~ Heat Exchange: Flashpoint ~

Chapter One ~

'Alternating currents in a type of surge, rational resistance to an unwise urge. Anything can happen'

* * *



"Dad, I'm home." Alexis swung her backpack down onto the floor with a grunt as she shut the door behind her. 

"Hey sweetheart, you're home a little late, aren't you?" Castle hugged his daughter affectionately, popping a quick kiss down on the top of her head.

"I had to go to the library to pick up books on the solar system for my project." She frowned at her overflowing bag. "They're awfully heavy considering space is pretty much nothing but well, empty space."

"You know we do have this newfangled thing they call 'the internet' where you can look up information. It's like a whole universe right at your fingertips." He waggled his fingers.

Alexis gave him an exasperated look. "I know dad, but Mrs. Johnson told us we had to get our information the 'old-fashioned' way and that we weren't allowed to go online to look things up. She seems to think wikipedia isn't a reliable source of information."

Castle shrugged, eyebrows raising along with his shoulders. "Go figure." He put an arm around his daughter's waist and led her into the kitchen. "It's almost suppertime so whatever work you have to do tonight can wait. I've got the whole evening free and poring through reference books is one of my favourite pastimes."

"No dad, I've got a date with Shawn tonight, remember?"

"Shawn. Hmm, that's not the tall guy with the long, dark hair that desperately needs cutting, is it?"

She smiled. "It is. This is our fourth date. He's taking me to see Avatar."

Castle frowned. "Fourth date already? I think I might have a little problem with that."

"Why? I thought you liked him."

"I do, but a fourth date could mean trouble."

Alexis perched on a stool and leaned her arms on the counter, sniffing deeply of the delectable smells coming from the oven. "How so?"

"Well, a first date is sort of a 'testing the waters' thing to see if you can stand being together for a few hours. A second date is the 'getting to know you' time where you talk about yourselves and discover what you have in common. If you make it to a third date then you obviously have a fair bit in common and like being together, so to move to a fourth date means it's getting serious. I'm not sure if I like serious."

"Don't listen to him darling." Martha sailed down the stairs and into the room as if making a grand entrance onstage. "Let her live a little Richard," she added, turning to her son. "You can't keep a tight rein on her forever. I let you have your own life and didn't worry too much about what you were doing with whom when you were growing up."

"That's because you were too busy worrying about what you were doing and with whom."

She waved it aside. "I knew enough to let you grow up without interference."

"And look where that got me, a father at age twenty-two."

Martha slipped an arm around Alexis's shoulders. "With the most beautiful, smart and talented daughter in the world."

"Touche." He kissed both of their cheeks. "Still, I'd like to talk to you about ... " His cellphone rang, interrupting him mid-sentence. "Detective Beckett, how nice of you to call." 

Grandmother and granddaughter looked at each other knowingly as the all-too familiar tension filled the room.

"Of course. I'll meet you there in fifteen." He hung up the phone. "You lovely ladies are going to have to enjoy supper without me. I'm needed elsewhere right now."

" 'Bye dad, have fun." Alexis kissed her father's cheek.

"It's a murder investigation. It's not supposed to be fun." But he couldn't hide the boyish grin that broke out at the thought of spending another night with Kate Beckett. If only that were what it sounds like ... He pushed the thought aside. "I want you to promise me you won't do anything with Shawn until we've had a chance to talk."

"Richard, don't be ... "

"Promise me?"

Alexis looked from one to the other. "Promise."

"Good." Castle breathed a sigh of relief. "You two have fun but not too much. And don't wait up. I don't expect to be back tonight."

* * *

Castle arrived at the crime scene with a spring in his step, exactly one minute later than the fifteen minutes he'd given himself. Beckett noticed.

"You're late," she said by way of greeting as he entered the apartment and walked up to join the group already assembled.

"I'm sorry Detective Beckett," he said, pulling an angelic schoolboy face. "It won't happen again, I promise."

"See that it doesn't."

Esposito snickered and Castle nodded, grinning at him and Ryan. "So what have we got?"

"Susan Armstrong. Caucasian woman estimated to be between thirty and forty years old, dead in the kitchen of her apartment ... "

"Blunt force trauma to the side of the head," Lanie filled in, rising from her position beside the corpse. She nodded. "Castle."

