Three:

Roz had arrived while Kate was in Montgomery's office with Tom. Judging by the look on Demming's face as he left the office, Roy must have finally reached his limit. She started to second guess her decision to leave the twelfth, but put that thought aside. She assumed that Montgomery would want to talk to her as soon as she arrived, but once again, Kate Beckett took top priority.

She had started the process of making sure all her case files were in order for whomever was named as her replacement. Roz always thought that Ryan would make a good lead detective as he was able to listen to other people's ideas, something the Espo seemed incapable of. Unless it was Beckett's idea, then he was all for it.

Roz had watched as Javi seemed to pile on, agreeing with whatever disparaging remark either Kate or Tom may levy towards Castle. Kevin, on the other hand seemed to be ashamed of their actions and had more than a few heated debates with his partner. She knew that Rick had his faults, but they were the law enforcement professionals, not he and should have treated him accordingly.

It was about an hour after Beckett's departure that a very contrite sounding Montgomery appears at her desk. "Detective Karpowski could you please come my office?"

Roz offers him a curious look and replies. "Sure thing sir. Be there in just a minute."

Roy turns and retreats to his office without a word. Less than a minute later she is knocking on the frame of his open door and inquiring. "You wanted to see me sir?"

He feigns a pained smile and gestures towards her. "Yes, please come in and close the door behind you." She complies and takes a seat. "I hear that you accepted the transfer offer from the one seven..."

"Yes sir, I did." She replies, not wanting to elaborate as to why.

"I guess congratulations are in order then. Walters is a good and fair boss. We're certainly going to miss you around here."

"You could have fooled me." The words escape her lips before her brain could stop her mouth. The truth was she had felt like a second class citizen for quite some time but it was too late now to do anything about it. "I'm sorry sir. I didn't mean that. It's been quite a bit to adjust to."

"Don't apologize detective. I know that something upset you badly enough to request a transfer. I should have spoken to you the moment I saw the request, but thought I'd give you a couple of days to think about it first. That one is on me and I'm truly sorry. May I ask you why you requested a transfer?"

Roz considered his question. She could give him the politically correct answer and say that her leaving had nothing to do with him... but that would be a lie. "Can I speak freely sir?" She asks, deciding on the truth if he wanted to hear it.

"Please do detective."

"I had a front row seat and watched as your favorite detective, along with her boyfriend, verbally abused an unpaid civilian consultant, ridiculing his theories as being stupid and constantly reminding him that he wasn't a cop. As bad as that was, the rest of her team piled on as well agreeing with her. I watched as she behaved like a schoolgirl and you said absolutely nothing. That's not why I became a cop. Things have only gotten worse, so my only option was to leave." Roz replies, her confidence growing with each damning word. Maybe if she got lucky, he'd let her start her new job after the holiday rather than wait until the first of next month.

Anger, shame, and embarrassment were all vying for control of him at that moment. He'd asked for the truth from Roz and she had provided it, and then some. He was angry at Beckett for abusing the trust he had given her. Embarrassed that his inaction had cost him one of his best detectives. But mostly ashamed that he had allowed a man he had considered a friend to be verbally abused by not only Beckett and Demming, but by the rest of her team as well. No wonder he made the comments that he did in his resignation letter and it explained why he didn't include him also. Rick simply thought the Roy was condoning it with his silence.

He promises Roz that there will be some significant changes made and asks her to reconsider leaving. She thanks him, but says that she had already committed to her new boss and was looking forward to working with her new partner. The two shake hands and she quickly exits his office. Roy cradles his head in his hands and wonders how he had allowed things to fall apart like this.

It was time to take control of his precinct. Time for a reckoning.

He spent the next hour calling in as many of his direct reports as he could. The responses fell into one of two categories; either everything was fine and they had no idea why Roz would want to leave the twelfth, or they saw the same things and were upset, but not enough to ask for a transfer.

Armed with this information, he made the dreaded trip to 1PP for his meeting with the mayor and commissioner. Deciding to fall on the sword, he proceeds to explain how he had erred by trusting his lead detective to far more leeway that what he should have. He promised that he had learned from his mistake and that the persons responsible would be dealt with.

Mayor Weldon listens to Montgomery and frowns. Richard Castle was his friend, maybe his only true friend and the thought of anyone harassing him because he wasn't a cop pissed him off. He stops Roy mid sentence as he was explaining how he was going to make changes in his precinct to prevent this from ever happening again.

