Chapter VI

The first thing Beckett did was call in her long-distance Cyber Crimes partners to come down to the Hamptons and scan the house.

"Do you really think there are hidden cameras in here?" Castle asked her when they arrived. On the surface his question was as casual as he was, in jeans, white t-shirt, bare feet, unwashed hair, and three-day stubble. But dinner with him the other night had allowed her to see him when he was genuinely relaxed. Unlike now.

"I think…if there were hidden cameras in the house, then your stalker wouldn't be wondering about me. They'd know that I'm a cop. Or that something's off. The e-mails didn't give me that impression."

"Right," he picked up a half-full mug of coffee from the kitchen counter while the two Cyber Crimes detectives started in on the task of the camera scan.

"But we'll know for sure after the boys are done." She'd help them out as soon as they brought in all the necessary equipment, not because they needed help but because she didn't know them. Didn't trust them with her life the way she did her own partners, Ryan and Esposito.

How she wished they were the ones here right now instead of the two men that she'd met only briefly once before.

"But how else would this stalker have known about the two of us last night?"

"We were outside. Your property's huge and you have no walls, no fences. It's easy enough for someone to lurk in a bush or in the shadows at night. They could have spied on us from outside the property even, all they need is a good camera and zoom lens."

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?"

Beckett cringed. Not that she believed in sugar-coating, but she didn't want to freak him out either. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He finished the last of his coffee. "Want you to be honest with me."

There were other possibilities that she'd considered too. A boater with a powerful zoom lens. The neighbour's mansion wasn't that close but it was a taller building. And the top floor had a view of his backyard. Just because Castle hadn't seen his Russian billionaire neighbours in ages didn't mean they weren't there, or that someone else hadn't found their way inside the house.

In fact, there were more possibilities than she initially imagined and that relieved her, because she didn't want to believe that his beautiful house was bugged.

"Here."

She hadn't noticed him pouring and preparing her a cup of coffee as well. It was the third or fourth time he'd done this. Brought her coffee. With a hint of vanilla and just the right amount of milk.

"Thanks."

"Do you think Alexis is safe here?"

"I think…you should hang tight until my guys do their thing before making any conclusions about that."

"Can I help?"

She smirked. "No. Go, write. Or, do whatever it is that writers do after breakfast."

"Depends on the writer. Hemingway mostly brooded. When he wasn't having affairs or out for a run with the bulls in Pamplona. Nora Roberts on the other hand, she never stops writing. I'm sure she writes during breakfast too."

"That's an interesting pair of examples you picked there."

He was on the other side of the kitchen island now. Pacing. He was literally pacing.

He was kind of cute when he was frazzled. Not that she'd ever tell him that.

And that realization suddenly sparked an idea. Beckett turned to Castle, wondering whether it could work. Whether he was capable, and willing, to go along with it.

"Rick."

"What?"

"If this stalker thinks that we're a couple, or possibly a couple, and that sets their actions in motion…then why don't we let them think that?"

"Think what?"

"That we might be a couple." She paused. "If this stalker comes out of the woodwork only when you're dating someone, then obviously you need to date someone." A smile turned up her lips. "Someone who's gonna slap a pair of cuffs on them the next time they crawl out of the woodwork."

"Kinky."

She rolled her eyes. "I'm serious. Do you think you could do this?"

"Go out with you? I suppose you could twist my arm."

"Are you able to pretend well enough to fool this psychopath?"

"Oh…it's only pretend?" He made a disappointed face.

"Did you really think-"

"I'm not that dense, Detective." He looked way too pleased to have gotten a rise out of her and Beckett wanted to kick herself for letting him. "I know what you meant."

"Can I trust you to take this seriously?"

His amusement faded. "I saw what happened to Sherine. I can take this seriously."

"Okay. Good."

"Are you fully aware of that?" He questioned. "That this nutter tried to kill the last woman I dated?"

"I'm not some unsuspecting girlfriend, Castle. I'm a trained professional."

"If you think it'll work to flush them out, I'm willing to try. My mother would love the idea of me following in her acting footsteps."

