Beckett shrugged her jacket off and hung it next to the door when they arrived at her office, while Castle went straight to the couch and plopped down, his eyes scouring the manuscript still in his hands. He'd always known about the existence of original works by amateur writers involving his characters, of course, but he'd made it a rule to not seek them out in the past. Black Pawn's legal team hammered it into their writers that fanfiction was to be avoided due to plagiarism concerns. But now that it was a potential piece of evidence in their case? He pored over it gleefully, absorbing every last word with fascination.
"Ah, the perks of being the Captain: a never-ending pile of paperwork waiting for me on my desk every morning," Beckett said, examining the first page of a document that didn't look very promising.
Castle made a noncommittal grunt, turning a page over.
"Not to mention how stressful it is to supervise the work of dozens of people," she added, looking carefully at her husband to assess his reaction.
He just hummed in response.
"Oh, and the responsibility of choosing my underwear every morning. In fact, I'm not wearing any right now."
"You're doing that thing, the one where you think I'm not paying attention, and you start talking nonsense to prove it," Castle replied, not bothering to raise his eyes from the page in front of him.
"Well, you've been so engrossed in that fic, I'm surprised you didn't bump into anything on our way here," Beckett defended, sitting down behind her desk.
Castle did lift his head at that.
"Fic?" he asked, his head cocked inquisitively and the beginnings of a smirk already forming on his lips.
"Yes, fic. As in fanfiction," she explained, feeling her cheeks warm under his scrutiny.
"Oh, I'm familiar with the term. I'm just surprised you are as well."
Suddenly, the paperwork looked very appealing to Beckett, and she began to leaf through it, avoiding her husband's inquisitive look.
She was saved from having to explain by Esposito, who knocked twice on the doorframe before stepping into the office.
"Hey, Captain, do you have a second?"
"What is it?"
"Ryan is with the victim's parents. They've confirmed her identity. Lauren Grant, 24 years old," he said, showing her a copy of the young woman's ID photo. "She was a graduate student at NYU and living here in the city with a friend."
"Okay, you go talk to the roommate and see if she has any information about Lauren's last movements."
"Got it. Castle, you want to come with?" Esposito offered, but he got no response from the writer, who was nose-deep in the manuscript once more. Beckett couldn't help but smile at the sight.
"Castle," she sing-songed, again with no answer.
"Yo!" Esposito yelled, making the writer jump a couple of inches, and causing him to drop the fanfic. "Interview. Wanna come?"
"Sure, but there's no need to shout," he answered, picking up the stack of paper from the floor and straightening his jacket with an affronted air.
Beckett's chuckle was the only farewell he got on his way to the door.
Esposito and Castle rounded the corner to the victim's apartment and when they stopped in front of the door, ready to knock, Esposito extended his arm to halt Castle's progress.
"Okay, hit me with it," the detective said.
"Hit you? What are you talking about?" Castle asked, his brow creased in confusion.
"Your dumb theory about this whole thing. Do you know that before this morning, I had no idea what a fanfiction even was? Ryan had to explain it to me. What's that all about? It's just weird, man. And why did our vic have a Nikki Heat fanfiction the size of a novel in her possession? Tell me now so we can interview the victim's roommate in peace."
"First of all: my theories are not 'dumb,' and in fact, they've helped us solve countless cases. And second... I'm drawing a blank. I honestly don't have a theory right now. I'll wait and see what the roommate has to say."
"Suit yourself," Esposito shrugged, knocking. When the door opened, they were met with a young woman who couldn't be more than 25 years old. She looked even younger still, thanks to a round face peppered with freckles, and her big green eyes.
Over the years, Castle had been part of dozens of investigations, and he had been there for the more difficult parts as well, like notifying the victim's friends and family. It was never an easy task, and it always amazed him how compassionate and caring the team of the Twelfth was. That day was no different. Andrea, the victim's roommate and friend, took the news hard, but after a few minutes and a cigarette, she was able to compose herself enough to speak to them.
