62. Chapter 62

Chapter 62

"Thank God!" Karpowski said wearily when Castle and Beckett walked in. "We've looked at this screen until our eyes are crossed. I can't wait to get reacquainted with my bed."

"Me, either," Esposito agreed, pushing his chair back and stretching.

"Did you find anything new?" Beckett asked.

"We used the traffic cams, and we think we managed to track the SUV to Queens. If that's the right SUV, they parked it, and it looks like they picked up another car. Probably stole it," Esposito answered. "Where they were in the frame, we couldn't see enough to be a hundred percent sure it was the same two guys, though. And we could only make out a couple of letters on the plate."

"We sent that to tech, too," Karpowski reported. "We're hoping they can find something helpful. We were just about to start on the neighbors' CCTV footage from that night. it's all yours...with our blessings. This is about all we have to work with until we get back ballistics, labs…"

"Yeah, I know," Beckett sighed.

"We've got it. Go home and get some sleep," Castle told them.

"Think we can trust them...leave these two in a room alone for the rest of the night?" Karpowski teased.

"Go home, Roslyn," Beckett answered good naturedly.

"Yeah. And I'd add shut up and go home. I don't need that kind of picture in my head right before I try to sleep," Esposito agreed. He gave a dramatic little shudder to make his point. Then both tired detectives left for their homes and beds.

Castle and Beckett put down their travel mugs and settled into the chairs vacated by the others. Then they started the unappealing task of going through hours of uneventful camera footage, looking for something more useful than a dog sniffing around one of the little trees or the occasional single car driving through. About six-thirty, they found movement in something a fourth neighbor had sent. Two men in ski masks came from around the corner and walked up the steps to the Feldmans' house. One shot the lock and then eased the front door open and slipped inside.

"They must have had a supressor," Castle said, sitting up straighter. "Otherwise, that kind of sound should wake somebody up…the homeowners at least, if not a neighbor, too."

"Probably." Beckett was taking notes now. "Time stamp when they reached the door was twelve forty-two. Fast forward until there's something new."

"Look. Lights coming on in the front room upstairs. That was the master bedroom, wasn't it? One of them must know how to get around an alarm system. You know all these houses have them," Castle commented.

They carried on a running commentary of where lights were on and off and what they suspected was happening based on the crime scene and the CSU and ME reports.

"The timestamp was about an hour and a half later when the two men walked across the street to the Morgans' house. I'd say the same thing happened there, but we're not going to see it from this camera angle," Beckett complained.

"We'll see if they come back this way and then look for another angle. It'll give us an accurate time if nothing else. We have addresses to match to these cameras, right?"

Beckett checked. "We do. Where's the diagram of the block?" Castle rummaged through a few papers and found it. "We need a camera on Feldman's side of the street."

"These addresses," Castle said, turning the page toward her. Then he hit fast forward again. "There. They're coming back…looks like they're arguing."

"And they're waving both hands around. Doesn't look like they found anything."

"So maybe when we get back there, we can find something?"

Beckett looked at him and smiled as she nodded. "Maybe we can."

Castle put his arm around her shoulders and leaned in to kiss her temple. "You know," he said very softly in her ear, "As satisfying as it is to have found something, the snuggly, naked sleeping last night was a whole lot more appealing."

"Yeah, it was. That already seems like days ago." She turned to look at him and said, "I love you."

"I'll never get tired of hearing that. I love you, too."

He leaned in and kissed her long and slow. When she returned the favor and her hand went to the back of his neck, they heard throat clearing at the door and looked up in surprise.

"Sorry, Captain. We didn't realize anyone else was near the room," Castle said, moving his arm away.

"I certainly hope not. At ease, Lieutenant. A case like this… A reasonable amount of comfort in a private place is understandable. Just don't make a habit of it."

"We didn't spend the last four hours like this," Castle assured her with a little smile, not looking too sorry about it.

Gates actually smiled back before sitting down with them and asking, "Anything worth seeing yet?"

They told her what Esposito and Karpowski had found and sent to tech, and what they had found just before she came in."

"So the making out was a little celebration?"

Beckett dropped her head to her hands for a moment, dragged her hands down her face, and said from behind her fingers, "Yes, Sir. That's about right."

Castle reached for her and pulled her head close enough to kiss quickly. "We're married, Kate, and we didn't do anything wrong. It was just a little moment before everybody gets back and we have to face another long, demanding day." Then he let her go and said, "Captain Gates, you're in early today."

