Chapter 56

They had a couple of hours break away from each other. Kate had a meeting she needed to attend and Rick went home to check in on his daughter who was home studying. They caught up at the morgue just after the sun had gone down. Beckett was waiting for him by her car. He casually strolled up to her, watching her when she was unaware of his presence. She wore black jeans, boots and a leather jacket. A fellow walking by eyed her off, then happened to connect eyes with Rick. The guy smiled. Rick's chest expanded. She was his girlfriend.

He stopped beside her, trying to figure out what had her attention down the street.

"Hey." He spoke softly so he didn't spook her, but her head spun at the sound of his voice. She smiled.

"You're here." She brushed her hand down the sleeve of his right arm. It was like electricity.

'Of course. I saw Alexis."

"She's good?"

"Mmm. Very." He gazed over her face, hooked his little finger discreetly into hers. "That model called." It was calm stated.

He saw her entire expression change but she waited in silence for him to continue.

"I know how I met her."

"The Bambi eyed one?"

He gave her a look, "Yes. You know which one. She used to baby sit Alexis." He informed her then smiled only on the right side of his face.

Kate smirked, "Seriously? Your kid's old baby sitter?"

"Alexis' yes." He followed Kate as she commenced to walk toward the morgue entrance. "I knew I hadn't slept with her, Kate. She was way too young."

"I know."

"Good. How did your meeting go?"

She nodded, "Good. Lanie has the body on the slab."

"Oh, That's why we're here." He opened the door for Kate who then stepped inside ahead of him. She waited for him. "Remember not to think about us in front of Lanie."

"I've got it down pat now, Castle."

"I'm glad to hear it."

They found Lanie in the middle of the post mortem examination of the body. She held a clipboard and was taking notes.

"I'm putting the time of death between 2:00 and 5:00 a.m." The doctor stated, pausing from her work, without looking up. She finished up then put down the clipboard.

"She left the party at midnight," Beckett said mainly to Rick.

"So, where was she for two hours?" Rick asked.

Beckett turned her attention to Lanie, unable to answer his question at this point in time. "Any signs of sexual assault?"

"No, but she put up a fight. There's some bruising on her arms and hands, her dress was torn, there's a cut inside of her cheek, indicating that she was slapped hard. But here's the weird part. She was stabbed with something long and sharp. It wasn't your typical blade."

"How so?" Beckett inquired.

"Well, based on the wound, I made a reconstruction."

Lanie handed Beckett a drawing of the weapon and she held it up for both her and Castle to inspect.

"It's four-sided." Lanie explained, "It's slimmer at the tip and gets progressively wider at the base. Also, I found traces of glass in the wound."

Castle looked at Beckett, "She was stabbed with the Washington Monument?"

Beckett's cell phone rang. She handed the drawing to Castle so she could answer the call.

"Excuse me." She stepped away, "Esposito, any luck?"

Castle studied the sketch, "I don't know, Lanie. This could be anything but the Washington Monument is on the mark, but for its size."

"Esposito and Ryan found cigarette butts, soda cans and an empty package for a digital camera memory card." Beckett said as she returned to stand beside Rick again. "They are taking it to CSU, to see if they can pull any prints." She glanced at the time, "Anything else, Lanie?"

"Yeah. Preliminary tox screen indicated her blood alcohol was 0.02, and there were traces of Addmair in her system."

"What's that?" Castle asked.

"It's a form of speed," the doctor explained, "Usually prescribed to people with ADD. But models have been known to buy it off the street and use it for weight loss."

Beckett sighed, "So much for her being anti-drug."

"I guess the job and the stalker weren't the only things making her tense."

Conversation was fragmented as they walked out of the morgue, both sharing they felt the day's events were catching up.

Kate also thought about and craved for a soak in her bath tub. She was still making the decision about which scented bath salts she would use when they got in the car. She'd then slip into one of her lacy or silk pieces for Rick. It made her smile just thinking about how much he enjoyed clothing. It brought out his charm, his ability to be romantic, his super sensitive side.

While they took the drive back the Kate's apartment, Rick thought about making love to a model and pizza. The idea, even the remote idea, that Kate had done modelling had cranked his appeal of her up another notch he didn't think he had. He was also making a strategy to determine whether she had been a model. Her father was the most obvious person to ask, but he was too scared to ask him. She had a cousin and aunt he was yet to be introduced to. Couldn't ask them yet. He'd find out using his own resources.

A meat lovers pizza was at the top of his list. Perhaps a pepperoni pizza. Kate's usual palette pleaser would most likely be the gourmet number she had written up on her fridge under the pizza phone number.

