Thank you for your comments. This chapter goes into Always Buy Retail and yes, we've hit the Meredith part. Good fun to write this.

Chapter 29

S1E06 – Always Buy Retail

Castle reached out blindly to his phone that was shrilling loudly in the peacefully quiet and dark bedroom.

He rapidly swiped the screen to answer the call mumbling, "Hello?" He hoped like hell it wasn't Alexis and something bad had happened.

Beside him, Kate rolled her hips, and she buried her head beneath the bed sheets, growling something about going away. She really wasn't a morning person.

"Richard? It's Meredith."

Rick's eyes opened wide. He sat bolt upright.

What the hell was the time?

It was dark outside.

"Why are you calling me so bloody early?" He hissed, glancing in Kate's direction, now really wanting her to sleep through this conversation. Beckett already had this sixth sense whenever he concealed stuff, and he knew she would be cranky about being woken to early. Then then he would have to face telling her the ex-wife had called him. As yet, he wasn't too sure how high Kate's jealously scale went and, quite frankly, didn't want to test it so early in their relationship.

"Because you're usually up with Alexis by now. Where are you? You're not answering the door. The doorman thought you were home," Meredith cheerfully said.

"I'm not home right now," he quietly replied. He rubbed his face, realised what she had said and asked, "You're in the city?"

"That's what I'm here to see you about." She paused, then cautiously added, "And I thought you might like to have sex with me once Alexis has left for school."

Rick coughed, shot his eyes to Beckett who remained buried under blankets. He flung back the sheets, scrambled out of bed and padded quickly to the en suite. Carefully he pushed the door to behind him. He didn't want Kate listening in on conversations about sex with his ex-wife.

"Richard? Are you there?"

"Yes. I'm here," he murmured, "Look, Meredith, we're divorced. You can't just be rocking up to my place for sex when you feel like it."

"Buh… We've had fun, haven't we?"

"Oh yeah. Can't deny that, but it's over. Been over a long time."

"Makes you wonder why we ever got divorced," she pondered aloud, seemingly lost in her own thoughts.

"I know, right?" He humoured and rolled his eyes. He then stared back at his reflection in the bathroom mirror. What he saw staring back at him with bright blue eyes, was a happy, content man. He looked tired and a little roughed up, needed a shower and shave, but he was happy. He was enjoying life. Apart from the day Alexis was born, he believed he was happier than he had ever been. Behind him and through the door way was the love of his life and the reason why he felt as he did. He'd known that since the second he'd clapped his eyes upon her. He wasn't going to ruin the relationship he was now a half of. Experience had taught him, and he now recognised a keeper. He would fight to the end to keep Kate, whereas his first wife had cheated on him.

Meredith made a sound that brought him back to the conversation.

He said, "We would have been fine. I mean, except for you having an affair with your director, moving to Malibu and serving me with divorce papers. I think we really had a chance," he expressed with a punch of sarcasm.

"I'm moving back." Meredith stated.

Rick sobered, "Back to New York?" He turned away from the mirror and rested his butt against the vanity, his head in his hand.

Could it get worse?

His chest tightened. Meredith in the picture wouldn't sit well with Kate. Wouldn't sit well with his Mother. In fact, Alexis had problems when her mother was always about. Once again, he rubbed his face. The day was off to a bad start.

"Why on earth would you come back to New York?" He asked.

"I miss it." She paused, then said, "I miss the city, I miss Alexis, I miss you."

He clenched his eyes shut, thinking, processing this news, and rubbed the heel of his hand hard against his forehead. There was the thump of an oncoming headache. "Um, what about your career?"

"Oh, LA's changed. The juicy roles just aren't there for an actress of my calibre. I need a change, like Broadway maybe? The legitimate stage."

Eyes opened and he tilted his head back not able to believe the bullshit that came from her mouth sometimes. She hadn't caught a decent role in a long time. "Yeah well… ah… woah… time out Meredith. Have you really thought this through?"

"What's to think about? You, me, Alexis, all living in the same city. It's going to be just like old times."

"No, it won't be," he firmly replied, then said, "I'm seeing someone, Meredith. Alexis is dating and growing up too fast."

"Seeing someone?"

Rick gritted his teeth already regretting have said that. Meredith was inquisitive.

"Yes, kind of, but yes."

"Is it serious? Your?"

Rick swallowed, thinking about the woman sleeping in her room, "Umm… yeah. Yes, it is."

"Wow." She paused, "I can't wait to meet this woman. It's been a long time you've been single."

"I'm not single anymore." He had turned about and he stared at his reflection in the mirror. Yep, he was a content man.

