Thank you guys AGAIN, so much. Your reviews and words of encouragement mean the world to me. Here's the REALLY long chapter I promised, and it is a LONG one.
After lots of prodding, I put this up on fanfiction.net too, under the same title and everything, so now, you can choose your way to follow this story

Chapter 4

In the few hours since they had last seen Norah Ralle, the 28-year-old web designer looked like she aged at least ten years. She walked into the 12th Precinct with her niece in tow, her bag loaded with books to hopefully keep the little girl’s mind occupied during what she was sure was going to be a very difficult conversation.

“Norah.” Beckett greeted her with what she had hoped was a semblance of a smile. “We’ve got coffee and a little table set up for Maya in the breakroom.” She told the woman, gesturing to the room where Castle was already sitting.

“Thank you.” Norah said as they went in. “I brought those photo albums that you asked for…” She said, taking two thick albums out of her bag. Maya ran over to the table where her aunt pointed and started looking for a picture to color.

“We’ll take good care of these.” Castle said.

“You really think they could help?” Norah asked.

“So far, the law has been this connecting factor between all of the victims. We’re going to start looking at faces and see if anyone had particular people in common or not.” Kate said.

“Ever since Evan died, the most constant people in her life were Maya, me, a couple of regular baby-sitters, the staff in the building, and her co-workers at SoHo.” Norah explained. “I don’t know all of them, but those I did know sure didn’t seem like killers, at least to me.”

“We have others checking out her co-workers at SoHo and everyone who lived in the building, but do you know who else she would have watch Maya? I mean, you probably couldn’t watch her all the time, I’m sure she had back-ups.” Kate said.

“She told me she had a decent support system in the building, ever since Evan died. People would come over and give her a hand with repairs and stuff, and Maya was just a magnet. It’s hard not to love her.”

Beckett let her eyes drift over to the girl in the corner, coloring in a book that Norah had brought to keep her busy. “Anyone stick out in your mind?” She asked.

“There was this elderly man, I think he lived on the 7th floor. Said Maya reminded him of his own daughter. I think his name was Jim or something. I only met him once, and he seemed like nice enough of a man.”

She coughed on the sip of water she took. “Jim?” Kate asked. As far as she knew, her father was the only tenant on the 7th floor of the building with the name of Jim. “Would you recognize a photo?” She asked.

“Yeah. And Maya would too, no doubt. She loved it when he would come over. Our parents were killed in a car crash before Maya was born and Evan’s parents don’t really come over any more because seeing her was just too much a reminder of what they lost.” She said.

Beckett had no idea that Castle had risen from his chair next to her until he returned with the picture that she had had taped to the bottom of her computer screen. “Is this him?” He asked, passing the picture in front of her.

Norah nodded. “Yeah. That’s Jim.” She looked up, frantic. “Don’t tell me something happened to him, too. I already don’t know how to tell her her mother isn’t coming home, but this would just break her.”

“He’s okay.” Beckett said, surprised that she was able to find her voice. “Would you mind if my partner takes Maya back to my desk? There are a few,” she paused, “sensitive things to discuss with you.”

“That’s fine.” Norah said.

Castle could tell from the look in her eyes that she was going to come clean to Norah about all of it; the murders decades ago, Kat’s connection to those murders, and her own connection to the man named Jim. “If you would, Castle.” Beckett said, gesturing to the little girl.

“Yeah. Sure.” He stood up, walking over to the girl. “Come on there, Maya, I know where the Detective hides the good candy.” He said, holding his hand to her.

“You can go with Mr. Castle, honey.” Norah attempted a smile for her benefit. “I’ll be out soon.” She promised. “Then we’ll go to the park we saw on our way here.”

“Okay.” She said with a smile, gathering her book and her colors. “Will you color with me?” She asked.

“Absolutely. Detective Beckett’s desk could use some more color.” He said, making sure to close the door behind him.

“Why do I feel like I’m about to be one of those characters in one of those movies who completely gets blindsided about twenty minutes before it ends?” She asked.

Beckett didn’t speak, just laid out the files in front of Norah. “These murders happened in Upper Manhattan 18 years ago, all in the same fashion. The murderer was never caught.” She put Kat’s file on the table. “Your sister’s murder raised the same red flags for us. We are certain that the same person that killed these people, also killed her.”

“What makes you think you can find him after all these years?” Norah asked, her eyes welling up with tears.

She held up the file that was most familiar to her, pointing at the picture paper-clipped to the outside. “Johanna Beckett was my mother. This case was the reason I became a cop. You and Maya are not going to have to go 18 years without an answer; without closure. You have my word.”

*****

Castle sat in Beckett’s chair with Maya on his lap, coloring with one hand coloring and his head looking towards the break room. It had killed him a little on the inside to have to leave the room, but he understood. It didn’t take a degree to see that Kate saw a part of herself in the little girl, and with this case as personal for her as it ever could be, the less people in the room for that conversation, the better.

He looked back to the desk and his picture as the door opened. “If you need anything at all,” Kate told her as she hand Norah her card, “please don’t hesitate to call me.”

Norah nodded, blowing her nose. “Thank you, Detective.” She shook her head. “It will get better, right?” She asked. “I’m going to try to tell her today, but, it will get better?”

“Call me Kate.” She said. “I’m still working on that, myself. It does get easier to carry it with you. And you’ll always have Maya. The memory of your sister, as well as your brother-in-law, will always be alive with her.”

Norah nodded once more, her gaze drifting to Maya. “Thank you.” She repeated once again in a whisper.

