Alexis Rodgers
Chapter 24
Kate watched what she took to be a dead tired Alexis knock on her door and collapse in one of her chairs. "So how was your first day?"
"Interesting, tiring. We got a call about a domestic disturbance. Ray warned me that these could be the worst kind of calls. However, it was just an elderly lady that didn't like having a dog that someone was walking peeing on the sidewalk so she called the police," Alexis said. "A dog peed on the sidewalk." Alexis shook her head. It was so stupid but the lady was adamant that he be arrested and the dog get sent to the pound.
"And then it got really exciting. Apparently this kid who had really rich parents just bought himself a Lamborghini and decided to test it. So the light turned green and he put his foot down and screamed down the street. Except he lost control and slammed head long into a parked delivery truck. According to witnesses, of course.
"Then this idiot who had just broken his right front suspension and with the tire trying to get stuck under his car, backed up, and took off down the street. He lost control yet again and crashed into yet another delivery truck. That was when we showed up.
"Ray gave him a drunk test and came up negative while I walked the streets getting statements from everyone that had seen it. Even walked down the street a few blocks to the first accident while this idiot sat in the back of our car.
"He totaled a brand new Lamborghini! Can you believe that? The front end is a complete mess. Believe it or not it still runs. It's in impound now and he's in holding. The rest of the day was just us driving around looking for anything wrong and responding to calls for back-up if we were close enough.
"Do we need a Lamborghini? I know of one that we can get dirt cheap," Alexis joked and listened to Kate snort out a laugh.
"Even if I had the money the insurance would be a killer and our garage is only big enough for one car," Kate reminded her.
"Pity." Alexis was betting they could get it for song. Now how much they would have to spend to fix it was another matter entirely.
"How was your partner?" Kate had hand picked him for this job.
"Ray's nice. He talks a lot. Not in a bad way, he just talks a lot. OH, and apparently there isn't just one pool out on us, there are three. Ray finally shut up when I asked what they were. Our secret is out," Alexis told her.
"Well so long as 1PP doesn't object and since I'm the captain of this precinct and I don't object, you can stay." Kate smiled at her. "People were going to catch on eventually."
"I don't mind. I love you and I don't care who knows. Unless it means I have to transfer to the 18th, then I care." Alexis was right where she wanted to be.
"OH, one more thing. There's another pool on Eva and Kay Cappuccino. I put five dollars down that they don't break up in the next three months. Eva better not let me down," Alexis grinned.
"I'm the captain and I don't know anything about these pools. Something is so wrong here. I'm not doing my job." Kate shook her head and listened to Alexis laugh.
Kate glanced at the clock on the wall. "I've got another hour until I can leave. You can either take a taxi and go home or you can wait."
"I'll wait. …Out there." Alexis pointed into the bullpen, then got up and left Kate to work. That had her walking over to Eva and sitting down in what used to be Castle's old chair but didn't know it.
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"What are you doing?" Kate had her bag, her office light was out, and she found Alexis in a chair looking at the white board that was up.
"Helping Eva. You know I may never eat pizza again after this." Alexis waved her hand at the dead body that had been found inside a pizza oven. "Talk about gross."
"Authentic Nick's pizza, Terrific Nick's pizza, Terrific Authentic Nick's, and Authentic Terrific Nick's pizza. The owner of Authentic Nick's pizza is a guy named Ralph but for reasons unknown everyone calls him Nick.
"Apparently everyone of them used to work for him until they quit or were fired. Then they each opened up their own pizza shop, all within the same block of Authentic Nick's pizza. Evidently they've been playing pranks on each other until now. At first Ralph, or Nick, thought it was a cadaver in his oven. Except for the stab wound that Lanie found that killed him first before being baked in the pizza oven." Eva read from her notes.
"This is why I want to be a detective. This is so cool. Sick, but cool. Save for the part that I'm never eating pizza from any of those four places ever again!" Alexis shuddered.
"Sorry Kate, but she said she was good with dead bodies so I let her look," Eva apologized.
"It's fine. Alexis spent a few months working with Lanie. If she can handle those dead bodies she can handle this one." Kate didn't care.
"Were there any ingredients in the oven or just the body?" Alexis asked.
