Mannequins and Marionettes: Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: Most of these characters are not mine at all, but they are memorable. Thank you, Mr. Marlowe. The others? Yeah, they're mine

.

A/N: This is the fifth story in the Different Road Taken arc, and it starts about a month and a half after the end of A Fly in the Garden. Obviously, if you haven't read the first four stories, please start there – otherwise you won't recognize many of the characters and the references. I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season and New Year. And here is to hoping we hear new stories from a couple of my favorite writers (Ahem….Geek Mom and Perspex13).

.

Saturday, 10:43 a.m., March 31, 2012, at the Castles Complex in Sausalito, California

.

The morning mist hovers just over the tree line as droplets of dew blanket the leaves on the trees and the grass below. It is still rather cool on this spring morning in Sausalito, and Richard Castle stands underneath the rock and wooden monument to Penny Zimmerman with his hands in his coat pocket. It is his weekly visit – usually every Saturday morning – to this area on the western front of the property. He gazes upward, reading the inscription on the wooden plank that juts upward from the rock structure.

For Penny – whose courage remains the foundation of these Castles.

"Time to go, babe," Kate Beckett whispers to the tall man next to her. While his hands are in his coat pocket, her left arm is entwined with his as they stand together. He nods his head in agreement, breaking the moment of reverence that always accompanies his visits to this place.

"I know," he replies softly, pulling his hands out of his pockets, and interlocking the fingers of his right hand with those of her left. They turn and walk slowly, silently, their footsteps barely making a sound in the wet grass below their feet. A minute later they are on the pathway again, leading back to the complex.

"What time is it, anyway?" he finally asks aloud as he glances at his watch. Seeing the time, he realizes she is right. They have the Mayor of San Francisco coming in at eleven, which is now less than fifteen minutes away. It is an unexpected meeting, one that they were notified about roughly forty-five minutes ago. Unusual for its timing, here on a weekend, for certain.

"I wonder what she wants," he muses to the woman walking alongside him.

"She didn't say," Kate tells him, "at least not according to Mike. He took the call this morning."

"Sandra does like to play things close to the vest," Castle replies. "I don't like it."

"Neither do I," she agrees. "There is never good news this early in the morning," she continues. Over a decade of experience with weekend body drops in New York City screams at her that nothing good is coming their way this morning. Right now, however, New York City seems like a lifetime ago. Both the ex-writer and the ex-cop are grateful for that little fact right now.

Mayor Sandra Clooney's office has called earlier this morning, 'requesting' a meeting directly with Richard Castle. Up to this point, Clooney has not hesitated to reach out directly to Castle – to have a person-to-person conversation on the phone. That she instructed her office to reach out to the main number at the Castles instead of to the ex-author himself is telling.

They pick up their pace back to the front of the complex where the administrative building is housed, knowing that Clooney is – if nothing else – punctual to perfection. Sure enough, as they clear the woods and can see the driveway leading to the administration building some seventy-five yards ahead, Castle can make out the black, unmarked sedan that the mayor likes to use.

"She's early," he remarks.

"No surprise," Kate acknowledges. "Mike will keep her company until we get there."

"Why, do you have a detour in mind?" he smiles, offering her a slight wink.

"Hey, that ship sailed this morning when you turned down my offer," she deadpans.

"That is so far from the truth, my lying ex-detective and you know it," he argues with a knowing smirk. "Let's see . . . you waited until we were, one, out of the shower . . . two, dried off . . . three, dressed and headed downstairs before making any such offer."

"I've seen you get out of clothes faster than a speeding bullet before," she chuckles, offering him a bump of the hips as they approach the back entrance to the administration building. Their friendly banter has taken up the last half-football field of the trek back from the Z, and he opens the door for her, allowing her entrance.

"No comment," he smiles as he makes a production of bowing slightly, opening an expressive and waving arm to allow her pass by.

"Why thank you, Mr. Castle," she smiles as she enters. He follows directly behind her, as they head for his office. Arriving there, they walk through the already-open door, where Mike Monroe and Mayor Sandra Clooney sit waiting. Both rise as Castle and Beckett enter the office.

"Mr. Castle," Mayor Clooney offers, a friendly smile on her face.

