Beckett, Rookie, Hendricks and McCord stared slack-jawed and speechlessly at the TV set, the only sound in the room coming from the commercials flickering across the screen. Rookie opened his mouth a few times to speak but quickly shut it again, unsure of what to say in this situation.
"Did this just happen?" Matt finally broke the silence.
"It's not true," Beckett replied quietly, "it's all a lie."
"We know, Beckett." He patted her on her back. "Everyone knows what a hack he is. Nobody in their right mind will believe him."
"What if they do?" Kate whispered. "He practically accused the entire NYPD of covering up a crime!" She suddenly shouted.
"Relax, I'm sure NYPD has got it under control. Otherwise you would've heard from your old team by now. The taping was in the afternoon after all and I'm sure their lawyers are already all over this PR nightmare." Rachel advised her. "Try calling him again."
Kate pursed her lips and pulled out her phone. No new messages. No missed calls. She sighed heavily and speed dialed her fiancé, only to be sent straight to voice mail again. "Hey Castle, it's me again. Call me when you get this. I just saw it. Just please call me, ok? Don't do anything stupid!"
She hung up and looked at her new colleagues at a loss.
"Don't worry, it'll all blow over quickly." Hendricks tried to cheer her up, "If you're lucky Charlie Sheen will have another public meltdown tomorrow and you'll be old news."
"What if not?" Kate squared her chin and stared him down. "What if there's another investigation? What if this gets drawn out by lawyers and the media? How am I supposed to do my job when everything I do gets scrutinized by everyone?"
"Hey, calm down!" Rachel put her hand on Beckett's shoulder. "No one here is questioning your work ethics. They did a thorough background check on you and nothing flagged up. Obviously the guys upstairs agree with IA that there was no wrongful behavior on your or your team's account."
"Shhh!" Rookie motioned for them to watch the TV where Jeffrey Lawson had returned from commercial and expressed his regrets that Mister Castle opted out of providing his side of the story. Beckett thanked her lucky stars because she had been worried that Lawson would sport a black eye after commercial break. She knew her fiancé. People could laugh and joke and write about him all they wanted but the fun stopped when it came to her. She wouldn't have been surprised at all to learn that Castle clocked the TV host right before he stormed out of the studio. With his guest gone, Lawson had to improvise to fill airtime and so he summarized his accusations against Richard Castle, Katherine Beckett, Kevin Ryan, Javier Esposito and Captain Gates from the NYPD 12th Precinct.
Fact is CSU discovered Mr. Castle's fingerprints at the crime scene initially but no investigation was launched immediately. Instead the homicide squad at the twelfth precinct suppressed the evidence, focusing their investigation elsewhere. It was only when the evidence against Mr. Castle became insurmountable that they took him into custody.
Fact is Mr. Castle had motive. In 2010, Jerry Tyson overpowered him and Detective Ryan at a local motel, tied them up to a chair and gagged him, leaving them to die. He has been on the lam ever since. If Mr. Castle needed to frame someone 3XK is the perfect scapegoat.
Fact is Mr. Castle has been shadowing Detective Beckett for five years, on whom he has based the successful Nikki Heat series. The couple has been rumored to be dating for the past three years, although both parties have repeatedly declined to comment.
He showed a close up of the NY Ledger's most eligible bachelor list from four years ago, which started the rumor of them dating. He followed up with a few stills from crime scenes, in which Castle and Beckett could be seen standing closely together and deep in conversation.
Another fact: Mr. Castle and Miss Horton had been having an affair for several months before her untimely death. He showered her with expensive gifts. A series of e-mails between them details their torrid love affair until Mr. Castle tried to break it off and she wouldn't take no for an answer.
Lawson inserted copies of the fake e-mail exchange recovered from Castle's computer.
Fact is Mr. Castle was arrested on October 29th, 2012 for the murder of Tessa Horton by Detective Javier Esposito at his SoHo loft, where explicit evidence was uncovered linking Mr. Castle to the ritualistic killing of the young woman. In addition to his fingerprints at the original crime scene, Tessa Horton's bloody blouse and wire matching the one used in the gruesome staging of her body fixed to the ceiling were secured at the time, all of which prompted a delayed investigation with Mr. Castle as the main suspect.
He now showed evidence pictures of Castle's sports bag and the wire.
