"Regrets collect like old friends, here to relive your darkest moments. I can see no way, I can see no way... And all of the ghouls come out to play, and every demon wants his pound of flesh. But I like to keep some things to myself. I like to keep my issues drawn. It's always darkest before the dawn."

Shake it Out-Florence & The Machine

"Yo boss, I think you'll want to check this out."

Kate Beckett took a sip from her coffee mug, using care to not to burn herself with the hot liquid as she approached the boys. She made sure to avoid looking at Castle's chair, which was now situated next to Ryan's desk. The detective knew that the boys weren't comfortable with the change in dynamic, but for her sake they remained quiet.

"What've you got?" She asked Esposito.

"Well, Lanie recovered a half pack of cigarettes in our vic's back pocket and the inside was a match book." He handed the evidence bag to Kate as he continued to describe what they'd discovered.

"They're from The Kitty Cat Club," Kate commented as she recognized the logo.

"That's a low-class strip club down in lower Manhattan, near Alphabet city." Ryan explained to Castle, to update him on the location.

"Oh, I'm familiar with the Kitty Cat Club." He commented.

Kate had to make conscious effort not to smirk at him or tease him. As much as she missed their relationship, missed his touch, she also longed for his friendship again. He was civil enough to her, but things just weren't the same. Still, she would never regret what they had and if she had to do it over again she would. Their intimacy helped her to grow and she was a better person because of him.

"Beckett?" Esposito startled her out of her own thoughts with an expectant look on his face.

She nodded "Ok. Let's go check it out.


"Never seen her," the manager muttered as he chewed on a tooth pick, toying it with his lips. The club smelled of smoke and alcohol, and he leered at Beckett in a manner that made her sick to her stomach. She looked around at the empty club, watched as employees prepared for the evening's business.

"Why don't you look a little harder?" Kate pushed, standing a little taller in attempt intimidate the man slightly.

"Look, you said she was a kid, right? I run a reputable business here. I'm not interested in no trouble." He eyed Beckett once more, clearly scanning her figure before adding. "But I'd be happy to offer you a job if you're interested."

Kate felt Castle tense next to her and before she could think about it, she shot her hand up to squeeze his elbow. He took the message, calming down and backed up slightly. It was the first physical contact they'd had in weeks, but he seemed to respond. Her stomach filled with butterflies and Kate had to actively suppress the emotion as she leveled the club owner with a stare.

When it was clear that he was giving no information, she handed him her card. "Please call if you remember anything." She didn't have much hope for that, but did notice the looks of interest she got from the club's employees.

In fact, they all seemed interested. Save the bartender, the onlookers were whispering amongst themselves. She made a mental note to get in touch with them when the boss wasn't present.


After making a stop to pick up lunch, Beckett, Castle and Esposito made their way back to the 12th. When they arrived they found Ryan waiting for them eagerly.

"Guys, there's someone here that you definitely want to talk with." He said, leading them back to an interrogation room. They stepped into the observation room while the detective updated them on their new lead.

"Her name is Amber, she says she works at the Kitty Cat club, and she's eager to unload her burdens." Ryan explained, but she won't talk unless we can guarantee her protection.

"She doesn't look any older than about 16 or 17!" Kate expressed, watching the pale redhead, who was quite similar in appearance to Alexis, through the one-sided mirror.

"She's 17, which is why I've already called social services. I told her protecting her wouldn't be a problem, especially because she was a minor. I also told her she wouldn't get in trouble for having worked there." Kate nodded, patting Ryan on the arm in support for a job well done.

She moved to the interview room and sat across from the young girl.

"Amber?" She began. "My name is Kate, and I understand you have some information for us?"


Several hours later, Beckett and her team sat across from a social worker. After having spoken with Amber, they were able to identify the victim as 16 year-old Sara Severs. She was a runaway that had been enticed into the world of stripping and more recently, pornography.

Once the social worker had assured her that she would remain in protective custody and not be sent to a home, Amber told her story.

"He told us that we could make 1500 in one night, just by taking our clothes off and letting him take pictures. He promised that nobody would touch us." Amber had told them. She was shaking when she uttered her next words. "He lied."

"Who killed Sara, Amber?" Kate pressed the girl for an answer, her hand resting gently on her arm.

"Sara was going to go first. I wasn't supposed to be there until later, but I came along anyway to see what she would have to do. So that I would be ready, you know?" Amber began.

"But it wasn't just Tony there, his bouncers were there too. They blocked the doors. We thought it was just to keep others out. We didn't realize that it was to keep us in." Amber was shaking.

Once she was naked, he snapped some photos and had the camera on… and everything seemed to be going ok. He was really nice and stuff, but then Butch came over."

"Butch?" Kate questioned, aware that Tony was the club manager, but unsure of who Butch was.

"The bartender." She clarified. "Tony kept the camera rolling, and he kept taking pictures as Butch pushed Sara down on the bed." Amber's voice was shaking as she recalled the horror of the moment.

"She freaked out when she realized what they were doing. She started screaming and she grabbed for a metal beam that was on the floor… it was a construction site, you know?"

Kate nodded and asked again, "Amber, who was it that killed her?"

"I saw him, I saw Butch grab the pole she was holding and hit her with it. Then she just fell, was limp and there was blood. I screamed and ran… the bouncers left the door to help when Sara started to freak out, so I just ran…" Amber explained, tears streaming down her face now.

"They know I was there. He will try to find me." She stated, fear in her voice.

"Amber, it's ok. You're very brave and you're safe now. He's not going to get to you." Kate assured her.

"Were there any other girls?" The social worker interjected to ask. When the girl hesitated, Kate knew that there were.

Amber shrugged. "Not that were working, but he really wanted Mia. Sara and I heard them talking about her, about how much money she would bring in. She's only 13, and I guess people have a thing for that." She wiped her tears as she explained.

"Who is Mia?" Kate asked.


Hours later, Ryan and Esposito sat at the computer, running missing person's reports to find two young girls.

"We know there were two other girls living with Amber and Sara, and they had a squat in Alphabet City." Castle informed the boys as they waited for the system to process.

"One girl, about age 13, first name Mia." Beckett spoke. "She seemed to be directly targeted by Tony. The second only 10, is named Emmanuella."

Esposito swore under his breath in reaction to the young age of the girls, especially Emmanuella. "Who the hell targets a little kid?" He uttered as he entered the information Beckett provided.

"Well, let's focus on figuring out who they are and finding them so nobody does." She looked at the physical description she'd written down of both girls.

"Well, without last names it could take a while. It's a big city, and if nobody bothered to report them as missing…" Ryan stated.

"Actually," the social worker noted. "If they had any contact with the system then someone would have reported them. It shouldn't be too hard."

"Cross reference the name Mia, with the age and description, and look for reports from foster homes and group homes." Beckett instructed.

Sure enough, within a minute they had a hit. A young girl's photo stared back at them, she was sullen, but beautiful; and there was something eerily familiar about her to Kate. She almost looks like I did when…She swallowed, a sense of panic and disbelief crossing her features as she took a step back. It isn't possible, she told herself.

"Beckett, what's wrong?" Ryan spoke. She simply shook her head. "Nothing," she assured them, moving to sit at her desk. She felt numb, and something deep inside already knew what her mind refused to believe. Mia was hers.

"And I'm damned if I do, and I'm damned if I don't. So here's to drinks in the dark at the end of my rope. And I'm ready to suffer, and I'm ready to hope. It's a shot in the dark and right at my throat, cause looking for heaven I found a devil in me."