Junior Year First Impressions

   On my first school-related note of the semester: I don't like autobiographical projects. I also don't like projects which are supposed to represent future me in 10 years or so. These kinds of things just bug me for various reasons.
   Other than that I'm liking all my classes and teachers this year. It should be a  lot less hectic than my sophomore year. I'm even hoping to maybe be a stage hand or something for one of my schools productions since I'm in theater tech now, but that may wait until next year. At the very least I hope to be site crew at the UIL one act competition (it's where schools put on one act plays). The competition is at our school this year, and site crew basically gets out of class all day and the potential of seeing free shows and all we have to do is baby-sit the companies from the visiting schools so they don't cheat or something.
   I'm also really excited about my amateur radio class, surprisingly, but that's only a semester so I have to give it up after Christmas break. Still, the teacher's great and I'll enjoy it while I'm there. Ham radio is actually pretty interesting. And hopefully we get to go back on the roof for that class again because that was awesome.
   Alright, now I've got work to do.
   Callie

Hello Again

   Since a new school year is about to start for me I figured it'd be as good a time as any to sort of reintroduce myself here. My name is Callie, I'm about to start my junior year of high school and I'm an American girl. I think most of that is pretty obvious to those who have been reading this blog. I have a twin sister and an older brother. My sister looks nothing like me if you were wondering.
   I like to sing but have no training/talent for it (my sister has told me to shut up so many times I can now only sing in a soft voice). My one talent in the arts would be writing, and I've still got a long way to go with that. I do enjoy music, art, books, plays and good movies, I just find myself usually unable to participate in the making of pretty, wonderful things such as those do to lack of skill.
   When I say I like books I mean it. I'll read anything from Shakespeare (my favorite play being Much Ado About Nothing, I love it) to Dickens to more contemporary works. Some of my favorite books include The Book Thief, Wicked, Shadow of the Wind, A Lie of the Mind (though that's technically a Sam Sheppard play, so it probably shouldn't be in this list), Water for Elephants, 1984, To Kill a Mockingbird, almost anything by Agatha Christie...yeah, I could go on for a while.
   I guess the next thing could be music...I like a lot of it. My favorite bands are All Time Low, Mayday Parade, Every Avenue, The Maine, Scouting for Girls and I guess Cute is What We Aim For. I guess my preference is for what you could call soft rock. I also enjoy 60's and 70's music, I just don't tend to listen to it. I will listen to show tunes  but only certain contemporary ones (classic Broadway sound doesn't appeal to me).
   You can call me a dork all you want for the show tunes and the Shakespeare, I really don't care. I'm actually proud of it.
   Personality wise I'm a bit shy at first. Once I get to know somebody, though, I really open up. Once I've made friends with somebody I will stand by them. I try and always be loyal to my friends and the promises I make. I'm stubborn and a smart mouth, which are probably two of my worst qualities at times. I can be very determined, but I also get apathetic and lazy at times. I'm freakishly good with quotes (I can remember several verbatim after hearing them once or twice). I'm generally friendly and kind unless I'm running on very little sleep, in which case I've been known to become pretty crabby.
   And I think that's quite a bit about me. Any suggestions you have for this blog, any questions for me or just anything else you'd like to say would be welcome. I'd love to see if I could get more people commenting on these posts, or at least reading them.
   Callie

Curtain Call Part 8

This is the last part. It's kind of long, but I wanted to get the rest of the story up. I don't own Castle.

            Beckett entered the interrogation room confidently. Stevens would be easy to crack. She strolled up to the table and sat down, pulling out her copy of Stevens’ phone records with several calls highlighted.

            “It looks to me like you had much more than a professional relationship with Elizabeth Nunez,” she told him bluntly. “You were in constant contact with her by phone, way more than with the other actors in the show. We almost didn’t catch it just by looking at her phone records, for all we know that could be a regular, work-related conversation with her boss.”

            “That’s what it was,” Steven’s insisted. “I called Elizabeth with important information regarding rehearsal schedules and other such information.”

            “Then why didn’t you call other members of the cast this often?”

            “Because Elizabeth passed on the information to the others in most cases.”

            “That doesn’t fit the pattern.” Beckett pulled out some of Elizabeth’s records. “If that was the case she would have started calling multiple people who worked on the show after each call or text from you, but she didn’t. We also have a record of you purchasing a silver bracelet with your credit card a couple of weeks ago. I found a photo of that bracelet and it exactly matches the one Elizabeth was wearing when you found her dead.”

            “Alright, I was having an affair with her,” Stevens admitted. “That doesn’t mean that I killed her. If I was calling her and giving her jewelry why would I kill her? Wouldn’t it make more sense if I killed Drake in that case?”

            “Perhaps,” Beckett admitted. She knew it was just a matter of time. Stevens was hiding something, otherwise he wouldn’t have been so quick to admit to an affair. “But I think you killed Elizabeth because she was going to end it. She and Drake were going to get back together; they’d worked things out that night.”

            “No, she didn’t mention anything about that.”

            “I think she probably even threatened to tell your wife about the affair,” Castle interjected. “She realized what she did was wrong, that both of you had been doing the exact same thing that Drake had been doing to her. And she knew it had to stop.”

            “You can’t prove anything,” Stevens said.

            Just then Esposito opened the door. “Beckett.”

            While Beckett went to talk to him Castle studied Stevens.

            “She must have threatened to tell your wife,” he said. “I don’t think you kill out of jealousy like that.”

            ”You’re right, I wouldn’t.”

            Beckett came back in. “Mr. Stevens they’ve finished searching your house. You also left a bloody shirt buried at the bottom of the hamper. They’re sending it to the lab to compare the blood with Elizabeth’s.” Stevens looked stunned.

            “Ooh, not smart,” Castle said.