"Couldn't sleep. This case is getting to me, too. I thought I'd come in and finish some reports I didn't get to yesterday with all the hullabaloo around us." She stood to leave and looked down at them much more gently than usual. "This job takes a toll on us. I'm glad the two of you have each other. It helps." Then the moment was gone. "Keep me posted," she ordered over her shoulder as she left.

Ryan and Blount were back just before seven to take over the computer search again. Castle and Beckett filled them in on what had been found and what they were still looking for. Then Castle went for coffee, and Beckett went to the gym for some yoga time to alert her senses before Castle returned with her morning caffeine fix. He came back with coffee and pastries for four and gained everybody's good will.

While the other two worked and Beckett checked her computer for reports of any kind, Castle took out his laptop and looked up the toy company. Beckett soon returned to the conference room disappointedly reportless.

"Hey, there's an article here that says there are rumors of a problem with a toy in the new Christmas line-up," Castle reported. "But there's nothing specific. Sounds kind of vague, though. Maybe a little shady. Could even be something thrown out there by a rival."

"You think it could have anything to do with the murders?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know. But suppose there really is a problem. Feldman was in charge of marketing. What if he found out about the problem and didn't want to market it unless it was solved?"

"That would slow down the Christmas advertising. That's the biggest time of the year for toys, isn't it? And wouldn't the big push be starting pretty soon?" Beckett asked. "What if Feldman leaked the rumor?"

"Or what if he was a whistle blower?" Blount suggested.

"Something to keep in mind," Castle agreed.

Everybody else was back by 7:30. They were all brought up to speed and sat down with their coffee to plan their day.

"We'll talk to people at the Feldmans' workplaces today. But we're going to take time first thing to finish up the paperwork on the case we closed the night before we were pulled into this one. Then that's not hanging over our heads," Karpowski told them. "It shouldn't take too long."

Beckett suggested, "Since we have this extremely vague somewhat possible lead connected to the toy company, why don't we start there this morning, and you can check with the department store where his wife worked when you finish the paperwork. Maybe by the time we're back, we'll have heard from somebody with lab results, tech results, prints… I'd be happy with anything that looks helpful."

"No problem," Karpowski answered. "This is really one case. Let's use whoever is available for whatever we need."

Arriving at the offices for Top of the Line Toys, Beckett told Esposito to talk to the office staff and she and Castle would talk to the execs. They all walked up to the security desk, showed their badges, said who they needed to see, and asked not to be announced. When they reached the top floor, they went to the receptionist's desk and announced themselves again, asking to speak to everyone on the staff, all the way up to the CEO, Trent Tattinger, about the murders that included their marketing director.

"Of course, Lt. Beckett. We're all horrified at what happened. Let me get you Mr. Tattinger's secretary. We'll need to clear this through his office, but I'm sure he'll want us to do anything we can to help. Mr. Feldman was a good man. We all liked him. He did his job well and treated all of us with respect. I'll be right back."

The CEO's secretary came to meet them quickly, saying much the same thing as the receptionist. "Mr. Tattinger is probably here, but I haven't seen him yet. He has reports due this week, and sometimes he stays overnight to work on them. I want to let him know before you start speaking to everyone. Just a formality. That's all." She connected to his office phone, explained briefly, and told the detectives, "He said he'll be with you in about five minutes and that you should go ahead and talk to whoever you need to."

"Thank you, Jasmine," Castle said, looking at the nameplate on her desk. "Who's in the office over there?" he asked. "Looks like he's available."

"That's our CFO, Quinton Duggart."

"Might as well start there," Beckett said. "Esposito, why don't you start here, and speak to anyone who works on this floor. Jasmine, do the executives and their staff members interact with employees on the other floor? Do I understand the toy company only occupies the top two floors?"

"That's right. The company owns the building, but it leases everything else. Most of the toy production is outsourced now. There's a manufacturing center in New Jersey for the little bit that's still made here."

"Do any of the people on the floor below you have knowledge of what's discussed here…unless it's announced, of course?"

"HR is on the floor below us. They wouldn't know everything, but they interact more with the executives than anyone else, I guess."

"Thanks."