"Number sixteen."

"Huh?" Kate shot him a look.

"The pizza you want."

"We're having pizza?" Beckett drove into the garage.

"It's too late to cook and I'm not sure what is left in your fridge."

"Okay." She maintained a slow speed through the garage as she asked, "Do you find it odd Jenna had a stalker?"

"No, not really. Why?"

"Well, she wasn't Heidi Klum, Castle. She hadn't even had a national campaign."

He shrugged, watching his side of the car as Kate swung the vehicle into her tight fitting car space, "Maybe the guy figured he was getting in on the ground floor, stalker-wise, you know. Beat the rush."

"Maybe." She killed the engine then reached into the back seat for her bag. A copy of the Cosmo magazine fell on the console between their seats. Rick grinned.

"Oh! You couldn't resist, could you, Baby? Pretty nice write-up, huh?"

"Baby?" Beckett hissed, then snatched up the magazine. "Yeah. Nice write-up if you like those sorts of fluff pieces." She got out the car as he did.

Castle retaliated over the roof of the Crown, "Fluff? The reporter made you sound like you're a cross between Sherlock Holmes and Angelina Jolie. And the picture isn't half-bad, either. Although, you don't always need to cross your arms." He swiped over the roof of the car then checked his finger pads, "Geez, your car needs a clean, Beckett."

"You said that earlier," Beckett said, "It's fine." She paced across the garage with Rick hurrying after her.

Castle asked as he caught up, "The car or your arms?"

"Arms."

"Then why are you upset about the article?"

"I'm not upset."

Castle momentarily studied her walk which told him she was pissed about something, "You look upset. It's a nice photo."

"Well, I'm not." She hit the elevator button and immediately a light came on over the left doors.

When the doors opened, Rick followed her into the elevator, "But if you were upset, you would tell me, right?"

Beckett gave a nod, "But, I'm not."

Castle said, "But if you were."

"It doesn't matter because I'm not upset. What have you got in mind for dinner now?" She asked pressing her lips together hoping like hell that was the end of the writer's interrogation.

"Pizza still," he immediately replied.

"Okay." She brought the keys to the apartment from a pocket in her bag.

"You know Beckett, I've been thinking about pizza, sex and your apparent secret life as a model. Not specifically in that order."

The brown eye brows went up, "Secret?" Her voice was girlish, "Not a secret. Hard to keep that a secret." She stated.

"So, you're not denying it."

"Told you, Castle. I've modelled high end lingerie."

"Yeah right, I heard that one already, Kate. What are you thinking about?"

"Hot bath." She exited the box with Rick behind.

"That sounds like a good idea. I will do some research on models."

She unlocked the door, repressed a grin that wanted to burst out of her. He really didn't believe her that. There was some fun to be had with this. She could lead him along for a while longer.

"You don't believe that this body could model lingerie," she tempted.

He snorted, then laughed, "I know that the body you have been blessed with could model anything, but I know the soul. It's too kind of introverted to be exposed to the big modelling world."

She swallowed. He was right. The big modelling world was way too big for her. "Maybe I have an alter ego, Ricky." She teased.

"Maybe you do. Like I enjoy secretly writing fan fiction."

"Yes, when am I gonna get the pen name, Ricky?"

"When I see the magazine spread, Honey." Rick closed the door and securely locked them within the apartment as Kate made her way to the bedroom, tugging off clothes as she walked. Rick was at the fridge, tapping the phone number to the pizza place into this cell phone when Kate yelled out the number of the pizza she liked was stuck to the fridge door. He sighed.

"I'm on it, Baby." It was called back and he waited for the reaction.

"Baby? You called me baby."

Rick smiled and put the phone to his ear.

Bright and early the next morning, Beckett knocked solidly on the door of William James' apartment. She was backed up by Ryan, Esposito and Castle. The building manager waited nearby down the hall a little.

Beckett called out, "Will James, NYPD. Open up."

They waited, listened for movement within the apartment but only heard the sounds of their own breathing. Beckett signaled to the building manager to open up. As soon as the door was opened they NYPD team entered the property, guys poised.

Esposito called out from a bedroom, "We're all clear."

"Yeah, clear in here, too." Ryan called back.

Gun were holstered. Beckett and Castle pulled on latex gloves. She started to search through the living area, poking about at the belongings of their suspect.

Beckett said, "You guys. Look what I found." She held up photos of Jenna. "Jenna's comp card."

