Marty Jones knows Rick is covering for someone. He has an idea who it is. The list of people that Rick would willingly go to prison for is vanishingly small, his mother and daughter for certain. Perhaps another one or two more, but if Rick is determined to sacrifice himself, what arguments can Marty offer? That's why he is at his office on a Sunday at eight pm going over the discovery that the DA sent over. There has to be something that will dissuade his client from taking the blame for a murder he didn't commit.
Nothing is the way it should be. All the evidence so far points to Rick, but he's sure that there is something that he's missing. He might have burned a bridge with the lead detective, but he needs to talk to her. He looks up the contact information for Detective Beckett. Since she was the arresting officer, he has the means to contact her through her personal phone number. He picks up his office phone and dials her number.
Kate sees the number flash on her cellphone screen and hesitates to answer it. She doesn't know who it is, nor does she care. She has important things to take care of, and answering a call from a telemarketer is not one of them. She lets it go to voicemail. No sooner does the call pick up on voicemail then the same number flashes on the screen again. So, it's either somebody being very stupid, or someone really needs to talk to her, so she answers this time.
"Beckett," she answers in her professional tone.
"Detective, it's Marty Jones. I was wondering if I could ask you some questions about my client's case?"
"I'm not too sure that this is a good idea, Mr. Jones. You do know that I am not allowed to talk to you about the case we have against your client. This is highly unorthodox. And besides, you called me out in front of my colleagues about the way we did not offer medical aid to your client."
"On the contrary, Detective, the judge made that assumption of his own accord. He's the one who noticed Mr. Castle's bloody face and neck at the DA's comment. The one at fault here is the district attorney. Agreed?"
Kate knows he's right, but that doesn't mean she has to talk about his client's defense with him.
"Mr. Jones, while that might be the truth, I still can't divulge any case related information to you there…."
Marty cuts off the detective with one sentence.
"What if I think he's innocent?"
That stops Kate instantly. Composing herself, she says, "Go on counselor, I'm listening."
"As I said, Detective, I'm convinced that Rick is innocent. Something doesn't add up and I can't quite put my finger on it. When we talked in your precinct last night, he avoided showing me his hands and talked directly about his involvement in doctor Davidson's murder. That raised my suspicions. He simply told me, 'I did it and I need to be brought to justice.'"
"Mr. Jones, I agree with you and that's your job, trying to prove his innocence. However I think he is covering for somebody, but I am not at liberty to say whom I suspect just now."
"Detective, I'm not blind. I noticed the way you talked to his daughter in the courtroom. You suspect something and so do I."
"That's beside the fact. I can't talk to you about this case, but I will be investigating more as time goes on. I will keep in touch."
She feels he wasn't pumping her for information that aggressively. So, he must have reasons of his own about why he feels Rick is innocent. But now she has to go and talk with the boys. There has to be something that they missed at the crime scene. And if it takes the rest of the day, she will find it.
Xx
He's got to give his son credit. The detective is determined and he'll give her that. He retreated back to the rooftop of the bar where it all happened just about twenty-four hours ago. He knew that they would be back at some point.
When he hears the door creaking open, he knows who it is. He cautiously peers over the roof's edge to see the two male detectives and her. If she's smart enough she'll put it together. What he needs for her to see is that this was never about his son's revenge - it was self-defense.
The detectives start scouring the alley and he watches as they collect small pieces of evidence that they missed in their prior visits. He sees her body stiffen when she puts it together. Her back is to the door that he entered from. She spins quickly, realizing that the door is ajar. He hopes she takes the bait. She cautiously walks forward towards the door with her Glock drawn and he watches as she pries open the door.
"Beckett, do you want us to come with you?" Ryan asks.
"No, Ryan, just keep collecting whatever evidence you can find at the scene. I have a hunch that I want to check out."
He watches as she walks through the door and starts to climb the stairs. He quickly takes up a position behind the roof access enclosure just waiting for the right moment.
Xx
She knows something isn't right. She's had the feeling that someone has been watching her most of the day. Very quietly she opens the roof access door with one hand, leading with her Glock in the other. The second she is clear of the door, she lets out the breath she'd been holding. There's nothing out of the ordinary to cause her to feel the way that she's feeling. Maybe she's just making something out of nothing. Maybe she's just tired. Then it all goes to shit.
"Not one move - don't even think about breathing. Just stand there," says a voice behind her.
She hears the safety of a Sig Sauer P229 being thumbed off. The next thing she feels is the barrel of that Sig pressed against the base of her skull.
"What do you want?" she asks as she tries to turn her head and catch a glimpse of her assailant.
"What part of 'not one move' don't you understand?" Hunt says a little louder while proving his point by pressing the Sig harder into her skull.
Beckett freezes and turns her head to face forward again. He continues.
"Detective, the murder case that you're working, I have a feeling that you'll want to stop investigating."
"Why on earth would I do that? Let a killer go free?"
"So you really still think that your partner did this? Even though he admitted his guilt, misguided as it was."
"You know what? I'm not sure what to think anymore. What I find hard to believe is that he would do something like this. He's not the type."
"Detective, let me tell you a story. For years now there has been one person who has and who will do anything to keep the people he cares about safe. This person would even consider murder if need be to keep them safe."
