Author's Note: I think you guys are gonna really like where this is going...
Oh, and while you're at it, head on over to my Amazon page. My new release, a digital short titled Boundless, is free through Friday on Kindle, and my debut novel Bounty is on sale this week for 99 cents. Enjoy!
The Twelfth…
"Anita Miller," Javier Esposito greeted as he walked into Interrogation One, eyeing the redhead sitting at the table with her hands clasped together on the surface. "Do you know why we called you in today?"
"Yes." Her nod was resolute. "And I will explain everything. Just… not to you."
"Excuse me?" Esposito claimed the empty seat across from Anita, slapping his file folder onto the rusted surface of the table. Anita was a person of interest in the murder of Justin Marquette, a struggling actor who had been gunned down in Room 147 at the Best Travelers hotel. She also seemed pleasant enough – her current outlandish request notwithstanding.
"Ms. Miller—"
"I want to speak with Detective Beckett."
Setting his pen down, Esposito pursed his lips. Things had been chilly between he and Kate since the fallout from the Tessa Horton murder. He went over the line in accusing Kate's fiancée of being a murderer, and the chill had yet to thaw – partly because Esposito was too stubborn to admit he was wrong and apologize.
The looming threat of legal action on Ricki's part hadn't helped matters.
"How do you know Detective Beckett?"
"I don't," Anita admitted. "But I know of her. I know her reputation. And frankly, this room could use a little less testosterone right now."
"Ms. Miller, we have reason to believe you might have information regarding the murder of Justin Marquette."
"And I do." Another terse nod. "But I will only tell it to Detective Beckett."
Later…
Annoyed as she was at being called into work on her day off – and having to put on actual clothes – Kate Beckett had to admit she was intrigued. The name Anita Miller meant nothing to her, but if her presence was needed to figure out who killed Justin Marquette, then she would bite the proverbial bullet and show her face.
Ricki was intrigued too, perhaps more so, even joking on the ride over that Anita Miller was actually a long-lost lover whom Kate had not previously mentioned. The gleam in her eye told Kate she was joking, which was good, because Kate had been two seconds away from pulling out her gun.
Noting how Esposito had made himself scarce once Ricki showed up, Kate slipped into the interrogation room with her fiancée right behind. Kate's hair was up in a messy bun, and she had gone with a casual jeans-and-sweater look.
"Ms. Miller, I'm Detective Kate Beckett," she introduced, "this is Ms. Castle. I understand you wanted to speak with me?"
Anita's face brightened. "Yes."
Kate fought the urge to roll her eyes as she took the seat across from the redhead. "May I ask why?"
Anita Miller only shrugged in response, glancing over Kate's shoulder. Ricki was still standing by the door, hands in her pockets. "I'd like to make a confession."
Kate leaned in with an arched brow. "A confession."
"I killed Justin Marquette."
Kate glanced over her shoulder and locked eyes with Ricki. The writer was wide-eyed and grinning, mouthing the words shortest work day ever to her lover. Fighting the urge to smirk in response, Kate turned back to Anita and clasped her hands together.
"Ms. Miller, do you realize the seriousness of what you're saying?"
"I do," Anita replied with haste. "I did it. It was me. I… I knocked on the door to his room. Justin opened it, said he'd been waiting for me, then he walked to the fridge to grab a bottle of water. When he turned around… I shot him."
"Why?"
"Because he deserved it."
Ricki pushed herself off the wall and took the seat next to Kate. "What did he do to deserve it?"
Anita blinked. "I…" She sighed and her shoulders slumped. "I don't know."
Before either Kate or Ricki could give voice to the confusion that was threatening to suffocate the room, a soft knock came on the door before Detective Ryan poked his head in. "Uh… guys?" He looked just as lost as they did. "We've got a problem."
Outside Interrogation…
As soon as Kate shut the door to Interrogation One behind her, Ryan glanced over his shoulder and handed her a purple file folder. "I did some checking on Anita Miller, and… it turns out that she's been in AA for the past six months."
Kate flipped through the pages, not really paying attention. "Yeah, and?"
