Accidental Discovery
by Castlefan6
Authors Note: This is AU; No Jacinda, No Flights, What happens when Rick overhears a conversation between Inspector Hunt and Kate, not intended for his ears.
THEY WILL NOT END UP TOGETHER! Taking Literary License to fill in the blanks.
A/N: THIS IS NOT A CASKETT ENDING: THIS IS NOT A CASKETT ENDING.
I don't own Castle; I use the characters for amusement purposes only, except the ones I create.
From a Prompt from Swordwriter: Kate accepts Hunt's drink proposal and or more at the BEGINNING of the episode The Limey, no Jacinda, so Rick allows her the freedom to work the case without him, once Gates allows Hunt in, he acknowledges that he'll never be accepted, BUT then overhears a statement from Kate that will seal the two going separate ways permanently.
Also, we take liberties with the timeline from Canon and use events to make this a more believable fiction, thanks.
THIS IS NOT A CASKETT ENDING. THIS IS NOT A CASKETT ENDING. THIS IS NOT A CASKETT ENDING. **************************************************************************/
A/N: We will use the episode The Limey, ONLY as a framework for this story, meaning times, events, and even people will change, and we will focus on what happens to drive Rick away, to someone new. What did it FINALLY take for Kate to poison their interactions to the point where a friendship between the two would be a stretch? Note to Beckett Lovers, This might not be a story for you, although we won't vary too far from the incidents in Canon.
REMINDER, it's AU, about a Fictional Couple, on a TV Show that was canceled years ago, so it doesn't warrant notes or threats of harm to me or my family. We are simply trying to keep the fandom alive and honor the prompts I receive. Thanks,
Chapter 1
Beckett's Apartment
Early Afternoon
COURTESY OF CASTLE WIKI
"I'm telling you something happened, something changed. It's been weird between us lately." Kate opened up to her friend over a bottle of wine,
"Lately? Kate, it's been weird for four years" Lanie, rolled her eyes,
"No, this is different. He's different. It's like he's pulling away." Kate pleaded,
"Well, can you blame him? He's probably tired of waiting." Lanie explained, so tired of her friend either being stupid, blind, or both,
"Waiting for what?" Beckett tried to play innocent, but Lanie gave her a look like what planet have you been living on,
"What do you think? The guy is crazy about you. And despite your little act, you're crazy about him. Oh, what? Was that supposed to be some big secret?" Lanie blasted her, letting her know not only did she know EVERYONE knew,
"Yes! No. Do you think he knows?" Kate replied like a high school girl, caught in a lie
"You remember how he used to be, girl on either arm? You really don't see that guy too much anymore. Why do you think that is? He's waiting for you!" If this didn't work Lanie was just going to throw her hands up and tell her to try a dating app, she was done with them both.
Beckett's phone rang, she was on call, and murder knew no timetables, not even when you were finally opening up to your best friend and working on a plan to set things right.
Lanie rolled her eyes, as Kate responded, "Yes, she's right here, I'll bring her, have the van brought to the scene," and hung up.
"I know what that look is Kate Beckett, but don't think a simple thing like a murder is going to get you off the hook talking about this, we aren't done yet," Lanie said, as she grabbed a napkin and two donuts on her way on the door.
Kate drove the 15 blocks to a rather shabby motel, one that had the habit of renting by the hour, day, or week, with no questions asked. Lanie looked over as Walt one of her assistants was pulling in the Morgue Mo-Bile as Castle had named it once, and made her way to retrieve her instruments.
Kevin and Espo were already at the sight of the crime scene, yellow tape cordoned the room and immediate vicinity away from the curious onlookers. She walked over to them, ducking under the yellow tape, and flashing her Gold Shield to the patrolman standing guard.
"What do we have here guys?" She asked as her eyes surveyed the room, which had been trashed, someone was looking for something, the question is what? Did the young lady die defending its location, or did their perp achieve what he was looking for and killed the only witness, or so he thought.
Espo walked up to Beckett, just as Castle arrived from a cab, looking very tired, and like he had been up all night.
"Kate, our victim's Naomi Allen, age 25, we got that from her green card that indicates that she's a British national." He said as Kate winced, Oh Shit, an international case, just what she needed, the brass all over it, and Castle looking like he had been up all night for a week straight.
"Oh Great, where's Ryan?" She asked, not looking at Castle, she didn't know if she was afraid to ask what was wrong, or afraid he would answer her.
