Something Old, Something New

by Castlefan6

A/N: By Request, PRE-Series Hookup, SEQUEL to Diminished Recall. Picks up exactly where that ends. COMPLETELY AU except for the conversation that prompted this and the use of some character's names. For CeCe, Friend, and Co-Writer with Pen2Paper.

I don't own Castle; I use the characters for amusement purposes only

I hope it's close to what you wanted.

A/N: Laurie's occupation was a songwriter, she said she had been lucky a few times. For the sake of this fiction, please assume the songs written by Diane Warren were her work, under her pen name of DW. Thx

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Chapter 6

12th Precinct

Conference Room

"As I said, I'm Castle, or Rick when you get to know me better. There has to be a common link between the victims, regardless of where they live. All had wall safes, meaning they stored valuables, worth more than some of our yearly salaries there, and all mentioned jewelry.

"The first couple, the Kessler's were bound, gagged, and beaten before they were murdered. In the second murder, again a couple, the Brunners suffered physical trauma, the wife had her arms broken before they were murdered, and then a single lady who lived alone, I won't mention how many bones they had to break to stuff her in her own wall safe.

"All occurred in separate parts of the city, so what is the common denominator between these three victims?" Rick asked, No one spoke up. "Come on people even stupid ideas are better than silence, how the hell are we going to find the killers if everyone is afraid to talk?" He admonished,

"Rick, we've checked to see if they went to the same church, or belonged to the same clubs, so far nothing to tie the three together," Karpowski said.

"That's a good start, but wealthy people like to support causes, each has their own particular one they are partial to for whatever reason. Who is running the financials on these victims?" Rick asked,

"Ann Hastings ran it on the first Vic," Roz said, as she turned to Beckett, almost to ask, who on your team took care of the other two?

"Beckett, who ran the financials from your team for the next two victims," he asked,

"Detective Esposito did the financial work up for the next two cases." She said, not unpleasant, but certainly not in a team atmosphere.

"Roz, did you review Anne's findings, or are they still in the same condition as when she submitted them? Rick asked,

"I reviewed them, but didn't find any discrepancies or blanks, Rick," She replied,

"How about your team Beckett? Did you review Esposito's findings, or did you just accept them at face value? "He asked staring at her,

"I reviewed them quickly, but I wouldn't say it was thorough enough to say nothing was missing or they had any glaring mistakes" she replied,

"Roz, do me a favor, please get with Anne, and review all three sets of financial records. If you find anything missing or screwed up, DON'T Correct it, call Detective Beckett and me. We need to be able to count on the reports our staff submit, all of them, not just some" he shot Beckett a dirty look when he saw her scowl.

Just as he was about to speak his phone rang, it was Laurie's ringtone, "Excuse me I need to take this," he said as he left the room and stepped into a private office to answer the call.

He closed the door just as Lanie heard him say, "Hi Sweetheart, is everything OK, you're calling earlier than I thought?"

She swallowed hard and returned to the lab, she had made her contribution to the meeting, nothing else she could add that would be helpful, at least not yet.

"Rick, you're not going to believe this, guess who is cutting your song? I almost died, first that she liked it, then when I heard how passionate she was as she sang it, I knew she owned the song" She gushed almost like a high school girl.

"Well, I was going to say Weird Al Yankovic, but you said she, so I have no idea" he smiled into the phone,

"Weird Al, you're gonna pay for that buster," she laughed, then told him of her encounter with Celine Dion, and how she had sold four songs, three more had options as soon as she was happy with them, she was to submit them to the studio. She sounded like she had won the lottery,

"I'm so proud of you, I told you, that song moved me, I almost shed a tear when you sang it to me," He said,

"You did shed a tear, but not as many as I did as I was writing it. I wanted it to be special, to convey the feelings I had, without saying hey Rick, this psycho biatch has claimed you, so you better watch your step" She laughed when she heard Rick's booming laughter come across the phone,

"Sweetie, you never were or could be a psycho biatch, and the song is very special to me. I couldn't be happier for you, does that mean that you get to come home sooner?" he asked,

"Yes, I called Janice, and she is filing the required paperwork, but she told me to tell you I was in good hands, and she would have me back in New York before rush hour today." She smiled into the phone,

That's great sweetheart, will you come to the Loft, I know you have your condo, but I"

"I was hoping you were going to ask, I know with you working at the precinct, it would be two plus hour commute time, I can't go without seeing you, so yes, I'll be at the loft. Are you sure Martha and Alexis won't mind?" she asked,

"Why don't you text Alexis and tell her you're coming over, and getting home early, and see the response you get" he laughed,

"Are you sure, I mean"

"Laurie, you need to feel comfortable around my family, and you have to know how they feel about you by now. Alexis looks up to you, she plays violin in the school orchestra and was almost ready to quit until she learned you were a songwriter. Tell her about your experience and I'll be lucky to get a word in edgewise", he laughed.

