Disclaimer: Surprise, surprise; I don't own Castle!
Chapter Three
Having asked Ryan and Esposito to follow up on the surveillance technician who had identified the broken cameras, Castle was just sitting down to his desk. An encouragingly minute file on Sarah Bench, in whose apartment the body had been discovered, lay taunting him in his eye-line; Sarah seemed to be in all respects a model citizen, which was great and all for New York City, but not so brilliant in shedding some light onto how the mummified Marcus Albicca had ended up dead in her living room. Fortunately for Castle, his inner musings were interrupted by the brash, piercing tone of his ringing cellphone.
"Castle."
"Good morning to you too, Detective," Lanie Parish's sarcastic response greeted him with all her usual spunk. "I've been able to confirm a cause of death for Mr. Albicca here on my table; there's a huge gash across his temple which I'm willing to bet killed him."
Brute violence, but from his experience, head wounds bled like mad, Castle thought to himself. "Thanks Lanie. Just wondering, if he got hit on the head, how come the mummy-cloth around his head was clean?"
Lanie sighed miserably into the phone. "The wound was bandaged up pretty well – and not just mummified, I mean it was properly bandaged. Not a hospital-grade job, but it soaked up most of the blood. Also, I would estimate that Marcus Albicca was killed somewhere in the window of eight to 10am on Monday morning."
"And your estimates are always so very accurate, my dear doctor," Castle fawned light-heartedly. "Thanks again, that's great to work with."
"I'd say my pleasure, but here that sentiment goes above and beyond the acceptable levels of creepiness. So no problem, Detective."
Castle smiled his signature crooked grin. Lanie Parish was a great, if slightly unexpected, friend of his and had been for a fair while. They were only friends; that went without saying, but she often managed to brighten his more morbid days. And now not only did he have a cause of death; he even had a time of death. With his well-worn cellphone still grasped in a clenched hand, he hit his most frequently used speed-dial – even he had to agree he was a bit of a workaholic – and said simply. "Espo. We've got news."
"Dude, you totally ruined our little geek-speak extravaganza with the maintenance guy." This was Esposito's warm words of welcome as he and Ryan strode through the Precinct. Castle mocked intense disappointment, scrunching his nose up and hissing under his breath.
"Gee, I'm so sorry guys. I know how much you two adore listening to socially challenged 20-something-year-olds fresh from their IT courses talk in computer language for a few hours. I really hope you can find it in your hearts to forgive me."
Ryan dealt him a calculating look. "I might consider your apology. Maybe."
"So, so kind. Anyway, Lanie rang to say that Albicca died somewhere in between eight and 10 on Monday morning, and C.O.D was blunt force trauma to the head."
Esposito's interest was clearly piqued by the mention of a certain medical examiner, but it was Ryan who answered. "Ooh, that's got to hurt. Anyway, shall we ask around his neighbors, see where they were yesterday morning? Someone must have seen something."
Castle nodded. "Good idea. I'll give Sarah Bench a call; her sister said she was on holiday with friends but was conveniently getting back this afternoon."
As he said these words, Captain Montgomery poked his head around the door of his office and spoke loudly across the bullpen. "Detective Castle, can I see you in my office, now?"
When Rick Castle entered Montgomery's office, he was surprised to see and woman seated in front of his desk. She wasn't a cop; he would have noticed her if she were. Suddenly something familiar about those dark tendrils appeared to him, and the woman turned around to face him. "Long time, no see, Detective," her voice sparkled with a heady dose of teasing.
If Captain Montgomery sensed anything between man and woman in his presence, he had the grace to ignore it. "Castle, you've already met Kate Beckett. She's offered to assist on this case where she is able, and given the fact her book was found at the crime scene, I think that would be very useful in the solving of this case."
Well, this was a first. Castle had needed to deal with slightly obsessed family members and lovers in the solving of many a case. He'd had to cope with the aggressive types, too; the 'find out who killed the vic or you're next' sort of people. He'd even had a few weird ones come see him at the Precinct, driven by some unhealthy addiction to the macabre. However, Rick could honestly say that he'd never had help from a beautiful authoress whose book somehow appeared somewhat instrumental at his crime scene. "Well, Ms. Beckett, that sounds very useful. Thank you very much. If you go out and turn to your left, you'll see Detectives Esposito and Ryan, who are also on my team," he delivered with a charming smile, but his eyes alluded to silent confusion. "Captain, could I see you for a moment?"
Now it was Captain Montgomery's turn to smile. "Nope."
A rather mutually awkwardness descended between Kate and Rick as they walked side by side across the 12th Precinct. Despite the sparse amount of officers scattered around the bull pen, both the detective and the writer seemed out of their element in the limelight provided by the stares of Castle's colleagues. Kate stuttered into the brittle silence first. "Detective Castle, if you aren't comfortable with the idea of a citizen assisting your investigation, speak up." Her tone was soft but radiated quiet authority.
Castle flashed her a puzzled look. "Oh, not at all! I'm sorry for coming over that way," he replied, words streaming together in his haste for them to leave his mouth. Eyes brimming with indigo remorse, he continued, "And again, I think I might have to apologize again for being blunt, but I don't get it; why are you here?" Castle trailed off, but the essence of that omitted 'with me' still hung in the tense air, unspoken.
Her dark eyes met his, and words diffused through them with a fluency neither was accustomed to. Without making a single sound, Rick interrogated Kate yet again. But the questioning silence demanded more. It didn't just ask politely; it probed with startling persistence.
Finally, Kate pulled out the white flag, and admitted coyly; "I'm curious."
Author's Note: Thank you to anyone who is reading this, you are amazing! This story is heaps of fun to write, and it is so wonderful to know that some people are actually reading it (and hopefully enjoying it!). Of course, reviews would be lovely and would completely make my day ;) But thank you so much!
