A/N1: Hello peoples and WELCOME to the 19th Chapter of Absolution titled 'The Investogating Begains.' Thsi is where the nitty gritty really starts! Hope you enjoy it!
All in all it took Kate along with family and friends help, ten days to fully move out of her apartment into the loft. Her 'Dudette Dungeon' (As Rick had christened it) was set up like her bedroom at her apartment had been and the things that were too big to fit into the loft had been stowed with Rick's possessions in a storage shed in nearby Battery Park.
The loft was now a happy combination of Rick and Kate's taste. Her favorite recliner sat in the living room and several of the paintings she owned hung on the previously sparsely decorated walls. All her books took up a six foot stretch of the living room wall and her prized Harley Davidson sat parked in the basement garage next to the Prancing Horse.
As soon as she was settled in Rick threw Kate a welcoming dinner and a long raucous night of eating drinking and playing eight ball and poker had been enjoyed by the female detective along with Ryan, Jenny, Esplanie, Alexis, Martha and Jim.
Unfortunately the paparazzi had found out Kate had shifted into the loft and for seven days straight, the bottom dwelling photographers had followed the female detective and Writer from the loft, to the precinct and to and from the morgue and crime scenes. Only a heartfelt plea from Rick on his personal website and Facebook and Twitter profiles and a 'talking to' from Gates to the group of paparazzi outside the precinct got them to back off. They were still discussed but only referred to as 'A well known NYPD Homicide Detective' and 'The Master of Macabre.'
"Alright, I better go. I have that appointment with the Real Estate agent," Kate said to Rick one Thursday afternoon toward the end of June. "See you at home, alright?"
Rick looked up from the paperwork he was working on and smiled. "See you there," he promised, sitting up and kissing her chastely on the lips. "I love you," he added in a barely discernable whisper.
"Oh for god's sake you two get a room!" Stegner exclaimed rolling his eyes as the kiss progressed a little more than usual "you're worse than a pair of horny teenagers!"
Every officer and detective on the floor howled with laughter.
"Hey we've got to take advantage of Gates not being here, jealous?" Rick said to the older detective ""we'll start charging if you want to watch."
"Castle!" Kate exclaimed.
"Yeah yeah I know behave yourself," the writer mumbled "see you at home?"
Kate winked.
As soon as the elevator doors closed behind Kate, Rick got up from his desk and headed towards the break room. He made sure he caught Ryan and Esposito's eye and jerked his head wordlessly saying 'come with me'. He then walked into the break room and waited for the two detectives to follow him.
"Shut the door, pull the blinds." He ordered, authoritively.
Esposito's eyebrows arched sharply. "Bro what's up?" the Latino detective asked as Ryan shut the blinds and closed the doors.
"Before I say anything, I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone of what I am about to tell you...to anyone. Especially Kate and Lanie. Not anyone in the precinct, no friends, no family...no one."
"Dude what he hell's going on?" Ryan asked, a little scared.
"Promise me, both of you." Rick demanded, an edge creeping into his voice.
The two detectives gave the Writer a hard look but after a while acquiesced to his request
"We promise," they chorused.
"Do you two have anything planned for tomorrow night?" Rick asked.
"Nope, I've got a night alone. Jenny's taking French classes at night school," Kevin said.
"Lanie's working the night shift, nothing planned for me." Esposito informed him. "Why?"
"I need you to meet me at the Old Haunt tomorrow night once Lanie and Jenny head out for the night," Rick told them. "I need your help with something really, really important."
"Something we can't tell Kate or Lanie about?" Ryan questioned.
"Exactly," Rick replied. "If anyone asks, you're having a guy's only poker night."
"And you can't tell us anything now?" Esposito questioned.
"No, it's not safe" Rick said emphatically. "Trust me, it'll all make sense in the end. I just need you to trust me and go with what I ask and tell you. I will reveal all in time...I promise."
"Do you want us to bring our weapons?" Ryan asked after a moment of silence.
