CASTLE

Flowers For Your Grave - Chapter 2

"Mr. Castle! You've got quite a rap sheet for a bestselling author. Disorderly conduct, resisting arrest..", Kate announced as she walked into the interrogation room." He couldn't help but notice how beautiful and hot she was. She could have even passed for a model. So why a cop?

"Boys will be boys!", said he grinning widely at the Detective.

"It says here that you stole a police horse?" said Beckett in a manner of confirmation. "Borrowed.", clarified Rick.

"Ah. And you were...nude, at that time." she said with raised eyebrows. She started thinking about it. Actually, with his tall frame and nice build...Oh god Kate, don't go there she told herself. "It was spring.", he smirked with a shrug.

"And each time the charges were dropped!", she said as she took a chair opposite him. Rick said, "What can I say, the mayor's a fan. But if it makes you feel any better, I'd be happy to let you spank me.", totally checking her out.

"Mr. Castle, this whole..'bad boy charm' thing that you've got going might work for bimbettes and celebrutants. Me? I work for a living. So that makes you one of two things in my world. Either the guy who makes my life easier or the guy who makes my life harder and trust me, you do NOT want to be the guy who makes my life harder.", said Kate like the badass she was.

Rick smiled and said, "Got it."

"Allison Tisdale. Daughter of real estate agent Jonathan Tisdale.", said Kate showing him her photo.

"She's cute.", said Castle. Typical, thought Beckett. "She's dead." Rick looked up at her.

Kate noted that he was shocked to know this, so he probably didn't know about her murder. But she couldn't jump to any conclusions yet.

She asked the standard questions..had he ever met her? Book signings? Charity events? "It's possible. She's not in my little black book if that's what you're asking.", said Rick clearly knowing where she was headed. He had written more than a dozen crime novels so his knowledge about the procedure was quite deep.

Beckett was impressed. But then again she would never make the mistake of saying it out loud to increase his already swelled ego.

"What about this guy? Marvin Fisck. Small claims lawyer."

"Most of my claims tend to be on the larger side.", replied Castle. Cue Beckett's eye roll. Again. She was already getting a migrane. Who did he even think he was?

"But I don't understand. What does this have to do with me?", said Rick voicing his thoughts aloud. Kate replied, "Fisck was found murdered in his office two weeks ago. I couldn't put it together until we saw the Tisdale crime scene today." showing him a photograph of the body.

Castle missed a heartbeat for a second. 'Flowers For Your Grave'. His book. It was a copycat murder! He was ecstatic. He felt like he won another pulitzer. That's right, he already had one. He did feel sorry for the victim but he still couldn't believe something like this happened.

"And this is how we found Marvin Fisck. Right out of 'Hell Hath No Fury'." said Kate showing him a photograph of the Fisck crime scene, looking pleased with herself for being able to make that connection.

Richard finally tore his gaze from the photos. "Looks like I have a fan." said he, smirking at Beckett. "Yeah a really deranged fan." was her comeback.

She was a huge fan of his work and she knew it. She loved all his books, he way he wrote, infact he was one of those writers whose work she really appreciated. But then again, his ego needed no more boosting and she was a cop, right? She couldn't admit to a potential murder victim that she stood in line for hours just to buy his books or that his books helped her to come to terms with things after that day.

"Do any of your groupies write you any letters? Disturbing ones?" asked Beckett, more than eager to change the topic. "Oh all my fan mail is full of disturbing letters. It's an occupational hazard."

Kate tried to explain her question by saying, "Because sometimes in cases like this the killer.." "tries to subject the victim to his obsession. I'm also well versed in psychopathic methodologies.", completed Castle, leaving Beckett stunned.

Who was this guy? Was he the killer working on an angle? Or was he just really good at his job?

He couldn't stop staring at her. She was breathtaking. Completely different from other girls he met. They'd be falling all over him by now, but not her. She had a story. He felt she was a mystery he'd never be able to solve.

He said, "Do you know you have gorgeous eyes?" Beckett was flattered. Oh, she was. But she knew it was one of two things. Either he was the killer just trying to woo the detective. Or he was just another rich, flirty guy who wanted her to be his next fling, which would never happen.

"So I take it that you won't have any objection if we go through your fan mail.", said Kate putting everything back into the case file and getting up to leave. "Can I get copies of those?" asked Castle, stopping her in her tracks.

"Copies?", asked Beckett, clearly confused. What copies would he want?
"I have this poker game with all these famous writers and if I tell them that I have a copycat murderer, they probably won't believe me but if I show them the pictures you have no idea how jealous they'd be. In my world, that's like the red badge of honour."

She couldn't believe him. "People are dead, Mr. Castle.", she said banging her file on the table. "I know. I'm not asking for the bodies. Just the pictures." She knew in this very short time that he'd never take anything seriously.

"I think we're done here." was all she said before she left the interrogation room.