A/N: Sorry for the delay everyone in getting this posted. Work and life has kept me pretty busy all the way up through Super Bowl Sunday. We are reaching the climax of our story, and we still have Eposito who is on his way home. Any guess what role he may have in the chapters, plus the sonogram. Place your bets on the sex of the Caskett baby. lol. Enjoy the update and please keep the reviews coming.

Chapter 5

12th Precinct

Manhattan, New York

The team walked back into the bullpen late in the evening after taking statements from Sierra's neighbors. They had all been pretty much the same. They heard shouting, the smashing of objects and Sierra screaming for help, but all the neighbors said the same thing. It wasn't the husband, because they knew he was out of the country. Russell went over to the board and updated it. "What do we have?"

"Building has a couple security cameras in the lobby, but I already went through them and saw one guy go into the lobby around that time and you can't see his face." Ryan replied as he sat down on the edge of his desk. "CSU has the iPad and the computer, will let us know if they crack her password."

"Hard to do with them being down till morning." Castle stated with a chuckle. He moved close to the board. "It has to be someone she either upset with her or her husband's articles, a source, or a crazed fan."

"Well that narrows it down." Ryan remarked with a smirk. His computer started making noised so he went over to it and clicked on the video conference icon. "Javi what do you got?"

Esposito called from the headquarters. "Alright, the main gate here has Mitchell Potter leaving through them and picking a taxi outside where a couple of the drivers there said took him to the airport. Called over there, and they did say he boarded a flight that left an hour ago for the states. Non-Stop."

"Flight time just a little over 16 hours." Castle answered as he and Russell came over. Everyone looked at him. "Did it once."

"Javi can you catch the next flight?" Russell asked.

"I missed the 6am flight out to Andrews but there is general that is flying back within a couple hours that's been cleared for me to catch. Both the task force and the Air Force are trying to see if I can do the checkout process here and have them meet me on the tarmac to collect the stuff I'm bring back so I can get to the city." Esposito answered. The phone lines had been burning up between the task force, the base headquarters and Andrews. He checked his watch. "Listen, I have to get my gear and catch this flight or I'm stuck here till next week."

"Go, we'll see you when you get back." Russell replied with everyone nodding. Esposito waved bye and the screen closed out. Russell made her way back to board to look it over. "The way we are going to solve her kidnapping is solve the murder. Ryan surveillance camera's from our underground jousters?"

"About to start going through them." Ryan replied holding up the stack of flash drives in front of him. Russell nodded as she moved back to her desk and looked at the board.

Castle came walking up to the board. "You know if I was writing this, the bad guy is the one person you least expect."

"Like a custodian?" Russell asked still staring at the board looking for a connection. She tossed him a look of disbelief. She trusted him but now wasn't the time. "One Police Plaza is getting that list together of all floors all access pass holders. We'll have it tomorrow."

"Not what I meant." Castle stated as he sat down next to her on the desk. He looked at the board. "By all accounts she and her husband have a good marriage, but if you look deeper, either into her transactions, I bet you find something that may look like an affair."

Russell got up and walked over to the board staring at what they had put under Manuel's along with what they had. "Castle can you call Judge Nieman for me."

"Going to get a warrant for her financials?" Castle said chuckling, pulling out his phone.

"You could say that." Russell replied also chuckling. She sat down and opened her email. She filled out the paperwork and sent it to the printer. "Ryan, we'll be back."

"Where you going?" He said without looking up.

"To get the Times." Russell replied with a smirk as Castle followed her out.

New York Times

Manhattan, New York

Castle and Russell met the editor for the New York Times in the lobby of the newspaper building. Since he received the call from Mitchell Potter, he has been in his office awaiting any news for one of his star reporters. "Detective Russell, Mr. Castle, John Harold. Any word yet?"

"Not yet sir, but it's still early." Russell replied to the question by shaking the editor's hand. Castle did the same. "Mr. Harold, we have a subpoena for Ms. Potter's expense accounts and any other finances she may have used."

