First of all, let me say thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story. I apologize for the delay in updating – I didn't get as much alone time on my trip as I thought I would!

Martha took a deep breath and glanced out into the foyer before continuing. "There's something else, Kate, something the children have no idea about. Three weeks ago, Conrad called me, said he wanted to see me and begged me not to tell Richard."

Kate stepped closer to Martha as the elder woman's voice became little more than a whisper. "Conrad was dying. Brain cancer. He only had a few weeks left according to the doctors and he wanted to make amends. We had a wonderful visit. His next calls were going to be to Richard and Zara."

"And they had no idea?"

Martha shook her head again. "As far as I know, Conrad hadn't yet called Richard. He hasn't said anything to me if he has."

"What about Zara?"

Martha shrugged. "He must have called her - she's here."

Kate bit the inside of her bottom lip as she processed the new information. "Okay," she said finally, "thanks, Martha."

"Kate," Martha said quietly, "if there is anyway you could let me tell Richard and Zara about Conrad.."

"I'll do my best," Kate said with a small, reassuring smile.

She returned to the kitchen door, steeling herself momentarily against the intense waves of emotion she'd felt since beginning this case with a deep, cleansing breath. She only wished that had been enough.

Rick was at the table, his hand over Zara's, unconsciously rubbing small circles on her hand with his thumb. Kate's breath hitched in her chest. That was how she'd woken up from surgery after being shot – with Rick's hand holding hers. She swallowed the surge of jealousy that suddenly consumed her and pulled out a chair at the table, sitting down directly across from Castle.

"Zara," she began quietly. "I need to ask you a few questions."

"Do you really have to do this now?" Rick asked, his tone irritated.

She shot him a steely glare. "Yes, Rick, I have to do this now."

Zara squeezed his hand and gave him a sad smile. "It's okay, Rick, really."

Castle finally tore his eyes from Kate's and shook his head.

"Where were you flying in from, exactly?" Kate asked.

"Haiti," Zara answered. "I've been running a medical clinic there since the earthquake."

"You're a doctor?"

Zara nodded. "Internal Medicine, Johns Hopkins."

Kate eyed the blonde with a new interest. "Doctors Without Borders?"

"No," Zara answered quickly. "It's a private clinic run by private funding, my inheritance and profits from my father's endeavors. There are 8 clinics in various locations throughout the world. My primary focus has been Haiti, though."

"What brought you back to New York?"

"My father."

Kate's eyebrows raised as she waited for Zara to complete the thought. She didn't.

"What about your father?" she prodded, anxious to know if Zara was aware of her father's condition.

Kate watched intently – seeing the wheels turn in Zara's brain as her mood suddenly shifted. She took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. Kate noticed Rick's fingers tighten over Zara's as she began to answer.

"My father..." she started slowly, "threatened to cut off my funding for the clinics."

Beckett's eyes went wide. "I bet that made you angry."

Zara laughed bitterly. "Not enough to kill him, Detective Beckett."

"You sure about that?" she challenged.

Rick was out of his chair, stalking around the side of the table at Kate's question. He grabbed her arm, nearly yanking her out of her chair.

"Beckett, a word?"

"Let go of me, Castle," Kate warned through clenched teeth.

She saw an apologetic flash in his eyes before anger took over again. He dropped his hand from her arm and pushed the kitchen door open with such force it slammed against the plastered wall behind it.

Castle waited for the door to close fully before beginning to speak. "She did NOT kill him, Kate. What part of that don't you understand?"

Kate fought the urge to laugh in his face. "He threatened to cut off the funding for her medical clinics, Rick. I'd say that's one hell of a motive."

"Oh please," Castle shot back. "This isn't anywhere near the first time Conrad has pulled that. He threatens to cut off her funding constantly."

"So, you're telling me Zara and Conrad had a contentious relationship?"

The fire of anger in Rick's eyes suddenly burned brighter, startling Kate. "Yes, Kate, they had a contentious relationship," he answered sarcastically. "Conrad even had a contentious relationship with himself."

"Why would he threaten to cut off her funding?"

Castle ran a hand through his hair before crossing his arms over his chest. "Conrad was a difficult man, but he loved Zara. He just..." Rick closed his eyes and sighed heavily.

"He what, Rick?" she prodded.

"Didn't know how to have a healthy relationship with her. She gets so caught up in the clinics that sometimes we don't hear from her for months on end. Mother and I leave messages where we can and know she'll call us back eventually, but Conrad isn't a patient man. When he wanted to see her, or talk to her, he wanted it right that second. In his warped mind, threatening to cut off her funding is a great way to get her home quickly."

"Maybe Zara got tired of the threats?"

Rick shook his head. "She knew exactly what he was doing. After the first three times he made the threat, she finally stopped taking him seriously. She'd come home for a couple of days, do her song and dance with Conrad and the Board of Directors, and then she'd go back to wherever with all of her funding in tact, and then some."

"She admitted it made her angry."

Castle rolled his eyes. "It was more of an irritation than anything. She didn't like having to leave her patients just to soothe him."

Kate bit her bottom lip again and looked seriously at her partner. "Rick," she said quietly. "So far you haven't told me one thing that actually helps your sister. She has a lot of motive."

Rick turned to the wall and slammed his fist into it before turning back to glare at Kate. "Fine. But if you're going to treat my sister as a suspect, you might as well treat me like one too. I have just as much motive to kill him as she does."