Katherine Beckett sat down at her desk after a rough morning. Her mother's cases put her in danger, and today was a difficult anniversary. Four years ago her great- grandmother died from injuries; everyone else wrote it off as "old age," but Kate suspected it was something else. When she received that call, she dropped her dream of being the first female Chief Justice and applied for the police academy. She'd just returned from purchasing a new book, something to get her mind off the memories. Her phone rang. "Beckett," Kate answered. "I'll be right there." She checked the victim's address. Wait, isn't that where Richard Castle lives?
She entered the building and took the elevator up to number four.
"Woman, mid twenties, red hair, several gunshot wounds; I'd say she died between two and three this afternoon. Mr. Castle returned home after a book signing and found her here. The only other person at home was their baby daughter. " Lanie informed her.
"Maybe a lovesick fan?" Kate suggested, checking the scene for other evidence.
"It's a possibility, but I won't know anything until I get her back to the morgue. Mr. Castle is upstairs changing his daughter's diaper."
"Hey, boss, look at this." Javier Esposito said, pointing to the script in Meredith's hand.
"Blood spatters and hair that doesn't seem like hers or her daughter's. The little cutie has red hair too." Espo said.
"How do you know that?" She asked him.
"I'm a fan; I've seen her movies, and damn is she awesome, or technically now was awesome."
"What did I miss?" Richard Castle walked down the steps with his daughter.
"Detective Kate Beckett, NYPD, we need to ask you a few questions, Mr. Castle."
"Okay. Where would you like me to begin?" He put on his charming smile.
"How about at the beginning? You of all people should know that's a perfect place to start. "
"Sound of Music fan?"
"A bit; where were you between two and three this afternoon?"
"Hold it; you think I did this?"
"We have to rule out all the possibilities, Mr. Castle."
"I was at a book signing, and I called home to say I was finishing up and I'd be home soon. Meredith put Alexis on the phone, we said good bye, and I hung up. I came home and heard Alexis screaming. Meredith didn't respond, and I found her here. I called the police, and the rest of your crew came over. I told them what I saw and went to pick up my mother from the airport. She needed to hear it from me and not some reporter; I'm sure this will come out eventually; we're in the limelight a lot, but we wanted to keep our daughter out of it."
"Did you and Mrs. Castle get along well?"
"In the beginning, yes, but recently she's been more secretive and using our daughter as a distraction. She was being a little flighty. Hey, why do you seem familiar?"
"I was in the book store on my lunch break; mine's usually a bit later in the day. But just in case, don't leave town." They exited the loft.
Kate heard running footsteps behind her.
"Mind if I tag along? I want to catch her killer, and I do know who else she was close to." Castle said.
"No. Chances are the killer might target you next. "
A.N. Dun, dun, Dun! Will Montgomery agree to let Castle become a consultant? As always, the characters are telling me what to write; the rights to them belong to ABC and Marlowe.