Remember telling me about mistakes I made, please.
And now, without further delay: Have fun reading!

They were in Beckett's car once again, on their way back to the precinct. They had already clarified that no one but the Andersons had known anything helpful. The rest of the neighbours had either been to work, sleeping after a night shift or watching TV too intently to hear a thing beyond their own four walls. No one Esposito had questioned had been of any help.

Although it was well after working hours, neither of them even thought about going home just yet. Not now. Not when they had finally gotten a lead. A name. A starting point to their investigations.

"You'd think I'd deserve more than this. 'Can't explain, I'm sorry'..." Castle could hear Esposito mutter under his breath behind him. He felt compassion at the younger man's frustrated expression. It was obvious how much the realization that his best friend indeed had had secrets, secrets big enough to be potentially life-changing, gnawed on him. He had started to question their friendship and Castle wasn't sure it could ever be the way it was before again, no matter what they were going to find out. If Esposito had felt betrayed before, it was nothing compared to what was now displayed on his face. Castle watched the Latino in the rear-view mirror as he folded and unfolded the small piece of paper again and again, brows furrowed, lips pressed into a thin line. He wondered how long it would take for the paper to suffer from irreparable damage.

"Maybe he didn't have time to explain", Beckett tried to calm Esposito. "Maybe he was forced to leave in a hurry. Maybe someone was watching him."

"If there was, how could he have written the note and left it with the Andersons?" Castle asked, which earned him a look from Beckett, silently chiding him 'not helping!'. He only shrugged in response.

"Other question", Beckett was determined to keep the conversation going and distract her colleague from his dark thoughts. "Why did he leave it with the Andersons? Why not in his apartment where he could be almost sure we'd find it? Why leave it with the neighbours who might throw it away or where we would possibly never find it?"

"Maybe he knew his flat was going to get emptied and that the small chance of us finding it elsewhere was worth it", Castle suggested.

"But how could he have known it was?", Beckett argued.

"Maybe he ordered it."

"Why would he? And even if, he could have told the remover to let the note lying on the floor or something. He could even have paid him for sending it to Espo. No, he didn't order it."

"So he didn't order it himself but he must have known it would happen", Castle concluded.

"Or at least he suspected it. But if he didn't pay the remover and couldn't tell him to deliver the note either, he didn't leave of his own free will. Someone made him leave."

"But why?" Finally Esposito stopped staring silently at the piece of paper in his hands and joined the conversation. "And who would force him to leave so quickly he couldn't even write an explanation? Plus, he obviously wasn't meant to write it at all, otherwise we would have found it directly. So that someone must have watched him, right? But not closely enough for him to not be able to slip it under the neighbours' door. And who would get all his things out of the apartment? And why?"

"Maybe he was forced to move somewhere else", Castle suggested.

"If they were simply moving out, why take the toothbrushes, the picture and the underwear before everything else?"

Neither of them had even the slightest idea what to answer, so they helplessly resumed the silence from before for the few remaining minutes until Beckett pulled up in her usual spot on the precinct's parking deck.

When they got out of the elevator, all three of them automatically scanned the almost empty room. Luckily, Captain Gates had already left for the day. They were pretty sure their superior wouldn't have approved of what they were doing.

Without saying another word, Esposito rushed over to his desk, sat down and started his computer. Castle and Beckett followed a littler slower and even took the time to nod a greeting towards the other officers currently present.

Esposito was already impatiently drumming with his fingertips when the other two reached him. He ignored them as they positioned themselves behind him to look over his shoulders.

As soon as his computer was ready he opened the database and typed in the name Ryan had given them. Simon Gallagher.

Castle realized he had actually held his breath during the second it took the device to show results.

"Three", Beckett said. "Three guys called Simon Gallagher in New York City."

"A banker, a chemist and a former teacher", Castle read from the screen.

"Any criminal records?", Beckett asked.

Esposito quickly checked the entries. "No, nothing, all clean."

"Would've been too easy, I guess."

"What are the three of you doing here?" All of them jumped at the harsh voice coming from behind them. Apparently, Gates hadn't left after all but merely stepped outside for a minute. "I can't remember assigning you a case that would require your presence here at this time of day, Detectives Beckett and Esposito. Not to mention you, Mr. Castle."

"Captain, sir", Beckett was obviously too surprised to form a good answer, Castle could feel her standing stiff beside him.

