LittleLizzieZentara: It was completely my fault this time, guys. I am SOOOOO sorry. My muse has not been cooperating a bit, and dealing with different illnesses hasn't helped. Even though I told myself I couldn't write anything else until I got this chapter done (and I haven't) it still has been an insanely long time between updates. But as Celeste J Evans says, this is our baby, and we won't be abandoning it. We do know where this story is going, thanks to the awesome plot outline Celeste created for us to follow.

Celeste: I want to thank all of you for sticking around through our sporadic writing schedule. After last night's episode hopefully you can pass on the good vibes and review? Also, I know it's been a while so it might be a good idea to just go back and reread a chapter of two just as a refresher. Remember JJ? Zentara? Celeste?

Look for SheWhoTangle's Chapter coming up soon.

As always you can follow me on twitter vatrask or on my blog: madamewriterofwrongs (.blgogspot) .com

Enjoy

The clang of the gate as it swung shut felt ominous to Beckett as she made her way to the hotel, Castle at her side. It made her wonder how he must be feeling. She really wished this case had been overlooked. He hadn't spoken about the case since, but Beckett knew that Castle was still haunted by the events of those harrowing days. Especially now that they were mere yards away from where Jerry Tyson, the 3XK, had taunted him with such calculating cruelty.

Beckett didn't realize what she had done until she felt Castle's hand in hers. Physical contact was something she tended to keep to a minimum for her own peace of mind. But now it just felt right. She wasn't ready for them to dive into things together, but this didn't have to be anything more than one friend lending support to another during a difficult situation.

Even if it kind of was.

The only outward sign that Castle gave to his inner turmoil was tightening his grip a couple seconds after his hand was firmly grasped in hers. He wouldn't even look at her.

It hurt. Not because she felt slighted, but because she knew how vivid those memories must be. It was why killers often returned to the scene of their crimes and why the victims and their families tended to stay as far away from the crime scene as possible. Unless the family member of the victim was Beckett herself, seeking answers that eluded her year after year.

But her mother's case wasn't her focus right now. It was this case that in many ways seemed more bizarre than any they had previously dealt with. And helping Castle through what she was sure, for him, was going to be the most difficult aspect of it.

"I was terrified I was going to lose you," Beckett found herself admitting to him. The startled look he threw her reminded her that she had broken one of their most important unspoken rules: Feelings for each other was the number one thing they never talked about. It was the first rule of many that she had created once she realized her feelings were deepening for her partner. "And Ryan," she was quick to add. "The 3XK wasn't known for letting anyone live."

When he winced Beckett realized that her attempt to comfort him had backfired. Sharing her feelings with Castle was such a rare thing that Beckett suddenly realized that when she started she didn't always know when to stop. She could think of several instances where she had stopped much too soon. In this instance she hadn't stopped soon enough.

She had to fix this. Her worry about Castle was making it difficult to focus on anything else. "Castle, I-"

"Hey, what's that?"

Castle's abrupt shift from melancholy to eager curiosity threw Beckett for a second. Before she had time to ask, 'What's what?' she spotted it: a woman was floating face-down in the clear, blue water of the hotel pool.

Beckett was certain they were going to find their mysterious killer's second victim. She rushed forward with Castle only slightly ahead of her. Without taking time to even kick off his shoes, Castle dove into the pool. When he reached the edge of the pool with the woman securely in his arms Beckett grabbed hold of the prone woman's shoulders. With Castle's help it only took a couple seconds to set the woman down on the wet tile. Beckett was relieved when she felt a steady pulse and saw that the woman was still breathing.

When the woman started coughing and spitting up water Beckett moved to help her sit up. The coughing lasted for a few long minutes. Finally the woman opened her eyes, which quickly widened when they landed on Castle.

"It's really you," she rasped.

It wasn't unusual for them to meet a fan when they were working a case but something told Beckett this was different.

"Always happy to meet a fan, although I wish it was under better circumstances," Castle replied, turning on the charm that was second nature to him when dealing with the public. "And you are?"

"Zentara." The voice was still raspy but getting clearer. "Zentara Jones." Zentara continued to stare at Castle as if she couldn't believe he was real. It was getting on Beckett's nerves.

"Can you tell us who did this to you?" the detective asked, deciding to immediately get down to business. Who knew how long the fawning over Castle would last if she didn't intervene.

Zentara turned her head and her eyes grew even wider. "You're here. You're really here. Well, of course you're here if Castle's here but-"

A Nikki Heat fan, then. If the woman called her by her alter-ego's name Beckett wasn't sure what she would do. She just knew it wouldn't be pleasant.

"Ms. Jones, we have reason to believe that whoever did this," Beckett gestured to the pool, "is involved in a homicide that occurred two days ago. Is there anything you can tell us about the person who attacked you?"

