Castle (2009–2016): Season 2, Episode 15 - Suicide Squeeze - full transcript

A baseball player is found dead in the Spanish Harlem. It's found that he had many people hating him because he went to Cuba and shook hands with Castro.

There are two kinds of folks

who sit around thinking
about how to kill people:

psychopaths
and mystery writers.

I'm the kind that pays better.

Who am I?

I'm Rick Castle.

Castle.

Castle.

I really am ruggedly handsome,
aren't I?

Every writer needs inspiration.
And I found mine.

Detective Kate Beckett.

- Beckett.
- Beckett.

- Nikki Heat?
- The character he's basing on you.

And thanks to my friendship
with the mayor,

I get to be on her case.

I would be happy
to let you spank me.

And together, we catch killers

We make a pretty
good team, you know?

Like Starsky and Hutch.

Turner and Hooch.

You do remind me
a little of Hooch.

(metal squeaking)

(thud)

(thud)

(thud)

Tell me, seer,

What do I hold
in my hand now?

(whispers) shh.

You're holding...

A wallet.

Yes! Incredible.
Ten out of ten.

What's going on?

Gram's teaching me
how to read minds.

And she is a natural.

Much better than you were
at her age.

And I'm very proud.

Why the sudden foray
into the mysterious realms?

It's a genealogy project for
school. Half of the assignment

is to collect stories
from family members.

I had no idea
that gram's folks

had a mind-reading act
on Coney Island.

Yeah, they were
very famous in their day.

I love all their codes--
how "tell me" means wallet

and "reveal to me"
means a pair of glasses.

Yes, you come from
a long line

of hucksters and charlatans,
myself included.

But we have high hopes
for you.

(cell phone rings)

That must be Beckett.
(ringing)

How did you know?

It's after 10:00
on a weekday.

Who else is it gonna be?

Oh, she is good.

Brilliant.

(beeps)
Castle.

I knew it was you.

(Esposito) Victim is
a hispanic male, mid-30s.

A local spotted him
when he was out walking s dog,

around 10:30.

His wallet's missing.
If it was a robbery,

I bet my week's salary that the killer
didn't know who he was rolling.

You I.D.'ed him
without a wallet?

Unfortunately.
You know the guy?

Everybody in New York
knows the guy.

Cano Vega,
the baseball player.

Yep.
Cano Vega?
Are you sure?

He was
my first-round draft pick

in my fantasy league
three years running.

.314 batting average,
4 gold gloves, and one...

championship ring.

I almost caught one of
his homers once.

He had just came
to the states from Cuba,

and my dad took us out
to the bleachers over at Shea.

I didn't know
you were a baseball fan.

It's genetic,
on my dad's side.

Been taking me to games
since I was 3.

Yeah, mine, too.

What about you, Castle?

Your dad a baseball fan?

I really can't say.

Castle is
famously fatherless.

What, are you adopted
or something?

No.

Then how do you--
it's complicated.

(Perlmutter)
It's not that complicated.

Someone used his head
for batting practice.

36-ouncer to the back
of the head.

By the look of the spatter,
he was hit multiple times.

Time of death?

Uh, from his temperature,
I'd say two,

maybe three hour
at the most.

What's with
all this bruising?

Postmortem,
from the balls.

Pitching arm--it ran
for a while after he was dead.

So you'd think a guy
like Cano Vega

would have a batting cage
in his basement.

What would he be doing
in a sketchy neighborhood

in Spanish Harlem
at this hour of the night?

Maybe because
it's Cano Vega Field.

Local uniforms said that
he built it for the community,

wanted to
give something back.

So our killer

hit him from here.

And he got blood
on his shoe.

Have C.S.U. run a sweep.

See if anything tracked
outside of the field.

All right.

So your dad, what is it,
a "Mamma Mia!" thing?

Early '70s, free love.

Yeah, I'll bet your mom was
kinda wild back in the day.

You really need
to stop talking now.

Sorry. Done.

(police radio chatter)

A big, athletic guy

is swinging
a 2-1/2-foot club.

He couldn't have been
that easy to kill.

Unless he didn't
see it coming.

(man) On behalf
of the Vega family...

