That's All It Takes
Ch. 14: Lost...
A/N: Hey all, this chapter is long but some juicy stuff coming your way :) Normally I would update tomorrow, but my wisdom teeth are coming out and I probably won't have the chance to update this weekend. Enjoy as always!
She had failed him. She was his partner and had one job: protect him. She was supposed to make sure that he was okay, that he was right there besides her and out of harm's way, and she had failed. He was in the arms of someone else now; someone they didn't know who they were, where they were at, or what they were capable of. Bottom line: He wasn't here with her and she needed him to be.
She had done a lot of thinking, and she had come to the conclusion that the first time Cobbstad and Arkin ambushed them in the park, it was on their own terms and because they were intent on getting those jewels back. This time, she was almost positive it was because they had spooked Carlos Yanz. When they hauled him into the station, he knew they were closing in on him, so he called up his guy and ordered him to keep an eye on her and Castle while he was being held for questioning. When he realized they knew who he was, that's when everything went all screwy.
After helping uniforms search the area and talk to as many witnesses as possible, she found herself sitting in Captain Montgomery's office. Ryan and Esposito tried to make her ride with them back to the precinct, but they had no such luck; she put up a fight because she needed be in control of something, even if it was just her car. She had such a mix of emotions and didn't know what to do with herself (which was probably why they didn't trust her driving), but alas here she was.
How was she supposed to explain this to Martha and Alexis? How was she supposed to tell them that Castle went missing under her watch? This was the second time this happened in a week and a half! They would never want to speak with her or see her again, and they would never forgive her, especially if something happened to him. She could never forgive herself...She didn't think she could do it; she barely held it together when she, Ryan, and Esposito met with Montgomery to explain the situation. She would have to be strong and sturdy when she broke the news to them, but right now she was quite the opposite.
"Beckett," Montgomery said as he reentered the room after he escorted Ryan and Esposito out. She sat up in her chair and looked to him. "I want to tell you that this case is too close to you and that you need to go home. However, you and I both know that's not going to happen. I've never been able to keep you on a leash, but if you really don't think you can hold it together to bring Castle back safely and close this case once and for all, then I'm going to have to ask you to stand down. Is that clear?"
"Yes, sir," She answered.
"Everyone is on deck for this one. This bastard isn't going to get away with murdering Joe Ingly and taking one of our own. Ryan and Esposito are running data bases to get a name on our guy. Now that we know our sketch artist drawing is a real person, we've sent that to all the other departments and are getting word out on the street," He explained to her.
"Should we call his family? Do we tell them what's going on before we even know ourselves?" She asked referring to Castle. Rick. She didn't even want to say his name right now, just because she didn't know which one to use.
"His family deserves to know what's going on, but I don't want to worry them yet if we don't have to. I'll leave that up to you."
They sat in silence for a few moments before she found her voice saying, "Roy…" and looking to him. She needed some sort of reassurance, some sort of answer to tell her that everything was going to be alright. She couldn't let her emotions get the best of her, not yet anyway.
"We're going to get him back, Kate. Are you up for this?" He asked as he handed her his flask.
She took a swig of the scotch and answered, "Yes."
"What's your first move going to be?" He asked as he took his flask back. She had been thinking about it, and it wasn't until now that it was crystal clear what she wanted to do next.
"I have someone I need to have a talk with. Call if you need me." She grabbed her jacket and keys and walked out of his office. Ryan and Esposito weren't far away and called for her as she began walking towards the elevator. "Unless you have a name for me, or found Castle, I don't want to hear it right now," She called back as she climbed in the elevator. The doors closed before she could look up and see their faces.
An hour later, she found herself at the same table at the jail when she visited here a few days ago, only this time, Castle wasn't with her. The guards came in with William Cobbstad and sat him down and cuffed him to the table as they had done before, and one guard retreated to the back while one went to wait outside the door.
"Actually, can you step outside too?" She asked the guard in the corner. She needed to get answers out of this guy, and if it was just the two of them, she might have better luck. The guard didn't seem too thrilled, but she was pretty sure the look on her face said, "Don't mess with me," so he exited the room.
