Kaarel's apartment was every bit as opulent as the address indicated. Both Ryan and Esposito stopped inside the door momentarily, admiring the grandeur. The polished floor boards were covered with fine deep red rugs scattered about the living room and Italian crafted chairs and a dining table stood on one side. The walls were inlaid with mother of pearl, a golden pattern woven from ceiling to floor. Exposed timber beams ran the length of the room with chandeliers hanging around the apartment, giving a soft, warm glow. Stacked near the entry, was a great many more boxes and suitcases, adding to the number already in the hallway outside.
"OK. Now I know we are definitely in the wrong job," Ryan notes quietly to his partner. "So, this place or Castle's?"
"Hmm tough choice, but Castle has an Xbox. But unless I take up armed robbery, I don't think choosing is going to be a problem any time soon," Esposito murmurs and follows the Estonian.
"Please come in," Kaarel indicates they should sit on one of the comfortable couches near the middle of the apartment. Ryan and Esposito seat themselves with Kaarel taking his place opposite them.
Esposito glances around the apartment, "This all yours?"
Kaarel laughs as he gestures around the room, "No, some of the art and trinkets lying around, but the consulate owns this place. It was a nice perk of the job."
"And what happens to this place once you have gone?"
"The current Consular general will move in, Kalev... well whoever it will be," Ryan and Esposito both look at each other with raised eyebrows at this revelation. Kaarel's expression darkens slightly. "I know what you are thinking detectives. You think I wanted Kalev out of the way? Well nothing could be further from the truth. I was ready to retire. I haven't been well."
Ryan looks closely at Kaarel, noting his pale complexion, and a slight shake in his left hand. He still wore the dark sunglasses. "Some problem with your eyes, if I can ask?"
"Oh the glasses? Yes, any bright light irritates the eyes, a symptom of old age, I guess." Kaarel's answer is polished but rehearsed. There was something he wasn't telling them. For the moment though, Ryan drops the line of questioning.
"So may we ask what is wrong with you, health wise?" Esposito looks the man intently now.
Kaarel pauses a moment, looking at both detectives, "It is a private matter, and of no importance, and that's all I'll say about that." His tone shows he would brook no further comment on the issue.
Ryan tries a different tact. "Your friend Peeter seemed most concerned for you. Very protective. So much so, that we had a hard time finding this address. The Consulate wasn't very forthcoming either."
A smile grows on Kaarel's face. "Ahh, Peeter, he is a loyal and good friend. Always was a little over-protective of me."
Esposito pipes in, "Yes he is, isn't he. He confessed to the murder of Kalev."
This revelation stuns both Kaarel and his bodyguard, Igor, who had wandered over to stand behind his boss. "Peeter? That's preposterous!" cries Kaarel. "He wouldn't hurt a fly!"
Ryan and Esposito let Kaarel stew for a moment. Ryan breaks the silence, "Well in truth he wouldn't either. We released him this morning." Kaarel breathed out an audible sigh.
Ryan continues though. "However the real question is why would he confess to the crime he didn't commit? To cover someone else's tracks?"
"Well I have no idea why he would do such a thing. It's plain ludicrous." Kaarel is either genuinely shocked or had perfected the art of hiding the truth through years of diplomatic practise. Of which, both Ryan and Esposito can't tell.
"And what was the nature of your relationship with Peeter?" says Ryan.
"Well if you have interviewed him, I think you are very well aware of the exact nature of our relationship. Yes, we were lovers. There is no crime against that," Kaarel spits out the last sentence, not liking the direction the conversation had turned.
Ryan looks over to Esposito, who is unobtrusively inspecting the bodyguard, casually leaning back in his chair, letting his partner run with the questions. "So no idea at all why Peeter would confess?"
"None at all, as I have said." Kaarel has largely regained most of his composure and is taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.
"Where were you yesterday morning, from 9:30am to 12:30pm?"
"I was here packing my belongings. Ask Igor, we didn't leave the apartment at all." Kaarel turns to Igor, giving him a hard look. Igor pauses only a moment before nodding in agreement.
"Any other witnesses?" asks Ryan
"I am sorry detective. It was only Igor and I."
"What can you tell us about Kalev, you successor? How would you describe him?"
