"It's going to be really weird next year," Castle said as they were leaving the parking lot in their car.
"We'll get used to it," Beckett said firmly. "We did when we first took Eliza."
"I remember," Castle said, nodding his head. He then smiled and said, "Will she be ready?"
"She will," Beckett replied. She then saw they were nearing the house and she asked, "Nothing?"
"Not on my phone," Castle said. "So we'll stay with the kids a little longer?"
"I know how much you're looking forward to that," Beckett told him teasingly while the gate in front of their driveway was opening. When her husband glanced at her she told him, "So am I." She wasn't surprised when he took her hand and pulled it to his lips before she said, "You better go."
Castle frowned for a moment before he looked at the driveway and continued down it until he reached the garage. "Do we tell Brad about Julia's dream?" he asked her while they were stepping out once the garage door was being closed.
Beckett hesitated for a moment before she said, "I'd like to talk to Skye first." She wasn't surprised when her husband was looking at his phone and said, "I thought of that and I can get in touch with her during lunch. They should be awake by then."
"And if it could help us?" Castle asked.
Aware that he was right, Beckett finally nodded before she said, "Alright, if we go to the station and Brad has a chance to hear about it we'll tell him. I'm not sure what he's going to do with it."
"Neither am I," Castle said. "I wonder about that trail," he told her once they were out of the car.
"Which direction it was going in?" Beckett asked him. When he nodded she then said, "I could tell that was worrying her."
"Hopefully that won't distract her while she's in school," Castle commented before they were entering the hallway to the house.
"Mama, Dada!" Josie squealed when she saw her parents walking into the entry.
"Sweetie, why are you by yourself?" Beckett asked, startled.
"The doggies Mama," Josie said. "Here and me."
"With you?" Castle asked, unable to help correcting her.
"Yeah," Josie said with a smile.
"She just came down the hall," Jim said, walking up to them. "I was keeping Emmie occupied," he added.
"Are they okay?" Beckett asked since her father was empty handed.
"They are, Martha has them in the family room on a blanket," Jim explained. "Do you need to go in yet?"
"We haven't heard anything from Brad so we have time for Sesame Street," Beckett answered.
"I'll get the TV ready," Castle told his wife after he'd scooped Josie up in his arms to her squeal. Once he was in the room he said, "Hello Mother."
"You're staying?" Martha asked him, noticing her son wasn't wearing his outer layers anymore.
"We are," Beckett said, entering the room with her father. "Though we need to go at nine if he doesn't get in touch with us."
"Then that means we are watching the show," Martha stated. When her son and daughter in law nodded she smiled and said, "Oh good, I've been promising all four of the children we would see it with you."
"That's a little presumptuous," Castle couldn't help telling her.
"I had a feeling," Martha said simply.
"Rick?" Beckett told her husband pointedly. When he looked at her she said, "Start."
"Right," Castle said, turning his attention to the TV. Since he was already there he played the episode before he went to his wife, sitting with her and putting Josie on his lap. They were helping her with the letter and number for the day until the episode was over and he looked at his phone while Josie was going to get her paper and crayons. "Nothing," he told her.
"I'm not surprised," Beckett said. "Though I'm feeling a little… annoyed we can't go to the house."
"I think Brad wants to go with us," Castle said though he was speaking slowly.
Beckett couldn't help laughing before she said, "He's probably going to need to. But I'm hoping he's getting something new for the case at the very least."
His phone beginning to ring, Castle hurried to get it from his pocket and told his wife, "Looks like he didn't. Hello?"
"Hey, you guys can come in now," Brad told him. "Let Patrick know."
"We will," Beckett replied before her husband was hanging up and speaking to their parents swiftly.
"We're not sure about lunch… but I'm sure Isaac and Genevieve will eat with you," Castle said, the Lennoxes having greeted them after returning from a store before they'd headed down to the basement with Emily.
"I think they have to," Jim commented.
"We'll let you know if we can make it to the dance class," Beckett said before she was hugging and kissing Josie. "You know what to do sweetie," she told her.
"Eh," the toddler replied, smiling widely.
