A Murder in the Fandom pt.1

This will be a three part crossover with Castle.

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Jennifer sat on the couch, her heart racing with excitement as she typed away on her phone. She was dressed up, wearing her favorite outfit—a simple yet elegant dress that made her feel confident and beautiful. Tonight was the night she had been waiting for, the night everything would change.

Her fingers moved quickly over the screen as she texted her friend Sophia, who had been pestering her all evening.

Sophia: Jenny, please just let me stay until I can find a new place.

Jennifer: I'm sorry, but no. You know why I kicked you out.

Sophia's response was immediate.

Sophia: I get it, Jen. I really do. I'm not going to bring it up again. Just let me come back, please?

Jennifer: Listen, when I move in with Daniel, you can have the apartment. It's all going to work out. He's coming to meet me tonight! We're finally going to be together.

She hit send. Her eyes remained glued to the screen, waiting for Sophia's response, but she froze when she heard a knock on the door.

Her breath caught in her throat, and her phone slipped from her fingers, landing on the couch. She could hardly believe it—Daniel was here. Finally, after all the waiting, all the hoping, he was here. She nearly ran to the door, her excitement building with every step.

Without a second thought, she flung the door open, a bright smile on her face.

A few moments later, a blood-curdling scream echoed through the apartment, piercing the quiet of the night and sending shivers down the spines of anyone who heard it. The scream was followed by a heavy silence, the kind that only comes after something truly horrifying.

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New York City, the city that never sleeps—the Big Apple—was bathed in the glow of the morning sun . The streets were bustling with the energy of the day just beginning, cars honking, people hurrying to work.

Inside an apartment complex on the Lower East Side, Detective Kate Beckett and Richard Castle made their way through the narrow corridor. The building was one of many old walk-ups, the kind that had seen better days but still held a certain charm. The walls were narrow, and the stairs creaked underfoot as they climbed to the third floor.

As usual, Castle and Beckett were engaged in their typical banter.

"So, Alexis and I are going to her favorite author's event tomorrow," Castle began, his tone slightly exaggerated as he emphasized the word 'favorite.'

Beckett raised an eyebrow. "Let me guess, it's not you?"

Castle let out an overly dramatic sigh. "Can you believe that, Beckett? I'm not her favorite author! It's some kid… the guy who writes those Percy Jackson books."

Beckett smirked, unable to resist. "Why wouldn't she be a fan? It's probably nice for her to read a book written by another teenager."

Castle gave her a mock glare. "He's not a teenager… okay, he is a teenager. But still, I'm Richard Castle! She grew up with my books. I should be her favorite."

Beckett chuckled. "Maybe she's just tired of hearing about Derrick Storm."

Castle put a hand over his heart as if he'd been wounded. "Derrick Storm is a classic! But fine, I'll let her have this one. For now."

They reached the third floor and walked toward the crime scene, their banter momentarily set aside as they stepped into a more professional mode. Beckett walked into the apartment with her usual purposeful stride, her eyes scanning the interior.

The apartment was cozy, with bookshelves lining the walls, each shelf overflowing with novels, figurines, and various memorabilia. Posters of fantastical landscapes and characters adorned the walls, immediately drawing Castle's attention.

Police officers and other examiners were already present, moving carefully through the scene, collecting evidence.

"Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle," one of the officers greeted them with a nod. "The body's in the bedroom. ME's inside."

Castle's gaze roamed the room, taking in the details, until his eyes landed on a prominent poster of Percy Jackson wielding a sword. "Looks like she was a fan," Castle observed, nodding toward the poster.

Beckett turned to Castle with a smirk. "Not that famous, huh?"

Castle gave her an unimpressed stare, though the twinkle in his eye showed he was more amused than offended. "You're enjoying this way too much."

Beckett shrugged, her expression still teasing. "Can you blame me?"

They moved further into the apartment, the tension in the air thickening with each step. In the bedroom, they were met with a gruesome sight: a young woman, no older than her mid-twenties, lay lifeless on the floor, impaled by what appeared to be a sword. But this was no ordinary sword. The blade gleamed with a bronze sheen, almost ancient in appearance, and the handle was intricately designed, with engravings that hinted at a history far older than the victim herself.