            “Let me tell you what I think happened,” Beckett said. “At about 8:30 or so you left Bernie’s unnoticed. You went back to the theater where you met up with Elizabeth. It was a safe place to meet, no records of hotel rooms being booked or suspicious restaurant tabs. But she told you that she wanted to end it. She said that she felt bad about cheating on Drake and that she was going to try and make things work with him. She thought you should be honest with your wife, too. She gave you the ultimatum of telling your wife or having her do it for you. But you couldn’t have her telling anybody about this. You wanted to keep seeing Elizabeth, and now not only was she leaving you for Drake but she threatened to tell everybody about the two of you if you didn’t at least tell your wife. Your whole life would be ruined. So you two argue and eventually it turns violent, she runs and the two of you end up on the catwalk where you fight some more until Elizabeth gets knocked unconscious and you, realizing she could identify you as her attacker, finish her off by hanging her over the side. You didn’t want to kill her, but if you wanted to stay out of trouble you really didn’t have much of a choice. You washed up, put your jacket back on to cover the shirt and then went back to the bar for a while to calm down. You didn’t even have to worry about fingerprints; there are dozens of legitimate reasons why your prints would be on the rope or anywhere else in the theater. When you got home, you panicked and hid the shirt but forgot to find a more permanent solution for it later.”

            “She couldn’t see what kind of damage I’d suffer if this got out,” Stevens said. “I’d lose everything; my wife would never let me see my little boy again. I didn’t mean to kill her, she just didn’t understand.”

            Beckett closed all her files. “You’re not going to make that opening next month.”

***

            A few hours later Ryan was knocking on Rachel’s door.

            “Ryan, what are you doing here?” she asked.

            “I just thought you’d like to know we made an arrest,” he said. “Stevens killed Elizabeth when she threatened to expose the affair. We’ve got a confession.”

            Rachel just stood there for a few seconds. “Thank you,” she told him eventually. “Thank you for everything. I hope he’ll be in prison for a long time.”

            “I’m sorry it was Ken,” Ryan told her. “I mean, I know you didn’t really pin him as a murderer…or thought that your roommate would be having an affair…which lead to her being killed…I should probably stop talking now.”

            Rachel just leaned forward and kissed him. “Yeah, you probably should.”

            “Are you guys going to be able to go on with the show now?”

            “Yeah, we’ll manage. Will I still see you guys around now that you caught Elizabeth’s killer?”

            “I think so,” Ryan told her. “The others seem to like you. Especially Castle, he seems to think if he’d met you under more normal circumstances you’d be pretty fun to hang out with. Certainly don’t be afraid to give them a call if you want.”

            Rachel smiled. “You want to come in? Or are you busy tonight?”

            “No, I’m not busy,” Ryan said, stepping into the apartment and closing the door behind him. “I thought you might want some company.”

            “So is this how you comfort all of your victims’ female relations?” Rachel asked, leading Ryan to the bedroom.

            “No,” Ryan told her. “I don’t think NYPD offers this as part of victim services.”

***

            “Where’d Ryan go?” Beckett asked.

            “Probably with Rachel,” Esposito said. “She seems more of the love ‘em and leave ‘em type than Ryan would typically go for, but they seemed to hit it off.”

            “Think we should let him think we’ve forgotten about this morning and have no idea where he is now?” Castle asked.

            “Yeah, we’ll let him tell us later,” Beckett said. “See you later, Esposito.”

            “Night Beckett.”

            “Castle, you going home?” Beckett asked.

            “I was thinking of going by the Old Haunt; want to join me for a drink?”

            “Sure,” Beckett told him. She was always glad of nights like this. The killer had been arrested and she was going to take some time to relax with a friend. These were the nights she wasn’t a cop but just a regular person without the weight of a homicide. Pushing the call button for the elevator, she turned to her partner.

            “Alright, Castle, tell me about RENT,” she said.

            “I thought you were a big theater person.”

            “Well somehow I never got around to seeing this one.”

            “I’ll take you when it opens next month,” Castle promised. “You’d love it, Kate; it’s not like classic Broadway.”

            Beckett let him go on for a while about the show. While she would never admit it, she enjoyed the thought of going to the play with Castle. It meant another night like this, where she was just Kate Beckett.

            “It’s really just this fun, wild show. It has an incredible energy.”

            “Sounds great,” Beckett told him.

            “You’re gonna love it Kate,” Castle told her again. “I just know it. I even promise not to sing any of the songs anymore.”

            The two entered the elevator, enjoying one of the few moments where they could be with each other without stepping on each other’s toes. Beckett was glad she didn’t have to spend the night home alone. Tomorrow she’d be right back at work but for now she was happy.

Curtain Call Part 7

I don't own Castle or any related characters.

            The next week was spent tracking down alibis and possible motives. Background checks were run on everybody who worked on the show, but nothing stood out. They talked to Rachel and Drake dozens of times but couldn’t come up with any solid answers.

            “Alright, we’re going to have to go for a bit of a long shot,” Beckett decided, staring at Elizabeth’s phone records for the umpteenth time. “I don’t have any conclusive reasoning, but we’re running out of options. It seems like Elizabeth and Stevens talked a lot on the phone for people who saw each other so often. Most of the calls on her phone from the past few months are to and from him and last quite a while. We’ll start checking his financials and phone records for signs of an affair. I want to know if he talked to the other actors as often as he did Elizabeth.”

            “You know, this case seemed so much more promising in the beginning,” Castle said. “Now it’s just fizzling out, no drama, no story, nothing.”

            “Sorry real life seems to continue to disappoint,” Beckett told him, then turned to Ryan and Esposito. “Stevens’ phone and financial records.” The two left and Beckett started looking threw her notes. “It says his alibi was that he went home, changed, went back out for drinks at Bernie’s at about eight and returned shortly before ten. I’m going to start double checking it, see how air-tight it is.”

