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Boulevard of Broken Dreams

Chapter Five

Beckett leant against the back of the closed interrogation room door, she stared out into the precinct. That conversation had gone exactly how she had expected, Bancroft had given nothing away, and he had, as she knew he would played his cards exceptionally close to his chest, she felt as if she'd learnt nothing from that interrogation. She sighed to herself as Captain Montgomery approached her; he looked at her with questioning eyes.

"Is it him?"

"He's claiming he was at home all night and all this morning." Beckett explained, "He says the woman we made him leave behind is his alibi." She said continuing as she and the Captain walked into the bullpen. Ryan was the only one at the desks, he was having an animated conversation with someone over the phone and Castle and Esposito were nowhere to be found.

"Hold him for as long as you can." Captain Montgomery told her, "The longer he is here, the longer it is before he can get to the press and complain about us."

Beckett nodded, she'd planned to hold Bancroft for the maximum time she could, he wasn't going to get away from her this easily – at least not again.

"Thanks, thanks so much, you were so helpful." Ryan said loudly, attracting Beckett's attention as he dropped the phone down, clunking on his desk. "I thought Australia was a friendly country," he told her with a shake of his head, "Without confirmation of ID or the password that the cell was set up with they will not divulge any pertinent information. Apparently it is for privacy reasons and no telling them I was an American cop didn't help, she's apparently heard all of the reasons under the sun."

Beckett sighed again, they needed more information – the murder board was still too bare for her liking, they needed to know more. She stared down at her father's watch, it was still an hour until Swift's opened for the day, and surely they'd be able to divulge information about this particular woman.

"Beckett," Captain Montgomery said as he studied the murder board, "If this is Cassandra Peterman we are going to need to inform 1PP and then they will have to get in touch with the Australian Police." He explained before heading back to his office.

Beckett nodded once again, she knew that this was coming, she knew that she was going to have to tread carefully on this case, work the time line carefully, work around the fact that the victim's family was perhaps thousands of miles away and many time zones away, which was going to make solving this case just a little more complicated.

"Yo Beckett," Esposito said as he entered the bullpen with Castle following close behind, "Lanie found something she wanted you to see."

Beckett picked up her coat from the back of her chair, "Ryan, Esposito go back to Bancroft's and pick up this woman he left behind, question her about what they've been doing the past couple of days. Also run her, check if anything to do with Swift's or Paulette flags, see if she knows Maggie Andrews."

"On it." Ryan said with a nod of his head and he and Esposito quickly headed for the elevator.

"You okay?" Beckett asked Castle carefully as she watched Esposito and Ryan disappear behind the sliding elevator doors.

"You never really did believe Maggie's alibi for Bancroft did you?" Castle questioned, answering Beckett's question with a question of his own.

"No." Beckett replied, "And neither did you." She added remembering her many conversations with Maggie. Maggie Andrews was one of Paulette's co-workers at Swift's who claimed that on the night Paulette was murdered Bancroft was with her – all night. She claimed that they'd been having a secret affair, one that Paulette was unaware of. Despite numerous questions and threats of charges against her for providing a false alibi to a murderer Maggie had refused to change her alibi. This was one of the main reasons that Bancroft had walked, that and the fact that the case generated more bad press than the brass had been able to put up with.

"You know she still works at Swift's?" Castle stated as he and Beckett headed towards the elevator. "She was there when I was."

"When you were buying a present for your mother?" Beckett questioned as she watched Castle's face blush.

"Would you believe Alexis?"

Beckett smiled as she stepped into the elevator, "No." she replied as the doors closed.

"I should learn that you can't surprise a detective, especially one as good as you." Castle said with a smile of his own.

"What have you got Lanie?" Beckett questioned as she and Castle entered the medical examiner's room.

"Your victim is one Cassandra Peterman." Lanie said confidently, watching as both Beckett and Castle looked at one another. Neither of them said anything so she continued, "I ran her fingerprints and they were in the system. Twice in fact."

"Twice?" Beckett questioned.

"Once when she entered the country and a second time when something went missing at Swift's two weeks after she arrived. Both sets are identical to the prints I ran this morning. This is Cassandra Peterman."

"She was fingerprinted two weeks after she arrived?" Castle questioned.

Lanie nodded, "There's no mention of what happened after the fingerprinting and if anyone else was also fingerprinted."

Beckett pulled her phone from her pocket, she dialled Ryan quickly, and he answered on the second ring. "Confirmation that the victim is Cassandra Peterman. I need you and Esposito to meet us at Swift's as soon as it opens. Also reach out to Burglary, anything to do with Swift's three months ago we want to know about." Ryan made a fast reply and then hung up, "Thank you Lanie." Beckett told her friend with a smile, before turning to Castle "Ryan says Bancroft's girlfriend has provided him with a solid alibi. Apparently they've not left the bedroom in three days."

