A/N #1: I want to take some time out to remember the wonderful Anne Wersching, who passed away in January at the age of 45. I'm not sure any other actress could have made Dr. Kelly Nieman as memorable and as creepy. I know that she played an equally creepy nemesis on 'The Rookie,' but I don't watch that show.
A/N #2: This chapter will have more original material than the previous chapter. And like the previous chapter, the timeline will differ from the actual episode. However, there will be spoilers from both 'Resurrection' and 'Reckoning.'
In My Veins
Chapter 4: Looking for Answers
Capt. Gates came out of her office when she saw the elevator doors open. Beckett and Esposito were walking on either side of a handcuffed Jerry Tyson, while Castle and Ryan walked behind them. "Where did you find him?" Gates asked.
"In Amy Barrett's apartment. He was attempting to escape out a window, but he stopped when he was ordered to," Kate explained.
"He didn't resist?"
"No, sir."
"Can we have a word?" The captain asked.
"Take him to one," Kate ordered Espo. "Castle, wait for me outside the room."
"Okay."
Kate followed Gates into her office where the captain closed the door. "What is your gut telling you? Why didn't he resist?"
"I don't know. But my gut is telling me that he's up to something. They both are."
"Nieman, too? What about Amy Barrett?"
"I don't know what her role is in all this. For all I know, she may be another victim. Also, sir, Tyson's claiming that his name is Michael Boudreau. His driver's license is under that name."
"Have Ryan run a check on Michael Boudreau and see what pops. Keep me informed of everything, Detective."
"Yes, sir."
Kate left the office and found Castle standing outside of Interrogation Room #1, watching Jerry Tyson through the one-way glass. "I never thought we would see this day. Jerry Tyson back in our precinct in handcuffs."
"We don't have a smoking gun, Castle."
"What about his apartment?"
"CSU is going through it, but so far there's no evidence. There's nothing to indicate foul play. We can't charge him for his past crimes. Not with his records missing."
"But we have him at the motel. He attacked Ryan and he held me at gunpoint," Castle reminded her.
"Okay. That's kidnapping and aggravated assault on a police officer. That will work while we try to build a case for the murder of Susan Watts. Thanks, Castle."
"You knew that you kept me around for more than just my good looks," he grinned at her, earning an eyeroll from his wife. "Shall we?" He nodded toward the room where Tyson was being held.
"Let's do this."
Tyson looked at the doorway when Kate and Castle came walking in, taking seats across from him. "I've never had a cop as hot as you talk to me before," he smiled at Kate.
"Really? You're saying that you don't know me?"
"No. Believe me, I'd remember."
"Fine. We can play that game. I'm Det. Beckett and this is Richard Castle. He's a consultant for the department."
"I really don't know why I'm here. My name is Michael Boudreau. I'm from Iowa. Can we just clear this up so that I can get out of here? I'm supposed to be meeting my girl in a couple of hours."
"Your girl? That would be Amy?" Beckett asked.
"Yeah. We share the apartment."
"You're sure that you don't need to get out of here to meet your partner?"
"My partner? I don't know what you're talking about. I have a girlfriend. I guess you could call her my partner."
"Where are you meeting Amy?"
"In Times Square. There's a bistro down there that we both like."
"Where's Michael Boudreau?" Castle spoke for the first time.
"You're kidding, right?" One look at Castle's face told him that he wasn't kidding. "I'm Michael Boudreau. You have my id. I mean, who else would I be?"
"Jerry Tyson," Castle's expression is stonelike.
"Okay. I do get that from time to time."
They were interrupted by a knock on the door. Kate got up and motioned for Castle to follow her. She opened the door to find Ryan standing there. "I ran the name Michael Boudreau from Iowa, and this is what popped," Ryan handed Kate a DMV picture that looked nothing like the man in their interrogation room.
"Notify the state police in Iowa and see if anyone has reported this man missing," Kate ordered, watching Ryan walk off. She then opened the door and walked back into the interrogation room with Castle right behind her.
"You look exactly like Jerry Tyson, and nothing like Michael Boudreau," Kate slid the photo that Ryan had just handed her across the table.
"Well, I'll tell you," Tyson sat back in his chair, "I had some work done. I still have little teeny, tiny scars here, and here, behind my ear."
"That's what you're going with? You had cosmetic surgery?"
"Yes, ma'am."
"To look like a serial killer?" Castle was incredulous.
"I didn't like how I looked, so I decided to change my appearance. I met this great plastic surgeon, and she gave me a new face. Ever since, I've felt like a new man."
"Was your surgeon Dr. Kelly Nieman?" Kate asked.
"Yes, as a matter of fact."
"The problem that I have is how am I going to prove that you're Michael Boudreau?"