"I figured that is what you guys would do, since you can't touch her sources." Mr. Harold replied holding up a flash drive and passing it over to Russell who had him put it in an evidence bag. "As far as anything else. Everything she did she kept on her computer and iPad at her house that she only emailed to her work email."

"And those would include the names of her sources and contacts?" Castle asked.

Mr. Harold nodded. "And protected under the first amendment."

"Oh well you see Mr. Harold, we figured you say that, so we had our crack assistant DA's look over the law, and sources and contacts are null in void when said person's life is in danger." Russell stated as she handed over the warrant. She smirked at the news editor. "We already have her iPad and Desktop from her home. Are you willing to cooperate with us on her work computer?"

Mr. Harold thought about it for a moment, and realized that trying to fight any attempt may be a losing battle, especially with Sierra's husband right now on a plane on the way home. "If you want to send someone, I'll have our IT people disconnect it."

"Quite alright sir, we'll do it ourselves." Russell stated as a couple of NYPD crime scene techs strolled in from outside and headed towards the elevator. She smiled at Mr. Harold. "Thank you for your cooperation."

Mr. Harold quietly shook their hands before joining the techs on the elevator. Castle turned and looked at her. "How did you get a judge to sign off on a warrant for that?"

"I called it in while waiting for you back at Sierra and Mitchell Potter's building and explained the need for immediate closure for the task force's safety and her safety as well." Russell smirked as she turned around and started towards the entrance. "Remember when you had to go to the restroom so we could go back to the precinct."

"You pulled a Kate on me." Castle replied with a smile on his face as he started to follow her "I like it."

12th Precinct

Manhattan, New York

"I'm just saying it's kind of impressive that's all." Castle remarked as they walked off the elevator and back into the bullpen. Ryan was there at his computer, drinking a large cup of coffee. "She pulled a Kate, Ryan."

"Nice, which was it, the immediate safety one or it's for the speedy closure of our case." Ryan replied with a smile on his face as well.

"The immediate safety one." Castle replied with a big smile on his face.

"Alright, I got the work computer didn't I?" Russell remarked with a small smile on her face. She looked at the board. "Alright so the editor stated that she mailed anything from her home computer to her work computer. Why would you do that? Her work server must be more secure?"

"But the Times must have keystroke logs or spyware installed on their computers to keep track of employee's use of the internet." Castle stated as he sat down at the desk. "So she rather not type up any really serious work on her work computer, so she plays email tag with herself or downloads them to a flash drive."

"Makes sense, but CSU didn't find flash drives yet at the house, and they are still going through her desk the newspaper." Russell remarked as she looked at the board. She saw Ryan tapped something on his computer. "Find something Ryan?"

"Yeah, this guy in this blue cap. He shows up on days when Manuel is there at the jousting event, and on the day Manuel was killed he shows up right before our reporter does." Ryan remarked as Castle and Russell came over and looked at the screen. "So our A/V tech ran a search for him on the security footage we have around the time Manuel was murdered and our friend shows up four out of five times."

"Could be coincidence Ryan." Russell remarked as she leaned forward towards the screen.

"Could be, then why is the fact he and Sierra are talking here." Castle pointed out on another image that was on. He tapped it where Sierra Potter and the man in the blue hat were talking, and they could be seen leaving the view of the camera, but it looked like a heated discussion. "That is on the morning before the murder."

Ryan caught that. "You're right Castle, and with the lab down, I have to do with our guys here."

"Do the best you can Ryan." Russell told him patting him on the shoulders as she and Castle moved towards her desk. She saw Castle looking at the board. "What?"

"If you have a expense account you have to account for everything you spend, like receipts." Castle stated as he turned around. He walked towards the desk. "Like with my publisher, she has to justify everything she spends on a book tour with me. Before Kate, let's just say it was pretty expensive, and now not so much."

"Well your idea of a hotel makes sense, a hotel room is private, and can give you the necessary relaxation you are going for." Russell remarked. Then it hit her. She pulled out the flash drive, plugging it in and opening it the expense report file. She scrolled through it. "Found it. She listed a meeting at Horton Inn by the Hudson as a business meeting."

