New York, April 2009
Richard Castle, Watcher
Author: Starfox5
Rating: FR18
Crossover: “Castle”
Written for: TtH August Fic A Day Challenge
Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. Castle Characters belong to Beacon PIctures and ABC Studio. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.
Summary: His second case with Beckett, the first as an official consultant. Hopefulyl it'd be a nice, easy one.
New York, April 2009
The mood in the bullpen was tense. At least where Beckett and Castle sat. The mood in the break area, where Vi was shamelessly flirting with Ryan and Esposito, who seemed to have forgotten her calling them ‘stooges’, wasn’t tense. But Caslte couldn’t help feeling that the spectacle was directly contributing to Beckett’s worsening mood. And that made him fear for his own safety, since he was getting blamed for his Slayer’s actions. Unfairly, of course.
He was just steeling himself to risk life and limb, or at least his remaining chances with the detective, to make a bit of conversation, her phone rang. She listened, then yelled to the break area. “Ryan! Esposito! Stop hitting on Castle’s girlfriend, and get moving. We’ve got a case!”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Castle complained, following Beckett to the elevator. “Wouldn’t you think I’d show some reaction to her flirting with your colleagues if that was the case?”
The detective cocked her head at him. “Some people like showing off their trophies. Yachts, girls, cars.”
Castle didn’t answer. He had wanted a Mustang for years, and it was a practical car. Compared to his Z3.
A faint grin showed Beckett had noticed his reaction. They rode the elevator down in silence.
He followed Beckett to her car. When she shot him another look, he explained. “It’s not an emergency, isn’t it?”
“Does that mean your ‘bodyguard’ will be joining us as well?”
“Unless she wants to ride with your colleagues.” Castle smiled, but stopped when he noticed her expression. He didn’t know if Beckett thought Vi riding with the two male detectives was worse than the Slayer riding in her car, but it was rather clear that she thought Vi coming along at all was bad enough.
“So… what’s the case about?” Castle asked.
“Mrs. Jennifer Farwright was found dead in her office. Stuffed into her safe.” Beckett explained while leaving the pond.
Castle winced. “That must have been a big safe.”
“Probably.”
*****
It hadn’t been a big safe. Not at all. Just a medium-sized safe mounted in a wall. Castle whistled at the gory sight, which didn’t seem to impress the cops on the scene. Or detective Beckett. “Wow. How much force do you need to stuff a human into that?”
“A lot more than a human can exert, without the help of hydraulics or other tools.” Perlmutter explained, poking the gory mess with a probe.
“How do you even find the liver in there?” Castle wondered.
“With great experience.” the medical Examiner answered.
“Perlmutter this is Richard Castle. A friend of the mayor ‘consulting’ with us,” Becket introduced Rick.
“We’ve met before.”
That surprised Beckett.
“He’s a friend of my mother.” Castle explained. Technically correct, but the tone he used put another spin on the meaning. Which had been correct as well, in the past. Beckett shut up, but raised her eyebrows at Perlmutter’s back.
“If we were in one of my novels, I’d suspect a troll. But they would have eaten the victim. A Fyarl Demon would have been strong enough as well.” Castle crouched down, carefully avoiding the pool of drying blood. There were no marks on the floor - not from claws, not from any kind of machinery that would have been strong enough to turn a human being into canned meat.
“Castle, be serious! This is a real crime, not a fantasy!” Beckett hissed at him.
“Hm. The liver’s missing,” Perlmutter stated.
“A troll with a taste for liver?” Castle speculated. That earned him another glare.
“I’ve not found any sign of non-human tissue or hair so far,” Perlmutter answered in his driest tone. Beckett briefly smiled upon hearing it. She stopped as soon as she saw Vi poking around the door to the room.
“No sign of a struggle,” Castle added, hoping to draw the detective’s attention away from the snooping Slayer.
“She might have been killed elsewhere, and then carried to this spot.” Beckett crouched down as well. “If she’s missing the liver, then someone took care not to leave any blood trail.
“Or cleaned up.” Castle saw Vi sniff the door.
“That’s harder than the TV portrays it. And takes a long time. Time the killer didn’t have.” Beckett stood up. “According to the maid, Mrs. Farwright sent her to buy groceries, since she expected her niece to visit. The maid took one hour, and when she came back, she found the victim.”
