11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

When Beckett arrived at the crime scene, the boys weren't there yet. Lanie was already stooped beside the body in the alley, and she looked up as Beckett stopped beside her.

"Nice to have you back. How did it go?" she asked with a mischievous grin.

"Great. Not here, though. I'll get your favorite take-out and wine on the way home, and we can talk there tonight."

"Oh. Must be something to tell. You're volunteering a girls' night."

"Lanie, I owe you big. I know that. Just trying to pay up a little bit. Now what have we got?"

"Caucasian female, looks to be in her late twenties. First glance looks like blunt force to the back of the head; but I'm just getting started, and I'll need to get her back…"

"I got it. I'll see if there's any sign of a possible murder weapon."

About that time, Ryan and Esposito pushed up the crime scene tape and walked over to the two women. "What are we looking at?" Ryan asked.

"Looking for something that could be the weapon…blunt force. See if CSU is done over here."

Esposito walked over to one of the techs, exchanged a few words, and returned. "We're clear over here, and they're almost done near the street. Haven't found an ID yet, but he said to look in the corner next to the dumpster. Might be our weapon."

By the time they returned to the precinct, they had security footage from the alley and from two stores across the street from it. Half an hour later, as Ryan was scanning the videos, Karpowski brought in two bags that had just been delivered by a young officer who had been sent on dumpster duty in nearby alleys. Putting on gloves before taking the purse from the bag, Beckett checked the contents. The second bag contained a letter.

"Looks like the victim is Rebecca Saxon, 27," Beckett reported. "Espo, I'm sending you this address. Ryan, we'll finish the scan later. Right now, see if you can find us next of kin. We need to notify her family. And check her place and talk to her neighbors, find out where she works." I'll meet you at her apartment."

By the end of the day on Wednesday, they had the boyfriend in custody. It turned out that the victim was leaving him. The letter was from a family member in another state, telling her that she had a job there and a place to live. The boyfriend had found out. His fingerprints were on the letter. He met her at a restaurant near the alley and they argued; and when they left, he pulled her into the alley to make his case again. In a rage when she turned to leave, he grabbed the closest heavy object at hand and hit her with it. Then he went back to their apartment. It didn't overwork the detectives to put it all together.

"Well, at least the first case after vacation was easy," Beckett observed, erasing the board after boxing the contents.

"Celebratory drink on the way home?" Ryan suggested.

"Sure. You in, Beckett?" Esposito asked.

"Right behind you," she agreed. "I can't stay long, though. The usual place?" Hearing affirmative answers, she told them. "I need about five minutes. Go ahead and get us a table."

When they left, she pulled out her phone and texted Castle.

"Case closed."she sent.

"Already? Awesome!"

"I miss you."

"I miss you, too. I'll be there in a week for a meeting."

"Will we have time to get together?"

"Count on it."

"Gonna go have a drink with the boys. And Lanie's coming over tonight."

"Another third degree?"

"No doubt."

"Call and tell me how much you had to tell her?"

"Might be late."

"Have I complained yet when you wake me in the middle of the night?"

" : ) Talk to you later."

After a text to Lanie confirming their meeting time, she joined the boys and they ordered. As they relaxed, they talked about the case and what the two men had done during their time off.

"So, are you ever going to tell us where you went, Beckett?" Ryan asked.

She hesitated before answering, but she finally answered anyway. "I went to see Castle…in the Hamptons."

"Castle!" Esposito sputtered.

"Can you keep it down, guys?"

"That's the good friend you haven't seen in too long?" Ryan asked more quietly.

"You memorized what I said?"

"So what's going on with you two?" Esposito wanted to know.

"We're trying to work that out. The reason for the trip. But we'd like to keep it quiet while we do that, okay? I just thought I should let you know…since Castle will be coming back in the fall."

"Are you telling the captain?" Ryan asked

"After we've figured it out."

"Well, it's good you both finally got your heads on straight," Esposito observed.

"You still don't make any money, guys. And the other bet…the one about doing the deed…and don't even try to deny it. You might as well funnel that money into a new pool. Since Castle and I are the only ones who would know, there won't be a winner…because if or when that might happen, there will be neither a confirmation nor an announcement from either of us.

"Beckett…"

"Don't even try," she laughed. "I'm gonna go. Things to do before I go home. See you tomorrow."

After Beckett left, the other two detectives looked at each other.

"Well, I wasn't expecting that," Esposito stated, looking shocked.

"Me, either," Ryan answered, then looked concerned. "You don't suppose we'll have to watch them kissing and groping, do you? The eye sex is bad enough."

"That would be like having to watch your parents making out."

The men shared mutual shudders.

"Another round?" Ryan asked.

"Yeah. Please."

xxxxx

Kate picked up the promised take-out and wine and then went home to get ready for Lanie's visit and the ensuing interrogation.

Lanie was five minutes early and got right to the point. She took out wine glasses, picked up the already opened bottle, and headed for her friend's sofa.

"You're not going to let me eat first?" Kate complained as she sat down.

"We can reheat the food later. I want the story now. Please don't tell me you had that man all to yourself for a week and you're still waiting."

