Kidnapped Ch.8
A cheerful whistle pierced through the tense atmosphere at the precinct, and Castle sucked in a breath as two familiar faces came into sight. Jim Beckett and Martha Rodgers had both returned from a cruise that they have enrolled in together. Neither of them was aware of the current situation, as they have been completely unreachable.
At the sight of her son, Martha's face broke into a relieved smile and she went over and embraced him warmly, her familiar scent calming Castle down slightly.
'Mother, Mr. Beckett. What are you two doing here?' Castle asked, trying to put on a convincing jovial tone.
'Now, now Richard, I know you said not to come here, but Jim and I haven't seen you and Katherine in almost a month. Where's Katherine?' Martha asked, smiling, still completely clueless of what had happened in the past month.
Castle's smiled faltered as he grasped desperately in his mind for a reasonable excuse for Kate not to be at the precinct at the moment, but he could find none. Jim Beckett knew his daughter very well, and lying to him would do no good. Castle stared at the ground as he continuously came up with ideas and rejected them, feeling Jim's eyes on his back.
'Rick? Where is my daughter?' Jim Beckett asked. His tone was not accusatory, only slightly worried.
'I think you should both sit down,' Castle started as the two people standing in front of him sat down. He looked at them squarely in the eyes, and his shoulders slumped as he got ready to try to form the words in his mouth.
'Kate was kidnapped over a week ago,' Castle told them, his voice grave. 'And up till this moment, we have no idea where she is.'
'Tell us, detective. Tell us what is in the diary,' the man growled at her, the knife in his pocket winking at her threateningly.
'No,' Kate answered stubbornly. 'I know nothing about it.'
Shaking his head, the man pulled back as he glared at her. 'You've been more of a troublesome charge than an asset, detective, and we will not put up with this any longer.'
'I told you. I do not know anything,' Kate insisted, and the man reached into his pocket. Kate flinched as his hand touched the knife, but to her surprise, he pulled out a mobile phone.
'You can have one phone call, detective. One phone call to say your goodbyes. I suggest you use it well,' the man told her, pulling her close and dangling the knife at her throat. 'You say anything against us, and your child will die.'
Closing her eyes, Kate sighed deeply. She could not see any way out of this situation, and she knew that this would be the last time she ever heard Rick's voice again. Taking the phone from the man's outstretched hands, she dialed the familiar number, and tentatively held the phone to her ear, waiting for the line to be connected.
'We got it,' Ryan panted as he ran into the precinct, waving a piece of paper in the air. He stopped short when he saw Jim and Martha sitting there, a look of shock and fear on their faces, and Castle sitting opposite to them. He turned around, intending on going back out of the room, but Castle stood up and snatched the paper from his hands.
'What's this?' Castle asked.
'The CSU report on that yellow smudge found at the scene. Looks like all those of 'research' on graffiti paint paid off, Castle. You were right. Those weren't graffiti paint smudges. They're curry powder,' Ryan told him, finger quoting the word 'research'.
'Then she must be kept in an old curry factory or warehouse,' Castle exclaimed, jumping off the chair.
'Any ideas on why would a killer pick a curry factory?' Esposito asked, grinning slightly as he recognized the look Castle had on his face. It was his typical 'I-have-a-crazy-idea' expression.
'The CIA's favorite lunch is curry; no, wait, I know. Curry was a brand of alien food, and they were mad that the humans stole it, so they decide to take one of us hostage. Oh, that's good,' Castle muttered to himself. His mood has obviously lifted when Ryan told him that they were heading for a curry factory. Shrugging on his jacket, he noted the look of skepticism on the two detectives' faces.
'What?' Castle asked. 'Why are you two just standing there? Let's go get Kate back.'
'Uh, Castle, we don't know which brand of curry this is,' Esposito told him. 'CSU couldn't identify the exact brand.'
Castle's phone began ringing in that exact moment, and he fished it out of his pocket impatiently. He glared at the phone screen, expecting it to be from his ex-wife and publisher, Gina, but his eyes widened immediately and he set the phone down on the table.
'It's Kate,' Castle whispered, fear and excitement laced in his voice.
The table was a flurry of activity afterwards. Esposito began to yell at another officer to start a trace on the incoming call while the rest of them huddled around the table, becoming silent as Castle pressed the green button.
'Kate, is that you?' Castle asked, and he let out a small breath as her voice answered.
'Rick? I'm sorry. I'm so sorry,' Kate cried, and Castle's heart broke a little at the sound of voice. At that moment, she sounded like a young girl, desperate for some comfort and some safety.
