Hi guys! Thanks a lot for the feedbacks, and again, sorry for Royal ^_^' Here is a quite long chapter with unpleasant descriptions :D Thanks for reading and see you next time! Have a nice weekend! xxx

"It was about time," Kate sighed, talking about the horn.

"I can't believe he wrecked my car…do you think that means something?" Lanie asked shyly.

"No…well…that he wants to kill us all anyway," Javier replied.

"Thanks for finding the right words, as usual," Lanie sighed as she stared at him.

"Lanie don't worry. Nobody's going to be killed", Kate promised, persuasive.

"Ok, so I'm going there and I'm bringing Royal's body here so we can do the autopsy?" Esposito asked as he glanced at Lanie once again, as if he was asking her authorization for the "autopsy part". Lanie's eyes widened.

"So…you were serious about the autopsy?"

He frowned.

"What? Why wouldn't we?"

"Are you crazy or what? That is too dangerous! If that maniac knows how to tamper that freaking horn, that means he's not far away, he's only waiting for one thing, that we go out so he can kill us like he killed Gina!"

Esposito rolled his eyes.

"No Lanie, he's a cuckoo. It is more complicated than that."

"How do you know that!" she barked. "Kate, you're the wisest one…tell me you agree with me."

But the brunette detective bit her lips and walked towards her friend.

"Lanie…I think he's right. The guy wouldn't take time to set up all this, only to shoot us like rabbits or mess up in a hurry. I think he's gone hiding again, by the way."

Lanie rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, sure. So we're going to gamble with Javier's life based on mere speculations?"

"La…" Esposito tried to talk but her ex-girlfriend cut him off again.

"What if he's hiding behind the car and then he shoots at him?" she asked Kate. "Of course it wouldn't be a big deal for you," she stammered, crossing her arms, almost aggressive.

"Stop it, Lanie, I wouldn't give him my support if I thought that could be dangerous. What, you want me to go there myself?" Kate offered.

"Wow, girls, stop now, enough." Javier interrupted, walking towards them. "I'm grown up enough to know what I can do or not, Lanie. If we're telling you it's safe, that's true. The guy only made a diversion. And after his little horror show of picture and sound effects, he thinks we're too terrorized to go outside. And even if he's still around, he won't see me. Look, there're no more lights! And it takes only 20 meters. Besides, I'll take Kate's gun with me. I'll run as fast as I can and bring the dog inside. You're still okay with doing the autopsy, right?"

Lanie dropped her eyes and nodded.

"Of course…but I don't know what it will be like," she sighed as if she pouted. Espo smiled, amused to see her face.

"You're cute when you pout," he whispered. Lanie raised her head up and gave him the eye.

"I'm not in the mood for jokes", she stammered, more than serious.

"I can see that", he replied, trying not to smile.

"Espo, please be careful," Kate said, lending him her Glock.

He nodded as he took the gun. Lanie kept crossing her arms, biting her lips, still convinced it was a very bad idea.

"Come here, chica," Esposito said as he lent his hand towards her shoulder to invite her to join him.

She came a little bit closer hesitantly before she finally approached.

"I'll be there in a second, okay?" he whispered, grabbing her two hands before he kissed them softly.

"A second huh?" she replied, begging him with her gaze.

"Promise." He said, giving her his cutest smile. Lanie fought the urge to jump at him.

He sealed his promise with a kiss on the ME's forehead. She closed her eyes and opened them when she felt he was stepping back.

"Javi…"

But detective Esposito had already run to the door, determined. He had to be fast.

The door slammed behind him and Lanie ran to the window, to follow his progression from the living room with the others.

Alexis remained motionless on the couch, holding her knees against her chest and swaying nervously. Jenny and Martha were by her side, stroking her shoulders. They didn't say a word, still in shock after this horrifying discovery.

"It's going to be alright, honey," Kate said to Lanie as her friend was staring anxiously by the window. "Javier will be fast, there's no risk."

"Even so, we shouldn't have let him go alone," she replied, shaking her head without looking at her.

"No, you're wrong," Rick said. "If more of us had been there, we wouldn't have been discreet and we'd have caught the attention of the maniac, if he's still around."

Lanie rolled her eyes.

