945. Chapter 945

After A Deadly Game

Episode 2.24

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I have yet to own Castle. Rating: M Time: See above

Chapter Four

She got out of her car in front of the bar and checked that her Glock was loose in her holster. She squared her shoulders and went inside. Every face in the place turned to her. They all knew who she was. She glared at them all and walked to the man she had come to see.

"I need to talk to you about Richard Castle."

Finn Rourke stared at her. "Then you can go somewhere else and talk, Detective. I do not talk to the police. Not in the past, not now, and not in the future. And since I know you're on duty and won't be drinking in my place, you can get the hell out of here and get out now."

She pushed her face into his. "This isn't over, Rourke."

"I said get the hell out of my place, Detective." Rourke roared.

She stomped angrily out of the bar to find a raggedly dressed man urinating in front of her car.

"Sir, I'm a police officer. You'll have to stop that this instant." She pulled back her coat to show her shield.

She heard the sound of a zipper and the man turned to face her. "Do you have any spare change?" In a much lower voice, he added. "Detective Beckett."

She stopped and stared at the man.

He held out his hand, palm up. "Finn Rourke apologizes for the bit of theater in there. But he thinks his place is being bugged. Could you look through your wallet like you're giving me some money?"

Kate reached inside her jacket and pulled out her wallet, making a show of opening it up.

"Finn's heard about Castle and we know all about the O'Connors and the Giordanos up in Boston. But we don't know anything about what happened to Castle."

Kate handed him some change. "And Finn Rourke would tell me if he had? Am I supposed to believe that?"

The man shrugged. "You did him a favor, killing that bastard Coonan and all." The man smiled. "And I think he kind of likes you. You're really his kind of woman."

Beckett groaned. "I'm not going to have an aging Irish gangster chasing me, am I?"

"No. Even if he didn't have to compete with Richard Castle, he knows he'd have no chance."

Kate handed him a five dollar bill and said a bit louder than necessary. "Promise me you'll use this to get a good meal and not spend it on drugs or alcohol."

"Thanks, lady." Then in a lower voice, "Beer's a vegetable, isn't it?"

Then he was gone.

She sat in her car for a few moments and thought. No matter what the man had said, Finn Rourke was a cold blooded killer who'd kill Castle in a heartbeat if he had to. But she could think of no reason for Rourke to kidnap or harm Castle. She drove to her next stop.

She walked inside and had barely gotten to the bar when a burly man in his forties approached her. She showed her shield. "Detective Kate Beckett. I need to talk to Sal Tenor about Richard Castle."

The man nodded. "Of course, Detective Beckett. This way please."

Sal Tenor was sitting in the last booth at the end of the bar. He got up when Kate approached. "Detective Beckett. We've heard about Rick Castle. Please, sit down. What do you need? Oh, coffee? Grande skim latte with two pumps of sugar free vanilla?" He turned around. "Stella, coffee for the lady, okay?"

The coffee was delivered quickly and Beckett decided to tell Sal Tenor all that she knew about Castle's kidnapping and the FBI's theory about the kidnapping and the death of their rogue agent.

Tenor shook his head. "To begin with Rick is not a part of the family, not in any way, shape or form. Why should he be? The man has everything…" He stopped and looked at Kate. "Almost everything he could ever want."

"Some people are drawn to danger." Kate said.

Tenor nodded. "You know Castle. You've worked cases with him. Did he seem like the type who was drawn to life and death situations?"

Kate shook her head. "No. Not at all." Castle gets in life or death situations because of me. Because he wants something from me. I hope what he wants is more than just another conquest.

Tenor continued. "I was not at the family gathering early last month. Business took me away. I don't know if Castle was there, but I can guarantee that if he was there, he was not taking part in any….Um, business."

"Are you sure I can believe that?" Kate demanded.

Tenor smiled. "You're very good, you know. I wasn't sure I liked Castle killing off Derrick Storm to write about some lady cop. But, having read the book and seen the muse, I approve. But, to try to answer your question, assume we had some sort of an arrangement with Rick. We'd want to protect him naturally, so we'd try to grab him before that crooked Fed could drop him. So, we grab Castle and we drop the Fed. So, why keep Castle?"

"Okay, why?"

"There's no reason, Detective Beckett. The dead Fed gets the FBI chasing their tails and not bothering us. Castle would be dropped off a couple of blocks away after being roughed up a little and he tells everyone it was a mugging. He says he lost his cash and credit cards and his watch and phone. And no one can prove anything else happened. We'd have no reason to keep him this long, Detective. And, as I said, we have no reason to get involved in the first place. Castle is not with us."

"Do you have any idea where he might be?"

