This is a shift day [see above]. There was another upload this morning: You'll Find Wonder, chapter 14.

"A Dish Best Served Cold"

2. Second

New York City - the next morning

The man hunt for the four escaped convicts was still under way. The first of them had been tracked down within an hour of the break, surrendered easy but unbreakable from his silence. The second one had given them a slip for the better part of the day, until he was cornered and, after a stand off, was taken down, heading to the morgue rather than back to jail. This left two, and while they had tried to follow all the bus routes he could have taken - not assuming anything for the time being - none of them had produced Jared Matheson.

"He might still be in the city, trying to throw us off by chasing down buses," Ryan pointed out, but even he didn't really believe that.

Then that morning they had caught a break, not with Matheson but with the last escapee, Kyle Bowman. When Beckett had heard they had spotted him, she had put out the call not to move in on him yet.

"If he spooks and runs, or gets cut down like Ruiz yesterday, we might lose our last shot at getting some information," she told Castle as they drove off to the spot where they had seen him.

"Maybe I could give it a shot. He won't see cop when I get near him." She hesitated, but he could see her weighing the options.

"You know as well as I do what's at stake here..."

"Yes. Which is why I won't mess it up." She looked at him, and he was on.

Kyle Bowman had been sighted in a restaurant in Chinatown. From what they could see, he had found himself some new clothes, and now after six years inside he couldn't help but partake in the things he had missed, like the food. He was shoveling it in like his life depended on it.

Castle would make his approach carefully, not letting on the fact that he was there seeking out Bowman. He sat at a neighboring table, looking at the menu. All he had to do was observe, signal. He might have had ideas of his own, but then he thought of those kids. He thought of Brittany, the one Alexis had befriended, he thought of Alexis herself, if he was in the position where she was the one being affected by how he performed now.

From what he had read in Bowman's file though, he doubted the man would go the way of Ruiz. And he didn't look like the silent type either. And when he looked up, he found the man was looking right at him... Had he been made? What if he...

"Wait, I know who you are," he suddenly pointed his fork at him. "You're that guy, the writer... Castle, right?" Of all things, he hadn't pegged him for a fan...

Outside, observing from afar, Beckett frowned as she saw Castle move tables. "He's sitting with him?" she looked ready to move in, but at the same time she had to give him a chance. He had pulled a surprise once or twice before.

For the next twenty minutes or so, Beckett, Ryan and Esposito watched from their hideout as Castle and Bowman had what looked like a lively conversation. They were losing it, but then they saw the tone of the conversation seemed to change. Bowman looked serious now, and the detectives braced themselves for a run, or...

Beckett's phone rang and she answered. "You can come in now," Castle informed her, and when she looked back, he was waving at her.

Shortly after, Beckett and Castle were back in the interrogation room, across from Kyle Bowman. He had been given a deal, no time added to his sentence, if he could give them information that would lead to the capture of Jared Matheson.

"Did he say anything to you about where he might go after the escape?" Beckett asked.

"Well not directly to me, but I heard him talking, a few times. Said something about unfinished business, some kids down in Ohio I think he said." That was really all they needed to know. Castle could see Beckett's mind had already shifted to this now confirmed problem. When they left interrogation, Castle had to ask.

"What do we do now? We can't leave them, it's our fault they're in danger," he called back thir plan to wash out their killer using the Glee Club from McKinley

"I know, and I agree," Beckett made clear. "I'll put in the request, but there's no guarantee they'll let us in."

"And if they don't?" he asked.

"Let's just hope they do," she told him, and of unspoken words he found here that she would go either way, as would he, but they had to try proper channels first.

They wouldn't need to sneak through Ohio. Before long, they were given the go ahead. It had taken more convincing to have them let Castle go as well, but Beckett had made it happen. They would each go home and pack, but then they were bound for Lima, Ohio.

X

They would text each other semi-regularly from day to day. Brittany's messages could sometimes be confusing, and other times she was thinking she had been sent messages meant for another by accident. But either way, she considered the girl as one of her friends.

Then that morning she had started sending her messages which seemed to indicate she believed Alexis was on her way to see her. When she had asked what she was going on about, Brittany had texted back, telling her about the visit from the policeman to the choir room the day before, and how Santana had suggested that might mean Mr. Castle and Detective Beckett might be on their way, which Brittany had taken to mean that Alexis would be coming as well. She replied, telling her she wasn't sure, but she'd get back to her. Just then her father came through the door.

She saw the look on his face, and she could tell he was trying to hide it, but there was no fooling her. Santana's prediction was coming true. As he dashed off to his room, Alexis bolted after him.

TO BE CONTINUED (TOMORROW)