Genre: Drama, Crime, Romance
Rating: M for language, sexual situations and violence
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: I'm not totally sure if there are any stables across the street from Central Park, I remember looking at a map once and seeing there were, but trying to go back later they kind of disappeared and I haven't been able to find them again. So gonna be taking artistic license on that.
A/N #2: Just wanted to point out that I'm not really an experienced horse rider myself; though I love horses; but I tried to learn everything I could with this story. Still, I may have mistakes, will hope I can beg artistic license on those though!
A/N #3: Definitely need to say thanks to my reviewers for the last chapter, especially since it was a short one! Guest (I was glad to see your review, 'cause it means you want to read more of course. Which as a writer is always good to see!) and Unputdownable (Very glad to see you enjoyed this start to the case. And it's nice to see that you too are interested in seeing how this'll go for Castle and Beckett!). Was nice to see the reviews, and to read them too, so I very much appreciate you both giving that feedback to me!
A/N #4: The title of this chapter comes from the song Maxwell's Silver Hammer by The Beatles, from their album Abbey Road.
Comes From Behind
"Is Julia starting to get excited?" Castle asked as he and Beckett walked down the Central Park path through the yellowed leaves their feet kicked ahead of them.
"For Thanksgiving?" Beckett asked after she'd taken a sip of the coffee he'd gotten for her. She smiled when he nodded and said, "She is, they're learning about it in school, she's been telling me every night about the turkeys they've drawn and made, the story of the Pilgrims and the Native Americans. And when I told her how we were going to celebrate she asked if we could count down to Thursday."
"She's never celebrated I'm guessing?" Castle said.
"That's why I want to make this first one the best I can for her," Beckett said, waving her hand in front of her in a sweeping gesture. "Our first as a family."
"Then you still want to celebrate it with us?" Castle said.
"Of course," Beckett said. "I'm looking forward to it actually. What, did you think I just wanted to come over so I wouldn't have to cook? No, Julia's looking forward to it and so am I."
"And your dad?" Castle then inquired.
"He wants to spend the day with his daughter and granddaughter," Beckett said. "But he is looking forward to being with Julia. Thank you for extending the invitation to him."
"Okay, I am sorry I spoke to him instead of letting you tell him, but I wanted to make sure he knew that the invitation was coming from me and not because I invited you and Julia," Castle said quickly to her slightly sarcastic tone.
"I know, he was surprised though, but he's looking forward to it as I said," Beckett said before they reached the crime scene and ducked under the tape that was keeping the crowd and media away from the body. "What've we got?" she called as she saw Lanie with Esposito near the body of a man laying half on and half off the path.
"Caucasian male, in his mid-thirties," Lanie said. "With three GSWs to the back of his head," she then said as she tilted the man's head.
"Tight grouping," Beckett said, kneeling down slightly to see the wounds. "Any ID?"
"Not that we can find," Esposito said. "Guy's got no pockets."
"Who found him?" Beckett asked as she looked around the area.
"A husband and wife riding their bikes on the path," Ryan said, walking over. "The husband, a Mr. Valentin thought the victim was unconscious at first. But when he almost fell over and put his hand on the vic's shoulder to steady himself the head tilted to the side, Mr. Valentin saw the wounds. He called 911 after getting over his initial shock. That was at about 10:45."
"Did they hear any gunshots?" Beckett asked. When Ryan shook his head she nodded and said, "A silencer most likely, being killed here. Though this is Central Park, I'm shocked no one was on the path," she then suggested.
"We haven't gotten anyone to come forward, so unless they do, the killer likely waited for the right moment," Ryan answered.
"Hey, you know who he kind of looks like?" Castle asked, standing up from having been examining the victim's face. "Like-"
"Iker Casillas," Castle, Beckett, Esposito and Ryan all said together.
"Is that who our vic is?" Lanie asked, standing up as she looked at the four in confusion.
"You're right, he does," Beckett said quickly to Castle. "No," she then directed to Lanie. "He's a goalkeeper for the professional soccer team Real Madrid in Spain. Our vic just looks a lot like him… if Casillas was clean shaven." She glanced at Esposito and when she saw the look on his face asked, "What?"
"You know about Casillas, about Real Madrid?" Esposito said incredulously.
"My father's a fan of La Liga," Beckett said simply. "Madrid is his favorite team." When Esposito rolled his eyes slightly she said, "So you're a Barça fan I'm guessing."
"Hell yes," Esposito said. "What about you Castle, you watch soccer?"
"It's a thinking man's sport," Castle said. "Well, if it's a good team. I used to go to a Spanish tapas bar, always had soccer. Got pulled into it."
"Mind if I interrupt your sports chat?" Lanie intruded. When the four looked at her she said, "Thank you, there's a reason why our vic doesn't have pockets."
