Jack gave a light round of applause, though it came off as more mocking than congratulatory. "Exactly. And we just confirmed with Lanie—there's no evidence Sophie had any sexual activity before her death."
Castle slumped back into his chair, opening his mouth as if to argue but finding himself at a loss for words.
Beckett pulled her chair closer, sitting across from him with a serious expression. "You've let your emotions cloud your judgment, Castle."
"You're saying this is about Kyra?" Castle asked, clearly realizing the truth in her words.
Beckett didn't mince words. "Exactly. And do you know why I think so? Because if you were still being objective, you'd already be considering the possibility that Kyra killed Sophie."
Castle's voice rose an octave. "That's impossible!"
"There it is," Beckett said, emphasizing her point with a clenched fist. "The Rick Castle I know would never say something like that.
"You'd be painting the scene for me right now. Like this: On the night before the wedding, Kyra can't sleep from excitement. She heads to Grant's room to see him, only to find Sophie leaving. Realizing her fiancé has betrayed her—on the eve of their wedding, no less—Kyra is furious. She follows Sophie back to her room, confronts her in a heated argument, and things spiral out of control. Sophie ends up dead."
Beckett's vivid depiction left Castle speechless. Even when they left the station, he looked uncharacteristically glum.
"Do you think Castle will take Beckett's advice and keep his distance from Kyra?" Hannah asked back at home, still mulling over the earlier events.
"Did you listen to your Aunt Anderson and Uncle's advice when you were 14?" Jack replied with a grin.
"Of course! They were so good to me. Why wouldn't I?" Hannah said matter-of-factly, leaving Jack realizing he'd picked the wrong analogy.
Hannah, much like Alexis, had been a precociously mature teen. After losing her parents, the Andersons had shielded her well, and her older sister Zoe had been a positive role model.
"Let me put it this way," Jack said, changing tactics. "In Castle's house, the parental control software wasn't on Alexis's computer—it was on Castle's laptop. Get it now?"
That one-liner summed up Castle and Alexis's reversed dynamic perfectly.
"So, you're saying Castle is still in his rebellious phase? And he won't listen to Beckett about staying away from Kyra?" Hannah asked, her interest piqued.
Jack nodded, pouring curry sauce over a plate of rice and sliding it toward her. "Curry beef and potatoes with a touch of saffron—try it."
Hannah took a bite, her face lighting up with a smile as charming as a mischievous golden retriever. Jack couldn't resist ruffling her hair.
"Castle might not go looking for Kyra, but if Kyra reaches out to him, all bets are off. You know better than I do how emotionally fragile brides can be right before a wedding."
Jack's reminder brought back memories of being a bridesmaid for Angela Lopez's wedding. Pregnant and hormonal, Angela had been a rollercoaster of emotions. Weddings, even without pregnancies, were intense emotional events.
"On top of that," Jack continued, "Grant being taken away in front of everyone has probably stirred up plenty of gossip. Kyra must be feeling crushed right now.
"And if Grant decides to confess everything—the history between him and Sophie, the events of that night—do you think Kyra will believe him? People are emotional creatures. Just as Castle instinctively dismissed Kyra as a suspect, expecting her to rationally process all this is unrealistic."
Jack explained that Kyra might seek out Castle not only as a subconscious form of retaliation but also because she trusted him to provide genuine comfort. Unlike Grant, Castle's outwardly carefree demeanor hid a deeply empathetic heart—a quality Kyra likely appreciated.
Listening to Jack's thorough analysis, Hannah finally threw up her hands. "How are you so good at this?"
"Castle prides himself on understanding people as a writer. Yet even he calls me the psychology expert," Jack teased before silencing her questions with a kiss.
Hannah's recent sassiness wasn't going unnoticed. If she wouldn't appreciate his efforts to help, he might as well break the rules a little.
Her lips tasted faintly of curry beef, and Jack felt a wave of pride in his cooking. As the kiss deepened, their plans for the evening took a promising turn—until an abrupt phone call cut through the moment.
"Hi, Alexis," Jack answered, clearing his throat. "Yes, of course, I knew it. Where's the 'secret rooftop'? Oh, you don't know? It was before your time. Ask your grandmother Martha. Got it. Leave it to us."
Hanging up, Jack turned to Hannah with a triumphant grin.
Hannah, now fully in investigator mode, grabbed her phone. "I'm calling Kate right now."
An hour later, three shadowy figures crept onto the rooftop of a Manhattan apartment building. One carried a camera with a telephoto lens; another wore an exaggerated four-eyed night vision goggle setup.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Hannah asked, peering around with the gear Jack had acquired from SEAL contacts.
"It's the spot. Martha said the 'secret rooftop' was across from Castle and Kyra's old hideout. One summer, they snuck up there almost every night. It's where Castle brainstormed his first novel, and Kyra would sit beside him, snacks in one hand and notebook in the other."
Jack recounted the story in vivid detail, sneaking glances at Beckett's reaction.
"I see Kyra," Beckett said, her expression unreadable as she snapped a photo of the rooftop 200 meters away.
Hannah adjusted her night vision goggles, scanning the same spot. "Castle's there too. They're both wearing scarves—it's like a romantic movie scene."
Romantic? Hardly. Jack smirked and gave her a light swat on the rear, a subtle warning to tone down the teasing.
Castle and Beckett's unresolved tension still had a long way to unravel, and pushing too hard now might backfire.
"Pity we can't hear what they're saying. Should've planted a listening device," Hannah muttered, disappointed.
"Who says the door's locked after all these years?" Jack mused, binoculars in hand. "Some things never change."
Both Hannah and Beckett shot him surprised looks.
"You can read lips? Since when?"
"Just picked it up. Haven't had the chance to show off yet," Jack replied nonchalantly, though he silently bemoaned the five system credits it had cost him. Anything to keep up with their antics.
(End of Chapter)
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