"All right," Beckett nodded, already planning a course of action. Maybe there was a way to move this case forward after all. "Let's wait for the results of the camera scan and take it from there."

Later

As she suspected it might, the camera scan came up with nothing.

"So where does that leave us?" Detective Morelli asked her afterwards. He'd taken off his stylish blazer and there were giant sweat stains on the backside and armpits of his Italian shirt. "Doesn't this guy believe in air conditioning?"

Beckett shrugged. She was wearing a dark t-shirt and a linen skirt. Most of the windows in the house were open, letting in a gentle ocean breeze. Air conditioning wasn't really needed unless you were climbing ladders in wool suits. Like the overdressed detective standing in front of her.

It made her long for her own team again. Ryan and Espo would have run laps around these two.

"You're gonna do a full perimeter scan and help me figure out where someone could hide on the grounds. And tell Chang to see what's up with the neighbour's estate. I want to know who has access to it when the owners are away. If they're actually away."

"We've been ordered to put this thing on the back burner," Morelli told her, lowering his voice in case Castle came into earshot.

"Well I'm telling you now, to make it priority again."

He wiped a trail of sweat from his forehead with the back of his chubby hand. "On whose orders?"

"Mine."

Morelli sighed. "Listen, I don't mean no disrespect here, but last time I checked you and me, we got the same rank."

As leader of her homicide squad, she probably did outrank him, but Beckett wasn't going to argue with this pencil pusher from Cyber Crimes. "Go ahead, call your boss first. If you want to waste my time, yours and his before doing what I'm ordering you to do."

Beckett suspected his boss would back her. If orders to keep Castle safe came from the top, it was a safe bet.

He was about to tell her to fuck off, that much she could read on his open-book of a face, but he bit his tongue. She took a wild guess that he'd never played a game of poker.

"Oh I will, Detective. I will."

"And after you make that call, lemme know what you find on the perimeter search."

He mumbled something under his breath that rhymed with rich, and then gave her the cold shoulder before pulling a cell phone out of his fancy jacket pocket.

She couldn't care less about his attitude but it bothered her that she now knew she couldn't depend on him. Couldn't trust him to be as thorough as her own partners.

After they both left, Beckett went out and did her own perimeter search, needing to confirm Morelli's findings. Not surprised to see that he'd missed two potential spots where a limber person might've found a peeping tom spot.

This whole place was just too damn big and too open. And too dimly lit at night.

There was no gated security. Barely any fencing. Open access to the sea and a beach where anyone could walk between five different properties without too much difficulty. Meaning she'd have to check the access points of all those homes too.

Detective Chang discovered that the Russian billionaire family who lived next door wouldn't be back in the Hamptons for at least another month. Until then, their splendid cottage would remain empty. The same gardening company that served Castle's house had staff coming by every four days to tend to the grounds. And cleaners also came by once a week to dust the place.

It meant she had more avenues to investigate, but she'd also discovered that Castle's neighbour had a much better security system than he did. Cameras that covered most outside areas of their estate, which might also have captured someone snooping Castle's home.

But getting access to them required permission from the home's owner and so far she hadn't been able to get a hold of him. She wanted to get inside the house, too, but that wasn't an option at the moment. An e-mail from a stalker wasn't nearly enough to get her a warrant.

She'd even considered that maybe they had a drone. But at night? Without either of them having seen or heard it? Not likely.

It was late afternoon by the time she'd pieced together all their findings. Tried to come with some sort of cohesive timeline.

"Hey…" Castle's head peeked into the door of her bedroom.

Beckett turned around. "Hi."

"Wow," he stepped inside and came to look at her make-shift stalker board. "What's that."

"Trying to set up a timeline," she told him. "It helps me when I'm on a case."

"Timeline of what?"

"The contact you've received from the stalker. What happened just prior and where you were at the time."

"Ahh…" He moved another step closer and she could almost hear his brain working. "To help you track them. Place them."

"Yes."

"Let me know if I can help."

"I will."

