Chapter Text
"It's official, a new deadly virus is striking North America more than any other place in the entire world. Health Department's president has announced that until now, New York is the most affected area, followed by the states of Nevada and California." The small brunette woman on the television stated.
"Damn this thing!" Esposito mumbled, while taking a break from the surveillance tapes to fetch himself a coffee. "Don't they have anything else to talk about? They've been talking about this thing for three days in a row..."
"Health specialists seem to think that this new virus, yet to be identified, is aggravated by high temperatures and increased blood pressure." The woman continued.
"Health specialists?" he snickered "They couldn't just say doctors, could they? Why on earth do the media have to give things more importance than needed? This new virus is probably just the flu..."
"Information gathered from local hospitals and health centres affirm that the symptoms to this new disease can be easily mistaken by the ones of flu..."
"That's because it's the damn flu!" Esposito complained.
"Among these symptoms are high fevers, body soreness, vomits and high difficulty of breathing. If you present any of these signs, please head for the nearer hospital. The methods of contagion are believed to be the same as flu's."
Annoyed, the detective eyed the talking box and with a shake of his head, exited the room, resuming his work at the desk.
When he exited the shower, the water had already run cold. He now stood in a kitchen stool with a bathrobe on, drinking the only herbal infusion he had around the house. In a normal situation, he would've opted for something like dark unsweetened coffee, but, afraid what the caffeine might do to him in this estate, he went for a weak infusion. If you asked him, it tasted like perfume and acid, but he needed something to maintain his mind occupied until someone (who appeared to have swallowed all the helium available in the universe) gave him instructions as to where he would be dropping the files he'd taken from her office and house. Dropping the files and picking up that damned and cursed money.Money for which he killed the only person he'd ever cared about and truly loved.
He was just finishing his cup when his cell rang, indicating he'd received a new message.
"Go to Café Mogador on East Village and ask for Mrs Peabody. You'll be given a manila paper bag containing a cell phone inside. Use it to call the only listed number. You'll then be given the needed directions as to where you'll make the drop. Oh, and by the way, nice job! It's already on the news!"
Her eyes stung. She'd hoped Amber had been killed for some other reason than her mother's murder.
As soon as the words left Ella's lips, silence fell over both the observation and the interrogation room. She could feel her throat close, making it impossible for air to enter her lungs. Kate felt as if she was about to faint.
Ryan had no idea what to say. He felt dumbfounded, speechless. The detective whished Beckett hadn't hear the final part of the interrogation, but he knew better than that. Her presence behind the mirror weighted too much on his shoulders.
Tears threatened to fall from her eyes, but, as if on cue, Castle entered the observation room, a proud smile tugging on his lips.
"I got us a connection between the manager and Amber! Well, sort of.." Castle said proudly.
In what seemed like ages, Beckett directed her gaze from the see-through mirror and fixated her eyes upon Castle's. She knew the instant her gaze met his, that she'd done a big mistake, judging from the look of worry and panic that crossed Castle's eyes.
He could clearly see, now that she was facing him, that her eyes were bloodshot and moist. Beckett was either about to cry or had already started.
"You okay?" he asked, as as he did so, Castle could feel her walls rise behind her eyes. Despite what she said to him next, he knew it would be a lie. Whether it was to protect him or herself, Castle didn't know.
"Yeah!" and there it was, clear and brief, the lie she used as a shield.
"You sure? Cause you don't look"
"I said I'm fine." She snapped, giving Castle one more indicator that whatever it was she was hiding, would fit perfectly in the categories of personal or very serious. Maybe both. "What was the connection you were gloating about?"
Castle eyed her for a moment before answering Kate's question. " Well, I was going through Amber's case and company files when something jumped to my attention..."
He made a brief pause to give his partner time to compose and ready herself to absorb the information.
"Yes... go on..." The detective replied impatiently.
"It was someone, not something. Apparently, someone named James Ford works with Amber and also is listed as the manager's emergency contact."
Beckett eyed Castle with a furrowed brow. "Was he a regular at the spa?"
"Nope. Talked to Esposito, he's running him now." Kate nodded and Castle watched as she went back to fight the storm inside her head. "How are things going in there?" he dared to ask.
A couple moments passed by till Beckett noticed Castle's expectant eyes on her. "Huh?"
"How are things going in there?" he asked again.
