Jack clapped softly, though it seemed more like irony at the moment. "Yes, so we just confirmed that Lannie did not find any signs of sexual intercourse in Sophie's body before death."
Castle fell back into his seat weakly, opened his mouth, but for a moment he didn't know what to say.
Beckett pulled over his chair and sat across from him, his face solemn, "You've let your emotions blind you, Castle."
"You mean me and Kayla?" Castle obviously realized the problem.
Beckett said bluntly, "Yes, you know why I feel so? Because if you can still remain objective enough, you must be trying to find various possibilities to prove that Kayla killed Sophie."
Hearing her say this, Cassel's voice suddenly rose eight degrees, "That's impossible."
"You see, this is the problem." Beckett put his hands on his chest and clenched his fists to emphasize, "The Rick Cassel I know would not say such a thing.
He would describe such a scene to me in detail. On the night before the wedding, Kayla might be so excited that she couldn't sleep, so she would go to Gret's room to find him, and then be surprised to find Sophie leaving his room.
Kayla realized that her fiancé had betrayed her, and on the eve of the wedding, this is too much, right? So she followed Sophie back to her room, confronted her emotionally, and then everything got out of control, and eventually Sophie died." The female detective's words left the great writer speechless, and he still looked depressed when he left the police station.
"Do you think Castle will listen to Beckett and distance himself from Kayla?" Hannah returned home, still pondering the previous scene.
"Think about when you were 14. Would you have listened to your Aunt and Uncle Anderson?" Jack offered a laugh, offering an analogy.
"Of course I would. They were so nice to me back then. Why wouldn't I have?" Hannah's matter-of-fact tone made Jack realize he'd chosen the wrong analogy.
Well, Hannah herself had been a precocious, atypical teenager, like Alexis. After her parents' death, the Andersons, who had taken care of her, not only protected her well, but her older sister, Zoe, also provided positive guidance.
"So, let's put it this way. In Castle's house, the youth safety software wasn't installed on Alexis's computer, but on Castle's laptop. Do you understand?"
Jack explained the distorted relationship between a father and daughter in one sentence.
"So, you're saying Castle is still in his rebellious phase, so he won't listen to Beckett and stay away from Kayla?" Hannah seemed to understand.
Jack nodded, poured the sauce from his spoon over the rice, and pushed the plate towards her. "Curry, potato, and beef rice bowl. I added a little extra saffron. Try it."
Hannah took a sip and tasted it. Her eyes immediately curved into a smile like a fox, making Jack pat her head.
"Cassell might not approach Kayla, but if Kayla did, it'd be hard to say. You know better than me how fragile a bride-to-be can be before her wedding, Kayla."
As a bridesmaid, Hannah knew firsthand how difficult it was for everyone to help Angela Lopez get married. While pregnant women are naturally emotional, weddings are a time of great joy and sorrow.
Furthermore, Kayla must have heard countless rumors about Gretchen being taken away in public. It's easy to imagine how devastated she must be.
Sometimes, once the truth is revealed and the worst-case scenario is laid bare, many people might calmly accept it, believing it's already done.
The worst-case scenario is what's happening now. How will Gretel explain this to Keira when he returns? Even if he chooses to confess everything, sharing his history with Sophie and everything that happened that night, will Keira believe him?
People are emotional, just as Cassel subconsciously ignored Keira's suspicions. Expecting Keira to face this rationally is unrealistic.
From another perspective, Gretl's initial hostility upon hearing Cassel's name suggests that Kayla had previously spoken openly with him about their past.
So, putting herself in Gretl's shoes, was there something fishy going on?
Kayla's likely pursuit of Cassel stemmed from both a subconscious desire for revenge and, like Beckett, a long-held understanding of the tender heart beneath the seemingly cynical exterior of a great writer. Kayla knew
she could find the genuine comfort she sought from Cassel.
After hearing Jack's lengthy analysis, Hannah felt her head nearly explode. She demanded, "Why are you so adept at this?"
"Because Cassel considers himself a professional writer who can see through people's minds, and he calls me a psychologist," Jack explained perfunctorily, sealing the conversation with a kiss.
After analyzing her for so long, she showed no appreciation and even questioned him. "The sweet girl hasn't been behaving well lately, so I can't blame her for that."
The food was fragrant and soft, with a hint of curry beef. Jack was quite pleased with his cooking tonight. Just as they were breathlessly kissing and about to take it a step further, the phone suddenly rang.
"Hey, Alexis, yes, as expected, where is the 'secret rooftop'? Of course you don't know, you weren't even around back then.
Ask your grandmother Martha. OK, I'll make a note of it. Don't worry, we'll take care of it." Jack hung up the phone and gave Hannah a smug smile.
"I'll notify Kate (Beckett) right now," Hannah angrily picked up the phone to tip off.
An hour later, three stealthy figures appeared on the rooftop of a Manhattan apartment building. One was holding a camera with a cannon-shaped telephoto lens, and another was wearing exaggerated four-lens night vision goggles.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Hannah climbed up to the rooftop and peered around, wearing the GPVNG18 four-lens night vision goggles Jack had swiped from a seal.
"That should be right. Martha said that across the street is Castle and Kayla's 'secret rooftop'. They'd sneak there almost every night one summer, when Castle was composing his first novel, and Kayla would be by his side, snacks in one hand and a notebook in the other."
Jack elaborated with deliberate detail, then he and Hannah stole a glance at Beckett's face.
"I spotted Kayla," Beckett said, his face expressionless as he took a picture of the rooftop of another apartment building over 200 meters away.
Hannah put on her night vision goggles again and looked in the direction she was heading, quickly finding her target. "Cassell's there too, both of them wearing scarves, looking so romantic, like they were in a movie."
Wasn't this the scene of an adulterous affair? How romantic was that? Jack gently patted someone's hip, signaling her not to push too hard.
It would likely be quite some time before Castle and Beckett could make their relationship official. It would take a while for these two awkward individuals to confront each other directly. Pushing too hard now could easily backfire.
"It's a shame I couldn't hear what they were talking about. I should have gone there earlier and planted a bug," Hannah
said with some regret. "How did you know the door here wasn't locked after all these years?" Jack muttered, holding the telescope. "Some things never change."
Hannah and Beckett both glanced at him in surprise. "You can read lips? How come I didn't know that?"
"I just learned it a while ago. I haven't had time to show you yet." Jack thought to himself, "I wasted five system coins just to play with you guys."
(End of this chapter)