"Yes, Detective Beckett?" The stern woman came closer and there was a soft clicking noise when Esposito inconspicuously closed the window on his computer screen.

"Nothing", Beckett answered lamely as she couldn't come up with a credible excuse.

"Then I suggest you go home now. I will see you tomorrow morning." With that, Gates turned around and left for her office.

Behind Castle, Esposito angrily tried to get up and follow her but Beckett held him back.

"No, Espo, it's no use. Leave it be."

"I can't go home now. Not now. Not when I finally have something to work with."

"You don't have a choice, neither of us has", Beckett said calmly. "Go home, get a good night's sleep and tomorrow we'll see, alright?" Castle admired her ability to sound firm and gentle at the same time.

Esposito grimaced but turned his computer off anyway and stood. "Alright", he said, although without any amount of enthusiasm.

Castle and Beckett followed him out of the precinct.

oOo

When Castle and Beckett arrived at the precinct the next morning, Esposito was already there working. Castle looked at the clock hanging on one of the walls, it was just after 7 am.

"Morning, Espo", Beckett greeted her colleague.

"Morning", he barley lifted his head.

"What are you doing?", Castle asked when they were once again standing behind him, looking over his shoulders.

"Checking Ryan's finances. Maybe I can find a connection to the banker."

"Okay, we'll check the teacher and the chemist", Beckett said and started to leave but Espo held her back.

"The teacher is an 83 year old guy living in a retirement home. He's never done anything suspicious in his life, I already looked into him."

"How long have you been here?" Castle asked surprised.

"Five thirty", Esposito answered absent-mindedly.

"Have you slept at all?"

"A little", was the answer to Beckett's question.

"Just the chemist, then", she said shaking her head and motioned for Castle to follow her.

"I hope we'll find Ryan soon", she stated when she sat down behind her desk. "And if it's only for the sake of Espo's health. I mean, I'm worried, too, but if we don't look out for him, he'll soon be living on coffee alone."

"Better find something then", Castle answered. While Beckett started reading everything she could find on Simon Gallagher the chemist, Castle used his laptop to print out a few things and then started to prepare the white board that usually held all the information they had on a case. When he fastened the pictures of Ryan and Jenny on the board, the realization that they indeed had become a case struck him hard. He stood there, unmoving, looking at the pictures for quite a while until a sharp voice pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Just what do you think you are doing?" Captain Gates had, once more, turned up out of nowhere and startled him as well as Beckett.

"Good morning, sir", Beckett tried to be polite.

"I don't see how it's good if you three continually disobey my direct orders." The dark-haired woman's voice was icy.

"Let me explain."

"There is nothing to explain. Detective Ryan chose to quit his job here, so? It's a free country, it's not your place to question him. If he would have wanted you to know where he planned to go and why, I'm sure he would have told you."

"But sir, that's just it", Beckett said as soon as Gates had finished her speech. "We went to his apartment yesterday", she ignored Gates' angry look at that, "and it was completely empty."

"So he moved out", Gates plainly stated.

"Not of his own free will."

"How can you know that?" She still didn't sound too convinced.

"We asked the neighbours if they had seen something and", Beckett just kept talking although it was obvious Gates wanted to interrupt her, "they had a note for Detective Esposito. They said someone slipped it under the door."

"And what did this note say?"

Castle, who had silently stood in the background, for once trying not to anger the woman any further, grabbed the paper from the board where he had positioned it only minutes before and handed it to her.

"Hm", Gates made a vague noise after she had read it.

"And some neighbour saw the team from the movers who got all the Ryans' stuff out of the apartment. Apparently there was a man in a dark suit who commanded them", Beckett continued, sensing her opportunity to get their superior on their side.

"A man in a dark suit, really?" Gates looked at her amused.

"That's what the neighbours said."

"And do you know anything more about him? Have you asked the men from the firm? Or did those neighbours conveniently forget the name of it?"

"No, they didn't. But we couldn't check the company yet, we first wanted to find out who Simon Gallagher is."

"And if I interpret Mr. Castle's work here correctly, there are three men of that name?"

"Yes, sir. Currently, we're trying to ascertain who's the one Detective Ryan was referring to."

"Hm." There was the vague noise again. Gates stared at the white board, clearly contemplating what she had just heard. Neither Castle nor Beckett dared to move.

"Alright. I'll leave you to it", both of them exhaled in relief at the statement. "But", Gates emphasised the word, "if there is any real case turning up, I expect you to give your full attention to that one, is that clear?"

