[Fic] Notes and Murder - Chapter 8: In Trouble (whitecollar_bb, White Collar/Castle)
Title: Notes and Murder
Chapter Title: In Trouble
Rating: PG-13
Overall Word Count: 17,397
Chapter Word Count: 1,686
Summary: When Peter's card shows up in a dead woman's pocket, two amazing forces come together to find the murderer.
Author's Note: I do not own White Collar, Castle, or any of the characters from the various fandoms that appear. Emmanuel Gray is of my own creation.
Thank Yous: A big thank you to sirwynai for being my beta, cheerleader, and listening to all of my insanity. A big special thank you to slysionnachnano for cheerleading in the final hours of getting this done!
Peter walked into the office and considered going to his office for a moment. He thought better about it and turned to go down to Hughes' office. He knocked on the door before letting himself in. He saw that Hughes was on a phone call and just sat down in a chair. He waited until Hughes was off the phone before saying "You wanted to see me?"
"I have to take you off the investigation into Alexandra Hunter's death," Hughes said. Peter started to protest but Hughes held up his hands. "This isn't from me. This is from my boss and his boss. Turns out that the guy you're hunting has friends."
"I've dealt with others who have high level friends before," Peter pointed out. "Why is this different?"
"Because they're more willing to believe his story than anything you or Caffrey are saying," Hughes said. "Also, what about what just happened?"
"It's probably not even connected," Peter lied.
Hughes smiled a bit. "I nearly believed you," he said. "You are off the case for investigating her death. I would like some of the open cases we have against her closed."
"Some of those might also implicate Caffrey," Peter pointed out.
"You know how to work around that," Hughes said. "Do this for me as a friend, Peter. I don't want to have to suspend you."
Peter nodded a yes. "I understand," he said and stood up to leave. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Hughes said.
Peter walked back down to his office where Diana, Neal, and Jones were waiting for him. He motioned for them to follow him into the conference room and closed the door. "Diana, why are you back?"
"A mix of police officers and a traffic crash that I'm pretty sure he caused without getting his car involved," Diana said. "He's back to being in the wind, boss."
"We'll keep our eyes open then," Peter said. "But that's not really important. For now, we are off of the investigation into Alex's death." He held up a finger to tell Neal to wait a moment. "We are not off trying to close her cases. So, if you find a connection from one of the old cases to tie into this one so we can get back to helping them, I want to know about it. And find it fast."
"Alright," Jones said as he brought up the list they had started a few months ago. Diana left the room to go get some of the boxes and Peter left at the same time to go back to his office.
Neal left the room as well, following Peter back to his office. "We're really off it?"
"For now," Peter said as he walked into his office. He wasn't surprised when Neal followed him and closed the door. "I'm going to look like I'm lecturing you. Just go with it."
"…Alright," Neal said as he put his hands in his pockets.
"I am going to be calling Detective Beckett and asking her to pass on information through El's Gmail account," Peter said as he looked angry at Neal. "We will share the information with Mozzie and not bring in Diana or Jones unless we need them. That is to cover them," he said as he pointed a finger at Neal.
Neal looked down at the ground. "Are we going to give El a heads up on this?"
"No," Peter said. "It's an old account that she doesn't use anymore."
Neal sighed. "I still think that we should be fully investigating."
"We can't!" Peter said, making sure that everyone outside the office heard him before he went quiet again. "And I'm sorry about it," he said in a normal tone. "We're going to do the best we can as we can."
Neal nodded a yes. "You should go buy a lottery ticket with your luck."
"I'd rather not press it," Peter said. "Go back to work."
"Yes boss," Neal said with a grin as Peter sat down to call Beckett.
*~*~*~*
Beckett hung up the phone and sighed. "Officially, the FBI is no longer on this case," she said to Castle.
Castle raised an eyebrow. "We've found a FBI agent who bends rules?"
"You're more surprised by this than I am," Beckett said.
"It's just helping to shape the character," Castle said. "He's neutral good instead of lawful good."
"I have no clue what you're talking about," Beckett said.
"Alignments," Castle said. "You, along with Agent Burke, are neutral good. That means that you want to help people as much as you can, even if it means bending the rules. It's from Dungeons and Dragons."
"I'm not sure if I like the fact that you're able to just put me into an alignment category," Beckett said.
