Disclaimer: I do not own the characters featured on the show Castle, they belong to the creator of the show, ABC and the others who do own them.

A/N #1: It was great getting feedback for the last two chapters I posted so I'll get to my thank yous for them! Mb (I had to laugh at your reaction to the murder scene, but it was actually what I wanted readers to think, something more like in a movie but definitely horrifying since it's real! Great you're eager to see how the mystery will go! You're welcome for the chapter!) and

Mb (I was very pleased to see you think Alexis and Louis staying for Alexis' bed rest is a nice set up, I wasn't sure what readers would think about that. And I was glad that you loved seeing how the whole multi generational household was supportive, and that you could feel the joy and love too! I had to laugh at you saying that Castle is definitely overprotective as a father and future grandfather but that's really how I see him being, lol. Not surprised you pointed out how Castle and Beckett know from just Brad's voice that it was a bad case. I had to laugh that you saw with the party being at an abandoned university that it was a movie director's vision come ot life as you said it. But I'm really happy you said that too! You're welcome for the first half of the chapter! I was so, so pleased to see that with all of the clues there are and aspects of the case so far have you hooked, along with Skye being there! Really wanted to do that with this case. So great you're looking forward to more! You're welcome for the second half of the chapter!).

Thanks for the reviews, I loved reading them and as always appreciate the time taken to write them out and send them my way!

A/N #2: The title of this chapter is a lyric from the song Dead Man's Party by Danny Elfman, from the Oingo Boingo album the same name as the song.

Everybody's Comin'

"Great to see you made it," Brad said, hurrying over to the investigator.

Shaking his hand Skye said, "I would have been here sooner but there was some construction just outside of the city. Where can I put this bag?"

"Here," Brad replied, leading her to a table to the side of the room. "You can share the room with us."

"Really," Skye said in surprise.

"Really," Beckett said, going to the investigator. Hugging her friend tightly she said, "I hope this is it for your case."

"Me too," Skye said, sharing a brief hug with Castle and Darnley. "I would do the same, but we greeted one another already," she told the chief.

"And we need to get to work," Brad said.

"I can see that," Skye said, looking at the boards. "You have four victims."

"I did tell you," Darnley commented.

"And I honestly didn't believe you," Skye replied, shaking her head as she was taking off her coat. She then said with a frown, "All four CEOs."

"You know already," Darnley told her.

"Yeah," Skye said simply before she was jumping briefly at someone putting an evidence bag under her nose. "Thank you for making this worth my while," she said.

"You can tell already?" Castle asked in surprise while she was taking the bag.

"Oh sure, you can tell by the… for lack of a better word shininess of the metal," Skye said. "This is just a touch too dull."

"Do you want a board?" Brad asked.

"Yeah, wherever I'm working," Skye said. When the chief was calling to Hutchinson, she asked the other three, "In here?"

"He said," Beckett responded.

"Bit early to call a connection to your case," Skye said.

"What if you find something that has to do with our case?" Brad asked her, having finished talking to the officer. "I want to make sure this gets solved."

"Great, we're in complete agreement," Skye replied. She then went to the two murder boards and then said, "Decapitated."

"Yes, with some kind of mechanism," Beckett said, watching the investigator turning to them. "You have something."

"An idea," Skye said slowly. "Where is the mechanism?"

"On its way," Brad replied. "It's being… or has been dismantled and the CSU technician is coming to bring it so we can see it and she can tell us how it worked."

Nodding, Skye said, "Great, I'll need to see it too. Even if there's just a bracket, this one, then I need to know who had access to that part."

"And you will," Brad said.

"Great, now where is it?" Skye asked.

"You don't want to hear about this case at all?" Castle said.

"With decapitation?" Skye said before she hesitated. "Alright, I suppose you could say you're using my psychology degree if push comes to shove," she added before Beckett was responding.

"It could be useful in this case," she said. "Using a specifically built device to decapitate four people?"

"Yeah, I thought of that," Skye said. "Either way it's diabolical." She then listened to the four telling her about the case and she nodded a few times before she said, "You have a doozy."

"I figured when I walked into the basement," Brad said wryly. "Any thoughts now you've heard everything."

"I would have said it was Kean," Skye said. "But you said he has an alibi."

"All three have solid alibis," Castle said. "And the school told Hutchinson they didn't arrive until six thirty since the event didn't begin until eight and everything is set up in the buildings."

