After they'd watched Darnley and the car leaving, Skye turned to the writers and said, "What're you thinking? Also why am I here?"

Laughing at the order of her questions Castle said, "Don't worry, we don't need to be alone." He glanced at his wife and then told the investigator, "Plus she wouldn't force you to leave us and go… wherever."

"Why don't we start walking down the street?" Beckett said when the other two were looking at her.

"Is that German place still there?" Skye asked.

"Yeah, is that what you want?" Castle replied.

"No," Skye said, shaking her head. "Just wondering since that's where I met you around Valentine's Day if you remember."

"But this is way…" Castle started to say before he trailed off. "Did the victims go to you?"

"No," Skye replied.

Seeing the investigator's hesitation, Beckett said, "You tried to contact them? Mary-"

"Don't tell her," Skye interrupted. "But I felt I needed to."

"But you didn't tell us anything," Castle told her.

Shaking her head Skye said, "They wouldn't talk to me. They're afraid."

"But why are they afraid of you?" Beckett asked in confusion.

"Not of me, just in general," Skye explained. She then shrugged and said, "I've let them know they could talk to me if they want to, so I'll let you know if they do in the end." She then glanced at her friend and said, "Don't tell Mary."

"She'll figure it out," Castle commented.

When the investigator made a face, Beckett couldn't help smiling slightly before she told her, "He's right, but you were fine."

"Fine, I'll tell her," Skye said with an exaggerated sigh. "And tonight when I talk to her."

"She's busy?" Castle asked her.

"I wanted her to stay with the girls," Skye replied.

"Right," Castle said, feeling like the woman wanted to change the subject. "And we're here at the restaurants…"

"Mind this one?" Skye asked, pointing out the Hawaiian one.

"No, but don't tell Julia," Castle said.

"We can go during the weekend," Beckett commented wryly. She paused and then said, "I mean get it this weekend."

"She's doing well?" Skye asked with a smile, aware of what her friend had thought of.

"Yeah," Castle answered before his wife could. "But she's not liking having to stay in bed."

"Though Alexis can walk around," Skye said.

"She will, she'll make sure that she will," Beckett added at the same time she nodded.

Once they were inside the restaurant, they were ordering their food before they were sitting together at a booth though Skye was across from the writers. "You know what I'm looking forward to?" she asked them.

"Going to Hawaii?" Castle asked. When the investigator looked at him, he said, "Just a guess because of where we are."

"I'm not surprised. But no," Skye replied. "I was thinking of the cruise."

"And?" Beckett asked, startled when her friend turned her attention directly to her.

"You're fine with it? It is going to be incredibly Disney themed," Skye explained.

Rolling her eyes, Beckett said, "Don't worry, I'm aware already. And it'll be great for the younger kids… they deserve something too."

Laughing briefly, Skye said, "Good point, my youngest are excited."

"So is Eliza," Castle said. He was about to speak when he heard his name being called and he said, "But what about you?"

"Why did he ask me when he left?" Skye asked his wife.

"I don't know," Beckett replied laughingly before they were waiting for him to return. She wasn't surprised when he was immediately speaking once he was at the table, and she fought her laughter so he wouldn't hear her.

"I wanted to ask if you were alright with the cruise," Castle explained to her.

Smiling Skye said, "Why am I not surprised? And yes I'm fine with it, I do have that connection with Disney of course… to a degree."

"They're not going to ask you to perform, are they?" Beckett asked in amusement.

"They better not," Skye said. "Well, I mean if we're there and they notice me and Mary then I wouldn't mind performing at least one song," she added as she opened her container.

"They probably will," Castle and Beckett said at the same time before they looked at each other and started to laugh.

"But we have some time for that," Skye said when they'd calmed down since she'd joined them. She started to eat and eventually said, "How're you feeling about Japan?"

"You said we had everything done," Castle said swiftly since he and the investigator had gotten everything ready along with their wives.

"We do," Skye said though she hesitated for a moment.

"Is it the bathing house?" Beckett asked her.

"To a degree," Skye said. "I spoke with Mary, and she chided me though I reminded her she was thinking of our girls who we've spoken to."

"I was going to talk to our girls," Beckett said. "And I would assume Patrick and Trevor would talk to Keo, Brad to Jacob."

"You're sure the sexes are separated," Castle told the investigator.

"I made sure of it," Skye said.

"I thought you'd been there before," Beckett said with a slight frown.

"I have, but I checked again of course," Skye explained to her. She then said, "But we should just have a group meeting before we go… well I think I mean us girls."

"I was going to say," Beckett said with a smile.