"Again, speculations…If Javi gets shot…"

She bit her lips and didn't finish her phrase.

"Lanie…"

Kate had put a hand on her friend's shoulder to comfort her but she pushed her back. She wouldn't listen. She was too angry and worried about her ex-boyfriend. Rick gave detective Beckett a knowing look to make her understand she should leave her alone. He understood her reaction after all. She was worried about the one she cared the most for. He knew what it was, he was feeling the same at every second. He quickly turned his head to check on Alexis's condition, and Martha made him understand with a concerned look she wasn't feeling all right at all.

Rick decided to come closer to his daughter and Kate watched him walk towards her, softened. He knelt down to the couch where she was sitting and whispered soothing words.

Meanwhile, through the window, Lanie was staring at Esposito anxiously, who winced as he grabbed the dog's body before he carried him as carefully as he could not to damage the wounds.

"Come on, hurry up…" the M.E whispered, biting her lips as her eyes were locked on Javier's progression. When she saw him arrive at the steps and then open the door, she closed her eyes and thanked God silently he didn't get shot or something worse.

The door opened in a crash and Javier Esposito entered, his face drenched by the rain, carrying forward single-handedly Royal's body. Lanie rushed to him to close the door behind.

"See, I was fast," he whispered, out of breath. His polo was soaked in rain and some blood had stained on it.

"Put him down there," Castle ordered gently as he walked towards him, followed by Kate.

Javier nodded and carefully put the dog's body on the wooden floor, forgetting about the bloodstains he was making. Jenny and Martha stood up too but kept their distance. Only Alexis was watching at them from the couch, too impressed and disgusted by the scene. Lanie had quickly grabbed a pair of gloves and knelt down near the body, next to Kate. Rick and Javier were also leaning over them, forming a sad circle.

It was a real mess. Royal's mouth was still opened, his tongue hanging out. His teeth had been smashed and formed a strange mix of blood with his gums. His skull had been crushed and one of his legs was turned over in an improbable angle. He had been slaughtered.

"What do you think, Lanie?" Kate asked after a few minutes of examination.

The young doctor sighed heavily. She had seen bodies in her life. But seeing that poor animal slaughtered like that made her want to puke. It was hard to focus and do her job.

"Well…he has a concussion on the head…" she confirmed as she pointed at the dog's skull. "I think it can be the same weapon that killed Gina…there are also similar wounds on the abdomen, but with the entrails out like that…it's hard to tell…"

Rick winced as she talked about the entrails of the animal that were flowing on the wooden floor of his house.

"I can't believe I'll have to tell Kay…" he sighed.

"I think the stabs on his flank and the abdomen were done with a blunt object," the M.E added as she pointed at the wounds. "The blow he got on the skull was enough to kill him directly. For the rest…it's nothing. If I may say so…but it's hard to tell", she ended as she shook her head.

Alexis stood up from the couch suddenly, pale as death. She had wanted to come closer and watch the autopsy…but now she wasn't feeling well at all.

"Dad, I don't feel good at all…"

Worried, Castle turned back at her.

"Sweetheart…?"

"I…I need to puke," she whispered as she put a hand on her mouth and rushed to the hallway and the bathroom.

Martha followed her immediately and put her hand on her back to comfort her.

"I'm going with you honey. It's going to be okay."

That was too much for the teenage girl. She had too many emotions for the night and she just couldn't bear it anymore.

Castle gave his mother and daughter a concerned look and waited for the bathroom's door to close behind them before he questioned Lanie.

"So…for you, Gina's and Royal's murder are similar and this is the same person who's behind this?"

Lanie took some time to think about it.

"Similar, not really. Considering the facts, yes, the murders are similar if you're talking about slaughter but…they're also different. You can't compare a woman's body and a dog, Castle. It can make you think of the same thing…but I wouldn't jump to conclusions," she explained.

Castle nodded and started to pace in the room, pensively. He looked distracted. Kate noticed it and stood up to come closer.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking of…I have the feeling that…I don't know…"

He ran a hand on his blue-jawed cheeks and suddenly stopped pacing.

"It reminds me of something…"

Kate raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

Javier and Lanie also stood up, curious to know what he was about to say.

