Thank you to all the wonderful people reading this fic. I appreciate everyone of you for reading this.
Jo- Thanks being a wonderful beta with this story and motivating me. This story would not be what it is without you :)
Disclaimer- Castle is not mine, but all the mistakes are.
The More Things Change…
…the more they stay the same. Kate Beckett is bored with life, but when a serial killer starts dedicating murders to her- someone enters the scene to aid with the investigation and her life may never be the same. Season 2- AU Caskett meeting.
Chapter 19
"So the studio comped me a two bedroom four star suite. We can set up shop there. They have the most amazing couple's massages," Castle said, the California sun warming them as they drove down the well manicured boulevard.
"You do know that we're not here for a vacation right? I need to figure this out, Castle. This is the most important case of my life!" Kate snapped. He turned his head toward her as they pulled up to a red light and he ran his hand against the top of her thigh.
She was wound a little tighter than she thought.
"Hey, hey. I know. We will solve this. I'm here to be a help, not to be a distraction, but we also need to make sure we're smart about this. I'm not going to lose you to this, Kate. I almost lost you once. Hell, you'll still not healed from your attack." The concern cracked in his voice and his hand gripped her leg a little tighter. Not enough to be painful, but enough that she could tell he was trying to remind himself that she was still there next to him.
"Castle, I'm feeling fine. I didn't even need to take pain meds today. You're not losing me to this, but you're the only back up I have. I'm not a cop in LA so anything we do—we need to stay under the radar."
Ryan and Esposito knew that she was flying to Los Angeles and they knew she was trying to follow a lead on Royce's murder. However, that's as far as it went. They were still in the dark about her father's accident and Royce's connection to it. Hell, they still were unaware that there was any conspiracy surrounding her dad's death and it would stay that way. She wouldn't allow her friends and partners to get swept up into the drama. The guys still thought her attack at her apartment was a random wayward event.
"I can do under the radar," he said and she laughed.
"Really? Castle, look at the car you rented for us? A bright red Ferrari? Not exactly incognito."
"It's completely normal here, no one will even look in our direction. It's not like when I drive mine in New York."
Looking around at the other cars on the road, he might have a point. This didn't exactly stand out in the sea of other high end vehicles.
Wait, what? He had a Ferarri?
"You have a car like this? How did I not know this? And how have I not driven it yet?" Muscle cars had been one of her weaknesses ever since she was a teenager. She had always dreamed of owning one someday. It was a common daydream she and her dad shared.
"Now who's losing focus?" he smirked at her as they pulled back into traffic.
"You're right, but I've just always wanted to drive one."
"How about this? We'll handle things in LA and bring down this bastard. Then as soon as we're back in the city, we can go to a club for a night and I'll let you drive it—"
Well that was a no brainer. Driving Castle's Ferrari? The only catch was she had to go to a club and have the pleasure of pressing her body up against his all night? Um? How was this even a question?
"Deal—"
"Ah ah ah. I wasn't finished. I'll let you drive it as long as you wear that short black little dress I saw hiding in your closet."
How did he-?
"You were snooping?" she asked, raising her eyebrow at him in surprise.
"Researching…" he defended, avoiding her eyes but a small smirk was forming on his lips.
"Same thing!"
"Do we have ourselves a deal, Detective Beckett?" he asked as his eyebrows danced in an irritating fashion. Only irritating because he knew she would agree to it and he was gloating already.
"Fine, deal! I'll wear it, but you go home alone that night."
She knew as well as he did that it was an empty threat, but she had to add something to the deal as a matter of pride.
"Ha! Like you'd be able to resist me."
"Man, someone is a little too cocky today." Kate laughed as he pulled up to the valet parking in front of the hotel.
"Maybe so but I'm getting you to smile…" Castle said, opening the car door and swooping around to open hers before she even had the chance.
He did have the ability to take her mind off of things. It was one of the many things she loved about him.
"You did, but we're here now. We can start the investigation." She tried to reach for the small bag that she had packed for herself, but Castle swatted her hand away, pulling both of their luggage out of the car himself.
The bellboy and concierge attendant let them into their room with their bags. Showing them around, they made sure that everything was up to Castle's usual standards before they left them to be alone.
