Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: Just wanted to make a note that the Ji people and all that information is completely made up for this story.
A/N #2: I was happy receiving the feedback for the last two chapters, so I'll start my thank yous for that! TORONTOSUN (Really pleased to read you like how Castle and Beckett teach Josie and think they're very good parents. I always see commercials telling parents to teach kids a little, read to them, sing to them, to help them as they grow up, so I thought it'd be a good idea to put that in with Castle and Beckett raising their kids, so I'm glad you noticed it!),
Guest (Really nice to see you're enjoying the series and story because I have a lot more to the series, along with this story of course, lol. No surprise you mentioned the cliffhanger, made me laugh but I'm glad it got your attention! And you're welcome for the stories. I'm really happy to see you think I've created a wonderful series that though it's AU it could have been cannon since it's how I like writing it. It's easier to visualize it if I see it as it might appear on the show. You're welcome for the chapter!),
Mb (I was glad that I could surprise you with the murder chapter. Not surprised that would make you swear off haunted houses forever if that happened to you, would make me do the same too! And yeah, a real body thought to be a mummy which I've heard of before and mentioned in the chapter after. So with that I'm really pleased you're looking forward to the mystery to come as you put it! You're welcome for the chapter!) and
Mb (It was great to read you thought the first half of the second chapter I posted was a nicely done setup. And I'm glad you liked Julia getting advice from Freddie Mercury about her dancing along with as you put it having confidence in herself and what she's doing. Not surprised you loved seeing Castle and Beckett with Josie while they were teaching her. Same for you saying that you love they make sure they're equally in love with Julia and Eliza, along with their immediate family. Had to laugh at you saying vacation from cases was over but it's true. And not surprised you thought Brad wanting Darnley to consult too was interesting. You're welcome for the first half of that chapter! Glad you thought the second half was another great update. And it's great to see you liked the way the information about the case was distributed between them along with the theories they were talking about since I wondered how that would read with another person there consulting. I'm really happy that you enjoyed how I show how much Castle and Beckett know about all subjects since they have to do research on both general and obscure subjects as you put it. Also it's how the show had Castle so I thought that would extend to Beckett, lol. And I had to laugh at your reaction to the cliffhanger and how you said the story has truly begun, it's what I do, lol. You're welcome for the second half!).
Thanks so much for all the reviews, I absolutely loved reading them and appreciated the time taken to write them out and send them my way!
A/N #3: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Thriller written by Rod Temperton, from the Michael Jackson album of the same name.
You Hear The Door
"Professor!" Castle called. "Professor, jaggaibnida!"
"Mr. Castle? Ms. Beckett?" a man said.
"Yes, it's us," the former said first. "We're here with the police we need to ask you about something for a case."
"Are you arresting me?" the professor called.
"No," Brad said. "I'm Chief Davis professor. Can we get up?"
"Yes," the man said firmly.
Pushing herself up, Beckett told her husband, "I'm glad you remembered how to say that."
"Say what?" Darnley asked.
"It means 'it's the writers'," Castle replied. He turned his attention to the man walking up to them and said, "This is another consultant with us. Patrick Darnley."
"I've heard of you," the professor said. "I'm sorry about shooting the arrow at you," Hwa said while he was going to the tree it had ended up in. He pulled it out easily and then said, "But I have been having some problems with trespassers."
"Has anything been stolen?" Brad asked.
"Not that I can tell," Hwa said. "I thought it was teens, which is why I was surprised to hear adults. What can I help you with?"
Brad, with his three consultants looking at him, handed the picture he had of their vic without a word, not surprised when the professor's eyes widened.
"What is this?" Hwa said with a frown.
"The victim in our murder," Beckett said.
"Do you recognize the mummification process?" Brad asked.
"Of course, it looks like what the Ji peoples I've exclusively written about would do," Hwa said. "And if you need to know more, I will ask you to come inside so I can tell you."
Walking after the man, Darnley said to Castle and Beckett, "He's young."
"Yes," Beckett replied. "But he's an expert."
"Skipped the first two years of high school which is why he's a professor now," Castle commented. He then said, "He knows his stuff."
"About just the Ji peoples," Darnley commented.
Shaking his head Castle said, "He specializes in writing about them, teaching he's in charge of Asian and South Pacific history."
