Chapter Three: Final

As the car pulled out onto the road, Detective Kate Beckett sighed, her world-weary expression flitting between humiliation and grief. If this had been any other circumstance, she'd play it off with well-placed innuendo. But, even though the man wasn't a complete asshole, he was still a person of interest in her murder case.

He was sitting up front, beside her as she explained the case that had first brought him to their attention. And like she expected, he'd immediately asked to see the pictures, called it the red badge of honor. When she explained that they had one more body, Marvin Fisk, and described the scene as "right out of 'Hell Hath no Fury', he'd chuckled and said, "I have a fan."

And she knew he was talking about her, could feel it in her bones, but couldn't help what came out of her mouth next, "A deranged fan!"

"Oh you don't look deranged to me, Detective," he'd said, lacing the word detective with as much lust as possible. She'd almost put on the breaks, but then looked at him, and realized.

"This bothers you," she said softly.

"OF course it does, I have a copycat! Someone is staging their murders to look like my fictional crime scenes!"

"That's why we need your help, Mister Castle. Sometimes criminals like to reach out to the object of their obsession."

"Yes I know, I'm well verse in psychopathic methodologies, it's an occupational hazard. I'll have Gina and Paula send over all of the mail when we get back to the city."

She'd sighed, "I can call ahead, and have my team get started if you want to make that call now."

He looked at her, and shrugged, before pulling his phone from his pocket. As she watched, he very calmly told the person on the other end to just send all of his fan mail to, "Detective Beckett, NYPD" the he looked and she said, "12th precinct," which he then repeated.

"No Gina, I'm fine. I'm not under arrest! Really, you don't know my safe word, after our, albeit brief, marriage? God, you're impossible. Just leave it, Gina."

A few seconds later, she could hear the shouting on the other end, until he snapped his phone closed. Kate's eyes widened, and he looked at her, "I apologize for you overhearing that. Word leaked that I was led away at the book launch and hadn't been seen since. There's a rumor going around that I'm under arrest for murder."

"We'll issue a statement saying that you're voluntarily helping the NYPD catch a killer aping your books," Kate promised. He nodded. "I'll need to be there when it's issued, so my more sane fans will continue to purchase Storm Fall."

She scoffed at the man beside her, but said, "Is it really that important that your fans buy your books?"

He looked at her, and said, "Well, I don't know. You tell me?"

Kate laughed. "Sure, keep telling yourself that, Mister Castle."

"Rick," he invited again, now that she was more lucid. Kate smiled, "Kate. At least until we get to the precinct."

"Of course, Kate. May I ask if you've talked with your dad, yet?"

"Yes. Dad was upset, but he's still in love with my mom. I'm sure, given the chance, he'd take her back in a heartbeat."

"And that bothers you," he rejoined her question from earlier. Kate flinched, "It shouldn't, should it, Rick? I mean, she's my mom and he's my dad."

"She faked her death." Rick said, "Something was going on in her life that she didn't feel she could trust her husband, or daughter with, so she decided to cut and run. I'd guess she's in Witness Protection, but under the circumstances, I don't think that's the case."

"Yeah, that's what makes this whole thing exhausting. She's either in WitSec and decided to cut and run, or she's been living under an assumed identity, and my running into her was a mistake."

Rick sighed. "I don't have the answers for you, Kate. But, if you need anything, anything at all, you can come to me. I'm making this offer to you, no strings."

Kate smiled, nodded and sighed.

AN: And that is the final chapter of this story. It turned into a three-shot, and I'm just not sure where I can go with it, that evitascarlett hasn't already been. This was never an attempt to outshine her. Apologize, and Redemption were the inspiration, along with a prompt. Thank you.