Playing Hard to Get
Chapter 13
"Well, if you guys want some help, you know where to find me," Rick said since they had two active cases at once for a change, and Kate was being a bit cool toward him for some reason.
"Help? Help?!" Ryan rolled his eyes. "We're detectives, Castle."
"Yeah, pretty sure we'll solve ours before you solve yours," Espo asserted.
"Oh really?" Rick smirked at them. "Care to see who can?"
Ryan stared at him. "Are you suggesting that we wager money on this?"
"Fifty bucks. You have to pay each of us." Espo was all over this idea.
"Deal!" Rick started to get up.
"No, no, no." They both stopped and got him to sit down again. "Not a word to Beckett, okay?" Espo asked him while Ryan shook his head. "She finds out about this, and she'll shoot us, all of us." Ryan nodded several times.
"Secrets, murder, and gambling. Three of my most favorite things," Rick informed them. He was going to love this. It was the perfect distraction for what he had to tell Kate eventually.
Rick returned to her. "Beckett? It got quiet all of a sudden." He looked around and didn't see a thing.
Kate eyed him. "If you miss them, Castle, you can join them in Lock-up," she told him.
"Where's Lilly?" He suddenly remembered he hadn't seen her while this place was nuts, and she was still missing.
"Montgomery's office. It was the safest place for her," Kate explained. "With his permission, I moved her bed into his office. Last I looked, she was sleeping."
ɸΞ [|]ʘ[|] Ξɸ
Ryan upped the ante. "Loser also shaves his head. Or are you chicken?"
That had Rick looking at Kate. They lost, and she would be bald, and she really would kill him. What the hell, she was going to kill him anyway with what he had to tell her.
"You're on, Honeymilk!" Rick said with a grin and walked away.
ɸΞ [|]ʘ[|] Ξɸ
Kate was busy adding things to her murder board. Just then, she noticed that when she stopped, everyone scattered. Castle was acting very weird lately, much more so than normal, and now this. She saw Castle taking money and putting it into an envelope. Now she was angry.
She grabbed the envelope. "NOBODY MOVE!" The two that were with Castle froze. "What's this?" She knew what it was but wanted Castle to admit it so she could shoot him.
"Girl Scout cookie orders," Rick said straight-faced.
"I didn't realize Alexis was a Girl Scout." Kate kept the envelope and walked back to her board.
"She's got so many activities I can barely keep track," Rick told her, and he followed her just as a cussing Ryan and Espo showed up.
Kate held up the envelope. "Betting on murder cases, guys?" Ryan and Espo practically fell over each other, defending themselves.
"I'm telling you, it's Girl Scout cookies," Rick maintained, only to have her turn on her heel to face him and look more than a little angry.
Kate wasn't stupid. "Girl Scout cookies are sold in February." Then she turned on the guys. "You two should be ashamed of yourselves." Kate kept the envelope and stormed off.
"Beckett, you are never going to believe this." Roz had something absolutely amazing to tell her.
"Yeah? Well, the bar is presently pretty high right now." Kate was still angry at those three.
"Our husband took out a three million dollar policy on his wife a month ago," Roz said smugly since she just outdid the guys. All three of them.
Kate turned to face Castle and handed him back the envelope. "Hundred on us." Kate went away to follow that lead leaving Rick standing there smiling.
ɸΞ [|]ʘ[|] Ξɸ
With Castle right behind her, Kate showed up outside Lanie's morgue. "What are you doing here?"
"Lanie called us," Ryan asserted.
"Actually, I called both of you. I think your two cases might be related." Lanie left them all standing there in shock.
"What does salt water have to do with it?" Kate didn't get it. Neither of their victims had been found anywhere near an ocean or river.
"Castle?" Lanie saw him holding his hand up.
"Any body of salt water? How about a fish tank? A clown fish needs salt water, and her fish tank has a clown fish swimming around it," Rick noted.
"So, the killer of both of our cases had to have been in that office. The same killer, maybe?" Kate stared in shock at an equally stunned Ryan and Espo.
ɸΞ [|]ʘ[|] Ξɸ
Espo and Ryan showed up to tell those two what they knew. "The fish tank is a bust."
"WHAT!?" That wasn't possible. It was all they had to work with.
"Lanie couldn't get the sample to match up," Ryan said.
"What is it with these two cases?" They were back to square one on both of them.
"Okay, time for fresh eyes then. You two take our case, and we'll take yours," Kate suggested.
Rick suddenly had an unbelievable idea, but it fit. "Can it be that simple? You kill mine, and I kill yours. We know these two cases are connected. What if that connection is the murderers? So how do their two paths cross that includes salt water?" Rick looked at all of them.
"How do you get a stranger to kill yours?" Kate wondered out loud.
