Chapter IX

It was quiet in the room when she woke up.

There was no harsh sound, no blaring of car horns or yelling pedestrians that jarred her awake, only the subtle smell of fresh brewed coffee that slowly eased her into pleasant wakefulness.

This was something she could get used to first thing in the morning – quiet. And coffee.

Then Kate suddenly remembered where she was and bolted upright. Wide awake when she saw the time on the bedside table alarm clock.

"Shit…shit!"

"You're awake." Castle appeared out of nowhere, already fully dressed and clearly up long before her. "I tripped over the coffee table a half hour ago. Picture the noise of an elephant in a china shop and not a peep out of you but the second I set a cup of coffee on the bedside table you're wide awake. Good to know your kryptonite."

"It's nine o'clock!" She stared at him in disbelief. She never slept this late. Not since she was a teenager. "Don't we have a flight out at ten?"

"I changed it."

She ran her finger through her messy hair and brushed it out of her face. "You changed it?"

"I changed it to one o'clock. We'll catch a flight to Newark and transfer from there to East Hampton. We'll be back in Sag Harbor by late afternoon."

"I, uh…okay." She pushed herself up against the headboard and reached for the coffee. The smell of the freshly ground beans was too hard to resist. Of course this suite came with a spotless silver coffee machine, made in Switzerland, judging from the little flag on it. It probably had Roger Federer's signature on it somewhere.

Castle came over to sit down on the bed next to her. He smelled good too. Like expensive hotel soap. Beckett buried her nose in the mug of coffee and tried to ignore that unexpected distraction.

"Take a look…" Castle showed her his iPhone and pointed to the website on his screen. "Rebecca's website and forum."

"Oh…" Beckett straightened her spine. "She posted the photos." They turned out good, even with the assumption that she edited them slightly. The one of Rebecca, starstruck next to her idol. But there was also one of the three of them, with Rebecca in between herself and Castle. It held her attention because she looked good in it too. Happy. Healthy.

Normal.

She looked like a normal woman enjoying an evening out. She didn't see a scarred, gun-shot victim who always looked over her shoulder in that photo.

But photos were deceptive.

"Handsome couple, huh?"

Beckett smirked. "You and Becca? Definitely."

"Jealous?"

She turned her attention away from the photo and towards to him. Caught him staring at her with something that looked like hope.

Or amusement.

He grinned a little and it made her roll her eyes. Definitely amusement.

Her thoughts drifted back to last night. To the pure terror she'd woken up to, and the gentle ease which we'd he'd pushed it back and held it at bay. She couldn't remember watching the end of the movie. Or falling asleep.

Her gaze still lingered on him and she thought that she should probably say something. Thank him maybe. For not freaking out or letting her deal with it alone. For not even mentioning it this morning.

Beckett swallowed; her mouth suddenly too dry for words. Too dry for the kind of courage that was required to say them out loud.

"I didn't get any e-mails yet," Castle interrupted her thoughts while walking over to that marvel of Swiss engineering that produced the world's most perfect coffee.

"Give it a few hours," she mumbled. She grabbed her phone from the bedside table. Was about to glimpse at the dozen or so e-mails in her inbox when her phone rang.

It was the 12th.

She swiped to answer it too eagerly. Maybe she was needed back in her homicide squad.

"Beckett."

"You missed your breathalyzer test yesterday," Gates's voice announced on the other end.

Fuck.

"I…I went to Philadelphia. Unexpectedly. Castle had a seminar and a book signing."

"I know where you were last night. It would have been nice to hear it from you, Detective. It also doesn't mean you can forget about the deal we made. Had you notified me we could have made alternate arrangements to take a test at a precinct in Philly. But you didn't."

"I'm sorry, Sir. It slipped my mind. It won't happen again."

"You're right, it won't. If it does, you're off this case and Captain DiGiusto will proceed in pressing charges. Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sir." Shame burned deep in her gut. Turned the wonderful coffee she'd consumed into something acidic that she wanted to purge from her body.

"I understand that this case may take you away from the Hamptons, but it does not take you away from your responsibility to prove to me, and to this police force, that you can be trusted to do your job."

"Understood."