***

            A few hours later, Beckett hung up the phone. “Steven’s wife confirms her husband’s story, but says he’s been going out more often in the past couple of months,” she told Ryan and Esposito. “Castle and I also went to Bernie’s, the bar tender did see Steven’s there but it was packed that night, he could have easily slipped in and out without being noticed.”

            “We’re still looking at his records, but he did buy a bracelet recently and it doesn’t look like he made that many calls to the rest of the cast,” Esposito said. “I’ll start trying to find a picture of the bracelet, see if we can find out what happened to it.”

            “You really think Ken did this?”

            The four turned around to see Rachel standing there, staring at the murder board.

            “Rachel, sorry, we didn’t see you there,” Beckett apologized. “Is there something we can do for you?”

            “I just realized something, and I thought I should tell you,” Rachel explained. “I told detectives Ryan and Esposito that Elizabeth often went out all night and I didn’t know where she went. I just realized this started only a few months ago, since we started working on RENT, while she was having a down period in her relationship with Drake. I didn’t even consider that she’d be having an affair, but…”

            “Is it possible she was having one with Ken Stevens?” Castle asked.

            “Yeah, I guess,” Rachel sounded distracted. She was staring at autopsy photos of Elizabeth on the board. “How could anybody do that to her?”

Beckett thought Rachel didn’t need to see her friend that way. “Ryan, why don’t you escort her home, we’re probably going to be here a while anyways. Esposito and I will get started on Stevens’ records in the meantime.”

            “Sure thing, Beckett,” Ryan said. “Come on, Rachel.”

            “You don’t have to take me home, you know,” she said.

            “Looks like you could use a bit of company,” Ryan said simply.

            As they left the precinct, Castle asked Beckett “Why does Ryan get to take the grieving, good-looking girl back to her apartment?”

            “Because I don’t trust you and she seems to like Ryan,” Beckett said. “Go home Castle, you hate this kind of case. We’ll still be sifting through papers for a while.”

            “Ah yes, the boring paper trails. Normally you make me stick around for at least part of that.”

            “Maybe I’m just not in the mood for you to start humming show tunes again. The last thing I need while sifting through files is you distracting me by going “we’re not gonna pay rent!’ right in my ear a million more times.”

            “Point taken,” Castle said. “Call me if you find anything then.”

            After he left it was Esposito’s turn to ask a question. “Was he really humming show tunes?”

            Beckett nodded. “He got bored.”

            Esposito shook his head. “This is what happens when a boy gets raised by a Broadway diva.”

***

            The next morning, Castle, Beckett and Esposito were in the bullpen. They’d just picked up Stevens, who was waiting in interrogation. They all looked up as Ryan came in.

            “Good morning,” he said casually.

            “What happened to you last night?” Beckett asked teasingly.

            “Rachel looked like she could use some company so I stayed with her for a little while after we got to her apartment,” Ryan answered, still trying to sound nonchalant.

            “Really?” Castle asked. “Because she seemed to be doing alright.”

            “Well, you know, she’s one of those people where it takes a while before the full weight of the situation hits them, and she seemed pretty upset.”

            “You didn’t feel the need to come help us with the records after you left?” Esposito asked innocently.

            “I figured there wasn’t that much left that we needed to find to prove the two had an affair and it got kind of late…”

            “This is the NYPD, we’ve pulled late nights before.”

            “I…might have stayed the night at her place.” The others shared an amused look. Esposito had cornered him. “I fell asleep,” Ryan added defensively.

            “I’m sure you did,” Castle said.

            “Relax, Ryan, Esposito and I found what we needed,” Beckett told him. “We’ve got Steven’s in interrogation. Glad you enjoyed a night off.”

            “If you’re ready to nail this guy, Ryan and I will watch from observation, Beckett,” Esposito said.

            “Alright, I’m just about ready for him. Uniforms are still searching his house; let me know if they find anything.”

            “You got it; come on,” Esposito told his partner. Ryan, still blushing and looking awkward, turned to follow.

Curtain Call Part 6

 I don't own Castle. I think this is a longer post than usual, so...enjoy.

           Back at the theater, Esposito was talking to Elaine Heralds, the understudy for the role of Maureen. She pulled her long blond hair into a ponytail to keep it out of her face and off her neck as she talked.

            “Listen detective, I don’t know how much help I’m gonna be,” she said. “I honestly didn’t know Elizabeth very well at all. I just met her when we were cast for the play. I only knew her as a coworker.”

            “We still have a few things we need to ask,” Esposito explained. “This is this last place Elizabeth was seen alive. Do you have any idea where she might have gone after rehearsal that night?”

            “No, I don’t.”

            “When was the last time you saw her?”

            “She was putting up her costume as I was leaving the building. That was about half-past six that evening.”

            “Anything stand out to you? Odd behavior, arguments, anything like that?”

            “Nope, nothing,” Elaine responded immediately. “I would have known if there were any sort of fights, it’s a fairly small cast.

            “What did you do that evening after rehearsal?”

            “Went straight home, I was exhausted. My boyfriend lives with me; we had dinner and watched a few movies.”

            Esposito didn’t this she seemed much like the murdering type. She wouldn’t have thought through all the details. Just then his phone rang.

            “Yeah…got it, thanks Beckett.” Esposito hung up. “Was anybody on this show especially close to Elizabeth other than her roommate and boyfriend?”

            “Not particularly,” Elaine answered. “Why?”

            “Just checking,” Esposito told her. “Thanks for your time, let me know if you think of anything.”

            On his way to talk to Ryan Esposito was stopped by the director.

            “I need to know how much longer you’re going to be here, Detective,” he told Esposito. “You can’t just keep disturbing my rehearsals like this, we have a show opening soon.”

