Rick's tires squeal to a stop in the parking lot of the police station, his car askew from the others in the lot. After catching himself on the seatbelt, he kicks the door open, his anger getting the better of him when he kicks too hard and it starts to bounce back on him as he's climbing out, and makes his way around his silver Lexus to heard toward the front door. He was right behind them, but the deputies ran a yellow light on their way and it was the morning traffic coming through town.
His heart beating like a scared rabbit that just had its young attacked, he yanks on the handle to the station and heads inside just as the two deputies are leading her across the station to a room in the far corner in handcuffs. His body feels squeezed when he sees her get led into the door that's being opened by one of the officers, with the deputies holding her by the arm. Even someone else touching her is infuriating him. He can't help envision himself going up to him and pulling the deputy's arm behind his back for even daring to lay a hand on her. The door gets closed behind her and he's forced to let the thought pass by a grit of his teeth and a bull-like huff of his nostrils.
His eyes then go over to where they have the whiteboard set up in the space just outside the Chief's office. The officers working the case are gathered around while the others are probably out on their regular beats. Andy, the shorter, portlier, curly-haired officer is standing off to the side with a hint of a grin on his face while his partner Andrew, the one who gave him the news about Sierra, is standing adjacent to him. Rick begins to stomp through the station, maneuvering around the desk as quickly as he can.
"So, the ME confirmed it then?" An investigator type asks dressed in a plain charcoal suit, standing at the whiteboard. "The shoe marks are a match for both scenes?"
"Uh, yep." Andy nods. "And we just got approval from Chief, they're searching her..." He trails off.
The first one to spot him is Andy, who seems to try and mask the fear coming into his features upon spotting Rick by rolling his shoulders back and taking a deep breath as he approaches. The other eyes quickly turn to find him, along with a middle-aged detective standing at the whiteboard with an uncapped marker in one hand. "Why wasn't I told?" He demands.
"Told what?" The detective asks him, sounding and looking uninterested.
Rick shifts his weight and leans forward imposingly. "You just arrested my girlfriend."
The detective turns to face him fully while capping the marker forcefully with a flair of arrogance. "Don't you think that's why you weren't told anything?"
Expecting the answer, Rick narrows his eyes. "I'm part of this investigation. If there's a development, I need to know about it." He demands.
"Why?" Andy speaks up from the side with his arms crossed over his stomach as he leans back. Rick looks over to him with anger furrowing in his brow. "So you could figure out a way to get her off?"
Rick just huffs again and gnashes his teeth before looking back over to the detective just as another man in a grey suit comes to join the scene from the other side of the station. "How'd she even become a suspect?"
The detective just cranes his head back and steps off to the side to go over the whiteboard. "We found out a few things about Dr. Baker's personal life." He starts, pointing at a list they've made below a picture of Sierra off to the left of the board. "And found out about the little love triangle you three had going on."
"Love tri- a love triangle?" Rick asks angrily.
"You two went out on a date recently, didn't you?" The other detective asks him as he comes to stand next to Rick.
Rick looks over and shakes his head. "Yeah, we went out for dinner once and nothing happened."
"Then why were you seen with her at the diner a few nights later?" Andy asks quickly after. Rick's eyes flick over to him angrily. "Staff said you were with her for hours, looking pretty serious."
Rick looks Andy in the eye before firing daggers at him. "We were talking. Me and Sierra are..." he cuts himself off, shaking his head after catching himself, "we were friends. That's the whole reason I'm working this case."
"Staff also said that your girlfriend came in and didn't seem too happy about seeing you two together." Andy continues, taking a step toward him. "In fact, they said she looked downright furious."
Rick's attention is eagle-eyed onto Andy in that moment, accepting the challenge. "If you have something to say to me, say it." He demands, taking a step into the circle that'd formed around the whiteboard as if declaring a duel in an arena.
Andy just uncrosses his arms and looks up to Rick, who's towering over him almost a foot. "You want to know what I think happened?" He asks the room. "I think," he continues and looks back up to Rick, "you played Sierra and got her interested in you, dragged her along for a fling," he continues before looking around to the other officers, "we all know your type. Then your girlfriend finds out about it. She wants you back because the money she got from you dried up, but your already dangling someone else along, so she follows her home, breaks into her house," Andy says, coming to stand directly in front of him, "and murders her in cold blood."