When they were inside the house at the end of the wooded path, Hwa led his guests into his office and nodded to the large wall with no furniture against it. "They're a small group of people that were discovered in the eighties around the shore of what was the kingdom of Baekje, along the west coast. But they date to around four hundred BC, so it's believed the mummification process was a necessity."
"Environment?" Brad asked.
Shaking his head Hwa said, "It's not agreed on exactly, but for my theory I think it's more their location. Historians called them Ji because the word pond is part of that name, and the area was at one time studded with ponds inland from the beaches. There were weapons found and fishbones. But if you're wondering about mummies…"
Watching the professor going to the wall, Castle wasn't surprised when he got a picture underneath the hundreds of others that was of a mummified body. "It looks like our vic," he commented.
"It does," Hwa said. "I almost thought you stole my photo."
"Professor?" Brad said then. When the man looked at him, he said, "I'm afraid I'll need to ask you to come into the station with us."
"I really hope he's not going to be mad at us," Castle told his wife as they were waiting for Brad to get them. They were standing outside the interview room Hwa was inside and he couldn't help feeling unsettled before his wife started to speak.
"I don't think he will," Beckett said. "He was very understanding, and he knows he's not under arrest. Not being in that room."
Glancing inside through the windows, Castle nodded and then said, "I guess. It's too bad we couldn't see that picture before."
"Not when it was buried underneath," Beckett said. She looked at her husband and asked, "What do you think the process is?"
"Good question," Castle said. "I'm assuming; that far back; that it was naturally done but what if Thayer finds chemicals?"
"I'm not sure," Beckett said, speaking rapidly when Brad and Darnley were walking over to them.
"I just got a call from Thayer," the chief told them. "And Hutchinson and Rice spoke with me as well. They've cleared the employees and so far there isn't much from the people that were visiting the place. Just the people that saw the Craigs coming out and getting sick."
"And Thayer?" Castle asked.
"He's still working on the process of getting the fingerprints," Brad replied. "But he may be able to find a partial since the process wasn't done fully; I'm going to have him speak with Professor Hwa."
"But other than that?" Beckett prompted.
"He confirmed death was caused by a gunshot wound," Darnley said. "I figured," he said when the others were looking at him. "My case before the wound looked almost the same."
"And there were broken nails, so he may have fought off his attacker," Brad added. "He tried to get some DNA but whatever was used killed anything that might have been underneath."
"And what was used?" Castle asked.
"He's saying it's a combination of things," Brad answered.
"So we're going in to talk to him?" Castle said.
"We are," Brad replied.
"Except for me," Darnley said quickly.
"I don't want it to get that crowded," Brad said as Beckett immediately turned to him. "But I guess I'm thinking of interrogation; come on." He walked into the room and once they were inside with him, he said, "I just spoke with the Medical Examiner who was able to determine what was used to mummify the body of our vic. But I'd like you to speak with him if that's alright?"
"Of course, like I said I would help with the case," Hwa replied while he nodded his head.
Calling Thayer on his cell phone Brad spoke with the ME first before he said, "Professor Hwa is here and we're on speakerphone."
"Professor," Thayer said. "The initial result of testing on a sample of the skin was inconclusive which of course meant the body wasn't preserved with chemicals."
"And you're able to test for substances?" Hwa asked.
"That was the second test and that let us know the most prevalent item in the skin was salt," Thayer said.
"Yes, the Ji peoples had an abundant salt deposit near them and they would use it in rituals, for trading and in their mummification process," Hwa said, nodding his head though the ME wouldn't see it. "Were you able to find any tree sap?"
"Pine tree resin," Thayer said.
"A little different from the trees the Ji people used in Korea," Hwa said. "But the same process."
"Is that it?" Castle couldn't help asking when Thayer didn't say anything to that.
"That was all, I don't think your killer cared about preservation; only the process to render the body in that way," the ME replied. "I have to ask Professor, the people you were speaking of what did they do with the genitalia?"
"Ah…" Hwa said before he looked at Brad with wide eyes. "Was it a male?"
"It was," Thayer said. "And the penis was surgically removed."
Startled when the professor sighed, Beckett was about to ask if the Ji had done that before he was speaking first.
