Twenty-eight:
William Bracken woke Christmas morning to the ringing of his phone. He rolled away from his wife and reached out to the nightstand to answer it. His administrative assistant was calling him to let him know that there had been an incident in New York city last night and that Erik Vaughn had been killed. She didn't have any further details, but was sure that he would want to know about his 'friend' and supporter.
Bracken was genuinely surprised at the news. Not because Vaughn was murdered, but that he was the only one killed. He told his assistant that they needed to issue a statement immediately conveying their shock at the crime and promising that they wouldn't rest until his killers were brought to justice. He thanked her for her help and hung up the phone fighting to contain a smile. 'Only one more loose end and I'm home free.' He thought to himself as he rolled over and went back to sleep.
X-X-X
The news of Vaughn's murder spread like wildfire through the media and everyone was clamoring for the last photos of the billionaire alive. This meant that every publication was using pictures of him attending the premiere of last night's movie along with his mystery date. Once one of the media outlets determined that Kate was his date, the others soon followed. In a matter of minutes every news network was trying to locate Beckett for an interview.
A few paparazzi had caught wind of where the after-party was being held and had camped out near the Old Haunt. No press was allowed inside and the photographers could see that it was NYPD cops serving as security for the event. Hoping to catch some inebriated movie star leaving the party, the one photographer kept his camera fixed on the exit to the bar. He nearly passed on taking pictures of Vaughn exiting the club until he heard the cars hit in front of the club and the drivers getting out to argue with each other. He was so focused on the confrontation that he missed the real crime being committed. After the shooting, he returned to his apartment to download his photos to examine them in further detail. He knew that a photograph of Vaughn being murdered would bring him whatever he asked.
It took an hour of carefully going over each of the photos taken during those fateful last minutes before he found it. In the corner of one of the pictures of the altercation in the street you could clearly make out one of the two assailants pointing his gun at the head of Vaughn. It was dark and a little grainy, but you could make out the muzzle flash of the fatal shot. He used his editing software to enhance the picture as much as possible before making a call to his usual sources asking how much they would be willing to pay for a picture of Vaughn being murdered.
CNN was the high bidder and hastily negotiated a deal for $250,000.00 for all of his original photographs from that evening. He quickly agreed to the contract sent to him via email and sent the files to them in exchange. Within the hour the news network showed the last pictures taken of Erik Vaughn alive.
X-X-X
Jordan Shaw sat there listening intently to Beckett recounting the events of the evening, carefully redacting anything that she didn't feel relevant to the story. Kate might have been a good poker player, but Jordan was also. She could see that Kate was leaving out parts of the story. Shaw knew that Beckett had nothing to do with his murder, but still asked the questions for the permanent record.
"Let me get this straight in my mind. You and Mr Castle have had no contact at all in over six months? You receive an invitation to attend the premiere of the new Nikki Heat movie and decide to show up without letting any of your friends or family know that you are coming? Your 'date' for the evening just happens to be one of the wealthiest men in America?" Kate simply nods her head after each question.
"So how long have you been dating Mr Vaughn?"
"We weren't dating." Kate counters.
"So this was the first time you two have been together? He flies you up to New York on his private jet, books the two of you a suite at the Four Seasons, and attends the premiere of the movie based upon your character. One hell of a first date if you ask me.. How long have you known the victim?"
"About seven months. A business partner of Mr Vaughn's was murdered by mistake. His dinner had been poisoned and a waiter mixed up whom was getting what.. Because the killer was still on the loose, the captain decided to place Vaughn in protective custody... I was assigned to be his bodyguard.."
Shaw is nearly unable to contain her laugh and Beckett gives her an angry look. "You're telling me that your captain takes the lead detective on an active murder investigation, has her working as a babysitter for a billionaire playboy and you didn't find anything strange about that? So what happened next?"
Kate couldn't shake the feeling of being scolded like a child for not seeing the obvious by the comments from Shaw. Not wanting to give her any more ammunition to use against her, she chose her words carefully. "While we were in his hotel room, there was a second attempt on his life. A sniper nearly shot him, but he moved out of the way at the last moment.."
Shaw watched Beckett closely as she spoke. She knew that there was more to the story than what she was telling her, but decided not to ask. "Did you catch the killer?"
"Yes we did. It turned out to be one of his employees that had been embezzling money from one of his companies in Mexico. He confessed to the whole thing." Kate replied, sounding pleased with the outcome.
