Genre: Crime, Drama, Family, Romance, Humor
Rating: M for violence, language and sexual situations
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: With the last chapter I was of course so glad to get the reviews that I did for it, so I need to say thank you for them all! Weirling (Had to laugh a bit at your reaction to there not being a next button for the next chapter. But it was really nice to see that since it means you want to read more of course. And also have to say I am happy that you're liking the story so much you're hooked!), Beckett-Castle4ever (Glad to see you liked the last chapter. And same that you enjoyed the family time at the beginning. As always, I'm so happy that you too can't wait to see what'll happen next, to read more, which you can do here!), vetgirlmx (I laughed a bit at your reaction to the cliffhanger the last chapter, I was expecting that from you. And I did laugh too at what you said, about them getting trouble with them going forward in the case a bit. Of course, glad that you want to read more, get further into the story. And interesting to see you feel like it's getting close to the end of the case, but yeah, you're right, a lot of questions still of course. And another thing I had to laugh at was when you said they should just go on vacation, they will, but they have to get to the wedding first of course! No surprise you're not waiting patiently for the next chapter, but now you can here!), life's a mystery (Not too surprised at your reaction to the cliffhanger, wondering about Castle and Beckett. But glad you said that since it means you want to read more, to see what happens!), sammysgirl78 (Lol, had to laugh to see you too weren't too happy about the cliffhanger, sorry, but as a writer I'm drawn to them, my fingers love typing those out, lol. But I'm really happy that you enjoyed the chapter. Especially happy that you mentioned the very beginning of the chapter, I thought you might enjoy that, lol, and you make a good point, they probably needed it after the case they're investigating. And I am so glad that you enjoy the family time they got, and how their breakfast went talking about India and the honeymoon too. I'm happy to read that you think the case is interesting, not surprised you too mentioned them getting a little ahead with it before they got some drama, lol. It was interesting to read your speculation, can't say I'm surprised to see that actually, lol. And I'm so happy you want to read more, that badly. And as for it being Tuesday, now it is!) and pcol22 (Glad that you enjoyed the chapter as usual! I'm not too surprised to see your questions about what happened in the last chapter. And it was nice to get those since it means you want to read more, which of course you also said for sure after those questions, lol, and now you can read it here!). Thanks so much for all the great feedback that I got for the last chapter, I loved reading it and so, so grateful that you all took the time to write them out and send them to me!
A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Loveliest Thing by Paul McCartney, a bonus track from the 1993 re-release of his album Flowers in the Dirt.
Without Permission, Above Suspicion
Walking into the foyer, Beckett saw Isles coming down the last step and slipping to the floor as the blood from the wound in his leg oozed it under his feet. "You alright?" she asked, lowering her gun after looking around and seeing no one there. "Where's the baby?" she asked.
"I don't know, they took her," Isles said. "Go Beckett, we've got help coming."
Nodding as she was already starting to run, Beckett came around a corner, and was able to see into the backyard, and saw a man with a hood on his head, a carrier in his hand as Carlotta was running after him. She took off at a sprint, Castle behind her, and opened the door to the back. "Let go of the baby!" she yelled as loudly as she could, aiming for the man's head as Isabella's shrill cries filled the air.
The surprise in hearing her voice cause the man to stop for a moment, giving Carlotta enough time to grab her baby's carrier and set it down as she was grabbed, pulled against the man. Beginning to scream, she was abruptly cut off as he wrapped his arm around her throat, and a gun was pressed to her temple.
"I have her, go," Castle said to his fiancée in a low voice as they walked across the grass, forcing the attacker back towards a corner. When he reached the carrier, he put Beckett's backup piece in his coat pocket after setting the safety, and he got the baby, running back into the house as an officer came up to the doorway.
"Let her go," Beckett said, knowing that Castle had Isabella though she only heard him running.
"Stay there," the man yelled in a gruff voice that was obviously moderated. "Stay or I will shoot."