"Okay, well, I'll take Alexis for breakfast."

"She has school, Meredith," he stressed, "Catch up with her for dinner tonight or after she's finished school," he suggested, aware Alexis would hit the roof if her mother did that. She could end up in Paris, like the last time she took her daughter for a meal. "Meredith, it's not even six am. Alexis will sleep another hour, so leave her be. You know she's not a morning person."

"Oh, alright. Well, I'll leave my suitcase here and I guess I'll come back later."

"No, take your luggage. You can't stay at my place. We're divorced, Meredith," he stated, making the decision he would rather be hard with her than cop Kate's reaction when she found out his ex-wife was staying at his place. "Meredith?"

"Yes, Richard?"

"You really cannot stay at my house. I have a girlfriend."

"Alright."

"I'll talk with Alexis about tonight and call you later." He hung up the call before she had a chance to persuade him into something else. He left the phone in the bathroom then quietly snuck back to bed. He felt chilly. When he covered his body in bed sheets he snuggled behind Beckett pulled her close to him. She was so warm.

"Who was that?" She sleepily asked. "You're cold."

"My ex wife. She's in town."

He instantly felt Kate's back stiffen and she brought her head out from under the blankets. "What the hell did she want this time of the morning?"

Rick looked over Kate's sleepy face, her ruffled dark hair, then pressed his finger lightly over the creases between her brow. Be honest. She wants honesty. "She was at the doorway to the loft."

"Mm? Why?"

"She was there to have sex with me."

"What?"

"Shhh… Its okay. I told her it's not on. She can't be doing that."

"Too right she can't," Kate grumbled, taking his hand in hers and holding it to her chest. "You're mine now." She added very possessively and unashamedly so. Rick grinned and impulsively pressed his lips to the side of her head.

"That's right," he affirmed, "She said she's moving back to New York."

"Will Alexis be happy about that?"

"Hell, no. I'm not either. My mother will despise even the thought of it."

"I'm not too keen about it either." Kate opened her eyes and turned to look at his face, "How we gonna keep this a secret if she is here?"

"I'll sort it out. Go back to sleep, or I will have to have my way with you."

Kate giggled, squeezed his hand, "I'll pick Option B, please."

He shifted going for her neck, "Option B it is. Good morning."

Laughing she rolled to her back as he urged her, wrapping her legs about him. "Good morning, Ricky."

"Good morning, Baby." He said getting himself over her. "So you're mine to be taken." He murmured, his face right over her, his eyes staring into her. Her fingers toughed his jaw. For several seconds she sleepily stared at him, before she gave a little nod.

"All yours, to be taken. All mine to be had."

"Fair enough." He whispered. "Deal."

..

"You sure you want to do this?" Rick inquired as they walked from the car into the yard of a disused warehouse. It was early morning and the day was still and dull. Clouds were hanging over them, threatening rain but so far not a drop had fallen from the sky.

"Yes. Best decoy having your wife on the scene for a while. Let everyone think that Meredith is orbiting you. No surprises. She's the mother of Alexis. And because she's an ex, everyone will keep quiet." Beckett replied, her voice neutral, the walk solid, businesslike.

"Alright, but you're gonna have to do some serious acting and I'm doing it ad lib. I want jealous. Subtle but enough."

"You'll be fine, Castle. Just be yourself. I can act jealous." She stepped inside the warehouse ahead of him, giving a nod to the uniform cop who was standing guard. Ahead of them, Esposito and Ryan were waiting for their arrival.

"What have we got boys?" She asked as she stepped close to the body of the male.

Esposito replied, "Vic's an African-American male, early twenties, multiple stab wounds, contusions on the arms and torso. Body was discovered by a homeless guy."

Beckett crouched over the body, studying it, "He was beaten, maybe tortured." She commented looking over to Ryan who nodded.

"Looks like some kind of ritualistic killing." Ryan commented and followed Kate's gaze as did Esposito. The writer was standing over the head of the body staring into space.

Beckett stood up, "You think? Hello." She waved at Rick.

"Hmmm?" He looked at Kate vacantly.

"You okay?" She asked seeing how distracted he was.

Rick breathed in, momentarily stared into space, then said quite casually, "I had sex with my ex-wife this morning. My first ex-wife, Meredith. Alexis's mom. And she's thinking about moving back to New York. Do you know what that would mean to me? That would be a very special brand of hell, the hell of a deep-fried Twinkie."

When he was done with his line, he looked at Kate whose eyes were as large as saucers. He wasn't sure if she was really jealous or acting but if she was acting she was doing a fine job.