"Just the body and according to Lanie he was only half baked," Eva told them and listened to Alexis snort out a laugh. She didn't see anything funny.
"Would you like to go home and eat or stay here and eat Authentic Nick's pizza?" Kate asked Alexis.
"Or Terrific Nick's pizza, Terrific Authentic Nick's, and Authentic Terrific Nick's pizza." Eva decided to have some fun at Alexis's expense. She tried to hide her smile and failed but it had Kate grinning.
"I'm coming, but I'm cooking and we're not stopping fo pizza from anywhere." Alexis pointed her finger at Kate and walked toward the elevator.
Kate saw Eva grinning wide and she had raised her hand for a high five that Kate gladly slapped since it was funny. It was also a bonding moment between them. Kate was learning to like Eva.
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"So what are we having?" Kate asked Alexis on the ride home.
"BBQ chicken out on the grill that we just bought. That or chicken kabobs if we have everything," Alexis replied.
"You know we could stop and get a BBQ chicken pizza." Kate couldn't help herself, it was just too good.
"Just for that I'm tying you to the bed using your straps that you like so much and then I'm taking your ass tonight with the strap-on," Alexis countered. That was one of the things they had both learned while trying. Kate liked the hood and being tied to the bed. Alexis didn't so only Kate was going to get any enjoyment out of either of those items.
"We are definitely stopping for pizza," Kate laughed and couldn't keep from smiling.
"Very funny, ha ha. Just remember your ass is mine tonight." Alexis pointed at her. It was just that now Kate was looking forward to tonight and sex with Alexis.
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Alexis got off shift and sat at Eva's desk helping her work her case. Except it didn't go where she thought it would. "It really was heroin out of a pizza restaurant."
"She turned millions in heroin holdings into millions in real estate holdings. A new way to wash dirty money. Your guess about one of the Nicks was what pointed at her. Nice work." Eva was willing to give Alexis some of the credit.
"You ready to go home? We can stop and get pizza along the way," Kate teased Alexis.
"You just aren't going to drop that, are you?" It was going to take weeks for her to want pizza again after this case.
"Nope. Take care, guys, I'm off tomorrow. But that doesn't stop you from putting your written reports about this case on my desk tomorrow," Kate reminded them.
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Kate parked in their parking garage. "You know there's one thing about this place my old one did have. An elevator." They each had a bag of groceries to carry up to the second floor so they could eat tonight.
"Good point. But just think what this place does have that your old one didn't. A terrace to eat outside on and look out onto the water and the marina. Even if it is a small view. And for an extra hundred grand we could have gotten a better view. What a ripoff." Alexis liked the new place so much more but there were trade-offs.
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Kate was watching Alexis do the cooking while sitting at the breakfast bar drinking a glass of wine. "So what does Castle want from us tomorrow?" Kate felt obligated to go since he had found them this place and helped them buy it a little. More than Kate liked but she had done it for Alexis.
"I don't know. Dad's being mysterious." Alexis turned to face Kate since the breakfast bar held the kitchen sink. "You don't suppose it has anything to do with Sam, do you?"
"Sam doesn't strike me as an easy catch, so no. At least she's not directly the cause. But if you don't know, I certainly don't know." Alexis knew her father far better than she did.
Alexis turned back around and watched what she was cooking. "We're still meeting your dad next week, right? Any guesses as to what he wants?" Jim had called Kate and asked to meet the two of them at a restaurant.
"No, Dad's being just as secretive as yours is. Something is definitely going on. Usually it's me asking Dad out to eat so we could meet and talk and catch up. This time it's him and right after your dad wants us at the loft tomorrow. It's suspicious." Kate didn't get it.
"Why would my dad be planning something in private with your dad? Okay, we're together so I get that they might talk, but planning something together? Maybe Dad wants to beat him to it and tell us first. That sounds like him." Alexis could understand that part. Just not what it could be.
Kate shrugged. "Guess we find out tomorrow." She watched Alexis serve up dinner and as usual with her it looked delicious. "There's one thing I have to hand to Castle. He taught you how to cook." Kate picked up her plate, silverware, and her glass of wine and went upstairs and out onto the terrace to eat.
