Shared Obsession Chapter 114

"The door was still open after all these years?" Rick asks as he joins Kyra on their favorite old meeting place.

"Yeah," Kyra says. "I guess they figure since there's nothing to steal up here, why bother locking it."

"Nothing to steal but time. And we stole a lot of that," Castle recalls.

Kyra sighs. "I remember. We spent so much time up here that summer. You would come over here after I got out of class, a bag of food in one hand and that notebook in the other."

"And then I would write and you would pretend to study."

"I wasn't pretending!" Kyra protests.

Castle quirks an eyebrow.

"OK, well, I just had a hard time keeping my hands off you."

"How about Greg? Do you have a hard time keeping your hands off him?"

"I did – except when he and his Uncle Teddy were talking family financial business. Better than melatonin. But now I don't know," Kyra confides. "He told me about Sophie in his room. But that was after he talked to you and Detective Beckett. If he hadn't known it would come out, I don't think he would have ever told me. You weren't like that. I could see the thoughts whirring around in your head until they pushed their way out of your mouth or into your notebook. I don't think we had any secrets."

"I think we had a few. You made it clear that you didn't believe in marriage, at least not at the time. But I don't think either one of us knew our separation would be permanent. And I'm not sure I ever really understood why you had to go."

"You were coming into your own, Rick. You were already a successful writer, no matter what my mother thought. And you were getting more successful. I had to know who I was, what I could become apart from you."

"And you know that now, enough to believe in marriage – to Greg."

"I thought I did. But with Sophie, I don't know if I ever knew him, or the me that would fall in love with him. Rick, did I fall in love with a murderer?"

"Kyra, I don't know. Beckett says there's not enough proof to convict him, but not all the evidence is in yet. And she's considering other theories."

"You know a lot about what she's thinking," Kyra observes. "You two don't just work together, do you, Rick?"

"No, we don't," Castle confesses.

"Are you in love with her?"

"It's complicated. Kate and I have been fighting a war of sorts, side by side. And until that's resolved, it's going to be hard to move our relationship forward to where I want it to be."

"Is that where she wants it to be?"

"I don't know. I hope so."

Kyra leans her head against Rick's chest. "Looks like we're both in limbo."

Rick wraps his arms around her. "But you should know about Greg – I mean whether he's a murderer or not, pretty soon. After that, you can decide which way you're going."

"And you?"

"For now, Kate and I are waiting for whatever will move us along to the final battle."

Kyra slowly pulls away. "Good luck, Rick."

"Good luck to you too, Kyra."


When she hears Rick's key in the lock, Kate looks up from the Patterson mystery she's been unsuccessfully trying to read and starts for the door. "What happened?"

"We met, which I'm sure you know by now. She's upset, Beckett, too upset to have had anything to do with Sophie's death. And I don't believe she knows any more than we do. Maybe less. We all need answers."

"Well, we should have them about Greg, tomorrow. Lanie said she'd kick some ass over at CSU to make sure they get the results out."

"What about the FBI?"

"Lanie put in a call there too. She has a college friend who works in the trace lab. From what she said, he helped her with chemistry and she helped him with biology."

A smile ghosts Castle's lips. "Sounds like an extremely fruitful trade."

Kate tugs at his collar. "Anyway, we should get our results from the feebies tomorrow too."

"Yeah, I'm just not sure what I'm hoping they'll find. If Greg did kill Sophie, it will tear Kyra apart."

"The evidence is what the evidence is, Babe. You know that."

"Yeah, I do."


"Financials are in on Greg Murphy," Esposito announces as Kate and Castle step off the elevator at the 12th. "No red flags. He actually lives pretty modest for someone with a trust fund."

"Anything back from the lab?" Kate asks.

"Nothing useful. There was no blood or DNA from Sophie on the tie bar. The shape matches the wound but the trace doesn't. So far, the earring is the only thing that ties Greg to the murder. It definitely was Sophie's."

Kate sinks into her desk chair. "But Greg already admitted that and explained how it got there, which gives us nothing."

"How about the sheets?" Castle asks. "If there were, um, fluids, then it would prove Greg and Sophie had sex."

"Which still wouldn't prove he murdered her," Kate points out. "But it's moot. The maid changed the sheets. We hadn't designated Greg's room as a crime scene, so she had no reason not to."

"Do we have pictures of the tie bar?" Castle asks.

"What good would that do?" Esposito questions. "It's not tied to the murder."

"I want to see if there's a reason someone might have a similar one – in a different metal," Castle explains.

Kate scowls at the report Esposito handed her. "That would be a real longshot."

"Have we got any short shots left?" Castle asks.

"Not really," she admits. "What are you looking for?"

"I noticed that Greg was wearing a ring with the Murphy crest on it. I was wondering if the tie bar had one. And if Greg had something like that, maybe other members of the Murphy family would too."

"What motive would anyone else in the Murphy family have?" Kate asks.

"I don't know. But if someone else has a tie bar like that, maybe we can find out. Sometimes photographers take family pictures before the wedding," Castle muses. "Before the rehearsal dinner when no one was soused yet, would have been a good time."

"I'll check on that," Kate says. "Ryan, Esposito, I want you to retrace Sophie's steps since she arrived in New York. Maybe we're missing something that will point to our killer."


Castle uses the magnifying app on his phone to examine a small stack of 8 X 10 photos. "Beckett, I was right! Greg is wearing the tie bar with the crest and so is his Uncle Teddy. It might be an artifact of the photo, but Teddy's seems to have more of a sheen to it."

"Like it's made of a different metal?" Kate wonders.

"Yeah."


"Who gave me my tie bar?" Greg echoes impatiently from a stool in the hotel bar. "Detective Beckett, you already confirmed it had nothing to do with the murder. Why do you want to know?"

"Because we're still missing evidence in Sophie's murder," Kate explains. "Look, Greg, the faster I get answers, the faster this whole thing will be over."

"Fine. I don't see how it will help, but Uncle Teddy gave it to me. He has one a lot like it. And he gave out copies to family at our last reunion. I thought it might be nice to wear mine at the wedding."

"Your Uncle Teddy's very important in your life, isn't he?" Kate asks.

"Not that it has anything to do with Sophie, but yes. Since my parents died, he's always been the one who takes care of family business."

"I'm sure he does," Kate replies.

"Is that all?" Greg demands.

"For now, yes."


Ryan gazes into the lounge at the 12th where members of the wedding party wait to be questioned individually. Despite a cup of coffee from Castle's best beans, Sheila looks even more sour than usual. "Who gets the mother of the bride?" he asks.

"Rock paper scissors?" Esposito offers. "But you know how hard I am to beat."

The two men shoot out their hands. Ryan grins. While shaking his head in disgust, Esposito makes his way to Sheila Blaine.