Gina, had taken Martha's place at the dining room table. Will and Carter where questioning her about Castle. Martha and Lanie, sitting on the stools at the kitchen island, sipping their coffees, chatting about really nothing. Kate, standing on the other side, was half listening to the two women across from her. Her focus was across the room, watching the interview with Gina and picking up snippets of the questioning.

"No, I only knew he was in town when I checked my email this morning. He sent it early, at 6:15 am. He said he had a meeting with a friend, that he was in town for a day or two and the book would be done in two weeks," she stated to Will.

"When was the last time you saw him?" Carter asked. Kate held her breath.

"That would have to be on June 1st. I had gone with him to the house in the Hamptons, to get him to finish the next Nikki Heat book. He was way past his original deadline," she looks over at Kate and then looks back at Will, "I wanted to make sure he was back on track and finish the book. Originally, I was supposed to spend the summer there with him, but after three days, it was clear, it wasn't my company he wanted. He promised he would finish the book, so I came back to Manhattan." She looks back over at Kate again, then turned her attention back to Will.

Kate leans her arms against the counter, head down, eyes closed. God damn it! God damn it! Straightening, she opens her eyes, the sting of tears just starting to form. Martha and Lanie are watching her, silently.

Martha reaches out, placing her hand on Kate's. Martha softly asks, "Darling, what's wrong.?"

Holding Martha's gaze, Kate whispers, "I just overheard Gina say she left the Hamptons on the first of June. Do you know if that's true?"

"Yes. I spoke with Richard that day, he said he sent her packing. That after an hour of them being out there, he knew that he had made a huge mistake. I tried to tell him not to worry. His only response to me was that I didn't understand; that it was the biggest mistake of his life. That he was stupid, blind to what was in front of him. That he didn't think he could fix it and that it may be too late. He wouldn't tell me what he meant. I talked with him a few times after that, but he just never seemed to be happy." Looking at Kate, "Is something wrong?"

Squeezing Martha's hand and releasing it, she shakes her head, "Nothing's wrong Martha. But, when we do find your son, and I'm sure that he's okay, I'm going to kill him." She looks at Lanie, "Is the study clear for me to go through now? I want to see if there's anything we missed and check on that laptop on his desk."

"It's okay. There are several extra sets of latex gloves in the ME kit. Do you want my help?" she asks, already knowing what her answer would be.

"No thanks. I need to be alone for a few minutes." She stops next to Martha, squeezes her shoulder, and continues into the study.

Martha turns to Lanie, "Okay, do you want to fill me in on what's going on between my son and Kate?"

Nodding her head and keeping her voice low, Lanie begins to fill Martha in about her friend and Castle.

He's managed to loosen his right leg from the duct tape. His legs feel better now, they were stiff from being so tightly wrapped to the chair. He's managed to work on the duct tape around his hands too. Not as much work put into the hands; didn't want that to be too obvious. He was finally able to work a small corner down and fold it back over. It will be easy enough for him to rip that off his hands, once they leave again. Again, he looks over at the window in the far corner. Hoping again, that he can escape thru the window. If he can't … well, he doesn't want to think about it.

He turns his thoughts to Alexis. He can remember the day she was born, like it was yesterday. Now, she's off at the summer program at Princeton; she'll be a junior this September. He wonders where the years have gone and how he got so lucky to have such a wonderful daughter. How much he loves her and how proud he is of her. He hopes to get the chance to tell her that everyday for the rest of his life.

His eyes rest on the door across the room, as he reaches for the water bottle, taking a sip. He's figured out there time line, they seem to come back every few hours. He can't have them walking in, while he's escaping thru the window. So, for now, he sits and waits.