Hello once again, I'm back to my super-speedy updates! See if you can spot the Easter-egg in this chapter!

'Sounds like some party they had last night. Think they spilled any secrets about-'

'Nope, don't even mention it, man. That will only lead to trouble.'

Esposito rolled up his shirt sleeves as Ryan continued to sort through the seemingly-unending stacks of browser history printouts. He'd left Meredeth in bed sleeping off her girls' night and wasn't sure who made more noise - her snorting in her sleep or Arturo whining to be let out. After taking the pup to the sidewalk and a sprint through his girlfriend's shower, he'd arrived at work to see Beckett yawning largely into her coffee while Ryan and Castle snickered into theirs. Now, several monotonous hours later, he sat with his partner going through the reams of computer history. It was tedious work but he knew there had to be a payoff in it somewhere to catch the elusive Bodega Stalker.

Twenty-minutes later, Ryan sat up straight in his chair, his handsome face going cold in a nano-second.

'Hey I got something here, and you're not going to like it.'

'What?'

Ryan scanned the page he'd partially highlighted and blew out a breath. 'The second vic, Satipo, he's chatting with another user about one of Meredeth's Lady Hawk books and it's pretty intense.'

'What's it say?'

'Satipo says he liked the arc that introduced Little Sister but killing her off in the fourth book was a very poor decision on the author's part and another user, LadyHawkNo1Fan, calls him every name under the sun for daring to criticize the genius of your girlfriend.'

'Internet forums are full of weirdos.'

'Yeah, but do they make mention of killing critics by stealth poisons in their soft drinks?'

Esposito felt his heartbeat thicken. That hit a little too close for comfort. He shifted in his chair to face Ryan, eyes serious and glowering. 'The same guy pop up in the other two vics' computers?'

'Different user names but the idea's the same. All three are threatened with death they won't see coming, appropriate for short-sighted idiots like themselves.'

'You think Mere's next target?'

Before Ryan could answer him, Beckett strolled in to the conference room, looking a little worn out as she examined the sea of paper covering the table. 'Canvass still isn't turning up a damn thing. Tell me you've got from the computer printouts.'

'Maybe.' Ryan edged his chair away from his partner's a little, knowing what Esposito's temper was like when full blown. 'I came across a conversation between Satipo and a user named LadyHawkNo1Fan in the Book-Bites room. He threatens Satipo in the same way he was murdered because he had a constructive criticism of one of Meredeth Coleman's stories. I found similar conversations on Brandon Weaver's machine with LadyHawk4Ever and on Leia Finch's with BringBackLittleSister.'

'Head down to the tech lab with what you've got, see if they can run things back to a location.' Beckett folded her arms across her chest, looked at Esposito who'd stayed in his chair after Ryan had been dismissed. 'She say anything to you, Detective? Anyone making her uncomfortable, threatening fanmail, troubles at work?'

'No, she hasn't said a word, but she's got a lot on the go right now. Between publicity for the new short-story book and moving, I'm surprised she's had much time for me, never mind...' Esposito trailed off, cracked his knuckles. 'You're not giving me the boot, Beckett, you-'

'No I'm not. But this is a fine line to walk, Javier. If Meredeth is the ultimate target I need you to think like a cop, not the boyfriend who wants blood. If you can't handle it, I want your word you won't fight being taken off this case.'

'Beckett-'

'Javi.' Beckett pulled up the chair Ryan had vacated and sat down across from him so they were eye to eye. 'I know you love her-'

'She means the world to me.'

'-but you can't go vigilante. Do you trust me, Ryan, Castle, to catch this guy?'

'Yes.'

'Then get down to the tech lab with Ryan, and as soon as you're done, go talk to Meredeth. Like a cop.'

Esposito met Ryan in the elevator lobby of the tech level of the 12th. He'd used the ride down as time to compose himself but not by much. It wasn't even anger Beckett mistakenly thought he felt. It was fear; bone-deep greasy fear Meredeth might be in danger. He met Ryan at a brisk walk towards the garage exits, knowing his partner would have to nearly run to keep up to him. 'Give me something.'

