My Grandmother was a Witch
Chapter 15
Kate had never in her life seen some of the stores Castle was taking her to. Some were clearly local to this area only. She saw some nice things but never actually saw anything she could live without. At least until Rick pointed out an ice cream shop. So she relented and got a two scoop cone. Thankfully she had left all of her high heels at home so with flats she could keep walking and looking.
Now Castle had pestered her, wanting to know if she liked anything because he was more than willing to buy it for her. But she didn't see anything that great.
She was sort of expecting him to take her to some seriously expensive steakhouse for dinner but he didn't. It was partly a good thing because neither of them were dressed for that. Where they did end up was an Italian place. It was actually a little cheesy-looking but the food was great.
"So why the Hamptons? You could have bought something in Miami or the Bahamas or somewhere," Kate asked him.
Rick shrugged. "Location and distance mostly. I wanted something close enough to drive to. Something with a beach and it took a lot of time to find this place. Then I had a designer come in and change everything. If you don't like it then it's her fault."
"Not taking credit for it, huh?" Kate thought sure Castle would puff out his chest and say "Look what I did!" But he wasn't.
"I may be good at some things but that isn't one of them," Rick admitted. He usually knew his limits, at least most of the time. "Kate, are you not wearing a bra to tease me?" What she was wearing didn't show anything but she was bouncing everywhere they went and it was driving him mad.
"Maybe. You planning to do something about it?" Kate bit her lower lip and looked at him.
"You just wait till tonight." Rick stared at her. He knew of a place to see if Kate had any boundaries at all. She had teased him for the last 2 years but where did her teasing stop?
_/\_
"Romantix?" Kate had never heard of the store and they had to drive to get there. She went inside first since Castle offered and let her. "A sex store? Really, Castle?"
"See anything you want?" Rick waited to see if she rose to his challenge.
"Anything?" She could think of a couple of things she could use on Castle tonight and in the future. But did she want to was the real question. Still she looked around and saw all the usual stuff.
"Here's a naughty outfit for you to wear." Rick found something for her or was it for him? Whatever.
"No thanks." She might rethink that later but for now, no. "I already have cuffs, Castle." She saw him fingering the ones with fluff on them.
Kate saw the normal dildos and the ones that vibrated. She had one of those at home but she had Castle now so she didn't need it any longer. And a live cock was so much better than that thing.
Castle found a whip and tried using it on his own leg. "OW!" He dropped it and Kate just grinned; he wasn't using it properly. Now that whip did have potential but not today.
"Sorry, Castle." Kate hadn't found anything. Maybe another day.
_/\_
It was a little cool outside with no sun but Kate had a robe and a comforter and was headed for the beach with Castle. It was late, really late. One in the morning so no one should be out there.
"We're having sex, Castle, and we're doing everything out here." Yes she was a little sore from all the previous sex but she wanted him. She had plans to go home completely satisfied.
_/\_
Kate had had a blast over her week of vacation. She'd been naked, Castle had been naked, and they had sex literally almost everywhere. About the only place they hadn't was out front or in any bedroom save the master bedroom. Just about no other place had gone untouched.
The week had gone far too fast for her thinking. What was she going to do till she had another full two days off so she could come back out here and have even more sex?
"Your ride should be here soon." Rick hugged her. He really wished she could stay but he understood.
"I'll be back when I can, Castle. I promise. But you need to promise to get a lot of writing done because when I show up and you haven't written enough we're not having sex. Got it?" Kate looked at him.
"Got it," Rick confirmed.
"You better because I want a lot more sex. You better not disappoint me." Kate poked him in the chest.
"I promise." Rick had every intention to keep that promise since he wanted a lot more sex as well.
"Here comes your ride." Rick saw the black town car from the company that he used. He wrapped his arms around her and felt Kate hold him. "Just be careful, Kate. I won't be there to have your back and I'm going to worry."
"I was good before you showed up, Castle. I'll be fine." Kate raised up on her toes to kiss him hard and passionately.
_/\_
Kate was looking out the back window watching Castle wave. When she could no longer see him she turned around to face forward. It was a town car so there was no barrier between her and the driver like in a limo or a taxi in the city.
"How was your stay, ma'am?" the driver inquired but didn't look in the mirror.
"Perfect." Everything had gone perfectly as far as she was concerned. Her only real concern was what her captain was going to say about them dating.
"Wonderful. Mr. Castle's a good man. He helped me with this job and he calls me all the time for rides," he told her.
"Oh?" Kate didn't know that. She thought he was just another driver.
"I had started my own business and it was failing. Then I met Mr. Castle and he arranged financing for me, for new cars. I started out with just one employee and only two cars. Now I have five cars and Mr. Castle and his friends call me all the time. I'm actually profitable now. All because of Mr. Castle.
"Would you believe he even sent me to emergency driving school? Now I can drive a dignitary at high speed if needed. I'm not just a driver and neither are any of my other drivers. He's the best man I know." He stopped talking and just drove, leaving Kate to think.