"Why don't we get settled in—order some room service?" he asked.
"Castle, I'm not here for room service. I'm here for justice," Kate stated, walking into their bedroom. He followed after her with a soft chuckle.
"Wow, you've been in LA for all of a minute and you're already spouting cheesy movie dialogue."
"Don't make me shoot you," she teased with a glare looking over her shoulder.
"I'm sure that's in a movie somewhere too."
"Castle!"
"Right, sorry. Where should we start?"
"Ryan said that Royce had an address on file that he would stay at when he was in LA. Maybe we could start there? See if anyone saw him there over the last couple of days?"
Their search for answers really was a needle in a haystack, but at least they had a haystack to look in.
Even if it was the entire city of Los Angeles.
They spoke to the owner of the home that Royce had crashed at when he came to LA. The man didn't have any idea of what Royce was doing nor did he even know that Royce had been killed. Although he couldn't provide them with any answers or explanations, he allowed Beckett and Castle to look around Royce's room to see if they could find any information.
"Mike said if a Detective Kate Beckett ever came to ask me questions that I should let you in. It's the least I can do. Mike was a good man."
Kate gave him a polite smile as he shut the door to the room to give her and Castle some privacy.
"Do you have any idea what we're looking for?"
"No, but if Royce told him to let us look he obviously hid something for me to find."
The room was pretty bare. Nothing personal could be seen by the naked eye. The bedding was generic and there weren't any decorations on the walls. This seemed to be nothing more than a place for him to sleep and then move on with whatever business he needed to attend to. Kate had heard a couple years back that Royce had become a bounty hunter but until seeing him in the precinct a week ago she had never run into him. From what the home owner said, Royce stayed here quite a bit so he didn't find it unusual for him to swing by for a day and then disappear.
It was the way Royce worked.
"I was so in awe of him, Castle, when I first met him. I just hung on his every word. And then later, I realized he was just making up stories to mess with me." She laughed, remembering all the time they spent together as she flipped through random paperwork in his nightstand. "I can't believe I'm never going to see him again." She sighed and closed her eyes, as she felt Castle wrap his arms around her in a reassuring hug. He pressed a kiss into her hair before they both continued looking around.
Castle flipped over the mattress to see if there was anything in the obvious hiding spot.
"Have you seen one too many cop movies, Castle? Things of value are never actually hidden there," she teased.
"You keep saying that, but I bet that you've found enough evidence hiding underneath a mattress."
"Fine, you have a point. But not Royce, he's—he was smarter than that."
"Okay, so he was smarter. Then where would he hide something that he'd know you would look."
"There," she said, pointing at the heating vent above his bed. "Do you have a Swiss army knife? I need a little screwdriver."
"You really think he'd put it there?"
"Yeah. One of the cases we worked together, the victim hid a note taped to the top of a heating duct. He told me that if he was ever found dead—always check the heating ducts for evidence. I remember smacking him in the arm for his sick sense of humor…" she sighed, her voice cracking as she remembered that case vividly.
One of the first murders she worked as a uniform.
"Here, let me get it opened. I'm not so sure you should be straining yourself so much, Kate. You're still in a soft cast," he said, propping himself up on the bed next to her and gently moving her aside.
"Castle, I'm fine," Kate huffed.
"Just humor me, okay?"
She moved out of the way so he could hop up on the bed and remove the grate. He pulled a flash light out of his back pocket and directed the light inside.
"You brought a flashlight? You're like a wannabe Sherlock Holmes," she teased.
"I came prepared. Unlike a certain detective I know…"
"What would I ever do without you," she stated with a sarcastic tone and a roll of her eyes, but the meaning behind her words rang true. At this point, she didn't know what she would ever do without him.
"You can just admit I'm your hero and we can move on with our lives."
"Don't push it," she laughed.
"Ah ha! Another letter. It's like a treasure hunt really," Castle stated, turning toward her to hand over the piece of paper. "What does it say?"
She took a deep breath. As she unfolded the page, a small key fell out onto the bed. Their eyes met for a brief second as the confusion washed in the air between them. Running her thumb against the paper, she looked down at possibly the last thing Royce wrote while he was alive.