Esposito asked, "Comp card?"

"Yeah, agencies use it to get models work." Beckett replied, and immediately felt the eyes of Castle staring her down.

"Hmm." Esposito muttered flipping the card over.

Castle peered over Espo shoulder, "A single comp card? That's not very stalker-y. Where's the big, creepy wall of Jenna?"

"Beckett?" Ryan called.

"Yeah?"

"I think I got something. A camera with a telephoto lens."

"What has it got on it?" Beckett asked.

He studied the back of the camera for several seconds, "Nothing. Maybe it's been erased." Ryan pulled out the memory card and squinted to help him read the tiny print, "Ah. Q-tech, four gigs. Same as the empty package on the roof."

Beckett said, "Get it to CSU. See if they can recover the photos."

Castle searched through the belongings in the living room, "If this guy had a thing for Jenna, he sure was subtle about it."

Esposito stepped close to Ryan and whispered, "Did you know what a comp card is?"

Ryan shook his head.

Esposito glanced at Beckett, "Yeah. Me, neither."

The entry door began to open. Ryan and Esposito drew their guns as Will James entered the apartment.

The young man looked to each person in his home, three of them showing NYPD badges, "Can I help you, officers?"

Esposito said, "Will James? Get your hands up."

Will James was taken back to the Precinct for questioning and was charged for stalking. Beckett and Castle interviewed him while Ryan and Esposito ran the background checks. Half way through they were stopped by the boys who had ascertained Will James had been at work when the woman was murdered. They had been provided with video footage which got James off the hook.

"The photographer, Wyatt Monroe, Jenna's husband said he was trying to ruin it for Jenna by making her look bad." Kate said into the phone, "He has an alibi. He was at the party."

While Rick leaned against the car, he watched Kate pace five steps along the sidewalk, turn and take five steps back. She repeated it as she conversed with Ryan who was at the Precinct.

"Mm." He head bobbed, "Yeah, Sierra Goodwin has taken the deceased's place as Teddy Farrow's number one model." Kate stopped, stared across the road, continued to walk, "Yeah, they've moved on when the body is barely cold." Once again, she stopped mid stride. "Okay. Will see you tomorrow, Ryan." She paused, "Bye."

As she put the phone away Castle said, "It's not a job, this thing Jenna was involved in, Honey. It's a campaign, a career maker. Jealousy is a classic motive. You've seen the films. The Talented Mr Ripley. Dead Ringers, and of course, the underrated classic, Showgirls." He gazed over her face.

Beckett's brow furrowed, "Nobody murdered anyone in Showgirls." She cleared her throat, "I hear."

Castle smirked, "Yeah sure, just like you were a model."

"I was."

"We'll see about that. Sierra wanted to be Teddy's favorite, but she was second choice. Sierra could have thought what if Jenna was gone? Then she'd be number one. Then she would finally get everything that she deserved, being number one model. And then one night, she sees her chance. She lures Jenna somewhere quiet, deserted. And when Jenna turns her back, Sierra stabs her."

"With the statue of the Washington Monument that she carries in her purse?"

Castle added, "And then steals her shoes."

Beckett said, "Mm."

"It's not a perfect theory, but we're here anyway, so no harm in learning a little bit more about what makes Sierra Goodwin tick." Castle caught sight of Rina moving amongst the crowd. He said, "And I see just the girl to clue us in."

Rina also saw Castle and approached him, giving a wave and called out, "Rick!"

"Ah, that's Mr Castle to you, missy." He placed a hand gently on her shoulder, "Rina, this is Detective Beckett. Detective Beckett, Rina. She used to baby-sit for me. Or, I mean, Alexis.

Beckett smiled, "You don't say."

Castle said, "Actually, we're here about Jenna."

'Oh, that was so terrible.'

Castle replied, "Yeah. Was it true that she and Sierra Goodwin were kind of BFFs?"

Rina contemplated for a moment or two before she replied, "I wouldn't say BFFs. Sierra's more of a frenemy."

Beckett curious asked, "How so?"

"She doesn't play well with others."

Castle said, "She ever push anybody down the stairs?"

"No. Stupid stuff, really." Rina replied, "Lying about when a call time is. Itching powder in your underwear. Wait, and this one time, she crushed up a diet pill and dropped it into another model's champagne."

Beckett said, "You're saying she dosed someone?"

"The girl got all wired and called Calvin Klein a boring old fart, to his face."

Castle said, "Oh."

Beckett said, "Thank you, Rina. You've been very helpful."