Kate wondered what else he had done. She looked out the back window just because she could but didn't see anything. Was one week of sex enough to learn to love someone? She didn't think she was in love with him. But she had learned a lot and she wanted more.
She had something to tell her grandmother the next time she went to see her. She felt great and wasn't even all that sore any longer. She had seen him, tasted him, and wanted more. A lot more.
_/\_
Her very first day back she and the boys got a brand new case. Kate walked up to her friend. "Lanie, what have we got?"
"Only after you agree to come to my place tonight. I want to hear everything. You were gone for a week and it had better be where I think it was," Lanie told her.
"Only if you supply the food and the wine," Kate countered.
"Sold!" It was a small price to pay. "Meet Micheal Burns. Cause of death is rather obvious. He took a dive. Ryan's up there somewhere trying to find out from where." Lanie motioned to the high rise.
"Someone's car?" Kate looked at Espo since Ryan was up there somewhere. The top of the car was caved in where the body hit it. "A little far for a simple fall," Kate commented since he missed the sidewalk completely.
"BECKETT!" Kate heard Ryan and looked up. "EIGHTH FLOOR!" he yelled down.
"Be right up," Kate yelled. "Let me know what you learn, Lanie." She knew her next stop was on the 8th floor.
"Don't I always?" Lanie kept working while Kate went upstairs.
_/\_
"Lasagna and wine," Lanie said when Kate entered her apartment. "Just so you know your old place is still a mess. I'm not sure what they're waiting for." The debris was long gone but inside nothing seemed to be happening that she could see since she'd been up there to look.
"Without that clock it won't be the same anyway. I even lost all my books. They didn't all burn but every one of them was damaged to some extent." That bomb had done a number on her possessions.
Lanie cut a piece of lasagna for Kate and one for herself and then poured the wine. They retreated to her table to eat. "So where did you spend your week of vacation? I know it wasn't with Demming."
Kate took a swallow of her wine. "No, I dumped Demming. He was nice but not what I was looking for. I spent the week with Castle in the Hamptons."
"Castle! It's about damn time, girl. I thought you were never going to notice him. He was trying so hard to get you to notice him but then you took up with Demming." Lanie was happy for her.
Kate cut the lasagna with her fork. "I know. I made a mistake, Lanie. It was just that Castle scared me. After what had happened, I couldn't. If I did something and Playboy Castle did something it would hurt. So I chose someone safer."
"Then what got you to see the light?" Lanie asked her and sipped her wine.
"Something Captain Montgomery said after that spy game case. About if one of them had just told the other instead of fearing what they might say or how the other person felt." Kate shrugged. "So I took a chance."
"At least someone reached you. We all know you like Castle," Lanie said. "Don't you look at me like that, girl. It was obvious to everyone but you two for some reason."
"Yeah." She might be right.
"So how was he? Tell me all about the Hamptons." Lanie ate and drank and listened to Kate. Kate actually started with the house itself that told both of them just how rich Castle really was or whether he was even more rich.
Lanie didn't get to find out what Castle looked like naked, what his cock looked like, or what he tasted like. But she had told Lanie about some of the sex they had shared. Not nearly all of it but it had made Lanie happy to hear something.
"So when are you going back?" Lanie had no idea just how much vacation time she had.
"The first time I get two solid days off. Castle has a car service that he uses. It's how I got home. He helped the owner and got him going." Kate was learning things about Castle that she didn't know about.
Lanie was happy that Kate had come out of her shell and had risked it. Now she just needed to be happy with her life.
_/\_
"What have we got, Lanie?" Kate had yet another case. She'd been hoping to get a couple of days off so she could go to the Hamptons and spend it with Castle but someone had other ideas.
"Just as soon as you tell me when you have two days off," Lanie countered.
"This case interrupted that. So if I'm lucky maybe after this is put to bed. I'm going to guess he's dead because of the knife in his back." Kate pointed out the obvious.
"You would think so, wouldn't you. But guess what." Lanie moved to his neck. "See these marks?"
"He was strangled first and then stabbed?" Kate didn't believe it. Wasn't one way enough?
"I'll know which killed him when I get him back to the lab. Once the knife's out I can determine what kind it is. Right now it's in so deep I can't tell. It took some real strength to get this much blade into his body," Lanie commented.
"Then we can rule out it being a woman unless she was a weight lifter. So was either of these postmortem?" Kate waited impatiently for Lanie to say something.
Lanie shook her head. "Can't tell yet. The lack of blood suggests this knife was after but we'll see."
"Thanks, Lanie." Kate headed deeper into the apartment to find out who found him and start digging into his past.
She was eventually back at the precinct adding what she had to her board.
_/\_
With the case solved, and a wild one it was, Kate was packed for an overnight stay only and headed downstairs since her ride should be there by now.
"Morning, ma'am, I'll take that if you like." He took her little bag, put it in the trunk, and then opened the back door for her.
"You can call me Kate, you know," Kate tried as she stood there. She had gotten the same driver as last time.
"That would be very unprofessional, ma'am." He smiled and continued to hold the door open and waited. Kate shrugged and got in the back. She let him close the door and run around the car while there was an opening in the traffic to get in the driver's seat.