"That's believed to be a ritual for burying a body," Hwa said. "For men it was removing that and for women stitching up their genitalia; to prevent evil spirits from taking the soul I believe. Though you didn't mention the scrotum."
"That was left behind," Thayer said.
"Then you might have someone who isn't aware of the full process of the Ji people," Hwa told them.
"They take that too?" Darnley asked.
"They did with three of the six male bodies that were found at the site closest to the pond," Hwa said. "It's not known exactly why, but the prevailing theory among archeologists is that those with everything taken were of a higher rank."
"Okay," Thayer said. "I think that's all I really have right now," he then said.
"There is one question we have," Castle said hurriedly before Hwa would be able to speak. "What about the arm?"
"It was broken," Thayer said. "I would say in draining the body the killer somehow managed to break the femur slightly and then tested the skin in the same spot."
"He… or she would have forgotten the place where that happened," Hwa said rapidly. "It takes four days to drain the body and another to prepare it fully."
"He's right," Thayer said. "Since I didn't know the process, I was a little off on the mummification process; it's more than likely the process began right after the victim was shot."
"That would make sense," Hwa said though he wasn't very sure in saying that.
"Is there anything else?" Brad asked the two men. When they said no he said goodbye to the ME and then said to the professor when he'd hung up, "What about tools?"
"I'm afraid I don't know," Hwa replied, shaking his head. "We have no idea what exactly they might have used besides from rocks that were used as knives."
"I just remembered; did they remove the organs as the Egyptians would?" Brad asked.
"They did, though there was one mummy found about twenty miles to the north they didn't do that to," Hwa started to say. "But it dates before the other mummies I've seen."
"Excuse me for a minute," Brad said, seeing Wade was outside the room.
"Where was the body found? Near a pond?" Hwa asked. When the three looked at each other he said in slight annoyance, "I didn't kill whoever your victim is. I was in Chicago last week."
"No, the site has nothing to do with the Ji people," Beckett said, not surprised when Darnley and her husband looked at her to answer.
"Oh… then… did you two think I'd done this?" Hwa asked in surprise.
"No," Castle and Becket said at the same time.
Sharing a look with his wife, Castle then turned to the professor and said, "The style of mummification looked… different. So we thought of you in the hopes you might recognize it; I thought it'd be Japanese or Thai."
Shaking his head Hwa said with a slight smile, "There are similar aspects but not exactly the same. But I'm glad I taught you two something."
"We're using mummies in the book we're writing now," Beckett said with a slight smile as they'd gone to speak with him a few years before to get notes on mummies that might have been in the South Pacific.
"I'm glad to hear that," Hwa said before they were looking at the door when the chief walked inside the room before speaking to him.
"We've cleared your alibi, though we didn't really think you were a suspect," Brad began with. "So you're free to go, and I'd ask you to keep what you know now about the case to yourself."
"I will," Hwa said, nodding his head rapidly as he stood.
"And if you can think of anything else please contact us," Brad said, giving him his card.
Watching Hwa nodding before he left the room Darnley said, "You guys talked to him?"
"Three years ago," Castle said. "We were looking at mummification in the South Pacific. We had the idea to use an island for Green and Moore's honeymoon that long ago, but we were throwing around ideas." He then nodded to his wife and said, "She wanted to take notes."
"For whenever we wanted to write it," Beckett said. "Tell me you regret doing that."
Castle shook his head before he said to Brad, "You didn't find out who the vic is?"
"No," the chief said with a quick shake of his head. "No luck in Montauk for Pope and Rice is still talking to casinos in AC to find Dalton."
"Then what do you want to do next?" Castle asked his friend.
"You guys are going to lunch," Brad said. "I'm going to look into who can embalm in this way."
"Why didn't you ask Hwa when he was here?" Darnley said.
"Because I don't need to," Brad said, picking up the piece of paper that had been on the table in front of Hwa.
"You asked him to write down who he knows?" Beckett asked.
Nodding Brad said, "On the way back. But it's not that long a list and I can eat my lunch while I do that."
"We'll be down the street," Castle said.
After leaving the room and then the building, Beckett said to her friend, "What's wrong?"
"I was wondering if you guys would lend me your car," Darnley said hesitantly.
"You want to go home for lunch?" Castle asked.
"I was texting Trev in the car, and he'd like me to come if possible," Darnley replied. "I'd be careful with the car of course and can pick you up."
