AN: So, here we are...the final chapter of TCOP3 The Prodigal. I hope you all have enjoyed this little ride through my take on Richard Castle's backstory. One month ago I posted the first chapter and Six months ago I began writing The Castle Onion, Peeled as an exercise to see if I could still write a story. I've enjoyed our time together and this AU that I've created, but I'm stepping back from it for awhile (there may be further TCOP stories) and I will be working on one of my other story ideas. For those few that reviewed I thank you...it is nice to know that your work is appreciated. And now, without further ado, the story. Enjoy!
Chapter 7
The previous day
Ryan looked at his partner. "I have the address that we got for Max Keller."
Esposito nodded. "Let's grab a couple of uniforms and pick him up." They grabbed their jackets and headed towards the elevator. "Hey, bro...Can you imagine what Castle is going through? One of his best friends' deaths was faked. He's gotta be messed up about it."
"Yeah, I can't imagine." They got in the elevator and rode quietly down to the ground floor and out to their car, each lost in thought about the situation surrounding this distinctly 'Beckett-flavored' case.
TCOP3
They pulled up in front of the building along with two uniformed officers. They went up to the 11th floor and made their way to Apartment 1107. Ryan checked that everyone was ready and after confirmation knocked on the door. It was opened and a man with dark hair looked out. "Max Keller?'
"Yeah."
"Sir, I'm Detective Ryan and this is Detective Esposito of the NYPD. We'd like to ask you a few questions."
"What is this about?"
"Sir, do you really want us to talk to you right here in the hallway where your neighbors can hear?"
He nervously glanced around. "Probably not."
"Then can you please come with us?"
"I suppose." He grabbed his keys, locked his door and followed the detectives to the elevator.
TCOP3
Present day
Rick had suffered a couple of nightmares and had not gotten much sleep. As they lay in the bed, Kate looked over at him in concern. "Do you want to stay home today?"
Rick groaned. "As much as I would love to, I want to get to the bottom of this as bad as you."
She grinned. "Okay, Writer Man, you start the shower and I'll start the coffee."
He rolled over and hugged her. "Yes, dear."
She rolled her eyes and smacked his arm. "Be good or you will be showering alone..."
"You are a cruel woman." He looked up and winced when he saw her glare. "But I love you soooo much!" She snorted and waved as she threw on a robe and headed for the kitchen. Rick smiled and headed towards the bathroom to start his day and get the shower ready.
TCOP3
They came off the elevator into the bullpen laughing as Rick related a story about a prank he had pulled when he was in school. Karpowski looked over at them and shook her head. "Good morning, hyenas."
Rick looked up and then it registered what she said. "Good morning!" Kate just smiled, waved and headed towards her desk. "How are you this lovely day?"
She shook her head and looked at Kate. "Can you do something with him?"
Kate grinned. "You brought it on yourself." Rick rolled his eyes and headed to his desk.
He checked his email and grinned. Picking up his cell phone, he hit a speed dial. "Jordan? Thanks for the info. Can you get Daniel Hough on the no-fly list? He's wanted as an accessory for kidnapping Kate and I. Thanks!" He hung up the phone and grinned at Kate. "That should put a damper on his plans."
Ryan walked over with a file. "Here's what we have on Keller. A couple of misdemeanors as a kid and an assault charge from two years ago that was dropped."
Rick looked up. "Who filed the assault charge?"
Kate flipped a couple pages before she found it; her eyes widened. "Daniel Hough."
Rick looked at her suddenly. "We definitely need to talk to this guy."
Ryan smirked. "Espo is bringing him into Room 1 now."
Kate nodded. "Thanks, Ryan. Are you ready partner?" At Rick's nod she stood up and grabbed Keller's file as well as some pictures of Henri's body taken by CSU and Lanie.
TCOP3
Max sat handcuffed to the table. He was sweating and felt clammy. He looked up as a beautiful woman walked in, followed be a large man.
Kate looked at him as she took her seat and waited for Rick. He closed the door and went to lean against the wall near the door. This put him off to the side of the table on Keller's left. She laughed to herself when she realized that he did this to make Keller squirm.
She opened his file and pulled out a pen and pad. "Do you know why you are here, Mr. Keller?"
He looked up at her. "Not really."
Rick snorted. "Come on, Max...can I call you Max? Max, you have to know why you are here. You are in the Homicide division. We don't bring you here for unpaid parking tickets."
"Somebody died?"
Kate glanced at Rick. "That's right, Mr. Keller. Somebody died. And the way they died was that they were murdered." Kate watched his eyes start to shift around. Bingo!
Rick slammed his hands against the table and Max jumped. "Now do you get why you are here, Max? You killed someone."
Max shook his head fervently. "I didn't kill anyone."
Kate smirked. "Mr. Keller, why are you so nervous if you didn't murder anyone?"
Rick leaned in close to Max and lowered his voice to near a whisper. "Because, Detective, Max is lying."
Max leaned away and Kate withdrew a picture of Henri's body from autopsy and slid it in front of him. The door opened and Montgomery came in looking furious. "You two…outside!" Kate and Rick went to the door after Kate picked up everything except for the photo. They left, slamming the door behind them and followed Montgomery into the observation room. The first thing they noticed was that there were a lot of people in the room. The next thing they noticed was Roy grinning.
Kate looked at Rick and he shrugged. "What the hell is going on?"
Roy chuckled. "That was the best portrayal I have ever seen!"
