The Haunting Past (A Castle Fanfiction)

Part Twenty: New Dog, Old Tricks

As soon as Rick rushed through the propped open door of his loft, he was faced with the vision of Alexis holding her boyfriend as she stood in absolute shock. Her face was ghostly and her body was trembling. Beside her, on the kitchen stool, Maddie sat cradling Sophie close to her chest. The moment the girls caught a glimpse of him, Maddie and Alexis both turned away. This time, it was Alexis who chose to keep the level head. Mike did the speaking for them. "Mr. Castle, they would rather not see you right now."

"Mike, you're a good kid, but you need to stay out of my family business," Rick said, standing taller than the boy.

Mike didn't back down. "I respect that this is your family and your business, but I think the girls are old enough to decide when they don't want to talk to you."

"No offense, but they have to talk to me. I'm their father."

"Sir," Mike began.

He was cut off. "Dad, just- work your case. We're fine. We will talk later when mom's out of the hospital and our lives aren't under attack." Alexis remained silent, but agreed with her sister's every word. Rick breathed, watching the girls, watching them ignore every word which slipped from his lips. He couldn't blame them for not wanting to see him. He knew he put them through Hell. But- he had to work the case. He had to make sure they were all alright. So, he turned toward the body he knew would be there.

That was when he saw her. Kaylin was dress exactly how Kate had been dressed when he found her hanging on that board. The message was clear. The threat was received. Back off or this all happens again. The moment he saw Kaylin like this, the moment he relived pulling his wife down, the moment he remembered the deal, a shockwave rushed over him. All he could wonder was if this was all worth it. All he could do was wonder if risking their lives was worth it. At the moment, that answer seemed like a big fat no.

Then, he looked further than the message, and saw the woman on the bed. He remembered everything Kaylin Murphy had proved herself to be. A stubborn jackass without the charm or restraint needed to make that a good thing, but- she was strong. She was understanding. Kaylin wasn't just a good cop, she was a young kid, in love with Harris as much as she was in love with her work. She had a future. She had dreams. She was a friend... And now... she was dead. And if he didn't get out of the deal he made, his hands would be as blood-stained as their's were.

Still, seeing the boys' cribs reminded him of what was at stake. He then reverted to the cop mode Kate generally kept for herself. When Lanie got close to finishing her exam, he questioned, "What was her cause of death?"

"Suffocation," Lanie replied, refusing to look at him.

Castle continued, "How long ago did she die?"

"Not long ago. I'm putting time of death around one A.M."

"She- she wasn't killed here, was she?"

Lanie put down the chart and finally looked at him. "See those flecks of blood on that pillow over there?" Rick looked at the only pillow Kaylin wasn't laying on. "That tells me yes, she was smothered in here with that pillow only a couple feet away from your babies' beds." Rick swallowed hard. "So, I guess the message you got was loud and clear."

Rick let this pass and allowed the air to settle before he dared to ask, "How long before that DNA is ready?"

"At least another ten hours," the woman stated, returning to the paperwork.

"Lanie...," he said in a way which called her attention. She sighed, barely interested by his pain, and put the chart back down against her thighs. "Is there any way to speed this up?"

She harshly batted, "No, Castle. Don't you think I would have done everything I could to make this go faster?"

"I didn't mean to imply-."