Sorry, I wanted this up Sat, but I had to pull some extra shifts at work:( Also, I am trying to re-watch (more like skim around) Castle season 1 to keep things pretty close and it takes longer than you might think once you get absorbed in an episode. So I apologize, but here is chapter 3! Also, right now, it is more case related, and it isn't going to stay like that. Hope you enjoy, please leave a comment and let me know what you think!
Helena pulled her coat closer around her body as she walked down to the river alongside Myka, Pete and Claudia. She was listening intently as Pete listed the information they had on their victim, a young boy, only 18 and a senior at Redding Prep. The thought of seeing a dead child was not exactly the thrilling gruesome adventure she had had in mind when Myka's phone had rung in the morgue. She was doing her best to appear as unaffected as possible; not willing to give Myka a reason to say she couldn't handle this job. Helena winced slightly as they came upon the body, face up, splayed out in the middle of a small boat that had been pulled onto the shore. She glanced around, as if surveying the area while the ME listed more information to Myka. Only stealing a final glance down, Helena gladly followed Myka away from the boat and it's contents.
"Somebody dragged him here, he couldn't have come from very far." Myka stated. Turning to Helena slightly she added, "so, why he burial at sea?"
Eager to stop picturing the dead boy's face, Helena jumped on the opportunity to hash out theories. "Well, Vikings believed that in order to reach Valhalla, one required a vessel."
Myka raised her eyes skeptically. The yellow cap on her head, barely containing her mass of brown curls only added to the adorableness of her facial expression. "Gun touting Viking? That's your theory?" She asked sarcastically.
"Oh no, that wouldn't work, they also launched their dead with a sacrificial woman, some liquor and a fine horse. We appear to be lacking those elements." Helena added with a small grin. Myka rolled her eyes, but Helena was sure she caught a glimmer of a smirk in there.
She wasn't looking forward to having to inform the boy's parents of his death. It was every parent's worst nightmare; certainly one of hers. Yet, she followed Myka into the home and sat down, not having to feign her look of sympathy as Myka spoke.
"Most night's Donny ate out, or at one of his friends, he hung out with a pretty tight crowd at Redding." The boy's father said. Helena watched Myka quickly take notes as she listened. "They've all been together since grammar school."
Helena looked around the apartment, avoiding the mother's eyes when she could and noticed many of their possessions looked like they didn't fit the small apartment. She spoke up, and asked if they had moved recently, guessing correctly.
"How did you know they had moved?" Myka asked as they walked out of the apartment. Helena had noticed Myka's scrupulous eye for detail and was amused that she had picked up on something the taller woman had not.
"The television was built for a much larger apartment, it looked out of place at that wall." Helena said while pushing the elevator button. "What I wonder is how they can still afford to pay for Redding with his law firm going under like that. They said they were barely getting by, Redding is certainly not cheep."
"You know the school?" Myka asked.
"Oh, I've been kicked out of all of New York's finer educational institutions at least once, many in London as well." Helena said somewhat proudly. "The irony is, now that I am relatively famous and wealthy, they all claim me as an alumni and ask me for money."
"Oh, it must be so hard to be you." Myka said sarcastically.
"My cross to bear." Helena responded with a sigh; pleased to get a small chuckle out of Myka. Perhaps she was growing on the woman after all. "Where are we off to now?" She asked.
"Redding. If we want to know what the hell a teenage boy was doing in Central Park in the middle of the night, ask his friends."
"Righty-ho then." Helena bounced out of the elevator and made her way out of the lobby, Myka hot at her heels. As they approached the group of teenagers the principal had pointed out Helena immediately began studying them while Myka asked her questions.
"Do you know of any reason he would be in the park?" Myka asked. None of them would look her in the eye, but they were all clearly hiding something. Myka sighed. "Look guys, I went to York, I know all about honor codes and protecting your friends..." Myka trailed off.
"You went to York Prep?" One of the girls scoffed. Helena disliked her instantly.
"How's a Yorkie end up a cop?" One of the boys asked.
