A/N: In advance, I want to apologize for any grammatical mistakes. I often just post chapters after I write them, so I don't catch them. This one is a continuation of the last chapter. Next I'll do one on Alexis/Johanna, maybe two depending on how things go. After that…well, let's just say it will be a chapter all you Caskett shippers will enjoy (*knowing grin*).
Chapter 24
Her phone chimed for the hundredth time. Will he ever stop texting her? She needed to focus on interviewing the family.
Another text popped up on her phone. She rolled her eyes and pulled it out of her pocket. She unlocked it and opened all the messages from Castle.
Anything new on the case? –Castle
C'mon, Beckett, just tell me! –Castle
I'm not gonna leave you alone until you respond. –Castle
I could do this all day. –Castle
Random show theme songs time!–Castle
Take my love, take my land
Take me where I cannot stand
I don't care, I'm still free
You can't take the sky from me.
Take me out to the black
Tell them I ain't comin' back
Burn the land and boil the sea
You can't take the sky from me.
There's no place I can be
Since I've found Serenity
And you can't take the sky from me. –Castle
That's a damn good song for a damn good show. Long live the Browncoats! –Castle
Are you ready kids "Aye Aye Captain"
I can't hear you "AYE AYE CAPTAIN"
Ohh…
Who lives in a pineapple under the sea?
"SpongeBob Squarepants"
Absorbent and yellow and porous is he
"SpongeBob Squarepants"
If nautical nonsense be something you wish
"SpongeBob Squarepants"
Then drop on the deck and flop like a fish
"SpongeBob Squarepants"
READY
SpongeBob Squarepants
SpongeBob Squarepants
SpongeBob Squarepants
SPONGEBOB SQUAREPANTS! AH AHH AHH
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHHH… -Castle
Nothing like good ol' SpongeBob to brighten your day! –Castle
Adventure time,
Come on grab your friends,
We'll go to a very distant land,
Jake the dog,
And Fin the human,
The fun will never end,
It's Adventure Time! –Castle
Adventure Time is awesome too. No making fun, Beckett. You know it's true. –Castle
Our whole universe was in a hot dense state,
Then nearly fourteen billion years ago, expansion started.
Wait…
The Earth began to cool,
The autotrophs began to drool,
Neanderthals developed tools,
We built a wall (we built the pyramids)
Math, science, history, unraveling the mysteries,
That all started with the big bang! –Castle
By the last text, Beckett couldn't hold in her laughter. She laughed so hard that her sides ached. Leave it to Castle to make her laugh, even when things were weird between them. Everyone passing by looked at her strangely before walking away.
She finally stopped when her sides ached too much. Her face was beet red, and she was gasping for air. She paid for a water bottle and took a long gulp.
There's nothing new to tell. Now, stop texting me! I have to interview Jenna's family, and I can't have my phone buzzing with texts from you! –Beckett
Aw, c'mon Kate. You have to admit that they're kind of funny :). –Castle
Yes, and they made me embarrass myself in front of a bunch of strangers at the airport when I couldn't hold in my laughter. –Beckett
She realized too late what she just sent him. "Aw shit," she mumbled. She'll never hear the end of it.
Oh really? You wouldn't happen to have any pictures, would you? (*smirks)-Castle
Shut up. –Beckett
She set her phone on 'Do not disturb'. She checked the flight list and saw that the one with the Rose family just arrived. She made her way to the gate to escort them to the precinct
She saw Rebecca first. The girl looked nothing like her sister. Jenna had blue eyes and dark wavy hair. Rebecca had hazel-green eyes and chestnut curls like Kate. That's kind of odd, but she decided not to question it. She wore a green halter dress that ended at her knees along with a black motorcycle jacket similar to Kate's and silver flats. Her hair flowed loose over her shoulders.
Ross and Carol soon trailed behind her. Ross had salt-and-pepper short hair with a haircut that screamed businessman and dark brown eyes. Carol had long blonde curly hair streaked with grey along with electric blue eyes. Ross wore the classic black suit with a white collared button down shirt and black tie. Carol wore a blue dress not as flashy as her daughter's along with a string of pearls around her neck and matching high heels along with a white leather jacket.
What bothered Kate was that the girls looked nothing like their parents. It really was none of her business, but could the girls be adopted? She'll check into that later.