"You never leave rhe house without them anyway but yes, bring them," Rick answered. "I'm going to bring my Glock."
Esposito's eyes widened. "Christ, it's got something to do with-" he began.
"Not here Javier, tomorrow night at the Old Haunt, seven PM. Got it?" Rick said.
"Yeah, you go it bro."
"Alright, I'm off for some poker." Rick announced the following night. "What's on the Disney schedule for tonight?"
"Snow White, Cinderella, Mulan and Pocahontas," Alexis replied. "Next week is Lion King, Beauty and he Beast, Aladdin and Anastasia."
"You're going to watch all four?" Rick exclaimed in surprise as Kate put a disc in the DVD player. "That's eight hours of cinematic legend alone. You'll fall asleep before you get through them all."
"Never underestimate the staying power of a pair of die hard Disney tragics," Kate told the Writer with a grin as she pecked him on the lips. "We plan on going through every single movie in the Disney catalogue before we hit Pixar's stuff."
"So what's the next genre after animation?" Rick asked in amusement.
"Eighties horror," the female detective replied. "Nightmare on Elm Street, Pet Cemetery, Poltergeist etcetera."
"Then in week three of the schedule, we're moving onto cheesy horror,' Alexis added. "Then the originals of the remakes...like Godzilla, Avengers, etcetera."
"I'll have to join you for the cheesy horror night," Rick said with a grin. "I love cheesy horror."
"But for the moment you have manly poker nights with Ryan and Esposito," Alexis said with a grin. "Go away so I can have some girl time with Kate, you've been hogging her."
"Well excuuuuuse me," Rick said with a chuckle. "Well, see you two when I get home, alright?"
"No problem Dad."
Half an hour later Rick arrived at the Old Haunt that was pumping with the usual Friday Night trade. He cheerfully greeted Spiro at the door before entering the bar and pushing his way through the patrons who were drinking and engaging in several loud and raucous games of eight ball, poker and dancing to the jukebox music which was currently blasting out 'Manic Monday'. He made his way down to the very back of the bar where Ryan and Esposito were waiting at the reserved 12th precinct booth.
"Hey guys," he said, greeting his friends unlocking the door that led own to his office. "Go down and I'll be with you in a tick."
"Hey Mr Castle, how you doin?" Jamie the new night manager asked, greeting the writer.
"I'm good," Rick replied. "Ryan, Espo and I have a serious poker game planned. No one comes down without me knowing, alright? Ring down if anyone wants or needs to see me...got it?"
"You got it."
Rick turned and made his way toward his office shutting the door behind him before carefully making his way down the stairs to his office space, which was modeled much like his office back at the loft. Ryan and Esposito were standing by a side table above which hung many candid photos of Rick along with Kate, Ryan, Esposito the late Captain Montgomery taken at the precinct and the Old Haunt before the renovations.
"Alright, now I reckon you can tell us what the hells going on," Kevin said, flopping down in one of the seats at the table that formed the centerpiece of the office's décor.
"Yeah bro, time to fess up." Esposito added.
"Well it started a little over twelve months ago before Roy's funeral," Rick began. "Kate received a phone call from Mike Raglan, a former homicide detective at the eighteenth precinct who was the lead detective in Johanna Beckett's murder.
"Santa Madre de Dios (Holy mother of God)," Esposito muttered in Spanish. "Raglan is the guy that was shot in front of you and Kate by Hal Lockwood."
"He was," Rick said "of course you two discovered Lockwood was the one who shot Raglan and Montgomery was involved in the conspiracy of Johanna Beckett's murder then the shit in the hangar went down and Kate went nuts on the investigation. That's when I received a phone call. and it got even more complicated, That was when I received a phone call from the mysterious guys warning me that if Kate dug any deeper she would meet the same fate as Raglan."
"Shit." Ryan swore with a groan. "do you think it was the same person who shot her at Montgomery's funeral?"
"No, that's one thing I'm certain of," Rick replied. "The person who rang me was not at all menacing or gave me any inkling they were involved. Though I do suspect whoever it is knows who shot Kate."
