Castle fic: "The high cost of being Patsy Tamour" 3/4
Title: The high crime of being Patsy Tamour (part three)
Author: Keenir.
Characters: Alexis Castle, Kate Beckett, Richard Castle, Owen,
Rating: PG-13
Summary: There's more than one way to skin an egg...or a novelist.
Disclaimer: If there is a real Patsy Tamour, I apologize. At the time of writing this, all characters within are fictional, and no resemblance with real people, institutions is intended.
Disclaimer: I do not own Castle, the characters, or the products from them.
Spoilers: series 1 finale, episodes 2.01-2.03
Author's Notes:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's kinda disappointing, actually," Castle said to Owen as he and Esposito sat in the interrogation room across the table from Owen.
Owen said nothing, just continued to be huddled in on himself.
"I mean," Castle continued, "we find out you're behind it, so we go to your place...and you don't run, you don't try to resist arrest, you aren't attempting to destroy evidence or even come up with an alibi."
"That is weird," Esposito agreed. To Owen, "Why is that?"
The boy kept his eyes downcast.
"It's too bad," Castle said. "If you'd been doing any of that, then you'd be dutifully shot by New York's finest. Of course, if 'd had a gun at the time -"
"Nothing," Esposito said. "You don't have a permit for one, you're a civilian, and -"
"I know, I know. Still, nothing wrong with imagining, now is there?"
Before Esposito could reply, Owen whimpered.
"Oh now that got a reaction. Tell me, Owen, what was it that sent you over the edge? Was it you wanting your cake and the brownie too - you felt you deserved a menage a trois? And when Alexis didn't want to go along with it," Castle said, slamming one hand down on the table, which made Owen jump in his seat. "You kidnapped her.
"You abducted her.
"You absconded her."
"Anything you want to tell us?" Esposito asked the boy.
Far too soon for Castle's tastes, and not a moment too soon for Owen's, Detective Beckett and Ryan entered the room. Ryan shut the door and leaned against the doorframe.
Beckett walked over the the tableside and set a tape recorder down. "This is yours, isn't it?" she asked him.
Cowering, wretched and unable to make himself any smaller than he was already, Owen cried a quiet "Yes."
"His confession?" Castle asked Beckett.
"A confession," she replied. "Of sorts." To Owen, "How long has this been going on?"
Owen sniffled, his body telegraphing that he was afraid to even lift one hand to wipe his nose.
"It's a charade, isn't it?" Ryan asked. "She blackmailed you so you'd be a red herring."
"An obedient herring," Beckett seconded.
"He was being blackmailed?" Castle asked. "By whom? The girl who lied about going to his summer camp?" To Owen, "Why didn't you say so? If this could exonerate you, why didn't you say anything?"
Owen backed up his chair the few inches it afforded before the chairfeet were caught on the floor, and he sounded like he was about to cry again.
"You might want to get a get a coffee now, Castle," Beckett said.
"No, no, I'm good," Castle said.
"Dude, it's been a rough couple of days for all of us," Ryan said. "Grab some fresh air, or at least stretch your legs."
"Seriously, I appreciate the concern, but really, I'm fine."
Not knowing what his colleagues were up to, Esposito nonetheless joined them: "If you don't want a coffee, could you get me one?"
"I'd like one too," Beckett said.
Castle looked at them all, one after another. Then, his eyes descending to the device, "What the hell is on that recorder?" and, laying one hand on it swifter than any of the officers could block him, Castle hit PLAY.
Owen put his head in his hands.
"I know you'll find this tape, Owen. If I didn't want you to find it, I wouldn't have put it where I did. Deliberateness comes easier to me than it does most people.
"Now I know you want out of our arrangement, but this tape is only to remind you of what we disussed after we left the prom. It's perfect, really: we are one another's alibis. But more than that, you are the excuse, the...I'm getting ahead of myself. You'd think I knew better, wouldn't you?
"In return, Owen, I will use your name to offer up lessons to the people who don't take advice when others offer it. Call me Aesop."
Beckett clicked the tape player off.
"Call me Aesop was Tamour's first sale," Esposito said quietly.
Sniffling, "Now you know," Owen said, keeping his head down and his voice low.
"Only part of the story," Beckett said.
Castle was still slack-jawed. Alexis? My daughter is Patsy Tamour?
"Why don't you tell us the rest?" Beckett asked Owen.
Owen nodded, and told them about the deal; once he started talking, it all poured out.
We're his confessional, Beckett thought uncomfortably to herself. Listening to him, Beckett's hunch was proving correct: Alexis had inherited her father's talent for spinning tales - taking facts about the sort of people her father dealt with and was chummy with, the rifraf said father had connections with, the circle of people Alexis' mother and grandmother knew well - everything entirely true, and spun into something that had made Owen afraid to back out, afraid to even talk to the police here in the station.
"Thank you," Beckett said. "Why don't you go get something to eat and drink, while we settle this - okay?"
Owen nodded, and Ryan escorted him to down the hall, where some other uniforms would keep an eye on him in the cafeteria.
"You're the Tamour expert, Esposito," Kate said. "If this Aesop reference is a clue, where should we look?"
"'Call me Aesop' takes place on a stage near a police station," Esposito said.
"Stage as in an actors' stage?" Beckett asked.
He nodded.
"Let's go."
"This is my fault," Castle said, standing up as slowly as anyone as shell-shocked as him right now moved.
"What? How's that?" Ryan asked.
"I never grounded Alexis. I never withheld her allowance or lunch money. I tried to get her to stay up late and act like a normal teenager."
"Castle!" Beckett said. "You might not be winning the Father Of The Year award any time soon, but you're not a screwup."