"How are you going to prove that I'm not?" He challenged her back.
They were interrupted again, this time by a tap on the mirror. "Excuse us," Kate stood up, once again motioning for Castle to follow her.
"Is there a reason why he can't stay in here with me?"
"We'll be back," Kate and Castle left the room and walked into the ob room where Gates was waiting.
"In my office," Gate ordered, as Kate, the boys and Castle all followed the captain into her office. "We have a problem."
"Which is?" Kate asked.
"As you all know, we only have one hard copy of Tyson's fingerprints."
"Right. From the prison records that I had them send here," Kate added.
"Those prints don't match those of the man that you have in our interrogation room."
"No, that's not possible," Kate argued.
"Did they come up to anybody?" Castle asked.
"Yes. To Michael Boudreau. We checked and rechecked. There's no mistake."
"I know how he did it!" Castle's voice was excited. "Tyson killed Boudreau and took his identity. Nieman grafted Boudreau's fingerprints onto Tyson's hands."
"The scars from the surgery would've shown up on his fingerprint card, Mr. Castle."
"Nieman would've known how to graft the fingerprints without leaving scars!"
"Nevertheless, the DA just called. Boudreau's lawyer says that we're holding his client under false pretenses, and he wants him released."
"Sir, that man is Jerry Tyson! If he walks out of here, we'll never see him again!"
"This is exactly why Tyson had his files removed from our records room. Now he can kill and get away with it!" Castle was furious.
"Sir, do we have to release him now?"
"If you don't find something that we can use to hold him and soon, then, yes. For now, take him to holding, and start digging. We may only have a few hours."
Kate and the three men left Gates' office, feeling dejected. "You have to be kidding me," Ryan was walking back and forth.
"I don't like it either, Ryan. Espo, take him to holding. And let's find something or his next move is going to be out of this precinct. Ryan, let's check the GPS on his truck. We need to see where he's been. And pull his phone records. Hopefully we can tie him to Susan Watts' murder."
"Kate, have you heard anything from Five Points? Maybe we should go talk to Carl Matthews."
"Yeah, I'll clear it with Gates," Kate turned around and went back into Gates' office.
While she was in the office, Castle took the opportunity to think about the case. There had to be a way to prove that the man sitting in the precinct was Jerry Tyson. But how? Wait! Could it really be that easy?
"Gates is going to call the warden, but she told us to head up there. What's wrong?" Kate asked, seeing the sudden animated look in Castle's eyes.
"Tyson grew up in the system."
"Yeah. I think he went into the foster care system when he was eight or nine."
"His mother signed him over. Kate, is there any possibility that she might still have something with his DNA?"
"Probably not, but she's a blood relative. His mother will share his DNA." Kate was now as excited as Castle was. "Ryan, see if you can locate Tyson's birth mother. Castle and I have a hunch. Text me an address when you get it. Right now, we're heading up to Five Points."
"If I find her, Espo and I can run with it."
"Okay. You guys do that. If you find her, get a buccal swab and get Lanie to do a rush on it."
"It'll have to be a rush. The D.A. has told Gates that we only have a few hours. She's trying to get the timeline extended, but apparently the D.A. is more concerned about a civil rights violation than a serial killer once again wandering the streets."
"He's worried about having the case dismissed on a technicality. I can't fault him for that. Let me know if you find anything."
"Right."
"We have until tomorrow afternoon to prove something or they're going to let Tyson go. Gates is trying to get it extended, but I'm not going to hold my breath," Kate told Castle. "Let's get going. It's a long drive upstate."
***CCC***
Dr. Kelly Nieman was in her office when her cellphone rang. She noticed the caller id and immediately picked it up. "Yeah?"
"The police picked Michael up. There were cars all over the place," Amy was beginning to sound nervous.
"Amy, it's okay. Believe me, everything is going exactly to plan."
"Arresting Mike is everything going exactly to plan? How is that possible?"
"Amy, they're going to be forced to let him go. He's not the man that they think he is."
"Who do they think he is?"
"Do you have Michael's credit cards?"
"Yeah. He gave them to me before the cops got there."
"I need you to do something tomorrow."
"What?"
"Buy yourself something using his card. I want Det. Beckett to be alerted. She will show up to wherever you are. I need you to be confrontational. Can you do that?"
"Yes, but why am I doing this? Won't she arrest me for having the cards?"
"No. You're Michael's girlfriend. Explain that he gave you permission to use his card. But stay near your phone. I'll be giving you further instructions later tomorrow."
"Okay. What has Michael done?"
"Nothing. I told you, the police have nothing on him. We'll all be reunited before you know it. Just keep doing everything that I tell you."
"Okay."
Moments after she ended the call with Amy, her phone rang once again. "This is Dr. Nieman."
