Title: Rock Foundation

Disclaimer: I do not own the Castle characters or their story lines. I just borrow them for fun.

Summary: A Sequel of sorts for my one-shot Rock Solid. Kate and Rick deal with the aftermath of Knockdown and move forward with their lives, learning to balance their partnership with their budding relationship.

Author's note: Some of you have been asking for drama. Well, thus begins my drama (though, it actually began quite a few chapter back). It's a bit heavier than a Pizza-oven murder... but I think they should balance each other out.

Happy Castle Monday!

Emma

Chapter XVIII:

Kate caught up to Rick as he opened the door to the morgue.

"Finally!" Lanie exclaimed.

"It took us, like, two minutes to get here," Kate protested. Lanie gave her a look. "What's up?"

"Your victim has the same stab wound to the thigh as the last one did."

"Right," Rick nodded.

"I thought that was odd, so I took a mold and compared it to the last victim. It was the same knife."

"The knife was never found," Kate supplied.

"Strangulation patterns match too."

"But we have DNA and fingerprints from our perp for the last murder," Kate defended.

"Yeah. I know. You got the right guy; I'm not trying to tell you that you didn't…just that there's something very weird about this."

"I'll say," Rick muttered to her right.

"Is there any other connecting evidence?"

"None," Lanie replied sadly. "Sorry."

"Not your fault. Alright, come on Castle, we've got work to do."

They left Lanie and made their way back to the elevator. Kate leaned against the wall and blew out a sigh. "Well, that's frustrating," she admitted.

"We'll find something," Rick assured her.

Kate looked over at him. "I don't like thinking that we got the wrong guy."

"I don't think we did. That kid killed the last girl. But, what we need is the guy that killed this one. Then we'll find the connection."

"You know, over the years you've developed quite the pep talk," she smiled as the elevator dinged and they got inside.

"I do have a teenage daughter, and a mother. Pep talks are kind of my thing," he shrugged. "But I'm glad to have found the right one for you. I do like to personalize."

Kate whacked his arm and they smiled goofily at each other until the bell rang and the doors opened onto the bullpen. Together they strode to the murder board, searching for the clue.

"Yo, Beckett!" Esposito called across the room. "The husband, Adam Waters, is waiting for you in meeting room 1."

"Thanks, Espo," Kate replied. "Can you see if you can run down calls on the cell phone? How are we coming on the staff?"

"Ryan's over there getting statements."

"Great, thanks."

Rick followed her into the room and sat down quietly beside her, across from a tall man in an Armani suit. His bronze face was streaked with tears and he looked up at them in surprise, as if he hadn't noticed them coming in.

"Mr. Waters, I'm Detective Beckett," Kate said quietly. "I'm very sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," he shook her hand unsteadily. "What can you…what can you tell me about m…my wife?"

"She was found this morning in an alley near her school building. Did she often walk to work?"

"Ye…yeah. We live nearby. My office is across town, but I don't usually have to be in. I generally walk with her…but today…"

"What time do you leave, most mornings?"

"Um, maybe eight? But she wanted to be there early today. I told her she should st…stay with me. Be late just once, you know, for luck. I'm up for a big promotion." He stared off absently for a moment.

"Was there anything going on, recently, that worried your wife?" Kate asked gently, bringing him back.

"She…She thought someone was following her. But every time I was with her, it never happened. So we were going everywhere together, until this morning. We just couldn't avoid it. I asked her to take a cab, but it was sunny out."

"She wanted to enjoy the weather?"

"Yeah. Yeah, Cecile liked sun."

"Mr. Waters, did Cecile every say who was following her, or what they looked like?"

"It was a man, she'd figured that much out. But she never got a good look at him. I mean, he was always far away…but she just knew."

Kate frowned. "You didn't think to go to the police?"

He shook his head. "We have a friend, a lawyer, Ron Jonston, who told us that without a name or even a face, we didn't have much to go on. Advised us to stay together as much as we could, and just wait it out. I mean, we weren't even sure if someone was following her. I should have walked her anyway!"

"Mr. Waters," Kate said quietly. "This isn't your fault. I know you want to think it is—if only you'd been there. If only this time you hadn't had a meeting. There are a million if onlys, but believe me, none of them are true. This is not your fault. We will do everything we can to find the people who did it, and they will pay for what they did to your wife."

"Thank you," he said.

"If you think of anything else that could be helpful, please let us know," Kate said as they stood.

"I will. Thank you, Detective. And you…" he extended a hand to Rick.