After they had spoken to the CFO, Tattinger appeared. "My apologies for making you wait," he said, shaking Castle and Beckett's hands. "I sometimes put in a night here when demands get heavy. Much easier than taking it all home, and the sofa is pretty comfortable. I was in the process of making myself presentable enough to face the troops. Come in." He ushered them into a relatively plush office and invited them to sit. "What's this about something terrible happening to Leon Feldman?"

"Leonard Feldman was murdered last night. I'm surprised you hadn't heard. The media coverage has been heavy since late yesterday afternoon. We're interviewing anyone who knew him or worked with him."

"I was here working on reports all day and late last night, and I didn't hear any news reports. I just kind of close out the world until I finish what I'm working on." He ran his hand through his hair, seeming upset. "Murdered? And Leon's murder got that kind of media attention?"

"It wasn't just Mr. Feldman." Castle explained. "His entire family was killed, too…his wife and both children."

The CEO accepted news of Feldman's death with the kind of response that would be reasonable for the unexpected death of a fellow employee, but when Feldman's wife and children were mentioned, he paled. Then Castle mentioned the other family, and Tattinger dropped to his chair. He seemed to play it off by asking, "Why would anybody kill two entire families?"

"That's why we're here, Sir. Trying to figure that out," Beckett answered.

"I have two children. I can't imagine…"

"We have a few more questions, and then we'll leave you to deal with your loss."

"Of course. What do you need to know?"

After speaking to everyone on the floor and leaving a trail of their cards behind in case someone thought of something later, they moved on to the floor below. Castle and Beckett went to Human Resources and asked if Feldman or anyone else had reported problems with other employees, made any unusual requests, or done anything out of the ordinary or out of character. Esposito had arranged to make an announcement to the rest of the workers as to why they were there, and he left a stack of his business cards with the same instructions as before. The team then returned to the precinct to compare notes.

The end result of their facts and impressions was that the CEO reacted more strongly to news of the families' deaths than they would have expected, and that he denied any truth to the rumor Castle found. The CFO denied any financial problems, and none of those in the upper echelon of the company knew of any reason for the murders. As far as they knew, the company was in good shape and Feldman had no enemies there. HR knew of nothing unusual, and none of the secretaries or assistants knew of any problems. A few said that Mr. Feldman hadn't been quite himself most of the week before he left for vacation, but they had no idea why.

"There was one guy…Feldman's assistant," Esposito said after everything had been laid out for both teams. "His back was turned to the others, and he looked like he wanted to say something, but not there. I gave him two cards and told him if he wanted to keep something quiet to palm one and drop the other one on his desk and to call me if he had something to say. Told him we could talk away from the office. I might have misread him, but I don't think so. Maybe he'll call later."

Beckett went to check, and some of the reports and labs were in. As they expected, the same gun killed all of the victims. Tech managed to clean up the CCTV pictures and sent them more recognizable prints of the hitmen, but facial recognition came through for only one of them.

"Lawrence Mitchell Hogan...goes by Larry," Jennings reported. A long-time ne'er do well, but there's nothing in his record like this."

"Does he have a brother? Now that you can see the faces better, they look like they might be related," Karpowski noted as she studied the picture. "Something around the eyes."

After a little further research, they found that there was indeed a brother, but the picture they found looked much different from their hitman.

"This guy had a receding chin and a bad overbite, but the upper part of the face does look similar." Castle said. "He could have had facial surgery and dental work to correct it. If the facial structure changed, could that explain why the system didn't pick him up?" he asked.

"Stuart Matthew Hogan…goes by Stu. More violent crimes than his brother, and that was escalating over the years. Looks like he has a mean streak." Beckett looked up from the printout of his file. "He disappeared about eight years ago, though. Nothing since. New identity, maybe?"

Early in the afternoon, Feldman's friend, the one who had been out of town, called Beckett.

"I have something to show you," he told her, "but I'm worried about my family. I don't want to take the chance of being seen going to you."

"We'll be in the neighborhood tonight anyway. Speaking to you will blend right into the general canvass. We'll talk then."

Ryan and Blount were relieved to reach the end of the camera footage around lunchtime. They decided to go out to lunch a couple of blocks away and stretch their legs. The boys and Blount and Freedman went back to the neighborhood that night with pictures of the two assassins and started a new canvass to see if anyone had seen them.