Rick looked at Kate. "What do you mean? He hasn't confessed yet!"
Roy motioned towards the room where it was obvious that Keller was sweating and trying to avoid looking at the photo. "You two keep that up. He is so off his game he doesn't know what to do. I just pulled you out to further confuse him. Now go back in there and get that confession!"
Rick and Kate both rolled their eyes and headed back to the room and this time Rick sat down and Kate stood against the wall.
Rick looked at Max. "Was it everything you dreamed it would be? Come on, Max, you know you planned this. You suspected something and followed Tina. You watched as she kissed the guy and you knew you had to do something. Sure, you were mad but you knew way before that day that the guy that was after what was yours had to pay. Am I right?"
Max Keller looked up with anger in his eyes. "That son of a bitch was taking what was mine! I love Tina and no foreign bastard is going to take her away from me!"
Rick nodded. "You sure taught him a lesson, eh?"
Max sneered. "I came up behind him while he was watching her as she walked away. I grabbed him and threw him to the ground and took the pistol that Tina had taken from her dad's house and shot him. I took his wallet and ID to make it look like a mugging."
Rick shook his head. "And how did Tina take it?"
Max shrugged. "She hasn't come home yet. She texted me something about her sister needed her and she was heading home for a few days."
Kate smirked. "Mr. Keller, who do you think gave us your name?" Rick gathered up the files and they left the room as Max Keller broke down in tears. Kate looked over at LT. "Please get his statement in writing and then take Mr., Keller to booking and have him charged with the murder of Henri Renard."
TCOP3
The team and Roy were sitting in the conference room sharing a pizza when Rick looked over at Roy. "Why were there so many people watching the interrogation?"
Roy grinned. "At one point or another in the past few years, every detective on this floor has watched you two tear apart a suspect's lies. And that was before they knew that you were FBI. Everyone wanted to see Rick Castle and Kate Beckett do an interrogation without anything being held back. And let me be the first to say, it was a thing of beauty!" They all laughed and took a drink.
Esposito looked over at Rick. "Yeah, Castle...I've seen you and Beckett work over hundreds of suspects over the years, but today...well, I can believe that you were one of the best profilers in the country."
Rick raised an eyebrow. "Were?"
Kate patted his hand. "It's okay, Ricky. Hey, did you guys know that Ricky here offered to sign his first pair of breasts when he was sixteen...and they were on a 30ish teacher." As the guys started ribbing him, Kate leaned back and grinned.
TCOP3
Daniel Hough had flown his Cessna to Boston. He stayed overnight under an assumed name at the Westin looking over the harbor. He knew that they would be looking for him to head to New York and he doubted they knew he had his own plane. He was waiting to buy a ticket to Miami and rent a yacht to go to Cuba where there was no extradition.
He grabbed his bag and took a taxi to the airport and headed into the terminal. He was no stranger to the security process as he flew frequently, so after he purchased his ticket he made his way towards the TSA checkpoint and had his pre-check pass ready. What he was not expecting was to be pulled aside as soon as he showed his ID and handcuffed. He was led to a holding room and waited for half an hour until a man in a black suit came in.
The man flashed some FBI credentials and looked at him. "Daniel Hough, I'm Agent Will Sorensen, FBI. I am here to escort you to our New York Field Office. You are being detained on suspicion of conspiracy to commit kidnapping of a Federal Agent."
"What the hell are you talking about? She was an NYPD detective and he was a writer!"
Sorensen shook his head. He hadn't been told the names of the Agent or his associate that got kidnapped. Castle! He schooled his features and replaced his FBI 'mask'. "Sir, Richard Castle is an FBI agent." He looked to the other agent and motioned toward Daniel. "Simmons, please escort our guest to the SUV. I'll check with TSA and make sure we are all good." After they left he shook his head and went to get things completed.
TCOP3
Jordan Shaw had barely hung up the phone after getting the report that they had Daniel Hough in custody from Will Sorensen before she busted out laughing. Since Sorensen had been transferred back to Boston she immediately thought of him when she got the call from TSA at Logan International Airport. She imagined that Rick would love the irony and that Kate would enjoy the whole thing. She sent an email to Rick to let him know that they had him in custody and that the FBI would handle his prosecution as it was a kidnapping case. After she sent the email she shut down her PC and got ready to head home.
TCOP3
Kate and Rick had just gotten home when he got the email. He chuckled and handed the phone to Kate so that she could read it. She snickered and handed it back to him.
They both changed clothes and snuggled down on the couch with pads and pens so that they could start their wedding plans in earnest. They had agreed on something not too large and definitely not flashy. They sat down and started making lists of people to attend while they sipped their wine.
Kate found herself reflecting back over the things she had learned about Rick lately. From being an FBI agent to his antics at Sedgewyck he was so much more than she had realized. Even with al the revelations she could not imagine anyone else at her side. She had not understood just how much he had gotten under her skin and how much she had let him inside her walls until lately. One thing for sure was that he could turn anything into an adventure. She smiled as she realized that now they would have their adventures together. She could only imagine what to expect from being married to Richard Castle, but she knew it would never be boring!
They had just settled in bed after a fun-filled shower when Kate's phone rang. Rick groaned as she picked up her phone. "Beckett. Okay, can you text the address to me? Thanks." She turned to Rick. "Guess what? We've got a body."
Fin
AN2: Once again let me remind you that all you recognize is owned by their respective creators and licensees...anything you don't, well I just made it up!