"He's on the phone now, notifying the consulate. The weird thing is her address is in Soho, nowhere near a flea-bitten motel like this, so what was she doing down here? She may be in the game, but if so, she's new, with no track marks or signs of drug use anywhere that we could find." He added,
"Soho? Are you sure Javi?" she asked almost in disbelief.
Espo simply handed her the green card copy they had made, knowing that Kate would question every move, unless it had been made by herself.
"What was she doing down here? " Kate asked not expecting an answer,
"We don't know yet, but she checked in approximately two hours before she was killed. The poor maid almost got stampeded by a guy in a big hurry leaving the room. We have her with a sketch artist now, " He replied, Kate, noticed that Rick hadn't said a word, not even his normal wise crack such as hope they prorate the room, nothing, He looked serious and tired.
She finally worked up the nerve to ask, "Castle Is everything okay? You look exhausted, look if you're too tired to work this, go home" she said, gently, at least she thought it was,
"Thanks, Beckett, I've never been better. I'm just a little tired from writing all night." He said, relieving the detective's mind that he had been out partying with another movie star.
"Well, whoever he is, he was looking for something, this place has been searched from top to bottom. He took his time or tried to torture the location of what they were looking for, until the maid started to interrupt him, or so it appears." Castle finally made his first contribution to the investigation.
"I don't know what he was looking for, the victim wasn't robbed, her wallet, watch, and cash were untouched." Espo offered,
"Hey, Lanie, how does it look?" Kate called out softly,
"Well, she was strangled but she went down with a fight, prelims suggest a sign of a struggle, I'll check under her nails when I get her back to the office." She said
They all noticed Rick, take his pen, and gently move a lock of hair, revealing an ugly bruise forming. "She took one to the face." He said quietly,
"A well-dressed, attractive woman in a seedy motel and a guy who flees the crime scene This might have been a one-night stand gone wrong" Kevin offered as he returned from making the call.
"Kevin, can you contact the next of kin and you and Espo canvass the area once the sketch is done? " Kate asked,
"Sure, no problem." They said in unison.
"Kate, Lainie called out, we found her business card in her purse, she's a high-class model, looks like she worked out of Manhattan," Lanie said, and whispered to Beckett, "you better say something soon Kate, he looks like he's been up all night for days."
"I know, Lanie, I know, I'm waiting for the right moment, b"
"Girl, don't wait too long, he looks like he's about to cash it in already," Lanie said, then directed her attention to her team moving the body to the morgue.
"Naomi Allen, Kittman Group." Kate read aloud,
"What did you say, Detective?" Rick asked,
"I just read her business card, she worked for The Kittman Group, I guess they are"
"I'm familiar with the agency Detective. She wasn't just a model, she was an expensive model, Perhaps we could talk to the agency manager to see if she knew what the hell she would be doing in this area." Rick said,
"Good Idea, guys, the sketch artist has finished, make copies and distribute them throughout your canvass, someone like her would stick out like a sore thumb in this neighborhood,"
"Feel up to a field trip Castle?"
"Of course, Detective," he said, missing all of his 9-year-old on a sugar rush enthusiasm, it was almost like he felt it was an obligation,
"Are you sure Rick, I mean, you do look tired,"
"I'm perfectly fine, thank you, Detective, let's go" He replied, letting her know he didn't want her worrying about him,
XxX
One Hour Later
Claire Blanchard, Managing Director
The Kittman Group, New York, NY
Rick and Kate were shown into a posh office of a lady who was past the modeling prime but still a looker, she knew how to maximize her plentiful assets,
"Miss Blanchard?" Kate asked, receiving the nod, she continued, "I'm Detective Kate Beckett, this is my partner, Richard Castle, a civilian consultant. We'd like to ask you a few questions about one of your employees if we may?"
"Of course, how can I help you, Detective, Mr. Castle, I must confess I'm a fan of your work," she smiled and crossed her legs, beautiful long legs, toned that definitely caught Rick's attention.
"That's very kind of you, Ms. Blanchard," he started to say but was quickly corrected, "It's Miss, Mr. Castle, but please call me Claire, I'm single as a pringle" she smiled making Kate hate her already,
"Only if you will call me Rick, Claire, it's nice to meet you." He smiled.
She turned to face the glare coming from Beckett's face, "How can I help you Detective?" she asked, her voice purred and she kept stealing looks at Rick.
"I'm sorry to tell you that one of your models was found murdered earlier this evening, Naomi Allen, did you know her, and what can you tell us about her," Kate asked, piling multiple questions to see if she could rattle the lady who made no secret Rick could have whatever he desired, all for the asking.