She approached the family with a smile plastered on her face. "Hi, I'm Detective Kate Beckett," she greeted, extending a hand. They shook her hand and exchanged greetings. "I have a car waiting out front. I know you want to drop off your luggage and relax in your hotel after the long flight, but I need to take you to the precinct for questioning," Kate explained. "Whatever you say is fine with us, Detective Beckett," Ross said.
Kate led them toward the rented SUV. She stowed their luggage into the trunk and moved to the driver's seat. After a slight argument, Rebecca rode shotgun with her parents in the back seat.
"Right this way. Feel free to help yourself to coffee," Beckett said after escorting them into the break room. "Thank you, Detective," Carol said. Kate was just about to start the interview when she saw the boys catching her attention. "Excuse me," she says before walking over to the conference room.
She called Castle, and he answered immediately. "You're on speaker. I thought you might want to hear what Ryan and Esposito have," she said before setting the phone down on the table. "Shoot," he replied over the phone, his voice clearly eager to listen.
"Okay, so I traced down the badge number. The guy's name is Kyle Jack Rodin. He graduated from the academy in December of 2011. His only family is his mother, Grace Rodin. She lives in Omaha, Nebraska. He's transferred to the 12th around the time Alexis started interning with Lanie," Ryan reported. "Wait, he's been at crime scenes with my daughter? I'm gonna kick his sorry ass till next millennia," Castle says. "Settle down there, Incredible Hulk. Where is he now?" she asked.
"In the morgue," Ryan replied. "What? How did he end up there?" she asked. "His body was found floating in the Hudson. Cause of death was a bullet in his head. He appeared to have been tortured since almost every bone in his body was broken. The only way the ME was able to identify him was because he was still wearing his uniform," Ryan said, reading off the report in his hand.
"Ouch," Esposito commented. "Alas, my over-protective father duties cannot be fulfilled," Castle said. "Okay, focus on the surveillance for now. How soon can we get Mrs. Rodin here?" she asked. "Three hours," Ryan replied. "Okay, call her in," Beckett said.
"Esposito, please tell me you come bearing good news," Beckett asked. "Yeah, Cedric Marks is former army. Once he finished his tour, he worked for Orantis Solutions, a covert military contractor," he said. "Did you get anything on him?" she asked. "I know he used Cole Maddox as his cover name. I'll try to track down anything we have on him," he replied. "Okay, thanks Espo. Oh, and could you please run down Jenna Rose's roommate for me?" she asked. "Sure, what's their name?" he asked. "Paige Hensworth," she replied. "As you wish," he replied before leaving.
Castle had hung up once Esposito left. Kate thought nothing of it as she wrote down a few notes on the notepad she kept with her. She then made her way back to the break room where the family was waiting.
"Sorry about that," Beckett said, sitting down in an armchair across from the family. "Not a problem, Detective," Ross said. Beckett took a sip of coffee from the mug in her hand. She bit back the disgust on her face. How come it tasted amazing when Castle made it for her? This cup right now tasted like…."monkey peed on battery acid" as Castle would put it. Stop thinking about Castle, and focus on the interview, she told herself.
"When was the last time you saw or heard from Jenna?" she asked. "She called me last night," Rebecca blurted out. "What did she say?" Kate asked.
"The usual, you know, school, work, girl talk mostly," Rebecca replied. "Did she mention feeling like someone was watching her? What was her demeanor like?" Kate asked. "She did mention something about a guy she thought was following her. She said that he seemed to be everywhere she went. As for her demeanor, she seemed nervous and worried," Rebecca replied.
"Did she describe him to you?" Kate asked. "Better yet, she sent me a picture of him," Rebecca replied. "Do you mind if we take your phone's SD card to pull the photo?" Kate asked. "Not at all," Rebecca asked already opening the back cover of her phone.
Kate texted Ryan and he came into the break room seconds later. "Mr. and Mrs. Rose, Rebecca, this is my colleague, Detective Kevin Ryan," Beckett introduced. They exchanged greetings before Ryan said, "Did you get the SD card out for me?" Rebecca nodded and handed it to Ryan. "I'll pull the picture up for you in a few minutes," he whispered to Beckett before he took his leave.
"Did Jenna have a boyfriend?" she asked. "Yeah, I think his name was Wyatt Jennings," Rebecca replied. Beckett wrote his name down and made a mental note to search him up later.