(camera shutters clicking)
I want to thank
all of Cano's loyal fans

for their love and support.

In this time of great sadness,

we ask that you please respect
his family's privacy.

(woman)
Mr. Fox who else is...

12 years of marriage--

All they want from me
is a sound bite.

(Beckett) I'm very sorry
about your loss, Mrs. Vega.

Do you know why he'd be
in the park last night?

Sometimes he'd go there
to blow off steam,

but never at night.

Do you know where he was
earlier in the evening?

He was at my club.

Thanks.

Detective Beckett,
Mr. Castle,

Tommy Zane--
Cano's old teammate.

Be hard to be a New Yorker
and not know

Freight Train Tommy Zane.

So you guys got any leads?

We're looking into it.
Mr. Zane, you said

that Mr. Vega was
at your club last night?

Our club, actually.

Cano and I owned it with
a couple of other players.

Do you know about what time?

Dropped by about 7:00.
Left about 7:30.

I didn't really see him.
I was with a friend.

(cell phone rings)

Excuse me. Yeah.

Mrs. Vega,
do you know of anyone

who would've wanted
to hurt your husband?

Used to be,
everybody loved him,

Especially
in the Cuban community.

What changed?

The trip.

A-a few months ago,

the Cuban tourism department
approached him.

They wanted Cano to be
the poster boy for the new Cuba.

You risk your life
to escape Castro's Cuba,

why would you
go back to visit?

While Cano was down there,

the locals treated him
like a hero--their hero.

At a state dinner, Castro
came over and shook his hand.

When he got home, his friends
called him a traitor for going,

said he was
a lapdog for Fidel.

The same people who cheered
when he built that ballpark

came up and told him
to go to hell.

Did he get any threats?

You bet he got threats,
hundreds of them,

and all of them
courtesy of Alfredo Quintana.

Detective, Bobby Fox,
Cano's agent.

Nice to meet you.

Detective, could you do
something to get those jackals

and their cameras
away from Mrs. Vega's house?

I'll see what I can do.

Thanks.
Who's Alfredo Quintana?

He's the guy
who killed Cano Vega.

Thanks, Carlos.

Hey.

Alfredo Quintana--

J.D., Phd and editor
of "Una Nueva Esperanza,"

a newspaper published by
his foundation,

primarily
for the Cuban community.

This is his column
from two weeks ago.

"Cano Vega must pay"?

The article's about how Vega
betrayed the Cuban community

by shaking hands
with the monster

who butchered thousands
of their relatives.

Quintana says, "if Vega
is going to embrace

"the brutal regime
he once escaped,

he would do well to be reminded
of its barbarous cruelty."

Well, that sounds
like a threat to me.

I wasn't threatening him.

You turned the local
Cuban community against him.

He turned his back
on his people

when he gave Castro
his nod of approval.

If you want me to be sorry about
what I wrote because he's dead,

I'm not.

I wrote the truth.

Are you sure
that's all you did?

You said it yourself
in your editorial,

Vega should pay.

It's a free country,
isn't it?

I'm entitled
to express my opinion.

Your foundation--
Cubans First--

is on East 98th Street.

That's three blocks away

from the field
where Vega's body was found.

You think I had something
to do with his murder?

Well, the pen is mightier
than the sword.

But a baseball bat can be
pretty effective, too.

Where were you last night
between 7:00 and 10:00 pm?

I was at home with my wife.

Mm. Wives make
such convenient alibis.

My sons
were there as well...

as well as my brother.

Do you have anyone
who isn't blood related?

A notary, perhaps?

Look, what Cano Vega did
is inexcusable.

But I am not a murderer.

Are you sure about that,
Mr. Quintana?

You incited an entire community
against him.

So from where I'm standing,

you might not have swung
that bat,

but that doesn't mean
that you didn't kill him.

Well?
(Beckett) We'll check his alibi...

but my gut tells me
it's not him.

We should get a warrant,
run his subscribers

against any hate mail that
the Vegas might have gotten.

You sure you got no cop
in the Castle family tree?

No, us Castles

are mostly con artists
and circus folk, sir.

No, I think there's
a little cop in there somewhere.

Con artists

and circus people, huh?