Fact is Richard Castle has scrubbed his laptop impeccably clean but NYPD was still able to recover an old short story he'd written, which he used to plan the murder of Tessa Horton. He described the crime scene in staggering detail.
Fact is Mr. Castle evaded justice and staged a prison escape on October 30th, 2012, which had been elaborately planned by him and his lawyer. He hired two actors to impersonate two law enforcement officers – a felony – complete with false paperwork that requested his transfer to central booking. Only Mr. Castle never arrived and DA Gonzalez launched a citywide manhunt. She explicitly warned citizens to not fall for his charming personality and classified Mr. Castle as a dangerous fugitive with a lot of resources at his disposal.
Fact is Mr. Castle was recognized at the New York Public Library by a concerned citizen who mentioned in her signed affidavit that she saw him there with, quote, Detective Nikki Heat, unquote, confirming that Detective Beckett aided and abetted a wanted fugitive. This was confirmed by video surveillance.
Fact is that nobody has seen Jerry Tyson also known as 3XK since he escaped police custody four years ago. We have to believe Detective Beckett that the serial killer was on the bridge that night since no fingerprints were found in the car Tyson presumably steered or at the abandoned apartment building Tyson presumably hid in. However, CSU found a mannequin arm with Mister Castle's prints, building plans of Mr. Castle's loft and the 12th Precinct, surveillance images of Detective Beckett and Richard Castle. If you think this is all too conveniently wrapped up in a nice bow, then consider this: Perhaps this evidence was planted by Mister Castle and Detective Beckett to implicate Jerry Tyson and divert the investigation away from the famous writer. It doesn't seem any less likely than a wanted serial killer returning to Manhattan to torture an innocent writer, risking getting caught by the police, as Mister Castle claims.
Fact is that Tessa Horton does not resemble Jerry Tyson's type nor does her killing fit his preferred M.O. She does, however, seem to be very much Mister Castle's type.
Jeffrey Lawson shows a quick slide show of Castle being surrounded by fans, ex-girlfriends, and various women at social events, ending with a close up of Beckett.
Fact is Captain Victoria Gates is former IA and it just so happens that Detectives Ryan, Esposito and Beckett were quickly cleared of any wrongdoing. The shooting was ruled clean and Mr. Tyson's death accidental even though no body was recovered and no autopsy could be performed. Mr. Castle was not divested of his permission and access to the twelfth precinct.
Fact is Richard Cast leaned upon his friend, Mayor Robert Weldon, to seal the file upon his request. Now why would he do that if he had nothing to hide? We deeply regret that Mr. Castle has chosen not to comment because we wanted to give him a chance to present his side of the story. His reluctance to discuss the case certainly makes you wonder whether his involvement in the case goes beyond his consulting role for the NYPD. It was Richard Castle himself who led NYPD to the abandoned warehouse, where 3XK had presumably been hiding. It would have been easy for him to plant enough evidence to make it look like Jerry Tyson was framing him for the murder of Tessa Horton. After all, Mr. Castle's claims that the Triple X Killer visited him in jail could never be substantiated and with the exception of Detective Beckett, he was the only one to actually see Tyson.
Fact is that the NYPD broke up the unorthodox partnership between Detective Beckett and Richard Castle a few months ago. Detective Beckett was reassigned to the FBI and Mister Castle's gig as a consultant was terminated. Captain Gates continues to run the 12th Precinct, where Detectives Ryan and Esposito still serve.
"Facts?!" Kate growled and lunged at the TV as if she wanted to reach through the screen and strangle the host but Hendricks' arm shot out quickly and pulled her back.
"Those aren't facts," she protested, "that's unfounded lies and speculation and ridiculous conjecture at best!"
"That's enough, turn it off, Rookie." McCord ordered.
"I know you want to hurt that son of a bitch, Beckett," Matt reasoned, "but attacking the flat screen won't help with that." He pulled her back into an empty chair. "Sit and take a few deep breaths."
Beckett ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. "How could he even get access to those files? He just picked out whatever was convenient for him and ignored all the evidence against Castle. He's got it all wrong. Ryan and Esposito found the address. Tyson didn't gag Castle and left him to die. How could we have staged the shooting? Hire someone to drive the other car and shoot at us? This is absurd!"
"Of course, it is." McCord tried to calm Kate down. "Look at the bright side, his selective evidence is your best weapon to fight this. It shows he manipulated evidence to fit his theory."
"But the damage is already done. Castle's reputation is tarnished."