"Horton is a place you want to get lost if you are looking for a couple hours of privacy." Castle remarked with a smile. That earned him looks from both Ryan and Russell. "Just saying I did a little research there for Derrick Storm."

"Uh huh." Russell replied half-heartily. She scrolled through it. "Looks like she expensed a half-dozen meetings there, then to a restaurant in Hamilton Heights, then it drops off to around our jousting grounds."

"What about cash expenses?" Castle asked coming over and looking at the screen. He leaned forward. "Doubt a shady hotel and meals will be enough to sway a source at 1PP?"

"Haven't found anything yet." Russell answered as she and Castle scrolled through the finance reports. "Damn, everything else is just gas payments in her car, and normal things like food and so forth."

"Yeah, but why is she writing cash deposits to herself from her expense account." Castle stated as he looked at the expense reports. He pointed to the screen. "Right there, going back to when she started to pursue Manuel. A thousand dollars every month to an account at Washington Credit Union."

"Here is another one for Washington Credit Union for five hundred a month going back to when she and her husband first starting righting articles about the department." Russell recognized. She looked up for Ryan. "Ryan your cousin works at Washington Credit Union right?"

"Yeah as Branch President why?" Ryan asked as his desk phone rang. He reached over and picked it up.

"When you are done with that, can you have him confirm these accounts are the Sierra Potter's?" Russell remarked as she picked up her phone to dial in a warrant so that his cousin could cover his legal bases.

"She probably wrote those to herself then paid in cash to sources and such for information." Castle stated as he got up from the desk and again moved towards the board. He studied it for a moment. "It's a brilliant plan if you think of it."

"It's also bribery of a public official and servant Castle." Russell remarked as she handed Ryan a noted stating that the warrant for the account information is being processed. "Still leaves us no clue how to find her with the lab being down."

"Well that changed. The construction crew just got the temporary line installed. The lab ran the extra set of prints on the card. Came back to a James Sanderson." Ryan stated as he put the picture on the board. He set the picture from the jousting match next to it."

"Record?" Russell asked.

"Small time mainly some drunk and disorderly, as well a mismeandor assault that got knocked down from felony assault." Ryan stated. He pulled up his notes. "He also has an all floors all access badge to headquarters."

"By the looks of his record, he has a kid to support and lives alone. A couple hundred to a thousand a month would make it tempting to sell out some information." Castle remarked.

Russell nodded at the statement then turned back to Kevin. "Address Ryan?"

"PO Box, and since he cleared parole that is what he has been using." Ryan remarked as Castle handed back the file. "Everything you could think of would go to his PO Box."

Russell sighed and took the file from Ryan. She scanned it and smiled before handing it back to Ryan and pointing at the information. Castle was confused. "What?"

"Oh I think we can find out where James is been living." Russell stated as she saw Ryan smile as well. She turned to Castle. "It will take someone who knows 1PP personally."

"Someone who has a working relationship with the people up there, and may go up there on a daily basis." Ryan stated as he smirked as he read the file. He handed the file back over to Castle for him to read.

Castle still confused looked at the page that they looked at. The page they were on was the emergency contact information for James Sanderson. "Chief Miller is his stepfather?"

"This will take tact Castle, and the Captain has that now with the brass at 1PP." Ryan stated with a smile on his face. "It shouldn't be that bad. She is just going to present the facts to him and ask him to bring his stepson in for questioning."

"You want me to ask my pregnant wife who has moods swings to ask her superior to bring his own stepson in for questioning of a kidnapped reporter?" Castle asked his friends who nodded at him. He shook his head. "What are you nuts? She'll kill me, especially this time at night. She's sleeping."

"So break it to her gently." Russell replied with a smirk on her face. She came over pointed at the clock. "Look Castle, I know you don't want to upset her any more than you have to but Sierra's husband lands in a few hours and I'm having Port Authority bring him in so he is not looking around the city on his own for her. This is our best shot at finding her by bringing in James."

Castle thought about it for moment before nodding. He pulled out his cell phone "Fine, I'll call her, but I am crashing on both of your couches when she kicks me out for a week."

Ryan and Russell just shook their heads.