Kate sat on Castle's couch for what felt like an eternity, but she knew it was only a matter of minutes. She finally accepted that he had left the apartment without a word, without a good-bye, and in fact without having said anything since she entered the apartment.

She collected herself and made a beeline to the murderboard. The screen had gone black in her absence so she touched it tentatively realizing that she had never touched it before. Her eyes immediately focused on the missing picture of the "Mystery Caller." She touched the question mark and a new screen filled the monitor. This one had a smaller blank space where the picture should be and an outline of facts Castle had gathered about the caller.

The first entry was a date, she noted that it was after the shooting and after she had returned to work. The memories flashed back to her – she had been spiraling out of control after only a few days back on the job and Castle had convinced her to "give it time" to not let these guys rob her of her life. She new instantly that the caller must have persuaded Castle to make her back away from the case, but she didn't know what they would have used against him to be so persuasive.

The rest of the list:

a friend of Montgomery's
owed Montgomery his life
Montgomery sent files that if they got out could hurt some powerful people
the files were meant to keep Beckett and Montgomery's family safe
that Beckett cannot investigate the case or she will no longer be safe
death of Laura Cambridge somehow connected
phone number – 555-3452
part of a conspiracy that will keep Mayor Weldon away from governor aspirations
part of a conspiracy to ensure that Castle doesn't get kicked out of the 12th precinct.

A note at the bottom of the page revealed that the only people who knew about the Mystery Caller were Castle, Martha, and Alexis. Kate was dumbstruck that Castle would share this amazing piece of evidence with his family, but keep it from her and the other cops involved in the investigation. She frantically touched the screen eager to open up more information, but none of her movements altered the facts on the screen.

She grabbed the phone and without a plan in her head she dialed the phone number written on the board. It was answered by an automated voice stating the number was no longer in service. She grimaced as she heard the words and knew that the phone had been a burner cell. She wondered if Castle had ever called it and ever talked to the mystery caller or had ever seen him in person. She wondered if it even was a man.

Kate's rage was in full force. She was furious with Castle for keeping this from her, for keeping her from investigating her mother's murder when he had clearly not given it up too. She searched his desk for a flash drive so she could download all of the information he had collected. She gave no thought to the fact that she was invading his privacy. Her only thoughts were of betrayal and lost months when she could have been finding out who the mystery caller was.

She completed her task of downloading all of the information, but had not yet calmed down or formulated a plan. She had tried to reach Castle by cell phone. She allowed herself to leave one message stating that she was confused about the murderboard and that she wanted to talk and could he please call her back. Despite leaving a message she continued to call him every few minutes, but they continued to go unanswered.

She heard keys at the front entrance and she raced to the foyer to meet Castle and confront him with all of her anger. She took a step back as Alexis came into the room instead of Castle.

Alexis was startled to see Detective Beckett in the apartment, but was comfortable with the woman so she quickly relaxed. "Hello, Detective Beckett. I didn't expect you to be here."

Kate's anger did not dissipate when she saw Little Castle. She wanted answers and she wanted them now. She remembered from the murderboard that Alexis knew about the Mystery Caller. It went against every moral fiber in her body, but she decided to lie to Alexis. She even knew that she would regret the tactic later, but at the moment she was not in control of herself. She responded to Alexis, "No, I was just waiting for Castle. He, umm, he stepped out just before he was about to tell me some important information. In fact he said you and Martha knew about it." She was appalled at how easily and readily the lies came to her, but she continued with her ruse. "I really have to get back to the precinct. I didn't expect him to be gone this long. Maybe you could tell me what you know." She said it as a statement, she didn't want to give Little Castle a change to refuse.

Alexis was a pleaser and always ready to help. She shrugged at Detective Beckett, "If I can help, I'll try."

Kate led her into the office and woke up the monitor which immediately jumped to the screen with her face surrounded by persons of interest in the case. Kate moved with confidence, she didn't want Alexis to have any reason to doubt her authority to be in that room and to be viewing Castle's murderboard. "He said he was going to finally fill me in on this 'Mystery Caller,' but for some reason he took a call on his cell and left, telling me he would be back in a few minutes. But, like I said, I really have to get back to the precinct. What can you tell me about this man?" Kate asked as she tried not to appear over eager.

Alexis was slightly confused. She didn't know why her dad would promise to finally tell Detective Beckett about this big secret and then rush off without fulfilling his promise. But she had agreed with her Grandmother that Detective Beckett should be in the loop and was glad that her dad was going to reveal this information to her. Alexis said, "I don't know much. He called a while back, back when you and he weren't speaking much. He had promised that he wasn't going to go back to his 'research'. I'd been so worried about him working with you, worried that he would get hurt. He's just a writer, not a trained cop. But after that phone call he said he had to warn you away from your mother's case. He said it as the only way to keep you safe, so he wouldn't lose you again." Alexis stopped, afraid that she had given away too much that her father kept private. But then she realized that she felt good about sharing. She was tired of watching her dad follow Detective Beckett around like a love sick puppy and get nothing in return. Alexis was glad that she revealed some of her father's intentions so that the Detective could not feign ignorance over how her father felt toward her.

Kate heard the words coming out of Alexis' mouth and knew that she really was worried for her dad, that she silently blamed Kate for putting her father into dangerous situations without seeming to care that he had a family waiting at home for him. She had insulated herself from these thoughts many times by telling herself that Castle was a grown man and he could make his own decisions about whether or not to tag along with her. But she acknowledged that their relationship had changed over the years, that she no longer considered him a tag-a-long, but a full partner. She relied on him to back her up and to help keep her safe and she knew she strung him along with innuendo and high heels.

Kate was feeling overwhelmed by emotions of all kinds and she knew she had to escape from Castle's apartment. She was able to ask, "Is that all you know? Do you know if he ever called the man or saw him?"

Alexis shrugged and said, "I've never talked to dad about him since that one day. I wasn't even supposed to know that much except I was sitting outside his office while he talked with Grams about it. She wanted him to tell you right away, but he felt that you would only fall deeper into the case and get yourself killed in the process. He's probably right," she gestured to the murderboard, "look at all the pictures. You are the only one not marked 'deceased'."

Kate nodded in agreement and thanked Alexis for telling her what she knew. She knew the deception of this day would come to light sometime soon and she knew that she would grieve the loss of trust Alexis had in her, but she couldn't turn back time. She thanked Alexis and uncharacteristically gave the girl a hug. Kate felt compelled to make her good-bye a bit more formal than usual as she knew it may be the last time she saw the girl on good terms.

Alexis walked Detective Beckett to the front door, perplexed by the hug, but willing to go with the flow. She waved good-bye as she shut the front door and wondered where her father was.


A/N: I really feel like this behavior is out of character for Beckett, but I think that she is reeling in the wake of all the emotions of betraying Castle, being betrayed by Castle, and her mother's murder that you, my readers, will go with the flow.

Also, thanks for the reviews. Any ideas about where Castle is would be appreciated as well or how you think this should end. I've got a plan, but I'm not too pleased with it.