The Hudson Killer [Castle fic]
Title: The Hudson Killer
Authors:theonlyspl & bitterbird
Fandom: Castle!
Disclaimer: "Castle" and all its characters are not ours, they belong to Andrew Marlowe.
Pairing/Characters: Mainly Richard Castle/Kate Beckett.... Esposito, Ryan, Montgomery, and Lanie also featured (and some OC's obviously)
Prompt: Water (written for castleland)
Word Count: 1556
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Summary: Young, brunette, tall, wet, dead -- the simplest description for the many women found in the Hudson river. Castle and Beckett must work together in order to solve the murders...who is this serial killer? And will they catch him...or her?
Kate Beckett was afraid to answer the phone. She knew without picking it up that it had happened again, the killer had struck again. Someone else had been hurt and she had failed to stop it. She picked up the phone and vowed to herself that this would be the last one, no matter what it took.
This was the fourth body they had found so far, all of them in the Hudson River off Manhattan. They had increased patrols around the river edges of Manhattan, and every time the killer had slipped through their cracks. The Hudson river was all together 317 miles long, so it was impossible to cover it all. The body count was rising and it was time to try another tactic.
******
The body had been found in the water near Grant’s Tomb, on the upper west side in Mornington Heights. It was a mixed area, large houses with a lot of money and wealth mixed with university lodging for Colombia University. Kate frowned as she watched down Riverside drive to get to Lanie at the River bank. She made her way down the short dirt path to the water edge, where Lanie was standing over the body of a young girl. She looked like she was around 20, Kate frowned, and wondered if she was a Colombia student.
“Hey Lanie,” Kate greeted her friend as she continued to look at the girl.
She was just like the others. The killer certainly had a type and he didn’t seem worried about showing it. She was tall, slender, with shoulder length light brown hair and brown eyes. Her body was white from being in the cold water for such a long time. The clothes remained in tact, and aside from the fact she was dead, the body seemed perfectly normal.
“Kate,” Lanie said, from the ground where she was perched over the girl looking for evidence.
“Same as the others?” Kate asked her, unsure of if she really wanted to know. Four innocent girls had been killed and they where no closer to catching the guy. They had narrowed down a lot of suspects but every time another girl was killed it gave them a whole new list and muddled everything around.
“Yeah our guy hasn’t changed things up much. She put up a fight this one though, there are signs of a struggle on the back of her neck and on her hands,” Lanie pointed out some small red marks and cuts to Kate.
They heard some noise from behind them and both turned to find Richard Castle walking towards them, munching on a bagel.
“Sorry I am late, I had to make a stop at Absolute Bagels at 107th St. They have the best bagels in the whole city.” Castle took a bite and nodded appreciatively, while Kate just shook her head and turned her attention back to the body.
“Do we know who she is?” Kate asked Lanie.
Lanie nodded and picked up a wallet off the ground. “Her name is Amy Scott, she is 21, she has a student id for Columbia. There was one other thing about her, she has a stamp for a club at the Empire”
“Oh the 21 club? That place is super exclusive!” Castle sounded impressed.
“That’s great. Let’s call Ryan and get him to check into her and see if we can get this list narrowed down. He and Esposito can go to the campus and suss out if we can find this guy. Castle, you and I are going clubbing”
Castle grinned like a five year old and Kate just shook her head.
******
Castle was recognized almost instantly as he walked into the club, bombarded by women who insisted he sign their chests. Grinning as he did so, he obliged their demands, glancing over his shoulder expecting to see Beckett’s disapproval burning through her eyes and into his skin, but she was nowhere in sight.
“Beckett?” he turned, wondering where she had gone, “Kate where are y--”
His jaw dropped as she walked towards him, dressed in a short red dress. Everyone was staring at her.
“When...when did you....when did you change?” he struggled through his words, awestruck by her beauty.
“Focus Castle, we’ve got work to do.” She walked up to a group of women and the subtle interrogation began.
Castle noticed a man staring at her from the end of the bar, he seemed taken by her, and the conversation she and the other ladies were having. Beckett also noticed him, apparently, as she sent him a few flirty smiles. Castle did not approve.
