Update: Apparently there were still some issues with the second upload, so hopefully the third times a charm. :)

AN: I guess there was an issue when I posted the chapter. (Thanks Pen to Paper Writer for the heads up). Hopefully it's working now for everyone. There will be another chapter that'll be a follow up to the end of this chapter. I just haven't written it yet, so hopefully I can start on it soon.

Thank you to everyone who followed, favorited, and reviewed this story. Here's the next chapter everybody, enjoy.

The Masquerade Misfortune

It was Halloween, and the spooks were in full force tonight. From flickering lights to unexplained shadows, it was sure a night of fright. But other than the Spooktacular phenomenon's, another thing that was running rampant in the city, was murder.

Lacie pulled up to a gigantic manor that was now a crime scene. She looked over the place from her car, the place giving her eerie vibes. She felt like it was part of a horror movie the way the tree's hung low and several of its windows had ivy spreading over it. A knock on her window startled her, but it was just Castle who was wearing a small grin on his face. She got out of her vehicle and he said, "Didn't mean to scare you, Lacie."

"It's fine. This place gives me the creeps," she said.

"This place is pretty creepy. You know the history behind this place, right?"

"No… There's history?"

"This is the Baylor Manor which was built in 1855. The Baylor family were very wealthy back in the day, and William Baylor, the man who built this place, lived here with his wife and six children."

"What happened?"

"One night, Halloween to be exact, Gurdy Baylor, the youngest of the six, heard screaming from the hallway. She went to investigate and found the walls smudged with blood. She followed the trail and saw her parents murdered in their beds."

"And the others?"

"She checked on each sibling, and they were all found the same way her parents were. They had all been axed 13 times while they slept."

"Did Gurdy die?"

"Not that night. No one knows why she was spared, but she wound up spending seven years in a mental institution but died suspiciously in her sleep one night."

"Did they ever find who did it?"

"Nope… That night still remains a dark and twisted mystery."

"Stop scaring the poor girl, Castle," Beckett said as she made her way over to them.

"I'm just telling her the story of this freaky place. It could help in the investigation," Castle said.

"Doubtful… There have definitely been some freak occurrences that have happened here since that night, but for the most part, this place is a money grab."

"How so?" Lacie asked.

"Several tours are held here 3 times a day, 365 days a year, and during the month of October, they hold haunted houses and ghost tours. Also, if you're rich enough like the people here today, you can rent out the space for parties, or what not."

"Huh, that seems terrible."

"It is… Now someone is dead, and we have to figure it out."

Beckett started heading towards the mansion, so Castle and Lacie followed closely behind her. The mansion was much nicer on the inside than the outside, but it still had an old, rustic, feel to the place. It seemed like it was being upkept, and probably had many renovations, so it stayed in pristine condition.

There were at least twenty-five people in the mansion being interviewed both individually and in groups. They were all dressed in masquerade attire, some still had their masks on, while others had them off. If it wasn't such a terrifying place to hold a party, then it'd be a super fun event to attend, but it just made things weird.

Esposito and Ryan walked up to the three of them.

"I can't believe they're holding a masquerade ball in this place," Esposito said while looking around the large establishment.

"Afraid of ghosts, Espo?" Kate asked with a smirk.

"Nah, just think it's cruel to hold parties in a place where people died."

"Agreed… It's kind of disrespectful," Ryan said.

"Yes, it is, but we're not here to shame a bunch of rich people for their party planning. So, who's our vic?"

"Jenny Hayworth, age 24. She was here with a couple of friends, and they went out back where there are some photo stations set up."

"Photo stations?" Carver asked.

"Yeah, for social media or mementos… something like that."

"They were taking a picture at one of the stations, which happened to be a guillotine," Esposito said.

"It didn't…. You know?" Carver asked motioning her head being cut off.

"Unfortunately, it did."

"Why would they have something so dangerous at the party?" Castle asked.

"That's the thing. According to the host of the party, Cole Mandon, it was supposed to be a prop, with no moving or working parts. He's over there if you want to talk with him," Ryan said as he pointed to a man in his late twenties, with short brown hair.

"I think I might," Kate said.

"We'll be out back if you need us."

She nodded to them before heading over to the man named Cole, who wore a dark blue prince like outfit with a retro feel. He looked over at the three people who were approaching him, and Kate asked, "Cole Mandon?"