"Are they strangers?" Rick asked her. "We've checked everything but how these two might be related, and I don't mean blood." One was Black, and other Caucasian, so it wasn't that.
"They don't work in the same place," Kate mentioned.
"No, but they both need to get from the Bronx to Manhattan and back again," Rick said. "You take a car, transit, or..." Kate finished that for him.
"You take a ferry over salt water." Kate smiled at him.
ɸΞ [|]ʘ[|] Ξɸ
"Soccer? You're really going with that one?" Kate asked them.
"How about baseball?" Rick suggested as Kate hit the ball, and the fans went wild.
"Or Nascar as our car crosses the finish line while your car crashes?" Rick offered.
"Under a beautiful full moon." Kate waved her hands in the air. "Come on, Lilly, let's go home. We have the next two days off work. I was thinking of introducing you to water. You are a Labrador, after all." Kate picked her up and kissed her.
"My place, Beckett. Tomorrow at 8:00. I'll even come to get you," Rick told her.
"Why?" Kate didn't see the need to be at the loft.
"Dahlia is a Labrador, too," Rick reminded her. "They're from the same litter."
"Ohhh." Kate got it now. "Okay, I'll be there. I don't need an escort. I'm a big girl," she told him. "Come on, Lilly, let's see how much fun we can have with water. Then you can explain it all to your sister."
ɸΞ [|]ʘ[|] Ξɸ
Lanie had picked Jim up, and she rang to be let in. She saw Alexis answer the door. "Are we late?" Lanie asked her.
"No, Kate's not here yet. She's not due till 8:00, and it's only 7:00," Alexis said.
"Castle said to be here at 7:00." Lanie didn't understand why.
"Hey, Lanie. Hello, Jim. I don't think we've met." Rick held out his hand and shook his.
Jim studied the man in front of him. "I think I know you. Katie talks about you all the time."
"Does she now?" Rick smiled wide. "We have something to tell you before Kate shows up. I wanted you to know why you were here." He introduced his other guest. "Jim, meet Dr. Murray. He'll be doing most of the explaining."
ɸΞ [|]ʘ[|] Ξɸ
Jim had looked at the pictures, listened, and understood, but it was still so fantastic. "Jo was targeted is what you're saying." He and Katie had lived with it being random. He didn't think either of them had considered the possibility that someone had hunted her down and killed her.
"They or he killed your wife and her entire office staff. We think with the very same knife," Rick told him. "Was she involved with anything big at the time? Anyone that would want her dead?"
"All of them." Jim sat there and kept looking at the pictures. "Jo decided that everyone deserved to be represented. That was why she quit and opened her own office. She took on anyone that she thought deserved to be represented. She didn't make nearly as much money, but she was happy, so I supported her.
"The people she helped were all over the place, but I don't know of a case that even involved murder, let alone someone who want to kill her. I don't think I can help you." Jim wished he could. To go from random to being a target was an incredible shock.
"I can't think of a reason anyone would want her dead." Jim continued thinking about those horrible days.
"She still had her purse, money, phone, and jewelry," Rick mentioned. "You would think that even some gang kid would at least take the cash."
"That was part of what got Katie to try and find out who killed her," Jim said. He sat there and looked at the lot of them. "She's not going to take this well if you plan to tell her," Jim warned her friends.
"She's supposed to be here at 8:00 and will learn what you have just learned," Rick divulged.
"That's why you're here, Jim. We thought if we had friends and family here, maybe it would be easier on her," Lanie said.
"She hasn't really listened to me since I became a drunk. She didn't listen about being a cop, didn't listened to me even before then." He was thinking of all the boyfriends she had put him and his wife through. "But I can try."
Alexis got up and sat next to him since he was on the sofa next to Dr. Death. "Are you all right?" She thought his heart had to be aching.
"Mostly. I came to terms with the death of my wife after I finally got clean, which wasn't easy. Though I don't think Katie ever has. In her mind, she still wants this guy, and until she gets him, her life is on hold. But what if that never happens? Conversely, what if it does? People don't just up and change overnight. So she solves it. Does she expect to return to the person she was before Jo's death?" Jim sighed and shook his head a little. In his mind, his daughter had trapped herself in a life that would leave her sad no matter what happened.
"Is that what all the air mattresses are for?" He saw two of them already set up with sheets. They were leaning up against a bookcase and there were comforters and pillows as well.
"No one leaves until Kate is better. Except for Dr. Murray," Rick told him.
"Sounds like you have a plan for her. I just hope this works. Have you considered that she's going to dedicate herself to finding him now? Even more than usual?" Jim questioned them.
"There's a difference this time, Jim. I have no intention of letting her do it alone. I intend to find a way to get her to let me help her." Rick was steadfast. "If I understand this right, she's been doing this all alone."
