Author's note: I'd like to thank a guest for their review. I'd also like to apologize; I did not finish posting the case before my due date, but that's because my little munchkin decided to come a couple weeks early. We are both doing well, but it looks like my writing time has been drastically cut for the foreseeable future. I'll try to post more when I can, but that will probably mean a lot of gaps between posts. Again, sorry in advance. Enjoy!

Chapter 13

The SWAT team meet them outside Haversham's apartment building. "Ready when you are, Captain."

Beckett held up the photo of Haversham. "This is our target. He's very smart and we have to assume he is armed and dangerous. He used a drug known as Devil's Breath on his victims, so be careful."

"Copy that." The SWAT team captain turned to his men. "Let's move out."

Beckett's team followed the SWAT team upstairs. Because of what they knew about Haversham, the judge had granted a no-knock warrant. SWAT was going to bust in and hopefully have the suspect restrained before Beckett's team even stepped inside. Outside the door, everyone stacked up and SWAT checked their weapons once last time. The officer with the ram lined up and waited for the signal.

His captain counted down from three and the ram slammed into the door. It didn't fly off the hinges, but it was loose enough that a strong shoulder could finish the job. The officers swarmed inside, yelling. Beckett's team had been told to wait a count of ten, but a "Clear!" and "Suspect in custody!" had them entering sooner. Beckett entered first, looking around at the large and well-furnished apartment. It was clear Haversham wasn't your average New Yorker.

Beckett found her way to a rear bedroom to find the suspect in handcuffs, still face down on the floor. "Good work."

"He's been read his rights, but you're welcome to do it again, if you like."

"We'll talk to him at the station."

The SWAT captain nodded. "Want us to take him to booking for you?"

"That'd be great, thank you."

"Not a problem." Haversham was hoisted up and escorted out by the SWAT team.

Beckett turned to her team. "CSU is on their way, so look but don't touch."

"Copy."

The team fanned out and looked around the apartment. Everything was far nicer than Haversham should be able to afford. His identity on paper was that of a book editor. Sure, you could make a nice living with that job, but you had to have a lot of well known clients for that. The suspect's work portfolio had a few dozen entries, and none of those were best sellers. His income was definitely from an alternative source.

"Beckett! Found the evidence!" Esposito called the Captain into the second bedroom.

Haversham had turned this room into his "wall of crazy." The photos, evidence, and documents from the cold case were tacked to the walls with strings connecting everything. He hadn't just stolen this case for someone; he was trying to connect the dots in it as well. From some of the questions on post-it notes, Beckett could tell that Haversham thought the victim might still be alive, and he was trying to find her.

Esposito looked at Beckett. "Why is he looking for a dead woman?"

"No body was ever found." The Captain looked at the notes more closely. "'He was in love with her.' Haversham must have realized that Patrino might not have killed Kavon. I don't know what tipped him off, but that's what started this whole thing. I think Haversham is trying to find her."

Ryan pointed at another note. "And he found her. Well, kinda. This one says, 'WITSEC.' So, he knows she's in the program, but nothing near this note says where."

Beckett nodded. "I'll ask Marshal Demming about it. I'm gonna leave you two in charge of the scene. After we talk to Demming, Castle and I have an errand to run."

"No problem, Captain. We'll keep you posted."

"Thanks for meeting with us again, Tom."

"No problem. I know you found Haversham, so I'm a little confused what you need…"

"We found Haversham, and the evidence he stole, but that's not what we're here to talk to you about. He'd set up a 'wall of crazy' with the evidence and it looks like he's looking to find a woman who is presumed dead. According to his wall, she's in WITSEC."

Demming shifted in his chair. "Kate…"

Beckett held up a hand to stop him. "I don't need to know where she was moved, or why. I just need to know if his theory is true so I can let Cold Cases know to… not be eager to work on that case. Her name was Sharron Kavon."

Demming looked at her for a long minute and then sighed. "She is in the program. That's all I can tell you."

"That's all I need." Beckett stood and extended her hand. "Thanks again, Tom."

Demming stood and shook her hand. "No problem. Listen, Kate, I know New York will want to try Haversham for the 1PP break-in, and rightly so, but the Feds want him for everything else. A lot of his crimes crossed state lines, making them federal cases."

"Of course." Beckett nodded. "I'll let the D.A. know."

"I appreciate it."

Beckett and Castle returned to the car and headed for the cemetery. The headstone Castle had ordered for Hayley's grave was finally ready to be put in place. The couple were meeting the installation team at Hayley's graveside. It hadn't been necessary, but Castle felt he needed to be there, so Beckett was coming with. Which was probably a good thing because Castle was getting a little tense as they drove to the cemetery.

"You okay?"

"Yeah." Castle looked at his wife. "I haven't been here since the funeral. I kinda feel bad about that."

"You've been busy. Between your business and your writing, you've been gone a lot."

"I know, but still. It shouldn't be so hard to visit for a couple minutes."

Beckett parked behind the delivery van. "I'm sure Hayley would understand."