"Let her go and drop your weapon, you're out numbered," Beckett told him, hoping the officer behind her was doing as the man asked. There was a long moment of silence as the man stared at her, and finally he shoved Carlotta to the floor, his gun turning to Beckett.
Before she or the officer could shoot though, the gunman opened fire on them, rapidly, spraying the bullets back and forth as the officer ducked back inside the house, and Beckett hit the ground.
A few shots made the grass in front of her explode, and it wasn't until it stopped that Beckett looked up to find the backyard empty. She yelled to the officer, "Check and make sure someone was back there," before she went to Carlotta. "Are you okay?"
"Isabella?" the woman asked.
"Come on," Beckett told her as she helped her up. "We'll check."
"She's here," Castle said from the living room, which was the furthest room from the backyard on the first floor. "She's okay, I managed to calm her down," he told Carlotta as he handed the baby to her. "Isles and Ritter are in ambulances outside; I don't know how they are though."
"Detective," another officer called, getting their attention.
"Yes," Beckett said, going to the doorway quickly. "I need to talk to Isles and Ritter," she said as she walked, the officer and Castle following her.
"Beckett," Isles said, taking the oxygen mask off his face. "I can breathe!" he said in irritation to the EMT trying to get him to put it back on. "There were two of them. They made sure we stayed split up and the one you were with in the backyard got Ms. Spencer and the baby in the kitchen. I got shot upstairs, she went down…"
"Easy Isles," Beckett said quickly as the man put the mask back on. "You'll get help. Want me to call your wife?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine, just some blood loss, same with Ritter, he'll be fine too," Isles said. "Tell Denny I'm great."
Stepping back from the ambulance as the EMT closed the doors; Beckett turned to the officer and said, "Were you able to find either of them?"
"There was a car, black with a yellow New York plate, we were unable to see much more than that though as it was taking off," the man replied.
"Behind the house in the alley," Beckett stated. When the man nodded, she took a deep breath and headed back to the house to get Carlotta and the baby. As she and Castle were going up the steps, she heard Esposito calling her name. "We're fine," she said.
"Not you," Castle said suddenly, noticing her hair. "Grass?" he asked. "He got some shots near you."
"I'm fine," Beckett told him shortly since she didn't have any time to tell him more than that. "The baby is fine, and so is Carlotta, though the gunman that stayed here was going to take Isabella."
"Ritter and Isles?" Ryan asked.
"They'll be okay, some blood loss, and Ritter might have gotten a concussion, I'm not sure," Beckett said simply. "One of you call the Regency, and Rizzio and Hastings, they're going back and staying there, I don't need to have them go through this again." She turned abruptly and went into the house, stopping short as she saw on the couch in the living room that Carlotta was sobbing, her daughter's cheek pressed to hers. She had a hard time swallowing then, as there was something so familiar in that tableau, but she shook it off as best she could, focusing on what she needed to do next. "Carlotta? Do you need medical attention at all? Isabella?" she asked gently, sitting next to them.
"No, no, we're okay, just… scared," Carlotta replied, wiping her tears from her face. "I thought I was going to lose her. Do I still need to stay here?"
"No," Beckett said, looking up as a CSU team came inside then. "We're taking you back to the Regency."
"Oh thank god, any place is better than here," Carlotta said, her voice shaky with tears as she put Isabella back into her carrier. "Thanks," she said as Castle carried it for her.
Walking back to the car after instructing Ryan to go through the house with CSU and Esposito to do a quick canvas of the neighborhood, Beckett watched as Castle helped Carlotta getting the carrier set in the back. She remained there as he came up to her, watching the mother speaking to her baby before she felt her backup gun in her hand. "Don't tell Gates," she said, not really what she'd wanted to say, but not able to voice what she was thinking at that point.
"They'll be safe," Castle said simply, seeming to sense what she didn't say. "Let's go."