            “We’re just doing our jobs, Mr. Stevens,” Esposito told him.

            “Well it’s making it very hard for me to do mine. At these rehearsals, I’m in charge and I don’t appreciate you coming in and undermining my authority and disrupting my routine.”

            “We’re trying to take as little time as possible. Our goal is to catch a killer, not mess up your show”

            “Then talk to these people after rehearsal next time! I’ve got enough to deal with without this.”

            As Stevens walked off Esposito could help but wonder why he was so annoyed over a few hours out of one rehearsal.

***

`           Meanwhile, Ryan was having another interview with Rachel.

            “You know, we really should hire you as an interrogator, the way you handled Drake,” he told her.

            “He deserved it,” Rachel said simply. “There are times when he really just needs a good kick in the ass to straighten him out. He thinks he’s entitled to get away with acting however he wants. I might have overreacted but it’s just…Elizabeth was a good friend.”

            “I understand. I’m afraid I have to ask, what was your relationship with Drake?”

            “I told you, we were professional and I wouldn’t do that to Elizabeth. We worked together, that’s it.”

            “Was Elizabeth seeing anybody else?”

            “What? Why would you think that?”

            “Just covering any possibilities.”

            “As far as I know, no, she wasn’t seeing anybody other than Drake.”

            “But…”

            “But it’s not impossible.”

            “Ms. Golightly, when my partner and I first talked to you yesterday you didn’t exactly react to the news of your friend’s death in a typical way. You were rather…calm about the whole thing, anxious to get back to work and wanting to return to life as usual.”

            Rachel sat there for a minute before responding. “I act detached because it’s easier for me to deal with Elizabeth’s death that way than by becoming an emotional wreck. As the scene with Drake might tell you, I don’t always succeed. But pushing on helps me, it gives me something else to focus on so I don’t dwell on her death, and as performers we have a duty to the people who come to see our show. And if you think I’m acting this way because I killed Elizabeth, I want you to give me one possible motive you’ve found that would give me reason to kill her.”

            “We haven’t found any,” Ryan admitted.

            “I’m not your killer,” Rachel promised.

            Ryan couldn’t think of anything to say to that. After a minute he told her “Thank you, Ms. Golightly.”

            “Rachel.”

            “Thank you, Rachel. I’ll let you know as soon as we find anything. I’m sorry for your loss. We’re going to do everything we can to find this guy.”

            He looked like he was about to say more when Esposito interrupted the two.

            “Hey, I just got a call from Beckett,” he told his partner. “We’ve got a new angle to work.”

            “Right.” Ryan stood up and walked off with Esposito. “Feel free to call us if you think of anything,” he told Rachel.

Curtain Call Part 5

I don't own Castle or any related characters.

             Drake looked anything but happy to be in the interrogation room.

            “You have no right to keep me here,” he told Beckett angrily.

            “Mr. Lovett, I could have you behind bars so fast it would make your head spin. You lied to a detective in the course of a criminal investigation.”

            “Claire must have gotten the times wrong.”

            “She was spot on according to records from the taxi company. So let’s try this again. Where were you the night of Elizabeth Nunez’s murder?”

            “Where I told you.”

            “Then you wouldn’t have lied. Where else did you go that night? Or would you rather I charge you with obstruction?”

            “Alright, fine, if it will get you and Rachel off me back I’ll tell you,” Drake said, completely fed up. “I was with Elizabeth for a while, but not near the time she was killed. It was right after rehearsal.”

            “What were you meeting her for?”

            “None of your business.”

            Beckett pulled out autopsy photos of Elizabeth’s body and spread them out on the table. “Shortly after your little rendezvous somebody did this to Elizabeth, and I’m not entirely convinced it wasn’t you. Why you met up with her and what you discussed became my business the moment she became the victim of a homicide.”

            “She’d been two-timing me, alright? I’d known about it for a while, and we broke up when I confronted her about it. I admit, I’d cheated on her too, but I couldn’t take that she was seeing somebody else when she was supposed to be with me. But I wanted her back. The night she was killed, I talked to her about us trying one more time to make things work. She agreed to leave the guy; I agreed I wouldn’t go behind her back again. I left her around 7:20 and she was alive and well. That’s the last I saw of her. I went straight to the restaurant after that.”

            “Why did you lie to us, Drake?”

            “I panicked, okay? My girlfriend was dead and I was…uncomfortable with my relationship status being dragged into this. It was my private life and complete strangers have no right to pry into it. My private life is my private life, it’s not anybody’s concern. Besides, if the girlfriend’s cheating and the boyfriend knows it, the boyfriend becomes prime suspect because he has motive. I didn’t want the police to know I had motive because I didn’t want to be suspected of a crime I didn’t commit.”

            Beckett looked at Castle. He nodded at her. The detective turned back to her suspect. “Who was Elizabeth seeing?”

            “I don’t know. She never told me. I just knew she was with another guy because of how she acted; I never really cared to know who it was. The point was she was cheating on me.”

            Beckett thought for a moment. “We’re done for now.”

            Drake stood up. “Does that mean I can go now?” he asked eagerly.

            “You have an alibi after you left your date?”

            “No, but I told you everything I know.”

            “Don’t leave town,” Beckett told him, walking out of the room.

Curtain Call Part 4

I don't own Castle or any related characters.

            Back at the precinct the next morning Beckett put together the murder board for Elizabeth’s case. So far the timeline was sadly empty, and Beckett wanted to change that.

            “Have we given anybody alibis yet?” she asked her team.

            “Claire Wyatt confirmed that she went out with Drake last night, but the times were off,” Ryan said. “At about 8:30 he was getting out of a cab at a very nice uptown apartment building after a few drinks. And by the way, there’s no way the guy’s made that much acting, he must come from money.”

            Beckett marked it on her timeline. “Security cameras?”