“Door’s untouched. No one broke in. Windows are closed as well, and show no sign of tampering. Odds are, the killer knew her.” Ryan stated. “The maid’s story checks out according to the logs from the register at the shop, and the cameras in the street. But the security camera doesn’t show any visitor.”
“Maybe the killer entered earlier, and hid until the maid left?” Castle proposed. The others didn’t look convinced, but no one dismissed it as impossible. He was making progress!
“Ryan, Esposito, check with the neighbours. Me … and Castle… will talk to the niece.” Beckett didn’t mention Vi, who was still poking around - though not touching anything, so the detective couldn’t yell at her. Which was annoying her, Rick suspected. Not surprisingly - Vi had a talent for bending the rules just this side of breaking them.
When they left, he let Beckett pull ahead a bit, and sent a questioning glance at his Slayer.
“I thought I smelled some Fyarl snot, but I couldn’t find it. Nor did I smell blood anywhere apart from the safe.” She whispered.
That sounded like magic. Castle wasn’t liking this case anymore. Witches were bad news, Willow’s opinions notwithstanding.
*****
According to the files Ryan had pulled up and sent to Beckett, Miss Janet Farwright was a pretty girl currently attending a private college - not quite Ivy league, though. She wasn’t living at home, nor in a dorm, but in a small flat near the campus, popular among the students from richer families. “Hm… her parents recently moved out of their house, into a rented flat. Money troubles?” Castle commented.
“Probably. And the girl is making nice with the still rich aunt,” Beckett said while driving past the campus.
“And maybe going a step further. Maybe because she’s now the sole heir to the fortune, maybe because the aunt has seen through her act, and if she dies, the parents will inherit. Making her rich again,” Castle speculated.
“Inheritance laws are a bit different in New York than in medieval Europe.” Beckett chided him. Vi, sprawled out on the backseat, chuckled. Traitor.
He pouted at the detective. “Believe me, I am quite familiar with inheritance laws.” As a Watcher, he had had to prepare for the possibility of his sudden and violent death years ago.
They stopped in front of a well-preserved but old building. A brief glance told Castle that the flowerpots on the balconies probably hadn’t grown flowers in a while, but vegetables instead, herbs - or weed.
They passed a bunch of college students on the way, and Vi’s attire caused two of them to almost fall down the stairs when the stared a bit too long. Castle shook his head, Vi giggled and even Beckett seemed to smile.
Janet Farwright opened the door, red eyes and tears visible on her face. “Y-Yes?”
“Detective Becket, NYPD. Miss Farwright, we need to ask you a few questions about your aunt.”
While Beckett questioned the girl - who had an alibi ready; she had been with her friend, also present, who looked more than a bit stoned - Castle and Vi snooped around. There were lots of environment activist materials - flyers, posters, brochures - but no pagan symbols hanging around, no leather tomes on the shelves, nor cauldrons boiling. But the cupboard had some interesting herbs. And a freshly washed mortar.
“Lethe’s bramble?” Castle asked quietly, after a glance back to make sure the girl wasn’t watching.
Vi sniffed the mortar. “Yes.”
*****
“What do you think? That alibi looks a bit thin,” Castle ventured forth back in the car.
“It’s thin. That boyfriend was too addled to tell the time, much less that precisely. He was coached,” Beckett stated. “He’ll spill in an interrogation.”
Castle wasn’t so certain. Magical mind control could do a lot of things. It wasn’t all-powerful though. It wouldn’t have let the girl control the victim enough to get the money. Not without breaking.
“But we still don’t have any positive evidence,” Beckett continued.
Back at the Precinct, that didn’t change. But they found out that the security cameras had stopped recording for an hour - without logging the interruption. If it had been janet, then this had murder had been planned, Castle thought.
On the other hand, Janet had received a scholarship grant, allowing her to continue her studies. Esposito had found that out from Janet’s parents. They also mentioned that their daughter and the victim had a falling out over a development project the victim had financed. Janet hadn’t mentioned that.
“Killing for a few trees? That seems quite drastic,” as the detective put it.
“And even if that was the motive, how was it done? How did the victim end up in the safe, mangled like that?” Beckett asked. “She’d had to have help. And that kind of help usually isn’t easy to get for a college kid.”
Castle exchanged a glance with Vi. He could think of a few possible suspects for the kind of help she might have gotten. And where the liver was now.
