[Fic] Notes and Murder - Chapter 2: Card in the Pocket (whitecollar_bb, WC/Castle)
Title: Notes and Murder
Chapter Title: Card in the Pocket
Rating: PG-13
Overall Word Count: 17,397
Chapter Word Count: 1,236
Summary: When Peter's card shows up in a dead woman's pocket, two amazing forces come together to find the murderer.
Author's Note: I do not own White Collar, Castle, or any of the characters from the various fandoms that appear. Emmanuel Gray is of my own creation. Spoilers for up to season 4, episode 19: 47 Seconds for Castle
Thank Yous: A big thank you to sirwynai for being my beta, cheerleader, and listening to all of my insanity. A big special thank you to slysionnachnano for cheerleading in the final hours of getting this done!
Castle was the first one up in the morning after he had the ice cream binge with Alexis. He was feeling better about everything - mostly because he had let go as much as his daughter did. He hadn't filled her in on what was happening between him and Beckett but he was learning to let go a bit. Sure, he was still a bit angry at her for not saying she remembered but, as the ice cream was freezing his brain for the third time, he had remembered that she had just had a big trauma. She was probably scared of a lot of things and he didn't need to pile onto what she was dealing with right now. He sighed as he opened the fridge and started to get out what was needed to make a frittata. After he had everything and as the butter started to melt, he kicked on the coffee maker and walked to get his cell phone in case it rang. He looked up as he saw Alexis coming down the stairs and smiled. "So we didn't go that late after all."
"No, we did," Alexis said as she sat down. "I'm just glad that you have coffee going."
"You're starting to sound a bit too much like your grandmother," Castle said.
"Never a bad thing darling," Martha said as she came down the stairs. "I will see the two of you later. I'm a bit late to a breakfast meeting."
"Have fun," Alexis and Castle said before Martha sailed out the door. Alexis watched her dad cook. "You're trying to make that again?"
"Yes," Castle said. "And this time, it is going to work."
"No, it won't," Alexis said. "Can't we just have scrambled eggs with bacon?"
"Woman after my own heart," Castle said as he cracked the eggs in a bowl and started to scramble them. "Want to get out the bacon?"
"Sure," Alexis said as Castle's phone started to ring. "I guess no breakfast?"
"Frozen waffles," Castle said as he picked up the phone. "Castle. Hey Esposito - nope, not too early. Where?" He asked as he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the address. "Oh - " he started to say something as there was a knock on the door. "Yep, probably her," he said as he walked and opened the door to see Beckett there. He motioned her in. "Yep, we'll be there in a bit. Morning."
"Morning to you as well," Beckett said. "hi Alexis."
"Hi Detective Beckett," Alexis said as she came to the door with her coat on, a travel mug full of coffee, and a waffle in her hand. "See you later dad," she said as she kissed his cheek and went out the door.
"She's doing well," Beckett said.
"Yeah - she got into Stanford," Castle said as he motioned her offer to the kitchen where he started to put stuff away. He threw out the cracked eggs and put the bowl in the sink. He put the other things away in the fridge. "She's not sure if she really wanted to go now because of the first rejection."
"Yeah, but it's her dream school," Beckett said.
"Which is why it's a good thing she doesn't have to make a decision right this moment," Castle said. "Coffee?"
"Only if you have a to-go mug," Beckett said with a smile. She laughed as Castle produced two Starbucks ceramic mugs that looked like the to-go cups. "You are addicted."
"Can't be helped," Castle said as he made her coffee the way she liked it before handing her the cup. He made his own before getting his coat and following her out the door.
They drove in silence about half way to the crime scene before Beckett said "Why did you decide to shadow Slaughter last week?"
"Severed heads," Castle said.
"Aside from that," Beckett said.
"There wasn't anything else," Castle said.
"You forget that I can spot a lie," Beckett said. "Come on, Castle."
"Do you remember the case we caught before I went to shadow Slaughter?" Castle asked.
"Barely," Beckett said.
"You were in interrogation and working someone we thought was the killer. And you said that you remembered everything about the shooting," Castle said.
"Oh," Beckett said.
"Yeah," Castle said. "And I got angry and bored at the same time. And I guess I did have a bit of a death wish."
"Please tell me you got it out of your system," Beckett said.