"Alexis is meeting up with some friends for ice cream in town. She invited me to join them." He grinned. "That's what you get for being a cool Dad."

He was a good dad from what she'd seen so far. All his crazy playboy ways didn't negate that fact. "Enjoy."

"I was thinking you could join us. If we're gonna go ahead with this pretend couple thing, it'd be a good starter. A public ice cream date. We can share a sundae and hold hands."

Beckett put a cap on the marker she was using and turned around to face him.

It was a good idea.

Even though the thought of actually going through with this suddenly gave her goose-bumps. She'd been worried about his ability to pull this off, when maybe she should have been concerned about hers too. She might have done a few undercover operations, but never anything like this. "Have you told Alexis?"

"That we're doing this? No, not yet."

"She needs to know. Be in on it so her reactions don't give us away."

"Of course. You're right. Meet up with us later then, I'll pull her aside and tell her when I get there."

"Also…can you trust her not to tell anyone? And I mean, anyone, not her boyfriend, not her best friend."

"There is no boyfriend."

"Or so you think."

"What?" The genuine shock on his face was fun to see. Yanking his chain was too easy sometimes and she was starting to enjoy it.

"I'm serious. Can we trust her?"

He narrowed his eyes, letting her know that he'd already caught on. "She's the only woman in my life that I trust completely."

"So we can't tell your mother?"

"I love my mother dearly, but she cannot keep a secret to save her life."

"Good to know."

"So you'll meet us there?"

"Sure. When?"

He checked the time on his Swiss silver watch. "In an hour? Dairy Queen on Main Street."

"See you there."

Her response seemed to make him happy. Excited that he'd come up with the first step in their plan of action. "See you there, Detective."

She released a breath after he left and stared at the empty doorway. They really were going to go ahead with it.

You better not enjoy this too much, Castle.

"Dad! Over here!" It was a hot day and his daughter waved him over to a crowded, coveted table, where a bunch of fellow teenagers were sitting. The patio of the ice cream parlour was overflowing on the hot afternoon, and most people were eating their cups and cones standing up.

"Hey, sweetheart."

"You didn't get anything yet?"

He waved her over. "Can we chat for a sec? Your Mom called."

Alexis stuck a plastic spoon into her cup of fudge-covered soft ice and got up, leaving her friends and the table to meet him. "Is everything okay with Mom?" she asked once she was out of ear shot from her friends.

"Actually, she didn't call. I just needed to grab you alone for a minute."

"Oh..."

Disappointment shrouded her beautiful blue eyes, making him wish he'd used another lie. And that Meredith would reach out to their daughter more than once every few weeks.

He explained that he got another e-mail this morning. Told her what it was about and that the cops had been at his place for most of the day.

"Dad, why didn't you call me?"

A couple of pedestrians caught her raised voice and Castle veered them both further away from the crowds. To a quiet spot near an empty store front with a "For Lease" sign in the window. "It's nothing for you to worry about. It's better you were at Casey's place last night."

"But Dad…"

"If this stalker believes that I've got another woman in my life, Detective Beckett thinks that's a good way to flush them out. Force this psycho to show their hand."

"What do you mean?"

"We want to give people the impression that we might be a couple."

"Oh…" Comprehension dawned on his daughter's face. "So you're gonna, like, act like a couple?"

"Exactly. She's gonna join us at Dairy Queen shortly."

"Oh."

"I need you not to be shocked or anything, can you do that?"

"I can, yeah, sure, Dad. Like you can even do anything that shocks me anymore."

He made a face. "You haven't told any of your friends about this stalker thing, have you?"

"No. You told me not to."

"Okay, good."

"So…what exactly are you and Kate gonna do?"

"We won't French kiss in front of your friends, promise."

"Ewww, Dad!"

He thoroughly enjoyed her teenage mortification. "Kidding. I'm not making any promises."

"Dad!"

He laughed.

"Seriously, are you even capable of pretend dating her?"

"I'm a great pretender. I pretend to be shocked every time you bring home another straight A report card."

Alexis shook her head in disdain. "Isn't it dangerous…for her?"

