Hey guys.I wanted to start by thanking you for your patience. I couldn't post last week because I ended up breaking my cell phone, and then I had to do some things because I was going to travel to spend the weekend with a friend in her city.
Also, I wanted to say that I have some oneshots in the works that I plan to post soon, usually on those they are already together. I was never very good at developing a relationship from 0, and truth be told, nothing can top their true story and how the development took place. Generally I always wrote second chance plots, or some point in the series that wasn't shown, so I confess I'm a little apprehensive about Crowded Room, but everything should fall into place soon.
I hope you enjoy the chapter. Good reading,
lehh.
Kate blinks in disbelief and slightly shaken internally.
She's having those side effects of not having coffee this morning. At least, that seems the only reasonable explanation for Richard Castle's well-dressed, masculine figure standing in front of Captain Montgomery's office.
So when she's called into the Captain's office, whatever he's saying gets a little cloudy. Mainly because she can feel that she's being watched, and Castle's eyes just haven't left her since she entered the room. It's a little disconcerting. But then when the sense of it all catches up with her reasoning, her body immediately tenses.
"He's going to do what?" If the way she curls her lips, furrows her brows and is a little exasperated in her tone is any hint to him, she totally doesn't agree with that. "Sir. That's not fair. I can't just carry a civilian behind me at murder scenes. Isn't there something in the regulations against it?"
"Mr. Castle is fully aware of the risks, Beckett. In fact, he signed all the necessary paperwork." Roy says, adding to her frustration. Liking a writer doesn't mean you want him to follow you around while you do your work, mainly because no one asked you for permission or your opinion on the subject, they just attributed it to you. "And well, he's a friend of the mayor, too. And if the mayor is happy, then the commissioner is happy, and I'm happy."
"Right. But why me? I'm sure there are other detectives who would love" Her tone is a little too forced in her use of the term. "Being the research target for Mr. Castle."
"Well, that's something you'll have to work out with him, I'm afraid. Also, Esposito and Ryan check things out together and can't always be with you. A partner can do you good, Beckett."
"I'm sorry Sir" She must have heard wrong. "Did you say partner?"
"You heard right, Beckett. The formation of Mr. Castle could very well serve you as a consultant, so take advantage of the experience." the captain adds, and the phone on his desk rings. He picks it up, and then gives her a look, and another at the man who keeps his eyes on her. "Apparently you won't have to wait long to start working together. A body just fell."
(𖧧)
Without the opportunity to argue, Kate is obliged to take Richard Castle in her car to the address in question where the body is. The excitement depicted on his face has the same energy as a child who has been released from detention to go to Disneyland, which is a bit questionable and quite strange – considering it's a murder and not an amusement park – but she doesn't comment.
Lanie is there, her eyes immediately find the sturdy new figure materialized beside her, but Kate gives her a 'don't ask' look.
"Is that a chainsaw?" There it is, that excitement he mentioned welling up in his voice. "Is that how he was killed?"
"Stay away from my evidence." Lanie scolds promptly. She takes the opportunity to analyze who the new guy is. "And no, he was tortured with it first. He was killed by two small-caliber bullets to the chest.
This makes Kate frown. Lanie raises her eyebrows in an unspoken question.
"He's researching." Kate offers the short version. "Do not ask." She repeats, now verbally. "So what about the body?"
His bubble seems to burst there.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Richard Castle does that thing, like he's been found after he's been lost, and then he turns on a kind of charm, curving his lips in a smile that's too gallant for the coroner. "Richard Castle, suspense novelist. I'm just collecting material for a shiny new manuscript."
Lanie lets herself be seduced by the brilliance of his smile, part narcissistic, part genuine. Kate crosses her arms and watches.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Castle. Lanie Parish.NYPD Medical Examiner." She also has a smile to offer when she introduces herself. "Heard the new guy rumor, but it's nice to finally officially meet you."
"The pleasure is entirely mine, I assure you."
He was opening his mouth again to say something probably flattering, maybe inappropriate, probably both, Kate isn't sure, but she cuts them off.
"Hey guys, can we go back to the body?" Her eyes point to the lifeless shape on the ground.
