A/N - Just this and one more chapter for this story. Thanks for reading!

Chapter 9 – A Horrible Friend

"Jacob Harper," Beckett said calmly as she laid the picture of the battered and broken man down in front of Joe. They had immediately started the interrogations of the zoo keeper when they got back to the precinct. "Now, I'm not going to ask if you know this person because it's on your face and typically when suspects run from me, it's a pretty good indication they are guilty of something."

Castle sat next to her and looked at the kid who couldn't be much older than a high school graduate. This was the moment that Castle always had trouble deciding if the look on the suspect's face was genuine and upset or just a façade for a story that they were getting ready to concoct. When Joe's face hit the table and the sobbing started, he had his answer.

Beckett and Castle looked at each other quizzically and then back at the young man that continued to pout in his arms. "Sir? Jacob?" When Castle wasn't answered, he looked over in Beckett's direction and silently shrugged.

"Let's leave him for a bit," Beckett suggested as she picked up the file with the picture and headed out the door. She walked out of the interrogation room as Esposito and Ryan came out of the observation.

"What's wrong with him?" Ryan asked. Everyone looked at Castle.

"What?" Then it dawned on him. "You want me to spin the story. Ok, Joe and Jake knew each other and went in on buying a real cool pet. They got a little rough with it and Jake got the death sentence. But Joe didn't want to get caught and thought the suicide out the window of the building would be a better story."

Beckett and Ryan glanced at each other and shrugged. The story was actually not that far off base, much milder than they had thought Castle could come up with. They wrote some of the theories on the board before checking on Joe. He still had his head down.

"Yo," Esposito turned the corner and handed a sheet to Beckett. "Found something interesting that might explain our suspect's little breakdown. That Taipan was traded through the SHHS, bought by one Jacob Harper and delivered in the crate to … get this Joe Singlio in apartment"

"3B," Beckett and Castle said in unison. Looking immediately at the boys, they both knew it was coming.

"Love how you do that. Anyway, They thought the pet would be cool to go with their new business. In fact when CSU canvassed the rest of that particular apartment, they found an entire bedroom at the back of the apartment, one wall was all snake cages, all venomous." Esposito finished the story and saw Beckett visibly tremble. "It's ok, they're not bringing them here."

Beckett nodded and then rubbed her hand through her hair looking at the board and the new information that Castle added as Esposito spoke. "But that doesn't explain Jacob's death." Beckett leaned against her desk and rubbed shoulders with Castle before glancing up at him. Meeting his gaze, their eyes were soft.

Ryan rounded the corner but felt an arm pull him back, "Mom and dad are having a moment," he cautioned as they watched the two from across the room.

After a few more seconds, Ryan broke free and walked up in between them, trying not to show he noticed. "Your guy's feeling a little better."

Beckett jumped up from the edge of the desk and grabbed Castle by the coat sleeve before they headed back into the interrogation room. She paused at the door, looking at Joe who was finally not buried in his hands and then opened the door.

"Can we talk now?" she asked almost snidely as she and Castle sat across from him.

Joe just nodded and then leaned his head on one hand and pouted some more. "It just sucks that I killed my best friend." Beckett threw a surprising glance in Castle's direction, shocked it would go that easily. "I didn't really kill him, but I gave it opportunity."

"What do you mean? Did you kill him or not? Remember Mr. Singlio, this can be used in a court against you."

The man nodded and then started in on his tale. "I had Jacob pick up the snake at the shipping yard when I knew it came in, but it wasn't really his. I have a collection almost as good as the one at the zoo in my apartment."

"Yes, CSU found them and are currently looking at ways to disperse them out of animal control," Beckett explained.

"I have permits for all of them. You can check the file cabinet next to the freezer. All of them are legit, including Tony."

"Tony?" Castle questioned.

"The taipan. I name them all. Your team will find his aquarium labeled and all. It was just a mistake. I was in the apartment and Jacob showed up with the snake. I had all the equipment to take care of transferring him from the box to the aquarium. Jacob had come out of the room," Joe paused and his hands covered his face. "I'm going to jail for growing pot aren't I?"

