By the time they'd arrived, Castle and Beckett had already begun a lengthy detail of the surrounding buildings, using their unique strengths to look for any evidence to the atrocious crime committed.

It left Ryan and Esposito with the task of interviewing their two witnesses and gathering as much information as possible when it came to the timeline of the incident and any sightings of the murder or transportation of the body.

Half of it was currently made impossible since the kids who'd stumbled across the body needed a parental guardian present before any questioning could occur, tying their hands until the parents made it to the crime scene.

Seeing the mutilated young woman had disturbed Ryan more than he cared to admit in front of the others, the gruesome nature of the dismemberment making him sick to his stomach for the first time in a long time.

In his condescending tone, Perlmutter had reassured them that death would have occurred quickly considering the multitude of stab wounds that had riddled the body. While that may be true, Ryan's main concern had been the horrific pain and terror that would have happened prior to the fatal stabbing.

Next to him, Espo drew in a deep breath, his alert eyes vigilantly scanning the perimeter, trying to appear casual as he took visual inventory of the assortment of bystanders that lined the length of crime scene tape.

Kevin's gut feeling told him the exact same thing. He was practically sensing that their killer was watching them, relishing in the terrible deed committed, his ego feeding off the vast public interest.

They hadn't talked much on the way over here, both partners still dealing with the aftermath of the morning's arrest.

Even though she outwardly hated the public focus on her department, Gates had spent a moment to subtly thank them for successfully apprehending a dangerous murder suspect and doing so without any public injuries. What the hype about the incident involving Allison Banes would eventually lead to was for them to figure out.

"Well, I don't see the parents here yet…", Kevin finally said, drawing his partner's attention, "While we wait, do you want to talk to a few of the shop owners across the street, see if anyone saw anything?"

His expression hardly changed when Esposito glanced up, his tight jaws showing the same type of apprehension at the eve of a difficult case.

What kind of animal could commit a crime this heinous? What other troubling finds wound Perlmutter stumble upon once he began his autopsy? And worst of all, how could they possibly pass on the news to the next-of-kin while making a wide circle around the exact murder method and the terrible mutilation of the body that occurred afterward?

"Yeah. Let's see what we can find out."

They walked past a sea of patrol officers and CSU personnel before reaching the crime scene tape holding back what felt like half the city. People of every age, gender and ethnicity had gathered, some of them with their phones pulled out videoing the event, while others just watched the comings and goings with pathological interest.

Each one of these people could potentially be their killer, Ryan mused, but this early into the investigation, they had nothing to go on when it came to narrowing down the perp who had committed the crime.

Somewhere in the back, he overheard an older guy tell his friend that the dude from the morning news was here and pointed at Esposito, who made a valiant effort to ignore the publicity that his stunt had generated.

Instead, he worked his way through the crowd, creating a tunnel for his partner to follow along before they finally escaped the human traffic jam and ended up on the opposite side of the road.

From there they could see that the unusual surge in foot traffic had attracted several vendors who had pushed their carts a few streets over, hoping for extra income this late in the day.

"Like the vultures circling over a carcass…", Kevin scoffed and followed Espo to a Vietnamese store front where several display trays of bok choy, melons and cucumbers greeted all visitors.

The store was a straight shot from the site of their body dump, with plenty of windows and a wide array of customers.

The inside was as crowded as the sidewalk displays, many of the cans and packaged goodies stacked high against the walls, the interior filled with tables full of specialties, leaving hardly any room to navigate the tight space.

A small counter to the left was the checkout area, manned by a slim woman in her late 40's, her jet-black hair pulled back into a tight bun. As if to sense the aura of their profession, she pointed at the crowd gathered outside, then shrugged.

"You here for murder?"

"Yes, we are.", Esposito replied evenly, then cocked his chin at his partner before tapping his index finger on the golden badge dangling off his chest, "Detectives Ryan and Esposito, NYPD Homicide. We'd like to ask you a few questions."

"I see."

With her gaze shifting back to the crime scene, she sighed heavily, her delicate features strained.

"Over the course of the past 72hrs, did you see any suspicious activity in the nearby buildings, Miss…?", Ryan began, hoping the bridge the tense silence.

"Cho. Miss Kimberly Cho.", she replied on auto pilot, "I work many hours. Not always can see out window."

Sensing something more behind that heavy accent, Ryan glanced over at his partner, meeting those stoic eyes with anxious certainty. Hopeful for a solid lead, he reached for the notepad in the breast pocket of his black wool overcoat, noticing the lady following his every move.

"But you did see…something?"

"I saw car…day before yesterday…", she said, the words sounding divine in Kevin's ears.

"Could you tell what make and model the car was?"

"Dark car. Maybe black. Sedan. Not sure about make. Too dark outside to see. About…9 o'clock. I was closing business when I saw car. Man got out and walked over there."

Pointing at the location of their crime scene, she shook her head before crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"I work alone so I no check on him. But he made me feel...scared."

"Could you describe him for us, Miss Cho? Height? Weight? Anything special about his hair or his gait, the way he carried himself?", Esposito asked and shifted nervously, his body language growing tense at the eve of a lead.

"He tall, and skinny. Didn't see his face, he park away from street light. He walk smooth, like somebody who know where he go. It…his presence…it frighten me. I can't describe. He just…he feel evil."

Unable to disguise a shudder, she opened her drawer to show them a good-sized butcher knife hiding inside.

"I so scared I take this to work with me every day now."

Nodding soothingly, Kevin stepped closer to the counter, trying to create a level of privacy to help ease her angst.

"We appreciate the help. Can you tell us more about the timeline? How long was he over there? When did he leave?"

"No more than twenty minutes. I wait inside store till he was gone. Then I go home."

"Do you have any cameras in your store that might have caught the incident on tape?"

Allowing Kevin the space to deal with their witness, Esposito had stayed back, using his larger frame to act like a guardian over the timid woman.

"No camera. Maybe store down-"

She was interrupted when Esposito's cell phone rang. Looking over at the lady apologetically, he excused himself and reached for his phone, before turning around and walking several feet over to the other end of the store.

Knowing that the call likely meant another breakthrough, Kevin returned his attention to their witness to resume the interview.

"You said a store down the road might have one?"

With a shy smile, she nodded.

"Electronics store. I believe he has camera."

"Thank you very much, you have been very helpful.", he said and scribbled down a few notes, ready to leave the store again when she held him back with a faint whimper.

"What did…what did he do?"

Meeting her terrified brown eyes, Kevin shook his head slowly, his grim expression giving away his answer before anything was said.

"You don't want to know, believe me."