"Right," Ryan said quickly. "Mr. Valentin-"
Before he could finish, everyone's attention was drawn to the grass where an officer was trying to hold a horse steady as it nearly reared up next to him. Before anyone could say anything, Beckett handed Castle her coffee and strode to the horse.
Slowing down as she neared it, Beckett held her hand out, and let the horse smell it before it shook its head and calmed slightly. "Easy," she murmured under her breath as she pressed her hand to its forehead, pausing to wait for its reaction. When there was none, she gently rubbed his muzzle before grabbing the left cheekpiece of the bridle as she continued to caress its muzzle. "He was riding this horse," she stated as she looked back at the others who were watching her.
"Yeah, apparently there's a stable across the street from where this path ends," Ryan said slowly. "Mr. Valentin said the horse walked up while he was trying to wake up the vic."
Beckett tried to ask if the man who'd found the victim had known who he was, when the horse jerked against her, and she had to hold on tight as she and the officer were dragged with the stallion a few steps back.
"Beckett," Castle started to say, stepping towards her.
"It's okay," Beckett said, looking a little confused. She then told the officer, "Let him go. I've got him." When she was holding onto the horse on her own, she glanced at the victim and suddenly said, "He wasn't shot while he was on the horse."
"How do you know that?" Lanie asked.
Not replying, Beckett gently moved her fingers over the horse's mouth, pressing on it. When she didn't get a reaction she quickly let go of the bridle, and reached for the saddle. "His ankle is swollen, so he was thrown before the gunshots; that's why the horse walked back to its owner; it had calmed down after bolting."
Lanie hurried to the victim's feet and saw what she'd failed to see with the shiny black material of the boots and the right leg neatly tucked underneath the left. "You're right, his ankle was broken," she said, as she felt around the swelling and could tell the bone was broken by the shifting inside it. "What does that have to do with what you're doing?"
"He's a skilled equestrian," Beckett said. "His boots," she snapped out in explanation as she struggled a little with the girth before she was able to unfasten it.
"You need help?" Castle asked, going to her after he'd handed the cups in his hands over to Esposito.
Beckett lifted the saddle off easily and handed it over to the officer who was still standing next to the horse before she discarded the saddle blanket. "His horse wouldn't have thrown him off without a reason, he'd have it too well trained," she said as she saw what it was that was agitating the stallion. "Needle grass," she said as she held up a twisted spike in her hand. "Every gallop this stallion made, it twisted onto its skin until it was inside and it bucked up in reaction." She stepped towards the body and said, "The vic was thrown and as he was likely grabbing at his broken ankle, sitting up, three shots and he was dead. Did you find blood anywhere else in this area?"
"It seems to be concentrated where his head was, we found some splatter surrounding his body, but that was all," Esposito said.
"So someone set this murder up," Beckett said as she put the grass in her hand in an evidence bag a member of the CSU team held open for her. "Collect those, see if we can't get DNA of some kind, though it'll be a long shot. Can you two head to the stables," she said as she touched the muzzle of the stallion as it pressed into her shoulder, whickering heavily suddenly. "See who our vic is and possible enemies he might have?"
"You going to interview the horse?" Esposito joked. The smile fell off his face at Beckett's look, and he said, "Just, just kidding, we'll head over there…"
"So you know a lot about horses?" Castle asked as Ryan and Esposito were walking down the path away from the crime scene.
"A little," Beckett said, holding the cheekpiece on the right of the horse. "What?" she asked at his smile. "What little girl doesn't go through a horse crazy phase? Julia's going through it now actually."
"I never did," Lanie said, looking up from the back of the victim's head. "And that reminds me, congratulations on finally finishing up the adoption process."
"Thanks, it's a relief," Beckett said as she studied the horse.
"What is it?" Castle asked, watching her.
"No blood that I can see on the loin or croup," Beckett replied absently. "And nothing on the flanks either. But there could be some microscopic traces."
"I thought you said he was shot after he got thrown," Castle said.
"I want to make absolutely sure I was right," Beckett said as she motioned to one of the CSU team members. She held the stallion steady as the woman walked over the horse with a magnifying glass, going slowly over every inch. "Anything?"
"I don't see even a speck of black on the hair," the woman said. "And with it being so light you'd be able to see the red black of dried blood."
"Thank you," Beckett said. "So this was definitely planned."
"Crime of passion?" Castle suggested, looking at the stallion. "Maybe his wife thought he was spending too much time with his horse. Decided killing him while he was riding would be the ultimate punishment for that."
"He's not wearing a wedding ring," Lanie called out. "And there's no tan line from one either."
"He never wore one," Castle suggested.
"We'll find out once we know who he is," Beckett replied. "But you have a point about it being a crime of passion, the fact that the killer put those needles indicates that they either wanted the vic to hopefully break his neck; the gun was plan B; or they didn't want to harm the horse."
