SUMMARY: Things that we didn't see or hear in the episodes 'Resurrection' and 'Reckoning.'
A/N #1: I can already hear it. 'Again, Cindy, with the downfall of Jerry Tyson and Kelly Nieman?' I can always find new avenues of interest for probably every 'Castle' episode. This time will be no different. I'm not sure how many chapters are going to be devoted to these two.
I am going to change the timeline for my chapters regarding Tyson and Nieman. Otherwise, some of the conversations that I have planned won't work.
I also want to thank George S., Ray T., Laura S., and Peggy B. for their theories on how Jerry Tyson could've survived that plunge from the bridge in 'Probable Cause.' And also John T. for his hilarious, but improbable theories as to Tyson's real identity.
There will be other things coming up in these chapters, as well.
A/N #2: This chapter will include dialog from 7x14 'Resurrection.'
In My Veins
Chapter 3: The Return of a Hated Nemesis
It was a typical early morning in the Castle loft. Everybody was awake and getting ready to start their day. Martha was in particularly good spirits as she gathered her belongings.
"Richard, it pains me to admit it, but I am in your debt."
"Deeply, Mother. But if you'd like to start paying rent—"
"No, no, no. I mean that I owe you a debt of gratitude."
"Oh," Castle smiled at Kate, who was listening to her mother-in-law.
"If you hadn't urged me to take this audition, I would never have gotten this part," she grabbed her jacket from the back of one of the chairs. "Now, I am off to my wardrobe fitting. Bye all!"
"Bye!" Kate called out as Martha disappeared out the door.
"Now, let's hope that this play is successful enough so that she moves out and finds her own place," Castle whispered as he saw Alexis descend the stairs and walk over to grab her bag from the sofa. "And where are you off to?"
"Oh, I signed up for an escort service. I have to meet a client."
This news caused both Kate and Castle to do a doubletake. "What? A What?" Castle sputtered as Alexis burst out laughing.
"I just wanted to see if you were listening. I'm going to the library to study," she walks over and kisses her dad on the cheek.
"Not cool."
After kissing her father, she walks around the counter and kisses Kate on the cheek, taking her completely by surprise. "Oh. Bye, bud," Kate says, looking at Castle, who is also taken aback by the gesture.
"A goodbye kiss? When did that start?" Castle asked after Alexis left the apartment.
"Just now. I'm as surprised as you are."
"I don't know if I'm surprised. I mean, you are pretty lovable."
"Well, you raised a good person," Kate complimented him.
"Mmmm, you say that now. You weren't here for the beginning."
"And next time I will be."
"Next time? Does that mean that you're . . . thinking about it?"
"Yeah. About it. About a lot of things. I'm wondering if I'm ready. If there's ever a right time."
"There isn't. But there isn't a wrong time, either. How long have you been thinking about it?"
"I don't know, Castle. I don't think about it every second of the day. I just think that we should start having a more serious discussion about it."
"Well, my morning is free if you want to start 'discussing' it now."
"While your morning may be free, mine is not," she got up and walked over to him, giving him a kiss on the lips. "The boys got a body drop. So, I'm off to my crime scene. But I promise that we will talk about this. I'll call you later."
"Okay. Be careful and have a good day. I love you."
"I love you, too. I miss not having you with me."
"I miss that, too."
Castle had messed up right before Christmas, swearing a blood oath to a mobster. The result was a disgraced NYPD detective was murdered. Because the D.A. had learned that Castle had been cooperating with a member of an organized crime family, he had been banned from the precinct and banned from working with Kate or the boys in any capacity.
While he knew that being kicked out of the precinct had always been a possibility, it still stung. Especially once he and Kate got married. While he couldn't work with Kate, she still shared stories of her cases with him, and he helped the best that he could without breaking the rules of the ban.
He walked into his office, smiling when he went over the conversation he'd just had with Kate in his mind. A little over a year previously, they had briefly cared for a baby that had been dropped at a church by their murder victim. He had been stunned to learn that his then-fiancée wasn't what could be referred to as a 'baby person.'
Knowing that she was now thinking about a future that included kids warmed Castle's heart. He knew that Kate would be a wonderful mom. And he very much wanted to have children with her.
***CCC***
The new case was weird. It started with a young woman found in an alley, wearing a nightgown and robe, her feet bare. It only got creepier and more sinister from there. Lanie had called Kate, noting similarities between their current murder victim, and two victims from almost a year ago. Victims that had undergone plastic surgery to make them look like Lanie and Esposito. The surgery had been performed by a surgeon named Kelly Nieman, who was found to have ties to the 3XK killer, Jerry Tyson. Nieman had disappeared before she could be taken in for questioning. But when she vanished, so did all of the files belonging to Tyson. Every bit of evidence had disappeared into thin air.
