CHAPTER 2

After several hours in a courtroom listening to the arguments made by each side, Castle was more than ready to leave. He sat in the back and tried to avoid notice. Most of the time being recognized as a famous author wasn't bad, but at a trial, it would be very bad.

The trial regarded an assault on a young woman outside The Old Haunt. Castle hadn't seen what had happened. He had been down in the basement office, catching up on some accounts. Brian had come down and told him that a young woman had been assaulted on the street. He and the other bartender, Jack, had gone out to help and the guy fled when he saw them. Brian and Jack had brought the woman inside and called the police, but she was pretty shaken up. Castle had gone upstairs and calmed her down, given her something to drink, and given her a heads-up on what the officers would ask her.

He was called to the trial as a potential witness. Brian and Jack were also called and Castle could see them sitting a few rows ahead of him.

Kate was worried about his safety because she heard through the cop grapevine that the assault suspect had mob ties. And if he was high up, the mob could pay to take out anyone they thought was a threat to their guy's freedom. Castle thought it adorable that she worried. Truth be told, he was worried too. He didn't know the gory details, but if Kate was worried, there was a reason to be worried. He knew what Kate's shooting had done to him, even when he knew she was alive. The thought of what his death would do to her was unbearable.

And the child. Castle wanted so badly to meet their child. Kate was scarcely showing, only a tiny little bump that one would only notice if one was looking for it. They didn't know if it was a boy or a girl yet. A boy would be interesting, Castle thought. He had no experience with boys. But a baby sister for Alexis would be nice too.

The sound of a gavel striking jolted Castle back to the present. The judge was adjourning the proceedings for the day. Castle couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief, yet he felt it was six hours of his life he'd never get back. Neither of the lawyers had called him to the stand and neither Brian nor Jack had been called either.

Castle slipped quickly out into the vestibule and pulled out his phone. He dialed Kate and walked down the courthouse steps as it rang.

"Hey, Castle," Kate picked up quickly.

"Hey, how's desk duty?" Castle asked.

Kate sighed, but Castle could hear a hint of amusement in her voice. "Lots of sitting," she commented dryly.

Castle chuckled. "Well, the judge just adjourned for the day, so I'll be at the precinct soon."

"Good, I miss you," Kate said. "Ryan and Esposito caught a freaky one this morning. You'll enjoy it."

"Can't wait," Castle smiled. "See you soon."

" 'Kay. Love you."

"Love you."

He hung up and then dialed a different number as he walked down the block to where he parked the Mercedes.

Fifteen minutes later, he was stepping off the elevator into the bullpen. He went immediately to Kate, standing in front of the murder board. Gates hadn't put her on strict desk duty; the captain's only condition was no suspect take-downs or any situation that involved a flak vest. Castle knew Kate writhed a bit under that restraint, but he was relieved Gates was so firm on keeping Kate safe.

Castle wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Hey," Kate said, grasping his clasped hands with her own.

"Hey. Heard you caught a freaky one."

Kate nodded. "Want the gory details?"

"Yes, please," Castle said as he perched on the edge of Kate's desk.

"So, vic's name is John Leung, Asian male, late twenties. He was found dead in his apartment, cause of death is repeated blunt force trauma. We have him on security footage entering his floor at 7 pm. But here's the weird part. He told the night guard at the front desk he didn't want to be disturbed for any reason. There's no evidence he received any visitors last night and he doesn't appear on the security feed again. But the doors were locked when we got there, the windows are painted shut, and there's no other way out, but the apartment was empty when we arrived with no signs of forced entry."

"So a man returns to his apartment, locks the doors, no one else enters or leaves, yet somehow he winds up dead. Could it have been suicide?"

"Could be," Kate conceded. "The circumstances are right; locking the doors, not wanting to be disturbed. But we didn't find a note and blunt force trauma is not the most effective way to commit suicide. Besides, everyone we talked to in the building said Leung was happy with his job and his life, no history of depression. Nothing that would indicate he was suicidal."

"So how did the killer get in?" Castle asked.

"Precisely," Kate said, brandishing her whiteboard pen. "And for that matter, how did he get out?"

"Could there be a hidden room, like in the Nikki Heat murders?" Four years ago, a serial killer and arsonist had been using his murders as a way of sending messages dedicated to Nikki Heat. Things got so intense, the FBI got involved. Everyone at the 12th referred to them as the "Nikki Heat murders."

"I thought of that," Kate replied. "CSU's going over the apartment with a fine-tooth comb, but I'm not confident. The floor plan's pretty simple, not really any space to have a secret room. And the building's relatively new. It's not like it's decades-old and could have a room that's been sealed up since the 40s.

"Ryan and Esposito are canvassing the building to see if any of the tenants saw someone suspicious hanging around," she continued, "but again, I'm not confident. Most of the occupants are middle-class, meaning they'd likely be at work on a weekday."

"You said the door was locked when you guys arrived?" Castle interrupted.

Kate turned to look at him. He had that tone that said "something doesn't add up." "Yeah. Why?"

"Well, if the door was locked and no one went in or out, who found the body?"

"Building super said he got a call that there was a leak in Leung's apartment. He went up to fix it but he got no response when he knocked. He got worried when the desk clerk said Leung hadn't left for work yet. He used his master key and found the body in the living room."

"Why would the building super be worried? Leung could have had the day off and been sleeping in and not heard him knock," Castle reasoned.

"Castle, it's Wednesday and Leung worked as an accountant at an office in Midtown. Trust me, he would be going to work," Kate assured him.

Just then, Kate's desk phone rang. "Beckett," she answered. "Okay, we'll be right there.

"That was Lanie," she reported. "She's got something."

Hi guys! First, thank you to those who reviewed the first chapter! If you were worried about the names, I did change them :) Please keep reading and reviewing!