"Well, most of the people who become cops are anywhere from Lawful to Chaotic Good," Castle said.
"I'd simply say that you're just chaotic, Castle," Beckett said as she looked down at the file. "I feel like we're missing something."
"Is this where I say that we just need more clues?" Castle asked.
"Yes," Beckett answered. She got up and went over to the white board. "We were able to find her hotel room, but there wasn't anything in there. She didn't even have a change of clothes - just what she had on."
"If she's running from a life of crime, that's not surprising," Castle pointed out. "Or she has enough money to just buy things."
"She had a hundred dollars and credit cards on her," Beckett said.
"With friends to get more," Castle countered.
Beckett sighed. "I really don't know what we're missing."
"Well, who are her friends?" Castle asked. "Did Agent Burke say anything?"
"One of them is Neal Caffrey, who didn't know she was in town until she showed up dead," Beckett said. "The other one is a paranoid who won't talk to us."
"Too bad the paranoid one doesn't know Caffrey," Castle said.
Beckett thought for a moment before picking up the phone and dialing Burke again. "It's Beckett," she said. "I was wondering if I might be able to talk to Neal Caffrey about his paranoid friend." She listened for a moment and grinned. "He's getting Caffrey on the phone."
"He's getting to be my favorite FBI agent," Castle said.
"Special Agent," Beckett clarified. "Neal Caffrey, this is Detective Beckett. Would your friend happen to know more on why exactly Alex Hunter was in town?"
"More that she was in town to meet with Agent Burke?" Neal asked. "No, he wouldn't. Or, if he did, he's not freely sharing."
"Well, it was a thought," Beckett said.
"No real leads?" Neal asked.
"Not really," Beckett said. "Did you take a look at the weapon?"
"Yes," Neal said. "From what I can see, you're looking at a piece from around late 13th to early 14th century. It's called a stiletto, - " he stopped, listening to Peter. "You already knew that. Well, tell whoever told you that he is correct. What he might not know is that the blade is used by assassins. I'm hoping that's a high end forgery though."
"Why?" Beckett asked.
"Because I only know of one stiletto like this," Neal said. "It's in high demand ever since it got stolen from the Vatican. It was found on an unnamed knight who had been serving the Order of Saint Lazarus. The unnamed knight's great-grandfather was one of the Knights Templar that was killed. The Order of Saint Lazarus turned it over to the Holy See. It was then stolen after the Holy See was folded into the Vatican City state."
"How do you know all of this?" Peter asked.
"Mozzie," Neal replied. "So, Detective, if that is the real Templar Stiletto, the Vatican is going to want it back. Badly."
"Right," Beckett said. "So the angle for looking for people who might have bought such a thing is not going to help."
"It might," Neal said. "But you're going to want a high end shop that specializes in doing little known relics."
Castle looked through the papers and highlighted a few. "I've - well, it's a long story," he said as Beckett raised an eyebrow at him.
"Right," Beckett said. "Thanks for the help, Caffrey," she said and hung up. "Dead end."
"It's not that bad," Ryan said as he came over. "There were fingerprints on the thing. Easily identifiable and we've got an address."
"An easy close case? Let's go get the person," Beckett said. It was a quick ride over and a swift kicking in of the door of the apartment. The woman did try to run but stopped as she got to the window with her hands over her head. "Turn around and get on your knees."
The woman did so. "I want my lawyer," she said as Esposito cuffed her.
"That's easy enough to do," Beckett said.
"Hey Beckett!" Castle called from another part of the apartment.
Beckett got up and went over to where Castle was. She looked over the pictures of Peter Burke, Neal Caffrey, and a short bald man that she thought was the man called Mozzie. She noted the map on the wall and the circled points. It was the last picture, with a red X on Peter's face. She took the picture and went back out to the woman. "Why do you have this?"
"I'm not saying anything until my lawyer is there," the woman said with a sigh. "Are we going soon?"
"Get her out of here," Beckett said as Esposito and Ryan walked her out. She turned to look at Castle. "So now we have our answer on who did that."
"Something's fishy about all of this," Castle said. "It's too neat…" he trailed off before going to the wall with the map and listening. "The wall is ticking."
"Castle, grab a box and put as much as you can in," Beckett ordered. She tore down the map, did a count to five, and then got herself and Castle out of the apartment before it blew up a moment after they got out.