"We'll do the same," Castle said when the two women were turning to him.

"You don't think the Lennoxes will join us?" Skye asked when they went back to eating.

"They are, I just forgot to mention them," Beckett said with a smile. "But we spoke with Isaac and Genevieve, and they were very agreeable going."

"And Emily will be a year old," Castle commented. "So they said if we took Josie to Disney World when she was so young, they could take Emily at a year to Japan."

"They're unsure, aren't they?" Skye asked.

"A little, but we did assure them there would be plenty of people to watch her," Beckett said. "So they'll go but I'm sure they'll need to get used to it at the start."

"Understandable," Skye said.

"I do have a question concerning Japan though," Castle said.

"If you want to go to a bathhouse with your wife, I would just use the bath in your room," Skye said. When she saw the surprise on her friend's face, she said with one eyebrow raised, "You didn't think I'd figure out what you meant."

"I did," Castle said slowly. He glanced at his wife and said, "You didn't want me to ask?"

"I don't mind that you did, but I hope you'll be satisfied with any tubs at our hotels," Beckett told him firmly.

"I will," Castle said before he then asked the investigator about her plans with her family for Halloween.

"Kate didn't tell you?" Skye asked him in surprise.

"No…" Castle said, trailing off while he turned to her before she was responding with a smile on her face.

"You said it wasn't for sure and then I didn't want to ask you about it because you had your investigation," Beckett told the investigator.

"True," Skye said with a nod. "Well, the girls have their costumes, so they're set."

"And?" Castle asked.

"Marie is going to be a pilot, Kath a soccer player… I know," Skye said with a smile when the pair across from her looked surprised. "I told her she could get a costume, but it was what she wanted. Fleur is going to be Audrey Hepburn in Funny Face-"

"Which outfit?" Castle interrupted.

"The one from Bonjour, Paris," Skye said, looking at them both. "Oh good, you know which song I'm talking about."

"Julia wanted to see it," Castle said.

"And what did she think?" Skye asked, startled when neither continued.

"She wasn't the biggest fan of it," Beckett replied. "I think it was the lack of dancing."

"The Gay Divorcee is still her favorite?" Skye inquired of the couple. At their nods she said, "Though it's ironic."

"We've mentioned it to her, but she pointed out Fred and Ginger… or Guy and Mimi she'd insist to us," Castle said. "She insists they belonged together, not Mimi and her husband who was cheating on her with another wife."

"What about your two youngest?" Beckett asked Skye when the investigator laughed briefly.

"They're going as Paul and John from the cover of Sgt. Pepper's," the investigator answered. She smiled and said, "We found a costume shop in Venice that had them to rent."

"In their sizes… size?" Castle asked.

"Size, they're essentially the same," Skye explained. She saw he was about to speak when she told him, "With Mary's request we are going in twenties garb."

"Mobster?" Castle inquired slowly.

Smiling, Skye shook her head and said, "I bought a suit as close to the first I wore in 1926."

"And she loved that suit," Beckett said immediately.

"Yes, luckily I never told you how much," Skye said. "That was extremely personal."

"But we could tell," Castle said, covering his small container of teriyaki sauce since they were finishing. "Every time you wore it Mary wouldn't stop staring at you."

"I know," Skye said slowly.

"We better start…" Castle began before he trailed off while he was looking at his watch. "Huh I guess we don't need to go back but… we are finished."

"We are," Beckett said. "What're you thinking?"

"Hot chocolate," Skye said before the writer could say anything. "Seriously I would like some right now and have it on the way back to the station." She got up and then asked, "Is there a place around here?"

"The other way, but only a few places down," Castle said. "It's a café," he added.

"Perfect, let's go," Skye said. "My treat."

"You don't have to," Beckett said while her husband was taking their trash for them. When her friend smirked at her she was about to speak before the investigator was first.

"Oh, I'd like to at the very least pay my way if you're going to be like that," Skye said in amusement. "But I could use the hot chocolate."

"You haven't gotten any sleep?" Beckett asked her.

"I have… it's just been a little back and forth to be honest," Skye said.

"Since you've been away from home?" Beckett then inquired as her husband was walking up to them.

"Yeah, you know what that's like," Skye said. "To a degree," she said after realizing the couple hadn't been apart that much.

"Do you think you'll ever retire?" Castle asked her while they were leaving the restaurant.

"Oh sure," Skye said. She then stopped them and said, "Mary and I are fine."

"Just making sure," Beckett said.

"I'm not surprised, though to be honest Mary and the girls are used to me having to leave," Skye said. "Though you realize I don't go that often in the end."

"It's just been this case," Beckett said.