Soon after, the man came over to ask Beckett for a dance. The jealousy burned within Rick’s belly.
******
“We talked to a few of her friends” Esposito informed Castle and Beckett as they walked into the precinct.
“And?” Beckett inquired.
“And none of them could imagine why anyone would want her dead, everybody knew her and she was well-liked” Ryan explained.
“We did however meet her boyfriend, he seemed really nervous about us being there, but none too concerned that she was dead.” said Esposito.
“His name is Dick Shwards.” Ryan added.
“A very fitting name for him, I assume” Castle finally joined the conversation.
“This coming from the man whose nickname could easily be Dick” Beckett teased.
“Ha! Ha... well played Detective.” he replied in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.
“Did you get anything out of anyone at the 21 Club?” Ryan asked.
“It was a major bust, except for Beckett,” Castle glanced her direction “she had some fun on the dance floor.”
“Jealous, Castle?” Beckett smirked.
“No!”
“Bro, you so are!” Esposito teased him.
“Besides, he proved to be quite helpful actually.” She continued, “Said he saw our girl last night, completely drunk, and that she was causing some kind of a ruckus, until some guy came and picked her up.”
“You didn’t tell me that” Castle was disappointed. Beckett rolled her eyes.
“Was it Dick?” Esposito showed her a picture of Mr. Shwards.
Beckett looked confused as she stared at the picture, “No...”
Castle snatched the photo from her hands, his jaw dropped, “isn’t this...”
“The guy I danced with.” Castle and Beckett stared at each other in shock.
“Woah woah woah, wait a minute, didn’t we interrogate this guy at about the same time you danced with him?” Espositp was confused.
“You know what? I think we did...but how? The guy can’t be in two places at once!” Castle began, “Unless! They’re clones! Bent on destroying young gorgeous women and...”
“Throwing them in the river? What’s the point of that though?” Ryan fed into Castle’s insane idea.
“Well...maybe its a ritual thing...they need to soak the dead bodies in water...so that they can feed.”
“Castle, that’s ridiculous. This isn’t some fictional story, this is real life... And I don’t know how he managed it, but he was in two places at once. Now let’s go pick him up before another body gets tossed.”
******
“What a pleasure to see you again,” he smiled as Beckett entered the room. “but how is it you knew where I work?”
Kate walked up to him and set a water bottle on his desk, “just thought you might be a little thirsty. You seem like the kind of guy who loves water.”
He laughed, “Well yes I do, especially when it’s coming from you -- I’m sorry your name seems to have escaped my mind...”
“Let me refresh your memory then. It’s Kate, Detective Kate Beckett.” she shot him a serious stare as she placed yet another water bottle on his desk.
“Detective? And is it ordinary for detectives to walk into peoples offices with a bunch of water bottles?”
“No. But no one ever questions an authors actions” Castle entered the room, walked up to the man and poured the water over Mr. Shwards’ head.
“What the --”
“So which one are you anyways?” Castle asked, “clone Dick, or the original Dick?”
“Who the hell are you, and what is your problem?”
“Mr. Shwards, you are under arrest” Kate said as she grabbed his hands behind his back and cuffed him.
“What for? You can’t do this! I didn’t do it, I’m innocent!” he panicked as he struggled to free himself, it wasn’t working.
“Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in the court of law...”
*******
“You guys can return to the precinct now, we got him” Kate spoke into the phone to Esposito.
“That’s funny,” Esposito’s voice got louder suddenly. “I was about to tell you the same thing.”
Kate looked up to see detectives Ryan and Esposito standing before her.
********
“As it turns out, our killer wasn’t working alone.” Beckett explained to Montgomery.
“They weren’t clones either, which is sad because it would have made a better story” Castle added.
“Dick and Jack Shwards, they’re twins.”
“Any idea why they did it?” the Captain asked.
“Not yet. All we know is that this started years ago, we found boxes full of hair from different women, all brunettes. We’re still tracking down who they belonged to.”
“At least there won’t be anymore dead women in the Hudson” Castle paused, “until the next psycho shows up that is.”
“Alright then, well done you two.”