There was a reason she chose to see William Cobbstad over Alan Arkin. Last time, Cobbstad was the one who didn't talk, which meant he probably had more to say. If he kept his mouth shut, it was also because he didn't want to say something he shouldn't. Arkin was willing to play along and slide through the interview, which meant he would never break; he would never give her the answers she so desperately sought.
"I told myself I wasn't going to come back here," She started out saying. "I told myself that I didn't want to see your face again unless I was testifying against you in court, yet here I am. The reason why I'm here this time isn't all about who you're working for, and it's not about how you tried to kill me in the park. My partner is missing, and all I'm asking is for name: tell me who Carlos Yanz hired to kill off Joe. Mr. Cobbstad, it's just you and I in here and whatever you say will not leave this room, do you understand? If you give me a name, I will spare you from the death penalty and never bother you again." He seemed interested in hearing what she had to say this time, enough so where he turned around to make sure that they really were alone. "You may not deserve it, but I can help you if you'll let me. I'll leave you alone to mull things over."
She got up and walked outside, telling the guards that she would be back in ten. She pulled out her cell phone to see that she had two missed calls from Ryan and Esposito, and two from Lanie. Word was sure to have gotten around by now, and it only made sense that Lanie called to see how she was holding up.
When she was discharged from the hospital after the incident in the park, Lanie stayed with her the two days following. They had grown rather distant lately, so it made for the perfect opportunity to catch up on everything. One specific conversation they had was about Castle's actions after he pulled her out of the water.
"Esposito tells me that Castle didn't leave your side from the time he pulled you out of the water until the time he dropped you off here," Lanie had said as the two of them sat on her couch with some hot chocolate.
"Yeah and…"
"That's all you have to say? Girl, spill it! And by it, I mean tell me everything that happened during that time frame! There has to be some juicy stuff you're holding back!" She confirmed Lanie's statement and told her how loyal and sweet he had been by being there for her, but she left out the part about the holding hands thing and their brief conversation in the ambulance. If she told her about those, she would go telling Esposito and things would only escalate from there. Some things were better left to herself.
"Kate, when are you going to let Castle all the way in? Josh has been out of the picture for a while now, so what's holding you back?" Lanie had asked. She hadn't been able to give Lanie an answer then so Lanie just smiled and said, "Mhm hm, that's what I thought," and left it at that.
What was holding her back? The answer should have been nothing. She had been scared of the feelings she had for Castle for the longest time and scared that he knew her so well. But that was before she got to know him, the real Richard Castle (or should she say Richard Alexander Rodgers?) He had proved himself in so many high pressure situations and proved that he wasn't a nine year old on a sugar rush like she originally thought. He was a man who was passionate, funny, smart, a writer and a father. He helped her re-discover who Kate Beckett really was and he was her partner; it wasn't until now that she knew that term was true in more ways than one.
She looked at her watch to see her ten minutes were up and that she had to get back to William Cobbstad. She entered the room and said nothing as she sat back down across from him and stared the man, hoping his answer would be a good one.
"So what's it going to be?" She asked. He looked like he was still wrestling with his decision, but she couldn't sit around waiting for this guy to make one. She was wasting precious seconds that could be used to find Castle. She could beg and plead for this guy to give her the answers, but that would be unprofessional. If she lost it now, he would never be found alive. "Well, if that's how it's going to be, I'm done here," She declared as she got up from the table and headed for the door.
It was when she put her hand on the knob when she heard him say, "Urbain."
"What was that?" She turned around in disbelief, not sure what he was saying or what "Urbain" even meant.
"Scott Urbain." It was a name. The name she'd been looking for. She wasn't going to get anything else out of this, so she simply made eye contact and nodded her head as if to say 'thanks.'
As soon as she was in her car she called Esposito back at the precinct. He answered on the first ring.
"Scott Urbain. Look him up, find out who he is, find an address, and anything else you can. I'm on my way back."
"We're on it," Esposito replied. End of conversation. She was glad he didn't even question how she knew it.