            “None in the theater or the immediate area.”

“So nobody saw her from the time rehearsal ended at around 6:30 or so until time of death says she was back in the theater a few hours later?”

            “Not that we know of, but we haven’t done much questioning yet,” Esposito said.

            “Well that’s about to change,” Beckett told him. “Somebody had to know where she was for two and a half hours.” Off to the side she wrote the word suspects. “What have we got, other than our friend Drake?”

            “I’d look into the roommate,” Esposito said. “She acted kind of weird when we told her about Elizabeth.”

            “What’s the motive?”

            “Nothing yet, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t one,” Ryan said. “Potentially jealousy, but it’s not a solid case. At any rate, she doesn’t have an alibi.”

            Beckett wrote the name Rachel Golightly on the board. “It’s worth a look anyways. Who else?”

            “Her understudy,” Castle said, looking at the cast list they’d gotten from the director. “Elaine Heralds. A bit risky changing up the cast like this a month before opening, but if Elaine wanted the role badly enough…”

            Beckett added the name then capped her marker and turned towards the others. “Anybody worth looking into that’s not connected to this show?”

            “Nothing’s come up yet,” Ryan said. “We’ve checked phone records, financial transactions, all the usual areas and nothing’s stood out. Besides, rehearsals have been taking up most of her time recently.”

            “In that case, who’s up for a trip to the theater?”

***

            When the four walked into the theater the RENT crew was using they were in the middle of rehearsing a scene. Rachel was lying on a table, shivering, and Drake was standing over her, singing to her with a guitar slung across his back. Others were standing a way off to the side, looking sad.

            Stevens was watching from the first row. “Cut!” he shouted. “Listen, everybody, I know what a blow it is that we lost Elizabeth. She was a friend to all of us, and all of you are using the pain brilliantly in your performances, and I appreciate you all pushing forward like this. None of you look awkward standing there anymore, and that’s good even if the reason why is so terrible. But Drake…I’m not feeling anything from you. This is supposed to be the woman you love, show some passion. It’s a very emotional scene. You know what, everybody, let’s just take a break.”

            As Stevens left the room Beckett stepped forward, holding up her badge to the cast. “Drake Lovett! You lied to me the other day. I don’t appreciate people lying to me.”

            “I don’t know what you mean.”

            “Sure you do, Drake,” Beckett said. “For one thing, your alibi fell through. Your date ended a lot earlier than you said, that means nobody can conform your whereabouts at the time of the murder. That doesn’t look so good for you.”

            “You son-of-a-bitch,” Rachel hissed, sitting up.

            “No, I swear…”

            Rachel grabbed the guitar strap and pulled Drake in so that his face was inches away from hers. “You son-of-a-bitch,” she repeated. “What possible reason could you have for lying to them? Huh? Because you killed Elizabeth?”

            “No!”
            “Then why?! Because you’re protecting some stupid reputation? You don’t have a reputation to protect, you self-centered, arrogant, womanizing idiot! And if you were trying to stay out of trouble you’re a bigger idiot than I thought if you gave an alibi that just fell through! You lie to them about your alibi, they investigate you and either you’re the killer or you just gave the killer a pretty good head start. Did you even consider what you were doing when you lied? Did you think they wouldn’t check your story?”

            “You don’t understand, I…”

            “I understand you’re not telling the police what you know! And the only reason you wouldn’t tell them is because you want to help the bastard who killed Elizabeth get away or you’re putting your personal comfort before catching her killer. I don’t care what secrets you have that may come out, I don’t care if you’re used to having your way and I don’t care if it’s inconvenient for you on any level; get over yourself and start cooperating before I kick your ass all the way to kingdom come!”

            Everybody stared at Rachel in shocked silence for a few seconds. Castle looked like he really wanted some popcorn. Drake looked just about ready to wet his pants. The tension was broken when Stevens re-entered the room.

            “Now that’s perfect!” he called out. “That’s real emotion; the shock on each of your faces is amazing! Only Drake, please try not to look quite so terrified, you are supposed to love her and be grateful she’s alive. And Rachel, don’t look like you’re about to strangle him.”

            Beckett walked up to the stage. “Drake Lovett, you’re under arrest. The rest of you, detectives Ryan and Esposito have some routine questions to ask you.” Beckett led Drake away, leaving Ryan and Esposito to deal with the others.

Curtain Call Part 3

I don't own Castle, no copyright infringement intended, etc., etc. Drake didn't want to be written and so didn't turn out quite as I planned, but I hope you guys like the third part anyways. And yes, I did just blame my character.

            Castle and Beckett had decided it would be easiest for them to wait at the theater for Drake to show up. Beckett regretted it. Castle didn’t deal with boredom well, as she had learned from previous stake-out experiences with him.

            At the moment he was humming songs from the show while kicking a rock down the street a bit then coming back with it. After he’d run through about half of the songs from RENT, made countless trips with the rock and received multiple threats from Beckett, a woman showed up at the theater. Beckett walked up to her.

            “I’m sorry, this is a closed crime scene,” she told the woman.

            “I know,” she responded. “I’m Rachel Golightly. Two other cops came to my place. They said my roommate was killed here.”

            “I’m sorry for your loss,” Beckett said sympathetically. “Detective Kate Beckett, this is Richard Castle.”

            “Hi,” Rachel said, shaking hands with the detective and the writer rather unenthusiastically. “What’s a detective doing hanging around a crime scene, though?”

            “Waiting for someone,” Beckett said. “Drake Lovett. Have you seen him?”

            “Drake?” Rachel asked. “Of course, makes sense you’d want to talk to him. No, I haven’t seen him yet, but he should be here soon.”

            “Thank goodness!” Castle said.

            “Listen, Drake’s no killer,” Rachel told them. “He can get pretty full of himself but he’s not a bad guy.”

