"Oh, here's one of them," Skye was telling the host. "Hullo there."

"Hullo? What are you doing here?" Beckett said in shock though she was hugging her friend tightly, doing the same after to Mary.

"I needed to come," Skye said.

"I was with her in Bali," Mary said when the writer was looking at her questioningly.

"A conference?" Beckett guessed. When the doctor shook her head, she looked at the two women and asked, "Your girls pushed you to it?" not surprised when the investigator was responding first.

"They did, we were in Sydney when I was called to Bali," Skye explained.

"Why are you here though?" Beckett repeated her question the two had yet to answer.

Glancing behind the writer as the others were walking up to them, Skye said, "We need to talk about this somewhere else. Would Brad mind another consultant?"

Beckett was about to say she wasn't sure, but then realized what her friend could bring to the investigation, and she said hurriedly, "We'll take you to the station."

"Fantastic, but we need a place to stay while we're here," Skye said before she was smiling at Castle and hugging him while he greeted her.

"That's a heck of a surprise," Castle said. "Seeing you here."

"Hello to you too," Skye said jokingly while he went to her wife. "We thought we'd stay a few days since no one's in DC that we know."

"Stay as long as you want," Castle said, reaching for his wife's hand. He glanced at her and when she shook her head he then said, "But we're working on a case so…"

"We took a cab here," Mary said after she and Skye had greeted the Darnleys. "So I could use a ride back to your place."

"I drove here," Jim said. "You can head back with me."

"Great," Mary said. "I'll see you later?" she asked her wife.

"You will," Skye said before they were leaving. "Oh, you lot did pay for your meal, right?"

"Have you eaten?" Beckett asked. She watched the two women sharing a look and told them, "You can grab some food in there to go."

"We'll hurry," Skye said.

"Why are we going back Tata?" Maddy asked after they'd walked into the lobby of the restaurant.

"We're letting Skye and Mary get their lunch," Nkosi explained, smiling at the kids.

Watching them at the buffet, Darnley went to Beckett and murmured, "By what Mary said I'm assuming Skye's joining us?"

"I want her to come back with us to the station. While she eats, we can update her," Beckett replied. "What she doesn't know already."

Castle looked at Darnley, not taken aback that his surprise was mirrored on the carpenter's face. But the two women were coming back to them, and he turned his attention to going out to the cars to say goodbye to Josie. "We'll see you soon sweetheart," he told her, kissing her cheek. "Mary is going to be there now so you can play with her too after your nap."

"Go home Dada," Josie said.

"Not yet, but soon," Castle said. "I promise. He shared a kiss with her before he handed her to Beckett, watching his wife straighten the baby's knit hat before she spoke to her gently.

"Your daddy's right, you'll have your grandpapa and Mary with you and then we'll go to school and see your sisters," Beckett was telling her.

"You Mama," Josie said.

"I will, don't worry," Beckett said, kissing her cheek gently. "But be good for them, okay?"

"Eh," Josie said.

Beckett laughed softly and brushed her lips to the baby's before handing her to her father. Watching them leaving, she waved with the others and then said to Skye, "You're ready?"

"Starving, but ready," the investigator said.

"Did you say goodbye to Mary?" Darnley asked her while they were moving to Castle and Beckett's car.

"Of course," Skye replied. When they were inside and Castle was starting to drive, she said, "You were busy with Trevor."

"Now we're here," Castle said. "What about you being here?"

"I had a visitor this morning," Skye replied simply. "While Mary and I were packing. Around seven thirty, a young man who was blue in the face and asking me for help."

"What did he look like?" Beckett asked, looking back at her. She wasn't surprised when Skye described Waller and said, "That's our vic."

"He said his name was Matthias and wanted his killer to be found," Skye replied. "He doesn't know how he died, only that he felt ill during a performance. He's scared and when I told him I couldn't help him because I wasn't in the Hamptons he left."

"He appeared to Julia," Beckett said. Hearing the heavy breath from the investigator she said, "She said she thinks you sent him to her," not surprised when Skye was responding immediately.

"That wasn't done intentionally," the investigator said. "I thought about heading to you already, Julia must have come to mind as well since I was thinking of you two investigating."

"Will you help him once we solve the case?" Darnley asked.

