Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance, Family, Humor
Rating: M for sexual situations and language
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC, and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: Great getting the feedback I did for the last chapter so let me get right to my thank yous for them! TORONTOSUN (It was nice to see that you liked how Julia was interested in the case. Also that she wanted to know about Castle and Beckett before they were married), vetgirlmx (I had to laugh at your comment about their current person of interest and wasn't surprised you had that reaction either, lol. And yeah, that talk with Julia went a little differently than Beckett had planned, not surprised you thought that. And I wasn't surprised that you mentioned Julia being smart and perceptive, I'm happy to see you did as I'm trying to convey that she is. But you're right about them wanting to keep something from her. Really was pleased that you like when they look into the affluent families, usually those ones can have very interesting stories and I'm talking about real life as I've seen a lot of those on true crime shows. Not surprised that you're wondering what Julia's reaction will be to the murder but glad you want to find out. And I'm really happy to read you can't wait to see what happens in the next chapter and now you don't need to wait anymore!) and Guest (I'm not surprised that you were glad that Julia didn't have a nightmare or that you thought it was good Beckett still talked to her about that. And since I know it's you that likes the flashbacks I'm pleased to see you enjoyed the one I had in the last chapter! And with regards to Julia not asking where she was, I should have put somewhere that she has the idea that if her parents don't mention here there then she thinks it's from before she was born. That doesn't quite work on the timing of course but with her memory loss for her it would to me if that makes sense, lol, hopefully that explains it). Thanks so much for the reviews, I loved reading all of them and grateful for each of them and the time taken to write them out and send them my way!
A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Dirty World by Traveling Wilburys, from their album The Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1.
Turn Around And Say Goodbye
"I-" Castle started to say as Brad was approaching the hotel where Rocco was.
"We know Rick, we know," the chief interrupted his friend. "And I agree the idea of him talking about poisoning the night someone is poisoned is a coincidence… don't look at me Kate, he's the one saying that."
"I'm aware," Beckett said simply. "It's not a coincidence it would just be stupidity if he did in fact talk about how he was going to murder her. But," she then said firmly. "You have to check of course."
"Of course," Brad replied before he parked. "I-" he started to say before his walkie-talkie came to life. "This is Davis," he said to Wade.
"We got all the siblings in except for the baby," the officer replied to that. "They're being held in the interview room but Bernier is with them to make sure they don't try to make up a story."
"Great, keep him in there we're going to try and speak with a suspect and head back as soon as possible," Brad replied.
Castle watched his wife murmur to the chief, wondering what she was telling him before Brad then spoke into his radio.
"If you can have Hutchinson talk with Rudolph in fifteen minutes if we're not back by then," he told Bernier. "Have her take Mr. Radcliff to the break room to separate him from his siblings." After his officer had agreed to that he said, "Let's go and hope we don't have to bring Rocco in."
"How old is he?" Beckett asked.
"Forty-three," Brad answered. "He's a good architect and he took the CEO position four years ago."
"The company did well," Beckett commented then instead of asking.
"They did, he even took them down to DC to design some buildings there," Brad said.
"Where's Montour?" Castle said.
"In the city," Brad said. "I'd had the same thought too but I know that she's in the city waiting for her trial."
"What's she facing?" Beckett asked since the woman; whose last name was Montour; was the one who was responsible for the counterfeit materials used to build an apartment structure in NYC.
"Six to ten years," Brad answered before they walked into the hotel lobby.
"Good, she deserves it," Castle said. "Though at least some good came of it; Rocco did give the company to the investigators." He then looked on as his friend went to the concierge at the desk, watching him speak with the man before he said to his wife, "We need to write down all these names."
"I know but we haven't had a chance to get to the board," Beckett replied. "And we still won't since the siblings are there," she finished quickly as Brad was walking back to them.
"He's in 130," the chief said. "So we don't have to go far." He led the way over to the hall that led to the rooms and when they were at the end of it he knocked on the door. He sighed under his breath when there was no answer and he knocked again calling out, "Mr. Rocco this is the Hamptons PD, open the door!"
When there was again no answer Castle ran back to the lobby where the concierge followed him to the door, not surprised when Brad and Beckett were still outside.
"Stay back," Beckett told the man after he'd unlocked the door once Brad had knocked one last time. She pulled out her gun that she'd brought with her from the station and they walked inside with her following.
"Mr. Rocco," Brad said with a sigh as he stepped into the main part of the room to find the man handcuffed to the bed. "Good morning,"
"Yeah… couldn't open the door," Rocco said, his words slightly slurred.
"Here," Castle said, coming from the bathroom where he grabbed the robe that had been on the counter, tossing it onto the man to cover his nude body.
"Oh, look at you," Rocco said to Castle with a groan as Beckett was opening the curtain, sunlight flooding the room. "Gentleman… what day is it?" he then directed to Brad.
"The day after the party you went to," the chief replied after opening the handcuffs with the key on the nightstand. "Did you have company last night?"
"No," Rocco said. "She wanted to go with me…"
"And who was she," Beckett asked, glancing out the window while the man was getting off the bed.
"She was Fiona Dally," Rocco said closing the robe over himself. "Best night of my life really… Where the hell did she go… oh, she said she was going to get breakfast, come back later."
"We'd like to talk to you about the dinner party last night," Brad said then.
"Right," Rocco said. "Was alright, nothing big but was fun to see everyone…"
Watching the man collapse into an armchair across from the bed Castle said, "So you're friends with the family."
"With the Radcliffs… yep," Rocco replied. He then seemed to shake a little of his hangover and asked, "Why?"
"How well do you know Rudolph?" Brad countered with a question.
"Well since he was… oh god, he's not dead is he?" Rocco said in concern as he seemed to recall Brad's uniform then.
"No," Beckett said, looking at her husband and Brad at the man's tone. "You're close."
Breathing out Rocco said, "Fee and I weren't alone last night, Rudy was with us." He then hunched down and said, "It's why it was a great night."
"What time did he leave?" Castle asked, managing to school his surprise as he hadn't heard that anyone in the Radcliff family was gay or bisexual before.
"Um… four, he had to get back in case his dad might question him on where he was," Rocco said. "Samuel's really, really homophobic and the company is Rudy's way of getting away from that." He sighed and said, "He'll be re-hiring me as co-CEO in about a year or so since I wasn't involved in the fake stuff; got cleared. Fee is there too but she's a designer so…" He shrugged then said, "We'll be together, hopefully happy."
