Hello dearest readers! thank you so much for your kind reviews, i'm glad you liked the Esplanie and Caskett moments. :) Now, the transition is over, let's go back to the horror...*Warning: the following scene may include some shocking stuff. Animal lovers, hell-and-bliss and I are truly sorry for this chapter. Be prepared and please keep in mind it's just a story :D

Suddenly a deafening sound broke the silence that had remained in the manor until now. Hearing that, Rick and Kate finally stepped back from each other, still feeling dizzy.

(n/a: music suggestion: Lux Aeterna - Clint Mansell from 2:00 to 6:31)

"What the…?" Rick said, frowning as he stood up and headed to the kitchen's window.

Kate followed his steps, alert. In the living room everybody woke up with a jolt – except for Ryan, still unconscious. They slowly headed to the large bay window.

A light was coming from outside. And the sound was a car's horn that wouldn't stop blasting.

Leaning over his shoulder to see what was going on outside, Kate whispered to Rick: "It's him…He's back..."

"It's a car," Rick said, hardly believing it as he frowned. Because of the bad weather, he couldn't see clearly the shapes, but there was no doubt. It was a dent car, full lights on, whose horn had been tampered so it would blast non stop.

"Lanie, I think it's yours…" Kate said as she glanced at her friend. The ME felt shivers down her spine.

"Oh my God…He…he wrecked my car! It's a mess…" the ME realized, her voice shaking. "How did he do this?" she asked, horrified at the thought the maniac could have broken into her car.

But there was more…on the car's hood, there was something. It was a big light mass. Rick frowned. That "thing" looked familiar…

He felt shivers down his spine as he realized what it was exactly. That mass, put on the car's hood, where there was a mix of blood and rain...

Behind him, Kate had also understood and put a hand at her mouth to hold back a scream.

It was Royal's body. Kay's dog.

Someone screamed in the living room, making the people of the manor startle. It was Alexis, who had seen from the living room's window her most loyal friend lying in a purple puddle on the sordid hood of Lanie's car that had been wrecked.

The golden retriever had bled to death and his mouth was opened, smashed. His entrails were flowing on the hood.

The teenage girl couldn't believe her own eyes. It was abominable. She couldn't control her screams anymore, becoming almost hysterical.

"Oh my God…Royal…How? How could he do this to him?" she cried, devastated.

Rick and Martha wanted to rush to her but Lanie was faster.

"Calm down, honey…" she whispered.

She tried to take her in her arms and walk her away from the window, hugging her tight against her chest and stroking her hair. But she wouldn't calm down. Lanie herself felt tears in her own eyes. How could anyone do that to a poor dog? Martha had slumped into the couch, as well as Jenny, both of them pale, horrified. Standing next to the window and feeling powerless, Esposito turned back to the kitchen, seeing Rick and Kate joining them running. They were all in shock.

"What the hell does that maniac want from us…"Kate said, devastated.

"Do you need a diagram?" Esposito snorted. "How can someone do this atrocity?" he added, shaking his head.

"Why killing a dog?" Kate sighed.

Lanie looked at her friend, tears filling her eyes and shook her head, helpless. Alexis stepped back from the ME, trying to catch her breath. She was sobbing uncontrollably, her knees shaking. But she couldn't help watching through the window, staring at the body. Rick couldn't bear seeing her like that any longer. He walked towards her and Lanie let her go so her father could take her in his arms.

"Shh…sweetheart, stop crying," he whispered, stroking Alexis's long red hair.

"It's abo…minable…Dad, he was so…nice", she hiccupped, sniffing.

Rick replied nothing, shocked as well, and shared a frustrated look with his mother.

"Wait…" Esposito interrupted then, frowning as he stepped further towards the window.

"What," Kate asked quickly.

"There's something written on the windshield…something written with blood…" Javier said in a serious tone, frowning as he looked by the window.

Curious, Rick softly let Alexis go before her grandmother took her in her arms and lead her to the couch.

"What the…"

Rick couldn't finish his phrase as his eyes widened. By his side, Kate swallowed hard. She got the message too.

Indeed, on the broken windshield of Lanie's car, some letters painted in red had been written clumsily with the golden retriever's blood. The message was perfectly clear:

.

"YOU'RE NEXT…"

.

"All right, now the wrecked car, the blasting horn and that message, it's becoming creepy," Esposito reacted.

"You're next. Who? Someone in particular or us all?" Kate said in a low voice, searching for Rick's look as if she needed his support.

Castle remained silent, still in shock after that horrifying discovery. He kept staring at the letters without understanding.

"He's leaving us a message…" he whispered, stunned.