Castle couldn't help but chuckle until Beckett elbowed him in the ribs and glared at him. "Possibly, but right now it's for murder."

Joe just shook his head. "It's not murder. See Jacob was coming out of the room with the pot and I asked what he was doing. He said just looking around but I saw him wipe his hands off on a towel. I didn't put the two and two together until I let Tony out of the box. Taipan's are supposed to be really calm venomous snakes and I've handled them before so I didn't think it was big deal. Then Jacob attempted to tail him, grab him by the tail, and WHAP, that snake just turned around a bit him on the arm." Joe paused and his face suddenly fell less animated as he thought about what happened.

Beckett and Castle looked at each other and then back at Joe.

"Then I figured it out, but I was trying to help Jacob and the snake kind of got away. Jacob was already having a seizure and when I looked at the bite, I could smell it."

"What?" Castle asked. Outwardly he couldn't show the utter fascination he had with this whole story.

"The rat pee. The snake wasn't after Jacob, he thought Jacob was food. That's the reason he envenomated him so much. He was hungry and Jacob had been playing with the rats right before. It's a common rule among herpers. You never play with snakes' food before you put your hand in a cage. Guess he didn't know."

The three sat in silence for a while longer until Beckett sighed. Castle had seen the look on her face before but very rarely with a suspect. She felt sorry for him and the situation. He was a kid mixed up between legal and illegal activities and the legal activity was getting him busted for something worse. "Why didn't you take him to the hospital?"

Joe stopped and stared at the table, rubbing his hands through his hair. "I panicked. I was supposed to have antivenom at the apartment as part of protocol but I didn't have the money for it. If I took him to the hospital, I would lose my licenses for the animals at home and my job. And then the pot."

"And how about the crate and Jacob's flying leap out of the window?" Castle asked.

Joe looked up at him and then back down at his hands. "I took the crate back that night after the cops got done talking to people in the building."

Beckett sat up and leaned forward in almost shock. "You talked to the cops that night?"

"Yeah, they just came to the door and asked if I heard anything? They really weren't specific, so I wasn't either." Beckett's eyes rolled as Castle could see the irritation that was flowing through her veins. Someone in a uniform was going to get it.

"The jump?"

"Yeah, I drug him up there after he started foaming at the mouth and cried all the way back to my apartment. God I feel like crap." Joe's head hit the table again and Beckett motioned to Castle to follow her out of the room. They stood in the observation room with Esposito and Ryan as the man continued to lay on the table.

"Your friend dies at the hand of your pet. Damn that sucks. I'm not sure if this outcome is going to make Alexis feel any better." Castle crossed his arms and turned his lip up in disgust.

"Well, I know they'll bust him on the charges of growing weed in the apartment, but I'm not sure how the DA wants to handle the rest of this. He didn't kill him, so I'm not sure how they'll approach it." Beckett explained as the guys watched the man break down again. He was beating himself up over the death more than any jail cell could. "Anyway, get him in holding and I'll work on getting the paperwork pushed through. Espo? What about the snakes?"

"Talk to someone at that SHHS and they're putting them up on the site for trades. Animal control is already fielding calls from around the country for zoos wanting them." Beckett nodded and then followed the boys out of the room.

When Beckett sat down at her desk and started typing Castle leaned over toward her. "You know this is where I usually either sit and stare at you longingly or leave." He watched as her head turned in his direction and her eyes rolled but couldn't help laughing at his enticing grin. Covering his face with her hand, she pushed him back off the desk and shook her head again.

"Go home Castle." He pouted in her direction. "Look, the man is worked up enough. I was going to push his paperwork through, call Lanie to check Jacob for the rat pee story and then head home." She paused, not leaving his gaze. "I'll see you tomorrow."

Castle pulled back and furrowed his brow in question, "Your day off is tomorrow." Without saying a word, Beckett smiled at him and winked. Castle returned the satisfied look, patted her on the arm, and walked toward the elevator.