Disclaimer: I do not own Castle or the recognizable characters who appear in this story. Any other names, for characters or businesses, are fictional, uncompensated, or are in the public domain

October 23 (continued)

"Mister Dunn, I'm Victoria Gates. I'd like to know your whereabouts on October 18th," Gates stated as soon as she and Beckett had settled into their chairs in the interrogation room.

Beckett, while she kept her face clear, had doubts about this approach. After Dunn rattled Espo and Ryan so effectively, she thought a more direct and aggressive form of questioning was warranted, first on their homicides then on the confidential information Dunn seemed to know about the boys. But, it sounds like Gates preferred a more solicitous approach. Regardless, she found herself unaccountably happy that Gates insisted on taking the lead. The last thing she wanted was her own secrets trotted out in front of the boys. And Castle. Especially Castle.

"Ah, Captain Gates," Dunn replied with a smile. "And the extraordinary KB. I'm playing in the big leagues now. Here's hoping you can make things more interesting than Sonia's boy-toy or Fenton managed."

"We'll be talking about them and how you know about their backgrounds," Gates promised in a less conciliatory tone, "but I'd like to start by discussing what happened to Mister Delbruck."

"Uh, oh," Dunn replied, feigning concern. "Watch out, Katie-bug, Victoria here is being serious. When she does that there tends to be a lot of collateral damage."

"Only to those who break the law," Gates replied with confidence.

"Hmmm, not sure Liz would agree with that."

"Liz?" Beckett asked, after noting that Gates, too, looked confused.

"Sorry, I'm being overly familiar. I should've said Elizabeth," he answered with a smile while watching Gates intently. "Elizabeth Weston, US Attorney for the Southern District. Surprised she made it that far, what with Big Sis Victoria here celebrating her rise to the top of Internal Affairs by blowing Little Sis's case out of the water. Still, Liz was always the one to put herself out there, to play the game. Does it chafe, Victoria, to find that the younger half of the defunct Dynamic Duo has risen so much higher than you?"

"My sister is not the subject of this interrogation," Gates replied, keeping her demeanor intact. "Unless she can somehow corroborate your whereabouts on October 18th?"

"Shall we call her to ask? It'd be the first time the two of you talked directly in almost two years, right?" Dunn replied, poking Gates again. Turning to Beckett, he stage-whispered: "Thanksgiving Dinner at the Weston household's been a little tense since the infamous Incident of '98. It's killing their mother," he confessed before covering his mouth with his hand and feigning embarrassment. "Oh, sorry, Katie-bug, that was a poor choice of words."

Though she thought herself prepared for a verbal assault by Dunn, his focus on Gates (and Beckett's fascination with watching that exchange) lulled her into complacency. His blatant reference to Gates' mother struck a visceral chord in Beckett, just as Dunn must've known it would.

"Mister Dunn, when did you meet Steven Delbruck?" Gates asked, trying to steer them away from issues relating to Beckett's mother, which even she understands is a fraught topic.

"Oh, Victoria, it isn't that easy," Dunn laughed. "If you want me to answer your questions, you've got to answer mine."

"You're the one under arrest, Mister Dunn."

"It's so cute that you think that matters," Dunn chuckled in reply.

"Why did you leave Dr. Hilltop's body alone after mutilating the bodies of Delbruck and Kemp?" she pressed on.

"Why do you bend the rules for your lead detective here when you followed the letter of the law to sacrifice your sister's prosecution?" Dunn replied.

"How did you obtain Mister Kemp's address?" Gates responded, starting to lose her cool.

"How did you accept the position here at the 12th when it was previously held by someone your Internal Affairs group should've caught years ago?" Dunn smirked.

"Are there more of your victims that we don't know about?" Gates growled in her frustration.

"Are there more Gemini dolls you need for your collection?" he laughed in reply.

"How do you know these things about us?!" Gates cried, slamming her hands on the desk.

Suddenly, Dunn lurched forward. Leaning over the desk with a demonic look on his face, he imperiously surveyed his would-be tormentors.

"I know every little thing about you," he whispered darkly. "I know about the compromises you made to further your career," he said while turning to Gates. "I know what you try to hide behind the façade of 'does-everything-by-the-book' Iron Gates," he nearly purred. "I know the deals, the willful blindness to the proclivities and activities or your superiors, the shame and humiliation you suffered when their attentions turned your way, and the deeper shame for your willing participation in 'career-advancement activities.'"