Feldman's friend, Ed Pratt, invited Beckett and Castle in and told them Feldman was afraid. He gave Pratt an envelope to give to the police if anything happened to him; and he told him about a safety issue with a new toy. "There were cases of overheating causing fire during the testing. Two incidents had caused burns, one was severe burns. He said this toy was going to be the next parents-fighting-in-the-store-aisles-to-get-it product. He found out the company would be in big financial trouble if Christmas sales aren't good, and they couldn't afford to lose that product; so Tattinger and the CFO had paid the lab manager well to create a false report. The idea was to market the toy and keep working to correct it before sales were actually underway...but it was going on the shelves one way or another. Leon found out somehow and didn't want to do it. The CEO threatened his job, and Leon felt like his safety was at risk, too. I didn't tell my wife because I didn't want her to worry; but now she's scared to death, and my kids have lost their best friends. I don't mind telling you that I'm scared, too. I feel like I need to take them out of town until you find who did this."

"I understand," Castle answered. "That would be okay, wouldn't it, Beckett?"

"Under these circumstances, yes...as long as we know how to reach you if we have further questions," she answered. "Do you have somewhere to go…a place to stay?"

"We have friends upstate, former neighbors, who have plenty of room. I can call them."

"Let us know if you decide to leave, and we can help you if you want to leave inconspicuously," Beckett promised.

Pratt walked over to a small table and took a manila envelope out of a drawer. Just as he was handing it to Beckett, they heard the pounding of small feet rapidly approaching from farther back in the house, and two little boys who looked about six and ten came to a stop at the doorway."

The older one looked upset and asked, "Dad, why are you giving the police our vacation pictures?"

Mr. Pratt smiled at his sons. "It isn't our pictures. It's just the same kind of envelope. The pictures are on the bookshelf in the den. This is something of Uncle Leon's that might help them find who hurt him.

Castle knelt in front of the two little boys and spoke to them seriously. "But don't tell anybody, not anybody at all. We don't want the men who hurt him to know about this until we're ready to arrest them. We want to put them in jail where they can't hurt anybody else; and if they find out, they might get away. Can you keep it a secret for us until then?"

Both boys nodded solemnly as their mother joined them. She said, "Apologies," and herded them back into the den.

"Sorry. We all sent Brian the pictures we took, and he made copies of everything for all of us. It's the last good memories the kids made with their friends. We're all torn between being too sad to look at them without crying and wanting to look at the good memories over and over."

"Thank you for this," Beckett said. "We appreciate your help, and we're sorry for your loss."

Castle folded the envelope to fit the inner pocket of his jacket and slipped it inside so it would be out of sight before they left the house. Joining Ryan and Esposito outside, they met the others across the street, and determined that they had done all they could.

"Feldman's assistant called me," Esposito told them before they got into their cars. "He wants to talk at a bar in the village, and we're going to meet him there in about half an hour."

Everyone except Ryan and Esposito reconvened in the precinct's conference room around eight-thirty and compared notes as to what the neighbors had said.

Having exhausted everything they had found, Freedman mentioned, "One neighbor told Esposito he saw Morgan the afternoon of the murders, but I was talking with my guy and missed anything else he said. We need to ask Esposito when he gets back."

"We got some good information from Ed Pratt, the guy whose family vacationed with all the victims. Best information we've found so far; and if it's true, the CEO and CFO both lied to us about the company's finances. Somebody want to make copies?" Beckett asked. "All of you need to see this. We don't know how it connects to Larry and Stu, but I have a feeling it's there if we look in the right places."

"I'll make the copies," Jennings volunteered. "Be right back."

"While we wait for that and the information from Ryan and Esposito, I'll remind you that we need to stay on top of writing up witness/neighbor/co-worker/whatever statements," Beckett told them. "There are so many that we'll be doing paperwork for weeks if we don't." Most of it can be just a list of names under a label that says 'no useful information.' Start there and then write up details for the others any chance you get."

"Good advice, guys," Karpowski agreed.

"You need to see this. This could be motive," Jennings said to his team when he came back with the copies. "We just have to figure out how to connect the shooters to somebody at the company."

"Since they both lied to us, I'd say we start with Tattinger and the CFO," Beckett answered. "This includes Feldman's notarized statement and copies of the original safety information as well as the doctored report. It looks like Tattinger was going to pay off anybody with injuries and include a clause in the settlement demanding their silence about details of their injuries. Hmm… There's a stick drive here, too. I didn't see that before."

Ryan and Esposito returned then and reported on information from Feldman's assistant before the others caught them up on everything they had discussed in their absence.

