It's been 34 years, but he feels the angry twist of guilt as they drive toward Hollander's Woods; it's uncomfortably tangled with the anxiety of trying to reach Kate in time and the need to explain everything to Ryan and Esposito.
Esposito is ever the skeptic. "Just go over this one more time, bro, 'cause it still sounds like one of my tia's telenovelas."
"Hey, he's been right about everything else."
But Castle understands how crazy it sounds, so he tries to organize his memories enough to form a coherent story. "Everything about tonight has seemed too familiar to me, like I once had a dream about some of the things we saw or did as we followed Tyson's clues. It made no sense, so I tried to ignore that creepy feeling and focus on the evidence Ryan added to the murder board."
"And then you realized that you had written the book dedications to yourself." Ryan is still captivated by the entire scenario, and his voice barely hides his awe.
"Yes, I realized they were for me, and probably from me, which made me think back to my past and what I was supposed to remember. The leaf and sticks obviously pointed me in the direction of something like a park, reserve, or hiking trail – places that aren't unusual in and of themselves – but then I saw the list of stops we'd made tonight. Our dead end was at the intersection of Huguenot and Woodrow, so I wondered why Tyson would bring us there. And I think it's because the initials are H. W., the same as the one place from my childhood that I wish I could forget."
"Hollander's Woods."
"Exactly." Castle takes a deep breath, still trying to put the rest of it together. "And that realization brought back a lot of broken memories from the time I was gone. I still haven't figured out all the details, and I don't know how I could have helped put Kate in danger, but I was there. I worked with Tyson to plan this."
"Then how do we know you're not still part of it? Maybe Tyson's got you hypnotized or something." One hard look from Ryan, something that so rarely surfaces in their partnership, has Espo backing down quickly. "Okay, okay. You've gotten us this far. Let's go rescue your wife."
The three of them walk toward a heavily wooded portion of the park, grateful for the full moon that casts the occasional sliver of light through the trees and the flashlights that sweep their path. They've reached the beginning of a hiking trail that won't greet its regular visitors for another several hours, and he remembers the maintenance shed being somewhere nearby. Still, so much could have changed since then. It's only the chill surging through his body – one that has nothing to do with the freezing night – that convinces him that they're in the right place.
"You sure we shouldn't wait for back-up? It's not too late to pull back."
Ryan's hesitant and Espo isn't jumping in to reassure him, so Castle makes a final plea. "If we go storming in with the cavalry, Kate's as good as dead before we even lay eyes on her. It's game over if Tyson thinks he's about to die anyway. He expects the three of us, so we'll give him the three of us."
Espo slowly nods. "It's a good idea. Maybe the only chance we've got to get Beckett out."
It's then that Castle's flashlight catches the side of a run-down structure ahead, smaller than his 11-year-old self recalls and looking like it hasn't been used by the park staff in some time. They're too far away to possibly know whether Kate is inside, and they definitely can't confirm whether Tyson and Nieman are nearby, but Castle reminds himself not to run at the building. When he feels a firm hand grip his arm in warning, he knows Espo sensed his self-control weakening, too.
"Stick to the plan."
He will. He has to.
Ryan and Esposito look at him one more time, then at each other, before they leave him behind. He watches as they split from each other, guns drawn as they creep through the trees, and he can imagine Kate laughing at the fact that he is finally staying put; her instructions to do the same have been ignored by him for years, and he's pretty sure she's given up hope that he'll ever listen. Once the guys have disappeared, he turns his full focus to the maintenance shed, taking a deep breath and waiting.
Everything is quiet for a long time, maybe too long, and he wonders if they've completely screwed this up.
When he feels the muzzle of the gun press against the back of his head, he's almost relieved.
"Get on your knees." Tyson's familiar voice isn't loud, but it still rattles the silence of the pre-dawn hour and settles uncomfortably in the cold air.
Castle shakes, but does his best to comply without giving the man any reason to pull the trigger. The freezing ground is immediately painful and he winces in the dark, consciously swallowing any smartass remark he might normally make. He's alone here and has to rely on Ryan and Esposito to do their jobs.
Kate's life depends on it.
He supposes his does, too.
"You know, Castle, I really have to thank you. If you weren't such a damn good author, and one with a darker side than most would give you credit for, I'm not sure this would have worked out so well. But it's just like we planned it." He laughs, and Castle closes his eyes. "A beautifully scripted crime, tantalizing clues, a fast pace, and your girl as the bait. There was never going to be a way for you to resist running right at me, back-up be damned."
"I brought Detectives Ryan and Esposito with me."
Another laugh. "Yes, I watched them abandon you here. Don't worry, they'll take their time approaching the shed, and I've left enough inside to keep them busy for a few minutes once they get there. You'll be dead before they can investigate much further than that."
