The next morning Kate left the Castles' at the hospital and went home to change before heading to the station. When she finally arrived she went into the observation room to see how Starrk was holding up under Esposito's scrutinizing. She couldn't hold back a short bark of laughter at the boy's countenance. He was already shaking and sweat was dripping of his face. His eyes darted to Esposito's face and then back to the table in front of him. The anxiety rolled off of him in palpable waves. She hadn't even started yet. She was so going to enjoy this. She tapped the window gently, signaling Esposito to exit. She watched as the detective gave a final glare at the kid and walked out.

"Castle and Alexis will be here in twenty. Can you get the line up ready? And when will Reynolds be here?"

"Right now." A deep booming voice announced from before them. Detective Reynolds was in his mid-fifties and easily towered over everyone else in the room at an impressive six foot seven inches. His dark hair was turning gray at the temples but that did little to downplay his intimidation factor. Kate knew what she was doing when she invited this man into the interrogation room. He exchanged pleasantries with the detectives and asked what they would like for him to do. His grin cut his face in two as Beckett explained her plan. They talked for a few more minutes before she received a text from Castle saying they where on his way up. When the elevator doors opened she watched not only Castle and his daughter disembark but also Ryan. They joined the group and Beckett had to repress the surprise she felt as Alexis wrapped her in a hug. Quickly coming to her senses, she introduced the new arrivals to Detective Reynolds, before ushering them all into the observation room for the line up.

"He wont be able to see you, Alexis, so you don't have to worry about that. The officer will bring in five suspects. When your ready take a good look at all of them and let me know if you recognize any of them."

When Alexis had confirmed that she understood, Beckett signaled the officer to bring in the suspects. Before they had even lined up Alexis choked out the number two.

"Number two," she repeated, her voice cracking, "it's number two."

Castle stood next to his daughter with a cup of coffee in one hand and his arm around her shoulders. When she identified the man that hurt her, Kate saw his knuckles whiten around the mug, trying to keep control of his emotions. She reached over and squeezed his hand, attempting to shift some of her strength into him. His grip didn't loosen, but he managed to shoot her a tight smile.

"Alright. You did good Alexis." She directed the group out into the bullpen. Ryan I want you to stay out here and keep an eye on Castle and Alexis. Do not let Castle anywhere near that room." She turned to Castle, " I know you want to come in there with me, but you can't. Stay here with Alexis and Ryan. I don't think it will take long, once I get in there."

"Can't we at least watch?" He whined. Ryan looked at her just as eager to watch as Castle was.

"Nope." Come on Espo, Reynolds, let's get this over with." The two guys followed her into the box, just as Montgomery came out of his office. Noticing the glum expressions of the small group huddled around Beckett's desk; he went over to inquire about the long faces.

"Beckett just went into the box but she said we can't watch." Ryan informed his boss.

"Ohh, but you're the Captain. You can overrule that. Can we please watch?" Castle all but begged.

The captain could easily ignore the pleading look on Castles face, he didn't even need a second to look past Ryan's enthusiastic face, but there was no way he could get pass the puppy dog eyes that Alexis was sending his way. He let out a huff and answered, "I'll get the popcorn." He grinned as Alexis brightly smiled and the two men fed the birds and rapidly entered the observation room.

When the foursome entered Beckett had just finished the introductions. She sat in front of the teenager, next to Esposito, and began the official questioning by asking what he was doing at the time of Alexis' attack. It didn't take long for her to realize that this kid a genius was not. He stuttered his way through his lies, stating he had been home, watching TV. His nose was broken when he fell into the kitchen counter, trying to get a soda out of the fridge. She then sat a picture of Alexis in front of him.

"Do you know this girl?"

"No, I've never seen her before." She could clearly see the panic rise in his eyes before he averted them.

"Really, then would you care to tell me how your blood got on her shirt?" Her tone was fierce and had him leaning back in his chair, trying to put as much distance as possible between him and the detective. Inside the observation room, Ryan chuckled at the young mans action. They all had amused looks on their faces, but it was Alexis that spoke first.

"Twenty says she makes him wet himself." The others looked on in disbelief before shaking themselves out of it.

"Twenty he throws up" Ryan adds.

"Fifty he does both." Castle added before looking at the captain expectantly.

"Twenty on him passing out."

Inside the interrogation room things had gotten tenser. The boy, though faced with all the evidence was adamant about his innocence.

"Daniel, This girl you attacked. I've known her for a few years now. She's my partners daughter, and I care a great deal about her." Her voice low and threatening, "Now, we know you slipped drugs into her drink. We know you grabbed her. We know you chased her. We also know she busted your nose. Ask yourself; do you really want to keep this charade up? The more you lie, the angrier I get, and trust me you don't want that." His eyes widened, fear gripping him. He hadn't realized how bad his situation was until now.

"I'm just gonna grab a cup of coffee Beckett, I will be back in a few minutes." Detective Reynolds interrupted.

"What? No, you cant leave me alone with her." The boy yelled suddenly

"Don't worry," he drawled, "It's just coffee. Won't take but a minute."

"There's an espresso machine in the break room, it takes a little longer, but it's worth it." Beckett replied agreeably, completely ignoring the outburst.

"Now that sounds nice. I think I will try that." He turned to leave.

"No, don't. Your right. I did what you say. Just don't leave."

Kate inwardly laughed at his reaction, but just slid a notepad and pen over to the suspect, instructing him to write his confession in as much detail as possible. Fifteen minutes later he was done. Reynolds stood him up to lead him back to the cell as Beckett turned off the tape recorder. Kate leaned into the boy's side and hissed in his ear, "My best friend is the medical examiner. If I hear you've so much as jaywalked in the future, your body will end up on one of her tables in a hundred pieces, and she will say you died of natural causes. Do you understand me?" He gulped and nodded mutely as a wet patch became visible on his pants.

When Kate and Esposito exited the room they found the others sniggering and cash being placed in Alexis' hands. "What's going on out here?"

"That was so cool!" Castle exclaimed. "What did you tell him at the end? And why didn't you say more. I lost fifty bucks because he didn't throw up!"

"You where betting on what I would make the suspect do?" She asked, knowing this shouldn't surprise her. She shook her head and didn't wait for a response. "Captain I know I requested this weekend off, but"

The Captain interrupted her. " I'm glad I caught you Beckett. There was a mistake with your vacation paperwork. Turns out it doesn't start until today. Have a good week." He winked at her and walked back into his office, highly pleased with his teams work today.

"So, dinner at the loft?" Castle suggested. Kate looked a little unsure until Alexis again hugged her, looked her in the eye. "Please?"

"Okay." She really did want to spend more time with the young girl; make sure she was okay.