            “We just need to ask him a few questions,” Beckett reassured Rachel.

            “Well there he is,” Rachel told her, pointing out a good-looking man just a bit taller than herself and about the same age with short, light-brown hair walking towards the theater. He looked like he’d be full of himself, Beckett thought. Castle knew the type well enough, a cocky young actor.

            “Right, I need to talk to our director,” Rachel told them. “I really hope you catch whoever did this. Anything I can do to help.”

            “Well, she seems to be in an unusually…well, almost light-hearted mood for just being told her roommate was murdered,” Castle said as the actress walked off.

            Beckett thought so too, but ignored this for the moment and went up to the man Rachel had pointed out. “Drake Lovett?”

            “Yeah,” he said, pulling himself up to his full height and looking rather annoyed. “What’s going on here?”

            Beckett took out her badge. “Detective Beckett, NYPD. This is Richard Castle. We need to talk to you about Elizabeth Nunez.”

            “What about her?” Drake asked in an it’s-none-of-your-business tone.

            “I hear you two broke up recently,” Beckett said. “Why’s that?”

            “Why do you care?”

            “Because somebody beat and strangled her last night,” Beckett told him.

            Drake looked like somebody had punched him in the stomach. “Elizabeth’s dead?” he asked.

            “Yes,” Beckett told him, in a somewhat gentler tone.

            “Oh, God,” Drake said. “Her understudy is terrible! This is going to mess up the whole production.”

            Beckett raised an eyebrow at him, all sympathy gone. “Your ex-girlfriend was just murdered and all can think of is how it’ll affect the show?”

            “Hey, it’s my first reaction,” Drake said. “Those never make any sense. You just told me, what, thirty seconds ago that she was killed. Really, give it time to sink in. Besides, like you said, Elizabeth was my ex-girlfriend.”

            “Why is she your ex, Mr. Lovett?” Beckett asked again, sternly. “Why did you break up?”

            Drake sighed. “Because she was a jealous little idiot, that’s why. Look, our relationship could get a bit off-again, on-again. It wasn’t unusual for things like this to happen. But the truth is Elizabeth could get jealous, even if she didn’t always let it show. Let’s just say I’ve dated a lot of women in the past, so Elizabeth got suspicious at times. She couldn’t help it. But I couldn’t stand that she didn’t trust me. I ended it. But I didn’t kill her. I really did care about her; I just couldn’t be with her.”

            “Mr. Lovett, where were you last night, between 8 and 10 p.m.?” Beckett asked.

            “You’ve got to be kidding.”

            “She doesn’t usually kid when it comes to catching murderers,” Castle told him.
            “If you must know, I had a date last night,” Drake said matter-of-factly. “My first one since Elizabeth and I broke up. I had dinner then drinks with a girl I see around the neighborhood a lot, followed by a walk through Central Park, her idea. I got home at maybe around 10:30, we stayed out talking. My date can confirm that. We shared a taxi and I got dropped off at my place first. I spent the rest of the night alone.”

            “What’s your date’s name?” Beckett asked.

            “Claire Wyatt.”

            Beckett wrote the name down. “One last question: Do you know why Elizabeth was at the theater last night?”

            “Why would I know what she was doing last night, Detective? She was always rather secretive herself.” Drake asked.

            “Thank you,” Beckett told the actor. “You’ve been very…helpful.”

            “You’re more than welcome. If that’s all, I’d better go see what’s going on with everybody else,” The actor walked away without waiting to see if the others had anything else to say.

            “I don’t like him,” Castle said simply.

            “As a person or for the murder?” Beckett asked.

            Castle thought for a minute. “As a person. I’d check that alibi carefully.”

            “I think I’ll have another chat with him at a more convenient time,” Beckett said. “Once the news has ‘sunk in.’”

Curtain Call Part 2

Again, I do not own Castle or any related characters.

            Ryan and Esposito arrived at Elizabeth Nunez’s apartment a while later. A tall, thin girl with a mess of brown hair opened the door. Based off the fact she was wearing knee-high bomber boots and a jacket she was probably on her way out.

            “Can I help you?” she asked.

            Ryan and Esposito took out their badges and introduced themselves.

            “We were told Elizabeth Nunez lives here,” Esposito said. “Are you her roommate?”

            “Yeah, Rachel Golightly,” the girl introduced herself. “Is everything alright?”

            “Unfortunately not,” Ryan said. “I’m sorry to say that Elizabeth was murdered last night.”

            “Murdered?” Rachel repeated incredulously.

            “I’m afraid so,” Ryan said. “May we come in?”

            “Of course,” Rachel said, stepping out of the doorway. She led the detectives into a small living room, filled with books and movies. The walls were covered with posters for various bands and shows and the like. The apartment had the kind of messy clutter that was a sign of creativity most of the time.

            “Very…Bohemian,” Ryan said. It was obviously an artistic person’s apartment.

            Rachel gave a small smile. “‘Let he among us without sin be the first to condemn la vie Boheme.’”

            “From RENT, right?” Ryan asked. He had, due to a complicated series of events, seen the movie version of RENT and actually kind of liked it. Not that he’d let anybody know that. Rachel nodded.

            “Elizabeth was in a production of that show, wasn’t she?” Esposito asked.

            “We both are,” Rachel said. “I’m playing Mimi and Elizabeth is, that is to say she was, playing Maureen. We open in a month.”

            Ryan couldn’t help sizing Rachel up. Rachel looked to be 23 or so, but could pull off looking 19 for the part. Then he mentally kicked himself for actually having sized her up like that.

            “Were you two in the same plays a lot?” Esposito asked.

            “Not particularly,” Rachel said. “It sometimes worked out that way, but we didn’t plan it. I auditioned for RENT because Mimi is one of my dream roles to get to play.”

