Chapter 3
I apologize for the delay, I've been busy and haven't had a chance to put this up.
Disclaimer: Don't Own either
The next morning, around 6 am Texas time and Castle awoke to a phone ringing. Oh, shoot. He forgot to call his mother when he arrived and so he assumed it was her. He guessed the phone was his, since he had put the phone on charge on the desk by the TV in the room. Beckett's phone was on the nightstand. He came out of bed carefully not to wake Beckett who was still sleeping heavily. He walked to the desk and answered the phone plugged in. "Hello, Richard Castle here." He said groggily not wanting to talk too early.
"Richard, where have you been? I was calling all night last night!" Martha exclaimed. Yep, it was his mother. She obviously wasn't aware of the hour time difference.
"Sorry, Mother, my phone was dead, I forgot to charge it. I'm in Austin now, I told you that before we left." Castle explained.
"I was calling to see how you're doing, darling. I was worried something happened." Martha said worriedly.
"Well, we're meeting with the FBI here. You are aware it's 6 in the morning here." Castle yawned saying sleepily.
"Sorry, I forgot about the time difference. Oh, the terrible serial killer you've been trying to find?"Martha questioned.
"Yes, they discovered someone with the same markings as the people in New York." Castle admitted.
"I don't need to hear all the gruesome details." Martha confessed.
"We'll be working with the one of the Austin FBI teams. They have a consultant too. I've talked to him some. A Patrick Jane. He's kind of a psychic though he says he's not."
"Name sounds familiar. How's Kate?" Martha said.
"She's fine, she's still sleeping. But we're starting officially on the case today working with FBI for the Austin part. How's Alexis?"
"Oh, she's fine. She's getting ready for graduation next weekend." Martha explained.
"Tell her I say hi, we should be done before then." Castle admitted. He couldn't believe his daughter was graduating from college. It was such an accomplishment for her and him. He raised her from a baby to the young woman she is now and now she's going out in the world to do something great. He still worried for her and she was always going to be his baby girl he held in his arms. All these years of her living with him, there could be a possibility of her leaving the nest for good, of moving on and possibly someplace else.
"I'll tell her and have her call later, darling." Martha said.
"I look forward to hear from her." Castle said. "Bye, Mother."
"Bye, Richard. You don't need to do this. Remember, you're still not the police. I know Beckett's there but this is a serial killer we're talking about. He's dangerous." Martha said worriedly.
"Bye, Mother." Castle said annoyedly.
"Remember what I told you. Bye Richard."
Beckett started stirring and finally opened her eyes and sat up against the headboard. "Who was that?" She noticed Castle hanging up on the phone by the desk.
"My mother. I forgot to call her when we got to Austin."
"Is everything alright?"
"She's fine. Checking up on us."
"You should've called her. She worries about you too. Parents always worry about their children. I know I'm not the expert, but I know enough about your mother." Beckett explained.
"Are you ready for today?" Castle asked. "I might as well get ready.
"Of course. Let's do this." Beckett said getting out the bed and heading to the bathroom to take her shower. Castle watched his wife admiring her whole body as she scooteded into the bathroom.
Castle still found it hard to believe after all this time working together he was married to Kate Beckett. When he first met her she and her team went to question him about the murders copied from his books, he never imagined her to be the love of his life he couldn't be without. Sure, at the time he married Meredith he thought the same thing, but then she ended up being unreliable with raising Alexis and he realized she wasn't "the one" though it brought him the pleasure of the joys of fatherhood he wouldn't give up for the world. He thought the same of his second wife, Gina, but again not "the one".
After he met Beckett and got to know her and finally falling in love with her, he realized his past choice in women weren't the best. They were beautiful, yes, but they were flighty, selfish, and possibly with him because of his status. His younger self didn't choose wisely. Beckett was strong, selfless, smart, tough and beautiful all in one package. With Beckett, she could care less about his fame and fortune. Even though it took them awhile, it was well worth the wait.