They had been on the road for a short time. "It's almost a pity you and Ms. Cowell couldn't get your timing right. You two could have shared a car," he mentioned.
"Share a ride? Explain." Was he talking about one of his staff driving someone to Castle's house in the Hamptons?
"Ms. Cowell was picked up to be driven to Mr. Castle about 30 minutes or so ago," he clarified. "We'll be right behind them."
"Do you know her first name?" Kate didn't think she knew of a Ms. Cowell.
"Gina, ma'am."
"Gina?" Kate was shocked. "His ex-wife that didn't get to go," Kate whispered to herself. "Drive faster. I don't want to be more than 15 minutes behind her."
"Yes, ma'am." He would add a little extra speed when they got out of the city.
"Why is Gina going out there?" Kate didn't get it but it didn't sound good to her. The breakroom party was actually the first time she had ever met Gina that she could remember. Blonde, pretty, big tits, and very, very bossy. Not to mention angry. Kate didn't like what she was thinking even a little bit.
She was off-duty so she didn't have her service weapon. That was locked up in her apartment. All she had for a weapon was her ever present wand. She dug it out and moved it where she could reach it in a heartbeat.
With a little practice she was learning her wand was capable of a lot of things. It seemed to be where most of her powers were concentrated. Or at least how she could display them. Besides brewing potions, of course.
"And I didn't bring my potion kit." It was just a two day trip to see and have sex with Castle. Why would she need her potion kit?
"Ma'am?" He had missed that last part.
"Nothing, just drive." Kate was scaring herself and she knew it. It was just she had taken a risk and Castle had been there to catch her. At least so far he was. She wasn't going to lose him to his ex-wife.
_/\_
They arrived right out front and Kate didn't wait for him to open the door for her. He had, of course, popped the trunk from the driver's seat and watched as Kate grabbed her bag and ran to the front door.
"Have a pleasant stay, ma'am." He had seen his other car drive past them on the way back to the city. He was maybe closer to 20 minutes behind that car. Traffic in the city had been bad this morning. He got back in his car and drove back to the city. Someone would be out to pickup these two when they called.
Kate tried the front door and found that it wasn't locked. So she went inside and hurried to the main room that was open to the kitchen. She saw Castle was at the stove stirring something.
"Castle." Kate strode right to him and threw her little bag onto the sectional.
"Kate!" Rick was happy to see her. He'd been horribly surprised to find Gina at his front door but seeing Kate was wonderful. What he wanted was a kiss from her but what he got was being pushed aside.
"What's this?" Kate looked at it and took the wooden spoon from him. She stirred it and lifted it to look at.
"It's one of Gina's teas. The second she arrived she insisted on making it. She hasn't made one of her teas for a long time. I don't even know why she's here, Kate. She just showed up," Rick told her.
"Tea, huh? This isn't how you make tea, Castle." Kate bent over and took a good sniff. "But it is how you make a potion. I even know this one." Kate knew this smell really well. She had made this potion to talk her dad into not drinking alcohol any more. Combined with another potion, she had finally gotten him to stop drinking. Thankfully he'd had just the one relapse that she knew about.
"Potion? What do you mean potion?" Rick had heard every word. He was a writer and he had a very vivid imagination; that word had a lot of connotations to it. The most prominent one being that of some old hag of a witch stirring a black pot over an open fire, mixing up a potion.
"What are you doing here?" Gina was back downstairs. She'd had to use the bathroom so after getting her potion started she had left Richard to stir it. It was for him, after all.
Gina was furious. That bitch of a detective that Castle was following around was here! She just knew Castle would try and get into her pants. She had hoped that once that had been accomplished he would promptly dump her. Sadly that was not looking to be the case.
The only good side she had found was that Richard was still writing and the Nikki Heat series was selling pretty well. There was even a movie planned. Still more money for Black Pawn and her. Business and money was what drove her. She had found Richard and he was a moneymaker. Getting him to agree to be a playboy by feeding him potions had been easy.
Her only real problem was getting the ingredients for more. He had divorced her mostly because she had run out of ingredients. However, she'd come across a really small amount so it was time to bring Richard back to the Dark Side.
"Saving Castle from you, it looks like. I know this potion. It's a control potion. He'll do anything you tell him to after drinking it. Even kill someone or step off a cliff to his death." Kate was on to her.
"WITCH!" Gina guessed that she should have known. Damn witch was using her own potions on Richard. Why hadn't she thought of that? Gina was fast, or thought she was. However this bitch was faster and she too had a wand.
"Don't!" Kate had her wand lined up at Gina and at this range she couldn't miss. Granted it was possible. She had learned from practice that certain things she had wanted to do had a way of straying off course. But she was catching on, so not this time.
"Kate? Gina?" Rick wanted answers. Potion. Kate had what looked like a wand in her hand and Gina was reaching for something. He was thinking a gun but maybe it was a wand.
"Stay out of this, Castle, and stay behind me. I don't want you to accidentally get hurt. She might miss me and hit you." Kate needed him alive or her heart might actually break. She was in deep after that one week and she knew it.