"Yes, and if I can solve it now then I'll be off until the new year," Skye told them.

"We were already hoping you will be," Castle said.

"He's right," Beckett said before they began walking again. "And you know Trevor does too."

"Ah, him and the rest of the NTSB," Skye said, nodding. "But enough about me. Are you ready?"

"We are," Beckett said, glancing at her husband, not surprised when he made a face briefly.

"I'm not surprised you're answering for me," Castle told his wife. "But for the very, very last time I'm aware I'm going to be a grandfather. There's a reason why I'm going to be one at my age and I taught Alexis well. Now I just have to make sure our youngest three don't make the same mistake I did at nineteen," he told them both before his wife was responding while she squeezed his arm.

"They won't," Beckett said. "And I've talked to Julia about that already."

"You've insisted Alexis wasn't the mistake, right?" Skye asked him.

"Of course," Castle said. "Oh, are you talking with your degree now?"

Giving him a brief look, Skye said, "No, just making sure Alexis isn't doubting her worth."

"She's not," Beckett said, rolling her eyes. "But we're here so we can get those drinks."

Heading inside, Castle managed to pay for their drinks though Skye had tried to for her own and he told her as they were leaving the store, "I know you think it's difficult, but it was my card."

"And I have a card too," the investigator said.

"Still," Castle replied before they were laughing. After they'd stepped outside, he looked up at the sky and said, "Do you two want me to call a cab?"

"I think we're good," Skye said. She hesitated and then said to the two, "We are right?"

"Yes," Beckett said in amusement. "I just hope if Julia's still outside at lunch she goes back inside."

"Speaking of Julia," Skye said. "Nothing at all from her?"

"No," Beckett said, looking at her phone.

"Is it because they're afraid?" Castle asked.

"That and Julia's worked on her technique," Skye replied. "Which is what I had to do." They walked a little further and she then paused before she said, "Wait, your phone."

"My phone?" Beckett said in confusion.

"You got in touch with Mary, didn't you?" Skye asked her, stopping her friend.

Hurrying to stop himself, Castle said, "Don't get mad-"

"I'm not mad," Skye interrupted him. "Surprised but not mad. Did she respond to you?"

Handing the investigator her phone, Beckett watched her reading the texts she'd exchanged with the doctor and told her, "I said you wanted her to be with the girls, but she insisted."

Shaking her head, Skye told her, "Thank you for that even though she hasn't told them… oh, never mind."

"You forgot the time change?" Castle asked, looking at his watch.

"I did, she was dropping them off at school," Skye replied. She handed Beckett her phone back and got her own before she dialed her wife's number.

"Do you want us to go ahead?" Beckett asked her.

Shaking her head Skye quickly turned her attention to her phone since her wife was answering. "Grá? Where are you right now?" she asked.

Listening to half of the conversation, Beckett shared a look with her husband and tried not to look over at Skye until she hung up. "She's still coming?" she asked.

"Yeah, she was on her way to the airport, Pablo was taking her," the investigator replied. "She said the only two reasons she came… besides wanting to be with me, are because the girls were happy she had the chance and second because her appointment today canceled."

"The rest of the week?" Castle asked in surprise.

"No, that was her only appointment, she was going to have that off and next week before they started up again," Skye answered. "And she'll be here at I think six," she said, looking at her watch. "Between six and seven depending on the traffic out of the city."

"We'll be eating dinner then," Castle said before he glanced at his wife.

"We can put the leaf in the table," Beckett said before she took his hand and motioned to Skye so they could begin walking again.

"The kitchen table?" the investigator asked.

"We have it in the game room," Castle replied.

"You mean Alexis' room," Skye corrected him. She laughed briefly when he shrugged before they were walking in silence for a little. She then asked, "What happened to your basement?"

"It's finished," Beckett said.

"Everything?" Skye was quick to say.

"Yeah, we haven't had the chance to use it yet," Castle said. "And I know what you're thinking, we've been busy with writing, the Rothschild and the girls with school to try the bowling alley."

"That's not a surprise. Since school started for the girls, they've only gone swimming in the new pool a handful of times," Skye said. "Marie and Kath have a lot more homework now they're in the eighth grade."

"And Julia does still in ninth," Beckett commented. She glanced at her friend and seeing the way Skye was looking at her she said, "She's more used to it now."

"I would imagine she enjoys having dance for two and a half hours," Skye said. "Is she still dancing in that spring competition?"

"In the city," Castle said with a nod. "You're invited if you can make it."