"Things happened, things like this." Myka said, with a hint of pain in her voice. Helena turned her attention off the teenagers and faced Myka. "The point is, if you're trying to protect your friend's memory I get it." Helena watched as the teenagers looked down to their feet. "But eventually the truth comes out, and the faster is does the easier it will be for us to find who did it." The kids looked back and forth nervously between each other. Helena bit back a smile, Myka was getting to them.
"His family lost everything, and...we didn't care but we go out a lot. We offered to cover him but, he wouldn't let us. He just kind of fell apart."
"Fell apart how?" Myka asked.
The kids looked back and forth nervously again, not answering.
"He can't get into trouble anymore." Helena said softly.
The girl who had scoffed at Myka gave a resolved sigh and spoke up. "He kind of got into drugs."
Helena frowned. "If he had money problems, how did he support a drug habit?" She asked.
The girl bit her lip, but responded. "He started dealing...in the park."
Helena shared a look with Myka as she thanked the students and they made their way off the school property. "Classic tragedy, prominent family falls into disrepute, spirals down..."
"And bad things happen." Myka irrupted.
"Well, of course bad things happen otherwise we wouldn't call it a tragedy." She said as she flipped her hair out of her face. "Did you know in the original Greek, tragedy literally means, goat song?" Myka shot her a look. "Yes it doesn't make any sense to me either. Whatever that first story entailed, I'm sure something perfectly awful happened to that goat."
Myka shook her head softly and pulled her ringing mobile phone out of her pocket. "Bering." She answered. Helena lifted up on her toes slightly and placed her ear next to Myka's, hoping to listen in. The next thing she knew, Myka had reached around behind her, grabbed hold of Helena's other ear and pulled it roughly; causing Helena to wince and try to pull away from Myka's grasp, only putting more pressure on her ear in the process. "Sure, I'll be right there." She said, not looking at Helena bent over oddly, trying to pull away. Myka simply closed her mobile, slid it back into her pocket, released Helena's ear and walked forward.
Helena rubbed her ear like a pouty child and followed along. "You could have simply put it on speakerphone." She complained. Myka ignored her. Unwilling to be silent for long, and sick of all the traveling back and forth they had been doing all morning, Helena was feeling mischievous. "I'm going to want to see the pictures of those plaid skirts and knee socks." She said with a wicked grin.
"Excuse me?" Myka asked.
"I've seen those York school uniforms." Helena said, wriggling her eyebrows.
Myka laughed, loudly. "You know what Wells, I want in on your famous poker game." She smirked and let out a laugh at Helena's confused look. "I went to public school, I just told them that to make them feel comfortable."
Helena was shocked and rendered speechless for a minute or two. "Well played Detective Bering. You certainly had me fooled." She said. Myka grinned and Helena let out a sigh. This woman certainly was something.
Myka shuffled tiredly into her apartment, dropping her bag and keys, she headed straight for the sink. Gulping down a large glass of water, she ignored the rumbling in her stomach, she was too tired to eat. That would have to wait for breakfast. Momentarily, she worried that she was slowly slipping back into old habits. Skipping meals, getting too wrapped up in her cases, unable to leave work at work. She sighed and slipped out of her work clothes, pulling a large t-shirt that had been Sam's over her head. It no longer smelled like him after multiple washes and years, but on days like this, it helped her sleep.
Myka wasn't sure exactly what it was about this particular case that was getting to her; she had had cases involving children before. Seeing the pain in HG's eyes when she thought Myka wasn't looking...she was sure it must be that. Myka forgot sometimes that HG was a mother – she was such child herself – picturing her having responsibility over a little girl was hard to imagine.
Myka pulled her thick comforter over her head and tried to shut down her brain. She was beyond exhausted, but sleep was not apparently going to come tonight. Her stomach growled again, furious at being ignored and Myka kicked the covers off angrily. Stamping off into her little kitchen, she hurriedly made herself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and carried it back to bed. Out of habit, she pulled a book off her shelf and propped it open in her lap. It was one of HG's earliest novels, it had come out shortly after Myka's mother was murdered and she hadn't opened it since that first reading. Not sure why she had chosen it tonight, she absentmindedly flipped through the pages; reading a paragraph here and there until her eyes felt heavy. She closed the book and set in on her nightstand, switching the light off and snuggling down into her covers; thankfully, she finally fell asleep.