Gates should've ended the interrogation there. In fact, Beckett or any of the observers should've intervened. But each sat or stood frozen in place, almost hypnotized by the demolition taking place before their eyes.

"And you, Katie-bug," Dunn nearly crooned. "Aren't you a just a layer cake of shattered dreams, subterfuge, guilt, and crippling fear? I'll bet your therapist's shelves couldn't hold the books that could be written about your psychological impediments and handicaps. Why, just your Mommy issues alone could…"

Dunn cut off abruptly as the crashing of the door to the Interrogation room bounced off the wall. There in the doorway stood Castle, with Ryan and Esposito just behind him.

"Captain," Castle said in an admirably calm voice that was belied by his obvious physical signs of stress. Trying desperately not to look at his partner or make it any more obvious that his interruption was motivated by her distress, he tried to appear calmly professional. "There's an issue of relevance that we should discuss before you continue."

Gates began to nod and rise from her seat before she remembered that she should be looking stern as a result of being interrupted. Realizing such a response would be false bravado at that point, Gates continued heading toward the door, noting a pale and disconcerted Beckett follow.

Not seeing Karpowski or anyone else around, she directed the group to the observation room, where they could talk while monitoring Dunn. After they filed into the room, Gates closed the door before slowly turning to address them.

"Mister Castle," she began, noting that everyone in the room stiffened in anticipation of a Captain-level tongue-lashing for the civilian who had the temerity to interrupt the interrogation. "While I cannot imagine another scenario in which it would be appropriate or advisable for you to disrupt one of my interrogations," she said while feeling a little guilty for creating an environment that expected harsh disciplinary rants from her, "I appreciate your decision to interrupt Mister Dunn's harangue."

Clearly surprised by her conciliatory words, Castle loosed a pleased smile before growing nervous again.

"Actually, Captain Gates, I had a thought," he ventured fearfully.

"Oh?"

"I'd like to ask him some questions."

"Oh?" Gates said again, this time much more pointedly. "And why should I allow such a thing?"

"Because I don't think he knows about me in the same way he knows about all of you."

Gates gave him a hard look, while the other detectives alternately looked at him or away from their colleagues. Despite doing their best to forget about it, none can really deny that some very embarrassing secrets have come to light, secrets that might impair their usual camaraderie.

Perhaps Gates was thinking the same thing, as it was not clear that she'd be bothered if Castle fit within the group was impaired. Whatever the reason, after her long look, Gates offered a hesitant nod.

Surprised at Gates' acquiescence, Castle looked a little lost about next steps until the next comment caught him off guard.

"Captain, I don't think that's a good idea," Beckett objected while carefully focusing on Gates and ignoring her partner. "Castle's not ready to handle an interrogation, especially not of a suspect who's managed to slip around our questions so far."

Castle, looking betrayed, started to speak in his own defense before a raised hand from Gates cut him off.

"You've all told me that Mister Castle belongs here, that he can make meaningful contributions to our cases," she reminded all three of them. "The suspect keeps talking about wanting a challenge and so far none of us have laid a finger on him. Perhaps Mister Castle's supposed 'charm,'" her enunciation of the word laden with doubt, "can get him talking."

"Great," Castle replied as he turned his attention away from Beckett. "Thank you, sir," he said while shaking his head at his unexpected opportunity. "I just need two minutes to get ready." He looked at her warily, expecting her to rescind her offer, but when she make a 'get on with it gesture' by circling her hand from the wrist, he lurched into motion.

Beckett caught up with him at her desk, where he'd just put something in his pocket and extracted his phone. Tapping the phone a few times, he held it to his ear as Beckett approached.

"Castle, we need to talk…"

"Hold on a sec, Beckett," he requested with a flinch. He was just squinting at her again when his call went through and commanded his attention.

"Hi, Fitz? It's Rick," he explained to the person on the phone while Beckett stood nearby. As he made no motion for privacy, she stayed in place while he continued to talk. "Remember the protocols we talked about for Tyson? We need to put them in place. Right now."

