First off, Castle belongs to ABC. Secondly, sorry this took so long to update, I got a little stuck, so let me know how you guys think it turned out.
Fear gripped Kate Beckett as she felt her attacker climb on the bed and straddle her back. By the amount of how the mattress sagged by the added weight she could tell her attacker was a man, and he was large. Well that certainly rules out Castle, she found herself thinking sarcastically in the midst of being a hostage. Her thoughts amazed her sometimes. As he hunched over her shoulder she could hear his deep breathing in her ear. "Hello, Nikki. It's been a while since we have seen each other, hasn't it?"
Kate listened to the man's horrid voice in her ear, trying her damnedest to recognize the voice. It was a meaningless effort though; the robotic sound of his voice led her to realize that he was using a voice disguiser. As the man finished his words Kate tried thrashing underneath him, but as she moved his legs became tighter at her sides. "Uh, uh, uh, Nikki," he warned. "No, my sweet, you are not going anywhere."
Kate's head screamed at her to be petrified. Fear was a normal response to what she was dealing with right now. However, the only fear that she had was not for her own well being but for the other two defenseless occupants of the apartment. "I'm not here to hurt anybody, Detective, just to convey warning, a deal if you will. I will give you one more, full day of no murders; to figure out who I am and catch me. Know this, if you fail, the others who die their blood will be on your hands." And with that the man knocked Kate upside the head with the heel of his palm, causing her to fall down against her pillows, for a second, unable to move.
As she watched him run out of the room Kate forced herself to move. As her feet hit the carpeting and she stood up she stumbled, disoriented, as she chased him out of the room. Down the dark hallway she ran gaining on him just enough to keep him in her sights but too far away for her to catch him. She followed him as he ran out of the apartment and down the hall. Kate smirked as she recognized the path that he was taking. It was the one to the elevators. He was going to have to wait for one, he was trapped. She was going to catch him, and be victorious; no one else she loved was going to die.
Her spirits rose as she pushed herself to go faster. Whoever this man was there was no way he was going to be able to outrun her for long. As Kate neared the elevators she stumbled and looked down at her bare feet when she looked up again she started at the elevators in horror. He was gone. How was this possible? She had only lost sight of him for a second, and yet, here she was standing in the middle of a hallway facing in the elevators, clad in nothing but an oversized shirt. She looked helplessly down each side of the hallway once more, just to make sure he wasn't hiding. Not that much could hide a man that size. He wasn't, she decided.
Kate was about to turn around and head back to the apartment to check on Castle and Alexis, make sure they were still alive and unharmed, when an idea struck her. Try the elevators. Confidence again surging up in her Kate took a step forward toward the buttons and hit each one. As if playing a musical round each elevator door opened after the other, and as the last one opened the first one closed. Kate closed her eyes in disappointment as each one of them turned up empty. However, something inside of her was not surprised; it would have been too easy. With a heavy heart Kate turned around and headed back to the apartment.
At five fifteen in the morning Richard Castle faintly heard the door of his bedroom slam against the door stopper that was on the wall. Even though his mind was telling him to open his eyes and sit up he was enjoying his deep sleep far too much for that. It wasn't long, though, before his enjoyable slumber was shattered entirely.
"Castle!" Kate called to him, not hiding the worry that was in her voice. Be alive, please be alive! She begged as she entered Richard Castle's dark bedroom. Had this been under normal circumstances, she would have looked around the bedroom of her favorite author. Truth be told, if they were under normal circumstances she wouldn't have been entering his room.
Hearing Kate Beckett's voice Rick sat up and opened his eyes almost simultaneously. as he looked at her he felt his eyes widen. What in the world was the woman doing? She entered his bedroom dressed in nothing but a large oversized t-shirt. If she was attempting to seduce him, she wouldn't have to work very hard at it. As she walked over to his bed he took in the long legs that he had very rarely seen. However, as she neared him that idea faded from his head. As he looked at her he noticed her face was a ghostly white. It wasn't always was like that, was it? No. He should have known something was wrong that was the only time she would dare enter his room half naked… sadly. "Beckett, what's wrong?" he asked as he covered his bare torso with the sheets around him.
Kate sighed a great sigh of relief as she looked into the concerned, ruggedly handsome, and very much alive face of Richard Castle. When she opened her mouth to convey the details of the last ten minutes Kate felt her resolve rapidly cracking around her. "I-I just wanted to check to make sure you were all right."
Rick frowned at her. Why would she be wondering about his well being, he was fine. In fact he was more than fine, he had a beautiful, half dressed, woman of his dreams standing in front of his bed. He was tired, but other than that he was as close to perfect as he could achieve. Rick looked at her strangely. Something had to have happened, that was the only explanation to the situation he was in right now "Do I detect actual concern for my well being, Detective?" he asked as he looked up at her.
Kate closed her eyes and inhaled, then exhaled, deeply. Why did Castle have to make everything a joke? Now of all times she needed him to be serious, he was potentially in a life threatening situation and all he could think about was flirting with her. As flattering as it was, she needed him to focus right now more than anything.