"I won't."

Lanie looked excited and then suspicious, narrowing her eyes at Kate. "Wait a minute. You aren't playing with words, are you? You won't tell me that, or you aren't still waiting?"

"We're not still waiting, but you're not getting a lot of details, and you're not telling a soul. I won't help people win money by betting on my sex life. It's none of their business, and I've already told the boys they'll never find out."

"You're cheating me out of some serious cash, you know."

"Tell me how much you'd win, and I'll buy you off."

"So was he worth the wait?"

"I don't think I'm ever going to want anybody else."

"That good?"

"That good. But it isn't just that, great as it was. It's him. I like being there with him. We… It sounds stupid, but we…fit…like we belong together. We both feel it."

Lanie leaned back against the corner of the sofa looking surprised. "Finally." Lanie paused and looked at her friend more closely. "Kate Beckett, you're in love."

"We both admitted we're falling in love, and it scares me. But at the same time, I had to fight myself not to say too much to him before I left. We agreed to take it slow, but I don't think I'm just falling. I think I might already be there."

"It sure looks like it from here. Honey, I'm so happy for you."

"I was going to go back on my weekend off in August, maybe ask for an extra few days again; but Alexis will be there by then."

"I thought you liked Alexis, and Castle said she liked you."

"But that was before I was sleeping with her father. I don't know how to work with that. I've never dated a man with a child before. And she's old enough to know what's going on."

"Does Castle see it as a problem?"

"He doesn't seem to, but it doesn't make sense. He said he doesn't bring women home, doesn't let women get to know Alexis; but he moved me in after the explosion. He asked me to take care of her if anything happened to him. He seems to want me to know her."

"That's because he's already in love, too."

"You think so?"

"I'm pretty certain he had to try as hard as you did not to say too much. So you let Castle decide how to handle the sleeping arrangement news with his daughter. That's his responsibility."

"Not if we're going to be together for a long time. If that happens, it's my responsibility, too. I don't ever want to disappoint him, Lanie. He's had as much of that as I have, and he deserves so much better."

"Whoa. Together for a long time? Girl, you've got it bad. Let's go heat the food and build you up some strength to work this out." Grabbing Kate into a big hug before they reached the kitchen, she squealed out, "I'm soooooooo happy for you…both of you." Then they ate their dinner and talked about the rest of Kate's time in the Hamptons.

As Lanie was about to leave, Kate said, "Let me know when you decide to go for your spa weekend. We're going shopping beforehand, and I'm buying you a new outfit to take with you."

Standing with her hand on the door knob, Lanie turned and revisited her original subject.

"So, it was really that good with him?"

Kate rolled her eyes. "Amazing, incredible, unbelievable, stellar." Lanie's eyebrows raised. "Remarkable, stupendous, breathtaking… Do I need to think of more?" she asked with a satisfied smile which had grown mischievously with each new word.

"No. I'm jealous enough already. But it also tells me how much your man appreciates my efforts.

"What does that have to do with…"

"That spa gift included a friend. He's willing to give all that up to let me take you along, and we both know that's what he was doing. I definitely feel appreciated. Now if I can just convince you to give it up that long."

"We're still going shopping, and we'll figure out when we can get a weekend off together," Kate answered, giving Lanie a big hug.

Lanie stopped in the doorway and said, "Don't be afraid of this, Kate. You know he's the one, don't you?"

Kate looked down but nodded.

"Then go for it, Girl. Time to let yourself be happy. See you soon."

"Bye, Lanie…and thanks."

As soon as the door closed, Kate picked up her phone and called Castle.

"You're really something, you know that?" she said when he answered.

"Ummm… I'm not clear on whether that's good or bad."

"It's good."

"And how did we get there? I seem to have missed something." He sounded amused.

"Lanie just left."

"How much did she drag out of you? Did you talk about me?"

"She knows we slept together…without so much sleeping this time. I made you sound really good."

"Was that to make Lanie jealous or because you meant it? Are you going to tell me what you said?"

"You know I meant it. How could you even ask such a question?" She paused a beat and added, "But she was jealous."

"I can almost see your smile. You know what you just did for my ego, right?"

"Will you be able to get close enough to the computer to write…considering that big head I'm imagining?"

Castle laughed.

"After hearing how good it was for us, she told me the spa gift included a friend. She said she knew how much you appreciated her help after she realized what you were giving up to hand me over for a weekend so she'd enjoy it more."

"That's more of a gift than the spa."

"From me, too; and she knows it. When is your meeting with Black Pawn?"

"A week from tomorrow. I scheduled it for the day before Alexis leaves Princeton so I can drive there and pick her up."

"Will you spend Thursday night with me?"

"Planning on it."

"A week." She sighed, sounding happy.

"A week too long," he answered. "I need to get back to work. Words are dying to get out again. I think this book will be finished soon."

"Does Gina get everything you have this time?"

"Just the two chapters she asked for right now. The others are still in reserve, and I'll send those a few days early. That should make her happy. It would be fun to drop all the rest on her at once and know it's done, though. I'm already thinking ahead to the next book. You're good inspiration."

