Chapter 11

Morning light was fighting its way through the blinds of Kate's room, the light so crisp, it's as if you'd expect to find dew settled on the window sills. Montgomery sat in the visitor's chair in the corner of the room, streams of light glistened over the badges on his suit. He was reading the morning paper as he waited patiently for his number one detective to wake up. She looked peaceful in the bed he thought and suddenly remembered why she was there in the first place. He stared blankly at her while images ran through his mind like a filmstrip. He was partly to blame for her being there, and that's why he was in her room today – ready to tell her the truth no matter what.

"I hope there was a bear claw that came with that paper?" The newspaper crinkled and crumbled making more noise than Roy intended to as he fought to fold it any put it aside.

"Are you hungry? I asked the nurses to keep your breakfast aside until you woke up."

She ran her hand over her face, "Ahhh…I'm so sick of hospital food."

"I'll have a bear claw hand delivered for lunch," he said.

Kate noticed something wrong with his demeanor but she couldn't quite grasp what it was. He was happy to be there with her, see that she was doing well with his own eyes, but every time he looked at her, it was for a few seconds and then the connection broke. Like he felt responsible.

"Sir?" She asked sitting up in the bed. It was getting easier to move around, the pain not as intense as it was before, getting shot in the abdomen was no joke. "Is everything okay – with you? With the case? Did something go wrong that you're too afraid to tell me?"

Captain Roy Montgomery sat back down in the visitor's chair and rubbed both hands over the bridge of his nose. Stopped when his index fingers pressed on the pressure points between his eyebrows.

"Kate…" He took in a deep breath. "What I am about to tell you isn't going to be easy. Both for me to tell and you to hear."

His comments made Kate frown, this was definitely unusual behaviour coming from her Captain, but it appeared as if he was carrying the world on his shoulder so she let him speak. Let him take as much time as he needed.

"I was a rookie when it happened, Kate. Raglan and McCallister were heroes to me. I believed in what we were doing. We were just going to kidnap them and that's when I heard the shot. I didn't even know it was my gun that went off 'til one of the men when down. Then Raglan pulled me into the van. I remember him saying 'It's okay, kid. It's not your fault. Happens in this town every day.' Raglan and McCallister tried to drown it, but not me. I put it all into the job, Kate. I became the best cop I could be. And then when you walked into the Twelfth, I felt the hand of God. I knew he was giving me another chance and I thought I could protect you the way I should have protected her."

Kate's adrenaline was pumping, the heart rate monitor beeps had risen significantly. On the verge of a panic attack, Kate inhaled deep breath.
"Did you kill my mother?" Roy immediately shook his head, he could feel her anger laced in those words.
"No, that was years later. But she died because of what we did that night."

"Then who killed her?" Roy dropped his head in shame, he knew who it was, but he didn't want to tell her right now, he needed to explain himself, he needed her to listen.

"I can't tell you that right now but somehow he had figured out what we had done and he could have turned us all in. Instead, he demanded the ransom money. He took that money to become what he is and God forgive me but that may be my greatest sin."

The pain Kate felt earlier had dissipated completely after hearing what her Captain, her mentor was saying.

She raised her voice, "Give me a name. You owe me that Roy!"

Captain Montgomery stood up from the seat now and looked Kate straight in the eyes.

"No Kate!" He pointed his index finger at her, "I give you a name, I know you. You'll run straight at him. I might as well shoot you where you stand. They're going to come for you Kate, but I'm going to put an end to this."

Kate so desperately wanted to get up and stop the man she looked up to.

"Sir, you don't have to do this!"

"This is my spot, Kate. This is where I stand."

Kate begged and pleaded, her voice cracking with the desperate pleas and on the verge of tears.

"We can take him down together sir!"

"There won't be time, he probably already knows."

"Please…don't do this…" Tears were streaming down Kate's cheeks now, almost uncontrollably.

"This file has all the information you need. It will lead you in exact direction you need to go. I know you can do this Kate, you're smart and you have the resources to help you, but don't go at it right away. Stay in the shadows and lay low until you're healed. You'll know when the time is right and don't go in alone. Take Mr Castle, he cares about you. You bring in Ryan and Esposito when you need to, they'll have your back too."