"Yes, sir", Beckett instantly said.

With another sharp look at Castle, Beckett, the white board and last at Esposito who was still sitting behind his desk, the Captain left.

"Ouf", Castle said and let himself fall into his chair. "That went better than expected. How does this woman manage to scare me so much?"

"I don't know", Beckett grinned at him, the severity of the situation momentarily forgotten, "but I should let her teach me. Maybe then you would do what I tell you to."

"I always do what you tell me to!" Caste said indignantly.

Beckett tilted her head and looked at him.

"Well, almost always", he admitted.

She raised her eyebrows in amusement and looked back at her computer screen.

"Have you found something yet?", Castle asked.

She shook her head. "No. Nothing suspicious at least. He's a chemist at a local company, not a big shot. Moved around a lot but otherwise...", she trailed off. "Let's see if this mover can tell us something and then compare notes with Espo. Have you finished with the board?"

"Oh, no, I haven't." Castle got up and grabbed for one of the markers lying around to continue his work while Beckett first looked up the firm's name and then got on the phone. He could vaguely hear her talking behind him but focused on writing.

After a few minutes, there was the distinctive noise of a phone being forcefully put back on the table.

"They won't tell me", Beckett said frustrated when Castle looked at her questioningly. "They have orders not to give any information regarding that particular assignment, I was told."

She moved her hand across her face. "How can all this get more peculiar by the minute? It already started out being a complete mystery!"

Castle was about to answer when they heard Esposito swear.

"Oh, damnit!" His voice was audible even across half the room. They both looked at him just in time to see him throwing his hands in the air. He then folded his arms and leaned back in his chair, staring at his screen, a very dark expression on his face.

"Maybe we should get him over here and start talking this over, don't you think?", Castle asked.

"Seems like it", Beckett answered and raised her voice a little. "Hey, Espo!" When he looked up, she waved him over.

"We thought it might be helpful to compare what we found out", Beckett explained when he reached them.

"Right on time", Esposito said grimly. "One more minute and I would have punched the wall."

"So you got nothing?", Beckett asked.

"No, nothing at all." Castle tried to remember if he had ever seen the younger man as frustrated as he was now, but couldn't think of a single occasion. "I checked the guy twice but he's a blank sheet. I compared everything I could find on his life with Ryan's and Jenny's . Not a single connection. They probably never even met on the street." He looked at Beckett and Castle. "Anything with the chemist?"

"No, not really", Esposito let his head hang again at Beckett's answer. "Only thing they have in common is that they're Irish. Gallagher moved here with his parents when he was about ten, before that they lived in Dublin." She thoughtfully looked at her notes.

"Anything else?", Esposito asked.

"I don't know. Maybe. It's not ... Well, could be nothing, but something has my senses tingling."

"What is it?"

"I already mentioned it to Castle", she said. "He moved around a lot but I can't find a reason why. He lived in places over half the country but never in the same area twice. Except for New York City. Seven years ago he lived here, then moved and now he's been back for a few months."

"Weird", Castle commented.

"Have you checked his former addresses?", Esposito inquired.

"Yes, none of them is anywhere near a member of Ryan's or Jenny's family. No common relatives or acquaintances, same as with the banker."

"Huh", Esposito said. "I see what you mean. This is just the same kind of weird as the rest of the case. Think this is our guy?"

"I'm not sure. But it seems more likely than the other two, don't you think?" Both Castle and Esposito nodded.

"So, what do we do?" Castle asked. "Pay him a visit?"

"Best option I can think of", Esposito said, a glimmer of hope in his eyes. He started to move but suddenly stopped again. "Guess we'll have to wait until quitting time", he said with a glance in the direction of Captain Gates' office.

"No, it's fine, we talked to her." Castle was surprised Esposito hadn't noticed the dispute earlier, but then again his mind had probably been occupied with his task.

"Alright then, let's go." Esposito was clearly eager to leave, clutching at every straw, and neither of the other two could blame him for it.

oOo

They found Gallagher at his workplace, a small plant just outside the city. A co-worker led them to his desk where he was sitting, apparently working on some formulas. He looked up when they approached.

"Simon Gallagher? I'm Detective Beckett, this is Detective Esposito and this Mr. Castle. We're with the NYPD", Beckett introduced them.

The man got up and shook their hands, looking curiously at each of them.

"How can I help you?", he asked friendly.

"Do you know someone called Kevin Ryan?" Esposito inquired.