"Look, why don't you go home? Take some time to cool off," McCord advised her. "You're in no shape to work right now. In fact, let's all head home and get some rest." She looked at everyone imploringly. "We'll pick up tomorrow."
The others agreed reluctantly and started packing up their paperwork. Kate sat there a little while longer, staring at the folders and biting her lips.
"Go on," Rookie smiled at her, "we'll clean up after you even though you came in last. But don't think you're off the hook for buying lunch tomorrow."
"Thanks, Rookie." She returned the smile and rose from her chair.
"You're welcome. Tell him I'm on #TeamCastle!"
"I will, good night everybody" She replied and with that she was out the door. Rachel, Hendricks and Richmond exchanged worried glances and let out a heavy sigh, before they finished cleaning up the break room.
0~0~0~0~0
Once she was safely in her hotel room, Kate tried to call Rick a couple of times again, to no avail. Damn that stubborn idiot. It was close to midnight and while she tried to explain his silence all day with the reason that he was probably busily putting out fires with Paula and Gina all day, she highly doubted that they were still fighting in the trenches so late.
Beckett poured herself a glass of wine and called the loft, hoping that Martha would pick up if Castle was dead set on ignoring her. However, after three rings the answering machine picked up and she listened to the message. "Hi, you've reached Richard Castle and…." there was a prolonged pregnant pause before she heard her own exasperated voice, "Katherine Beckett." You could practically hear the eye roll over the phone line, which made her chuckle. Then it was back to Rick's voice, "Please leave us a message and we'll return your call as soon as we're back from fighting crime and ridding this city of its evil warlords." That was the recorded message he had insisted on making after they got engaged. She'd protested that they wouldn't even be living at the loft much longer but he had been unrelenting. When she'd reluctantly followed up his "Richard Castle" with Kate Beckett the first time, he'd stopped and started all over again because it had to be "Katherine Beckett" just as it would say on their engagement announcement.
She sniffled and waited for the signal, before she spoke, "Castle, pick up. I know you are there." She waited a few seconds hoping that he would do so but when it was clear that he was either not listening or ignoring her request, she continued, "You can't avoid me forever, we need to talk." She let out a heavy breath, "Just call me, please?"
After she hung up, she tossed her phone aside and reached for her glass of wine to take a long sip. Kate threw her head back against the couch rest and closed her eyes. Why was this happening? Why now? When for the first time in her life everything seemed to come together? Well there, that was probably the answer right there. Things had simply been too good to be true; of course, someone was going to throw a wrench into her happily ever after.
She wished Castle would call her and that they could talk this out. She'd rather do it in person but over the phone would have to do for now. Perhaps she'll ask Rachel if she could take off early tomorrow, so she could catch the evening commuter to New York. Damn! She'd completely forgotten to check in with McCord whether she'd talked with Granger about giving her the weekend off. And she still hadn't booked her flight on Saturday, which, granted, would save her rebooking fees if she flew out Friday night already.
Kate hated that Castle was trying to deal with this on his own. She knew that he had two experienced publicists at his side with Gina and Paula, but still… she wanted to be there for him. Like he was always there for her when she needed him. Whatever it was that kept him from reaching out to her after that horrible taping, it felt like a wedge coming between them in their relationship. And they had promised each other, sworn to each other on the swings that they would never ever let anything or anyone come between them again.
And then came Jeffrey Lawson and all their good intentions flew out the window. How had that slimy bastard even got a hold of the case file? At the time she'd rolled her eyes when Castle insisted that they seal the file in case Jerry Tyson wasn't dead after all and not yet done with them. Eventually she humored him and let him put in a request with Captain Gates. Iron Gates had all but laughed him out of her office, which did little for their precarious relationship but one helluva lot damage to his ego. Castle retaliated by calling in a favor with "Big Cheese" and got him to have the files sealed. When Gates found out he went behind her back again, she was livid. Ryan and Esposito quipped that they'd bring their ice-skates to work because the atmosphere in the bullpen was so chilling for the rest of the week.
Right! Beckett grabbed her phone, as an idea took hold of her. Why hadn't she thought of that before? The person on the other hand picked up after the first ring, indicating that he was probably already waiting for her call.
"What the fuck, 'sposito?" She yelled at him, "Those files are supposed to be sealed! How'd that jackass get his fuckin' fingers on the Tyson files?"