"A deep-fried Twinkie?" Ryan said with a chuckle.

"Yeah, the guilty pleasure that you know is bad for you, so you only do it once, maybe twice a year for the novelty, but a deep-fried Twinkie every day is aghh…" He screwed up his face and pushed out his tongue in disgust.

"Castle," Beckett hissed.

"What?"

"Crime scene, dead body, a little respect here," she said through gritted teeth.

Rick shifted his eyes from Kate's face and gazed down upon the body of the male victim that was in a prone position, his mouth slightly ajar, eyes clouded over. "I don't think he can hear me, Beckett."

"Okay, but how about a little self-respect then?"

"Fine." He saw Ryan laugh like a schoolboy in class, wary the teacher would catch him out. Rick then gave a wave toward the dead man, "Check in his mouth, Kev, there is probably a little pouch in there."

"How did you know?" Beckett asked.

"Open it," Castle told Ryan who then reached out with a latex gloved index finger that pressed on the deceased's chin to open his mouth. They all leaned in with abated breath. They saw a cloth nested inside the deceased's mouth. He pulled out a white pouch.

"What does it mean, Castle?"

"It's Voodoo, Espo."

"Voodoo? What's that some kind of Star Trek thing?"

Ryan smirked glancing at his partner, "No dude, it's a religion practiced primarily in West Africa." He saw his partners expression, "What? I read too."

Castle continued, "The blood in the bowl, most likely animal, part of the ceremony. The pouch is an offering to the spirits, but I don't recognise the symbol." He pointed to the symbol that had been drawn on the concrete floor.

"If you did, you'd be a suspect. So how do you know about all this?" Esposito said.

"Research for my sixth Derrick Storm novel."

"Unholy Storm," Ryan chipped in.

"Yes, thank you." Castle acknowledged to Ryan, "And Voodoo is not just limited to West Africa, it's also practised by Haitian and Dominican communities right here in New York."

"Have CSU run the pouch, have an ME test the blood, and let's get his fingerprints in the system, see if there's an ID. This ritual I suppose it was done for a specific purpose?" Beckett stated.

"That's only if you are assuming that the guy doing this was rational," Esposito commented.

Castle said, "No, no, she's right. It might not make sense to you or me but ah… If we found out why he did this we might find your killer."

Sarcastically, Esposito said, "Yeah, it's kind of how we do it."

Beckett looked to Rick, "Do you still have the research?"

"As a matter of fact, I do."

"Ok, let's wrap this up. We'll see you guys back at the precinct," Beckett said then turned to go. Rick stood there a moment staring at the body.

"Well, I've gotta say, my morning started off a lot better than this guy's day did." He grinned, an pleasant image of Beckett beneath him passing on through his conscious thoughts. "Man, it was a great morning." He chuckled, hearing the click of Beckett' heels on concrete fading.

"Deep fried Twinkie, huh? And here I was thinking you've been banging, Beckett." Esposito commented low enough to ensure Beckett didn't hear him. "I'm losing money on you two, Writer Boy."

Rick laughed, "Banging Beckett," he echoed and laughed good heartedly. He sobered, "I wish."

"Castle," Beckett called, pausing at the entrance to the warehouse.

All the men glanced over to the tall woman then returned to their conversation, closing in a bit tighter.

"You're already whipped by her," Esposito said which caused Rick to laugh again.

"You sure Beckett's okay with you sleeping with the ex?" Ryan asked. "I mean, she seemed a little rattled. You saw the look she gave you?"

"Yeah I did," Rick replied, "She's fine. She's not interested in sleeping with me. I'm too much of a man child for her."

"Castle," she called again, this time the impatience a lot clearer.

"Coming," he called back. He turned to Esposito and said, "I'll put in fifty that I won't get in her pants for at least four years."

"You're on," Esposito said.

"And guys, if Beckett finds out we've had this conversation-"

"She will shoot us." Ryan finished, "for certain."

"Boom." Rick exclaimed as he hurried after Beckett who was half way back to the Crown. Those legs certainly covered ground fast.

"Beckett. Wait up." He yelled after her, shifting into a jog to catch up.

He fell into the passenger seat, puffing and grinning like a kid. "Well, that went well." He shut the car door as Kate indicated out of the car space.

"It's a murder scene, Castle. Remember, homicide." She said once she was driving along the street, stuck behind a bus. "Gotta be respectful."

"Yeah, that too. And we're working on that. Going to my place?" He asked, slightly distracted because he was tapping texts on his phone.

"I guess so. Where did you get that from about your ex? Deep fried Twinkie. My God, Castle," she laughed.