"Good," Castle said, picking her up. "And you know we'll be back as soon as we can." He wasn't surprised when Josie was nodding and he kissed her cheek before she was insisting they share one. He followed his wife to their parents, taking turns with her to kiss their grandchildren's foreheads. "We'll see you," he told Jim and his mother.
After their parents had said goodbye to them, Castle and Beckett were leaving the house for the garage and driving out to Darnley waiting for them in front of his house.
"Please tell me he has something," the carpenter said once he was sitting in the backseat of the car.
"He just told us to come in," Castle replied, sharing a look with his wife when Darnley groaned before he was speaking on a sigh.
"I get the feeling we're going to be stuck with deskwork," he told them.
"And you're surprised by that?" Beckett asked.
"What about the house?" Darnley said. He was taken aback when the pair in front of him were sharing a look and he said, "You don't want to go now?"
"Wait until we get to the station," Castle said, looking at his wife since he was stopped at a red light. He wasn't surprised when she nodded to what he'd said and he drove through the intersection. It wasn't long before he was parking at the station and he said, "Did you hear about the freeze?"
"Yeah, we got the alert," Darnley answered once they were out of the car. "I hated those in D.C. They were nightmares when we were trying to investigate. Is it supposed to be that bad?"
"Hopefully not," Castle said before they were walking to the door and heading inside.
"Great, please tell me you have a theory or something," Brad said as soon as the three were walking into his office.
"That bad?" Castle asked in surprise.
"It is," Brad said. "I went through everyone a second time once I got in…"
"Nothing," Darnley supplied when the chief trailed off.
"If there was a word for less than nothing, I would have used it," Brad said, shaking his head and standing up.
"Then what about going to the house to search better?" Castle asked.
Studying his friend first and then Beckett, Brad said, "Is it just me or is something off?"
"Something's off," Darnley said before the writers could. "But they wanted to wait until we got here to explain what's going on."
"Nothing's going on," Beckett said first. "But something that Julia dreamed. It may or may not have anything to do with the case but I feel it may."
"I agree with her," Castle said swiftly when the other two were looking at him.
"Okay, tell me what she dreamt," Brad said, not surprised the writers were looking at him then.
Describing the dream as Julia had told them, Beckett braced herself for the chief's reaction though her friend was giving his first.
"That sounds like there's something to it," Darnley said, looking pointedly at Brad.
"It does, but I think we need to speak to Skye," the chief said after thinking over what he'd been told. Brad then said, "Until then I'm guessing you guys want to go back to the house?"
"That would help," Castle said. "The last two pieces have to be… there," he started to say before his phone was ringing. "Excuse me, it's Jinko," he told the others before he was leaving the room.
"Hopefully he has more," Brad said. He glanced at Beckett when she was leaving them and watched her fully as she was stepping up to the murder board. "What do you have?" he asked her.
"No, I'm just wondering about these pieces, how they got them," Beckett said.
"Do you have any idea who owned that property before the Vernon's did?" Darnley asked.
"No clue, but I can look into it," Brad said. "I'll be back."
"Are you okay?" Darnley asked after the chief had left them in the office on their own.
"Yeah, I'm fine it's just unsettling Julia had that dream," Beckett explained. "I thought she wouldn't be affected by this."
"I hope Skye will wake up soon," Darnley said before they were turning to the doorway since Castle was walking inside.
"Where's Brad?" he asked, looking around the office.
"He went to see who else owned the property," Darnley said.
"I'm wondering if they found the jewelry," Beckett explained when her husband immediately looked confused.
"Another family there," Castle said. He wasn't surprised when his wife nodded and he said, "That's a good idea but wouldn't they… oh."
"Oh great," Beckett said with an exaggerated sigh. When her husband playfully frowned at her she said, "Go ahead."
"A theory?" Brad asked as he walked inside the office.
"Should I say it?" Castle replied with his own question.
"You could but it would just be a story," Brad answered. "None of the dozen or second tier families owned that property."
"The land?" Castle said slowly.