"Huh... Ryan was just starting to wrap it up when you came in." As she finished the sentence, her eyes were slowly lowered to the ground, but not before slightly tilting her head to the side and briefly closing her eyes.
Castle knew then, for sure, there was something major going on, and she wasn't very fond of the thought of telling what it was. He'd have to pull it out later.
"Okay... I'm going to check if Esposito has something on Ford so far. Care to join me, detective? You look like you need a little more action." He tried to joke.
"Yeah... I'll meet you there in a bit."
Castle nodded and as he made his leave, Kate offered him a tight smile. Just a few moments after Castle had exited the room, Ryan, followed by Ella entered it.
"Hey!" Ella said in such a low voice, she might as well have whispered it.
"Hey!" Beckett merely replied.
The air around them quickly became thick as stone and an awkward, uncomfortable silence fell briefly over them.
Ryan finally managed to find his voice and courage necessary to ask the question with the oh-so-obvious answer. "Did... hah... did you hear everything?" A bit of hesitation still holding his words.
"Heard enough..." with that, Kate redirected her gaze from Kevin to her cousin.
"I... I'm sorry, Kate. I should have told you before, but... I... I really am sorry."
"I'm afraid I already knew, anyway..." Kate said, offering Ella a dull smile. "I just didn't want it to be true, I guess."
And again, silence fell over them, this time not awkward but clouded with pity and compassion. Beckett hated that. She could stand anger. She could stand the fury of thousand hurricanes, but pity? Pity was too much to ask for. Pity made her feel weak, almost human like. It made her walls crumple to the ground under a dense fog and took the constant pain she lived with, out of the shadows, out of the numbness where she learned to confine them and made it all too real. All too personal.
That was why, without another word, another look, she left the observation room, leaving both the detective and her cousin speechless and with a sense of guilt.
Then, their eyes met across the bullpen and it was like she could live again. It was like she could smile once more and numb the pain. And she did both. Kate smiled vibrantly and his eyes instantly lit up.
Castle signalled her to come closer and join him at Esposito's desk.
"Any news on Ford?" she asked, her eyes never leaving his blue depths.
"Oh, we do have news! And they're as juicy as they can get!" Esposito replied and after taking a sip of his cooling coffee, he continued "Remember when we told you that one of the spa's workers saw the manager argue with a man?"
"Yes. Is she done with that description?" Beckett asked, breaking her gaze from Castle's to eye the detective.
"She is! Officer Villanueva brought us the sketch when I was running Ford trough the database" Esposito said "James Ford is the same guy the manager was arguing with."
"So, not only is Ford our mystery man, but also the supposed manager's partner?" Kate asked, a bit confused.
"I think lover would fit better the description." Castle said.
"I bet you do..." Beckett teased "Hey, Espo where are we on those tapes?"
"Nothing interesting so far. I'm on June tapes now. Ford never made an appearance on the tapes."
Kate nodded "Okay, ask Ryan to help you with the surveillance. Castle fill Ella in, I'll just get the all clear with the captain and then she can help us with the investigation." She commanded as Ella and Ryan made their way to meet them.
After Ella settled down near her desk with Castle and Ryan occupied his own desk, Beckett headed for the captain's office.
A tall brunette with exotic features stood behind the counter of the small café taking orders from customers.
He stood still near the door, gathering the courage to proceed according to plan. He felt ridiculous. How was it possible that someone would be able to commit murder without a second thought, but feel too afraid to ask for someone named Peabody? Taking a few deep breaths, the man finally joined the small line of customers. In a few minutes he found himself facing the brunette.
"How can I help you, sir?" she asked.
He couldn't find it in him to eye the girl. Sweat pouring from every pore of his body, the man mumbled "Mrs Peabody"
The exotic girl eyed him, confused "I'm sorry sir, but you'll have to speak up..."
Clearing his throat, the man tried again. "I'm looking for Mrs Peabody..." he said, this time slightly louder.
Upon hearing his words, the girl's expression instantly changed. Her voice grew darker and profound.
"Of course sir, here you have it." The girl said after reaching for the paper bag behind the counter. "Have a nice day."
The man then exited the coffee shop and once outside, he opened the bag and took the phone inside.
A single tap on the call button was all it took for the game to continue.
"Has she been cleared, Beckett?" Roy Montgomery asked, eyeing his detective suspiciously.
"Yes, sir, she has. Detective Ryan conducted the interrogation and her alibi checked out. She was inside a plane when the murder occurred." Beckett explained the captain.
