Moment in Time Part 3

Chapter 44

The Blame Game

Part 1

Swaying slightly to the music that fills her apartment, Emma Matthews squints into the mirror above her vanity. She wants her makeup perfect for her night out. After snapping the cap on her lipstick, she goes to her bedroom closet to study her jackets. Her outfit should be perfect too. She holds up several choices before selecting one and slipping it on. Returning to the vanity to check out the effect, she sees a face staring over her shoulder. As she gapes in surprise, a bullet penetrates her back. Blood floods her newly chosen coverup.

Rick plops into a seat at a table Alexis and Martha share at a coffee house near Richard Castle Investigations. "Booyah!"

Martha scowls at him. "Richard, did I teach you no manners at all? You could begin with good morning – quietly."

"Sorry, Mother, guess who's about to have the best day ever?"

"Could it be the man who just rudely interrupted a conversation with booyah?" Martha chides.

Alexis sighs. "What's going on, Dad?"

"I can't tell you. I'm sworn to secrecy."

Alexis shrugs. "Fine." She turns back to Martha. "So my psych professor said fear is an emotion, which it is. But then I argued…."

Rick's eyes fall in disappointment. "Aren't you even going to try to pry it out of me?"

Alexis smiles knowingly as Martha frowns at her son. "Darling, we're right in the middle of something here. But if you can just wait a moment, we can give you our full attention. OK?" Martha turns back to Alexis. "What was your brilliant response?"

Alexis shakes her head. "Gram, you know he's just going to pout until he gets to spill whatever his news is. Dad, tell us your secret."

Rick's bottom lip retreats. "OK, but only because you insist. I just got off the phone with none other than the personal assistant of – wait for it – Stephen King. He's in town visiting his New York apartment and called to see if I'm available for," Rick takes a deep breath, "collaboration. Can you believe it, collaboration with the true master of the macabre?"

"Then he isn't still mad about the thing?" Alexis asks.

"You mean the unfortunate confusion between Castle rocks and Castlerock?"

"His lawyer did send you a cease and desist letter for using the phrase," Alexis recalls.

"Purely a misunderstanding about a typo. Obviously, water under the dam since he wants to put our heads together about a project. I'm just hoping we can work out the kinks between alternate universes. 'Richard Castle and Stephen King Present.'" Rick pushes up from the table. "Wish me luck, ladies."

"If you think your name is going to come before Stephen King's, you're going to need it," Martha calls after her departing son.

"Good morning," Kate greets Ryan and Esposito at the most recent crime scene.

"Morning," Esposito automatically returns.

"Good morning, Captain," Ryan adds.

Kate approaches the M.E. kneeling beside the body. "Hey, Lanie, how are you doing?"

"A heck of a lot better than our vic. Her name is Emma Matthews. She's 34 years old. COD a single GSW to the upper back, through and through." Lanie points to Emma's chest. "This is the exit wound. Based on lividity, I'm putting the TOD between 9 and 11 last night."

"Did the neighbors hear a gunshot?"

"No, the music was turned up too loud," Ryan replies. "The neighbor next door reported seeing a rusty white van parked outside during our kill zone. But as usual, we don't have a plate number."

"Did Emma have a roommate?" Kate asks.

"Nope, she lived alone," Esposito responds. "But we notified next of kin and got a list of her friends and co-workers."

"Emma was a producer at Channel 8 News," Ryan inserts. "Some of her co-workers are going to meet us at the precinct."

"That was fast work," Kate comments.

Esposito reddens. "It was all on the contact list on her phone. I don't know why the killer didn't take it."

Kate points to a symbol painted on the mirror. "This could be a calling card. Maybe the shooter wasn't interested in covering their tracks. See if Vikram can find out what this is. I have a forensics seminar, so I won't be back on the 12th until late this afternoon."

As she's leaving Emma's apartment, Kate's cellphone emits Castle's distinctive ringtone. "Hi, Babe, I'm just on my way to my seminar. I just got a list of topics. You might want to stick one in the chapter you're stuck on in your book. I'm forwarding the email to you."

"Great! I'm on my way to my meeting with Stephen King. And if he's not still mad at me about the Castle rocks thing, he will be when I tell him to fire his real estate agent. Maybe a new forensic wiggle will calm the waters."

"Just try to be diplomatic," Kate urges.

"To King or the team of rats that just showed up to welcome me?" Rick checks his watch. "Listen, I've got to go. Love you."

"Love you too. See you later."

Rick shoves his phone back in his pocket and enters the unimpressive building at 143 Nicholas Street. "Maybe Stephen's planning to use this place as a venue for his next horror story," Rick mutters to himself. The lights suddenly start going out ahead of him until he's left in total darkness. "King, you're going to have to do better than that to scare me. I was raised by Martha Rodgers and see more dead bodies than are in your books." Hearing a scuffling, Rick wonders if the sound is more rats. He feels a pain in his shoulder just before collapsing to filthy vinyl flooring.

As her seminar begins, Kate receives an emergency text from Castle to meet him at 143 Nicholas Street. Returning to her unit, she sees a symbol like the one on Emma's mirror, on her driver's side window. As she bends to examine it, she feels the pressure of an injector in her upper arm. The world goes black.

"That symbol's not in any database," Vikram reports to Ryan. "Neither is the killer's MO. And there aren't any traffic cams near Emma Matthew's building, so we don't have any video of a white van."

"Emma's co-workers are here," Esposito calls to his partner.

"Well, at least that's something," Ryan grumbles before joining the group in the lounge.

"This is Lila Campo and Jenifer Perez," Esposito announces.

"We're still in shock," Lila offers.

Ryan nods. "It's only natural. I'm very sorry for your loss." He holds up a picture of the drawing on the mirror. "Do either of you recognize this?"

Jennifer blanches. "Oh my God! Is that blood?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it is. Can either of you identify the symbol?" Ryan inquires.

Jennifer shakes her head. "I've never seen it before."

"Neither have I," Lila declares.

Jennifer sinks deeper into her chair. "I just can't believe this. Emma was just the sweetest person, not like some producers. She was kind and understanding."

"But she had been acting a bit strange lately," Lila inserts.

"Strange, how?" Esposito asks.

"Emma had just gotten promoted to the Eight O'clock News," Jennifer explains.

"Which was a huge deal for her," Lila interjects.

"And she should have been happy," Jennifer continues. "But she was acting – off."

"Any idea why?" Esposito asks.

"Emma told me that she'd gotten her hands on some kind of proof," Jennifer replies. "I thought that maybe it was about a story, but as far as I know, she wasn't working on that kind of piece. She just said she could tell me about it when the time was right."

"Do either of you know if she was having problems in her personal life?" Esposito inquires. "Maybe with a guy or someone at work?"

Well, there's Buckley," Lila suggests.

"Everyone in the newsroom has problems with Buckley," Jennifer notes.

"But he was passed over for the promotion Emma got," Lila points out.

Esposito and Ryan exchange glances. Ryan nods. He's heard worse motives.