Kaarel clasps his hands together, pursing his lips, deciding what to tell them. "Well personally I hated him. Very polite to your face, but in reality he was a back stabbing weasel with no morals or ethics. No character to speak of and his blind ambition drove most he knew, to hate him as well." He pauses for effect. "My guess is that you already know this fact. He was not a popular person."
"So we gathered," replies Ryan. "Do you know anyone who would want to kill him?"
"Well even though the list of enemies is long, I can't hazard to guess anyone mad enough to kill him." Kaarel stands up from his chair. "Now, are there any other questions?"
Esposito smiles and replies, "No, not at the moment. Thank you for your time." With that he glances at Ryan and nods towards the door, indicating that they should go. As Ryan and Esposito walk past the bodyguard, Esposito slows his pace slightly, as if he is sizing Igor up. A small smirk appears on his face, barely noticeable to anyone, bar his partner.
On exiting the apartment, Ryan turns to his partner. "OK. What is it about Igor that is bothering you?"
"Did you saw the firearm he was carrying?" he asks from Ryan. The Irish detective nods. Esposito continues "At a guess, I would say it would be the same caliber of gun that shot Kalev. What we really need right now, is a warrant."
Moonstruck Diner at the end of the street is the perfect place for lunch. Or so Castle had decided. He practically dragged her through the streets to this little place. It was the usual place for the uniforms to get a snack and a cup of coffee. At this time of the day, the diner is half empty and there was a lot of room for them to sit.
They headed to the corner booth in the back room which gave them a lot of privacy. Castle smiled to the waitress who had appeared almost immediately. After quick consideration, they gave their orders and the girl left, leaving them in uncomfortable silence.
"So..." Castle starts, trying to find a safe topic to discuss. Kate seems to be really edgy and he decides it's not a good idea to start poking her. Well, just not yet. He has never been good at keeping away from her business. He looks at her and he forgets what he wanted to say. She looks tired and fidgety, shifting herself in her seat almost constantly. Plus she is avoiding direct eye contact with him. When he doesn't finish his sentence, she does look up at him.
"Soo, What, Castle?" Kate asks him impatiently, her voice sharp.
"So... what's our next step?" he asks, boring his eyes to hers. Nice Castle, neutral topic, so far, so good.
"I … um..." she stutters a bit beneath his intense gaze. "We need to wait for the address to come through. And... then go find the apartment..."
"Yeah?" he asks over.
"Yeah," she mutters and throws a questioning look at him and snaps. "You have been on enough investigations, you should know that by now. What's gotten into you?".
"Nothing, nothing," he tries to reassure, smiling weakly. "I was just checking if I was right."
Beckett looks at him with suspicion, her eyes squinting and trying to map the surface of his face. Castle is acting weird around her today. She silently wonders what's up with him. Was the date really that good? And he doesn't want to spend time with her anymore? Hmm? Why did he drag her to the lunch then if he is so uncomfortable?
She sighs out loud. He looks at her for a moment, question in his eyes. But when their eyes meet, he tries to smile at her reassuringly.
She smiles back a weak smile. Surprising herself, Beckett decides to tackle the uncomfortable topic, she opens her mouth and asks, "So... how was your date?"
The smile slowly disappears from his face and for a moment, surprise runs through his features until confusion settles there. He breathes in sharply and turns so he is facing her fully.
"It went well," he smiles, again. But the joy doesn't reach to his eyes.
"Well?" Beckett is confused, "Only well?"
"Yeah," his answer is short. He really doesn't want to elaborate, especially with her. She doesn't need to know how he missed her constantly while he was out with Emily. Yes. The girl was gorgeous and pretty and smart. But she wasn't Kate Beckett. No one can ever compare to the enigma that is Kate.
She is looking at him intently, questions in her mind. He can feel her being uncomfortable, but yet curious.
"For a writer, you are in severe lack of words today," Kate mocks him.
Castle smirks, trying to get back to his usual state.
With a little twinkle in his eye, he decides that two can play the game.
"Well, to be honest, I really enjoyed myself yesterday. Emily is a really great companion. And she has a very wicked sense of humour."
"Oh, okay," Kate face drops slightly. He doesn't leave it unnoticed. Point for Castle.
"And the musical we went to see was very amusing too. I think I haven't laughed that hard for a really long time. Ah, that reminds me, I need to send Jenny a message."
