243. Chapter 243

After Death Gone Crazy, Again

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I'd be crazy to say I own Castle. Rating: T Time: See above

Rick Castle and Kate Beckett had finally spent a long weekend at the Hamptons without being bothered by murderous neighbors and were on their way back to work.

They stopped in front of a coffee shop. "Okay, Castle, I'll go in to work, then you come in with my coffee as usual. We do not want Gates to get any ideas about us."

Castle pouted. "I hate this. I want to walk into the precinct with you. I want to be holding your hand. I want to give you a good-bye kiss at the end of the day, I want to…"

"No!" Kate said firmly. "I am not going to take the chance of losing you. We can hold hands and kiss tonight." Kate smiled." Who knows? Maybe we can do some fooling around?"

"Promise?" Castle said eagerly.

"Only if you're a good boy and don't alert Gates to us being together."

"It's a deal."

A half an hour later Castle came into the precinct. Kate and her team were gathered around her desk, deep in conversation. "Body drop?" He asked.

"And you'll never guess where, bro."

"Where?"

"Come on, guess."

"Espo!" Kate warned. She turned to Castle. "A twenty year old college girl was killed at the grand reopening of College Girls Gone Crazy on Saturday night. Someone broke her neck."

"What? I thought Beau Randolph was going to shut that down. How is it back in business?"

Kate handed him the financials. "The business was a closely held corporation. Beau owned the majority of the stock, but he'd given small amounts to long time employees like Troy Strickland and a few others."

"Remember when he set up that five million dollar trust fund for his unborn daughter? To get the cash, he had to put up a large portion of his stock as collateral. With Beau's death and Strickland being arrested for his murder, the stock was almost valueless."

"Almost, but not quite." Ryan said. "Guess who bought up the stock for pennies on the dollar and now owns a controlling interest in College Girls Gone Crazy?" Ryan held out a photo.

"Seth Parrino?"

"Right, bro. Now he owns both College Girls Gone Crazy and College Guys Gone Nuts. It's like a conglomerate."

"It's like something, all right." Kate said under her breath.

"Parrino had a grand reopening and they weren't five minutes into the party when this chick turns up with her neck broken." Espo finished.

"Any leads?"

Kate shook her head. "No one saw anything and the cameraman hadn't set us his gear yet. A few people took pictures, but they show nothing. There were apparently no witnesses."

"She was killed in a room with absolutely no lighting. A make out room." Kate said.

"And you know what a make out room is how?" Castle asked.

"I know a guy." Kate shot back. "She had a boyfriend, Doug Henley, but he claims he was home sick with an upset stomach. Something he ate, he thinks. Nobody saw him, so he has no alibi, but we can't put him at the scene of the crime either."

Captain Gates stuck her head out of her office. "Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle. Can you come here, please?"

Once inside, they sat down. "Has your team briefed you, Detective?"

"Yes, sir."

"We haven't been able to get much cooperation from the people at the party. Young, rich, spoiled entitled, interfering…" Castle noticed she was looking at him as she went through her tirade. He tried to look as unspoiled and unentitled as he could with little success.

"However, I have an idea. The original party was closed down at once because of the murder, but they're going to reschedule the party for this Friday night. I want you two to go to the party and see what you can find."

Beckett frowned. "I'm not sure that'll work, sir. It's not likely that many of the same people will show up."

Gates smiled. "Parrino was trying for a more upscale clientele. Tickets to the party cost one hundred dollars per person. No exceptions. Anyone who has a ticket to the first party can get in for the second. I imagine many of the original party goers will be there. Mr. Parrino has been kind enough to donate two tickets."

"We'll be happy to go, sir." Castle said, smiling.

"I had first asked Detective Esposito to go, but he said he lacked the appropriate wardrobe for such an event. Detective Ryan is married and felt his attendance would be inappropriate. That left me with…Mr. Castle. "

"I won't disappoint you, sir."

"I'm sure you will." Gates muttered.

On Friday night the two were in the loft, ready to go. Kate had on a short, tight green dress that came to about mid-thigh and with a neckline that plunged to well below her breasts in front. She had had her hair done and was wearing more makeup than usual. Martha had loaned her some diamond earrings and a diamond bracelet. Because her dress was so revealing, Rick was carrying her sidearm, her badge and her cuffs.

Rick kissed her gently on the lips, careful not to muss her makeup. "You are gorgeous. Spectacular. Magnificent. Remarkable. "He whispered in her ear.

She blushed slightly. "You're pretty spectacular yourself, babe."

"We'd better go before we lose track of why were dressed like this."

She nodded. "When we get home we'll concentrate on undressing." She promised.

Once at the party, they decided to split up, feeling they'd have a better chance of getting people to talk to them if they weren't obviously a couple.

Castle wandered to the bar where he met a very friendly young lady with coal black hair and a dress much skimpier than Kate's. "Hi, big guy. I'm Tina. Who are you?"

"Rick, I'm Rick."