"Yes, that's me. Are you going to ask me more questions? I already explained that I had no idea that the thing was real," Cole said.

"Just a few more to get a better idea on what may have transpired here tonight."

"That's fine."

"I know you said it was supposed to be a prop, but do you know who sold it to you? Did you watch them set it up?"

"Yeah, I've used them before. They have a lot of leftover props from movie productions and what not. Creature Feature Props is the company. We set up the photo stations yesterday afternoon and I watched them do everything."

"The props were left here unattended for 24 hours?" Castle questioned him.

"Well, yeah… Oh… I see. I guess anything could have happened during that period, but don't you think I would have noticed if something were off?"

"Not necessarily. If you don't know much about the props, it may have been easy for someone to slip in the real deal," Carver said.

"That's a big contraption to get rid of and replace."

"They might have just switched out the blade, and rigged it to work like it's supposed to," Castle mentioned.

"I suppose so… But why would they do that? Was she the target?"

"That's what we're here to figure out Mr. Mandon. Did you know the victim at all?"

"Not really. I know her friend Dasha the most. I usually let my guests bring a couple of friends with them. It was just supposed to be a fun Halloween masquerade bash."

"We understand. Sorry for your party getting cut short like this," Carver said.

"Thanks, I hope you get to the bottom of it."

The three of them went out back where Ryan, Esposito, and Lanie were hovering around the body that was slumped over the guillotine. It was a gruesome sight, but after their case with decapitations, it wasn't as hard to stomach.

Beckett looked over the contraption and said, "I wonder if she was the target, or if it was rigged up for anyone who was unfortunate enough to have it go off at the wrong time."

"It seems kind of hard to rig it up for a specific person. You don't even know if they'd put their head in," Esposito said.

"They could have mechanicalized it… Set it up, so the blade drops when it was told to do so," Carver said.

"That is possible. I remember a case where someone rigged an elevator to drop with a push of a button," Ryan said.

"If that's the case here, then whoever set it up would have had to be here to see when our vic put her head inside, and close enough to trigger the mechanism," Beckett said.

"So, it may be a party goer?"

"Quite possibly…" Beckett turned to Lanie and asked, "Lanie, do you have any info?"

"Not much. What I can say is that this is an extremely sharp blade for such a clean cut. So, this was definitely not a prop," she said.

"If you find anything else, let us know."

"Will do."

They returned to the precinct and hovered around the investigation board as they tried to figure out how anyone or anything tied into this strange death. As they looked further into their investigation, Castle spoke up, "You know this could be just a freak accident…"

"Or…?" Kate questioned the man, knowing he had a crazy theory ready to go.

"Or, the spirits of the family who died in that house did. Or maybe, it was the spirit of the person who killed the family in that house."

"A malevolent spirit, Castle?"

"There's been a lot of unexplained phenomena's around the world, including several at the Baylor Manor. There's no doubt that that place is cursed."

"Just because there have been many unexplained occurrences, doesn't mean that there haven't been many that have been debunked and solved. I'm sure they all have logical and reasonable explanations behind them that are unknown."

"Yes, but don't you believe there are some supernatural forces out there, like ghosts, and/or poltergeists. Guys back me up…" Castle said looking between the rest of the group.

"Sorry Castle… There's no way. If anything, this was just an accident, no supernatural beings at play here," Esposito said.

"Yep, agreed," Ryan said.

"Carver?" Castle asked.

All eyes went to Lacie and she hesitated as she looked between her colleagues and Castle.

"I guess it's possible, but I don't think it's the case with this one," Lacie said.

"You believe in ghosts?" Beckett asked.

She shrugged and said, "I saw some weird things at my grandparent's old farmhouse. Some of the freaky things that happened there sure made a believer out of me."

"Well, whatever happened at the manor tonight was not due to supernatural forces. The first place we should look is the place that loaned Cole Mandon the guillotine, which was Creature Feature Props."

"They should be able to tell us if their prop was tampered with in anyway."

"Yep, and then we'll go from there."

The next day, Castle, Carver, and Beckett, went to Creature Feature Props as soon as it opened. They walked into the large warehouse like shop and browsed the strange and unusual items they had on display. There wasn't a soul in sight, so they went to the front counter to ring the bell for service. As they waited for someone to come up front, Carver looked at the realistic wolfman costume that was on display next to the counter.

"Hmm… That's a good replica," Castle said.

