Chapter Twenty-Six

"No I cannot get you out"

Castle couldn't get it out of his head that there was something wrong with this case. He couldn't explain what it was; there was just something that seemed off. Maybe he was just paranoid.

Castle and Beckett met Lanie in the morgue where she informed them that although Abby had been beaten, the cause of death had been suffocation. There had been no clues to the killer's identity but Lanie had found a key in Abby's pocket.

Now they were meeting with the husband again to tell him his wife was dead and see if he could shed any light on the situation.

"Mr. White," Beckett greeted Mark White when he answered his door.

"Detective Beckett, Mr. Castle," he replied, acknowledging them both. He motioned for them to come in and offered them to take a seat on the couch. "Is there any news on Clarissa's murder or Abby's disappearance?"

Kate's face dropped a little. She hated this part. She knew what it was like to have a detective tell you someone you love is dead. She knew what it was like to have your whole world fall apart with just a few simple words. Kate felt Castle's hand brush along the small of her back and she knew she had to continue.

"I'm so sorry Mr. White but we found your wife's body."

Tears welled up in the husband's eyes. He looked completely broken—Kate knew the feeling.

"Where was she found?" Mark finally managed to choke out.

"In an old warehouse," the detective responded, "She was suffocated"

"Do you have any idea what sick bastard did this to her and Clarissa?" Mark asked, clenching his fists.

"Not yet," she admitted, "but we were wondering if you could help us with something."

"Anything," he agreed.

Kate nodded, understanding that Mark would go to ends of the Earth to help solve his wife's murder. "This key was found in her pocket," she said, holding out they key for him to see, "do you know what it's from?"

"Of course," he answered, "it's from her filing cabinet."

"Do you know what the cabinet contains?" Castle asked, finally speaking up.

"Abby was a law professor; they were files from an old case she was studying. Her Uncle Charles—Charles Smith—was a lawyer and gave her the files. I didn't think that was legal but I didn't ask. I wish I would have now. Do you think that might be what got her killed?"

"We don't know Mr. White," Beckett said in a calm voice. "Her murder could have nothing to do with those files but we'll never know if we don't investigate it."

Castle's feeling that there was something off about this case only got worse when the name Smith was mentioned. He knew it was a common name and he shouldn't worry about it being the Mr. Smith but he also knew he would never settle that nagging feeling in his stomach until he asked. "Where is Charles Smith now?"

Recognition flashed across Kate's face as she realized what Castle was doing. The name Smith must have made him wonder. It was such a common last name that she had decided not to worry about it.

"I don't know. We haven't heard from him in a while," Mark told them. "He was acting strangely last month when he was here and when he gave Abby the files he mentioned a couple names but I could only hear one. Cole something."

There wasn't a doubt in Kate's mind now that this was the same Mr. Smith that was involved with her mother's case. She needed to know what was in that cabinet. "Mr. White can we see those files?"

"Of course," he responded, leading the detective and writer further into the house and motioning towards the filing cabinet.

Opening the drawer with shaking hands and bated breath the detective tried not to have an outburst as she saw files on Johanna Beckett and her associates.