As Rick watched her close her eyes he realized this was not the time to be messing with Beckett's patience level. Something had seriously rattled her. "Here, sit down," he said as he moved over to the center of his bed.
As Beckett sat down on his bed Rick put a hand to her back and realized something he could not see in the dark of his bedroom. The strong, independent woman Rick had grown to know and love was sitting on the corner of his bed involuntarily shaking in fright. "Kate what's wrong?" he asked thoroughly alarmed as he moved to look her in the face.
As Castle placed his hand on her back a sense of overwhelming calm coursed through Kate's body. It still amazed her how much a man who could drive her so crazy could turn around and bring her to such a level of serenity. With all seriousness she looked into the shadowy face of Richard Castle. "I want you, Alexis and Martha to get on the earliest available flight out of the city. Go somewhere far away. Go to California, and visit Meredith; go to the Hamptons and lay on the beach. I don't care where you go, but for once in your life Rick, listen to me."
Rick looked at Beckett with a dropped jaw. She wanted him to leave? She couldn't believe he was in that much danger. She was just being silly now. "Beckett, no. you're being ridiculous, I'm not leaving you."
Kate closed her eyes; she could feel the agitation building up in her chest. Why did he have to fight everything she said? Didn't he remember what happened last time that he stayed when he told her to leave? "Castle, you need to."
Rick frowned at her. What the hell was she talking about she needed to leave? He wasn't going anywhere. He was as much part of this case as she was and he was not throwing the towel in and leaving her unprotected. "Why?" he asked defiant.
Kate opened her hazel eyes and looked into Castle's dark face. "Because, it's not safe for you to stay in your apartment, or even in the city." With the confused look on Castle's face as Kate spoke she realized he was not going to listen to her just based her words, but then again, when did he? "Our killer, he knows where you live. He paid me a visit not too long ago, in your mother's bedroom."
As Beckett spoke Castle felt his blue eyes widen in terror. The killer had been in his house, in the same room Beckett was sleeping in. he refused to let it show through his face but fear gripped his insides, he could have killed her. Beckett and his daughter. With the fear intensifying he realized he did not know yet about his daughter's well being. "Alexis!" he said as he went to get out of bed.
Before he moved far though, Kate placed a hand over his own and as she did the familiar feeling of nerves crept through her body just like it every time she touched him. Ignoring the different kind of fear Kate looked into Castle's eyes. "She's fine. I checked on her before I came to you," she said as she looked down at her lap and then back up at Castle. "She knows what happened, and she's packing."
Rick looked at Beckett strangely. He still couldn't figure out why she was doing this. It made no sense. "Kate," he took a breath. "I'll leave the city on one condition," he said and waited for her to respond.
A condition, of course there would be a condition. Because simply just listening to her warning and doing what she said would be far too easy for Richard Castle. No, with him everything had to be more difficult. "What kind of condition?" she asked skeptical.
"I have no problem sending my mother and Alexis to California to see Meredith. It would be nice to be rid of one of them for a few days. As for me, I'm not leaving without you."
Kate Beckett laid her head back against the wall of the police station's elevator with her eyes closed. She was alone; strange as it was Castle had given in to the argument about going to California. It probably was because Alexis threatened not to go if he didn't. She didn't know; it didn't matter much how she got him to get on that plane, all that mattered was that he did. As the elevator pinged, signaling Kate that she had reached the homicide department, she opened her eyes and stood up straight. As the heavy metal doors opened up they revealed the bullpen, buzzing with activity.
Kate stepped out of the elevator and began to make her way to her desk. As she walked she looked around, something was different. Nothing seemed to be out of place though; nothing was rearranged and there was no redecoration that she took notice of. She couldn't place what the change was until she stepped into the busy bull pen. Two of the normally empty offices were being occupied. As she walked through the maze of desks to get to her own, Kate scanned the offices.
In the first she noticed Detective Ortiz sitting across from a woman in her late fifties to early sixties and a younger woman in her mid twenties. As Kate got closer to the office she noticed that the two women were Marie Holtz, Kimberly's mother, and Ashley Moore, her roommate. On the table sitting in front of them was a sketch of the man. Kate felt her lips part in shock. How did they have a sketch? Neither of them was in the proximity during the time of the murder.
Frowning in confusion, Kate made her way past the first office and her eyes fell on the second office. Detective Castillo was talking to two more people she recognized. Isabelle Wilder, Will's Fiancé, and Will's best friend and partner, Tyler Whitley, were both seated across from the detective with a sketch, too, lying on the table in front of them.
Kate frowned as she neared her desk. Two identical sketches, there had to be an informant somewhere, but who was it? As she took a seat at her desk Kate looked up and a possible answer appeared in front of her eyes. Sitting at his desk with an older woman, which Kate had seen in Will's neighborhood a time or two when they were together, was Captain Montgomery. Could the woman have seen something when the murderer had so meticulously tried to hide his identity? When Kate sat down at her desk it was not long before she heard two pairs of male feet heading over to her.