After talking to Patrick Jane it seemed that he and Agent Lisbon took just as long finding each other as he and Beckett. He didn't know where he heard the name or really where his mother heard the name. There was something familiar about the man.
After Castle and Beckett dressed and got ready to head into the FBI office, they went to the second level to the restaurant for breakfast which they had to pay for as they looked at the posted menu on a sign. Castle didn't worry about it, since it wasn't an issue for him and that the FBI was paying anyway for the hotel. The dark haired thin hostess with the nametag Molly came up to them. "How many?"
"Two." Castle said.
"Oh, there's the guys." Beckett said noticing Ryan and Esposito sitting at a table with four chairs. "Our friends are in there. We'll join them."
"Of course, go ahead." Molly said. Castle and Beckett walked in and headed to join their team.
"Man, they have you pay an arm and a leg for breakfast." Esposito complained looking at the menu.
"You don't need to worry, the FBI is paying for the hotel." Castle reminded. "I assume that includes breakfast." Castle grinned.
The hostess had followed them into the dining and room and placed two menus on the empty space at the table. Soon a waitress came back with two cups of coffee for Ryan and Esposito. "Oh, you have two more." The waitress said noticing Beckett and Castle. "What would you like to drink?"
"Coffee and water." Beckett said.
"I'll have the espresso and water." Castle said.
"Of, course." The grayish brown haired waitress with a nametag that said Doris. "We have the all you can eat breakfast buffet for $17.95 or you can order from the menu." Doris explained.
"We'll go with the buffet. We have to go to work." Beckett said.
"Yes, what she said." Castle said taking a glance at his wife.
"We'll do the same thing." Esposito said pointing to Ryan.
"Thank you. Just go ahead to the buffett line. Plates are up there. "Doris said writing down everyone's order and taking the menus, and then taking off to get the coffee and waters.
The team went ahead and walked over to the buffet where there were pans of eggs, pancakes, sausage, French toast, toast. They grabbed their plates, dished out their choices and returned to the table. By then the waitress had brought Beckett and Castle's coffee and water. The guys started eating immediately. "How was your night?" Beckett asked the two guys with their mouths full. She carefully put her fork in her eggs and took a bite.
"Good." Ryan said swallowing his food. "The room is nice. I called Jenny to tell her we arrived I forgot to do it right away." He immediately took another bite of his pancakes.
"Definitely for me too.I talked to Lanie." Esposito said as he put his fork in the sausage and took a bite.
"How was yesterday with the team?" Castle asked swallowing his eggs.
"Oh, I heard a lot of Jane stories." Esposito admitted.
"Jane stories?" Beckett questioned. Castle looked intrigued.
"Yeah, from the computer tech dude, Wylie. He told me about parts he's played in schemes led by Jane to solve a case." Esposito admitted.
"Like what?" Beckett questioned taking a sip of coffee.
"Playing a dead body being cut up to get a guy to confess to a human trafficking case and being a cab driver to pick up an art thief during an art con they set up to catch a killer." Esposito explained taking his fork and taking a bite of his pancakes.
"Cool!" Castle exclaimed. "He's my kind of sound like a fun way to solve a case."
"It's not cool, Castle. Those sound like the wrong ways to solving a case. Illegal even." Beckett said. "How could they let him control everything?"
"Relax, Beckett. We'll be fine." Castle said. "He's a good guy. He's a good dad."
"So, Castle, what did you do yesterday? We know Beckett and Lisbon went to question the mother." Ryan asked.
"I went to a daycare." Castle admitted taking a sip of coffee.
Esposito and Ryan look confused. "A daycare?" The guys said at once.
"Oh, I went with Jane to help him get his baby signed up." Castle said. "Of course, the daycare manager recognized me and wanted me to sign her copy of Nikki Heat." Beckett rolled her eyes at that.
"That's good. You fit well in a daycare." Ryan said laughing. Beckett laughed as well as Esposito.
"Hey, I'm not that childish." Castle said.
"Yes, you are." Beckett said.