Castle sees Beckett pondering. "You got something you want to share with the class?"

Beckett returned to the present, blinked then said, "I was just thinking, maybe Jenna didn't use drugs. Maybe Sierra was slipping them into her drinks when Teddy Farrow was around, to make her seem crazy or paranoid."

Castle said, "Now that is an evil deed worthy of the Showgirls special edition."

Beckett looked at the entrance and Rick followed her eye line, "What are those two doing here?"

Castle found Ryan and Esposito battling their way through a crowd of mostly tall, beautiful people, the two of them barely visible.

Rick laughed, "Fucking hell, they are short."

Kate giggled, "In a sea of giraffes they are. Even I feel short in here." Esposito raised a file above his head for them to see.

"You're not short. It's one of the things I like about you, being tall."

She smiled, "Yeah, I like it too." Once the detectives were with them Beckett said, "Okay, guys, what's going on?" Both men were busy looking at all of the women.

Pulling himself away from the eye candy, Esposito replied, "Tech managed to recover the deleted photos from Will James' memory card. He might not have been Jenna's killer, but he was definitely her stalker."

Beckett's brow creased, "And you drove all the way down here just to show me this?"

"We thought you'd want them right away," Ryan replied.

"That is so thoughtful of you guys," Castle commented.

"What do you think, Beckett?" Ryan asked still engrossed in their surroundings, "You missing the glamorous life?" He motioned to all the models, the atmosphere."

Beckett eyes opened wide, "The what life?"

Esposito interrupted, rescuing his mate, "Castle, hey." He got the writer's attention, "Is your, uh, your girl here?"

"Rina." Kevin reminded.

Beckett answered, almost defensively, "Rina used to baby-sit Alexis, fellas. So, as far as Big Rick here is concerned, she might as well be wearing a chastity belt."

Castle glared at Kate with a rather disturbed frown, "Thank you for that visual image. That's..." then he smiled smugly, "And also, thank you for calling me Big Rick. Told you."

Kate looked away but Rick caught the blush of her cheeks which caused him to laugh.

Esposito continued oblivious to the subtext going on between Castle and Beckett, "Hey, by the way, our buddy Will has a girlfriend we might want to talk to. There's, uh, some photos of her right here in the back." He handed Beckett a large envelope.

"Mmm. Naked photos." Ryan added.

Beckett pulled the photos out of the packet and scanned them. "Hey Castle, check this out. You get to look at naked pictures?"

"If you insist," Rick replied with a fresh dose of interest, and, when he thought he saw what he did, he leaned closer to Beckett really inspecting the photos. His eyebrows lifted. The photos were of Sierra Goodwin. He asked mostly to Beckett, "Isn't she Will James' girlfriend?"

Kate gave a nod, "Looks like Teddy Farrow isn't the only guy that Sierra was modeling for."

"I guess we are off to chat with the infamous Teddy Farrow."

Over dinner at the Precinct, the team sat around the table in the meeting room to debrief, a selection of Chinese take away boxes scattered between them. The men shoveled in food with plastic forks. Beckett was challenged with chop sticks she was determined to master. Her going was slower, whereas the men almost inhaled their meals.

"When was the last time you guys ate?" She asked looking at each of them.

"You saw, this morn…" Rick shut up as Kate shot him a daggered look. "The claw bear." He corrected.

"A few hours earlier." Espo replied. "This place Rick gets this food from, it's fantastic."

"No MSG, nor additives," Rick responded between mouthfuls. "Beckett reacts to MSG."

"Castle." She warned.

"You do. I saw you come up in hives…"

"True. It could also be my allergy to you."

The boys snickered.

"Ha ha." He wiped his fingers and mouth on a napkin. "Okay. Little Miss by the books here, needs to run her meeting so we can go home."

"Yes." Kate agreed as she chased a piece of honey chicken around her plate, attempting to clutch it between the wood chop sticks. The men watched on in amustement and glanced to each other.

"It's almost agonizing to watch." Rick shared.

"What?" Kate asked.

Espo smirked, "No wonder she never puts on weight chasing food like that."

"She eats plenty." Rick replied, "Believe me."

Kate gave up on the honey chicken, "I eat. Okay. Will James' confessed Sierra hired him to take the stalker photos of Jenna and he helped her write the letters. He also admitted he was supplies Sierra with Addmair."

Castle continued as he passed Kate a plastic fork, "She was doping Jenna with Addmair. She was trying to make her seem paranoid around Teddy Farrow. Eat. It's going cold with you mucking around."

