The Root of All Evil

A/N: I should be writing a paper. I wrote this instead.

Chapter 7

Kate glared at him through the bars of her own jail cell, in her own jailhouse of her town. She was sheriff here. She was in charge, well besides the Mayor, but whom was he kidding. She ran the town and everyone knew it.

Her hands were sticky with blood. His blood. No. It was not his blood because if it was his blood then that meant the he was dead and Castle wasn't dead. They had no body. He wasn't dead. He couldn't be dead. She felt her throat start to tighten, tears pricking at her eyes, as she sucked in a breath, stuttering. She broke off her glare to stare down at her hands her clothes.

"Can I have some water so I can wash up?"

She had been in the cell for hours while he had been sitting in her chair staring at her. Smiling. The bastard was smiling.

"Why? So you can wash your husband's blood off of your hands? So you can be rid of him. No, Mrs. Castle, I think you should sit there and be with him for a while longer. Remember what you did," Demming replied as he leaned back, resting his arms behind his head.

"It's Sheriff Beckett," Kate growled at him in response, taking a step forward from where she had been leaning in the far back corner. "And it isn't Rick's blood. I didn't kill him."

"Are you sure about that Mrs. Castle? You said yourself that you can't remember. How can you know that you didn't kill him and bury him in a fit of insanity?" Demming pushed himself out of his chair and took a step towards her. Reaching out, through the bars, to brush a lock of hair out of her face. "You could be such a beautiful woman if you tried; if you knew your place. It's a shame really."

Kate let out a menacing growl as she knocked his hand away. "Where are Ryan and Esposito. I want to talk to them."

Demming chuckled as he took a step back, turning to settle back into her chair. "What? You think your deputies will be here to save you? It's laughable really: a woman, a Mexican and an Irishman in charge of the town. And a black man was your mentor, correct? I'm surprised that the mayor allowed it for as long as he did, a nice Protestant fellow such as himself. His family was from England, you know, just like mine. Just like the investors. They didn't like how your little town here was being run, so they elected me in charge and you know what, the mayor agreed with them. So, no, you can't see your deputies because they aren't deputies anymore. Now they are just some more immigrant trash."

Kate lunged for him through the bars, an arm reached out as he leaned back out of her reach, laughing. "Your lucky the miners like to drink or your father would be out of business, too."

Kate seethed as she peered at him through the bars, her hands gripping the metal framing her face. "I don't know what your angle is, Demming. I don't know what I've done to you but know this. I did not kill my husband and once I find him, prove it and get out of here I will make you pay."

The smirk on Demming's face grew and Kate involuntarily shrank back from the bars, a blood covered hand wrapping around her stomach as he pushed himself out of the chair, once more, and took a menacing step towards her, stopping only when the barrier of the iron bars met him. He stared directly into her eyes as he talked, his tone low, cold, barely above a whisper. "Like you made Lockwood pay for what he did to you?"

Kate's eyes grew wide and her gaze flickered to the other, empty, cell and over to the door before meeting his again. "How the hell do you know about Lockwood?"

"Oh, Kate, I know about a lot of things. You like making men pay for hurting you, don't you? You drove your first husband away, you killed Lockwood, you killed your second husband and now you're threatening me. You're not going to get away with it. I promise you that. You will hang for your sins and no one is going to save you."

Kate glared at him, her arms tightening around herself, her body shaking as she sank down to the bench in the back of the cell. She had to get out of there. She had to prove her innocence.

She had to because she was innocent.

All of her previous sins aside, she didn't kill her husband. She didn't kill Rick.

Esposito paced the length of the Beckett Homestead as the others sat watching him. They were all gathered, Ryan, Lanie, Gina, Port, Jim and Alexis, watching him as he grumbled to himself, running a hand through his hair.

"He won't even let us in to see her, to make sure she's okay. She needs food. She needs clothes. She needs to be to be out of that place!" He ranted as he continued to pace.