Kate couldn't fight the emotional release anymore and she let out a wail, her eyes were red and flooding with tears. She put her head in her hands, sobbing hysterically taking it all in. When she finally gathered the courage to approach her Captain once more she looked up into an empty room. He was done and all that remained in side was the brown folder he spoke about. She couldn't even look at it. It disgusted her. She laid back down on the bed, rolled onto her side and pulled the covers back over her shoulders, silent tears seeping into the pillow.

Kate hadn't slept much since Roy Montgomery disappeared from her hospital room. She had being laying in the same position for hours trying to muffle the sobs and stop the flow of tears. Richard Castle himself showed up at around noon, all bright and perky, two cups of coffee in hand. She heard him come in and immediately closed her eyes so he thought she was sleeping, but the pain in her side was becoming unbearable and she needed to move.

She tried to moan silently, but failed and Castle was at her bedside within nanoseconds.

"Hey…Kate…What's wrong?" He whispered near her ear as he could see the pain etched in her face, her frown lines more prominent than he'd ever seen before. The dark circles underneath her eyes still very prominent as if she'd been getting no sleep at all. He was worried.

"I'm just a little sore Castle. And stiff. Can you help me turn around?"

He willingly obliged. This was so out of character for Kate. Asking for someone's help was a rarity, but she was so tired of doing everything alone. He gently swooped her up in his arms and laid her carefully back onto the bed in what he assumed to be a more comfortable position. She didn't object. She kept her eyes closed, breathing through the pain. She also didn't want him to see that she'd been crying, although she figured with his level of observation skills, hiding that notion was going to be a complete waste of time.

He was silent. He never said a word. It was unlike him too, he always had to comment on something. Silence left him uncomfortable. However, he intuitively knew that this moment of silence was vital.

After a few minutes, Kate took in a shaky breath and opened her eyes to the gentle smile of the man she was possibly falling in love with, Richard Castle.

"I brought you a milk steamer since you can't have any caffeine." She smiled her first smile in hours. She wondered how he had that ability to take away all her sorrow and put a smile on her face.

"Does it come with a bear claw?"

"Pfft…need you ask." He whipped out a brown paper bag, "It's still warm…"

When she bit into it, it was like heaven melted on her tongue, "Thank you."

He left her to enjoy the pastry and looked around the room to see if there were any new bunches of flowers, or ones that needed watering when he noticed the brown file on the food trolley.

"What's this?" He asked picking it up. He noticed that the file was more than the average thickness. He'd seen previous case files on her desk and they were half the size. Kate shrugged.

"Is it information on the case we were working on?" He was just being nosey, but he wanted the story.

"It's something I don't wanna talk about." Complete switch in personality he observed.

"Really?" He questioned curiously, "That's strange. I thought you'd be all over it since there was substantial evidence relating to your mom's case."

"Drop it…" She warned, not making any eye contact.

"But Kate…what if there's a lead in…" He didn't get to finish his sentence when she snapped at him.

"I said drop it Castle!" The heart rate monitor's alarm beeping faster. Kate ripped the pulse monitor from her finger and the machine immediately stopped its rant.

A few moments of silence had passed without a word causing an uncomfortable silence Richard was not comfortable with.

"You've been crying…" It was a bad choice of words, he knew it, but he knew that by pushing her buttons, he was going to get her to talk.

She glared up at him, "Can you please stop observing for like a week?"

"Can't do that – it's a character flaw," he said with a fair amount of attitude and a pout of the lips. Kate rolled her eyes.

"Then can you leave? I'm not really in the mood for company."

He sat on the edge of the bed pretending to contemplate the idea.

"I could, if you really want me to?" She wasn't going to beg him to stay.

"I really want you to go."

He was shocked and surprised at the same time. So astounded, that he immediately raised his eyebrows. The sudden resistant behaviour was odd, but he'd respect her wishes.

"Fine…I'll leave."

"Fantastic," she responded sarcastically and she closed her eyes for a nap.

Castle made sure that her eyes were completely shut, before he tucked the folder into his jacket pocket. His reasoning – if she wasn't interested, she wasn't going to miss it.