Gallagher thought about it for a moment but shook his head. "No, I don't."

"And what about a Jenny Ryan? Or Jenny O'Malley?", he offered her birth name.

"No, neither. Sorry!"

"Maybe you've seen them somewhere", Beckett tried and handed him two photographs, one of them each. Gallagher looked at them for a few seconds but finally shook his head again.

"No, I don't think so. What happened to them, why do you ask?"

"They went missing and we got a lead that maybe you could help us."

"I'm sorry, I really am, but I don't think I've heard of them in my life. Or seen them..." He looked at the pictures again. "No", he said apologetic.

"Well, thanks anyways", Beckett took the pictures back. "We'll let you get back to your work then."

Suddenly, Castle had an idea. He held up his hand. "Wait. Mr. Gallagher, what exactly are you working on?"

The question earned him a surprised glance from the man in front of them and a small approving nod from Beckett next to him. "We do research on how to most efficiently recycle plastics of all kinds. Bags, bottles and the like", Gallagher answered.

"Ok, thanks. Now we'll leave you to it", Castle said and nodded his good bye. Before they left, Beckett handed Gallagher her business card. "Call me, if you remember anything."

"I will", he said and pocketed it. "Good bye!"

With that, Castle, Beckett and Esposito left, having found nothing but another dead end. Since the plant was placed outside the city bounds it had taken them quite some time to get to it and until they were back at the precinct it was almost evening.

Castle looked at his watch. "I promised to have dinner with Alexis tonight", he suddenly remembered. He looked at the other two, unsure what to do.

"I'd say you go home", Beckett said. "We can't do anything more at the moment anyways."

"Really?", he asked, feeling bad about leaving the others while Ryan was still missing.

"Yeah, really, man", Esposito agreed with Beckett. "See you tomorrow!" With that, the younger man left.

"It's ok", Beckett told him when he looked at her, still not sure if it was alright to go. "Maybe an evening away from the case will clear your head and you will get a new view on all this."

"Maybe you're right." He took a thorough look around and when he was certain, there was no one near to witness them, he shortly kissed the completely surprised Beckett.

"See you tomorrow", he told her grinning smugly when she blushed and frantically looked around.

"Castle!", she whispered, more shocked than angry but he just kept grinning and left.

oOo

When Alexis arrived an hour later, Castle was already half-way through preparing the meal.

"Hi, dad!", she called from the door as soon as she had entered.

"Hi, Alexis!" She threw her bag on the floor next to the stairs and came over to him.

"Looks delicious", she said and dipped her finger into the pudding he was just preparing for dessert. "And tastes delicious, too!"

"Thanks. How was your day?"

"It was crazy", she answered.

"How so?", he asked, his index finger still in his mouth from tasting the pudding himself.

"In the middle of the first lecture, there suddenly entered like ten policemen and five dogs. It was a raid for drugs. Someone tipped them off, said there was a drug ring with dealers all among the students on campus and so they checked the lectures with the most people in it first." She gestured excitedly while she was talking. "It took them ages to check everybody in the auditorium, I mean, there were somewhat five hundred of us. Some people actually tried to sneak out of the room", she shook her head. "Most of them only carried a bit of weed but some actually had hard stuff, heroin and so on, and loads of it. The whole day there was nothing else anyone on campus talked about."

While she was telling the story, it dawned on Castle. Suddenly, the missing link became obvious. He could have slapped himself for not seeing it earlier. He stared into nothingness while the puzzle pieces fell into place.

"Dad?" He realized Alexis was waving a hand before his unseeing eyes. "Dad, are you alright?", she asked.

"Yes. Yes, sorry", he said absent-mindedly. "I just... You made me see something." He looked at her. "Sorry, darling, I have to get back to the precinct."

"But..." He didn't even wait for her to finish, he had already grabbed his jacket and now headed for the door.

"Sorry. Make yourself comfortable. Your grandma should be home soon." And with that, he left his apartment.

So, who figured out the general direction in which this is heading yet? Tell me, if you did :-) And if you didn't, you could leave a review anyways. Remember, they are what fanfiction authors are paid with.
For those of you who haven't realize what happened yet: Sorry for the cliffhanger! Next chapter will clear up a lot, promise!

On a side note: I just watched "Resurrection" and "Reckoning" (season 7) for the first time. Only one thing: Wow! Haven't been that excited for an episode in ages! Maybe the best one in the whole show so far, what do you think?