"OK Sweetie, how are things going there, I know it's the first day, but is it as bad as you thought?" she asked quietly,

"Well, Bob rescinded the Commissioner's cuts to Roy's budget, but Roy is still about an eyebrow hair away from retiring and leaving the mess to the as he calls them desk cops, and Full Time Cop Critics, his term for the mayor."

"Oh goodness, that sounds like it was worse than you thought. I'm glad you went to help him out Rick, he's a good man, and well it's hard to find people who stick with you through good and bad" she said, remembering how she read about Montgomery's men had a higher rate of surviving than typical units, even though their assignments were rated as high risk.

"I'm sure he's going to love you, Laurie, speaking of, I better get back, text me when you get to the loft please and I'll try to get out of here." He said, then quietly said, "I missed you so damn much, I love you" he couldn't see but a tear of happiness trickled down her cheek,

"I missed you too sweetheart, and Rick, I DO love you. I'll see you soon, "she hung up before they got into the who was going to hang up the first routine.

Rick slipped back into the conference room, and he could tell by the scowl on Roz's face something wasn't going along with the plan.

"OK Roz, what is it? I can tell by that look on your face we have a problem" Rick said softly,

Roz shot Beckett a look, and then said, "I'm going to defer that to Beckett, Rick. It would be better coming from her" she said, still red in the face obviously pissed as hell about something.

"The financials for the second and third cases are incomplete. I should have double-checked them when Javi submitted them, but I didn't that's on me." She said, not looking anywhere but the floor,

"Kate, I know he's your friend, but they weren't incomplete they were barely started. He inserted templates of standard formats to give it the look and feel that he had worked it to its completion but, you and I both know, this was just plain lazy work." Roz wasn't pulling any punches,

"Beckett, is that true?" Castle asked, not in any mood to be jacked around.

"Well, they are more than started"

"How much more Detective? Percentage of completion, not even mentioning accuracy,? May I remind you that your ass is on the line just as much as his, he is your report." Rick said, pissing Kate off, where does he get off about police protocol, a friend of the mayor or not,

"I'm fully aware of whose bears responsibility for direct reports Mr. Castle, but I'm not aware that you were in a position to evaluate the performance of an official NYPD Detective." She snarked back,

"I'm not that's your job, my part of the job when it comes to that is to try to keep Weldon from firing one or all of your team, you included. I'm not evaluating, and I'm still waiting for the answer to my question, Percentage detective?" Rick said back in a tone that sent shivers down Roz's spine. He was more than just a recommended asset; he was connected to the Mayor and Captain. Answer the damn question, Beckett, she thought, you're already in enough trouble.

"I would estimate they are 20% complete, as for accuracy, I would have to review, but Javier usually turns in quality work, even if it's behind schedule." She tried to defend him again,

"Beckett, 20% is the forms printed off, with perhaps the case number and victim's names, that's where he is at on these?" he asked his face showing frustration,

"Well, you are the expert, so I can't argue with your statement," she said, and knew it was the wrong thing to say, the minute the words cleared her mouth.

Rick picked up his phone, "Sorry to bother you but we have a situation, code 10 that needs to be handled immediately," he said and paused, "Ten minutes, got it, they will see you then." And hung up the phone,

"Beckett go find Esposito, be in the Captain's office in ten minutes," he said as he slipped his sport coat on.

"Are you leaving Rick?" Roz asked,

"Yeah, but I'll be in touch by phone, I can't sit through this with that smug, cocky little bastard without kicking his ass, so yes I'm leaving." He said and walked out the door.

"Don't say it Roz, I know, believe me I know already how deep shit I'm in. God Damn Javi, why did he pick this case to fuck off on," she lamented,

"Kate, you know as well as I do, it's not just this case, the guy is a fuck off, always has been." Roz laid it out there. "You better catch him before he slips away trying to impress second shift patrol officers, female of course, and you lose another hour of his work. Roy is already pissed, Good Luck, Girl, YOU ARE GONNA need it." She said,

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Montgomery's Office

12 minutes Later

Kate found Javi where Roz warned her he would be, and by the time they got back to Roy's office, he was already fuming. They approached his office, Kate knocked, and said, "Sir, you wanted to see Detective Esposito and me?"

"You're late detectives," was his verbal response as he motioned for them to enter, he stood lowered the blinds, locked the door, and returned to his desk.

"I'm recording this meeting, do I have your permission Detectives, answer loud and with your name" he barked out,

Kate nudged Espo, "Detective Esposito, yes sir, you have my permission to record.

"Detective Beckett, and yes sir, I also grant permission to be recorded, sir."

"Roy reached over and pressed record on a small recorder on the corner of his desk, "Today, May 8th, Captain Roy Montgomery along with Detective Javier Esposito, and current lead detective Kate Beckett are meeting to discuss some serious charges of dereliction of duty. The meeting is being recorded with permission from the two detectives, as mandated by HR.