"I can't wrap my head around it. I mean, I was worried when I realized she didn't come home last night, but I could have never imagined something like this," she said, tears still shimmering on her cheeks.
"When did you realize she wasn't here?" Esposito asked softly.
"A few hours ago. I arrived home late last night, around midnight, I guess. I have a big exam next week, and I was at the library all day, studying. When I came home, I just assumed she was in her room, already asleep. But this morning, I went to talk to her and she wasn't there and her bed hadn't been slept in..." Her voice broke as she trailed off, a fresh wave of tears cascading down her face.
"Was it usual for her to be home and in bed by that time?" Castle questioned.
"I wouldn't really know. She is... was... a very private person. We didn't spend a lot of time just hanging out around the apartment. And when we were both home at the same time, she would normally keep to her room. She spent most of her time in there."
"Do you have any idea what she did in her free time?"
"Not really... I know she has a friend who lives abroad... I'm not sure where. They Skyped pretty regularly. Lauren said she was her best friend."
"Do you know the name of that friend?"
"Not her full name, but Lauren kept a postcard that she sent her on her bulletin board. I can check, if you want."
"That would be great, thank you," Castle smiled.
"And speaking of her friends," Esposito intervened, "did you notice any change in Lauren's behavior lately? Did she start hanging out with any new people, for example?"
"No, not that I'm aware of. We went to class together, so I know most of her friends. And she didn't go out much."
"Do you know of anyone who would want to harm her?"
"No, of course not," Andrea answered as she started to weep again. "Lauren was a nice girl. She mostly kept to herself, but everybody liked her."
"What about her interests?" Castle asked.
"She loved to read, which is practically a must for creative-writing students, but she took it to the next level. She spent hours on end with a book in her hands, or typing away on her laptop. I think that's how she met Sara, her friend. Actually, I don't really know how they met... oh God, I'm a terrible friend, aren't I?"
When Andrea's whole body started to shake uncontrollably with her sobs, Esposito shot Castle a pleading look. He was familiar with those; it was the you have a daughter, you know what to do, so please do something look.
So Castle rested a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder and spoke in a very calm voice.
"You're not a terrible friend. You just received horrible news, so it's difficult to focus on anything else right now, but don't linger on the what ifs. Just give yourself time to mourn your friend in the way you feel you need to, and don't beat yourself up. There's nothing you could have done to save her."
Andrea was inconsolable and barely able to speak coherently at that point, so the two men sat with her for a few moments more, until the sobs gave way to silent tears, and the girl requested some space.
"Here's my card," Esposito said, handing it to her after she retrieved the postcard and escorted them to the door. "Call us if you think of something else, or if you need anything."
And, with a final "I'm sorry for your loss," the door closed behind them.
The duo walked in silence to the police cruiser, and it wasn't until they were halfway back to the precinct that Castle finally found his voice.
"Some days, I'm convinced you guys have the most difficult job in the world."
"Hey, is it ready?" Ryan asked as he entered the big conference room, two cups of coffee in his hands.
"Nearly. We're just waiting for her to log in and get connected," Vikram explained, accepting the cup Ryan offered him. "Are you sure this is when she was going to call?"
"Yeah, she lives in Spain, so it's nighttime for her. It was the only time she could do it."
"Do you think it's worth the hassle?" Vikram asked Ryan while, they kept staring at the Skype home page.
"What?" the detective asked, puzzled.
"Having a long-distance friendship like that. I'm not sure I would bother going through all the trouble."
"If the other person is your friend, I don't think you see it as trouble," Ryan reasoned.
"Fair enough, but think about it: you can't meet face to face, you can't hang out together, or do the things normal friends do…"
"And what is it what 'normal friends' do? Share common interests? Have meaningful conversations? Have inside jokes? Laugh and cry over the same things? I don't think you need to be face to face to do that," Ryan said shrugging his shoulders while he sipped at his coffee.
The two men turned to the screen once more, both of them sporting a pensive look, until the distinctive sound of an incoming Skype call resonated through the room and the words "Sara Esteban calling" appeared on the monitor.