"On top of that, Jane and I look like a couple." Castle said laughing remembering the manager's assumption.
The guys burst out laughing at the thought of that. "Oh, really?" Ryan said.
"I am ruggedly handsome, so I suppose it's only natural people think I'm gay. And Jane's the same." Castle remarked. "You know, many women in the past have mistaken me as gay because of my looks." Beckett and the guys rolled their eyes. The group finally finished breakfast and headed into the FBI office in the FBI vehicle, Agent Cho let them use for the week.
Lisbon heard the sound of baby cries. As much as she loved her daughter, it was challenging to get up at all hours of the night and early morning to feed her. She still hadn't gotten used to it. Sure, she was used to getting up early for cases at times over the years, but it still was challenging. She saw Jane waking up beside her ready for anything. She knew it wasn't always a problem for him, since throughout the years, he was an insomniac. "Hey, do you want me to go feed her?" Jane asked. The baby cried some more.
"I can do it. I still haven't gotten used to it." Lisbon admitted. "You don't have to do the late nights and early mornings all the time. You need your rest too."
"I know, it's ususally not a problem for me because I've been an insominac by nature over the years."Jane admitted.
"I want to do it this time." Lisbon confessed getting out of the bed and going to the next room in the nursery. Jane followed her. "I'll get it ready at least, I'm awake anyway." She walked over to the crib and carefully took the baby out and she went over to the rocking chair and carefully sat in it. She held the baby and rocked gently in the chair. The baby was still being fussy, but not crying as she had been. She wanted milk now, she knew.
Jane right away went to the kitchen and grabbed one of the bottles out of the cupboard and fixed the bottle with formula. He loved caring for his daughter, when Teresa said she was expecting on their wedding night, it was the next best thing after getting married to Teresa. He never even thought of the possibility of having a child again. He was estactic to marrying his best friend through the years since his tragedy, his savior, his guide, but when she told him her news, he was over the moon. He wanted to be there for his new child, to protect her and make sure noone could harm her, unlike his inability to protect Charlotte. So, he decided, when Teresa came back to work, he would be the primary caregiver during the day of the baby. He wouldn't go back to work, he was done with with that life working cases. He just wanted to be a husband and father. After he finished making up the bottle, he went to the room to where Lisbon was rocking the baby in the chair. The baby was still fussy. "I think she's ready for her bottle now." Lisbon looked at Jane. He handed her the bottle. "Daddy has it ready for you, little girl."Lisbon told Lisby Michelle and she held the bottle up to the baby's mouth. The baby took it right away. "Patrick, you'll be alright leaving her at the daycare today?" Lisbon asked. "She'll be fine."
"I guess." Jane admitted standing in the doorway watching his wife rock their daughter and feed her. He was really worried, he knew he shouldn't be, but it was hard to let go and give her to another person.
"What did you get from the manager? The caregiver there. Certainly you had some read on her." Lisbon said.
"She's trustworthy. She was very nice." Jane admitted.
"She'll be fine. They'll take good care of her." Lisbon reassured him.
"I know. I just worry." Jane admitted. "I want to protect her."
"I worry too, but we have to trust people to care for her when we aren't available and at work." Lisbon admitted.
Jane and Lisbon arrived at the Kid's Korner Daycare and Lisbon took the car seat out and carried it. She hoped Jane could handle being gone from their daughter because she knew their little girl would be fine going to daycare. They walked to the door, before opening, Jane paused.
"It's okay, she'll be fine. I don't know how many times I have to tell you this. She's just going to daycare. Parents leave their children at daycare all the time." Lisbon reassured opening the door.
Linda noticed Jane right away and came up to the couple. "Hello, Mr. Jane and welcome back. This must be your wife."
"Yes, Teresa Lisbon, well, Jane." Lisbon said, shaking the woman's hand.
"And I know you, sweetie too." Linda said looking at Lisby and the baby smiled.
