Beckett anotated the murder board with as much information as she could. The limited camera coverage in the hotel was a problem, especially as there was a back entrance that guests could use that didn't have a camera. They were still trawling through the lobby footage, but were yet to find any of Annie Dunkley.

"Forget going backwards from today, we're getting nowhere. Just go straight back to the footage from the day she checked in, find her on it. Then, see if there's anyone hanging around and work forward," Beckett instructed Ryan. He nodded and headed for his desk to continue the search.

"The local PD talked to the parents. They're making arrangements to get here, but it probably won't be until tomorrow," Esposito informed her. "She is a college student, but at Penn-State. The parents had no idea she was in New York."

"Did they know anything about the sci-fi stuff?"

"They were too distraught for the local PD to get much out of them. She has a brother, though, and he is in New York, or is supposed to be. He works at some comic book store."

Castle's eyebrows rose. "A comic book store? Hmm, interesting." He didn't elaborate and Beckett turned her attention back to Esposito.

"The parents are in no state to tell the brother, so I said we'd do it."

"Anything on the IDs of the others yet?"

He shook his head. "Not so far, but the prints are running now. They put a rush on it since it's a multiple homicide."

"Okay, Castle and I will track down the brother and see if he knew she was in New York and more importantly, find out if he knows the other vics. You do a full background check on Dunkley, college transcripts, everything. Find out who she hung out with at college."

"On it," said Esposito as he walked away.

"Castle, put it down," Beckett said with irritation as he picked up yet another comic book. They were waiting for Jeff Dunkley to finish up with a customer, but the customer seemed to be taking forever and Castle was making the most of the opportunity to roam the store and peruse all its merchandise.

"I thought you liked comics?" Castle queried, remembering she'd known who Frank Miller was.

"I do, when I'm not working," she said pointedly. He merely shrugged and continued to flip through the pages.

"I think I'll get this one for Alexis." He closed the comic and walked towards the counter.

"Of course it's for Alexis," Beckett muttered as she followed him.

"I'll be right with you," Jeff Dunkley told them as he finished up with the customer. He rang up the sale and wished the man a good day as he handed over the bag containing a rare comic book. "Sorry about that," he said as he gave them his full attention. "When someone's interested in buying a comic as expensive as that, you don't let them go."

"Understandable," Castle nodded.

"Want me to ring that up for you?" Jeff asked, motioning to the comic book that Castle was still holding.

"Sure."

"And then we'd like to talk to you, Mr Dunkley," Beckett said, producing her badge and introducing herself, leaving out that she worked in homicide. He rang up Castle's comic book while he waited for her to explain, but Beckett just gave him a soft look and, once the sale was complete, asked, "Is there somewhere more private we can talk, Mr Dunkley?"

"I'm the only one working, can it wait?"

"I'm afraid not. Can you lock up?"

He nodded and moved to the door, locking it securely and then leading them to a back room that was barely big enough to hold the table and four chairs it contained.

They each took a seat, Beckett ensuring she was facing Jeff and she started the conversation gently.

"When did you last hear from your sister, Mr Dunkley?"

"Annie? A couple of days ago."

"Was that in person?"

"No, on the phone. What's this about?"

Beckett dodged the question by asking another of her own. "When did you last see her in person?"

He thought for a moment and then replied, "A couple of weekends ago, we both went home for my mom's birthday."

"Did you know your sister was in New York?"

"She's here?" His suprise appeared genuine. "She's supposed to be at school. Is she in some kind of trouble?"

Beckett leaned forward in her seat and told him as gently as she could, "I'm afraid she was found dead this morning, in a hotel a few blocks from here."

Jeff Dunkley's face paled and he visibly shook. "No, that can't be, not Annie. Like I told you, she's at school. You must be mistaken."

"I'm afraid we're not. She had her driver's license on her, and the campus police have confirmed she hasn't been seen at college the last few days. Her roommate hasn't seen her. We do need someone to formally ID the body, but we're sure it's her. I'm very sorry."

"But it doesn't make sense," he argued, his voice distraught. "You said she was found in a hotel. Why would she be there? Why wouldn't she stay with me?"

"She checked in three days ago. When exactly did you last speak to her?"

"The night before last."

"And she seemed okay? Was there any particular reason she called?"

"She seemed fine. She was just calling to say hi. We keep in regular contact, but she usually calls me when she gets time between classes and study." Jeff raised pleading eyes to Beckett. "Please, tell me this isn't true."

"I'm sorry, Mr Dunkley," Beckett said softly.

"Do... do my parents know?"

"Yes, the local police informed them. They'll be here tomorrow."

He nodded and dipped his head again. "How did it happen?"

Beckett had to strain to make out his words. He spoke very quietly and the sound was muffled due to his voice being directed at his chest.

"She was stabbed."

Instead of his head shooting up in shock as she'd expected, he drew his hands to the back of his neck and started rocking back and forwards. Finally composing himself, he raised tearstained eyes to meet hers.

"Someone broke in?"

"We're not sure of the circumstances yet, but she wasn't alone."

"You caught who did it?" he asked hopefully.

"No. She wasn't the only victim. There were others in the room."

He caught the plural. "Others? How many?"

"There were five victims in total."

"Oh my God."

"I'm very sorry to ask you this, Mr Dunkley, but do you know who your sister's friends were, anyone she might spend time with, come to New York with, let into her hotel room?"

Jeff looked at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"We don't know who the other victims are," Castle explained. "They're four men, well, around the same age as your sister, but they had no IDs on them."

"I... I don't understand. Annie is... was," he stammered, "very quiet. She hardly spoke to anyone and was very shy around guys. Even my buddies, who she grew up around, could hardly get any words out of her if they saw her. I don't think she really had any friends, none that she mentioned anyway, she just studied."