"You won't need to," Beckett said as her husband was giving the car fob to her friend. "We'll walk back here."
"Thank you," Darnley said gratefully before he was hurrying back through the building since Castle had parked behind the building.
"You don't mind?" Beckett asked as she and her husband were starting to walk to the sidewalk.
"And have you be mad at me for refusing him?" Castle asked with a raised eyebrow.
Beckett didn't respond at first as their car was coming around from the back and they waved at Darnley before he was going down the street. "To be honest I thought you'd mind."
"Nope," Castle said, smiling when his wife laughed briefly, and he reached for her hand. When she let him take it and entwined their fingers he said, "What did you want, I never asked."
"The pizza place," Beckett said.
"The girls will be mad," Castle said in response.
Smiling Beckett said, "How many times do we have it with them?"
"Many, but you try explaining that to them," Castle replied.
"You can't do it?" Beckett asked him with a smile. She tried not to laugh when her husband shook his head seriously and she squeezed his hand before she said, "Did you want to talk about the case?"
"Not now," Castle said. "We need to relax."
"True," Beckett said. She then glanced at him as they were nearing the restaurant and asked, "What did you have in mind?"
"You already know," Castle replied swiftly, smiling as she laughed again. They went inside and were soon creating their pizzas before they were sitting at a booth that was away from everyone else and he said, "Do you mind this though?" he asked her.
"Not at all," Beckett replied, reaching into his back pocket.
"Love," Castle breathed out roughly. "I thought you could do that without me feeling it?"
Giving her husband a smirk, Beckett turned her attention to his phone and then went to the site he had for dates. "July twenty-fourth in 1908," she told him with a smile. She was startled when he was staring at her intently before she said, "What?"
"Can you just keep getting dates?" Castle asked.
"We'll see," Beckett replied in amusement.
"What day was it?" Castle then said.
"Friday," Beckett replied. "Though it doesn't matter."
"Do you remember what we were doing?" Castle asked. When his wife smiled, he held her hand tightly and then said, "Then should I even say?"
"You know the answer to that already," Beckett said easily.
Castle was about to raise her hand to kiss at the back it but before he could do that their pizzas were being brought over. They started to eat before he finally said, "So of course, we were nine and eight by then and we were well settled in San Francisco with the club and then other business ventures. Which of course meant we could head to Yosemite for a few weeks. What I wanted to talk about was that morning at our campsite." When she nodded, he then began with when he'd woken up since it was easier for him to start there.
"Hey Junior," Rick whispered to his friend.
"Umph," the boy said.
"It's early, we've gotta get the firewood for breakfast," Rick told him.
"Urgh," Junior then said.
Sighing, Rick thought about reminding his friend that Johanna had brought bacon for the trip but decided he still wouldn't get up. He got up and got dressed in his overalls; what he'd been wearing that trip; and got out of the tent.
"Mornin' Ricky," Johanna said with a smile as she was holding some branches.
"I didn't know you were awake already," Rick said in dismay seeing Kate was carrying smaller ones.
"It's alright, is Junior up yet?" Johanna asked.
When Rick shook his head, Jim told his wife, "Don't worry, I'll wake him."
"Don't be too rough Jim," Johanna told her husband.
"Let me take those," Rick told Kate.
"Thanks, I'd rather help Ma with cooking over that," she said in response.
"Don't ask," Beckett said in amusement as her husband had paused there. "I didn't want to wake up either, but I would help with that kind of manual work."
"Sorry, you were very cute then," Castle said.
"You know I did think you were amazing," Beckett replied. When her husband looked at her in surprise she said, "You helped and with not as much complaining as Junior."
"Plus, I wasn't your brother," Castle said.
"I wasn't there yet," Beckett replied in amusement. "But it was a crush most likely. Keep going."
Castle took the chance to brush his lips to the back of her hand before he thought of something and was about to ask her about after lunch when she amazingly beat him to it.
"We'll see if Brad calls us before we decide on anything," Beckett told her husband.
"How'd you know I was going to ask?" Castle said.
"I had a feeling," Beckett replied with a smile, shrugging her shoulders. She then squeezed his hand and told him, "Keep going though."