"Or the land. It belonged to the developer's family for a long time before he turned it into homes," Brad said, walking to his desk. "And I know what you're going to ask, he's not with the dozen or the second tier. His last name is Barnes."
"Then you're right, it would have been a story," Castle said, frowning before Brad was clearing his throat and he looked at him in confusion before he was speaking.
"And the jeweler?" the chief asked.
"Oh, he said he wanted to come and see everything in person," Castle said.
"You didn't tell him it's in California?" Darnley asked in obvious surprise.
"I did, I reminded him about it," Castle assured the other three. "But he thought we might have it here."
"Do I need to look into him?" Brad asked. He wasn't surprised when all three turned to him and he said, "Okay, I already did. But he's not going to try and head out to the other side of the country to see will he?"
"No," Castle said firmly. "He hates flying. He'd have to take a train and it would take him too long to get there."
"I hope you're right," Brad said.
"He is, Martha wouldn't have suggested him," Beckett said. "What about going to the house?"
"We can do that right now," Brad said, looking at his watch. "Alright, let me get Hutchinson and we'll head out."
"How exactly are we going to do this?" Darnley asked Castle and Beckett.
"Wait until we get to the house," Brad said before the writers could say anything. "And we'll go now."
Seeing Hutchinson standing in the bullpen, Castle followed his wife out before they walked to their cars. He was a little surprised when he saw the officer was going to Brad's car but recalled she wasn't on patrol before he paused.
"Keep going Rick," Beckett said, glancing back at him.
"I am," Castle said before they were going to the car. He handed her the keys and once they were driving behind the cruiser realized the car was silent. "What?" he asked.
"What're you thinking? You've been really quiet," Darnley said from the backseat.
"Did you want me to tell you the theory I had?" Castle asked.
"Patrick," Beckett told him. She wasn't surprised when he didn't say anything and they were driving the rest of the way in silence.
"What about Skye?" Darnley asked once she was parking the car in front of the house.
"It's still too early," Beckett said. "And really how do you know she'd have anything to help us?"
"I'm hoping," Darnley replied. "You have to admit that it's an interesting dream."
"But we did tell her about the case last night," Beckett reminded him before she looked at her husband.
"Is it Harrington?" Darnley asked.
"Yeah, she was looking out a window in the front," Castle replied.
"Are you suspecting her?" Beckett asked him.
"She's been cleared," Castle said.
"What, you want me to say I suspect her?" Darnley asked before Brad was making his way over to them.
"We can go inside right?" Castle said swiftly.
"We can," Brad said. "Harrington's watching us."
"We cleared her," Beckett said.
"We did, but we haven't ruled out any involvement at all from her," Brad said. "Or Eaton. But since we're ready let's go in."
"How are we going to search? We're uneven," Darnley said.
"Who said I was going to split us up?" Brad replied simply.
"Wouldn't that help?" Beckett asked.
"You're not going to be uneven," Brad told them.
"I'm staying here," Hutchinson said, remaining on the porch. "To keep guard."
"Outside though?" Beckett inquired.
"I'll be fine," Hutchinson assured her since she was wearing her coat.
After they'd walked inside the house Brad told them, "We'll stay together."
"This is a huge house," Castle said before he paused.
"They're not with me," Beckett immediately said when her husband and friend were looking at her. She then turned to Castle and said in confusion, "I can't call them back."
"Trust me, I don't want you to," he assured her. Castle gently squeezed her arm before he said, "But there's something that's bothering me."
"Why just that one piece in the engine," Brad said. "I've thought that over and the only thing that comes to mind is it's way more expensive."
"I thought that," Castle said. "But what's weird is what it makes those other two pieces," he added before his wife was speaking while she removed her coat.
"Let's find them before we commit to anything," Beckett told him firmly.
"Hey, what about Corwin?" Darnley suddenly asked while they were getting their outer layers off.
"He was released," Brad said. "I talked to him before I called you guys and he said he won't press charges against his wife for shooting at him."
"I thought he would," Castle commented.
"So did I, but he said she would drag out the divorce and they're going to be able to finalize it tomorrow," Brad said.