Rick's hands fly up and grab Andy by the collar, taking him and shoving him back into the row of file cabinets behind him with a hard motion. Rick leans over him as Andy's face drains of collar and he's left looking like a terrified child, his bravado abandoning him at the first sign of trouble as Rick leans in close with clenched teeth. "Kate Beckett... is not... a murderer!" He seethes as all the officers behind him spring into action.
Rick feels two sets of arms grab him and pull him back as the room erupts in chaos. "Come on, back off!" One officer grabbing him grunts as he pulls Rick back. As Andy is slowly slinking down and off the file cabinet, Rick throws off the officer's hold while none of them notice that the Chief's door had already burst open. "The hell is going on out here?!" Chief's voice booms through the station.
Rick eyes him as he's shaking his shirt out while Andrew, Andy's partner is stepping up to his boss to try and explain. "Sir, Castle and Andy got-"
"Ah-" Chief cuts him off with a harsh wave of his hand. "Damn it, get in here, Castle!" Chief yells and points into his office. Rick huffs again and strides through the group while Chief points back to the group of officers. "Detectives, interrogation, go! The rest of you, separate corners, now!"
Rick storms around Chief and into his office just as Chief is yanking the door to his office shut forcefully, making the blinks knock against the window. Rick turns around and waves his arm out. "What the hell is that guy's problem?" He asks quickly.
"What's your problem, Castle?" Chief barks back, stepping up to him and pointing a finger at him. "I like you, but you can't go assaulting my officers." He says in a very loud tone before taking a step up to Castle. "You're damn lucky your on in an official capacity, Castle, because you don't want to be a civilian assaulting one of my officers, understand?" He warns in a low voice.
"Chief, Andy has an ax to grind with me and my girlfriend is getting caught in the crossfire." Rick argues.
Chief barks out a chuckle and plants his large hands on his hips. "Of course, he has an ax to grind with you, Castle. He has it in his head that you and Sierra slept together!"
Rick's angry and impatience comes to a head with that and he snaps. "For God's sake, I never slept with Sierra!" He yells, tossing his arms out, absolutely sick of the accusation. "We went on one date, and I told her about Beckett on that date. All we've ever done is talk. I'll take a polygraph if I have to!"
"Castle, I've known Sierra her whole life." Chief starts with a slow shake of his head, speaking over him to get his attention. "She wouldn't sleep with Fabio after one date."
"Then what the hell is Andy out to get me for?!" Rick asks angrily.
"Andy's had a crush on Sierra since kindergarten, Castle! Boy's been after her his whole life. Crying out loud, he asked to be put on sick leave for a week after she got married." Rick just shakes his head, cranes his neck and paces away from him through the Chief's office. "But don't get angry at him just because the trial he sent us on is actually leading somewhere."
Rick turns around and eyes him. "What about Tyson? He's behind this, Chief, I just need more time to prove it."
"Castle, until your serial killer shows up to confess to these murders," Chief starts as he steps up to Rick, "the evidence is pointing to the woman sitting in our interrogation room."
"The rope isn't enough to pin her for murder, Chief, and you know it." He argues.
"I agree and that's why," Chief continues and moves across his office to his desk, "I asked those detectives the mayor had me bring in to look into her financials." He says, grabbing a paper off his desk, reaching it over to him. "Look at the most recent purchases."
Black hiking boots, a box of blue nitrile gloves, forty dollars in clothes, and twenty dollars from Crestfield bait and tackle for a spool of blue and yellow nylon triple twist rope, he reads in his head. Rick looks over the older purchases and shakes his head before looking back up at Chief, who's already holding another paper in his hand. "Chief, this is her credit card that still has her listed in Washington DC. The latest purchase besides these was for the Motel Six at the edge of town two months ago. Besides that, Kate Beckett has been a homicide detective for over ten years, she'd know better than to buy the murder weapon with her own credit card from store that she owns." He continues and slides the paper back onto his desk.
"It's not only that, kid." Chief says while reading the paper in his hand. Rick waits him out. "Last night, when we ran her name through the system... well, I'd never seen a larger classified label since I watched that bootleg documentary on Roswell." He halfheartedly jokes. "But after a few calls, we were sent this and it has more black bars than the massage listings of a Vegas newspaper."
