I'm completely taken aback by the response to this story. Thank you so much.

Here's the next instalment as Kate continues to talk about her mother's murder. Please be warned that there are some slight spoilers for S5 in this chapter.

Chapter 5

I think the best way to tell the story from here is to try to explain the conspiracy rather than how we uncovered it. The catalyst occurred seven years before my mom's death. A group of cops had decided to take the law into their own hands. They began kidnapping mobsters and holding them for ransom, big ransoms. They must have earned themselves a small fortune but it all began to fall apart for them when they attempted to kidnap Joe Pulgatti, a well-known mob enforcer. An undercover Fed by the name of Bob Arman was with Pulgatti and tried to stop the attack but ended up on the wrong side of a gun. He was killed outright. Pulgatti was arrested and actually confessed to Arman's murder but later he wrote to every lawyer he could find but only one was prepared to look beyond his history and take a look at his case, Johanna Beckett. As soon as she'd agreed to help, though, she was killed.

Two of the cops involved were John Raglan, yes the very same John Raglan who'd showed up on our doorstep and told us my mom was dead, and Gary McAllister. Sadly for them, after Arman's death, their operation came to the attention of someone much higher up the chain of command but rather than turn them in, this person, nicknamed The Dragon by McAllister, basically took over all the proceeds from the kidnappings and used that money to finance his political ascent.

When my mom began digging, The Dragon hired Coonan to kill her and three of her colleagues, cutting the investigation off before it even really began. When I killed Coonan, it appeared that I began to draw attention to myself and it wasn't long before I became the next target as The Dragon began the clean up. He hired a new hit man who went by the name of Hal Lockwood. Lockwood shot Raglan right in front of Castle and myself and then, after he'd been locked up, he shanked McAllister but proceeded to use his subsequent court appearance to escape. Then it was evidently my turn. He lured me to a hanger but he had not allowed for the presence of Roy Montgomery who saved my life that night. There was a shootout which left all of Lockwood's men dead together with Lockwood himself and, sadly, Captain Montgomery but had it not been for his heroic actions that night, I would certainly have been on that hanger floor in his place; and there were many times in the next few months that I wished that had been the case.

At the Captain's funeral, I was shot by a sniper while giving my eulogy. The bullet hit me in the chest and it was only thanks to the actions of Lanie Parish and the paramedics that I even made it as far as the hospital. My heart stopped more than once in the ambulance and again on the operating table but somehow I survived and then spent the next year waiting for them to try again.

Although I survived the bullet, it took me a long time to get over the shooting. Once I was discharged from the hospital, I hid myself away for three months in my dad's cabin only emerging for medical appointments. I pushed everyone away except for my dad and I only allowed him in because I had no choice; I closed myself off; shut myself away. I thought that was the best way to heal, to regain my strength, mental strength, that is. I was wrong, oh God, was I wrong.

I needed help and what I needed most were people who cared about me but it took me a year of therapy to recover from my PTSD. I hated that phase and was determined that it didn't apply to me but once I acknowledged it, once I faced my weakness, used it and turned it into a strength, that was when I was able to turn the corner and without the words and encouragement of my friend and colleague, Javier Esposito, it would have taken me so much longer.

But enough about that, I'll get back to the important part.

What I didn't know at the time was that I apparently had a mysterious benefactor. Someone, somewhere had, over the years, been compiling a file of evidence against The Dragon and was now using this information as leverage to keep me alive as long as I refrained from looking into the case. This mystery man had contacted Castle, told him of the deal and that his job was to keep me away from it.

Another year passed before I finally discovered the name of The Dragon. After I'd very nearly lost my life yet again at the hands of the man I'd come to consider 'my' sniper and had almost ruined my relationship with my best friend, I came to my senses and accepted what was most important in my life and it wasn't finding the person responsible for my mom's death. I was ready to move forward but found myself unable to do so because however much I wanted to leave it alone, the case would not leave me alone.

The Dragon was going after the file of evidence and once he had that, I was no longer protected. We made every effort to find the file but the final copy was blown to pieces together with my sniper, Cole Maddox (yet another alias). However we did manage to put together enough of the charred remains to find the number of the bank account in which all the kidnapping proceeds ended up and that number led us to The Dragon, New York Senator William H. Bracken.

I had a name now but absolutely no evidence I could use so I did the only thing left to me, I called his bluff. I confronted him and told him that I had a copy of the file, quoting the account number seemed to verify my claim. Basically all I could do for the time being was claim my life back and seek protection for myself and my loved ones so I made him a deal, my silence for my safety. Fortunately he bought my bluff, understandable really, I've always been a good poker player!

Months later he became the target for an assassination attempt and it became my job to protect the arrogant bastard (sorry!). I was so conflicted. A very large part of me wanted to just let it happen but eventually I did what was right. I'm a cop, my job is to protect and serve so I did just that and threw myself in harm's way to save his sorry ass.

