Serving Justice, Castle fanfic, 3/6
Title: Serving Justice
Rating: T
Spoilers: all aired.
Summary: A murdered judge causes Beckett and Castle to examine their own lives.
Three - wearing an ordinary face
Harvey Perry made her skin crawl the moment she saw him through the observation glass. He was older than she'd been expecting, somehow, but she supposed if she thought about it hard enough it did make sense… it had been a decade ago Judge Humphrey had put him away. Anyway, he was in his sixties, and he unnerved her because there was something about him that made him look personable, there was that smile on his face that would make her talk to him on a bus, something about his appearance that made him far too trustworthy without even knowing him. Especially considering what he had done. A shudder ran down her spine, it had been three rapes that he'd been convicted of, and somehow she suddenly understood how the girls had been tricked; how he was someone it was all too easy to trust. There was something far too unsettling about seeing him sat there, Castle already sat opposite him in the interrogation room, staring him out. This man, that looked so ordinary, but was so rotten underneath. She sighed. Now wasn't the time to dwell on that, at all. She disallowed herself another thought on the matter, and was walking into the interrogation room, head held high, just seconds later.
"Mr Perry, you are being questioned on suspicion of the murder of Natasha Humphrey-"
"I don't know no Natasha… and I think… I think this is rude…" he had the voice of a personable old man as well, a voice that talking to should have flowed easily with.
"I think you do." Beckett said sharply and smacked down the picture of Natasha Humphrey on the PM table, "She was the woman that put you away…"
Harvey Perry stared down at the photo for a moment, no words leaving his lips, but a hundred expressions running through his face. And he was good, good at keeping up this appearance, even though Beckett knew exactly who he was, exactly how frozen his soul was, quite how cold he could be. If she hadn't have known better, if she hadn't have known his precise disgusting nature, she would have thought he was emotionally affected by it… she would have thought the picture of the dead body in front of him was turning his stomach.
"I never knew her first name…" were the only words that crept out of his mouth in the end, after minutes, and his acting was beginning to chill her - there was something almost mournful in his tone.
Beckett didn't have time for any of this, and she didn't like the way his pretences were messing with her mind, so she turned it around again, bringing her own control into the forefront in the interrogation room again, falling back onto being more comfortable.
"You're looking at a better motive for murder than any I've ever seen, Mr Perry, so you better start tal-"
"How could you accuse me of that?" he interrupted, pulling an affronted look across that face, "I've gone straight now… I've been straight ever since I got out… I work in a Davy Plumbers now… down in Queens… you can call my boss, if you want proof…"
"We will be doing that, Mr Perry… did you see Judge Humphrey on any occasion after that court case?"
He was shaking his head slowly, and if she didn't know better she'd have read incredulity, an inability to consider that he was possibly guilty of this crime.
"No… I never blamed the Judge anyway… she was…" and this was when the smile came on his face Beckett saw immediately would have been the expression his rape victims saw, something that suddenly spelt out predator, "…easy on the eyes, Judge Humphrey… I didn't blame her… I was tossing myself off at night over her… she was a pretty one, that one… quite like you, Detective…"
Beckett felt the nausea rise in her throat, and for a moment, the level of hatred she felt towards herself was incredible. Because this man, this disgusting man, had managed, if only for seconds, to render her speechless. And that wasn't something people were able to do easily at all. That wasn't something she let go.
Before she had a chance to even think about the points Harvey Perry had just won against here, you could practically smell the rage coming off Castle, and he was standing, his fist clenched, as if was ready to strike the monster in front of them for the words… and she didn't even think; she grasped her hand around his and pulled him back down, running her finger in semicircles on his hand under the table, in their own privacy.
Like she was some sort of reassurance, like she was some sort of reality check that she was alright, that his words were simply words and nothing more, she kept her hand on his, not even considering moving it.
She didn't bring it up, she's not that kind of a girl, and it was Castle who brought it up in the car over to medical examiner's office to talk to Lanie about everything in this case.
"I'm sorry." His voice was low, like he wasn't sure if he was talking to her or just to himself, "it's thinking about the kind of man he is… and the way he looked at you…"
She glanced at him as they stopped at the lights, and he was trying to hide his disgust, but he was flinching, swallowing down the disgust.
"It's alright, Castle…"
He looked at her slightly incredulously, "Really?"
That was something he could do, as well. In situations like this one, where everything seemed completely hopeless, he could make her smile. "Really." She finished, and in a spur of the moment, without even thinking, reached out and covered his hand with hers for a second.
For a moment their eyes met, and Beckett found suddenly she had a thousand things to say she'd never said, and from his expression he was thinking the same thing… he had those unspoken words, too.
Then the lights turned green, and her hand was gone, and the car was moving, and if Castle didn't know better he'd suspect the whole thing was a dream.