"I'm not sure yet," Skye replied, seeing they were nearing the station. "But we'll try if we can," she ended in a rush since something had come to mind. She turned to the writers and asked, "What about the victims' time before they were murdered? Can Thayer figure out when they were drugged?"

"He was going to test their levels and get back to us," Castle replied. "Hopefully someone has something."

"There's Patrick," Beckett said, spotting their car coming down the opposite way on the same street. She waved to the carpenter before they were making their way to the parking for the officers, reaching him as he was waiting for them. "Lunch?" she asked.

"Nice, Bethany made some mini-Gatsby sandwiches," Darnley said.

"You seem to have those a lot," Skye said wryly.

"Ah, great I was hoping Mary could make it out here for you," Darnley commented. When the other three were looking at him with wide eyes he said, "Seriously? You do realize I've known you for a while now, I could tell when you were feeling down."

"Yes, she's on her way," Skye replied, pursing her lips for a moment. "But I think we need to figure out why Brad just walked out into the snow."

"Not snow," Darnley said since it was barely coming down.

"Looks like he has something," Beckett said before they were walking over to him.

"I was wondering what you were doing," the chief said once the four were with him. "Thayer called me and kind of threw everything all out of whack."

"He had the time they were drugged?" Castle asked as they were heading inside.

"Yeah, at two," Brad said. "They were drugged twice."

"The killer did it too soon?" Skye said with a frown.

"Or for some other reason," Brad replied.

"You know you can tell us," Darnley said in confusion.

"That's all I can say," Brad said. "There were no signs of defensive wounds, but they were tied by their wrists to some kind of chair while they were still alive."

"You can't tell if it was the chairs in the basement," Skye stated.

Shaking his head Brad said, "Not those, they had carvings on the arms so they would have shown up."

"You're sure we're not looking for more than one killer?" Beckett suggested.

"It's a possibility but I'm not sure I want to commit to that yet," Brad replied. He sighed and then said, "But for now let's say they were able to get the bodies in the basement…"

"You think they could take four chairs in broad daylight?" Castle asked.

"And there aren't any security cameras?" Skye said immediately after.

"The egress on that basement was a dead zone… I mean in terms of traffic," Brad answered, picking up one of the markers at the boards. "And they didn't bother with cameras there."

"That might mean the killer was someone with the event," Castle said. "They knew about the lack of cameras there."

"We checked everyone there first," Brad said, not surprised when Skye was the first to respond.

"And they're all clear," the investigator said. "They were mostly with each other."

"They were," Brad said with a nod before he went to the board Skye had written on. "Hopefully you don't mind I used this," he directed to the investigator.

"If you keep it flipped around, I'm fine with that," Skye said, nodding before they watched him doing that to the board.

"That is a lot of names," Castle said.

"It's more than that, you have the company's New Jersey address," Darnley commented when he'd noticed it.

"Yeah, and I'll probably have to let you guys go before we finish," Brad replied.

"What about the parents," Skye said.

"We've cleared them," Brad immediately responded. "And looked into their records, some youthful DUIs, in their twenties. Some tickets and nothing serious." He then frowned slightly and said, "You knew that already."

"Just a thought," Skye said. "Though the fathers and the company."

"And I asked that, and they had nothing to tell me besides employees unhappy about the move," Brad replied before Darnley was letting out a loud breath.

"So that's why you have the address, they didn't bring anyone did they? From Jersey I mean," the carpenter said, speaking rapidly.

"Not even the higher ups," Brad answered. "Except for the four fathers of our vics of course."

"That's unusual," Beckett said.

"Not really, the people on the board formed their own company," Brad replied. "I just confirmed it but they're working with alloys solely and there aren't any aerospace parts."

"Did everyone stay with the new company?" Darnley asked.

"They did," Brad said with a nod. "But we still have to check since for a time those workers didn't have a job for a month or two. But I want to save that for last."

"Then that's what we're doing now," Castle stated, not surprised when the chief nodded before Skye was speaking with a frown.

"This is going to take forever," she told them.

"That's usually what happens," Brad said.

"You have something in mind," Castle said while they were all watching her.

"Not something, someone," Skye told them.

"How could Trev help?" Darnley asked. "I mean don't get me wrong, I'd love to have him here but he's a metallurgist." A look of realization appeared on his face, and he said, "Oh, but that means you're not helping us."

"Exactly, that would be so much better should anyone question why I'm here," Skye said. "And again, I'm trying to find something to help both our cases," she added before she looked at the chief to respond which he was soon doing.

"Alright, but I would ask you to tell me whatever you find with his help," Brad said.

"You're calling him?" Darnley asked the investigator while she was getting her phone out of her pocket.