Was Kelly Nieman responsible for their victim, Susan Watts? Before walking through the door of New Start Horizons, she placed a quick phone call to Castle. "Hey, I wasn't expecting to hear from you quite so soon," Castle's voice was cheerful when he answered the phone.
"Castle, I don't have much time to talk, but I think Kelly Nieman is back. I just wanted to give you a heads up."
"Back? How?"
"Castle, I'll call you back in just a few. Stay near your phone."
"You've got it."
While waiting for the receptionist to call the director of New Start Horizons, Kate walked over to a wall of constantly changing photographs. Her blood ran cold when she saw her nemesis, the familiar red hair and creepy smile. She was most definitely back. She was still staring at her when Lanie called her, confirming what she already knew. "Lanie, I'm staring at a picture of her right now. Dr. Kelly Nieman is back. I have to go."
She immediately called Castle back. It was hard to keep her breathing steady while she waited for her husband to pick up his phone. "Hey," he answered. "Kate? Are you okay?"
"It's her, Castle. Are you at your office?"
"Yeah."
"I'll be there in a bit."
After getting banned from the precinct, Castle got his private investigator license and rented office space near the loft. This was where Kate met up with him half an hour later. "Are you okay?" He asked when she walked into the office.
"Yeah, I just need to gather my thoughts. I have to go back to the precinct and tell Gates that Kelly Nieman is back on our radar."
"What about Tyson?"
"What about him? Castle, he's dead. We've talked about this."
"But what if he isn't? Kate, they never found his body."
"I know, but Castle, he fell more than a hundred feet from that bridge. He had to have washed down river."
"But why didn't they find him? Even if he had washed down river, they still should've found him. What if she was waiting for him somewhere? She could've patched him up."
"Castle, do you hear yourself? Look, I have to go back and talk to Gates. But I'm telling you that Tyson is dead. The only way that he survived that fall is if he's a villain from a horror movie. And he's not Michael Myers or Jason. Now I have to go," she kissed him. "I'll talk to you later."
"He's not dead," Castle said under his breath when Kate left the office. He walked back to his laptop and typed in queries about whether someone could miraculously survive a 100-foot fall into dark water. Every result said the same thing that Kate had said. Tyson had to be dead. Then what happened to his body?
He was still deep in thought when the office door opened, and Alexis stepped inside. "Hi, sweetie," he looked up from his laptop.
"Hi," she took a seat in front of his desk. "What're you doing?"
"Trying to see if there's any way a person could survive a 100-foot plunge from a bridge."
"Tyson again? Dad, he's dead."
"Maybe, but what if he isn't? Dr. Nieman has resurfaced."
"When?"
"Today. Kate caught a murder this morning. The victim had the same cheek implants as the victim from a year ago."
"Why would she come back when she knows that she's a murder suspect?"
"My guess is to play more cat and mouse games with the cops."
"Has Kate questioned her?"
"I don't know. She was here earlier, but she was heading back to the Twelfth to tell Capt. Gates about Nieman."
"When you shot him that night, did he fall suddenly or did he like prepare himself to take that huge fall?"
"He definitely engaged me and Kate. But he fell backwards off the bridge."
"Did you see him fall the entire way? Dad, divers take dives off huge diving boards. If he somehow righted his body before he hit the water, he could've survived. Maybe not without injury, but if Nieman was nearby, she could've taken him from the water before the police and the Harbor Patrol showed up."
"So if he straightened his body like a knife plunging into something—"
"He could've lived."
"Thank you for giving me a theory that makes sense. Now we just have to convince Kate that it's a possibility."
"Dad, it's not a huge possibility, but it's more than you and Kate had that night on the bridge."
"Yeah, I was beginning to think that maybe he was conceived in a monstrous villain laboratory."
***CCC***
"Are you sure that Kelly Nieman is back in the city?" Gates asked.
"Yes, sir. I saw her picture myself. She's affiliated with a similar charity to the one that she was connected to last year. She's practicing plastic surgery somewhere in the city. I have Ryan checking into it right now."
"Detective, if she is involved in the murder of Susan Watts, how can we make sure that she doesn't slip through our fingers again?"
"Sir, you can bring Castle back to help with the case."
