799. Chapter 799

After A Deadly Affair

Episode 3.01

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: See Chapter one. Rating: K+. Time: See above.

Kate Beckett was happy that she'd thrown Castle out of the precinct. She'd been right to tell him to go back to his Hamptons, his damned book parties and his damned blonde ex-wife. That's all he thinks of me. She thought. I'm not even worth the price of a phone call to that man. He just left before Memorial Day and happily went off to screw that blonde all summer. He never would have come back if he hadn't gotten that call from Maya Santori. Fuck him.

She found herself looking at what she still thought of as Castle's chair. I've changed since Castle came to the precinct. I'm no longer living just to work. I want to have fun, and Castle was fun. She felt the ache in her heart that she'd felt all summer. But he acted like he wanted to come back when we cleared him of Maya's murder. He wanted to know what we were going to do next. No! There is no "we". I'll get over Castle. I have to get over Castle because I'll never mean anything to him but….But what? A conquest? An interesting "guy" he knows just like his ex-jewel thief buddy? Or Maya Santori. She looked up to see Ryan and Esposito coming her way. I have to push Castle out of my mind. I have to concentrate on the murder.

In minutes they were on their way to Todd McCutcheon's apartment.

Richard Castle had walked out of the 12th Precinct more than a little angry. What the hell did I do to make everyone so angry at me? Okay, Beckett was angry with me because, well, she's always angry with me. But I thought I was friends with Ryan and Esposito. And Captain Montgomery as well. What the hell did I do to piss all of them off?"

As he walked down the street, he was getting angrier. It's not like I've never helped them solve a crime, but all of a sudden they don't want me around. Maya wanted me around. He stopped in midstride and thought. A friend of mine is dead and Beckett and the rest don't want my help. Maya may be dead, but she's going to get my help whether Beckett likes it or not.

When he got to Maya's apartment, the CSU team was still there as was LT. After handing LT the coffee, he thought about asking him why Beckett and the rest were so mad at him. Then again, he knew how cops stuck together. If LT was reminded that Castle was not wanted at the 12th Precinct, he might toss him out on his ear. Better to just look around and get out as fast as he could.

Castle was across the street from Todd McCutcheon's apartment when he saw Beckett and her two detectives arrive. He smiled to himself. I beat them here. Who's the detective now? Then he remembered that he had found nothing at McCutcheon's that was any help at all. What do I do now?

What he did was go to Chloe Whitman's. He remembered her address from the quick look at her DMV record that Beckett had shown him. He had a long talk with the building's doorman and after a substantial contribution to the man's retirement fund, he'd gotten the name and address of Chloe's boyfriend.

"Mr. Murphy?" He said, trying to look as serious and official as he could.

"Yes. How can I help you?"

"My name is Richard Castle. I'm a writer. You might have heard of some of my books, the Derrick Storm series and my latest, the Nikki Heat books? You may have heard that I work very closely with the NYPD in connection with those books."

"Chloe loved the Nikki Heat books. How can I help you?"

Castle left nearly an hour later with only one solid clue. Chloe, Maya and McCutcheon had hung around at a place called Kitty Canary's Burlesque Club. Castle had gotten the address and the door code to get in.

That night he headed for Kitty's to be his charming, fun loving self and did his best to talk to everyone h could about the three who had been killed. He was on his third Scotch when he noticed Kitty and the man that had been identified as her husband looking at him. He didn't like the looks he was getting at all. He left hurriedly.

At more or less the same time, LT had stopped by Detective Beckett's desk. "Evening, Detective. Did Castle get what he wanted at the crime scene?"

Beckett looked up at him, shocked. "What crime scene?"

"Um, the Santori murder scene. I let him in. I figured he was back. Did I make a mistake?"

Beckett had no desire to chew out LT or make him feel bad. She shook her head. "No, it's just I wasn't expecting Castle to get there so soon. You know Castle, he always surprises you."

As soon as LT was gone, she called Ryan and Esposito over to her desk. "Castle was at the Santori crime scene after we were. He's doing his own investigation. I'll call him and tell him to stop at once. If you two see him, grab him until I can talk some sense into his head. Or try to. Castle isn't known for taking good advice."

She called Castle and only got his voice mail. She left him a stern warning not interfere in her investigation. When she hung up, she looked over to his chair. Why didn't he want to investigate with me? We used to be partners. She felt that sick feeling in her heart that she'd felt all summer. It wouldn't be bad having Castle back as my partner. But it doesn't look like he wants that.

While her call was going to his voicemail, Richard Castle was sitting in a small coffee shop in Queens waiting for one of the guys he knew to show up. Before I never had to worry about carrying a gun. I always was with Beckett, Ryan and Espo. Sometimes I had a whole SWAT team with me. But now? This is a murder case. He laughed to himself. Beckett will be so furious if she finds out. Well, she hates me anyway, so what difference does it make?

A man sat down across from him. "How ya doin', Ricky?"

"Fine. You get what I asked for?"

The man smiled and handed a package to Rick, under the table. "A 9 mm Browning High Power. Two spare mags and two boxes of shells. And I guarantee the gun is so cold, you'll get freezer burn from touching it."

Castle handed an envelope with cash in it over, and the other man left. Shortly after that, Castle left.

Castle decided that the key to the case was Kitty Canary's. That was the only place where all three victims' lives really intersected. He decided to go there the next morning. Maybe he could find a janitor or something who could tell him something.

When he walked into the club the next morning, Kitty and Earl were there. They were busily packing….Money? Lots of money? Suddenly it all made sense. A vending machine company for the paper, a chemist to erase the one dollar bills, a sculptor for a metal press plate and Kitty for ink. Counterfeiting. He was busy congratulating himself when Earl drew his gun and fired. The round hit Castle in the side and knocked him down. He tried to reach for his weapon, tucked into the back of his pants, but he was on his back and he hurt. Earl was coming towards him to finish him off.

He heard a familiar voice scream, "Castle!" and then Earl was gone.

Beckett got in the ambulance with him. "How is he?" She asked the paramedic.

"Not bad. The slug bounced off a rib, I think, may have busted a rib, but he didn't get hit in the lung or anything fatal."

"Can I talk to him?"

"Sure, but I give him a shot of morphine for the pain. He may not make much sense, and he probably won't remember talking to you."

She moved over and took his hand. "Castle, what the hell were you doing? Investigating by yourself?"

He looked up at her with unfocused eyes. "Trying to impress you." He said woozily.

"Impress me? Why?"

"I like you….A whole lot. But you hate me. I figured if I helped you enough, you'd take me back."

"You want to come back?"

He nodded. "So much." Then his eyes closed.

The next day she walked into his room at the hospital. "I hear you're getting out tomorrow."

He nodded. "How much trouble am I in?"

"None. Oh, Ryan found a 9mm pistol that was stolen almost twenty years ago in a burglary in Ohio. One of the customers must have left it there."

"No, how much trouble am I in with you?"

"You just aren't going to leave me alone, are you?"

Castle looked away and mumbled something.

"You could get yourself killed investigating by yourself. Killed! Do you understand that?"

He nodded.

"Since I know you'll never listen to me, the only thing I can do is take you back as my partner so I don't have your death on my conscience."

His face lit up in a smile. "Really?"

She nodded, "See you in a couple of days?"

"Tomorrow, Detective. Tomorrow."