Kevin Ryan had always liked the precinct in the early mornings, when no one else was around and the typical hustle and bustle of a busy police day had yet to kick in. It was then that he could do his best work and focus on the case, when all the details seemed fresh after a good night's sleep, and the connections between the different elements became easier to spot.

But that day, his thoughts were somewhere else entirely.

"Earth to Ryan, are you there?" Esposito greeted, clapping him on the back. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, sorry. I was distracted. Good morning."

"What has you so worried?"

"The kids' daycare raised their rates. Again."

"Listen, Kevin, I've told you before, if you need any help-" Esposito began, but he was cut off by Ryan.

"I know, and I'm grateful, man. I really am. But it's not that. It's just... have you heard anything about the Sergeant's exam? They were supposed to tell us when we could retake it, but there's been no word yet..."

"Sorry, bro. I haven't heard anything either, but hey! Don't worry, they told us it wouldn't take long."

"Yeah, I hope you're right," Ryan murmured, his eyes unfocused and his mind miles away, while Esposito could only sigh and clap him on the back once more.

"Good morning, guys!" A chipper voice greeted from behind them, and the detectives turned to see Castle and Beckett exiting the elevator.

"Any news?" Beckett asked, her ability to fall straight to work mode shining through, as usual.

"Yeah," Esposito answered. "We have an ID for the guy witnesses saw arguing with Lauren. We spoke to her roommate again, and she confirmed that he used to be involved with our vic, but that he wasn't her boyfriend."

"Excellent," Beckett commended. "We need to pick him up; I'd like to speak with him."

"Already on it," Ryan said, snapping out of his pensive mood, his head back in the game, while he made his way to the elevator, Esposito in tow.

Castle had to admit that the young man sitting across from him in the interrogation room looked the part of the 'casual' boyfriend, totally in keeping with how Lauren's roommate had described the relationship. Leaning back in his chair, his hair carefully messy, and his clothes mismatched in that perfect way that can only be the result of intense planning, everything about Brian James screamed deliberate nonchalance. And once they moved on from the pleasantries and the presentation of the case, Castle and Beckett found that everything that came out of his mouth sounded every bit like the cliché he appeared to be.

"So, you're telling us that you went to the convention to see Lauren, but only because she asked you to," Beckett summarized, pinching the bridge of her nose in an exasperated gesture she had adopted when she was feeling frustrated.

"Exactly," he nodded.

"Then, what were you arguing about?" Castle asked.

"We didn't argue," Brian replied flippantly, although his posture shifted then, less relaxed than it had been a moment before.

"That's not what we've heard," Beckett told him. "According to our witnesses, you were seen arguing at the entrance of the hotel. In fact, several people saw you two fighting."

"That's not true," Brian defended, although it didn't sound nearly as convincing as he had intended.

"I don't think lying to us is a good idea for you right now, Brian," Beckett advised. "As far as we can tell, you were the last person to see Lauren alive, so that makes you our primary suspect."

"But I wasn't! I couldn't have been! There were tons of people at the convention! One of them must had seen her. I left alone, I promise!"

"And why did you go to the convention?"

"I'm a big fan," the boy claimed, almost defensively.

"Of what?" Castle asked.

"Of those books Lauren used to love."

"So, you're a fan, and yet you don't know the titles of those books?" Beckett asked in disbelief.

"Yes, of course, the... the... Heat books," Brian almost shouted, obviously proud of having remembered the name, if his smug smile was any indication. "Lauren was going to meet the author, and I wanted to go as well."

Castle and Beckett exchanged an amused smile, and remained silent for a couple of moments, savoring the moment. Brian must had sensed that something was amiss, because he tried to regain their attention.

"Huge fan," he reiterated, nodding enthusiastically.

"Let me get this straight..." Beckett began. "You are a 'huge fan' of the Heat books, and you wanted to meet the author."

"Yes, I love her..." Out of the corner of his eye, he must have seen Castle shaking his head, because he hastened to correct himself. "Him! I love him! He's great, and I wanted to meet him."

"Well then, this is your lucky day, Brian, because that can be arranged," Beckett stated calmly. "Brian, meet Richard Castle, author of the Nikki Heat and Derrick Storm series."

The way Brian's eyes opened wildly would have been hilarious, if Castle wasn't so worried that they might pop out of his skull altogether.

"It's always a pleasure to meet such a devoted fan as yourself, Brian," he said enthusiastically, before letting his chipper tone drop. "Now, why don't you stop lying and tell us what you really were doing at the convention?"

"Fine, whatever... I went to see Lauren," the boy admitted, not daring to look them in the eye, his posture hunched and defeated. "I got us tickets for a movie. I wanted to show her how I can be a good boyfriend, if she'd give me a chance."

"So, you weren't actually a couple, then," Castle summed up.

Brian sighed deeply, and met his eyes at last. "Kind of. We'd been seeing each other for a while, but it wasn't anything serious."

"But not because you didn't want that, right, Brian?" Beckett asked softly, the boy's admission seeming to placate her.

"Yeah. I wanted to be in a relationship with her. Officially."

"Why were you arguing last night?" Castle inquired.

"She didn't want to come with me to the movie. She wanted to stay to get a picture, or maybe it was an autograph, or something like that. We argued about it, but in the end, I went to the movie alone. Pathetic, right?"

"So why did you lie to us?"

"You said it yourself: I was the last person to see Lauren alive," Brian shrugged. "And I know a lot of people saw us arguing. I might not read crime novels, but I know what a suspect looks like."

"What happened after that?" Castle asked. "Did you see Lauren leaving the hotel?"

"I don't know. I walked out and didn't look back," Brian's own words sank in, and he seemed to shrink in his seat. "It was the last time I was ever going to see her, and I didn't look back."

Lunchtime found Castle and Beckett staring intently at the whiteboard, as if willing the truth to make itself known.

"So far, we have three suspects, but all of them have strong alibis," Castle commented. "Andrea, Lauren's roommate, was at the library. Security cameras confirm that she arrived at four-thirty and left close to midnight."

"And Jane, the 'enemy' from the fandom, was at the photo session, the same one the victim was supposed to attend. There are multiple witnesses who confirmed it," Beckett continued.

"Lastly, Brian, the not-so-serious boyfriend, went to the movies by himself, as we saw in the security footage from the theater," Castle finished the review, looking as glum as he sounded.

"None of them could have done it, and we haven't been able to identify anyone else who would have wanted to hurt Lauren," Beckett summed up.

"And yet, I have the feeling that we're missing something."

"Maybe, maybe not," Beckett said, at which Castle shot her an incredulous look. "Think about it: her belongings were missing from the scene. I hate to say it, but maybe it was just a robbery gone wrong after all."

"I don't know, Beckett. Something doesn't add up. I'm not convinced," Castle replied, running a hand down his face in a frustrated gesture.

"And for a good reason," a voice called from behind them. Castle and Beckett turned to find Detective Ryan leaning casually on the wall, smiling proudly.

"We just found the victim's purse and laptop in a dumpster four blocks away from the crime scene," he announced.

"See?" Castle exclaimed in triumph. "I told you it wasn't a robbery!"

"But that's not all," Ryan took a pause for dramatic effect before continuing. "We also found the victim's fan award."

"And what's so important about that?" Beckett inquired.

"Didn't I mention it? It's covered in blood. It looks like we have our murder weapon."