"The deceased is Sophie Ronson, 32, one of the bridesmaids who flew in from Los Angeles to attend the wedding. This morning, Ronson didn't show up for makeup or hair. When the bride came looking for her, a cleaning staff member helped open the door, and they found her in the closet."
While Jack was examining the body, Esposito, still slightly annoyed by Lanie's earlier exaggerated reaction, provided a brief explanation of the situation.
Jack recalled that Esposito and Lanie had once been involved in a secret relationship. Whether they were currently together or had already broken up, such behavior seemed par for the course.
After learning that Jack was Hannah's boyfriend, Lanie's reaction normalized. Now, she watched Jack examining the corpse with nothing but curiosity. She had seen plenty of authoritative FBI agents, but it was the first time she'd encountered one who actively competed with the forensic team on the scene.
"The victim has cyanosis on her lips and fingernails, petechial hemorrhages on her facial skin and conjunctiva, and subcutaneous hemorrhages on the neck. Most critically, her laryngeal cartilage and hyoid bone are visibly fractured. Based on this, the cause of death can preliminarily be identified as mechanical asphyxiation—strangulation, to be specific."
As soon as Jack finished speaking, all eyes turned to Lanie. She shrugged, acknowledging that his assessment was correct.
"And the time of death?" Beckett, intrigued, pressed further.
"Uh…" Jack checked the soles of the body's feet, then lifted her slightly to examine her back. Finally, he moved her limbs slightly. "Judging by the livor mortis and rigor mortis, I'd estimate she died between 3 a.m. and 5 a.m."
He pointed to the victim's left earlobe. "It looks like an earring was torn off here. There's a laceration. Also, there are strange abrasions on her back, likely inflicted before death. The pattern is odd."
Kevin nodded. "We searched the room but couldn't find the earring. We've already taken a photo of the one on her right ear and are circulating it throughout the hotel."
Lanie stood up, removed her gloves, and rolled her eyes. "Well, I guess there's nothing left for me to do here."
Of course, she was joking. The body would still need to be taken to the forensic lab for a detailed autopsy, particularly to investigate those unusual abrasions on her back. Still, Jack had covered everything a forensic pathologist could determine at the scene.
The detectives then got busy. Esposito carried a stack of A4 papers containing the guest list for the wedding. Meanwhile, security footage was being retrieved, but the hotel only had cameras in the elevators—not in the hallways or stairwells.
Before long, a patrol officer reported that all wedding guests, including the bride and groom, had been gathered in the hotel bar. The group headed there.
The bride, dressed in a white wedding gown, stood with her back to them, talking to two other bridesmaids in light purple dresses. The bridesmaids appeared to be comforting her.
Jack noticed Castle's steps falter slightly as they entered the bar. A peculiar expression crossed his face, as though he were trying to recall something.
"What's the bride's name?" Castle asked.
Kevin flipped through the list in his hand. "Uh, her name is…"
At that moment, the two bridesmaids stepped aside, and the bride turned to face the group. Both Kevin and Castle said the name simultaneously.
"Kyra."
"Kyra?"
The bride looked at Castle in disbelief. Her expression shifted dramatically. The corset of her wedding dress, designed to accentuate her figure, betrayed her agitation as her chest rose and fell sharply. Her voice trembled slightly. "Rick? Rick Castle?"
Beckett glanced between the bride and Castle, confusion evident on her face. "You two know each other?"
Castle's expression was dazed, as though he had been pulled into a distant memory. He stammered, "This is far more than just knowing each other…"
The bride—Kyra, now that she had been identified—looked to be about Castle's age, early thirties. She was a stunningly beautiful and elegant woman.
Kyra approached Castle, her excitement making her nearly incoherent. However, it wasn't the kind of excitement a fan might feel meeting a famous author. It was more akin to the joy of reuniting with an old friend—or, as a certain profiler present might accurately describe it, the feelings of someone encountering their first love after ten years apart.
"I've read about you solving cases for the police, but I never dreamed… Oh, my god, how long has it been?"
"Too long…" Castle still seemed lost in his memories, smiling softly, his eyes fixed on the woman before him. His voice was almost a whisper.
Jack glanced between the pair's expressions and then at Beckett, who stood frozen, unsure of what expression to wear. A familiar tune from his previous life echoed in his mind: "I should've been under the car, not inside it…"
Alright, maybe his imagination was running wild. Beckett and Castle's relationship hadn't reached that point yet. This pair of sparring partners likely still had years of unresolved tension ahead of them. For now, Beckett might feel a twinge of jealousy, but that was about it.
Even without a full-blown love triangle, Castle's drama was still highly entertaining. In fact, Jack wasn't the only one enjoying it—Kevin and Esposito were also silently taking it all in, barely daring to breathe.
The conversation between Kyra and Castle continued. As Kyra regained her composure, a radiant smile lit up her face. "You haven't changed a bit."
Castle mirrored her smile. "And you've only become more beautiful."
The group of onlookers collectively drew a sharp breath. Noted. Lesson learned.
Kyra laughed heartily, placing a hand on her chest, her amusement causing her to sway slightly. "You always knew just what to say. This feels like… like a dream."
Her expression grew wistful. "Today was supposed to be my wedding day, and then… you showed up."
At this, the audience's eyebrows shot up. Could this lead to the kind of drama they were hoping for?
"Don't you all have something better to do?" Beckett finally snapped at the group of gawkers, her patience wearing thin. While she couldn't do much about Jack, Kevin and Esposito were firmly under her jurisdiction.
"I'll go question the wedding guests," Esposito said, backing down immediately.
"Me too." Kevin jolted and quickly followed suit.
At that moment, Beckett's phone buzzed twice. She glanced at it and then told Castle, "Lanie says there's a new discovery."
"I'll be there in a bit," Castle replied, not even sparing her a glance as his gaze remained fixed on Kyra.
Beckett's eyes shifted between the two, who were locked in an intense stare, before she tilted her head slightly and said, "Okay."
"Uh, I'll go with you," Jack offered. With the spectators dispersed and no dramatic showdown unfolding, he decided not to linger and watch Castle's love life play out. Instead, he followed Beckett to see what new findings the forensic team had uncovered.
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Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 703)
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