"Okay, maybe this is just a friendly casual call . . . Nah, who am I kidding?" he thinks to himself as he shakes Monroe's hand and turns to the mayor.

"Sandra," he smiles in return, always on a first-name basis – at least from his end – with the mayor, much as he was with his friend and mayor back on the east coast.

"Hello Ms. Mayor," Kate greets her, with an outstretched hand as well.

"Ms. Beckett," the mayor nods as she shakes Kate's hand. "It is good to see you both so early this morning."

"Well, is it a good morning or not?" Castle asks, pulling up two chairs. He pulls the first toward Kate, who smiles and sits. He then lowers his large frame into the second chair, turning toward the mayor and his security chief.

"I'm afraid not," the mayor begins. "I can tell by the look on both of your faces . . . well, all three of your faces that you didn't expect this to be a social call."

"At eleven in the morning, from across the bay on a Saturday morning? Yeah, we figured you just had nothing better to do . . ." Castle smiles, and the foursome share a chuckle. They all know by now that they have to embrace these light moments in life when they are presented.

"What's up, Ms. Mayor?" Kate asks, glancing at Monroe, who shakes his head from side to side.

"I know nothing, Kate," he frowns. "Our friend here did not share anything with me while waiting for you and Rick."

"I felt it is something you needed to hear first-hand," Mayor Clooney begins. "And by first-hand, I mean to say, in person, where I knew there would be no listening ears."

"You feel there are extra ears listening in bac,k at City Hall?" Castle asks.

"Always," the mayor responds, and notices the smirk and glance shared between Castle and Kate, but pushes it out of her mind as she continues.

"So, no pun intended, but we are all-ears here," Castle tells her.

She stands, brushing imaginary lint from the front of her black pants, then brushing downward. It's a nervous habit, Castle recognizes, having watched this mayor in action many times. The fact that she stands tells him to prepare himself. He frowns, knowing that she would not be here if the news she has did not pertain to him. Since the freeing of almost fifty women from a sex-slave ring here in the Bay Area, things have been blessedly quiet. Of course, hoping the silence would last was far too much to ask.

"This morning, one of our precincts received a call from Madame Tussauds down on the wharf," Sandra Clooney begins. "The morning crew arrived early to open up and get things ready for today's tourist visitors, but during their walk-through, they noticed a . . . well, they noticed a new 'piece' on display" she tells them, placing air quotes around the word 'piece'.

"A new piece?" Kate asks, the hairs on the back of her neck already standing at attention. Given that Madame Tussauds is a wax museum, with wax replicates of famous persons, there is nothing good about the idea that a new, unexpected piece being there.

"Leave it to our city," the mayor exhales under her breath. "Always some crazy . . ."

She doesn't finish the sentence. Instead, she continues her explanation to the trio in front of her.

"Evidently, there was a murder overnight," she tells them. "Not your normal run-of-the-mill type. The man was killed, and then filled with embalming fluid to preserve the body. The body was then dressed, and placed in the music area of the exhibit . . . with a guitar moved from the Jimi Hendrix exhibit, no less. It seems our murderer has a sense of humor to go with the macabre."

"You can't be serious," Mike Monroe remarks, an incredulous look on his face. Richard Castle, however, has the thumb and forefinger of his left hand rubbing the bridge of his nose. A few years with Kate Beckett and the NYPD has prepared him for even the most imaginative of crimes. No, right now he is wondering why such a crime warrants his attention, in the mind of the mayor.

"I don't mean to be crass, Sandra," Castle begins, "but I am assuming there is a reason you have brought this to us? I mean, this sounds like the kind of crime the San Francisco PD can handle."

"You are absolutely right, Rick," the mayor replies, now speaking more informally. "The reason I am bringing this to your attention is because of the victim . . . and the implications of such that will need to be investigated."

"What, you don't imagine anyone here on these premises is a mad doctor slash murderer, do you?" Mike Monroe chuckles. His laugh is short-lived as he sees the reply painted on the mayor's face.

"His name was Robbie Johnson," Clooney tells the team. "I can tell that the name doesn't ring a bell, and I'm not surprised. Let me give you a different name. Does the name –"

"Karen Marks," Richard Castle sadly mumbles aloud.

"Ah, so I have underestimated you once again," Clooney tells Castle, a mask of admiration briefly crossing her face before the politician composes herself again.