            “So you weren’t competing for the same roles often?” Ryan asked.

            Rachel gave a short laugh. “If I was going to kill over that it would’ve been months ago, during auditions, not right before opening night. That’s not the motive you’re looking for, detectives. No, we didn’t compete for roles a lot. I wanted to play Mimi, she wanted to play Maureen.”

            “How’d you come to be roommates with Elizabeth?” Ryan asked.

            “We shared a dorm at NYU. We became friends and found we could actually stand living with each other. We both eventually wanted to live off campus and found this place. We decided to go in together, save some money by splitting the rent.”

            “You two got along well, then?”

            “Yes. We were friends. The usual arguments between two people who live together came up, sure, but other than that we didn’t really fight.”

            “What was she like?” Ryan asked.

            “She was nice,” Rachel told him. “That’s refreshing in show business. You have to have a healthy ego to make it, and Elizabeth did, but she wasn’t narcissistic. She realized other people have talent too and helped them show it. She had a great sense of humor and a lot of energy. She could get a bit unpleasant when it was close to an audition or opening night, but that was normal, and she wasn’t a total…witch about it. Just stressed, and everybody realized that.”

            “You know,” Esposito said, “for a while I thought this might be one of those cases where the victim was a total diva, a real a-hole who gave everybody motive. Maybe it would’ve been better if it was.”

            “That wasn’t Elizabeth,” Rachel said immediately, seeming almost defensive on her friend’s behalf. “She wasn’t the ‘this jealous actress has a habit of making things sound way too tragic’ type.”

            “Had anything been troubling her lately?” Esposito asked. “Did she seem to be acting unusually, any strange behavior, something that stood out?”

            Rachel thought for a moment. “She broke up with her boyfriend, Drake, a few weeks ago. That put me in an awkward position. He’s also in the show, as my character’s…significant other? They love each other, but don’t really admit it and get the relationship thing down until the end. Anyways, I have to kiss him for the show. Quite a bit.”

            “Why did they break up?” Ryan asked. “Was she jealous about her roommate and her boyfriend kissing?”

            “She knew it was just acting,” Rachel said. “But I could tell it bothered her a bit. Drake has had quite the interesting past with women. I don’t think that’s why they broke up, though. One night she came home from having a night out with him and told me they were through. She seemed sad, but not like it ended badly. It was the same with Drake when I saw him at rehearsal the next day but neither of them told me much about it. My guess is they just decided that it wouldn’t work for some reason and agreed it was best if they saw other people. I know for a fact that Drake has no feelings for me, though, if you’re worried about that angle. Trust me, if he did I’d know, he’s not that subtle.”

            “And, um, do you…have any feelings for Drake?” Ryan asked, looking rather awkward and uncomfortable.

            Rachel laughed. “He’s hot, and a good kisser, but that’s all I’ve got to say for him in terms of my being attracted to him. I don’t really do the whole relationship thing and, at any rate, he’s not my type. He’s got a bit too much of an ego for my taste. And, most importantly, I wouldn’t get involved with my roommate’s boyfriend. I couldn’t do that to her, ever.”

            Ryan blinked. “I didn’t mean you’d actually do anything if you did have feelings for him,” he muttered.

            Rachel moved on. “Listen, feel free to stay as long as you like detectives, but I still have to go to rehearsal. Looks like I’ll have to break the news to everyone.”

            “About that,” Esposito said. “Elizabeth was killed in the theater. It’s a crime scene. And your director knows about Elizabeth, he found the body.”

            “What?”

            “Can you think of why she’d be in the theater late last night?” Ryan asked.

            Again, Rachel took a moment to think. “Rehearsal ended at around 6:30, as usual. I was going to go get some dinner with Jacob and Brian and then go home. Sorry, Jacob plays Mark and Brian plays Benny in the show. They’re friends of mine; we often grab a bite to eat after rehearsal. But Elizabeth didn’t want to come. She said she had other plans. So the three of us had dinner and I came back here. Elizabeth never came back home last night, but that wasn’t unheard of so I didn’t worry too much about it. Why she went back to the theater, I have no idea. I never knew what she did when she went off on her own; it wasn’t any of my business.”

            “Would you mind if we took a look around?” Esposito asked.

            “Of course,” Rachel said. “That’s Elizabeth’s bedroom on the left. Mine’s on the right, but everything else is kind of shared space.”

            “Thank you,” Ryan said.

            “Sure,” Rachel said, sounding distant. She grabbed a piece of paper and wrote down her phone number and gave it to Ryan. “If you need anything else,” she told him. “I have to go, meet people at the theater, find out about…about rehearsal.”

            “You actually want to work right now?” Esposito asked.

            “It’s my defense mechanism. I don’t want to think about Elizabeth being…murdered.” She had to force herself to say it. Rachel stood up and put her coat back on. “Feel free to stay as long as you like,” she told the two detectives again, then hurried out the door.

            “Did that seem just a bit odd to you?” Ryan asked.

            “Yeah,” Esposito said. “Yeah, it seemed kind of weird.”

            “She’s kind of hot,” Ryan said.

            “Don’t even go there,” Esposito warned him.

Curtain Call Part 1

A story written for my friend Reiha. I can be productive! I do not own Castle or any related characters.

            Detective Kate Beckett walked into the bullpen of the 12^th precinct, finding things almost at a standstill. Uniforms and clerks were working on paper work but that was as productive as anyone was being. Ryan and Esposito were lazily tossing a hacky-sack back and forth. Beckett was surprised to find Castle at his desk, spinning around in his chair and looking bored out of his mind.

            “Nothing better to do on a Saturday?” she asked the writer, hanging her coat across the back of her chair.

            Castle stopped the chair so he was facing Beckett. “I had writer’s block. Alexis is on a school trip and my mother’s at rehearsals for some off-Broadway play so I didn’t have to watch her. I got bored. I was hoping there’d be a murder.”