"You said that you wanted to be notified if the cops came back up here to talk to inmate Carl Matthews. A detective from New York City is on her way up here. She'll be here in a few hours."
"Detective Beckett from the 12th Precinct?"
"Yes."
"Thank you."
"Is there anything that I need to do?"
"No. I just wanted to know if someone came up. I'll deal with everything else on my end."
***CCC***
After clearing security, Castle and Beckett were led to an open visiting area. After waiting for several minutes, a heavy metal door opened, and a guard came in leading Carl Matthews. Once he was seated, the guard secured his hands to a metal ring on the table. The guard then walked over and stood with his back to the door, facing Matthews the entire time.
"Why are you here?" Matthews asked.
"I have some questions. Questions that I believe you have the answers to," Kate said.
"I told you everything about my crimes. I remember filling several legal pads with details of my crimes. Both here in New York and in Florida. Thank you for allowing me to serve my sentence in a non-lethal injection state."
"That wasn't up to me. When you were living in Florida, did you meet this woman?" Kate slid a picture of Kelly Nieman across the table.
"I would definitely remember meeting someone that attractive. No, I don't know who she is."
"You know what, Carl? I don't believe you," Kate challenged him. "What about this man?" Now she slid a picture of Jerry Tyson across and noticed a brief flicker of recognition cross his face. "His name is Jerry Tyson."
"You asked me about him when you arrested me at the motel that night. I told you that Tyson is dead. While I admire his work, I've never personally met him."
"Again, I don't believe you. What about this woman?" Now she pushed a photo of Amy Barrett across.
"Yeah," he finally admitted. "Her I do know."
"How do you know her?"
"I used to see her when I would work the docks."
"If you know her, then you know her," Castle tapped the picture of Kelly Nieman. "Which means you probably also know Tyson."
"What's in it for me if I tell you what I know? I'm not going to get time shaved off my sentence. There's no reason for me to tell you anything."
"There was a man named Michael Boudreau. I think they met him here in New York. I know that you were Kelly Nieman's proxy. Did you ever hear anything about Michael Boudreau?"
"When I first met her in Florida, she was taking care of someone. The only thing she ever said was it was someone that she cared about. That he'd gotten injured in a fall."
"Jerry Tyson," Castle looked at Kate.
"How was she treating him?" Kate asked.
"I don't know. That's the truth. She was trying to change his appearance. Don't ask me how. She said she had a plan, but she was going to have to return to New York to pull it off. She said something about most of her medical equipment being here. She asked me to come here with her. I guess I should've stayed in Florida."
"Tell me about Michael Boudreau.'
"That's Michael Boudreau," Matthews nodded toward the picture of Tyson. "I've only known that man as Michael Boudreau. Nieman said the police would never be able to prove that he wasn't Michael Boudreau."
"That's because she stole all his files with Jerry Tyson's help. That was quite a feat."
"She's crazy smart," Matthews smiled in admiration. "You'll never be able to prove that she's done anything."
"Yes, I will."
***CCC***
"Gretchen Cutler!" Ryan called out as he and Esposito walked up to a woman who was working in a garden.
"Who wants to know?" The woman stood up and brushed her hands off.
"We need to ask you some questions about your son," Esposito said, seeing the woman visibly bristle.
"I don't have a son," she turned to go into her house.
"We're talking about Jerry Tyson," Ryan said.
"I know who you're talking about. He hasn't lived here since he was nine years old."
"Is that when he went into foster care?" Espo asked.
"I was a good mom to that kid. Nothing I did could've made him what he was. The stuff they've said about him is all lies!"
"Yeah, we're here because we believe that his crimes were unjustified," Espo looked at Ryan, giving him a look to just run with it. At least she was talking.
"We need a sample of your DNA. To try to clear Jerry."
"My DNA won't help you. Jerry wasn't my blood."
"These papers list you as his mother," Ryan showed her the papers she had signed when she gave him to the state.
"Jeff was his old man. One day, Jeff split and left me with Jerry. I did the best that I could with that kid. But . . . he was a hellion. Nothing that I did was going to change that."
"Do you know where we can find Jeff?" Esposito asked.
"Dead. Both him and Jerry's biological mom. They both died a long time ago."
"Do you happen to have any of Jerry's personal belongings from when he was a kid. Like a toothbrush or a hairbrush?" Ryan asked, hopeful that she'd say yes. They really needed a break on this one. And fast.
"No. I don't have any of that stuff. Jerry came by years ago and took it all with him."
"You didn't keep anything?" Ryan asked.
"Well, I couldn't let it all go. I kept a few things. I'll go see if I can find them."