"I was right on the time of death… between six and eight in the morning…. And she put up a good fight…" Lanie said, sighing as they walked into the PM room. Beckett returned her sigh, seeing the violent bruises all down the victim's arms, and the shade of grey her neck had turned. "She really did, Kate, she fought the killer as hard as she could… we don't know, but it's possible she made scratches on the killer's arms…"
Beckett raised her eyebrows. Something like that was perfect, particularly when the case was this difficult, this close to home.
"You got any DNA?"
"I'm running what was under her nails, and it looks like there's some human skin in there… I'll let you know when I've got a result…"
Beckett almost let a smile creep onto her lips - if they managed to get the DNA, and it alerted something in the system, it would make the case at least twenty times easier. This was the kind of thing she always wished for in nearly every case, and that she never got. She was about to say something back, and she could see from Castle's face there was something excited behind his eyes, when her cell phone rang, breaking the moments of silence.
"Beckett."
"It's Ryan. I've got two things…" she heard a deep breath, "Perry alibis out… he was working a job in Queens this morning, goes from five til ten… so he's all clear, as much as I want to lock up the guy… and we've interviewed those that are still in town from the wedding… both the bride's parents and the groom's brother said they saw the vic on the night of the wedding arguing with one of the bridesmaids…"
"And who was she to Natasha?"
"It took us a while to find it out, but turns out she was one of Natasha and the bride's friends from high school… a Louise Monroe…"
Beckett took a deep breath.
"She still in town?"
"She takes a train out this afternoon… we can get her in…"
"I'll be back at the Precinct in…" she checked her watch, "Half an hour? Anytime after then? And don't arrest her; keep it friendly, we want to catch her off-guard if she's got anything to do with it…"
After the conversation, she turned to Lanie and Castle, who were both looking over at Natasha's body in some sort of bizarre fascination.
"Perry alibied out… it wasn't him… but we've got someone else for questioning… we've gotta get back to the Precinct, talk to this friend from high school, she was apparently arguing with her last night… You got anything else for us before we leave, Lanie?"
Her friend shook her head slowly, and Castle's face had turned a slightly lighter shade of pale, at, Beckett assumed, the thought of Perry wandering the streets, a free man. There was something in him, the way he talked, what he had done before, the way he'd looked at Beckett… to Castle he was some sort of time-bomb, someone you should always be paranoid was on the street.
"No…" Lanie frowned, "I'll call you and let you know if we get anything on the DNA the moment something comes through…"
Beckett and Castle were already walking for the door, heading for someone else to question, more questions to answer. "Thanks… let's hope it's sooner rather than later…"
Rating: T
Spoilers: all aired.
Summary: A murdered judge causes Beckett and Castle to examine their own lives.
Three - wearing an ordinary face
Harvey Perry made her skin crawl the moment she saw him through the observation glass. He was older than she'd been expecting, somehow, but she supposed if she thought about it hard enough it did make sense… it had been a decade ago Judge Humphrey had put him away. Anyway, he was in his sixties, and he unnerved her because there was something about him that made him look personable, there was that smile on his face that would make her talk to him on a bus, something about his appearance that made him far too trustworthy without even knowing him. Especially considering what he had done. A shudder ran down her spine, it had been three rapes that he'd been convicted of, and somehow she suddenly understood how the girls had been tricked; how he was someone it was all too easy to trust. There was something far too unsettling about seeing him sat there, Castle already sat opposite him in the interrogation room, staring him out. This man, that looked so ordinary, but was so rotten underneath. She sighed. Now wasn't the time to dwell on that, at all. She disallowed herself another thought on the matter, and was walking into the interrogation room, head held high, just seconds later.
"Mr Perry, you are being questioned on suspicion of the murder of Natasha Humphrey-"
"I don't know no Natasha… and I think… I think this is rude…" he had the voice of a personable old man as well, a voice that talking to should have flowed easily with.
"I think you do." Beckett said sharply and smacked down the picture of Natasha Humphrey on the PM table, "She was the woman that put you away…"
Harvey Perry stared down at the photo for a moment, no words leaving his lips, but a hundred expressions running through his face. And he was good, good at keeping up this appearance, even though Beckett knew exactly who he was, exactly how frozen his soul was, quite how cold he could be. If she hadn't have known better, if she hadn't have known his precise disgusting nature, she would have thought he was emotionally affected by it… she would have thought the picture of the dead body in front of him was turning his stomach.
"I never knew her first name…" were the only words that crept out of his mouth in the end, after minutes, and his acting was beginning to chill her - there was something almost mournful in his tone.
Beckett didn't have time for any of this, and she didn't like the way his pretences were messing with her mind, so she turned it around again, bringing her own control into the forefront in the interrogation room again, falling back onto being more comfortable.
"You're looking at a better motive for murder than any I've ever seen, Mr Perry, so you better start tal-"
"How could you accuse me of that?" he interrupted, pulling an affronted look across that face, "I've gone straight now… I've been straight ever since I got out… I work in a Davy Plumbers now… down in Queens… you can call my boss, if you want proof…"
"We will be doing that, Mr Perry… did you see Judge Humphrey on any occasion after that court case?"