"All they needed to do was costumes and makeup," Darnley added.

"And check on everything, see if it worked don't forget," Brad reminded the two.

"Exactly, everything except for the basement," Castle commented.

"From what you said it wasn't in the best shape to have people go down into it," Skye said. "Also, that staircase is rubbish."

"I'm not surprised you noticed," Beckett said. "What about yours?"

"Mine?" Skye asked.

"Your cases," Castle said, standing on the other side of her. When the investigator raised her eyebrow he said, "You do have them and we need to know in case there's a connection," before Brad was speaking swiftly to Skye.

"He's right, though you know information about your cases won't go beyond this station," the chief said.

"And I appreciate it," Skye replied. She went to the table and set down her coat before she turned as it was being picked up. She thanked Beckett for taking it to hang with their coats before getting three files from her bag. "Air Albuquerque Flight 709, Allegiant Air Flight 34 and Eagle Air Flight 221," she said. "Air Albuquerque crashed fifty miles south of the Colorado-New Mexico border with forty on board. The captain was able to land belly down on the dessert but there was a loss of two passengers." She handed a picture of the crash site to Beckett who in turn passed it around to the others. "It didn't take us long to discover the flaps on the left wing… flaps number two fell off by metal fatigue. Then there's Allegiant Air and that one crashed south of Denver. At first, we thought it was CFIT but then I found a slat that was hanging by a thread."

"You… didn't mention how many people were on that one," Brad said, looking at his three consultants when they were exchanging looks and shifting slightly.

"I should have been more specific about the slat," Skye said grimly. "It was hanging by a thread on what was left of the right wing. Only one person survived out of the seventeen on board." She gave the photo she had of that crash site and then cleared her throat before she said, "And Eagle Air crashed in Nevada, closer to its border with Utah. Five people were killed out of seventy on board, one of them the co-pilot. That was a bolt on the right elevator which broke off and jammed it in the down position until it broke. There was some time for the pilots to recover enough to perform an emergency landing on an old highway." While she handed the picture for that accident site, she was about to mention the counterfeit parts when Brad was speaking, asking about those first.

"And the parts?" the chief said. "If they were used in the mechanism here then the killer is connected to your case."

"Unless it'd be easy to have gotten their hands on that bracket," Castle commented.

"No," Skye said firmly, shaking her head. "So I guess there is a reason for me to be here. Though I'm hoping there's a way for me to find my way to the source of the counterfeit parts."

"You never figured out how they were getting into circulation," Darnley said.

"No, we tried several theories and none of them worked out," Skye said. She then looked around and said, "Where's the tech?"

"Let me check," Brad said before he was going around to his desk.

"How has this been?" Beckett asked her.

Shrugging Skye said, "Maddening because the problem with this is that it's not specific to any particular airline or plane."

"We heard that airlines here in the US were checking the parts of the aircraft," Castle said.

"And there are some specifics," Darnley said. He saw the way the others were looking at him and made a face saying, "Worded that wrong. What I meant was there are two commonalities to your investigation."

"Yeah, the types of parts they are," Skye replied. "We were lucky in that. Bolts and brackets."

"Wait, you said the part we found was the bracket for a smaller plane's engine," Castle said before they turned to Brad while he was speaking after hanging up the phone.

"She'll be here soon," the chief said. "She said she just got onto the streets."

"Which means how long exactly?" Skye asked.

"About ten minutes," Castle replied. "So until then…"

"Do you want me to write anything down?" Skye asked the chief.

"Can you?" Brad asked her.

Hesitating for a moment, Skye finally said, "Not really, but I would take these pictures for your case. Just in case." She had been returning to her bag while she'd been speaking, and she took out smaller pictures. Handing them to Brad, she told him, "These are the counterfeit parts from each flight."

Nodding the chief said, "What about that code?"

"That's what got us onto this in the first place," Skye said. "There are tiny codes on each part, and they didn't match the books at Eris."

"So they were all from there," Castle said.

"Yeah, there was a stamp," Skye replied.

"I see it on this bolt," Brad said. "What is it?"

Getting another picture from her bag Skye told him, "It's supposed to be the Greek letter S, sigma."

"Why did they use S?" Darnley asked in confusion.

"To prevent counterfeiting," Skye said.

"Which that should have done," Beckett commented.