"Good. And while I've got you on the phone, please tell me you're making some progress on this."

"I, yes…I think we took a step in the right direction last night. I expect it to trigger some developments."

"Finally. Some good news. Keep me posted, Detective."

"I will."

Beckett wasn't sure whether Gates had heard the last two words, she'd already ended the call.

Castle was standing in the middle of the room, staring at her from behind his coffee mug. Of course he'd heard the whole conversation.

"Pesky boss?" he asked sheepishly. "Trust me, I have a publisher who breathes down my neck every chance she gets. Although she kinda gave up the last year. You could say it's been a while since I've published anything."

It's also been a while since I've solved a case.

There had to be reaction from the stalker after those photos. Had to be.

Beckett shoved back the covers, forgetting for a second that all she was wearing was a t-shirt. One that barely covered her ass.

Forgetting only until she caught Castle's eyes on it.

And then her smartphone buzzed again.

Anyone but Gates…

She swiped to answer the call even though she didn't recognize the number. "Beckett."

"There's an office building at the north-east corner of Clinton and Madison that has an underground parking lot. Meet me there at eight o'clock tonight. Come alone."

"Who is this?"

"It's about your mother's murder. It's important. I suggest you be there."

Beckett was on her feet now, oblivious to how much of her ass was in Castle's view. Shouting into her phone. "Who is this?"

But the call was already disconnected.

"Who was that?" Castle wanted to know after seeing her rattled.

"I don't know."

"The stalker?"

"I don't think so." She was already calling Ryan at the 12th to run the number. "It was a man. He sounded older. Told me to meet him at an underground parking lot at Clinton and Madison in Manhattan tonight."

"Why?" Castle moved close enough that he was hovering, as if he could sniff out the answers he wanted by looking at her phone.

"Hey…" Ryan answered on the second ring. "Ryan, I need a favour, can you run a number for me?" She didn't expect it to be anything but a burner phone, but still.

"Look who's still alive! Yo, Espo, it's Beckett."

"Hey, not so loud!" She didn't want Gates knowing about this. "Can you just run the number for me?"

"Where are you? Are you coming back anytime soon?"

"Tired of your top-secret assignment yet?" Espo's voice piped in, obviously standing next to Ryan and listening in.

"Funny." Hearing their voices made her realize how much she missed those two.

"I'll run it," Ryan told her. "Call you as soon as I have something."

"Thanks."

"Anything I'm supposed to be looking for?"

"No. Not yet."

"Okay. Get your ass back here before we get promoted and fight over your desk."

Beckett snickered. "Dream on."

Castle's eyes were still on her when she ended the call. "Who was that?"

"Kevin Ryan. One of my partners at my precinct. I asked him to run the number."

"Oh…"

"I don't expect it to lead anywhere, but I have to at least check it out."

"Why don't you think it's my stalker? Because it's an older man's voice?"

Beckett exhaled, hesitating only a moment before telling him the truth. He already knew and for some reason her instincts kept telling her she could trust him. "That and because he said it's about my mother's murder."

"What?" Shock raised his brows.

Beckett tried to think of the logistics. Castle was headed back to the Hamptons and she had to stay at his side. Whoever had called her obviously thought she was in New York.

"You're gonna go, right?"

Of course she would. She'd find a way. "I don't know."

"I'll come with you."

"What?" her head whipped around. "You can't."

"Why not?" he protested. "This is not official police business, is it?"

"No, but…"

"But what? You're not supposed to leave me out of your sight, are you? How are you going to be bodyguarding me if you're taking off for New York on your own?"

"Bodyguarding you?" She cringed. "I can stick you in a hotel room while I go do this, same as you stay in your house at the Hamptons when I go for a run in the evening. We don't need to be glued to each other for me to make sure you're out of harm's way."

"I feel so much safer when I know you're close by."

Beckett groaned. "Oh please…"

"Seriously, though, why can't I come?" He sounded almost petulant.

"Because…" She ran a nervous hand through her messy hair. "Because he said I need to go alone."

He looked like he was about to slap a palm against his forehead. "Are you kidding me? Have you never watched a horror movie, Beckett?"

Since when did he start calling her Beckett?