"It is. But she's a professional. She knows what she's doing. And…" If anything goes wrong we put a stop to it. Right away. He didn't say that out loud. Didn't want to throw that possibility out into the universe.

"You sure you can handle this? I've seen the way you look at her. You like her."

"Do you think on our second date she'll let me use her handcuffs?"

"Dad!" Now he'd succeeded in making his daughter blush.

"Kidding!"

"How am I supposed to act normal around you two now?"

He motioned for the two of them to head back to her friends. "I have faith in you. You're the smartest person I know."

"Have you told grandma?"

"Are you crazy?" He squeezed her shoulder as they crossed the street back to the Dairy Queen. "No one knows about this and no one else will. Just you, me and Detective Beckett. Got it?"

"Got it."

She spotted them easily on the crowded patio after the taxi dropped her off. They were the loudest table at the ice cream parlour.

"Hey," Beckett greeted Castle and the group of teenagers with a smile. He was so obviously at ease with all ages. "Room for one more?"

Castle got up, unable to hide his surprise at her change in attire. She'd put on a short, low cut summer dress along with a pair of high-heeled wedge sandals. Had even made the effort to straighten her hair, put on some make-up and apply a fresh coat of shiny light blue polish on her toe nails.

The way he looked at her sent an unexpected shiver of delight along her bare arms.

"Squeeze in," he told her. "Always room for you."

He slid his arm around her waist to pull her close. "This is my friend, Kate." He introduced her to Alexis's friends and they all said hello. A young man with blond shoulder-length hair reached across the table to shake her hand.

"I'm Liam. Nice to meet you," he said, gripping her hand too hard.

"You too, Liam."

"It's good you came, Kate," Alexis told her. "We need someone to order some more food before they kick us out."

"I guess I can take one for the team."

She ordered a banana split, while a couple of the teens got a root beer float. As predicted, Castle asked for a second spoon and helped her out with it, and she was grateful because there was no way she could have finished it on her own. When a drop of hot fudge landed on her chin, he deftly wiped it off with his thumb. As though it was the most natural thing in the world.

As though he'd done it countless times before.

While she busied herself with her ice cream, Castle chatted with the teens about the play they were putting on and how he'd met the playwright at a writer's conference a few years ago. And then their conversation segued into comics and sci-fi conventions, video games and bands that were making tour stops in the Hamptons this summer. It impressed her, this skill of his, not just to immerse himself into all these different worlds with ease, but that he also seemed to enjoy it.

When she scooped up the last bit of now-melted vanilla soft ice, he took her hand into his and they stood up together.

"Thanks for letting us hang with the cool kids for a while. Kate and I are gonna head home and do boring adult things now."

"Yeah, right," one of the girls shot back with an I-know-what-you're-gonna-do-at-home look. "Like you could ever be boring."

"See you tonight, Alexis?"

"Tomorrow. Casey and I need to rehearse some more tonight."

Castle turned to Beckett with a grin and squeezed her arm. "You hear that? We have the place to ourselves."

It shouldn't have made her blush. But it did.

He was way too good at this.

"Byeee, Dad," Alexis emphasized, making it clear that it was time to leave.

"I think Liam's gotta a crush on you," Castle whispered into her ear as they made their way back to his car. They were the same height when she wore heels.

"I think you're crazy."

"Don't blame him. You look beautiful, Detective."

"No one's listening in anymore, you know."

"I know."

They walked back to his convertible and he held the door open for her and she was about to step into the car when he leaned close.

"Shouldn't we…"

Beckett turned towards him, the tip of their noses almost touching. "Shouldn't we what?"

"Kiss. In case someone's watching."

She moved her lips to his ear. "I think you're pushing it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." But since she was so close and because he was right, it was possible that someone was watching, she planted a chaste kiss on his neck. Noticed the subtle scent of his cologne for the first time. Earthy and warm, with hints of sandalwood and cedar.

His lips curled into a smile before they brushed hers in a kiss so light and brief that it shouldn't have set off an electric spark under her skin. Her body gravitated towards his, completely against her will, as if craving more.