"So, everything's ready in the bag. You can call me or Patrick if there's a concern." Lisbon stated in her professional manner. Jane continued holding the carrier not willing to let go of it.
"Patrick's nervous about leaving her." Lisbon said noticing Jane.
"I am."Jane admitted.
"That's a common issue with parents here too. What we do here is send daily text updates with a picture about once or twice a day to reassure their child's fine." Linda admitted.
"That sounds great!" Lisbon exclaimed.
Jane took his daughter out of the carrier and held on to her.
"It's alright, we're going to take care of her." Linda said. "It's great to see your daddy loves you so much." Jane finally let go of his daughter and gave her to Linda. "Bye, Princess."
"We'll take good care of you, right?" Linda said talking to the baby.
"Thank you, Linda. " Lisbon said smiling. "Bye, little girl." Lisbon said waving to her daughter. "Patrick, let's go." Lisbon said motioning her hand to Jane. He finally turned around and followed his wife. It was going to be okay. His daughter was going to be fine at daycare. He kept telling himself, he needed to let them take care of her. They finally came to the car and he got in the driver's seat.
"Linda's very nice, Jane." Lisbon said. "Lisby's going to be fine."
"I know, I'm telling myself that." Jane admitted.
They arrived at the FBI headquarters and got out and headed to the entrance Lisbon noticed Jane carrying a small box.
"What's in the box?" Lisbon asked.
"My cup. If I'm going to work this week, I need my teacup you so lovingly fixed." Jane said and giving his wife a large grin.
"Okay." Lisbon grinned at the fact that Jane loved her gift of repairing his CBI Fiesta teacup and used it all the time.
They came out the elevator and Jane headed straight to the breakroom to start making tea. He put the hot water on and waited for it to be ready and he took his cup out of the box. He heard someone come behind him getting the already made coffee and pouring it in the white cup he used for a while. "Hey, Jane." Castle said looking at Jane. "How's your little girl? You got her off for daycare okay?"
"Yes. She's good. I worry, though." Jane said pouring the hot water in his cup and grabbing his tea bag that they luckily still kept in the cupboard.
"I know how that is, worrying about your little girl." Castle agreed then noticed Jane's cup and looked at it with a confused face. "Your cup has cracks in it." Castle said noticing the glued together teacup. "Is it safe to put hot water in it?"
"Yes. It has a lot of meaning to me." Jane admitted. He thought about if he should share anymore. He could at least say Teresa repaired it That was most meaningful gift she could've given, that she kept the pieces of the broken cup after Dennis Abbott closed the now CBI broken building. "It broke years ago when Teresa and I worked together and well, she recently fixed it and gave it as birthday gift."
"Well, that's very thoughtful. When Beckett and I were dating, she gave me a drawer at her apartment for Valentine's Day. So, that was very meaningful for me too. That she cared enough for me to leave a space for me. It's funny how the most simple things mean more than expensive gifts. I could give Beckett anything she wanted." Castle admitted smiling at the memory and looking at the tea in Jane's cup. "So, you're a tea drinker? I've never been much for tea. I drink more coffee."
"Yep. Hug in a cup." Jane sipped his tea and grinned. "I don't care for coffee. Teresa drinks it."
The two men headed back in the bullpen and Beckett and Lisbon gathered by Wylie listening to the message from Angela Jenson's phone. "Mom, I don't know what to do. Call me." A shaky voice sounded coming from Samantha Jenson.
"She's afraid obviously." Jane piped up.
"We are aware of that, Mr. Jane." Beckett said curtly. Lisbon glanced at Beckett a little miffed at her manner towards her husband. She thought she was getting along with the detective. It was a good start, but it might be harder as the investigation went on considering Jane's ways of solving a case.
"Well,there is more to the call. She's seeking her mother's approval." Jane said. "I'm guessing she's been seeking it for some time."
"Jane, we talked to her yesterday and she was devastated." Lisbon confessed.
"Yes, I figured." Jane responded. "The woman's feeling guilt that she didn't accept her daughter how she is and what she wanted." He said heading towards Lisbon's desk and his couch.