"But where's Kate?"
"She's in capable hands, enjoying a short hike up the trail. I'm sure the gunshot will scare her a bit, but there's really nothing I can do about that."
Castle grins, a little sad that Tyson can't see it from where he stands. "You're right. It's too bad she can't be reassured that I'm fine."
Tyson presses more insistently with the gun, causing Castle's head to bow forward. "A bullet through your skull is far from fine."
"Yes, but I won't be the one who gets shot." He has to hurry now, firm but quick. "You were right about me being a damn good author. But that's the thing…I am the writer here, and I get to decide when the story is over. And sometimes there's room for one final twist."
There's no time for Tyson to respond, no chance for Castle to see the moment he realizes what is happening; Esposito takes the shot from afar and Tyson is dead before Castle can register the sudden weight of the body draped over his back. He scrambles out from beneath it, the adrenaline setting off a series of shudders that refused to be stifled. One hand scrubs his face, the other frantically brushing himself clean of whatever he imagines to be clinging to him, and he has to keep himself from pacing. Then he gathers himself enough to look down at Tyson's crumpled form, the anger still there beneath the knowledge that it's finally over.
"The end."
He doesn't stop staring at the body until Esposito steps up to his side, more cautious than Castle's seen him. "You all right?"
Castle just nods.
"Okay, let these guys handle the scene." Only then does Castle notice the team of officers who are already blocking off the area, still stunned that everything happened so fast. Espo hands over a towel and jerks his head toward the trail. "Ryan's with Beckett. Let's go find them both and get the hell out of here."
As they walk, Esposito tells him that the plan went off as smoothly as anything he's seen in his time with the NYPD. He and Ryan had made their way toward the maintenance shed, allowing just enough time for Tyson to get to Castle. Then Ryan had ducked aside and awaited the back-up they'd coordinated before their arrival at the park, while Espo had circled back for the sniper rifle that had been left for him by a nearby SWAT officer. They needed whatever information they could get from Tyson about Kate's whereabouts, but as soon as they had that, picked up through the wire Castle wore, Espo was free to take the shot.
Castle sees Kate then, and it's difficult to focus on anything else. She's being helped down the trail by Ryan, a blanket over her shoulders, but she looks unharmed; he thinks he's finally breathing for the first time in the past several hours. When he can't wait any longer, he jogs to her, careful of the uneven ground and led by the small spark of joy in her eyes that manages to shine through the exhaustion and lingering fear. Both Ryan and Espo slip away to give them a private moment before they have to step back into the chaos.
Their foreheads tip together just before he kisses her, a connection that serves as a source of comfort more than anything else, then each of them drop their hands to the other's heart, a simultaneous need to feel something steady and strong. They whisper confessions and promises and everything in between, grateful to be able to say anything at all. Eventually, he pulls back just enough for them to turn toward the officers who are leading Dr. Nieman away in handcuffs.
Kate sighs. "She went so willingly. As soon as she saw that we were surrounded, she just let me go and went with them."
"Because she's that arrogant. She thinks she'll get out of this."
"Is she wrong?"
He wants to insist that she is, that it would be impossible for Nieman to walk away without a prison sentence, but they both know the justice system is flawed. "I don't know."
"Castle?"
"Hmm?"
"They said you helped them plan this. From the Susan Watts murder that set them up, to my abduction, to the way it would all end here because of something you'd done as a child. That during the two months you were gone, you were with them and putting this 'perfect crime' together, and that the only thing you hadn't realized was that they would turn your own story against you in the end."
Her voice breaks and he doesn't know what to do with the current of doubt that has wrapped itself around each of her words. He can't deny it; the facts are mostly true. But this is important and he brushes her hair away from her face, cradles her head in his hands. He lets her see everything in his eyes, because there is little he can say that will make any of this better.
"They were responsible for the car crash that kept me from our wedding and they held me captive for two months. The memories have only started to come back over the past few hours, so I'm still trying to comb through it all and find the truth. I did remember that the plan hinged on me running straight for you with no back-up, that Tyson wanted me alone so that he could finally kill me, so the boys and I made sure that we had a full team right behind us."
"And Espo really killed Tyson?"
Castle cracks a small grin, sadness dulling its typical delight. "Yeah, he really did."
They see Ryan and Espo finishing up their preliminary statements and know that they'll all have to head back to the precinct for a full debriefing. Things are so far from settled, but Kate takes a deep breath and slips her hand into his. "We'll figure it all out, with help if we need it."
"And you'll be okay?" It's all he needs to know.
She squeezes his hand and guides him toward their friends, still not smiling, but not running from him either. "We'll be okay."
A/N: The most sincere thank you to all of you who took a chance on this little story. It was such a fun and scary challenge, and your support has been greatly appreciated.