"And what's your relationship with Yvonne Radcliff?" Brad inquired.
"I know her but…" Rocco said before trailing off. "What happened to her?"
"She's dead," Beckett said simply, not surprised when Brad glanced at her at her abruptness.
"How?" Rocco asked in shock as he stood up.
"She was poisoned," the chief said as Castle and Beckett didn't reply.
"Poisoned," Rocco said in a whisper before he sat down.
"I think you know why we're here now," Castle said.
"Yeah I, I was talking about your book," Rocco said, standing up again. "Your second one which I had just finished reading the other day and Fee was asking me about it. I've been in the city for a while and hadn't seen her for two weeks so we stuck together as much as we could." He buried his face in his hands and said, "You can ask her, after we left-"
"What is it?" Brad asked as the man cut himself off.
"I just remembered, I noticed around seven that Yvonne had left and she never came back," Rocco said.
"Did anyone question that at the party?" Beckett asked.
"No I guess we were all thinking that she'd gone up to her room," Rocco replied thoughtfully.
"Was she acting suspiciously?" Castle inquired.
"Not that I could tell," Rocco said, still thinking. When he noticed the three were looking at him he said, "Sorry I was trying to remember something else and I just did. Her twin went out with her after she left but he came back a couple minutes later. His name is Rembert."
"I know him," Brad said with a nod. "And how was he when he got back?"
"Oh," Rocco started to say before there was a female voice outside the room. "It's Fee," he said, standing back up.
"Lamont what's…" Dally asked as she stepped inside and saw who was there.
"Yvonne's been murdered," Rocco replied.
"What?" Dally gasped. "Oh god, Rudy," she then said after covering her mouth with her hand. "We need to call him."
"I'm afraid he won't be able to talk," Brad told her. "We're speaking with him and his siblings. And that brings me to something I'd like to ask you."
Castle and Beckett just listened in as the chief asked the woman to corroborate what Rocco had said about the party. Once she had they shared a look before she asked, "Do you know her friends?"
"She didn't have too many," Rocco said. "But there's Bryan, Heather and Joyce. They grew up together and have been close since they were… four or five."
"That's what Rudy told us," Dally said, nodding her head.
"Then can we ask you about the siblings' relationship?" Beckett said.
"They were all close," Dally said simply, Rocco that time nodding his head. "Especially her, Rudy and Rembert; in that order."
"What about her parents?" Castle said.
Rocco and Dally looked at each other before the former shrugged his shoulders and said, "We've never heard anything."
"I would ask her three friends," Dally added. "They were around her a lot more than the two of us."
"What time did you two get here to the room… the three of you," Brad started to say before he corrected himself.
"About eleven," Rocco said.
"Did he tell you that Rudy left-" Dally started to say.
"He did," Brad said. "I'll leave you my card so you can contact me if you remember anything else."
"Did you notice what Yvonne was drinking last night before she left?" Beckett asked.
Castle, wondering how he could have forgotten to ask about that, turned his attention swiftly to the two across from them for their answer.
"We were all drinking mulled wine," Dally said first. "They always serve that at parties even if it's summer. They make it themselves and they always tell us that when we start taking the glasses."
"Who makes them?" Brad asked, his brow furrowed.
"They never say exactly," Rocco replied. "Just that they make them so who knows?"
With that Brad left with Castle and Beckett and he went straight to the concierge so they could get the footage of the three returning to the room the night before. Once that was being sent to his e-mail he then went out with them to the car. Inside and on the way to the station he commented, "They're not kidding."
"About what?" Castle asked from the back.
"Samuel Radcliff's homophobia; so while I was surprised about the relationship I wasn't about the part about them hiding it," Brad said. He sighed a little and said, "I wonder why the parents didn't tell us about her friends."
"It depends on the mulled wine," Beckett told him, studying him.
"That's what I was thinking too," Brad said. "But we all know someone she knew was poisoning her and decided to deliver the fatal dose last night at the party. So something occurred; likely before the wine was served; that pushed them to go through with delivering the fatal dose."
"Why was she leaving?" Castle and Beckett said at the same time after there was a moment's pause in the conversation.
"Ah, don't do that," Brad said. "I don't know but that's why we're heading back to the station. I'll talk to Rembert; I don't want to rush him." He then said, "Mind talking to Rudy?"
"Sure," Castle said. "But what about the other siblings? Duncan and Stephanie?"
"We'll leave them for last, they are the youngest and just teens," Brad answered. "And we'll talk to them both together; the three of us; if we need to they might not have been at the party."
Castle and Beckett nodded in agreement before they looked out the windows to see when they'd approach the police station.
"A lot of cars… Jags mostly," Castle commented when they were pulling into the parking lot.
"And a Rolls," Brad said as he drove around to the back. "You want to admire the cars?"
"No," Castle said simply. "I'm just saying that to show they're definitely society."
"The ton?" Beckett asked him wryly.
"Close," Castle replied shortly as at that moment they were getting out of the car. He walked with his wife after Brad into the station and watched as he went to get Rembert to take him to the first interrogation room. "Break room?" he asked his wife.
"That's where I'm heading," Beckett replied as she knocked on the door to the interview room. "Rudolph?" she called inside when Wade had opened the door. "I'm-"
"The writers," Duncan suddenly said, sitting with his sister on the couch.
"Do your parents know you're here?" Castle asked.
"Duncan," his sister next to him hissed, nudging him in the side with her elbow as he was suddenly staring at Beckett.
"They know they're here," Rudolph said as he walked over to the door. "They want to cooperate."
"Follow us please," Beckett said, nodding to Wade. She then went over to the break room and waited for her husband to begin making a cup of coffee for the man before she said, "Congratulations about the company though we are sorry about your loss."
"Thanks," Rudolph said quietly. "I… I loved my sister," he then said in the silence. "I wouldn't harm her, she was so happy for me even though we were all good friends with L- Rocco," he said, correcting himself then.
"We spoke with him," Castle said, setting down the completed cup of coffee in front of the man. "And we're aware of your relationship, also with Ms. Dally."