Ryan started. "Feldman's assistant…his name's Ron…said Feldman had a meeting with the CEO and CFO the week before he left on vacation. Ron saw Feldman open the door to the conference room a crack, stop suddenly and listen, and said he looked upset. It looked like he checked his phone for something, and then he put it in his pocket and went inside. After a few minutes, Ron heard louder voices for a minute or so, said it sounded like a heated discussion of some kind."

Esposito took it from there. "Feldman left looking angry and worried; and Tattinger followed him to the door saying, 'You can't back out of this, and don't even think about reporting it. I know people.' Feldman told Ron he turned on his phone recorder before he went in and asked Ron to put the recording on a stick drive or CD or something. He needed help from Ron, who's apparently something of a computer guru, but he didn't want Ron to seem involved. Ron was told to use Feldman's computer to see if he could get into Tattinger's files and find the original copy of the test results."

"And we have both the original copy and the doctored one. Feldman had given Pratt all of it, and Pratt gave it to us tonight," Castle told the boys.

Beckett handed them their copies of the reports. The whole group listened to the recording while Ryan and Esposito read, hearing the discussion of the testing, the plans to market the toy anyway, the bribes to the testing facility to cover up the safety problem, and the very thinly veiled threats toward Feldman when he didn't want to cooperate.

"We need to find the Hogan brothers. Did you find a last known address?" Karpowski asked.

"We did," Freedman answered, "but the place is rented to somebody else now…somebody named…" He took the small notebook from his shirt pocket and flipped a couple of pages. Briggs. Gordon Briggs. The guy I talked to at the apartment building said Hogan didn't leave a forwarding address." We thought we'd go over there in the morning and see if anybody knows where Hogan went."

"It looks like we might have enough for search warrants for the two execs," Beckett told them. "Until we see if tech can help us with the traffic cam, we can't do much more with that. It's past ten, and we've been at this since seven-thirty this morning. All of you go home and get some sleep. We'll stay long enough for me fill out the paperwork for warrants and see if we can find a judge willing to sign them. Then maybe we can surprise the bigwigs tomorrow morning after Blount and Freedman go to check on Hogan.

"I don't mind helping with the warrant..." Karpowski started.

"I know you don't, but go home, Karpowski. I've had all of you going non-stop for almost fifteen hours…on about four hours of sleep last night. If you go home now, you can get a full night, and tomorrow will be much easier. I've done this often enough that it won't take me long, and then we'll go home, too.

"The rest of you go home. See you in the morning," Karpowski told the others. "Beckett, you and Castle have been here four hours longer than the rest of us. You take the paperwork for the CEO, and I'll take the CFO, then we can all go home."

"Markaway has always been a night owl. Want me to call him?" Castle asked. "I've never worried about calling him late, as long as it's before midnight. He's got a soft spot for kids. If the evidence for the warrant passes the sniff test, he'd probably be willing to wait up for us."

"Yeah, you can tell him what we have," Beckett answered. "If we're not going to get it past him, I doubt we'd get it past anybody else. We can at least go home knowing which way the wind is gonna blow it."

Karpowski left and returned with the forms they needed, and she and Beckett worked as Castle went outside the room and called Judge Markaway.

When Castle came back, Beckett was adding her signature to the page with a relieved flourish.

"Done," she said triumphantly, accepting the one Karpowsi had just finished. "What did he say?

"He said it's pushing the envelope, but he thinks it should hold up. We can stop by his place on the way home and he'll sign it. He's been following this case and is just as horrified as anybody else."

"Oh, and he said to tell you that you look good on TV." With a little grin, he added, "Apparently he has a soft spot for hot, tough, poker-playing female detectives, too."

Beckett swatted her husband on the arm, and Castle backed off, dramatically claiming, "Spousal abuse. I have witnesses."

There was snickering at the door as the other five detectives called out their varying forms of "Goodnight."

"Okay, let's go get our warrants." Beckett told Castle. "And thanks, Roslyn. You've been great about all this."

"All on the same team, Kate. I'm taking the lieutenant's test next time it's given, and I'm getting some good training watching you. In case you've wondered how we think you're doing, you're pulling an A plus so far. Now go get your signatures and go home."

Beckett smiled and slid the warrants into the file folder Karpowski had brought in with the forms. "Yeah. I guess I was wondering." The entire exchange was very matter of fact and cop like, but the sentiment was there with an appreciation from both sides. "You heard Future Lieutenant Karpowski, Castle. Let's go get those signatures and go home."