"No. The D.A. will never sign off on Mr. Castle coming in to consult. He was definite about that when he banned him from the precinct in December. I've given him a lot of latitude with his private investigation venture, but I can't allow him to come back. I'm sorry."
"Sir, Castle knows the Nieman case inside and out. He can be an asset to us."
"What are your thoughts regarding Jerry Tyson? Do you think that he could possibly be a part of this?"
"Right now, we don't have any proof that Tyson is alive. Right now, I'm working on the assumption that Nieman is working alone or possibly with another proxy. Like she did before with Pam Hodges and Daniel Santos."
"Detective, has anyone gone to Five Points to speak with Carl Matthews? He might be able to give you more insight on Nieman or Tyson."
"Right now, there doesn't seem to be a reason to talk to Matthews. He told us everything about the murders he'd committed. He hasn't spoken to anyone from law enforcement since then."
"I would still recommend speaking to him."
"Yes, sir."
"If I bring Mr. Castle in, it's for this case only. Tell him that he'd better not even try to worm his way back in like he did when we first met. Is that understood?"
"Yes, sir," Kate smiled. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet, Detective. I still have to get the D.A. on board."
When Kate walked into the loft that evening, Castle was in the kitchen cooking dinner. "Gates is trying to get you back to help with the Nieman case. She was still waiting to hear from the D.A."
"Did you talk to her?"
"Yeah. She's working at St. Simon's. She's as smug as always, like she doesn't have a care in the world. She told me that I looked tired, and she offered me one of her swag bags."
"What about your victim?"
"She wouldn't admit to knowing Susan Watts one way or the other. And she informed me that I was welcome to her files as soon as I showed her a warrant, which I can't get any judge in town to give me at this moment. Not even judges who owe me a favor."
"Alexis and I figured out how Jerry Tyson could've survived the fall from the bridge."
"Castle, not now. Please? My head is pounding. I just want to relax and not talk about Tyson or Nieman."
"How about a glass of wine?"
"That sounds nice. Where are your mother and Alexis?"
"Alexis is upstairs studying and Mother is out for the evening. Take this to the sofa while I get dinner on the table," he handed her a glass of white wine and guided her to the sofa.
"I'm sorry, Castle. I didn't mean to be so short with you—"
"I understand. Relax while I get dinner on the table."
Kate was sitting with her head back when she heard Alexis coming down the stairs. "Rough day?" Alexis guessed, taking a seat next to her.
"Did your dad fill you in?"
"Yeah. I wonder where she's been for the past year."
"Costa Rica. Ryan tracked her movements today. But Alexis, I really don't want to talk about it anymore tonight."
For the next 15 or 20 minutes, while Castle finished with dinner, Alexis regaled Kate on tales of her friends, who was dating whom, etc. It was fun to listen to a regular conversation like the ones she'd often shared with her parents. It once again made Kate wonder what a future with Castle's kids would be like.
After dinner, Kate and Castle settled on the couch with bowls of ice cream while Alexis once again went upstairs to study. Kate was almost completely relaxed when her cellphone rang. "It's Capt. Gates," Kate told Castle as she answered the phone. "Hello?"
"Det. Beckett, I just received a call from the D.A. Castle can come back until we resolve the Nieman case. I'll see the two of you tomorrow."
"Yes, sir," Kate ended the call and turned toward Castle. "The D.A. signed off on you coming back to help us with this case."
"Good," Castle beamed.
"Just this case, Castle. Gates was very specific about that."
"I'll change her mind. You'll see."
"Castle, while I admit that Gates has warmed toward you over the past four years, she's already said that you had better not try to worm your way back into her precinct. Her words, not mine. You know how I feel. I miss you. Especially with this case. Gates also suggested today that we might want to go up to Five Points to talk to Carl Matthews."
"Why?"
"She thinks he might know more than he's let on."
"I don't know, Kate. That guy was creepy. I had goose bumps on top of my goose bumps after that interrogation."
"Isn't creepy synonymous with serial killers?"
"Yeah, I guess."
"I wasn't going to go anytime soon. I have to get the okay from the prison to visit him, anyway. If he declines to talk to me, then we have nothing to worry about.
"Would you like to revisit what we started talking about this morning?" He turned so that he was facing her on the sofa.
"I have to see my cardiologist before I can commit to having a baby. He completely cleared me back in 2013, but at that time, having a child was the furthest thing from my mind. When he cleared me, I wasn't with Josh, anymore."
