Alright next chapter! Enjoy!
Chapter 11
Kate Beckett sat at her desk staring at the murder board. As usual she was one of the first few at the precinct. She looked at her watch. If Ryan and Esposito weren't there in half an hour with information on the alibis of the three suspects she would give them a call. She realized that she was drumming her fingers on the desk and picked up her mug of coffee to still them. She brought the mug to her lips only to find out it was empty.
"Damn" she said, setting it back down and chewing on her thumb-nail. She was on edge and she knew it. It was the first time her and Castle would be working together as an official couple and she was worried about how he would handle the case.
Every time she heard the elevator door open she looked up hopefully, and every time she was disappointed. She looked at her watch again. Fifteen minutes until she could call either of her partners. She went back to staring and chewing her nails.
"You look anxious detective."
Kate spun around, wide eyed, to find her handsome author grinning crookedly and holding two cups of coffee.
"Maybe this will help," he said, handing her one and letting his hand brush hers as she took it. She shot him a glance that was half warning and half wanting. "Don't worry detective, I remember the rules. At work we only do work."
She smiled and took a sip of the warm liquid. "Thanks." They both turned back to the white board.
"Doesn't look like you have too much to go on right now," Rick said, scanning the few notes written down. Kate noticed how his eyes lingered on the pictures from his uncles' case.
She sighed. "Not really. We have someone tailing Mike Dobson and Ryan and Esposito are checking alibis for all three. They should be here any minute." She took a sip of her coffee and glanced at Rick, who was studying the board carefully. She heard voices coming closer and turned to see Ryan and Esposito walking in. They stopped when they saw who she was sitting next to.
"Castle, you're back," Ryan said as a big grin appeared on his face. Castle turned around and smiled in return.
"It's true, here I am."
"Castle man, it's great to have you back." Esposito said, holding out his hand, fingers scrunched together, skyward. Castle reciprocated in traditional feed the birds fashion. It was obvious that the three men had missed working together.
"Oh, I almost forgot, there are donuts in the break room," Castle added.
"Sweet," Ryan said as him and Esposito made their way to the break room.
"Hold on a minute. Where do you think you two are going?"
The two men turned around to see Beckett standing with a hand on her hip and eyebrows raised.
"There's donuts…" Esposito said, pointing to the break room.
"Ah, no," Kate said smiling. "I don't think so. Anything on the alibis?"
The two men looked sadly in the direction of the treats but turned back to Kate. "The lady said she was walking her dog in the park. We asked people around there if they had seen her and a few recognized her, said she was there the same time every day, including the morning of the murder." Ryan said, closing his notebook. Kate nodded and scribbled a few things on the board.
Esposito took over, "The other guy, AJ West, has a job as a janitor in a local school. Day of the murder he clocked in at 6:02 and didn't leave until 2:30."
Kate jotted a few more things down and turned around. "Ok, you can go get your donuts but then you're filling me in on Dobson." The two guys smiled and bolted for the break room.
Castle turned to his partner. "So what now?"
"Now, we go tell Montgomery what's going on with…us."
Castle followed her when she turned and started walking. He almost slammed into her when she stopped short and turned around. "And Castle?"
"Mmm?"
"Don't make me regret this."
"I'm insulted, detective, that you think…"
She cut him off by taking a step closer and lowering her voice. "Castle, please do not turn this into some kind of joke. This," she gestured between the two of them, "is a big deal to me, and having it common knowledge this soon isn't exactly easy."
"I'm sorry. It's a big deal to me too. No more jokes, I promise."
She raised an eyebrow.
He smiled and specified "Ok, no more jokes about us at least."
"Thanks." She nodded and knocked on the captain's door before opening it and stepping inside. Castle followed and shut the door behind him.
Montgomery looked up. "Castle, I heard you were back."
"It's true sir, I just needed a couple days to figure some things out. This case hits a little close to home. But I'm back full force now."
"Good, good. Well if you need more time don't hesitate to take it."
Castle nodded and looked at Beckett. She cleared her throat. "Actually sir, we're here because we need to talk to you about something."
"Sure, what's going on?"
Beckett looked at Castle with a suddenly nervous look on her face. He put a hand on her back and continued for her. "The two of us are together now."
"We just wanted to keep you informed sir."
"Well, well, well." The captain smiled and leaned back in his chair. "So the two of you finally decided to give it a go hmm?"
Kate blushed "Yes sir."
"Castle"
"Yes captain?"
"You had better not screw this up."
"Why is everyone so convinced hat I'm going to mess this up?"
They both looked at him skeptically.
"Hey, I'm just trying to make sure nothing happens to my best homicide detective. You break her heart and you're in big trouble."
"Understood sir."
"Good, and as long as your relationship doesn't get in the way of work, I don't see a problem with it."
Beckett chimed in. "It wont be a problem sir, thank you." The two of them left the office and sat down at Beckett's desk. Castle noticed the file he had given her from his uncles' case.
"Find anything relevant to this victim?"
"Apart from the obvious similarities? No , but I have to ask…do you know or have any connection to any of the three suspects? Or did your uncle?"
"I've never heard of any of them, and if my uncle did he never mentioned them. He had a lot of interns at his office though. And some of the janitors and maintenance staff in the building are hired through parole officers."
"Alright, I'll see if I can get a list from his office." She hesitated. "I'm also going to have to ask Martha the same question. You understand."
"Of course. She will be home tonight. Do you have to question her here or can you come over for movie night and ask her then?"
"As much as I'm sure you'd like to see you mother being interrogated I don't think that's necessary." She laughed as his face fell. "Movie night hmm?"
"Yeah, the three of us do it every week. We take turns picking the movie. Alexis said she would forfeit her turn to pick if you want to come."
"I don't know, we have a lot of work to do."
"C'mon, it will be fun. Any movie you want, we are at your mercy."
She laughed. "Well in that case I guess I could get there around 8."
Ryan and Esposito came dashing out of the break room. "Dobson is on the move." Esposito said, hanging up his phone.
"The guy we have watching his place says he's packing suitcases into his car." Ryan said through a mouthful of donut.
Castle turned to Beckett. "Didn't you tell him not to leave town?"
"I sure did." She turned to her partners. "Let's go see where he's going. Tell the detective watching him to follow if he leaves before we get there and keep us updated."
Esposito nodded and flipped open his phone. As they were all heading for the elevator Castle asked "Can I drive?"
As the elevator doors closed both Ryan and Beckett looked at him and said in unison "No."
Now that Castle is back with the team hopefully the murder can get solved! Also I have gotten a little writers block with this story, so if anyone has any ideas or suggestions I welcome them with open arms! And of course if I use any of your ideas I will give you credit in the disclaimer or at the bottom here. Thanks!