"Well you know since Roy's funeral it's gone quiet, but around the time all that crap with the Mayor went down it's started up again. There's more."
"More?" Esposito yelped.
"Yeah more," Rick replied with a sigh. "A couple of weeks ago I received a call from this mysterious person again, asking me to meet him in the same place as last time -"
"Last time?" Esposito yelped.
"Last time was around the time Laura Cambridge was murdered," Rick revealed. "Six months ago, remember the case surrounding Weldon?"
The two detectives grunted in unison.
"Anyway a couple of weeks ago I met this mysterious guy again and he gave me this."
Rick reached into his jacket and pulled put the two inch thick file dropping it down onto the desk with a loud thwack.
"Shit, that's an official NYPD file!" Ryan exclaimed incredulously.
"I know and I think this file contains the information we need to track down Kate's shooter and Johanna's killer," Rick told them, reaching under the desk and unlocking a drawer beneath. "This file is information I've gathered since I began investigating Johanna's murder since I arrived at the twelfth and the cases we've investigated connected to it since. But it's proverbial swiss cheese..full of holes. I'm convinced the information we need to fill those holes resides in this new folder."
"Jesus Christ Castle, you've copied NYPD files. Keep this under wraps or you're a dead man!" Ryan exclaimed.
"I know. I've got triplicate copies so I've always got something to fall back on should anything adverse happen." Rick revealed.
"Are you going to tell us where they are?" Esposito asked as he flipped open the file Rick had compiled.
"I will in time," Rick promised. "I'm not going to tell you verbally or electronically though. I'll write down the location then make you burn the paper in front of me. I trust you guys implicitly Javier but I can't-we can't take any chances. If word gets out, Kate will be a dead woman walking and I want to marry her one day. She needs to stay alive for that to happen. She's my forever."
Ryan and Esposito normally would have teased the Writer about the marriage revelation but it was a testament to their friendship and the seriousness of the situation that the two detectives didn't even raise an eyebrow.
"Alright, so where do we start?" Ryan asked with a sigh.
"I don't know," Rick answered, wearily. "I've looked and looked and looked guys but I just can't find the hook. You two are fresh eyes and you can help me find the first step. I know it's only going to take one little bit of information to get the ball rolling."
"You know it's going to get to the point where whoever is the Mr Big is going to find out someone's investigating and go after Kate personally." Esposito said.
"I know," Rick said in a pained voice. "That's why I need you to keep your mouths shut. My plan is to find out who all the underlings of this guy is and eliminate them one by one. That way they don't have a chance of letting the next one on the ladder know what's going on. Then the plan is to gather all the information needed to make a secure and indisputable arrest. And when I get to that point I plan on letting Kate know so she can arrest the man who murdered her mother. I know that is something she wants to do more than anything."
"As long as we have the pleasure of arresting the scum who shot Kate," Ryan said. "If in fact, they're not the same person."
"I'll ring some people, re-join the FBI and do it with you." Rick said in a determined tone.
Esposito's mouth fell open. "You'd re-join the feds just for this?" he exclaimed.
"I would do anything to find justice for Kate and Jim, Javier," Rick answered, deadpanned. "Besides if I re-join the FBI our jurisdiction is wider and less restricted than the NYPD. I'd be able to access the NYPD and FBI computer databases without raising suspicion and that would take any heat off Kate. If it gets to that point I will hire a plane and fly to Quantico in an instant. I have several contacts high up in the FBI that I trust as much as you two that would be able to help out should it get to that point."
"How are you going to stop the gossip media finding out you've rejoined the FBI?" Ryan asked.
"They don't know I joined in the first place, Kevin. It wouldn't be too hard," the Writer replied. "And I served under my birth name Richard Alexander Rogers, not my writer name Richard Edgar Castle. Unless a gossip writer suddenly decides to see if a special agent under that name and that's not likely, that information is likely to remain unknown to the general public."
"You've thought about this a lot," the Irish detective observed.