"So did you and Mr Vaughn start seeing each other after that?"
"No. I was sort of with Castle at the time.." Kate tries to not look as embarrassed as she feels.
Shaw can't contain a wicked smile hearing this and responds. "Really? So how long were the two of you together?"
"Almost a year." Kate replies emotionlessly, unable to look Shaw in the eye.
"Castle followed you for two years after I met you two before you started dating? Wow. I could see that he cared for you, but that's an almost cult-like devotion." Shaw is shaking her head at how incredulous it all sounds. "I take it from the fact that you were with the victim last night that you and Mr Castle had a falling out?"
"I got the offer for the job with the AG's office and knew that it wouldn't leave any time for us together.. It was my shot to do more on a bigger stage.. It wasn't fair to Castle.." Kate repeated the same words that she had used over and over again to explain why she and Castle weren't together.
Shaw had a million questions that she wanted to ask Beckett, but none of which applied directly to the case. Deciding to keep the interview as professional as possible, she returned her line of questioning back to the murder. "You had no contact with Mr Vaughn until he offers to take you to this movie premiere?"
"No. He contacted me for the first time about a month ago, asking me if I would like to attend an embassy dinner with him in Washington. We didn't speak again until a week before the premiere.. He asked me to fly to Paris with him for Christmas.."
Shaw arches her eyes in surprise as she listens to Beckett talk about being asked to fly to Paris for Christmas with a billionaire as if it's a daily occurrence. "So you were going to fly to Paris after the premiere?"
"No. I turned him down, telling him that I was going to the premiere. He offered to accompany me to it."
"You were flying back to Washington after your date?"
"Not exactly. I sort of agreed to spend a couple of days in Bermuda at his condo.." Kate replies as Jordan gives her a 'Are you listening to the words coming out of your mouth?' incredulous look. "It's not like that Shaw."
"Why don't you tell me what it is then agent Beckett? You and I both know that this was a professional hit. Too many things had to come together for it to happen. Someone had to know that the two of you were going to be in New York and where. Did you tell anyone that you were coming?"
Kate shakes her head in response. "No. There was no one to tell. I only planned on going to the premiere and then leaving. I didn't want to go to the party, but Erik insisted."
"There had to be some reason why whomever killed Vaughn wanted him in New York, with you. Either you were part of the conspiracy or.."
"I was a target also." Kate finishes her statement.
"Why exactly was this movie premiere so important that you return to New York for the first time since you left? If I remember correctly, you weren't exactly pleased with being identified as the inspiration for the Nikki Heat character. Did something change?"
"No. I wanted to see the woman that replaced me in Castle's life." Kate replies, her voice barely above a whisper.
Jordan can't help but smirk at the thought of the always in control Kate Beckett being jealous. "Didn't you leave him for the job? I understand you being jealous, but didn't you end things with him?"
"We both agreed that it was best to part ways.."
"So the split was mutual?" Shaw inquires knowing that Beckett will never reveal the whole story. Kate simply nods in response. Deciding that she can always call Beckett back if she has more questions, Shaw decides that the interview is over. "I think that we are done here. So what are your plans now agent Beckett?"
"I haven't given it any thought."
"I'm of two minds. One would be to keep you here in New York in protective custody until we have a better idea of what happened and the other would be to put you on the first plane out of this city. Do you have a preference? And don't even ask if you can work on this case. I don't care if the AG himself calls, there's a reason for protocols. You're too close to this."
"Do I still need to go in to the 12th and give my statement?" Kate inquires.
"No, what you've given me will do. I'll have it transcribed and email it to you. You can sign off that way."
Kate can't help but smirk at how Castle would react to hearing that. He was so impressed with all of the technology that Shaw used to solve crimes and to be honest, she was more than a little jealous. Beckett pushes herself up out of the plush sofa her legs shaking a little.
Shaw watches Beckett's body language. She can tell that this ordeal hasn't completely registered with Kate and there will be a crash when it does. She gets up from the desk and closes the distance between the two women, extending her hand to Beckett. "Thank you agent Beckett. I understand that this has been quite an ordeal for you.. Let me know if you want to fly back to DC and I'll make arrangements for security for you. I can have someone contact your supervisor so that they can keep an eye on you once you arrive if that's ok.." Kate gives Jordan a half-hearted shake of her hand as she nods listening. She turns and starts to walk out of the office, stopping as she is standing in the threshold as Shaw speaks.
"Could you send Mr Castle in please?"