"Rick Castle. I'm assisting Detective Beckett. I'm very sorry for your loss."

Adam gave him a weak smile. "It's a shame. My wife loved your books. She talked Ron's ear off about them last time he was over."

"I'm sure I would have enjoyed meeting her," Rick replied.

"She's…she was wonderful. Excuse me," he turned and gave a nod to Kate before walking quickly out of the Precinct, his shoulders shaking.

They watched him go. Rick felt Kate's hand on his forearm after a long pause and he turned to look at her.

"You okay?" she asked.

"Yeah. I'm just…that one seemed harder, you know?"

She nodded. Kate couldn't put her finger on what had made that meeting more serious than familial consultations usually were. They were always horrible, but Mr. Waters' had been especially heavy. She felt Rick's hand come to cover hers briefly before he pulled away and went to make them coffee.

"Beckett!" Ryan called, pulling her from her thoughts.

Kate walked over to his desk where Ryan was taking off his coat. "What's up?"

"So, I went and talked to the principal. She says there's been a man skulking around for the past few weeks."

"Why did no one bother to call the cops?" Kate wondered aloud.

"They did. Cops show up to guard the building, guy disappears. Weeks go by. And get this—cops stopped showing up yesterday."

"Making it easy for our mystery killer to strike," Rick supplied, handing Kate a coffee.

"Did anyone get an ID or appearance on the guy?" Kate asked before taking a large swig.

"Male, mid-thirties. Dark hair. Stubble," Ryan supplied.

"Alright, well, at least we have something to go by. Anything on the cell?" she asked Esposito.

"Nada. Calls to the husband and some Ron guy."

"The husband's lawyer friend," Rick supplied.

"Yeah," Esposito nodded. "Other than those, the most recent was a call to her parents two weeks ago."

"We'll have to get in touch with them too," Kate sighed.

"They're in California, we've got uniforms on it," Ryan told her.

"Okay, well, let's keep digging. She was killed in exactly the same way as our last victim, so maybe our last killer can lead us to our current one. Furgus is all processed?"

"Yeah, we've got them bringing him in."

Kate smiled. "Good work, guys."

They grinned and went about making their calls while Kate and Rick walked back to her desk and perched on the edge, staring at the murder board.

"Why would someone stalk this woman?" Kate wondered aloud. "There's nothing suspicious in the record. The two of them weren't rich, by any means. She's pretty, but not gorgeous. There's no classic motive."

"Maybe it was something else. She's blonde, blue-eyed."

"Rick," Kate said quietly, turning to look at him. "Are you still worried about Tyson?"

He shrugged a bit defensively. "It's his MO. Well, it's not his normal kill style, but it's two blonde women, laid out peacefully. Maybe he's ramping up the violence."

"But our last victim was killed by that kid."

"Right. Maybe he's getting other people to do things for him now. He's not a dumb guy," Rick offered.

Kate laid a hand on his knee. "We'll catch the guy that did this."

He covered her hand. "I know we will. It just…it unsettles me, thinking he's still out there, you know?"

"I do."

"You mind if I call Alexis? She's got lunch now."

Kate gave him a sad smile. "Not at all. Tell her I say hello."

She watched him go with a heavy heart. She wasn't willing to admit it yet, but there was something very wrong with these two murders, and it did reek of obsession. And the last time they'd dealt with an obsessed killer was when Rick was taken hostage and nearly killed.

Kate shook her head to clear her thoughts and sat down in front of her computer, re-reading Cecile's file. No priors, convictions, disagreements, dirty dealings—the woman was a model citizen. Her husband was much the same.

"Beckett!" Ryan called.

Kate turned and watched as Furgus was lead into interrogation. She stood and gathered her papers and pulled her hair back. This wasn't the time to look soft. She needed to be intimidating. Rick fell into step behind her as she walked to the room and they entered together. She'd have to take time to compliment him on the poker face he'd developed over the years. It was actually pretty good.

"Furgus," Kate greeted icily, sitting down across from the teenager. He barely blinked. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Nope."

"We'd like to know who told you to kill Tammy."

"Toby."

Kate shook her head. "Toby told you first, but who told you to stab her?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you stab Tammy? Why not just strangle her and get it over with?"

"Some bum was talking about how cool it looked to see blood run out of someone…and he gave me the knife."

"Morbid curiosity?" Rick added.

"It sounded cool," Furgus shrugged.

"What did this bum look like?"