"Okay, Rebecca, this is very important. Did Jenna ever mention hanging out with this person?" Kate asked, showing the girl a picture Kate had taken a long time ago. "Yeah, that's Alexis Castle. I'm assuming the other guy is her dad, Richard Castle?" she questioned. "Yes, how much do you know about Miss Castle?" Kate asked. "I know she's Jenna's best friend. Alexis was a few years younger than Jenna, and she was planning to go to Columbia. She asked Jenna questions about Columbia, and Alexis often provided advice. They were pretty close," Rebecca replied.
"Did you ever meet Alexis?" Kate asked. "One time while I was in the city, Jenna invited me to eat lunch with her. Alexis was there with her. She seemed like a nice girl. "And when was that?" Kate asked. "Last Thursday at Remy's at noon," Rebecca replied. Kate wrote a note to check with one of the waitresses.
"Can you think of anyone who would want to hurt Jenna?" Kate asked. The parents shook their heads, but Kate saw Rebecca with a troubled look on her face. "Rebecca?"
"Alexis called me one day and told me that when Jenna came to meet her for a day out, she had a black eye and bruises on her arm," Rebecca replied. "Rebecca Makenzie Rose, why did you keep this from us?" Carol scolded. "I called Jenna to confront her about the bruises, but she said not to tell you guys. She said that if I did, I'll be in danger," Rebecca replied.
Ryan came in and handed Beckett a file. He gave Rebecca the SD card back and moved to refill his empty coffee mug. He then excused himself and left.
"I think that's all the questions I have for now. If you can think of anything else, please don't hesitate to call," Kate said, handing Ross her card. "When can we see her?" he asked. "I'll have Detective Karpowski escort you to the morgue," she replied.
Once the Rose family was gone, she walked to the murder board and began to fill it in. She hung the picture of the stalker under the column labeled "SUSPECTS" and wrote a brief description of him. She filled in the timeline with the calls and meets. She also hung pictures of Ross, Carol, and Rebecca under the "FAMILY" column. She wrote a brief description of them and wrote their alibis which she checked before they arrived at the precinct.
She leaned against her desk and stared at the murder board. She glanced over to Alexis' board and back again. There has to be a bigger connection between them other than that they were friends. It's not a coincidence that Jenna was murdered a few days after Alexis was kidnapped.
"Detective Beckett, it's late. You should go home and rest. In fact, Detective Esposito and Ryan, you guys head home too. I'll see you three in the morning," Gates commanded.
The three detectives tried to argue, but Gates shot them a glare that told them she wasn't changing her mind. They reluctantly put on hold whatever they were doing and grabbed their personal effects. They headed to the elevator, and once it reached the lobby, they parted ways and exchanged good byes.
A couple hours later, Kate arrived at her father's house. She placed her keys in the little bowl on the table by the door, and she hung her coat in the closet next to that. She kicked off her heels and walked to the kitchen where her father was cooking dinner.
"Hey, Katie-Bug, you're home at a reasonable hour for once," he commented. Kate laughed and went to hug her father, "Hey Dad. What's for dinner?" "My famous spaghetti and meatballs along with fresh garlic bread from the store and a salad," he replied. "Anything I can do to help?" she asked. "Would you mind setting the table for me, Katie?" he asked. She nodded and grabbed the silverware off the counter.
Dinner was soon ready, and the Becketts ate in silence. "How was work?" he asked. "The victim was named Jenna Rose. She was found in Madison Square Garden. I interviewed her sister, Rebecca Rose, and her parents, Ross and Carol Rose, before Gates sent me home," she replied, taking a bite of spaghetti.
Jim froze, and his eyes widened. He carefully set his fork down and took a sip of root beer, his hands shaking.
"D-did you say her parents were Ross and Carol Rose?" he asked. Kate looked up and nodded. "Do you have a picture of them?" he asked. At Kate's nod, he said, "May I see it?"
Kate got up and went to go get her folder. She brought it back to the table and flipped through her papers until she found the photo. She placed it in front of her father and waited.
Jim's face paled. His face soon had a layer of sweat covering it. He could do nothing but stare at his daughter's puzzled face and figure out what was his next move.
"Dad is there something wrong?" she asked moments later. She noticed that his face had paled, and sweat trickled down his cheeks. Something was wrong.
Jim took a shaky breath before he said, "Katherine, there's something you need to know…"