"I take it you saw the interview," Esposito greeted her.
"What's going on? Is Castle with you? Are you still at the precinct?" She attacked him with questions, finally finding an outlet for her anger.
"Nope," Esposito shook his head, "just got home a little over an hour ago. And no I wasn't sleeping, thanks for asking."
Kate sighed, "Sorry. I'm just clasping at straws here. I can't reach Castle. He hasn't talked to me all day and I worry about how he's handling all of this."
"He still hasn't called you?" Esposito cursed in Spanish. "I specifically told him to call you."
"And since when do you think Richard Castle listens to Javier Esposito's advice?" Kate couldn't help but laugh.
"How you holding up, chica?"
"Coping. The wine helps." She replied, "What about you and Ryan?"
"We feel angry and blindsided by all of this just like you and Castle. The boy's a wreck."
"Not helping, Javi." Kate warned him.
"Don't worry, he's fine. He's handling it much better than I would. Must be his years of experience dealing with paparazzi."
"So you've seen him?"
"Yeah, he stopped by earlier at the precinct to warn Ryan and me and see if there's anything we could do to prevent it from airing."
"I guess the answer to that would be no."
"He wasn't very happy to hear that when I called him with the bad news in the evening. I think he and his legal team have tried to fight the broadcast until the last minute. Obviously they weren't successful."
"How could this happen, Javi?"
"I don't know but I can tell you this much, whoever talked – Gates wants their head served on a silver platter. Lucky me, she tasked Ryan and yours truly with finding out who leaked the case details."
"I bet she wasn't too happy when Castle showed up at her precinct again," Kate chuckled.
Esposito laughed, "Her exact words were, "I thought I made myself clear, when I said I don't want to see you again in my precinct, unless you were arrested, Mister Castle." You should have seen her face."
Beckett could hear voices in the background and suddenly she heard Lanie's voice on the phone, "Kate, how are you doing, girl?"
Kate grinned, "Isn't the more interesting question what you're doing at Espo's place so late?"
"Guilty as charged, counselor." Her friend didn't even try to deny it. "Now stop deflecting and tell me how you feel?"
Kate blew out her breath slowly. "Still processing I guess."
"You should talk to your dad. Javi said that the department's lawyer said there was nothing NYPD could stop the episode from airing but that y'all had a pretty good case for a defamation lawsuit in civil court."
"I honestly haven't thought that far ahead, Lanie. Right now I just wanna know how Castle's doing."
"You haven't talked to writer boy?"
"No." Kate heard rustling in the background and assumed Lanie abandoned Esposito so they could have some girl talk in privacy. "He's ignoring my calls."
"Well, from what Javi told me he was running around the city with his agent and ex-wife trying to stop the airing."
"It's midnight, Lanie." Kate interjected, "The broadcast is over, if he wanted to talk to me…"
"Speaking of midnight, thank you very much for interrupting my sex life on my only night off this week!"
"Oh Lanie, I'm so sorry, I'll let you go."
"Girl, you really think I'm gonna let you hang up on me after what happened today? Just tell writer boy to pick a better day for breaking a scandal loose next time."
"I'd prefer there'd be no more scandals." Beckett replied honestly.
"He'll call you, Kate. Maybe he's just exhausted and turned his phone off. I can only imagine it must have been ringing off the hook since the broadcast."
"It's hard, Lanie," Kate confessed, her voice thick with unshed tears, "I want to be there for him and I'm so far away."
"He knows your thoughts are with him."
"I felt so humiliated in front of my new colleagues when we watched the interview, I can't even begin to imagine how horrible that experience must have been for him this afternoon. To be ambushed with such atrocious lies and unfounded accusations! That asshole goaded him on and laid a trap for him the whole time. He twisted every word we've ever included in a police report and concocted this deranged theory."
"I know, Kate. I saw the interview, too. Javi had warned me."
"Why won't he talk to me?" Kate sniffed and brushed her tears off her cheeks angrily. "What if he thinks I'm mad at him?"
"Why would he think such a stupid thing? This was completely out of his control!"
"Because things have been rough between us lately and only yesterday I had to pick him up at the local police station and told him to stop embarrassing me?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down, Kate. Did he get arrested again?"
"Kinda."
"Is this the point where I should channel your mother and warn you to stay away from that boy because he's up to no good?"