Authors:theonlyspl & bitterbird
Fandom: Castle!
Disclaimer: "Castle" and all its characters are not ours, they belong to Andrew Marlowe.
Pairing/Characters: Mainly Richard Castle/Kate Beckett.... Esposito, Ryan, Montgomery, and Lanie also featured (and some OC's obviously)
Prompt: Water (written for castleland)
Word Count: 1556
Rating: PG
Spoilers: None
Summary: Young, brunette, tall, wet, dead -- the simplest description for the many women found in the Hudson river. Castle and Beckett must work together in order to solve the murders...who is this serial killer? And will they catch him...or her?
Kate Beckett was afraid to answer the phone. She knew without picking it up that it had happened again, the killer had struck again. Someone else had been hurt and she had failed to stop it. She picked up the phone and vowed to herself that this would be the last one, no matter what it took.
This was the fourth body they had found so far, all of them in the Hudson River off Manhattan. They had increased patrols around the river edges of Manhattan, and every time the killer had slipped through their cracks. The Hudson river was all together 317 miles long, so it was impossible to cover it all. The body count was rising and it was time to try another tactic.
******
The body had been found in the water near Grant’s Tomb, on the upper west side in Mornington Heights. It was a mixed area, large houses with a lot of money and wealth mixed with university lodging for Colombia University. Kate frowned as she watched down Riverside drive to get to Lanie at the River bank. She made her way down the short dirt path to the water edge, where Lanie was standing over the body of a young girl. She looked like she was around 20, Kate frowned, and wondered if she was a Colombia student.
“Hey Lanie,” Kate greeted her friend as she continued to look at the girl.
She was just like the others. The killer certainly had a type and he didn’t seem worried about showing it. She was tall, slender, with shoulder length light brown hair and brown eyes. Her body was white from being in the cold water for such a long time. The clothes remained in tact, and aside from the fact she was dead, the body seemed perfectly normal.
“Kate,” Lanie said, from the ground where she was perched over the girl looking for evidence.
“Same as the others?” Kate asked her, unsure of if she really wanted to know. Four innocent girls had been killed and they where no closer to catching the guy. They had narrowed down a lot of suspects but every time another girl was killed it gave them a whole new list and muddled everything around.
“Yeah our guy hasn’t changed things up much. She put up a fight this one though, there are signs of a struggle on the back of her neck and on her hands,” Lanie pointed out some small red marks and cuts to Kate.
They heard some noise from behind them and both turned to find Richard Castle walking towards them, munching on a bagel.
“Sorry I am late, I had to make a stop at Absolute Bagels at 107th St. They have the best bagels in the whole city.” Castle took a bite and nodded appreciatively, while Kate just shook her head and turned her attention back to the body.
“Do we know who she is?” Kate asked Lanie.
Lanie nodded and picked up a wallet off the ground. “Her name is Amy Scott, she is 21, she has a student id for Columbia. There was one other thing about her, she has a stamp for a club at the Empire”
“Oh the 21 club? That place is super exclusive!” Castle sounded impressed.
“That’s great. Let’s call Ryan and get him to check into her and see if we can get this list narrowed down. He and Esposito can go to the campus and suss out if we can find this guy. Castle, you and I are going clubbing”
Castle grinned like a five year old and Kate just shook her head.
******
Castle was recognized almost instantly as he walked into the club, bombarded by women who insisted he sign their chests. Grinning as he did so, he obliged their demands, glancing over his shoulder expecting to see Beckett’s disapproval burning through her eyes and into his skin, but she was nowhere in sight.
“Beckett?” he turned, wondering where she had gone, “Kate where are y--”
His jaw dropped as she walked towards him, dressed in a short red dress. Everyone was staring at her.
“When...when did you....when did you change?” he struggled through his words, awestruck by her beauty.
“Focus Castle, we’ve got work to do.” She walked up to a group of women and the subtle interrogation began.
Castle noticed a man staring at her from the end of the bar, he seemed taken by her, and the conversation she and the other ladies were having. Beckett also noticed him, apparently, as she sent him a few flirty smiles. Castle did not approve.