Helena paced back and forth in front of Myka's desk, bitting her thumbnail. "Why would he have made that recording?" She wondered out loud. Myka looked up in confusion, her eyebrows furrowed together.
"What?" She asked.
Helena pulled her thumb out of her mouth and propped herself half on Myka's desk; completely ignoring – or simply not caring – about their close proximity. Her head was completely wrapped up in the case. "Why would Amanda have filmed them that night?"
"They did it all the time." Myka said with a shrug.
"Well yes sure, the first few times its interesting and all, but the tenth? The fifteenth? Why would they have filmed it unless..."
Myka interrupted her. "Unless she knew something was going to happen to Donny that night!" Elated, Myka stood up from her desk. Helena grinned and followed her.
After speaking with Amanda, they discovered that she and Donny had broken up due to her becoming closer with Brandon. Helena sighed, she was liking these teenagers less and less the more she knew about them. She hoped Christina didn't grow up to be anything like these children, catty and horribly spoiled. Knowing that Brandon was the one to tell Amanda to shoot the video that night, only added to her suspicions about him. Clearly from the look on Myka's face, she felt the same.
"Back to the school?" She asked. Myka nodded.
Brandon was sitting on a wall outside, fiddling with his mobile. He had a cocky smile plastered all over his face as he spoke to them. Helena wanted to smack it off.
"Sounds like you're scrambling for a defense." She said cheekily.
Unfortunately, Brandon didn't even blink. "Well, you guys have been running around accusing everyone of murder, I figured my turn was coming and I'd better be ready."
"Ah, yes only now we know it was you." Helena stated calmly.
"Where were you that night?" Myka asked.
"I took a walk, I knew you guys wouldn't believe me so I asked Spencer to cover for me."
"And that's what you guys so right? You cover for each other."
Brandon smirked and stepped forward slowly. "Exactly. Look Detective, you're hot and everything, but if you had any actual evidence you'd have already arrested me." He said. Helena wanted to smack the look off this boy's face very much. How dare he? When she was his age, sure she had been a little cheeky, but she would have never spoken to an adult that way, especially someone like a detective. "Me? I have a video showing that Max shot Donny. Do you really think a jury is going to believe he didn't get drunk and off himself?"
"This is just a game for you isn't it? Like selling drugs in the park." Myka asked. Helena turned and looked at her partner, taken aback from the deadly look on her face. Brandon was getting under her skin as well.
"Well if it was, looks like I'd be winning." Brandon shot back. He took a step closer, invading Myka's personal space and lowered his voice. "But hey, if you think I did it, let's see you prove it." And with that he sauntered off, leaving Helena and a furious Myka behind.
"I hate that kid!" Helena exclaimed angrily. Myka nodded and walked ahead with a new energy in her step. Helena followed quickly behind, never wanting that furious anger to be directed at her. Myka was not a woman to piss off.
"Actually having to prove things is really very tedious." HG complained. Myka glanced up from her computer and let out a small smile.
"Welcome to my world." She said. HG blew her hair out of her face, failed, and flipped it back. Myka went back to her computer.
"Brandon had this all planned!" HG said in frustration. "He gets Max to shoot Donny, then gets Max completely blackout pissed and kills him!"
"There's no such thing as the perfect murder Wells."
"No yet!" HG said. "But one day, I shall write it!"
Myka stifled her chuckle as Claudia and Pete sat down next to them. From the looks on their faces, they hadn't been having any more luck than HG and Myka.
"Okay, we canvased every store, stand and homeless guy from the park's entrance at 72nd." Claudia said with a very exaggerated sigh.
"And no one remembers seeing Max or Brandon that night." Pete added.