"Yes, Karen Marks," she continues. "Mr. Johnson was the boyfriend of Ms. Marks, who was admitted to this facility –"

"Back in December," Mike Monroe finishes for her, now remembering the identify of the victim by name as well. Marks had come to the facility barely three months after delivering her first child. Three months after her delivery, she had suffered a beating at the hands of Johnson.

"Can't say I'm sad to hear of the dude's demise," Monroe tells the group. It draws a raised-eyebrow from the mayor, but neither Castle nor Kate react. Both are well-used to Mike Monroe's views of any man who would do physical harm to a woman. For a brief instant, Castle hopes that the mayor is not there because their friend is a suspect. Kate Beckett, however, her cop instincts still well in-place, understands perfectly why the mayor is here.

"You think Karen had something to do with this?" she asks the mayor.

"We have to consider that," Clooney replies with a nod of the head. "You of all people should understand that. Had this been a death by robbery, a car accident, a fall from a ladder . . . trust me, I would not be here. But this type of death . . . a murder, and then an embalming . . ."

"And a public display," Monroe adds, whistling.

"Yes, all of this adds up to a killing of a personal nature," Clooney continues, rubbing her hands nervously. They all know what she is implying, what her visit here now means. And Richard Castle is having none of it.

"Now hold on here a minute, Sandra," he tells her, and Kate gently touches his arm, trying to rein him in. She can see the anger, she disappointment . . . the literal insult that Castle considers the direction this meeting is taking.

"First of all, no one here at this facility is a killer," he begins, marking off items on his fingers. "They are victims. Don't forget that."

"I know that –" the mayor begins, but Castle cuts her off.

"Second, we just – in the past week or so – got all of our guests here feeling comfortable again after the military-style assault that we endured six, eight weeks ago," he continues. "There is no way I am letting squad cars come in here and arrest or question anyone here based upon whatever hunch your police department might have."

"That isn't your call, Mr. Castle," Clooney replies, now reverting back to a more formal tone. "A crime has been committed in my city. A brutal crime that the media is going to have a field day with."

He knows this to be true. He knows that the media – newspapers, online sources, television networks, social media – this is the kind of story that they live for. And it's the kind of story that usually has long legs to stay relevant indefinitely.

"My police department has to follow all leads, follow all possibilities," Clooney is saying, pulling him back into the conversation. "And a man who beats his girlfriend, sending her to a wonderful establishment such as this, and then he ends up brutally murdered himself, and then put on public display . . . surely you must recognize that one of the first people we have to question are those with a motive. And right now, because we know this was a premediated murder, because of the personal nature of this, the person with the strongest motive is Karen Marks."

He doesn't want to admit she is right, but even on a surface level, he knows she is. He also knows that the school teacher who is raising a now six-month old daughter doesn't have this type of murder in her. Kate seems to be reading his mind.

"She doesn't have this in her, Rick," Kate admits, "but she may know someone who does. As a cop, or ex-cop, I have to see the logic in them at least wanting to speak with Karen."

"I know, Kate," he tells her. "Dammit, I know. But she doesn't deserve this. She doesn't need this. And none of the women here need to see her on display as a suspect. Everyone here is a victim, dammit," he repeats.

"I know this, Mr. Castle," the mayor reminds him. "That is why I am here, and not the SFPD. That is why I am here, giving you a heads up so we can agree on how to proceed with this."

"I know, I have just figured that out," Castle nods. "And thank you. And I apologize. You're right. But I am right, too. I can't let this spook Karen, or any of our other guests here."

"We won't," the mayor promises. "The best approach, I believe, would be to conduct this first conversation-"

"Conversation?" Mike asks.

"Okay," the mayor agrees, "this first questioning. The best approach would be to have this first question and answer session off the premises here. I've already expressed to the captain that I do not support bringing Ms. Marks into their precinct. Too many eyes there. I agree that this first meeting – and it may end up being the only meeting – but this first meeting needs to be somewhere away from the department, away from the reporters who enjoy hanging out at the department."

"Tell your captain that I appreciate it," Castle replies. "So how do we go about this, Mike?" he asks his security chief.

"Well," Mike begins, his right hand stroking his chin as he thinks. "Well, to be honest, the best approach might actually be to do it here, Rick," he tells his boss, ignoring the incredulous stare being given to him with these words.

