598. Chapter 598
After A Chill Goes Through Her Veins
Episode 1.05
By
UCSBdad
Disclaimer: It's a cold, hard fact that I don't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.
Castle sat down next to Beckett and looked at her expectantly. She stared back at him.
"What?" She asked, finally.
"What happened?"
"With the DA?"
"Of course with the DA. What else would I be asking about?"
Kate's face assumed a serious look. "I don't know. Perhaps you're curious about what wines are on the menu at whatever over-priced restaurant you're planning to go to tonight."
"And would I be asking you about wines?"
"I take your point. The DA won't prosecute."
"He won't? Why not? We practically got a confession."
Kate smiled. "You're upset? Why, I thought you wanted him to get away with it? I saw you as living vicariously through Mr. Davidson as a tough, gun toting vigilante, cleaning up New York's streets, one villain at a time."
"I do want Davidson to get away with it. But I'm a taxpayer. I want, no, I expect the DA to be a beacon of honesty and probity in an amoral world. I'd expect him to prosecute to the fullest extent of the law. And then some. Let justice be done even though the heavens fall."
Kate shrugged. "Too bad. But the DA agrees with Davidson's lawyer. All we got was a possible explanation of what might have happened. A hypothetical as it were. It's not a confession."
"Well, I thought it was a confession. If it looks like a confession, if it walks like a confession, if it quacks like a…" Castle stopped and looked puzzled. "No, that's not right. Anyway…It's not a confession?"
"No. Plus, if we charge Ben Davidson with the murder of Sam Cavanaugh, we have to go into motive. Wyler is willing to testify that Melanie's body was in the tub in their apartment after Sam killed her. And that he and Sam stored her body in the freezer."
"Wyler's going to prison as an accessory." Castle grumped. "He'll say anything to get on the DA's good side."
Kate raised an eyebrow. "So, now you don't believe Wyler? You don't think Sam killed Melanie?"
"No. Wait. That's not…I didn't mean." Castle stopped for a second. "Sam did kill Melanie."
"And if it goes to trial, the jury will see a father who killed the man who murdered his daughter and got away with it because the cops did a sloppy job of investigating. A lot of juries in that situation will agree that Sam got what he deserved and vote for acquittal. And DA's hate it when juries make decisions based on emotion and not on the facts and the law."
"Unless they make decisions based on emotions to convict, I imagine."
Kate laughed. "You're learning, Castle."
"So, what happens now?"
Kate tapped the file in front of her. "I went back over the report on Sam's murder and on all of our work. I even called the detectives who investigated Sam's murder and the uniforms who were first on the scene."
"And?" Castle asked anxiously
"We have nothing. We can't prove that Ben Davidson ever had anything to do with the killing. There's no physical evidence, no witnesses, no nothing. The case is closed. Sam was killed by a person or persons unknown." Kate began to finish putting the file away in a cardboard box.
"Does that bother you?" Castle asked. "That someone gets away with murder?"
"You mean because of my mom?"
"If you don't mind talking about it." Castle said quickly.
She looked past Castle for a few moments and thought. "As a cop, I don't want to see anyone get away with murder, no matter how justified it may seem. As a society, we can't allow that kind of personally administered justice. It's just too dangerous. But, we don't have any evidence and there's nothing further we can do. Unless you have some further bright idea." She looked at Castle who quickly shook his head. "That said, I'm still human, and I can appreciate that Sam got what was coming to him. And putting Ben Davidson in prison wouldn't accomplish anything. However, if I were to suddenly find the murder weapon with Ben Davidson's prints all over it….I'm not sure what I'd do. I'd like to think that I'd act like a cop."
"You are a very good cop, Detective Beckett." Castle smiled at her and she smiled back, for just a second. Then she resumed putting the files away.
Castle sat and watched as she tidied up the file. At least I know the reason that Beckett's a cop and not some happy career woman with a husband, two kids and a dog named Spot. There's some kind of karma working here. Some kind of cosmic justice. Kate Beckett lost her mother, she lost her father for a while and she lost whatever her future was going to be. Doubtlessly a much happier future than she has now. But the world gained a hardworking, caring, dedicated, compassionate and extremely competent homicide detective. And one who's heart is still broken.
Beckett carefully looked at Castle, sitting there next to her desk. Why did I tell him all of that? About my mom and all. She wondered. Do I really want my life story dragged out into public when his damned book is published? I spent years trying to solve the case and a year putting it behind me. And I've spent years keeping it buried and trying to get justice for others. But Castle can kind of sneak up on you. It did feel kind of good to talk about it for once. I can't really do that with anyone else. Not anyone in the family and no one here. I guess it was good to talk about it with Castle because he'll soon be out of here and back to his playboy life. Then I won't have to worry about Richard Castle any more.
Detective Javier Esposito looked across the bullpen at where Castle and Beckett were sitting. I hope I did the right thing, letting that writer look at Beckett's mom's file like that. I hope he really does want to help her find whoever did it and isn't just looking for something for his damned book. He did spend a lot of time reading the file though. Like he was really interested in it. And I know he made copies of it. Christ, I hope Beckett never finds out about this. He stopped and smiled. No. I hope she does find out about it. I hope that writer finds something everyone missed and we get the bastard. Then he shook his head. Yeah. Like that's ever going to happen.