93. Chapter 93

Chapter 93

After answering a call to a crime scene relatively early that morning, the detectives found Paul Clifford's body lying on its side between the overturned coffee table and the sofa. The lamp that appeared to have been on an end table close by was smashed on the floor next to the body, and a large, sharp shard from the lamp was lodged in the side of the victim's neck. They talked to Lanie, surveyed the scene, and canvassed the neighbors who were at home at the time.

When they finished at the crime scene and Beckett's homicide team returned to the precinct, Ryan asked mischievously as he secured his weapon in his desk drawer, "What's the smile about, Beckett?

"What smile?"

"The one that's been popping up randomly all morning."

"Bro', maybe we don't want to know," Esposito said with a grin and a shudder.

Beckett whacked him on the arm before she answered, "Jamie said 'mama' last night."

Esposito elbowed his partner and smirked. "The boss is going all soft on us because Little Boy Castle called her Mama. Never thought we'd see that."

Beckett didn't even try to be adult about it, she just stuck her tongue out at Esposito and then chuckled. "He's barely eight months old, so he's still learning to copy the sounds we make. I don't even know if he's associating the sound with me yet, but it felt good to hear him say it for the first time when he was excited and crawling over for me to pick him up." There was a pause, and she smiled again. "Castle says they've been practicing, and I can imagine it…my child and my man-child playing with sounds."

"Yeah, I can see that happening," Esposito answered, still smiling.

"She's even admitting to being sappy," Ryan teased. "She's got a bad case of motherhood." And Beckett stuck her tongue out at him, too.

Sully was just leaning back in his chair grinning as he watched the show.

Then Beckett sighed and switched gears. "Back to work. Ryan, did they have cameras?"

"I got what they had. I'll start on it in a minute," he answered, turning on his computer.

"Anything worth hearing from the neighbors on the other floors?"

"We got a name. Definitely worth looking into, but he wasn't there. Some of these folks work night shift and weren't home yet. Other people had already left for day jobs. I got a list of residents from the super, and the ones we don't catch at home this afternoon, we'll call," Esposito answered. "Looks like there was some bad blood between the victim and another guy in the building. It's been going on since the other guy moved in a couple of years ago."

"What's the problem between them?" Sully asked.

"Politics," Ryan answered. "Seems their opinions are polar opposites of each other, and they're both volatile. The neighbors are all sick of it. Apparently, they're both loud, belligerent, and have actually come to blows over it a few times…once in a neighborhood bar, once outside the entrance to the apartment building, and once in the lobby. A twelve year old almost got hurt that time. Police were called all three times. The second guy moved in alone; the victim's wife took the kids and left him last year to get them all away from the constant ruckus."

"Glad I don't live there," Sully commented before moving on. "Guy two, a Mr. Spaulding, wasn't home. We'll try again later…bring him in if we have to. We need to see the neighbor across the hall from the victim, too, and probably the one right below him. Several people said they heard a crash from Clifford's apartment around seven-thirty last night, then the door slammed. Apparently it wasn't unusual to hear noises from that apartment, so nobody thought anything of it."

As it turned out, uniforms had to bring in Spaulding, the other half of the contentious political arguments. Since he worked night shift and was sleeping, he was angry that they woke him up and refused to talk to them voluntarily. By the time he was brought in, they had found the security footage showing Mr. Spaulding following the victim up the stairs to his apartment, both of them arguing the entire time, and Spaulding shoving his way into the apartment behind the victim. All of that happened well within Lanie's time of death estimate.

Beckett entered the interrogation room, dropped a file folder on the table in front of her chair, and sat down across from the suspect. After showing him the video of his time just outside the victim's apartment the night before, she asked, "So Mr. Spaulding, would you tell us why you were pushing your way into someone else's apartment when he was obviously telling you to get out?"

"That SOB called the police on me?! Is that what this is about?"

"No. He couldn't do that because he's dead. Time of death coincides with the time of this video."

"Wait a minute. You're trying to pin this on me?"

"If the prints on that lamp are yours, this video and previous police reports of fights with the victim will certainly put you at the top of our suspect list."

