Kidnapped Ch.7
All the officers at the scene were standing in a straight line at equal intervals from each other, shining their torches around the place as they started a detailed sweep of the place, looking for any kind of clue that could be at the scene which could bring Kate back to them.
Castle stood with his back to them as he looked at the spot where Kate's blood was found. He had just called Alexis to tell her about the discovery, and the young girl had broken down completely. Castle had been strongly against the idea of allowing his daughter to come out to the scene, but she had begged him over and over again, insisting she had to be there for Kate, until he had finally relented.
Alexis now stood next to Lanie as she grasped her hand for comfort. Lanie had given her a brief hug and tried to reassure her that Kate would be back, but at that moment, Alexis was finding that very hard to believe. She looked over to her father, whose brows were furrowing in a way that Alexis knew – something was not making sense to him. Walking over, she placed her hand on his arm, startling him slightly, but he recovered quickly.
'What is it, dad?' Alexis asked.
'Nothing,' Castle quickly answered, but Alexis's eyes narrowed.
'Dad, I know you. You have that look on your face. The there-is-something-I-should-check-out look on your face. Tell me, what's did you find?' Alexis asked, her hands on her hips.
'There's some yellow smudges over there,' Castle answered slowly, and Alexis sighed.
'Dad, this alley is covered in graffiti. There are yellow smudges everywhere,' Alexis told him, disappointed, but Castle shook his head stubbornly.
'That is not graffiti paint,' he answered, just as Ryan and Esposito jogged back. Alexis walked back over to Lanie, not wanting to be in their way.
'You guys got anything?' Castle asked, and they both shook their head.
'How is it that no one saw or heard anything?' Castle cried out, his voice rising in pitch out of frustration as he kicked a can away from him.
'Bro. In this neighborhood, nobody sees or hear nothing,' Esposito told him. 'If they want to stay out of trouble, they mind their own business.'
'Don't they get it? Someone's life is at stake here,' Castle exclaimed, getting more and more worked up.
'Castle, these people grew up here knowing that if they talk, their family gets hurt. No one here will talk. Have you found anything?' Ryan asked, glossing over the details of what would happen to the people who told the police anything, and effectively change the direction of Castle's thoughts.
'There are some yellow smudges on the wall there,' Castle told them, pointing to the spot where Kate's blood was found.
'Bro, look at all the graffiti around here. Yellow smudges are everywhere,' Esposito told him, repeating Alexis's words from earlier.
'They're not. When I was younger, I did a lot of… research on graffiti paint, and they do not smudge out like that,' Castle told them, his voice confident, and Ryan frowned.
'Research?' Ryan asked. 'How old were you when you participated in this 'research' of yours?'
'When I was 15, but that's not the point. The point is, that is not graffiti paint. Look at it carefully. It is on top of that blood drop,' Castle told them.
'That would mean it got there after Kate's blood got on that wall,' Ryan said slowly as Esposito hollered for CSU to take a sample to run tests on it.
'Exactly,' Castle answered, and a small smile found itself on his face for the first time since Kate had gone missing.
A light bulb went off in Kate's mind as her eyes spotted a pink ribbon lying on the floor. She finally knew what the men were asking her for. The pink leather book found at the crime scene a week before she was kidnapped was not a diary. It may greatly resembled a diary, but the only thing in it were pages and pages of alphabets that no one at the precinct could make sense of. Kate had smiled when she saw the book. At the corner of each page, there were two letters marked there with a typewriter.
To Kate, a typewriter was something that she connected with her mother. Whenever she was sick as a child, her mother would sit with her and watch reruns of Temptation Lane, over and over again. Kate loved that show so much that her mother used a typewriter to transcribe the episodes into a book for her, so she could read it when she was not watching it.
She stood up triumphantly, as she finally felt that she had, once again, regained control of the situation. She knew what they were after, and only she knew what was in it. However, questions began attacking her mind quickly as she began to wonder why anyone would kidnap her just to find out what was in a little pink book.
Passing by a cracked, dust-covered mirror, Kate turned to look at her appearance in it. She had lost quite a bit of weight since her imprisonment, and her skin was unusually pale. Her cheekbones were more pronounced than ever and the bags under her eyes were obvious. Lifting up her now worn shirt slightly, she traced a finger over where her baby would grow into a beautiful, healthy child.
'Hi, baby,' Kate murmured, warmth glowing from her eyes and her smile. 'How are you doing in there?'
'Very nice indeed,' a voice shook her out of her reverie, as the sound of slow clapping and a mocking tone dragged her back into reality. 'Very nice indeed, detective, or should I say… Mother?'
'Leave me alone,' Kate ordered, and the man shook his head.
'I told you: you tell me what we want to know, we'll let you go your way,' the man told her.
'And I told you, I don't know what you're talking about,' Kate bluffed, fear weighing her down like lead.
'No food for you tonight, and we'll see if your answer changes tomorrow,' the man smiled before making his exit. The click of the lock was heard, and Kate sat down once again.
Kate knew that they were never going to let her go. Once she told them what she knew, she would be useless, a burden that would only make things more difficult. Besides, they no longer wear a mask, and she could see and remember their faces clearly. What self-respectable criminal shows a cop how they look like when their identities are unknown? It all points to one conclusion – she is going to be killed once they have all the information they need. Lying was now her only method of defense. Groaning softly in realization, she curled her legs up and placed her palm over her abdomen.
'I really hope you can meet your father and sister, little one. I really do,' Kate murmured as sleep began to take her once again.
A/N: Ta da, another chapter for you all to enjoy. I know that this chapter came out a little later in the day than usual, but please forgive me. My dog had to have an operation, and he had to stay in a hospital. He was very anxious and on the edge there, so I stayed with him at the hospital for the whole day until my mother finished work and took over, so I cannot update earlier.
Also, I had a review asking me to update more than once a week, and I am considering updating every Monday and Thursday instead of just Monday. What do you all think of it? Tell me in your reviews please, and I will decide.
As usual, PLEASE REVIEW. Criticisms are much appreciated but no flamers please.
Zoe tabbycat