With furrowed brows, Beckett watched her partner. She hadn't often heard him sounding as serious as he did at that moment. And mentioning Tyson, with whom they'd had a terrifying encounter months ago, made her even more concerned. But if Castle noticed her reaction, he ignored it while continuing his conversation.

"Yeah, I'm sure," Castle said. "Please get things started, then take off. Check in as planned. With any luck, this'll be a false alarm and things will be back to normal next week," he offered, sounding optimistic. "Yeah, okay. That's right. Okay, next week, then. Good luck, Fitz, and be safe."

Castle sighed and turned to Beckett after pocketing his phone. "Just needed to get things set up."

"Tyson protocols?" she asked.

"You wanted to talk about something," he reminded her, dodging her question. "Maybe to offer more support like you did in front of Gates?"

"Look, Castle, I'm sorry about that," she explained. Castle's dubious look made clear his opinion that she didn't seem sorry. "I'm just not comfortable with you having a go at Dunn."

"Yeah, I got that. Thanks for the vote of confidence."

"Why do you think he won't know your secrets, too?"

"Look, Beckett, you won't believe me," Castle replied, concerned with his partner's delaying tactics. "Gates is waiting for me. So, unless you want her to toss me out for good, I need to get moving."

Beckett struggled with how to reply, standing in his way but offering no answer. When he made to walk around her, she finally broke.

"He knows things about me, Castle. He can tell you things about me," she said quietly but fiercely. "Things that I'd rather keep private."

Castle tilted his head and studied his partner. She looked fierce, as usual, except something seemed off. Studying her more intently, he thought he saw… fear?

"And he can lie, too," she interjected, taking a different tack. "You'll have no idea if what he says is the truth or not. And that could be… bad for us," she finished in a low, tremulous voice.

Castle looked at her for a long moment before slowly shaking his head as the tension that existed between them since her return from her summer away and his return to the precinct finally seemed to snap.

"If we're so vulnerable to secrets and lies," he replied in his own low voice, "why would bringing things to light be bad for us?"

"What?"

"We haven't really talked since the hospital, after your surgery," he explained, finally articulating some of the things that have bothered him since he returned to the precinct after Beckett's shooting. "And it's not like we really talked before then, either, is it?" he asked rhetorically while thinking about their undercover kiss and several other fraught moments that people in a healthy relationship probably would've discussed, or at least recognized. "We get involved in these situations and we never talk about what's happening with us. Maybe Dunn will be the impetus for us to actually talk."

"I asked you to come back because I trusted you and wanted you to be part of what happens next. How's that not a step in the right direction?" she challenged. "And more than that, what gives you the right to set the timetable for…"

"Mister Castle, it's time," Gates called out from the door to the observation room, ending their argument.

"Don't do this," Beckett asked one more time as Castle started moving towards the impatient captain.

"I can't back out now, Beckett," he replied in a low voice as he shook his head. "If I bail out after finally getting the go-ahead, Gates won't let me near a case again. Besides, I really do think I can get somewhere with Dunn, at least enough to confirm there are no other victims." If Beckett caught his seeming certainty about the victim count, she didn't show it. "I'll take anything he offers with a grain of salt and we can talk about it afterwards, whenever you're comfortable."

Beckett started to reject Castle's plan as hopelessly naïve, but she was out of time – they'd arrived back at the door to the observation room where Gates was waiting.

"Here," Gates said to Castle as she handed him a folder. "It's his arrest report and our case notes. Whether you need it or not, we know that suspects are distracted by wondering what's in the file."

"Actually," Castle replied with a bit of his usual impish grin finally making an appearance, "I'm gonna pass. I've got an approach planned out and I need to have my hands free."

Gates looked him with wide eyes, before pinching the bridge of her nose and issued a loud sigh. "Just get in there and get him talking. And if you use your 'free hands' to touch the suspect, I'll book you for assault myself."

Castle sauntered into the Interrogation room with his hands in his pockets, looking as if he didn't have a care in the world. Meanwhile, in the observation room, three detectives and a captain wondered if meeting desperation with lunacy was a wise strategy.

