Chapter 4

"Hey Lanie, what do you got?" Beckett says as she and Castle walk over to the M.E. who is hovering over the vic.

"I've ruled time of death as somewhere between ten and midnight. I found black fibers on her clothing. Most likely it's from a shirt or sweatshirt, probably one that the killer was wearing. Even though the vic fought back, there wasn't any DNA underneath her fingernails. My guess is the killer was covered up enough, probably with the black fabric, that she couldn't hurt him much."

Just as Lanie finished talking, Kate's phone rang.

"Beckett." She says while the man on the other sides gives her the information. "Alright, thanks Espo."

"They found the ex-boyfriend apparently."

"Ex?"

"Yeah, Espo told me that they broke up…a week ago." Beckett says raising her eyebrows slightly.

"A week huh. I wonder what that was all about. Maybe we should go give this guy a visit."

"Before you guys go, I have one more thing. Inside her jeans pocket I found a crumpled piece of paper." Lanie said before handing Beckett the evidence bag containing the item.

"6/28 12" Castle said reading the writing on the small piece of paper. "So she was planning on meeting somebody?"

"Looks like it. The only problem is that this is a date and time, but we don't have a place. Maybe the boys can find something at her apartment that will tell us who and where she was going to meet."

"Thanks Lanie, let us know if anything else turns up."

"You got it girl." She says giving the detective a small grin. "See ya later writer-boy."

"Bye Lanie." Castle says as both he and Kate head back to the elevator.

"Boys, what do we got?" Beckett says as she enters the precinct.

"Megan's ex-boyfriend is a Matthew Pearson. His record is clean, but we're bringing him in now." Ryan says looking up from the files on his desk.

"Do we know why the pair broke up a week ago?"

"No, but apparently they had a falling out. We talked to one of the neighbors and she said that two or three times this past few weeks she's heard yelling coming from the apartment."

"Did she hear anything this past week?"

"No, she said the last time she heard the yelling was two weeks ago. The sound was too muffled to tell what the fighting was about, but she said it got pretty heated."

"How long were the two of them dating?"

"We're not exactly sure. We don't really have much on this guy or their relationship. Hopefully we'll be able the put the pieces together more once he arrives."

"Alright, well this guy is our number one and only suspect. We don't want him lawyering up if we can help it. You guys go back to Megan's apartment and see if you can find anything else having to do with the boyfriend. Lanie found a piece of paper in the vic's jeans with a date and time, 6/28 12. We don't have a where or who though. See if she keeps a calendar, date book, or anything that will help us know what that event is. Castle and I will talk to the ex-boyfriend once he comes in."

"You got it boss." Espo says before the boys head back to the apartment.

A half an hour later, the elevator door to the precinct dings. Beckett looks up to find a man walking into the precinct. She stands up to walk over to him.

"Mr. Pearson?"

"Yes, that's me. Please, call me Matt. What can I do for you? I got a call about my ex, Megan. Is she ok?"

"Matt, why don't we go talk in private." Beckett says gesturing to an empty break room.

The three sit down and get settled. Matt is the first one to speak up.

"Is Megan ok? What happened? I got a call telling me to come down to the precinct."

"Matt, I am sorry to tell you this but Megan is dead. She was murdered in her apartment last night."

"M-murdered? Oh my god…w-what….w-who…" he trailed off, looking uncertainly between Castle and Beckett.

"I am sorry for your loss. We are trying to find whoever did this to Megan. Would it be alright if we asked you some questions?"

"Of course, I'll do what I can to help."

"Thank you. First of all, I understand that you and Megan recently broke up, can I ask why?"

"Things just weren't working out I guess. We both had kind of crazy schedules, and we didn't get to see each other a whole lot lately."

"How long had you too dated?"

"Over a year. We met while she was ice skating with her daughter in Central Park…Oh my god, is Lily okay?"

"Lily is fine, she was at a sleepover when it happened. She is still there now."

He let out a sigh of relief before Beckett continued.

"I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but where were you last night between 10 p.m. and midnight?"

"I was at the office working late."

"Alright. Did you notice anything suspicious these past few weeks? Did Megan say anthing to you about someone threatening her, or her being worried about anything?"

"Well I haven't talked to her since we broke up last week. Before that, she didn't really mention anything. She did seem stressed though. Megan wouldn't tell me what is was about, but I knew it was bothering her. She'd been staying a little later than normal at the office lately. I figured she had just been swamped with work. I'd call her and ask her if she wanted to meet me at my place or go out to eat with me and Lily, but she said she was too busy or too tired. We have both been busy so I didn't think anything of it."

"Alright, thank you Matt. Here's my card. If you think of anything else, give me a call. I'll let you know if we find anything else."

"Thank you detective." Matt says before walking out of the room and heading back towards the elevators.

"Does that guy seem like our killer to you?" Castle says, coming to stand next to Beckett.

"I don't know. He seemed genuinely concerned, even about Lily. We need to find out more about this guy. I also want to know what had Megan so worked up these past few weeks. Hopefully the boys will find something useful at her apartment."