"Hi, Sara," Ryan greeted as soon as the call connected. "Can you see us?"
"Wait a moment, I can't hear you. Can you hear me?" a voice asked, although the screen only showed a black rectangle. "HELLO?"
"Yes, hi, Sara, we can hear you. Loud and clear. Can you hear us?" Ryan answered, taking an unconscious step towards the monitor.
"Hello? Detective Ryan? Are you there? I think there's something wrong with my connection!" she shouted.
"Sara?"
"Detective?!"
Suddenly, the face of a young woman appeared on the monitor, and Ryan took a step back, letting a relieved sigh break free.
"Hi, Sara, thank you for taking the time speak with us," he said, straightening his jacket once the small box with his own face became visible on the corner of the screen.
"Anything to help you with the investigation," the girl assured, her eyes serious and determined. "Lauren was one of my closest friends. It's the least I can do."
"How did you two meet?" Ryan asked.
"We're both involved in the same fandom. Nikki Heat. We were both very active members, especially Lauren."
"And what kind of things did you do?"
"We'd hang out, mostly. You know, through social media or on Skype. We mostly discussed the Nikki Heat books, or at least that's how we first became acquainted. We eventually turned into really good friends. And we both wrote fanfiction."
"Right, about that... Lauren was carrying a document with her; it looks like a fanfiction story."
"Oh, of course. She had signed up for a workshop about writing crime stories, and they were asking for samples to work on. If I'm not mistaken, you were supposed to bring your own laptop, as well," the girl explained.
"Can you tell us anything about this workshop, like where or when it was happening? We're trying to trace Lauren's last movements."
"Yesterday. At the convention."
"The convention?"
"Yes, the Crime Fiction Convention. You know, CrimeCon. Lauren was attending. I wanted to go too, but I couldn't. We had been talking about it for months."
Ryan turned to Vikram and murmured "Pretty sure that's the event Castle was at yesterday." He turned his attention back to Sara then. "That's really helpful information, thank you. And, I know this is a hard question to answer, but do you know if Lauren had any enemies? Anyone who would want to hurt her?"
"Other than the usual fandom trolls? No, not that I know of. Sorry."
"It's okay, Sara. Thank you so much for your time."
"You're welcome. Please let me know if there's anything else I can do," Sara replied, the fierce look of determination back in her eyes.
"We will," Ryan said, turning to Vikram to signal him to end the call.
"Detective?" she called after him.
"Yes?" Ryan raised a hand to Vikram, telling him to wait.
"What precinct are you from again?"
"The Twelfth."
"Isn't it there where... oh my God, you're Detective Raley!"
"So check this out. Lauren, aka heatwriter47, was given the MVP Award at the convention. Or, the MVF Award, to be more precise," Esposito said.
"The what now?" Castle asked.
"The Most Valuable Fan."
"And what did she do to deserve such a dubious honor?" Ryan asked.
"Hey! Don't mock my admirers," Castle exclaimed. "They're the reason I'm here."
"Apparently, she was a 'very active member of the fandom,'" Esposito continued, ignoring the outburst and reading from the convention webpage, as Castle, Beckett, and Ryan gathered around his desk. "She had a Tumblr blog and a Twitter account, both of them dedicated to discussing your books, writer boy."
"I'm flattered," Castle said, no trace of humor in his voice.
"Okay, hold on. I don't understand," Esposito said, leaning back on his chair and looking at each of them. "Can someone please break this down for me? What exactly is a fandom? Ryan tried to explain fanfiction to me earlier, but the whole concept is beyond me."
"A fandom is a group of people with the same cultural interests, who generally use social media platforms to communicate and talk about their shared enthusiasm," Beckett summed up.
"What she said," Ryan nodded. "And they don't just talk about it. They write about it, make videos, edit pictures, and stuff like that."
"Gotcha," Esposito nodded. "But how exactly can they communicate with each other? Isn't Tumblr a blog, or something like that?"