"That sounds a lot like you're trying to put the toothpaste back into the tube Captain Montgomery. And it's good to hear that you want to institute changes that will prevent this from happening again. What I want to know is why this happened in the first place. Richard Castle is my friend and I thought that he was yours as well. If this is how you allow your friends to be treated..."

Bob then turns to look at the Commissioner. "Jay, I expect to see on my desk by the end of the day Tuesday a complete report with the parties responsible and the punishment that was agreed to by you personally. No offense, but letting the man responsible for this mess decide who, and how the guilty parties should be punished sounds pretty stupid to me."

The tone of Bob's voice spoke volumes. There would be no debate. The terms were non negotiable. He rises from his seat and is out of the office before either man could offer as much as a 'yes sir'.

"This is a disaster Roy. Of all the people you could screw with, you have to pick the mayor's best friend." The commissioner sighs as he speaks. "I understand that your loyalty is with your people, but wasn't Castle your friend, or was that all bullshit to look good for the mayor?"

Roy considered the commissioner's question. He had considered Rick as a friend, but wondered why he had turned a blind eye to the abuse Castle had been subjected to.

"I've suspended the two people that were primarily responsible for three days without pay and promised additional punishment if the evidence warranted. Let me find out what actually happened before we jump to any conclusions, sir." Roy offers, hoping to placate his boss.

"You heard Weldon. A complete report with conclusions and corrective actions by Tuesday. That will be all." The Commissioner counters, effectively ending the conversation.

X-X-X-X

While Roy was facing the mayor and commissioner because of her behavior, Kate was zipping shut her travel bag. Tom texted that he was on his way to pick her up and they could get on the road before the holiday weekend traffic really began. While she was angry for her suspension, she was more upset that Roy had allowed it to happen for as long as he did before deciding to punish them. Castle tendering his resignation only seemed to justify why she had never allowed anything other than a working relationship develop between them. Sure, she kind of forced it with her and Tom's jabs, but he always said that he was only there to gather research for his books. Things could now return to normal.

Couldn't they?

The long drive to the beach house he rented for the weekend was filled with brief flourishes of complaints about how unfair it was to be suspended the way they were, followed by long uncomfortable silences. Tom was convinced that it was all Castle's fault, as he used his relationship with the mayor to get even with them for the way they had treated him over the last month. Kate couldn't argue that his theory didn't make sense as she had her own suspicions about it all.

She had her own suspicions about Tom as well and hoped that a weekend alone with him would assuage the doubts she had about him in a serious relationship. She liked him. He was handsome, age appropriate, and shared the same choice in careers. Kate couldn't shake the comment that Castle had made about her and Will also sharing the same career choice. How they were both 'Yin's' and while Yin Yin is a great name for a panda, yin needs yang to be complete.

Was Castle the yang to her yin?

While Tom was extremely pleased to hear that Castle had quit, the longer she thought about it, the more she worried that she had made a terrible mistake. Sure, he was annoying at times and she delighted in taking his inflated ego down a peg or two, she also knew that he had saved her life on more than one occasion. He had opened up his home to her when hers was destroyed. Hell, it was his quick thinking that kept her from being blown up along with her place. The closer they got to the beach house, the more convinced she was that this was a huge mistake.

X-X-X-X

Roy Montgomery returned to what he hoped would continue to be his precinct, a beaten man. His trust in Beckett may cost him a great deal more than his pride and he began to do the math in his head of how much it would cost him if he took retirement now. The thought of a demotion was unacceptable, regardless of why. While he tried to assure himself that it wouldn't come to that, he decided an update of his resume may be in order - just in case.

He calls Ryan and Esposito into his office. The two men appear at his door pretending they have no idea why they were being called in. Roy knew that the others that he had spoken to before going to his meeting had already clued the two into what was happening, although he had never mentioned Castle's departure.

"You want to see us sir?" Ryan nervously inquires as Roy gestures for them to take a seat.

Looking back and forth at the two, he begins. "Yes, yes I did. I'm sure by now that you know that I suspended Beckett and Demming for three days because of the antics that the two put on for everyone to see. But that's not why you're here. This morning I received notice that Detective Karpowski has accepted an offer to transfer to the one seven..."