Beckett couldn't help feel sorry for Rudolph when he stiffened and his expression turned into one that was more reminiscent of a deer caught in the headlights. "We don't care about that," she told him firmly. "What we care about more is trying to find out who wanted to murder your sister."
Rudolph looked down into the coffee in front of him and he breathed out heavily before he then said, "We're a very… close-knit family and we don't socialize very much when we don't need to."
"You socialize a lot with the citizens here in town," Beckett told him then. "I've spoken to your mother numerous times."
"Again, when we don't need to," Rudolph replied. "How often have you really talked with my mother?"
Beckett nodded to that and then said, "That's true but you really can't think of anyone who'd have a grudge against your family, let alone your sister."
Rudolph thought about that for a while before he then said, "I don't know who would go that far to kill us, any of us."
"But what about your sister?" Castle asked. "She was targeted if it wasn't your family that was supposed to be."
Breathing out heavily Rudolph said, "I think that if there was someone it could have been her ex girlfriend." He glanced up from his drink before seeing that the two were looking at him in surprise and he said, "You must have talked to Mom and Dad, they had to have told you that she never had boyfriends; that's the reason why."
"Is her twin gay?" Beckett asked. "Or bi?"
"No," Rudolph said, shaking his head. "It is- was just me and Yvonne that were different."
"I wouldn't say different," Beckett said quickly. "Your sexuality didn't run in a heterosexual line. What's this ex's name?"
"Kelly Brockson," Rudolph replied. "She broke it off with my sister because Yvonne wouldn't come out."
"Your sister was never with men," Beckett said. She glanced at her husband when she saw that he was looking to her in shock and she motioned once with her hand before she turned her attention to the young man in front of them.
"That's right," Rudolph replied, looking at her in slight confusion.
Breathing out heavily Castle said, "I hate to tell you this but your sister had gotten an abortion about a month, month and a half ago."
"She was pregnant…" Rudolph said, stunned. "Then she had to be raped."
"There wasn't any evidence of that," Beckett said gently.
Rudolph nearly leapt up from his chair before he stopped and then leaned his fists against the table. "Then it had to be them, whoever the father was," he told them seriously.
"Then remember the party last night," Beckett told him firmly. "Was anyone hovering around your sister, watching her, up until the point she left."
"She was keeping to herself," Rudolph replied, staring into space as he was obviously recalling. "But she did talk to some of the women… in fact I thought she was almost going to pick up Dolly… Dolly Weatherall. She was talking to her a lot and hovering around her."
"Who is she?" Castle asked.
"She works in the city for the company so we don't see her much," Rudolph replied. "But she's not gay, she has a boyfriend and he was there."
"His name?" Beckett asked, getting her notebook out from her jacket pocket and a pen as well.
"Ben Mendoza," Rudolph replied. "I have no idea about him; we all met him at the party last night."
"Would your brother and sister… younger brother and sister," Castle began to say before correcting himself. "Be able to talk about the party much."
"They only went into dinner," Rudolph replied. "During the appetizers and drinks Mom had them play with our littlest sister Sophie until her nanny took her to bed."
"Alright, you can head back with them now," Beckett said. "Thank you for answering our questions."
"Thank you for investigating," Rudolph said, shaking their hands. He started to walk to the door but paused and then turned back to them saying slowly, "How were Lamont and Fee?"
"They were concerned for you," Castle said quickly. "And they wanted to see you."
"Me too," Rudolph said under his breath though the two still heard him.
When they were alone in the room Beckett said, "What do you think?"
"They did seem to love him but I don't know if threesomes always work, not as a relationship anyway," Castle said.
"No, the new information we have," Beckett said, rolling her eyes though she knew her husband was joking.
"Speaking of new info," Castle said. "I get the feeling she left because she was going to come out."
"You think she was going to see her ex?" Beckett asked. When her husband nodded she thought about that for a moment before she said, "Alright, let's wait for Brad in his office and get started on the murder board."
"Right behind you love," Castle said, smiling at her when she glanced at him for the endearment. He then followed her to the chief's office, grabbing a marker to start helping her then with the information they needed to fill out on the largely empty board.
"So he stayed with her until she felt better," Julia said as she finished her story. It was after she'd eaten lunch with her friends and at that moment she was walking with Mari; arm in arm; and also with Peter and Dawn around the field next to the playground.
"That's so romantic," Dawn said.
"Yeah but I bet your dad got sick," Peter said. "Right?"
"He did but my mom said he didn't mind," Julia replied.
"Since she took care of him?" Mari asked.
"Yep," Julia said before they both laughed.
"Why didn't you ask your mom about when she was with the police?" Peter asked.
Sharing a look with her two friends as if to say, "Boys," Julia then said, "She doesn't talk about that."
"So she didn't do anything exciting?" Peter asked. When Dawn pushed his shoulder he asked, "What?"
"They did already here," Mari said firmly.
"Oh… right," Peter said, recalling then the hostage situation that had happened at their school. "Sorry," he then told Julia.
"It's okay, I know you like hearing about that stuff," she replied. "Do you want to be a cop?"
"Nah, I like dancing better," Peter said.
"You know something I wondered," Dawn said then. When the other three asked what she then said, "Why boys aren't romantic but when they get older they can be?"
"'Cause we're kids?" Peter said slowly. He shrugged and then said, "I don't know I don't want to be a grown up yet." He then looked over at Julia and said, "We heard about what happened at the class last night. Ow!"
"Dawn, it's okay," Julia said quickly to her friend as Dawn had pinched him. "Yeah, there was a lady in the car. I didn't really see her just her lying across the front of the car, reaching over to the other door."
"You didn't see her face did you?" Dawn asked. When Julia shook her head she then said, "So… does this mean you're gonna be a detective too?"
"No," Julia replied firmly. "But…" When her friends told her to tell them what she was thinking she said, "Don't tell anyone but I wish I could investigate with my parents. Not because I want someone to be killed but-"
"So you can see what it's like," Mari interrupted. She smiled when Julia nodded and said, "My dad says he wishes he could see what they do too."
"Still, they'll solve the case right?" Peter said. He then said, "You're sure they'll have a case?"
"Yep," Julia said simply.
"Weren't you scared?" Dawn then asked her friend.
"I didn't have time to be," Julia replied seriously. "My dad picked me up before I could get really scared and took me back."
