This ch contains storyline to set up with additional bits in between. Hope you enjoy it and apologies for the delay but been busy with work. Thank you for all your comments. Really like them all.

Chapter 34

The next morning, Beckett was at the bullpen before dawn broke in the hope that the evidence they had on a couple of previous cases was back from storage. As luck would have it, she had stayed at Castle's place without getting sprung by his family and the boxes were on her desk when she arrived.

With the contents of the boxes spilled over her desk, Beckett spent an hour or so alone in front of the white board where she had on display crime scene photos and newspaper clippings from the four home invasions major crimes had already investigated and so far, had failed to solve. Failure of major crimes to close the cases might have allowed the criminals to become more confident, and now there were murders taking place. There was pressure on the homicide squad to make a breakthrough or two. There was a map of the area taped to the board, and four red pins marked where the houses were located.

Castle, who had arrived later with fresh coffees, had been assisting Beckett with dressing up the white board and he thought it looked impressive. A board he'd like to have at home for a story. He said, "Each of the robberies took place in a different part of the city." He pointed generally at the map.

Beckett nodded and said, "A different high-end part of the city." She smiled to Esposito and Ryan as they approached the board. They had turned up a few minute ago.

Esposito said, "Wall safes and high end jewelry. These guys came in knowing exactly what they were going to find."

Castle added, "Well, there must be a pattern. Something that connects them all. The first one was three months ago?"

"Arr, yeah," Ryan said, "Central Park West. Bob and Linda Kesler were bound, gagged, and beaten. Intruders wore masks. Took roughly $175,000 in jewelry."

"Same MO on York Street?" Rick asked.

"Yeah," Esposito replied, "Only, when Mr Bruner refused to open his safe, they broke his wife's arms."

'"Charming." Castle commented, "Which brings us to last night."

Beckett said, "They're getting bolder. They're escalating their violence."

Castle said, "Well, it can't be random. How do they know what's in the safes? Safes. Is that a word? Is it saves?" He scratched his head, "That can't be right."

Esposito smirked, "And you write for a living?"

Beckett waited impatiently for the writer to make his point, "Castle. The point?"

Castle said, "The point is, our home invaders seem to know an awful lot about their victims."

Ryan said, "We've compared insurance companies, home security vendors, even the kinds of safes that they had. Nothing's been a match."

"I'm just thinking, they seem to know their targets so well, maybe they actually know them," Castle suggested.

Ryan said, "Maybe the victim's daughter can tell us."

Kate thought about it. "I will call Joanne Delgado and ask her to come in. She might know the connection."

"Good idea." Ryan said, then shifted off the edge of the desk and made his way back to his desk. Esposito followed him.

"I'm gonna use the bathroom," Castle said as Beckett returned to her desk. She ignored him and picked up the desk phone to call Joanne Dalgado.

After a disgruntled Joanne Delgado left the Precinct, Castle and Beckett found refuge in the breakout room at the Precinct, where it was quiet and out the way for a few minutes.

The meeting with the victim's daughter hadn't gone so well particularly because the woman hadn't received Kate's compassion and understanding as authentic.

Rick knew that Kate was a somewhat miffed by the conversation with Joanne Delgado who wanted action, wanted her mother's murderer caught. Kate understood all that too well, and had attempted to express that the police would do everything to bring justice, but she also didn't want Joanne to know she had once walked in her shoes. Kate had been a lot younger when she had suffered the same experience as Joanne. As a result, the detective needed a few minutes to recollect her thoughts and push away the frustrations that relatives of the victims often caused. They needed to lash out and point the finger at others and more than often, Rick observed, it was the detectives that were on the receiving end of such lashings.

"Joanne wasn't happy and she doesn't have much faith in us solving her mother's murder," Beckett said as Castle pushed coins into the vending machine slot.

"She should have faith in you, especially after the conversation," Castle replied. "It was pretty impressive, the way you handled her back there. Which flavor?" He asked.