"Yeah, but in this case it didn't happen," Skye replied, shaking her head.

"Were the parts all from maintenance?" Castle asked.

"They were," Skye said, nodding. She smiled and then said, "I'm not surprised you noticed. That was one of the theories we had, that someone got into the hangars with the part and either put it where it would be used or installed it themselves. But that latter theory really doesn't work without someone being found."

"Security footage?" Darnley asked.

"Yeah, there was one camera, and it was focused on another plane a 777," Skye said before Beckett was responding in confusion.

"It wasn't focused on all of the planes in the hangar?" she asked.

"No, it was supposed to be just one airplane, but they managed to fit another in," Skye explained before they were turning at the sound of footsteps approaching.

"Chief?" Wade said as he stood in the doorway. "Hopper from CSU," he said as he stood aside.

"Ms. Hopper," Brad said, walking over to the woman. "Let me take that for you," he added, grabbing the box she was holding.

"Thanks, there's a lot more there than the mechanism that was found," Hopper replied. "Is there a place where we can lay everything out?" she then asked.

"This way," Brad said, leading the way to the room next to the breakroom. "Feel free to use the entire table," he said, setting down the box.

"Can you reassemble this?" Skye asked, walking up to the others.

Looking at the investigator in surprise, Hopper said, "Skye McDouglas?"

"Yes, I'm here to assist with the case," she responded, glancing briefly at Beckett.

"Oh, okay," Hopper said with a brief nod. "Since I hope we're all caught up with the case I'll put this back together." She then looked at the box and told everyone, "I dismantled it in three sections, so it would be easier."

Watching the woman taking out the pieces, Castle asked, "You said three?"

"Yeah, when I was told the victims were decapitated, I was a little startled this was the only thing found there," Hopper said. "Physics kind of indicate it would have needed a way bigger motor than it had. So we looked across the room and found a track for the garotte." She then paused and asked, "Could I have a piece of paper and pen? It'll be easier if I draw it."

"Of course," Brad said, getting some from the table at the side of the room. He handed them to the tech, and they watched her drawing as fast as she could before she finished and hesitated.

"You're not sure about the use," Skye stated.

"The number of times it was meant to be used," Hopper corrected. "But let me explain this first." She set the paper down and once she was sure everyone was looking at it began saying, "They… or them, made a track for the other end of the wire to go along while the mechanism was powered. It snapped across with enough force though it popped out of the track at the end and essentially overheated the motor, so it was a one-time thing whether the person who made it wanted it to be or not."

"Probably what it was meant for," Skye said absently, putting on some gloves. "Could I take a look at this?" she asked the chief.

"Has it been dusted?" Brad asked.

Nodding, Hopper said, "No fingerprints."

"And that track?" Brad asked, taking the photo the tech was holding out to him.

"After we found it, they dusted it," Hopper said. "There was a print, but it was from a janitor who was last there about fifteen years ago and he's in a senior assistance home now."

"Okay," Brad replied. "I'm wondering if you could tell if whoever constructed this was professional or is this just a hobby."

"If the other side of the garotte hadn't broken it would have been obvious they were a professional," Hopper replied. "But because they used a bracket instead of a nut… any kind of nut, I have to say it was more a hobby."

"Okay," Brad said slowly while he was frowning. He then shook himself and said, "Thank you for your assistance, please contact us if you have anything else."

"Of course," Hopper said before she was leaving them.

"Is that legitimate?" Darnley asked. "A bolt would have held it?"

When Brad handed the photo to Skye, Beckett couldn't help asking, "You'll know?"

"I'm not the killer, I was in D.C. last night to not that long ago," the investigator said simply.

"Don't worry, I'm not accusing you," Beckett said.

"Great," Skye said quickly. "And she's right, the set up is screaming for a bolt, not this bracket set up here. And at least now I know where the rest of it is." She then looked at the device and said, "She said it was a hobby, but they were dedicated because that is not something someone can make up on their own."

"Has anyone spoken to the parents?" Darnley said.

"I did, while you guys had to wait outside," Brad said quickly. "And that was the very first thing I asked. They said they had no clue why their code was being used over and over again for the counterfeit parts."

"Anything special about that one?" Castle inquired. "The first part they ever made, the second…"

"No, it was done two years ago," Brad said. "But it may be special to the killer of course, we'll have to keep that in mind."

"What're we doing with this?" Darnley asked.