"I like this a lot better than your old place," Alexis commented as they looked out onto the lights on the water and the marina.
"Enjoy it while it lasts. It's supposed to still be freezing out here. This little heat wave is going to go away soon and a Canadian blast is going to come roaring down here and dump three feet of snow on us," Kate warned her.
"Killjoy." Alexis stuck her tongue out at Kate and Kate just laughed. It felt really good to be this much in love with someone. She had gotten lucky.
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Once again Alexis knocked and waited for her dad to open the door even if she did still have a key. It was just she didn't live here any longer. She had even managed to come and box up all of her stuffed animals then put them in the spare bedroom at home. Now there was nothing of hers here.
"Hi, Dad." She still loved him to pieces and she didn't see that ever changing.
"Alexis." Rick hugged her and was hugged in return. "Where's Beckett?" He had invited both of them.
"She's coming. She had to park the car and there wasn't anything close. And no, she can't double park even if it is an unmarked police car." Alexis beat him to it.
"So how is police life, officer?" Rick inquired.
Alexis smiled. "Pretty good, actually. I ride around with Ray all day answering calls. Then when my shift ends I go up to Homicide and help Eva and the guys solve murders. It's great. I've learned I'm even sitting in your old chair next to Eva."
"Ah yes, the gold old days. Following Beckett around and trying to solve murders. Only problem was the CIA and Aliens never seemed to be involved somehow." He was still trying to figure out how that happened.
"I'll get it." There was a knock at the door that Alexis was betting was Kate.
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Rick and Kate had a glass of wine even if it was lunch time while Alexis had a Coke. "Why are we here, Dad?" Alexis wanted to know why. It was eating at her. Was Jim somehow involved in this as well?
"I have an offer on the loft that I think I'm going to take. I have three new locations that I'm looking at and I want both of your opinions on. We have to pick up Sam along the way. She's going to help, too."
"So you really are moving?" This had been home and he was selling it. Alexis was still conflicted about how she felt about that.
"It's for the best. Getting out of Manhattan means I spend less money and since I'm making less money something needs to change. I plan on taking everything with me. I'm not selling it furnished." He wasn't that desperate. "And getting out of Manhattan means I'm less exposed to my old Playboy ways," Rick added.
"What did happen to Gina after she was fired?" Alexis asked him.
"I have no idea. I haven't contacted Black Pawn and Henry hasn't tried to find out so I don't know. That part of my life is over and I need to get on with the new one." It wasn't like he really had a choice. Not according to his new contract anyway.
"Good for you. We can go when you're ready," Alexis said. She was so very proud of her dad.
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Rick was driving and he had a list of three places that he had programmed into his GPS unit. Where he was going he hadn't been that often and didn't know his way around as well as in Manhattan.
"Staten Island? Oh, yeah. To pick up Sam." Alexis kicked herself for forgetting about Sam coming.
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Sam got the front seat of the Mercedes while Kate and Alexis sat in the back.
"90 Bay Street landing, unit number 9A, Staten Island, NY. St. George." They met his realtor at the site and went up to the ninth floor.
"Three bedrooms, two point five bathrooms, 2,306 square feet and they're asking 1.875 million," his realtor said. "Gated community, it looks out over NY Harbor. It has two floors, take a look and tell me what you think." She let them look around without her.
Two walls were almost all windows and sure enough it looked out onto NY Harbor. They could even see the ferry to Manhattan from here easily.
The floors were wood but a really light colored pine look. There was a huge number of pot lights in the ceiling. The kitchen had black cabinets, white quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances with a beige tiled floor.
The bedrooms were all upstairs with painted white wood beams. Even before they went up to see it, the building itself stood out like a sore thumb. The building was white and nice but there was literally nothing around it. It wasn't even fenced.
"It's the exact opposite of the loft, Dad. I'm not even sure your furniture would do well in here." Alexis didn't think it was for him.
Sam simply shook her head and Kate said and did nothing. She wasn't even sure why she was there.
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"222 Guyon Avenue, Oakwood, Staten Island, NY."
This one was completely different. It was a stand alone house that looked Victorian. The grounds were perfect. The front door was a massive wood door with stained glass that was frosted inside a stone arch.