Kate inspected the available cans of soft drink, "I didn't handle her, Castle. I just told her the truth. Same thing I'm gonna tell the other home invasion victims." She punched the button on the can of soda she wanted and they both watched as the can tumbled its way to the collection bin.

Castle retrieved the soda and handed it to her. "Jinx paid in full."

"Thanks." Beckett accepted the payment, "It's the job, Castle."

"Oh, you're short selling, Beckett. Ryan and Esposito could not manage that level of empathy."

Beckett looked out to the boys working at their desks, "That's not true. They just save it for fantasy football trades."

"Makes me think about Alexis. What would she do if something happened to me?"

"Well, she still has her mom, right?"

"Meredith's more like a crazy aunt with a credit card. Of the two of us, I'm the more responsible one. Pretty sad, isn't it?" He smiled boyishly.

Beckett smirked, "Well, I wouldn't worry about it too much, Castle. After all, only the good die young." She gave him a cheeky look.

"Ouch."

Beckett said, "Listen, Freud. I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to get me to talk about my mom. See if you can squeeze any more pulp for your fiction." She started out to her desk to grab her phone and keys. They needed to hit the road.

"Pulp?" He squawked, "You think what I do is pulp?" He followed Kate through the bull pen, towards the elevator, "Listen, I will have you know that The New York Review of Books - not The New York Times Book Review, mind you, The New York Review of Books - said that Derrick Storm is this generation's answer to—"

In the elevator, Beckett hit ground as she replied, "I read that piece. And even you have to admit that it's more than a little hyperbolic."

"Mmm."

She tried not to smile as she asked, "So how much did you pay the reviewer?"

Castle, who stood quite close to her as the elevator descended, replied, "A case of Châteauneuf-du-Pape... but that's not the point. The point is, you read the New York Review of Books?" He asked not expecting Kate to have read the article.

"Oh, so many layers to the Beckett onion. However, will you peel them all?"

"I have plenty of time, Baby," he replied leaning against the wall of the elevator. "Lunch?"

"Yes, I'm starving. Then we'll go downtown and finish the canvass, see if the victims have a connection."

"We know the Keslers and the Pastoris didn't know each other, and neither one of them knew the Bruners or Susan Delgado."

Kate said, "Four luxury buildings, four major scores, and we got nothing. They're not getting caught, Rick so they have no incentive to quit now."

"True. Shall we walk to the café where you like the milk shakes?"

"Yes. I could do with a bit of fresh air. And a milk shake."

"Same, about the walk. Personally, I'd prefer a Scotch but it's a bit too early." Castle said as they commenced their short walk of a block or so to the café.

"Later, Buddy. But it is after five somewhere in the world."

"Yeah, New Zealand maybe." He chuckled. "So, I could go a drink."

"Soda maybe."

While they were eating lunch, Rick's phone lit up. Both peered over to see who it was from. Rick swiped the screen, swallowed food then read the text message aloud to Kate, "Espo says that the intruders used a bump key. Forensics found brass shavings in the lock mechanism on the front door." He mulled over that for a moment staring at the screen then looked over the table at Beckett who was sucking on the straw of her shake. "That's when a standard house key is filed down right?"

"Uh huh." She nodded.

"Then a mallet is used to drive into the lock. Separates the tumblers like billiard balls."

Again, Kate's head bobbed, a cheeky smile forming as she watched him back, her eyes roaming him from his waist to his hair.

"What?" He asked, touching his hair, sure it was out of place.

She put the shake down and sat up, "Not just a ruggedly handsome, Dude, hey Castle? You know what a bump key is."

He smiled in recollection of a memory from long ago, "Yeah, I bought a door, and had lots of locks installed on it to learn how to break into houses for a novel I wrote. Alexis learned too. She got quite accomplished at picking locks. Impressed me considering how young she was," he explained, "Problem is the hardware on the Delgado's door was a high end import. There is no way a standard bump key would work. They'd have to use something special. Something your average joe like me couldn't rig."

"Espo will figure it out, Castle. He's good with stuff like that."