Myka leaned back in her chair and ran her fingers through her hair in frustration. This case was not going how she wanted it too. "If we can't put Brandon at the murder scene then the DA will never move on him."
"Yeah, too bad Max didn't have his video phone recording when Brandon murdered him." Pete offered. "That would totally lock him in." She ignored him and grabbed Max's phone off the table. "Then his phone woulda done that...that thing." Myka watched as Pete made exaggerated movements with his hand. HG and Claudia looked at him funny, but Myka had been his partner for years, she could speak Pete.
"Synched." She translated. HG and Claudia nodded as Pete yelled and tried to high five Myka. She kept her hands on the phone and ignored him again."Wait!" She yelled. "Synched!" HG, Claudia and Pete looked to her in confusion. Myka leaned forward excitedly. "If they were together that night then their phones would have automatically synched, there would be a record!" All three of them leaned closer as Myka scrolled through the phone in her hands. Finding what she was looking for, she glanced up and caught HG's eyes first and grinned. "Pete, we're gonna need Brandon to come back in, call him up."
"Haha! Yes ma'am!" Pete said, jumping up and giving Claudia a high five before running off.
About half an hour later, Brandon was sitting in an interrogation room. "You have the right to have a lawyer present and if you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you." Myka stated as soon as she and HG walked into the room.
"Ah, well, he can afford a million lawyers can't you Brandon?" HG asked as she slid into her seat next to Myka. Brandon barely blinked.
"That's cool, I don't want a lawyer." He said. Myka glanced up at the expression on his face. "This is way more fun." He said, looking her up and down. Myka could play his game. Her mask was set, this was her interrogation room, and she knew what she was doing. This child couldn't phase her one bit.
Myka gave a shrug and lifted a piece of paper up. "Maybe you'd like to just sign a confession then?" She asked casually. "Save us all some time?"
"Sure." Brandon said, surprising Myka – and HG – a little, but neither woman let it show. Brandon clicked his pen and took the paper. "I confess..." He looked back up to Myka and stared at her chest. "That I'm dying to cop a feel under your blouse." He smiled and slapped the pen down on the table. "There, now I feel so much better."
Myka didn't let it show how much this kid pissed her off. Neither did HG, but Myka felt her stiffen as Brandon spoke and watched her clench her fists together. Rather than blow up at him, HG looked across the table and shared a look with Myka. She gave the woman a slight nod. HG smiled and pulled her cell phone out of her jacket pocket.
"Are you sure you don't want to call someone? You're parents maybe?" She asked.
"Why would I worry them?" Brandon asked cockily.
"Yes, I made a call a little awhile ago to my bookie..." HG began. "I was standing in the street outside Nova waiting for my car..."
"Oh yeah I love that place." Brandon interrupted.
HG didn't let it phase her at all. "The black squid pasta is amazing." She retorted back. Myka rolled her eyes but watched, impressed as HG went on. "Anyway, I was talking on my mobile when the valet pulled up with my car and all the sudden my call got cut off. I realized the bluetooth in my car picked up the call automatically, because they were linked."
Myka wasted no time, the two of them had planned this while they had been waiting for Brandon to come in. She leaned forward and picked up where HG had left off. "You told us that all your phones auto share media files because they're bluetooth linked right?"
"So?"
"So your mobile, linked with Max's mobile the night he was killed." HG answered.
"It's a digital fingerprint that places you within twenty feet of Max at the time of his murder." Myka said, keeping her voice controlled.
"You did say if she had some actual evidence then she should arrest you." HG said to Brandon.
"You took advantage over Max's guilt over Donny's death and you got him blackout drunk; and then you put a gun in his hand, pressed it against his temple and then you pulled the trigger."
"Why would I do that?" Brandon asked, still not looking rattled.
"To cover your tracks over killing Donny." Myka spat back. This kid was getting on her very last nerve.
He leaned forward angrily and Myka could see some of his control slipping. "Why would I kill Donny?" He sneered.
"Amanda." HG offered.