"I can but…" Skye started to say before she trailed off. Before any of the others could say anything, she continued telling them, "Has Julia mentioned speaking to him?" When Beckett nodded, she sighed and said, "It'll have to be her. If she has his trust, then he'll want her to assist him. But I'll stay to help her if she needs to do that."

"She has to?" Beckett asked.

"I'm sorry," Skye said while she was nodding at the same time before they got out of the car at the station. She followed the others in, greeting the officers who saw her, and she said, "Where's Brad?"

"We should start with the case," Castle said. "What we have so far," he added while they were walking into the chief's office.

Taking off her outer layers, Skye moved to sit at the side of the desk and was eating while she listened to her three friends fill her in on the case and where Brad was. "Hmm," she said slowly.

"Do you remember him at all?" Castle said.

Smiling Skye reminded him, "I saw the group last year, I'm not recalling it from the non-sexual troupe." She leaned back in her chair and said, "A headache lozenge."

"Doctored," Beckett replied.

Nodding, Skye looked at the second murder board before she said, "I'm flummoxed to tell you the truth," looking at the doorway as a familiar voice spoke.

"And I'm flabbergasted," Brad said. "Why are you here? Or am I hallucinating?"

"I'm here," Skye said. After she'd shaken the chief's hand in greeting, she quickly explained what had happened with the vic and said, "I asked him what he knew about his murder but he couldn't tell me anything else. I asked him if he knew anyone who'd want to kill him but he became very shaky at that."

"Do you think he knows but isn't telling you?" Brad asked with a frown.

Shaking her head slowly, Skye then said, "He can't remember right now."

"Right now?" Castle asked.

"I think if I went somewhere and took him with me, he might," Skye replied. "Where the crime scene is."

"Is it alright she's even here?" Darnley then asked.

"It is," Brad said.

"The council?" Beckett asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I just need to clear it with David," Brad said as he went to his desk.

"The council hasn't said anything yet?" Skye asked the others in surprise.

"Not yet," Castle replied before they turned to listen to the conversation.

"Yeah, she's here, she's needed since the victim appeared to her," Brad was saying. "But I'm worried about the coun- oh, they did… okay. Then we're all set, thank you. I'll see you David," he said before ending the conversation. "The council approved me as chief, so we're set. Though I wish they would have told me before I left."

"So I'm out?" Skye asked.

"You're good, David was glad to hear you were willing to help," Brad replied. "The mother of our vic is a donor to various charities in the Hamptons so they want to find the killer." He looked at the four and said, "I'm assuming you want to hear what we found in Oyster Bay," startled when the investigator was speaking first.

"I'm going to guess it wasn't much," Skye said. "Perhaps nothing."

"The second one," Brad replied. "Though I'm sure that's not a surprise to you guys."

"No," Beckett said. "So where does that leave us?"

"In a very weird place," Brad said with a sigh. "With the lozenge being doctored before the performance, it could have come from anywhere."

"Where did that box of lozenges… come from," Beckett said, pausing when the office suddenly seemed to be plunged into freezing cold air. She looked at Skye and saw the investigator was sitting absolutely still, her eyes fixed in front of her. She knew what the woman was doing but was afraid for her friend before she was shaking herself and speaking.

"He'd gotten the box earlier in the month," Skye told them. "But he can't tell me where from."

"Why?" Castle asked.

"He left when I tried to ask him," Skye said. "I can't get a read on why though. But that's all I can tell you."

"Did you look at receipts?" Castle asked his friend.

"We did, nothing about the lozenges," Brad replied. "I called Gage and asked her about it, but she doesn't really remember when he bought them."

"I can't call him again," Skye said when the others looked at her, shaking her head firmly. "I tried before. But since you're not sure where he got the box, might I suggest something?"

"The girlfriend gave it to him?" Brad asked.

Shaking her head, Skye said, "Good guess, but I was going to say take me to his dressing room, to the stage. To the basement he said we need to look at," not surprised the others were reacting to that at the same time.

"Basement?" the four said.

"Basement," Skye said. "He didn't say why, but he asked if we'd gone to look at it. Was there one at the warehouse?"

"I think so," Brad said, sounding uncertain while his other three consultants looked at him.

"Are we going to go look into it?" Beckett said.

"Yeah, let me call CSU," Brad replied, going to his phone.

"CSU?" Skye asked in surprise.