"You have no idea, Kevin-"
The two detectives and Writer dove into the mish mash of information in front of them and began the investigation into Johanna Beckett's murder and Kate's shooting in earnest. They first put the file Rick was given and the one he compiled himself together and sorted them into a chronological timeline. This alone took three hours. The trio then settled down ad micro-investigated every aspect of the two cases. Ryan and Esposito worked from before Johanna Becket's murder and Rick working backward from Kate's shooting. They only stopped when Rick's iPhone rang shrilly, lighting up with Kate's I.D
"Shit, it's Kate!" he exclaimed.
"Answer it dude," Ryan said not taking his eyes away from an autopsy report
"O-okay."
Rick picked up the ringing and buzzing device on the desk and swiped his thumb across the screen.
"Good evening, Tulip!" he answered cheerfully.
"Good evening?" the female detective teased. "Don't you mean good morning? It's quarter to one."
"Really?" Rick exclaimed, surpised. "Well that goes to show how distracting it is when Espo fleeces you of all your cash. I totally lost track of time."
"Are you coming home?" Kate asked. "Alexis has gone to bed and that king sized bed is oh so big on my own."
Rick chuckled. "Yeah I'm coming home," he answered. "If I stay any longer, Espo will literally win the shirt off my back and last time I checked walking the streets with no clothes on was illegal."
Kate laughed "Yeah it is," she said. "And if you are arrested I don't want to have to come down and bail you out. I'm wearing lace and don't want to change."
"Well I'll convince the boys to pack up and I'll be home soon," Rick promised. "See you soon, darling girl."
"I love you Rick."
"Love you too, sweetheart."
Rick hung up ten immediately got to his feet.
"We've got to pack it in for the night," he announced. "It's quarter to one in the morning."
"Well, we haven't discovered anything yet but I have a feeling we son will bro," Esposito assured is friend as they carefully began packing up the paperwork.
"I hope so, the mystery guy said to me 'trust those you see every day, they'll be the key to helping you' and when I mentioned you two and Gates, he didn't dissuade me at all."
"Gates?" Ryan exclaimed. "Dude, are you sure? She'd have your guts for dinner for copying official NYPD files alone man."
"Well immediately I wasn't sure because I don't know her as well as you two … but think about it. She used to be a Lieutenant in I.A and is regarded as the most 'kick ass least corruptible take no bullshit from anyone cop' in the force. She can access the entire NYPD computer database without raising suspicion and if she asks questions, no one is going to get suspicious. Besides her husband has a similar rep and he heads up I.A for the entire NYPD. He could investigate the commissioner and not be found out."
"Never thought if it like that," the Irish detective confessed.
"Got a feeling this is bigger than we can possibly imagine bro," Esposito said to Rick. "Bigger than big."
"That's a given Javier, but I'm determined to get there. No matter how long it takes."
The boys met weekly in the bowels of the Old Haunt for what Kate, Jenny and Lanie thought were 'Manly Poker Nights' and it was a full month before any of them hit on anything of note.
"Hey look at this," Ryan announced an hour into their fourth Friday investigating Johanna's murder and Kate's shooting. "This is a bit peculiar. I don't know if it's anything but something doesn't quite add up"
Rick and Esposito immediately went to the Irish Detective's side.
"It's the fire department report from the warehouse fire in Jersey," Ryan continued. "The fire Captain was in the NYPD report, it says the attending FDNY investigator was a Nic Warrington. Now we know from that visit you and Kate had to the fire station Rod Halstead was listed as the attending chief. We need to find out where that Nic Warrington is now and what happened for his name to be wiped off the official FDNY report. There's definitely something dodgy going on. Why would Rod Halstead be listed as the attending investigator when he clearly wasn't anywhere near the scene at the time?"
"Oh this is great, just great!" Rick declared. "You're awesome."
"Nah, just observant," the Irish detective replied, separating the NYPD and FDNY reports and setting them aside. "We find that Nic Warrington and I think we're in with a prayer of getting the ball rolling. I haven't found anything else just yet."