Dr. Lanie Parish, the medical examiner, was crouched by the bed, her expression serious as she examined the scene. She looked up as Beckett and Castle entered, her face grim but composed.

"Hey, Lanie," Beckett greeted, her voice steady as she took in the scene. "What do we have?"

"The victim's name was Jennifer Michals."

"Cause of death is pretty clear," Lanie responded, her voice professional despite the grisly sight. "She was impaled by this sword. The weapon itself is unusual, though. I've never seen anything quite like it."

Beckett glanced at the sword and then back at Lanie. "Looks like the one from the poster in the living room," she remarked.

Castle leaned in closer to the sword, his eyes narrowing as recognition dawned on him. "Yeah, it definitely is. This is a replica of Anaklusmos."

"The Anakla-what?" Lanie asked, her brow furrowed.

"Anaklusmos, also known as Riptide, the sword that Percy Jackson uses…you know from the book," Castle explained.

"I thought you didn't read those books," Beckett teased, a smirk playing on her lips.

Castle gave her a sideways glance, half-smiling.

Beckett's expression hardened, her mind already shifting into detective mode. "Anything else we should know?"

Lanie shook her head. "Not much else for now. But I'll have a full report once I get her back to the lab."

"Thanks, Lanie," Beckett replied.

As they continued to survey the room, it became clear that the victim had been more than just a casual fan. The bedroom was a shrine to the world of Percy Jackson . Posters of characters and scenes from the books adorned the walls, and bookshelves were crammed with novels, action figures, and various collectibles. The bedspread featured images of Greek gods, and the nightstand held a stack of well-worn paperbacks, each one dog-eared and marked with notes.

Castle scanned the room, his eyes catching on the small details. "She was definitely a fan," he said. "She lived and breathed this stuff."

Beckett's attention was drawn to a corner of the room where a small, makeshift shrine had been set up. Candles surrounded a framed photograph of a handsome man with sandy hair and dark eyes. There were notes and letters carefully placed around the photo, almost as if they were offerings.

"Castle," Beckett called, pointing to the shrine, "is this a character from the book?"

Castle walked over, and his eyes widened in surprise. "Whoa, we've got a shrine and everything. She really was a superfan."

He took the photo from the shrine and turned to face Beckett. "That, dear Beckett, is Daniel Adler—the author I was telling you about."

Beckett raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "So, who killed our superfan here?" she asked, the weight of the question settling over the room.

Back in the hallway, Detectives Kevin Ryan and Javier Esposito were waiting for Beckett and Castle. They had been canvassing the building, talking to neighbors and trying to piece together what had happened to Jennifer Michal in the hours leading up to her death.

"What do we have?" Beckett asked as she joined the two detectives.

Ryan sighed, flipping through his notepad. "Not much so far. Most of the neighbors didn't know her well. She kept to herself, mostly. No signs of any trouble recently, at least nothing they noticed. A few people mentioned hearing voices or music coming from her apartment, but nothing out of the ordinary."

Esposito chimed in, "One neighbor did mention seeing a guy leaving the building last night. They didn't get a good look at him, though—just saw him from behind. Said he was average height, wearing a hoodie."

Beckett nodded, taking in the information. "Anything else?"

Ryan added, "Yeah, apparently she had a roommate. The neighbors didn't know her name, but they mentioned that they haven't seen this roommate for a few weeks."

Beckett exchanged a glance with Castle. "We need to find out who this roommate is and question her."

"You guys get on it," Beckett ordered, her tone decisive.

Ryan and Esposito nodded and moved to follow up on the lead.

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Beckett and Castle made their way back to the precinct. As they entered the bullpen, Beckett immediately began arranging pictures of the victim, Jennifer Michal, on a whiteboard. She added photos of the crime scene, a map of the apartment building, and some notes from their initial investigation. The board was beginning to take shape, with lines and arrows connecting various pieces of evidence.

Castle approached, handing her a cup of coffee. "Thought you might need this," he said with a small smile.

"Thanks," Beckett replied, taking a sip as she continued to focus on the board. "We found out who Jennifer's roommate is. Her name is Sophia Barnes. Esposito and Ryan are on their way to pick her up now."