Brandon didn't take his eyes of Myka for a second. He folded his hands together and sat back up straight calmly. "Amanda is with me, not Donny." He said proudly.
"Well, yes only after Donny lost all his money." HG said.
"Which makes you sloppy seconds." Myka added, a little too happily to get that dig in there; but she was professional enough to not let it show on her face.
"It had to eat you alive knowing Amanda had been with Donny." HG said as she stood up.
"Especially since he got way more than just under her blouse right?" Myka asked, raising her eyebrows at him. The room was silent for a moment or two. Myka kept her stare at Brandon and could feel HG doing the same from behind her. Despite her complaints about the author, they were really playing off each other well right now. Myka knew that you needed a good partnership in an interrogation, and the energy felt right today, like something clicked into place. She knew they were going to get a confession, they were almost there, Myka could feel it.
Finally, Brandon spoke up."I have a video that shows that Max killed Donny. Not me." He said with a glare to Myka.
"Yes and arranging that was very impressive." HG said, standing just behind Myka. "Fooling Spencer, Roomy and Amanda was easy they didn't handle the gun, but Max was another story." Myka watched Brandon play with his fingers as HG went on. "He just couldn't let it go could he? Then he remembered, you gave him the gun so he called you and asked to meet you."
"We have a record of the call." Myka said, leaning back calmly in her chair with her arms crossed in front of her. Brandon continued nervously playing with his fingers.
HG moved from standing next to Myka to walking around the table over to Brandon. "You knew something was up so you brought the gun and what, vodka or was Max more of a scotch man?" HG leaned in close. "He knew all about you, Donny and Amanda and he had to wonder, did you set me up to kill my best friend?" Myka watched, impressed as HG went through the whole story. "And when he realized you had he wasn't very well going to keep it to himself now was he? If only he had been strong enough to man up and be quiet right? Weak people just don't get it do they Brandon? Sometimes they just have to be lead to the truth."
Myka watched as the shift in Brandon's face changed. HG was doing wonderfully, she had pulled him in just enough. Brandon smirked. "Exactly." He whispered.
HG stood up quickly and looked to Myka. "Did he just say exactly?" She asked. "Because I heard him say, exactly." She mimicked his whisper and Myka tried very hard not to laugh.
"Yep. I heard it too." She said, standing up.
Brandon glared at HG. "You tricked me!" He accused. HG only shrugged and sat back down joyfully.
"It's called admission against interest." Myka said knocking on the glass window.
"Which is simply a clever way of saying confession." HG explained to Brandon.
"Pretty sweet huh?" Myka asked HG with a grin. HG nodded. "Oh..." Myka placed her hands on the table and leaned forward to Brandon. "And the funny thing is, I bet you thought you were pretty clever to go back and move Donny's body right? But the thing is, that we would have never figured it out of you hadn't." She said cooly and sat back down next to HG.
"Well, she would have never figured it out." HG insisted.
"Oh like you would have figured it out!" Myka scoffed.
HG turned to Myka and grinned broadly. "I definitely would have figured it out."
"Are you kidding me right now?" Myka asked.
"Honest truth, straight face, from my heart." HG said. They continued their banter as Myka lead Brandon outside and an officer cuffed him. Myka crossed her arms and leaned back against the wall with a satisfied sigh. "We make quite the team no?" HG asked a moment later. Myka bit her lip to keep from smiling and gave a small shrug instead.
"You're not quite as bad at this as you look I guess." She said and walked over to her desk to get her coat.
"Yes indeed!" HG said following her. "Right, hang on, not as bad as I look? What exactly do you mean by that?" She asked.
Myka put on her coat and flipped her hair out, smiling at the dark haired woman. "Night Wells." She said, walking off and placing her cap back on her head.
"No! Come back here, what do you mean by 'not as bad as I look'?" HG called after her. "I look spectacular thank you very much! Myka? Myka!"
The elevator doors were closing and Myka gave HG a little wave and cracked up as the doors finally closed. HG had stamped her foot like an impatient child. Myka heard one last, very loud and very annoyed, "MYKA!" as the elevator went down.