"Real pleasure to help out New York finest, Captain Montgomery." Castle said and shook the officer's hand. He had to use his celebrity strings in order to gain access to the bullpen, normally his handler would have done it for him but to keep it as real as possible, he had to figure it out himself.
He had to oppress a smile when he saw her colleagues page through his book. The outfit she had was really attractive, the agent couldn't help but look. "Mr. Castle had offered to assist with the operation."
"I love to help." Castle said with a cocky smirk on his face, if anyone was watching closely they'd learn that he was genuine about it. He loves to help. He went his whole life just trying to help, as a kid he just stood out of the way because growing up in a family filled with law enforcement, being out of the way was helping the world.
"Due to the nature of this case I thought it was a rather good idea to let him help." Captain Montgomery said. Rick just stood behind the man, nodding a few times with a finer hooked on his jacket that was thrown over his shoulder. Then came the rejection to talk with the Captain privately, Richard knew that it must've stinged.
"Get settled in the breakroom, Castle." Detective Beckett sighed. "We're going to be here for a while." The author smiled and nodded. Walking into the break room he sat down and smiled, accepting the gloves he was given.
He started reading and started thinking about her. As an agent, he had been sent on many missions before, as undercover, he had been sent on missions before as well, to seduce many women. But never before had he felt the magnetic pull between him and the detective. When she sat down he lowered the paper a few times to catch a look at her.
She furrowed her eyebrows when she was focusing, he noted. He loved it when faces held many expressions while their bodies held none. "What?" She called him out on his staring.
"Why choose to be a homicide detective." He had read her file, he knows exactly why. "Why put yourself in the line of fire." He asked.
"Why choose to help us here? There is nothing in store for you, except for more publicity."
To maintain my cover and see how solid it is. "So find the story." He answered, she rolled her eyes at him. "I like knowing how people tick, how their youth has put them together." He wasn't talking as Castle anymore. "How their environment caused them to harden themselves and choose which instinct to rely on. So Detective Beckett, what are you, fight or flight?"
The officer stayed quiet, "Don't think you know me, Castle."
"Of course not, Detective." He hummed, he learned all that he needed to from her small comments, her facial expressions hardened but every time she squirmed he knew he was getting closer to the truth. "There is a story to everything." He hummed quietly, focussing his eyes.
"Think I just did." She turned around the letter in her hand and showed the drawing to him. Rick Castle stood up and took a closer look at it.
– – – – –
"The labs got lifts off of the letter." Beckett announced to the pair detectives, and the author. "It's going to take about a week to match them all."
"A week?" Rick repeated and stood up to look at her screen where the fingerprint was big and clear. Detective Esposito chuckled and said something about reality, the agent knew enough of that.
He pulled his phone out of his pocket and took a picture of the fingerprint. "We'll know in a few minutes, depending on what she wants from me." He hummed. The detectives looked up at him in confusion.
"Who is she?" Detective Beckett asked. "And that is evidence, you can't be taking pictures of that."
Castle chuckled and put the phone up to his ear after clicking on the speed dial. "Hello dear." He hummed as his daughter picked up.
"I'm in the middle of a coding session, if I lose focus now I'm going to forget what I am supposed to be doing, father." She said father sarcastically but they both knew that it was a fond term. She was a talent, a kid plucked from an orphan because she had a high IQ. The higher-ups had to find someone who'd take care of her and teach her all she needed to know for her to be an official federal agent.
"Run a fingerprint for me, would you?"
"Why are you asking, you have that app I made for you on the phone." He could hear her clicking away on her computer. "I'll run it." She sighed out loud, "No training today."
"Done." He said and hung up. It was an okay bond that they had between them. He then looked at the unimpressed faces of his temporary colleagues. "Take a picture, it'll last longer." He then pulled a pen out of his pocket, "For five bucks I'll sign them."
Beckett sighed and rolled her eyes while Esposito just laughed. Then it finally pinged in Rodgers' head, where he recognized Esposito from. Special Forces, just like he himself had done. He was going to be the newest recruit to be promoted to the Alpha unit. The detective's file was literally in his hands before they made Richard Alexander Rodgers face disappear from everything available, to make him into a myth in the army. "You hold yourself up like a soldier." Castle said as he looked at the hispanic.