He was shaking his head slowly, and if she didn't know better she'd have read incredulity, an inability to consider that he was possibly guilty of this crime.
"No… I never blamed the Judge anyway… she was…" and this was when the smile came on his face Beckett saw immediately would have been the expression his rape victims saw, something that suddenly spelt out predator, "…easy on the eyes, Judge Humphrey… I didn't blame her… I was tossing myself off at night over her… she was a pretty one, that one… quite like you, Detective…"
Beckett felt the nausea rise in her throat, and for a moment, the level of hatred she felt towards herself was incredible. Because this man, this disgusting man, had managed, if only for seconds, to render her speechless. And that wasn't something people were able to do easily at all. That wasn't something she let go.
Before she had a chance to even think about the points Harvey Perry had just won against here, you could practically smell the rage coming off Castle, and he was standing, his fist clenched, as if was ready to strike the monster in front of them for the words… and she didn't even think; she grasped her hand around his and pulled him back down, running her finger in semicircles on his hand under the table, in their own privacy.
Like she was some sort of reassurance, like she was some sort of reality check that she was alright, that his words were simply words and nothing more, she kept her hand on his, not even considering moving it.
She didn't bring it up, she's not that kind of a girl, and it was Castle who brought it up in the car over to medical examiner's office to talk to Lanie about everything in this case.
"I'm sorry." His voice was low, like he wasn't sure if he was talking to her or just to himself, "it's thinking about the kind of man he is… and the way he looked at you…"
She glanced at him as they stopped at the lights, and he was trying to hide his disgust, but he was flinching, swallowing down the disgust.
"It's alright, Castle…"
He looked at her slightly incredulously, "Really?"
That was something he could do, as well. In situations like this one, where everything seemed completely hopeless, he could make her smile. "Really." She finished, and in a spur of the moment, without even thinking, reached out and covered his hand with hers for a second.
For a moment their eyes met, and Beckett found suddenly she had a thousand things to say she'd never said, and from his expression he was thinking the same thing… he had those unspoken words, too.
Then the lights turned green, and her hand was gone, and the car was moving, and if Castle didn't know better he'd suspect the whole thing was a dream.
"I was right on the time of death… between six and eight in the morning…. And she put up a good fight…" Lanie said, sighing as they walked into the PM room. Beckett returned her sigh, seeing the violent bruises all down the victim's arms, and the shade of grey her neck had turned. "She really did, Kate, she fought the killer as hard as she could… we don't know, but it's possible she made scratches on the killer's arms…"
Beckett raised her eyebrows. Something like that was perfect, particularly when the case was this difficult, this close to home.
"You got any DNA?"
"I'm running what was under her nails, and it looks like there's some human skin in there… I'll let you know when I've got a result…"
Beckett almost let a smile creep onto her lips - if they managed to get the DNA, and it alerted something in the system, it would make the case at least twenty times easier. This was the kind of thing she always wished for in nearly every case, and that she never got. She was about to say something back, and she could see from Castle's face there was something excited behind his eyes, when her cell phone rang, breaking the moments of silence.
"Beckett."
"It's Ryan. I've got two things…" she heard a deep breath, "Perry alibis out… he was working a job in Queens this morning, goes from five til ten… so he's all clear, as much as I want to lock up the guy… and we've interviewed those that are still in town from the wedding… both the bride's parents and the groom's brother said they saw the vic on the night of the wedding arguing with one of the bridesmaids…"
"And who was she to Natasha?"
"It took us a while to find it out, but turns out she was one of Natasha and the bride's friends from high school… a Louise Monroe…"
Beckett took a deep breath.
"She still in town?"
"She takes a train out this afternoon… we can get her in…"
"I'll be back at the Precinct in…" she checked her watch, "Half an hour? Anytime after then? And don't arrest her; keep it friendly, we want to catch her off-guard if she's got anything to do with it…"
After the conversation, she turned to Lanie and Castle, who were both looking over at Natasha's body in some sort of bizarre fascination.
"Perry alibied out… it wasn't him… but we've got someone else for questioning… we've gotta get back to the Precinct, talk to this friend from high school, she was apparently arguing with her last night… You got anything else for us before we leave, Lanie?"
Her friend shook her head slowly, and Castle's face had turned a slightly lighter shade of pale, at, Beckett assumed, the thought of Perry wandering the streets, a free man. There was something in him, the way he talked, what he had done before, the way he'd looked at Beckett… to Castle he was some sort of time-bomb, someone you should always be paranoid was on the street.
"No…" Lanie frowned, "I'll call you and let you know if we get anything on the DNA the moment something comes through…"
Beckett and Castle were already walking for the door, heading for someone else to question, more questions to answer. "Thanks… let's hope it's sooner rather than later…"