"This wasn't here before I went to bed last night, Castle." Kate murmured still in shock. "She was here, in our home - while we were sleeping."
The implication behind Kate's words made Castle's gut turn, this was bold even for Tyson. She slipped her hand out of his grasp, jumping to her feet. Castle knew that look of determination; the fear that once adorned Kate's face melted into ferocity. The same ferocity that he'd been so taken by over the years. She didn't need to speak for Castle to know exactly what she was thinking. He'd come to know the nuances in her expressions, demeanor, and presence so well that verbal cues were a confirmation. He knew that Kate wasn't going to buy into Nieman's scare tactics. If anything, Nieman's brazen threat strengthened Kate's resolve to end this game once and for all. It was clear, Kate had hit her limit.
"What are you doing?" Castle called after her as he rose to his feet and followed her back into the bedroom.
"Calling Espo." She said as she picked up her phone from her nightstand and began to dial.
Castle walked over to his wife and stood behind her, wrapping his arms around her petite waist and pulling her frame into his. This embrace was just as much for his comfort as it was for hers.
"Okay, thanks, Espo."
Kate threw her phone onto the bed and released a heavy sigh then allowed her head to fall back into Castle's chest.
"The boys are on their way over to check for any prints, though I doubt they'll find any." She mused in disgust while her hands caressed his in search of comfort. They remained in their embrace until Ryan and Esposito arrived with a few other officers to process the scene.
Kate wasn't in the mood to watch as the bedroom she shared with her husband flooded with people who should never have been there. She and her husband briefed the boys on the happenings of the night and morning, after doing so they left them to do their work.
The couple opted for some fresh air by going roof balcony. The view was breathtaking, they could see the sprawling city that was lit by the amber hue of the sunrise. It was almost enough to make them forget about the events of the last two months.
"What are you thinking about?" Castle asked cocking his head in curiosity.
"Hmm…I'm sorry, babe – what did you ask me?"
"You've been staring off into space for about five minutes now. What has you so lost in thought?"
Kate paused not sure of how to answer Castle's question. She wanted to answer, but she couldn't seem to articulate her thoughts. Castle placed his hands on his wife's shoulders and compelled her to face him. Her beautiful hazel eyes now laced with fear once again, a sight that crushed him. He needed to figure this out. He needed to end this so they could finally start living and stop running.
"Hey – "He said placing his hand on her cheek, cupping her delicate jaw. "It's going to be okay, Kate. We will make this be okay."
"And how to we make it be okay? Even if we arrest them we still won't be safe. Tyson escaped once, he'll do it again." The trembling in Kate's voice betrayed her.
"We have to bait them – just like they've baited us over the years. We have to bring the game to them instead of waiting for their next move."
"And how do you propose we do that?" She said unsure of this idea.
"I'm not sure about that part yet, I need time to analyze Tyson and Nieman and their behavior."
The conversation curtailed a voice chimed in.
"What about Tyson's and Nieman's behavior?" Esposito interjected.
"Nothing, just conjecture." Kate replied hoping to change the subject. "So?"
"Nada. Sorry, chica."
"It's what I was expecting."
"Hey, Beckett, Castle, you might want to get dressed." Ryan said walking onto the balcony to join the group. "We've had a body drop."
Kate and Castle slipped into work mode and put their concerns on the backburner for the time being. They'd continue to decide their next move with the psychotic duo, but life still had to go on. When they entered the upscale home, Kate was reluctant to approach Lanie. She didn't want to discuss what had happened this morning any further – she wanted to forget about it.
"Hi, Lanie, What have we got?" Kate asked jumping straight to business.
"Male. Thirty-five years old. Single GSW to the chest. His name is Wyatt Coles and it looks like he was cardiac surgeon by profession." Lanie replied wanting to ask Kate her scare this morning, but knowing that she would have to wait. Every time Kate arrived to a scene where the victim had died of gunshot wound, the trauma of her shooting inundated her mind.
Kate looked at Castle and knew that he was thinking the same thing that she was. The crime scene is an upscale home, the victim is a thirty-five-year-old male, and he wasn't altered to look like someone else. It doesn't fit Tyson's or Nieman's M.O. The realization prompted a reluctant sigh of relief from the couple. They would have this case as a distraction for the moment, assuming they aren't thrown for any loops.
While his wife was discussing more details about the victim with Lanie, Castle picked up a photo that was sitting atop the mantle.
"Kate –"
"Yeah?"
"Was Henry married?" He said holding out the picture for Kate to see.
"We haven't gotten that far yet, but judging by this picture I'd have to say that he was."
Kate studied the picture of Henry and his wife dressed in their wedding day attired. Both were attractive people and they matched each other quite well. In a strange way, they reminded her of Castle and herself only five years younger.
"Do we know anything about the wife?" Castle asked to no one in particular.
"Uh… Yeah, let's see… Looks like her name is Emma Coles. She's thirty years old and is a pediatric oncologist at the same hospital that her husband works at." Ryan responded as he continued to dig up more information on the couple.