"Sure," Castle said quickly, turning his attention to his drink. He took a quick sip and said, "Since you had already started bringing branches, your mom had us go get more for that day."
"I don't know why she made me come back with you and not Rosie," Kate was saying.
"I think because Rosie would do her best to get out of cooking," Rick said. He wasn't surprised at the annoyed huff from his friend and told her, "Is it that bad to cook?"
"No," Kate said firmly. "I suppose I just prefer that than to carry dirty branches."
"We're going swimming later aren't we?" Rick asked.
"Thank goodness," Kate said with a nod. She then smiled at him and said, "I heard Junior talking to you about not putting on your suit. Ma would be awfully mad."
"Your da too," Rick said with a nod when they were starting to pick up branches they were passing. "He heard your brother talking and he said if we did that, he'd give us a paddling. He doesn't want to, so I won't do it."
"Junior won't, he's like Rosie, all jokes," Kate said. She smiled as he picked up a bigger branch she was about to get and said, "Would you have cooked if the three of us were asleep?"
"Your ma is teaching Junior and me you know," Rick said.
"I know, he doesn't mind but doesn't love that," Kate said. "I suppose he's thinking of being a bachelor."
"I suppose," Rick said, shrugging. They turned at the same time when they could hear Johanna calling out to him and he said, "I hope this is enough."
"Ma and Da will let us know," Kate said as they walked back together. When they were reaching the campsite, she called a good morning to her brother who frowned at her.
"Too early," Junior mumbled. He then said, "But I'm more awake now."
"You'll share the food Junior," Johanna told her son sternly as she and Rose were dishing everything. "We're all hungry."
After they were sitting around the campfire and beginning to eat Rose asked, "We are swimming, aren't we?"
"I don't know if we could stop the lot of you," Jim said in amusement before sipping at his coffee. "Though I know you'll behave."
"We will," the four kids said at the same time.
Castle and Beckett were laughing softly at the memory, and he said, "We tended to do that after I'd been with you for a year or so."
Nodding Beckett said, "It was easy to do since we spent so much time together after the earthquake; it took a little before we were back in a school."
"Yeah, so," Castle said before he made a face. "Sorry, I'm just remembering what your brother did with his last piece of bacon."
"It was a surprise," Beckett said in amusement as she knew he'd tossed it up in the air but had dropped it on the ground. "But we finished up breakfast and then left to change."
Smiling since his wife was looking at him pointedly, Castle squeezed her hand before he went back to that day in Yosemite.
"Are you ready?" Junior asked his friend.
"I am," Rick said, fixing his bathing suit. He got out of the tent after his friend and saw that Jim was already walking down to the river. He and Junior looked at each other before they rushed after him and Jim was calling to them when they neared.
"Help me string up the blankets, Johanna and the girls will need shade," he told them.
"Did you bring rope Da?" Junior asked.
"I did," Jim said. He instructed the boys while they tied ropes on branches nearest the shore of the river and then threw on the extra blankets he'd brought over as well.
"Is it ready?" Rick asked as they stopped and were looking at their handiwork.
"It is," Jim said. He looked back to their camp and nodded saying, "And not a moment too soon."
"Thank you grá," Johanna told her husband when he hurried over to her and took her hand.
"Can we go in now?" Rose asked hopefully.
"Go on," Johanna said in amusement as she sat under the shade.
Crying out with her siblings and Rick, Kate ran with them down to the water and they rushed into it. She let out a short cry when her hair was getting wet from all the splashing they were doing together, but once they were inside she went underneath.
Resurfacing himself at the same time Kate was, Rick laughed and then splashed at her before the four of them were having a splash fight together. He wasn't sure how long they were doing that, but they were stopping and floating on their backs together.
"I wish we could stay here forever," Rose said.
"Me too," Kate replied.
"What, you mean never go to school again?" Junior asked teasingly.
"Never," Rose and Kate said at the same time.
"Better not let your da hear you," Rick said. "Or your ma. But I wish we could too. Just live in the forest forever."
"You should live at the home in Mill Valley," Junior said in amusement. "Trees for miles and miles."
"It's very pretty," Kate said, moving so she was treading the water.
"Come out of the water children," Jim called from the shore.
Groaning all together, the four swam to him and were all talking at the same time.
