Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC and the others who do own them.
A/N #1: Since this prologue is so short I'll be posting the first chapter in a few hours if anyone wants to read it!
A/N #2: The title of this story is a lyric from the song Who Cares written by Paul McCartney, from his album Egypt Station. The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Downhearted Blues written by Alberta Hunter.
It's Coming Home To You
February 8th, 1923
I can hardly write for joy, my wonderful husband has sent me a telegram to tell me that all is well and he is on his way home to me. There are times like this that I despise the city since it takes Martin away from me so often. But this home is the most beautiful I have ever lived in and it takes his hard work to keep us here. He told me he wants to raise our family here, whenever we should be blessed with one. I cannot wait to tell him when he returns that I believe we are about to have that family.
The sudden flash of lightning in the room made the woman jump in surprise before the thunder sounded shortly after.
"My goodness," she said with a slightly uneasy laugh as she let go of the front of her dress she had clutched in her fear. "I didn't think things were going to be so bad." She looked at the dog and cat that were keeping her company in her bedroom and asked, "Did you think that Duchess, Sherlock?" She smiled at Sherlock's meow and said, "I suppose it's time for bed anyway. If I am going to have a baby I'll need to get used to that." She rolled her eyes and said, "Mother always told me after she had my brothers and sisters."
Standing from the desk, the woman moved to turn down the covers of the bed before the cat jumped up on it. "Down Sherlock, you know Martin doesn't like you here," she scolded the animal gently. After getting it down she moved towards the light switch when there was another flash of lightning and the electricity went out before she sighed and spoke to her pets again.
"I should have listened to Martin when he said it was likely going to be rough tonight," the woman said, shaking her head. She went to her dresser and took out a box of matches, going to the decorative candelabra on top of the furniture before there was enough light for her to see.
"There," she told her pets, turning with the three lit candles in hand. "Much better but we need to get to sleep very soon." She was startled when her German Shepherd barked and jumped off the bed before she heard a crash downstairs and whirled towards the door leading to the hall. She raced to her husband's armoire and opened the door, being mindful of the flames before she pulled out his pistol he had just taught her to use.
Thinking of her husband, she frowned as she wondered if it was him before she pocketed the weapon. Stepping out into the hall she murmured, "Martin?" since she couldn't hear Duchess barking. She waited and still not hearing the dog she became a little more confident and started towards the stairs at the end of the long hall. When she neared where she would have to make a left turn to go down she froze when she could hear a strange noise. Taking one step forward, she soon saw what it was making that sound and she screamed as a figure was unfolding itself from the dumbwaiter. Throwing down the candles she could distantly hear her dog barking before she was grabbed and everything went dark.
The sound of the spade hitting soil was loud and the figure traced the space they had made before turning to the woman. They pushed and shoved until she was falling lifelessly into the hole and they returned to digging. Covering the body they patted the soil fully, making sure the disturbance was difficult to see before they swung the shovel onto their shoulder.
With a last check the killer nodded once and began a jaunty whistle, making their way to leave the mansion silent except for the cat and dog who were searching in vain for their slain mistress.
