What if?

Chapter Eight

~Present day~

"Richard Castle."

Rick spun around, pen in hand. "Where would you like?"

Kate was slightly taken aback and confused. She sighed inwardly. Did he even remember her? He sure wasn't acting like it. Kate decided he didn't remember and presented herself in a formal matter. She would've anyway with her colleagues standing at her side. "Detective Kate Beckett. NYPD. We need to ask you a few questions about a murder that took place earlier tonight."

Alexis popped up over Rick's shoulder, taking the pen from him and saying, "That's new." Kate wondered what she meant by that but quickly shook it off. She marveled at how much Alexis had grown and matured since Kate last saw her ten years ago. She wondered it Alexis even knew who she was or remembered her. The last time they were all together was when Alexis was five.

Kate realized she couldn't worry about that now. Rick needed to go downtown to the precinct and be questioned. She let Ryan and Esposito escort Rick out.

"Alexis, just wait for Gram." Rick called over his shoulder. Rick was led out to Ryan's and Esposito's car.

They got to the precinct where Rick was led into the interrogation room. Kate stood behind the glass and watched Rick as he looked around, studying every detail so he could go home later and put the room into one of his books, no doubt. Kate grabbed the case file and stepped into the room with Rick.

She shut the door behind her. Kate glanced at Rick over the files , still trying to judge if he remembered her. "Mr. Castle," Kate pulled out a chair and sat. "You've got quite the rap sheet for a best selling author. Disorderly conduct, uh, resisting arrest."

Rick shrugged his shoulders and looked up at Kate with his child like sea blue eyes. "Boys will be boys."

Kate pointed at her files. "Says here you stole a police horse?"

"Borrowed." Rick corrected.

"Ah, and you were nude at the time?"

"It was spring." Rick stated, as if that would excuse everything.

"And every time the charges were dropped." Kate laid the files down.

"What can I say? The Mayor is a fan. But if it makes you feel better," Rick leaned in closer to Kate. "I'd be happy to let you spank me." There was a slight twinkle of excitement to his eyes Kate caught before it quickly vanished. She almost smiled back before remembering how she felt towards him.

"Mr. Castle," Kate said, keeping the charade professional and formal, as if she had never seen Richard Castle before. "This whole bad boy charm might work for bimbettes and celebutantes. 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 don't want to be the guy who makes my life harder." Kate said, making a thinly veiled attack about the night he disappeared.

"'K." Was all Rick replied, picking up on the attack. Kate took a photo from the file and slid it over to him. Rick glanced down.

"Ashley Tisdale. Daughter of real estate mogul, Jonathan Tisdal."

"She's cute."

"She's dead." Kate replied sharply. "Did you ever meet her? Book signing? Charity event?"

"It's possible. She's not in my little black book if that's what you're asking." Rick said, still studying the picture. Kate slid over a second picture an described him as Marvin Fisk, a small claims lawyer.

"Most of my claims tend to be on the, um, large side." Rick commented. Kate rolled her eyes. "So what's this all got to do with me?"

Kate handed him two photos from the murder scenes. Ashley with rose petals modestly covering her body and sunflowers over her eyes and Fisk lying face down in an inverted pentagon.

"Flowers For Your Grave." Rick mused.

"And this is how we found Fisk. Right out of Hell Hath No Fury." Kate pointed to Fisk's picture.

Rick lowered the photos and stared at Kate, a sly smile spreading across his face. "Looks like I have a fan."

"Yeah. A really deranged fan." Kate studied the photos.

"Oh you don't look deranged to me."

"What?" Kate played the dumb card. Inside she mentally kicked herself. She knew Rick knew she had some of his books, but only his most recent and popular books, the Derek Storm series. Instead, she had read and reread each of his books, including Flowers For Your Grave and Hell Hath No Fury.

"Hell Hath No Fury? Angry Wiccans out for blood? Only hardcore groupies read that one." Rick stared at Kate. She knew she'd messed up and revealed her secret.

"Do any of these g-groupies ever write you letters? Disturbing letters?" Kate stammered.

"Oh, all my fan mail is disturbing. it's an occupational hazard. And do you know you have gorgeous eyes?"

Kate blushed. She tried to cover it up by shuffling her papers. "So I take it you won't have any objections with us going through you mail?"

Rick grunted, "Knock yourself out." He pick up the photos displayed on the table. "Can I get copies of these?"

Kate blinked. "Copies?"

Rick went on to tell about a poker game with other famous writers, "Patterson, Cannell. You know, best sellers. You have no idea how jealous those would make them." He pointed at the photos.

"Jealous?"

"That I have a copycat. Oh my gosh, in my world, that's the Red Badge of Honor. That's the Criminal Cooperstown." He marveled.

Kate was starting to get really annoyed with Rick and the fact that even through all the years and everything that happened to them, he seemed to recall none of it. "People are dead, Mr. Castle." She saw her sharpness register and sting behind Rick's eyes.

"I'm not asking for the bodies. Just the pictures." He whispered.

"I think we're done here." Kate turned to leave. She caught a glimpse of Rick through the mirror. He was smiling smugly at her. Kate's blood boiled beneath her skin and she made sure to slam the interrogation room door.