"I'm so ready," he answered. "Thanks, Karpowski…for all of that," he said as she went to get her things. Her answer was a hand waved over her shoulder in acknowledgement.

xxxxx

As Castle and Beckett drove to Judge Markaway's home, Beckett said, "I couldn't help think when Ed Pratt handed us that envelope, that we have five people in a similar place. It worries me sometimes."

"It isn't quite the same, Kate. Tattinger knew that Feldman had the information because he was in on the conversation. Feldman gathered the evidence after that, knowing it could be tracked his computer. We were smarter. We had the information first and distributed the copies before Bracken knew we had it. We didn't give it to people who would automatically be associated with us, and we believe they won't look at what they have. It isn't the same. But I do wonder about it now and then anyway."

"It still worries me." She paused thoughtfully before going back to their present case. "Pratt was so afraid for his family. I almost wanted to sneak them off to the house in the Hamptons. Nobody would be looking for them there."

Castle chuckled. "It crossed my mind, too. I was glad they had a place to go where they'd feel safe." He took her hand and squeezed it gently. "We need the beach house for ourselves as soon as this case is over. Even if it's just for a day."

"With all this overtime, we'll probably have at least a day for that. Sounds nice."

They got the signatures they needed from the judge, talked to him for a few minutes and then went home.

When Martha saw them come in, she looked at Alexis and deadpanned conspiratorially, "They're back, Alexis. Head for the hills. Save yourself."

Alexis giggled and went to hug her parents. "You both look so worn down."

"Thanks, Pumpkin. You're looking lovely yourself," Castle answered sarcastically and grabbed her in a bear hug again.

"Daaaad."

"My turn," Kate insisted, rescuing the girl from her father's clutches and giving her a less breathtaking hug.

"Wine? Castle asked his wife.

"Definitely," Kate answered, trailing her hand over Martha's shoulders affectionately as she passed her on the way to the kitchen.

Martha caught Kate's hand and said "We made extra for dinner tonight in case you managed to get home. Top shelf in the fridge."

"Thank you both," Kate answered. Looking at her husband, she said, "I just realized we never had dinner. I'm falling down on my responsibility to the teams."

"Did you hear anybody mention dinner? All of us got involved in what needed to be done. "You heard Karpowski. Everybody thinks you're doing an outstanding job, and I haven't heard anybody complaining," Castle answered as he pulled the leftovers from the refrigerator.

Kate put the food on plates, and Castle put them in the microwave one at a time. "Now that I've remembered how long ago lunch was, I'm famished. Thanks for taking care of us," she said to Martha and Alexis.

Castle handed his wife her plate, and they took their dinner to the table, where Martha and Alexis joined them.

"Have you made any progress on the case?" Martha asked

"Enough that we have warrants for searches for a couple of people. We may have more by the end of the tomorrow. We got information tonight that could help us break the case," Beckett answered.

"From where?" Alexis wanted to know.

"From Mr. Feldman. He left it for a friend to give us if anything happened to him. He was stuck between his conscience and his job and his safety. Tough spot," Kate answered.

"So he's helping you solve his murder?"

"Looks like it."

"What's going on with you?" she asked Alexis.

I helped Dr. Parish with the Feldmans' autopsies…not the teenagers, though. "She said she'd handle that. And before you ask, I didn't see any of the Morgan kids, either. It's all so sad."

She paused for a moment and Martha told them, "JD is taking her to dinner and a movie tomorrow night. I like this boy, Richard."

"He said I need to get away from thinking about the case for a little while," Alexis explained.

"We like him, too, Pumpkin. He seems to be a good man. Good Lord, when did I start thinking of my daughter's boyfriend as a man? That requires admitting that my daughter is grown."

"I thought we'd already come to that conclusion, Dad."

"He keeps having relapses," Kate explained with a mischievous smile.

They talked a few more minutes about Martha's progress at the school, and then excused themselves for some sleep.

As they closed the bedroom door, Kate said, "I can do a shower and more snuggly, naked sleeping, but any thoughts of practicing tonight might be off the table."

Castle kissed her lovingly and answered, "Good. 'Cause I'm thinking even the shower sounds like too much work. Tomorrow could turn out to be another long one."

They showered together with no additional activities involved, collapsed into bed without even looking for pajamas, and almost immediately sunk into much needed sleep.