1056. Chapter 1056

After A Deadly Game

By

UCSBdad

Disclaimer: Would anyone believe it if I said I did own Castle? Rating: K Time: Episode 2.24 but a little AU. Okay, a lot AU.

"I was on the door all night long, greeting guests. It was very busy. I spoke briefly to Mr. Castle as he came in and as he left. I observed him several times just in the course of the evening. I saw nothing out of the ordinary. But you must speak with Sofia, she was Mr. Castle's waitress." Alfredo leaned in close to Martha. "I have arranged the private balcony for you. Come."

Alfredo led them through the restaurant, through a door and to a balcony overlooking Long Island Sound. A table was all prepared and Sofia was standing by. Kate guessed that Sofia enjoyed eating at Alfredo's as well as working there. She was short, rather stout and Kate guessed she was in her mid to late forties.

Sofia was no help to them. She described in detail what Castle had had to eat and drink, and described his mood as pleasant. No other waitress dealt with Castle and the busboys didn't clear his table until after he'd left. However, she did remember that he had talked briefly to a couple by the name of Copely and that they were at the restaurant that night.

"They love to eat here. They come in almost every night. Should I ask them to come to your table when they arrive?"

Kate said that she would appreciate it and turned to the menu. She looked at the least expensive items on the menu, but Martha insisted on ordering for everyone and ordered a feast.

They were still on the breadsticks when the Copelys arrived. They were in their eighties and Mr. Copely was a retired Wall Street lawyer, slim, silver haired and a bit frail. His wife was using a walker. Kate invited them to sit.

"We heard all about the awful events at Rick's home." Mr. Copely said.

"We were so shocked." Mrs. Copely added.

'What did you talk about last night?" Kate asked.

"Oh, he asked us how we were doing. We are getting a bit old now. And he always asks how Teddy is doing."

"Teddy?"

"He's our grandson. He's off flying F/A 18s off of a carrier in the Arabian Sea." Mr. Copely said.

"The Copely men always find a way to worry their women to death." Mrs. Copely added.

"How?" Kate was curious, although she couldn't imagine this elderly couple being involved with Castle's disappearance.

"Georgie, our son, flew A-4s during Vietnam and Mike here flew Corsairs off of USS Savo Island during Korea. You have no idea how I cried when I saw the carrier leaving San Diego."

"Now, now, dear. I came back alive and in one piece." Mr. Copely stroked his wife's hand.

That was the extent of the Copely's knowledge of Castle's evening.

They finished their dinner and returned to the house.

"Your clothes are here, so I'll take you upstairs to your rooms." Alexis volunteered.

She took Kate to the master bedroom, which was Castle's of course.

"I'm sure Dad would want you to stay here, Kate."

She looked around. It was a very masculine room but didn't give off the kind of bachelor pad vibe that Kate had halfway expected. It looked like the bedroom of a dad, she decided.

"And I have something for you, Kate. Just a moment." Alexis dashed out of the room and down the hall.

Lanie came in and looked around appreciatively. "Nice. This is where you should have been on Memorial Day, not sitting around pretending nothing was wrong."

"For a weekend, maybe, if I were that type. But look around you. Do you honestly ever think that I'd ever fit in with Castle and his lifestyle? He's a millionaire playboy and I'm a cop, and never the twain shall meet."

"He's also a damned good investigator and your partner. Do you really think he's been around you for a whole year because he doesn't like you?"

"Lanie, we're from two different worlds and that's it. End of story."

They heard someone clearing their throat and turned to see Alexis in the doorway.

"I'll be on my way." Lanie said and quickly left.

"I brought some pajamas for you. Kate." Alexis handed them to Kate.

She examined them. "Alexis, these are silk."

"With ivory buttons. Dad bought them for me years ago and said I'd grow into them, but they're way too big for me."

"I'd be afraid I'd rip them or something." Kate said trying to hand them back.

Alexis refused to take them. "They've been in my closet to years. Someone should get some use out of them. In fact, you should keep them."

"I couldn't." Kaye said.

"At least wear them tonight."

Kate gave in. "Okay. Just for tonight."

Alexis stood there for a moment. "Kate, my dad really likes you. He thinks you're different from all those other women."

Kate didn't want to get into this with Alexis. "Alexis, I'm sure your dad…"

Alexis interrupted. "Dad hardly ever talks about his dates to me." Alexis giggled. "I'm sure he's hoping that I've never heard of sex. But I have overheard him talk with Grams. He'll tell her about where they went for dinner, what they ate and drank. And if they went to a play, or a movie, or an art gallery or whatever, he'll tell Grams all about it. But if Grams asks about the woman, he'll say something like, "She was nice." Or "She was pleasant." But he talks about you all the time. He talks about how smart you are, how knowledgeable, how concerned and caring you are. He's enormously impressed with you, and he really likes you a lot."

"I'm sure he does and I'm sure he likes a lot or people, but if you'll excuse me, it's been a long day. I need to get some sleep,"

Alexis looked disappointed. "Okay. See you tomorrow, Kate."