"Leaving it here," Brad said. "And I'll lock the door."

"Could you all see how it worked?" Skye asked.

"I almost asked how the victims got to their chairs with a wire there but remembered the drugging," Castle said.

"Not surprised," Darnley said.

"I almost did too," Brad commented.

Watching Skye, Beckett eventually asked her, "What do you think?"

"That is isn't the only counterfeit part here," the investigator said. "There's a bolt and I can tell by the sheen… or lack of sheen, it's going to have the same code."

"Then is that because the killer wanted it to be obvious or they happened to have those parts?" Brad asked her.

Sighing, Skye said, "When we find them, I'll ask them." She shook her head briefly and said, "I'm assuming at this point you'll need to start searching the company," turning to Brad when he responded first.

"We will but I want you four to go have lunch," the chief said. "Wait," he said when they were starting to respond. "I know you don't want to, but I'm starving, and we have a lot of names to start researching. Also, I need to call the company and see about any recent people who were fired."

"How long do we have?" Castle asked after looking at his wife who had shrugged slightly in response.

"An hour," Brad replied before he was leading the way back to his office.

"One thing before we go," Darnley said while they were getting their coats. "The factory is in New Jersey."

"Not anymore," Brad said. "They moved last year to Oyster Bay."

"And the headquarters are there too," Skye added. "It was already, and they decided it just made more sense to have them next to each other."

"Did they build the factory?" Beckett asked.

"No," Skye replied. "It was… oh I see what you're thinking," she began before she stopped herself. "And I'm not sure what was in the factory before."

"We'll have to check that too," Brad said. "Go," he told them.

"Do you have lunch?" Castle asked his friend while they went back to putting on their coats.

"Yeah, Lils and I made dinner and we had leftovers," Brad replied. "Don't worry about me, just… relax," he told them.

"That was the plan," Darnley said after making a face.

"Sorry, I'm that hungry," Brad replied.

"I'm not surprised," Beckett said in amusement before they were leaving the office. Her husband was behind her, and she could hear him telling Brad goodbye before they were walking through the bullpen together.

"So… what're you two doing?" Darnley asked the writers.

"Probably heading down the street to some restaurant," Castle said before he was looking at his wife.

"I'm not sure yet," Beckett replied in amusement. She then turned to her friend and said, "If you want to go home take the car."

"You should," Skye said, not surprised when the others were turning to her.

"You… he's home," Darnley started to say before he was finishing in shock.

Nodding Skye told him, "His flight was the next day, but I pulled some strings and-" She gasped and interrupted herself when he was hugging her, leading her to laugh before she told him, "Go, please."

"But don't forget to come back since we're going to need that car," Castle said, handing the fob out to Darnley.

"Trev will make me," the carpenter assured them before he was hurrying to the car while the other three were saying goodbye to him. He did his best not to go over the speed limit on the way his house, but soon was pulling into the driveway after the gate opened. He turned the car around so he'd be able to leave more easily and then ran to the porch. Before he could step up to it, the front door was opening, and his husband was stepping out. "I can't believe it," he told his husband, hugging him tightly as soon as he reached him.

"Skye told you?" Nkosi asked with a smile.

"Yes, and I hope you don't mind, I hugged her," Darnley replied.

"No," Nkosi said laughingly before they were kissing.

"Dada!" Keo cried when his fathers were walking into the foyer.

"Hey, you're back," Darnley said, taking his son into his arms. Picking him up he said, "Lucky you got to see your tata come back."

"Yeah," Keo replied, smiling when the two were laughing. "Why doesn't Maddy come home?"

"She's in the first grade this year," Nkosi explained. "Remember?"

"What about me?" Keo asked while they were going to the kitchen.

"Next fall you will, and you can play with your friends from that class," Darnley explained. "Hello for lunch," he told his in-laws.

"Hello, we are glad to see you," Joseph said first. "We thought you might need to stay at the station for lunch."

"I almost thought so too," Darnley said with a nod. "But there's a lot to look into and I guess Brad wanted us to eat and get away from the station."

"Good," Bethany said firmly. "Now wash up and eat you three."

"I got home at the same time they did," Nkosi said with a smile.

"Then we better hurry, I have to be back in an hour," Darnley said, carrying their son to the kitchen sink. While he was helping Keo wash his hands he leaned into his husband so they could share a quick kiss before turning their attention back to the meal and their family.

