"I love you too, be safe."

It was the six words he never left home without, even if they'd fought the night before.

They were the very building block of his faith in the institution of marriage, fueled even more by the things he witnessed during his time on the force. Life was but a fleeting moment, a fragile entity, always at risk for becoming a victim of fate, or evil.

Working a job that made him encounter plenty of scenarios where the two collided had made him more aware of the dangers that existed, and the terrible suddenness with which life could end- or change forever.

Thus, he'd sworn early on that keeping things left unsaid would not be one of his regrets if he never returned home from his day job.

Javi's late-night text about Castle's findings had been the break they'd been waiting on and he was eager to get to the office and begin his round of research- which would mostly contain a broad investigation into any connections Collins had in prison or outside, his immediate family and friends and any letters or phone calls he'd made recently that could tie into their case.

Somebody who'd put such great detail into duplicating a murder spree wouldn't just do so from reading about it in a book.

No, this level of detail and vileness was the worst type of homage he could think of.

Ignoring the uncomfortable chills he felt whenever the images of their victims returned to his weary mind, Kevin exited the apartment building, taking in the sights and scents of the city he'd grown to love over the years.

Not because of its architecture or metropolitan flair, but because of the people who lived here. Those he was fortunate to spend his life with, and those interesting characters who crossed his path on a daily basis, always reminding him that there was so much goodness to be found in humanity if one was willing to look hard enough.

With his right arm raised to hail a cab to work, Kevin was suddenly distracted by a cluster of people who had gathered half a block down the road, a mix of business people, shoppers and tourist alike. Their body language was frantic, some of them looking around, others on their cell phones. One woman was digging for something in her purse.

Intrigued by the commotion, he slowly approached, recognizing one of the people as a neighbor down the hall.

"Aren't you a police officer?", the elderly lady asked, her eyes wide in fear as she gestured toward the crowd, "We need police here. Now."

Hearing the terror in her voice made his pulse speed up and Kevin moved closer to the group, his nose immediately picking up on what his eyes had yet to witness.

"NYPD, please step aside…", he said, breathing through his mouth as he parted the crowd, fighting some of the people who remained in his way, perhaps out of horror, or morbid curiosity.

"NYPD.", he urged again, his left hand ready to reach for the cell in his coat pocket, when he finally arrived at the front of the group, seeing what had been causing all the unrest.

The bloodied naked body leaning up against the garbage dumpster was an undeniable slap in the face that their best efforts hadn't been enough to save yet another young woman.