"Well, I spoke with her sponsor on the phone and he said that she was with him having dinner last night. I ran her financials and found a transaction at the restaurant using her credit card."
Ricki shrugged. "She could've killed Justin after dinner."
Ryan shook his head. "Wait staff remembers seeing both Anita and her AA sponsor at the restaurant from 9 p.m. until about midnight, encompassing our entire time-of-death window."
Ricki glanced back at the door to Interrogation. "Which means she couldn't have killed Justin Marquette."
Kate shook her head. "But why confess to it?"
"Detective?"
The sound of a new voice caught the attention of both detectives and the writer, and they glanced up to see one of the older detectives in the precinct standing next to a tall, burly man sporting a rough beard and drooping eyes.
"This is Sam Carson, and apparently he has something important to say."
"Mr. Carson, I'm Detective Kate Beckett. Would you like to go somewhere a little more private?"
Sam shook his head. "No need. I'm just here to confess to a murder. I killed Justin Marquette."
Shooting a glare Ryan's way, and doing her best to ignore her fiancée going all wide-eyed and slack-jawed, Kate leaned and whispered through gritted teeth, "I'm not even supposed to be here today!"
Later…
"Alright, Castle," Kate said with a huff as she plopped herself into her chair, "let's hear it."
Ricki had been studying the murder board, so engrossed in the series of contradictory facts laid out on the white board that her lover's voice had barely registered. But it did, and Ricki glanced over her shoulder to smile at Kate – only to find herself out of breath yet again at the sight of the ring on Kate's finger.
It didn't matter how many times Ricki saw that ring: she still marveled at it. More importantly, she marveled at the fact that she was about to marry the love of her life. There was a time Ricki had been convinced she would never marry again – the scars from her relationship with Martin were never as healed as she let on.
But the moment she met Kate, Ricki could tell her life would be changed forever. She had no idea what that entailed at the time – for a while, it seemed like the change would be mostly professional, with a new book character revitalizing what she had to admit was a sagging career. After a couple weeks, though, Ricki could no longer deny one simple fact: Kate Beckett was in her veins and there was no getting her out.
Not that Ricki wanted to. The way Kate looked up at her every morning through those hooded, sleepy hazel eyes… Ricki wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.
"Hm?"
"Don't hold out on me, Castle," Kate teased. "I know there's some whacked-out crazy theory bouncing around in that head of yours. So come on, let's hear it."
"Really?"
"Can't be any crazier than what's actually going on."
With a sideways grin, Ricki turned her back to the murder board before taking her place in the chair next to Kate's desk. She rested an elbow on the surface of the desk and leaned in close, as if her voice were about to drop to a conspiratorial whisper. "Alright, then… um, I think…" Ricki's face fell and her shoulders slumped. "I think I'm woman enough to admit I got nothin'."
"Oh, but I think I do," Ryan announced as he strode toward Kate's desk, a folder in his hand. "I just found a connection between Anita Miller and Sam Carson. Remember that… weird symbol Esposito found on his hand? Well, it leads back to an organization called Eternal Horizons Institute."
Kate frowned. "Never heard of it."
"Well, you know how Anita's been going to AA and Sam mentioned having anger issues? Well, to quote EHI's website, they provide 'sanctuary, enlightenment, and pathways to the ultimate self.' They claim to have thousands of followers all over the world."
"But not all of them are satisfied customers," Detective Esposito interjected, purposefully keeping his gaze on the paper in his hands. "In 2005, three of those followers died in some kind of sweat lodge initiation. Charges were filed, but ultimately the deaths were ruled accidental."
Ricki blanched. "What is this, a cult?"
"Complete with a charismatic and sinister leader," Ryan said, handing a sheet of paper to Kate. "Dr. Gustavo Bauer, founder of EHI. Has a Ph.D. in something called transpersonal psychology."
"Probably from Never Heard Of It University," Ricki muttered.
Kate shook her head as she read from the sheet. "Bio-cognitive program to help free you from the negative anchors holding you down so you can soar." She rolled her eyes. "Alright, Castle and I will go pay Bauer a visit, you guys keep working on Anita and Sam."
