Bury all your secrets in my skin

Come away with innocence, and leave me with my sins

The air around me still feels like a cage

And love is just a camouflage for what resembles rage again

Slipknot - Snuff Lyrics

A/N): as you can tell this Slipknot song was my inspiration for this chapter. As always please forgive the typos and grammar. I have proofread the chapter but my mind sometimes auto edits and I miss the mistakes. D;

Chapter 30

Mercy Hospital

Beckett Castle & Ryan

Ryan was already waiting at the hospital when Beckett and Castle entered. He idly wondered if the pair really thought that their relationship was a secret. No, he decided they were smart enough to know that the only people that were clueless were the press. He respected their privacy so he wouldn't make a big deal about it. Her surveyed the two. Castle was looking better except he was walking stiffly this morning. Beckett was looking great as always. He made a mental note to ask Castle if she got morning hair or id she was just always put together.

She must get up at oh dark thirty to make herself look so good.

"…"

"What Beckett? I didn't catch that."

"I asked how Esposito was doing."

"Sorry haven't had my morning coffee yet. Javi's doing well. He has one hell of a headache but the Doc's are going to release him later today. He will be desk bound for the next week but other than that he's good."

"Any word on the evidence that was collected at the safe house?"

"Prints were a bust. The only skin cells on the cord were mine and Roxy's… Ahem Ms. Blue. The skell must have been using gloves. "Ryan replied checking his notes.

"And Roxy.. Ms. Blue?" Beckett asked with a smirk at Ryan's discomfort.

"Ms Blue is still sedated…. But she is awake. The Doc's have restrained her because when she went co… when she had her episode she got violent and self-destructive, so say the doctor I talked to."

"That seems a little out of character for our perky little weather girl." Castle added

"Well Castle, she has been attacked twice and almost killed." Beckett interjected

They all walked down the hallway to the Psych Ward. After a brief conversation with the attending physician, they entered Roxy's room. The Channel 7 weather girl was lying in the bed with the head elevated so that she was able to look around. The wrist restraints were visible and slightly bloody. Roxy turned her head to watch her visitors enter. When she saw Ryan she broke into a bright if somewhat dazed smile."

"Hey Ryan, how are you sweetie?"

"I'm doing ok Rozy. How are you?"

"I am doing better now that you are here, lover. When they brought me in last night, I got so scared 'cause you weren't here. They gave lots of drugs to calm me down. I am much better now." Roxy rambled. Her mood seemed to shift when she saw Castle and Beckett. "Hey Richard, look I am all tied down, I hear that your into to that… interested?"

"Not now Roxy., or ever" he said the last under his breath.

"Roxy we're here to ask you about your attacker, did you get a good look?" Beckettt asked.

Roxy seemed to come back to herself but her kept her eyes glued on Castle. The look of raw sexuality she was giving him made him feel uneasy.

"Well Detective he was still wearing a mask but I did get a better look at him as he was tossing me around."

"Can you describe the events of yesterday?"

"Why sure, I woke up about 7:15 or so after a very bad dream. I called for Ryan but his partner said he wasn't there. So I asked for some coffee and begged him to call Ryan. He went out and it wasn't much longer after that that I heard some strange noises and then he came into the room."

"What did he look like?"

"He was tall maybe six-one. He was kind of broad shouldered. He was trim but solid. I think at first that he wanted to rape me because he started to rip off my clothes. Then he started to hit me and then he asked where the pictures were. I didn't know what pictures he was talking about. He wrapped then he wrapped the cord around my neck and said 'the pctures of me and Beckett'….."

A/N): Man I wish I could incert a commercial break here I even toyed with the idea of writing a section on what Alexis is doing but I have no idea what she is up to so I will just have to continue. D.

Mercy Hospital

Castle and Beckett

Beckett and Castle stepped out into the hall. They walked down to an empty waiting area to confer.

"Well since we were together all night and all this morning as well, you know I didn't do it." Castle stated.

"I know, she has got to be in league with the killer." Beckett rejoined.

"Kate she is the killer. It all makes sense now. Follow me on this one. The night of the party she said that she was in the ballroom until after the murder but when I read through the interviews no one mentioned that she was there. She must have been out in the hall when I wigged out. Then she saw her chance. Maybe she was going to meet Eric, maybe she was just milling around. She saw her oppertunity. She grabbed the cake knife and followed Eric, she did tell Ryan that she and Eric were going to bumb uglies that weekend."

"Real juvenile Castle" Beckett commented

Ignoring the comment Castle continued."Roxy stabbed him and then grabbed my shirt and coat… no she probably had those with her when she stabbed Eric. She rubbed my clothes in the bloob and dropped them back into the shower. She had to have blood on her so she goes to the pool gets naked and goes for a swim. It's an indoor pool so it has a high chlorine content which would destroied the DNA. She meets and seduces Ryan but she knows that she has no alibi so she stages the attack in her hotel room."

"Come on Castle that's a streach."