"Writer Boy!" Dunn cheered from his seat. "Well, isn't this a surprise! Not that you'd try to step in to protect Katie-bug, that's completely predictable. As is charging into a situation for which you have no training or experience. But how in the hell did you convince darling Victoria to let you try an interrogation?! And by yourself! They must really be running scared right now."

"Nah," Castle replied conversationally, though the people in the observation room could tell by the set of his shoulders that he was more tense than he was letting on. Whether Dunn realized the bravado or not wasn't clear. "Captain Gates is just allowing me enough rope to hang myself. As you know," he said with a cocked eyebrow as he leaned forward, pulling his hands from his pockets and setting them on the table, "she isn't my biggest fan."

Dunn stared at Castle's hands, carefully tucked inside evidence gloves, before a wide smile split his face. "Bravo, Writer Boy, bravo!" Dunn enthused as he clapped as much as his handcuffs allowed. "I'd just about given up hope for today and now things are looking up," he cheered, before giggling. "Just for that, your first question's free."

Castle nodded as if he'd expected the response before launching immediately into his first question. "Why did you allow yourself to be caught?"

"What?!" Espo yelled on the other side of the observation mirror. "Dunn didn't 'allow' anything – we caught his ass red-handed!"

"Quiet!" Gates growled in reply. "Look at Dunn – he's smiling again. Castle's on to something."

"Maybe," Beckett allowed, still wary of this situation. "Be nice if he'd shared that with us."

"Oh, Ricky, this must be what all those busty 'ladies' at your signings feel when you turn your attention their way," Dunn chuckled, shaking his head. "Giddy excitement at the initial regard, followed by the crushing disappointment when you open your mouth. I gave you a free question and you completely wasted it."

"So, why'd you want to get caught?" Castle repeated his question in case Dunn was trying to distract him from an answer.

"Because I wanted a challenge! Haven't I made that clear enough already?"

"So, why Delbruck, then?" Castle asked, unhappy with Dunn's evasions but not sufficiently practiced at interrogation to box him into a more fulsome answer.

"Now, that's the right question," Dunn nodded approvingly. "Unfortunately, you've used your freebie. You want me to answer your questions, you need to answer mine."

Castle tensed, but it was nothing compared to the flinches from the NYPD members in the observation room. At this point, they could imagine the types of questions Dunn would ask and what the collateral damage might be.

"Tick tock, Ricky," Dunn taunted before humming the tune to the game show Jeopardy! "You know what'll happen soon, right?"

"Your minders will arrive, having been alerted by the fingerprint search," Castle answered, watching Dunn nod along. "I can only guess what kind of chaos you wrought to buy us this much time."

"My minders?" Dunn replied, looking interested.

"Someone with your unique skills wouldn't have gone unremarked or unused," Castle mused, ignoring or not noticing Dunn's resulting smirk. "I don't know how they use you, but I'll hope that you're typically deployed on foreign rather than domestic assignments."

"You're not as dumb as you look," Dunn complimented with a nod. "Or, at least not as dumb as Vicky seems to think you are."

"So, why Delbruck, then?" Castle pressed. Noting that Dunn was about to object, he smiled and leaned forward. "After all, I just answered your question, so now you can answer mine."

"Does he always play with fire?" Gates asked rhetorically. "Mister Dunn doesn't seem like someone who'd react well to being goaded."

"At least he's talking," Ryan offered in a quiet voice, still wary of engaging while navigating the exposure of some of his secrets. "Guess Dunn finally found his challenge."

"Maybe," Beckett mused from her spot on the other side of Gates. She'd never been this nervous in an interrogation before, and she wasn't even conducting this one. But waiting for the axe to fall – for Dunn to expose things best left hidden – had her biting her lip and leaving crescent-shaped indentations from her nails in the palms of her fisted hands. "Dunn's talking, but he hasn't said much yet. His reactions are odd, though."

"You mean the tic when Castle called him unique?" Ryan asked, with a bit more confidence. "I noticed that, too. We'd better hope he's unique – I wouldn't want to run into more people who can do whatever Dunn can do."

"Just by touching people," Esposito finally interjected. "That's it, isn't it, what Castle figured out. Me an' Ryan, we wrestled him to the ground at the Kemp scene. Then Beckett touched him when she slapped on the cuffs."