Beckett walked around the car to get in and as she did a u-turn she could see the street in front of the house crowded with cars and flashing sirens, lights lost in the bright afternoon sun.
Sitting down on the couch in the outer room of the room she'd stayed in the night before, Carlotta watched as Beckett paced back and forth in front of the windows, and looked at Castle as he sat at the table next to her. "Is everything okay?" she asked softly.
"Yeah, we're just trying to get the two officers here," Castle said. "Are you?"
"Oh, fine, just glad nothing happened to Isabella," Carlotta said, glancing at the closed door to the bedroom where her baby was sleeping. She sighed and said, "Do you think it's really the father that's doing all of this?"
"It's likely," Beckett said, having hung up her phone and sitting next to Castle. "But the officers who watched you last night will be coming in shortly. They're bringing your bag that was left at the safe house and some of the baby supplies we'd had put there as well."
"I need both," Carlotta said, breathing out heavily. "I wonder sometimes," she said after they were quiet for a moment.
"About what?" Castle asked.
"The father, who is he," Carlotta commented. "I worry he's insane doing all this to get us and knowing part of that is in my daughter…"
"You would be able to raise her so she doesn't inherit that from him," Beckett said quickly.
"I know, it just scares me," Carlotta said. She paused and then said, "I'm surprised none of you asked why I kept the baby."
"We don't really have any right to question that," Castle said, his fiancée nodding in agreement with him.
"Or that I gave her up for adoption," Carlotta said slowly.
"Better you didn't," Beckett said quickly. "But I understand why you didn't do either. You are a good mother, which she needs at this point. Your doctor," she said then, to change the subject and bring up something she'd wondered. "Who-"
"I had multiple doctors," Carlotta said. "Sheryl was worried about us, and she managed to get me in to see pretty much every doctor they have at Lexington. So I guess she had the thought that with so many doctors, they couldn't kill them, it'd bring too much attention to themselves."
"They already have, but you're right," Castle said as there was a knock at the door.
"Officer Hastings, Rizzio," Beckett said after she'd checked the peephole, her hand on her gun. She let Hastings in, taking the bag that Rizzio handed her, nodding to him before he took up his station. "Castle? We're going to head back to the station Carlotta," she said once her fiancé had stood up. "Call for any reason, please."
"I will," the woman said. "Excuse me," she then continued, hurrying to the bedroom as the muffled sound of the baby crying came through the door.
"Anyone?" Beckett asked.
"Nothing suspicious," Hastings said. "We'll notify you the second something happens, if it does."
Beckett nodded once at that and then left the room with Castle, waiting to hear Hastings inside lock the door both below and above before she led the way down the hall. "This is really pissing me off," she commented as they stepped into the elevator.
"Yeah, usually we have something by now," Castle said.
"I'm hoping Esposito and Ryan managed to get something from the house," Beckett said. "Or else that license plate."
"Speaking of Ryan," Castle commented as her phone suddenly started to ring.
Pulling him to the side of the lobby, away from the entrance, Beckett answered her phone with it on speaker saying, "Please tell me you have something, anything."
"Yeah, we finally got word on the license plate, that was a dead end, plate's off a red BMW, it was stolen about three days ago," Ryan said.
"The car?" Castle asked.
"No, just the plate, the owner didn't notice it until yesterday when he was stopped for that," Ryan replied.
"So what do you have exactly?" Beckett asked.
"We have footage from one angle of the hallway where Spencer was staying, and we have a suspect," Ryan said.
"Okay, so who is it?" Beckett said as soon as she and Castle were in the bull pen and had reached Esposito and Ryan who were by the murder board.
"We asked the FBI to see if they could ID the guy from the bar, but they didn't have any luck with the facial scanner," Ryan said.
"But looking at the footage from the bar, Ryan noticed this guy," Esposito said, handing Beckett a picture.
