Primary Suspect

Season 9, Episode 3

Written by ipreferwestside

This is a work of fiction by writers with no professional connection to ABC network's Castle. Recognizable characters are the property of Andrew Marlowe and ABC. Names, places, and incidents are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.


The woman sighed as she trudged down the hall, arms wrapped around bags of groceries. It had been a long night at her graveyard shift, and she just wanted to get inside, put her food away, and crawl into bed. As she approached her door, keys in her hand, she heard faint voices, then the slam of a door towards the end of the hall.

She looked up at the sound of quick footsteps approaching, and was startled to see a figure in a dark sweatshirt, hood obscuring their face. The person didn't acknowledge her, just breezed past, rushed steps carrying them towards the stairs.

Curiosity piqued, she abandoned her efforts to get her key into the lock, and instead went to the apartment at the end of the hall. She knew very little about the young woman who lived there, only her name and that she was a student, from brief exchanges when they would meet in the hall. When she noticed the door open, her brows furrowed and she slowed down, not wanting to disturb the young woman.

"Hello?" she called out quietly, then again louder when there was no response. "Is everything okay?" After a momentary pause at the door, she stepped over the threshold and into the apartment.

Still no response.

Her eyes swept through the small living room; still nothing. "Paige? Are you- oh my God!"

The groceries fell from her arms, landing with a thud, as she raised a hand over her mouth. Her eyes were glued to the scene in the kitchen, to the young woman lying facedown on the floor, a pool of blood growing beneath her.

She didn't even notice a stray apple roll from her discarded bag to rest next to the lifeless body.


Castle turned from the coffee bar, a mug in each hand, and scanned the busy cafe for his companion. He saw the distinctive red hair in the far corner, and as he approached the table, he noticed she was typing furiously on her phone. "Everything okay?" he asked, setting one mug in front of her.

Alexis scowled at her phone before dropping it into her purse, which she set on her lap. "Yeah, fine." She wrapped her fingers around her mug. "Just...stuff. How was your week?"

Castle raised an eyebrow, but didn't press. They hadn't spoken much in the previous couple weeks; he'd been busy at the precinct and with writing, and Alexis had been caught up with a full start of the school year. "It was good." He launched into a story about their latest case, although not as animated as he typically would be.

Alexis hardly reacted, nodding and asking questions when appropriate. When he asked how her week had been, she paused before responding. "It was fine. Busy." She glanced at her phone once more before standing. "I have to get going. Thanks for the coffee, Dad."

Castle stood to hug his daughter goodbye, sitting back down as she left the cafe, and finished his coffee in silence. He'd seen Alexis quiet, but she'd been a different quiet. Distracted, withdrawn. He stared at her half-empty mug, his finger tracing the rim of his. He wasn't planning on going to the precinct that day, but he didn't want to go home yet. Maybe he'd kill some time, bring Kate lunch in a few hours.

After about an hour of playing Angry Birds, his phone started to buzz, and his wife's face appeared on the screen. He grinned at the picture of her, one he'd caught of her sticking her tongue out at him. "Hey, I was just thinking about you. Are you free for lunch in a bit?"

"I wish. Are you still with Alexis?"

Castle straightened in his seat. "No, she just left. Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." Kate sighed, and Castle could imagine her pinching the bridge of her nose. "Sorry, the nausea's killing me right now."

"Oh, why didn't you call sooner?" He stood and grabbed his bag, swinging it over his shoulder as he made his way to the door. "I'll bring you some tea."

"Thanks, babe, but I have some. Ryan and Espo got a case, though. You want in?"


The apartment was crawling with uniforms when Castle arrived. He'd rather be at the precinct with his wife, or better yet, taking care of her at home. But she didn't want to be coddled, wouldn't want him just sitting around. He'd bring her some tea later, despite her protest, and a cronut. A cronut always made her feel better.

"Hey, Ryan, what do we have?" he asked when he entered the apartment. His eyes took in the scene in front of him: CSU techs tagging and dusting for fingerprints, stepping around the shattered vase on the floor, a discarded grocery bag with food falling out of it.

"About time you showed up," Ryan teased from his crouch by the body on the floor.

"Funny." Castle stopped well outside the pool of blood, careful not to disturb anything. He nodded his thanks to LT when the man handed him a pair of gloves. "Wanna fill me in? Or are you quitting your day job to become a comedian?"

Esposito interrupted any potential comeback from Ryan. "Neighbor only knew the victim in passing. Apparently, she'd just gotten home when she heard arguing, couldn't make out any words. But someone rushed past her, wearing a hoodie. She doesn't know who it was, didn't see a face."

Castle surveyed the room. "I don't see any pictures out here. Do we know who she is yet?"

"Yeah, her name-"

Castle barely registered Ryan informing him of the young woman's identity; his eyes were focused on the victim's face when Lanie turned her over.

"Paige," he whispered.

Ryan and Esposito shared a look. "You know her?"

Castle nodded, barely aware of his hand moving to his coat pocket. "Paige Galloway, she's Alexis's best friend." He dialed Alexis, but was answered only by the happy welcome of her voicemail. "Hey, it's me. Can you call me when you get this?"

How was he going to tell his daughter that her best friend was dead?

"Oh, man." Esposito laid a reassuring hand on his back. "I'm sorry. We'll find the son of a bitch who did this."

"We will," Castle insisted. "Lanie, how'd she die?"

Lanie glanced at Esposito. "Stabbed. She has several knife wounds to the chest and abdomen. Whatever weapon the killer used, it had a wide blade."

"She has a knife block, but no butcher's knife. Maybe that? A weapon of opportunity?"

Lanie shrugged and stood, then removed her gloves. "Could be. You find it, I can match it. Hey." She grabbed Castle's arm when he turned away and pulled him into a hug. "I'm sorry."

"Thanks." Castle pulled away and dialed Kate. "Let's just find the killer."