"This case is straight out of a murder mystery." Castle said. "Unfortunately not mine." Lisbon along with Beckett looked at Castle after his remark.
"Jane has a point, Detective Beckett." Lisbon said. "We need to go to her apartment and see if we can find anything to prove that. Jane's an expert at discovering those types of things." Jane grinned as he went to his couch and sat down and then got in position to lay down.
"Then we could send Jane and Castle together to her apartment. Castle likes to look at those types of details too." Beckett admitted.
"Is that wise, Beckett? Sending us out on our own?" Castle questioned. "Two consultants."
"Yes, is that wise?" Lisbon questioned as well knowing Jane would get in trouble.
"I need to get Castle out of my hair for a while, he tags along with me all the time. They can enjoy their fun." Beckett said teasingly looking to her husband. "Castle, be sure to tell the local police and they'll open the door."
"I'm not that bad." Castle remarked.
Jane had already gone to set his cup on Lisbon's desk and laid on his couch and put his hands behind his head. "Yeah, I don't know. We could get ourselves in trouble." Looking towards Castle.
"Yo, what is he doing?" Esposito questioned coming by the group and looking at Jane.
"Yeah, what's the deal with him on the couch?" Ryan questioned looking at the consultant.
"If you must know, I do my crime solving lying down." Jane noted bringing his head up looking towards the two detectives.
"Agent Lisbon, how does that work?" Beckett looked to Lisbon with a confused face.
"That's what he's done for years." Lisbon admitted smiling towards her husband. "It works quite well with him. You'll see."
"Exactly, dear." Jane grinned back. "And also try having a baby wake up early in the morning." Jane said yawning.
"Oh, yeah, I know about that. I have a three year old." Ryan admitted looking at Jane.
"Oh, that's great. What's your child's name?" Jane asked rising up more.
"Sarah Grace." Ryan said.
"Very Nice." Jane grinned.
"Psychologists always have you lay on the couch to talk out your problems." Castle noted. Beckett looked at him strangely. Was there something Castle was hiding? Beckett thought. How could they let Jane just lie down when they should be working?
"Exactly." Jane said. "My same reason."
"While other people have to solve their cases standing up, not everyone has the privilege of a couch." Beckett stared at Jane. Oh, how Lisbon wished Jane would apologize to Beckett from the day before of reading her in front of the team. It would make their working relationship with the team so much better. She didn't want Beckett to get on his case more than needed. She'd really have to explain Jane a little more as she watched the detective.
"You're still irked that I cold read you at the briefing." Jane said observing the woman as he got up from the couch and going up to Beckett and Lisbon. "I apologize, Detective Beckett, I got carried away. I meant no indication you couldn't handle the case. I'm sure you do a very good job. I get scared too. For example, I worry about my daughter while she's at daycare."
Beckett looked carefully at the FBI consultant and did appreciate his apology. She still wasn't quite sure how he helped. He figured it was better for him and Castle get to know each other since they seemed similar with their way of solving cases as Lisbon had mentioned about Jane looking at details. "Thank you, Mr. Jane for saying that." Beckett finally said since he seemed sincere with it. He was right about her being scared she supposed. Serial killers were always the most challenging cases as it proved with the 3XK and solving her mother's murder. They knew how to cover their tracks and not be found out easier than other regular killers she experienced as a police detective.
"So, you want Castle and I to go together?" Jane asked.
"Yes, you're good with the details too." Beckett answered. She was going to be positive about the FBI team. She shouldn't have to worry so much about the other consultant. If she could handle Castle, she could handle Jane. She was sure that if she had questions involving him, Agent Lisbon would be willing to help her with them, since she was familiar with his ways. "Ryan, you go with Agent Tork to question the friend. Esposito, go with Wylie." She looked to Wylie at the computer. "Do you go out in the field?"
"Yeah, I'm starting to get more involved with that. Cho's been helping me. It's cool." Wylie admitted. "Sanders does a lot more with that than me now."