"Not a replica," the wolf said.

Lacie practically jumped into Castle's arms, and the person in the costume started laughing hysterically. Beckett rolled her eyes at the scene, and said, "We need to talk to the owner of this establishment."

The man in the costume took off the fake head, placing it on the counter, before speaking, "That would be me. Igor Vernon, at your service. How can I help you fine people today?"

Beckett showed him her badge and said, "I'm Detective Beckett, this is my partner Carver, and our shadow Richard Castle."

"The author, nice… So, what's this about?" Igor asked.

"We have reasons to believe that you sold some props to a Cole Mandon to be used at his masquerade bash at Baylor Manor."

"Yes, I heard what happened, but it wasn't my prop."

"How can you be so sure?" Carver asked.

"Our props are known to look authentic, but they're practically rubber, or a thick plastic. It would never be sharp enough to actually cut someone's head off. It's not even supposed to be rigged to drop."

"Well, something went askew with your product last night. So, who manages the set up during these events?" Becket asked.

"Me mostly. I also have several employees that help me out as well. I would have noticed if something were wrong with it, but I've had that particular guillotine for years."

"Could it have been tampered with?"

"I guess there's a chance it could be. I have another in the back if you'd like to check it out."

"That would be great."

Igor walked them to the back of the warehouse, where other props were stored, and showed them the other guillotine he had. It looked the same as the one from last night, but they could tell that the blade was indeed plastic, differentiating from the blade last night.

Beckett took a look at it and said, "It is similar, but the blade is noticeably different from the one at the manor."

"I guess these things can be taken apart, but I've never tried myself. I'd never thought someone would want to do this."

"Most people wouldn't, but whoever did, wanted someone dead last night."

"You said these aren't rigged to come down, right?" Carver asked.

"No… They're glued to the spot," Igor said as he shook the contraption at the blade.

"Do you think you can come with us to the manor and take a look at the guillotine."

"Sure thing… Let me get out of this costume first and we can go."

They went back to the manor with Igor, and they looked over the contraption that was still in the back yard along with his other props. Igor looked it over and said, "This is definitely my prop, the serial number is on the leg down on the bottom right. Someone switched out the blade though, no doubt about that."

"So, this is still your prop?" Beckett asked.

"Yep. If I had to guess, they cut and melted the glue on the sides to loosen the mouton and blade. Then they switched it out for the real deal. It's a pretty sophisticated thing to do, but there are plenty of guides online to help with the process."

"How do you know?"

"I've done my research on the subject. I like to know as much information as I can before I sell my products. "

Carver eyed the machine again and said, "Are those metal pieces?"

Everyone eyed the metal strips that were on top of the mouton and wondered what it was for. They looked underneath the crossbar, and sure enough, there were two more metal strips that were there.

"That's odd… There are no metal strips on these, not even real ones," Igor said.

Since Lacie had on her gloves because it was slightly cold outside, she pushed up the bladed piece, and it latched itself back onto the top part of the guillotine.

"I think it's magnetized… A homemade electromagnet perhaps," Carver said.

"If they rigged the guillotine to be electrically magnetized, they were definitely planning on a specific person for it."

"I think they might have used a remote control as well."

"What gives you that idea?" Castle asked.

"The red light that is faintly shining through the drilled-out hole between the crossbar and the mouton."

They all noticed the faint red dot shining in the hole and Beckett said, "I guess that just answered the majority of our questions."

After they dropped Igor back at his shop, they headed back to the precinct. Beckett asked CSU to take apart the guillotine, and check for any prints or DNA that may have been left after their advance setup. While they waited for CSU to get back to them, they went through anyone who may have had access to the guillotine prior to the masquerade.

"It seems that all the attendees at the party check out. They all have an alibi that puts them nowhere near the manor before the party," Espo mentioned.

"It has to be someone that was able to spend enough time with the machine. There's no way they could have magnetized it within a couple of hours."

"So, that leaves Cole, Igor, his employees, and the groundskeeper of the manor," Ryan said.

"Has anyone talked to the groundskeeper?" Beckett asked.

"A little, but he didn't seem to know much," Espo stated.

"I think Lacie and I will check out more of the manor tomorrow and see if we can speak to that groundskeeper. Maybe he saw something that can help."

"All right. We'll continue to dig into Jenny Hayworth and see if she had ties with anyone else at the party besides her two friends."