"No. No way. He was alive when I left. We had a big argument. I followed him into his place, it got pretty heated, and I picked up his lamp and smashed it on the floor. He threatened to call the police if I didn't leave his apartment so I threatened him back. I shoved him, and I heard him fall when I turned around, but I left then…slammed the door behind me and left."

"Where did he fall?"

"In front of his couch, I guess. That's where he was standing. Why?"

"Did he say anything to you as you left?"

"No. Just made some kind of odd, wimpy noise when he fell. Didn't even get up and follow me out."

"And given your shared history and his attitude toward your invasion of his home seconds beforehand, that didn't seem odd to you? Wasn't it worth checking on the odd noise he made?"

"I just figured I'd won, so I left."

"Well, the lack of response was probably because he was dying. He had a broken piece of the lamp through his neck, and it looks like he bled out on the floor where he fell. The timestamp on the video corresponds to the time the neighbor downstairs said she heard a loud crash and then a thud like somebody fell. Then she heard a door slam and somebody stomping down the stairs. After that, she heard nothing else all evening. The medical examiner said the injury was consistent with falling on the lamp shard." Beckett paused to allow that to sink in. "So the way I see it is that you followed him home, forced your way into his apartment against his will, smashed his lamp, on the floor, and then shoved him where he was likely to fall on the broken pieces. And then, you turned your back and walked out without checking to see if he was hurt, in spite of indications that things weren't normal. Does that about cover it? I'd call that negligent homicide, but I'll let the DA decide the charges."

Spaulding sat slack jawed at that comment.

"Bennett Spaulding, you're under arrest for the murder of Paul Clifford," she said as she cuffed him.

When the second cuff snapped in place, Spaulding came out of his momentary stupor. By then LT was there to escort Spaulding out and book him while their suspect was resisting and shouting his protests that they couldn't arrest him for an accident. At that point, Esposito left observation and joined LT to help.

"One of you read him his rights," Beckett called after them.

She met Ryan and Sully coming out of the observation room.

"Real prince of a guy," Sully said with sarcastic disgust.

"Yeah, the neighbors will get their peace and quiet back, though," Ryan observed.

"We've got just about enough time to finish the paperwork before end of shift, and I want to get home, too," Beckett told them. She huffed a little laugh. "This one was so easy I almost feel like we didn't earn our pay."

"Well, you can afford to give it back if you want, but I'm taking my paycheck," Ryan answered. "We're hoping Jenny will be pregnant before long, and we're trying to save as much as we can. We really want a baby, and we want to be ready for it. I hear they can break a budget big time."

"I know I'm lucky not to have to worry about that, but they definitely can," Beckett answered. "They travel pretty heavy, too. You wouldn't believe how much we pack just to go to the park, let alone to go away for a couple of days. I never had to think about all that before."

"Yeah. I've watched my sister," Ryan answered.

Then they all got back to work and managed to leave on time when their shift ended.

xxxxx

Later in the month, Castle's family celebrated Alexis's birthday a day early because JD had a birthday evening planned for her the next night.

"I guess I might as well get used to the idea that poor old Dad is going to be playing second fiddle to JD now," Castle said sadly after the two younger folks left.

"She's always going to love you, Castle…and it could be a lot worse. JD…he's… I'm pretty sure Alexis has found what I think you want her to have. It just happened a lot earlier than we thought it would."

"I know all that, but it's hard for a man to see that he's having to give his little girl to somebody else, even if it's only a little at a time."

"Well, at least it's somebody you respect and enjoy having around, and somebody you care about, too. I think he's seen you as father figure for a good while now. And he loves being with our family…fits right in. You'll still see Alexis often."

"I know. Doesn't make it any easier, though."

"I know it doesn't." She put her arms around his neck and gave him a soft kiss in sympathy. Alexis had asked to read to Jamie and put him to bed before she left, and they had already been up to check on him; so Kate asked suggestively, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"Just being here helps, but I have some other ideas if you're interested," he answered mischievously. Then he started whispering things in her ear, switching ears after each thought; and she giggled as he walked her backward toward their room.

xxxxx

The next month, Jim and Meagan came for Thanksgiving dinner, along with JD and John. Lanie and Frank were invited as well since neither of them would be with their families. After dinner, while everybody was sitting at the table talking, Castle was holding Jamie in his lap and looked up in surprise.