Montgomery pauses for a moment to gauge the reaction of the two to this information. While Esposito seemed surprised, Ryan did not, meaning he knew why she left. "Then I get a call from the commissioner. I expect it to be about Karpowski's transfer, but instead he informs me that Richard Castle has tendered his resignation from the NYPD, citing that he no longer considered himself to be an asset to her, or her team. He goes on to say that he wasn't a cop and would never be accepted because of that. My question to you two is, why would he say something like that?"

Espo gives Ryan a glare as if he might say something that would make things worse than what they were at this moment. He looks directly at his boss and replies. "You know how Castle is. Maybe he finished his research. I know that he and Tom butted heads a time or two. Maybe he was jealous?"

Roy Montgomery did not rise through the ranks to Captain by not being able to identify bullshit when he smelled it. Giving Javi a look as if someone had placed a big pile under his nose, he questions. "So what you're saying to me is you have no idea what prompted his resignation and upset Karpowski enough to request a transfer?"

The smug look on his face falters after hearing the Captain's damning question and he looks at Ryan to see if he will back him. Seeing that his partner would probably spill the beans on the entire mess, he decides to offer a portion of the truth. A portion that would hide his role as an accomplice to it all. "Sir, there was definitely friction between Castle and Demming. He routinely criticized Castle's theories as being stupid and reminded him that he wasn't a cop. Beckett never said anything, so we assumed that she was in agreement."

"So what you are saying is that the two of you watched as a civilian consultant was routinely harassed by two fellow detectives, a clear violation of the regs and said nothing?" Roy angrily inquires, looking directly at Espo.

"What were we supposed to say sir? You saw what was happening and said nothing... until today." Ryan quickly responds, saving his partner. The Captain's righteous indignation seemed hypocritical at that moment as he had always bragged that nothing happened in his shop without his knowledge.

Stunned by Kevin's biting, and far too accurate response to his accusation, he regains his composure before continuing. "So what you're saying is that neither of you had any role in the harassment of Castle? That it was only Beckett and Demming? Are you really willing to bet your badges on that?"

He can see by the look on Esposito's face that he had done more than simply watch as Castle was harassed by Beckett and Demming. Javi's loyalty to Beckett and his not so secret envy of Castle's fame and fortune would cost him as well.

Javi sits there stone faced, refusing to offer anything that would incriminate him in this mess. He was counting on the blue wall to protect him. Kevin wouldn't say anything.

Montgomery looks at the two in disgust. He knew there was more to the story, much more and now he would be forced to make the call to the last person he wanted to talk to at this moment. "Get out of my office before I decide to suspend you for stupidity!" He points towards the door and the two get up from their seats. They are nearly at the door when he remarks. "I was serious about what this will cost you if I find out you're lying to me."

Returning to their desks, Espo mutters. "Fucking Castle. This is all his fault."

Ryan gives his partner an incredulous look and replies. "Really? You screwed up. You piled on whenever Beckett or Demming said something to him and now you want to blame him? The guy is the mayor's best friend, plays poker with the commissioner and half the judges in the city and you thought that you could harass him and get away with it? Look, I know you and Beckett go back a ways, but is your loyalty to her, when you know what she did was wrong, worth your badge?"

Espo is stunned by the vitriol in his partner's voice as he speaks. Javi knew that everything he said was true, but had no idea how to fix this mess. "What can I do?" He asks his partner, truly having no idea what to do.

"Tell the Captain the truth. Sure, he'll be pissed, but a lot less than if he has to find out from somebody else... if he doesn't know already. Remember, Roz is leaving and I suspect that how we treated Castle had something to do with it. Besides, with Karpowski leaving and Beckett's suspension, he's going to be so shorthanded with detectives that he might let you slide. Especially if you confess."

Espo listened to his partner's comments and had to agree they made sense. He gets back up from his seat and makes the walk back to his Captain's office to meet his fate.

Thirty minutes later a very somber looking Esposito returns and takes a seat at his desk. He looks at his partner before speaking. "You were right. He knew about my piling on when Beckett made some disparaging remark to Castle. He also knows that you saw it all and said nothing... Your excuse of him already knowing won't fly and he sees it as an act of a conspirator as well."

Ryan's face pales at the comment. In spite of the fact that it was the truth, he had remained silent, letting the others believe that he was okay with what they were doing. "What's going to happen to us?" Kevin asks, convinced that his career was over.

"As far as I can tell, nothing... at least for now. I've got a feeling that there's going to be some changes with all of the homicide teams by what he said." Espo replies.

"You think he'll split up our team?" Kevin inquires which only elicits a shrug of his shoulders from Javi in response.