An editorial note: I didn't like the name "Central Command" even when i wrote it. So I've changed it to something more "Interesting". Well, at least to me. The name also holds a clue. For those of you that recognize the name. The previous chapter has been edited for the new name. You will need to go backwards to read it. Thanks.
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CH9
"Kate is Detective Beckett with NYPD. She is a homicide detective it says here."
"Oh, she catches bad guys."
Rick burns one attachment onto a disk. Tags it, puts it in a jewel case and hands it to her daughter.
"This one is yours to read." He tells her. "And this one is mine to read."
"You think you can read all that?" Rick questions.
"Yes daddy." As if her father thought she couldn't.
"This and your book, Dune?" Still questioning.
"DAD!" Alexis gives him her look of, 'You doubt I can do it? REALLY!'
Rick throws up his hands, "Just making sure."
"She looks a lot like, …." But Alexis is cut off by her father.
"PUMPKIN! You understand you can't talk to her about that. Right?" Rick now says in a warning tone.
"Yes dad." Properly chastised.
"I'm sorry pumpkin. But if we are going to succeed in helping her, she doesn't need to know who she resembles. OK?"
Alexis just nods her head. Though she really wishes she could. Her heart tells her to, but knows if this is going to work out like she now hopes. She has to remain silent.
"Go read your disk, and we'll get started in the morning. OK?"
Nodding her head again, she heads for her room.
Rick gives out a heavy sigh, 'She really does resemble,….'
'Nope, best not to go there. That emotion will just get in the way.'
"Time to start reading I guess." Rick tells himself.
Rick reads well into the night all that was sent to him about Detective Beckett. Not yet ready to call her Kate. Even to himself. Having finished he heads upstairs to check on his daughter. Finding her fast asleep in bed still in her clothes and with her reader still on, with the information she has on Detective Beckett.
Smiling, he takes the reader away, lifts up the covers and tucks her in leaving her clothes on. Not wanting to wake her just to get her into sleep clothes. Knowing his daughter, she is already dreaming up scenarios about how this will play out in her favor. Rick just thinks, 'Pandora's Box, with land mines.'
If Detective Beckett doesn't kill him, his own daughter just might. And heads downstairs to go to bed, finally.
In the morning Kate heads to the hospital. She wants to talk with Jessica about who did this to her. Finding that the doctors will let her talk to Jessica as long as she does not add any more stress to the women. Turns out Kate just being there was enough stress and Jessica was not answering her questions.
Whoever it was, she was afraid.
Walking out of the hospital on her way back to her car, Kate gets a call. "Beckett,….. OK, I'll be there in 30. I'm at the hospital trying to get Jessica to talk to me. No, she's too afraid to say anything. She calmed up as soon as she found out I was a cop."
Meanwhile Ryan is just getting ballistics back from the bullet that was fired at him and the ones that hit his partner. They all match as coming from the same gun. Better yet, they match the bullets from an unsolved homicide from 10 months ago. "Oh, Beckett is going to like this." Ryan says to himself.
"Karpowski, can you get me everything on a James Rook. And go downstairs and see if the guys in gangs have anything on him also." After getting confirmation. "Thanks."
Now to find out if this Jessica knows our guy, Rook. I wonder how Javi is doing? Ryan is thinking to himself.
Coincidentally at that same time, Javi is awake and bored. He hates hospitals! Thinking, 'maybe I can sneak out.' Starts to get up and gets a sharp pain that almost renders himself unconscious. Getting his vision back, he lays back down. "Ok, I guess I stay here for now." Why isn't his partner here to break him out of jail? Where's my wallet. Thought sure I had a 'Get out of Jail, Free' card? Maybe it's an App on his cell phone. And tries to twist around to see if he can see it. And get's yet another painful reminder of why he is still in the hospital. "Today is going to SUCK!" He tells the empty space around him.
Kate has finally made it back to the Morgue to see what Lanie has for her. Stepping in thru the doors, "Hey Lanie, what have you got for me?"
"Hey, Girlfriend! I got some DNA off of the scraping of under her finger nails that Castle did. So far it has not matched up with any known person. I also got something off of the sticky tape he used on her legs. It's Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis."
Kate give's Lanie her best 'What did you just say', look. And waits for it to be converted into English.
Catching the meaning of the look Kate is giving her. "It is a Viral infectious disease, transmitted through saliva and urine of rats." Lanie explains.
"So Jessica was in an area infested with rats. Or was being held in an area with rats."
"I also found semen in the rape kit that Castle did on her. Unfortunately, I did not get any hits off of it yet either. You give me a sample to match it to and I can give you an answer."
"Did any of it match the DNA of our Vic?" Kate asks hopefully.
"No, none of what Castle sent matches him."
"So, our Vic didn't do this to Jessica, but someone did. Anything on her wounds."