"Exactly," Castle answered.
"Then, how is it interactive? I mean, can you message other members?"
"Of course. You can follow different blogs, and their latest publications appear on your dashboard, so it's easier to navigate them," Ryan explained.
"And how do you know this?" his partner inquired, eyes narrowed.
"I live out in the real world, not in a cave. Plus, I do a lot of reading," the Irish detective shrugged.
"So... our victim, Lauren, had both a Tumblr and a Twitter account under the same username, heatwriter47. And she also wrote fanfiction. So, how does someone do that? I mean, where do they do that? How do other people see their work?"
"There are websites specifically dedicated to publishing fanfiction," Beckett explained.
"But you can also post fics on Tumblr, right?" Ryan questioned.
"Of course," she answered. "You can post any kind of media to your blog. Some people prefer to do it that way, actually."
"Right. That way, it's easier for your followers to reblog it, and it can reach more people," he nodded.
"But I get the feeling that most people publish their fics on Fanfiction dot net or Archive of Our Own, and use Tumblr and Twitter for advertising purposes, to promote their work," Beckett pondered.
The two of them fell silent then, and they must have sensed that something was amiss, because they slowly turned their heads towards the remaining members of their team. Esposito was looking at them like they had each grown two heads, his arms crossed defensively across his chest, while Castle looked like the cat who ate the canary. Oh, he was going to have so much fun later, what with his wife's vast knowledge and indirect admission about reading fanfiction.
"Anyway..." Esposito continued with a Beckett-esque eye roll, as if the last part of the conversation hadn't occurred. "It's true that Lauren was popular in the Nikki Heat fandom. She seemed to be especially close with inlovewithrooksbutt, ilovepage105, and nooki4life," he read from his notebook.
"Can you repeat the first one, please? I didn't catch that," Castle said, his face contorted with his efforts to not crack up at the pseudonyms.
"Inlovewithrooksbutt," the detective complied.
"And what was that last one again?" Ryan said, his eyes watering and lips quivering with suppressed laughter.
"Nook- oh, very funny," he harrumphed at the chorus of guffaws that erupted around him.
"Uh, guys, I think I found something of interest," Vikram interrupted, handing Beckett a folder with a few pieces of paper jutting out. "Lauren had been receiving some pretty nasty messages on her Tumblr account recently. Looks like she had some vicious reviewers on Fanfiction dot net as well."
"How nasty? Is it the usual harmless Internet hate?" Castle asked, wiping some tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Most of it looks that way, but there were some messages that I thought you would want to see," Vikram explained, signaling the folder in Beckett's hands. She passed around the pages to the people gathered around Esposito's desk.
"'Why don't you shut your stuck-up mouth? The world would be a better place without your stupid face,'" Castle read out loud. "Your was spelled Y-O-U-apostrophe-R-E both times. I'm not even going to comment on the terrible spelling."
"Check out this one," Ryan interjected. "'You ugly, stupid carrot-face. Go burn in hell.'"
"Well, having a carrot face does seem like a strong motive for murder, doesn't it?" Esposito joked in a dry tone.
"Wait a second guys, listen to this," Beckett held up a hand to silence them. "'I'm watching you. I know where you live and I hope you end up like one of Nikki's victims: dead in an alleyway.' That's both creepy and incredibly specific to our crime scene. Do we know who this message came from?" Beckett inquired.
"That's what I wanted to tell you," Vikram said. "All of them were sent anonymously-"
"Of course," Castle scoffed, his eyes still scanning the printed pages.
"-but we were able to track almost all of them to a single IP address, including that last one."
"Wait, so most of them were sent by the same person?" Ryan questioned, skimming the extensive collection of messages.
"The ones I printed for you, yes," Vikram clarified. "The woman in question has Twitter and Tumblr accounts, as well. And guess what?"
He showed them the tablet he was carrying, where a tweet was displayed.
Police procedure workshop is about to begin! #soexcited #CrimeCon
"She's in town."