"Hear me out," Monroe continues. "The police don't have to come here with lights flashing and sirens blazing. They can come in an unmarked car – just like our mayor did. And send them as plainclothes officers," he continues, now his attention focused on the mayor.

"Simple car, simple clothes, no one here will be the wiser," he finishes.

"Especially any of the women living here," Kate adds, warming up to the idea. It's how she would do it also. "Send in a detective team, not the blues."

Kate then turns to Castle, to address him directly.

"The next step," she continues, "is how we break this to Karen. As an ex-cop, I can tell you that under no circumstances do the police want anyone to share this information with Karen before they get a chance to question her."

"Why-" Castle begins, but quickly catches himself. "Forgive me," he chuckles. "I'm out of practice with shadowing police officers."

"The police will want to see Karen's reaction to the news first-hand," Kate remarks, knowing that her lover has already just figured this out for himself. He simply nods his head slightly, in agreement.

"That means we have to make sure that Karen is here when your officers get here," Monroe adds. "She is already back teaching, as you know."

"We have on-site day-care service for the children," Castle reminds Clooney, seeing the question etched on her face. "While she is at school . . . while any of the women are at their jobs, we take care of their kids."

"How long do the women stay here, again?" Clooney asks.

"No more than a year, but hopefully not that long," Castle replies. "Karen actually has scheduled herself to check out next month. About a week from now, in fact, if memory serves."

"So, all the more reason to have this conversation with her quickly," Clooney remind them.

"I'm guessing today," Kate remarks.

"That would be preferable," Clooney agrees. "I've told our captain that I would arrange for this as quickly as possible. I really do not like pushing my weight around in these types of matters."

"Thank you, I understand," Castle remarks. "Is Karen here today, Mike?"

"Yeah, most of the ladies are here today," Monroe replies. "Remember, we have the magic show coming in this afternoon for the kids. Of course, little Jana isn't interested in magicians, but a lot of the other kids – and their mothers – are."

"Jana?" Clooney asks.

"Jana Marks," Kate replies. "Karen's daughter. She is six months old."

"Okay," Clooney nods. "I think I can arrange for one of the detectives to come out this afternoon, either before or after the magic show."

"That works," Castle thinks aloud. "It also gives us time to figure out what to say to Karen. To explain why we didn't give her a heads-up about the murder, or the fact that she's going to be questioned."

"The truth, Rick," Kate tells him. "We tell her the truth. It's standard procedure. We don't deviate from that – for anyone."

"But we also let Karen know that we are fully behind her," Monroe adds.

"Should I get legal representation for her?" Castle asks.

"Let's have Josh here, ready," Kate suggests. Josh Campbell is the campus attorney that has been retained and put in place for whatever reason would arise for the women here. Although no one could have seen a case quite like this one coming.

"Okay," Castle agrees. "If you can have them here around 2:30, when the show ends this afternoon, we can pull Karen aside and let them speak with her. And again, Sandra, thank you for the heads up. I know you didn't have to do this."

"Yes, I did," the mayor argues. "The last thing I want to do is anything that harms this establishment, or anyone here. I hope you believe me on this."

"We do," Castle replies for the trio. "We do."

The meeting now over, the foursome makes their way toward the door. Only now does Castle notice that there is no driver, no one with the mayor. She made the trip on her own, driving herself. Making sure that no one knew why she was here.

"Thank you, Sandra," he tells her again as he watches her walk down the hallway leading to the foyer, accompanied by Mike. He turns to Kate, who is behind him, giving her a glance.

"Wonderful," he mutters. "Just wonderful."

"It will work out, Rick," she tells him, but can tell he isn't buying it. And he can tell she isn't buying her own words either. They have been through too much together, see too many strange things to dismiss this as something that will easily go away.

"I suspect we are just now beginning this particular story," he tells her, taking her hand and following the mayor and his security chief."

"You're probably right," she tells him. "You're probably right."

.

A/N: And so begins another story on the California coast with our favorite couple. This one is kind of straight-forward and . . . hahahahaha . . . who am I kidding . . . this is far from straight-forward. My mind just doesn't flow in straight lines. Happy New Year to everyone. I hope you enjoy this journey.