Author's note: This chapter is longer than the last couple, but hopefully you like it. It's mostly an interrogation scene, so lots of dialogue. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Castle, or the characters. Just borrowing them for a while.


Chapter 3

Beckett stood in the observation room and looked through the glass at the woman sitting there. The woman glanced around the room while she waited, seemingly very interested in the glass. If Beckett didn't know better, she would say that the woman was looking right at her. Beckett still couldn't shake the feeling that had started in Watson's apartment; she had seen this woman before. Beckett turned away from the window as the door to the observation room opened.

Ryan walked in and handed Beckett a folder. "I ran that background check you asked for. Jessica Gardner is clean, but her identity is only six months old. She isn't who she says she is."

Beckett was intrigued. "Okay, I'm going to ask her about that, if she gives us another name, run it."

"Got it." Ryan went to the computer and logged in. "Ready when you are."

Beckett left the observation room and almost ran into Castle as he brought her a coffee.

Castle' eyes got huge. "Did I spill on you?"

"No, we just missed colliding. And there's no time for that; the girlfriend is here." Beckett was impatient to figure out why "Jessica" was using a false identity.

Castle turned as Detective Karpowski walked by. "Hey, Karpowski."

Karpowski stopped. "Yeah?"

Castle held up the espresso. "Want a coffee?"

Karpowski looked confused. "Sure." She took the cup. "Thanks?"

Beckett smirked to stop herself from laughing. "Come on, Castle."

With that, Beckett walked into the interrogation room. "Jessica" sat up and looked at the detective with complete calm. Let's see how long that lasts. Beckett sat down and just looked at the woman for a few moments. She seemed innocent, but then, so had Coonan the first time she'd talked to him. When she could see that "Jessica" was getting a little uneasy, she opened the folder Ryan handed her and glanced at the information.

Jessica finally cracked. "I'm sorry, I don't understand why I'm here."

Beckett looked up from the folder. "We wanted to ask you a few questions."

Jessica looked confused. "About what?"

Beckett stayed relaxed. "About Brian Watson. How did you know him?"

Jessica was still confused. "We worked together at Bretz and Coven. We were also dating."

Beckett decided to keep things light, at least for now. "How long were the two of you dating?"

Jessica answered quickly. "Four months. Why? Is he in trouble?"

Beckett ignored her question. "Why did he break it off?"

Jessica couldn't figure out what was going on. "He didn't. I did. He was moving things along faster than I wanted them to, so I told him it was time for us to break up."

Castle decided to needle her a little. "That's not what your co-workers said."

Jessica became defensive. "All they heard was the fight we had because I ended it. Brian didn't want to move on; he wanted us to move in together."

Beckett could see it was time to catch her off guard. "Is that why you killed him?"

"Wait, he's dead? When, how..." Jessica sputtered, then became shocked, "you think I did it? What makes you think that I had anything to do with it? I would never hurt him!"

Castle decided to give his theory. "I think that he found out that you weren't who you said you were, and so you had to silence him."

Jessica grew wary. "What are you talking about?"

Beckett took the offensive. "Jessica Gardner doesn't exist. Credit history only goes back six months; it's the same with your background check. So who are you?"

Jessica went pale. "Can you promise you won't tell my boss?"

Beckett wasn't going to make any promises. "Is there any reason why I shouldn't?"

Jessica decided to take the plunge. "Fine, my name is Alexandra Stevens. I work for a national investigation company that specializes in finding financial fraud. The top partner of Bretz and Coven discovered that there may be an embezzlement scam in his company, so I was hired to find out which employees were involved. The real reason I broke up with Brian was that the relationship was a lie, but he thought it was real, so I ended it to minimize the damage. The fight was just for show. I knew that there were rumors that I wasn't who I said I was, so I wanted to give them something else to gossip about instead."

Beckett was surprised, but she hid it well. "Why were you dating him in the first place?"

Alexandra sighed. "When I first got to the company, it was easy to see that he was involved with the scam somehow. Dating him got me access to the how. Plus, I had to find an excuse to be in his office a lot. I'm an accounts supervisor, so I had access to records Brian didn't, but the records that I was getting looked doctored. I was using my access to him to look at original documents. He was only entry level in the scam though. I'm working on finding out who he was working with."

Castle asked the obvious question. "Did you?"