Castle nodded, watching as Beckett added Sophia's name to the board, connecting it to Jennifer's photo with a line of red string. "Let's hope she can shed some light on what happened."

A little while later, Beckett and Castle found themselves in the meeting room in the precinct, sitting across from Jennifer's mother, Ms. Michal. The woman looked distraught, clutching a tissue in her hands as she tried to make sense of what had happened.

"Jennifer was a sweet girl," Ms. Michal said, her voice trembling. "She never hurt anyone. I can't understand why someone would do this to her."

Beckett's tone was gentle as she asked, "Can you tell us what Jennifer was doing lately? Was there anything unusual going on in her life?"

Ms. Michal sighed, her shoulders slumping. "Her roommate, Sophia, came to me a few weeks ago. She was worried about Jennifer, and said she was obsessed with this author of a book series. Sophia thought Jennifer needed help, so she convinced her to go to a therapy session."

Beckett leaned in slightly, sensing there was more. "Did Sophia mention anything else? Did Jennifer talk about anything that concerned you?"

Ms. Michal hesitated, then nodded. "Sophia said… she said Jennifer was involved in a cult."

"A cult?" Castle asked, his curiosity piqued.

"I didn't believe her at first," Ms. Michal admitted, shaking her head. "But then Sophia convinced me. I don't really understand what it was all about. I just wanted to help my daughter."

Beckett placed a comforting hand on Ms. Michal's arm. "I'm sorry for your loss. We're going to do everything we can to find out what happened."

As they walked out of the house, Castle turned to Beckett. "A cult, Beckett. This case just keeps getting stranger."

Beckett nodded, her expression thoughtful. "Yeah, let's wait for Miss Barnes Ryan and Espo will find her soon."

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Castle returned home, stepping into the familiar warmth of his apartment. As he hung up his coat, he noticed Alexis in the living room, sporting a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and a blonde wig that flowed down to her shoulders.

"Is this for tomorrow?" Castle asked, a smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

Alexis turned around, her eyes bright with excitement. "Yes! How do I look?"

"You look beautiful, honey," Castle replied, his smile widening.

Alexis grinned, adjusting the wig. "Thanks, Dad."

Castle tilted his head, a curious expression on his face. "Why not cosplay as a daughter of Demeter? Why hide your gorgeous red hair?" he said, gently taking off her wig.

Alexis laughed, taking the wig from her father's hand. "I want to be Annabeth, Dad. She's so smart and strong..."

Castle chuckled, appreciating her enthusiasm. "You know, the case I'm working on might interest you. It involves Daniel Adler."

Alexis's eyes widened, her face paling slightly. "Oh my God, what happened to Daniel? Is he dead? Please don't tell me he's dead."

"No, no," Castle quickly reassured her, holding up his hands. "He's not dead. But someone else is. Her name was Jennifer Michal, and she seemed to be very into him and his books."

Alexis's concern shifted to curiosity. "What happened?"

Castle sat down on the couch, patting the seat next to him for Alexis to join. "She was killed in her apartment, and when we investigated, we found a shrine dedicated to Daniel Adler. And there's something else… there might be a connection to some sort of cult."

"A cult?" Alexis's eyes lit up with a mixture of intrigue and concern. "You mean those weirdos?"

Castle's brow furrowed. "What weirdos?"

Alexis sighed, setting down her wig as she explained. "About two years ago, there was this person who had a wacky theory that everything in Daniel's books was real. They believed that Daniel was a real demigod, preparing the world for the reveal of the mythological world. It was crazy, but the person actually got some followers."

Castle leaned in, his interest piqued. "And what happened to them?"

"Eventually, they were ridiculed and kicked out of the main forums. But some of them stuck together. They even made a private forum where only members accepted by them can enter." Alexis took her laptop from the table, searched for the forum, and showed it to her father. "This is it. I can't access it, but I've heard about it."

Castle's eyes widened as he looked at the screen. "I have to show this to Beckett."

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Castle arrived at the precinct the next morning. "Beckett, I found something about the cult Ms. Michal mentioned yesterday."

Beckett looked up, intrigued. "The cult? What did you find out?"