'Kid-
If you're reading this then things didn't go entirely according to plan. I'm sorry I couldn't put a stop to things myself, but I have all the evidence that you need to get those who were responsible. I just wanted to put my own personal demons away myself; it was selfish, but I wanted to prove to you I could still be good in some way.
I guess I paid for it with my life if you're in LA.
That's not the way I wanted this to go but it was a long time coming.
I'm on the clock so here's what will help bring this to an end.
Two names you need to know:
Ganz and Bracken.
Ganz is low level. Bracken is at the top.
This key is to a safety deposit box where I stored all the evidence. It's all there, kid and I'm sorry I was such a coward that I didn't turn it over earlier. The result would've been the same.
Just be careful. They have people everywhere. The network runs deep- all levels of the government and so many people are in their pockets.
-Mike '
Castle picked up the key and looked at it.
"Bracken? You don't think he means Senator William Bracken?"
"I don't know, Castle. But my question is where is this box at? There's nothing else in the vent?"
"Nothing aside from some dust bunnies."
"We have to be missing something," Kate said pushing the letter into her back pocket. "Hold onto the key. Let's go back to the hotel and call the guys. Maybe they found something with Royce's murder that could help us."
She put in a call to her partners to see if anything more had come up with their investigation. It turned out that security footage showed a man whom they later identified as Russell Ganz. He flew into New York from Los Angeles around the same time that Royce did. In fact, this mystery man also was spotted leaving the scene of the crime right around his time of death.
None of that could be a coincidence.
The boys were following down more leads in New York so at this point of the evening their investigation in LA was at a standstill. Ryan promised to let her in on whatever else they found about Royce's murder, agreeing that the names in Royce's letter, Ganz, was indeed their best bet. So if Ganz was a hit-man, could he possibly also be the one who was responsible for her dad's accident?
And Senator Bracken? Was the government really that corrupt that someone that high up would be responsible for blackmailing cops and killing off anyone who stood in his way?
"This is it Castle. We're so close. I can feel it," she murmured, sinking into the couch back at the hotel.
"You'll finally have justice for your dad…" Castle said. He handed her a glass of wine as he sat down next to her, pulling her close to his body.
"After the years of lies and manipulation, it will be nice to be able to know that he can finally rest in peace." Kate looked down at her dad's watch and lightly traced the glass face with her fingertips.
"And your mom won't have to live in fear anymore."
She sighed and took a long sip of her wine before she set in on the table beside them.
"I still can't believe she lied to me that entire time—that his accident was one huge conspiracy, but now I understand why she did it. Loving someone so much that you'd do anything to protect them? I love my mom and I want her safe. But Castle, before you? I never understood the all consuming sort of love—I'd do anything for you," she whispered, feeling the heat of her confession on her skin. Kate hid her face into his chest and leaned further onto his body.
"And you know I'd do anything possible to keep you safe. I love you," Castle said, kissing the top of her head.
"How did I ever get so lucky to get you in my life?" Kate asked, turning her head up to look into his eyes.
"Murder."
"Ah yes. The ultimate match maker," she giggled, playing with the fabric of his button down shirt.
"You know what I thought when I first met you?"
"Hmm?" Her eyes lit up with curiosity and she felt her heart lift when she saw the amount of love in his expression.
"That you were a mystery that I was never going to solve. Even now, after spending all this time with you I'm—I'm still amazed at the depth of your strength, your heart—and your hotness."
She beamed up at him and leaned up to press her lips onto his.
"You're not so bad yourself, Castle," she husked into his ear and placed another kiss on the patch of skin nearby. He brought her face back toward his and caressed her cheekbone with the pad of his thumb.
"I'm so lucky to have you in my life. I still can't believe that I have someone as astonishingly beautiful as you to love me," he whispered a breaths space apart from her mouth before he guided her lips to meet his. Kate broke the kiss just as it was gaining intensity.
"Take me to bed, Rick."
He didn't even let her finish her train of thought before he scooped her up into his arms and she squealed in delight as he brought her into their room, closing the door behind him.
TBC
I appreciate you all so much for reading! Thank you! I look forward to hearing what you think about this chapter!