"We'll have him join you then." Beckett said. "Lisbon, Cho and I will go together."
Castle and Jane walked to the parking lot going towards the FBI vehicle they were assigned to was taking her and Jane's vehicle. Jane took the wheel of the Chevy SUV. Castle went in the passenger seat. Jane took off driving and turning into the road. "So, I heard a couple of stories of how you solve cases." Castle mentioned. "Esposito talked to Wylie."
"Ah, of course Wylie would share those. He always gets a thrill with being involved with my plans." Jane grinned. "Which ones?"
"Well, he mentioned some big art con." Castle said.
"We worked with the Art department on that one. I inserted myself in the case because the owner of the gallery was murdered by one of the art theives. We rented a large house and Lisbon and I pretended to be art thieves having a big party and I got the whole team involved playing parts as well with getting the thieves to the house. It was quite elaborate and fun." Jane admitted. However, it brought him painful memories considering that was when Pike took Lisbon away from him those painful months until he finally confessed his feelings on the plane in Miami.
"Sounds fun. He also mentioned about the human trafficking case where Wylie played a dead body?"
"Yes, Lisbon and I wore surgical scrubs and got the head guy to confess to the murders of several women. They used the young women for their organs. Our boss at the time didn't know anything about it." Jane confessed. "Not all my plans are that elaborate. Sometimes it's just gathering and observing people in a room and doing a process of elimination."
"You definitely have a different way of solving a murder. Certainly more than just questioning people."Castle said. "So, when you first saw me on your couch, did you observe me?"
"I did as I do everyone I meet." Jane confessed.
"What did you observe?" Castle asked.
"You're not as sensitive as Beckett? No offense to her." Jane asked. "I tend to be brutally honest."
"No. Go ahead, tell me." Castle grinned.
"You thrive at being noticed." Jane said. Castle nodded in agreement. "You tend to be vain."
"That's true. Unfortunately one of my biggest flaws." Castle admitted sheepishly.
"I knew you weren't a cop, you're not dressed like one. You have a creative air about you, therefore a writer. Despite flaws and struggles you may have had, you you're successful and care about your family and friends." Jane described.
"Impressive." Castle said.
"You come from a single parent family most likely mother." Jane said again. "And you also were a single parent yourself."
Castle's mouth dropped open. "How'd you know all that? Yes, those are true. Alexis' mother was not reliable in helping with raising her. I grew up with just my mother. In fact, she's still with me."
"Just observing you." Jane admitted.
" You got all that from looking at me? Are you sure you're not psychic? Your wife did mention you pretended to be psychic." Castle admitted.
"Key word "Pretended". Yes, I did that at one point." Jane said. "But certain circumstances caused me to realize it wasn't right." Jane said sadly "I don't talk it about it anymore." He hoped that Castle wouldn't question more about that time. He shouldn't have mentioned there were circumstances that caused him to stop being a psychic. He wasn't going to worry that Lisbon mentioned it. It was a known fact anyway. Long time ago he would've wished if he hadn't said those words about Red John, Angela and Charlotte would still be alive and he wouldn't have gone through the devastation of finding their slain bodies under the red smiley face. However, in some odd fate if there was such a thing, their deaths brought him to Lisbon. He still missed them of course, that was still true, but he was finally happy with his life with Lisbon and their daughter. Little did he know the fateful day he walked into the CBI, the small CBI agent would be his savior and his new chance of happiness and a new life.
Castle decided not to ask more about Jane's psychic stint because he could tell it was a sore point in his life. He didn't know what possibly could've happened, but he thought he better keep his mouth shut. He wanted to get along with Jane. He came back to the time when he forced his way to ask Beckett about her mother's murder. Of course, she wasn't too happy it in the beginning. It definitely proved to be a sore point in her life to talk about. However, if he hadn't insisted on investigating it, they wouldn't have gotten so far, which eventually Beckett appreciated his nosiness into looking into the case and finally discovering Senator Bracken hired a hitman to kill her mother.