"Let's dance." She dragged him to the dance floor, and pressed her body against his.

"So, were you here at the first party?"

"I hate small talk." She mashed her mouth against Rick's, pushing her tongue against his unyielding teeth. Her hand slid below his belt and searched.

"I really think I'm too old for you, Tina." Rick said, doing his best to disengage himself.

Tina glared at him. "Guys! You can't handle an aggressive woman. You're all just little boys, aren't you?" She turned, grabbed another guy and danced away.

Castle looked over at Beckett who was dancing and talking to a young man. She seemed to be getting something from him. Then he saw his hand drop to her ass and squeeze it. Kate forcefully pulled his hand away.

Somehow Castle found himself dancing with Melody, a slender blonde who was a medical student at Johns Hopkins and was very incensed that men didn't appreciate women with brains. "All they want are dumb bimbos, like that brunette over there." Castle realized she was pointing at Kate. Before he could say anything, she went on. "You're different, though. You're more mature than these children."

Castle tried to get a word in about the prior party with no success. Melody had been at the party, but found it full of immature boys. That was all she wanted to talk about.

"Do you know what we should do, Rick?" She said suddenly.

"What?"

"Go in the make out room and bang like bunnies." Rick noticed that something had been thrust down the front of his pants. He realized it was Melody's hand.

"But I appreciate you for your brains!" He cried.

"You're just like all the rest!" She snapped. "All you want are big boobs!" She stormed off.

Rick decided he needed to go to the men's room and regroup. He took his time washing his hands and listened to the conversations of the young men around him. Then one conversation got his attention.

"Dude! Did you see that hot MILF I found? She's been all over me all night. I am so going to score."

"The babe with the green dress and the legs all the way up to there?"

"Yeah. Her name's Kate something. I tell you, she can hardly keep her hands off me. I bet she hasn't been with a real man for years. Probably a trophy wife for some old fart who can't perform any more."

They left and Rick followed them with his eyes until they were out the door.

"Sir?" The men's room attendant said, looking at Rick oddly. "Is there a problem?"

"No. Why?" Rick was puzzled.

"You seem to have shredded the towel you were using, sir."

Rick smiled and tipped the man twenty dollars.

He headed for the bar. Using an old trick, he "accidentally" knocked over a young man's drink. "I'm so sorry. Here, let me buy you another. And your friends, too." He tossed a fifty to the bartender. "I'm Rick."

Four young men gave their first names. "We all Delta Tau Deltas from Hudson U. And you…"

"I was a Deke myself." Castle replied. "Were you guys at the first party? I hear it ended early."

"Yeah. We were all here. The five of us went."

Castle made a quick headcount. "Five? Did I miss buying a drink for someone?"

"No. Our brother Doug Henley couldn't make it tonight. But he was…"

"Dude!" One of the others, said frowning.

Castle enjoyed his drink, brought another round and headed off to find Beckett. He found her struggling on the dance floor with the young man Castle had seen in the men's room. "Mind if I cut in?" He asked.

"Get lost. She's mine."

Castle pulled out Kate's badge. "Police business. You want to discuss it further downtown?"

The man left and Rick began dancing with Kate. "Castle, in spite of him being a human octopus, I think he may have seen something. He was here at the first party and was in the make out room as soon as the party started."

"I did better, Detective. I ran into four of Doug Henley's fraternity brothers from Hudson U. They told me he was here at the first party. He lied. He's probably our killer."

"Can you identify them?" Kate asked.

"Absolutely."

"Then let's get out of here."

"One thing first." Rick glanced at the man he'd replaced and smiled, then picked Kate up and kissed her passionately. After a second, she responded, throwing her arms and legs around him. Then they left.

Once back at the loft, they undressed and got ready for bed, and other things.

"Kate. You have bruises all over your butt. What happened?" Rick asked, fearing he already knew the answer.

"That creep was groping my ass all night. I kept removing his hand, but he kept putting it back. It's no big deal. I've gotten worse at Stanford mixers." Kate noticed that Castle was getting dressed again. "Babe? What is it?"

"I'm going back to the party and kill that little creep. Very slowly." Castle was pulling his pants on.

"Castle?" Kate said in a low, seductive voice. "Have you noticed that I'm completely naked?"

Castle looked at her. She was.

"And have you noticed I really, really need you?" She asked.

"That creep is lucky." Castle muttered, taking off his pants.

"Not as lucky as you are."

The next morning a somewhat tired Rick and Kate came to the precinct.

"Guess what, Espo. I cracked your case wide open. It was Doug Henley all along. He is so busted." Castle said happily.

Esposito looked up. "We know, bro. Doug Henley came in with his father, three attorney's and two psychiatrists about an hour ago. It seems Doug is not really responsible for his actions. He's got psych problems. With Daddy's money, he just might make it stick, too. Bummer."

"How was the party?" Ryan asked, giving the two a knowing smile.

Rick and Kate exchanged grins. "It had its moments."