"Right." Lanie agrees. "Given the lividity of the body, I'd say the shots were fired between 9:00 and 11:00 pm last night."
Kate nods.
"No sign of breaking in on the door, and torture. Looks like the victim knew the killer. Any chance of a fingerprint on the chainsaw?"
"Nah-nah, they wore gloves. Although there is a chance of a partial. Looks like the blade cut through the latex. But I don't promise, I'll know more when I'm back at the lab."
As she absorbed the information and reasoned, she looked at Richard Castle.
"Okay, thanks, Lanie."
Kate turns away from the body, looking towards the door where Ryan is coming.
"Do we have the victim's ID?"
"Edin Casey." Ryan says, stepping closer. "39 years old and an engineer, works at a firm in Jersey. It is where his wife and children live."
"Do we know what he was doing here?"
Esposito is the one to step up.
"His father's family lived here, there wasn't anyone else alive besides him and his sister, so sometimes they come over to clean up and hang out or something. We'll know more when your wife arrives.
Kate nods. "Who found the body?"
"The sister, they're taking a statement from her."
"Right. Thanks guys."
"Anytime, boss." Espo says. And then he points to Castle. "Who's the handsome stray out there?"
She presses her lips together.
"Nobody important."
He and Ryan both have that look on their faces when they don't believe her but don't have the heart to say it out loud. Wise boys.
She and Castle are in the car not long after they've swept the place, but they haven't exchanged any direct words yet.
"What do you think it was?" Richard Castle asks her, it seems he's been holding back on how to address her.
"I don't know, Castle. I heard you would make a great consultant, why don't you tell me?" Kate arches her eyebrows, her hands gripping the steering wheel.
He doesn't seem intimidated by her tone, or even the challenge.
"I think it was passionate."
She already knew that, but she winds him up.
"What makes you say that?"
"Use a chainsaw? I mean, come on, there are easier ways to torture someone that don't involve as much fuss. It shows how far the killer was willing to go for whatever connection he had to the victim."
It's a good move, and given the genre he writes in, she expected it, not that she's going to admit it anyway.
"Why are you doing this?" It's Kate's turn to ask.
"I thought we'd already clarified that I'm doing this for research." Right. He will choose the shallow answer.
"You didn't ask me out two weeks ago for research, Castle. And now it's here, at my job, following me around. I want to know why. Give me an honest answer like you did about Storm."
"Yes, by the way, I wanted to point out that it was very impolite of you to leave my party before I had a chance to meet you again." He turns to face her. "And you didn't even give me an answer. I mean, if you're going to dump me, at least say the words."
She wants to smile, but holds back. Instead, she makes that face, fixes her eyes on his slightly and lets the tension hang in the air for a moment.
"Fine, Castle." Kate agrees. Then she adds. "I'm not going out with you."
"Beckett." He places his hand over his heart, simulating non-existent pain. He doesn't show his bruised ego, even if it's true. "You hurt me."
And so this time she laughs.
"Poor baby." Mockery covers her voice, so Kate starts again. "You still haven't given me my answer, Castle. Why are you doing this?"
This makes her expression strangely serious. She is different from him, for some reason. Not that she knows him well enough to speak.
"Do you seriously believe there's a big secret reason behind this, why? I mean, has it ever crossed your mind that my intentions might be pure? Just for the reason I said before: the research?"
her hands, which are wrapped around the steering wheel, put a little more pressure on the material.
"No, Castle." She guarantees. "I don't think this is just research. And I'm good at reading people, it's my job. Then spill it. Just be honest since we have to work together."
"What are you waiting for me to say?" The tone of voice rises a little higher than normal. "That I want to sleep with you?"
"That's right. I want to know if you consider this all a big plan to get me into bed. It's certainly more effort than most, but that's another level. This is my job. And I'm just not going to lose the respect I've spent a lot of my career earning because you're not good at saying no.
There's that expression on his face. She doesn't know what it means. It's curious, and kind of indecipherable. Kate doesn't really know what it means.
"You have my word, Det. Beckett," Castle says, a few moments of silence. "I have no intention of harming you in any way, least of all in your work, and I won't. But the truth is, I could really use a research. This isn't just a bad excuse."