Chapter Title: In Trouble
Rating: PG-13
Overall Word Count: 17,397
Chapter Word Count: 1,686
Summary: When Peter's card shows up in a dead woman's pocket, two amazing forces come together to find the murderer.
Author's Note: I do not own White Collar, Castle, or any of the characters from the various fandoms that appear. Emmanuel Gray is of my own creation.
Thank Yous: A big thank you to sirwynai for being my beta, cheerleader, and listening to all of my insanity. A big special thank you to slysionnachnano for cheerleading in the final hours of getting this done!
Peter walked into the office and considered going to his office for a moment. He thought better about it and turned to go down to Hughes' office. He knocked on the door before letting himself in. He saw that Hughes was on a phone call and just sat down in a chair. He waited until Hughes was off the phone before saying "You wanted to see me?"
"I have to take you off the investigation into Alexandra Hunter's death," Hughes said. Peter started to protest but Hughes held up his hands. "This isn't from me. This is from my boss and his boss. Turns out that the guy you're hunting has friends."
"I've dealt with others who have high level friends before," Peter pointed out. "Why is this different?"
"Because they're more willing to believe his story than anything you or Caffrey are saying," Hughes said. "Also, what about what just happened?"
"It's probably not even connected," Peter lied.
Hughes smiled a bit. "I nearly believed you," he said. "You are off the case for investigating her death. I would like some of the open cases we have against her closed."
"Some of those might also implicate Caffrey," Peter pointed out.
"You know how to work around that," Hughes said. "Do this for me as a friend, Peter. I don't want to have to suspend you."
Peter nodded a yes. "I understand," he said and stood up to leave. "Thank you."
"You're welcome," Hughes said.
Peter walked back down to his office where Diana, Neal, and Jones were waiting for him. He motioned for them to follow him into the conference room and closed the door. "Diana, why are you back?"
"A mix of police officers and a traffic crash that I'm pretty sure he caused without getting his car involved," Diana said. "He's back to being in the wind, boss."
"We'll keep our eyes open then," Peter said. "But that's not really important. For now, we are off of the investigation into Alex's death." He held up a finger to tell Neal to wait a moment. "We are not off trying to close her cases. So, if you find a connection from one of the old cases to tie into this one so we can get back to helping them, I want to know about it. And find it fast."
"Alright," Jones said as he brought up the list they had started a few months ago. Diana left the room to go get some of the boxes and Peter left at the same time to go back to his office.
Neal left the room as well, following Peter back to his office. "We're really off it?"
"For now," Peter said as he walked into his office. He wasn't surprised when Neal followed him and closed the door. "I'm going to look like I'm lecturing you. Just go with it."
"…Alright," Neal said as he put his hands in his pockets.
"I am going to be calling Detective Beckett and asking her to pass on information through El's Gmail account," Peter said as he looked angry at Neal. "We will share the information with Mozzie and not bring in Diana or Jones unless we need them. That is to cover them," he said as he pointed a finger at Neal.
Neal looked down at the ground. "Are we going to give El a heads up on this?"
"No," Peter said. "It's an old account that she doesn't use anymore."
Neal sighed. "I still think that we should be fully investigating."
"We can't!" Peter said, making sure that everyone outside the office heard him before he went quiet again. "And I'm sorry about it," he said in a normal tone. "We're going to do the best we can as we can."
Neal nodded a yes. "You should go buy a lottery ticket with your luck."
"I'd rather not press it," Peter said. "Go back to work."
"Yes boss," Neal said with a grin as Peter sat down to call Beckett.
*~*~*~*
Beckett hung up the phone and sighed. "Officially, the FBI is no longer on this case," she said to Castle.
Castle raised an eyebrow. "We've found a FBI agent who bends rules?"
"You're more surprised by this than I am," Beckett said.
"It's just helping to shape the character," Castle said. "He's neutral good instead of lawful good."
"I have no clue what you're talking about," Beckett said.
"Alignments," Castle said. "You, along with Agent Burke, are neutral good. That means that you want to help people as much as you can, even if it means bending the rules. It's from Dungeons and Dragons."
"I'm not sure if I like the fact that you're able to just put me into an alignment category," Beckett said.
