Beckett stayed on scene as long as she could, watched Dave give the information to the incoming paramedics who then transported Christine to an ambulance. She watched as the woman, amazingly still alive and conscious, weakly grip Dave's arm and he bent his head as she tried to say something to him. Beckett filed it away so she would remember to ask Dave. Instead she focused on the crime-scene and wasn't it handy that the other primary witness to the goings-on was not only a good friend but someone eloquent under pressure?

She walked to Meredeth sitting on the back of an open ambulance; she had a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, gave a wan smile.

'How are you feeling, Mere?'

'All things considered, okay I think. Right now I think I better clear out of here.'

'You know you are a material witness, right?'

'Yes but...' Meredeth chose her words carefully since they were in public. 'Given Raglan's link to the Jarrad case, I know this is more than a traffic collision so I'm going to do what I do best.'

'Round up the troops, make sure they get fed, make sure they rest when necessary, remind them they are only human?'

'Yep. I want you-' she tapped Beckett's shoulder '-to remember this because you know you're going to kick at me when I say you need to stop the paperwork and eat so you can keep doing paperwork.'

'Mere.' Beckett put a hand on her friend's shoulder before she could stand up. 'In case I forget to say it when this thing gets rolling, thank you. You are as vital to our work as any cop, Mere.'

'We're family, Kate, no thanks are needed.'

Beckett moved so her girl could stand, speak to Esposito who gave her a quick kiss. It was the kind of easy affection that told anyone who saw them this was a couple entrenched deeply in love, not unlike-

'Excuse me, sir, you need to step back behind the tape!'

'Fuck that, I'm an assistant civilian liaison to Homicide and my wife is the lead investigator on this scene.'

Beckett turned around and knew she was just as in love as Meresposito, for that was the only explanation as to why she felt a happy rush that her husband was there so she would have someone to be a whipping post.

'Rick, what are you doing here?' she demanded tersely, nudging aside the flustered uniform.

'Well golly gee,' he replied sarcastically, in the way Beckett knew he used to disguise genuine hurt, 'reminded me what I'm supposed to do when I hear breaking news of sniper shots fired at a crime scene and I see you, Espo, Mere, Ryan, even Dave on the ground taking cover?'

'Where are the kids?'

'With Martha and Miss Agnes at Miss Agnes' apartment baking.'

'Right. Sorry.'

Castle shook his head. The desire to touch her was strong, almost overwhelming, but he knew she needed his strength, not his gentleness now. He jammed his hands into his pockets, studied the crumpled up cars that were being assessed by the CSU teams. 'What happened here?'

'It's complicated but the upshot is that John Raglan is on his way to the morgue. He was killed by a sniper shot when Dave was giving him the once over.'

'Dave? Doesn't he deal mainly with mamas and babies?'

'He was helping Meredeth take Arturo to the vets half a block south from here when the accident occurred. Espo, what have you got for me?'

The detective had walked over, studied his notepad with dark eyes that he lifted up to his senior officer. 'This is really weird, Kate. Meredeth gave me the license plates of the two cars, Montgomery had Adam run them back at the precinct. The eastbound car was from a rental company in the Bowery, but the northbound car-'

'The one Raglan was in?'

'It's registered to Christine Doran.'

'Christine Doran? As in the ex-captain Mike Doran's wife?' Beckett blinked hard when Esposito nodded solemnly. 'Why would she be in a car with John Raglan? Okay, you get over to Saint Vincent's to take care of talking to Christine regarding the crash.'

'Tell her it's routine for Homicide to ask since the other driver died, what were she and Raglan talking about, where were they headed.'

'Mm-hmm, and send Ryan over here.'

'Bossy, bossy, Detective,' Castle noted, then zipped up when Beckett glared at him. 'Just saying.'

'Well just say something useful.'

'I'll go to Chelsea, check on Meredeth. Call me for anything.' He kissed her cheek lightly, knowing it would give her the blood-fire she needed to stay pissed off and pumped up.

She rubbed her cheek with her gloved hand where her husband's lips had landed and glared after him. 'He always knows,' she murmured to herself, then put it away for the time being as Ryan approached her. 'Detective, you are coming with me.'

'What about Javi?'

'He's got his own assignment for the moment. I need you with me to talk to the medical examiner.'

Ryan nodded, then stopped dead in his tracks. 'Tell me it's not Lanie. Seeing that and knowing how close Dave was wouldn't be good. Has anyone even told her yet?'

'Dave called her, I heard him. She's going to meet him at Saint Vincent's. But you are going to goose Pearlmutter right now about Raglan.'

'And the other driver?'

'I'll deal with him.'

Montgomery paced the floor of his office, turning in short tight circles that was making Adam Brennan dizzy. Though he no longer held his rank and was a civilian liaison, he was still dug into the Jarrad case like a tick so when he had to tell his boss at the CLB he was needed in Homicide at the Twelfth by Captain Montgomery, it was far more sticky to get away. When he explained it was pertaining to a cold case from his days in uniform, his boss nodded and let him be.

Now he shut his eyes tight and shook his head. 'Sir, all due respect, what good comes from doing that?'

'Makes me feel better and easier on my liver than a strong drink. How much have you been able to dig out on Christine Doran?'

'Only what there was pertaining to her husband's file. He went to prison after it came to light he ordered his daughter Angela's death because she'd found out his part in her fiance Timo Ross' death thirteen years ago. He's been in Sing-Sing for the last four years and she visited him every week.'

'Make a note, we need to talk to her about those visits and talk to the guards at Sing-Sing who kept an eye on Mike.'

'Already done, sir.'

'Good.' Montgomery looked at the young man, felt a stir of pity. The kid should still be on the job, he thought, and had gotten the boot because he'd killed his lover's abusive husband in an act of passion to protect her from death. He'd been too late and now paid the price for it. 'Adam, had the circumstances been differently, what bureau would you have pursued? Narcotics? Violent Crimes? Homicide?'

'I was thinking tech-crimes. I went to university for computer science before I went into the academy. It seemed like an up and coming field and I thought I'd put my geekiness to use.'

'I think your geekiness as you say is going to be quite helpful, because I think we both know John Raglan was no victim of circumstance like you were.'

'Thank you sir, and I agree. They took my badge but not my brain and certainly not my hacker skills.'

'Would that be skills with a 'z', Adam?'

He laughed, then quieted when Beckett came in the room followed by Ryan. Out of habit, Adam got to his feet and nearly snapped a salute but Ryan waved him down as Beckett stood in front of her captain with a stony expression.

'Detective,' Montgomery said in a low voice.

'Sir. This is my case.'

'I know.' There was no point in trying to pull her off of it so instead he went to his desk, lifted a file. 'John Raglan's service file from five years prior to your mother's death up to his retirement three years after her murder.'

'How did you get that so quickly?'

'Magic fingers.' Adam lifted his hands. 'At the request of a Homicide captain whose detective is investigating said officer's murder.'

Beckett lifted it, began to thumb through when the door to Mongtomery's office opened and Esposito came in, wind-whipped colour in his cheeks.

'Detective Esposito, that was a quick trip to Saint Vincent's.'

'She's in surgery right now, I'm on my way back down but before she went in, I managed to get some very interesting information from her.'

'Like what?'

'In a nutshell, Mike Doran is dead.'