"Oh, completely out," Castle said. He was quiet for a moment before turning to look at her. "Would you have told me? Eventually?"
"I don't know," Beckett admitted quietly. "It's something I'm still working out. Mostly because I don't trust myself."
"But you trust me," Castle said.
"If I didn't, do you think you would still be here?" Beckett asked.
"Good point," Castle said and chuckled. "Thank you though."
"For?" Beckett asked.
"Saying that you trust me," Castle said with a smile as they pulled up to the murder scene. They both got out, with Castle following Beckett, as they walked over to where Ryan was waiting for them.
"What do we got?" Beckett asked.
"Greek female, late 20s. Everything's still here, so it's not a robbery," Ryan said as they walked over to the body.
Beckett nodded to Lanie that was there already. "Lanie?"
"She took a knife to the back and then was shot in the head," Lanie said. "She's been here for probably six hours. There's no sign of sexual assault at the moment, but I'll know more when I get back to the lab."
"We've got people talking to people in the surrounding buildings, but so far nothing," Esposito said as he came up to where the others were. "Nobody heard nothing, even the people who look out onto the alley."
"So, middle of the night murder with a knife in the back," Castle said.
"What are you thinking, Castle?" Beckett asked.
"That she double crossed someone and the knife was after she was killed than before," Castle said. "That being the only reason to leave the knife."
"We'll move the body and start up the autopsy," Lanie said as she got up and they all moved to let the gurney in. As the body was being lifted, a card fell out of the dead woman's pocket.
Beckett put on a pair of gloves quickly and picked up the card. "Shit," she said quietly.
"What?" Castle asked as he looked over her shoulder to see what the card was. "Special Agent Peter Burke."
"Really?" Esposito said as he moved to look at the card.
"Know him?" Beckett asked.
"Worked with him now and then when the crime was more white collar than anything else," Esposito said. "He's a solid guy, Beckett. He likes to work with us more than step on anyone's toes. He'd let us take the collar and get his guys to hold off until after the verdict came in before arresting or adding on federal charges."
"So it's possible that he knew the vic," Beckett said. "We'll give him a call when we get back to the office. Let's try to get more information before we go back." They did spread out to try and get more information, coming up with nothing. She and Castle headed back to the car, getting in and heading to the Precinct.
Chapter Title: Card in the Pocket
Rating: PG-13
Overall Word Count: 17,397
Chapter Word Count: 1,236
Summary: When Peter's card shows up in a dead woman's pocket, two amazing forces come together to find the murderer.
Author's Note: I do not own White Collar, Castle, or any of the characters from the various fandoms that appear. Emmanuel Gray is of my own creation. Spoilers for up to season 4, episode 19: 47 Seconds for Castle
Thank Yous: A big thank you to sirwynai for being my beta, cheerleader, and listening to all of my insanity. A big special thank you to slysionnachnano for cheerleading in the final hours of getting this done!
Castle was the first one up in the morning after he had the ice cream binge with Alexis. He was feeling better about everything - mostly because he had let go as much as his daughter did. He hadn't filled her in on what was happening between him and Beckett but he was learning to let go a bit. Sure, he was still a bit angry at her for not saying she remembered but, as the ice cream was freezing his brain for the third time, he had remembered that she had just had a big trauma. She was probably scared of a lot of things and he didn't need to pile onto what she was dealing with right now. He sighed as he opened the fridge and started to get out what was needed to make a frittata. After he had everything and as the butter started to melt, he kicked on the coffee maker and walked to get his cell phone in case it rang. He looked up as he saw Alexis coming down the stairs and smiled. "So we didn't go that late after all."
"No, we did," Alexis said as she sat down. "I'm just glad that you have coffee going."
"You're starting to sound a bit too much like your grandmother," Castle said.
"Never a bad thing darling," Martha said as she came down the stairs. "I will see the two of you later. I'm a bit late to a breakfast meeting."
"Have fun," Alexis and Castle said before Martha sailed out the door. Alexis watched her dad cook. "You're trying to make that again?"
"Yes," Castle said. "And this time, it is going to work."
"No, it won't," Alexis said. "Can't we just have scrambled eggs with bacon?"
"Woman after my own heart," Castle said as he cracked the eggs in a bowl and started to scramble them. "Want to get out the bacon?"
"Sure," Alexis said as Castle's phone started to ring. "I guess no breakfast?"