Ryan and Esposito nodded. "Trust us on this," Ryan said as the four of them headed for the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc
Author: Keenir.
Characters: Alexis Castle, Kate Beckett, Richard Castle, Owen,
Rating: PG-13
Summary: There's more than one way to skin an egg...or a novelist.
Disclaimer: If there is a real Patsy Tamour, I apologize. At the time of writing this, all characters within are fictional, and no resemblance with real people, institutions is intended.
Disclaimer: I do not own Castle, the characters, or the products from them.
Spoilers: series 1 finale, episodes 2.01-2.03
Author's Notes:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"It's kinda disappointing, actually," Castle said to Owen as he and Esposito sat in the interrogation room across the table from Owen.
Owen said nothing, just continued to be huddled in on himself.
"I mean," Castle continued, "we find out you're behind it, so we go to your place...and you don't run, you don't try to resist arrest, you aren't attempting to destroy evidence or even come up with an alibi."
"That is weird," Esposito agreed. To Owen, "Why is that?"
The boy kept his eyes downcast.
"It's too bad," Castle said. "If you'd been doing any of that, then you'd be dutifully shot by New York's finest. Of course, if 'd had a gun at the time -"
"Nothing," Esposito said. "You don't have a permit for one, you're a civilian, and -"
"I know, I know. Still, nothing wrong with imagining, now is there?"
Before Esposito could reply, Owen whimpered.
"Oh now that got a reaction. Tell me, Owen, what was it that sent you over the edge? Was it you wanting your cake and the brownie too - you felt you deserved a menage a trois? And when Alexis didn't want to go along with it," Castle said, slamming one hand down on the table, which made Owen jump in his seat. "You kidnapped her.
"You abducted her.
"You absconded her."
"Anything you want to tell us?" Esposito asked the boy.
Far too soon for Castle's tastes, and not a moment too soon for Owen's, Detective Beckett and Ryan entered the room. Ryan shut the door and leaned against the doorframe.
Beckett walked over the the tableside and set a tape recorder down. "This is yours, isn't it?" she asked him.
Cowering, wretched and unable to make himself any smaller than he was already, Owen cried a quiet "Yes."
"His confession?" Castle asked Beckett.
"A confession," she replied. "Of sorts." To Owen, "How long has this been going on?"
Owen sniffled, his body telegraphing that he was afraid to even lift one hand to wipe his nose.
"It's a charade, isn't it?" Ryan asked. "She blackmailed you so you'd be a red herring."
"An obedient herring," Beckett seconded.
"He was being blackmailed?" Castle asked. "By whom? The girl who lied about going to his summer camp?" To Owen, "Why didn't you say so? If this could exonerate you, why didn't you say anything?"
Owen backed up his chair the few inches it afforded before the chairfeet were caught on the floor, and he sounded like he was about to cry again.
"You might want to get a get a coffee now, Castle," Beckett said.
"No, no, I'm good," Castle said.
"Dude, it's been a rough couple of days for all of us," Ryan said. "Grab some fresh air, or at least stretch your legs."
"Seriously, I appreciate the concern, but really, I'm fine."
Not knowing what his colleagues were up to, Esposito nonetheless joined them: "If you don't want a coffee, could you get me one?"
"I'd like one too," Beckett said.
Castle looked at them all, one after another. Then, his eyes descending to the device, "What the hell is on that recorder?" and, laying one hand on it swifter than any of the officers could block him, Castle hit PLAY.
Owen put his head in his hands.
"I know you'll find this tape, Owen. If I didn't want you to find it, I wouldn't have put it where I did. Deliberateness comes easier to me than it does most people.
"Now I know you want out of our arrangement, but this tape is only to remind you of what we disussed after we left the prom. It's perfect, really: we are one another's alibis. But more than that, you are the excuse, the...I'm getting ahead of myself. You'd think I knew better, wouldn't you?
"In return, Owen, I will use your name to offer up lessons to the people who don't take advice when others offer it. Call me Aesop."
Beckett clicked the tape player off.
"Call me Aesop was Tamour's first sale," Esposito said quietly.
Sniffling, "Now you know," Owen said, keeping his head down and his voice low.
"Only part of the story," Beckett said.
Castle was still slack-jawed. Alexis? My daughter is Patsy Tamour?
"Why don't you tell us the rest?" Beckett asked Owen.
Owen nodded, and told them about the deal; once he started talking, it all poured out.
We're his confessional, Beckett thought uncomfortably to herself. Listening to him, Beckett's hunch was proving correct: Alexis had inherited her father's talent for spinning tales - taking facts about the sort of people her father dealt with and was chummy with, the rifraf said father had connections with, the circle of people Alexis' mother and grandmother knew well - everything entirely true, and spun into something that had made Owen afraid to back out, afraid to even talk to the police here in the station.
"Thank you," Beckett said. "Why don't you go get something to eat and drink, while we settle this - okay?"
Owen nodded, and Ryan escorted him to down the hall, where some other uniforms would keep an eye on him in the cafeteria.
"You're the Tamour expert, Esposito," Kate said. "If this Aesop reference is a clue, where should we look?"
"'Call me Aesop' takes place on a stage near a police station," Esposito said.
"Stage as in an actors' stage?" Beckett asked.
He nodded.
"Let's go."
"This is my fault," Castle said, standing up as slowly as anyone as shell-shocked as him right now moved.
"What? How's that?" Ryan asked.
"I never grounded Alexis. I never withheld her allowance or lunch money. I tried to get her to stay up late and act like a normal teenager."
"Castle!" Beckett said. "You might not be winning the Father Of The Year award any time soon, but you're not a screwup."
Ryan and Esposito nodded. "Trust us on this," Ryan said as the four of them headed for the door.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
tbc