"You found anything, Javier?" Rick asked the Latino detective
"I'm not entirely sure," he replied. "I'm looking at the Laura Cambridge case again and there's something fishy about the lawyer appointed to Jordan Norris the kid you and Beckett put away for embezzling the Mayor's charity fund money, the lawyer Timothy Miller, since the Laura Cambridge case he's been disbarred and jailed for possession of a trafficable amount of cocaine. He's in Sing Sing now."
"Isn't that the jail Norris is in?" Ryan piped up looking at his colleague's paperwork.
"Yeah from recollection it is." The Latino detective replied.
"Shit, it's time to get Gates in...isn't it?" Rick said, flopping down in his chair with a resigned sigh. "We can't possibly progress any further without her help. We can't be secretive without her help...SHIT!"
"So...are we going to do it at the precinct or call her and ask her to meet us here?" Ryan asked.
"No, I don't want to use phones, email or texting unless it is absolutely necessary and there's no other option," Rick replied. "We're going to have to do it at the precinct. And that's going to be hard with Kate there all the time, she's going to get suss if all three of us get up from out desks and go into Gate' office."
"Well really only one of us needs to be in there to explain the situation," Ryan pointed out. "How about either Espo or I offer to spar with Kate in the gym and while we're gone, the remaining two go to Gates and explain the situation? Kate always spends at least an hour in the gym. That ought to be enough time to get the importance of this case across to Gates and ask for her help."
"She's going to scalp me when she finds out about all the copied files and that I as a civilian have been investigating current cases." Rick groaned.
"Not if we explain it to her properly, bro." Esposito assured his friend.
"Then how about you be the one that goes in with Castle and explains things to Gates?" Ryan suggested. "I can offer to spar with Kate. She'll take up the offer, hardly anyone spars with her anymore, you know that."
"You're a genius," Rick muttered fervently.
An hour later Esposito spoke again.
"You know something is curious, bro," he said to Rick shuffling several sheets of paper in front of him. "One name keeps on popping up."
"Hmm?" the Writer said looking up
"The name of the governor."
"Governor Robinson?" Rick and Ryan chorused.
"There are rumors he's going to nominate for the presidential race," Ryan piped up. "Jenny's Dad is a politics nut and he reckons he's the only decent chance the Republican Party has had at the Presidency in years."
"How is it cropping up?" Rick asked Esposito in interest.
"He went to high school with Timothy Miller and they both attended Harvard Law School," Esposito began explaining, pointing to the information. "And they in turn worked at the same law firm as Hargreaves before the latter left law to join the force and now ended up as.…."
"The deputy commissioner!" Ryan and Rick exclaimed.
"God, this is bigger than we imagined," Rick groaned. "How the hell are we supposed to question the governor without anyone finding out? I've heard the rumors about him nominating for the Republican Party race for the Whitehouse to which means he'd have only marginally less people around him, than Obama himself! Shit."
"We've got to get Gates in on this and find out where Nic Warrington, Tim Miller Hargraves and Robinson are connected because I'm sure doing that will reveal who murdered Johanna and shot Kate." Rick said after a moment of studying all the paperwork.
"You still determined to go back to the feds, dude?" Ryan asked Rick.
"Yes, most definitely. If it gets to that," Rick said emphatically. "Guys, I am doing this because I love Kate with every fibre of my being. I would do anything to find justice for her and Jim. And I know while they appear to have set it aside, it's still eating away at them that Johanna's murderer was never apprehended. You know what Kate's like when she can't find the culprit in a case. It drives her nuts. She's just not overt about her mother's case because it hurts that she doesn't know who did it."
"Do you think Kate knows about the danger she could be in?" Ryan asked.
Rick sighed and dropped his face into his hands. "Honestly Kevin, I don't know," he said wearily. "I think she knows something's up because of how I pleaded for her to back off from it before Roy died. But she definitely doesn't know the gravity of it."
"We're going to have to let her know at some point," Esposito reasoned. "Especially if you want her to be the one that arrests her mother's killer."