"There's not much with that," Castle said. "We just had some water to drink; they didn't want us to overheat. And besides that, it's your basic camping stuff so I'm not sure how much more you want me to go with that."
"I remembered," Beckett replied with a nod. She then looked at their table and said, "Let's go out for a walk," as they had finished.
"Sure," Castle said quickly before they were getting up and clearing their table. As soon as they were stepping outside, he heard a speeding car and took his wife's hand as they saw it was Brad's squad car and he said, "He found the vic."
"Mr. Dalton, Mrs. Dalton," Brad said to the couple as they were sitting inside the Dalton's living room. "I'm sorry to inform you that your son has been murdered."
Beckett glanced away from the couple as their vic's mother was sobbing and his father was holding his fist up to his mouth. Waiting for the two to calm down took a while and she spotted a family portrait of the couple with their three sons. She wasn't sure which was Adam Dalton since all three looked like their father but was soon regarding the couple as his mother was speaking.
"W-what happened to him?" Mrs. Dalton was saying.
Brad sighed and said, "He was shot."
"Did he suffer?" Mr. Dalton asked.
Brad shook his head and then said, "I hate asking this, but we'd like to learn more about Adam. Anything you can tell us that might help us find his killer."
"He was our youngest," Mrs. Dalton said, her voice shaking a little when she indicated the family picture on the wall before her husband continued.
"He was a lawyer the next town over," Mr. Dalton said. "Twenty-seven and still living here but he was doing his damnedest to buy a house of his own."
"Had he talked about any issues lately?" Darnley asked.
"There was one," Mrs. Dalton said. "He had a girlfriend, but they broke up in July. She worked with Adam at their law firm, Carol Cooke, and they were sparring with each other for a long time until she moved to another firm a month ago."
"Was he still having problems with her?" Brad asked, writing down the name.
Nodding, Mr. Dalton said, "Adam was intending to get a restraining order in a few days."
"She killed my baby," Mrs. Dalton literally wailed before burying her face into her hands.
"Where are your other sons Mr. Dalton?" Castle asked suddenly.
"Delmar and Garrett are out putting up flyers," the man said. "I need to call them. May I?" After the chief nodded, he got his wife's attention as she'd calmed down by then and said, "We need to get Delmar and Garrett."
"I'll call them," Mrs. Dalton said before she sniffed. "Excuse me."
Watching them go, Beckett said to Mr. Dalton, "Have you heard of the Rowland Haunted Manse?"
"Of course," Mr. Dalton replied. "My sister's youngest son runs it."
"Your sister is Deloris Rowland?" Brad said in surprise.
Nodding Mr. Dalton said, "I'll have to call her too," his tone of voice miserable.
"Who is her son?" Brad asked.
"Brice Rowland; he has a sister, Briana," Mr. Dalton replied. "I remember now, Adam went over to the Manse a little more than a week ago, I think the Saturday before he… disappeared." He took a moment before he was able to speak again and he said, "After that visit he became jumpy whenever his phone rang though I'm thinking Carol just called him around then."
"Besides Ms. Cooke, is there anyone else you can think of that would make your son jumpy?" Brad asked.
"I… no, I can't think of anyone," Mr. Dalton said after obviously thinking that over. "I'm sorry."
"It's alright," Brad said before they were all turning to Mrs. Dalton when she was walking into the room.
"They're coming home," the woman whispered, obviously trembling.
Mr. Dalton shot up from the couch and rushed to his wife, holding her tightly as she was crying again.
Standing up from the armchair, Brad motioned for the other three to stand as well before he said, "You've given us a place to start, and we'll do everything possible to find who did this."
"C-Can we see him? See Adam?" Mrs. Dalton asked.
Beckett looked at Brad at the same time her husband and Darnley did as they hadn't had a chance to ask the chief what he would tell them about the state of their son's body. But she wasn't surprised when he said what she would have if she was the lead investigator.
"I'm afraid that won't be possible," Brad said. "It still pertains to the case. But if there's anything else you think of and can tell us, don't hesitate to call," he said, handing his card to Mr. Dalton.
"We will," the man said.
"We'll let ourselves-" Beckett started to say before there was a flurry of knocks on the front door. She gestured the Daltons back when the knocks swiftly turned into bangs while the door itself began to shake on its hinges as the four of them were walking to it together and Brad was reaching for his gun.