"What is it?" Kate asked, looking mildly concerned.

"Nothing bad, but there's something entirely new in my household.

"And what would that be, Richard?" his mother asked, looking amused.

"I just realized that, for the first time in my adult life, our holiday dinner is populated with more males than females. He stood and held Jamie out like Simba being presented to the world in The Lion King and dramatically announced, "Gentlemen, I present our tie breaker, Richard James Castle." The men all applauded and cheered. Jamie kicked his feet and squealed happily, and Castle reeled him back to his chest and planted nibbling kisses to his face and neck, making him laugh and wriggle. The women all chuckled good naturedly at the entire picture.

"Well, Richard, it was a long time in coming; but I'm happy for you," Martha told him, and Kate just leaned over and kissed his cheek.

"Come to Granddaddy, Mr. Tie Breaker," Jim said, holding out his arms, and Jamie leaned toward him to go willingly.

Whenever Jamie made baby noises, family members talked to him as if he had actually said something understandable. He was learning to make a lot of recognizable sounds, and other than "dada" and "mama", he would occasionally say something that sounded like an actual word; but his parents said they were pretty sure it was an accident.

"I don't know," Martha argued. Richard was talking early. At nine months, he had a small vocabulary. You had to know how to decode most of it, but he and I knew what he meant. By his first birthday, his vocabulary was a bit bigger, and you could easily understand most of the words he knew. He never slowed down after that."

"Somehow that doesn't surprise me," Kate answered with a smirk, bumping Castle's shoulder with hers.

No one thought any more of it until JD, Alexis, and John were about to leave. Someone mentioned that Alexis was leaving, and Jamie sounded a staccato "es". The adults kept talking, and when someone said "Goodnight, Alexis", Jamie said it again. When her name was mentioned right after she left and Castle heard Jamie say it a third time, he paid more attention. He looked at Jamie curiously and said, "Alexis."

And Jamie looked back at him, said, "es" and smiled as if his father had finally figured it out.

"I wonder what else we need to decode," Martha said with a big smile. "Maybe he's more like his father than just his looks."

"Then maybe we should start asking for divine intervention," Lanie teased.

"Hey there are worse things in the world than being smart and curious, and ruggedly handsome," Castle defended. "Right, Jamie?"

Jamie looked at his father again and said "zm".

"Jamie?" Castle said again, and again heard "zm".

Lanie was close to them and tried, too. "Jamie?" Jamie turned to her with a big smile as if they were playing with him and made the same sound. "Did we just decode another one?" Lanie asked.

Kate took her son's hand to get his attention and said, "Alexis."

Jamie answered, "es."

"Jamie?" Castle said again.

Jamie was bouncing in his arms and smiling. "zm."

"Wow," Frank said from behind Lanie. "I was the youngest in my family, so I haven't been around babies much. Does he know what it means, or is he just matching sounds?"

"We'll experiment tomorrow and try to figure that out," Castle answered. Except for 'dada' and 'mama', it looks like we're at one syllable words…no matter how many they should actually have. But, we have something else to be thankful for. We're learning to decode."

xxxxx

For the Christmas holidays, Meagan had taken Jim to meet her family; and Lanie was in New Orleans worrying about Frank's impending visit to meet hers. At Christmas Eve dinner with the Castles, the personnel had changed, but the balance of male to female was about the same as Thanksgiving, slightly higher on the male side since Javi and Maria brought Gabe. Castle was simultaneously missing the smaller group of just his family and enjoying the fact that his extended family included other men.

The meal was delicious, as usual, and the company was good. JD and John hadn't been around Javi and Ryan too often, but they got along well. It was Maria's first visit to the loft. At first she seemed a bit intimidated by its size and the wealth it obviously represented, but the down-to-earth nature of all its residents appeared to ease her into relaxing before long.

Jamie was only a few days short of ten months old and was pulling himself up to walk around the furniture, plopping down on his backside now and then when he moved wrong, and reverting to hands and knees for high speed crawling when he ran out of furniture or patience with the process. His small vocabulary of one syllable words was increasing, some of them being actual one-syllable words that were easily understood; and the family played with him, encouraging him to try to identify objects and people.

