Hiya everyone! Thank you so much for starting this fanfiction. Myself ( AbsentiaCastle on Twitter) and Tharsi ( greysloverx on Twitter) wrote this after accidentally coming up with the plot line. Just to be clear, this is our first time writing a fanfiction so please excuse the lack of talent :D
I've never uploaded on before so I'm not really sure how this works. But I'd appreciate if you'd let me know what you guys think of it! I pretty sure you can leave reviews, so please do! We're open to suggestions and comments that can contribute to our future writing.
Enjoy!
Chapter One
Kate closed the last button of her silken shirt, adjusting the collar to her comfort. She tidied her hair in the mirror before grabbing her navy blazer from the back of an armchair. With Castle still complaining just within earshot, she put on her blazer and met him in the bathroom.
"I'm just saying, I can still help," he assured, failing to get Beckett on his side. She grabbed her toothbrush and toothpaste from across him and proceeded to ignore him. "I don't need to have two working legs in order to watch you do paperwork." She stopped brushing her teeth for a moment and glared at him. "Please, I'm suffering from cabin fever. Well, technically it would be considered loft-fever."
Kate spat into the sink and reached for the mouthwash. Before she could unscrew the cap, Castle snatched the bottle out of her hand.
"Castle!"
"Beckett, please." She grabbed the bottle back and opened the cap.
"Babe, you're not coming," she finally answered. "We've discussed this a dozen times already. You're supposed to be resting. Besides, what's the point of following me to work when you're not even doing research?" She took a mouthful of the green solution and swished it around in her mouth.
"I mean, I did that for four years, didn't I?" Beckett spat out the mouthwash and smiled at him. She put her toothbrush back in its holder and exited the bathroom, Castle trailing slowly behind on his crutches. Beckett sat on the edge of the bed and pulled on her 5-inch heeled boots. When she stood back up, she was within Castle's eyeline.
"Aren't you supposed to have a chapter due for 'Deadly Heat' this week," she asked coyly as she strolled to the kitchen.
"Really?" he questioned following her. "You're going to play the writing card now?" She chuckled and poured herself a mug of freshly brewed coffee. Leaning her backside against the counter, she sipped her coffee and listened to what he had to say. "Okay, fine. I do have a chapter due, but how am I supposed to write without inspiration, Beckett?"
"Oh, don't be so dramatic." She picked up the newspaper and placed it on the island in front of him. "I'm sure you'll find something in there that'll spark creativity." Castle leaned his crutches against the island then began flicking through the paper. "Anything?"
"No," he said as he slammed the paper shut. "See, this is why I need to-." He stopped himself abruptly and lifted the paper closer to his face. "A bank robbery!" he exclaimed. Beckett smiled to herself from behind her mug.
"That's got to spark some inspiration, right?" she queried, walking up behind him to catch a glimpse at the paper. "Bank robbers flee semi-failed bank heist at National Bank of NYC," she reads.
"What do they mean by 'semi-failed'?"
"I presume the thieves had intended to steal more than what they actually escaped with," Kate predicted. "Either way, it's still a bank robbery." Kate downed her last mouthful of coffee and put her mug in the sink. "I've got to go. I'll be back around seven and maybe we could order takeout."
He turned around and pecked her lips. As Kate turned to go, Castle tugged her back in for another quick kiss. "It's the least you owe me," he said. She smiled, giving him one final kiss before grabbing her keys from the coffee table. "Bye!" he shouted as she waved from behind a closing door
Beckett exited the elevator of the 12th precinct, reading a text she had just received from her dad. He was away in his cabin for the past few weeks and finally found somewhere with signal so he could get a text out to his daughter. He had invited her to join him, but with Castle injured she decided to stay at the loft and help take care of him.
Beckett threw her keys onto her desk and began taking off her jacket before Esposito stopped her.
"I wouldn't take that off just yet," he began. Kate stopped in her actions and looked at her colleague. "A body just dropped downtown."
"The wicked never sleep, huh?" Kate said, pulling her jacket back over her shoulders. "You driving?" Esposito nodded and they headed down to the street.
