Hey Guys, sorry for the late update. I know you get this a lot but with school and tons of things, I've been held up. I'm trying to sign up for as many volunteering spots as possible so if any of you happen to be going to the Arundel Fair on the 22nd of July to the 26th, My friends and I will be manning a Arts and Crafts stall. It would be great if you could donate or anything. Anyway, that's are little secret.

Disclaimer: Never will, no matter how much I want to but I think I can survive.

This one is based on the crime scene. Next chapter will continue a bit more on this one. More twisted games to come and of course Caskett.

Nutmeg

Chapter 13: Seek

They stand together, looking at the morbid sight that is propped up against the cold, brick wall of the shop. Investigators are rushing around, trying to gather up as much of the scene as they can. Police surround the entrance, standing beyond the tape to prevent the curious civilians of New York from catching their daily gossip.

Flies buzz around the mangled torso. Flying into anything that gets close. Swatting at one every second, the men Detective's push closer, needing to get a closer look no matter how gristly it is.

Lanie is squatting near the shredded body. Her eyes taking it in. You can't do this kind of job if you don't have a strong stomach.

After years of being in this line of work, the smell is non-existent to her. The fetid, sweet stench is one so powerful, it is hard to overcome. As an ME, you can see the worst things, the things that show the aftermath of the finding process, things that should never be seen but it happens. Anyone from a Doctor to a Policeman to a random civillian can see these things. How are bodies usually found? The unfortunate stumble upon them. Some are lucky, they get the bloodless, non-violent murder or accident but others, others are just unlucky.

Changing back into professional mode, Lanie memorizes the way the body has been left.

A large, black patch is splashed onto the pavement, the weather causing it to dry up quickly. The sliced body part appears to be a female torso due to the cartilage found in the breast area. The shoulders are smoother and rounder than a mans which are usually broader and show strength. However, they still own a strong, independent look as if this girl was used to standing tall, keeping her head in the air and has an emotional strength that many don't seem to have.

Her chest has been cut lengthwise, a smooth slice from the headless throat to above the belly button. Her clothes were still on when it was made. Her breasts droop slightly, dragging the two halves of skin either way, separating them further. The muscle structure and any organs still inside could be seen. From the intestines which were slightly hanging out to the lungs and heart, still enclosed in the bone prison. A cardiovascular organ that would normally beat in a live body is trapped inside a lifeless mess. Abandoned and useless.

The sporadic tissue is still there, holding many of the bodies mechanics together. Each muscle was well-developed indicating a regular amount of exercise. No degenerative tissue could be seen. This girl was young. Between 20-30, maybe. I'll get a better look at the lab and when I actually have some more body pieces.

Everything appeared to be fully developed, emphasising Lanie's guess of age.

The jeans are still in place, a normally dark blue pair of waist-high jeans are now stained to the point of no return. A belt holds them up, a belt buckle saying saucy in large red letters. I think I could have liked this girl. This girl, just by a rotting presentation of blood and destructed body parts seems to be Lanie's younger self. The saucy and independent ME examiner matching the young, saucy and independent shopkeeper.

Taking a once over on the body, Lanie signals to CSU to have the body part packed up and sent to her lab.

"Lanie." She stands up and meets the annoyed eyes of Kate and her partner.

"Hey girl." Lanie answers in her typical fashion. "Hey writer-boy."

Castle huffs at this but lets it slide knowing she was just playing with him. "To think you are my favourite Medical Examiner. I think I might have to change that if you keep going on like this." He grins at her, betraying his exasperated tone.

"So, Lanie, what have we got?" Kate breaks in. Her eyes flickering between the body and the duo in front of her.

"Well, all we have at the moment is the torso and the pelvis. It has an incision in the middle. Headless. I can determine it is a girl and was aged between 20 and 30 years old but that's all so far. When I get her back to the lab, I should be able to determine who she is and see if there was any traces of evidence left on the body."

"Okay, and what did you mean by we only have a torso and a pelvis?"

"Girl, you may not like this but it seems as though he is playing another game. A childhood favourite by the looks of it."

"What game?" Castle asks.

"I have a feeling that it could be hide and seek. Also, I found another card laying next to our John Doe. I've given it to CSU so they can try to find evidence and figure out what that damn message says."

"Mmhmm, that's victim number 3. So, that means that there are only 10 people left including myself." Kate turns to Castle as she speaks.

"We've really got to try harder." Castle replies.

"You don't think we haven't tried? We keep on trying but whoever this is has a better intellect than most killers out there. How many more need to die before we catch him, if we even catch him. It could be a week, it could be a month before someone I care about is taken. Then, in that moment of grief, that's when he'll strike." Beckett takes a deep breath in an attempt to calm down.

Castle just stands there, eyes wide in shock. The normally calm and collected Kate Beckett he knew has changed. Not in a bad sense but the amounts of outbursts she has had, he feels worried.

