Chapter 1203: A Conversation in the Backyard (Conclusion)

When the four of them all looked at him in shock, Jack just shrugged—any idiot could’ve guessed it. He placed a cigar box on the table, gesturing for them to help themselves, then turned once more to Castle, the designated storyteller of the group.

What happened next was even more absurd. During a hearing where additional charges were being brought, Hal Lockwood was broken out of custody. Several flashbangs went off, knocking everyone present—including Beckett and Castle—to the ground. Three heavily armed assailants posing as federal marshals escorted Lockwood to the rooftop, where they boarded a helicopter and vanished.

Shortly after, the escape helicopter was found at an airfield in New Jersey, but all DNA traces inside had been meticulously scrubbed clean.

At this point, Captain Roy Montgomery’s past could no longer be hidden. That night, Lockwood infiltrated his home, threatening to kill his entire family if he didn’t turn over Beckett.

Meanwhile, Kevin and Esposito had been digging through old files and finally compiled a list of anyone who might’ve been associated with John Lagrange and Gary McAllister back in the day.

One name stood out—Mike Ivankovich, a retired cop who had graduated from the academy alongside Lagrange. When they visited the bar he now ran for cops, they found an old photo on the wall—Lagrange, McAllister, and Roy Montgomery standing together.

Kevin and Esposito were devastated. The man they had admired for so long, their captain, might actually be the puppet master behind everything. In disbelief and anger, they ended up getting into a fistfight in the alley behind the bar.

By the time they came to their senses and tried to warn Beckett, it was already too late—she had agreed to meet Montgomery alone at the same hangar where the helicopter had previously been found.

Inside the hangar, the Black captain finally confessed everything to the female detective. He had been the rookie officer present during the black-bag kidnapping operation nineteen years ago—the one that had ended in the accidental killing of FBI undercover agent Bob Arman.

At the time, Lagrange and McAllister had been his training officers, men he looked up to as heroes. Naively, he’d thought kidnapping gangsters for ransom was a form of justice, and participated wholeheartedly—until the day it all went wrong, and Bob Arman bled out on the pavement. That was when Montgomery realized the gravity of what he’d done.

But Montgomery wasn’t the true mastermind. Someone else had found out what the three of them had done—someone with enough power to send them all to prison. Instead of doing so, this shadowy figure blackmailed them, demanding a cut of the ransom money.

Montgomery's exact words were: “He used that money to climb to where he is now.”

“So just how high has he climbed?” Jack asked, raising an eyebrow.

“He didn’t say,” Beckett replied, wiping away a tear. As far as Jack could remember, this was the first time he’d ever seen the tough-as-nails detective cry.

Montgomery also expressed his guilt over the death of Beckett’s mother. Though he hadn’t given the order to kill her, it had been a consequence of actions he was complicit in. He’d known the truth all along but had remained silent out of fear—fear of public disgrace, fear of the powerful man in the shadows.

Seeing Jack press his hands to his head, clearly annoyed, Castle offered a quiet explanation. “Montgomery said he knew what kind of person Beckett was. If he gave her the name, she’d go after him without hesitation—and that would be suicide.”

What happened next, Jack already knew. Before the hitmen arrived, Montgomery forced Castle to drag Beckett away. He then stayed behind, choosing to atone for his past by going out in a blaze of glory—dying in a firefight that also took down Hal Lockwood and his mercenaries.

It was one hell of a melodramatic plot twist. Jack couldn’t help but feel a bit speechless, even if it was technically sound in terms of narrative logic.

Montgomery had always looked after Beckett, out of guilt over her mother’s murder. After she graduated from the academy and joined the 12th Precinct, they’d formed a mentor-mentee bond. Over time, he’d come to see her as someone worth protecting.

Jack summarized, “So Captain Montgomery must’ve had some form of leverage—evidence that could expose the real puppet master. That way, he kept Beckett safe by being her watcher, while the other guy promised to leave her alone.”

“That’s what we think too,” Castle said, stepping in as the others fell silent.

The four of them had made a pact to keep everything hidden, to stick to the official story that Captain Roy Montgomery had died in the line of duty—dust to dust, ashes to ashes.

In other words, it wasn’t until this very moment that Beckett finally gave up on finding justice for her mother through legal means.

“All right then,” Jack said after checking the time. It was just past 9 p.m.—still early enough to act. He turned to Beckett, who had zoned out again.

“So no matter what, you’re not letting this go, huh? Even if it means the puppet master might send another killer after you, even if everyone close to you could be put in danger?”

The accusation struck home. Beckett immediately squirmed in her seat, glancing across at Kevin and Esposito, then finally settling her gaze on Castle. Her expression was pained, torn.

“I don’t know. I... no, you’re right. But I can resign. I can do this alone—”

Jack let out a dry laugh. “Resign? Giving up your badge means giving up all your resources. It also means that man will no longer need to restrain himself. Do you really want to end up dead in some alley just so I’ll pick up your case and finish it?”

Castle shuddered visibly, clearly imagining the scenario. But before he could speak, Jack was already standing up.

“I’ll take this case. In return, Beckett, you’ll finally sign over the rights for the Nikki Heat adaptation. Chris has complained to me multiple times. Your ex-publisher is a real piece of work.”

Castle’s eyes lit up. He was just about to agree when Beckett snapped, “This is my business. It has nothing to do with Castle.”

Jack ignored her. He gave Castle a knowing look and then said casually, “You’ll all stay here tonight. As for Kevin and Esposito, you two are done with this case. Stick around and you might lose your jobs.”

Castle blinked. “Wait, where are you going at this hour?”

Jack turned and gave them a sly smile. “To visit Commissioner Frank Reagan, of course. Gotta talk to him about how long the three of you should be suspended.”

The three NYPD officers stared at him in stunned silence.