"Let me go! I didn't do anything."
Yeah, like he'd never heard that before.
"Then why'd you run away, dude?", Esposito countered and escorted his handcuffed suspect back to the waiting Crown Vic, not entirely sure anymore if he was dealing with a dude to begin with.
The pink hair and flowery dress had thrown him for a loop, but when he saw him head toward Hughes' house and then run away upon noticing Ryan along the edge of the building, it was enough reason to follow and find out.
Thanks to Castle, they had confirmed that Hughes had a son, and along with it ties to the Michigan Murders. However, he wasn't quite sure how this frilly teenager would even come close to fitting into their reel of suspects.
"I didn't know you were cops."
"Oh really? What's it say on my vest, smartass? Police. That too subtle for you?"
A couple feet back he could see Kevin waiting, the younger detective stopping his pursuit once Espo had their suspect pushed against the hood of a parked car, putting on the handcuffs in trained precision.
"I…I couldn't see it right away when you came running after me."
"Whatever…", he replied carelessly, then glanced over at Ryan who was brushing the last of the shrubbery off his pants, "You ok, bro?"
"Yeah. I just remembered why I hate roses."
With a mocking headshake, he walked past the younger detective, not surprised when he saw Beckett and Castle come walking out of Hughes' house, the owner close behind.
"This is my son. Why is he handcuffed?", the man demanded and brushed past the writer, approaching him with his hands balled to tight fists.
"Because he ran from us when we tried to talk to him.", Esposito replied, noticing Kevin reappear by his side for added support.
"Peter has done nothing wrong. There's no reason for this treatment."
Although he was ready to rebut, he saw Beckett raise her hand in a calming gesture.
"You can let him go, Espo. He's fine. We can talk inside. Isn't that right, Mister Hughes? Unless you two prefer to accompany us to the precinct."
"Of course, it is fine…", the man huffed and watched as Esposito carefully released the cuffs, then took a symbolic step back as the teenager rubbed his wrists before joining his father.
With his brows knitted in worry, he looked back over at Beckett, seeking further reassurance that their support wasn't needed, and received a thankful nod in return.
"Alright, let's get back in the car. We can keep an eye on the place from there…", he finally suggested, not entirely comfortable leaving half the team with two suspects while they waited outside. But without knowing what had been said in there, he was left to assume that Beckett and Castle had established some sort of communication bridge that could aid their investigation.
As it was, Kevin seemed grateful for the suggestion and headed toward the waiting police car, completely unaware of the short twig still attached to his rear pant pocket.
"Jesus…", Esposito cursed and pulled it off before his partner could inadvertently sit on the thorny remnant, causing Kevin to turn around and smile.
"I hope you didn't just try to slap my rear for a job well done."
Rolling his eyes, he opened the passenger side door.
"Just…just get in the car, bro. Try not to take half the landscaping with you next time."
