Wrong Place Wrong Time

Chapter 14

"I'm surprised you're letting Julia go," Castle commented as he and Beckett left interrogation. "She knew what happened all along and she didn't tell you. You usually look at that as obstruction of justice."

"I'll let the D.A. worry about that later," Beckett replied. "Right now we have another problem. If those antique dueling pistols are as inaccurate as Adam said, then shooting Danny was an accident and I should recommend manslaughter to the D.A.. If not, it's murder."

Sounds like there's only one thing to do," Castle concluded, bouncing with anticipation, "get the guns Danny and Adam used for the duel from the steam punk club and find out."

Castle was giddy. Not only was he getting to fire antique dueling pistols but he was doing it with Kate. Esposito's antique gun expert Abe Sandrich, loaded the gunpowder and the balls, apparently a delicate operation, and Beckett and Castle tried their best to hit their targets. At the urging of an officer who had his own time at the range disrupted by the wildly mis-aimed balls, Castle used a sandbag, a vice, and finally a laser site. His balls still missed their mark, as did Beckett's. Castle and Beckett looked at each other in agreement. "Manslaughter it is," Beckett decided. "I'll start the paperwork."

"That's my cue to get out of here and get some writing done," Castle told her. "See you later?

"Yeah," Beckett replied absently.

Castle came home to find Alexis quickly pulling back with her newest boyfriend, Ashley. He tried hard to ignore her smeared lip gloss as she greeted him. "Dad, you smell like sulfur! What have you been doing?"

"Beckett and I were on the gun range," Castle replied, looking straight at Ashley, who paled visibly, as Castle revealed an antique pistol he'd purchased from Sandrich.

"Uh, I need to go now!" Ashley said, rising quickly from the couch.

"No Ashley stay," Alexis urged, fixing her father with a rebuking stare. "Dad isn't going to shoot you."

"No. of course," Castle agreed extending the handle of the gun toward the quaking teenager. "Here Ashley, this is cool. Have a look."

"No, Mr. Castle, I really have to gun, uh go!" Ashley stammered. "I just want you to know how much I respect you - and Alexis. She's the most respectable person I know." Ashley hurried toward the door.

"I like him, he's respectful!" Castle declared to his daughter, who angrily punched him in the arm and stomped up the stairs.

Hoping that Alexis would cool down, Castle went to his office, propping his feet on the desk, his laptop across his thighs. He was finishing a chapter when he heard the freezer door opening. He joined Alexis as she pulled out a gallon of ice cream. "Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare your boyfriend. The gun is like one in the case and you know how excited I get."

Alexis gave a wry laugh. "Yeah, I do. It's one of the things I love about you."

"Yeah, I know," Castle agreed, pulling her in for a hug. "But this reminds me," he said pointing to the still open freezer. "Beckett should be coming soon and I should put something nice, or better yet romantic, together for dinner."

"Ew," Alexis commented, grabbing the ice cream and moving away.

Castle had marinated steaks and was opening a bottle of red wine to air when Beckett came through the door. "Kate wait till you try this wine! I got it from... what's wrong?"

"Castle, after we were at the range I started thinking what the odds were against Adam actually shooting Danny, so I sent the pistols to ballistics. They didn't match. Adam Murphy didn't shoot Danny Goldstein. There was another shooter."

"Beckett," Castle exclaimed. "You're talking about a third shooter! A full on grassy knoll conspiracy!" He grabbed her in a bear hug. "I'm rubbing off on you!"

"Well if you're talking about the wine you just splashed on your shirt, yeah, it's rubbing off on me," Beckett teased. "But we need to reopen the case. We have the wrong man. We'll need to check the park again."

Castle made no move to release Beckett from his embrace. "Hey, it's dark. If there's anything to find, we'll have a much easier time in the morning and I've marinated the steaks to perfection."

Beckett closed her eyes and shook her head in bemusement. "Of course you have."

Castle was undaunted. "We'll have some wine and eat the delicious dinner I'm preparing and then - relax a bit. You can be super-cop tomorrow."

"You know," Beckett conceded, "That actually sounds great."

Beckett put down her glass and stretched with a soft yawn. "Tired?" Castle asked.

"A little," Beckett admitted.

Castle's eyes lowered in disappointment. "Too tired for...?"

Getting up from the table, Beckett smiled and ran her fingers over the stubble just starting to darken Castle's jaw. "No, actually I think I'm getting a second wind." Castle rose and held out his hand. Beckett carefully closed both the office door and the bedroom door behind them, knowing Alexis was in the loft and Martha would be returning from the theater. "How's the chest?" she asked Castle, slipping her hand beneath his shirt. "Between this case and your writing you've been working pretty hard. No twinges?"

"A couple of times when I was trying to brace the gun," Castle admitted. "That thing has a kick. But right now I couldn't feel better."

"Well," Beckett purred saucily, "we'll see about that." She pressed her lips to the vee of skin at his open collar.

Castle gasped, plunging his fingers into her hair and pulling her head up so her lips met his own. They tumbled down to the welcoming bed, Castle pulling off Beckett's jacket. Their lips met again more deeply. Lingering thoughts of the case fell way, for Beckett there was only the heat against her mouth and the stirrings rising in her core. She moved against him, her lips never leaving his. Breath coming more heavily, he drew her beneath him. "You did get your second wind," he gasped. "No more worries about getting your man?"

"Castle, the only man I want is you!"

Beckett blinked as the early morning sunlight sneaked through the window into her eyes. She felt the bare bed beside her and looked around the room to see a robed Castle searching through the clothes that lay in a wide scatter pattern around the bed. "Castle, what are you doing?"

"Trying to find my belt," Castle answered. "It's got an antique buckle on it that is strangely appropriate to this case."

Beckett felt something poking at the back of her neck and reached under her pillow. "Castle," she called enticingly, pulling out the searched for item.

Castle turned to look. "Uh how, how did...?"

"Castle come here," Kate beckoned.

Grinning, Castle climbed back on the bed. "So Detective," he inquired leaning over her and brushing the now wild hair from her face, "how exactly did my belt end up under your pillow?"

Castle's robe fell open as Beckett pulled the sash free. "Mr. Castle, I'm just going to have to show you."