As soon as she returned, Ryan and Esposito rushed to greet her with stacks of papers in their hand.
"Scott Urbain, forty-seven years old. He has an apartment in Jersey and another one in Manhattan. Past convictions include assault, attempted robbery, and some DUI charges," Ryan rattled off as they continued walking to their murder board. Just because murder wasn't on there didn't mean he wasn't capable of it.
"Is this our guy?" Montgomery asked as he came running up behind them.
"Yes," She simply said as she taped the picture Esposito was holding to the murder board.
"What are the odds of him actually being at either of his apartments?" Esposito asked.
"Slim to none, but let's check anyway. Esposito, get on the phone with the local police department in Jersey and send someone over to check the house once the warrant gets through. We'll be wasting time if we do it ourselves. Ryan, I want you to get on the phone and get that warrant and a warrant for his apartment here in the city," She instructed. They nodded and hurried off.
So how were they supposed to find Scott Urbain? If he took Castle, he obviously wanted something in return. Was it the jewels or was it something else? Would they make contact with the NYPD or would they wait for her to come to them? Whenever she had been in sticky situations before, Castle would tap into that creative mind of his and they would bounce ideas off of each other until something clicked. Maybe the trick to finding a murderer was to think like a mystery writer? How hard could it be, right?
If she were a murderer looking for somewhere to hide out, where would she go? Somewhere abandoned or in a less populated area. And in order to do that, she would have to know a place or know someone that would help hide her. None of that narrowed her search down. She knew very little about Scott Urbain, therefore it was hard to get into his mind. Whether William Cobbstad knew it or not, he had admitted he worked for Carlos Yanz by not denying anything she stated. If Yanz had been released, he would be brought back in, and if he hadn't, she could officially charge him with so much more than murder.
"Hey, Beckett," Esposito called as he held the phone away from his ear. "I just talked to Urbain's landlord, and he said that no one has been to the Jersey apartment in months."
"Thanks, but it doesn't mean we won't find something of value. As soon as the warrants come in we'll head over to search his other place," She replied. But by then it could be too late. She needed to take action now. As her phone came to life on her desk she quickly picked it up and answered, "Beckett."
"Missing something?" The voice on the other line asked. Her head snapped up to Ryan and Esposito and she motioned for them to get a trace. There wasn't a doubt in her mind that it was Scott Urbain. "Or should I say someone?" He rephrased.
"What do you want from us, Scott? Where is Richard Castle?"
"Don't worry, Detective. I have your writer safe and sound with me."
"Prove it."
There was some rustling and whispering before she heard Castle's sweet voice say, "Kate?"
"Rick…" Was all she could bring herself to say. She knew she was smiling, but she didn't care. He was alive, which was the important thing. Her mind went blank and she was sure if she said anything else the tears that were forming in her eyes would escape, her voice would crack, and she would lose it. By the time she wanted to say something, anything else, Scott was back on the line.
"Let's make a deal: meet me in the warehouse behind The Tavern. I'll give you back your writer if you give me one thing," Scott told her.
"I have to know what it is in order for it to be a fair trade," She replied back slowly.
"Well why don't I let you think it over and I'll get back to you?" And with that the line went dead.
"Scott! Rick!" She called out, hoping for some kind of answer, but there was nothing. As quickly as the call came in it was gone. She slammed the phone down and immediately looked to Ryan and Esposito.
"He's not at The Tavern now; he's at another storage unit a few blocks away. We traced his call to a payphone in the building," Ryan quickly answered as Esposito scribbled down the address.
"Let's assemble back up and go," She said sternly. "Get someone to answer my phone if it rings. We can't tip him off that we're on our way." As the guys ran off and she rounded up her things, Captain Montgomery hurried over to her.
"Beckett, I'm coming with you on this. Someone has to have your back," Montgomery said to her.
"And we don't already have that covered?" Esposito asked as he and Ryan turned and look to him. Montgomery didn't say anything and nodded to both. At that moment, she couldn't have been prouder of her "brothers."