"When I read it, I'd better not find anything I recognize from last week, understand?"

'Oops. Better go back and make some revisions."

"Castle?!"

"Kidding, kidding. Last week is ours."

"It better be. And I told the boys to forget about anybody winning the 'When will they do it?' bet because neither one of us will tell them anything. I told Lanie to let me know how much she's losing by not telling anybody and promised to buy her off."

"My lips are sealed, and I can buy Lanie off."

"No. My decision, my responsibility. Get back to your writing. I'm going to want your full attention next Thursday night."

"Part of my plan. After my meeting is over, I'll take you out for dinner."

"Sounds good."

"Kate, I..." he stopped there. "I'll see you next week."

xxxxx

After Castle's meeting the following Thursday, he refused dinner with some of the staff at Black Pawn and took Kate to a nice, out of the way restaurant. He spent the night at her apartment, and a very satisfied couple went their separate ways the next morning…Kate to work and Castle to pick up his daughter.

He drove to Princeton with the smile on his face that thinking about either Kate or Alexis brought out. Thinking of both of them living with him was even better. But first, he had to be sure he still had his daughter's blessing. When he arrived on campus, he sent a text to let her know he was there, and Alexis brought her things down to the curb. After they loaded her luggage into the trunk, she took him to meet a few of the friends she had made over the summer. One of the girls lived in Manhattan, and she and Alexis promised to get together when the Castles were back in the fall.

In the car on their way back, Alexis told him most of what she hadn't told him during their phone calls. During her stay, she had been much too distracted by her friends and her studies to spend too much time talking to her dad: but she made up for it on the trip to the Hamptons. He was a good audience, as usual, asking questions and laughing at the right times, and in the rare instances when it was needed, commiserating as well.

Much later, when her recounting of her summer was winding down, she looked at her father and said, "I think I remember that you promised me a long, convoluted story."

"So, you didn't forget that?"

"Not a chance. When have I ever forgotten that you owe me a good story?"

"You're going to be so disgusted with me before you're proud of me."

"Well, this I have to hear," she answered with a grin and made a show of settling into her seat. "Story time."

Castle got into the story far enough to mention Beckett's plans with Demming and his agreeing to have Gina meet him at the precinct before leaving, and Alexis groaned. "Dad, what were you thinking? And how in the world did you get out of all that?"

"I obviously wasn't thinking, but it gets better from there."

He told her about Lanie's texts, how he managed to corral Beckett long enough to convince her she should come with him, how he managed to leave Gina at her place, and some of what happened once he and Beckett left together.

"I don't know what to say…except I'm glad you and Detective Beckett finally decided to give yourselves a chance. You were right about the convoluted story. What a beginning."

"Honey, I've never felt like this about a woman. I thought I did once, and it was close; but never like this."

"One of your wives?"

"Before that."

"Why don't I know about her?"

"A story for another time."

"So you had an idea how it felt to be that much in love and got married twice without it? Why?"

"It isn't important now. What's important is that, with Beckett, everything feels right. I want this to work. We're trying to take it slowly enough to…"

"How about Beckett? Is she as committed to this as you are?"

"She seems to be. We've agreed that we're falling in love…and there won't be anyone else. But we're both running a little scared. We did a lot of talking when she was here…discussed some things that made us feel that way. We both have some baggage to get past, but I think we can."

"This is sounding serious. Do you want to marry her?"

"Not right away. We're not ready for that big a step, but I think maybe in the future..." Glancing over in Alexis's direction, he could see her concern. "I want you to be happy for me. She cares about you. That's my first priority, but I need her for myself, too. She doesn't want my money or anything that goes with it. She's falling in love with the real me. That isn't something I had in either marriage, and it's important."

"It's important to me, too. I want you to be happy. I know you want me to agree right now, but it's a little fast for me to take it in. Is it okay if I reserve judgment until I see the two of you together for a little while?"

"I owe you that. You like her, don't you?"

"I like her a lot, but trusting her to take care of my dad is bigger than that. Gina definitely wasn't up to the job." She looked at her father, worry written all over his face. "It's okay, Dad. I have a lot of respect for Detective Beckett, and I like her enough to hope for the best."

"Please try. She's really important to me."

"Did you say she'll be here again before the end of the summer?"

"I hope so…near the end of next month, maybe. We've talked about it but don't have definite plans yet."

"Is that because of me? I thought she liked me when she stayed with us."

"She does like you. She's very impressed with you. She might be a little worried about how you'll feel about her now that she's interested in your father, though."

"Oh." With a worried look of her own, she said, "I don't want her to think she can't be here because I am."

"I think a fair chance is all she'll need. I want to be honest with you, so I should tell you…I think I'm past falling in love. I think I already love her. I saw her yesterday after the meeting I told you about, and it was hard not to tell her that before I left."

"It's sounding more and more like you're saying this relationship is going to happen no matter what."

"I trust her with you, Alexis. And I trust her with me."

"Do I need to call and invite her so I can give her that fair chance?"

"We might try that later if I need back-up to get her here."

Alexis nodded her agreement.

They dropped the subject there and started making plans for the rest of the summer at their beach house.