"Who is this person? How can I get them in cuffs?" Kate wonders out loud.
"Detective, that'll never happen. This person is above the law as you know it. He's untouchable and needs to stay that way."
"Whoa, no, I don't think that's going to work here. A man was murdered and someone has to be held accountable."
"Even if that man was a rapist and a known violent felon? That's right, Dr. Davidson was a felon. He went to great lengths to hide his past, but he was a felon. Did it ever occur to you why he took so many trips out of the country? And why he worked specifically in an OR and never talked with patients or their families? I'll tell you one thing - his bedside manner needed a lot of work. His real name was Jerry Coleman. He was wanted for murder, domestic violence, fraud, and embezzlement in more than one state. But that's not why he's dead now. He made the mistake of attempting to rape a seventeen-year-old girl the other night and that, Detective, will never happen on my watch.
Kate just stands there, thinking about what this man has just said. There is no way that what she's thinking could be the truth. Deciding to play out a hunch, she starts to turn. For some strange reason, she knows that the man won't fire at the back of her skull. She slowly turns to face him and sees a tall gray-haired man with eyes that remind her of someone she knows. He has a goatee and he stands about six feet four inches tall. He's dressed in all black. She guesses him to be in about his early to mid-sixties. The Sig P229 that he is holding lowers to his side where he puts it in a combat holster attached to his thigh.
"Detective Kate Beckett," Kate offers in greeting with her hand extended for a handshake.
Hunt takes her hand and shakes it along with giving her his name.
"Jackson Hunt. Nice to finally meet you, Detective."
"Wait, finally?" Kate asks suspiciously.
"You have a relationship with someone I care about. So, by association, you're in the circle as well."
"Tell me about this seventeen-year-old girl, she wouldn't happen to have red hair, would she?"
"Very perceptive, Detective. But you're right. It seems that our mutual favorite redhead was watching out for her old man when she encountered Dr. McDreamy and got in a little too deep. The good doctor had decided to take his pound of flesh out on my son's daughter."
"Wait, you're Castle's father?"
"Beautiful and smart. Yes, I am Rick's father. Although he and Alexis don't know this particular fact. And they never will," he adds sadly.
"So tell me, why do you think that I won't arrest you for Josh Davidson's murder?"
"It's simple, Detective. You can't touch me. It's just the way it's going to have to be. You're going to have to sweep it under the rug and eventually you will come up with dead end after dead end, never finding the right clue to solve this case. But I will give you some closure in the good doctor's death."
Hunt takes Kate's index finger and scrapes her fingernail alongside his cheek. He then takes out a blue nitrile rubber glove and places it on her hand, protecting the DNA sample under her fingernail.
"Detective, I am sure that you will be able to solve who actually killed Dr. Davidson. The DNA sample that I just gave you is admissible and will confirm that I was the one who was last with Davidson before he passed away. My reasons are my own, but no one gets away with trying to rape my granddaughter and continues breathing."
"You just admitted to murder. What makes you think I can't arrest you for the crime?"
"Detective, I might be old, but I have been in the game for quite a long time. I work for a certain three letter agency that would protect one of their assets till the end of time. I am sorry that what happened here had to happen at my hand, but you'll never touch me for it. So just go with the knowledge that you have found your murderer, but the case will always remain open. This will free my son and take all suspicion off my granddaughter as well. Now, Detective, off you go. As long as you don't try to hinder me in any way, you stay in the circle; if you try to investigate me, our relationship will no longer be cordial.
"Not so fast, Mr. Hunt. There's still the matter of…" Kate turns quickly when she hears the rooftop door creak open. What she sees is Ryan and Espo coming out onto the roof.
Knowing now that she has her partners to back her up, she spins back to where Hunt was standing, ready to apprehend him. The only problem is that he's not there. In the split second it took her to see who was coming out of the rooftop access door, he disappeared into thin air.
"Beckett, what's going on?" Ryan asks.
"Yeah, Beckett if we didn't know any better, we think that you were sticking us with all the work downstairs," Esposito added.
"Guys, he was right here a second ago - didn't you see him?"
"See who, Beckett? There was nobody here but you."
Kate rushes behind the rooftop air conditioning unit, the roof access door, and the edge of the roof only to find nothing. No trace of Jackson Hunt anywhere.
"Guys, I swear he was right here a second ago."
"Who?" they both ask in unison.
"Beckett, what's up with the blue glove on your right hand?" Espo asks.
"Oh shit, that's right! I've got his DNA. Listen, guys, we need to get back to the lab to get this analyzed and then we can exonerate Castle."
"Wait a sec, you have evidence, actual DNA evidence under your glove that will clear Castle?" Ryan says a little too happily.
"I do. We need to get back to the lab now."
Kate gives one last look around the rooftop to try and find Hunt. Nothing. The man's a ghost.
He watches from the opposite rooftop as they make their way back into the stairway that leads down to the first floor. Knowing that they're content with the DNA sample he gave them, he heads back to the courthouse to wait them out.
Author's Notes: We who are writing this for you would like to wish everyone who celebrates it a very Merry Christmas. And for everyone else who celebrates in some form or another, please enjoy the day and your families.
Pegship, Perfgen & P2P.