"I'm assuming to check on the lozenge box they found in Weller's dressing room," Castle commented.

"That makes sense," Skye said, watching Brad dialing on the phone. She then turned to Darnley and asked, "How're you doing here?"

"Good," the carpenter said. "Both living here and consulting; I'm not sure which one you're talking about."

Smiling, Skye looked at Brad while he was talking to whoever was on the other end before hanging up and asked, "Anything with the box?"

"No, the only fingerprints they managed to get were Weller's," Brad replied. "But I'm sure that doesn't come as a surprise."

"Not really," Castle said.

"With that said, will you guys follow?" Brad asked.

"Definitely," Castle said before they were getting their coats. "I'm driving?" he asked his wife while they walked out into the bullpen.

"You have the keys," Beckett said with a smile. She nearly laughed when he looked very startled learning that, feeling in his coat pocket.

"I was going to give them to you," Castle commented.

"It doesn't matter," Beckett said. She saw the look on his face as he held onto the keys and was going to ask him what was wrong when they were outside the station building.

"I wonder if there's something about these warehouses," Skye said.

"It's a coincidence," Beckett said in amusement. "If it had been the same block there may have been something."

"Which means not likely," Castle said to the others before they were getting into their cars.

As the drive started, the four were quiet for a while before Skye asked, "Are your girls eager for Hawaii?"

"Very," Castle said. "Julia especially."

"But Eliza's looking forward to being close to the ocean," Beckett added.

"That leads me to what I should have asked you in the first place," Skye said. "How're all your girls?"

"Good, Alexis' job is going well," Castle started with. "And Louis is good too; if you were wondering."

"I was going to ask about him after, their marriage?" Skye said.

"Great," Castle said with a nod.

"He's right," Beckett said in amusement as the investigator looked at her. "Julia's doing good. I just don't know how she is right now."

"Was it lunch when she texted you?" Skye asked. After the writer had nodded, she said, "Then she'll be fine. Really, don't worry."

"I can't help it," Beckett replied. "Mary?"

"True, but I know Julia's abilities so don't worry," Skye replied before she looked at Darnley, the carpenter replying swiftly.

"I'm here," he said. "I'm just listening, I don't have that much to add really."

"Did you deal with this much in DC?" Castle asked.

"No, Skye never stayed that long," Darnley replied.

"I was never asked," Skye said with a smile. She then looked out the window and spotting some warehouses in the distance said, "There?"

"The end one on the right," Castle said before he was pulling up to the parking spot they'd been in before. "Do you need to see everything?" he asked as they were getting out.

"Yes, but he's going to guide me," Skye replied. "He wants me to see his dressing room first," she said, speaking to Brad. "But I warned him I might not be able to go."

"You should," the chief said. "I only ask that you wear gloves."

"I will," Skye said. "I'm not planning on touching anything if I don't need to."

"Would you have to?" Darnley asked.

Shaking her head, Skye said, "It depends on Matthias." She took the gloves the chief handed her and put them on as they were walking around the back of the warehouse. "And he wants me to see the stage."

"What about the basement?" Castle said.

"Last," Skye replied. "I have no clue why, but he seemed to want me to go there."

"Is the troupe here?" Castle asked.

"No, they're at their hotel," Brad replied, unlocking the back door. "Staying there as I told them to do. And I have Emerson in the lobby keeping an eye on them."

"Didn't you say you cleared them?" Skye asked.

"Of course, but I have to be cautious," Brad responded. "Here's the dressing rooms," he then told her. "Labeled so…"

Walking to the door labeled Matthias Weller, Skye put her hand on the doorknob and breathed out as she felt a chill race down her spine. She was about to open it before she felt Beckett's hand on her shoulder and turned to her friend while she was speaking in slight concern.

"Are you sure you should be doing this?" Beckett asked.

"I am," Skye said firmly before she opened the door and stepped inside. She took a moment to glance around the room before she went to the vanity. "They were here?" she asked Brad.

"Yeah, it was an open box and just one taken," the chief said, following her.

"Hmm, but he had it sooner," Skye said. "Was he prone to headaches?"

"He was," Castle commented.

"He usually took aspirin," Brad then told the investigator. "But his girlfriend said he'd brought these with him since the bottle he had at the time was nearly empty. Which is when she first saw the box."

"Just in case?" Skye asked.