But he'd already moved away and gestured for her to step inside the car.

She bit her lip and exhaled, shrugging it off.

Once they were both inside, he was smirking. Enjoying the hell out of her unexpected reaction. Or maybe it was exactly what he'd gone for.

"Wanna go for a drive?"

"Yes. To your place. To discuss our next move."

"We could do that over dinner."

"Or not."

"Don't you think that went well?"

"Sure…" She opened the window and let the wind mess up her hair. It was a good match for the mess of emotions she was feeling. "I guess."

"We make a good team. You and me."

She turned to him just as a gust of wind flipped a large strand of hair over her face. She swatted it away with one irritated swipe and could've sworn he was biting back another smile.

"You're taking this seriously, right?"

He looked offended. "Absolutely."

"This isn't a game."

"I know." Then he fiddled with the radio and turned onto the highway. "Music?"

She rolled her eyes and turned away from him, staring out the window at the landscape that now flashed by in a blur to the sound of Fleetwood Mac.

Later

Kate changed into shorts and running shoes after they got back to the house and was tying her hair up into a ponytail, ready to head out, when Castle popped out from his study.

"Time for your evening run?"

"That's right."

"Want company?"

She raised her brows and swallowed down her mortification. Pondered for a second what he'd think if he knew that she ran to the sheriff's office every night for a mandated Breathalyzer test.

Not that he'd ever find out.

"I'm okay, thanks. I like to run alone. The solitude clears my head."

"Okay." If her rejection bothered him, his expression didn't let on. "As long as it's not 'cause you think I can't keep up."

"Well, that too."

"I keep setting myself up."

Beckett grinned. "You said it."

"I'm going to Philly tomorrow for a workshop and a book signing."

"Oh…" The announcement came out of nowhere and it irritated her. She thought by now he knew better than to spring these kinds of surprises on her, knowing that she was supposed to be babysitting his ass day and night. "How come you're only telling me this now?"

He pointed to the screen of the smartphone he was holding. "Was a last-minute decision. Connelly pulled out and the organizers asked, no begged, me to step in. I said yes, literally ten minutes ago. While you were getting changed."

"Just for the day?"

"The workshop starts in the afternoon, and there's a book signing at 6pm at the Barnes and Noble downtown. I'm gonna stay the night. Fly back here the next morning."

"I see…"

"You don't have to come," he told her. "But, of course, you can…if you want."

"If I want? You realize I'm supposed to guard you twenty-four-seven, right?"

"You really don't," he shot back and she realized that he'd caught the annoyance in her voice.

Guilt suddenly gnawed at her insides. He didn't need to know how much she resented this assignment. A good cop wouldn't let it show.

"I don't need a bodyguard. It's the women I'm dating who've been threatened. Not me." He paused and his eyes met hers, making her feel uncomfortable. "I'll talk to Bob."

He dialed a number on his phone and stepped away from her. He had the freaking mayor on speed dial. Unbelievable.

Beckett reached to grab the sleeve of his shirt. "Castle – wait."

"What?"

"Can you just…wait. Castle. End the call."

"Why?"

"We just decided to try and flush your stalker out. Going to Philly together would be a great way to…cement this. To make this public, don't you think?"

"Make what public? Us?"

"Yes." There was a possibility that his stalker would attend the book signing too. Not highly likely since it was a last-minute event, but still possible. "If I think about it, it's a great opportunity. We should take it."

"So you're coming then?"

"Yes," she nodded. Trying to look like she meant what she said. "I'm coming."

She doesn't want to be here.

It had dawned on him for the first time tonight and it had been a blow to his ego, no matter how well he'd tried to hide it.

These last ten years, he'd gotten way too used to women throwing themselves at him. There were plenty who'd love to spend the summer here in the Hamptons with him. Never mind getting paid for it.

Surely this had to feel like a vacation for the NYPD detective and surely it had to beat chasing killers in grimy Manhattan alleys, during the humid, dog days of summer?

Yet it was obvious that Kate Beckett didn't think so.

Why?