Chief hands Rick the paper and he quickly begins to skim it. Whatever they redacted, it was probably done on purpose to make what they didn't sound that much more incriminating. Armed federal agent, against orders of superior and lead Director, shot and killed unarmed civilian, it's all here. "Chief," Rick says, looking at the paper, "speaking as a writer, I'll tell you that whatever's not here probably tells more of a story than what is." He concludes and tosses the paper back down to the desk.
"Okay, then tell me about this 'love triangle' nonsense." Chief says, using a set of air quotes.
Rick rolls his eyes and decides to just tell him the truth. "Beckett and I went through a pretty bad break up about a year ago."
Chief grins and reaches for something else on his desk before lifting up that stupid tabloid news article. That must've been where Andy got all his facts from. "Yeah, ain't exactly a secret, Castle." He says before tossing the tabloid back down.
"Beckett came back after she was let go from her job and said she wanted to work things out and I had just met Sierra while I was out running. Beckett started coming by every morning to work things out."
"So the reports from Sierra's sister across the street about you and her constantly yelling at each other every morning?" Chief asks.
Rick plants his hands on his hips and looks off to the side for a moment. "Do I have to go into every detail about our break up? Because it's going to about nine months if I do." Chief just raises his one brow and crosses his overly large arms. Rick grits his teeth and lids his gaze. "Yes, we argued... a lot. I asked Sierra out to dinner a few weeks ago, where I told her about Beckett and she was fine with it."
Chief stares at him, almost as if waiting for a real answer, raising the other side of his brow after a moment. "And?"
Rick double-takes, "And what? We talked about it. That little incident," Rick gestures toward his desk, "at the diner where Beckett saw us was just her helping talk through some issues. That's all."
"And what about now? Am I supposed to believe that it's a coincidence that you two seem to be back together the day after Sierra is murdered?" Chief asks in a dark, demanding voice.
"Yes!" Rick hammers.
Chief just shakes his head, "Whatever you say, the detectives are in interrogation with her now. They'll find out." He says and looks back down to his desk.
"Chief, that woman has spent more time in an interrogation room that most of your cops have been on the force. She used to work more homicides in a month that most officers do in their entire careers. And the only other person that probably has more experience in homicide in the tri-state area than her is me."
"I'm not sending you in there, Castle." Chief says sternly.
"Chief, if Beckett really did kill Sierra, the only person that can get the truth out of her is me!" Rick says back loudly. "In case you didn't know, I used to write books about that woman."
Chief leans back with his arms crossed and lets out a long, frustrated sigh.
The door just slammed behind them. They'd left after just a few minutes, frustrated and angry. She could tell that they hadn't had much experience in an actual interrogation. They were the kind of detectives that she'd expect to be paired off with who were just starting out. But none of it makes her feel any better, about the situation or about herself.
She doesn't know what they are telling him, but she can't expect him to stay totally loyal to her. Not after everything she put him through. They never worked through her losing her loyalty to them totally, so she's not going to be mad at him for questioning her now. But she loves him, she at least has faith in what they have together. Yesterday was enough to rejuvenate the faith she had in taking the plunge with him in the first place and hope that it could lead to some kind of happiness that most people can only ever read about.
After a long few seconds sitting in total silence, Kate under the collar of her army green work shirt and pulls out her necklace. She used to go for this necklace to remind her of her past, of why she was on the road she was and why she stayed on it. But now, as she grabs onto the engagement ring, feeling the diamonds press gently into her palm, she's reminded of her yearn for their future, what other struggles and hurdles they have to go through together and how much stronger they'll be for them, how in love they'll be after.
As the door starts to open again, Kate quickly puts the necklace back under her shirt and straightens up in her chair before looking over and seeing him step inside with the case file in his hands. Her heart flutters wildly when their eyes catch each other. He has a small hint of that shy, caring smile gracing his tired, ruggedly handsome face as he's pulling the door shut, but when he looks down to the floor and looks back up to make his way over to the table across from her, it's gone.
"Hi," she says in a whimper.
Rick slides the case file onto the table and pulls out the chair in one motion. "Are you okay?"
Her heart flutters around like a panicked butterfly this time when she hears that, enough to make her have to bite her bottom lip to pull back the smile. No accusing her of anything, no demanding answers, no demanding she apologizes, no demanding an explanation. Just wanting to know if she's okay. It was small things he did like that that seemed little at the time, but eventually made her fall as madly in love with him as she is now.
