Chapter 1

The phone was ringing somewhere on the nightstand. "Beckett." It was the worst of all nights to have a body drop. After Castle's behavior the last few weeks Beckett was having a harder time focusing on anything. Her life was fine before he came into it. Well maybe not fine, but at least it was hers. Now she was having a hard time picturing her life without him in it. All that thinking had kept her up until the wee hours of the morning. It seemed like she had just gone to sleep when the phone rang.

"Give me that address again." She forced herself to sit up and wrote the address down. She no longer trusted herself to remember. Throwing on a pair of slacks and a shirt she pulled her hair back into a ponytail and grabbed her phone. She wouldn't call at four am but she could send him a text. That way it looked like she tried.

Driving to the crime scene she couldn't help but notice the address. It was right next to the precinct. Pulling up out front. She followed the activity to the law offices next door. Esposito met her near the entrance.

"Beckett, we've got a big one."

"What do you mean?"

"The victim's pretty high profile."

"Who is it?"

"Judge Markaway." Kate remembered all the warrants she'd gone to Markaway for. She remembered the time she'd played poker with Castle and Markaway, and the Mayor. "Beckett there's something else. He was stabbed, and the wounds look familiar"

Beckett didn't need to ask. A stabbing immediately took her back to 1999, to her own Mother's murder. Her hand went to her chest on its own. Feeling the scar under her shirt where a sniper's bullet had entered.

Lanie was crouched near the body and looked up when Kate entered. "Lanie what have you found?"

"Well the wounds look familiar. The fatal wound certainly appears to have been delivered as a low angle thrust to the kidney and tearing indicates that it was twisted. Like the others the additional stab wounds were for show. Inflicted after he was immobilized and on the ground."

"You're telling me this is his eighth victim?"

"Sweetie it certainly looks that way. I'll get him to the morgue and do a full workup but it looks like we are dealing with the same guy that killed your mom." Lanie hated the look that statement caused on Beckett's face. The homicide detective normally so together and strong was suddenly that 19 year old crossing the police tape for the first time. "Where's Castle?" Kate just shook her head. "He should be here for this. He should be here for you."

"Lanie that's done. I've screwed it up and I'm done trying to set the clock back. Right now I've got much bigger things to worry about. Will you give me a call as soon as you get finished?"

"Girl you'll be my first call."

"Thanks."

Kate was standing in front of the board writing down what they had gathered at the scene when the elevator dinged and the familiar smell of coffee filled the room. She turned to grab a photograph from the desk and noticed Castle standing there looking over the board. One coffee in his hand, staring at the board. He had stopped bringing her coffee weeks ago and yet it still stung. She picked the now cold mug from her desk and took a sip.

"Beckett, was Judge Markaway murdered?"

"Yes, Castle I'm so sorry I meant to give you a call once I knew but it's been crazy around here." Castle noticed the circles under her eyes. He'd gotten the text this morning and knew that she'd been up since at least four. He regretted not getting her a coffee too, but he was still angry and hurt. He stepped to the board to read what they had gotten.

Beckett's phone rang on the desk and she answered. "We're on our way." Beckett grabbed her jacket. "Lanie has something. Wanna go."

"Absolutely." Castle followed and the ride to the medical examiners office was just as tense as the last three weeks had been. Kate knew they needed to talk but Castle kept saying everything was OK. She was tired of pushing. She knew it was all her fault and was ready to let him go his own way. Back into the world to be a famous writer.

Walking into the room Lanie grabbed a baggie from the desk and handed it to Beckett. "Now there's no doubt who's involved." Beckett read the piece of paper. Castle + Smith = Trouble for Beckett, was all that was written there. "I found it stuffed in the pocket of his shirt." She handed the paper to Castle.

"What about the wounds were you right?"

"Yes it's the same type of wound used on your mother and the four other stabbing victims. Bruising makes it look like it was the same type knife as well." Lanie watched Castle as he read the paper. The look on his face was odd. It wasn't the shocked look that she would have expected. "Oh, and time of death was between eight and ten."

"Thanks let me know if you get anything else."

Outside the door Kate stopped. "Castle who is Smith?" She half thought it was another bimbo like the one he'd been parading around the last few weeks. Reading the note she thought it was someone pointing out that she and Castle were over.

Castle sat in one of the chairs outside the autopsy room. Picking at the paper sleeve on his coffee cup he began. "Right after you were shot a man named Smith called me. He said that Roy had sent him some files. Files that Montgomery had used for leverage to keep his family and you safe. Smith said that he'd gotten the files after your shooting but that whoever was doing all this knew he had them and that as long as you stopped investigating then you'd be safe."

"That's why you asked me to back off?" Castle shook his head. "You had no right." Beckett began to walk away.

"I can contact him." Castle shouted after her. Beckett stopped and stood there with her back to him for a few moments as if she was deciding which path to take.

"Make the call."