Castle pulled up the forum on Beckett's computer. "Alexis told me about this group of fans who believe everything in Daniel Adler's books is real. They even think Adler himself is a real demigod, preparing the world for the return of the gods. These fans got so caught up in the fantasy that they formed a cult."

Beckett raised an eyebrow, a teasing smile playing on her lips as she glanced at the forum's login page. "So, Castle, do you have fans like this? Any who think you're secretly a spy?"

Castle puffed out his chest, pretending to be offended. "My fans are respectable people, Beckett. Not weirdos like this."

Just then, Ryan and Esposito entered the bullpen, their expressions indicating they had news. "We found Sophia Barnes," Ryan announced. "She's in the interrogation room."

Beckett nodded, all business now. "Let's go." She and Castle headed toward the interrogation room, where they found Sophia sitting at the table, her eyes red from crying.

Beckett approached her with a calm, soothing tone. "Sophia, I'm Detective Beckett, and this is Richard Castle. We just want to ask you a few questions, okay?"

Sophia nodded, her voice shaky but willing to talk. "Okay."

Beckett took a seat across from her, keeping her tone gentle. "Can you tell us about your relationship with Jennifer? We understand you were roommates."

Sophia took a deep breath before answering. "Yes, we were. We became friends because we were both huge fans of the Percy Jackson series. We bonded over it. But… one day, I found out that Jennifer had gotten involved with this weird group of fans who believed everything in the books was real. They were like a cult..."

Beckett exchanged a glance with Castle before continuing. "And what happened after that?"

"Jennifer started claiming that she was actually talking to Daniel Adler," Sophia explained, her voice growing more emotional. "She said they were friendly, that he was confiding in her."

"Wait, Jennifer was talking with Daniel Adler?" Castle asked, his surprise evident.

"I didn't believe her," Sophia admitted, tears welling up in her eyes again. "I tried to make her see a therapist as she got more erratic. I even told her mom about it. But it got worse. She started saying that Daniel had confessed his love to her. I tried to convince her she was being tricked, that someone was playing with her, but she wouldn't listen. We got into a huge fight, and she kicked me out. Her weirdo friends from the demigod forum were encouraging her."

"And now she's dead," Sophia said softly.

Beckett leaned forward, her tone still gentle but now more focused. "Sophia, do you know if anyone had a motive to harm Jennifer?"

Sophia hesitated, then nodded. "The people she was involved with… they believed in this stupid stuff, like doing rituals to become demigods. They thought Daniel would show them the way, that he would lead them into this new world. They were obsessed, and I think… I think they might have done something to her."

Beckett took in Sophia's words, understanding the gravity of the situation. "Thank you, Sophia. You've been very helpful."

Beckett and Castle walked out of the interrogation room and approached Esposito. "Esposito, get all the information you can on Jennifer's phone—texts, calls, everything. It should be processed by now."

"On it," Esposito replied, heading off to retrieve the data.

A short while later, Esposito returned with Ryan, both of them carrying files and looking serious. "We've got something," Ryan said as they approached Beckett and Castle.

"What did you find?" Beckett asked, her attention fully focused.

Ryan handed her a printout of the texts. "Jennifer was indeed talking and texting with someone regularly. Based on the content, she believed she was talking to Daniel Adler himself. They seemed quite close."

"So, she was being catfished," Beckett concluded, flipping through the pages of messages.

"Or maybe it was the guy," Esposito suggested with a shrug. "You know how these Hollywood celebrity types can be."

Castle raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit offended. "Really, celebrity types?"

Esposito quickly backtracked, holding up his hands. "You're okay, Castle. I meant the others."

Beckett continued to read through the texts, her brow furrowing as she got to the later messages. "Most of these messages are about Jennifer wanting to meet 'Daniel' and her excitement over the idea that he'd broken up with his girlfriend. She was convinced he was going to come for her soon."

Castle leaned in, glancing at the texts over Beckett's shoulder. "Why don't we just ask the man himself? Alexis told me that Daniel Adler is quite knowledgeable about his fans. He might know more about what's going on than we could infer from these messages."

Beckett considered this for a moment, then nodded. "You're right. Let's go meet Daniel Adler."

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You can read ahead

p.a.t.r.eon.com/Illusiveone (check the chapter summary i have it there as well)