Castle and Jane arrived at Samantha Jenson's apartment building in the parking lot. The two men remained silent the rest of way there. They walked out to the door revealing a lineup of doorbells to each apartment. Castle decided to ring the manager's bell. After a couple minutes of no answer. "I really don't think this is going to work." Castle noted. He noticed another tenant going towards the door. He knew the best way was to follow the person into the started towards the sidewalk.
"We're not going to get in this way." Jane said running towards the door and luckily caught the door. Castle followed behind him. The two men went in the elevator and up to Samantha's floor on the fourth floor. Of course, her door was covered in police tape. Castle tried to turn the handle, which was locked. "It's locked. We may have to get someone to open it." Jane right away took out the a paper clip from the stash of them he always kept in his pocket whenever he needed to pick a lock. He bent the paper clip back and poked the round edge in the lock and carefully turned the door handle and opened the door and going in the room. Castle followed inside as well.
"Ahh, good idea to pick the lock." Castle examined. "So, you don't wait for anybody to open the door?" Castle asked
"If I called the cops or the manager in charge of this, I'd be waiting forever. This is much more efficient." Jane said grinning sticking the paper clip back in the pocket. The inside the room was crossed with police tape where the body was located. Traces of blood appeared on the floor from where the body laid. The coroner apparently took the body to the mogue to do the examination. The room was decorated in Indian style furniture and paintings.
"Very Bohemian." Castle said "You know the people who like this sort of décor are free spirits. They don't like to join the crowd, be part of the team. Some of the other people had similar décor in their places."
Jane immediately started to looking at the photos on the wall with Samantha which included her and her friends. A couple of photos included her and her parents. He noticed in the pictures Samantha and her mother were not standing or sitting close.
"What'd you find out there?"Castle came by Jane looking at the pictures.
"Samantha and her mother didn't get along. See the space between them." Jane said pointing to the picture. Jane looked up at Castle. "So, what did you find out from the murders in New York?"
"Makes sense. The marking seems to be ritualistic like the killer used it for a ceremony. It may not be the purpose. It's just weird. We know serial killers use the same method all the time. All the victims have gone to the same restaurant and pub, O'Malley's in Brooklyn like Beckett mentioned."
"Which means the victims knew each other or possibly they just went to the same restaurant. I have a feeling they knew each other." Jane said.
"Even Samantha Jenson?" Castle questioned.
"It's unlikely but it's also not unlikely." Jane noted going into the Samantha's bedroom.
The two men continued to look through the apartment. Jane examined the girl's bedroom and noticed the dresser and shuffled throgh the papers left on her desk. He saw what appeared to be a phone number. Castle snooped through the closet and saw Bohemian style clothes. "She went all out on the Bohemian theme, Jane. Even her clothes. There's a writer' s group in New York who dresses like this. They write mostly poetry." Jane came over and observed the closet.
"I think you're right about that. I saw a bunch of written out poems on her desk over here." Jane pointed to her desk in the bedroom. "I also found a phone number that might be useful." Jane held up the sheet of paper with a number on it.
"There's different groups around the city. So, it's a pretty spread out group and I don't think everyone knows each other." Castle explained. Jane went back to take a few of the poems. They went to observing photos of Samantha and her friends and saw one particular photo with another woman. A woman that wasn't in the group photo. This time Castle grabbed the photo and started looking at it.
After looking through Samantha Jenson's apartment, Castle's phone rang. "Hello, Richard Castle."
"Hello, father." Alexis answered.
"Hello daughter." Castle responded back grinning.
"How's Austin? You having fun?" Alexis asked.
"Of course, I'm having fun so it's good. We like the team we're working with." Castle looked up to Jane still observing the room.
"I'm glad you're getting along. Nobody's annoyed with you yet?" Alexis asked.
"Not that I know of." Castle said.
"Good, dad." Alexis said. "I'm sure you're bound to annoy someone. Certainly the FBI won't know what to do with a crazy writer." Alexis teased.