Gabe alternated playing with Jamie and with some board games Alexis brought from the Castle collection. JD, John, and Esposito spent time with Gabe, too, and Maria thanked them individually for making Gabe feel a welcomed part of the group. The women read to him, Martha offering her dramatic reading of a tale of a little rabbit who was lost and trying to get back to his family. Gabe was enthralled, and the others in the party were soon hanging on her words as well.

"Excellent performance, Martha," Kate told her.

As Martha took her bow, Castle said, "Don't overdo the praise. It goes to her head." But he said it with a teasing grin.

"Did you get all that with your stories when you were a kid?" Javi asked.

"All the time. It was great."

"I thought you didn't want to inflate my ego." Martha answered with raised eyebrows.

"Well, I guess that's a place you earned it. I loved it when you read to me with all the different voices and inflections and accents."

"So that's where you learned it," Kate said softly.

"That's where."

It was a pleasant evening that started and ended early in deference to children's bedtimes and Santa Claus visits. They exchanged gifts with Javi, Maria, and Gabe before they left.

Each member of the family opened their traditional one gift and exchanged gifts with JD and John before the two men went home.

JD and Alexis managed to get to their gifts for each other separately from the family. JD said, "I'm hoping this goes better than the last time, and handed her a beautifully wrapped gift. When she opened it, she found the same card he had given her before she left him. The only difference was a single word added above the original message so it now said. "I'll still always love you." And the ring box was there, too. She opened the box and looked to see that it was the same ring, then wrapped her arms around his neck and said against his chest, "It's as beautiful as it was before, but it doesn't scare me this time." He took it out and slid it on her finger, and Alexis held her hand out to admire it.

"I promise I'll give you the time you need, Alexis. If I sound like I'm not doing that, tell me."

"Here, open yours," she told him.

He found his own card with an almost identical message and an understated but very nice, masculine looking ring.

"My own promise," she explained. "I'm not as far behind you as I was then. Can we finish the school year and then talk about what comes next?"

"Any time you're ready to talk about what comes next, I am, too. Something to look forward to. Another gift." He placed a soft kiss on her lips and then took her hand and led her to his grandfather." Lifting her hand to show him, JD said with a contented smile, "She kept it this time."

"I saw that. Sorry. Couldn't help but watch for the reaction," his grandfather told him. "May I see?" he asked nodding toward JD's hand. "That's a handsome ring you got in return, too." Then John pulled his grandson into a big hug. "I'm happy for you."

When his grandfather let him go, he found himself in a fatherly hug from Castle. "So am I…for both of you," patting his back a couple of times in a fatherly way while John hugged Alexis.

When Kate and Martha walked over to talk to the young couple and see the rings, Castle offered John some of his best scotch, which John easily agreed to. They walked into the study, and John said, "It feels good to know that JD won't be alone when I'm gone. He'll have this family to help him through the rough spots. I can't tell you what that means to me, especially now with his parents…"

When John's voice faltered, Castle said sympathetically, as he poured the amber liquid into their glasses, "It's been hard for both of you, John. I wish I could do more to help."

"I haven't known you long enough to ask as much of you as I already have, but it eases my mind to know he has people who support him. You think he and Alexis will make it?"

"Yeah, I do. I thought I'd be a lot more upset when I could see another man about to take my little girl away from me…and I'm not entirely out of that state of mind yet, you understand; but knowing it's JD makes it much easier."

"So is there room for another grandfather here?" John asked with a mischievous smile.

Castle slapped his arm easily, handed him his drink, and answered, "Looks like you've managed to be part of the family without taking the drastic measures you mentioned at the hospital," Castle said, chuckling.

John grinned and answered, "It wouldn't have been that drastic. I enjoy spending time with your mother, but I doubt anybody will be able to tie her down again."

"Probably not." After a look appreciative of the scotch he just tasted, Castle added, "And you're always welcome here."