Castle felt his stomach flip slightly, another woman claiming that she was with Bancroft when someone was murdered, it all felt a little coincidental for him. "You don't believe her do you?" he questioned Beckett carefully.

"Ryan said she is quite certain about it, she didn't waver at all." Beckett replied, trying to hide her disappointment.

"I wouldn't thank me yet." Lanie said interrupting – alibi's were all very well, but this medical examiner had clear evidence – evidence that Castle and Beckett needed to hear, the two of them turned to look back at her and Lanie's voice became sombre as she continued to explain. "I have narrowed down time of death to somewhere just before 4am, strangling was the cause, the strap of her handbag matches exactly." Beckett nodded and Lanie continued, "The cut on her arm was pre-mortem, wound pattern suggests a small weapon with jagged edges, most likely the pen we found at the scene." She explained as she lifted the arm of the victim and showed Castle and Beckett the mark that marred Cassandra's pale skin. "She was also punched in the face pre-mortem." She told them, pointing at the deep bruising on Cassandra's cheek.

"All of this sounds helpful Lanie." Beckett said with a confused tone.

"The bruise pattern suggests she was punched by someone wearing a large ring on their right hand. The ring was big enough to leave a distinctive pattern."

Castle let out a sigh, Bancroft had never worn a ring, he'd always claimed an allergic reaction to metal. Castle had laughed about it once with Ryan and Esposito, a man married to a woman who worked in a jewellery store was allergic to metal and now it seemed that something he'd once laughed at would be a piece of evidence that could exonerate Bancroft.

"There is more." Lanie stated as she held up Cassandra's right hand, "There is post-mortem bruising on the fourth finger of her right hand. As if something was taken off her finger after she was killed."

"They left her bracelet and necklace but took something from her finger?" Beckett questioned.

Lanie nodded, "They left a $1199 bracelet but took her ring."

"She could have had a more expensive ring." Castle suggested.

"By the marks on the skin the ring was small, nowhere near the value of the bracelet. But it was worn often." Lanie explained turning Cassandra's finger towards Castle and Beckett.

"So the ring had significance to the killer." Beckett said thinking aloud. "She knew her killer."

"And he kept her ring." Castle added.

"That's what I was thinking." Lanie said with a small smile, she loved the way her best friend and her partner could finish each other's sentences. She'd once told them it was 'so cute,' and she still thought it was but she didn't mention it, the reaction the first time was enough.

"Swift's opens in half an hour." Beckett said as she checked the clock on the wall, "Surely someone might have noticed what ring she was wearing." Castle nodded back at her, "Thank you Lanie." Beckett said with a smile.

"I still haven't finished." Lanie began as she moved to the opposite end of the table, "When I was examining her feet I found that one of them was heavily bandaged inside her shoe." She explained pointing out the pair of heels that had been carefully placed on the table beside Cassandra.

"They are high heels." Beckett noted, studying the large heel of the designer made shoe, "It has been known for women to tape their feet into shoes so that they fit better."

"Speaking from experience?" Castle questioned jokingly – trying to lighten the black cloud that he'd felt descend on his mood.

Beckett turned and glared at him, shaking her head slowly. The slight smile he had been wearing disappeared quickly.

"You were saying Lanie." Castle prompted – turning his attention back to the amused medical examiner.

"Once I unwrapped the bandage I found scarring to her ankle." Lanie explained pointing out the scars for both Beckett and Castle to see. "I took an x-ray and found that there is a metal plate and screws holding together her ankle."

Beckett moved slowly to where Lanie had placed the x-ray film, she studied the picture carefully. She wasn't a doctor and she couldn't tell what she was looking at – but she could see the three screws that held the pieces of Cassandra Peterman's ankle together. "Do you know when this would have happened?"

"From the scarring over the skin and the way it has healed I am estimating at least a year ago if not more." Lanie explained, "Also I assume she was walking in these shoes and they would require an amount of strength that would need at least a year to heal."

"So she was injured back home." Castle stated.

Beckett nodded before questioning Lanie, "Have you got more?" Lanie shook her head and Beckett smiled thoughtfully, before turning to look at Castle. He smiled back and the two of them bid a farewell to Lanie before stepping out into the hall – they now had confirmation of their victim's identity. But they also had many unanswered questions and if there was one thing that both of them didn't like – it were questions that didn't have answers.