Jim was happy that she had friends willing to do this. He also knew she was so stubborn that it might not matter. They were all talking and still thinking about what to do. Then there was someone at the door.
"Here we go." Kate was early but not by much.
ɸΞ [|]ʘ[|] Ξɸ
"Lanie? Dad?" Kate had been expecting to see Castle, Martha, and Alexis but not these two, and there was a man she didn't remember ever seeing before.
Alexis came up to her and took Lilly from her arms. "I'm taking these two outside for a bit." Alexis was all set to say good luck but thought better of it.
"What's going on?" She looked at all of them. "...Dad?" She wasn't even sure her dad had ever met Castle, let alone finding him at the loft with Castle and his family.
Jim moved over a little to make a space between him and Dr. Murray. "Have a seat, Katie." Jim patted the empty space and waited for her to sit down.
"Okay, what's going on?" She didn't know why Castle had invited her save for Lilly and Dahlia. Granted, she was getting used to being over here. She even knew what the inside of Castle's bedroom looked like but had never been in there again.
Dr. Murray had his photos set up with what he wanted most on the top. He proceeded to tell her what he had told everyone else, starting with the one that showed the killing thrust. The second that Kate picked up the photo to look at it closer, she saw the one under it. It was one she recognized instantly. "This is my mother!" She was in Castle's place and looking at pictures of her dead mother. "CASTLE!" She was going to kill him.
"Please, listen to the doctor, Katie," Jim pleaded.
"I don't have to listen to a damn thing!" Kate threw the picture down, and it went sailing off onto the floor.
"Listen to him, girlfriend. Please," Lanie asked her best friend. "He's found something you couldn't find in ten years of looking, Kate. Ten years. You tore yourself apart trying to find something and came up empty. Castle's friend found something in just days."
Then Jim spoke up. "I've already heard all this and looked at everything, Katie. He really has found something, and you do need to listen. If you ever want to understand why you need to listen. It's shocking."
Kate looked between Lanie and her dad and avoided looking at Castle because she was already furious with him. She sat there, looked at picture number two, and listened to Dr. Murray pick up where he left off.
ɸΞ [|]ʘ[|] Ξɸ
"All of them!?" Kate hadn't known that, hadn't even tried. The fact that she hadn't tried to check on her mother's staff told her just how far down her rabbit hole she had actually gone.
"I'm afraid so. The knife used on them all is one just like this one." Dr. Murray pulled it out and handed it to her. "It's military, and is typically only issued to Special Forces."
Kate was puzzled. "But Mom wasn't involved with the military. At least not that I know. Dad?"
Jim shook his head, but remained silent.
"Perhaps not, but her killer clearly was at one time," Dr. Murray told her.
"NO!" Kate dropped the knife and was on her feet, wanting to get away from him. What he was telling her was that her mother had been targeted. Someone wanted her dead. She had been thinking it wasn't that random, but not an assassination. Targeted and killed.
"JUST NO! You're telling me that Mom was targeted and assassinated by someone. DAMN YOU, CASTLE!" Kate screamed and didn't care that he actually cringed.
Rick tried to talk to her. "Kate, I didn't mean for this…" But she exploded before he could say another word.
"I told you if you dug into my mother's case, we were through, Castle. You're just damn lucky I'm not armed right now, or you would be dead already. You show up at the Precinct again, and you will be. I swear, Castle, you will be." She had given up on her mother's case, and he had opened it again, rummaged around in her personal life like he had a right. "YOU HAD NO FUCKING RIGHT, CASTLE!"
He really didn't listen and thought he could do anything he pleased, and if he ignored the consequences enough, it would all just go away.
Kate started stomping toward the door, completely forgetting that Lilly was here somewhere too. Alexis had come back while she was being talked to by Dr. Murray and hadn't noticed.
Kate saw Lanie standing there with her back against the front door. "Get out of my way, Lanie."
"No!"
"NO!? What the fuck do you mean no? Get the fuck out of my way, Lanie!" Kate was getting even angrier than she already was. She didn't want to think Lanie was in on this, but if she was...
Lanie tried to reach her. "You need to listen, Kate. Castle has found something, and yes, it's shocking, and it hurts. But if you don't listen, every one of those ten years is for nothing. That year of therapy you did to save yourself will be for nothing."
"YOU DON'T GET IT! NONE OF YOU GET IT! If I touch this case again, it will destroy me. I gave it up till Castle stuck his nose into my personal life. My. Personal. Life. Like it was just some child's jungle gym for him. Play on it and walk away, leaving me broken.
"Now get out of my way," Kate told her again. She even raised a fist and thought about forcing Lanie out of her way.
"No." Lanie waited to see if she had to fight Kate off her.