Furgus looked at her. "A bum. Tall. Dark. Stubble. Ratty-ass clothes."

"Thank you, Furgus. Enjoy prison."

"Hell of a lot better than here," he mumbled as they left.

"We've got to find that stalker," Kate announced as they came to Ryan's desk.

"The school's sending over some video footage now."

"Any word on the husband's friend?" Rick asked suddenly.

"Why?" all three Detectives turned to him.

"Well, this man, Ron Jonston, shows up in their lives just in time to tell them not to go to the police when Cecile starts being followed. He'd have been around for the Furgus case…what if he's our guy?"

"Esposito, find that guy," Kate ordered, striding over to her desk and picking up a marker. She began adding everything they knew and created a separate column for Ron Jonston.

Rick watched her work in silence for a few minutes until the slamming of a phone across the bullpen made them look up.

"Ron Jonston doesn't exist. There's no lawyer in the city with that ID. No records, no social, nada."

Kate turned to Rick. "Looks like he's our guy."

"School footage just came in," Ryan announced.

The four of them crowded around his computer and watched in silence for a few minutes until a man appeared at the edge of the picture, standing against the metal fence of the playground.

"That's him," Esposito muttered.

"K-Beckett," Castle said quietly as beam of light hit the man's face. "That's Jerry Tyson."

"Shit," was Kate's only response.

They all stared at the picture, frozen for a second, before there was a flurry of movement. Kate bolted into the Captain's office while Ryan called the fugitive watch. Esposito began making calls to the school.

Rick watched as people flew about the room. As soon as Ryan's call ended, there was a definite increase of people in the bullpen. Uniforms he rarely saw were printing files and making calls. Karpowski's team was running around. Even some of the guys from Vice had shown up.

He made his way back to Kate's desk and sat down, staring at the murder board. Tyson was back.

"Hey."

He looked up and found Kate standing in front of him. "Hey," he replied.

"We've got the whole city on red alert. We'll get him this time." Rick nodded. "You should call Gina, Alexis and Martha, get them somewhere safe," Kate added after a moment.

Rick's eyes widened. "You don't think?"

Kate just put a hand on his shoulder. "I don't know, but I would rather be safe than sorry. I'm telling Ryan to send Jenny to her parents as well."

Rick nodded. "Okay. Okay. Where…where do I send them?"

"Alexis and Martha could go out to the Hamptons, right? You've got guards you can send."
"Yeah, right. And Gina…She's supposed to be in LA soon, for the movie. I'll tell her to go early."

"Sounds good. Go, make the calls."

They nodded at each other and Kate sat down while he stood. Rick began to walk away before turning around. "You…"

"Will be busy covering your ass. Don't worry."

Rick gave a weak laugh. "Right. You wear a gun." Kate nodded. "Okay, I'm gonna…"

"Go, go," she waved him off.

Rick walked back to one of the deserted meeting rooms and closed the door. He walked over and looked out the window for a second before taking out his phone. Alexis wouldn't like it.

"Castle residence."

"Oh, Mother. Good," Rick sighed in relief. It would be easier to get them out and then explain it to his daughter.

"What is it, Richard?"

"I need you to take Alexis to the Hamptons for a few days."

"Rick, it's the middle of the school week…"

"Jerry Tyson is back," he said without preamble.

He heard her take a breath. "The man who held you at gun point? Serial killer?"

"The same."

"Alright. You're sending us with a guard, I assume?"

"I'll be calling them as soon as we're done. Someone should be there in 20 minutes to escort you to the school and then to the Hamptons."

"Alright. Richard, you're sure about this?"

"Yes. Thank you mother."

"You know Alexis will want to talk to you."

"Have her call me once you've got her safe in the car with you, okay?" Rick sighed. "I'm sorry that I can't come."

"I think, given the circumstances, you should stay here, so he doesn't follow us," she offered.

"Exactly."

"Okay, well, I should go and pack for us."

"Mom," he said quietly. Martha stopped moving on the other side. "I love you."

"And I love you too, Richard. Now, go keep us safe."

The line went dead.

It took him 15 more minutes to call for security for his family and then to convince Gina to leave early. He got her a guard too. Surprisingly enough, their conversation was less stressful than the one with his mother had been.

He met Kate at her desk where they were holding war council, the entire Precinct standing around the murder board. Rick stood at Kate's side and listened as Montgomery continued giving instructions. After a moment, he felt her hand slip into his. He glanced at her and found her watching him.

It was moments like these that made him remember just how extraordinary she was.