Esposito and Ryan went back to their desks, and Castle said, "Was really hoping it'd be ghosts…"

"Why?" Beckett asked.

"It would have been fun to write about in the next Nikki Heat novel."

"I still can't believe that you'll be making three more books."

"You love my presence and helpful theories."

"Sure… Let's go with that."

"You're happy I'm still tagging along, right Carver?"

"Of course, she does. She's obsessed with you."

Carvers cheek flushed as she glared at her partner, and said, "I am happy that Castle will be continuing to shadow us, but it's not because I'm obsessed. He's pretty useful you have to admit."

"Uh-huh… As useful as his theories with malevolent spirits… vampires, and ninjas."

"Okay, so some of my theories are a little out there, but they always seem to lead the way to the big picture," Castle said.

"I guess you're a tad useful, but most of the time you're in our way," Beckett stood from her desk and said, "I'm going to get some coffee."

Castle sighed as she walked off and Carver said, "She'll come around. I think she secretly likes it though."

"You think so?" Castle asked.

"Yeah, she just doesn't want to admit it… By the way, I finally had the time to finish Heat Wave, and it was wonderful. I love my character Sky, she seems great."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I thought Sky would complement you well. Did your mom get the signed copy I sent her?"

"She did and was ecstatic. She couldn't wait to flaunt it to her buddies at the book club she attends."

"That's great… Speaking of Nikki Heat, I may have to miss out tomorrow because I have a few press things to do for Heat Wave, and my book deal. Think I'll be missed?"

"By me, yes. By Beckett, I think she'll pretend to be thrilled, but secretly disappointed."

He chuckled and said, "Will you let me know if you find anything?"

"Of course, we may need some more of your theories."

"What are you guys talking about?" Beckett asked when she came back to her desk.

"Castle won't make it tomorrow."

"Oh, bummer."

"You know you'll miss my charm while I'm away, Beckett," Castle said with a smirk.

"You wish. I think Carver will be doing enough missing for the both of us anyway, so you won't feel completely unwanted."

"Sure."

The next day came around, so Carver and Beckett went back to the manor like they said they would. They met up with the groundskeeper, Bo Figueroa, and asked him some more questions about what he may have seen.

"I already told the two male detectives that I didn't see anything. I did my daily tasks like I was supposed to, before they set up those stupid looking props, then I made sure everything was up to par before the party was going on," Bo said with a Boston accent.

"So, you didn't notice anyone suspicious come around?" Beckett asked.

"I don't know. There was this one man who came by to check things out, but he said he was a part of the prop guys. I let him into the yard, and he was there for a couple of minutes, not enough time to do anything though."

"Did you get his name?" Carver asked.

"Drake, or something. Didn't really care. He had the company's shirt on though."

"When did he drop by?"

"Late that evening… Around 8 or so, just before I got off."

"How long is this place left unattended?"

"About ten hours give or take. I try to get here by 6 AM to get stuff done."

"Thank you, sir. Do you mind if we take a look around inside?" Beckett asked.

"No, I don't mind. Don't have much of a say anyhow."

He let them inside and they started to search the grounds for any more clues that may have been missed.

"Think that Drake guy scoped out the place and wound up coming back later?" Carver asked Beckett.

"He's our only suspect so far. We'll ask Igor if he authorized his visit, if not, then there's a large chance that he's our guy," Beckett explained.

"Yeah… I wonder what his motive was."

"Ex-girlfriend, more than likely."

"Possibly."

They headed upstairs and looked around some more. Carver noticed a weird crease in the wall, where one of the many bookcases were located, and went up to it. Beckett looked at her partner questioningly as she tried one of the books on the shelves.

"Are you scoping out a new book to read?" Beckett asked.

"No, I think there's a secret passage through here," Carver said.

"Seriously… Carver. I think you've been spending too much time with Castle."

"Doesn't the bookcase seem kind of off to you?"

Beckett tilted her head and said, "It's a little off, but they could have set it up wrong. It happens. There are no hidden compartments, or trap doors. It's just a normal manor with normal doors and windows."

Carver pulled another book on the shelf, and the bookshelf opened slightly, leaving a slight creak in its wake. Carver raised a brow at her partner, and said, "You were saying?"

"Okay, lucky guess," Beckett said with a sigh.