Tenor shook his head. "Being a friend of his, I asked around. No one knows anything. And they'd talk to me if they did."

Kate drained her coffee cup. "Thanks. I have to go now."

"Good luck, Detective Beckett."

Beckett went back to the precinct, ran through the case files she had worked with Castle and found absolutely nothing. Montgomery sent her home at nine o'clock, much to her displeasure.

When she arrived back at the precinct, she found Bradley and his team waiting at her desk.

"Did you visit Finn Rourke and Sal Tenor yesterday?" Bradley demanded angrily.

"Yes. I wanted to see if they knew anything about Castle."

"Turn around and put your hands behind your back."

"What?"

"You heard me. I'm arresting you for obstruction of justice. Now turn around and put your damned hands behind your back or I'll make you!"

Kate turned around and felt the cuffs go around her wrists. Her two pistols were taken as were her shield and her police ID.

Montgomery was out of his office at once, complaining. Ryan and Esposito were right behind him.

"Captain Montgomery, this is Federal matter, stay the hell out of this." Bradley barked,

"Beckett, I'm calling the DA and the police union. There'll be a lawyer waiting at the Federal Building before you get there."

"We'll call Martha." Ryan added. "Ask her to contact Castle's lawyers as well."

Beckett was hustled out of the precinct and off to the Federal Building.

It was odd for Beckett to be on the other side of the in processing, but she accepted it. Then she was taken to interrogation. Bradley and another suit were there.

"Why did you go see Rourke and Tenor?" Bradley demanded.

"I want my lawyer present before I answer any questions?"

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in, Detective?"

The other man spoke. "Brad, do we have any idea what she said to those two men?"

"I have a damned good idea what she said. She's telling them all about what we're doing about her boyfriend and his mob pals."

"Do you actually have any evidence of that? A witness? A recording? Something?"

Bradley took a deep breath. "No, but I'll find something. I'll drag every one of those people in here and grill them."

"And their attorneys, of course. So, you won't get a thing."

They were interrupted by the appearance of a lawyer from the police union and Rick Castle's lawyer. Once the two lawyers were brought up to speed, they immediately began to complain about their client's treatment.

The suit interrupted them. "Brad, do you have one damned thing other than evidence that she talked to a couple of crooks? You do realize that cops talk to crooks all the time, don't you? It comes with the territory. You talk to crooks, for God's sake."

"Harry, Jesus, will you stay with me on this." Bradley moaned.

"Not a chance. I'm not prosecuting this on what you have and from what I can see, this is all you'll ever get. Detective Beckett, you're free to go. Thank you for your cooperation."

"Cooperation?" Beckett began, then Castle's lawyer gently put his hand on her arm.

"I think we should go, Detective Beckett." He nodded to the suit. "Harry, as always, a pleasure working with you."

"Who was Harry?" Kate asked, once they were out of interrogation.

"One of the US Attorneys. And a smart one. I'm surprised Bradley arrested you. They had nothing."

Kate stopped to pick up her belongings. They weren't all there. "Where are my side arms?"

"I'm afraid they went to ballistics. It's too late for us to get them back today." The clerk said." You'll have to pick them up tomorrow."

Before Kate could say anything, Castle's lawyer handed the clerk his card. "If they aren't ready for Detective Beckett when she comes for them, you'll hear from me. Understand?"

Once out on the street, Beckett thanked the attorney and headed for the nearest subway. She hadn't gone a block when someone grabbed her arms.

"Into the car." Said a voice in her ear.

"You're making a mistake. I'm a cop."

"We know that, Detective Beckett."

She was tossed in the back seat and got a quick glimpse of her kidnappers. They were dressed in baggy black sweats, sunglasses and baseball caps. The felt a sting on her leg and felt woozy. Then she blacked out.

She was sitting up when she woke up. She couldn't see and felt a sack over her head. She could hear a chirping near her.

"She's awake." A voice said. "Get her downstairs."

A rough hand took each of her arms and lifted her to her feet. She tried to count the steps they went down, but she was sure she missed some. She heard a door opening and she was pushed. She heard the door close behind her.

"Beckett?"

She pulled the sack over her head. There was Castle, sitting in an easy chair, watching a baseball game on TV and eating a colossal ice cream sundae.

"Castle! What are you doing here?"

"I was brought here. What happened to you?"

"What happened to me?" She shouted at him. "I thought my partner was in trouble so I did everything I could to find him and now I find he's sitting on his ass, stuffing his face and watching TV. Richard Castle, just see if I ever…."

Castle was out of his chair and trying to pull her close. She pushed him away. "Get away from me."

"Come into the bathroom with me." He said, softly.

"What kind of a pervert are you? The bathroom?" She pushed him away.