Yep, and mind readers.

Really? So tell me
what I'm thinking.

aah.

You're... You're thinking...

You don't care and you want me
to stop talking.

Ooh, that's uncanny.

It's in the blood.
Yo, Beckett.

Yeah.
Just got back from C.S.U.

They managed to track the blood
trail from the killer's shoe

across the park.
It dead-ended at the curb.

So our killer
was driving a car.

Yeah. The area
was a little muddy,

so we were able to pull
a partial on the tire.

Any make and model?

Better. The tire marks
are distinctive.

They've been patched
in two spots.

Now those same tire tracks
match a car that was tagged

in an aggravated assault
last year.

The asault was committed
with a baseball bat

By one Anton Wade.

(Beckett)
Loan sharking, blackmail.

Plus assault with
a deadly weapon and two A&B's--

Assault and battery.
I know.

Right. The guy's
one seriously bad dude.

Whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa. Oh,
I'm sensing something here--

that... this guy
might just be our killer.

♫ Castle 2x15 ♫
Suicide Squeeze
Original Air Date on February 8, 2010

Mr. Wade,

We have you
at the baseball field.

Your car
was at the crime scene,

not to mention
your unfortunate history

of hitting people
with baseball bats.

All of that's enough
to send you away. So...

you can play dumb
or you can play ball.

Pun intended.

All right, I was there,
but I didn't kill him.

He was already dead.

You were just
paying the corpse a visit.

He called and asked me
to meet up with him.

And when I got there,
I knew how it looked.

So I bounced the hell up
outta there.

Why would Vega call you?

He wanted to make a payment
on his loan.

He always paid the same way,
cash in a plain envelope.

I saw it on him.
I took it.

The guy's a multimillionaire.
You're a petty loan shark.

What's he doing
borrowing money from you?

In my business,
you don't ask, you don't tell.

How much money
did he borrow?

He came to me
a couple weeks back,

needed 200 grand.

In my experience... (chuckles)
if you need that kind of coin,

he got himself
into some real bad... trouble--

The kind of trouble
that gets you killed.

Or maybe
he couldn't pay your vig.

And you pulled a little
"Untouchables" De Niro

On his head.
A guy owing you money?

Killing him ain't gonna get
you paid. You take his bling,

you jack him for his ride, you
maybe even bust his kneecaps.

But he made
his last installment.

Vega made his vig.
We were good.

Vega's wife didn't know
anything about the 200 grand.

It doesn't make sense.

With his assets,
a guy like Cano Vega

could get a loan from any bank
in New York City.

So why go to a loan shark
for $200,000?

Because bank loans
take time.

Loan sharks give it to you
right away.

Maybe he needed
the money fast.

Maybe he needed it
kept quiet.

Loan sharks don't require
paperwork, credit checks.

Maybe he didn't want
his wife to know.

Vega didn't want his wife

to know why he was
going to Cuba either.

So you think his trip
and the money are related?

Well, a week
after he gets back,

he suddenly needs $200,000?

It stands to reason that the two
were connected somehow.

Yo.

We just finished a search
of Wade's apartment.

We found a match to
the partial shoe print.

Yeah, but here's
the weird thing--

it tested positive
for blood on the sole,

but negative for blood
on the rest of the shoe

and negative
for cleaning agents.

If wade killed Vega,

then his shoe would've been
covered in blood.

So Wade's telling the truth.

He shows up after the murder,

tracks some blood
outside of the park.

While the real murderer
gets blood on top of his shoe

and leaves little
or no trail behind.

Let's find out why Vega
comes back from Cuba

and suddenly needs 200 grand.
Okay.

So where do you want
to start?

You guys look into
Vega's financials.

See if we missed anything.

Castle and I will start
with Cuba.

Cuba. Good idea.

I'll bring the mojitos.
You get the beach towels.

Oh, I don't know, Castle.

Me in a swimsuit
under the hot, blistering sun?

I'd be happy
to rub lotion on you.

(chuckles) That's okay.
I was actually thinking

of something
a little bit more local...

...For their love
and support.

In this time
of great sadness...
Like the man who arranged
the entire trip to Cuba.

Bobby Fox, his agent.
That's a good idea.