"At least your parents weren't mad that you went after them," Peter pointed out.
"I think they were too worried about me to be mad," Julia said. She then rolled her eyes and said to her friends, "I think they think I'm a little girl sometimes."
"Well you're the first one they had aren't you?" Dawn asked.
"Yep but still wouldn't they worry more about Eliza?" Julia then said.
"Parents always worry," Peter said. "They're parents." He then heard someone nearby them playing soccer calling to him and said, "Want to play?" to the girls with him.
Watching as Dawn; the only one of them to agree; went after her partner Julia said to Mari, "Do you want to go play or something?"
"We can keep walking," the little girl replied with a smile to her. As they did so she then said, "How did you sleep?"
With a brief smile Julia said, "I dreamt about dancing so I was okay. I had Macca with me. What about you? Did you keep Lily with you?"
"Yep and I slept really good," Mari replied. "I didn't dream about dancing though. I did dream about going riding."
"That's a good dream too," Julia said with a soft laugh.
"Julia?" Mari then said after they'd walked for a little in silence.
"Yeah?" she replied, looking at her friend questioningly.
"How long until you go to Las Vegas?" Mari asked.
Julia didn't answer that for a moment, trying to remember what her calendar had read. It came to her suddenly and she said, "Two weeks, well, a little less than that."
"Great," Mari replied. "Are you excited?"
"Yeah but mostly for the show," Julia said with a smile. "Well all of that night 'cause Mommy and Daddy said we're going to do some special stuff all together."
"They didn't say what though," Mari said.
"I know we're gonna go to dinner but I don't know what else we can do," Julia said. "Before the show. I can't play cards or anything there but I guess there's more to do…"
"What is it?" Mari asked, watching her friend with a slight smile.
"I hope there's a gift shop," Julia said. "I can get Beatles stuff there."
"Hopefully t-shirts," Mari said.
"I'll get you one," Julia said immediately.
"Really?" Mari asked with a smile.
"Of course, you're my friend," Julia replied. "And you'd want a shirt too."
"You won't get something for Dawn or Peter?" Mari said.
"I don't think so," Julia said slowly. "Well, not something that's of the Beatles though; you're the only one I know that would want a shirt from the Beatles."
"Yep," Mari said. "But only get it if you want to."
"I will," Julia said, slightly laughingly. The bell rang then and she said, "We better go back."
"Yeah," Mari said. "I hope you can come over with me today."
"I think you're gonna come over to my house," Julia said. She noticed then that her friend looked thoughtful and with a smile said, "You want Dani to come over too," stating it instead of asking.
"We can try, that way my parents can be alone for a while," Mari said. She then thought of something and said, "What about yours?"
"They might still be working," Julia said simply. "And they'll be alone at some point, they always are."
"That's 'cause you make sure," Mari said before she and her friend laughed together and then headed inside the building with the other students.
"And you do the same with your parents," Julia said. They shared a look before they laughed again and then hurried up the stairs to their classrooms before they would be late.
"Call us," Castle said firmly.
"I told you I would," Brad said, rolling his eyes. "And I'm calling your wife so you know."
"I expected that," Castle said as he looked over at Beckett who was looking over at him.
"Go," Brad told the two. "Thanks for the pizza and we'll see you."
"You're welcome," Beckett said before her husband could reply to that. She took his hand and pulled him out to the bullpen, calling a goodbye to the officers that they were passing. Outside she said, "Did you not want to leave?"
"Oh no, I did," Castle replied as they walked side by side. He then smiled and said, "What about you? You were quiet in there."
"I was thinking," Beckett replied. "I don't know if you were."
"I was," Castle said. "But I'm not sure what we're going to do with this information. There are so many people who could have poisoned the drink, why not Radcliff?"
Beckett sighed and said, "You're forgetting the fact that we have to go back to when she was first poisoned."
"True, that cuts us down to the people who live there at least," Castle replied. "What about guests?"
"Brad said," Beckett reminded him. "You… oh, he told me."
"I was ordering for everyone," Castle reminded her. "What'd he say?"
"Rembert told him that they hadn't had any dinner guests over recently but he could only think back to the past month," Beckett said.
"Which is within our time of poison window," Castle said. "I guess Rudolph was right about them not really having many friends, at least not many they'd want to have over." He then looked at his wife and said, "Could I ask you something?"
"Okay," Beckett said, wondering what he was thinking though she had an idea of what that would be.
"Mind if we leave the case back at the station?" Castle asked.
Beckett immediately smiled and said, "I was going to suggest that myself. And I agree we should go ahead and do that." She then gently moved her fingers so theirs could entwine and she said, "Julia's at lunch right now herself."
"She is," Castle said with a nod. "She'll be playing soon in fact," he said after he'd looked at the time.
"Good," Beckett said softly. She looked at her husband when he didn't say anything in reaction to her simple comment and saw he was studying her. "What?" she asked.
"No just thinking that you love her," Castle said. He knew his wife was studying him then and he told her, "You're very protective and like you said to her; you're a parent."
"That doesn't make a lot of sense love," Beckett said with a slight smile.
"You want her to have her childhood still," Castle said. "Can we play with her when we get home?"
"Yes," Beckett replied in amusement. "We're parents together you don't need to ask permission anymore."
"Sure?" Castle asked in slight amusement.
Sighing Beckett didn't answer that as she knew that was a rhetorical question and instead focused with him going into the pub they had approached. Going inside first she sat down at a booth towards the back though the place was empty, wanting to make sure that they would have privacy. "I wonder," she said after they had their menus. "If she's going to ask us about Vegas when we see her again."
"I hope so," Castle said earnestly. "A little less than two weeks, are you ready?"
"Not really," Beckett said after giving him a look. "I'm not going to pack yet."
"Sorry, I'm excited to take her even though I don't know what the show's like exactly," Castle replied.
"Look at what you want before you start geeking out," Beckett told him, trying not to smile too widely.
"Should it be fan girl-ing out?" Castle asked, pretending to look thoughtful.
"Rick," Beckett said, laughing softly.
"Right," Castle said before he gave the one page menu a look and then set it aside. "Ready."
Beckett rolled her eyes though she was smiling and she put hers on top of his before they ordered their drinks and food when the waiter came over to them. "I wonder," she said then. "If you're going to let me know what we're doing over there now we're closer."