"Yes, but it goes higher than I've had time to figure out. Or the access for that matter." Alexandra became hesitant. "I have a suspicion that one of the Junior Partners is involved somehow."

Castle jumped in again. "When was the last time you saw Brian?"

Alexandra thought back, "That would be when we were leaving work last night. We were in the elevator together. He was trying very hard not to look at me, like I didn't even exist. Is he really dead?"

Beckett thought it was time to see if she had an alibi. "Where were you last night between 1am and 4am?"

Alexandra knew the answer wouldn't clear her. "Home, alone, asleep."

"Can anyone confirm that?" Beckett hoped that there would be a way to confirm Alexandra's story.

Alexandra shrugged. "Maybe my neighbors. I know I said hello to Mrs. Grovener when I passed her in the hall."

"I'll be checking that out." Beckett decided to change tactics. "Do you know of anyone by the name of Richard Coonan? He would be about 45."

Alexandra blinked in confusion. "No, I don't think so."

Beckett tried again, "He may have gone by Dick Coonan."

Alexandra thought about it, but shook her head. "I know a Dick Walters, but he's an eighty year old man that just restructured his will with us."

"How about the name Rathborne?" Beckett was hoping that one of the names would be recognized.

Alexandra was still confused. "No, I've never heard that name. Why? Do you think these men are connected with Brian?"

Castle ignored her question. "The Junior Partner you're investigating. Is he capable of murder?"

"Not directly, no," Alexandra paused, "but I wouldn't put it past him to hire someone to do his dirty work. He doesn't exactly have a clean reputation. What happened to Brian?"

Beckett pulled the crime scene photo out of the file and set it on the table. "He was stabbed to death in his apartment."

Beckett felt bad about being so blunt, but she wanted to see Alexandra's reaction. Alexandra gasped and looked shocked. She quickly turned the photo over and took a deep breath to steady herself. Beckett was distracted by a knock on the window. She gathered up the file and left the room, Castle close behind her. Ryan was waiting for them in the observation room.

"Alexandra Stevens checks out. Her current employer is Hardy and Drew Investigations. They specialize in credit checks, financial fraud, and investigating art theft and forgeries." Ryan held up a printout. "Stevens is one of their best. She transferred here from Chicago via London a couple months after she was assaulted by one of the employees she was investigating. Apparently she has been using false identities while on the job ever since."

Beckett looked at the paper. "What else did you get?"

Ryan hesitated before continuing. "Stevens is her adopted name. She was orphaned at eleven when her father was killed in '99. Her name was Alexandra Murray."

Beckett realized why she recognized her face. "Was her father Scott Murray?" Ryan nodded.

Castle recognized the connection. "Her father was killed by Rathborne."

Ryan held up another printout. "Yeah, after that, she was shuffled into the system and adopted by a Michael Stevens. They moved to California soon after. Then when she was 16, they moved to Chicago. Not too long after she graduated from college, Hardy and Drew hired her."

Beckett looked over the second printout. "Where is her adopted father now?"

Esposito walked in and answered Beckett. "Dead. He died in a car accident just before she graduated." He handed her a copy of the death certificate. "It was a nasty accident too. Apparently they had to identify him using dental records."

Castle turned to look at Alexandra. "She probably never learned that her real father's killer was found."

Beckett wasn't so sympathetic. "Just because she had a tragic past doesn't mean she's innocent. Though I doubt she did it." She turned to Esposito. "CSU's finished with her apartment yet?"

Esposito handed Beckett the report. "Yeah, nothing there that indicates she was the killer. No Wingwalk or other survival type knives. There were traces of blood in the sink, but it was animal. Trace is analyzing it. They also canvassed the neighbors. Many of them remember her coming home and not leaving again until this morning."

Beckett nodded. Things were getting strange. Alexandra's father was killed by Rathborne, and now her ex was killed the same way. Maybe it was time to figure out just what she knew; if she knew anything. Beckett returned to the interrogation room with Castle. Alexandra seemed to have regained her composure.

Beckett began talking as she sat down. "It appears that Alexandra Stevens checks out. Although, that isn't your original last name, it is?"

"You found out I was adopted." Alexandra's voice was careful, tinged with pain, as though this wasn't the first time her past had come up. "I guess you know that my father was killed when I was eleven. And that my mom left us when I was a toddler. Maybe you've also learned that my adoptive father was killed in an accident just outside Chicago; an accident so bad, they had to use dental records to confirm that it was him. You know, I still don't know if the man who killed my real father was ever caught? So yeah, my life wasn't easy. That doesn't make me a killer."