Carver took out her cellphone, turning the flashlight on in the process. She pulled open the shelf and walked into the dark place. It was a small space, about 3 feet by 2 feet, and Carver checked out the slightly cramped room for any other mechanism that could open another secret compartment that would reveal a staircase or hallway.

"Can you help me out, Beckett?" Carver asked.

Kate shuffled inside, standing over her partner slightly and said, "It's too tight for the both of us."

"Just help me find a button or trigger to open the other passageway."

"Fine…"

Beckett checked the left side of the cement like wall, while Carver checked the other side. They slid their hands delicately over the rough surface and weren't having any luck at finding a mechanism. Kate sighed and said, "This is ridiculous. There's nothing in here."

"There has to be something. It can't be just a random small room behind a bookcase. There has to be a secret passage."

"Or maybe not."

Just then, Carver hit a loose piece in the wall, and it made an odd sound since it was jammed. Carver tried pushing it again but got the same result.

"I think this is the button, but it's jammed," Carver said.

Beckett huffed as she huddled next to her partner by the out of place mechanism. They pushed against the wall once more, and got it to budge, triggering the device. What they didn't count on was the other door to close behind them, trapping them inside the small space.

"Tell me that button didn't just lock us in here?" Beckett asked.

"Well, I guess it did. Maybe if we press it again, it'll open," Carver said.

"It better."

They pressed it again and nothing happened. They tried twice more but wound up getting the same results. They were officially stuck in the hidden room. Carver could faintly see the glare Beckett was giving her as she held the light at an odd angle. Carver let out an awkward chuckle, and said, "Who would have thought, huh?"

"Carver!" Beckett growled out.

"Okay… If it has a button that can close the door behind it, then surely it'd have a button to open another passage."

"And if it doesn't…?"

"Then we'll figure something out."

They continued checking the room, stepping on each other in the process, as they tried every nook and cranny they could reach.

"Maybe it is just a secret room," Carver mentioned.

"Are you kidding me Carver!?" Beckett seethed.

The girl shrugged and said, "I don't know. We've tried every inch of this place. Unless we're missing something."

"You think," Beckett took out her phone, and tried to call the precinct, but there was no signal, "Great…"

"No signal?"

"No, how about you?"

Carver checked her own phone and said, "Nope…"

"This is just great."

"At least they know where we are. So, I'm sure they'll come looking for us after a while."

"I guess you're right."

"Do you think our suspect knew this was here?"

"There's a possibility. They could have hidden in here until the party started and snuck out to kill Jenny."

"Didn't you say they hold tours here?"

"Yeah, why?"

"What if they were a tour guide here? You'd know a lot about a place after giving several tours."

"Not a bad theory, even though you did lock us in here."

"I'm sorry, okay?"

"I know…"

Kate went to the far end of the room, knowing they weren't going to get out anytime soon, and slid down the wall onto the floor below. Lacie decided to join her partner, sitting next to her in the tight space, and shuffled enough so they weren't too jammed up together.

"Have you finished Heat Wave yet?" Lacie asked, trying to strike up a conversation.

"Almost… you?"

"Yep, it's actually pretty good."

"It is… If there's one thing I can say about Castle, it's that he's a damn good writer."

"He most certainly is."

"I just wish he wasn't a pain in my side."

"Come on… You like having him around."

"No, I don't. All he does is get in our way when we're trying to do our jobs."

"He's a major help though. He's helped us out a bunch since he's started shadowing us. I think it'll be great having him tagging along while making these next three books."

"What's up with you two anyway?"

"What do you mean?"

"Ever since that whole extortion thing with your ex, you and Castle have seemed to be a lot chummier than before."

Lacie shrugged and said, "He helped me out that day. If it weren't for him, I don't know what I would have done."

"So, you two haven't gotten together?"

"What!? No… Me and Castle… No way…"

"You don't like Castle?"

"I mean… Yeah… I like him, but I don't think we'd be compatible. He'd never like me."

"I think he'd like anyone of the opposite sex."

Lacie chuckled and said, "Okay… for the most part, that is true. I don't know if he thinks of me that way though."

"Well, I think he's into you. Ever since that day, he's been looking at you differently."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Nah…"

"Okay, don't believe me."

"I mean, what about you two?"

Kate scoffed and said, "Us!? Castle and me. Not a chance."

"Oh, come on… You two have been bickering like an old married couple since he joined us. Not to mention all the flirty banter between you two as well."