"Hey, I'm not that crazy. They'll adore me" Castle said. "You still want the party at our place?" You didn't change venues, did you?" Castle asked.
"Dad, you do throw a good party. Of course, I still want it at our place." Alexis said excitedly.
"I'm glad you still feel that way, Alexis. You didn't forget your dear old dad." Castle said grinning. "Of course, your grandmother plans good parties too."
"I know, but she gets too crazy. When are you coming back?" Alexis asked.
"I don't know, but before your graduation." Castle answered. "I plan to hang blue and white banners around. What about the little meatballs?"
"Nothing too fancy, Dad." Alexis reminded. "I'll have all my friends. We need normal food."
"Meatballs are normal. Don't worry, I won't do cavier. We'll talk about it some more, honey." Castle said.
"Bye, Dad."
"Bye, Alexis."
Jane noticed and heard Castle's talk with his daughter. From Castle's side he could hear their plans for her graduation party. He felt slightly jealous, he knew he shouldn't be because eventually he hoped he would experience it with he and Lisbon's daughter. It still pained him he couldn't share it with Charlotte. If she lived she would be 18 or 19, and possibly graduating high school or getting ready for college. But he needed to stop thinking of the what ifs. He needed to think of the future and not go back to the past. It wasn't fair to Lisbon and it wasn't fair to their daughter. It didn't mean it didn't hurt any less. He shouldn't blame Castle really either to revel in the excitement of his daughter graduating college. He didn't have the misfortune of Red John or a serial killer taking his precious daughter away from him in the most brutal way.
Soon, Jane noticed that Castle had said his good bye and hung up. "So, that was your daughter?" Jane asked.
"The wonderful, beautiful, very smart, and more sensible, more grow up than me daughter, Alexis." Castle said bursting with parental pride.
"You're planning a graduation party?" Jane asked.
"Yes, at my apartment." Castle admitted.
"You must have a large place to host a party." Jane noted.
"Yep, I guess another perk of being a best selling author. Everyone loves Alexis. There'll be lots of people." Castle said proudly. "Wait till your girl graduates. You gotta deal with tuition."
"I won't worry about that for awhile." Jane said. Jane was getting irritated at Castle's bragfest over his adult daughter. He shouldn't worry about it. He supposed he couldn't blame the man. He would probably do the same thing. "Teresa and I had our wedding in front of our house, well, that was before remodeling." So, he changed the subject of his wedding and the party celebrating their marriage.
"You remodeled your house?" Castle questioned excitedly.
"Yes, a cabin outside of town I found." Jane admitted.
"You had a party there?" Castle asked.
"Yes, my brother in law and former boss was involved with that." Jane admitted remembering Stan Lisbon hiring the DJ. Jane's notification sound pinged on the phone interrupting the conversation. He checked and saw a text message. Patrick and Teresa, Lisby's doing very well. Linda Dawson Along with the message, a photo of Lisby Michelle smiling in the playpen at the daycare. He grinned at the photo and realized all his worrying wasn't worth it. His purpose was in this picture.
"What is it?" Castle noticing Jane's grin.
"The daycare sent a message." Jane admitted.
Castle right away looked at Jane's phone and looked at the photo. "She's adorable." Castle said grinning. "She's a lot to brag about. Sorry, I get carried away about Alexis. I forget it may be too much at times."
"You should be proud of her. Graduating college is huge accomplishment. I never went to college or any school for that matter." Jane confessed.
"Really? You never went to school?" Castle raised his eyebrow up wondering about Jane's lack of schooling. Jane seemed to be such an intelligent man. You wouldn't know he never went to school.
"Carnie kid." Jane answered. Jane realized then that he shouldn't worry so much about the past, he needed to think about the future.
I'm aware my timeline might be messed up with the Mentalist part of it being close to graduation time. I thought about changing it, but I decided not to because I wanted something happening in the Castle world. So, I chose Alexis' college graduation.