            “No such luck, bro,” Esposito said, catching the hacky-sack. Then he saw the look Beckett was giving him. “We don’t hope for an innocent person to get killed,” he added quickly, sending the hacky-sack in an over-hand arch to his partner.

            “We hope that one already has been and that the case happens to come our way,” Ryan added.

            Just then Beckett’s phone rang.

“Saved by the bell,” whispered Ryan.

“Beckett…Okay, we’ll be right there,” Beckett finished scribbling down a quick note and hung up, then turned to her team. “A terrible tragedy has occurred. An innocent young lady has been murdered. Feel free to get excited now.”

            “Now that’s what I was hoping for,” Castle said, already on his feet with one arm in his jacket.

***

            Lanie was already at the theater by the time the detectives, and Castle, arrived. She was up on a ladder inspecting the body, which was hung from the overhead rigging. Even the others could see she didn’t hang herself, though. She was completely covered in bruises and cuts and other such wounds.

            “Her acting couldn’t have been that bad,” Castle said. “I mean, she probably only deserved the giant hook yanking her offstage at most.”

            “Vic was Elizabeth Nunez,” Lanie said. “She had a wallet and ID in her pocket. And I wouldn’t say this is because somebody didn’t like her performance, nobody’s that passionate about bad acting.”

            “What else can you tell me?” Beckett asked.

            “As usual, this is all preliminary,” Lanie told her friend. “But I’d say TOD would be around 9:00 last night. My guess is she and our killer fought on the catwalk, possibly she was rendered unconscious based on this blow to the head, and the killer used some of the handy rope that was lying around to finish her off, tossing her over the edge.”

            “Who found her?” Esposito asked.

            “The director, Ken Stevens, came in around seven this morning to this lovely surprise,” Lanie said, turning back to the body. “By the way, he wants to know when this stops being a crime scene. They have a show opening soon.”

            “I hate when people ask that,” Beckett said.

            Lanie shrugged. “The show must go on.”

            Beckett turned to Ryan and Esposito. “I want you guys to go Nunez’s place, see what you can find out. Castle and I will start by talking to people here and we’ll see what we can get from that.” As Ryan and Esposito left to find out where their victim lived, she turned to Castle. “Let’s start by getting the director’s statement.”

            Ken Stevens was sitting on the other end of the stage, legs dangling over the edge. He looked uncomfortable and upset, but not exactly distraught. Beckett supposed he wasn’t extremely close to Elizabeth.

The stage had a fake wood-burning stove in the center, a couple of tables, several ramps and platforms to give it multiple levels, with a metal pyramidal structure off to one side and a bunch of posters covering a back brick wall.

            “Mr. Stevens? I’m Detective Kate Beckett. This is Richard Castle.”

            “The writer?”

            “Yes,” Beckett answered quickly, hoping he wouldn’t dwell on it. But before she could start asking questions, Stevens was shaking Castle’s hand.

            “I’m a huge fan,” Stevens told the author. “Your books are brilliant. Have you ever considered adapting some of them for the stage?”

            “Huh. You know, that might not be such a bad idea,” Castle looked at Beckett, and she gave him a “We’ve got a murder to investigate so shut it” look. He turned back to Stevens. “I’ll give that some consideration. But that’s not why we’re here.”

            “You found the body around 7:00 this morning?” Beckett asked.

            “Yes,” Stevens confirmed, all excitement gone. “Poor Elizabeth, I can’t believe she was murdered like that. It’s absolutely horrible.”

            “Do you usually come into work at this time?”

            “No, I came in a few hours early today. I was going to help with some minor adjustments to some of the fixtures.”

            “What show are you putting on?” Castle asked.

            “RENT.”

            “Oh, that’s a great one,” Castle said excitedly. He earned another sharp look from Beckett. “Sorry. My mom’s an actress, I know my musicals.”

            “Was Elizabeth in the show?” Beckett asked.

            “She was going to play Maureen.”

            “Big role,” Castle said. “She’d have to be pretty…outgoing to play it.”

            “Did anybody have any problems with Elizabeth?” Beckett asked, trying to gain control of the interview.

            “She could be a bit of a diva when she was stressed out, but most of the time she was a good kid. She got along well with everybody. It makes no sense that somebody would want to do something like this to her.”

            “Had she been acting strangely? Did she seem troubled by anything?”

            “No, she seemed fine.”

            “Can you think of any reason why Elizabeth would have been in the theater late last night?”

            “No,” he said. “I locked up as usual at around 7:00 last night once rehearsal was over. I’m sure that nobody else was here at that time. She shouldn’t have been able to get back into the building.”

            “Who else has keys to the theater?”

            “A handful of people, not many,” Stevens said. “I’ll make you a list.”

            “Did Elizabeth have any next of kin?” Beckett asked. “Any really close friends, or a boyfriend, maybe?”

            “Her family lives in Chicago,” Stevens told them. “She had been dating Drake Lovett, he’s playing Roger in our production. But they broke up a few weeks ago. It was mutual, I’m sure; otherwise there’d have been more drama backstage. She’s also pretty close with her roommate, Rachel Golightly. She’s also in this show, as Mimi.”

            “Thank you,” Beckett told him. “An officer will take your statement and then you’re free to go.”

            As they left the theater Castle didn’t even have to ask what their next move was, but he did anyways.

            “We’re working the boyfriend angle, right?” he sounded as excited as a little kid on Christmas. “There could be great material in that.  A break-up right before the murder, come on. And your roommate kissing your boyfriend, even for purposes of a play, is a big reason for jealousy.”

            He might have kept going on for a while if Beckett didn’t interrupt him before he got too far into it. “Yes, we’re interviewing the boyfriend.”

            “Yes!”