It was time to visit ‘Clark’s’.
Author: Starfox5
Rating: FR18
Crossover: “Castle”
Written for: TtH August Fic A Day Challenge
Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. Castle Characters belong to Beacon PIctures and ABC Studio. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.
Summary: His second case with Beckett, the first as an official consultant. Hopefulyl it'd be a nice, easy one.
New York, April 2009
The mood in the bullpen was tense. At least where Beckett and Castle sat. The mood in the break area, where Vi was shamelessly flirting with Ryan and Esposito, who seemed to have forgotten her calling them ‘stooges’, wasn’t tense. But Caslte couldn’t help feeling that the spectacle was directly contributing to Beckett’s worsening mood. And that made him fear for his own safety, since he was getting blamed for his Slayer’s actions. Unfairly, of course.
He was just steeling himself to risk life and limb, or at least his remaining chances with the detective, to make a bit of conversation, her phone rang. She listened, then yelled to the break area. “Ryan! Esposito! Stop hitting on Castle’s girlfriend, and get moving. We’ve got a case!”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” Castle complained, following Beckett to the elevator. “Wouldn’t you think I’d show some reaction to her flirting with your colleagues if that was the case?”
The detective cocked her head at him. “Some people like showing off their trophies. Yachts, girls, cars.”
Castle didn’t answer. He had wanted a Mustang for years, and it was a practical car. Compared to his Z3.
A faint grin showed Beckett had noticed his reaction. They rode the elevator down in silence.
He followed Beckett to her car. When she shot him another look, he explained. “It’s not an emergency, isn’t it?”
“Does that mean your ‘bodyguard’ will be joining us as well?”
“Unless she wants to ride with your colleagues.” Castle smiled, but stopped when he noticed her expression. He didn’t know if Beckett thought Vi riding with the two male detectives was worse than the Slayer riding in her car, but it was rather clear that she thought Vi coming along at all was bad enough.
“So… what’s the case about?” Castle asked.
“Mrs. Jennifer Farwright was found dead in her office. Stuffed into her safe.” Beckett explained while leaving the pond.
Castle winced. “That must have been a big safe.”
“Probably.”
*****
It hadn’t been a big safe. Not at all. Just a medium-sized safe mounted in a wall. Castle whistled at the gory sight, which didn’t seem to impress the cops on the scene. Or detective Beckett. “Wow. How much force do you need to stuff a human into that?”
“A lot more than a human can exert, without the help of hydraulics or other tools.” Perlmutter explained, poking the gory mess with a probe.
“How do you even find the liver in there?” Castle wondered.
“With great experience.” the medical Examiner answered.
“Perlmutter this is Richard Castle. A friend of the mayor ‘consulting’ with us,” Becket introduced Rick.
“We’ve met before.”
That surprised Beckett.
“He’s a friend of my mother.” Castle explained. Technically correct, but the tone he used put another spin on the meaning. Which had been correct as well, in the past. Beckett shut up, but raised her eyebrows at Perlmutter’s back.
“If we were in one of my novels, I’d suspect a troll. But they would have eaten the victim. A Fyarl Demon would have been strong enough as well.” Castle crouched down, carefully avoiding the pool of drying blood. There were no marks on the floor - not from claws, not from any kind of machinery that would have been strong enough to turn a human being into canned meat.
“Castle, be serious! This is a real crime, not a fantasy!” Beckett hissed at him.
“Hm. The liver’s missing,” Perlmutter stated.
“A troll with a taste for liver?” Castle speculated. That earned him another glare.
“I’ve not found any sign of non-human tissue or hair so far,” Perlmutter answered in his driest tone. Beckett briefly smiled upon hearing it. She stopped as soon as she saw Vi poking around the door to the room.
“No sign of a struggle,” Castle added, hoping to draw the detective’s attention away from the snooping Slayer.
“She might have been killed elsewhere, and then carried to this spot.” Beckett crouched down as well. “If she’s missing the liver, then someone took care not to leave any blood trail.
“Or cleaned up.” Castle saw Vi sniff the door.
“That’s harder than the TV portrays it. And takes a long time. Time the killer didn’t have.” Beckett stood up. “According to the maid, Mrs. Farwright sent her to buy groceries, since she expected her niece to visit. The maid took one hour, and when she came back, she found the victim.”
