"Good morning Lanie," Castle said as he and Beckett entered the morgue.
"Hey Lanie. What'd you find on Rahul?" Beckett asked.
"I've narrowed TOD to 10 pm to 11pm last night. I also examined the GSW more closely. The shooter must have been really close to Rahul. He died as soon as the bullet hit his forehead, a lot quicker than if the shooter was further away. I found evidence supporting this. If you look at his torso, you can see fist marks. And on his wrists there are signs of struggle. Mr. Wilkins did not go down without a fight."
"Alright. Thanks for letting me know. This will help a lot," Beckett said, starting to leave the morgue with Castle trailing her like a lost puppy.
"Just doing my job, hon!" Lanie shouted before the doors closed.
No sooner had the doors closed than they reopened, revealing Castle like he forgot something.
"Alexis!" He called out to his daughter.
Alexis appeared out of the doorway to the office where she had been quiet the whole time.
"Hey dad. What's up?" Alexis asked, wondering if he came to say good morning or for something more.
"Good morning pumpkin. I actually have a question for you, too. Do you know a Grace Wilkins?"
"Yes I love her! Even though she's two grades lower than me, she has got to be one of the smartest underclassmen at the school. We met in the Literature Club at my school. I also know that she plays the clarinet for the school band. She's really good. She told me she snagged the top spot for the upcoming year. Wait, how do you know her?" Alexis suddenly became worried.
"Oh... um..." Castle looked to Beckett, who had returned to the morgue when she realized her shadow was no longer behind her.
"It's okay, Castle. I trust that she won't tell anyone." Beckett reassured her boyfriend.
"She has to do with the case we're working on." Castle said quietly.
"Wait is this her father?" Alexis asked, waving a hand towards the corpse on the slab. Seeing her father's nod, she became teary eyed. "Poor Grace! She must be so upset. What's going to happen to her? She has no family."
"Well," Beckett started, "She eventually will have to go to an adoption agency. She's only about to turn 16. But for now, she will remain living on her own until the case is closed."
Alexis nodded in understanding. "I won't tell anyone I know. Not even Grace. I promise."
"We know that sweetie," Lanie finally spoke up, "It's okay. How about you go take a short break and when you're ready you can continue sorting out the files?"
Alexis nodded and left the morgue.
Castle let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in.
"Kate, how are you holding up?" Lanie asked, beginning to become concerned with her best friend after learning about Grace and her lack of a family.
"I'm holding up. This case is already rough. It's hitting close to home. I can't imagine how it would feel like to lose both of your parents to murder at such a young age. And I thought I was unlucky that my mom was murdered when I was 19. This poor girl has her whole life ahead of her and neither of her parents are here to see it," Beckett sighed.
"You sure you want to work this one?" her best friend asked.
Kate nodded vigorously, "Yes. I promised Grace that I would do my best to catch the guy who did this. I'm not letting this one become cold like my mother's case. This girl deserves the closure of at least one of her parent's cases."
Lanie knew better than to ask what had happened with Grace's mother. All she had needed to know was whether or not it had been solved, and apparently it hadn't.
"You want to visit her, don't you?" This time, Castle asked the question.
Kate nodded, "I want to check up on her. Maybe ask her some more questions and then get Ryan and Espo to check the leads. But more than that, I just want to comfort her. I don't know what it is about this girl, but I think she's changing my life. And I barely know her yet."