"Yeah, I want him to realize why he's being called in right away," Skye replied with a smile before she was stepping out of the office.

"I took pictures of the names," Brad said to his consultants. "And I'm going to send them to you-"

"Chief," Hutchinson said, hurrying into the room. "Dispatch just got a call from the house the parents are renting. Someone tried to break in."

"Hey, let me go!" the young man yelled while he was wriggling in the chair. "I didn't do anything!"

"Calm down," Brad said, walking up to him. "I'm with the Hamptons police, who are you?"

"Sid Andrews," the man muttered.

"Okay, why exactly are you here," Brad said, holding his hand up to the eight adults who were immediately reacting.

"I came to see Lyla, her… parents are keeping us apart," Andrews replied.

"That's because she didn't want anything to do with you," Mr. Garnett snapped, stepping towards the chair before his wife and Mr. Harding stopped him. "And you already know she isn't here!"

"Yes she is, they said she was in the Hamptons," Andrews ground out.

"Can you take the parents outside to the front yard?" Brad said to Bernier. When the man nodded and was doing so, he signaled to Beckett before she was nodding herself.

Castle helped the chief and Darnley in getting the rope off the young man while his wife was holding her gun at her side.

"I wouldn't try to run," the carpenter said firmly as they all stood close to the chair. "It'll be worse for you."

"Worse already," Brad said, forcing Andrews to sit again. "You realize I'm very close to charging you with murder."

"Murder?" the young man asked, his voice going up in pitch slightly.

"Yes," Brad replied. "Do you know these three people?"

"Oh yeah, they're the Lyla's friends," Andrews said. "Are they dead?"

"Where were you last night?" Brad asked.

"At Hofstra where she lived," Andrew said in obvious annoyance. "I loved Lyla, and I wanted us to be together."

"Was her father right?" Castle asked. "Did she give you any indication that she wanted to be with you."

Looking at the four surrounding him, Andrews was trying to speak before he swore and yelled, "She was playing hard to get! She was only dating that idiot because she wanted to placate her parents." He tried rocking back in the chair, but before he fell back all the way a hand was holding him still and he looked up at Beckett while she was inquiring him about what he'd said.

"Who was the idiot?" she asked him.

"Breck," Andrews ground out. "He was always around Lyla and wouldn't leave her alone. And I saw him with her yesterday, leading her into his car."

"Really," Brad said. "And what time was that?"

"About one," Andrews said. "I had pulled up to her apartment building to ask her to join me, but she was already leaving with… him."

"What was the car that she got into? Make, model…" Brad said firmly.

"I think it was a Ford," Andrews said slowly.

"You think," Darnley said.

"I wasn't looking at the car," Andrews said in protest. "I was so angry at-" he started to say before he cut himself off.

"At Lyla," Brad finished for him.

"No, no!" Andrews said angrily. "At Breck, because he… he was just using her. He was always just using women; he wouldn't have treated her like I would have."

"Is that a confession?" Brad asked.

"Yeah, I broke in here, like I said I thought Lyla was on vacation for some reason with her parents, so I came here," Andrews said after he hesitated for a moment. "But I wasn't going to hurt anyone."

"I'm not talking about the break in," Brad said, walking around the young man to face him directly.

"What else would I confess to?" Andrews asked with a frown on his face.

"Murder," Brad said.

"What?" Andrews exclaimed. "No way I would never kill anyone."

"What about the clique that was around Lyla?" Beckett asked him, letting Bernier stand where she had been. Walking around in front of the young man, she said, "Would you hurt them?"

"No, she wasn't dating the guys or that girl she was friends with," Andrews said.

Castle shared a glance with his wife before he said, "She was bisexual," not surprised the young man was answering immediately.

"It didn't matter," Andrews said.

Speaking quickly, before the young man could talk about him and the vic being together yet again, Brad said, "What was Breck wearing when you saw him?"

"It was a costume," Andrews said. "He was going as a Renaissance doctor."

"Was he wearing the mask?" Castle asked immediately.

"Yeah," Andrews said before he realized something. "I knew he was going to dress as that," he said swiftly. "I heard him talking about it in the Trig class he and I have." When no one said anything, he adjusted himself on the chair before he asked, "Where's Lyla, if I can just talk to her…"

"I'm afraid she was murdered," Brad said, not surprised when the other three were looking at him. "Along with her three friends."

"What?" Andrews exclaimed, standing up.

"She-" Castle started to say before he was cutoff when the young man swung his arms out. He managed to grab his right arm, just when Andrews was reaching for Brad's gun, and they fell to the ground at the same time the weapon went off.