"Four bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, two fireplaces, 4,130 Square feet and they want 998 thousand dollars on .2525 acres. Take a look around and tell me what you think." Again his agent left them alone.
White exterior walls, green roof, and a white picket fence. It almost screamed Victorian.
Inside were light colored wood floors with a dark wood border in every room. Beautiful wood stairs going up. "WOW, Dad." Alexis walked into the kitchen. "This is bigger than the loft by far. Three times the size of ours," Alexis noted as she looked around.
Dark wood cabinets, dark stone countertops, stainless steel everything. Stone floors and a breakfast nook that had a passthrough to the very formal dining room.
The dining room had a white coffered ceiling and pink walls and the same wood floors as the living room and foyer.
Then there was a large family room with a very lovely Victorian fireplace. The bedrooms were weird shaped but still very Victorian. The main bathroom was all tile. Floors and wall.
Out back was a large paved patio and an above ground pool. "Comments?" Rick asked them since this was why they were all there.
"It's very Victorian, Dad with a pink living room. You're sure this is what you want and that pool cover looked like it was caving in under the rain water that was on it." She saw a problem there.
"It's lovely if you like that kind of house." Sam did, but she wasn't the one buying it.
Kate simply remained quiet.
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84 Nixon Avenue, Staten Island, NY
"Three bedrooms, four bathrooms, 3,056 square feet, they're asking 1.248 million. It has a beautiful view of NY Harbor, four private balconies, and an in-ground pool that's presently covered for winter shut-down. Tell me what you think." The real estate agent was going to wait there for them.
The outside had been a little weird-looking. Stacked stone on one side and horizontal siding on the other with the front door in the middle. Large double front door with large windows on either side.
Opening the door they were confronted with four steps down or a staircase going up. All of them went down the steps and straight to the wall of windows on the far side.
It had to be the entire length of the house with ceilings down the middle that were easily eighteen feet tall if not more and it was all windows from floor to ceiling. Outside was a huge deck that went from one end of the house to the other.
"WOW, DAD!" Alexis liked this house just for the view. It was way better than their little view. But it hadn't cost 1.248 million, either.
"This is nice, Rick." Sam liked what she was seeing a lot. They could see the Verrazano bridge from here. Even the Statue of Liberty if they looked hard enough.
Finally turning around to see the house itself, they found golden hardwood floors installed at an angle across the entire main floor. The living room was open to the dining room and the dining room was open to the kitchen. The kitchen was light and bright and completely different from the loft.
"I think you're going to need new furniture, Dad. Yours is dark and masculine-looking. This place with all the windows and light floors just screams bright and open," Alexis mentioned.
The present owners had used light furniture and even a white dining room table with white chairs to accent the brightness of the place.
"You may be right." Rick would give her that.
Upstairs first they found three bedrooms and two bathrooms and one of the bedrooms was being used as an office. Perfect for Rick to do his writing in.
Downstairs they found a family room with a gas fireplace and a game room.
"This room is you, Dad, it's definitely you." Alexis could see him spending a lot of time down here. There was already a pool table. It just needed to stay and he had space left over for Foosball and other toys.
Even down here there were windows and glass doors, carpet in the game room, and a wood wall. Rick soon found a card table in one corner and even an a piece of exercise equipment. He could run himself into the ground on this thing.
The pool presently had a canvas tarp securely in place to prevent drowning during the winter months.
"It's really you, Dad. Just change out the furniture a little and it's you." Alexis liked it a lot.
"It's a long ways, Castle. Over an hour between here and where we live now and that's not including traffic," Kate warned him. "Still I like it."
Rick offered 1.168 million for the place and would have to wait to see what the sellers said.
"Can you afford it, Rick?" Sam asked him as he dropped her off at her place before going back to the loft with Alexis and Beckett.
"I spent three times that for the loft. Almost. I'll even have money left over. Just so you like it." If he was closer she might start spending more of her time at his place instead of her little apartment.
"It was lovely." Sam liked it a lot. Everything was big enough and she was interested in seeing the view at night with the city lights in the background.
Rick kissed her long and passionately and after saying goodnight, got in the car. He was moving. It was just a question of what it was going to cost him.