"Well, most of the people who become cops are anywhere from Lawful to Chaotic Good," Castle said.
"I'd simply say that you're just chaotic, Castle," Beckett said as she looked down at the file. "I feel like we're missing something."
"Is this where I say that we just need more clues?" Castle asked.
"Yes," Beckett answered. She got up and went over to the white board. "We were able to find her hotel room, but there wasn't anything in there. She didn't even have a change of clothes - just what she had on."
"If she's running from a life of crime, that's not surprising," Castle pointed out. "Or she has enough money to just buy things."
"She had a hundred dollars and credit cards on her," Beckett said.
"With friends to get more," Castle countered.
Beckett sighed. "I really don't know what we're missing."
"Well, who are her friends?" Castle asked. "Did Agent Burke say anything?"
"One of them is Neal Caffrey, who didn't know she was in town until she showed up dead," Beckett said. "The other one is a paranoid who won't talk to us."
"Too bad the paranoid one doesn't know Caffrey," Castle said.
Beckett thought for a moment before picking up the phone and dialing Burke again. "It's Beckett," she said. "I was wondering if I might be able to talk to Neal Caffrey about his paranoid friend." She listened for a moment and grinned. "He's getting Caffrey on the phone."
"He's getting to be my favorite FBI agent," Castle said.
"Special Agent," Beckett clarified. "Neal Caffrey, this is Detective Beckett. Would your friend happen to know more on why exactly Alex Hunter was in town?"
"More that she was in town to meet with Agent Burke?" Neal asked. "No, he wouldn't. Or, if he did, he's not freely sharing."
"Well, it was a thought," Beckett said.
"No real leads?" Neal asked.
"Not really," Beckett said. "Did you take a look at the weapon?"
"Yes," Neal said. "From what I can see, you're looking at a piece from around late 13th to early 14th century. It's called a stiletto, - " he stopped, listening to Peter. "You already knew that. Well, tell whoever told you that he is correct. What he might not know is that the blade is used by assassins. I'm hoping that's a high end forgery though."
"Why?" Beckett asked.
"Because I only know of one stiletto like this," Neal said. "It's in high demand ever since it got stolen from the Vatican. It was found on an unnamed knight who had been serving the Order of Saint Lazarus. The unnamed knight's great-grandfather was one of the Knights Templar that was killed. The Order of Saint Lazarus turned it over to the Holy See. It was then stolen after the Holy See was folded into the Vatican City state."
"How do you know all of this?" Peter asked.
"Mozzie," Neal replied. "So, Detective, if that is the real Templar Stiletto, the Vatican is going to want it back. Badly."
"Right," Beckett said. "So the angle for looking for people who might have bought such a thing is not going to help."
"It might," Neal said. "But you're going to want a high end shop that specializes in doing little known relics."
Castle looked through the papers and highlighted a few. "I've - well, it's a long story," he said as Beckett raised an eyebrow at him.
"Right," Beckett said. "Thanks for the help, Caffrey," she said and hung up. "Dead end."
"It's not that bad," Ryan said as he came over. "There were fingerprints on the thing. Easily identifiable and we've got an address."
"An easy close case? Let's go get the person," Beckett said. It was a quick ride over and a swift kicking in of the door of the apartment. The woman did try to run but stopped as she got to the window with her hands over her head. "Turn around and get on your knees."
The woman did so. "I want my lawyer," she said as Esposito cuffed her.
"That's easy enough to do," Beckett said.
"Hey Beckett!" Castle called from another part of the apartment.
Beckett got up and went over to where Castle was. She looked over the pictures of Peter Burke, Neal Caffrey, and a short bald man that she thought was the man called Mozzie. She noted the map on the wall and the circled points. It was the last picture, with a red X on Peter's face. She took the picture and went back out to the woman. "Why do you have this?"
"I'm not saying anything until my lawyer is there," the woman said with a sigh. "Are we going soon?"
"Get her out of here," Beckett said as Esposito and Ryan walked her out. She turned to look at Castle. "So now we have our answer on who did that."
"Something's fishy about all of this," Castle said. "It's too neat…" he trailed off before going to the wall with the map and listening. "The wall is ticking."
"Castle, grab a box and put as much as you can in," Beckett ordered. She tore down the map, did a count to five, and then got herself and Castle out of the apartment before it blew up a moment after they got out.