"Nice," Darnley said. "Right at Christmas."
"I think it's for the better," Beckett said, watching the three men finishing. She was a little startled when Brad turned straight to her and said, "You want me to lead?"
"That would be nice," the chief said. Holding up his hand to keep her from responding, Brad said, "Just go by your gut."
"Gut again, I never got that," Castle muttered though he wasn't surprised his wife was giving him a look.
"The most obvious place to start is the office," Beckett said firmly. "Though you found the hidden room."
"There might not be secret panels or… anything," Castle said.
"Let's start," Brad said, handing out gloves to everyone. Once he had a pair on himself he was leading them over to the room. They began walking around and he was knocking at the wall before he realized the other three were looking at him. "I forgot to tell you, CSU went through everything in the house," he said swiftly.
"How many people were doing that?" Castle asked.
Shaking his head Brad said, "A lot, but they didn't find anything. Though they weren't looking for lost jewelry of course. And you guys have gloves so get started please."
After they were split up, Beckett started at one of the bookcases, feeling around the shelves though she wasn't surprised when she found nothing out of the ordinary. Turning to the others she was startled to realize her husband wasn't there before she went to the hidden room. "Anything here?" she asked him.
"No, but I'm wondering about the intentions for this room," Castle said before he turned around fully to face her.
"Bernard's?" Beckett asked. After her husband nodded she told him, "It was his room."
"Yeah, and the dimensions seem… ridiculous for a single engine," Castle replied.
Watching him so obviously thinking that over, Beckett said, "You think there are other engines."
"I would, but there's only been one hidden so well he sent it to Skye," Castle said, stopping to stand next to her.
"And we haven't heard from anyone about a second or third," Beckett finished for him.
Nodding, Castle was about to speak when her phone rang and he watched her answering it swiftly in obvious concern.
"Skye, it's-" Beckett started to say when the investigator cut her off.
"Believe me, we're aware of what time it is," Skye said. She sighed and then said, "This is about the dream I just had."
"Oh?" Beckett said, sharing a look with her husband.
"You don't sound that surprised," Skye said, slowing down in her speech at the end. "You had one," she stated.
"It was Julia," Beckett said, still looking at Castle. She wasn't surprised when there wasn't a response to that right away, but when there was nothing from the investigator she asked, "Skye?"
"I'm here, sorry," the investigator replied. "Okay… what did she dream?"
"Is it a problem if you both had the same dream?" Castle asked before his wife could answer that.
"Oh we did," Skye replied. "I know that already but I need confirmation of it before I try and figure out why they went to her."
"But you have an idea already don't you?" Beckett asked.
"Let me hear," Skye said, looking at her wife while she was squeezing her shoulder. She wasn't surprised when Beckett related the same exact dream she herself had had and she sighed saying, "Okay, let me think that over for-"
"I know already why Julia saw the same," Beckett interrupted her. "And should I be…"
"No, because they're not going to go to you now," Skye said firmly. "But don't be concerned, Bernard and Eileen explained they had no choice. The time difference."
"But she'll be fine now," Castle stated.
"Of course, though since she's your daughter I have to warn you she'll want to know the reason for it," Skye said.
"Speaking of reason," Brad said from the doorway to the hidden room.
"Chief," Skye said. "Where are you guys right now if I can ask."
"You can," Brad replied. "And we're at the Vernon's house."
"Perfect. Are you where the engine used to be?" Skye asked. When she got yeses on the other in response she said, "Okay, could you leave there now and head up to the guest bedroom nearest to the main bedroom?"
"They told you?" Castle asked.
"Wait, the vics didn't tell you what that dream meant?" Darnley said swiftly.
"Of course not, they have no idea why they showed us that," Skye answered before Beckett was talking on the other end.
"Then how do we figure it out?" she asked.
"To be honest I get the feeling these two pieces are what we need to find to solve their murder," Skye replied. "They might think that trail is part of the solution."
"But what direction is it going in?" Darnley asked.
"That's why I asked where you were," Skye said. "And you've checked thoroughly?"
"There's nothing but walls," Castle said. He paused and then said, "The holder for the engine?"