Kate found the fact that the couple had worked together, like she and her husband do, uncanny. "Has anyone tried to get ahold of her?" She inquired, trying to suppress the feeling that something about this picture was out of place.
"We called the hospital and they said that she had a shift tonight that she never showed up for. She didn't call in or anything. And no answer on her cell." Ryan answered.
"Let's get back to the precinct and go over CSU's findings." Kate said to Castle and the boys.
A couple of hours later the report arrived on Kate's desk. She opened it and mulled over the details and couldn't place what didn't seem right about them. She didn't understand what she was getting hung up on, the case could end up being an open and shut case. So why was her intuition sending up red flags.
"What did CSU find with the fingerprints?" Castle questioned in an attempt to once again pull his wife from her thoughts.
"The only fingerprints in the entire house belong to Wyatt and Emma. They also found skin underneath Wyatt's fingernails. CSU tested it against some of the DNA off of Emma's hair in the bathroom and it's a match." Kate didn't veil the disappointment in her voice well.
"We have the ballistics on the gun found in the neighbor's garbage can. It was a match for the murder weapon and only Emma's prints are on it."
Castle didn't know what to make of his wife's demeanor. Kate's discontent over the implication that Emma would murder her husband gave away the parallel she drew. He'd never seen her like this – perhaps the trauma of the day had left her in a state of shock and vulnerability. He wouldn't blame her, he was still quite shaken up. They both had been on high alert, looking over their shoulder all day.
"What's wrong?" He finally inquired.
"I don't know, the more I read up on the Emma the more it doesn't make sense that she'd do this."
"Sometimes people snap and become something that they as well as everyone else never thought they could be." He look her gave his wife exuded compassion.
"There's something that I can't quite place on this case Castle – something that's familiar and not in a good way."
"It's been a long day, Kate. Let's go home." He said standing up and extending a hand to her.
"You're right, it has been. Maybe I'll feel better after some much needed rest, but first I'm needing some stress relief." She mused, giving her husband a sultry wink. "I'll relieve your stress if you relieve mine."
"Oh…Mrs. Castle…I like the way you think."
The next three days were quite, Emma was still missing and Tyson and Nieman remained in the shadows. The game of moves and counter moves was growing old. Kate and her husband used the lull in the Wyatt Coles case to do some digging into the early years of both Jerry's and Kelly's lives. It helped them explore deeper into the psychology of their twisted minds.
"Hey, Beckett – we were able to finally get a trace on Emma's phone." Espo interjected.
"Great! Where is she?"
"The industrial part of town – I have to admit something shady is going on here."
"I agree. Let's go see if we can pick her up boys." Beckett said, putting on her jacket and heading to her cruiser with her husband in tow.
"Please be careful, Kate. I'm quite fond of you." Castle joked trying to ease his anxiety.
"Castle, I'll be careful, but only if you will too. I'm also quite fond of you and plan on keeping you –"
Kate's statement cut short when a SUV rammed the back of the cruiser and forced it into a concrete barrier. Attempting to blink away her blurred vision Kate reached out to grab her husband's hand.
"Castle – Are you okay?" She said wiping the blood that was dripping from her forehead.
"Yeah, I'm okay. Are you?"
"Yeah, I think so." As Kate finished speaking she felt something pierce her neck. A needle! She thought in a panic before blackness consumed her.
When Castle came to he was still in the passenger seat of Kate's now wrecked cruiser, but his wife was not in the driver's seat. His body protested as he worked in a frenzy to unbuckle himself and exit the car to look for his wife. He searched everywhere nearby, there was no sign of her anywhere.
"Kate…." The silence pierced his soul.
"Kate, where are you?!" Still silence.
"Kate!" His heart sank as he realized what had just happened.
When Kate awoke her hands and ankles were bound to a chair and she had a gag in her mouth. She appeared to be in some abandoned building. She fought to keep her attention on how to find a way out of here and back to Castle and no panic. Her thoughts interrupted when she realized that she was not alone in the room. To her right, was a slender figure handcuffed to some steel pipes above. It was a woman who looked completely devoid of energy as her weight was slack. Her body falling onto her chapped wrists, bruised and bleeding. Her long dark hair fell over her face where he head had fallen forward. With some struggle she managed to free her mouth of the gag.
"Hello?" Kate asked trying to get her attention.
The woman didn't move. With how still she was being Kate would have thought she was dead if it weren't for the subtle rise and fall of here frame with each breath.
"I'm not with them. I'm here against my will, like you." That grabbed her attention.
As the woman looked up Kate finally got a good look of her face and gasped. She was not ready for what she was seeing and in a strange way it broke her heart even though she didn't know this woman. Kate decided that there was only one way to be sure of who she thought this woman was.
"My name is Kate. Kate Castle. What's yours?" Kate said in a warm and gentle voice.
"Emma. Emma Coles."