September 26, 2010
"Back?"
"This isn't your primary timeline, is it?" his father asks.
Castle's brain short circuits. "How—?"
"I still keep tabs on you, Richard. I know you went missing for a couple days about three months ago. Your in-laws didn't report it and the summer dates matched up with your trip to '77, so I assumed they knew."
"Knew what?"
"That you and their daughter are Riders."
"Riders?"
"People who can ride time. The research you've collected isn't far off."
"You've seen my research?" Castle asks. "Hold on, did you break into my place?"
"Basic spycraft," his father replies, shrugging.
"You're saying there are others like me and Beckett? And you know how it works?"
"There's a lot to catch you up on."
"Mom, I'm back!" Beckett shouts as she struggles through the door with Fitz's carrier.
The retired lawyer materializes from the hall, her arms immediately reaching for the 9 month-old. "I missed this little face. Did you miss Nana, Fitzy?" Johanna coos, scooping him up and smacking kisses onto his cheeks. Fitz squirms happily, his mouth opening and closing like a fish as he squeals with laughter.
The detective grins, her heart warming at the sight. She loved seeing her mother fuss over him. Despite all her reservations about becoming Fitz's pseudo mother, she was glad she got to witness her mom be a grandmother, something she never thought possible.
"I was going to feed him and then put him down for his mid-morning nap. Is there formula in the fridge?" Beckett asks.
"I have some warming up on the stove," Johanna replies, smiling down at Fitz as he wraps his tiny fist around one of her fingers.
"You're a lifesaver," the detective says, plopping the diaper bag down and migrating into the kitchen. She quickly washes her hands and heads toward the small pot on the stove, sticking a finger into the formula mixture to test the temperature. She turns the heat off to let it cool a little and reaches for one of Fitz's plastic reusable bottles from the cabinet, popping the lid off.
She starts to pour the formula into the bottle, but then her phone rings, startling her and causing the warm liquid to splash all over herself.
"Shit," she curses, setting down the pot and bottle as she scrambles for the vibrating cell in her jacket pocket. She manages to flip it open as she grabs a dishtowel to blot at the spill on her shirt and hands. "Beckett," she says.
"I found something," Sadie says.
"That was fast," the detective notes, grimacing at the stain blooming on her shirt. She sandwiches the phone between her shoulder and ear as she removes her blazer.
"There wasn't much. Just a couple of noise complaints and a few mugging incidents. But here's the kicker."
"I like the sound of that," Beckett says, tugging her shirt off and switching her phone to the other ear.
"The alley used to be a back entrance to a club called Sons of Palermo. Apparently, it was a known mafia hangout," Sadie says excitedly.
"Really?"
"It got shut down years ago after someone named Bob Armen was killed in the alley behind it in 1992."
"Someone was killed there?"
"Not just someone. Armen was an FBI agent working undercover in the mob."
"Way to bury the lede," Beckett huffs, "Do you think the mob found him out? Is that why he was killed?"
"Well, the report says the NYPD arrested a mob enforcer for the murder, a guy by the name of Joe Pulgatti. He later pled guilty."
"What do you mean by later?"
She hears Sadie flip through a couple pages. "It seems he initially entered a not guilty plea."
"Interesting. Who was the arresting officer on the case?"
"An Officer John Raglan."
Beckett grows silent, her blood running cold. This was it—the link between Diane's death and her mother's. Raglan was hiding something. She knew it in her bones. It had been right in front of her this whole time...the break in her mother's case she'd spent over a decade looking for. This was huge. And here she was standing in her parent's kitchen in a parallel universe with no top and baby formula all over her.
"Hey, you there?" Sadie asks.
"Uh, yeah," Beckett says, breaking out of her haze. "Where's Pulgatti now?"
"Working out a life sentence at Rikers."
"Feel like going on a field trip?"
"Thought you'd never ask."
She shows her mother how to apply the ear drops for Fitz before changing her shirt and heading out the door.
"Thanks for watching him."
"Not a problem, bug. Go get 'em."
She kisses her mother on the cheek and softly bops Fitz on the nose with her forefinger. "Bye, little guy. Stay out of trouble, okay?" He flashes her with a toothless grin and she smiles. It wasn't so bad pretending to be his mom.
She presses the speed dial on her cell as she boards the elevator to the lobby, but the call to Castle goes straight to voicemail. "Hey, give me a ring when you get this," she says, before snapping her phone shut, her mind buzzing.
They were close to something. She could feel it.
"I didn't kill Bobby Armen," Pulgatti says.
"Then why'd you plead guilty?" Beckett asks.
"'Cause I don't like needles," Pulgatti replies, shivering slightly.
"Detective Raglan places you in the alley at the time of the murder," Sadie says.
"Yeah, I was in that alley with Bobby. I was the only witness to his murder. But it wasn't a hit. It was a kidnapping that went sideways. Three guys in ski masks rolled up in a van, said they wanted to take me on a tour of the city. Bobby tried to stop them and he went for one of their guns and wound up on the wrong end of it."
"Were the guys from a rival family?" Beckett questions.