"You were impressed huh?" He laughed.

"I can't believe you made that up."

"I'm a writer, Beckett, it's what I do. Make up stuff."

"But you relayed it so well."

"And you were jealous, right?"

"I pretended to be," she answered and touched his arm, "But if you go near the Deep Fried Twinkie –"

"I know, you have a gun."

"Yes, and I will cry for a week," she teased. "Possibly more."

"You will never have to worry about me cheating on you," he affirmed.

She glanced to him, unsure of what she should say in response. Then before she had a chance to dwell on his comment, his public persona of being a ladies man too much she said, "I will never cheat."

He reached out to her hand, pulled it to him and kissed her knuckles, "I want to kiss off your lipstick, not have you cry off your mascara." He let her hand go, then put away the phone and looked at her and the odd expression she wore. "What's up?" He looked ahead at the back of the bus.

She momentarily held her gaze on Rick, then returned to look out the front window. "Nothing." She bit her lip, processing what he'd said, "What colour lipstick do you like the most?" She asked.

Rick laughed. "Red. I really like red lipstick. You look nice in red too. And pale pink."

"Blue for you. Your eyes look bright when you wear blue."

..

"The purpose of the rituals was to make contact with the spirits and the spirit world, to gain their favour through sacrifice. Storm was pretty sure he'd sacrifice anything when he saw the amulet swaying back and forth between the woman's bare glistening breasts." Castle read as Kate approached him. He was seated at his office chair and Kate, who was bored out of her mind with his reading already, sat upon his right thigh, with the intention of distracting him from the novel. She had sat while he searched for old written notes, and now he was reading from a book.

She peered at the book cover, "Unholy Storm." She read then looked at his face, "You dragged me in here so you could read from your own book?" She was aghast.

"Hey," he defended, "There's a lot of good stuff in here. Some of it is factual." He shut the book and tossed it to his desk top then placed his palms on her thigh, gave her a little squeeze, "But I know you've already read it."

She gave him a cocky look, of denial, then stroked a finger down his jaw, his throat, "We could be doing something far more interesting." She seductively suggested, her fingers toying with the top button of his shirt.

He found he was fixated on her eyes. They were fractionally dilated. He swallowed, feeling a tightness in his jeans he really didn't need right now. "What are you doing, Kate?" He glanced down to her fingers.

"Sexually arousing you."

"It's working."

"Good." She abruptly replied, stood up and started to make her way out of the office to the living room.

"Where are you going?" He chased after her. She squealed and ran. He caught up and wrapped his arm about her waist, bringing her to a stop.

"I have a murder to solve, Castle." She giggled, struggling to escape him without success. He played hard and she retaliated but his core strength was far stronger than hers.

"I thought that's what we were doing?" He growled pulling her to him until her backside was pressed against his groin. "Your struggles to escape me are futile, Beckett."

"Castle!" She fought to turn about, grabbing his shirt to steady herself, and she ceased her fight to escape, now seemingly content in his arms. "You were reading your book. That's not investigating."

"Okay," he gave her a quick kiss, "Look, yes I was… I am just kidding with you and filling in time."

"We could have filled in time filling me," she offered and raised her right eyebrow her eyes darting in the direction of his bedroom.

"Funny," he said but gave her another kiss.

"Frustrating." She grumbled, chasing him for a further kiss.

He let her go, and glanced at his watch. "I do have another source," he said. Just running late as usual. "I had to take the opportunity to play you."

"And you call your ex-wife a deep-fried Twinkie," she teased.

"Oh, trust me. As annoying and intrusive as you think I am, she's a million times worse."

"What about Alexis? Maybe she misses her mom, maybe it'd be a good idea to have her back in town."

"Yeah, right. There was this time, when Alexis was nine, Meredith dropped by to take her out to lunch." He said.

"So?"

"In Paris." His eyes widened, Paris," he stressed.

Kate smiled, "Paris?"

"Yep. And then she acted like there was nothing wrong, like Auntie Mame on meth." He smirked in amusement at his own humour.

Kate furrowed her brow, "If she's so bad, then why did you sleep with her this morning?"

"I didn't sleep with her this morning." He replied giving her a strange look. "I laid you this morning, and last night."

She tissed. "I know that. You slept with me. But let's pretend like we did before, and say hypothetically, you slept with her this morning."

"I slept with you. Is this a trick?"

"Castle."

"Ok. Hypothetically I slept with my ex," he agreed and then got right into it. "And let me tell you something about crazy people."

She grinned enjoying the writer's imagination. She urged, "Tell me."

