Chapter 5.) Broken Dreams

The next couple of days had been run on full force. The boys had excluded all possible on their end and Beckett was now down to two possible suspects of her own. The first of which, Grace Buckley, she had interviewed in the interview room.

Grace certainly had a possible motive and her whereabouts weren't counted for during the time of seven and ten p.m. when the Moreno's were murdered so Beckett was keeping the young college freshman on ice for a little bit until she could look into number twelve on the murder board, Chris Shelton.

Beckett and her boys were wearing their vests and had their guns out as they positioned themselves near the dorm room's door. Even Castle's apparition had his writer vest that Beckett had lain on his coffin.

Beckett pounded on the door, "NYPD open up!"

A young black kid opened the door. He was dressed only in his boxers with a tooth brush still in his mouth.

"A little late in the day to be getting ready isn't it," Esposito said.

"I'm getting ready for work," said Trenton, "What's going on?"

"Chris Shelton," said Beckett, "Where is he?"

"Do I look like his mother," said Trenton, "I don't know."

The detectives made their way into the apartment.

"Hey you can't do that!"

"Permission from your RA says we can," said Esposito.

"How well do you know your roommate," Ryan asked.

"Not well, the guy mainly keeps to himself."

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Several days ago I guess, the guy seemed agitated like always."

"Agitated how," asked Ryan.

"I don't know man. He was really starting to stress out over finals, who doesn't. There was this one guy who he couldn't stand, Dr. Moor something."

"Dr. Moreno?"

"Yeah him, the guy said that dude was making his life a living hell and he was tired of it. The guy was off his meds if you know what I mean."

"Yo Beckett," Espo called out.

Beckett turned to see Espo holding a gun the same kind that was used on their victims.

"Looks like we found the smoking gun," said Castle.

Espo smelled it. "Fired recently," he said.

"He's our guy," said Beckett.

Ryan turned to Trenton, "Do you have any idea where he is or where he would go?"

"The gym I guess, I've seen him there a few times. He likes to hit the weights or the punching bag whenever he's had a rough day."

"Ryan," said Beckett, "Stay here with the uni's and canvas the rest of the room. Esposito with me," she said. She also motioned to a couple other uniformed officers to follow her.

When they arrived at the weight room Chris, with his 5'10" height and a weight of 155 pounds, was laying on the bench press. There were a few others in the room, two guys and a girl, each doing their own workout routines. The uniforms quietly told them to leave the room.

Once the people were out Beckett cautioned, "Chris Shelton, get up slowly."

Chris wasn't listening. The music coming out of his headphones was blasting through his ears. Esposito made his way over to him, his gun never losing its target and with his left hand he took out the ear-bud from Chris' right ear.

"What the hell man!" Chris said as he turned over to see a gun pointed at his face.

"She told you to get up slowly," Esposito said to him.

Chris looked to the floor on his left side where a twenty five dumbbell rested. Beckett came forward, her gun also positioned on him.

"You really want to make this complicated," Beckett asked him.

"Here's what I can't figure out Chris," said Beckett as she and Esposito were in the interrogation room. Grace had been let go as soon as Ryan made a call to the precinct after they had arrested Shelton. "No past criminal record, you come from a descent home, even got in to Hudson on a wrestling scholarship."

"Which proves I couldn't have done what you're accusing me of," said Chris.

"See that's where you're wrong pal," said Esposito.

Beckett filled Chris in, "Your voice was recognized in the voice line up and we found the gun that you used on professor Moreno and his wife."

"Still doesn't prove it was me," said Chris, "My roommate used to be a gang banger did you know that? You found the gun in dorm but it doesn't prove it was mine."

"Wrong again pal," said Esposito.

"You're right though," said Beckett, "your roommate Trenton, he did have the exact same gun that was used on our victims. I bet you had figured if the gun was planted in your dorm then you would lead us to think it was him because unlike you, an upstanding guy, Trenton does come from a rough background but if you took the time to know him, he was on scholarship same as you. He did own a gun like yours however you failed to account for two things: one, we looked into Trenton's gun, want to know where we found it?"

"In the dorm?"

"Wrong," said Esposito, "It was securely locked up with DPS like all firearms are meant to be. He hadn't pulled it out since November when he last used it at the shooting range."

"And two," Beckett finished, "We compared the fingerprints on the gun to some finger prints found on a glass at the Moreno's home. They came back as a match to you."

Chris bit his lip and moved his body back and forth. He was starting to steam. "So what, why do I even care if I killed him or not? The guy was gonna flunk me for the third damn time! I couldn't fail again, no way. Do you have any idea what it's like to take the same class over and over and still fail it? And it's for a fucking basic class so there is no getting out until I pass it. At this rate I was going to be in school forever and forget about my damn scholarship. I was just so sick of being on probation because of a freakin' class I could never pass."

"Hate to break it to you but you want to know the worst part in all of this Chris?" Beckett said looking at the twenty-five year old man across from her. She handed him a file and opened it. "Is that you killed Dr. Moreno for nothing. You were going to pass his class with a 'D' but you just couldn't wait for your final grades could you?"

Beckett led herself out of the room. She always loved the satisfaction she had when her suspects began to realize their mistakes.

'You ever get that desperate in college,' Beckett asked in thought.

"Did I want to kill my professors sure, who hasn't?" Castle replied. "I even thought of several scenarios but it's always the scary ones who actually go through with it. You?"

'Oh absolutely.'

"What I don't get is why kill the wife? I mean if you're going to kill her too might as well kill the whole family."

'Castle.'

"Hey I'm just saying. He does a half ass job and doesn't kill the rest of the family in the house?"

'Maybe even Shelton has his lines that he doesn't cross.'

"A killer with a consciousness that would be a first I guess. Still why the wife?"

'What no theories?'

"You first."

'Fine, well here's a theory for you: Chris wanted to get into medical school but with his grades it seemed unlikely but he was so obsessed with that dream that he never gave up on it but that rage of failure clouded his judgment so when he saw his opportunity to kill Elian he thought killing Morena would be poetic justice because by killing her he was finally killing the future he would never have.'

"Why Mrs. Castle I certainly have rubbed off on you haven't I?"

Beckett just smiled, 'So what about you Rick, do you have any theories that are better?'

"Oh I've got an endless supply of theories. One of the upsides to being dead: my mind works so much better than it did when I was fully human. Want to give it a try?"

'You know as much as I'd love to join you in the afterlife I'd kind of like for our kids to have at least one parent around.'

"Fair enough."

"Well you know I'm always going to wait for you, however long it takes."

'You'd better because I'd haunt your ass till the end of the earth if you didn't.'

"Well it did take me over thirty years to find you so it's only fair."

'Do me a favor, shut up.'

"In all seriousness though I will wait for you. Always."

Beckett smiled. 'I know,' she replied.

She then looked to the family room where Lena was waiting.

"This is always the best part," said Castle.

'Yeah it can be. It will never be easy for them.'

"But hey at least you can give Lena some closure and she can tell her younger siblings that the cops came through and caught the bad guy. Want me to go in with you?"

'I think I can handle this one, Castle.'

Castle nodded.

Beckett made her way inside, closing the door behind her so that she and Lena could have some privacy.