"It has come to my attention that Detective Esposito has submitted false reports when working on two critical murder investigations. He has inserted standard templates to make the reports appear to have the volume required if a proper investigation had been conducted.

"His current supervising detective, Kate Beckett, approved the submissions, obviously without a proper review of the content. Both offenses are punishable up to immediate discharge from the NYPD, loss of all benefits, and a letter of incident placed in their file to forward to any future employers requesting references.

"This is of grave concern since it involves two cases out of three that have received attention from the Press and made a major impact on the Commissioner and Mayor's priorities for crimes to be solved. The charges are as follows,

"Detective Esposito is charged with deliberately submitting a false or misleading report in an active investigation, he is charged with fraud, by submitting place keeper documents, known as templates until such time he completed the official report,

"In addition, Detective Esposito is also charged with Malfeasance in the performance of the duties of a Detective, for the NYPD"

"Detective Beckett is charged with Misfeasance in the performance of her role as Lead Detective, charged with the responsibility for the accuracy of all reports and artifacts pertaining to reports she or any of her direct reports submit.

"At this time, I will offer the opportunity for any defense either Detective Esposito or Detective Beckett has to offer,"

Esposito spoke up immediately, "Sir, I beg of you to allow me to accept full responsibility for my actions, as you pointed out I went to great lengths to deceive Detective Beckett, and I feel it would be a travesty if she is punished."

"Very Well Detective Esposito, anything from you Detective Beckett?"

"Sir, no sir, Detective Esposito reported to me, and I failed to manage his activities sir, no excuse sir."

Roy paused for a second and then said. "Place your weapons, ID Cards, and Shields upon my desk, and leave the precinct within 15 minutes, you are both suspended without pay until a board may convene to hold a hearing for your dismissal. You both make me sick, now get out of my office, this meeting is adjourned." And turned the tape recorder off.

Javi wasted no time in throwing a few personal objects in his backpack and was out of the precinct in less than five minutes. Kate told Kevin to keep an eye on him, and just rolled her eyes when he asked, "How bad is it, Kate?"

"The worst you could imagine, take care Kevin, I'll talk to you when I can." And she was down the same stairs as Esposito had bolted down.

In the conference room, Anne Hastings was busy at work putting the real financials together of the two cases Esposito had screwed up royally. She settled in for a long evening, probably a few long evenings, Damn Cocky SOB, why couldn't he just do his job and try to get laid on his own time?" she thought.

She had minored in Computer Science in college, so she decided to write a simple program to see if the computer could do a faster job comparing the financial data of all three victims. She concentrated on contributions, to church, and special interest organizations such as Save the Environment, and on the fifth pass of her very crude program she found the link, Metropolitan American Dance Theater, that was the only common financial factor that tied the couples together.

"Hey Roz, we got something, you better call Rick, we're going to need his input on this one," she said,

"What do you have Anne, I need to be able to tell Rick what, and how we got this lead, especially after the FUBAR that Esposito and Beckett pulled." She said,

"By the way what was the outcome of their meeting with the Captain, I've been hunkered down behind this computer running the sort, and similar programs against the data for the last 12 hours," Anne asked,

"Suspended, pending a full review, for dismissal, Esposito has probably bought it, but Kate, I don't know, I mean, she approved his report, without looking. I don't think she should lose her job for that; I mean trusting a friend" Roz said,

"Roz, you know better than that, and don't let Rick hear you say something like that. He is a stickler for doing things the right way, sometimes not always by the book, but when he goes rogue he's usually right in doing so." Anne said softly,

"You're right, I'm going to call him, looks like Forensics found metal shavings in the lock at the Delgado apartment, like a bump key was used to gain access. The poor lady probably surprised them in the act of the burglary and paid for it with her life."

Roy was walking back from the break room when he overheard the Bump Key comment, he walked into the conference room with Anne and Roz. Did I hear that correctly, there was a bump key used?"

"Yes Sir, but the lock is a high-grade import, not just any bump key would work in those tumblers," Roz said,

"Anne, do a search on prisoners just released, in the last six months" she typed as Roy walked over to the monitor, he saw a name that jolted him. "Evan Mitchell, you son of a bitch, carrying on the family tradition," Roy said,

Roz asked "Sir? Do you know this guy?"

"He's a legacy, third-generation of manufacturer of high-end specialty keys. His dad and his granddad are legends in the industry and spent more time in the joint than at their homes." Roy said,

"He was recently released from Attica Sir," Anne said, as she peered at the records,

"When did Mitchell get out?" Roy asked,

"Two weeks before our first heist, sir" Anne replied,

"Send some units over to his last know, and pick him up, this has got his signature all over it," Roy said, "Oh, and call Rick, let him know what you've got." He said as he walked back to his office, finally seeing some traction in solving these crimes.

TBC