His eyes widened, "The sex is unbelievable," he shared like it was a secret.

"How shallow are you?" She stepped back.

"Very." He impressed upon her.

"You know, I don't have time for this. We can screw around later," Beckett said, heading towards the front door. "We have a murder."

"You did trick me. Played me so you can escape the house." He hurried after her, hearing her laughter as she rushed at the entrance.

"No. Unlike you Ricky, I've gotta work." She replied, reached for the handle and flung open the front door.

An African-American woman stood at the entrance her hand raised as though she was about to knock. Startled, Kate jumped in surprise.

"Someone order lunch?" The woman asked.

Rick stepped in, his hands to Beckett's upper arms, "Detective Beckett, meet my other source, Michelle. She also brought us lunch."

"Hi." Kate stepped backwards into Rick who steadied her.

"Hi. I'm Michelle."

"Kate."

"Come on in Michelle. Kate and I were just discussing sex with crazy people."

"Sex with crazy people is awesome." Michelle said. "Are you thinking about trying it?" She asked Kate, not batting an eyelid.

"Umm." Kate blinked as rapidly as her heart suddenly did but she thought fast and replied, "I already have a crazy partner." Her head was spinning and she felt Rick squeeze her upper arms and laugh.

"Who on earth would that be, Beckett?" Rick inquired.

"No one you know," Kate answered.

"Crazy ones do the most spontaneous things." Michelle said as she carried the food bags to the kitchen counter. Rick shut the front door, then gently coerced Kate to the kitchen bench prying the car keys from her hand.

"Give them back, Castle."

"No. Your lunch is here."

Kate glanced at the food being opened by Michelle.

"It smells great, huh?" He was amused no end by her playful mood but her appetite was overriding all other plans. He held the keys above his head, resistant to her attempts of tickling the keys from him but she had paused. Seconds later she strained to reach the keys.

"Yes. Smells delicious, but I need to leave."

"Beckett," he insisted seriously, "Take a seat. We have the voodoo expert here."

"Are you always like this with women?" Michelle asked.

"Of course."

"Yes." Kate replied, "Annoyingly so."

"You seem like you love." Michelle commented, "Stay Kate. I have plenty of food her for us.'

Kate stopped, Rick gathered her up in his hold and escorted her to the kitchen counter where the food containers were opened. She sat on a stool, suddenly starved for food.

"The symbols are Vévé, a representation of one who can open cross roads in to the spirit world." Michelle explained looking through the evidence photographs.

"Michelle taught me everything I know about Voodoo," Castle said while he ate.

"Which obviously isn't much," Michelle commented between mouthfuls then added, "That scene with the topless girl and the chicken blood, what was that?"

"I took a few liberties," Castle confessed.

"You know from the design, I'd say this isn't Haitian, Jamaican or Dominican; this is hard-core Nigerian." Michelle pointed at a photo.

Beckett asked, "What about this charm?"

"The charm's an offering to a Voodoo saint or loa, in this case it's Ogun. He's usually called up to find something that is lost."

"So our killer's looking for something," Rick suggested.

"Something the victim once possessed," Michelle replied.

"Maybe that's why he was tortured? Could the kind of ceremony indicate what the killer was looking for?" Beckett asked then took a mouthful of her lunch.

"Unfortunately, no."

Beckett asked, "How do you know so much about this?"

"Because I practice. My junior year I spent abroad in Nigeria. Fell in love with the religion, the cuisine—"

"Michelle owns the best Nigerian restaurant in the city." Castle informed Beckett.

Beckett said, "It's funny, I never would have pegged you for the occult type."

"Occult is in the eye of the beholder, Detective. As bizarre as Voodoo may seem to you, I assure you the beliefs of western religions seem just as strange to outsiders. How do you like the cow's foot stew?"

Beckett peered down at the bowl of stew which was delicious but now she was a little put off, "Cow's foot?" She glared at Rick, "You said it was beef."

Castle gave a nod and replied, "Technically cow is beef. Besides you liked it."

"So, this murder is that a part of the ceremony as well?" Kate asked dismissing the food.

"No. Voodoo is a peaceful deeply spiritual religion practiced by millions of people across the world every day."

Beckett commented, "I doubt whoever did this is very peaceful."

"No. Your killer may be voodoo, but that's not why this man's dead. He was killed because he has something the killer desperately wants. And he's not going to stop until he finds it."

Beckett's cell phone rang out. She said, to her company as she got up, "Excuse me." She walked from the table, "Beckett."

Ryan said, "Yeah, it's Ryan. We got another one."