" Oh my God. He wants to kill us all," Lanie cried, turning back to Javier, panicking. "He's really going to kill us all," she repeated, with a shaky voice. She was strong but considering the alarming circumstances, she couldn't help but freak out. "He's going to torture us, one by one," she kept saying.

Esposito ran to her. "Lanie, calm down," he ordered as he held her against him, trying to control the panic that would spread to everyone soon. "That message means nothing," he began to comfort her, but she cut him off.

"Nothing?" she said, stepping back. "He tortured Gina, tried to kill Ryan, gutted Royal and now he sends him to us with that message and you say it's nothing?"

"Nothing's going to happen to us, I promise you," Javier said as he stroked her hair, her face, wiping her tears. "I won't let him," he said, bringing her back to his arms. This time, she didn't have the strength to fight him back and stayed against him, feeling the scent of his polo shirt and closing her eyes. It was only in his arms she felt safe anyway.

"I think the message is clear anyway," Castle interrupted. "In the end, he only wants me. That message is for me," he said.

Kate turned to him, taken aback. "What are you talking about? It can be for all of us, Rick."

"No," Rick said as he shook his head. "I am his target. Only me, I'm sure. First Gina, now Royal, the dog I was taking care of."

"He shot Ryan too, have you already forgotten?" Kate reacted.

"That part is the only contradiction in all his actions…I'm still convinced he wasn't aiming him at first. And it happened around my house. I don't know…I have the strangest feeling that, he has a grudge against me."

"Richard, you can't be serious," Martha said from the couch, next to Jenny who still couldn't believe it. She was staring at her husband, still unconscious. She wanted him to wake up so bad, to comfort her.

"Sorry for being rude, but he's just a fucking maniac who wants to kill us, Castle", Esposito interrupting, still stroking Lanie's hair.

"Maybe now he wants to hurt us all, but if you're all in danger…first of all it's because of me."

"We don't know that," Kate protested as she stepped towards him.

"Stop it, Kate. I'm sure you know I'm right."

Kate replied nothing and bit her lips.

"To be honest…I don't know what to think anymore", she admitted in a whisper. "Maybe…maybe it's someone else who attacked the dog?" she added, thinking her idea was absurd though.

"What, with so much violence, and then sending us that message?" Castle said. "Do you really believe it's another maniac? Different from the one who shot Ryan, the one who raped and murdered Gina?"

"No you're right…that was stupid", she admitted with a sigh.

"I don't think there are different killers…For me anyway, there's no doubt we have only one maniac after us. We have to find out who, and why. But I'm still convinced I'm the target…See, it makes sense. Besides…Look what he did to Royal", Rick added, pointing at the bay window. "All right, we can't see perfectly from here…but what he did to him…I mean, it seems he was gutted the same way Gina was. And then the guy brings him prominently right under my window…It's provocative, obviously. That guy hates me, for some reasons I don't get yet," he ended, trying not to sound scared in front of the others.

"If he hates you, like you say…it doesn't mean he'll get you," Kate said in a whisper, brushing his hand. "He won't hurt anyone here," she added, convinced. He let out a bitter laugh.

"I'm not even worried for me…" he whispered. "But for Alexis, for my mother…and you."

Despite the situation, Kate smiled and gazed at him.

Meanwhile, Esposito was still looking by the window and winced. It was a real butchery. It was hard to tell whether it was the same killer but Castle might be right. From the window, it looked similar actually.

"Guys, maybe we should bring the dog's body here," the latino said as he looked at them all seriously.

"What?!" Lanie said as she finally stepped back. Espo shrugged.

"Maybe we can find some matches with what we know about Gina, and maybe it can help us find out who that maniac is and stop him."

"We can learn about him, yes, but as long as we can't call 911, we won't stop him, Espo," Kate replied.

"Well, that's a start, isn't it? As soon as we can call 911, the case can be solved faster if we already bring elements…"Javier added.

"As soon as we can call them? You're optimistic," Kate smiled softly.

"You'd rather think we're all gonna die?" Esposito retorted.

"Of course not," she said.

Rick nodded.

"I agree with Esposito about the autopsy. Maybe we can find some clues…something that would allow us to understand who the guy is…anyway, we're not going to stay here, doing nothing, right?" he asked, searching for the detective's approval look.

Beckett sighed and nodded, opened to any suggestion considering her state of mind. She was exhausted physically and psychologically.

"Fine, let's carry out an autopsy on the dog…after all", she nodded as she didn't have any more idea.

At the same time, out of battery, Lanie's car lights turned off, and the blasting sound of the horn stopped, finally.

.

to be continued...(again, sorry for Royal. We swear to you, we DO love dogs in real life! thank you for reading and see you to the next chapter! xxx)