By the time Beckett returned to the precinct she was pretty sure she really was being followed. Not that she actually saw someone, but there was an itch right between her shoulder blades that made her believe it even if she couldn't see whoever it was. She'd led whoever it was on a very interesting tour of every boring place she could think of, and had taken her own sweet time with it. And not once had she gone any closer to Castle's than she had been when Esposito called.

Ryan and Esposito were both on the phone when she walked in, but they both waved her over and by the time she reached their desks Ryan had ended his phone call.

"We got a hit on Joel's last name."

"Yeah? We find his folks?"

Esposito ended his call just when Ryan shook his head.

"Mom. Probably. Marissa Canton, aged 28, was found dead in her home in Sea Cliff two days ago. She was shot twice, once in the stomach and once in the head. Neighbors didn't see or hear anything, She'd been killed in the middle of the night – and her 5 yr old son is missing."

"Joel."

"Yeah. We're pretty sure we found his mom. Poor kid."

Beckett shook her head. So much for the happy ending she'd been hoping for.

"What was he doing with Keller? How does the ATF get a kid the day after his mom is murdered?"

"Two options, really…" Ryan said. "They found the kid and were protecting him…"

"Or they're the ones who kidnapped him."

"And killed his mom."

"This is crazy," Beckett told them. "Do we know if she was killed with the same weapon Keller was?"

"They're waiting on the ME report, but we'll have it soon."

Esposito sat down on the edge of his desk, looking as serious as he ever had.

"Whoever kidnapped him lost him when Keller died and we found him at the crime scene, or Keller is the one who saved him from whoever killed his mom. Either way, ATF is definitely involved in this – far more than Williams has let on."

"We got the phone records from the apartment. Can you believe that was actually his apartment?" Ryan said, handing over the folder that was getting larger every time they added new information to it.

"Seriously? He took Joel to his actual apartment? No matter which way the story went, that was incredibly dumb."

"You said it yourself," Ryan reminded her. "Rookies make rookie mistakes."

"He probably wasn't sure what else to do with him."

"Or he'd been told to sit on him for a while."

"Either way, whoever killed Keller is almost certainly looking for Joel, now. He – or she – probably didn't even consider looking around the apartment for him. We need to get him someplace safe."

"Makes you wonder if Joel is what Theo Martin is looking for as well…" Esposito added.

Beckett looked over at him, realizing he could be right.

"We need to warn Castle."

OOOOOOOOOO

Castle suddenly found himself having trouble holding onto Joel, who was squirming in his grip trying to get loose.

"Daddy!"

He shouted again, excited.

Martin holstered his gun just as Joel broke free of Castle's grip, and the mobster caught his son up in a relieved hug, holding him close as the boy clung to him.

"Hey, Joel-Boy," Martin murmured, burying his face in the boy's hair for a moment. "Where have you been? I've been looking everywhere for you…"

The boy started crying, holding him even tighter, and Castle started to take a step forward, but stopped, unwilling to move from where he was standing between the men that had just invaded his place and Alexis.

The motion caught Martin's eye, and he turned his attention to Castle, although he never loosened his grip on the boy.

"You're Castle?"

"Yes…"

"I'm Theo Martin."

Castle looked at the men in the room, and back at Martin.

"Could you ask your friends to put away their guns, please?"

Martin nodded, waving at the others in the room with the hand that wasn't holding Joel close.

"Put them away."

Every gun in the room vanished as they were holstered, and only then did Castle's grip on Alexis' arm loosen, allowing her to move to the side and get a look at the men in the room.

"Your daughter?" Martin asked, looking at Alexis.

Castle nodded.

"Yes."

The mobster nodded as well, then turned his attention to his son.

"Joel." He waited until the boy looked up at him, tears smearing his cheeks. "I need to talk to Mr. Castle for a minute. Will you stay with his daughter until I get back?"

Joel looked over at Castle and Alexis, and then at Martin, who squeezed him slightly, kissing his cheek.

"Okay."

Martin turned to Alexis, then.

"Sweetheart? Will you watch my son for me for a moment? I need to talk to your dad."

She looked between Castle and him, pale and frightened.

"You won't hurt him?"

"Alexis…" Castle didn't like her trying to protect him. That was his job.

Martin shook his head.

"I won't hurt him, honey. I just need to talk to him. I promise. You'll watch Joel for me? Keep him out of trouble?"

She nodded, and Martin walked over and passed his son over to her. She looked at her father, but he just smiled, trying to prove to her that everything was going to be okay.

The problem with that was that he wasn't all that sure it was.

Martin led the writer into the living room, leaving all his men in the kitchen, well aware that they'd protect both of the youngsters just in case something happened.