"Did you say, Naomi Allen?
"Yes, how well did you know her, Miss Blanchard?" Kate asked
"Yes, I knew Naomi, I was her U.S. booking agent. Naomi was one of our top models." She said, stealing another look at Rick, hiking the skirt a bit higher, to reveal even more leg,
"So, she was in the city for work?" Kate asked, trying to figure out why her cell phone had all London area codes and numbers in her recent call log.
"Detective, she split her time between here and London. All of the good ones usually end up spending at least half the year in New York, the remainder of the time in either London or Paris." She said,
Castle sensing the growing animosity between the two ladies, stepped in, "Claire, do you have any idea why she was at the Alexandria motel last night?" Rick asked, her face relaxed as she turned to look at him,
"Uh, no. I've never even heard of it. I can't ever remember sending any of the talents I manage to that establishment," She said with a smile,
Rick smiled, blushed a bit, "I didn't think so, you see, It's one of those, um, pay-by-the-hour places." He said as a shocked look came over his face,
Kate took over the questioning again, "Do you recognize this man?" She asked, lightening up on her attitude since she knew she wasn't going to get anywhere with the Castle groupie with the hard-ass approach.
Claire took the sketch from Beckett, looked at it thoroughly, then said, "No, I'm sorry but no, I don't." She said,
"Claire, you may not know his name, but let me remind you, anything you say that can help bring her murderer to justice, will be greatly appreciated. If you don't know his name, tell me what you can about him, or someone like him?" Rick said softly. Do you have an idea of who he might be?" he smiled and made sure she knew he was checking out her long-toned legs,
"Well, Rick, It's just lately, that Naomi was making some choices, I don't even know if it has anything to do with her death or not?" She said,
Beckett started to say something but was waved off by Rick, "Claire, tell us, you never know what little clue is going to solve the case. What kind of choices? " Rick was pouring on the butter now, she thought, hell he's getting information isn't that what you want?
"Rick, let me put this as delicately as possible, well, she seemed to have lost interest in standard modeling jobs as of late. Recently, she had been booking more, uh, unconventional gigs." Claire said softly,
"Can you describe the jobs or the unconventional gigs as you say, Claire? Remember I don't know the first thing about your industry, except it's full of beautiful women such as yourself." He said, she actually blushed, Beckett wanted to throw up,
"Well, this is hearsay, I only am responsible for her actions when she's booked out of this office, but I heard the London office booked her to attend the birthday party of some foreign dignitary a few months ago." Claire offered,
"She was hired to go to a party?" Rick asked with a shocked look on his face,
"Oh Rick, It's common for models to get hired to pretty-up an event sometimes. Some girls do it to pick up extra cash. I'm sure that we've sent models by request of your publisher, Gina Cowell to your book launches, well early book launches. Then you took off, and didn't need anyone stoking the crowd" she gushed, another inch higher on the skirt, if the interview went much longer, she might as well be sitting with just her thong on, Kate thought.
"And other girls, well some do it as a way of connecting with wealthy men." Claire let out, her eyes still locked on Rick's eyes, which were shifting from her legs to her breasts and back.
"Uh, wait. Claire, that sounds like, well being blunt like an escort service, that's not what you're referring to are you?" Rick was sincere when he asked the question
"I'm not saying that, I have no proof, but I will say that you just don't see girls as good as Naomi taking these party jobs, not unless there's a bigger payout involved somewhere." Claire was being as open and candid as her skirt was to Rick, even if she was pissing off one NYPD Detective.
"Claire, I don't want you to violate any rules or get yourself in trouble but do you know if she took on any of these kinds of gigs recently?" Rick asked, his eyes ravishing her entire body as a reward for the information she had released so far.
"Rick, I'm sorry, but it's not really what we do. We run a high-end MODELLING service, one I'm sure men of your stature appreciate and understand, not a call girl ring." She said, softly, looking away for a moment,
"Claire, I'm so sorry if it came off as something other than what we both know you do, I sincerely apologize. I meant no disrespect, I know how hard and competitive this industry is, so please forgive me." He laid it on, and stared an extra long second at her legs,
"No need to apologize, Rick, it's just that we get judged by so many, especially other women in men's jobs that you would think would be more supportive, I know you didn't mean anything." She said, the words about the support she glared at Kate, who had decided to keep her mouth shut, let Castle get the information, she sure as hell couldn't.