"Maybe, but one of the things that bothered me was there was no forced entry into that room. Also the attack at the safe house, how could the perp have known where she was? And the attack makes more sense if Esposito gets hit first then Mathers. She waits until she hears somebody out in the entry way, she throws the lamo through the window and then starts choking herself both of these attacks are designed to deflect susoision and make her look like a would be victim. Remember I told you that I got a fatal attraction vibe from her when we were at the ball"

"Ok that makes sense but why try to blame you now?"

"Why not she couldn't know where you were last night, so it's an easy sell. Besides I was a person of interest in the case"

"That's a fine theory but we have no evidence to back it up." Beckett supplied.

If we can find the dress and gloves she wore at the party they are bound to have blood on them"

"That's if she hasn't destroyed them by now." Beckett added.

"True… But something still bothers me."

"What, her comment about you liking bondage.: Kate quipped.

"Only with you detective, but that's not it"

"Then what is it"

"It is almost like there were two people planning this. The initial murder and some of the attempts to implicate me were pretty armature. But the two attacks were pretty ingenious."

Further conjecture was halted by a wail and then a stream of curses coming from Roxy's room. They rushed back in to see Roxy doing a great Linda Blair/Exorcist impression. She was thrashing almost made she appear to be hovering over the bed. She has fixed her glare on Ryan who had taken a step back from shock.

"You Bastard!" She screamed, "Roxy would have filled your night with sweet intoxication passion. She really cared for you… cop… you pig. You had to go and chose to be with somebody else. Are you gay? Roxy would have been your willing sex slave. She would have done anything for you."

Castle looked at Beckett "When women get hysterical do they normally talk in the third person?"

"No" Kate agreed.

"And you" she turned her baleful gaze onto Castle. "The man-slut, Roxy only wanted a good time. She was lonely and wanted some attention but you were too self-involved to care"

"She's got you pegged Castle." Beckett agreed.

Beckett leaned over and looked into Roxy's eyes "Who are we talking to?"

"I am Monica you stupid Bitch!"

The Next Day

The Precinct

The Aftermath

Beckett, Castle, & Company

The squad was back to normal, Beckett thought; Ryan and Esposito were at their desks though Esposito was in street clothes. He had stopped by to fill out his sick leave paperwork. And Richard Castle was seated in his chair, as it should be. He was still a little pale but she knew from personal experience that he had not had a nightmare for two nights in a row, so she hoped he was finally getting better.

"So, what's the deal?" Montgomery asked the group. "Who killed Browning?"

"It was Roxy… I mean Monica… I think." Said Castle.

"Doctor Simmons confirmed it, because of all the abuse that Roxy has suffered she developed Multiple Personalities. He gave it some other name but essentially has at least two personalities."

"We think that Roxy was the one to actually kill Eric but it was Monica that staged the two attacks."

"So who are we going to put in Jail?" The Captain asked in jest.

"I imagine that she will be spending quite a while in Either Belleview or another Mental hospital, getting the help she needs. Hell if the jurors saw the torture that Eric put her through they would probably say it was justifiable homicide."

At that moment Roxy was lead into the precinct for processing. She was chained hand and foot. She was in the traditional orange jumpsuit that inmates wore with slippers, "What's she doing here?" Castle said shocked.

"Relax Castle she is just her for processing before her journey to Belleview for holding until she gets committed." Kate reassured.

"I'll take this one." Ryan said and walked over to Roxy and led her into interrogation.

Interrogation

Roxy still looked beautiful even in her orange jumpsuit. Her hair was somewhat messy but even with that she had that air of a fragile doll.

"Hey Ryan" her beautiful blue eyes latched on to him.

"Hey Roxy." Ryan said sadly.

"How bad is it going to be?" she asked her voice that of a younger girl

"It won't be too bad, I promise."

"I have heard horrible things about prison." Her voice feeble and scared. Tears began to roll down her cheeks but she did not sob.

"Look Roxy, you most likely will not go to prison. They'll probably keep you in the hospital until you are better."

"Thank you, I want to get better," she paused "I really do love you Ryan."

"How can you Roxy we barely know each other"

"That night at the pool when we kissed… I felt it I my soul. And you protected me, and the one time we made love, you were so tender. When I get out… If I get out could we try again?"

"I don't know Roxy." Ryan could not bear to break her heart. We will see… Ok?"

"Ok, baby"

Ryan walked back into the squad room with his head down. He had finished the paperwork and Roxy was on her way back to the hospital. He couldn't help but feel sorry for Roxy.

"Well you were right Castle. "Ryan lamented

"What about?"

"Sex with a crazy person is incredible"

Castle put a comforting had on Ryan's shoulder. "Look on the bright side. You have had a taste of your very one Deep Fried Twinkie and you can scratch having sex with two girls at one time off your bucket list…."

"CASTLE!"

A/N): FINI. I do apologize for the long delay between Chapter 27 and 28. I hope that you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. During my hiatus I did come up with the plot to three more stories to be set in the Mercy Street/Masks Castleverse. I will start writing those soon but first Oliver Queen beckons. For those who are interested look for "Night Patrol". The three working titles for my Castle fic are :"The Rock Star", "Kidnapped" and "A Ghost Story". Any preferences to which one you see first? Let me know dear readers. As Stephen King once said "Be good to one another." D.