"Not funny, Lanie. I was really lucky that the captain gave me a courtesy call. I don't know how many more times that man can beat criminal charges before one of these days they'll stick."
"And you're afraid Jeffrey Lawson's accusation will work like super glue?"
"Yes."
"It's a TV show, Kate. It's not even the news. It's entertainment. Bad entertainment I might add."
"Yes, but by tomorrow morning all the media outlets will have picked it up. The launch of his new book will be completely overcast by this dark cloud hovering over his head and he's worked so hard on his novel, he doesn't deserve to be treated like that."
"Let me tell you something, Kate Beckett. That man wasn't born yesterday. I'm sure he's already got his legal time drafting up a lawsuit and his publicist finding a way to put a positive PR spin on this. Javi told me Castle seemed much less concerned with how this scandal affects him than you and Ryan and Javi, even Gates. I bet he's trying to fix this mess for you as we speak and that's the reason he's not calling."
"You think this is some stupid male pride thing?"
"It is Castle we're talking about after all." Lanie shot back.
"Tell Espo he better put a protective detail on Lawson because I'm not sure I can stop myself from kicking his ass all over Manhattan, when I come home this weekend."
"First of all, get in line. Captain Gates has currently dibs on kicking Lawson's ass first. Then it's Javi, Ryan, Castle and me on the list."
Kate laughed out loud, "Gates? How did that happen?"
"I'll let Espo tell you that story another time. Meanwhile, don't think it's escaped my keen attention to detail that you called Manhattan home just now." Lanie chided her friend, "Are you happy, Kate? Do they treat you right down there?"
"Yes," Beckett brushed her friend's concerns aside. "Just a slip of the tongue. Maybe not. Old habits die hard and New York will always be home to me, but I'm settling in and once Castle and I have found a new place for us it will finally feel real."
"You're still living in a hotel suite?" Lanie clearly didn't approve. "Kate, are you sure you are not subconsciously trying to delay the inevitable?"
"I've just been busy, Lanie." Kate reassured her, "I'm not avoiding settling down with him. Just this weekend we've looked at apartments and we plan on doing more when he returns from his book tour."
"If you say so…" Lanie didn't sound too convinced.
"I promise, Doctor Parish. I have every intention of marrying Richard Castle and growing old together in a big house with a white picket fence."
"Yuck." Lanie blurted.
"Oh thank god," Kate gushed, "that does sound awfully boring and nothing like Castle and me."
"Throw in some ninjas and aliens and you're almost there." Lanie teased her friend.
"Thanks, Lanie." Kate smiled, "I didn't realize how much I needed this until I talked to you."
"Anytime, girlfriend."
"Listen, I still don't have a dress for the party on Saturday and you're still coming are you?"
"Of course, why wouldn't I?"
"Well, I know things weren't exactly all sunshine and rainbows when I left and I don't want to put you between a rock and hard place with Espo."
"Kate Beckett, if you really think I'd let that man and his grudge keep me from seeing my best friend for the first time in months, you don't know me at all."
"Just checking," Kate mused. "So anyways, I don't have a dress and I thought maybe we could go shopping Saturday?"
"You've got yourself a date."
"Don't let Espo hear you say that or he'll get jealous of me and hate me even more."
"He doesn't hate you, Kate. He's just hurt that you left to work for the feds. He'll come around. If there's one good thing about the whole Jeffrey Lawson mess, it's that he and Kevin closed ranks behind you. Whatever your differences, you can count on a united front in this regard."
"That's good to know."
"Now try to get some sleep. If you don't hear from Castle tomorrow morning, give me a call and I'll send Javi to kick his ass. And you know he'd jump at the chance." Lanie laughed.
"Nah, save your energy. We'll save the ass kicking for nosy reporters. Tell Esposito thanks and good night."
"Night, Kate."
Beckett hung up and vacated the couch. She took the wine glass with her into the bedroom because she decided to read in the bathtub in order to relax. She was so wired, she couldn't possibly fall asleep. Kate noticed something shiny on the armchair next to her book and realized it was Castle's visitor badge from yesterday. A huge smile spread over her face. So he had managed to hold on to it and sneak it out of the building without security confiscating it back from him. It had probably helped that he was in the company of four federal agents on his way out. She brushed her fingers softly over the image of his face and sighed heavily. Beckett decided one more time to try his cell but alas it went straight to voicemail again.
"I love you," was all she said before she hung up and drew herself a nice hot bath.