"Yes, actually. Whoever cut her, …. Private parts, …. did a hack job of it. Strictly amateur stuff. The knife was relatively sharp by the look of it. But the pictures show a somewhat hap hazard and hesitant stroke to the cuts."
"So, who did this may not have done this before?" Kate is wondering.
"If they have. They did not learn anything from the previous times."
"Also, in the pictures it appears that her Vagina has been sewn closed." Lanie tells her. Afraid of Kate's reaction to that bit of news.
"WHAT? They sewed her up? Closed?" Somehow talking with her jaw on the floor.
"Hard to tell with just pictures, but it looks like there may be a small hole for her to pee and have her menstrual cycle thru."
"Her rectal area appears however to have been heavily invaded. On a regular basis. This is the area I found traces of the semen that was collected." Lanie continues.
"So she has been raped. Just not, …." Kate doesn't finish.
"Again with just using pictures to go by. But it appears that no lubricant was used while she was being sodomized."
Kate scrunches up her face. Just thinking these thoughts hurts. And her anus involuntarily puckers up without her really noticing.
"Lanie, I want you at the hospital were Jessica is being treated. I want to know what the hell is going on. Examine her yourself if you have to. Maybe she'll talk to you since you're not a cop."
"Anything else?" Kate asks her. Hoping she says no. Because she has heard enough for one day on this subject.
Lanie just shakes her head. And Kate turns to leave.
"Kate!" Kate turns back to look at Lanie. "I want who did this to that sweet girl on my table! Kate." Lanie tells her looking sad and determined at the same time.
"I promise Lanie. You can have what's left of him after I'm done with him!" And Kate leaves and goes upstairs.
"Hey Ryan, found anything?" Kate asks once getting into the bullpen.
"Yea, I got ballistics back on the bullets used at our Vic's apartment. Seems they are from the same gun used in a homicide 10 months ago. They arrested a guy named James Rook for it at the time. But he got off because of some technicality. This James Rook is part of a new gang in the area, that the gang squad downstairs refers to as 'The most violent street gang in NY'. Seems they are relatively new in town, based out of Indonesia. They seem to specialize in drugs, prostitution and human female trafficking. They are also heavily armed. Automatic weapons, plastic explosives, RPG's. Even in one instance they are suspected of using 60mm Mortar rounds."
"Para-military?" Kate questions puzzled.
"If they are, they seem to have a select target list."
"Take Karpowski and go bring this Rook in for questioning. And talk to the gang squad before you go. They may have some insight into what to do or where to find him."
"Back in a flash, Boss."
Kate moves over to her murder board and starts adding what she knows. Just as she is finishing her phone rings.
"Beckett, … Castle?! What do you want?" Trying not to sound annoyed, and only barely succeeding.
"I was doing some research on Jessica's injuries. And I set up a video tele-conference with a Professor Terry Hull, Australian Demographic & Social Research Institute, Australian National University and with Justina Rostiawati, member of the education commission at the National Commission on Violence Against Women, for 1 pm EST tomorrow. At my house."
"I thought you might be interested in what they have to say. What do you think?" Rick is hopeful, wanting to see her again. And this gives him an excuse.
"Let me talk to my Captain and I'll call you back." And Kate hangs up and heads for Montgomery's office.
"Come in Beckett. What have you got?"
"Seems our shooter that hit Espo is part of gang out of Indonesia. Heavily armed. Automatic weapons, RPG's. Ryan has a lead on our guy and is running him down now for questioning."
"I've heard some stories about them from the Captain downstairs. Seems they like violence. Anything else?"
"Yea, Castle has set up a video conference with some professor in Australia and a lady from the National violence against women. He seems to think they may have some insight into what was done to Jessica. Thought you might want to attend sir."
"When is this conference?" Roy really is interested. Understanding who could do that to a women might help with the nightmares of last night.
"1:00 pm tomorrow sir, at Castle's house."
"Good, come get me when you are ready and we will drive over and see what these people have to tell us." That and see what kind of house a rich person lives in, as a side benefit.
"Yes sir." And Kate heads back to her murder board. When her phone rings yet again.
"Beckett! ….. Lanie, slow down." Kate is worried, her friend has never talked this fast before.
"Jessica, … has been, … killed. Shot actually. Three shots to the chest. Right in the hospital in her own room." Lanie tells her.
Kate can't believe this. What is going on? And Castle is going to kill me.
"Take control Lanie. Get her body back here and tell me what happened to her. I'll get some uniforms out there as soon as I can."
Suddenly Roy's cell phone rings. "Yes?"
"We had a deal Roy." Roy cringes as he recognizes the voice.
"You stay out of my business and your family and 'friend' get to enjoy their old age." The tone is neutral but the threat is all too evident.
"You can't just do this to people. It is going to bring attention. Involve people I can't control." Not really a question as more statement.
"Stay out of this Roy!" And the line goes dead.
Roy just deflates and gives a heavy sigh. His day just got a lot worse. He was just a rookie at the time. And it is still biting him in the ass.