'Tech's running the computers on priority. What's the next move?'

'We're going to the Web-Zine, Inc. building. It's Thursday so Mere will be in her office.'

When they reached the skyscraper that housed her publication's headquarters, they hot-footed it down the hall to Meredeth's spacious office. Esposito stopped just outside the door to give him time to compose himself before he went in and spoke to her. She looked surprisingly chipper for someone who'd barely remembered her own house the night before, and he suspected it had something to do with the six Starbucks take-away cups lined up like latte-soldiers on her desk. She was dressed in jeans and a sweater as she stared at storyboards, debating hotly with a straw-blonde man in her grandmother's language. Normally Esposito would have been wiping drool from his chin at hearing her speak Danish but now, it was all he could do to keep from bundling her out of the building and into the safety of Ryan's car.

She turned when the blonde man gestured towards Ryan and Esposito, sent them a broad smile.

'Hey you. Checking to see if I still have a functioning liver?'

'Official business.' Esposito tried to keep his expression stony, but the misery was plain in his voice. 'It's serious, Mere.'

Meredeth felt a zip of panic. 'My grandmother?'

'No, nothing like that. It's about you.'

'Me?' Now there was confusion as Meredeth sat on the edge of her desk.

'Um, could you excuse us?' Ryan said in a low voice to the blonde man, who nodded and discreetly closed the door behind him. Knowing that Esposito would take the role of comforter here, which was to be expected, he cleared his throat and put his hands on his hips. There was no way to say it but to say it. 'Meredeth, we've found evidence that suggests you might have a stalker.'

'What?'

'The case we've been working on, the Bodega Stalker, we've connected the three victims via a chat room called Book-Bites and each of them engaged in a debate with another forum user over your graphic novel series. In each instance, the unknown user threatened to kill each of the victims in the way they actually were murdered.'

Meredeth licked her now-dry lips, looked at Esposito. 'Javi? When did you this find out?'

'Only a few hours ago, we came over here as soon as we knew you might be a target.' Esposito jammed his hands into his pockets in impotent frustration. 'Have you ever gone to the Nuyorican Bodega?'

'No. I know the name but I've never been in there, and my grandmother does all her shopping in Mid-Town.'

'What about going to the park with Arturo? Anyone there you thought looked a little off?'

Meredeth shook her head again. 'I don't think so. I mean I had a guy ask me if I wanted to breed Arturo last week, but he's been fixed since he was four months old.'

Before Ryan or Esposito could ask any more questions, a skinny guy with horn-rimmed glasses stuck his head in the door. 'Mere? Got your network connections patched.'

'Thanks Stuart. I'd be lost with out you. Just put it on the desk.'

Stuart wandered in with the laptop, looked carefully at Ryan and Esposito's suits. 'Everything alright here?'

'Yeah, just my boyfriend and his partner stopping in for a quick chat.'

Stuart gave them one last look before heading out, leaving Meredeth to sigh. 'He's nosy, but my laptop was on the fritz and he's the best in-house tech we've got. Ryan, is there-'

'More than anything we just want you to be aware. Not panic, just be cautious, especially using the Internet the next little while. From what we can tell, this guy's got some serious beefs if anyone takes a shot at your writing.'

'Ryan, give us a minute,' Esposito said in a too-calm voice. When the Irishman had left, he crossed to Mere, took her chin in his hand. 'I swear I won't let anything happen to you.'

'I know.'

'I want you give us a copy of your agenda for the next week or two, your social engagements, professional shit, whatever. And don't spend every night at your own place. Better yet, stay at my place for a few nights. Bring Arturo with you or take him to your grandmother's.'

'Javi-'

'Please, Mere.'

Meredeth studied his face, saw it wasn't control or anger there but worry that was edging towards paranoia. She put his hand on her face in a gesture she hoped would reassure him. 'Okay. If it makes you feel better.'

'I'd do anything to keep you safe.'

'I know.'

'And,' he added, giving her bottom lip a quick nip, 'it's more fun than sleeping alone.'

'I know that too.'

R&R&Enjoy.