"I've seen those, they're solid," Skye told him. "Though that would have been a good idea. What about the person your mum knows?"
"He wanted to see the piece in person," Castle said as they were leaving the room and then office. He wasn't surprised when Skye gave a brief laugh before she was speaking to him swiftly.
"That doesn't surprise me," Skye said before her wife was murmuring into her ear. "Oh, Mary just reminded me that we know a former jeweler out here. And she lives about five blocks away from us."
"Is she trustworthy?" Brad asked as they entered the room the investigator had told them to. When there was no answer he said, "Skye?" He looked at the others, eyes widening when there was still no response and he was about to call to her again when the doctor was speaking.
"She's speaking with… at least one of the victims," Mary said. "But Mirella is a friend of mine and she's very trustworthy. I'll invite her after the girls are in school."
"Sorry," Skye said then. "Can we put this on video?"
"Yeah, let me do that," Beckett said as she was hurriedly pressing the screen. When she saw Skye she wasn't surprised the investigator was still in her pajamas but didn't comment on it, instead saying, "Can they remember?"
"Not really, it's why I'd like to see," Skye replied though she sounded hesitant.
"Are you sure about this?" Darnley asked her.
"They aren't," Skye said with a sigh. "Something is off and it's bothering them… a lot."
"Do you want to stop?" Mary asked her wife.
"No," Skye said firmly before she shook her head. "Walk through the top floor if that's alright."
"You don't want us to search anything?" Castle asked.
"Not yet," Skye replied before she and her wife were watching the screen while it walked through the upstairs of the house.
"Nothing?" Mary asked her, watching her closely.
"No," Skye said with a frown. "Something is wrong," she said. "They're not there."
"But Bernard had them," Beckett said.
"He did, but the thing is… they don't remember where they are," Skye replied. "But… maybe you should look at-"
The gunshot flew through the window, making the four hit the ground before Brad jumped up, grabbing his gun. Darnley and Beckett were racing after him with their own weapons, Castle hurrying to follow.
"Damn it, they're not answering," Skye said while she was trying to dial Beckett's number, their call having been disconnected. "That was a shot right?"
"It sounded like it," Mary said with a nod, frowning at the same time. "That was… weird."
"It was," Skye said. "Someone was waiting for them to go," she said suddenly. "But that makes no sense, Kate told me the house has been under surveillance."
"The neighbors?" Mary asked.
"I don't know," Skye replied. "She said one was best friends with them." She tried dialing again and made an annoyed sound when it went to her friend's voicemail.
"Maybe you should call the station," Mary suggested carefully.
Shaking her head, Skye put her phone down and said, "I hope this doesn't turn out bad."
"What's wrong?" Mary immediately asked.
"They're upset about the jewelry," Skye explained. She shook her head and said, "I thought that maybe-" cutting herself off when her phone rang. "Kate?" she asked, answering immediately.
"It's me," Castle responded.
"What happened, is everyone okay?" Skye asked him.
"They are, someone just shot through the window," Castle said. "I'm looking at the angle… oh they were outside," he said, spotting the bullet in the wall. "And they were far," he added.
"Sniper?" Mary asked, sharing a look with her wife.
"Probably," Castle said, looking out the window.
"Where's Kate?" Skye asked.
"Out…" Castle started to say before he trailed off.
"Rick?" Skye asked when he didn't continue. She was about the ask what was wrong before she realized he was running through the house and she waited. Feeling Mary take her hand she squeezed at it firmly before they waited to hear more from the writer.
"You're under arrest!" Brad told the figure he and Hutchinson were struggling with. They were kicking out at them both, so he brought the figure down hard to the ground before he was pulling the mask off of their head.
"Rick, who is it?" Skye said, she and Mary having been able to hear all that.
"It's our suspect," Beckett said, having taken her phone from her husband.
"Fantastic, but who the hell is it?" Skye couldn't help asking in obvious annoyance.
"Corwin," Beckett said, looking at her husband while the man was yelling and doing his best to resist the chief, officer and Darnley trying to detain him.