"One thing does stick out, now that I remember it, Rick. She did want me to try to get her into an event last night, though, uh, an album launch party in midtown, but I didn't have any connections to it." She said, back locked on his eyes again,
"Last night? Claire are you positive it was for last night?" Rick asked,
"I'm positive Rick, I have the details right here, oh the top card is my business card with my personal cell and direct line, if you need any more follow-up information, perhaps we could meet for a drink or dinner?" She said, with the honey almost dripping from her voice,
"Yeah, yeah Claire, that would be great, I mean, I don't want to cut in on any other man,"
"Oh no worries, Rick remember, Single as a Pringle," she smiled as she held his hand as long as she could.
"I'll call you Claire when it's not so crowded, I promise" she blushed, as Rick kissed her hand, and said, "You've been a big help, the NYPD thanks you for your cooperation, Right DETECTIVE" He was going to force her to say it, God Damn him, she thought.
"Yes indeed, Miss Blanchard, we certainly do. Here's my card in case you think of anything else." Kate said, and was shocked when she replied, "No need Detective, I have Rick's number, Good Luck, glad I could have been of assistance."
They walked out of her office, well, Kate did, Rick stumbled out trying to keep Claire in his line of sight for as long as possible until he finally waved, and turned to step into the elevator.
The ride to the street level was silent, Rick was usually the one pouncing about all of the theories that he came up with just a fraction of the information they had discovered.
She let it go for a few floors, then finally came out, "God Damn it Castle, what is it, what's up your ass, you've been different since the Boylan Square case was solved. What did I do, or what didn't I do?" She asked, trying to get him to look at her.
"Detective did it ever occur to you that I have a life, outside of the precinct, that perhaps some of the what's up my ass, has to do with my PRIVATE life, and isn't any of your God Damn business, as you once told me, it's why it's called PRIVATE." He said, in a tone of voice she had never heard come from him before, not in the four years she had worked with him.
The ride was quiet the remainder of the way to the precinct, she wanted to reach out, to apologize for pushing, but, well, apologizing just wasn't in her DNA.
She started a few times, and finally, she hoped to start it with the question, "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"
"Yeah, that we should throw a party and hire a bunch of models." Out came the smartass answer she got the first year she worked with him, she rolled her eyes and shot him a dirty look,
"No. I was thinking that maybe Naomi somehow got into that party last night and that that's where she met her killer." She tried to get his theory-building skills going, but no luck,
"That's weird Detective, we're usually more in sync than that." He said as he veered off to the break room.
Beckett called out from the murder board, "Hey, Ryan. Did you find anything at Naomi's apartment?"
"Short answer is NO, but someone else might have, someone, beat us to her place and tossed it completely." He replied,
"Did you guys canvass the area, I mean,"
"Slow down Beckett, we know our jobs, and yes, we did canvass, and yes, we came up with a neighbor who said they saw a man leaving the apartment late last night. We showed her the sketch, it was a positive ID, It's the same guy who fled the murder scene." He said,
Esposito walked up and added, "He couldn't find what he was looking for in the motel so he searched her place, BUT this time, he left a footprint." He said and stopped knowing it would piss Beckett off, even more, both were getting tired of being treated like recruits rather than detectives on the job less than a month more than her.
"Meaning what Javi?" you know that pisses me off,
"And you know treating us like rookies piss us off, slow your burn Beckett, we didn't do anything to you, no wonder Castle is so quiet, geez," he said,
Ryan bailed her out, "Well, UNIS canvassed around the apartment with the sketch, and when they stopped in one of the local bodegas the owner picked him out of a photo lineup as the man who bought a bottle of single malt with a credit card. The man who rented a hotel room only two blocks away," once again stopping his explanation to pay Beckett back for some of her smart comments to them in the field,
"Ok guys, I'm sorry if I came down harshly, but what the fuck is his name, no more games" she bellowed, and with the eye roll, the guys knew better than to stretch it any farther
"His name is Colin Hunt." They said in Unison,
"What do we have on him? " Beckett was on a rampage,
"Nothing in the system, but I ran a trace on the credit card," Kevin said,
Javi added, "He checked into the Mondrian Soho this morning."
TBC
A/N: First chapter or so will follow pretty closely to Canon with my enhancements in the dialog, the story takes a completely different direction once Gates allows Hunt to join the investigation, perhaps in the next chapter, or two at the latest.
This is dedicated to a good friend and fellow Fic Writer, Swordwriter who requested it. Please remember THIS IS NOT A CASKETT ENDING, again, by request. I hope I do you proud buddy but enjoy. Tim