"I know, I just hope she doesn't hate me for investigating this behind her back," Rick said thickly. "Essentially I've been lying to her for the last five weeks and I feel foul for doing it."
"She's not going to hate you, Rick. She loves you," Ryan said. "Like really loves you. I've never seen anyone as in love with their other half as she is with you."
"And you're not lying to her,' Esposito insisted. "If you told her the situation she would rush out there with a head full of steam and get herself killed. You're not lying, you're saving her life. She's sensible. She might get a little mad that you haven't included her in the investigation but she would understand you're only doing it to keep her safe."
"Still doesn't make me feel any better, Javier." Rick groaned, rubbing his face hard. "God, this is turning out to be much more difficult than I ever imagined."
"It was never going to be a picnic dude," Ryan said sagely.
"I know but I never expected it to be this big," Rick said rubbing his face. "How do you two do this every day?"
"Bro, this sort of investigation is way beyond the usual duties of a homicide detective," Esposito said. "I've never investigated anything like this in the ten years I've been on the job and definitely nothing like it in the six years I've been working homicide."
"Same here," Ryan echoed.
"Alright, how about we pack up and head upstairs for a brew?" Rick suggested with a sigh. "I don't think I can handle any more tonight."
"Sounds good to me, bro."
The feeling between Rick, Ryan and Esposito was tense the following Monday though everyone outside the trio was unaware of it. They went about their usual duties, each furtively keeping an eye on Kate and looking for an opportunity for Ryan to put the sparring offer forth. It wasn't until half past three in the afternoon that Ryan pushed his chair back from his desk and got to his feet, cracking his neck vertebrae so loudly Rick, Esposito and Kate winced.
"Bro, do you have to do that?" Esposito asked in a nauseated tone. "A few more cracks and you could play the national anthem."
"I can crack my whole spine if I lay down," Ryan answered gleefully. "I'm my own chiropractor."
"You're sick bro."
"I'm going to head to the gym for a bit of a box," Ryan announced. "Who wants to spar?"
"No way bro, not if you're going to make sounds like that." Esposito said.
"Writer Boy?"
"Nah, I'm up to my backside in paperwork." Rick replied, not taking his eyes off the paperwork in front of him.
"Beckett?" Kevin went on in a pleading tone. "Come on, you're always complaining you don't have anyone to spar with. I'm willingly offering myself up so you can belt the crap out of me."
Kate let out a snort of laughter. "You sure you really want to do that?" the female detective asked. "I haven't had a decent spar in ages."
"Yeah I'm sure, come on," Kevin urged with a grin. "Fifty bucks you're the first to hit the floor."
"Good luck bro," Esposito said with a scoff.
"You're on," Kate declared. "You're going down, Leprechaun."
"You're going to cop it now pal, have fun," Rick said with a grin as Kate rose from her seat her stance defiant. "Kick his ass, sweetheart."
"Hey, you're supposed to be a friend!" Ryan exclaimed.
"I am a friend but you're about to spar with my girlfriend. I'm smart enough not to bet against her," Rick replied with a grin. "She lives with me now, you know. I don't want to get the cold shoulder."
"Good boy," Kate said with a giggle brushing her fingers over the back of his neck. "See guys? Castle sticks with his partner."
"Hey, I stick with my partner, just not when he's being a masochist." Esposito said with a grin. "There's no saving an idiot."
"Asshat." Ryan muttered
A few minutes later Kate and Ryan departed for the basement gym and Rick and Esposito got up from their desks and began making their way towards Gates' office.
"Do you want me to open the conversation or do you want to do it?" Esposito asked in a low tone, as the two men discreetly looked through the blinds of their superior's office and watched her type away at her computer.
"I'll do it, it was my idea to bring her into this whole mess," Rick said with a sigh. "But if I start to make a ass of myself, jump in, alright? If she gets shitty at me, you might be able to calm her down from an official NYPD prospective, alright?"
"You got it, bro. Let's do this."