“Door’s untouched. No one broke in. Windows are closed as well, and show no sign of tampering. Odds are, the killer knew her.” Ryan stated. “The maid’s story checks out according to the logs from the register at the shop, and the cameras in the street. But the security camera doesn’t show any visitor.”
“Maybe the killer entered earlier, and hid until the maid left?” Castle proposed. The others didn’t look convinced, but no one dismissed it as impossible. He was making progress!
“Ryan, Esposito, check with the neighbours. Me … and Castle… will talk to the niece.” Beckett didn’t mention Vi, who was still poking around - though not touching anything, so the detective couldn’t yell at her. Which was annoying her, Rick suspected. Not surprisingly - Vi had a talent for bending the rules just this side of breaking them.
When they left, he let Beckett pull ahead a bit, and sent a questioning glance at his Slayer.
“I thought I smelled some Fyarl snot, but I couldn’t find it. Nor did I smell blood anywhere apart from the safe.” She whispered.
That sounded like magic. Castle wasn’t liking this case anymore. Witches were bad news, Willow’s opinions notwithstanding.
*****
According to the files Ryan had pulled up and sent to Beckett, Miss Janet Farwright was a pretty girl currently attending a private college - not quite Ivy league, though. She wasn’t living at home, nor in a dorm, but in a small flat near the campus, popular among the students from richer families. “Hm… her parents recently moved out of their house, into a rented flat. Money troubles?” Castle commented.
“Probably. And the girl is making nice with the still rich aunt,” Beckett said while driving past the campus.
“And maybe going a step further. Maybe because she’s now the sole heir to the fortune, maybe because the aunt has seen through her act, and if she dies, the parents will inherit. Making her rich again,” Castle speculated.
“Inheritance laws are a bit different in New York than in medieval Europe.” Beckett chided him. Vi, sprawled out on the backseat, chuckled. Traitor.
He pouted at the detective. “Believe me, I am quite familiar with inheritance laws.” As a Watcher, he had had to prepare for the possibility of his sudden and violent death years ago.
They stopped in front of a well-preserved but old building. A brief glance told Castle that the flowerpots on the balconies probably hadn’t grown flowers in a while, but vegetables instead, herbs - or weed.
They passed a bunch of college students on the way, and Vi’s attire caused two of them to almost fall down the stairs when the stared a bit too long. Castle shook his head, Vi giggled and even Beckett seemed to smile.
Janet Farwright opened the door, red eyes and tears visible on her face. “Y-Yes?”
“Detective Becket, NYPD. Miss Farwright, we need to ask you a few questions about your aunt.”
While Beckett questioned the girl - who had an alibi ready; she had been with her friend, also present, who looked more than a bit stoned - Castle and Vi snooped around. There were lots of environment activist materials - flyers, posters, brochures - but no pagan symbols hanging around, no leather tomes on the shelves, nor cauldrons boiling. But the cupboard had some interesting herbs. And a freshly washed mortar.
“Lethe’s bramble?” Castle asked quietly, after a glance back to make sure the girl wasn’t watching.
Vi sniffed the mortar. “Yes.”
*****
“What do you think? That alibi looks a bit thin,” Castle ventured forth back in the car.
“It’s thin. That boyfriend was too addled to tell the time, much less that precisely. He was coached,” Beckett stated. “He’ll spill in an interrogation.”
Castle wasn’t so certain. Magical mind control could do a lot of things. It wasn’t all-powerful though. It wouldn’t have let the girl control the victim enough to get the money. Not without breaking.
“But we still don’t have any positive evidence,” Beckett continued.
Back at the Precinct, that didn’t change. But they found out that the security cameras had stopped recording for an hour - without logging the interruption. If it had been janet, then this had murder had been planned, Castle thought.
On the other hand, Janet had received a scholarship grant, allowing her to continue her studies. Esposito had found that out from Janet’s parents. They also mentioned that their daughter and the victim had a falling out over a development project the victim had financed. Janet hadn’t mentioned that.
“Killing for a few trees? That seems quite drastic,” as the detective put it.
“And even if that was the motive, how was it done? How did the victim end up in the safe, mangled like that?” Beckett asked. “She’d had to have help. And that kind of help usually isn’t easy to get for a college kid.”
Castle exchanged a glance with Vi. He could think of a few possible suspects for the kind of help she might have gotten. And where the liver was now.
It was time to visit ‘Clark’s’.