"His foul spent youth coming back to haunt him."

"He told you about that?" She asked.

"Yeah, a little bit here and there. He's very protective of you."

"I know."

"Threatened to break all my limbs if I so much as touch you."

"Oh." An eyebrow rose, "Bit too late for that."

He smirked, and proudly said, "Yeah, not a bit of you I haven't touched."

"If only he knew."

"Not yet. You need to tell him, Honey when the time comes. He will break me." Rick seriously and fearfully looked at her eyes before he focused on his meal and took another bite of his sandwich.

"I'll protect you, Ricky."

"Atta' girl."

By the time, Beckett and Castle finished lunch, Esposito had sent another text to Castle requesting their return to the Precinct, that they had identified a potential suspect and were going to go out and find him, bring him back to the Precinct for a little chat.

It was a full house inside the observation room. Standing in a line, all staring through the glass was Castle, Beckett, Esposito, Ryan and Montgomery. Inside the tank sat Evan Mitchell, a man in his forties with all those years etched over his face.

Castle muttered, "Evan Mitchell," as he stared in awe at the man in the box.

Montgomery chuckled, "He's a legacy, Castle. I was telling the boys earlier, his dad and his granddad are legends in the industry."

Esposito held up Mitchell's pistol in an evidence bag.

Ryan pointed at the gun and said, "Say hello to his little friend."

The boys laughed. Kate rolled her eyes.

Esposito said, "It was in his waistband when we snatched him up." Everyone studied the hand gun in the bag.

Beckett said, "Serial numbers are scratched off."

Montgomery said, "Heavy on collars, light on convictions."

Ryan said, "Amazing how many times a guy can get arrested without ever serving time."

Castle said, "He must have a pretty good lawyer."

Montgomery said, "Or good at what he does."

Castle said, "Good enough to be our perp?"

"Why do you writers always call them perps?" Ryan asked in frustration.

Castle said, "Isn't that what you call them?"

"Ah, we got a whole lot of names for them." Ryan replied.

Esposito said, "Yeah."

Ryan began, "Pipe head, piss head, ork, creep…."

"Crook, knucklehead, chucklehead…" Esposito continued.

Ryan and Esposito faced each other, like two kids 'playing the dozens'. Castle scribbled furiously on a note pad.

"Chud, turd." Ryan said.

Esposito said, "Destro, skell.

Ryan said, "Skeksi, slicko, slick."

Esposito said, "Mope."

"Sleestack."

Castle pleaded, "Slow down, slow down."

Beckett stepped in between the two boys and said in a firm tone, "Suspects. We call them suspects.

Montgomery said, "I'm old school. I like dirt bag."

Castle said, "Classic."

"Beckett, you'd better get your ass in there and see if you can shake something out of this dirt bag." Montgomery ordered, pointing at their suspect.

"Yes, Sir." She glanced to Castle who then followed her out of the observation room.

In the Captain's office a quarter hour later, Montgomery sat with a frustrated Beckett who had got nothing but a headache out of Mitchell. There was nothing worse than a criminal with a smart and quick mouth. They'd transferred him down to holding to let him think for a while and to see if they could come up with any evidence that might lead to charging him with murder. At the moment they had nothing.

"We can hold him on the gun," Montgomery stated, "But there's no match with ballistics on Mrs. Delgado. And without other evidence to link him to the other homicide."

"I'll find something, sir," Beckett confidently replied.

"Not if his alibi checks out."

"Sir, it's just pots and kettles."

Montgomery tapped a finger on the desk, sometimes wishing his number one detective wasn't so bloody fixated. He read from a sheet of paper, "On the last robbery, not the first. Mitchell was being arraigned on an unrelated burglary the same day this crew struck. Unless you can break his alibi on this one, he's a dead end."

"Another dead end." She echoed.

"Go blow some steam off. Mitchell made you angry and you can't focus when you're like this, Beckett. Grab Castle and get outa here for a while."

