Chapter 1200: The Murder of Beckett’s Mother

Although Jack could barely recall the plotline of Beckett's mother's case, he did remember that in the end, a very powerful figure was involved.

Out of caution, he convinced the rest of the team to stay behind in Margrave while he returned to New York alone. The odds were slim that anything would go wrong, but just in case, he knew JJ or Hannah could reach out to the right people for help.

Sure, rushing in alone like an old folktale hero wasn't ideal, but there was also something to be said for strategic flexibility. Jack might not have connections in the underworld, but when it came to the military and intelligence circles, he had more than a few friends. Plus, there was Zoe, the newly elected junior senator—still green, but with some political footing nonetheless.

So unless Jack had a sudden death wish and tried to assassinate the President in broad daylight, there weren't many people in North America bold enough—or stupid enough—to come after him directly.

At the airport, Jack was picked up by Danny Reagan. The hard-nosed detective was showing more receding hairline than ever, but overall looked better than expected. That foot injury from a while back had led to an unexpected extended leave, and now his back didn't ache, his legs felt strong, he no longer walked bowlegged, and even the dark circles under his eyes had faded. A blessing in disguise, perhaps.

"So, what the hell happened?" Jack, traveling light as always, had tossed even his change of clothes to Hannah before boarding and now sauntered out of the airport with one hand in his pocket.

Danny had swapped his ride for a boxy Jeep Wrangler—perfectly in line with his rugged image. After buckling up, he sighed and started the engine.

"To be honest, I still don't know," he said. "Everyone from the 12th Precinct and even that writer guy is being tight-lipped about Captain Roy Montgomery's death. They all claim he died in the line of duty, but nobody's saying what really went down. My dad's pissed. He wants you to investigate personally."

"Tell Frank I appreciate it. I'll update him soon," Jack replied, pulling out his phone to message Castle and set up a meeting with him and Beckett.

Though Danny said his father was angry, NYPD Commissioner Frank Reagan had clearly done them a solid—namely, keeping Internal Affairs off their backs for now.

According to the official report, Captain Roy Montgomery had died two nights earlier while pursuing a fugitive named Hal Lockwood. The shootout had occurred in a helicopter hangar on the outskirts of Long Island. The scene had left behind four dead shooters, including Lockwood himself.

NYPD forensics confirmed that all four had been killed by Montgomery's service weapon and an old revolver hidden in an ankle holster on his left leg.

No one knew exactly what had happened, but the report claimed Montgomery died in a shootout while pursuing the fugitive. The story, however, didn't sit right with anyone paying attention.

After all, why would a precinct captain go after a fugitive alone, in the middle of the night, without even wearing a bulletproof vest?

Beckett and Castle were the first to arrive on the scene. Before contacting Castle, Jack had already asked Frank to review some relevant case files. The moment Frank read them, he knew something was off.

Fortunately, out of respect for Jack, Frank helped suppress the case—or at least keep it out of the spotlight. Otherwise, Beckett would be under Internal Affairs interrogation right now instead of sitting at Jack's kitchen table, crying into her noodles.

Jack made two soft-boiled eggs and served them to the rest of the crew—Kevin and Esposito included. Clearly, they were in the loop and had played a role in what had gone down. Jack rapped the table and looked at the four of them with a stern expression.

"Which one of you wants to start? Tell me exactly what happened."

They all looked around at one another. Then all three sets of eyes settled on Castle.

"Why me?" the author protested.

"Because it's literally your job," Jack deadpanned, gesturing for him to get on with it.

Castle's tongue was as sharp as his pen. In just under an hour, he laid everything out clearly.

It all started last year with a gang-related home invasion and murder. A man named Jack Coonan, a member of an old Irish mob in Hell's Kitchen, had been stabbed to death.

The gang, known as the Westies Alliance, strictly forbade any drug trade on their turf except for "American herbs." But lately, someone had been selling heroin there.

Coonan was the gang's enforcer. On orders from the boss, he hunted down those breaking the rules. When he found evidence, he contacted the FBI—only to be killed before he could testify.

The twist? The drug ring was being run by his own brother, Dick Coonan.

Dick, a ruthless operator posing as a businessman and philanthropist, had been trafficking heroin from Afghanistan. Using his old military contacts, he had the opium processed into heroin, shipped to an East Asian international port, disguised as video tapes, and smuggled into New York.

To keep things quiet, he personally killed his own brother.

During the autopsy, medical examiner Lanie noticed that the stab wounds matched those found on Beckett's mother years ago. The unusual blade marks couldn't be a coincidence.

Castle and Beckett investigated further and uncovered Dick Coonan's secret identity: he had once gone by the name "Rathborne," a notorious contract killer—who, as it turned out, had murdered Beckett's mother 19 years ago.

But Coonan hadn't acted alone; he was only following orders. The real mastermind remained at large.

Unfortunately, Dick Coonan attempted to kidnap Castle during questioning and was shot and killed by Beckett during the scuffle, closing the door on that lead for good.

Beckett's mother had been murdered in an alley years ago, an event that inspired Beckett to become a cop in the first place. After so many years, she had nearly given up hope of ever learning the truth.

Then fate dangled the killer right in front of her—only to cruelly snatch away her chance for justice at the last moment, forcing her to shoot him and sealing off the path to the truth once again.