EHI Headquarters…
For EHI to have space in a high rise in the middle of Manhattan meant the business was thriving. As skeevy and downright creepy as it was – complete with a leader with the name of a Bond villain and a cryptic emblem, there was no telling what EHI was really up to. Especially since two people who claimed to have killed Justin Marquette had been a part of the EHI program to deal with their own issues.
"Hi," Kate greeted as they approached the reception desk, and the blonde woman seated behind it. "We're here to see Dr. Bauer—"
"Detective Beckett." The woman smiled and rose to her seat. "Ms. Castle. Welcome to EHI. Dr. Bauer is expecting you."
Ricki arched a brow and stuffed her hand into the pockets of her coat.
"How?" Kate shook her head. "We didn't make an appointment."
"Dr. Bauer is a brilliant man. Right this way."
At first, Kate didn't follow the woman, too busy trying to figure out how Dr. Bauer could already know to expect her when she had never even heard of the man – or his operation – until an hour ago. It wasn't until Ricki began walking down the hallway that Kate finally moved, her steps more confident than she felt.
"He's right in here," the woman, who never introduced herself, announced in front of a heavy black door. She walked off without any further word or action, and Kate glanced at Ricki. The writer shrugged before they finally pushed their way into the room.
Other than a desk and flatscreen monitor, though, there was nothing else – and no one else – in the room. Kate and Ricki shared another quizzical glance before Kate shook her head and once again muttered the phrase "I'm not even supposed to be here today…"
"There's no one here," Ricki said.
On cue, the flatscreen illuminated, with Dr. Gustavo Bauer seated in front of what looked like a skyline. "On the contrary. Greetings, Detective Beckett, Ms. Castle. To what do I owe the pleasure?"
"Speaking to us in-person would be nice," Kate said.
"Regrettably, I am in Stockholm for a seminar," Bauer lamented in a thick accent and a deep baritone that would probably be soothing were it not connected to a man at the helm of a mysterious, cult-like organization. The fact that he already knew Kate and Ricki by name was equally unsettling.
"Fine." Kate produced a head shot from her binder. "Do you know this man? Justin Marquette?"
Dr. Bauer shook his head. "I'm afraid not."
"What about Anita Miller and Sam Carson?" Ricki asked.
"I'm sorry, but I do not know those people."
"Really." Kate shook her head. "Because we have reason to believe they were once a part of EHI."
"I can assure you, Detective, they were not."
"Seem pretty sure there." Ricki arched a brow. "Didn't have to consult any files or anything."
"I make it a point to know all of the people who come to EHI in search of answers. The two people of which you speak were not among them, and frankly, I don't see how any of this is relevant."
"They're all a part of a murder investigation, Mr. Bauer."
"Detective, I am struck by your hostility."
Ricki quirked a brow. "I'm struck by the fact that you don't seem the least bit concerned that a homicide detective is questioning you about two people linked to your organization and how they might be involved with Justin Marquette's murder."
"I'm sure you won't mind if we check your files," Kate threatened. "Verify your memory."
"You'll need a warrant for that, Detective." Dr. Bauer's aged features suddenly hardened, something vaguely resembling anger now in his eyes. "And you won't get one."
The screen went black before either Kate or Ricki could reply.
"Well," Ricki said with a sigh, "was it just me, or did that feel all… Big Brother?"
Before Kate could react, she scrunched up her nose and reached out to grab Ricki by the arm. Her brow creased and a look of disgust came out Kate's face. Her knees were starting to go weak even as she tugged on her fiancée's sleeve. "Hey, Castle, you smell that?"
Ricki did, in fact, smell that. It was faint, but the odor was noticeable. The writer went to open her mouth, but her knees buckled before she could say anything. Ricki grabbed onto Kate's shoulder for support, but she felt her lover buckling against her touch as well.
Both women looked up in time to see the faintest wisp of gray smoke filtering through the sprinkler heads. Kate turned her gaze to Ricki, her mouth open and the words hanging on the tip of her tongue. Her eyes rolled into the back of her head, though, and Kate crumpled to the floor.
By the time Ricki joined her, they were both unconscious.