Beckett stood up, glanced to see where her partner was but none of her team was about. She then nodded at the Captain and got out of there. She made it to her desk, latched onto her gun holster and headed towards the elevator.

Blow off steam.

Beckett smiled wickedly as she pointed her Glock at the silhouette target. She was angry. The case going nowhere. Delgado had got stuck into her that morning. Mitchell had simply tormented her. With headphones one, she emptied another round into the target. The magazine needed to be reloaded, she pulled off the headphones and began to disassemble the weapon.

Castle entered the room as he said, "You got to watch those silhouettes. They can be shifty little bastards."

She looked back at Castle as he walked up to her. "Do you mind? I'm trying to concentrate."

"Man, when I hit a wall, all I got is one of those little stress balls and internet porn."

Frustrated, Beckett groaned, "Castle –"

"Look, I get it, alright? You made a promise to a daughter to find her mother's killer. Doesn't take Freud to see what's what. But you're gonna run up some blind alleys before you get out of the maze."

Beckett sighed, put up the headphones and said, "Look, as much as I appreciate your folksy Dr Phil aphorisms, I just want to-" She turned and squeezed off her clip, grouping a cluster in the silhouette's head.

Castle shoved his index fingers in his ears, then shouted above the din. "Wouldn't it be more of a challenge if they weren't standing still?"

Beckett stripped out her magazine, loaded a fresh one, and placed her weapon on the barricade. "Okay, Castle. You show me how it's done."

Castle excited squeaked, "Ooh!"

Beckett set up a new target while Castle grabbed goggles and headphones.

Beckett handed him her weapon, "All yours." She stood behind Castle as he hefted the weapon. He bladed his body into a dueler's stance, and closed one eye, which caused her to secretly laugh.

"It's not a duel, Scaramouche. Here." She moved him into the correct shooting stance. He Beckett said, "Square off to target. Feet shoulder-distance apart. Okay." She guided his arms "Gauntlet your right fist in your left palm."

Rick pulled the trigger. Bam! Surprise trigger break. The bullet went way wide of the target. Kate rolled her eyes.

Castle squawked, "Whoa! Shot too soon."

"Yeah, well." She looked into his eyes, and seductively said, "You know, we could always just cuddle, Castle." She smiled, restraining laughter.

Castle said, "Oh, funny. And a smile. Good."

Castle turned back to the silhouette and concentrated on the target. He pointed the Glock and pulled the trigger once. The shot landed just above the shoulder. The shell casing hit Beckett's cheek and she brushed it off.

Beckett studied the intact target, then commented, "That's better."

"Hmm." He sighed, "You know I, uh, came down to ask you if I could, uh, take home some of those stolen property photos."

"Photos of the jewelry? Why?"

"I don't know. Just thought it might spark something."

Castle pulled the trigger once again and shot the silhouette in the crotch. He's way outside the 10-ring. "Ooh. That gotta hurt," he said.

Beckett smiled. "Tell you what. You put any of the next three in the 10-ring, and I will give you the files and something extra special next time you stay over, big fella."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

Castle pivoted into a Weaver and pulled the trigger in rapid fire. Bam. Bam. Bam. Expended brass casings fell one after another at their feet. The rounds slam dead center on his target in a tight group.

Beckett's brown furrowed with disbelief. He was a bloody crack shot and maybe even better than her. Astounded, she turned her head towards him and gave him a piercing look. "What the?"

Castle smiled and said, "You're a very good teacher. And I am keen about the extra special something."

"I bet you are." She answered, "You were just playing with me."

A chuckle escaped him. "I guess you need to clean your weapon, Detective.' He handed her the gun. "Are the photos on your desk?"

She released the clip, "Yes. I'll see you tomorrow."

Rick took her hand, lifted it to his lips and kissed her knuckles, "Thank you for the lesson."

"Smart ass."

"Tomorrow." He smiled looking into her eyes. He then said, "See you in the morning."

Kate watched him leave, a little taken aback by his actions, immensely surprised with his shooting abilities.