In it a man was standing behind Carlotta, and Beckett frowned as she saw he had his hand on the woman's shoulder. "What's he doing in the footage?" she asked the two.
"He bumps into her, and apologizes or, says something to her," Ryan replied. "But I recognized him."
"How?" Beckett asked in surprise.
"His name is Keith Haupt, and I knew him in high school," Ryan said simply. When Castle and Beckett looked at him in surprise he said, "I know, I wasn't expecting that, but, he lives in DC now, and he's an aide, to the Representative from the state of Maine, Gordon Boyer."
"And is Representative Boyer going through a divorce or having marital troubles?" Castle asked.
"He is, but the other thing, he was the source of that noise that made Spencer turn her head, and allowed the blonde guy to switch drinks with her," Esposito said. He motioned for the others to follow him, and they went to his desk where he played the last of the angles they'd gotten from the bar's security cameras, showing Haupt stumbling against a woman and making her spill her drink.
"Faked," Beckett commented as the previously drunk man walked perfectly fine out of camera view after talking to the woman he'd bumped into.
"So they're working together," Castle said. "Have you tried to find him?"
"Well, right now Congress is on summer vacation, so we tried his personal numbers, weren't able to reach him," Ryan said. "But I left a few messages, saying I wanted to catch up."
"Don't let Gates find that out," Beckett commented. "And Representative Boyer?"
"He was in DC at the time this footage was shot," Esposito said. "And we tried contacting him as well, but he's on vacation in Canada with his and his wife's kids."
"Could be he's letting this happen now to put as much distance between himself and everything as he can," Castle said. "I wonder if he kept tabs on her, and when he found out she had the baby decided to plan this to help him in the divorce."
"Does he stand to lose a lot of money, possessions?" Beckett asked.
"Both, there's a pre-nup and if he's caught cheating…" Ryan said.
"Okay, we need to speak to Haupt and look at his financials and the Representative's as well," Beckett said.
"Haupt is not an issue, but Boyer?" Esposito asked.
"We'll figure it out," Ryan said quickly, standing up straight as he was looking at the elevator.
Turning her head, Beckett saw Lieutenant Serrano walking to Gates' office, and she watched the man go inside before the captain stepped out.
"Detective," Gates said, seeing Beckett watching her. "I have no idea why you're here Serrano, she's done the lie detector test; which she passed; and-" she started to say as Beckett closed the door behind her.
"She needs to be taken off this case," Serrano said suddenly, cutting her off.
"Excuse me? What right do you have to ask that?" Gates asked, narrowing her eyes at the man.
"She was just involved in a kidnap attempt and hostage situation, the Captain at IA wants her off this case, immediately," Serrano said simply.
Beckett studied the man, suddenly seeing that he wasn't really behind what he was saying; only saying it because he was ordered to.
"Both situations were out of her control," Gates said angrily. "Ms. Spencer was under the protection of two of my officers, who were unfortunately shot in their attempts to keep the woman and child safe. If Detective Beckett hadn't been there, they would likely both be dead."
"I know, I'm sorry, but those are my orders," Serrano said, suddenly looking miserable.
Gates picked up the phone, and dialed a number, soon saying, "Hal? What the hell are you… no I realize that she is under investigation, but she is not… I'm not, and I don't care who is pressuring you, but I am not taking one of my best detectives off this case." Slamming down her phone she said to Serrano, "Is there anything new in your investigation?"
"No," Serrano said simply before he left, shooting an apologetic look at Beckett.
"Sir?" Beckett asked. "Who's pressuring the IA?"
"Someone downtown, he didn't say who, but I would assume the Commissioner," Gates said. "With a possible suit against the NYPD, it would stand to reason. Have you come any closer to finding the killer?"
Beckett hesitated a moment, and then said, "We're focusing more on the rape at this point sir."
"Because the person orchestrating this and the rapist are the same person, I know," Gates said, sitting behind her desk. "You find him, you'll find the killer."