Taking a deep breath Rick strode forward towards Gates' office with purpose in his stride, Esposito close beside him. He lifted a fist and knocked smartly on the office door. Gates looked up over the top of her glasses.
"Gentlemen?" she inquired.
"Do you have a moment Sir?" Rick asked, his stomach flooding with excruciating trepidation. "Esposito and I need to talk to you about something important."
"Of course, come in and sit down," the Captain answered, her eyebrows raised slightly at his serious tone.
Rick led the way into the office and immediately shut and locked the door then shut the blinds.
"Mr Castle, really? You stride into my office and-"
"Sir, give him a chance. This is important," Esposito said, cutting his boss off without hesitation. "He's thought about this more than you can possibly imagine and has come to you because he trusts you not because he's being a jackass."
Rick shot his friend a grateful look then sat down in front to Gate's elegantly carved wooden desk fighting the urge not to cry. Gates sensed this wasn't the usual visit and took off her glasses setting the down in front of her.
"Go on Mr Castle," she said the usual sharpness of her tone gone.
"Shit, thinking about this was so much easier than doing it." the Writer mumbled, inhaling and exhaling with a rush.
"I tell my children whenever they say that to me, treat it like ripping of a band aid," Gates advised him. "The quicker the better, I'm sure you've said the same thing to your daughter."
Rick cracked an ever so slight smile. "I have," he admitted. "Alright, I'll start from the beginning. But you have to promise me you won't get mad at me til I've finished the entire story."
"That's a line I've heard from my children too," Gates said dryly. "Go on Mr Castle."
"Alright, now I'm sure you're aware of the Johanna Becket case from '99?" Rick began.
Gates' eyebrows disappeared into her fringe. "I have," she admitted. "Johanna Beckett is Kate's mother."
"Yes, well since I arrived at the precinct and gotten to know Kate a little, I've been investigating the case." Rick began.
Gates' mouth fell open. "You've what?" she exclaimed. "You really-"
"You promised," Esposito said giving his boss a hard stare.
"Initially I started investigating it out of pure curiosity," Rick continued. "Then of course I developed feelings for Kate and continued it because I wanted to find justice for her and her father. The cases down in archives were full of holes. Clearly there were important papers missing that would have led to the uncovering of Johanna's killer. Now over the course of the past four years I've met brick wall after brick wall. It seems no matter now much I investigate this case I'm always met by roadblock. That was until a little under a year and a half ago when Kate received a call from Mike Raglan, he was a former detective at the eighteenth precinct. He was the lead detective in Johanna's case and was one of the first on scene. He was about to tell Kate some vital information when a sniper shot him from outside the café we were at. It was that case that motivated Kate to get back into investigating her mother's murder but like me, she didn't come up with anything different to what I had. Obviously to someone it became known to someone that she was investigating the case again and after she returned to work after Montgomery's funeral she resumed her own investigations. It was then I received a phone call from a mysterious person that warned me if Kate continued looking into her mother's murder she would follow the same fate as her Mom and Mike Raglan…."
Gates' expression was incredulous as Rick told his story. She leaned forward and her chin was resting in her hands as she listened to his story.
"So after Jim Kate's Dad came to me and asked me to ask her to back off, I went to her apartment and pleaded with her to back off from the case or whoever shot Raglan would do the same to her, now I didn't tell her about the phone calls but she did back off and I thought that was the end of it."
Rick paused as a lump formed in the back of his throat and his baby blue eyes filled with tears.
"Anyway since that day I've spent all my spare time re-investigating Johanna's case because I'm convinced the two cases are connected. I'm convinced whoever shot Kate knows who ordered the hit on her mother or is the person who ordered the hit on her mother. And if they found out someone was still investigating the case they would go after Kate and make sure she wouldn't survive a second attempt on her life."
"You've discovered this from your own investigations?" Gates asked in an awed voice.
"Yes," Rick replied emphatically. "A few months ago after that case involving Rob Weldon I received another call from this mysterious voice telling me to get Kate to back off again because she was getting close and that the 'conspiracy' surrounding the mayor was bigger than I ever imagined."