"And I helped him when he 'tripped' on the way to Interrogation," Gates continued, growling at how easily Dunn had lured her in. "Mister Castle must've made the connection, hence his decision to enter with protection. His only exposed skin is above the neck, and Mister Dunn's handcuffed to the table."

"Not that he appears concerned," Beckett added. "And if Castle's right, then I can understand why Dunn's so relaxed – if his 'minders' can pull the strings, he'll walk right out of here."

"How bad is it," Ryan ventured, "that I kind of want that to happen? The sooner Dunn is gone, the safer I'll feel."

"Why did I pick Delbruck?" Dunn asked after a long moment of pursing his lips and looking annoyed at Castle. "Alright, Ricky, you played my game well enough to get a soft question to start, but that's on me. I picked Delbruck," he said with a simple shrug of his shoulders, "because I could barely hear him."

"So you touched him and what – nothing?"

"How'd you know about the touch?" Dunn replied before sitting up and raising his hand as much as he could. "This isn't a new question, it's part of answering your first."

"I'm familiar with Buchanan's theories," Castle answered with an embarrassed shrug. "Stuff like that gets my imagination going. Then I started thinking about how little contact you'd had with the team, here. I guess I could see you doing research on the detectives, but the captain is too new. I couldn't envision a way in which you'd have known about her, so I got to thinking about whether you'd ever even interacted with her before this interrogation."

"I have no idea who Buchanan is," Dunn replied with his own shrug, "but I guess it doesn't matter. So, yeah. I was out on a 'walk,'" he said, using his fingers to indicate air quotes, "and I was greeted by Stevie-boy, who shook my hand and welcomed me to the garden. And, like I said, I could barely hear him. That'd never happened before. So, I wanted to find out why."

"So, you decided to cut him open and start poking around?! Do you have any medical training at all? Equipment, scanners, a diagnostic testing lab?"

"Ah, ah, ah, Ricky," Dunn replied while waggling his finger. "I answered your question, now it's time for mine.

Castle pursed his mouth, then took a deep breath and nodded.

"You know, your beloved Kate fancies herself quite the expert in interrogation styles. She's read all the monographs she could find, watched taped interviews, and even practices her scowl in front of the mirror. When she's not primping, of course," he confided with a wink. "She's got this theory about saving the best questions for late in the interrogation. Not quite the end – it's easier to get questions answered after the suspects are broken. Well, you know – you've gazed at her often enough from where she's standing right now to know her style," he said with a nod to the one-way mirror. "But, our time is limited and it'd be a shame to leave the best questions unasked. So," he said with some glee as he rubbed his cuffed hands together, "let's talk about Alexis."

"Oh, shit," said more than one voice in the observation room.

"Detectives?"

"Castle is very devoted to his daughter," Beckett answered carefully. "If there's one thing in this world he cares about, it's her."

"Do you think Dunn's read her?"

"No," Beckett answered. "But we've all met Alexis," she said while gesturing to the boys and herself, "so he might know what we think of her."

"Right, then it's time…," the Captain started to say before Dunn's voice came in through the speaker.

"So, let's go with a matching question," Dunn laughed while watching Castle carefully. "I'll share some impressions on Alexis and you can tell me which colleague they came from. One thinks she's a good kid, kind, responsible, and smart, nothing like her dad," Dunn laughed again as Castle nodded along at the assessment. "One thinks she's a stuck up teacher's pet, scrabbling for affirmation, and in desperate need of a good, torrid affair to knock her priorities straight. And the last," Dunn slowed his delivery to end with a flourish¸ "has thought about what it'd be like to help her along in that last regard."

"Out!" Gates commanded, pointing to door. Realizing it too late, she tried to limit the damage yet more secrets could bring. "Now! Before…"

"The first was from Espo," Castle answered in a monotone even as the detectives were starting to move. "Then Beckett," he continued as the detectives found their progress halted by the damning words coming through the speaker, which lured Gates to turn back and watch. "Then Ryan."

Surprised that Mister Castle would be so mistaken in his assessment, Gates turned to continue ushering her detectives out of the room. What she saw chilled her to the core – each of her detectives, looking down in shame.

A/N: My writing has slowed, as the folks on twitter know. I fear I've got very little of chapter five written, so the posting schedule I've held thus far is likely to slip. But, I'm working on it!