"Javi," Lanie interrupted, standing from her seat and placing herself in his path so he was forced to stop and look up at her. "What happened?"

"I don't know, Chica. Last night, after the brawl, Demming said something about us not being able to control our own town. He said he was going to remedy that. He just took over this afternoon, stripped us of our badges and our guns. There were too many of them. They surrounded us: me and Ryan. He already has the backing of the miners and the businessmen. I think he has the mayor in his pocket. I'm afraid some of the townspeople are going to begin to listen to him too."

Lanie shook her head as she took another step towards him. "They wouldn't possibly. They love you all. They love Kate, they wouldn't turn their backs on you, on her."

Espo shook his head, disbelieving. "Things have been different lately, since she got pregnant. There have been whispers and after Pastor Miller declined performing the wedding? Things have gotten worse. You haven't seen the looks, the doubt. I saw it. Ryan did. Kate did, too I can guarantee it. But you know how she is. She doesn't let it phase her."

"What about my father?"

All heads turned towards Alexis who was huddled in the corner, knees drawn up to her chest as she stared at them through wide eyes. "What about him?"

"Oh, sweetie," Lanie placated, sliding over to wrap her arm around the teenager's shoulders. "We'll find your father. He isn't dead."

Alexis shook her arm off of her, drawing back further, pressing herself into the log wall. "How could you possibly know that? There was so much blood and the knife and they had been fighting…"

Alexis' voice trailed off and Jim bolted from his seat, turning to glare at the girl. "Now, don't you start to believe that. Katie did not kill your father."

Alexis glared back at him but her words were cut off when a bottle burst through the front window, glass shattering over the room, cutting through the air as the group ducked for cover, shielding themselves behind the wooden furniture and huddled on the ground. A burst of flames followed the pop and people began to scream as they all scrambled towards the door.

The flames erupted through the room, engulfing the rugs and carefully hand crafted pieces of furniture as they raced towards the walls, flooding the room in a blanket of heat and smoke.

The group scrambled down the stairs and into the dark Colorado night, turning to stare as the flames shot out through the windows and the roof crumbled in on itself, crashing into the building.

The wood crackled as the horses whinnied and stomped in the barn. A shout came from around the corner and Ryan and Esposito ran around the side of Kate's small house to see a cross burning in the middle of the yard, men in white robes and hoods mounting horses around it.

"Consider this a warning." One of the robed figured yelled. "This isn't your town anymore. We don't want you here. Get out while you still have your lives."

One of them men gave a shout and the group rode off, rounding the front of the house, past the group huddled in front of the burning building. Gina let out a whimper as Port's arm wrapped around her pulling her more firmly into his side and both Lanie and Jim were wrapped around Alexis when Esposito and Ryan came running back up to them. The home still burning in the background.

Espo shook his head as Jim raised his head to look at the younger man. "This isn't going to be a trial. It's a coup, a Witch Hunt. I don't know what's going on but we have to get Kate out of jail soon, before they kill her."

Jim shook his head, his arms still wrapped around Alexis, as Ryan piped from Espo's side. "No, she's safe there. For now. Whatever Demming's done, whatever his agenda. He needs Kate alive for it, for now. No, we need to find Castle, to figure out what happened to him. If we find him, we can prove she's innocent and get the town back on our side. Demming might have the miners and the investors but we have the townies, Cherokee and the army. We can win."

Espo shook his head. "General Johnson is still in Washington, Maynard won't get involved without him here."

The group fell silent, their eyes drifting back towards the burning house, the smoke pluming up into the black sky, mingling with the fire from the burning cross around the corner. A sense of foreboding flooded the air and Alexis sucked in a breath, ignoring the burn of the smoke in her lungs as she shook her head and broke out of Jim's arms to straighten up.

"I think I can help. I may not have a general but do happen to know a private."

All six pairs of eyes turned to look in surprise at Alexis, standing, shoulders square with the house burning in the background, glowing around her.

"And if Demming is behind this, there is no way in hell I am letting my family go down without a fight."