JANUARY 7TH

The next morning, Beckett was up and out of bed and ready for work by five-thirty in the morning. Her mind was restless, facts and questions and suppositions and extrapolations all fighting for space in her brain. She kissed her husband goodbye, checked on her children and told them how much she loved them.

She called Montgomery on her way to the precinct and felt a little embarrassed when she heard the lazy satisfaction of his voice. Three minutes sooner and I'd be competing with Ryan for the master of bad timing title, she thought as the captain answered his phone, 'This is Montgomery.'

'Sir, it's Beckett. I'm on my way to the precinct, how soon can you be there? I have some major updates for you.'

'Hang on.'

She heard the rustling of sheets and prayed to God he was only sitting up in bed; the vision of her captain getting dressed after wake-up sex with his lovely wife Liz was more than her brain could handle that morning. 'Okay, what's this about major updates?'

'I'd rather tell you in person, sir, but suffice to say that we found a shit-bomb of epic proportions yesterday.'

'I'll meet you there, where is the rest of your team?'

'I've contacted them and they are on their way to meet me.'

'Are they aware of these updates?' Montgomery asked.

'Sir, this was a group effort, we found it all together. Castle helped a little as well.'

'I'll see you in thirty, Detective.'

Beckett hung up, pulled into the parking lot. She sat a moment in her car, took a steadying breath, then laid her head on the steering wheel. 'Mom, please don't me be wrong,' she murmured, then got out with her file bag and headed for the elevator.

'Hold the door!' she heard a voice call and felt her stomach curl up when she recognized it as Blake Holmes, but she gave in out of fear of bad karma.

'Good morning Detective,' he said to her. 'How is your case on Raglan coming?'

'We've got several avenues we're looking at.'

'Please, that's the bullshit line you give the media when you have nothing.'

'No, I really mean we've got several lines of investigation going.'

'Care to share anything of what you've found?'

Beckett's head whipped around to look at the IA captain so hard she got a crick in the neck. 'Are you asking me to share information on an open investigation with the Rat Squad?'

'We're cops the same as you.'

'Why are you so interested in John Raglan's death?' Beckett demanded. 'He was retired for at least a decade before he was murdered, yet you're acting like he went down in the line of duty. Why is that?'

'Like I said, we're cops the same as you and when a cop gets picked off like that

'Weren't you also one of the ones to make sure that Adam Brennan got booted from the force?'

'Cops who murder their married lover's spouses in a jealous rage have no right to a badge.' Blake gave her a cold look. 'You want to use him as your little civilian pet, that's your business. But I'll warn you know, things could get messy if you continue to refuse co-operating with IA on Raglan's death.'

'Are you threatening me, Holmes?'

'I'm telling you to do your job properly or things will not go the way you want them to, which is to wrap a nice high profile case and get plenty of positive attention.'

'What I want is to do my job without veiled threats from someone who has no right how to tell me to solve my case.'

The elevator doors dinged open on Homicide and Beckett sneered when Blake followed her off; she didn't miss that Adam was sitting with Esposito and Ryan at their desks. 'What, are you going to sit at my desk and make notes?'

'I have a meeting with Montgomery this morning to discuss the Raglan case.'

Beckett drew in a breath through her nose, then thought of something she'd told to Adam the day before, how those who were innocent were more likely to get outraged and pissed off and those with something to hide would tense up and throw up the walls. 'Then my men should sit in on it, if you and your head rat are going to slap our bad little Homicide bottoms. Shouldn't we?'

'Joke all you like, this is serious.'

'Do I look like I am joking?' Beckett stepped forward so the toes of her boots bumped Blake's wingtip dress shoes. 'I have never been more serious about solving a case in my entire career.'

'Good. Then our little visit this morning shouldn't slow you down.'

'Captain Holmes.' Montgomery stepped to the door of his office.

Blake fussed at the knot of his tie, went into Montgomery's office; the Homicide captain stayed in the door way and looked at his people before walking over to them.

'I got a call from them just after you called me, Kate,' he whispered to them. 'You all are going to want to be present. He doesn't think I know, but his commander is coming down as well. If it goes where I think it will, you will have a field with what we get from them. I'll text you when I want you to come in. For now, make it look like you're spinning your wheels so you won't be able to give '

'Yes sir. I should add Blake made some comments that would interest you but we can save them until after the meeting.'

Montgomery gave them a brisk nod before returning to his office, and the moment the door closed, Beckett went into the breakroom with her three musketeers hot on her heels. She saw a single uniform who barely looked old enough to drink at he cappuccino maker.

'Get out,' she snapped at him, and he looked at her with mild disinterest.

'When I get my coffee.'

'Yo, the detective said get out,' Esposito said, cracking his knuckles. 'That wasn't a suggestion. Beat it.'

The uniform grumbled but obeyed and they shut the doors. Alone, they grouped around one of the tables. 'What the hell is going on, Kate?' Adam asked. 'Why is IA here sniffing around again?'

'That's what we're going to learn, but we are going to let Montgomery know that Blake told me things might get messy if we keep looking into Raglan the way we are right now.'

'He did what?' Ryan said, feeling his nerves sizzle a little.

Beckett explained the exchange in the elevator and saw all of her men's eyes go cool and flat. It may have been twisted but she knew in their minds, they were all beating Blake Holmes to a bloody pulp and that gave her a very dark thrill of pride. 'So now, we're going to watch him and his commander squirm and dance.'

'What if Blake is another one of the guys in on the sting with Cowlan and Raglan?' Esposito suggested. 'That would make a lot of sense why he's being so goddamn nosy.'

'It would also make sense why Maggie would be on their ticket, why they wanted an eye kept on me via a friend,' Adam added.

'Before we get ahead of ourselves, why don't we make it through the meeting with our captain and the commander of IA,' Beckett suggested; she knew her man had rubbed off on her men and they could spin theory worthy of a best-selling crime novel now. 'And we leave here at different times.'

'Right.'

Adam went first, taking a bottle of water from the fridge while Ryan took a regular mug of coffee to his desk thirty-seconds after Adam had sat down beside his desk. Because they had hung back, Esposito turned to Beckett and gave her a narrow stare.

'He get in your space, Kate?' he asked quietly as he made espresso for lattes.

'What?'

'He get in your space, you feel like he was too close?'

'Oh, Javi, no. No, not at all,' Beckett replied emphatically.

'Good. Better for him.'

He finished up with the coffees, and let Beckett go first; as she walked out of the break room, the elevator doors opened and Commander Aaron Attwood stepped off the lift with a grim but neutral as he walked towards her.

'Detective, good morning,' he said. 'I understand we are having a little trouble remaining focused on our investigation.'

'My investigation is progressing slowly but we are making headway,' she replied, sipping her coffee.

'Just as well that IA should be kept apprised of your progress, though, to ensure you're not looking up the wrong trees, looking to drag a dead man's name through the mud.'

Son of a bitch, Beckett thought numbly as he walked to Montgomery's office door and knocked, it's you.

H