"I know it may sound crazy but…I have a weird impression of déjà vu, I mean… I've read those crimes somewhere before."

"Read…like…news item?" Kate asked.

"Not exactly," Rick said as he shook his head. "Damn, if only we had a computer to check on the Net…" he grumbled, frustrated.

"What do you mean by "read", Castle?" Esposito asked, frowning.

Castle pinched the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes, trying to remember.

"In a book. I've read it in a book…"

Flashback.

Richard Castle casually pushed the door of his ex-wife's office and entered the room. The editor was sitting at her desk, full of spread out papers and scripts. The phone had been ringing for a while, but as she was too focused on her work and her computer screen, Gina wouldn't pick up.

"I think your phone is ringing," Castle said as he casually sat on the edge of the desk and nodded towards the phone.

"Oh, really," she replied ironically without even looking at him or stopping typing.

"Maybe it's important," Rick said as he leaned towards her as if he was going to tell her a secret.

She sighed and gave him a wary look before she clicked on the speakers' button.

"Yes, Maureen," she said to her secretary before she started to type again.

"I've got Mr Bowers on line 1," the secretary's voice said in the speakers. "You take the call?"

Her glasses on her nose, Gina kept typing, unconcerned.

"Who's that?"

"William Bowers, he says he dropped a script a month ago."

"I have no idea of what you're talking about…What does he want?"

"He's asking if you read it, and if he can get an appointment this week?"

"Certainly not," Gina replied categorically. "Tell him…Tell him I'm on business trip, and tell him to call back in two weeks, we'll set an appointment another day."

"He sounds insistent," the secretary pleaded.

"Well, he's sweet but I'm busy, all right? Tell him what I just told you, that's all," Gina replied dryly.

"As you wish."

"Thanks Maureen."

Gina sighed heavily as she hung up the phone.

"Tell me I'm dreaming. People think we're at their disposal," Gina said to the writer who hadn't missed anything of the conversation. He particularly liked seeing her getting irritated.

"Come on Gina, I know you love working under pressure, because of us, writers."

"Sure, especially you," she said, giving him a sarcastic look. "By the way, speaking of which, what about your latest Nikki Heat's script I'm still waiting for? How is it going?" she asked to change the subject.

"Well, it's in progress," Rick replied vaguely, looking distractedly at the mess on her desk. Curious, he pulled on a big script that was on the pile and had caught his attention. "What's this?"

It was a 500 pages script. "Little serial murders. Vol. 2" he said out loud as he read the front page.

"Can you please stop nosing around? My office is already a mess," Gina mumbled as she lent her hand to take the script back but Rick dodged and kept it in his hands.

"Wait, wait. I wanna read, to know how my competitors are doing. It's always good to know."

"You don't need to worry about it. This is the rejected pile. Come on, give it back."

"Even better," Rick said, raising his eyebrows. His curiosity was too strong. He flipped through the book and stopped randomly to a page, full of red marks.

"The beautiful blonde woman was lying on a purple pool of blood. Her glassy eyes were still opened, her thin arms cut and retracted like a spider. He smiled of satisfaction as he looked at the half-naked mutilated body, and was about to turn away after looking at the beast that was lying at his feet. He had wanted to protect her, carried away by courage, but the animal had failed and surrendered too, finished off by a baseball bat blow on the mouth. No one would stop his morbid quest now," he read out loud in a serious tone before he stopped and raised his eyes to Gina who gave him a bored look.

"This is terrible," Rick commented as he shook his head.

"Yes it is. That's why I told you, I put it on the rejected pile. All of them are the same but I have to admit this one is the worst. I don't even remember reading so many clichés."

"Who wrote that?" Castle said as he turned the script to the front page. "William Bowers. Oh, isn't it your famous author?"

Gina nodded and smiled sarcastically. "Apparently…well, I don't think he'll get an appointment in the end."

Castle stood up from the desk to search again in the pile.

"Rick, what are you doing?" Gina asked as she stood up from her chair. She hated that someone touched her organized mess.

"This is Tome 2," he explained as he shook the script. "I was wondering if there was a Tome 1 somewhere in your stuff. After all, something so dull is kinda fascinating."

Gina rolled her eyes. Sometimes Castle was impossible. But she had to admit a part of her found it amusing, yet cruel.

