Chapter 3

Castle woke up before the alarm and leaned over Beckett. "Kate," he called softly. Beckett's eyes flew open and she slammed him into the bed with a knee in his solar plexus. The air flew out of Castle's lungs, making it impossible to utter a sound. Finally he caught his breath with a pitiful moan.

Kate ran her fingers through his hair and stroked the sides of his face. "Rick, I'm so sorry. It was an automatic reaction. Are you all right?"

Rick rubbed his midsection. "I'm glad you weren't sleeping with a gun," he said. "That's going to leave a mark."

Kate pressed her lips to the sore spot. "Maybe I can make it better." As Kate laid a trail of kisses in ever widening circles Rick's breath began to quicken, until in a lightning move he reversed their positions, bringing Kate under him. An overwhelming hunger overtook him and he feasted on her, moving from her shoulder down to the notch in her neck and downward, feasting on one breast and then the other, to worship the scar between them. As he moved downward, she arched upward, seeking his talented mouth. He kissed her intimately and she cried his name as she writhed against the pillow. Rick rolled once more, bringing Kate above him, bringing his lips to her breasts as she moved. As the final peak approached, his lips moved once more to her mouth, catching her final cry as she collapsed in his arms.

"Did I leave my mark on you Rick?" Kate asked when her voice returned.

Rick held her, kissing her temple. "Indelibly."

When Beckett and Castle finally made it to the kitchen, Martha was putting the finishing touches on some green glop. "I'm going to need all my strength to start rehearsals tomorrow,"she explained with a flourish. The will be my definitive role, the one that will be forever tied to the name Martha Rogers."

"I thought your definitive role was as my mother," Castle teased. "That's what you claimed in your one woman show."

Martha waved him off. "Poetic license."

Averting his eyes from Martha's creation, Castle started coffee and began his morning scramble, omitting turkey in deference to Beckett. He added cantaloupe smiles to Beckett's plate before setting it in front of her. She needed the fortification, having planned to spend the day interviewing every employee of Leto Labs.

Bypassing the 12th, Beckett and Castle went directly to Leto, where Beckett proceeded to go down the list Margo Keaton had provided. The first candidate was Bob Murphy, the sales manager, a tall man with an ingratiating smile and a high end suit. Murphy seemed unable to start a conversation without talking about golf. He claimed to have been out of town until that morning romancing executives of a potential customer on the green. He told Beckett, that like all employees he had to turn all his receipts in to Margo, but Beckett was welcome to look at them. Murphy also smugly told Beckett that he drove a BMW.

The next interview was with Jim Meyer, who handled inside sales and support. A polar opposite to Murphy, he was short and comfortably dressed in sweats.

"I talked to Judy all day," He told Beckett and Castle. "Whenever a customer called with a question I couldn't answer, she helped me. She developed almost all of our formulations and knew how they worked. The new technology she was working on would have been worth millions. It would have been great for all of us. I can't imagine why anyone would want to hurt her."

"What kind of a car do you drive?" Castle asked.

Meyer was a little surprised at the question, but proudly announced that he drove a Prius."

Paul Brown the CEO was out of town and there was one other chemist, Brent Porter, who was not at Leto because the lab space was still a crime scene. Since Paul Brown wasn't due back until the next day, Beckett and Castle went to see Brent Porter.

"Judy and I worked on different things," Brent explained. "She was into R & D, cutting edge stuff. She always wanted to think of something no one had thought of before. She said that was the only way a small company could compete with a big one. I'm in charge of refining the older formulas, customizing them for a particular customer. It's not glamorous, but it's our bread and butter."

"Mr. Porter, can you think of anyone who had access to Judith Spicer's work recently?" Beckett asked.

"Tony, of course," Porter answered, "and her husband Tom was in the lab."

"When was that?" Beckett asked.

"The afternoon before she died. He was fixing our computers."

"Mr Porter," Beckett asked, "what kind of car do you drive?"

"A green Fusion," Porter answered.

"How about Tom Spicer?" Castle asked.

"He drives a black SUV. Judy didn't like it. She thought he should be more ecologically minded."

"We need to see Tom Spicer again," Beckett told Castle as she slid behind the wheel.

Beckett sent some uniforms to bring in Tom Spicer. He sat opposite Beckett and Castle in the box.

"Mr. Spicer," Beckett began, "do you drive a black SUV?"

"Yes," Tom answered. "Why? You don't think I had anything to do with Judy's death?"

"We have to cover all our bases," Beckett told him. "Where were you around ten o'clock two nights ago?"

"I was at home, on a conference call to California. You can check. I was working on a system upgrade. The time difference helps."

Beckett let Tom Spicer sit, while Esposito checked his alibi. A telemarketing company in California confirmed that he had been involved in a conference call with them when he claimed to be."

"You should hold him just for helping telemarketers," Castle quipped. "So many sufferers of disturbed dining would thank you."

"Unfortunately there's no law against it, Castle, we have to cut him loose."

The air of the loft hummed with nervous energy, some of it Beckett's frustration with the case, most of it Martha's anticipation of her new role. Martha paced the floors running her lines, until Beckett was driven nearly to distraction. "Do you want to go out?" Castle asked. Beckett jumped at the chance.

After Castle bought Beckett her burger and strawberry shake at Remy's and treated himself to his favorite cheeseburger, they went to a small club, home to small tables and cool jazz. Beckett closed her eyes and relaxed against Castle's shoulder to the sad wail of a sax. By the time they returned to the loft, it was dark and quiet. They were able to sleep serenely in each others' arms.