Richard sat at his desk, the brown ratted cardboard file staring back at him. It felt like he was betraying Kate by taking the file and scrutinising the information inside, but he also saw it as his way of helping her find the answers she'd been waiting for finally putting an end to her misery of solving her mother's murder. He thought about it for a minute and put himself in her shoes, to try and collate all the evidence she'd received over the years into reasons on why she wouldn't want to go any further. Apart from her life being permanently in danger there was no other justifiable reason that he could think of…and then…then it came to him and he knew how he was going to write it into his book as part of his newfound character. Purely driven by the fact that if she couldn't find justice for her mom, she'd find it for others, and that would mean that Kate Beckett had no more purpose in in the police force if she found her mother's killer. It was a Catch 22. It was a major setback. He knew it. Kate knew it. It was her sole purpose for becoming a cop, for becoming the youngest female detective in NYPD history – it was her obsession that drove her, kept her pushing forward into greatness.

Richard wasn't going to let her give up. She deserved the answers. Joanna Beckett deserved the justice and he made a promise to himself that he would do it for her and his opportunity was right in front of him in real time and he was never going to let it pass him by – even if it meant losing Kate forever. Joanna fought for the truth and so would he…he'd justified his intentions enough to muster up the courage to open the file…

At first, the information seemed trivial, kidnapping mobsters for ransom. The names looked familiar. Raglan appeared there a few times along with another detective Gary McAlistair. There was a third cop, the name all too familiar to Castle, so familiar in fact, that he hard to read it ten times over to be sure – Officer Roy Montgomery.

"He was part of the kidnapping crew?" Richard questioned himself, "That's why Kate's upset."

But it didn't make sense…how did Captain Montgomery into the death of Joanna Beckett? Castle was curious, there had to be more. He rummaged through the documents inside the file and found an account number in the name of W.H. Bracken…

"Senator Bracken?" His voice an octave higher. "What the hell is going on here?"

He needed to get to Kate…immediately, and there was no way she wasn't going to listen to him now.

It was late that evening when Rick returned to the hospital, way after visiting hours.

"Excuse me sir, visiting hours are over."

"I realise that mam, but this is important. I don't think I will be very long." He explained pleadingly.

He stepped into her all too quiet room. The heart rate monitors were off. Complete silence. He checked the eating tray, her dinner remained untouched. This was not good. She was laying back on the side that contributed to the pain earlier, but it was away from the door where people couldn't see she was crying. He moved closer to her quietly, she didn't hear him at all. It broke he heart when he saw her body convulsing with every sob.

"I know why you're upset," he whispered, his voice laced with sincerity.

She breathed in deeply, "No you don't. You're grasping at straws for your next book. Trying to figure me out, trying to figure out what makes me tick so you can build a character that resembles me…You know, the funny thing is, when I first started reading your books…after reading the strong female characters you created, I wanted you to write a book about me, write me with that strength – something I never had at the time."

"Captain Montgomery betrayed you…" He said bluntly.

She whipped around as fast as she could without injuring herself.

"What?! How did you…"

"I took the file," he interrupted.

Disappointment laced her red, teary hazel eyes.

"Yeah, you weren't interested in it, so I took it, right after you kicked me out."

"How dare you?" She said angrily.

"Really? You're going to interrogate me? Kate, you're sitting on a gold mine and I know…I know that somehow you feel if you find justice for your mom you won't have any purpose anymore, but that's not true."

Kate's mouth moved but no words came out. She was stunned.

"Kate, trust me, you'll be a force to be reckoned with, you'll be in demand…people will look up to you, young people like Alexis. Criminals will be afraid…and Kate, it wouldn't surprise me if one day, someone funded you to run for state senate…The information in this file, he said showing it to her, "Will do all of that for you."

Her eyes lit up with the amount of faith he had in her, the faith he had about the validity of the evidence. He radiated with confidence as his eyes pleaded. She sat up immediately in the bed and wiped her teary eyes.

"Tell me what you've found…"

Kate was back home in after a few more days at the hospital. Castle at her side helping with every step in the recovery. She seemed happier and more relieved since she had better leads in her mother's case.