Soon after, the man came over to ask Beckett for a dance. The jealousy burned within Rick’s belly.
******
“We talked to a few of her friends” Esposito informed Castle and Beckett as they walked into the precinct.
“And?” Beckett inquired.
“And none of them could imagine why anyone would want her dead, everybody knew her and she was well-liked” Ryan explained.
“We did however meet her boyfriend, he seemed really nervous about us being there, but none too concerned that she was dead.” said Esposito.
“His name is Dick Shwards.” Ryan added.
“A very fitting name for him, I assume” Castle finally joined the conversation.
“This coming from the man whose nickname could easily be Dick” Beckett teased.
“Ha! Ha... well played Detective.” he replied in an attempt to hide his embarrassment.
“Did you get anything out of anyone at the 21 Club?” Ryan asked.
“It was a major bust, except for Beckett,” Castle glanced her direction “she had some fun on the dance floor.”
“Jealous, Castle?” Beckett smirked.
“No!”
“Bro, you so are!” Esposito teased him.
“Besides, he proved to be quite helpful actually.” She continued, “Said he saw our girl last night, completely drunk, and that she was causing some kind of a ruckus, until some guy came and picked her up.”
“You didn’t tell me that” Castle was disappointed. Beckett rolled her eyes.
“Was it Dick?” Esposito showed her a picture of Mr. Shwards.
Beckett looked confused as she stared at the picture, “No...”
Castle snatched the photo from her hands, his jaw dropped, “isn’t this...”
“The guy I danced with.” Castle and Beckett stared at each other in shock.
“Woah woah woah, wait a minute, didn’t we interrogate this guy at about the same time you danced with him?” Espositp was confused.
“You know what? I think we did...but how? The guy can’t be in two places at once!” Castle began, “Unless! They’re clones! Bent on destroying young gorgeous women and...”
“Throwing them in the river? What’s the point of that though?” Ryan fed into Castle’s insane idea.
“Well...maybe its a ritual thing...they need to soak the dead bodies in water...so that they can feed.”
“Castle, that’s ridiculous. This isn’t some fictional story, this is real life... And I don’t know how he managed it, but he was in two places at once. Now let’s go pick him up before another body gets tossed.”
******
“What a pleasure to see you again,” he smiled as Beckett entered the room. “but how is it you knew where I work?”
Kate walked up to him and set a water bottle on his desk, “just thought you might be a little thirsty. You seem like the kind of guy who loves water.”
He laughed, “Well yes I do, especially when it’s coming from you -- I’m sorry your name seems to have escaped my mind...”
“Let me refresh your memory then. It’s Kate, Detective Kate Beckett.” she shot him a serious stare as she placed yet another water bottle on his desk.
“Detective? And is it ordinary for detectives to walk into peoples offices with a bunch of water bottles?”
“No. But no one ever questions an authors actions” Castle entered the room, walked up to the man and poured the water over Mr. Shwards’ head.
“What the --”
“So which one are you anyways?” Castle asked, “clone Dick, or the original Dick?”
“Who the hell are you, and what is your problem?”
“Mr. Shwards, you are under arrest” Kate said as she grabbed his hands behind his back and cuffed him.
“What for? You can’t do this! I didn’t do it, I’m innocent!” he panicked as he struggled to free himself, it wasn’t working.
“Anything you say or do can and will be used against you in the court of law...”
*******
“You guys can return to the precinct now, we got him” Kate spoke into the phone to Esposito.
“That’s funny,” Esposito’s voice got louder suddenly. “I was about to tell you the same thing.”
Kate looked up to see detectives Ryan and Esposito standing before her.
********
“As it turns out, our killer wasn’t working alone.” Beckett explained to Montgomery.
“They weren’t clones either, which is sad because it would have made a better story” Castle added.
“Dick and Jack Shwards, they’re twins.”
“Any idea why they did it?” the Captain asked.
“Not yet. All we know is that this started years ago, we found boxes full of hair from different women, all brunettes. We’re still tracking down who they belonged to.”
“At least there won’t be anymore dead women in the Hudson” Castle paused, “until the next psycho shows up that is.”
“Alright then, well done you two.”