"But Kate wasn't investigating her mother's murder," Gates said. "Laura-something, oh I can't remember her surname...was the victim-"
"Laura Cambridge," Rick reminded her. "I'm convinced and so is Kevin and Javier that whoever killed Laura Cambridge is involved with the Johanna Beckett case and Kate's shooting. Then a few weeks ago I received a call out of the blue asking me to meet him and at this meting I was given a two inch thick file that gave me much more information that I had ever compiled and that plugged some of the holes from the archives box. There are conspiracies all over the shop and it needs further more official more discreet investigation. You have contacts in Internal Affairs and are the one person I trust to bring into this. Kevin, Javier and I need your help. We've gone as far as we can without raising suspicions. If we press on any further, word will get out and whoever is the Mr Big will kill Kate. She's in mortal danger if word gets out the case is still active they'll assume she's the one investigating it and come and kill her. I can't take that chance, Victoria. I just can't. I want to grow old with her and for that to happen she needs to stay alive. I'm even re-considering re-joining the FBI to help this case along. We are so close to finding Johanna's killer and Kate's shooter, I know we are but we need your help. Will you join the team? Please?"
"One question," Gates said. "Are you investigating at the precinct?"
"No, we do it at my bar, the Old Haunt in my secure and soundproof office," Rick replied. "It's the only place I feel is safe enough to do it. No one in the NYPD can keep their mouths shut and the gossip train is bigger than the Amtrak Express. If Kevin, Javier and I were seen coming here after hours, someone would say something and it would filter back to whomever is the Mr Big. There are only a few people I trust and you are one of them. I only ask that if you decide not to help us, you keep what I have told you to yourself. Kate's life is literally at stake here."
Gates rubbed her face. "There's literally someone out for Kate's blood?" she asked.
"Yes, one big entity but I suspect there are several people working under him." Rick replied. "Or her Kevin, Javier and I haven't totally ruled out a woman."
"Alright, I'll help you," Gates said after a long moment of contemplation. "I can tell you're genuine, Mr Castle. I learned how to read people during my time in I.A and I'm getting a good vibe from you."
Rick let out a huge sigh of relief the enormous knot in his stomach evaporating instantly.
"Thank you," her murmured. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."
"Our group policy is not to tell anyone outside the group," Esposito piped up. "No friends, no family. No workmates or spouses...no one. There's to be no communication electronically or on paper outside the sessions and we bring our weapons with us. If you're alright with that, it's game on."
"That sounds CIA," the older woman said
"Can't take any chances," Rick said. "Until this investigation is over and done with and there's an arrest, we can't be lax."
"Alright, where do you all meet?" Gates asked.
"The Old Haunt, seven PM every Friday," Rick said. "Under the guise of a poker game. Don't come in your own car, come in a taxi. I will personally pay for your fare."
"You don't have to do that, I can manage a few dollars," Gates answered. "Do you need or want me to bring anything?"
"No just yourself" Rick said. "And a healthy drive to find justice."
"Bro, she's got that in spades." Esposito said dryly.
The ghost of a smile flitted across Gates' face. "Alright, get back to work you two. I'll se you Friday night." Gates said.
"Thank you, Sir." Rick said
Rick led the way out of the office into the break room and gave a furtive but enthusiastic fist pump as soon as Esposito followed the Writer and shut the door behind him.
"We've got it, Javier!" he hissed. "Gates is the key to helping us bust this case wide open, I know it."
The Latino detective chuckled and shared a fist bump with the Writer. "So should we feel guilty for sending Ryan into the lion's den with Kate?" he said with a snort of laughter. "How much do you think she's kicking his ass?"
Rick laughed. "No we shouldn't feel guilty. He volunteered," he said. "And she would be belting the crap out of him big time."
"How about we go watch for a bit?"
"You're on."
A/N1: There you go peoples I hope you enjoyed reading this, I certainly had fun writing it! Remember reviews feed the beast (Hint hint)