Looking up at the clock on the wall when the bell rang, Julia breathed out in relief and put her things away before she was putting her backpack on. "I'm so glad we can go," she said to her friends.

"Me too," Peter said with a nod. He then said, "You're starving?"

"I am," Ava said immediately before they were all laughing together and hurrying to their lockers.

While they were walking across to the middle school cafeteria, Eve was calling out to Julia, and she waited for the young woman to reach her. "They have a case?" she asked.

"Yeah, Dad texted me," Eve replied. "He didn't say whether or not to tell you, but I figured you might want to know."

"I do," Julia said slowly.

"Oh no, are you seeing who was killed?" Peter asked, watching her since he was walking on the other side of his girlfriend.

"No," Julia said with a frown. She then said, "I wonder if Skye is here."

"Here? I thought she was in D.C. like Trevor was," Eve commented.

"I just get a feeling," Julia said. "Got a feeling, sorry," she said, smiling a little before they were walking inside the cafeteria. Mari and Clive were waiting for them at the entrance, and they quickly got into line for the baked potatoes before her friend was grabbing her arm.

"Are you okay?" Mari asked in concern.

"Yeah… oh Eve told me that her dad texted her and said he has a case," Julia said.

"Why did he do that?" Mari said, confused.

"I think he wanted me to check if Julia was alright," Eve answered since she'd heard the question. "And I texted him, but he hasn't… there he is," she started to say before her phone let out its text alert. "Oh, you were right, Skye is here and she went with your parents to lunch somewhere."

Julia merely nodded to that, missing the surprised expressions on her friends' faces before they reached where they were grabbing their trays. She was talking with Mari about her History class, not noticing until they were first at a table that her friend was just barely answering her. "What's wrong?" she asked once they were sitting together.

"Have you heard yourself?" Mari asked.

"Heard… Mari what are you talking about?" Julia asked with a frown.

"Your parents have a case and you're talking about Ancient Egypt! What're you hiding?" Mari responded.

"She's right, we figured you'd be talking about where the victim is or something," Dawn commented since she and the others had all gathered around the two.

"Victims," Julia said. She wasn't surprised at the looks she got in response to that and said, "I saw them in the quad, running."

"Running?" Mari asked a little doubtfully.

"Remember I told you about how Skye taught me to meditate and practice the best way to ask spirits to leave me alone?" Julia said. When they were all nodding, she said, "I did that but before I finished they were taking off." She shook her head and told them, "Something's wrong."

"Yeah, two people?" Tristan said.

"Um…" Julia started to say before her friends were suddenly protesting. "I'm serious," she said before she leaned into everyone, and they did the same. "There were four, I didn't see their faces, but I could tell they were two guys and two ladies… I get the feeling they're a little younger than my big sister."

"What's wrong?" Tristan asked, putting his hand on Natalie's shoulder when the teen had gasped.

"Don't tell anyone what I'm going to say," she told her friends. When they assured her they weren't Natalie said, "My mom is vice president of the faculty at Hofstra right?"

"Did something happen there?" Eve asked with a frown.

"No, there was a Halloween thing yesterday… at night and my mom went. She and my dad were talking about it when I went into the kitchen, and I could have sworn she said four kids were…" Natalie began before she looked at her food.

"They were murdered," Julia said.

"Mom said they were… decapitated," Natalie whispered.

"Ugh, why would someone do that?" Clive said with a frown, putting down his fork and picking up his bottle of juice.

"Hopefully our parents find out," Eve said, looking at Julia who was nodding before she responded.

"After what just happened on the quad and hearing what happened to them… me too," the teen replied. Looking around at her friends Julia then said, "Maybe we should change the subject."

"Definitely should," Eve said.

"Are you guys ready for class today?" Peter asked.

"I am," Ava said, laughing when Dawn rolled her eyes. "Hey, you said you wanted to practice the Jive when we signed up for the class."

"But I didn't think it would be so hard," the teen said in mock complaint.

"So you don't like it?" Eve asked.

"Where's Corey?" Peter questioned her in response.

"With his boyfriend," Eve said. "But I'm having a great time in class."

"With Corey," Peter said with a smile.

"Are you going to have a fight?" Natalie asked the couple.

"No, I teased him about me being too afraid to dance with him," Eve said. "Except for the Waltz."

"And I teased her that I would take it easy on her," Peter answered.