"That's because he gets on my nerves, and sometimes I like to have a little fun. I'm not that much of a stick in the mud."

"Okay, sure… Let's go with that."

"There is nothing happening between Castle and I."

"Only because you deny it."

"I'm not the one in denial here, Lacie."

"I'm not in denial…"

"Whatever you say."

It was quiet between the two, and Lacie said, "If Castle and I happened to get together, you'd be okay with it?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I don't care who either of you are hooking up with, even if it's with each other. Just leave the PDA out of the precinct, we don't need to see that," Kate said.

"Fine, if you truly don't like Castle like you say, then maybe if something happens between us, I'll go for it."

"I don't like Castle. So, go ahead, and go for it."

Kate masked her feelings for the man as she tried to convince her partner to go for a relationship with him. She figured Lacie would be a better match for the man then herself, especially since she was still trying to get to the bottom of her mothers' death.

"Okay…" was all Lacie said.

She knew her partner secretly liked the writer but was too stubborn to admit it. Lacie also knew Kate would rather keep pushing him away then let him in. She understood her partners point, but if Kate didn't want Castle, then why not go for it. Before they both lose him to someone else.

Two hours passed and they were still stuck in the small room. Kate was leaning her head against the wall that was next to her, while Lacie had her head tilted back with her eyes closed. By this time, Lacie's phone died and Kate's was down to a measly 10% battery life. They tried to get a signal, by trying many different things, but it was of no use.

"They'll find us, right?" Lacie asked.

"I'm sure they're already on their way," Beckett answered.

"I'm surprised the groundskeeper isn't looking for us. Our car is still out front."

"If he uses the back entrance, I'm sure he wouldn't see it."

"I suppose you're right. I'm sorry I got us into this mess."

"It's fine, Lacie. We'll get out of it. It's not like we're in grave danger or anything."

"That's true."

A faint call of names was herd in the distance, and the two girls perked up. The voice called out again and this time they could hear what they yelled, "BECKETT! CARVER!"

"Is that… Castle?" Lacie questioned her partner.

"I think it is," Kate said.

The voice came closer, and there was no denying that it was indeed Richard Castle.

The women stood from their spots on the floor, groaning from being down there so long and called back to the man. They banged on the back of the bookshelf they were behind and yelled, "CASTLE! We're behind the bookcase!"

Footsteps were heard stopping in front of where they were, and Castle questioned them, "You're behind the bookcase?"

"Yes, Castle… Now help us out," Kate said.

"Which book is it?"

"The old looking brown book, with a picture of a skull on it," Lacie replied.

"Ah of course, the creepy looking one."

They heard the book being pulled down and the secret door unlocking as it creaked open like earlier. Castle pulled the door open, revealing the two women fully. He smiled at them and said, "Cool."

"I thought you had some PR stuff to do?" Kate asked him.

"Oh, I did, but I got done earlier than expected. I went down to the precinct, and the guys said you didn't make it back yet. So, I thought I'd come down here to see if you were okay."

"It was fine until Lacie locked us in there."

"I thought it was a secret passageway, but we couldn't find anything to open another door. We wound up just shutting ourselves in instead," Lacie said.

"Wow, how long were you guys in there?"

"Two hours…"

Castle stepped into the room and twisted a nob that was slightly above the other passageway. It opened effortlessly and Castle chuckled as he spoke, "I think I found your other passageway."

"Carver… How did you miss that?" Kate asked.

"I tried it… At least I thought I did."

"We were "trapped" in there for two hours when there was a way out this whole time."

"We had fun bonding though, right?"

Kate grumbled something as she made her way down the newly opened passage that happened to have a staircase. Castle looked back at Lacie, giving her a small smile and said, "It was easy to miss. I just happened to see one of these a while back at an old mansion I stayed at while doing research for a Derek Storm novel."

"Thanks, Castle," Lacie said as she went to follow her partner.

The three of them went down the stairs and opened the door that it led to. It happened to lead them to the kitchen of the manor, behind a large painting that was on one of it's walls. They stepped into the kitchen looking around and noticed that it had a door that led out to the courtyard.

"So, whoever murdered Jenny, knew this was here. Easy access to the party and backyard through the secret passage," Beckett said.

"No one noticed?" Castle asked.

"Depending on how busy it was back here, I'm sure it would have been easy to go undetected by anyone."