Gretchen came back outside several minutes later with a cardboard box. She gave it to Ryan, who dumped the contents out on a picnic table. "Shit, man!" Espo exclaimed as they went through the stuff. "This is just a box of his toys!"
"Yeah, we can't pull DNA from any of this . . . crap," Ryan had never felt more helpless and exasperated in his life.
"No, I mean these are Jerry Tyson's toys. They're so . . . normal. Hell, I used to play with half of the stuff in this box. Tonka trucks and toy soldiers."
"Well, what were you expecting? Dead animals and shrunken heads?" Suddenly, Ryan spotted a small object and picked it up. It was a small matchbox. Opening it, a baby tooth fell out of it. "Espo, if this is one of Tyson's baby teeth, Lanie can extract DNA from it. Ms. Cutler, can we take this?"
"You can take all of it if you want."
"No, we just need this. Thank you for your time."
When they got back in their car, Ryan called Beckett. "Beckett," her voice came across the line.
"Beckett, it's Ryan. Gretchen Cutler was a bust. She was Tyson's stepmother. She signed him over to the state after Tyson's old man ran off. But the visit wasn't a total bust. We found a baby tooth. We're heading to the M.E.'s office right now."
"Okay, that's good. What about the timeline?"
"We were able to get an additional eight hours, but that's it. If we don't prove something by eight o'clock tomorrow night, Tyson walks. How did it go at Five Points?"
"I'll fill you in when I get back. We'll be there in a few hours."
"Okay."
When Castle and Beckett stepped off the elevator shortly after seven o'clock that evening, Gates stepped out of her office and motioned for them to attend the meeting that she'd already set up with Ryan and Esposito. "How did it go at Five Points?" She asked when Beckett closed the door behind them.
"Matthews kept contradicting himself. At first, he denied knowing Nieman, but then he admitted knowing her in Florida. He said that she was taking care of someone who had been injured in a fall, but supposedly he never met the person that she was caring for. However, he did finally admit to knowing both Amy Barrett and Tyson, only he knows Tyson as Michael Boudreau."
"Did you believe him?"
"I don't know. He tripped over himself so many times during the interview that I can't be sure what's true and what's a lie."
"I ran Michael Boudreau's name. He's been missing from Davenport, Iowa, for the last three years," Gates handed Beckett the missing persons file on Michael Boudreau.
"Did you talk to anyone?"
"I spoke to Capt. Turner from the Davenport PD. According to Mr. Boudreau's mother, he had come out here to work on a construction job. She said she heard from him a few times after he arrived, and then nothing. She said that she tried calling his cellphone, but it had been disconnected."
"He was coming here? Not Florida?" Kate was confused. Matthews had told her that Nieman was caring for someone in Florida. Where was Michael Boudreau and how did he fit into all this?
"Did he say anything about how the job was going?" Castle asked.
"He told his mother that it hadn't started yet. But she said that's not unusual in construction."
"What about the baby tooth that you found?" Kate asked the boys.
"Lanie has it. She said she should know something by tomorrow afternoon."
"How long can we hold Tyson?" Kate asked Gates.
"The D.A. has given us until 8 p.m. tomorrow evening. If we can't find anything by that time, we have to let him go. Let's hope that the tooth gives us something."
"What happens to him tonight?"
"He'll remain in holding under around the clock guard. I've already told the guards that no one leaves that man alone. I won't have him walking out of our precinct until we know one way or the other who he is," Gates told the group. "The four of you have done all that you can for tonight. I suggest that you go home and try to get some rest. We'll pick up in the morning."
"Yes, sir," the four of them echoed.
Sitting in a dark SUV across from the precinct, Dr. Kelly Nieman watched the four detectives exit the precinct and get into their respective vehicles. She knew what had been found by Detectives Ryan and Esposito, but she wasn't concerned. She knew for a fact that the four detectives were going to learn that nothing about this case was at it seemed. And they also weren't aware that the games were just beginning. She had so much more to do before Jerry walked out of that precinct. Once she saw them drive off, she took out her cellphone and placed a phone call. "How much did he admit to?" She asked when a male voice answered the phone.
"He admitted to knowing the girl and Boudreau. Do you want me to deal with it?"
"I don't want him dead. Give him the same message that you gave Jerry in order to get him released from there. Call me when it's done."
"You've got it."
Nieman placed her cellphone back in her center console. She had always known that Carl Matthews was stupid, but this time his stupidity would serve her purposes.
A/N #3: There might be some continuity errors toward the end of this chapter. I tried to catch and correct them, but I apologize if I didn't. My brain is all over the place the past few days.
A/N #4: Due to ideas that just occurred to me last night as I was finishing this chapter, there will be two more chapters with this storyline. However, hold on to your hats because I am seriously going to shake things up.
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