Eventually, though, it seems that the mob had a very long memory. Information must have been leaked to them about the person responsible all those years ago for the kidnappings and Senator Bracken's body was washed up on the shore not all that far from Castle's place in the Hamptons. It appeared that he had not been treated too well during his brief imprisonment because a recording appeared after his death in which Bracken admitted everything, information which I suspect was tortured out of him but am I sorry about his demise? No, I have to admit, I'm not. He was responsible for so many deaths and yet he only saw them as a necessary step on his climb up the political ladder. Even at the very end, he showed no remorse only regret that he'd failed to reach his ultimate political goal, the White House.

"That's an incredible story, Captain Beckett. Was anyone charged with the Senator's murder?"

No. No-one. The mob tends to be pretty good at that, killing without leaving much in the way of evidence. It was quite unusual that Bracken's body even turned up but I suspect that was deliberate. I'm sure if they'd wanted to, he would simply have disappeared but I think they just wanted to make sure everyone knew what Bracken had been up to back in the day and send a message to anyone who might consider crossing them in the future.

"That's fantastic, mom! Thank you so much. Are you sure that's all okay to go in the article?"

Kate nodded. The story of Senator William H. Bracken's demise was a matter of public record as were his past crimes. There were parts of the story that Kate had not told, not lies as such but certainly omissions and she had always been fairly sure about how the mob had acquired the information but that was something she would never divulge to anyone to her dying day.

"Do you want to leave it there for today and start again tomorrow?" RJ asked.

Kate smiled at her son,

"Why, have you got a date this evening? You wouldn't happen to be calling at the Ryan household by any chance, would you?"

RJ opened his mouth to protest but soon closed it again as he realised that his mother was indeed a detective and would have had no trouble ascertaining the truth about his recent regular visits to her friend and colleague's house.

"Okay, you've got me. Yes, I'm taking Pippa to a movie tonight," he acknowledged reluctantly.

Pippa Ryan was the youngest of Kevin and Jenny's children and was a freshman at Columbia. She was small, blond and looked just like her mother did the first time Kate had met her at the precinct all those years ago when Kevin's co-workers had been under the misguided impression that his girlfriend did not in fact exist. The Ryans and the Castles were quietly delighted at the budding romance between the two and although Kate considered a little light teasing would be alright, she wasn't prepared to push it too far.

"Have a great time. Say hi to Pip for me and I'll see you tomorrow to carry on with the interview, okay?"

Kate was trying hard not to pry by asking if RJ was planning on being around for breakfast the next day but it seemed that he was not beyond a little teasing of his own,

"Yeah, but I'm not sure I'll be here very early. Not sure what we'll be doing in the morning," and with that he was almost out of the door,

"Or where we'll be doing it! Bye, mom!"

As the door closed, Kate just laughed and headed into the office to find her husband. After all that serious reminiscing, some Castle humour was definitely in order. She stood in the doorway, leaning up against the frame simply watching her husband for a few moments. In the past she had been known to call him out for his 'creepy' staring but these days she found herself doing it just as often and loving every minute of it. Now was no exception.

He was engrossed in his writing, leaning back in his chair, laptop on his knee and feet up on the desk. He had a slight frown on his face and fingers poised over the keys as he obviously was trying to consider just the right wording but the frown was enough for Kate to know it was time to interrupt,

"Hey, Castle."

At the sound of her voice, he looked up and the frown was instantly replaced by what could only be described as a rather dopey grin. Even after twenty three years of marriage, not a day went by when Richard Castle didn't wonder how on earth he had ever managed to deserve the love of Kate Beckett. Her hair was shorter now than when they'd got married although not as short as it was when they first met; that Beckett was all business. She still had her moments but overall she had certainly mellowed as the years had passed, not that he would ever dream of telling her so because he had a feeling that would instantly make a liar of him; she was, after all, still quite capable of kicking his ass. Maybe there were a few grey hairs appearing and the odd line around her eyes but her eyes – those gorgeous eyes – they still took his breath away and seemed to be doing just that at that very moment.

She was still standing there waiting for a response, the corners of her lips twitching into a smile,

"Cat got your tongue, Rick?"

He laughed,

"No, just left speechless by a beautiful vision filling the doorway."

"Come on, Casanova, time for a break. You've been at it all afternoon, if you haven't finished yet, you certainly need a rest."

Castle muttered to himself. She was right, as always. He hated these finishing touches and would often spend hours changing things only to change them right back and the longer he looked at it, the less productive he became.

"Okay, let's eat. How's the interview going? Is RJ still here?" he asked as he joined her in the kitchen.

Kate laughed,

"No, guess where he's off to tonight?"

"The Ryan's?" although he already knew the answer and was so happy that his son and Pippa Ryan seemed to be becoming far more than the close friends they'd been all their lives.

Kate just raised her eyebrow in response as they started to prepare their meal with well-practised precision.

"As for the interview, it's actually going really well. I had thought it would be hard but we've got through a lot today and I think we should finish tomorrow. Come on, let's get this done then after we've eaten, how about movie night as it's just the two of us?"

"You're on, Mrs Castle. But as it is just the two of us, I think it highly unlikely that we'll see the end of any film we start," he added with a familiar waggle of his eyebrows.