"Was your sister into science fiction?" Castle asked, sensing they wouldn't get much more out of him about her friends.

"No, that's my thing. Annie used to say I'm a total sci-fi nerd; I'd call her a study nerd," he said wistfully.

"But she'd know, for instance, who Princess Leia was?"

"Doesn't everyone?" he shrugged. "Why?"

Beckett sent Castle a look before he could continue, silently telling him not to reveal the victims state of dress when they were found. She resumed the questioning, changing the subject.

"When did you move to New York?"

"About a year ago. I finished college and decided to move here with some of my friends."

"What did you study in college?" It probably wasn't a relevant question, but Beckett wanted to relax him before moving the topic back to his sister.

"Business."

"You moved here to try and get a job?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "I took this job while I searched for an entry level position, but... well, I'm still here. Economic crisis, you know?"

Beckett smiled at him. "Getting to read comics all day can't be all that bad."

"It's pretty cool," he shrugged.

"I think Castle here would say it was very cool," Beckett grinned, looking at Castle and receiving a fast head bob in confirmation of her statement. She then brought the conversation back around to Annie.

"Did your sister ever visit you here, in New York?"

"Once," he replied. "About six months ago, for a weekend. She wanted to go to some seminar and needed a place to stay."

"Your roommates didn't mind her staying?"

"Nah, they were cool about it. I gave her my room and I crashed on the couch, so it wasn't like it really affected them."

Beckett nodded and opened the file she'd brought with her. "I'm sorry to ask you to do this, Mr Dunkley, but could you take a look at these photos and let me know if you recognise anyone?" She handed over the photos of the other victims and watched his reaction closely.

He blanched as he saw the lifeless faces, but shook his head. "No, I don't know any of them." The photos had been headshots only, with all headgear removed, so that the costumes weren't visible and Beckett decided to still keep that aspect of the scene quiet since a press blackout was in place.

Retrieving the photos, she considered her next move, but her cellphone rang before she could form a question. Noting the caller ID and excusing herself, she stepped outside the room to take the call from Esposito.

Jeff Dunkley couldn't stop his eyes from welling again and Castle was at a loss for words, unsure of how to comfort the young man. Thankfully, they were only alone for a couple of minutes before Beckett returned and recaimed her seat.

"Mr Dunkley, thank you for your time and I'm very sorry about your sister. Is there anything we can do for you?" she asked gently.

He shook his head in reply and then with a shaky voice asked, "You said someone needs to ID her body, do I need to do that?"

"No, your father has confirmed he'll do it when he gets here tomorrow," she replied, relaying some of the latest information from Esposito. Standing up, she offered her hand to Dunkley, who shook it weakly. Castle offered his hand as well when he stood. "Here's my card, if you need anything, please contact me," Beckett said.

"Thank you," Dunkley replied.

"Is there anyone I can call to come down here and take over from you?" she asked as she realized there would be no one to run the store.

"There's someone else due here in a little while anyway, but thank you," he replied. Beckett nodded as she and Castle took their leave.

"Think he'll be okay?" Castle asked as they exited to the street.

"I hope so. Unfortunately there's not much we can do."

"Shouldn't we have waited until he was off work before talking to him?"

"I'd have liked to, but with a multiple murder, time is of the essence."

"Do you think he knows more than he's letting on?"

They had reached the car and Beckett got in it before answering. "I don't think he knew anyone in the photos, but I'm not sure that Annie Dunkley was as squeaky clean as he's making out, not when we found her in a hotel room dressed as Princess Leia and with a group of guys."

"And dressed as Slave Leia as well," Castle commented, drawing a curious look from his partner. "That wasn't just any Princess Leia costume," he explained, "it was Slave Leia. All the rage at conventions and not really for the shy, quiet type."

"Well, we'll have to consider that later. Right now, we have another body."

"We do?" Castle queried, surprised they would get another case when they were already dealing with five murders.

"Yeah, not far from here, a hotel a few blocks in the other direction, guy dressed up as Doctor Who, apparently."

Castle sat forward in his seat eagerly and turned his head to look at her. "Really? Which generation?"

"What?"

"You don't know anything about Doctor Who, do you?" he said, giving her a pitying look. He added to his earlier mental note, deciding he would buy her at least one dvd boxset.

"I have better things to do with my time than watch sci-fi shows, Castle," she told him, "like catching murderers."

"You make them sound pointless," he complained. "You should really watch some of them sometime. I can introduce you to some great shows. There's one about a space cowboy -"

Beckett cut him off. "Castle, are you forgetting we have yet another body? Not really the time to be discussing tv shows."

"I beg to differ," he argued, remembering his original point. "The generation of Doctor that the guy is dressed up as may tell us a lot about him."

"I'd settle for just knowing his name. Esposito said he's another with no ID."

"All the more important to know the generation then."

"Okay, Castle, I'll bite," she said with a hint of annoyance. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"The Doctor regenerates every so often, it's the way they explain a new actor taking over the part. Every Doctor is unique though, usually through specific costume items and mannerisms. It'll be interesting to see which Doctor he chose to emulate."

"Right, that'll be the interesting part," Kate said dryly.

"Usually people choose to emulate the generation of Doctor that they grew up with, so it'll give an indication of his age, at least."

She turned a semi-amused gaze to him. "You don't think those of us who are trained detectives, not to mention our medical examiner, will be able to tell his age by, oh I don't know, looking at him?"

"Okay, so it won't really help with that part," he acknowledged begrudgingly, "but it'll still be interesting."

"To anyone other than you?"

Knowing she had him, Castle pulled out his iPhone and started to play with it.

TBC...

Thank you for the reviews and story alerts. As always, they're greatly appreciated.