"We have two possible suspects now that worked together to drug Ms. Spencer," Beckett said. "One of them is a high school friend of Ryan's."
"Is there a conflict of interest?" Gates asked, looking up at her hearing that.
"He hasn't seen the man since high school, so I don't think there's much in the way of a friendship there," Beckett said.
"If you find him and bring him in, I'd like you to interrogate him," Gates said. "The last thing I need is IA looking into another of my detectives."
"Yes sir," Beckett said before she left and went over to her desk. "Someone's pushing IA to investigate me," she said as soon as she rejoined Castle and the boys in front of the murder board.
"Commissioner?" Ryan asked.
"No, someone else," Beckett said, looking troubled.
"Have they gotten any further looking into Wilder's suicide?" Esposito asked.
"No, but they just tried-" Beckett started to say.
"To kick you off the case, I could hear Gates yelling and figured it out," Castle said.
"You eavesdrop too much. Okay, so who's looking at the footage from the hallway? And where's the other angle? You mentioned there was one angle," Beckett asked.
"We have the footage set up right now," Ryan said, nodding to the room where the TV was on. "Do you want me to look at it, or look for Haupt?"
"You look at the financials," Beckett directed. "Espo, you look for Haupt. Sorry," she said quickly to Ryan.
"Not a problem," the detective said with a shrug.
"You want to talk about it?" Castle asked as they went into the room.
"There's not that much to say," Beckett said simply. "And I already told you about what happened." She played the footage and fast forwarded it after locating the room that Carlotta had been staying in, and then said, "I don't really want to think about it either, just get this case finished and go home to our daughter."
"I'll agree with you there," Castle said with a slight nod. "So she said she left the bar at about ten, how long do you think it took her to get up here?"
"It depends on the drug," Beckett said grimly, remembering when she herself had been given a date rape drug. "And the amount." When her fiancé quietly apologized she shook her head saying, "It needed to be asked. But I'll go as far as I need to, getting a set time might help out with any alibis we might get."
"There she is," Castle said quickly when he saw the woman on the screen.
Pressing play, Beckett watched with him as Carlotta walked to room 420, leaning against the wall as she went. "So she's already feeling the effects," she murmured. "And she goes in at ten seventeen. She was given a pretty good amount. What do you want to bet everyone just thought she was drunk?"
"That was a pretty nice bar, so I wouldn't be surprised," Castle commented as Beckett was writing the time down. He watched the time stamp, and continued to until he noticed movement in the right side of the screen. "There's the blonde guy."
"Just him though," Beckett said. "Damn it, I was hoping it'd be Haupt."
"He could know this guy," Castle said. "And we can see his whole face now, it fits the sketch."
"He got a key," Beckett said suddenly. "How the hell did he do that?" she said before she suddenly paused the footage and dialed Carlotta's number. She wasn't too surprised when it took a while for the woman to answer, and once she had quickly said, "I need to ask if you remember ever losing your room key at the hotel."
Castle waited as Beckett listened and then said to the woman on the other end, "No, nothing yet, but we are trying our best. Is Isabella… okay, great, bye." He watched her as she went to the door to speak with Ryan and Esposito.
"Guys," Beckett called. "Whoever the blonde guy is, or Haupt, or both, stole her key card to her room."
"He's in the footage?" Ryan asked.
"The blonde guy," Beckett corrected, knowing that he was talking about his friend. Going back into the room, she pressed play on the screen again, watching as the man opened the door slowly before looking inside, murmuring, "He's checking to make sure she's out."
"Wait, pause there," Castle said as the man turned to his left. "Look at the expression on his face."
Beckett was startled at the sight of it; it matched the miserable expression that Serrano had had in Gates' office. "So he was forced into it. Who's this?" she asked as someone appeared from the bottom left. With their back to the camera, she wasn't able to see the man's face, but said, "He's walking like the other guy is."
