"Cause of death is blunt force trauma to the skull. Liver temp puts time of death at right around 4am. Looks like it was the same guy again…"

Lanie's voice, usually the image of professionalism, was trembling this morning, and it wasn't from the cold.

As a matter of fact, every law enforcement officer on scene seemed to share the same sentiment as they crossed into Central Park to review their latest murder victim, number five in a row of brutal, downright vindictive slayings targeting public servants…three out of five being cops.

The nefarious motive was clear; bestow deadly punishment upon those who had wronged the killer, for whatever reason they had yet to find out. The media hype didn't help things, quite possibly making matters worse by giving a ruthless killer who was thirsting for attention exactly what he wanted.

There was only a small glimmer of hope, an iota of positivity to be found in all of this and it was the fact that the heinous nature of the crime had demanded for a certain Captain to join them back at the crime scenes, rather than handling the affairs from her office at the precinct.

With the slew of changes that had occurred over the past few months, the continuous ups and downs of their relationship mixed with Beckett's unhealthy obsession of the hunt for Loksat; it felt good having her by his side again, even if it was only temporary.

It brought his scarred mind back to better times, to the early years when things didn't seem so complicated, when the darkness that had overshadowed her mother's death and that of many of their friends wasn't so oppressive, so all-encompassing.

But they would make it through that as well, he told himself, sometimes cursing that optimism and wondering if he was holding on to something that wasn't there, hoping for a change that would never happen.

Then again, wasn't it easier to live for hope than exist in despair?

He'd be the first to know.

Following Beckett over to a body sprawled out near the sidewalk, he sucked in a deep breath, loathing the sight of a severely beaten patrol officer, half his head caved in from a strong blow with a pipe or baseball bat, the killer then finishing his victim off execution style with a close-range bullet to the temple.

It was safe to assume there was more blood outside that man than inside, the trail leading back onto the lawn and nearby bushes, the fine strands of grass pressed down or bent where the violent struggle for survival ensued…and eventually ended.

Police had cordoned off a good half acre of parkland, the yellow crime scene tape fluttering wildly in the breeze, alarming them of the terrible act committed here.

Keeping her deepest feelings hidden beneath a cloak of professionalism, Beckett stopped short of the body, her eyes tracing the remains meticulously, before falling completely still.

Castle couldn't help but wonder if enough years on the job could get somebody used to seeing all these bodies, ignoring the suffering that occurred and treat it no different than issuing a parking ticket; not for lack of empathy, but for a much-needed self-preservation mechanism to ensure sanity, if there was such a thing in homicide.

He'd spent countless hours shamelessly studying her, see if any particular crime scene could get a reaction out of her, the slightest of twitches, the way the corners of her mouth tightened when something bothered her.

But he was missing out again this time.

"Any evidence so far? Murder weapon, footprints? There's gotta be something in that grass."

"A lot of it got compromised throughout the fight. Looks like our man here put up a hell of a struggle before he was killed with the blow to the head. The bullet destroyed a lot of evidence when it comes to determining the murder weapon ued for the bludgeoning, but I am still sticking with an elongated round object, small baseball bat or a pipe. I am going to comb through all those scratches and contusions on his body, see if I can find traces of DNA from our killer."

Nodding at Lanie, Beckett fell quiet for a moment and looked back around, taking in the entire scene while that brilliant mind of hers pieced the events together.

"Dispatch said that somebody had called in a slumper early this morning and Officer Reece here took the call. His body was discovered an hour later and he never radio'ed in for support…"

"Sounds like it was a setup again…", Castle added and bit the inside of his cheek, the sight of a dead police officer bringing him uncomfortably close to one of his greatest fears when it came to Beckett and her chosen line of work.

"Yeah. Early morning hours, it was still dark out, almost no chance for an eyewitness…"

Beckett's voice trailed off when she saw Ryan and Esposito approach from the opposite end of the crime scene, both men carrying that same somber expression as they walked past a couple of unis before reaching the body.

"You guys got anything?", she asked, cutting straight to the chase, only to see her detectives shake their heads in unison.

"No witnesses. We're having an additional CSU team on standby as we check the garbage bins in the entire perimeter looking for bloody clothes or anything that could point back at the killing.", Ryan explained, his gaze drifting over to his partner to coax him to continue.

"There are countless different access points to the murder scene from various entrance areas of the park. Trying to narrow the killer down with any camera footage taken in the dark of night is going to be near impossible."

"Try it anyway, Espo.", Beckett countered curtly, causing the detective to purse his lips, but eventually wise up and forego arguing, "Ryan, see if you can pinpoint anything that our victims had in common besides being at the wrong place at the wrong time. We still don't know how our killer picked them out. Three cops, a fire fighter and a building inspector…could have been a city meeting they attended, a fundraiser, church even. Something is tying these people together and the sooner we know what it is, the sooner we can narrow down who our killer is."

Nodding, both detectives moved on, Ryan heading for their parked car, Esposito ducking the crime scene tape to speak to one of the unis.

It left the two of them near the body, sharing a moment of silence before Beckett drew in a deep breath and cleared her throat.

"I have a really bad feeling about this case…about our killer."

The unusual admission made him raise his brows, pondering on the right answer for a moment as his gaze drifted back to their body, meeting those lifeless eyes staring back at him.

"Anybody as ruthless as this killer deserves to be feared…", he began and saw her open her mouth to rebut, "He won't stop at anything to follow through with his plan. He is controlling, enjoys the thrill of killing and isn't afraid to cause incredible suffering before ending the lives of his victims. But the one thing he should be afraid of is you…us. Because I don't care how long it's going to take, we will find him."

Seeing her frown turn into a warm smile was a much-needed change for the morning and he returned it eagerly, relishing her hand reaching up to squeeze his elbow.

"Then let's get to work, Castle."