"Oh no," Castle said as he had planned some things on his own. "I'm putting my foot down about this, you're going to be as in the dark as the girls. Well except for our night out with Julia." He then smiled and said, "I'm looking forward to that so much."
"She is too," Beckett said, squeezing his hand as he looked very eager.
"I hope Eliza will enjoy it," Castle then said a little musingly.
"You said the villa has its own pool," Beckett replied. She waited for the waiter to set down their drinks before she finished with, "She'll love you for that."
Laughing slightly Castle said, "We will see other things she'll enjoy."
"I trust you on that," Beckett replied before she brought her glass up to drink. She looked at her husband when he stopped her and shook her head with a smile before she tapped it against his that he was holding. "So," she then began after they'd set their glasses back on the table. "We should be getting our RSVPs soon," she told him.
"I would hope so," Castle replied. "At least we know that everyone we invited from here in the Hamptons can go."
"And Patrick," Beckett couldn't help say with a smile.
"And Trevor," Castle added, not surprised she was smiling. Very quickly after her friend had received their invitation he'd sent back his RSVP for himself and his husband which had delighted Beckett greatly. "You don't mind they're not going to be there for too long?"
"How can I?" Beckett replied. "They have two kids so they need to get back to them."
"Can I ask you something?" Castle then asked her.
"Again you don't need to ask," Beckett said in amusement.
"Are you sure?" Castle said. When she rolled her eyes he then said, "Okay, are you ready?"
"I think if I didn't want to do this I might have mentioned it," Beckett said simply.
Castle wanted to reply to that but then stopped as their food was served before he said, "Five years is a long time."
"There's more to come isn't there?" Beckett said with a smile at him.
"Is there?" Castle said seriously.
Beckett was relieved they were alone at their table as she was sure she was blushing before she said, "I think so."
Picking up his wife's hand Castle kissed the back of it before he then let it go so they could eat. After they'd both taken a few bites he then said after clearing his throat, "Any chance I could get an answer."
"Rick," Beckett said firmly.
"Got it," Castle replied. He ate a little more of his potato skins and then said, "What about swimming?" He wasn't surprised when his wife looked to him a little questioningly and he told her, "Later today."
"If we get back in time for it," Beckett replied after thinking about that for a moment. "Oh, Julia was supposed to go over to Mari's."
"I get the feeling we'll have her over… Dani too," Castle replied.
Knowing that he was studying her for her reaction Beckett took her time to answer, eating a bit before she sipped at her drink. "I don't mind," she finally said, smiling at him. She wasn't surprised when he sighed and she said, "I don't, it'll be nice for David and Rebecca."
"They can have a turn," Castle said.
"For what?" Beckett asked slightly laughingly.
"Whatever they want," Castle replied. "What that is I don't want to think about because that's a little gross."
"And if they're just going to make dinner together?" Beckett teased him.
"Still gross, I'm sure they'll be kissing… a lot," Castle said. He smiled when his wife then laughed and he couldn't help himself, leaning over and sharing a kiss with her before they sat back.
As they returned to their meal Beckett brought their wedding back up and they discussed it until they had finished. Leaving together they checked their phones but didn't see anything from the chief.
"So we have some time," Castle said after he'd slipped his phone into his pocket.
"You have something in mind?" Beckett asked in amusement.
"Yep let me lead the way," Castle said before they then walked together down the street as he held her hand tightly. He was glad when she didn't ask any questions and soon brought them to the new ice cream shop that had opened by the pub.
"Really?" Beckett asked.
"What you don't want something sweet?" Castle asked.
"What about the station?" Beckett said in response.
"I don't think Brad would want me to bring this in," Castle said simply.
"Alright," Beckett said before she walked over to the door. She wasn't surprised when her husband followed her, smiling, and they looked at the flavors together before she ordered first.
"Have anything against cones?" Castle asked his wife as they stepped outside with their orders.
"No," Beckett said. "How many times are you going to ask me that?"
"Until I get you to get a cone," Castle told her teasingly. He was surprised when she then handed him her spoon with her two flavors and he then put his cone out to her. When he heard a snap he waited until they had finished and said, "Report?"
"Likely," Beckett said, not bothering to look for the photographer. "Should we walk back?"
"Sit," Castle said, leading her over to the patio seating the ice cream parlor had. Once they were at a table he said, "I wonder if we should be worried about no calls."
"Or a call," Beckett couldn't help teasing him. "And we can't do too much to help them."
"At least it's not paperwork," Castle commented. He then glanced at his wife and said, "You don't mind this… inaction?"
"Rick," Beckett said.
"I just think of the fact we never did this in the city," Castle began. He then licked some of his ice cream and told her, "At least not while you were a detective."
"No," Beckett said. "But we did do this when we were still there; with and without Julia."
"And at Coney Island; that was nice," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife laughed softly and he told her, "Come on."
Beckett was surprised at the fact that he'd spoken in Irish but let him take her hand once again before he was walking rapidly to the park across the street. When he was pulling them behind some trees she started to say, "Why-"
"Don't ask, please," Castle begged her before he was taking her in his arms.
Not having a chance to do that Beckett decided that she didn't have much to say that could be a question or a protest as she and her husband began to kiss deeply. She held onto him tightly, not surprised he had done that. When they parted she smiled at him so he wouldn't think she was angry and told him, "You couldn't help yourself."
Relived that her tone was teasing Castle said, "No but it might be a while before we can really do anything so please indulge me."
"I think so but I might want you to do the same for me," Beckett told him.
"Can do," Castle said as he was leaning down and kissing her before she could react to his tone.
Beckett held onto her husband tightly as they kissed each other deeply and she tried to duel against him as much as she could until she needed to breathe. "You-" she began before he was kissing her once more. She held onto him tightly as she needed a little of the support he provided her until suddenly he tore himself away from her. She watched him go to the tree across from her and watched him lean against it. "That much?" she asked him as she then walked over to him.
"That much," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife leaned in and kissed him then, relieved it was a very gentle one, before she pulled back. At her smile he said, "Kate you're going to have to face facts."
"And what fact is that exactly?" Beckett asked, leaning against him slightly.
"You're going to continuously arouse me," Castle replied, pressing his forehead against hers.
"I'm sure age-" Beckett said jokingly.
