Poison Pen

Chapter 16

A comfortably worn leather surface slides beneath Kate's fingers as she slowly opens her eyes. She's on a couch in Castle's loft, with a furry throw covering her fully dressed body. Castle's sitting in a nearby chair with his laptop across his thighs. He looks up at the sound of her movement. "Have a good nap?"

Kate rubs at dry eyes. "How much Scotch did I drink?"

"Not that much. You didn't even finish the two fingers in your glass. You were just wrung out. We both were, but I didn't spend a night behind the wheel of a police unit. I got to snooze a little in the passenger seat. And by the way, the seats in your car have seen better days. There's a spring on the passenger side that hits me — never mind. Do you want some water or something? I always do when I fall asleep with peanut butter on my tongue."

"I'm fine, Castle. You're in the middle of writing."

"I could do with a break," he confesses, rubbing the stubble darkening his face. "Nikki just accidentally kicked Rook in the jaw."

"And you felt it?"

"Usually, I just visualize a scene that I'm writing, but sometimes my imagination gets the better of me. If I recall your choices from the vending machine, you have a preference for unadorned, unflavored, enhancement free H2O." Castle lays his computer on a nearby table and heads for the kitchen. "Be right back."

Kate downs half of the bottle of water Castle hands her when he returns and catches sight of her watch. "Midnight. I should get home."

"We took the subway from the courthouse, and this time of night, you might have to wait an hour for a train unless you want me to take you. The easiest thing for both of us would be if you stay until the schedule picks up again in the morning."

"Castle…"

"Kate, I have a guest room. We wouldn't even be on the same floor or using the same bathroom. No hanky-panky. I can even give you a fresh toothbrush. And you can peruse my bookcases for something to amuse yourself until you can fall back asleep."

"If I stay, I'm at least making breakfast in the morning," Kate declares.

"I'm looking forward to the gastronomic adventure."

It's January, but the Christmas lights are still up. Jim Beckett hasn't been able to focus long enough to think about taking them down, and every time Kate reaches for a string, a spark burns her fingers. Mom will know what to do. Mom always knows what to do. Kate should call her at the office. When she dials the number, the out-of-service signal assaults her ears before being interrupted by maniacal laughter and a chilling pronouncement. "She'll never answer again, and you'll never know why."

Even with Alexis out of the house, Castle sleeps with a parent's ears, alert on some unconscious level for a cry in the night. Beckett's wail immediately shocks him awake. He runs barefoot across the great room and takes the stairs to the guest room two at a time. "Kate!"

In the dim city light pushing through the curtains, Rick can see the glimmer of moisture on Kate's cheeks as her head flails against her pillow. He pushes back the strands of hair clinging to her face. "Kate, wake up."

The searing voice fades as Kate hears Rick calling to her. Slowly, her damp lashes lift to reveal him sitting on the edge of the bed, his face a mask of concern. "I'm OK. It was just a bad dream."

"It must have been one hell of a nightmare. Want to tell me about it?" Castle asks. "It can help. When Alexis was little, she used to have them sometimes when her mother showed up for a while and then vanished again. She would dream that I would leave her too, but we talked until she realized I wasn't going anywhere. Kate, if you need a friendly ear, I'm not going anywhere now, either."

"It was about my mother, sort of," Kate confides. "The detective who investigated her murder, John Raglan, chalked it up to random gang violence, but I never believed that. My mother was always pissing off someone when she fought for her clients. I tried for years to prove that Raglan was wrong, that she was targeted, but I never got anywhere. Over a third of murders are never solved. After years of trying, I convinced myself that my mom's would be one of them."

"So, you never got any real closure," Castle murmurs, taking her hands. "Buried somewhere deep in your mind, it's the case you're still trying to solve. When did you stop actively investigating?"

"Seven years ago."

"That's a long time, Kate. You know better than I do that there are a lot of tools around now that weren't around then. I can think of a couple that a consultant I use came up with for my books. If you want to try again to get some answers, I can help you."

"Castle, you don't have to do that."

"I know. I don't have to; I want to. Kate, you give peace to the loved ones of so many victims. You deserve a little yourself."

"You know, Castle," Kate muses, "I was only going to make eggs for breakfast, but now I'm going to make waffles. You have a waffle iron, don't you?"

"Top of the line. So, do I take your surge of culinary industriousness as a yes?"

"It's a yes if I can talk Montgomery into letting you keep working with me."

"I have faith in your abilities," Castle declares. "Especially if you make bacon to go with the waffles."

Montgomery stares up at the detective who has planted herself firmly in front of his desk. "Now let me get this straight. Castle wants to follow you around researching a book with the main character based on you. And in exchange, he'll be helping solve cases and giving the department access to his considerable resources."

"He'll also be drumming up some good PR for the department, Sir," Kate adds. "He might even give the N.Y.P.D. a plug on Kimmel. The brass may like that enough to shake loose a few more bucks for our budget."

"And how about our investigations, Beckett? You'll be tripping over a civilian. Ryan and Esposito probably will too."

"Ryan and Esposito are on board, Sir," Kate assures the captain.

"They're probably afraid Castle will take back his fancy coffee machine if he has to leave," Montgomery mutters. "All right, Beckett. He can be your shadow on a probationary basis. But if he gets in the way or blows a case, he's out of here. And I want to see him on Kimmel. And find out if he can get on Ellen, too. The commissioner's wife loves that show. If she's in a good mood about Castle, her husband will be too."

"Yes, Sir. I'll see what he can do about Ellen. Oh, and one more thing, Sir. Castle invited you to a poker game at his loft tonight. The mayor will be there and Judge Markway, too. He signs off on a lot of our warrants, and he and Castle play golf together."

"Castle's not making it easy to say no, is he? Well, Evelyn is going to be putting together a presentation for work tonight while the kids are spending the evening with her mother. She doesn't need me in her hair. Are you playing, Detective?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Fine. I'll see you there."