He poured himself a glass of scotch and sat down next to his laptop, pushing the thought from his mind. He had a workshop to put together for tomorrow. It didn't matter that he'd done this one before, that he could bullshit his way through it blindfolded. But he cared enough about his craft that he didn't want to.

Still-

She doesn't want to be here because…she's a homicide detective. She's… better than this. It's an insult, a demotion.

"So why are you here, Kate?" he mumbled aloud. "Why are you stuck babysitting me? What did you do?"

More importantly, who'd she piss off?

Or was he reading too much into it? Did Bob really just want to send him the best?

There was one easy way to find out. He'd call his friend.

So he did and Castle was surprised that the mayor answered on the third ring. That he didn't have to leave a message. Usually, Bob was too busy to pick up the phone.

No, he didn't have anything to do with selecting Kate Beckett. In fact he chuckled at the suggestion. "I get enough pushback for meddling in NYPD affairs, last thing I'm gonna do is stick my nose in their staff assignments. I did tell them to prioritize it though. I need you around for my next fundraiser, Rick."

They chatted for a couple of minutes before the mayor had to take another call.

The brief conversation left him with more questions than answers. Apparently, Bob hadn't even insisted on a 24-hour bodyguard. So who did? Who wanted Kate Beckett out of their hair? Banished to the Hamptons for the foreseeable future? It had to be her boss.

He took another sip of scotch.

But what did it matter? Why did he care?

Because you like her, a voice in his head answered the question for him. A lot.

It wasn't just her looks. Even though she was stunning. Strikingly beautiful in a way that took his breath away every time she walked into a room.

Sure, that was part of it. He wouldn't deny that.

But there were a lot of other beautiful, bored women here in the Hamptons that he could be spending his summer with if he really wanted to. If he didn't think it might get them killed.

In a lot of ways, Kate Beckett reminded him of Kyra.

She was real.

Frustrated. Wounded. Smart. Sexy. Guarded. Funny. So was so many things, and that wasn't something he could say for the last half dozen or so women that he'd dated.

He'd come to the Hamptons weighed down with a seemingly unending case of writer's block, but now he suddenly couldn't stop writing. He'd written halfway through the last two nights. A new story that had come out of nowhere, one that centered on a smart, sexy female homicide detective. One whose most daunting case was the murder of the father she loved. The only case she hadn't been able to solve. There's also a handsome reporter who does a story on her and they fall in lust. Of course.

Kate Beckett had not only sparked his curiosity but his muse as well.

Castle downed the rest of his scotch and set the glass down with newfound resolution.

So what if being out here with him didn't impress her? So what if she wasn't going to make this easy?

He'd find a way.

There used to be a time when he wasn't rich and famous. When he'd had to rely on his considerable charm and wit to win over a woman that he'd liked. Not that he'd always succeeded back then.

Castle's thoughts, which tended to bounce all over the place, went back to this afternoon. To the way she'd licked the ice cream off her spoon when they shared a sundae. The unexpected whiff of fresh cherries he'd caught when he'd leaned in to kiss her.

The feel of her lips against his.

That memory was sparking something else. Beyond curiosity and imagination. Something that might require a cold shower soon.

He closed his eyes and exhaled.

He really enjoyed having Kate around. All of her. Not just the parts of her that stirred the more instinctive parts of his anatomy.

All they had to do was find this damn stalker, get that crazy woman out of his life and then maybe he could start fresh. Get Kate Beckett to see him as someone who might be worth getting to know better.

I was so furious when I saw him there. Watching the sunset with her, whoever she is.

I wished I had a gun so I could have…

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to calm down.

This morning I was so angry that I risked contacting him, because I had to warn him.

Doesn't he realize after Sherine that they're all the same? He's so blinded by beautiful women. It's his weakness and I forgive him. I'll forgive him anything.

But I have to make him see that they're all whores who are only gonna use him.

I haven't been around much the last few days, even though it's so hard for me to stay away.

I had to be careful after what I did. But now I'll have to go back. I have to risk it.

And I will.

Because I know my way around the grounds of his house so much better than he can imagine.