"Unfortunately," Darnley commented in response.

Sighing, Skye said, "He told me remembers only having one aspirin left. He was in a hurry to get his makeup and… make sure he had a condom."

"He did have one on," Beckett said, not surprised the investigator looked at her.

"So he took it and went to the makeup room," Skye said, nodding. She looked around and said, "I think that's all he wanted; to try and recall that."

"Is that how people can pass on?" Brad asked her.

"Yes," Skye replied. "If they were murdered suddenly they're confused, solving the case helps that and they can let go of their connection here. But then again, he might not want to leave. That needs to wait for once we solve this case. Might I see the stage?"

Startled at the investigator's rapid tone of voice, Castle looked at his wife and wasn't surprised when she seemed unaffected by that. He turned then to hurry after the others through the backstage area until they were at the side of it.

"Have there been other plays or shows here before?" Skye asked in surprise.

"No, according to the troupe co-founder," Brad started to say. "They set the stage up like this so they could work better."

Watching Skye step up to the couch, which was roped off with tape, Beckett saw her pause as she went around to the front. "They collected some of that to test it," she said.

"I see," the investigator replied. She frowned for a moment and said, "I think I see why he wants me to go down to the basement."

"Can you tell us?" Brad said when the investigator didn't say anything else. He wasn't surprised when she merely shook her head and was going to take them to the basement when Skye was talking shortly after while she looked out at the empty chairs.

"He wants to leave," the investigator commented. She turned and said, "He's begging me to leave." Skye was about to hurry past the others once she was around the couch when Brad grabbed her arm gently.

"I'll take you there right now, he's not going to jump you, is he?" the chief asked.

"Don't worry," Skye said. "I'm just experiencing his emotions." She was relieved when Brad was taking her backstage again. "What?" she asked when he stopped there.

"I know where the basement is but-" Brad started to say before the investigator was interrupting him in slight annoyance.

"If this is a test, I'm going to clobber you," Skye said with a frown.

"It is, you're aware already I need to," Brad said firmly.

"I figured," Skye said with a sigh. "You brought me the wrong way." Before anyone could say anything, she walked to the left of the stage opposite of the way they'd gone off it. She went to a short hallway before she slipped inside a room and pried opened the seamless trapdoor with her pocketknife. "Matthias said he found this place and left something here," she told the others while they were watching her.

"Something important?" Castle asked slowly.

"I don't know, he won't say," Skye replied. "I get the feeling he can't recall."

"Alright, I'll go down first," Brad replied. "Hopefully he'll help you find what it is."

"He will," Skye said. She was intent on following the chief when Beckett stopped her. "Kate-" she started to say.

"After me," Beckett said. "Mary would never forgive me if we didn't take that precaution."

"Good point," Skye said slowly. She then turned her attention to the basement as Beckett was following Brad and she prepared to head down the stairs. Once she was on the dirt floor, she looked at the two already there and said, "I know."

"Hurry and find it," Darnley said once he and Castle joined them. "I hate spiders," he said in mock anger.

Skye wasn't listening to the others, looking around before she narrowed her eyes at the far wall, hurrying over to it. She pulled her phone from her pocket and turned on the flashlight app she had, walking along the wall from the corner until she froze abruptly, Castle speaking worriedly.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

Skye didn't respond, quickly reaching into the hole dug into the wall telling them, "There's a panel here, he put dirt on it since this hole was here already."

"Let me," Brad said. "Hold the flashlight," he told her once he stood with her. He then brushed away dirt where she'd started and soon saw the small square plank of wood. Getting that out of the way he was startled when the investigator was reaching inside with her other hand. "What is it?" he asked.

"Notes," Skye said slowly. "It looks like… the costume designer, janitor… and the prompter are in here."

Taking back his flashlight, Brad waited for the other three to look with them and he said, "Weller was taking notes."

"You recognize his handwriting?" Castle asked in surprise.

"Yeah, I saw it at the house," Brad said, nodding his head though he wasn't taking his eyes off the notebook. "He writes his e's like that. But we'll compare it back at the station."

"We're leaving?" Beckett asked.

"And I need to get CSU down here," Brad replied while he turned off his flashlight.

"They-" Skye started to say while they turned back to the staircase down. She was cut off when the trapdoor to the basement slammed shut and they were suddenly plunged into darkness.