"Why care about the horse?" Castle asked.
"Because it's worth a lot of money," Beckett said, letting go of the bridle so the stallion could bow its head to the grass. She saw Castle's expression and said, "Come on, you never tried to buy a horse after you first started getting money for your books?"
"I invested in horse racing," Castle said. "Never really thought about buying one, well, for myself."
"Yeah, this is an Andalusian stallion and it's worth… a lot," Beckett said, patting the horse's shoulder as it grazed. "But if the killer wanted the horse-"
"Wouldn't have risked it running away like it did," Castle said, touching the stallion's shoulder as well.
There was a sudden cry from down the path, and Beckett and Castle looked up to see a young woman ducking under the police tape, running to the body. "Ma'am-" Beckett started to say as she ran over to the woman.
"No, please, that's my cousin," the woman sobbed as Beckett stopped her from getting closer to the victim. "Tell me he's not dead!" she begged though she could see the back of her cousin's head and the gunshot wounds.
"I'm sorry," Beckett said, turning her away. She saw Ryan and Esposito running down the path and said, "Do we have an ID?"
"He's Patrick de Alba," Ryan said, sounding out of breath. "She's his cousin, Megan de Alba."
"Okay, Ms. De Alba," Beckett said to the woman. "Can I speak with you over here, please?" she asked, trying to get her away from the body.
"Yes, but, l-let me take Asturias, he was Patrick's horse…" the cousin begged.
Beckett nodded her ascent and followed as the woman grabbed the reins before she paused, seeing the horse was barebacked. "I had to remove the saddle," she told her quickly.
"Did someone put something under the saddle? Did he throw my cousin?" Megan asked.
"He did, please, come with me," Beckett said, trying to draw her away from the crime scene. Luckily the woman let her lead her down the path in the direction of the stables. "Check into our vic," she quickly said to Ryan and Esposito as she passed by them. "Did your cousin come here directly from the stables this morning?" she asked as Megan started to feel around the stallion's back and flanks before checking its hooves.
"Yes, he rode out at about eight, he usually rides for an hour or two," Megan said, tears streaming down her cheeks as she looked at Beckett and Castle. "He was born to the saddle, so he could spend a whole day with his horse. But if someone put something under the saddle, then they knew he only could control Asturias so much; he's a difficult horse unless you know how to handle him. They planned to kill him to get him out of the way."
"So he had enemies?" Castle asked. "The horse is valuable I've been told."
"Valuable? He's worth more than the other three Andalusians we own at the stables," Megan replied, rubbing the stallion's shoulder. "And so are the stables. We have fifty horses, and we get a lot of business. But it wasn't so much Patrick had enemies, just people who wanted to get their hands on Asturias. He's fast, incredibly fast, as a dressage and eventing horse he could easily win his rider millions. As a race horse… the same."
"A race horse? I've never heard of the breed being used for that," Beckett said, looking up from her pad of paper.
"I know, that's why he was Patrick's pride and joy, he was faster than any horse we'd ever had," Megan said. "And he had offers, from multiple parties, individuals, groups, they all wanted the horse."
"Did he ever agree to sell it?" Castle asked though he sensed the answer already.
"No, it was his horse, our abuelito… our grandfather bred him eight years ago, and sent him specially for my cousin from Spain," Megan said. "Patrick trained Asturias, at first for dressage competitions, but when he saw his speed, he kept him for himself." She covered her face with her hand and shook it saying, "He told me there were some threats, but I didn't take him seriously. It's just a horse, but now that he's dead… Asturias killed him as much as whoever shot him."
"So Patrick de Alba," Beckett said as she placed the vic's DMV picture on the murder board. "Thirty-four years old and the owner of Green Hills Stables and fifty horses."
"Pretty impressive at that age to have that many horses," Castle commented as he watched her writing what they had learned from the victim's cousin.
"Well, if he was getting horses from family then it makes it a lot easier," Beckett said. "You know, I've heard of Green Hills," she said, pointing to a picture of the stable compound they'd gotten. "The brand on the horses is pretty recognizable, a g surrounded by an s and i."
"S and i?" Castle asked.
"Spain and Ireland, apparently that's where the de Alba family is from," Beckett commented absently as she set the picture of the Andalusian stallion on the board. She glanced back at him and saw the questioning look on his face. "What?" she asked.
"You've ridden horses before haven't you?" Castle asked. When she started to speak he quickly said, "I had a feeling when you calmed down the horse earlier. You were seriously into it weren't you? You even recognized de Alba's boots as being equestrian. I bet you've even learned dressage." He then noticed the expression on her face and asked, "What?"
"I'm sorry; I thought you were coughing up a fur ball in Irish. I have some experience with horses," Beckett said, going to her desk and setting down her notepad. "And I happen to subscribe to Equestrian Magazine."
"How come I've never seen that at your place?" Castle asked in surprise.
