It was a weekend evening, a few days after the recent events. Jack had invited some friends over for a casual gathering. Among the guests were Castle and his daughter Alexis, Danny Reagan and his wife Linda, and for the first time, Jubal Valentine, who came bearing two packs of Guinness stout as a housewarming gift.
Despite the limitations of Jack's open-plan kitchen for high-heat stir-fry dishes, it was perfect for stews, roasts, and bakes. Jack prepared local free-range chicken in three ways: poached chicken, roast chicken, and classic American fried chicken with fries.
He also served Texas-style steak and seafood brought in from Boston, 300 kilometers away, leaving his guests stuffed. Danny was so full he lounged on the sofa, letting out an unrestrained burp.
"I strongly recommend Jack join our Sunday family dinners every week," Danny said with a grin.
"What's this? Are you tired of Linda's cooking already?" Jack teased, successfully earning a playful swat from Linda on her husband's shoulder.
"Of course not. It's just that I'm done with Grandpa's repetitive barbecues. Ever since he tasted that marinated beef shoulder you made, he's been obsessively trying to recreate it. And you know what that means—we've been guinea pigs for his experiments these past weeks."
Danny pulled a comical face, prompting Linda to nod in agreement. "Our kids are complaining too. If it weren't for the video games at Grandpa's house, convincing them to go over on Sundays would be a real struggle."
"I'll write up the recipe later and pass it to you through Linda," Jack said, winking at Linda, the real boss of the Reagan household.
After cleaning up the feast, Jack brewed a pot of jasmine tea to help everyone digest and turned the conversation to the recent case.
"Chloe eventually convinced her father, Mr. Ford, to drop the charges against Helton. There might still be some complications with the district attorney, but considering NYPD's mediation and his daughter's ordeal, it'll likely end with community service."
After hearing the three FBI agents recap the kidnapping case, Castle couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.
"That's incredible! I thought my week was exciting, but you—my God! Why are your cases always so dramatic?"
Linda wiped a tear from her eye and shot a glare at her husband. "It seems NYPD still has plenty of issues to sort out."
Danny raised his hands defensively. "Hey, I'm just a humble detective. If you've got complaints, take them up with Frank. He's the one in charge."
Alexis, who had been quietly absorbing the discussion about youth-related issues, asked curiously, "What about that Hugo guy? Did you catch him?"
Hannah smiled and replied, "Hugo was the only one Jack had to take down during the operation. The remaining gang members are still at large, but Hartford's gang task force has promised to clean them up thoroughly, with FBI assistance."
Linda and Alexis both looked relieved, like readers satisfied with a novel's happy ending.
"It's all thanks to Jack. If it weren't for him, I might've messed this case up from the start," Jubal admitted, reflecting on his earlier missteps when his impatience nearly derailed negotiations with Helton.
"The follow-through was all you. If you hadn't managed Helton, we wouldn't have had enough time to find Stephanie," Hannah said, offering her praise. In her eyes, a leader who could step up when needed was far more valuable than those who barked orders from a desk.
Combined with Dana Morse's strong leadership, Jack and Hannah were satisfied with their current team.
Castle then began recounting the story of his first "collaborative case" with his muse, Detective Kate Beckett.
Unfortunately, Castle hadn't won the top award in the mystery novel world this time because the true culprit wasn't the deranged fan everyone initially suspected.
Beckett had connected a recent crime scene to a less popular Castle novel, Flowers for Your Grave. Another murder she'd investigated featured a corpse laid inside a white pentagram drawn with salt, mirroring a scene from Castle's lesser-known work, Hell Has No Fury.
This led her to bring Castle to the precinct for questioning, resulting in an infamous encounter where the stoic Beckett was driven to the brink of madness by Castle's irreverence.
Of course, in Castle's version, it was a fascinating conversation. He was thrilled to discover that Beckett was a devoted fan who knew his obscure works in detail.
The next day, Castle revisited the 12th precinct and offered his assistance to Captain Roy Montgomery. Despite her reluctance, Beckett had no choice but to accept. Together, they spent an entire day sifting through hundreds of Castle's fan letters, eventually finding one that matched the crime scenes—a hand-drawn depiction of the two murder sites.
The problem was that while they managed to extract fingerprints from the letter, processing them through the system would take a week due to a backlog.
"So that's why you called me asking for Mike Taylor's contact info?" Jack recalled Castle's peculiar request a few days earlier.
"Exactly. Detective Beckett mentioned system delays, and I remembered meeting Mike, the CSI lab chief, at your place. He was very accommodating and got it done in two hours." Castle grinned smugly.
"I thought you'd go straight to your superfan, the mayor," Jack teased.
"Well, he is on my speed dial, but I wasn't sure this was the kind of thing to bother him about. Hmm, noted for next time," Castle replied, earning a dramatic eye roll from Danny.
"Let me guess—Kate wasn't too happy about that move," Hannah interjected, having become friends with Beckett and CSI lab supervisor Stella. While they weren't besties yet, they were close enough to use first names.
Castle waved it off. "At least we solved the problem. Now, where was I? Oh yes—just as we identified a likely suspect, another murder occurred."
Castle's storytelling prowess was as captivating as his writing.
While Castle and Beckett were tracking down the suspect, another body was discovered at the rooftop pool of a luxury apartment building downtown.
The victim was dressed in a yellow evening gown and gold heels, perfectly replicating a scene from Castle's novel, Death of the Prom Queen.
—
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Fairy Tail: Igneel's Eldest Son (Chapter 256)
I Am Thalos, Odin's Older Brother (Chapter 336)
Reborn in America's Anti-Terror Unit (Chapter 542)
Solomon in Marvel (Chapter 924)
Becoming the Wealthiest Tycoon on the Planet (Chapter 1284)
Surgical Fruit in the American Comics Universe (Chapter 1289)
American Detective: From TV Rookie to Seasoned Cop (Chapter 1316)
American TV Writer (Chapter 1402)
I Am Hades, The Supreme GOD of the Underworld! (Chapter 570)
Reborn as Humanity's Emperor Across the Multiverse (Chapter 660)
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