"So, if the cardiologist says that it's okay—"
"Then we'll start trying to make a baby," she beamed.
"We can practice right now," he pulled her closer as she melted into him.
The next morning, Castle walked into the bullpen for the first time in almost two months. It felt like he had never been gone. "I've missed this," he smiled at Kate as they walked toward the breakroom.
Castle was making coffee for the both of them when Esposito walked in. "Hey, you guys want to see this," he motioned them toward the IT room, where analyst Tory Ellis had loaded some video on her large monitor.
"The hospital wouldn't share security footage without a court order, but I was able to look at a street cam that faced the hospital entrance. Just watch."
It wasn't long before they saw a young woman walking out of the hospital with a familiar looking swag bag. "She's carrying one of Nieman's swag bags. She offered me one yesterday when I was there," Kate commented.
"That was nice of her," Castle shot back sarcastically, watching Kate smile. "In any case, that's definitely Susan Watts."
"Only there's a timeline problem," Tory pointed out. "This video is from yesterday afternoon. Susan Watts was already dead by that time."
"You're sure that isn't her?" Castle asked.
"Positive."
"So, either Susan Watts has an identical twin out there or—"
"Kelly Nieman did surgery on this woman to make her look like Susan Watts," Kate finished Castle's sentence. "We need to find that woman."
They watched the young woman get into the passenger side of a truck that was being driven by a man who was all too familiar with everyone in the room. A man by the name of Jerry Tyson, better known as 3XK.
"He's alive," Castle could barely breathe.
"How is that even possible?" Espo asked.
"I don't know, but I need to go inform Capt. Gates," Kate left the IT room to go talk to their captain.
"Castle, do you have any theory explaining how he's alive?" Espo wanted to know.
"I have one, but it's one that you're not going to believe."
"Try me."
"He's Aquaman."
"Yeah, you're right. I'm not buying that one."
After speaking to Gates, both women come out of Gates' office and over to the murder board, where Kate placed a picture of the young woman getting into the truck with Jerry Tyson. "Can I have everyone's attention?" Kate called out into the bullpen as the other detectives gathered around the board. "We need to find this young woman! She left St. Simon's Hospital yesterday afternoon and got into a truck with this man! This man is serial killer Jerry Tyson, better known as 3KX. The police had been working under the assumption that Tyson was killed after being shot from the Triborough Bridge almost two years ago. However, as you can see, Tyson is very much alive."
"People, let's not forget that Tyson's files regarding his victims, along with all his lab work were taken from this precinct and from the M.E.'s office a year ago," Gates reminded everyone.
"At that time, we weren't sure that Tyson was behind the disappearance, but now we know that he was," Castle added.
"We may have caught a break. Susan Watts ran from Jerry Tyson, forcing him to kill her in the alley where her body was found. Which means he may have gotten careless. He made mistakes. Let's find him and put him behind bars before this woman becomes his next victim," Kate concluded the briefing.
They were all surprised a few hours later when the elevator doors opened, and Dr. Kelly Nieman stepped out. "Why is she here?" Castle wanted to know.
"She wants to know where we are in our investigation," Kate whispered back before approaching the red-headed plastic surgeon. "Dr. Nieman, is there something that we can do for you?"
"I was wondering if we could talk somewhere in private."
"Of course. We can go into an interrogation room," Kate and Castle led Dr. Neiman into the interrogation room, while Gates and the boys watched through the one-way mirror. "Please have a seat."
"Thank you," the doctor sat on one side of the table while Kate and Castle sat on the opposite side. "Mr. Castle, I was told that you had stopped working on cases."
"For you, I made an exception."
"Let me state that I'm here simply as a courtesy."
"So noted. This woman," Kate slid a picture of the unidentified woman across the table, "left St. Simon's Hospital yesterday carrying one of your swag bags."
"Detective, do you have any idea how many women come in for consultations every day? I can't remember all their names."
"This woman is of particular interest because she bears a striking resemblance to a young woman in our morgue. A woman by the name of Susan Watts. Are you sure that Ms. Watts wasn't a patient of yours?"
"Like I told you yesterday, I have never heard of Susan Watts. I even went through my records after you had left to double check. Besides, I never forget a face. Especially once that I've cut."
"What about the man driving the truck?" Castle tapped on the image of Jerry Tyson. "Do you recognize him?"
"No, I don't."
"That's funny, because we believe that this is Jerry Tyson, and you treated him when he was an inmate at Five Points Correctional."
