When Jack and Beckett returned to the guest room where the murder occurred, the body had already been loaded onto a stretcher, awaiting placement in a body bag.
"The handsome FBI agent noticed some strange abrasions on the victim's back. I examined them again, and based on the scars on the victim's neck, I have a daring hypothesis."
Medical examiner Lannie walked over to Jack and gestured, "May I?"
Jack nodded knowingly, "Of course," then turned and half-crouched at her command.
Lannie reached from behind to strangle Jack's neck, her full breasts pressing firmly against his back, a position that was awkward and somewhat comical due to the significant height difference.
"Did you see that?" She struggled to maintain this position, looking at Beckett.
"What?" Beckett was confused, still lost in the moment when Cassel ran into his ex-lover.
"Here!" Lannie pointed to her chest, which was squeezed to the point of overflowing. For a moment, it was unclear whether she was taking advantage of Jack or giving him a favor.
Beckett blinked hard, and it took him a long time to react. "Ah, you mean, the wound on her back was most likely caused by the murderer strangling her from behind."
"Thanks, handsome." Lannie breathed a sigh of relief, let go of Jack's neck, and patted him on the back to express her gratitude for his cooperation.
"The scars were most likely caused by some ornaments or something like that on the chest of the murderer when he strangled the victim from behind."
Beckett nodded to show that he understood, "So as long as I find this ornament, can you link it to the scars on the victim's back?"
"Maybe. This is all I can say before returning to the office to take further samples of the wounds. However, trace trace detection is not my forte, and my laboratory does not have the relevant equipment, so..."
Seeing Lanny looking at him, Jack understood immediately, "OK, notify me when the time comes. Whether you send the samples to the CSI lab or the FBI's forensic laboratory, I can help speed up the progress."
The latter nodded with satisfaction and casually asked about the situation over there, "Have you seen the bride and groom? The bride must be devastated that the wedding cannot be held as scheduled?"
"It's hard to say. After all, someone has become a mystery guest at the wedding." Beckett curled his lips and said sourly. Seeing that Lanny was a little confused, she added an explanation.
"It's clear that Castle and the bride have a history."
"Ancient history, modern history, or sexual history?" Lanie's voice rose an octave, glancing at Jack beside her. He was clearly another avid gossip lover.
"It seems all of that," Jack smiled and winked at her.
"Are you all right, honey?" Lanie asked, anxiously checking in on her best friend.
What could possibly happen to me?" Beckett feigned surprise, glancing guiltily at Jack beside her, oblivious to the fact that everyone who knew both her and Castle were secretly watching.
After all, one, pretending to be a playboy, was slowly falling for her, unaware of it, while the other, seemingly icy beauty, was secretly in love, but too proud to admit it. The spectators, watching from the sidelines, had already seen the special chemistry between them.
"Let me know if you have any results," Beckett said, leaving a warning as she fled in dismay, under her best friend's piercing gaze. Behind her, Jack and Lanie smiled at each other and high-fived. The code had clicked, and everyone was in on the fun.
"Sheila Bryan, mother of the bride."
"Keith Murphy, the groom's brother."
"Laura Seeley, the bride's friend and one of the bridesmaids."
"Teddy Murphy, the groom's uncle."
"Ruby Osiris Schwartzman, the ex-wife of the bride Kayla's father's brother's uncle."
Across the bar, Kevin and Esposito frantically took notes from the wedding guests, going through the list. Beckett, who had just returned, appeared to be standing at a table checking the digital cameras given to guests to record the wedding, but in reality, he was eavesdropping on the conversation between Castle and the bride, Kayla.
Jack, by contrast, was much more straightforward. He went to the bar and mixed himself two Margaritas, each in his hand, and began drinking them while standing in front of Beckett. The cocktail, also known as "Lover's Tears," was quite fitting.
The conversation between the two people nearby was actually quite normal, consisting essentially of Castle teasingly remarking on Kayla's initial insistence on non-marriage and her change of heart about marriage.
Kayla replied that the girl had grown up, and then she praised the groom a few times, and it was obvious that Cassel was also really happy for her to find true love.
However, as she was talking, Kayla became sad because of the accident at the wedding and the death of the bridesmaid. Cassel naturally put his hand on Kayla's shoulder to comfort her, and then this scene was seen by the groom who suddenly broke in.
The groom was half a head taller than Cassel, handsome, and even younger. His temperament showed that he came from a wealthy family. But think about it, it is impossible to hold a wedding in such a high-end hotel without some wealth.
Fortunately, they were all adults, and although the atmosphere was a little awkward, everyone still exchanged a few polite words. Obviously, the groom, Gret Murphy, had also heard of Cassel's name, and bluntly used the word "ex-boyfriend".
Seeing the groom put his arm around his bride, Kayla, and leave, deliberately placing his hand where a certain ex-boyfriend had just left it, Jack coughed lightly and walked over to Castle, holding another glass of "Margaret" he hadn't drunk yet.
"Kayla Brian, wow." The man, still lost in thought as he stared at his bride's departing back, subconsciously took the glass offered by Jack, took a sip, and let out a sigh of admiration.
"I guess she must be very special to you," Beckett said to Castle sourly. Although she knew he had two ex-wives, this was the first time she had seen him look at a woman like this.
"She's the only one who left on her own initiative," Castle's tone was full of regret, but the implication made Beckett subconsciously clench her fists.
"It looks like Kevin and Esposito are almost done with their statements," Jack interrupted. He also wanted to see Beckett deal with the bad-mouthed Cassel, but the case at hand was more important, even though it had nothing to do with him.
"Are you done with the statements?" Beckett put down the digital camera he had been unconsciously fiddling with and looked at the funny duo walking towards the three of them.
Esposito looked at the notepad in his hand and said, "I briefly asked the guests a few questions about the deceased Sophie. It seems that most people don't know much about her, but some people heard that she almost couldn't come to the wedding. She once called the bride, Keira, to say that she couldn't be a bridesmaid, but then seemed to change her mind."
Beckett nodded to indicate that she knew this information. "I talked to the bride and groom before you came. Sophie was a mutual friend of the bride and groom, but because she has been away in Los Angeles for the past few years, their relationship was not very close.
However, since she was the one who introduced them, she was invited to be a bridesmaid at the engagement party last year."
"Castle" is quite good, at least the first four seasons. The later seasons are actually not bad, but the screenwriter's imagination is a bit too much. Highly recommended.
(End of this chapter)