"No. No way. We had a truce going back then because there was this, uh, ghost crew out there, professional kidnappers targeting members of all five families. Look, I was in that alley with Bobby, but no one else could have known that. It was a blind alley, and the only other people in it when Bobby was shot were the people who shot him. So, you tell me, Madam District Attorney. How could Raglan have known I was there?"
"You're saying Raglan was one of the kidnappers?" Beckett asks.
Pulgatti sits back in his chair, crossing his arms in silent confirmation.
Sadie leans in. "There was, um, a paralegal named Diane Cavanagh. Are you familiar with her? She died in a possible homicide about ten years into your incarceration."
Pulgatti trains his eyes on the blonde, looking her over carefully.
"You remind me of her, you know. You first walked in here, it's like I was looking at a ghost. The way she talked about you, I should've known you'd become a lawyer."
"Law investigator, actually," Sadie says.
"Right, well. I sent letters to every lawyer and defense fund I could find, and your sister was the only one who wrote me back. The only one willing to take a chance on me. She didn't care that I was a thug," Pulagatti says.
"All she cared about was helping people," Sadie says softly.
"And she came to visit me here. She said she'd get someone to look into my case. Later, I found out she died." He assesses the both of them. "Don't get yourself killed chasing this thing. Take it from me, there's nothing more dangerous out there than a killer with a badge."
It's late afternoon by the time they leave the prison.
"Holy shit, Kate," Sadie says once they're back in the investigator's Sedan and driving over Rikers Island Bridge. The blonde is practically bouncing out of her seat as she clutches the steering wheel. "So what do we do next? Bring Raglan in for questioning? He's clearly involved in whatever cover-up Diane uncovered. Do you think he's the one who killed her? I—"
"Sadie!" Beckett shouts, interrupting the investigator's excited chatter. "Slow down."
"Slow down? Are you kidding?"
"These are people who were powerful enough to cover up the murder of an FBI agent and make your sister's death look like a slip and fall. I don't think this stops at Raglan and his kidnapping buddies. We need to tread carefully."
The investigator stares straight ahead, pressing her lips together.
"I get it. This is big. And the first thing we need to do is figure out who the other kidnappers are. We can't start questioning people and tipping our hand, okay?" Beckett says and the blonde nods, relaxing.
"Great. If Diane knew Pulgatti was innocent and he told her the same story, then she must've known about Raglan. Maybe she confronted him and got names. Is there anything in her file? Or do you remember the officers involved in her case? It's possible they're also one of the kidnappers," the detective posits.
Sadie merges onto I-278 heading East towards Manhattan, thinking. Beckett glances out the passenger side window as she gives the investigator a moment. A loud gasp from the blonde pulls her attention back.
"What is it?"
"Pulgatti's arrest report. There was another unit backing Raglan when they arrested him, a Gary McCallister. I can't believe I didn't put it together. His name sounded familiar but I couldn't place it at first," Sadie says, cutting her gaze to the detective. "Kate, he's the same officer who wrote my sister's death off as a slip and fall."
"That's it. He's the second kidnapper," Beckett says, just as a horrible thought crashes down on her. The only other name that popped up in Diane's file—Montgomery. Could he be? No. She'd been wrestling with the appearance of his name since it had first cropped up, not able to reconcile that her captain, her mentor, someone who was like a second father to her could've been involved in this. Especially this. Because if he was mixed up with Diane's death, then it was more than likely, he had known something about her mother's. The possibility makes her feel sick to her stomach.
"Who's the third?" Sadie muses, tapping her fingers against the wheel. "Must be another cop," she surmises and Beckett watches with dread as the astute investigator slowly comes to the same conclusion as her, her blue eyes lighting up when it clicks. "Oh my god, you don't think it's—"
"No," Beckett says vehemently.
The investigator deflates and then bristles slightly, steeling herself. "Why else would she have his name in there?"
"We can't jump to conclusions."
The blonde shakes her head in disbelief. "You know I'm right. I can see it on your face. Are you trying to protect him or something?"
The detective quiets, trying to erase the emotions written across her brow.
"Let's talk about it back at the office. There's something I need to look-up."
xxx
June 28, 2010 - Castle and Beckett arrive in another timeline where Johanna is alive. The next day they discover Espo was killed in action and resolve to be happy.
July 2010 - They settle into a new life.
August 25, 2010 - They break up.
August 28, 2010 - Castle visits Alexis in Connecticut and reconciles with her.
September 25, 2010 - Sadie brings Beckett information that sends her into a tailspin, Fitz gets an ear infection, Beckett meets Sophia Turner, Castle and Beckett go over Diane's case, leading to a kiss between the two, and Beckett talks with her mother, deciding she wants to go home with Castle.
September 26, 2010 (Present) - Castle and Beckett meet at the New York Public Library to switch parent-duty (it's Beckett's turn). Castle runs into his father, who seems to know about time travel. Sadie discovers a new lead in Diane's case, so her and Beckett visit Rikers to question Pulgatti, uncovering a cover-up and a kidnapping scheme involving mobsters and three cops (Raglan, McCallister, and Montgomery).