"I shouldn't be able to do what I do… well at least not so continuously," Castle replied. He then moved back a little and told her, "Whatever it is you do to me, that chemical reaction in my head you give me, it's not stopping. But don't worry I really don't want it to."
Smiling Beckett leaned up and brushed her lips against her husband's before she told him, "You manage to do the same to me too."
"I work for it," Castle said. "You know I don't want this one sided." He then looked around them and said, "Why aren't we speaking Irish?"
"I don't know," Beckett said in amusement. "Did we need to?"
"No we are alone," Castle said. They were quiet then and he squeezed the small of her back before saying, "Where's Brad?"
"Busy Rick," Beckett said simply before she brushed her lips to his once more. "Want to walk a little?"
"Sure," Castle replied, letting her take his hand. As they were going through the trees to the main part of the park he said, "I wish we could have eaten with Eliza."
"She's got her grandparents with her," Beckett reminded him. "And when we finish the case we'll have the chance to do that again."
"It's nearly summer so we'll be doing that all during then," Castle said. When his wife laughed he looked at her and said, "What?"
"You squeezed my hand then," Beckett replied still laughingly. When he apologized she quickly said, "Don't worry it didn't hurt, your enthusiasm was very noticeable with that though."
"Yeah I can't really help it," Castle told her. At that point they suddenly stopped at the same time and looked at their watches before he said, "We need to go."
"We do, this is taking too long," Beckett replied. When her husband looked at her she smiled and said, "It is, even if he hasn't found something we need to be back to help him at the very least."
"Okay but before that…" Castle said.
Beckett rolled her eyes before she was letting him taking her in his arms and she held onto him tightly before they leaned into each other. That kiss was much gentler but they lingered, snaking her tongue out to meet his before they parted. "We need to go," she said, more for herself than him.
"Yeah I'll lead the way this time," Castle said though he hesitated.
Finally the two seemed to shake themselves so holding hands once more they began to make their way to the station as quickly as they could.
"Hey, well that explains that," Brad said as he looked over from his computer screen to find the two in his office doorway.
"What?" Castle asked, surprised at that comment.
"Your neck Kate," Brad replied as he motioned to his own.
"When did you do that?" Beckett asked her husband as he bent his head to look at the bruise he'd made.
"I have no idea," Castle said. "Sorry." He was reassured when she shrugged before he followed her gaze to Brad.
"You didn't call us," Beckett said simply as the chief stood up.
"No need to," Brad replied giving her a file of papers. "All the names we got are a bust."
"Was Rocco cleared?" Castle asked as he glanced at the papers his wife was looking through.
"We can't do that yet," Brad reminded him. "How on earth can we?"
"Did you ever ask for foot-" Beckett started to say as she looked up from the paper she'd been reading.
"There isn't any in those rooms," Brad replied. "The kitchen and the… what the hell did they call it… I think the parlor where they had the drinks."
"Aren't we in agreement it's likely the drink was poisoned on the way to our vic?" Castle suggested.
"Or as they were preparing it to go," Beckett said, not surprised when her husband nodded his head after thinking that over. "Is there any way you can talk to the household staff? What?" she then said as Brad was smiling.
"I'm surprised you didn't ask me that before," the chief said.
"So Kirby is there?" Castle said as he looked out to the bullpen and couldn't find the officer there.
"Melton too," Brad answered. "There's that many people so I don't expect them… oh, looks like I was wrong."
Turning around as Kirby walked past her and Castle, Beckett set down the file on the desk before they were following him. "I get the feeling there wasn't anything?" she guessed as she saw the slightly frustrated look on Brad's face.
"Not just that," he told the two. "Mrs. Radcliff is going to come in."
"Come in?" Castle said, sharing a look with his wife. "We talked to her already." His eyes then widened and he asked, "She's turning in her husband."
"I don't think so," Kirby replied. "When we talked to her he was laying on a chez, looked to be upset."
"He must have loved his kids," Castle said.
"Quick turnaround for you man," Brad said.
"Well if you want a theory… Illuminati, they wanted a temple or symbols and the company wouldn't give it to them," Castle said. "Or Rudolph anyways since he's working… what?" he asked as his wife and friend looked at each other in surprise. "You don't believe me… right?"
"It's a possibility," Brad commented to Beckett, studying her closely.
"I think we can look into it," she replied. She knew her husband was wondering what exactly they were talking about so she turned to him and said, "What if there was some kind of protest to the building that Rudolph designed?"
Breathing out Castle said, "Damn, I was getting into my Illuminati theory but I think yours is better. He was designing and it could have been an accident and he was the one that was supposed to be poisoned. Even with the staged poisoning they could have hired someone in the house to do that for them."
"That's why we need to call him," Beckett said, looking at the chief.
"Go ahead," Brad said with a nod to the desk the two used. "Was there anything else at the house?" he then asked Kirby and Melton.
"Everyone said things were alright though they noticed that the vic was staying out more often," Kirby said.
"But since it was just a few hours each day they didn't think much of it," Melton added.
"She had a phone right?" Castle said.
"Go, I'll take care of that," Brad told them, motioning them away.
Leading the way over to the desk Beckett sat down and waited for her husband to sit on the chair next to it before dialing. "Mr. Radcliff? This is Kate Beckett," she said.
"Yes?" Rudolph said.
"Are you able to speak with me at the moment?" Beckett then asked, looking at her husband.
"I am, please, go ahead," Rudolph replied.
"I'm wondering if there were ever any instances where a client was dissatisfied with your work?" Beckett said, switching to speaker then.
"No I always worked with the client up until the end of the design phase," Rudolph replied easily. "Since you know, the client is always right."
"Never in your career did you come up against someone angry with you?" Castle asked.
"Well yes but not so much they'd want to kill me," Rudolph replied.
"Then we need to ask you one thing," Beckett said. "Does anyone know who makes the mulled wine you serve?"
"The cook," Rudolph replied simply.
Before either Castle or Beckett could say anything to that a voice suddenly cried out from the window looking out to the lobby.
"Please, I know she's here," Clementine Radcliff said to Hutchinson who had gone over to the window.
Saying a hurried goodbye and thank you to Rudolph, Beckett hung up the phone and then walked over to the woman. "Mrs. Radcliff," she said as besides Hutchinson she was the only woman there. "Who is it you want to talk with?"