"Come alone is code for 'we're going to kill you'! If they told you to come alone, that alone is reason for not going alone."

She squinted. "You do realize you're making no sense, right?"

"I'm not letting you go alone."

"Excuse me?"

"It's a bad, bad idea."

"Okay, fine. Castle." She exhaled, wondering what the hell she was doing. "Come with me."

His mouth opened but no sound came out. At a loss for words, as if he'd expected a tougher fight. "Yes…" He barely reined in a victory smile. "I am coming."

"You're going to do exactly what I tell you tonight, is that clear?"

"As a bell."

"If you mess this up, you won't have to worry about your stalker anymore, because I'm gonna kill you."

Castle grinned. "And if I don't, you'll let me shadow you on the job? Seems like you could use another partner."

Later

New York City

The heat hit her as soon as they stepped out of the East Broadway subway station and onto the busy sidewalk. It had been humid underground too, but now it was stifling. The sun was setting behind them, but that made no difference. There was no hint of a breeze coming from the East River either, even though they were only three blocks away from it.

The simple task of crossing the street made the blouse she was wearing stick to her back. Although, the nerves that bubbled in the pit of her stomach probably had something to do with it as well.

It's about your mother's murder. The stranger's voice still echoed in her head.

The short walk almost made her long for the cool sea breeze that always flowed through Castle's Hamptons home. She craved the tranquility that came with it too, which had been shattered, after one phone call and one hour back in Manhattan.

Funny, how quickly she'd gotten used to being in the Hamptons with him.

Beckett eyed Castle as they crossed the street over to the building the caller had told her about, and she noticed a thin sheen of sweat lining his brow too. It was going to be one of those summer nights where the heat was unrelenting. The temperature would barely dip by more than a couple of degrees and everyone in her Lower East Side neighbourhood would crank up their noisy, window air-conditioners to the max.

"How are we going to get in to the garage? Don't you need a key card?" Castle asked.

She pulled out her NYPD badge from the pocket of her jeans as they neared the entrance of the building. "This will be my key card."

A young woman wearing a suit and holding a briefcase came out the main entrance just as they entered, making their initial entry an easy one.

The hallways of the building were dark and narrow and Beckett spotted some signage that told them who occupied this place. An import company. A massage therapist. An immigration lawyer. It was a cornucopia of small business and judging from the glum state of the building's interior, she guessed that some were struggling and others possibly illegal. This was a far cry from some of the shinier, and much more secure, office towers in Manhattan.

She spotted no cameras in the hallway but there was an unmanned security desk by the elevators. The plural was generous because one of the two elevator doors had a hand-written sign on it that said, "Out Off Order."

They walked towards the security desk and Beckett craned her neck around it, hoping it would allow her to see into the small, supply-closet-like door behind it. Then she checked the time on the men's Omega watch that was strapped around her wrist.

7:53pm.

They had seven minutes to get down to the garage.

She tapped her foot impatiently and called out towards the door behind the desk. "Hello?"

Castle stared down one of the hallway. "Wouldn't you feel safe having an office in this place? All this high-tech security puts the Pentagon to shame."

I'm guessing that's why my caller chose this place, she thought. It surprised her, that it even had an underground garage.

The small door behind the security desk opened and a large black man stepped out. "Can I help you, sweetheart?"

"Detective Beckett. NYPD." Beckett flashed her badge. "I need access to the underground garage."

"Somethin' I should know about?" he asked her.

"No," she told him. "There was an incident a block from here last night, just doing some follow up. Covering all our bases, you know?"

He gave her a smile. "You do that, officer."

Detective. But she bit her tongue. "Are there any security cams down there?" She'd seen only two screens behind his desk and neither of them were showing images of an underground parking lot.

"No, Ma'am. But I do my rounds down there every hour. That's the protocol."

"Okay, thanks." She leaned in to see his name on the chipped tag pinned to his shirt. "Jeremiah. How do I get to the garage?"

"Take that elevator and press P. P stands for parking."

"Thanks for clarifying," Castle piped in. "Friendly guy," he added once they were inside the elevator.

The garage was huge, Beckett thought after they stepped out of the elevator and entered it. Dark and cavernous and she spotted two garage entrances, one at either end.