Without thought, Kate discarded the chop sticks and stabbed the piece of chicken with the fork. It went straight to her mouth.

"Sierra didn't kill her." Castle said a little taken aback by Kate's odd appetite, "She just drugged Jenna and sent her threatening letters."

"But she did say that Jenna went to Wyatt's place," she said.

Castle said, "The photographer's?"

"Yes. Keep up, Castle." Kate accompanied her response with a bob of her head.

"I'm here." He paused his mind fascinated by how much she could put away. She burned calories at double the speed he did. He was sure, beyond a doubt that was a fact. Hollow legs. Like the way she could drink him under the table. "It was Sierra that said because Jenna wouldn't sleep with him, Wyatt sabotaged her photo shoot."

"Unfortunately, that's quite a common event within the industry," Beckett stated, placing the fork on her plate. "It's like an open secret with the models. They give people of power, in this instance, Wyatt what he wants, and he gives them great shots. If you don't, he can ruin a career. And Sierra said he wanted Jenna."

"Is that experience talking?" Espo asked.

"Men want pretty women." She replied, "No matter what their careers. And according to Sierra, Wyatt made Jenna choose between her career and her marriage vows."

"Nice guy." Rick commented, "But in defence of the male population, we don't all force pretty women to do things they don't want to."

Esposito gave Castle a sideways look of severe disbelief, "You sure about that Castle?"

"Huh?"

"Look at you and Beckett.'"

Kate's eyes widened, fearful this was the undoing of their secret love affair. She felt Rick's right hand rest upon her left knee. He took a secure hold.

"I don't hassle Beckett," he defended.

"Just forced her to have you as her partner." Ryan said.

Kate turned to Rick, "Yeah Rick. I've been forced to suffer your company."

"You're different. You could kill me with your hands or shoot me."

The boys nodded and Esposito said, "Yeah, he's right. He follows you like a puppy. You always wanted a dog."

Kate and Ryan snickered. "More of an old dog,' she teased.

"Alright, had your fun, kids?" Rick inquired of the group, listening to his friends laugh. He picked up a box of Teriyaki chicken and plonked it down in front of her plate. "You keep eating, Beckett."

Immediately, Kate picked up the box.

"So, what happened on Sunday?" Rick asked Ryan, while he watched Kate in amusement.

"That was the last time Sierra saw her alive. Sunday." Ryan replied.

Esposito said, "We got the rundown on Wyatt Monroe. No priors. But turns out his apartment is right next door to the arts center, and his living room overlooks the fountain where Jenna was killed."

Beckett who poked around in the box Rick had passed her, reminded the team, "He lives next to the crime scene."

Ryan said, "We ran that alibi that Wyatt gave you. Witnesses at the Zac Posen party said he left around 11:30."

Castle said, glancing at his lover, "He told us he left at 3 a.m."

"Oh, there's more. We checked with the Teddy Farrow people. They said he got to their party just before midnight," Esposito said.

Beckett swallowed then stated, "He lied to us which led Castle and I to go visit Wyatt Monroe at his apartment.

"Where I found the Christian Louboutin pink satin pumps, on loan from Teddy Farrow."

"Wyatt denied knowing who they belonged to."

Beckett said, "What is this award, Mr. Monroe?"

"And then Beckett saw the glass obelisk on display."

"The Hilo." Kate playfully corrected.

"Oh yes," Castle chuckled, "For excellence in editorial photography."

"Wyatt admitted Jenna was at his place on Sunday night, but she was alive when she left." Kate advised the boys. "He said Jenna had a change of heart. Wanted them to work together from then on as a team."

"Jenna had an app on her phone that taped the whole conversation," Castle said, "She wanted to record him demanding sex for good shots so she could play it for Teddy Farrow."

"They got into a struggle. The Hilo got knocked from a bookshelf, the tip broke off," Beckett said

"Wyatt told us to listen to the recording on her phone. That he was telling the truth." Castle said.

Beckett nodded, "Problem is, her purse was never found. The evidence is lying in a landfill somewhere. Murder solved." Beckett studied a photo of the designer pumps that was on the table beside her plate. She put down the fork and picked up the photo.

Castle who was inquisitive about her interest asked, "What?"

Beckett glanced at Rick, "If Wyatt killed her, why didn't he do a better job of cleaning up his place, I mean, throw out the pumps? And why would he leave her body right outside of his apartment?"

Esposito said, "Maybe he's not that bright."

Beckett said, "Or maybe he was telling the truth. Maybe he didn't do it."

"We need to find the phone." Rick said.