851. Chapter 851

After Probable Cause

Episode 4.05

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: I have the right to remain silent about not owning Castle. Rating: K Time: See above.

Castle sat looking into the interrogation room as the love of his life was interrogated by Captain Gates.

"For the record, Detective Beckett, have I advised you of your rights?"

Beckett smiled briefly. "I am a homicide cop. I know my rights."

"May I take that as meaning I did advise you of your rights?"

Kate nodded. "Yes, you did."

Gates sat down across from Beckett. "Kate, I am sorry to have to do this, but the evidence we have is…"

"Wrong." Beckett said quickly.

"Overwhelming." Gates said softly. "Let's go over it. First, your fingerprints were found on the doorframe of Tessa Norton's apartment."

"I have never been to Tessa Norton's apartment, I have never seen or spoken to the woman and I did not kill her." Beckett said fiercely.

Gates looked at the file in front of her. "Mr. Castle was having an affair with Ms. Norton…."

"Castle has denied ever meeting her, let alone having an affair."

"Mr. Castle's and Ms. Norton's computers show e-mails back and forth from the two of them. For someone who was supposed to be shy….Ms. Norton had quite a pornographic imagination."

"If Castle didn't send her any e-mails, then it stands to reason she didn't send any to him."

Gates sighed softly. "There's the surveillance video of him at the jewelry store."

"He said he's never been there and the video is not conclusive. All you can see is the back of a tall, wide shouldered dark haired man. His face is never clearly visible. And Castle says he's never been to that jewelry store."

"However, Mr. Castle did take over twelve thousand dollars from an account of his in the form of a cashier's check. That's the check that was used to purchase the diamond earrings."

Beckett took a deep breath. "He never did that."

Gates flipped a page in the file. "Then let's consider your relationship with Mr. Castle."

Kate managed not to smile. For years I had no relationship with Castle that could possibly be called romantic. And now that I do, letting Gates know about it will only make things worse.

"You apparently had….romantic feelings for Mr. Castle that he didn't reciprocate. There is quite a recent history of e-mails back and forth between you two. Mr. Castle said that he considered you a friend and a partner, but no more. But you wanted more. The e-mails we recovered from your computer are quite…compelling. The more so since it appears that both you and Mr. Castle attempted to delete those e-mails and those from Tessa Horton."

"I can only repeat what I've said before. There were no such e-mails."

"We searched your apartment."

Kate was shocked. "You…what?"

"I had officers from another precinct do the search. They found clothes of yours with Tessa Horton's blood on them and a diamond earring. The earring also had Ms. Horton's blood on it where it was ripped from her ear."

"I'm being framed. I did not kill Tessa Horton."

"Kate, believe me, I have a lot of trouble imagining that you could be capable of such a heinous act. But who would try to frame you in such an elaborate manner?"

Kate looked at the one way mirror to where she knew Castle would be standing. "I don't know, but my friends will find out."

Kate was led to the holding cell and as soon as he could, Castle came to see her.

"Kate, let me tell Gates that we've been together for months now. That blows the whole frame up. Please."

She shook her head. "It won't do any good. The e-mails allegedly from me are vague. Instead of making me look delusional about us having a romantic relationship, I'll look like I was overwhelmed by jealousy because you were having an affair. No, don't tell Gates. We're not done yet."

After Castle left, Beckett tried to get some sleep, with no success.

"You know, some animals can smell fear. And you reek of it."

Beckett looked up to see the face of Jerry Tyson in a NYPD uniform. "Tyson! You killed Tessa Horton."

Tyson smiles at her. Then Beckett starts to yell for help.

"No one can see you or hear you, Beckett. I'm much too thorough for that.

"Why did you kill Tessa Horton?" Beckett demands.

"Me? Not my type at all. I prefer blondes. You killing Tessa Horton makes a much better story. After all, you've been an obsessed loner ever since your mother died. You had a brief fling with an FBI agent before he dumped you. Then a few dates with a cop here and then an on and off relationship with a doctor who was hardly ever around. It's so easy to see you falling in love with Castle. A man who's smart, good looking, rich, in fact anything a miserably unhappy woman could want. But why would he want you? The pornographic Tessa was so much more his type, don't you think? And then you finally broke. After all those years, your miserable excuse for a life got the better of you. You killed Tessa Horton."

"Why? Why kill Tessa? Why frame me?"

"Revenge. I spent four years of my life setting up the perfect escape plan so I could blame everything on Marcus Gates and go on killing again. And Castle ruined it."