"Yeah, and that is a nice suit too," Castle said. "They're not with the interior decorators or the landscapers. We need the other angle there is, though how far down the hall do you think that camera is?"
Shaking her head since she obviously didn't know the answer, Beckett was quiet for a moment as they watched the second man clap the blonde man on the shoulder, and then disappear inside after the two had spoken quickly. She jabbed the fast forward button with her thumb, feeling more than a little sick thinking of what was going on inside the room at that point. She looked at the time, and felt worse with each hour that passed. When it was five thirty, the blonde man came back into view, and the other man; the rapist and Isabella's father; stepped out, keeping his head bent. "He's trying to hide," she said, looking at her fiancé to see his nod of agreement. She wasn't too surprised to see his disgust clearly on his face, and they watched the blonde block the other man from the camera. "Okay," she said slowly when they were gone from view. "I need to get a picture of the man, and we need the other camera's footage."
"They didn't know about it," Castle said. "If the camera is where I think it is-"
"We'll be able to see his face," Beckett said, nodding. She went outside to her desk, and picking up the phone, dialed the number of the hotel that she knew then by heart, not caring if the concierge was going to be annoyed by another call from them, that footage had become the most important evidence in their case.
Setting aside the cup he'd just had some coffee in, Castle looked over at his fiancée as she came into the break room asking, "Anything?"
"No, looks like I was right telling Gates we needed to stick with this rape instead of the murders," Beckett said, slight frustration in her tone.
Nodding, since he had expected that after Gates had assigned Esposito and Ryan to focus on the two murders, Castle said, "Nothing from the hotel yet?"
"Not yet, and they didn't bother to pick up last time, so I think that's all I can call," Beckett said simply, taking her phone out of her pocket.
"Did anyone go back to that so called lair?" Castle asked.
Gesturing with her head out the window where two officers were walking out of the elevator, Beckett replied, "That would be a no, Gates ordered them back, as there hasn't been any sign of the two men from the convenience store footage. Really not happy I forgot that."
"Gates or you?" Castle asked.
"Gates, really unhappy," Beckett said. "But there's a little too much to this case."
"There is," Castle said. "I know," he said when she looked at him. "Me agreeing with Gates; weird. But let the boys take care of the evidence we have from the murders, they might have a better chance finding the guy with the tattoos."
"And the one that looks like the judge," Beckett said. "But I can't do much without that hallway footage, so I was helping them, calling around the prisons here. I told them they might want to check out some prisons around DC, since-"
"That's a connection between him and the father," Castle finished for her. At her nod he said, "And now?"
"Now I'm going to call our daughter, because they pushed me to take a break," Beckett said. "And it's almost five, I need to call her."
Castle smiled and turned to lean against the counter as she stood nearer the sink, enough apart from him to keep from looking suspicious, but close enough for him to hear. "What about going home?" he asked.
"I'll give the hotel one last call, if they don't have the footage and the boys don't need me, then I'll go," Beckett replied. "Hey Alexis, just wanted to call since I had the chance. I'm not sure when I'll be back, but your dad should be soon. Great, thanks," she said to his daughter before putting the phone on speaker. "Hi sweetie," she said as she heard the phone change hands.
"Hey sweetheart," Castle said quickly before their daughter spoke.
"Hi Mommy, Castle," Julia said quickly. "You're not coming home yet?"
"Soon," Beckett said in a promise. "How were lunch and the store?"
"Uh-uh, I wanna tell when you come home," Julia said quickly. "But it was a lot of fun. I can't wait to show you what I got at the store, and stuff for you too!"
"We can't wait either," Castle commented. "Is your grandfather there?"
"Yeah, he's here, he's ordering dinner," Julia said. "That's a surprise!" she said rapidly before either of them could speak. "So don't ask a question, 'cause you're too good asking Mommy."