"Now either my clock stopped working or you're really late," Kevin said as Kate looked up at him with tired eyes. As he saw her eyes pity filled the detective, Castle had called and let both him and Esposito know what happened and gave them strict orders to watch out for her closely.
"So where is your shadow today?" Javier asked as he looked down at Beckett. They were living together for now, so why wasn't Castle with her? When he asked Castle earlier why he wouldn't be able to watch out for Beckett like he had asked him and Ryan to do, he evaded the answer. "He isn't by any chance taking the day off today is he?"
Kate shook her head as she looked down at the closed case file upon her desk. "No," she said gravely as she picked at the side of her thumb nail. She was quiet for a minute, not realizing how hard to was going to be to tell people she had sent away her partner so she could ensure his protection.
Kevin frowned as he looked at Beckett. Something was wrong. For the past year and a half Castle was at Beckett's side every single morning, and never had he told anyone to watch out for Beckett, she could take care of herself, everybody knew that."Where is he then?" he asked fearing the answer.
Kate closed her eyes and sighed before opening them up again. "He's in California with his mother and daughter," she said as she watched the two boys exchange shocked glances. Had she been in a better mood she would have smiled at how acutely their facial expressions matched their thoughts.
Castle was going to visit the "Deep Fried Twinkie" and Beckett took him to the airport? Was she trying to push him away from her? "How are you dealing with that one?" Javier said as he looked seriously up at Beckett.
Kate frowned as she watched her two partners in front of her react to the news. Of course she wasn't okay with it; she was basically sending Castle, into Meredith's arms. What could she say though? She was not about to admit her feelings to the men, especially when she hadn't even admitted them fully to herself. Looking at Esposito just as seriously as he looked at her she asked, "Fine," she said shortly. "So, where are we on the case?"
A smile shone across both his and Ryan's face as Javier looked down at Beckett, he knew it was not going to make her smile, especially after sending Castle away, but it would significantly improve things. "This morning, after Montgomery briefed us on what happened last night, Ryan and I went back to the crime scenes and tried asking the neighbors questions again. You know see if we missed anything the first time."
Kate looked at Esposito with raised eyebrows waiting for him to continue. When he didn't it became obvious that he wanted her to say something. "And did you?"
Kevin nodded his head. "Oh, yes. Mrs. Levy from house number 183 remembered seeing a beefy man dressed in a black hoodie and dark blue jeans passing by the house about a half hour before she saw the flames."
Kate frowned at the detectives in front of her. "'A big guy in a black sweatshirt' that is the only description that she gave?" she said as she watched Ryan and Esposito look at each other and shrug.
Javier nodded his head. "Yeah, but apparently she gave a better description to the sketch artist, because we got a picture," he said as he grabbed a sketch off one of the desks nearby and handed it to Beckett.
When Kate laid her eyes on the picture in front of her she closed her eyes in disappointment. Like Mrs. Levy had said, the man in the sketch had a large beefy face and covering the space around his cruel mouth and heavy jaw was the evidence of a five o'clock shadow. However, the rest of the sketch was blackened in as the hood of his sweatshirt covered his face. How in the world were they supposed to catch this man by the end of the day if all they had was half a picture? Kate looked up from the picture to the two detectives standing in front of her. "Of all the people who passed by Will's house that day, what made her remember him?"
Javier looked down at Beckett. "We asked her the same question, she said it wasn't that he was just passing by Sorenson's house, it was as if he was appraising it. You know standing out front staring at it, walking around the back, looking in the windows."
"Which she thought was odd because she knew Sorenson was not even considering putting his house on the market. She said he had told her when he and Isabelle got marri-ouch!" Kevin said as he looked over at Esposito wondering why he had just stomped on his foot. That was when he caught sight of Beckett, the color had drained from her face and she was sitting in front of them with her eyes closed, in pain. Desperately he scoured his brain in search of something to say to take Beckett's mind off of what he had just reminded her. "So…I was thinking, maybe we should start looking through mug shot books, try and see if we can find anything remotely close to the sketch…" Kevin said as both Esposito and Beckett looked over at him and frowned.
"Bro, do you have any idea how many pictures are in those mug shot books?" Javier said as he looked dumbfounded at his partner.
Kate sighed as Ryan gave his suggestion. Had they not been face to face with a serial killer and pressed for time it may have been a good place to start but they barely had twelve hours. "Ryan, it would take a week to go through all those books, we just don't have that kind of time.
Kevin looked from Esposito to Beckett and noticed both were looking at him with the same expression of incredulousness written across their faces. "I know," he said nodding his head, "but maybe, because the killer is targeting you, we could start with the ones you put away."
Kevin watched as Beckett and Esposito looked at each other and the looks of unbelief disappeared from their faces. "That…actually, isn't a terrible idea."