'There's nothing for you to be sorry for, Kate,' Castle told her gently. 'Everything's going to be just fine.'
'I'm sorry that you won't get to see the baby,' Kate sobbed, as all the emotions that were pent up from her kidnapped burst forth, and tears ran down her cheeks. She knew by now, that Lanie would have told Castle about the baby. Although Castle could not see it, he could hear her sniffles, and his heart completely broke.
'I will, Kate. We'll get to see this baby together,' Castle told her, his voice determined.
'I love you, Rick. Tell Aunt Caroline that I'm sorry that I cannot have her curry anymore,' Kate told him, and Castle's senses tingled. They had just discovered that the smudge was a curry stain, and now Kate was talking about curry? That was a hell of a coincidence.
'Kate, this is not goodbye,' Castle insisted forcefully.
'Rick, tell my dad, Martha and Alexis that I love them,' Kate told him. 'Goodbye, Rick.'
'Kate, don't hang up. Please don't hang up,' Castle pleaded, but a small click signaled the end of their conversation.
'Did you get anything?' Esposito snarled at the officer responsible for tracing Kate's cell phone.
'No, the call was too short,' the officer informed Esposito, who punched the wall in annoyance. He turned around, intending to discuss the next action with Castle, but he found him staring at the phone in his hand, tears falling.
'Castle, bro, what's wrong?' Esposito asked.
'I didn't tell her I love her. She told me that she loved me, but I didn't tell her,' Castle whispered, guilt evident in his voice. 'I never told her I love her.'
'Castle, she knew. She knew that you love her,' Ryan reassured him.
'Mr. Beckett, does Kate have an aunt named Caroline?' Rick asked suddenly, whirling around to look at him.
'No. Neither Jo nor I have any siblings named Caroline,' Jim answered slowly. 'Why do you ask?'
'Just now, she told me to say that she was sorry that she could not have her Aunt Caroline's curry anymore,' Castle answered, and Ryan looked up immediately.
'Did you just say Aunt Caroline's curry?' Ryan asked, and Castle nodded.
'Yeah, that's what she said. Why?' Castle asked.
'Caroline's Curry used to be pretty famous in New York, until about 3 years ago. Caroline had died and she did not leave the business to anyone, so her children closed it. The business probably had a warehouse to store their curry powder,' Ryan answered, and Esposito was already pulling up information regarding the warehouse on the computer.
'I've got it. Caroline's Curry had a warehouse in East 72nd between Broadway and 10th. Nobody bought that warehouse, and it is now an abandoned building. No one uses it.
'How would Katherine know about it?' Martha asked, and Castle looked up.
'There's a boutique next to that warehouse that she and Alexis both loved. They were both there just two weeks ago,' Castle answered. 'She must have recognized where she was and given us a clue.
'Go,' Jim told the three men as they looked at him and Martha, wondering whether they should take them home first. 'We will not be leaving until she is found.'
Martha nodded her head in unison 'I'll talk to this new captain of yours and inform her where you've all headed.'
Shrugging on their jackets, the three men hurried out of the door, anxious for this to be the time that Kate was brought back to them safely.
The sick sound of a sharpening knife could be heard, and a shiver ran through Kate's spine. She knew she had lost, and there was no way she would get out of this alive. All she hoped for now is for Castle not to see her body in a mangled mess.
Walking into the room, the man held the sharp knife up and smiled sinisterly. The edge of the knife glinted from the light, and Kate turned away.
'Last chance, detective. What was in the diary?' the man asked.
Kate knew that if she did not tell them anything, she would die, but even if she told them, she would still die. Better to let them worry about the contents of the diary even if she could not make it out of this ordeal. She shook her head, knowing she had sealed her fate.
'Pity, detective. You are a beautiful girl, but you just don't know when to stop poking your nose into things that are none of your business. Sweet dreams,' the man told her. He placed the knife at her throat and began to trace a line. Crimson red liquid dripped down slowly, but surely.
A/N: I am so mean, leaving at a cliffhanger like this, but if I go on, this chapter will exceed 2,000 words, and I really want each chapter to remain between 1,000 and 2,000 words, so I decided to cut it short here.
Since many of you reviewed and asked for 2 chapters a week instead of 1, I decided to update every Monday and Thursday as opposed to only Mondays. I hope that this decision will make you all happy.
This chapter is dedicated to Bianca tabbycat, for being a fantastic beta, and to Project66, in celebration of the official ending of our tough exams.
As usual, PLEASE REVIEW. Criticisms are much appreciated, but no flamers please.
Zoe tabbycat