She nods as he pulls the chair up to the table. "I'm okay." She says with a soft smile. "This kind of used to be my forte, Castle."
Rick smiles just as softly and locks eyes with her, but it soon fades as his thoughts seem to escape his control. He shakes his head in a quick jolt of a motion and opens the file. "T-they um... they know that Sierra came to see you Monday night." Kate nods, the motion somewhat sad as the thought that she was the last to see her alive slithers into her mind. "Is there any way to prove that you didn't threaten her? Do you guys have cameras in the store?"
Kate nods, "Yeah, we just got a new system installed, the Ring system. Audiovisual with remote access so my dad and I can access it from our phones."
Rick gives her a small nod. "Are... you sure that only you and your dad have access to it?"
Kate pauses before giving a meager shrug of her shoulders. "I mean... it's just a basic password-protected account. Anyone can download the program so long as they have the information to the account linked to the cameras." She says, not entirely sure why he brought it up. "And my dad and I are the only ones with the information."
Rick nods and looks through the file again. If he could crack that system, maybe steal their login through just brute-force hacking techniques, that could be how he knew what time to strike.
"Why?" She asks after the air in the room grows thick with a heavy silence.
Rick swallows and takes up the picture of the first victim's body, and places it in front of her. "Tell me if uh..." he starts as he reaches for the picture of Sierra's body, "if you see a pattern." He says and places the next picture in front of her. Kate stares at the pictures for a long moment, at a total loss but feeling like the answer is obvious. She shakes her head silently and looks back up to him. "Two victims, killed within a week of each other, both women, blonde, single, both strangled."
Kate's heart locks up as she quickly catches his train of thought. "It's not his MO, Castle." She argues, reaching for the picture of the first victim. "He seduced his victims and posed them. Ms. Carlson wasn't posed."
"My guess is she was until her cats vandalized the crime scene." He says, pointing to the teeth marks and exposed flesh.
She clenches her jaw and feels her breath get tight. "You were on that bridge, Castle." She says in a low, warning tone. "You shot him yourself... seven times."
Rick looks over to her with pain lurking in his baby blue eyes, circled with signs of fatigue. "You really believe that?"
She can just stare at him before seeing that this is starting to haunt him. Tyson was always his ghost. Ever since that motel room where he caught onto Tyson's plan and exposed who the real triple killer was, he's had it in his head that Tyson's goal wasn't to get away, but to torture him, to punish him for interfering. She can't help but wonder if he knows how much she can relate to that feeling of persecution. "Okay," she says softly and reaches over the table to take his hands, "let's say, by some miracle it is Tyson. What do we do about it? They already said they have a warrant for our house, my car, the shop."
Rick pushes his fingers through her's, lacing their hands together and pets her skin with his thumbs for a moment, gaining some semblance of clarity and solace from the softness of her skin. "Tyson has one weakness and I'm going to try and exploit it this time."
Kate loses herself in the soft gestures of his fingers in the moment and looks down to his hands. She wishes she could just lay back in bed with him. "What's that?"
"For him, it's not enough to get me to suffer, he has to watch it for himself. He has to take credit for me. He has to see the look in my eyes when he takes everything away from me."
her heart hurts for him. He's talking just like she used to about Bracken before she realized that she couldn't do it without him. "You really think he's going to make the same mistake this time around?"
Rick grins and looks down to their hands. "Tyson's a sexual sadist, Kate. They're nothing if not arrogant." He says and looks back up to her, his grin quickly fading. "But right now, I need you to be safe and you're already sitting in the safest building in town. These murders are the worst crimes they've seen in over sixty years, so they'll keep you under guard and that will give me time to figure out where he made a mistake and get you out. But I need you to trust me."
Kate feels a smile tug at the corners of her lips before looking up to him and giving his hands a squeeze. "I do."
A/N: I'm really going to try my hardest to get a chapter a day out this weekend. I have a long weekend before work slowed down again. I started work on this chapter a few weeks ago before work picked up again and before my poor, innocent wallet got ruthlessly mugged my Steam's summer sale. Let me know what you think!
Also, reviews may or may not be broken again. If you would like, you can either PM me what you think (still leave a review because the numbers make me feel better about myself), or leave it as an anon, since I have anon review moderation on and I can still read them before I approve them. Thanks for the understanding as FFN works their crap out.