She probed him about it. The things he said and the tone in which it was said. He didn't seem like the lying type, just good at stalling. For some reason, she decided his words were worth it.
But she wouldn't let him think it was that easy.
"It better not be, Castle. You should know by now that I'm armed at this point."
(𖧧)
They interrogate their first suspect before lunchtime, and by them, Kate means just her, even though she knows he's there, peering through the glass, watching her like an alert stalker.
The only likely difference is how it makes her feel. The idea of being followed and watched by someone naturally arouses instant discomfort, it even scares some people, but she doesn't feel that way. She isn't sure why. Maybe it's the look she saw in his eyes. He has admiration there, and that makes her feel more encouraged to act in her own element comfortably. Someone she admires for his literature admires her back for her own work. That's pretty satisfying, actually.
Not only is Richard Castle a crazed stalker chasing her, he seems deeply curious about her judging by the way he watches her, but her intentions don't appear to be completely depraved.
And this is new for her.
Kate uses silence to her advantage when interrogating, she handles it like a weapon, perhaps even better than she would be using her Glock. So she presses on, until she gets — instead of a confession — a statement that takes him out of the investigation's crosshairs. The story told and the alibi takes away his motive and his opportunity to kill the victim, which would almost put them back to square one if Ryan hadn't been able to track down the chainsaw buyer and send a squad car after him while Espo checked out the life of the chainsaw victim looking for more.
She was leaning back on her own desk staring at the homicide chart, her brain scanning and scanning until she could smell coffee in the air. Kate moves her eyes to find where she's coming from when she sees him bringing two heads in his hand and holding one out towards her.
"I'm sorry, Beckett," Castle says, causing her brows to furrow in confusion. "I mean, I did my best, but the coffee here is just an abomination." he adds, and she understands what he means and rolls her eyes, reaching for her mug. "Although you must be used to this thing by now."
"But any complaints you want to make, Castle?" she asks, sounding more serious but letting her irony show in her voice.
"Well, now that you mention it…"
The arch she makes with her eyebrows and the intimidating look causes him to shut up. Good. He learns fast.
"Thanks," Kate tells him. "For the coffee."
He nods, looking proud. And then he adds softly, "If you can call it coffee."
She ignores it and turns back to the board, daring to try the coffee. Castle is right, this is definitely not a good shipment, but it's not that bad either. Or maybe it is and she just got used to it.
"You were pretty remarkable in there, you know." His voice pulls her out of her thoughts.
Kate blinks, regaining her attention. "Mhm?"
"In interrogation. You were fantastic in there." Castle elaborates. "The way you made him talk. It was pretty impressive."
"Oh, that—" This is unexpected, which takes a moment of surprise from her. But Kate recovers quickly. "It's just my job." She says, as if he doesn't know. "But thank you, Castle.
He nods, silently.
"Focus on the board now. We need to get somewhere soon." Her cell vibrates and after checking it, she looks at him. "Lanie has something for us."
At the end of the day, they've already questioned two other people and followed up on evidence that just goes nowhere and the frustration and stress is just coating every part of her.
"Okay, it's past dinnertime and we don't have anything. Go home." Captain Montgomery instructs. "Maybe we'll be luckier tomorrow."
"Yes sir." She snorts in frustration.
Kate is going to get her overcoat to put on before getting the hell out of there when he offers to do so. She looks suspiciously at him but turns her back as he helps her get dressed. She mumbles a thank you and he follows her out of the precinct.
It Is weird. She usually goes out by herself, puts on her coat by herself, and doesn't have to say goodbye to anyone before getting in her car. But there is her favorite writer staring at her, as he has all day, as if he's expecting something—anything at all—from her.
She sinks her teeth into her lips, and stares at him again for a moment.
"Good night, Castle."
"See you tomorrow, Det. Beckett." The way your title and name rolls out of his mouth is oddly satisfying to hear. She kind of likes it. But she rolls her eyes at the implication of her farewell because it reminds her he'll be here again in the morning.
She is surprised however, that it doesn't bother her as much as it should.
The chapter was not very big and not so explored yet. I promise to go deeper in the next ones. Leave a comment or suggestion if you want to. Have a great week! xoxos.