But the lotion offer
still stands.

No, thank you.
I have very soft hands.

What is it
with professional sports?

I mean, even the agencies
are on steroids.
Well, fox's client list

is a veritable who's who
of star athletes.

5% of their endorsements
and salaries--

You could pay
for half of lower Manhattan.

Did you just use the word "veritable"?
Yes, I did.

Sexy.
You should hear me say
"fallacious."

Bobby Fox Agency.
Please hold. Can I help you?

I need to see Mr. Fox.
Do you have an appointment?

I think he can squeeze me in.
(man) Rick?

Rick Castle?
Hey, skipper.

I have not seen you
since the big move.

How are you, Joe?
Pretty awful.

I just can't believe
this whole Vega thing.
I know.

It's sad. And you two
were friends. I'm--I'm sorry.

Yeah, he was a great kid.

Uh, he had the ability to be
a Cuban Roberto Clemente.

It's just been very sad.
We're actually here to talk
to Mr. Fox about it.

This is Detective Kate Beckett.
Hi.

Beckett... Kate...
Detective.

Thank you.

Very nice meeting you.
Okay.

Well, good luck on the case.

And, uh, I'll say a prayer
for you guys.

Thanks.

By the way, say hi
to your mom for me, okay?

Will do, Joe.
Okay.

Smooth.

That was
Joe-freakin'-Torre.

(gasps)
I gotta call my dad.

The office is over...
The off--his office is...

He was a good guy--Cano.

He built that field
because he wanted to give back.

I think that's why he went
to Cuba.

He wanted to see
if he could do something good.

But I guess
things hadn't changed

as much as he had hoped for.
What happened?

He had spent some time
in Havana with the people.

He came back pretty upset,
and he told me

to give the tourism guys back
their signing bonus.

First time I ever let a client
give money back. (chuckles)

But I figured, you know,

Cano was reneging
on a military dictatorship.

These are not the people
you want angry at you,

Especially having defected
from them 18 years ago.

He risked his life to leave.

Why would you want him to be
the poster boy for the new Cuba?

Oh, I didn't. I was
just as surprised as anyone

That he wanted to do it.

After everything I did
to get him out back then?

Have you heard this story?
No.

You're gonna like this, Castle.
It's like one of your books.

It was the '92 Olympics.

The Cubans had just won gold
in Barcelona,

Thanks mostly to Cano.

And I wanted to get him
to the states

to play in the bigs.

Now convincing him
was the easy part.

Getting him onto my plane,
that was the hard part.

We had to get past coaches
and minders

And finally...

El pulpo,

Head of State Security,

Because he had his tentacles
around everybody.

And just as we thought
we were home free--boom!

El pulpo.

We were caught, sunk.

A firing squad,
I kid you not,

was waiting for that kid
back in Havana.

You know how
I got us past el pulpo?

Rolex. (laughs)

I gave him
my shiny new rolex,

And he just looked
the other way.

(laughs)
Just goes to show you,

every socialist is a capitalist
when backs are turned.

(laughs)
Is it possible
that he took the Cuba job

because he needed the money?
Well, it's possible, yes.

God knows those guys know
how to blow through money.

(laughs) and plus,
he has that club with Tommy

That's just a money pit.
So in regards
to the Cuba job,

who else went on this trip?
Well, a couple of
low-level Cuban diplomats.

I'll have, uh, Cynthia
get you a list.

So what made him
go to Cuba

and then what made him
change his mind?

Well, maybe Vega worked
for the state department.

Maybe he was sent
to shake hands with Fidel

in a secret attempt

to release a biotoxin
into his system.

Well, the Russians
sprayed sushi

with radioactive polonium.

What--
what's more farfetched?

Well, I just met Joe Torre,

so I guess
anything's possible.

(cell phone rings and beeps)
Beckett.

Cause of death was cerebral
hemorrhaging, as expected.

Any way to estimate
the height of the attacker

based on the angle of the blows?
Normally, yes,

But I-in this case,
your attacker's first swing

landed a little south of his head.
How far south?

E-enough to make him
a soprano.

Ow. Shoulda worn a cup.