Beckett let her vent, then continued the interview. "You work for Hardy and Drew Investigations, is that correct?"

Alexandra's voice was steady now. "Yes."

"Do you always use false identities?"

"No, I haven't always. I used to just use my real name, you know, keep the lies simple, they're easier to believe. Unfortunately, in Chicago, one of the employees I was investigating caught on to the act. He realized that I was there to investigate the company's financial activities." Alexandra pulled the sleeve of her shirt up to her elbow and then presented Beckett and Castle with her forearm. A long scar ran from her wrist to her elbow. "He attacked me in a drunken rage. Left this on my arm. When he sobered up, he realized what he did and knew it was only a matter of time before the cops found him and arrested him for it."

Castle's curiosity was peaked, he loved a good story. "What happened?"

Alexandra shrugged. "He killed himself." She pulled her sleeve back down. "Since then, my company has helped me set up false ID's to protect my identity and safety. Usually they 'kill' the ID when I move from one company to another. Jessica Gardner was created for this job. I had never used it before now." She tried again. "Look, I'm not done with my investigation; could you please not tell my boss the truth?"

"How are you going to explain being dragged into the precinct?"

Alexandra shrugged. "Easy, just say you wanted to question me about Brian's habits, changes in behavior, that sort of thing."

Beckett was satisfied, but reluctant to make a promise to a suspect. "Fine. But, there I have a condition. As long as you cooperate and give us all the files you have on Brian and the company, we won't reveal your real employer and what you're really doing."

Alexandra nodded. "Okay, but there is one problem with that."

"What is that?"

"I've created my own language that I use while on the job. Only I ever know what my notes really say." Alexandra decided to simplify. "I'm going to have to translate it for you."

Beckett wasn't fazed. "I'm sure our financial guys can figure it out."

Alexandra smirked. "Do you have a piece of paper?" Beckett handed Alexandra a sheet. After a few moments writing, she handed it back to Beckett. "Give this to them and see what they say."

Beckett looked at the paper. It made no sense whatsoever. It looked like shorthand, but she had never seen shorthand like this.

Alexandra chuckled. "It says, '753 - 476 = 277.' That's how all my notes look, so unless your guys are fluent in this, they won't understand my notes at all."

Beckett relented. "Fine, bring them in after you get off work tonight." Beckett started to put her file back together. "You're free to go. But don't leave town."

Beckett got up and strode out of the room. She went into the break room and started up the espresso machine. Castle gently took the cup from her hands and offered to get that for her. Beckett relented and sat down at the table, staring at the girl's shorthand.

Castle tried to help lift her spirits. "You know, I once tried to do something like that when I was just starting out. I always forgot what symbol stood for which words. She's very smart. And she has a good heart."

Beckett had to bite. "What makes you say that?"

Castle continued. "The tragedies in her life. Mom leaves her, dad is murdered, loving adoptive father dies in an accident, she's attacked by a co-worker, and yet, she still finds a way to rise above all that. Not unlike you, you know."

Beckett smiled. "Yeah, she does seem like she's trying to make the most out of life."

Castle handed Beckett her coffee. "Do you think she did it?"

Beckett hesitated, thought about it and then dismissed it. "No, the evidence doesn't point to her. And she has an alibi. It's soft, but it's solid."

Beckett saw Alexandra being escorted out of the interrogation room. Perhaps a little closure would be good for her.

"Alexandra," Beckett called to get her attention. Alexandra turned. "I just wanted to let you know that the man who killed your father, he was finally caught; as were the people that hired that man. It took thirteen years, but your father's case is finally closed."

Tears came to Alexandra's eyes, though she tried to maintain her composure. "Thank you, Detective. It's nice to know that he was finally caught." She took a deep breath and her self-control returned. "I'll bring those files over tonight."

Beckett watched as Alexandra turned and entered the elevator. As the doors closed, Beckett felt Castle come stand behind her and give her a hug.

"One more victim gets closure."

Beckett brought a hand up to squeeze Castle's. "Yeah. Come on Castle, we have a case to solve."


A/N: This case feels like it has a mind of its own. It just seems to write itself. Thanks to Tycho77 for the nice review. Hopefully this story will live up to your expectations. Feel free to leave a review; I would love to hear your thoughts.