Kate stripped and went into the bathroom. She checked Castle's array of grooming products. There were no female products in his bathroom, but she did find bottles of Bay Rum body wash and shampoo. She remembered that her dad had used Bay Rum at one time and chose those.

She noticed that there was a full length mirror on the back of the door. She examined herself. My legs are my best asset. She thought. She turned away from the mirror and looked over her shoulder. And my ass is pretty spectacular, if I do say so myself. My boobs aren't as firm as they were when I was younger, but I'd say they're still pert and perky. I have a good face and my brief modelling career taught me I have cheekbones to die for. She sighed. But I'm not looking for someone who thinks I'm a hot cop. I'm looking for…Kate stopped for a moment. What am I looking for? She smiled to herself. I'm looking for always.

She stepped into the shower and puzzled over the controls. Castle's shower had controls like the Millennium Falcon or something. After a minute, she found the right combination and began to soap her long, lithe legs, then her flat stomach. She let the spray wash over her and then washed her still very pert and perky boobs. She idly wondered what it would be like taking a shower with Castle until she noticed her nipples begin to stiffen. There's no point in thinking about that.

Eventually she got out of the shower and dried herself off. She put on the silk pajamas that Alexis had given her. No. She thought. That Alexis had loaned her.

She crawled into bed and turned out the light.

What would it be like to live here? She wondered. It might have been possible once, if Mom hadn't been murdered. I would have gone to Stanford Law School and then come back to New York as Ms. Katherine Beckett, Esquire, Attorney-at-Law. I might have met Castle somewhere. At a charity event like he took me to? No, not really my thing. A fund raiser for Bob Weldon. That could have been possible. She shook her head. But it'll never happen now. I'll never be a bright young lawyer rising through the political and legal ranks of New York City. I'll just be Detective Kate Beckett and nothing more than that.

She turned over and went to sleep.

When Kate came downstairs the next morning, she found Alexis was making breakfast. They were quickly joined by Espo, Ryan and Lanie.

"Detective Braddock got his people up and out of here at the crack of dawn." Alexis told them. "They had time for coffee and nothing more."

"The more for us." Ryan said, filling a plate with eggs, bacon, sausages, waffles and hash browns.

"Where did you learn to cook?" Kate asked.

"Dad taught me. For most of the time it was just the two of us. Grams is not a good cook, but don't tell her I said so. And the only thing Gina knew how to make was phone calls for takeout."

Kate didn't want to ask, but she was afraid someone would ask about Ms. Cowell. "Why wasn't Gina here? I thought she was supposed to stay for the whole summer?"

Alexis shrugged. "One of the times Dad called, I asked about Gina. He just said she had to go back to the city for work. It sounded like something had happened between them, but he didn't sound like he wanted to talk about it. Why, is it important?"

Kate shook her head. "No, but you have to ask a lot of questions and get answers that don't help before you get answers that do." But Kate had to wonder what had happened.

Martha came down the stairs in a robe that could have blinded people who were not aware of her sartorial habits.

"Mrs. Rodgers!' Espo said, shielding his eyes. "Please not so early in the morning."

Martha just laughed. "And thank you, Alexis, for breakfast. As always, it's magnificent." As Martha filled her plate, Alexis put a Bloody Mary beside her plate.

Kate's phone rang. It was Captain Montgomery. Kate's replies were mostly "Yes, sir." and "No, sir." until the end. "We'll be coming back today, Captain. I want to take one more look around the house and grounds just to be sure, but I think we've done everything we can here."

When Kate hung up, she looked at her notes. "Martha, the FBI wants you back at the loft. Any phone calls directed to the loft, to here, or to Castle's cell phone will be directed there. They want you on hand for the ransom call."

She flipped a page. "The FAA's radars didn't pick up anything flying over Long Island Sound that night at low level. They say that anything flying that low would have been lost in ground clutter."

"Beckett, anyone who can fly that low, over water, at night, is damned good. Very damned good." Espo said.

Kate just nodded. "Lanie is still working on the deceased, but has found nothing to contradict COD as gunshot wounds. She hopes to get a better time of death for us."

"The same with Braddock's team. Nothing at all from CSU to help us, but they'll work on it some more."

"We did get IDs on the deceased. Four immigrants from Albania. All four are known to Organized Crime. Captain Bullard says they're well known to OC as guns for hire. They apparently have military experience back home, but whether from a real army or some militia, no one knows. Bullard will keep working but he doesn't believe they're affiliated with any Albanian gangs, they're strictly free lance."

"We have some info on the weapons and equipment left behind. The Colt .22 is shown as having been stolen from a Pennsylvania State Trooper two years ago. Ballistics don't show it to have been used in any other crime. The night vision goggles were from a consignment sent to the Detroit Police Department, but they report the goggles with those serial numbers are all in Detroit and accounted for. They don't have anything yet on the submachine guns or the protective vests."

"It all sounds very professional."

To be continued.