John looked serious again. "JD needs the kind of love you have in your family, especially right now. When my boy first started spending time here, he talked about it constantly. Parents who talk to their child, and joke around with her, and do things together. He was fascinated. I can't remember the last time I saw his father hug him the way you just did…his mother, either for that matter. Hell, I'm not sure I've ever seen his father hug him the way you just did. He got plenty of that from me, but he's had to depend on me too much for love and backup. His grandmother and I were more parents to him when he was small than his parents were. They caught on quickly that we were willing to fill their roles if we had to. The truth is, it's like you said about Alexis. It's as if he had a big hand in raising himself, but I know his grandmother and I had some influence."

"He's too much like you for you not to take a lot of credit," Castle assured him.

"Like Alexis is too much like Rick for him not to take credit," Kate interrupted on her way to the bedroom with Jamie. "Sorry. I didn't mean to eavesdrop. Just passing through." Stopping at the door to their bedroom, she explained, "Jamie leaned over my arm and managed to bury his hand in what was left of the apple pie…even managed to squish it through his fingers a couple of times; and he decorated both of us. We both need a change of clothes and a little cleaning up. I think I heard JD call for your car, by the way, John."

"It's about that time, I guess. I'll go and check with him. Thanks."

By the time Kate returned with Jamie wrapped snuggly in just his diaper and a small blanket, John and JD were ready to leave.

"Merry Christmas, all of you," John said. "Thanks for Christmas dinner and the gifts. Good food and good company."

"Merry Christmas," JD said as they left.

Alexis walked them out, and closed the door, and John said mischievously, "Say goodnight to your sweetheart and meet me at the car. Just don't leave me sitting there all night."

"Be there soon," JD answered as John entered the elevator.

A few minutes later, Alexis came back into the loft with a little smile on her face.

"Somebody got a goodnight kiss," Martha sing-songed.

Castle swung his arm gently around his daughter's shoulders. "Let it go, Mother. She's happy."

Alexis curled into his side and wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "Thanks, Dad."

"Always," he promised and kissed the top of her head, relishing the all too temporary time he still had to have her at home and tuck her into his embrace when he felt the need.

"I'm so happy for you, Alexis," Kate said softly, stroking her child's back as she spoke. "I'll be upstairs getting Jamie ready for bed."

"I'll be up soon," her husband promised as Kate talked animatedly to Jamie on her way up the stairs.

"It was worth it, wasn't it, Dad…all the frustration and disappointments and soul searching while you were waiting for Kate?"

"Oh, yeah. Worth every second."

"Do you think JD will look at me a few years from now and think the same thing?"

"Not a doubt in my mind, Honey. Not a single one."

"I love you, Daddy."

Castle closed his eyes and gloried in that brief moment before she separated from him to go to her room. He went to the kitchen, turning to watch her go, then he picked up the bottle Kate had ready for Jamie before the pie incident and joined her in the nursery.

"Just in time," she said. "He's clean, in his jammies, and ready for his bottle. Oh, good. You brought it."

She moved to the rocking chair and sat down, but Castle took her hand and pulled her back up, sitting in the chair first. "Humor me?" he asked.

"Well, your lap is definitely one of my favorite places to be."

"Yeah? Why is that?"

"I feel safe…and loved," she answered as she offered Jamie his bottle and kissed his little forehead.

Castle wrapped one arm around her and pulled her a bit closer, then took the bottle from her hand and held it for his son. Kate used her free hand to stroke his cheek, and Alexis came to say goodnight as that was happening.

"Multitasking again, I see," she said, looking amused.

"And you catch us every time," her father answered, looking up.

"That's because you hide it so well," she teased.

"You want to join us? Another layer of Castle?" Kate asked.

"I doubt the chair could take the strain, but thanks," Alexis answered in the same teasing tone. "JD said he's going to stop by for a little while tomorrow afternoon. He said he'd call first," she told them. "See you in the morning."

Kate rested her forehead against his neck where Jamie could see both of them easily. "Did you enjoy your Christmas Eve moment with Alexis?"

"It was great," he told her. "She called me Daddy when she said she loves me. If a moment is all I get now, I'll always take it."

"I know."

"It feels like yesterday that I was doing this for her."

"But you were alone with that."

"This is so much better."

"Yeah," she said contentedly. "About as good as it gets." And they sat and rocked and enjoyed their baby.