"Hey, me too," Castle said, pretending to be insulted. He smiled when the little girl giggled on the other end, then said, "I'll probably come home soon and-"
"You don't hear the stories or see the stuff or know what dinner is until Mommy comes back," Julia interrupted him.
"Wow, okay, so I'll come back, but I won't know anything," Castle said, trying not to laugh at how serious her voice had been.
"We'll hear soon enough," Beckett teased him. "Okay, I'll let you go sweetie, so I can see what I need to do before I come home. I love you."
"Love you Mommy," Julia said quickly.
"I love you too Julia, see you soon," Castle said.
"Kay, bye!" their daughter called before hanging up the phone.
Sighing, Beckett hung up before looking out at Ryan and Esposito still at their desks. "I'll-" she started to say when her phone rang, seeing it was the hotel.
Castle watched as she spoke to the concierge, surprised when Beckett frowned at whatever they had to say. He was quiet until she hung up and then asked, "Bad news?"
"Basically," Beckett commented. "We're probably not going to get the footage until tomorrow."
"Did they say why?" Ryan said from the doorway, making the two jump. "Sorry, needing a caffeine fix."
As Castle moved away from the coffee, Beckett explained, "Their system was hacked into."
Waiting for her to say more, Castle then replied, "And just that footage was tampered with?"
"In the archives, yes," Beckett said. "Also, they didn't have it set up like Fort Knox security-wise, so a hacker was able to slip right in. But here's the funny thing, they didn't delete the footage. They hid it."
"Why would they do that?" "Hide it where?" Ryan and then Castle asked.
"To the first, I have no clue; maybe to buy some time because they couldn't delete it," Beckett said. "The second is what they're having someone from the FBI figure out."
"Does that mean they're going to get involved?" Ryan asked.
"No," Beckett replied simply. "They're just going to try and find out who did it, and send us the recovered footage… whenever they can find it. They need to look through a lot of data, as that hotel saves up it archives for two years, in case of something like this; for investigators."
"Great, so I guess I'll be heading back to the tattoos," Ryan said, frowning briefly.
"I'll join you, I could use some coffee too though," Beckett said quickly.
"You don't need to," Esposito said, coming inside then. "I found our tattoo man." As the others were following him out he put a picture up on the murder board and said, "Say hello to Juan Ortega, he's a contract killer."
"Handy with a blade?" Castle asked, recognizing the top of the dagger tattoo on the man's temple, which they'd seen in the bodega's security footage.
"The bodega owner?" Beckett asked before Esposito could answer.
"I'll have to go down to the bodega, and show him, and very handy with a blade, though he was sentenced to Riker for shooting a man," Esposito answered them both. "But there's a note in his prison records that he got two more years for slashing a former inmate, didn't kill him, but left him with a pretty bad scar," he said, putting up a picture of the victim, the white line of the cut clearly visible.
"Okay, and can we track him down?" Beckett asked.
"Afraid not, he's been off grid for… about a month now," Esposito said.
"I really wish our first vic hadn't gotten her cousin to pose as her lover," Beckett said. "But… honestly, Juan, Johnny?"
"I was thinking that too," Castle said. "But probably easier to do that, since he wouldn't get confused."
"Have you checked Ortega's financials?" Beckett said, remembering their dead end with Haupt as he'd had nothing in his account that might point to him having been hired to help the blonde man distract Carlotta.
"I did, one deposit, just before he's gone, and one withdrawal," Esposito said, taking a paper from LT. "Thanks man," he said to the officer before handing the paper to Beckett.
"Ten thousand," Beckett said. "Okay, so he's living on cash, which will make him that much harder to find. Does he have any known associates? Friends from jail that look like the judge?"
"We were checking for that too," Ryan told her.
"But there's something about what you said, looking at prisons near DC," Esposito said. "Turns out Ortega did some time in Sussex I ten years ago, manslaughter charge."
"How is he getting manslaughter when it sounds like it should be murder one?" Castle asked.