The temperature had dropped at least ten degrees from what it had been outside and now the sticky part of the blouse that clung to her back sent a chill up her arms.

Beckett checked the time on her watch. 7:58pm.

She unclipped the gun from her holster and slid it into her hand. Her heart was beating wildly and everything about this was making her uneasy.

The poor lighting. The unexpected size of the garage. The lack of security cameras.

Most of all the fact that she'd brought Castle along.

If something happens to him…

Her heart thundered in her chest and it pulsated in her temples, morphing into drumbeats that throbbed in her ears.

The garage was so dark, it was hard to make out the colours of the parked cars. Hard to see much of anything. She spun around and tried to adjust her eyes to the darkness.

"Stay close to me, Castle," she hissed.

"If you insist."

A clanging sound to her left made her turn around and point the gun in the direction of the noise. But her eyes saw nothing.

"Detective Beckett."

Now the sound came from the opposite direction and she spun around again, only to see a shadowy figure about ten parking spots ahead of her. She felt Castle's grip on her left arm. It was there only for a moment, before he let go again.

"Who are you?" she asked, moving towards the silhouette.

"Do not come any closer," he warned. The voice was the same as she'd heard on the phone this morning and he appeared to be alone. He knew exactly where to stand so that the angle of the meagre lighting would shadow his face, making it next to impossible to make out his features.

She could tell that it was a man with a slim build, maybe 5'10, but not much more than that.

"I told you to come alone."

"So you can put a bullet in my head without any witnesses? No thanks."

"No." He chided her. "Because this is not public information and your friend better know how to keep his mouth shut."

She took another step forward and from the corner of her eye, she saw that Castle moved in tandem with her. Good. If the guy took a shot, Castle was close enough that Beckett could shield him.

"I said do not come any closer," he ordered. "You take one more step and this meeting is over. You've already pissed me off by not coming alone."

"Fine," Beckett stood still. "Tell me who you are."

"My name doesn't matter. You can call me, Mr. Smith, if you want. I was friend of Roy Montgomery's."

"What does he…?"

"Before Roy was killed, he sent me a file," the man cut her off. "A file that he used to keep you safe. A file that I didn't get until after you were shot. It's why you were shot. Because it came to me too late."

"What the hell are you talking about?" She couldn't help taking another step in the man's direction, even though she felt Castle's grip on her arm. Pulling her back. She shook him off but didn't move any further.

"But now they know that I have the file, and the deal that Montgomery had is now my deal. It means you're safe, Detective. But there's one caveat; you have to stand down. You have to stop investigating her murder."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"If you don't stop, they'll kill you. If you don't stop, the file isn't enough."

"This is crazy. You're full of shit…"

"After tonight, you can believe whatever you want. I've done my part. I'm letting you know that you don't have to worry about the shooter coming after you. Stay away from her case and they'll leave you alone. Pursue it and they'll kill you. I'm meeting you to tell you this as one last favour to my friend. You're out of danger as long as you keep your nose out of her case. Whether or not you do that is up to you."

"How do you know this unless…" Unless you're a part of it, she wanted to add but she was cut off again, by the sound of a garage door opening. A black SUV came up behind Smith, and she saw him sidestep to get out of its way.

What the…

The car sped up as it approached her and Castle and they had to jump to get out of its way.

"Hey!" she yelled at the vehicle but the windows were tinted and she couldn't get a clear view of the driver. Nor did the car slow down. Instead, the garage door at the other end was opening up.

The SUV was going to exit the garage almost as quickly as it had entered it.

Beckett's attention went back to the spot where Smith had been standing. Except he was no longer there.

"Castle, get behind a car!" She sprinted to where Mr. Smith had stood. He seemed to be older. That means she could outrun him. He couldn't have gone far.

"Smith! You damn coward… the only way you know all this is because you're a part of it!"

She searched behind cars and pillars, tried to look in a dozen directions at once. And, as usual, Castle didn't listen. He was trailing her, trying to find Smith too.

The garage door opened again and another car entered. The driver slammed on his brakes when he saw her gun. So Beckett pulled out her badge and directed him to keep going.

Still no sign of Smith.