"So why frame me?"

"Because Castle loves you. I have friends waiting at the Tombs for you. You won't last the night, and Castle will spend the rest of his life remembering that he couldn't save you from me. That's a much better punishment than merely killing him, don't you think? It's not killing I like, you see, it's the preparation, the planning and the anticipation." Tyson walked out, leaving Beckett alone.

The next morning when Beckett told Castle about 3XK's involvement he immediately went to Ryan and Esposito and then to Gates.

"This is classic 3XK." Castle told her. "The complex plan, the misdirection, even Kurtzman to give us another suspect to look at before confirming his alibi. Even the double of me. We just need time."

But ADA Gonzalez would not give them time.

When two female officers showed up to take Beckett to the Tombs, Castle got to speak to her in holding. "No matter what happens, I'm not giving up. We aren't giving up."

Kate smiled and kissed him. "Whatever happens, it's not your fault, babe. Just remember that."

But, shortly after Beckett left, two more officers arrived to take Beckett to the Tombs, sending the precinct into an uproar.

Gates gathered Castle, Ryan and Esposito. "ADA Gonzalez thinks that Mr. Castle orchestrated Beckett's escape. But, as I pointed out to her, she has no proof. However, she is trying to get Mr. Castle out of the precinct."

"So what do we do?" Ryan asked.

"Keep on the 3XK angle. Tyson must intersect with Tessa Horton someplace. Find it."

"I have an idea." Castle said. "I'll be back."

Kate Beckett woke up and immediately found she wasn't in the Tombs. She was laying on a bed and found she was chained to a ring set in the floor. The chain was about twelve feet long, so she could move around. She saw a chemical toilet, a refrigerator, and a microwave as well as other items for her use. She got up and walked as far as she could. She was in a recording studio. It was soundproofed.

"Tyson lied." She said to herself. "He isn't going to have me killed in the Tombs, he'll use me as bait to lure Castle here. I've got to get out of here." She tried and tried, pulling on the cuff on one wrist until one wrist was bloody, but it was no use.

Castle came in to the precinct, dragging another man behind him. "This is how Tyson did it. This guy sort of looks like me and had a gig with a celebrity look alike company a while ago." Castle pointed to the murder board. "Any of those people look familiar?"

The Castle double nodded and pointed to Tyson. "That's the guy who hired me. It was for some sort of store security video."

While Esposito took the lookalike's statement, Gates called the ADA to explain.

"We don't have much from Tessa Horton. Just a check cut to Kurtzman Insurance by a Joseph Vacher, but we can't find him."

"You won't." Castle said. "He's a nineteenth century French serial killer."

"Well, Tessa had an appointment with a J.V. at a building in northern Manhattan. We should check it out."

When they checked it out, they found all they needed to clear Beckett.

"It's all here, Sir." Ryan said. "He got Beckett's fingerprints and made a latex copy of her prints for the door. There are plans of her's and Castle's place, information on their computers, everything."

"But where's Beckett?" Gates asked angrily. "Did Tyson kidnap her?" She looked at Castle who looked right back at her.

"I can answer that." Esposito said. "The Five Five got a call from some record producer. He came back to his studio and found a woman handcuffed in a soundproofed room. It's Beckett. She's at the Five Five."

Gates smiled at Castle. "Perhaps you'd like to go get her? And take her badge and side arms to her as well."

"On my way."

After picking up Beckett, Castle crossed a bridge when he saw the car behind them. "Hang on!" He yelled. He cut to the right and the car, dealt them a glancing blow. The other driver began shooting. "It's Tyson!" He yelled.

He handed Beckett her Glock, and taking her backup, they returned the fire. Tyson jumped out of the car and was staggered by the gunfire. He stumbled back and went off the bridge.

Much later, Rick and Kate were in bed together.

"You sent those two phony officers to get me, didn't you?"

Castle smiled. "Do you really think I'd break the law like that?"

"Yes."

Castle just laughed.

"He's still out there, isn't he? He's not dead."

"Why do you say that?" He asked, softly.

"Too many mistakes. I'm a homicide cop. I'd know what to do if I did kill someone. I wouldn't scrub down Tessa's apartment and leave prints on the door. I wouldn't take the earring as a souvenir or keep my bloody clothes. I'd have destroyed my hard drive, and yours, and hers, not just wiped it. And there was no reason for Tyson to come and visit me except to put us on his trail so we could watch him die. He's alive."

"I'm afraid you're right."

"So what do we do, Castle?"

"Catch him." He kissed her. "But first…."