Kate is sitting silently opposite of him. He stirs inattentively her coffee with a little spoon. Deep in thought, she raises the cup to her lips and takes a sip. Castle is hurriedly writing a message with his phone. He finishes it off and hits send. Then he raises his glance and observes her in silence, his eyes raking over a beautiful face which is currently formed into her "thinking face".
Right at that moment, the phone in his hands beeps loudly, startling them both out of their thoughts. Kate raises her eyes to him, only to see him staring at her.
"What?" she asks.
"I,... uh... nothing," he finally comes up with an answer. While blushing a bit, he averts his attention back to the phone in his hand.
*Message from Emily*
He smiles when he reads that. Quickly unlocking his phone he skims over the message and smiles widely.
"Heh, speak of the devil," he hums.
"Huh?" Kate doesn't really follow his train of thoughts.
"Just got a message from Emily," he explains.
"Oh," she says. There's a pregnant pause. She is doing it again. Not asking really loudly. He smirks inwardly, because he is aware that she wants to know what was in the message. But she would never ask. Oh, Kate, you stubborn human being.
"She just wanted me to know that she enjoyed our evening together and she'd like to meet again," he shares, getting his attention back to his phone.
"Oh, I see," Kate answers again, not knowing really what to say. A pang of jealousy hits her like a truck, leaving her breathless. He doesn't notice the change in her. He is eyeing his phone and doesn't see her shifting on her seat.
She has been feeling the change in their relationship for months now. Drifting slowly closer to him, opening up to him, falling in love with him again and again. And just when she thought that … she has enough courage to act on it, something happens. It's like Murphy's law. When you really want something, you really can't get it.
She takes in another shuddering breath. Tries to breathe normally. But she can't. She feels like there is something stuck in her chest and she can't cough it out. Damn those emotions.
Just then Castle stops fiddling with his phone and raises it to his ear. She throws him a questioning look, but he doesn't answer her. She hears somebody picking up on the other end.
"Heey, Emily!" he beams to his phone. "I just got your message. Yes. Yes, I know. Heheee. No, I think it will be fine. Yeah, I absolutely agree. Hahaa. I think it would be a good idea. Okay. See you there. Bye."
He is still smiling when he ends the call. He closes his phone and looks at the woman sitting in front of him. His smile fades slowly. She is serious and now he realizes how uncomfortable she really is.
"Another date with Emily?" she asks softly, trying to tune back the sharpness of her voice that she feels is there.
"Well, something like that," he nods nonchalantly, seemingly happy. He takes a fork from his plate and resumes his lunch that was interrupted by the message.
Kate makes a snap decision. She has had enough. Placing her fork back to the plate with a loud clink, she leans back and pushes the food away from her.
"I am not hungry anymore," she explains to his inquiring look. "I think I should head back to precinct."
"Come on," he tries to make her change her mind, "You have barely eaten!"
"I don't want to eat anymore. I just want to go back to the precinct." she sighs, standing up from her seat.
"Beckett, just eat your lunch, we are going back right away," Castle tries again, raising his voice slightly.
"Don't tell me what to do, Castle. I don't want to eat." Becket dismisses him and turns herself around.
"Kate!" he stands up and tries to reason with her.
"Castle, stop. I said I don't want to eat. Finish off your lunch and go to your date, I don't really care. I have a job to do," she snaps at him.
Ah. There's the reason why she is upset.
"Kate, just come back, if it upsets you, I can call her back and cancel," he tries one last time. He knows he will be blowing his cover with that, but who cares anymore? He clearly has gone too far with this dance.
Beckett turns herself around again, to face him. She shoves a finger to his chest and hisses. "I don't care, Castle, I don't care what you do or not do. I don't give a damn."
With that, she turns fast, her hair flowing in the air. Without blinking an eye, she is already out of the diner, leaving him wordless and breathless.
A/N: There ya go, another update. We really hope you do like it too. But I have a little bit of request from you guys, all of you who read this fiction. Maybe you could cheer us up with some reviews. I have noticed a growth in the viewership, but the reviews go lesser and lesser. Maybe, if you read, just drop few words for us. We would be so grateful. Honestly! We love reviews like kid likes candy. Hee hee.
Thank you all who have subscribed to our story. You rock. Also … *hugs* to all who have reviewed the story. You are even more awesome.
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