I am so sorry I went offline for a bit. Been super busy at the farm trying to get the last few things taken care of before the bad weather hits. Be safe y'alls!
"So, these guys just knocked on your door to play a game of tag?"
With her hands on her hips, Beckett paced the length of the murder board, scoffing at the perplexing twists and turns of this case.
"We think they might have tried to lure me out in the open, to…to attack me. It's possible they didn't expect Javi to be there. When they realized it was the two of us, they aborted the plan.", Kevin stammered, not having lost that haunted look after the events of the previous night.
"I have a uni in front of the apartment, and one is stationed down the road. We are making sure that nothing happens to Jenny and SG.", she comforted the young detective and glanced back over at Castle, working hard to maintain her controlled façade.
"At least we have the approximate height and weight on these guys. Lanie and the lab guys are taking apart that…that metal pipe now looking for prints.", Espo added, his expression something between annoyance that their suspects got away and worry about his partner's safety and well being.
When he noticed Castle stare at him, he scowled in return, causing the writer to grimace and look the other way.
"I am also pulling the security camera footage for our apartment complex. My landlord should be able to send it over shortly and then we can get a visual."
"Not to cause any more concern, but what if the idea was to lure you out of the apartment to get to your family?"
When Castle shared everyone's innermost fears, it made all of them fall quiet, the tense silence hanging heavily in the air for what seemed like hours.
Eventually it was Beckett who cleared her throat, jaws clenched as she glanced back and forth between him and her detectives.
"It wouldn't fit the MO. And Jenny said that nobody tried to enter while Ryan was gone."
"It could have been a test. See how easy it would be."
"Even more reason to keep unis in front of my apartment for now.", Ryan interrupted and turned a shade paler, while straightening the blue tie against his chest.
Sensing his partner's terror, Esposito leaned over and gently squeezed his shoulder, sharing that unspoken bond for many long moments, before facing the group again.
"The set-up, the charade, the get-away car…this whole thing reeks of some sort of psycho-game. If he already followed Ryan home and then today proceeded to play this…this game…it makes me worry about what he's up to next."
"Yeah, me too…", Beckett countered and shook her head in frustration, " We must be getting close because he's starting to go after us. Well, after the two of you so far. We need to watch our steps carefully until this guy is caught. With an elaborate network such as his, there's just no telling what he's up to next."
The depressing silence was back in an instant and Castle watched everyone handle the news in their own unique ways; the team he had grown to appreciate so much struggling with the unforeseeable twists this case had brought along. He was about to say something when Beckett looked back up, a sparkle of hope appearing in her warm eyes.
"Let's…let's not get too sidetracked with what happened last night. That might be exactly what our killer is trying to accomplish, rattle our cages, have us make mistakes. Instead, let's go ahead and spend some time talking about this guy. Let's think of his motives, the financial or psychological ties he has to his victims. What would be the reason he is pulling all this off?"
"I'd say hatred for cops but so many people hate cops…", Ryan tried, causing the rest of the team to nod.
"If we can't find the connection between his initial victims, the common denominator, what else could have affected his decision making on choice of victims?"
Beckett's voice was trembling slightly as she threw out those questions like darts, her renewed energy rejuvenating her team.
"Mood of the day. Accessibility.", Espo started, then caught himself, his expression lighting up somewhat, "It would have to be somebody who knows the schedule of our victims, on and off the job. Three of our vic's were killed while they were on duty. So we're talking about somebody who has access to that information. Leadership, HR, dispatch?"
Nodding in approval, Beckett returned to the murder board and pointed at Officer Reece's picture.
"Let's go with this concept. Now why is he refusing to do the deed himself? Why hire people to kill his victims?"
"He doesn't want to get his hands dirty…", Castle chimed in, the engaged conversation feeding his creative senses, "Or maybe he wishes he could but he can't because he might implicate himself. Or…and this goes back to our initial theory, he is really a she and can't physically take on her victims. Psst. Sheringer."
Smiling, Beckett shook her head.
"I checked her alibis. She was out of town for all the other murders; at a speaking engagement for a college on the west coast. Plenty of witnesses saw her there the entire time. I couldn't find any connection between her and Oseguiro or any of our victims. I also found out that the Chief picked her, she didn't volunteer for this assignment. And her shoe size doesn't match. She wears a size 11 by the way."
"Wheeeeew. Wow…", Castle stammered theatrically and took a step back, frowning, "With guys they say that the shoe size correlates to the size of their…you-know-what. I wonder what it is like for women?"
Taken aback for a moment, Beckett shook her head, at a complete loss of words, her hearty chuckle filling the room.
It was right then and there that Castle realized that something else believed to have been lost was suddenly back.
And he couldn't be happier about that.
