780. Chapter 780

After Vampire Weekend

Episode 2.06

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: It's horrible that I don't own Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

It was good to be wealthy, Simone Renoir thought, but it could be bothersome. Getting from her home in New Orleans to New York had taken a leased jet with partitions that would keep out any sunlight should the plane not be able to fly from New Orleans to New York in total darkness. She was picked up at the airport by a town car that was also arranged to keep out sunlight. A doctor in New Orleans had, for a price, written a letter stating that everything was medically necessary. I will have to insist that my stockbroker either open an office in the Big Easy, or agree to come and see me. After all, I am a multimillionaire. She thought.

At least the stockbroker had agreed to meet her at night and she had managed to conclude her business fairly quickly. After nearly four hundred years, Simone was far more knowledgeable than most investors.

Once done, Simone decided to take a walk. After living for nearly two centuries by a river, she was drawn to the Hudson River. It wasn't the best neighborhood to walk around in at night, but Simone was easily capable of defeating any muggers or thugs that might want to attack her.

Coming around a corner, she found an elderly woman on the ground, moaning. She went quickly to her and knelt by her. She has bleeding from a cut on the head. Simone pulled out her phone to call 911, but stopped. The years of keeping away from any authorities stopped her momentarily. She shook her head angrily. What am I thinking? Leaving this poor woman here to die? I'll call the police and then run.

A muffled scream from an alley caught Simone's attention. More than one victim? I'll go look and then come back for this one.

It was only a few steps to the alley. She peeked around the corner. A cop and a man were struggling. The thug, bigger and apparently stronger than his opponent was winning. The mugger hit the cop hard and when the cop fell, Simone could see it was a policewoman. The man kicked her in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

Simone walked quickly to the man. "You must stop now or I will have to hurt you."

The man laughed and pulled a gun from his belt. "See how this hurts, bitch." He fired a round into Simone's chest. That knocked her back a step, but made her angry. She instantly crossed the space to the thug and threw him against the brick wall hard enough to break two ribs. Then she punched him twice in the face, breaking his nose and his jaw. He collapsed.

"Are you all right?"

The woman mumbled something and looked up. Simone was shocked. The cop looked exactly like her. She heard a voice.

"Beckett! Where the hell are you? Are you okay?"

Instantly Simone was on the roof of the building and looking down two stories as a male uniformed policeman ran his partner. Simone quickly left.

The next morning, Captain Montgomery looked at the two officers sitting uncomfortably in his office. "You shouldn't have left your partner, Beckett. And you shouldn't have let her leave, Royce."

"Sir, I was holding six gang bangers at gunpoint when we saw that clown following the old lady. Did you expect us let him just mug her?"

"And when I got to her, he had knocked her down, grabbed her purse and run. Most muggers grab and go. I had no way to know that he was a psycho who hated policewomen." Beckett added.

Montgomery frowned. "Psycho is the word for him. He claims he shot the woman who rescued you at point blank range in the chest and it didn't even slow her down. Then she put him in the hospital. You both remember hearing a shot?"

"Yes, sir." Royce answered. "We both did. Why?"

"The thug's gun had one round fired and we found an ejected .45 shell casing, but no slug. CSU went all over that alley and didn't find either a slug or any evidence that it ricocheted anywhere. Those bricks are ancient. The slug should have left some kind of mark."

"Unless the slug is still in her." Beckett said. "But why would she run away, especially if she was injured."

"Any number of reasons, all of them indicating she's not on the side of the angels, Officer Beckett. Now, get out of here, both of you and don't do anything stupid like that again."

"You want to go back there, don't you?" Royce said.

"We're off shift, Mike. I can go by myself."

"What have I been telling you about what it means to have a partner?" He said, motioning her to his car.

Beckett and Royce searched the alley and the surrounding area. "Not only no slug," Royce said, "but no sign of any blood. If she was hit, it wasn't badly. There's nothing here, Kid."

"It makes no sense, Mike. If she's some kind of a crook, she'd never have tried to help me, not against someone with a gun. She had an accent, French, I think. Maybe she's an illegal. Maybe she's in trouble but is afraid of the police. I owe her, Mike. She saved my life. I need to find her."

Royce sighed. "What did I tell you, Kid? We need to find her."

They went around the area, asking store owners if they'd seen anyone with a French accent. Finally they got lucky.

"Yeah, a real looker. Came in and bought a soft drink. The accent is really sexy."

"Any idea where she's staying?" Royce asked.

"Yeah. She asked me to call her a cab. She said to tell them she was just going to the Windsor, ten blocks from here."

They thanked the man and left. "The Windsor? That's about as upscale as you get. Maybe she's a hooker?" Royce said.

"If she's French and here illegally, maybe she's a victim of sex trafficking."

"Maybe a lot of things." Royce looked at her. "Are you sure you want to do this, Kid?"

"Royce! She saved my life. Of course I do."

"If she's out, buying a soda and ordering cabs, she's not a victim of any kind. She could be a high end hooker and she wouldn't appreciate us coming around. I gotta friend in Vice. I'll call him tomorrow and see if he knows of any girls working out of the Windsor who might be French. Okay?"

Kate agreed, but as soon as Royce left, she hailed a cab and asked to be taken to the Windsor. She was in luck, the desk clerk was just sneaking off with a maid when she walked in. She checked the computerized guest registry and found a Simone Renoir. Grabbing a pass key, she headed for Simone's room.

She knocked on the door, but got no answer. She used the pass key to slowly open the door. She hit the lights by the door, but for some reason they didn't come on. She tiptoed in and looked around. She found Simone in bed.

"Ms. Renoir? I'm Officer Kate Beckett. I believe we've met." She got no reply. She went to Simone and looked at her, she didn't seem to be breathing. Beckett checked her pulse and found none.

She went into the next room to call Royce, just as the sun set. She got his voice mail. "Mike, I need…"

"Who are you?" A French accented voice said from behind her.

Beckett whirled around to see the woman standing there in the dark. "I'm Officer….I mean, you're dead. I just checked. You had no pulse, you weren't breathing."

"You are a police officer, oui?"

"Officer Kate Beckett, NYPD."

Simone laughed. "Then if he NYPD says I'm dead, I must be. What do you do now? Call the morgue? But then I can simply go there on my own."

"I'm very sorry." Beckett stammered. "I was rescued by a woman with a French accent last night. She saved my life, but I was afraid she was shot. She was shot in the chest."

"Oh." Simone opened her night dress and looked down at her body. "I see no bullet wounds, do you?"

"No. None. I'm sorry, I broke into your room. I need to call the precinct and report myself for breaking and entering."

"No!" Simone said. "You will get in trouble for doing your job? Trying to find an injured woman? I will not hear of it. Go on your way and find this good Samaritan, Officer Beckett. Please."

"Thank you." Kate said, heading to the door. "Thank you again." She said as she left. As she headed for the elevator, she thought, It was hard to tell in that dark room, but that woman reminded me of someone.

Author's note: I just couldn't resist using Simone Renoir in a story about vampires.