"Good question, look into that," Beckett said as she saw Esposito was walking towards them. "Did you find anything out?"
"A number of things," Esposito said. "First that our vic was not married, apparently there isn't even a girlfriend that anyone knows of. Second he had a routine, a lot of the people that got to the crime scene before the first responders say they've seen him on that horse at the same time almost every day, the horse was pretty recognizable."
"So the killer knew about that routine, but with so many people knowing it, it does nothing to narrow our list of suspects," Beckett said in slight frustration. "Anything else?"
"Ryan's looking into our vic's financials, and if there's anything about the stables that might give us a motive," Esposito said. "Something I'm wondering though."
"What?" Beckett asked as she and Castle looked at the detective at the same time.
"How the hell could you calm down that horse so well, thought it was going to take you and Officer Thomas down before it ran off," Esposito replied. "What're you, the-"
"If you ever call me the horse whisperer, I will shoot out your knee. Take your pick," Beckett said simply as she knew what he'd been about to say.
"Sorry," Esposito said easily, quickly since he knew that she was serious. "So you know El Clásico is coming up."
"I'm aware," Beckett said, looking at the murder board. "Should be a good game, Madrid is in good shape this season."
"Yeah, but they're still three points behind Barça," Esposito said. "And I'm going to guess that after this game on Sunday, they're going to be even further behind."
Beckett didn't reply for a moment, but when she did she kept her eyes on the picture of the stables and said, "I beg to differ, the Meringues have some of the best players in the world. Ramos, Ronaldo, Xavi Alonso, and that's not to mention Casillas."
"Come on, you've got Messi, Iniesta, Fabregas," Esposito said in exasperation. "Wait, you weren't kidding about being a fan. Meringues?"
"I told you, my dad is a big fan," Beckett said, turning. "Has been since he went to Spain after Franco died. Saw some games and became a fan of Real Madrid, and I did as well since he would watch them with me when I was younger. Can you look into the grandfather in Spain; see if there's anything you can find that could pertain there to our murder?"
"Alright, but one last thing," Esposito said. "How about a little wager on the match between Barça and Los Blancos?"
"What kind of wager?" Beckett asked.
"Fifty," Esposito said as Ryan approached them.
"Fine," Beckett said. "But I hope you actually have the fifty to back that up with, because Los Blancos have won two of the past three Clásicos."
"I'm good for it, and Barça is ready for it," Esposito said as he and Beckett shook hands.
"Actually, think I can get in on that bet?" Castle asked, standing up.
"You're with her?" Esposito asked. "Come on bro, Madrid?"
"I've seen both teams play, and I'm agreeing with her. Madrid's won 90 of them to Barcelona's 76," Castle said.
"I'll bet an extra fifty with you man," Ryan said to Esposito before they bumped fists. "I know both teams are great, but you gotta love Messi and Piqué."
"Great, Sunday we'll have this all settled, hopefully our case will be finished long before the match," Beckett said. "Because I would like to spend Thanksgiving with my family and not running down leads."
"Right," Esposito said before he turned to walk back to his desk.
"Anything?" Beckett asked Ryan.
"Yeah, financial wise, our vic was sort of well off," he answered. He handed a file to her and said, to Castle and Beckett's confused expressions, "He earned a lot of money with the stables, but he spent a good chunk of it on something… I couldn't really get what it was as, the payments to this account from the same bank was just a number, so someone else."
"It's for horses," Beckett said quickly as she looked at the amounts. "And not just any horses, good breeds too. I'm seeing some purchases for Thoroughbreds, Lusitanos… I'm surprised he wasn't so heavily in debt."
"Uh, that's where his second account comes in," Ryan said, looking a little taken aback by what she'd said. He handed Beckett another file and said, "Turns out he let his horse Astute-"
"Asturias," Beckett and Castle said at the same time.
"Yeah, that, he let it out to breed," Ryan said.
"Maybe there's an unsatisfied customer," Castle suggested.
"I'm not so sure about that," Esposito called from his desk. As the three turned to him he walked over and said, "Just checked on the stables, thinking maybe his grandfather owned them. Well, turns out his grandfather passed away last year, and the farm he had went to a third party. And with the Green Hills Stables, turns out that there should be a will from our vic, stating who will get ownership of it. But the will is missing, and that leaves it completely up for grabs. Put in a call to de Alba's lawyer and according to him, our vic's cousin told him she assumed that the stables were going to her in the event of his death."
"What if she was wrong?" Castle quickly said, turning to Beckett. "And all of that at the crime scene was an act to make sure that the will; with whomever it was that ended up getting the stables; was lost."
"She must have learned who it actually is," Beckett said. "And it was not her. That gives us motive." She then turned to Ryan and Esposito and told them, "Bring her in, and let her know we have a lot more we want to know about her cousin and his stables."