The four of them huddled over the coffee table, trying to organize the information they'd collected. "We need a murder board," Castle whined.
"I've got index cards," she said and handed them around the table. "We can tape them on the wall. It'll have to do for now."
Castle glanced over his shoulder at the shutters on her window. "Shutters still full?"
She cast him a glare.
"You plan on telling us who it was you were calling while the rest of us worked?" Esposito smirked, punching Castle's shoulder.
"Just. . .trying to get things wrapped up for tomorrow."
"What's tomorrow?" Ryan asked.
Kate glanced at him; he nodded for her to let them in on it. "He's been called to testify before the review board."
"Oh." Ryan glanced between them, then to Esposito. "So were we."
"Again?" Kate shot Ryan a startled look. "You went Monday, right after me."
Esposito nodded. "They're calling us back for additional questioning." He shrugged. "Didn't give us any more than that."
Castle reached over and put his hand on Kate's knee under the coffee table. He wasn't trying to hide it, but he also didn't think she'd appreciate him publicly claiming her in front of the boys. "Don't worry. I think this could actually be a good thing."
She frowned at him but didn't shrug his hand off her knee. "Let's just focus on the murdered girl. Ryan, tell us about the photo array."
"Here's exactly what I showed him," Ryan said, pulling the photos out of a manilla envelope on the table. He fanned the photos, but Castle reached out to spread them furher apart, getting a better look.
"That's a good shot. If it had been the Chief, I think your witnes would've recognized him, don't you?"
Ryan nodded. "I think so. I even had a couple extra shots of the Chief that I slipped in throughout the stack, hoping that a different pose or angle would be better. But Bradley has a good eye. He got the details so clear because he's usually an understudy who ends up doing costuming."
Rick shuffled through the photos and then shook his head. "I think we're looking at this all wrong. The sketch artist drew a guy who just looked like the Chief, so we assumed it was the Chief. But think about it. Why would the Chief of Police hire an actor to leak fake question to the review board? He should know better than that."
Kate glanced up at him, her brow furrowing. "He *does* know better than that. He'd know that we'd find him eventually."
"So it wasn't the Chief. We got lucky because our witness pays more attention to the details than most people do. But our killer? The guy who's behind this? He's thorough. He's been setting up the Chief this whole time. Remember when we first discovered there were fake questions? Who was the person who hand-delivered those questions to the Captain?"
Esposito growled. "The Chief of Police. Damn, this guy's good."
Castle felt that glow when the elements of his plot started to come together. "He only made it *look* like it was the Chief. He could be about the same age; he alters his appearance just a little. What's most noticeable about the Chief? That white hair, right? So he dyes his hair white, gets it styled just right, and voila. Suddenly he's close enough to look like the Chief, close enough to throw us off. Close enough to give a jury something to think about too. Would've worked too, if it hadn't been for your witness's eye for detail."
Kate picked up the sketch and glared at it. "The Chief got the questions first so we'd already be suspicious of him. Once you wonder about someone, you always end up wondering-especially if you never find proof one way or another. So he's already suspect in our minds, and then we find the actor and he describes someone who looks like the Chief and we jump to conclusions."
Castle nodded, squeezing her knee under the table to get her attention. "But the Chief. . .he could still be involved in this."
Ryan snorted. "How do you figure that?"
"Think about what you said. The second you got this case, the Chief was in Montgomery's office asking about it. He came over to you two specifically to see where you were on it. Why would he do that?"
"At the time, it felt like he knew something. It felt like he was nervous, actually." Esposito admitted. "Dude, remember? He looked absolutely freaked."
Castle rubbed a finger over Kate's knee, almost absent-mindedly, looking again at the 15 year old girl who had died. "Her death was a message to him. Her death was a threat."
Kate sucked in a breath, shifted her knee away from him, then drawing her knee to her chest, permanently out of his reach. "The Chief knows who it is. He *knows* who's behind my mother's murder."
Castle nodded grimly, putting his hand back on the floor. "And whoever it is, he wants to remind the Chief that he's out there. He's in charge. And what happens to people who get in his way? They're taken out."
In her kitchen, Kate poured a new glass of water, wishing she had a nice glass of red wine instead. But this was not the time for that, and she hadn't eaten enough today to really be up for it either. She heard Castle behind her and turned around.
"Are you going to tell me what you're planning?" she asked, staring him down.
Castle had the grace to wince, but he didn't look like he was spilling his secrets any time soon. "Just getting some advice from my lawyer on tomorrow's review board."
"Castle," she warned, squeezing the glass in her hand too tightly. "I told you: tell the truth. Answer the questions-"
"I know; I will. Don't worry, Kate. I got this."
"Castle, this isn't a game," she hissed, stepping closer to him but leaving her glass on the counter. She was afraid she'd break it. "You need to listen to me-"
"And you need to trust me, Detective." He reached up and touched a spot on her neck, smoothing his finger down her skin. "You've got this vein that pulses when you're angry." Then he leaned in and pressed an open-mouthed kiss to her neck, his teeth scraping, his tongue soothing.
She put a hand up to his cheek to push him away and instead found herself curling her fingers around his ear, tugging him closer. The sink was at her back; she could hear the boys arguing over what to put on the notecards they were using to recreate a murder board.
Castle nuzzled the skin behind her ear, grazed his teeth along her lobe so that she couldn't breathe. Dizzy, suddenly too warm, she broke away from him, closing her eyes. After a moment, she felt his lips press a chaste kiss to her forehead. "Just trust me, Kate. Tomorrow will be fine. Don't worry."
She realized she still had a hand at his cheek and drew away, making a fist and pressing it to her chest. "It's not me I'm worried about, Castle. It's you. Whoever this guy is, he murdered a 15 year old prostitute and burned her face off just to send the Chief of Police a message. He murdered my mother, who was a prominent defense lawyer, along with organizing the kidnapping of mobsters, Castle. This is not a guy to mes with."
"I know that. And yet you keep messing with him." He was grinning, like he hadn't even heard her. "If you're here, I'm here."
"Castle, sometimes you just have to walk away. Sometimes it's not worth it."
"Is it worth it to you?" he asked, taking her hand from her chest and pressing it to his own. "It is. I can see it in your face. You want this guy."
"It's worth it to me, but Castle. . .it can't be worth it to you. I am not telling Alexis that I got her dad killed."
"You won't have to," he said, looping his free arm around her waist and tugging her closer.
She resisted. "Stop, Rick." She glared at him, took a step back to make him get it, make him finally get it. "I want you to go home. I want you to get some sleep. Go to the hearing tomorrow and tell the truth. And that's it, Castle. No master plan. Nothing fancy. No theatrics. It's going to get you killed."
He wasn't grinning anymore, but he did seem to think she was being ridiculous. He shook his head and tried to step closer to her. Kate sidestepped him and moved to put the table between them.
"Kate."
"I'm serious about this. I don't want you on this one. This is our jobs, but this isn't-"
"Don't give me that crap, Kate. I'm on this. We're partners. Always, Kate." He took two giant strides around the table and captured her against him, his face twisted into a fierce look of possession, then punished her with his mouth. He didn't relent, didn't let up; she was drowning in him.
"You guys want to share with the class?"
She broke away from Castle, wiping her mouth, to find Esposito and Ryan in the doorway, both of them smirking.
"No." she said, at the same time that Castle grinned and said-
"Yes."