"So what makes you think she'd be a valuable asset for this investigation?"
Kate eyed her captain with a rose brow. "Ah, like I said, sir. She knew the victim very well, they worked together and I do think that she can give us some insight on the cases they worked together indicating us if some case is related to Amber's death."
"You told me they were both attorneys, right?" Montgomery asked. There was something on Beckett's cold expression that said something was off.
"Yes, sir."
"Alright then. She can assist you in this case." The captain said.
After Beckett thanked him and turned to leave, she was stopped midway through the door by her captain's voice.
"Is there something you're not telling me Beckett?"
Kate turned on her heels and faced him, using the best poker face she could manage at the moment and given the circumstances. "What? No, sir. I told you everything I know."
"Beckett!" Montgomery pressed further.
"Sir, there's nothing else to t..."
"It's written all over your face, Kate."
"Wha...?"
"Something's bothering you, Kate. I want to know." He said and noticing the change on Beckett's expression the captain used his arm to signal his detective to take a seat. So she did. Beckett took a seat on the nearest couch and after shifting positions several times, she opted for her guarded one – sitting at the edge of her seat, elbows resting upon her knees, fingers laced in front of her mouth and back slightly arched.
Taking a few deep breaths, Kate slightly moved her hands away from her mouth so she could be heard. "Ah... I... There's reason to..." she made a brief stop to clear her throat and constricting airways. "... reason to think that Amber's murder is related to a... cold case."
Montgomery eyed her again, this time expectantly but afraid of what could come next.
"That, being my mum's murder..." and again she cleared her throat "...sir."
Her vision was fixated on the family picture on Montgomery's desk and her mind filled with good memories of her years before the tragic incident.
Silence ascended upon the two people occupying the office. They both knew this silence. It had happened when they found out about Coonan, when they found Lockwood and it was happening again.
"Are you ok working this case, Kate? I don't want to send you home again."
"Ah, yes, sir. I'm fine. There's nothing concrete anyway. And if my suspicions are correct I'll just try and deal with it."
Montgomery nodded and Beckett got up and turned to leave once more and once more she was interrupted.
"Hey, Kate" After she turned her head did he continue "Promise me you'll be careful."
"I will. Don't worry, sir." And with that she tuned and left the office.
"Hey, kid!" the hoarse voice spoke, a slight hint of amusement lingering on every word. "Though you'd lost yourself. Oh nice job. Not pro-style, but good all the same."
The man sighed into the phone, his hands trembling, his heart beating faster and faster. "Sorry. I had to sort some things out."
"Oh, look, he's talking like a grown up." The voice in the other end said and then the amusement left, giving room to a more harsh and menacing tone "Hope you didn't do something stupid, kid. Because if you did, I'll find your ass and do the same to you you did to her"
"Hah... huh..." the man then cleared his throat "No I did nothing stupid. Now where's my money?"
A high pinched chuckle came from the other end of the phone "Chill kid! You have the files with you?"
"Yes, I have them here."
"Good! Now go to Albert's Garden on the Bowery. There's a green plaque behind the fence. Slip the files there and go back home."
"How about my money?" the man asked
"Not to worry, kid. Go back home. There's a big stash of bills on top of your bed."
"What?" the man asked incredulous.
"Ah, you know, kid, We gotta cover our bases. Now burn this phone, throw it in the river, whatever, just make it disappear."
As Beckett exited the captain's office, she signalled Ella to meet her on the break room.
"So?" she asked.
"You're good to go." Beckett said and as Ella was about to break into a huge smile, her cousin continued. "But, we have to talk. And set some ground rules."
"Okay. I guess it is only fair." Ella said. "What do you want to talk about?"
"Why didn't you tell me you were working on my mother's case?"
"Because I didn't want to bring your hopes up and then find nothing conclusive."
"Yes, ok. But you should have asked for my permission. You had no right, Ella. You have no idea how much it hurts."
"Listen, I said I'm sorry, Kate. And yes I know how much it hurts. You think that knowing who did it brings any closure? You think it makes everything better? Makes it hurt less? It doesn't, Kate. It doesn't. After you know who did it and see them pay you feel free for one single moment and then you just feel numb. So I know how it hurts, Kate."
"I'm sorry, I shouldn't..." Beckett said to the floor.
"Neither should I... but at least we got something out of this right?"
"You found something on my mother's case? What?" Kate asked, her eyes almost burning through Ella's.