"Good lawyers; remember he gets paid," Esposito pointed out. "But I need to contact the prison, talk to the warden and guards from that same time period."
"Ryan, can you help him with that?" Beckett asked. When he nodded quickly in response, she said, "I'll help out and-"
"We've got this Beckett," Esposito said, interrupting her.
"Guys-" Beckett was going to say.
"No, he's right, we do," Ryan said. "We'll probably have to wait to contact the guards, and the records might not take that long either. We'll put an APB out on Ortega, but without the other footage, not much all three of us can do."
"Or four of us, I'll see you guys tomorrow morning, in the hopes we get something else," Castle commented. "Someone call me though, if we do. Night."
"Night," Beckett said, shaking her head. She turned back to the boys, and said, "You guys need to stop doing that."
"Unlikely, we're looking out for our sobrina," Esposito said.
"I'm sure she'll want to see her mother," Ryan commented.
"I'm going," Beckett said, smiling slightly. She went back to her desk, checking her cell phone as she'd gotten a text as she'd been talking to her partners. She replied to Castle's message of, At the park, see you in 5, suspense is killing me, fighting back another smile as she wrote back to him; You'll survive, on my way. "Night you guys, I owe you," she called to Ryan and Esposito.
"Night, we'll text," Ryan said first.
"Whatever we get," Esposito then added.
Her bag on her shoulder, Beckett went down to the lobby and walked out, heading to the park after she'd crossed the street. She was nearly to the corner of the block before it, when she heard footsteps behind her. She'd been hearing them since she'd crossed the street, but they didn't go any faster or slower. She waited a moment, and sliding aside to a shadowy alcove, waited for the person to pass before she drew her gun. "Hold it right there!" she said before the man stopped abruptly. "Hands up, don't move," she told him.
"It's me Detective," the man said.
"Lieutenant Serrano? What the hell are you doing following me?" Beckett asked, holstering her gun but keeping her hand near it.
"I'm sorry, but I needed to speak to you," Serrano said.
"About the investigation," Beckett stated.
"Yeah, not about it itself, but what was mentioned today, I need to warn you," Serrano said.
"What are you talking about?" Beckett asked impatiently, irritated by the man's confusing words.
"There's someone, higher up, I don't know how high this goes, but pretty high up. They want to fire you and you would have lost your job sooner if there was any justification doing that," Serrano said.
"How much sooner?" Beckett asked, a little startled at that information.
"About six months ago? Seven? I don't know how long ago, but they want you gone," Serrano said.
"They or someone?" Beckett asked, calling him on his use of both words.
"Look, all I know is that you need to be careful with your case," Serrano replied, looking around nervously. "If they find something wrong, they'll charge you, fire you and throw you into jail; evidence or no."
"And my child?" Beckett asked, a little concerned with how serious he was telling her that.
"The city would take her back," Serrano said, frowning. "It's why I had to tell you, I know what happened to her, don't want to know that I just let this happen without giving you warning."
"I'll take care of myself Serrano, go, before someone sees you speaking to me and you get in trouble," Beckett said, her voice somber. The man started to walk away, and she called after him, "Thanks for telling me." She had no idea if the man had heard her; instead he walked away in the fading light before she finally made herself go to the park.
"What is it?" Castle asked, jumping up when he saw her and her expression.
"We can talk about it on the way," Beckett said, shaking her head. "I need to see our daughter. Now."
Nodding, Castle led her to the curb and hailed a cab after a few failed attempts. When they were inside, he closed the divider, watching her and waiting for her to speak.
Beckett was quick to tell him what Serrano had said, and wasn't surprised when Castle looked angry when she finished speaking.
"So what do you do now?" he asked her as they were both quiet.
"Now we go home and see Julia," Beckett said, taking his hand and entwining their fingers tightly. "And as for the warning, we take note of it, and I need to be careful of what I do right now, or else… we'll lose her."