"You," Clementine said in obvious relief. "I need to speak to you, something I just realized after those two officers left."
"Alright come this way please," Beckett told her before she went to the door. With the woman behind her she then walked to the interview room as her husband went over to the chief's office and once they were sitting she said, "Whenever you're ready please…"
Clementine breathed out and said, "Thank you for talking with me… I needed to because I know you have kids."
"I would still listen even if I didn't," Beckett said simply.
"Then," Clementine began slowly. "After the officers left I went to the kitchen to just check on everyone to make sure they were there."
"And they weren't," Beckett said as a statement instead of a question.
"No, I just remembered when I looked at everyone," Clementine said. "That we had a second cook at the party."
"Who was this cook?" Beckett asked, getting her notepad out quickly.
"Her name is Bridget Trainor," Clementine replied. "Here, these were the papers we got when we hired her," she said as she handed them to Beckett. "References and background, there was nothing."
"Has she cooked with you before?" she asked the woman.
"We had her in the house leading up to this party; our current cook might be retiring so we decided to try her out," Clementine said.
"And you think she would want to harm your daughter?" Beckett asked.
"I never noticed her with my daughter," Clementine said. When Beckett looked at her in confusion she said, "My husband and I knew what our daughter was… disgusting."
Gritting her teeth at the way the woman spat out the last word Beckett waited a moment before she spoke again saying, "Not in that way, any animosity between her and your family?"
"We rarely saw her," Clementine said.
Breathing out slightly Beckett said, "Alright we'll look into her of course and we'll see what we can do."
"Thank you so much," Clementine told her. "I knew you could find out what happened to my baby. Thank you."
Nodding and ignoring the hand the woman was holding out to her Beckett led her out and allowed Hutchinson to escort her to the lobby. She then nearly stomped on her way to Brad's office and slammed the door behind her as hard as she could. "She's the same as her husband," she told her husband who was alone there for the moment.
"How?" Castle asked, concerned at the anger in his wife's expression.
"She knew the vic was gay," Beckett said. "She called her own daughter who was just murdered disgusting!"
"But we know she wasn't," Castle said quickly, going to her and holding her hand tightly. "Her mother is… uninformed and doesn't seem like that good a mother. You however; you're awesome."
Beckett shook her head, barely smiling at her husband's words, before she then said, "I try. But it bothered me because of Julia…"
"We don't think she is," Castle said firmly.
"Alright, I guess I should tell you what she said besides that," Beckett said, calming down a little more then.
"Hello? I'd like to come in?" Brad said, knocking on the glass. When he was in the office he closed the door behind him and said, "Bad talk?"
Beckett hurriedly explained what the woman had told her before saying, "I just can't help getting angry."
"Of course," Brad replied. "I know how close you are to Patrick. And why was she here?"
Not surprised that he had guessed that wasn't it Beckett quickly told the two men what she'd been told and once Brad had the name she and Castle sat down to wait for him to begin his search. They held hands again and talked quietly together before they would be needed again in the investigation.
"Are you alright?" Castle asked his wife gently as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand that he could reach.
"Yeah it just bothers me that she might come up against something like that that," Beckett said with a sigh.
"She won't get it from her family," Castle assured her. "Our parents… your dad," he started to say before he trailed off a little with the last two words.
"I told you he'd be fine with it," Beckett assured him. "He's known a number of people who've been gay and lesbian… one of his friends at the first firm he was at was bisexual. I asked him about that and he said the man was a little miserable at the time. He could date women but if he became attracted to a man…"
"What?" Castle asked as his wife smiled then which relieved him to see it.
"This was right before I was born," Beckett told him. "But he and Mom went out to a dinner between 'friends.'"
"'Friends?'" Castle asked, putting the word into air quotes as she had. "Oh, you mean it was the guy's… wait they facilitated the relationship in a way?" he said in surprise.
"I told you my dad didn't mind," Beckett replied. "He saw how upset his friend was with not being able to be open with men so they repeated those dinners until Mom got pregnant with me."
"And then what?" Castle asked.
"The two had broken up," Beckett said. "And then the guy moved away to Miami so he never did that again."
"Hopefully he's happy wherever he is," Castle said. He then looked thoughtful and said, "Think we should do that for Julia?"
"Either you're going to agree with me and let her date younger than eighteen or you're really going to chaperone her," Beckett said in amusement.
"I would love to say the latter but now, it'll be the former," Castle said with a sigh. "But I would like to do that just to do it, not chaperone."
"I would too," Beckett assured him, squeezing his hand. She was a little startled when he brought hers up to his lips and kissed it lovingly. "Are you alright?" she asked teasingly.
"Great," Castle said seriously.
While she wanted to continue that moment Beckett could see that Brad was walking back to them and she sighed saying, "Tonight."
"Tonight," Castle agreed as he knew why she'd sighed. He let go of her and then walked over to the doorway where they met the chief.
"We got her information," Brad told the couple before he gestured for them to follow him. Once they were in his office he turned to them and said, "She was lost two previous jobs."
"For cooking?" Castle asked, his eyes wide.
"No at two different chemistry labs which did research for pesticides," Brad replied. "And they did have cyanide there."
"I'd like to point something out," Beckett said to the two men. "Trainor could have been paid to poison the vic… or someone else."
"I lean towards that," Brad said, handing Beckett the file he held. "Since I don't really see her just randomly poisoning our vic."
"I'd like to point out too that they could have known each other," Castle then said.
"You didn't think that had run through my mind?" Brad said. He'd been trying to be serious but he then smiled at his friend before he grew serious and told him, "Kirby's looking into it right now."
"So we need to wait for that?" Castle asked.
"We do but there's something I'd like to look at right now…" Brad said then.
"And that would be?" Castle said.
"Mrs. Radcliff," Brad replied. He glanced at Beckett and said, "I'm surprised you didn't say anything."
"I trusted you to look into her again," she replied simply. "Plus after my outburst-"
"Which was warranted," Castle interrupted.
"I'll agree with him there," Brad said. "And yeah, I figured you'd think I would."
"And us?" Castle then asked.
"Coffee?" Brad asked.
"I'll be back," Castle said in response, hurrying out of the office.
"How much more can you look into her?" Beckett asked. "We basically know her story."