He smiled at her. "Always lovely to see you Dr. Parish."

"Likewise."

"How long ... " He left the question hanging.

"Not long. No more than an hour. Body's still very warm."

The room seemed to give a collective shiver. Castle frowned. It wasn't like they weren't all used to seeing dead bodies; even he himself had witnessed more than just a few since working with them. Maybe it was the freshness, the feeling of too-recent malevolence hanging in the air. Whatever it was, it was more than a little disconcerting.

"Maybe we can catch whoever did this before it gets cold."

Beckett stared at him curiously, but Esposito nodded. "Shall we bet on it?"

Ryan opened his mouth but Beckett cut him off before he could even get started. "Gentlemen, let's focus, shall we?" She walked over to the window. "Ryan, Esposito, canvass the neighbours and see what you can get. Someone called the police and I want to know who and why. Castle and I will check out the apartment."

"Okay boss."

Castle wandered the apartment, noting the decor and checking out the books in the extensive bookshelf on one wall of the living room. Beckett put on gloves and began to work in the kitchen.

"Anything?" she called over her shoulder.

"Nothing except for one notable absence." He walked over to join her. "No pictures. None at all. What home has no pictures of family hanging on the walls?"

She turned and put her hands on her hips. "Mine."

"Really? No pictures at all?"

"None."

"Why?"

Her eyebrows quirked. "What do you mean why?"

"Everyone has pictures of family. Why not put them up where you can see them?"

"Some people like their privacy Castle. Is that so hard to understand?"

"Privacy from whom? The way I hear it, you never have anyone over."

Lanie chuckled. "He's got a point."

Beckett turned away but not before he caught a hint of pink in her cheeks. "Let's get back to the matter at hand."

Castle looked at Lanie. They both shrugged.

"Go check out the bedroom and bathroom." She held out her hand from which something dangled. "Don't forget gloves."

"Like I would forget. You wound me." He placed a hand over his heart and was pleased to note her scowl changing into a smirk when she thought he couldn't see her anymore.

He did the bathroom first, only giving it a cursory once-over, knowing the forensics team would find any details he overlooked. The victim had several prescription medications in the medicine cupboard. "Pretty potent stuff," he murmured, recognizing the trade names.

The bedrooms was meticulously clean. It amazed him. He'd never known a woman who didn't have underwear draped on chairs and several discarded outfits she'd tried on and discarded strewn across the bed; even Alexis, attentive to detail and cleanliness as she was, wasn't immune to such feminine behaviour.

There were no masculine belongings to be found anywhere. Castle had noticed the woman didn't wear a wedding ring but that didn't mean much. It seemed she didn't have a significant other ... at least not a live in one or one who visited regularly.

One more room. Probably an office, he mused, moving to open the closed door. When he opened it he realized he was wrong.

Dead wrong.

* * *

"Goodnight Shawn. Thank you for a lovely evening." Alexis smiled brightly.

He returned it but there was something else in his eyes. "Alexis, couldn't we ... "

"My dad is expecting me back now," she said quickly. "I've got to go."

The boy sighed. "I'll see you soon?"

She nodded. "I'll call you."

He leaned over and gave her a peck on the cheek, not hiding the fact that he was trying to peek into the suite behind her. "Goodnight."

Martha materialized as soon as the door was shut. "You are far too much of a goody-goody for your age."

"Most girls my age get exactly the opposite words from their parents and guardians."

"You're the most grown-up of all three of us and while I know your father appreciates your maturity, it's not natural for someone your age to act like a parent instead of a teenager."

Alexis smiled as she pushed the hair out of her face and behind her ears. "Someone has to take care of both of you."

Martha came around the island and swept the young girl into her arms. "And we appreciate that more than you know. But it's important that you live your youth while you have it darling. You're only young once and you can't waste those years being responsible all the time. Enjoy yourself. Live a little."

"Are you encouraging me to go out and party, do drugs and have sex?"

"Heavens no! But if the thought ever crosses your mind, make sure you use birth control. Being a parent can be a wonderful thing but not a fifteen."

Alexis hugged her hard. "I love you Gram."

"I love you too sweetheart."

* TBC *