Zentara nodded, shook her head, and then nodded again.

"You can tell us," Castle assured her. "Detective Beckett will make sure you're safe."

"Oh, I know," Zentara said her voice finally clear of the raspiness caused by swallowing a bunch of water. "It's just-"

"We can't help you if you won't tell us what you know," Beckett said.

The woman let out a small giggle, which made no sense to Beckett.

"Would you care to share the joke?" Beckett asked.

"You would never believe me," Zentara said. "He might, but-" Zentara shook her head. "No, probably not." The woman sighed deeply. "We met on a Castle fan site. We call her Celeste, but I doubt that's her real name."

"We?" Beckett pressed.

"JJ and I," Zentara clarified.

"JJ, but that's…" Castle's tone was shocked.

"I know." Zentara's expression was pleading as she continued. "I didn't know, I swear I didn't. I thought we were helping."

"You're the one who left the clues, weren't you?" Castle realized.

Zentara nodded. "It was Celeste's idea. I just wanted to tell you what we knew but she said you wouldn't believe us anyway and we would just become suspects."

"But something happened," Beckett guessed.

"She was fine until Maddie started in," Zentara said.

"Started in?" Castle asked, confused.

Zentara glanced uncertainly at Beckett. After a brief hesitation Beckett decided to give him an answer that would explain what the woman meant without revealing too much. "She wanted to know if we were dating. I told her we weren't."

"But why would she be upset by that?" Castle wanted to know.

"It didn't make sense to me at first," Zentara said. "But then Celeste kept muttering stuff about people just leaving you alone, that you were the only ones who would know when the time was right."

Beckett didn't have to ask 'for what?' And considering the small smile on his face, she was sure Castle didn't, either. "And then what happened?"

"That's when I remembered."

"Remembered what?"

"JJ and Celeste arguing. I wasn't paying too much attention because they both have really strong opinions about things, especially Celeste. But JJ was talking about wanting to do what we could to get you two together and she told her to leave it alone. JJ started listing off all of the information when Celeste said that she was hungry and so I offered to go get snacks. I was gone for maybe fifteen minutes when Celeste ran out of the room and told me that someone had pushed JJ off the balcony."

"You're saying you were both with her within minutes of her death," Beckett said. "And your friend Celeste was the last one to see her alive."

"It wasn't until Celeste got all irritated about Maddie and I remembered the argument that I realized that the only 'leads' the cops had were the clues we left. That wasn't normal. There are usually a whole bunch of suspects before you find the real killer, right?" Zentara didn't wait for an answer, or even pause for a breath. "But this time we were your only suspects. And I knew I didn't do it. So it had to be her. I snuck away as soon as I could and tried to find you. But she found me first. I can't believe she didn't stay to make sure I didn't make it."

"She probably heard us and took off," Castle theorized.

"Probably," Beckett agreed. "We're going to need you to come down to the station. You can describe her to a sketch artist and we can send the picture out."

"I'm not really good at that type of thing," Zentara admitted. "I hardly even noticed what she was wearing. It would probably be faster to just follow her clues."

"Except we don't have any more clues," Beckett pointed out.

Zentara took a careful look around before turning an empathetic gaze to Castle. "This is where the 3XK held you and Ryan, isn't it?"

"How do you know about that?"

Zentara didn't answer the detective but just waited quietly for Castle's reply. His 'Yes," was so quiet both women barely heard him. But it was enough for Zentara.

"Then I know exactly where we need to go next. The Old Haunt."

Beckett wanted to question the woman further on how she knew things that only the NYPD, and Castle, were privy to. Unfortunately, interrogating her would take more time than they could afford to lose. Zentara knew far more than she would admit to. Beckett wondered whether she was the killer, rather than her friend. But the detective wouldn't let the woman out of her sight, so she wasn't risking anything by following her suggestion. And if Zentara was telling the truth, Beckett didn't want to let the killer get away because of a hunch.

The three remained silent as they headed to the car. Zentara meekly got into the back seat and turned to look out the window. Since it was too dark for her to see much of anything, Beckett assumed she was just lost in her thoughts.

And now she was worried about Castle again. The other woman's mention of the 3XK had returned that troubled look to Castle's eyes. Which also reminded Beckett of how scared she had been that she was going to lose him.

"I was scared, too," Castle unexpectedly said after he had gotten into the car. How did he do that, know what she was thinking without her saying a word? "But I'm here now."

Beckett gave his hand a brief squeeze and allowed herself a quick glance into those impossibly blue eyes. "You're here now," she repeated softly. Now more than ever she needed to have her focus on the case so she slipped her hand from his and started the Crown Victoria.

In the back seat Zentara sat, shivering even with a thick blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

She was smiling.