"I guess we should look into that Drake guy and see if he had any ties to the Baylor Manor," Lacie said.

"Right ahead of you."

They went back to the precinct and looked up Igor's employees to see if there was anyone who went by the name of Drake. It didn't take them long to find a match in the employee list, which came up with a Drake Soto. They cross referenced his name with old employees at the Baylor Manor and found out that he ran a couple of tours there back in 2007 and 2008. They brought him down to the precinct and started to question him in the interrogation room.

"Drake Soto, did you use to work at the Baylor Manor?" Beckett asked him.

The brown-haired man in his early thirties slouched in the metal chair, and shrugged his shoulders, "Yeah, I worked there for a couple of years. It's a creepy place."

"So, you helped set up for the masquerade party that took place there yesterday?" Carver asked.

"Yeah, I helped set some props up for my new job. Why?"

Beckett showed him a picture of Jenny and said, "A young girl died last night due to one of the props malfunctioning."

"What's that got to do with me?"

"You went back to the manor after it was set up. We called your boss, and he never authorized a check-up, so why go?"

"I just wanted to look things over."

Carver showed him another photo, one of the rigged-up prop, and said, "Was it to get an idea on how to rig this up to be a real working guillotine?"

"I had nothing to do with it…"

"Really? The remote control we found in your car says otherwise," Beckett said.

"It wasn't supposed to be her…"

"She wasn't the target?"

"No… It was supposed to be Cole, the host of the party."

"Cole? Why?"

"He got me fired from my job at the manor back in '08. He had rented it out once before for a ghost hunting thing with some friends. I was unlucky enough to get stuck with the gig and had to show them around. The guy was a jerk, and the whole time he and his friends were complaining about not seeing any ghosts or hearing weird noises from the afterlife."

"How was that your fault?" Carver asked.

"Exactly! It wasn't. I didn't control the spirits in that place. They complained to my boss that I was a lousy guide and that I should be fired."

"So, when you found out the props were for his party, you wanted to get even with him."

"Yeah… I snuck in afterhours and rigged the guillotine to be electromagnetic. It seemed to be working, so I wound up hiding in one of the secret passageways they have in the manor. Once the party started, I snuck out in my masquerade attire, and mingled with the crowd. Twice, Cole put his head under the guillotine, but the thing wouldn't budge."

"Then what happened?"

"I tried to fix it, but the thing still wouldn't work. When I was about to give up and leave, something must have triggered the machine, and it wound up killing that girl. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"I understand she wasn't your intended target, but murder is still murder, Mr. Soto," Beckett explained.

The man just nodded, and the two women walked out of the room, before returning to their respective desks.

"Wow, poor Jenny," Castle said.

"Yeah, all because he wanted to get back at some guy who cost him his job," Beckett said.

"I wonder why it didn't go off?"

"Castle… I know what you're thinking, and it has nothing to do with it."

"It's a tad weird though, you have to admit."

"I hate to add to Castle's whacky theories, but Ryan and I did some more research, and found out Jenny is actually a descendent of the Baylor family," Esposito said.

"See…! Whoever is cursing that house has it out for the descendants of the Baylor family."

"Or it's just a coincidence," Beckett said.

"Be a skeptic all you want, but there's definitely something paranormal about that manor."

"Sure…"

"So, any plans tonight Castle?" Carver asked.

"Actually, I have a date tonight," he said with a smile.

Both female detectives looked at him questioningly and Beckett asked, "You have a date?"

"Yep, her name is Gemma Belrose, and she seems nice. Her French accent is pretty hot too."

Beckett rolled her eyes at the man and said, "Well, have fun with that."

"How about you two? Do you have any plans?"

"Just paperwork."

"Carver?"

"Nope, nothing…" Lacie said.

"Hmm… Well, I guess I should get going. So, I'll see you two ladies tomorrow, right?"

"Yep."

"Uh-huh," Beckett mumbled as she rifled through her work.

He nodded, looking oddly at the two women, before heading off to the elevator. It was quiet between the two partners, but Beckett spoke up first, "I'm sure it won't last."

"You're probably right," Lacie said.

"Hey, why don't we finish this up tomorrow, and get some drinks together?"

"You want to hang out… together?"

"Yes, Carver… Plus, you owe me for getting us locked in that secret passage for two hours."

"That's fair."

The two left the precinct together and went to have a fun evening out, forgetting about Castle and his date.