“I think your Aunt’s done.” Castle said. “Go show her your picture.” He said with a smile. Maya was quite the artist, and she had spent their time drawing a field of flowers for her aunt. He stayed at Beckett’s desk to watch the three.

“I drew this for you.” Maya said, holding the picture up in front of her aunt.

Norah tried smiling again, kneeling down to her level. “It’s beautiful, honey. What do you say we head to the park?” She asked.

“Rick drew a picture for you, too.” Maya said, turning to Kate.

It didn’t surprise her to hear that Castle told her to call him Rick. “Did he, now?” She asked with a raised eyebrow, looking at him in her desk chair.

“We ate gummi bears.” She said with a smile, looking Kate in the eye as she too, knelt to her level.

“What do you say to the Detective?” Norah prodded.

“Thank you!” The girl said with a smile, throwing her arms around Beckett, who was clearly surprised.

Kate smiled and relaxed after a moment, hugging her back. “You’re very welcome, Maya. Have fun with your aunt today.” She watched them leave for a moment before turning back to Castle and her desk.

He moved from the chair without any prodding, concerned when she fell into hers rather unceremoniously. “This just got a lot harder.” She said, checking her cell phone. “I have to tell him. Everything.”

“Still want me to come?” He asked.

Kate nodded again. “I do.” She looked around her desk. “So, where’s this picture?”

“Ah!” Castle’s eyes lit up, grabbing the paper from the inbox on her desk. “One Richard Castle original.” He said with a smile. “You okay?” He asked.

“I can’t help but think about Maya. To lose her father when she’s too young to remember, and now, to lose her mother like this.” She sighed. “We’re going to solve this case.”

“Beckett?” Captain Montgomery stepped to the door of his office. “A word?” He asked.

“Yes, sir.”

*****

Two hours later, Beckett and Castle slid into a booth at the Marquee Cafe and ordered coffee, waiting for Jim Beckett to arrive. Ryan and Esposito were off, Ryan was spending the day interviewing co-workers at SoHo Loft Books, and Esposito was canvassing Kat’s floor and the staff in her building.

“You want to talk about Montgomery?” Castle asked. “You were in there for a while.”

She shook her head. “No cop wants to have that conversation with their captain.” She said. “I can imagine no captain wants to have it with one of their cops, either.”

“I’m checking in with Ryan and Esposito often. The first sign that your involvement in this goes southward, I’m pulling you off the case and sending you home. I hope I don’t regret my decision to let you function as the lead detective on this, Beckett.”

Four years after she had become a detective, the lead detective on the team she’d been on had been summoned to the captain’s office, and had been reprimanded for getting too involved in a case and letting it cloud his judgement. He’d told his team the details of the conversation, and a week and a half later found himself under review for that and several other incidents, and subsequently let go from the NYPD. It was after that incident that Beckett had found herself promoted to lead detective of that team.

“You’ve got the best record in the 12th. Montgomery really wouldn’t take you off the case, would he?” Castle asked.

“He wouldn’t be doing his job right if he had least didn’t ask me if I could handle it, but he’s right. Cops who get too involved let things fall through the cracks. More often than not, they end up not catching the killer and letting the families of victims down. I resolved to never be one of those cops.” She looked up as the bell on the door rang. “There he is.” She stood up from the booth so he could see them easier. “Hi Dad.” She said with a smile.

“Are you okay, honey? Your voicemail…” His eyes were worried as he hugged her.

“We’ll explain it all, Dad.” She gestured to the booth. “You remember Castle?”

“Indeed I do.” Jim Beckett said with a smile as he sat down. “Rick, it’s great to see you again.” He extended his hand to the writer.

Castle returned the gesture. “You too, Mr. Beckett.”

Kate seated herself next to her father. “There is no easy way to say this, Dad.” She started. “Someone in your building was murdered last night in White Plains. Kat Harper.”

He gasped. “Kat’s dead? What about Maya?”

“Maya’s with her aunt. Norah. There’s more, though.” She paused, trying to collect her thoughts. “The injuries on her body…” She bit her lip, trying to furiously blink back tears. “The injuries on her body were consistent with how Mom was killed.”

The older Beckett sat in silence, trying to absorb what his daughter just said. “Are you sure, Kate?” He asked.

She nodded. “We’re certain.” On the way over to the cafe, Lanie had called Kate to tell her that the injury patterns and even the shape of the weapon used were exactly the same as the other murders.

“Do you have any leads?” He asked when he could finally talk again.

“We’re piecing together Kat Harper’s life in hopes it gives us something to compare to the earlier cases.” She said. “We’ve got the best ME in New York looking at her body and we’ve got two police precincts working on this.”

“We’ll find this person.” Castle said.

“We’re going to be sending a couple of uniforms to keep an eye on your building. If you need anything at all… I’ll tell them to keep an eye out for you.” She said. “And I’m going to have my cell phone on me at all times. Don’t hesitate to call me. Or stop by the precinct.”

He let out a breath. “I think my next phone call is going to be to my sponsor.”

“Dad…”

He put a hand over hers. “I’m going to be just fine, honey. I’ve got a great support system built up. I’m more worried about you. Are you going to be okay investigating this again?”

“It’s not just me who lost a mother to this guy. Maya Harper deserves a cop who’s a hundred and ten percent focused on finding the answer. I’m going to find the answer, find who killed her mother, for her, and if it finds me an answer, even better.”

*****

I've been brainstorming the next part of the story, and that preview for next weeks episode just keeps playing in my head! Who's excited?!?!?!?