"Detective, Jerry Tyson is dead. It was all over the news. As a matter of fact, wasn't it Mr. Castle who ended his life on a bridge in the city? I may have treated Mr. Tyson as an inmate, but that was where our relationship ended. Now, this conversation is becoming tedious. For the last time, I don't know who this young woman is. I don't know who is driving her around, and I never performed surgery on Susan Watts."
"Dr. Nieman, we will be granted a court order for that patient's name. So, you can give it to me now, or I'll see you in an hour in your hospital with a dozen police officers. The choice is completely up to you," Kate warned her.
The warning seemed to have an effect because they could almost see the wheels turning in the doctor's brain before she finally relented. "Her name is Amy Barrett."
Gates turned to Esposito and Ryan. "Run that name! Go!"
Inside the interrogation room, Kate continued to question Dr. Nieman, but after 15 or 20 minutes, the doctor announced that she had surgery scheduled and walked out of the room, past Capt. Gates and onto the elevator. Once the elevator doors closed behind her, Dr. Nieman pulled out her cellphone.
The young woman answered on the first ring. "Yeah?"
"The police are now aware of your name. You know what to do?"
"Yeah. What about Jerry?"
"He has his instructions. Everything is going exactly according to plan," the doctor smiled as she exited the elevator on the first floor and left the precinct. This plan had been over two years in the planning, and it was going much better than she had hoped.
Back in the small apartment that Amy Barrett was sharing with a serial killer, Jerry Tyson sat on the edge of the bed, watching Amy preparing to leave. "You have ice water in your veins, you know that?"
"I have you to thank for that," Amy smiled. "Are you sure that you'll be okay? It won't take the police long to find the new address. They'll come in here and arrest you."
"Don't worry about it. Kelly and I have everything worked out. Just do your part and we'll take care of everything else. When you call Det. Beckett later, make sure that you keep referring to me as Michael Boudreau. Do it just like we rehearsed it."
"Okay. I won't let you down. I promise."
"I know that you won't. We'll be together again soon," he kissed the top of her head and watched her leave the apartment.
He moved to the edge of the window after Amy had left and sat watching the traffic down below. He knew that he had an hour, maybe a little more before the police came barging in. But that had been his endgame for more than two years. Ever since that night he had fallen from the bridge into the East River. The pain was worth it, especially as the pieces fell into place one by one. By the end of the weekend, Detective Kate Beckett and writer Richard Castle would be dead and gone. Once and for all, he was going to show them just who the smartest person in the room was. And it surely wasn't either one of them.
Back at the precinct, Ryan was still trying to track down Amy Barrett's current address. The address supplied by Dr. Nieman was out of date. Something was bothering Castle. "He's no longer having to hunt," he commented, looking at the murder board.
"What are you on to, Castle?" Kate asked.
"Before, Tyson was using a proxy to kill his victims. He used Marcus Gates and Carl Matthews. And probably others before them that we don't know about. But now, he doesn't have to hunt his victims. He has the perfect proxy. Kelly Nieman is creating victims for him. Poor women from impoverished backgrounds with histories of drug abuse and prostitution. These are women that most people aren't going to miss. If they disappear, their families will just assume that they were a victim of their bad choices. Almost no one will miss them. She creates them to fill his sick, twisted psychopathy."
"Hey, I got an address on the truck!" Espo called out. "The vehicle is registered to a Michael Boudreau."
"Do you have an address?" Kate asked.
"Four blocks from where Susan Watts was found."
"Let's go!"
Tyson was still sitting on the window sill when he saw the cars pull up in front of the apartment, including a police tactical team. "Showtime," he grinned to himself when he heard the thunderous footsteps approaching his apartment. He opened the window after he heard the first pounding on the door.
"Michael Boudreau! This is the police! Open the door!" Kate shouted. When she didn't get a response, she nodded to Esposito to kick open the door.
They all entered in time to see a male attempting an escape out the window. "Police, freeze!" The man in the window did as he was told.
"Put your hands in the air!" Espo warned him. Again, the man complied. "Step away from the window!"
When the man climbed back into the apartment and turned, every jaw in the room dropped. The man wasn't Michael Boudreau. Instead, he was Jerry Tyson. Now the question was, where was Michael Boudreau? Was he an accomplice or was he another victim?
"Jerry Tyson, you're under arrest for murder. Turn around and place your hands behind your back," Kate ordered. Once again, the fugitive was compliant. Too compliant, Kate thought. What was he up to?
A/N #2: The next chapters won't have quite as much dialog from the episode in them.
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