"Whatever I can find," Brad said simply. While he was searching on his computer the office was quiet as Beckett had stood up and gone over to the murder board. After a while he said, "I can't find anything else here, nothing new anyways. By the way; her father is her mother's husband. Granted her mother's second husband while she was married to the first but there's no incest there."
"How did you find that out?" Beckett said, turning back to him.
"Someone… it looks like her grandmother, had a DNA test done," Brad said. "Think it points to some doubt in the family?"
"Yes because why wouldn't they cite the test to the public?" Beckett replied.
"That's a good question, why wouldn't they reveal that?" Brad said thoughtfully before he frowned.
"Sometimes you can't really answer," Beckett replied. "They might have just wanted to keep things within the family."
"Usually how it's done here," Brad said. He joined her at the board and said, "Your husband better not be making art in my coffee."
"I don't think the idea would ever cross his mind," Beckett said simply. She then asked, "How was Lily?"
"You should trust her when she says she's fine with this when it happens," Brad said. "When we were dating the same would happen."
"You were a detective then," Beckett pointed out.
"Likely why she dated me, she remembered you," Brad said slightly jokingly as he was reading the board.
"I was set on being a lawyer then," Beckett protested though she was smiling as she was saying it.
"And Lily was going to be interior designer," Brad reminded her.
"She was?" Castle asked, coming in then with a mug.
"She was," Brad said as he took his drink. "But then her mother started to teach her to cook when she was seventeen; before she left for college so she would know how to do it there; and it became her passion."
"Can I ask if you found anything?" Castle asked the two.
"No but he did see a DNA test," Beckett replied as Brad went around to the desk. "She was her father's biological daughter." She then thought of something and said, "What about family at the party?"
"We already know…" Castle started to say before he trailed off. "You mean like a long lost family member?" When his wife nodded once he then said, "Yeah, great idea."
"There's a cousin," Brad said. "He wasn't at the party though." He wasn't surprised when Castle and Beckett looked at him questioningly and he then said, "His name is Buddy Radcliff, not long lost just distant from New Mexico."
"I'm guessing you already looked into him," Beckett stated.
"Oh of course," Brad replied, going over to look out on the bullpen. When none of the officers came over to him he then looked at the two and said, "He cleared in that the kitchen staff never saw him there in the kitchen talking to the cook and the mulled wine was made after he'd left the house."
"That narrows it down doesn't it?" Castle asked.
"You noticed didn't you?" Brad replied with a question. He then went back to them and said, "I'm focusing on the cook right now for the wine."
"Sir," Hutchinson said then as he walked over to the doorway. "Here's the information on Trainor."
"Thank you," Brad said with a nod. He looked at the papers in the file for some time before he frowned and then said, "She dated the half brother, John, of the six Radcliff kids around a year ago."
"The parents might not have known that," Castle said, looking at his wife then.
"He's right, has she always lived here?" Beckett said as she turned to the chief.
"No, she lived in the city until five months ago," Brad replied. "Did you think she followed him?"
Shaking her head Beckett said, "I remember he lives in the city still. Though I wonder why she would risk seeing him at his family's home."
"She wouldn't," Castle said as Beckett nodded. "I would guess that it was the best job she could get at the time." He then paused and said, "The two jobs?"
"Layoffs, if they'd been for other reasons I would have said first thing," Brad said. He paused on a page and said, "Alright, we need to go."
"Why?" Beckett asked in surprise before he was handing the file over to her. Reading the paper it was on she saw then what he'd reacted to and said, "You cleared him."
"I might have but that doesn't mean he couldn't still be involved; if not directly," Brad said, going to the doorway.
"Carl Andres," Beckett told her husband as she turned to him, not surprised he was already looking at her. "He's part of the company and was passed over for CEO."
"And Trainor?" Castle asked.
"They used to be married," Beckett replied easily before she tossed the closed file to Brad's desk and they rushed outside to the bullpen to join the chief.
"How long ago?" Castle asked her.
"Their divorce was finalized two months before she started dating Radcliff," Beckett replied.
"We found him, he's still at the hotel," Kirby was saying as Castle and Beckett joined him and the chief.
"At the same one we found Rocco at?" Castle asked.
"Yeah they likely all talked about staying there," Brad replied since everyone from the company in New York had stayed in town overnight. "Let me call and we'll have to split up."
Looking on while the chief was dialing the phone on the officer's desk Castle looked at the screen of Kirby's computer. He saw the information on the man and frowned saying, "I think I've seen him before."
"Where?" Kirby asked.
"The club at the golf course," Castle replied. "For a charity game the polo league put on; the Radcliffs were all invited. I should say that the men of the family were there I don't know if the women were there they might have been watching."
"They were," Beckett said softly with a nod as she was keeping her eye on Brad.
"No one remembers seeing him come in last night," the chief said.
"When did the cook leave?" Castle then asked.
After calling the Radcliff staff and speaking to a few people the chief hung up the phone and told them, "About eleven since she was finished for the day."
"We had Andres leaving about eleven fifteen sir," Melton called out.
"They might be together," Castle said.
"Alright Hutchinson, Kirby you're after us," Brad said since his latter officer had seen the address where the cook lived. With that he walked out with Castle and Beckett and the two officers were close behind. He led the way over to the small home near the outskirts of town before he parked a bit away from it. "Beckett-" he began to say.
"I'm behind Hutchinson," Beckett said as she already knew what he was going to say. "Castle-"
"Yep staying back," he said simply before he got out with them. He watched his wife follow the two in front of her as Kirby was behind her, walking after them but very slowly until finally they were on the porch.
Watching Brad kick open the door as there was no reply to his loud knocks Beckett prepared her gun since she was inside after Hutchinson. "Hamptons PD!" she called out though she allowed the chief to call the instructions. As Hutchinson and Kirby headed over to the garage off the kitchen she went with Brad to the hallway and they managed to clear the rooms they passed before they neared the master.
"Hamptons…" Brad started to say before stopping and lowering his gun, Beckett stepping up next to him.
"What is it?" Castle asked, running down the hall before he saw what the two were looking at.
There on the bed were two people both in varying states of undress; Trainor on her back with drying foam on her lips and Andres lying on his stomach. His face was turned to the side and there was foam on the bed below the man's mouth attesting to his cause of death as well.