In front of them, Lanie stands with her arms crossed. Eyes are assessing them critically. She takes in the rumpled clothes of her best friend. She can see 2 buttons undone on her blouse, a slight lipstick smear, hair is a little ruffled but not that noticeable if you don't look closely, a small bruise is starting to form on her neck, a Hickey? and her eyes hold some annoyance and is that...frustration, not just at the case but it looks like it is a bit more personal than that. Sexual Frustration? Looking at Castle, she can also see that his appearance is a little less than his spick and span look. Normal gel hair looks as though something has been dragged through it many times. His shirt is untucked and could that be what I think it is...another lipstick stain, that smudge at the corner of his mouth. Holy Crap. Imma slap that girl for not telling me, I want, no I need details. Wait, it looks as though they were doing something involving a lot of grabbing. Making out? Ermm, what else involves messing up the others appearance? Oh crap, they were about to have SEX, finally. Oh wait, oooh, I feel sorry for them. Years of pent-up sexual tension must be killing them unless they've already slept together but it stills seems as though that tension is between them. Oh god, they were totally about to...oh, I've got to get this sorted out. I can't bear it any longer with these too sharing those secret glances when the other isn't looking. Time for the group to meet again.

Snapping out of it, she smiles knowingly at Kate who answers with a confused look. As Kate looks closer she can see a bit of that mischievous smirk, Lanie always gets when she is going to do something or knows something that she shouldn't. Oh no, maybe she knows.

Glancing to Castle, she takes in his appearance for the first time from leaving the loft. Is that my lipstick? Oh god, his hair. That looks as though somebody has tangled their fingers through it. If he looks like that then what must I look like? He did more to me so I must look just as bad. We're supposed to be good at this hiding thing but it seems we are not.

Kate returns her attention back to Lanie and adopts a confused ,innocent expression which doesn't go unnoticed by the woman in front of her. Shrugging her shoulders, she grabs Castle gently and pulls him towards the two Detectives standing by the scene.

"Ryan, Esposito. What have we got?"

"Too early to tell but it seems that the body was dragged through the shop and out here. Come on, we have something to show you." Ryan points to the back door of the shop. Nodding, the foursome head towards the crowd of investigators standing by the door.

A blood smear stains the checkered tile floor. Crushed plastic lays strewn across it, shiny shards of glass are found hidden beneath. Taking a cautious step into the room, Beckett examines the door. Splintered wood surrounds the area of the silver handle.

"Guys, look at the door. The splintering shows us that it was kicked by a large force, also the crack runs from the middle, halfway up the door."

"So, if he kicked the door, it means that his hands were full." Castle counters.

"Maybe he was carrying the body. That means the girl had too have been injured in the shop." Esposito cuts in.

"Most likely the front area because the blood splatter shows us that besides from the splatter of blood, no more puddles were found in this room. Only that trail which leads through this mess." Ryan examines the floor as he speaks.

"Okay, let's have a look in the front." They nod and follow Kate into the next room. The first thing that catches her eye is the large puddle on the floor.

"I'm guessing this is the area that she was injured. From the size, it doesn't seem to be from a large wound but from a cut most likely from the glass we found crushed. After 10 minutes, it would have gained a steady flow and caused this to appear. If it were an open wound, there would most likely be more blood." A thoughtful expression blankets her face. All frustration forgotten as she finds herself immersed into her thoughts.

"Hey, Detectives. We have something." Shaun from earlier calls to them.

"What have you got?" Castle begins to ask as he walks over. Kate follows. Her pace is quick as she approaches. Esposito and Ryan leave to go and look at the cameras on the floor.

Shaun just points into a gap between two books. Peeking out from within, 5 fingers are shown. The thumb is on the left side of the hand, palm facing down. It's a right hand.

"Right, get this back to Lanie. We can pull some fingerprints off it and finally get an identification."

"Will do Detective." He begins the process of bagging it up.

"So, Beckett. What do you think?" Castle questions.

"Right now, I think we should get back to the Precinct and wait for any information from CSU or Lanie."

"Good idea. I'll let Alexis know a case has come up."

Nodding, Kate watches as he takes his phone out and walks outside, getting away from the rustling coming from the moving bodies.

"Boys, I'll see you at the Precinct. Try and see if you can get anything from the footage."

"Yes boss." They chime together.

Satisfied, Kate heads outside. Scanning the scene, she makes sure everything is secured. Giving small nods to everyone she passes, she heads towards Castle who is just ending the phone call.

"Yep, Love you to Sweetheart. I'll be back later. Thank you for helping again, even if it didn't end like I planned, I'm glad we done it. Yes, I do. I'm sure she is the one. I know. Love you." Unknown to him, Kate stood behind him, a grin lighting her features.

"Hey Castle." Jumping slightly at her voice, he twists around slowly.

"Yeah?"

"Ready to leave?"

"Oh, yeah. Shall we?" He sticks out his arm. Linking hers through his, she grins.

"We shall."

Okay?