Castle smiled. "Thanks for coming with me, Kate."

"Always."

They got out of the car and met with the installers for a couple minutes before the grave marker was brought out of the van for Castle's inspection. It was a simple marker that would be about two feet tall when it was finally placed. It was made from a black granite with a glass-like finish and the text looked white against the dark stone. Seeing it in person for the first time, Castle was pleased that it looked exactly the way he thought it would.

Castle nodded. "That looks great. You know where it goes?"

"Yes, sir."

"Great. We'll let you get to work."

While the men got to work. Castle looked around at the graveyard. A lot of people found graveyards creepy, probably from the number of dead bodies housed within, but to Castle graveyards held a sort of somber beauty found only in these sorts of places. A graveyard was a resting place for those who had lived. For those still living, it was a place to mourn and celebrate the lives of those they'd lost. Hayley's graveside in particular was filled with that serene beauty.

The workers stepped back. "How does that look, Mr. Castle?"

Castle looked at the marker. "That looks great."

Beckett rubbed Castle's arm. "I think she'd like it."

Hayley Shipton

דינה מרילו שפיר (Dinah Marilou Shafir)

Born: April 8, 1977 / (20th of Nisan, 5737) כ׳ בְּנִיסָן תשל״ז

Died: December 5, 2022 / (11th of Kislev, 5783) י״א בְּכִסְלֵו תשפ״ג

Castle nodded. "Thanks. I tried to follow her specifications, but she didn't leave much for me to work with."

The installers packed up their tools. "Your account is paid for, so we don't have anything to give you. Enjoy the rest of your day."

Castle shook their hands. "Thanks, fellas."

The couple moved up to the graveside to pay their respects. The dappled sunlight made the stone shimmer slightly, adding to the beauty of the spot. The shimmer reminded Castle of the twinkle in Hayley's eyes when she was being mischievous. He really did miss her. How had it already been over a month since her death? Apparently, time flew no matter what your emotional state.

"Hold up, guys, I'm missing a tool." One of the workmen came back into view.

"Everything okay?" Castle stepped forward.

"Everything's fine. I just left one of my tools around here somewhere." He started looking around the gravestone.

Castle suddenly felt a sharp pinch at his neck. He tried to call out to Beckett, but the words wouldn't form on his lips as his vision went dark. Unknown to him, Beckett was also being drugged and she had tried to call out to him too. The workmen quickly looked around the graveyard and then loaded the couple into their van, relieving them of their phones and weapons before driving away.

Esposito glanced at Beckett's office when they got back to the precinct. "Any idea what the errand Beckett and Castle had to do is?"

Ryan started to shake his head but stopped halfway through. "Actually, I think Castle mentioned the marker for Hayley's grave was ready for installation. I'm gonna bet they're doing that."

Esposito nodded. "Makes sense."

They spent the next couple hours going over everything they had found in Haversham's apartment, mostly focusing on the "wall of crazy." It was amazing; in the two days they'd spent looking for him, Haversham had gone over every detail of the case and added all the information he'd gathered in the last eighteen years to come to the conclusion that Sharron Kavon had not actually been killed on January 31, 2004.

Ryan stepped back from the board. "It all fits. No body was found, Vince Patrino was in love with her; she must be in the Witness Protection Program."

"Yeah, but why go after her now? It's been eighteen years. Why try to track her down now?"

"Patrino is turning state's evidence. I'll bet Haversham is trying to kill a corroborating witness or scare Patrino into not testifying."

Esposito nodded and looked at his watch. "Where are Beckett and Castle?"

"I don't know. I don't think it takes this long to install a gravestone." Ryan pulled out his phone. "I'll give them a call."

Esposito watched his partner put his phone to his ear, shake his head, and select another number. "Anything?"

Ryan shook his head again. "They're not answering."

"I don't like this." Esposito grabbed his keys. "Coming?"

"Right behind you."

The boys drove out to the cemetery and slowly drove around until they saw Beckett's car. They parked behind her car and got out, looking around. Esposito remembered that Hayley's grave was a little distance from the road, but it wasn't out of sight; Beckett and Castle were nowhere to be found. Ryan noticed something by a grave under the tree and headed for it.

"What do you see?"

"That." Ryan pointed to Beckett's badge, gun, and two phones. "There's a note under the phones."

Esposito put on gloves and grabbed the note. "'Your move, Hunt.'"

"Someone took Beckett and Castle."

"And they're after Jackson Hunt, Castle's dad."

"What do we do?" Ryan was scared. "We don't have a way to contact him. How do we let him know what happened?"

Esposito shrugged. "I don't know. What I do know is the bastards were prepared. I don't know too many people who can best Beckett in a fair fight."

"You're thinking they were drugged?"

"Yes. And we don't know who's behind it at all."

A/N: For some reason, I had to put the date written in Hebrew after the English translation or the formatting of the whole line was completely screwed up. No idea what causes it, since it's fine in the word document I uploaded. Very strange. Who has our favorite couple? Stay tuned!