"Stop it okay, it's mean. Besides, now that I remember, I've heard he's a big fan of yours", she said.

"Well, I'm flattered but I also feel sincerely sorry for him," Castle replied as he put the script back on the desk, finally.

"Right, right. Everybody can't be the great Richard Castle," she said with emphasis.

Castle met his ex-wife's look and puckered his lips. Gina was right but he just couldn't help it.

The great Richard Castle was a kid, first and foremost.

End of flashback.

Castle just finished telling his story, his hands on his waist in the middle of the living room and stopped to let the others think about it. Kate was the first to react.

"You think it's…that William Bowers who's behind all this?"

Rick shrugged.

"I don't know, honestly," he admitted. "But I have a strange feeling. It happened a long time ago but when I think about these murders, and I remember this script…well if you can call it a script."

"Even so, that doesn't mean it's him…by the way, how could he know you were mocking him?" Esposito asked.

"Walls have ears, Espo…" Kate said.

"I remember we really laughed at him," Rick added, not really proud of it now. "We finally found the Tome 1 and spent a lot of time reading parts in detail. Gina told me how bad his writing was, she even said he was just someone who tried to write like Castle but who's just a pale copy, a second-rate writer who only wants to be famous."

Kate nodded. "Indeed, that wasn't very nice of her, but still, you can't deduce it's him…"

"That'd mean he knows what you said about him, and he would seek revenge? Don't you think it's a little bit far-fetched?" Lanie asked.

"True, it is." Castle admitted. "But it's the only tiny clue we have. Besides, it's logical. Let's pretend he heard us. Or someone would have told him and he seeks revenge. I mean, think about it. First Gina, my ex-wife -and my editor as a bonus, who refused to publish him. Then me, the writer who used to be his idol and now he seeks revenge. He kills the dog like in his book, he kills his vic the same way…I think it may be that", he concluded as he swallowed hard.

Esposito and Kate shared a look. He might be right.

"If only we could make searches on this guy…" Kate said with a sigh of frustration.

"If it's really him, it scares me," Lanie admitted as she took out her gloves.

"Me too, it gives me the creeps," Jenny said as she rubbed her arms nervously.

"Well you're right, it's scary," Rick whispered. "What scares me the most is thinking he could hurt my family. Alexis, my mother. Or one of you guys. Even if you have nothing to do with all this, actually," he said, looking intensely at Kate. "I wouldn't bear it if anything happened to you guys. That's why I want you to leave."

Kate's eyes widened.

"And may I ask you how?" Kate said, shaking her head.

Rick shrugged.

"Well…you just run, altogether, until the nearest village."

"And what about Kevin? Should I carry him?" Jenny snapped, stupefied.

Kate rolled her eyes.

"Don't listen to him, Jenny. Rick, stop it. We all stay here. And as long as I'm here, nothing is going to happen. To you, Alexis, anyone. I promise", she replied, determined.

"The same for me", Javier said in a protective tone. "There's no way I move from here. I won't leave that place without any of you guys."

"Yeah, me neither. Besides, if any of you get hurt, what would you do without a doctor?" Lanie asked with humor.

Rick smiled softly, glad to know he could count on his friends.

"Guys, you're amazing."

"You bet we are," Esposito chuckled, proudly.

Rick grinned, while Lanie nudged at his ex-boyfriend.

"Don't do too much," she whispered.

"What? Ain't I amazing?" Javier asked, looking at her. But she didn't even reply.

"Thanks guys," Rick said, touched. "I know I put you all in this situation…"

Kate shook her head with a sigh.

"Stop it. Now, it's our business too, that's all."

"Yes, Castle. We're partners, whatever happens," Esposito added.

Rick smiled again, but his smile slightly faded as he turned his head and realized that two persons were still missing in the living room.

"Wait a minute…Alexis and Martha aren't back yet?" he asked as he stared at Jenny, sitting next to Ryan who was still asleep.

Next to them, the other couch was empty. Kate's look went serious when she met Rick's eyes.

The writer's question had casted a chill over the group. Indeed, they just realized that Alexis and Martha hadn't come back yet, and for a long time now. Way too long.

.

to be continued...