"We're not dancing in a competition," Eve said before they were laughing with the others.

When they'd calmed down Dawn said, "Now what about you two?"

"Huh?" "Two?" Tristan and then Natalie asked at the same time as they straightened up in their surprise.

"Yeah, look at how close you're sitting to each other," Ava said, nodding to them while the others were following her line of sight.

"Then you do have something to tell us," Mari said, seeing Natalie blushing deeply while Tristan was smiling before he spoke.

"I saw her when we got to school earlier," he began. "And I asked if she wanted to go out with me." Seeing the way the girls were smiling widely at Natalie he said, "Am I missing something?"

"Not really," Julia said, looking at her friend.

"It's okay," Natalie replied with a smile. "I told him I'd had a crush on him for a while."

"I wish someone would have told me," Tristan said.

"Yeah right," Peter snorted. "You had to start liking her first."

"Or did you?" Clive asked in surprise.

"I did but I had no idea I liked her, liked her," Tristan said before he blanched. "I'm sorry?" he asked.

Laughing briefly, Natalie finished her baked potato before she shook her head and told him, "Don't worry. I know boys can be like that… my dad was like that with my mom." She saw the confusion on the faces of her friends and said, "Sorry, they were in a history class together and she tried to spend time with him, but he didn't realize why she was doing that until the year was almost over."

"Good thing for you he did," Ava told her.

"I know, she likes to tease him about that," Natalie said with a wide smile. "But I'm glad you asked me."

"Me too," Tristan said, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the others, waiting for them to tease him.

"We don't care," Peter and Clive said, shrugging before they looked at each other in confusion. They were soon joining the others in their laughter before the former was speaking first once he calmed down.

"We don't," Peter said. "But hopefully we can go now?"

"We should, we finished," Mari said.

With some laughter, the group got up and threw away their trash before they were going to the upper playground.

"You're sure you're fine?" Mari asked.

"I wasn't lying," Julia said. "They ran off and I have no idea why they did."

"Don't try to find out," Mari said sternly.

"You sound like my mom," Julia replied with a smile.

"I know she'd say that," Mari said quickly. "But I mean it."

Nodding her head, Julia watched the others heading over to the basketball court just past the grass. "Do you want to go with them?" she asked her friend.

"That's okay," Mari replied. "But you can go if you want to." She was startled when her friend made a face and said, "You don't want to."

"Not really," Julia replied, smiling at her. She then reached into her pocket and said, "Want an apple?"

"Yeah," Mari said eagerly. "Is it from Apple Canyon?"

"Of course," Julia said with a nod. She then said, "But I can't split it."

"We could try and do that with a plastic knife," Mari said slowly since she wasn't sure her friend would want to go back to the cafeteria.

"Or just take turns eating it," Julia pointed out. "I'm not sick," she told her friend.

"I… guess," Mari said slowly before she heard someone calling her friend's name.

"What're you doing up here?" Julia asked her little sister.

"Here, I don't want it, I need to play!" Eliza cried, tossing the apple she'd gotten from their parents to her sister.

"Well… that worked out," Julia said before she handed Mari the apple she'd had.

"I know," the girl said with a laugh before they continued to walk again. They were eating their apples at the same time so Mari couldn't speak before they finished and went to a trash can on the playground before they were walking again.

"I'm so glad we got to go," Julia said once they were walking around the grass again.

"Me too," Mari said. "What, you want to go back?"

"Well, it's a little late I think," Julia said. "And then it's going to get too cold."

"I'm not surprised," Mari replied. She then said, "At least we got to go."

Laughing briefly, Julia said, "Mom and Dad said they were going to go even with the Rothschild."

"Oh, I forgot to tell you, someone in my science class asked to take a selfie with me," Mari said.

"Did you?" Julia asked.

"No, Mr. Meyer walked in then and he told the boy to sit down," Mari replied. "And then I got out of there fast."

Hugging her friend with one arm, Julia said, "I don't blame you."

When her friend didn't say anything else, Mari looked at her and asked, "Okay?"

"Sort of… I just wonder why they were killed that way," Julia said.

"Talk to your parents," Mari told her immediately.

"Oh, don't worry, I will," Julia said firmly. She and her friend looked at one another and she couldn't help laughing before they were continuing together arm in arm while they discussed their plans for Halloween, trying not to dwell on her parents' case.