"I was." Esposito nodded.
"What branch were you in?"
"Special Forces."
"What was your unit like?"
"Unbalanced." Esposito said, "Their main guy, whose name they can't say anymore, just disappeared, taking some other job in the army. Took a while to get the hang of it. Why?"
He wished that he could feel guilty about leaving his own unit but he had already worked on those issues. He was doing something better for the country. "I heard of-" His phone pinged at the right time, he was about to try and see if he was made a legend but it would give away that he knew of some classified information. "Oh, fingerprints." He hummed and Beckett looked over at him with those intense hazel eyes of hers. "False alarm, it's my daughter asking for snacks."
Beckett rolled her eyes but straightened her back as she heard her name get called out. "Another body."
– – – – –
"Kyle Cabot." Castle showed his picture to Beckett who just nodded at one of her partners, Kevin Ryan, the Irish-American officer. Former Narcotics where he went undercover for the Irish mob, Rodgers doesn't understand why he's a homicide detective with his knowledge of the Irish underground in America. The homicide detective stepped up and nodded, already calling a tech to find his last found location.
Detective Beckett nodded at Detective Ryan before the man walked away from the door to the crime scene, as if it was some dramatic reveal, Beckett opened the doors and as the actual writer of that specific book, he breathed out, "Death of a Prom Queen." It was a true story, covered up. He had been undercover, chaperoning and posing as an English Lit teacher. It was an international school, many students were children of big figures, world leaders. A threat came and before they finally had a lead that wasn't a lie, it was nearly too late.
The girl was shot in the leg because he had found the sniper before the weapon was calibrated enough. She ended up in the pool.
In a way, the agent thought it was funny how the detective handled him. She was only at the tip of the iceberg of something that went deeper down than she could possibly know. In the corner of his eyes he looked at the body and the medical examiner. He walked over and leant down by the body.
"And who are you supposed to be?" The Medical Examiner questioned, letting go of the victim's hand. She was a sassy one. Castle smiled and held his hand out.
"Rick Castle, author, millionaire playboy." He introduced himself with that annoying smug smile of his.
"Lanie Parish." The ME introduced herself and smiled, "You know, you've got a real gift with the details of death." She complimented and Richard smiled, putting a hand over his heart.
"I pride myself on it." Besides, he had seen too much death to not know what it is like, death was all around him and it never really ended. A target he once had cornered in South-America had looked up at him, jaw clenched and stubborn to admit defeat, but in the final moments, 'You reek of death.' then the target spit on his shoes.
A shadow casted over the author and the smooth scent of her perfume washed over him. "I thought I told you to stay over there."
"Miss Parish kept me company, I got lonely Beckett." He flirted, "Jealous that you didn't get to keep my company, Detective?" He flirted. Beckett rolled her eyes and just continued her investigation, asking Lanie for the details. It was obvious, but it was impressive.
Then a call came, "Beckett. Alright, we will be right over." She said into her phone and she looked over at Lanie. "Ryan got a suspect in." Castle grinned and stood up straight. "Let's roll."
"Let's roll." Castle mimicked, "Oh that's cool." He hummed.
– – – – –
Everything in the investigation had led up to the moment of Harrison Tisdale's arrest. All the signs had led to a fan who was interested in his genuine works and a person with bad intentions. The uneasy feeling in his gut had settled and finally left him.
"Well, I guess this is it." The detective said to him.
Castle grinned, and even after getting to know the detective, he was saddened that he had to keep up with this act in front of her. He saw her genuine passion for solving homicides. "It doesn't have to be dinner?" He grinned, "Debrief each other."
"So I can be another one of your conquests?" She raised an eyebrow at him but he saw her amusement.
"Conquests is such a foul word to describe the women with whom I have inflicted myself with. I'd rather call them dates." He nodded.
"It was nice to meet you, Castle."
"Too bad, it would have been great." He joked but then she leant in, closer to his ear and he felt her breath against it. He swallowed the brick in his throat and clenched his jaw.
"When you're done with whatever act you're playing, Castle." His guard went up immediately and his shoulders tensed. She let out a chuckling breath. He was made and he didn't know how much she knew. Maybe it was his manners, maybe it was the way he ran, even. It's obvious when you see a military person run.
She turned around and left, he watched her walk away. His breath quivered.