How the hell is this possible? She kept searching. Behind cars. Underneath cars. Until she'd covered the entire garage.

"Kate," she could hear Castle breathing hard after their frantic search. "Stop it. He's gone."

"He couldn't have just disappeared!"

"He probably got in that car. The SUV."

"Not possible," she shot back. There was no way She'd have seen it. And he would had to have been lightning fast. With the reflexes of a professional who was thirty years younger.

"Or maybe he used the distraction to exit the same way we came in. The SUV threw us both off…"

"What was he talking about?" Castle asked. "Montgomery having a file? That's your old Captain, right?"

Beckett looked at him incredulously. "We need to find Smith. Now. He's here. I know it."

An hour later she was less certain. And Castle was done.

"We've searched every inch of this garage, Kate. He's gone. The only thing we've discovered is that Jeremiah lied about checking this place every hour."

"He can't be gone."

"You can keep searching," he told her, sweat stains lining the back of the shirt he wore. It clung to him like a wet handkerchief and it outlined every muscle in his back. "I'm leaving."

Fine, she wanted to tell him. The word was at the tip of her tongue until she remembered that his well-being was her responsibility. She was hot too after spending the last hour frantically searching through the unairconditioned garage, so much so that a large strand of hair was stuck to the side of her head when she turned around. "Where are you going?"

He didn't have an immediate answer. As though he hadn't given it any thought. "I don't know…any place that has an ice-cold shower. I'll go home. I don't have to head to the Hamptons tonight. I can go back first thing tomorrow morning."

"You're going back to your loft?"

"You must want a shower too. Maybe some food. I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

Kate stared at him in disbelief. Food was the last thing on her mind right now. "If you go to the loft, I have to come with you."

"You don't," annoyance made him frown. "Go to your place. Or stay here and keep searching. Even though it's entirely pointless and futile."

She took several steps towards him, until she was within arm's reach, tempted to get even closer, right into his annoyed face. "Earlier today you said I needed a partner. Some partner you are."

He was the one who did take another step and got into her face. "Is that what you want from a partner? Someone who'll stand by and watch while you go off on a wild-goose chase? That's not a partner…that's an enabling yes-man."

She swallowed bitterly, unable to look him right in the eye. Maybe that's what stung the most. The fact that he was right. Again. This was ridiculous. They'd combed the garage for over an hour and had nothing to show for it. Smith was long gone, whether or not she wanted to accept it.

By the time she did look at him, Beckett saw that his irritation had already mellowed. He wasn't someone who stayed angry. Or frustrated. She'd come to know that about him.

"But you're also right," he conceded. "A partner wouldn't leave you behind either." He held out his hand. "Come on, let's get out of here."

She didn't answer, but she followed him out of the building, silently acknowledging the end of her futile search. Into the now dark skies of Lower Manhattan.

It was the lack of sunlight that finally jolted her brain away from the encounter with Smith and all that it entailed.

She was going to miss another breathalyzer test.

Fuck.

"I'll drop you at your loft," Beckett told Castle when they made their way across Madison. Street. "Then there's something I need to do."

"I'll come with you-"

"No."

"I don't want you to do something stupid because you're fired up after what happened tonight."

"I said no."

"Kate…"

She was the one who was annoyed now. "You're not my bodyguard, Castle. I'm yours. And you don't know me well enough to know whether or not I'm about to do something stupid, which I'm not by the way…"

"Promise me you'll come back to the loft when you're done. There's an empty guest room. You can brood far away from me if you want."

Bastard. He already knew her better than she was willing to admit and it only served to raise her irritation. Everything was spinning out of control. Her mother's case, her career…she couldn't even head to her own place, have a drink and lick her wounds. "I'll be back," she spat out. "It's not like I have a choice."

She said it knowing that would sting, as his words had done to her only a moment ago, and one glance at his handsome face, so painfully easy to read, told her she'd succeeded.

It was petty and a little cruel and she knew it. But she needed an outlet for her anger and frustration and there he was. Standing right in the path of her fury.

Beckett was hoping it might help her extinguish it all before it consumed her.

But it didn't.

All it did was compound her frustration with an added layer of guilt.