Kate turned away from her and looked at the rest of them. "What the hell is wrong with you people!?"
Jim rose to his feet. He at least needed to try to get her to understand. "Katie…"
She rounded on him. "Don't you Katie me, Dad. I've done my best to come to terms with Mom's death. You became a damn drunk and left me to fend for myself. Forced me to make decisions I had no business making. I watched you try and kill yourself one bottle at a time. Like losing Mom wasn't enough, I had to watch my dad try and kill himself.
"I'm not diving into that rabbit hole again. I'm not!" She didn't want to hurt Lanie, but she needed to get away. That left her one place to go. Kate raced up the stairs and entered the first bedroom she could find which turned out to be Alexis' bedroom.
It was here that she saw Lilly and Dahlia sleeping on a doggie bed. Lilly was practically on top of Dahlia and sleeping soundly. Seeing Lilly took so much of the steam out of her.
She had been in this room once already. That was right after Alexis caught her trying to sneak out after finding herself naked next to an equally naked Castle, fearing she had just had sex with him.
Now she was on the floor yet again with her knees pulled up to her chest right next to the doggie bed and she tried to cry softly so as not to wake either puppy, even if she really needed someone to hold, someone that loved her.
"Alexis, no!?" Martha tried to stop her granddaughter from going up those stairs.
Everyone was frozen into place. Mostly, they were willing to let Kate have some time to hopefully cool off.
"It'll be okay, Grams." Alexis started up the stairs slowly. "I hope," Alexis said to herself.
Alexis stopped at the door and found Kate in a very familiar position. At least the puppies looked to be still sleeping. That was good because when they woke up, they would need to go outside
Wrung out, Rick looked at Dr. Murray. "I think you can go."
"Good luck, Richard." He had dealt with grieving families before, but he hadn't experienced anything like Kate before.
Lanie stood aside, let him leave, and then planted her back against the door again. Lanie didn't put it past Kate to come racing down the stairs, seeing no one guarding it, running out of it, and disappearing for days perhaps. Maybe even losing her job.
Kate raised her head just enough to see who it was and was a bit surprised to see Alexis. "You're in on this too?" She was royally pissed at Castle, but she didn't want to be pissed at Alexis too. Kate did nothing with her tears. She just let them go where they wanted to go.
"For the record, Dad asked Dr. Murray, or Dr. Death as we call him, long before you and Dad had a talk about warning him to stay away from your mother's case," Alexis told her.
Kate huffed out a breath. "Like that matters a fucking thing." Kate didn't care.
"Perhaps. But Dad found something. Did you expect him to do nothing about it? It's your mother's case, you deserved to know. We don't expect you to just up and start investigating. But it's knowledge that you and your dad deserved to know about."
"And you expect me to just drop it? Not do anything with it? You don't understand, Alexis." She had something, something solid. It was going to suck her right back down into her own personal rabbit hole. It was going to happen. She wasn't strong enough to stop herself.
"What I understand, Kate, is that you have friends, and we don't expect nor are we going to let you do this alone. To handle this alone," Alexis said patiently.
"Why? Don't you understand? Mom was targeted. That means someone wanted her dead. It means when they find out I'm doing the same, I'm the new target." Kate finally wiped her tears away, and suddenly, Lilly was trying to get in her lap. Kate stretched her legs out, picked her up, and rubbed her nose against hers.
"I'm 15 years old. Do you know who I had to help me through my first period?" Alexis asked her. "You should have been here for the day my dad tried to tell me about the birds and the bees." Alexis began to chuckle. "I told him more about sex than he knew."
Finally, Kate smiled. She already thought Alexis was outstanding, but now she knew she was.
"You came out of his bedroom half dressed. It didn't take much imagination to guess what had just happened."
"Nothing happened, Alexis. We didn't do anything." Kate and Castle had worked out that they hadn't had sex.
Alexis shrugged. "If you say so. Still, you were in Dad's bedroom and needed to get dressed. Even if nothing happened, you were ready for something to happen, and you didn't throw him out after that like I would expect you to if you were mad at him or ashamed," Alexis added.
Kate opened her mouth to answer that but closed it again.
"Give me Lilly. She and Dahlia will need to go outside. You're sleeping in my bedroom tonight. The rest of us are sleeping downstairs. We're not leaving you alone after this." Alexis took Lilly from her and picked up Dahlia, and went downstairs.
"She's crying and knows she's sleeping tonight in my room. You all might want to give her some time," Alexis advised everyone who watched her come down the stairs. Dahlia whined. "I'm taking these two outside."
"She's going to kill me." Rick just knew it.
"That's because you don't listen, Richard. You were warned," Martha reminded him.
"Thank you, Mother." He sighed; leave it to his mother to remind him…again.