"Frozen waffles," Castle said as he picked up the phone. "Castle. Hey Esposito - nope, not too early. Where?" He asked as he grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down the address. "Oh - " he started to say something as there was a knock on the door. "Yep, probably her," he said as he walked and opened the door to see Beckett there. He motioned her in. "Yep, we'll be there in a bit. Morning."
"Morning to you as well," Beckett said. "hi Alexis."
"Hi Detective Beckett," Alexis said as she came to the door with her coat on, a travel mug full of coffee, and a waffle in her hand. "See you later dad," she said as she kissed his cheek and went out the door.
"She's doing well," Beckett said.
"Yeah - she got into Stanford," Castle said as he motioned her offer to the kitchen where he started to put stuff away. He threw out the cracked eggs and put the bowl in the sink. He put the other things away in the fridge. "She's not sure if she really wanted to go now because of the first rejection."
"Yeah, but it's her dream school," Beckett said.
"Which is why it's a good thing she doesn't have to make a decision right this moment," Castle said. "Coffee?"
"Only if you have a to-go mug," Beckett said with a smile. She laughed as Castle produced two Starbucks ceramic mugs that looked like the to-go cups. "You are addicted."
"Can't be helped," Castle said as he made her coffee the way she liked it before handing her the cup. He made his own before getting his coat and following her out the door.
They drove in silence about half way to the crime scene before Beckett said "Why did you decide to shadow Slaughter last week?"
"Severed heads," Castle said.
"Aside from that," Beckett said.
"There wasn't anything else," Castle said.
"You forget that I can spot a lie," Beckett said. "Come on, Castle."
"Do you remember the case we caught before I went to shadow Slaughter?" Castle asked.
"Barely," Beckett said.
"You were in interrogation and working someone we thought was the killer. And you said that you remembered everything about the shooting," Castle said.
"Oh," Beckett said.
"Yeah," Castle said. "And I got angry and bored at the same time. And I guess I did have a bit of a death wish."
"Please tell me you got it out of your system," Beckett said.
"Oh, completely out," Castle said. He was quiet for a moment before turning to look at her. "Would you have told me? Eventually?"
"I don't know," Beckett admitted quietly. "It's something I'm still working out. Mostly because I don't trust myself."
"But you trust me," Castle said.
"If I didn't, do you think you would still be here?" Beckett asked.
"Good point," Castle said and chuckled. "Thank you though."
"For?" Beckett asked.
"Saying that you trust me," Castle said with a smile as they pulled up to the murder scene. They both got out, with Castle following Beckett, as they walked over to where Ryan was waiting for them.
"What do we got?" Beckett asked.
"Greek female, late 20s. Everything's still here, so it's not a robbery," Ryan said as they walked over to the body.
Beckett nodded to Lanie that was there already. "Lanie?"
"She took a knife to the back and then was shot in the head," Lanie said. "She's been here for probably six hours. There's no sign of sexual assault at the moment, but I'll know more when I get back to the lab."
"We've got people talking to people in the surrounding buildings, but so far nothing," Esposito said as he came up to where the others were. "Nobody heard nothing, even the people who look out onto the alley."
"So, middle of the night murder with a knife in the back," Castle said.
"What are you thinking, Castle?" Beckett asked.
"That she double crossed someone and the knife was after she was killed than before," Castle said. "That being the only reason to leave the knife."
"We'll move the body and start up the autopsy," Lanie said as she got up and they all moved to let the gurney in. As the body was being lifted, a card fell out of the dead woman's pocket.
Beckett put on a pair of gloves quickly and picked up the card. "Shit," she said quietly.
"What?" Castle asked as he looked over her shoulder to see what the card was. "Special Agent Peter Burke."
"Really?" Esposito said as he moved to look at the card.
"Know him?" Beckett asked.
"Worked with him now and then when the crime was more white collar than anything else," Esposito said. "He's a solid guy, Beckett. He likes to work with us more than step on anyone's toes. He'd let us take the collar and get his guys to hold off until after the verdict came in before arresting or adding on federal charges."
"So it's possible that he knew the vic," Beckett said. "We'll give him a call when we get back to the office. Let's try to get more information before we go back." They did spread out to try and get more information, coming up with nothing. She and Castle headed back to the car, getting in and heading to the Precinct.