"C'mon Kate…Let's just go get the guy. At least bring him in for questioning." He said she he stirred a cup of herbal tea for her.

She sat in her living room, the documents in the file spread out all over the place, her mother's box in her lap. She was going through thing for the hundredth time, hoping to find a connection.

She had Joanna's diary open on the day she died…Kate knew there had to be something written there, a clue that she didn't understood.

As he placed the tea down on the side table he asked her casually, "Would you like to come to a family dinner tonight? I know my mother and Alexis would love to see you."

Kate was silent, she kept staring at the diary – the last entry in the diary.

"Family," she whispered.

"Yes, family, which you are a part of now." He leaned in and kissed her temple.

"No, Castle. This diary entry – the way it's written – D Me w/family."

"I see, but you explained that she was on her way to meet you and your dad for dinner."

"I know, but I've noticed something that I never did before. Look how close the D is to the M – DM."

"Detective Montgomery?" Castle suggested.

"The e could be for evidence." Castle read it out aloud.

"Detective Montgomery evidence with family. That makes no sense Kate."

Kate chuckled for a brief second, a smile appearing from the corner of her mouth, "Oh my God!"

"What?" Castle wasn't following.

She was speechless, "The elephants…Castle, I think we've figured it out."

"What?" She tapped him hurriedly on the shoulder.

"Castle! Quickly, get up and go to my desk in my study. You'll see a statue of elephants – trunks holding tails."

Richard was confused, but he got up anyway trying to hop on her train of excitement. He walked back nonchalantly with the statue of three elephants in his hand waving it about.

"This thing? What's so interesting about this?"

Her eyes lit up and her stomach knotted with nerves, "Castle…they were my mom's…she used to joke about how they were like a family…The evidence must be inside."

Richard examined the statue to see if it opened anywhere, but he didn't find anything."

"Kate, I don't think so, there's nothing her to suggest that this opens," he said as he was trying to pry it open. And then, just like that the back of the main elephant popped off and a tiny cassette popped out. "Ooh!" He exclaimed.

Kate's eyes filled with tears, "Castle…I think this is the evidence we need…I remember now that one day when I was down in the archives, Captain Montgomery found me there going through the case file. I was just a rookie then, and he was asking me if I had looked into all of the evidence, he mentioned a cassette recordings – he must have known about this."

"And you mom was going to take it to him to bring all of this to an end and then she died."

"Senator Bracken must have found out about the tape, but he didn't know where she kept it, so he killed her…we need to listen to the tape."

Kate managed to find some inner strength to pull herself up off the floor to rummage through some of her old boxes for the cassette player.

"Found it!" She yelled, he could hear the excitement in her voice. "I used to use this old thing when I first started doing interrogations, I played them back to myself to teach myself what to do and what not to do with future cases." She placed the tape in the player and pressed play…

"Raglan, shut the door. You've got a lot of balls coming here." Bracken said.

"Is that?" Castle looked at Kate, eyes as wide as saucers.

"Senator Bracken. Back when he was still Assistant DA," Beckett commented.

"Look, we just want to make sure we're all on the same page," said Montgomery on the tape. "You took us for a lot of money, Bracken. We want assurances."

"Hey, be happy I haven't busted the three of you for your little mafia extortion ring," Bracken replied cheekily.

Montgomery sounded panicked.

"Whoa, relax."

Senator Bracken was completely in charge of this operation.

"No, no. You want assurances? Here you go. I assure you that as easily as I pinned Bob Armen's murder on Pulgatti, I can just as easily pin it on the cops that actually did the deed."

"Bracken just admitted to blackmail," Castle commented, moving closer to the cassette player as if that was going to make the conversation speed up.

Montgomery spoke again.

"Pulgatti knows he's been framed. What if someone gets on to this?"

"Then I'll handle them."

Said Senator Bracken confidently. Montgomery didn't believe him.

"You? How?"

"I know people, Roy. Dangerous people. Anyone gets to close, like that bitch lawyer Johanna Beckett has been poking around, I'll have them killed. I've had people killed before."

Kate and Castle looked at each other immediately after hearing those words, Kate's eyes were tearing up. Castle put his arms around her and said, "Let's go get the son of a bitch."