On the way to the crime scene, Kate was telling Esposito about Castle's constant whining and boredom in the loft.
"That guy has laser tag, the hottest gaming consoles and every TV channel you could imagine. How could he possibly be bored?" Esposito asked, taking a sharp left.
"He's not bored, he's just procrastinating," Kate affirmed. "He has a chapter for his new book due, but he doesn't feel like writing."
"What? Is there not enough Nikki Heat action in the loft at the minute?" Esposito teased. He turned to look at her but caught sight of her scowl and decided he's better off keeping his eyes on the road.
They pulled up at the crime scene which was flooded with uniforms and sealed off with police tape. Beckett and Esposito hopped out of the car surveying the area quickly.
"I'm going to talk to Lanie. Will you get whatever information you can from the uniforms?" she asked, Esposito immediately accepting the instruction. Beckett tends to take charge during most investigations. The boys never have an issue because they know she's the best for the job.
Beckett's heels pounded the pavement as she approached Doctor Parish, who was knelt beside the corpse. Her ID dangled from around her neck, swaying in the light breeze that tunneled down the alleyway. She was examining the body and taking notes on her clipboard which was propped against her leg.
Taking in every little detail she could of the alley and its features, Beckett memorized every nook and cranny. Uniforms had already taken notice of any suspicious evidence with markers. Nothing seemed too out of the ordinary other than the dead man.
"Good morning, Lanie. What have we got?" Beckett squatted beside her friend and exchanged a smile. It was refreshing to see a female face in the field occasionally. Most of her colleagues at the precinct were male, excluding Gates and a few uniforms. Seeing her best friend was by far the most uplifting part of her day. Well, aside from the nature of their meeting.
"Hey," Lanie started. "We have a Caucasian male, late thirties with two rounds in his chest." She pointed her pen at the bullet wounds in the body, circling the air above them.
"According to a wallet found in the trash, our victim is Henry Davis," Ryan said as he approached the women.
"Hey!" Beckett smiled and stood up. "Why weren't you at the precinct this morning?"
"Oh," Ryan chuckled. "Well, Jenny is still pretty pissed about the whole Fenton O' Connell thing, so I guess you could say we were 'making up'?"
"Ah," Beckett responded with a smirk. "So, Henry Davis. What do we know about him?"
"Not much yet. According to his driver's licence he lives in Queens. I'm heading back to the precinct now to track down a next of kin."
Esposito joined the team around the body.
"I just spoke to a witness by the name of Frankie Hodges. Lives in apartment 308. He says he heard what sounded like an argument coming from this alley a little after midnight last night." He pointed up to a window on the third floor. "He says he was trying to sleep but the shouting made it difficult."
"Did he see anything?" Beckett glanced over Espo's shoulder to see the witness with a uniform.
"Nada. But he told us his landlord has camera's covering this alley."
"Okay, follow Ryan back to the precinct and let me know what you find." The boys nodded in unison and left towards their vehicles. "You know," Beckett said in a train of thought, "there's not that much blood around the body. Are we sure he was killed here?"
"Isn't that your job?" Lanie said with an essence of sass. Beckett walked around the body. "I can tell you this. Lividity puts the time of death anywhere between eleven p.m. and two a.m. last night."
"That fits the time Hodges said he heard the arguing. He never mentioned a gunshot though."
"Silencer?" Lanie suggested.
"I don't know. Why use a silencer if you're going to be heard arguing?" Lanie tilted her head in agreement and stood up. "If he wasn't murdered here, we're missing ample evidence. We need to find that other crime scene."
"Well, I'll let you know if I find anything once I get back to the lab."
Three men zipped up the body bag and lifted it onto the gurney. Lanie followed behind them as they put it into the back of the ME van. Beckett thanked her friend and waved as she left.
Beckett walked out of the alleyway planning out her strategy of how to locate this other crime scene. Firstly, she'll need to wait and see what comes of the cameras in the alley. Then, she'll need Lanie's autopsy report along with any findings on the body which could indicate where the victim was prior to his demise. For now, all she can do is talk to the victim's family and offer them a shoulder to cry on.