that S.O.B. in the face that killed Kaylee," he wore as smirk as he spoke, but his eyes screamed for vengeance.
"Keep it under control or you're off the case, you understand Detective Raley?"
Raley simply nodded.
"Also we are all being given tails. The Skipper thinks that it may be personal now and each of us is at risk."
"Did you tell him about me and Lauren?"
"It wasn't my place to."
Detective Ochoa did his best to look casual when he pulled out his cell and dialed for the Captain.
"You love her don't you?" Heat questioned.
Ochoa thought back to his last words to Lauren as he left her in his apartment. "I do, I told her so without even thinking about it before I left her place to come here."
"She really cares about you. I can see it in her eyes when she talks about you."
The Cuban detective just smiled in response and began to speak to the Captain about his relationship with Lauren Parry.
"What's next on the agenda?"
"We have a long drive up North to Clinton Correctional Institution. We've got to visit Grant and ask him some questions."
"That's like two hundred miles away!" the journalist exclaimed.
"I know that, they're not much help are they," Heat sighed. Blizzard conditions, long distances, and an annoying reporter were three reasons why Heat didn't wish to go. The cop in her knew that finding the truth outweighed each of those reasons. "It isn't going to be a fun journey with all the snow and wind either, but we gotta do it."
"We best leave now then. I'll take the first shift out of the city."
"Wait Rook, I didn't agree to that…" Heat chased him to the exit of the building, forgetting for a moment that she had the keys. Once she remembered, she glared at him and held her keys possessively to her chest.
"Not on your life, writer boy."
Wiping the smirk off her face, she turned to Roach and said, "I want you two to find me a connection, a clear connection, between Gillian Baker and Kaylee Jacobson. We will hopefully be back sometime tomorrow night if everything goes okay. Call me when you find something."
"Be safe you two," Ochoa, who was now off the phone, teased her as she spun around to depart.
She flipped him the bird and disappeared into the snowy white night.
A/N: As always, a thank you to my Beta for this story, morethanamuse.