Lacerations around
the patella

suggest Mr. Vega
was on his knees

when he was hit
on the head.

So our attacker could've been anyone?
Man, woman or child.

But that's not
why I called.

Among all the fresh bruising,

we also found
significant subdermal bruises

that weren't quite as fresh.

The contusions
were all fist sized.

He was in a fight.

Couple days ago.

What's this shape right here?
He was wearing a ring.

Not just any ring.

A championship ring.

Left-hand ring finger,

just like his old teammate.

Freight Train Tommy Zane.

You know, mom's family
goes all the way back

to the "Mayflower."

What, her persecution complex
is genetic?

Hey, those are my genes
you're talking about, too.

Well, look on the bright side.

Now that you know
you're genetically predisposed,

you can seek early treatment,
prevent future outbreaks.

(spritzes)
Doesn't it bother you

that you don't know
who your dad is?

No.

Why, does it bother you?

It's like...
I have this family tree,

and there's a whole chunk
of it missing.

There's a whole part
of my history

that doesn't even exist.

I mean, really,
how could gram not know?

My first year of college,
I, uh, went to a party,

met this girl--Allison.

In the space of six hours,
we met, we talked, we danced,

we fell in love.

The next morning,
she was gone.

I spent a year
trying to find her,

but I never learned
her last name.

There's not a week that goes by
I don't think about her.

Your gram told me
that she loved a lifetime

the night she met him.

Don't you feel like you're
missing out, not knowing?

No. Oh, no. That's the beauty
of the mystery.

Right now, my father
could be an astronaut,

a pirate, a humanitarian,

winner of the Nobel prize.

I mean, what one man
could live up to all that?

You think he ate whipped cream
out of a can?

Yes, and he invented
whipped cream.

(spritzes)
Dad!

You're gonna spoil
your dner.

(mouth full)
This is my dinner.
No.

(Dragonette)
♪ seconds to your elevator ♪

♪ from the station ♪

♪ how can I resist
that kind of invitation? ♪

Mr. Zane.

Detective Beckett.
Mr. Castle.

You're in a festive mood
tonight, Mr. Zane.

Honoring the dead?
Celebrating a life...

The way Cano
would've wanted it.

Yes, nothing says "I'm grieving"
like an appletini.

You must be the "forgive
and forget" type, Mr. Zane,

especially after that beating

that you gave Cano
a couple of nights ago.

What are you talking about?

We found the bruises
left on Vega's body

from where you hit him,

Including the imprints
left by your championship ring.

25 guys have this ring.

Do they all wear it on
their left-hand ring finger?

Some of 'em, yeah.

Do they all have abrasions
on that finger

that are consistent
with assault?

What happened, Mr. Zane?

Was Cano tired of
dumping money into this club?

He didn't care about the money.
Then what was it?

His wife.

His wife?
You and she were--

No.

But he thought w--

Maggie was upset,
said she thought Cano

was having an affair
and wanted to know

if I'd seen him down here
at the club with anybody.

What'd you tell her?

I told her no, of course.

Was that the truth?

Look, I've been
through this before.

Cano was having
some kind of crisis.

He wasn't gonna leave her.
So why tell her the truth?

So Vega was having an affair?

I'd seen him with a girl--
young, Cuban.

You know, I figured after
his visit, he was missing home.

Anyway, he saw me leaving
his house that night,

and when he asked Maggie why I
was there, she got evasive.

So naturally, he thought she was
having an affair of her own.

Came after me swinging.

Took a couple of shots
to his ribs

to calm him down enough before
I could tell him the truth.

This girl that he was dating,
do you remember her name?

No, he never told me
her name.

But I might have a picture
on my phone.

What is it with professional
athletes and politicians

that they just can't
keep it in their pants?

They're just overgrown teenagers
with delicate little egos.

It's not that deep.
It's just simple math.

They just have
more opportunity.

Well, what are you saying,
men are dogs?

No. The greater the opportunity,
the greater the likelihood.

Which means the two of you
have nothing to worry about.

Ryan has nothing
to worry about.

Hey.
Cano Vega, on the other hand...

His wife said that he changed
when he got back from Cuba.

Maybe it wasn't Cuba.
Maybe it was the girl.

That could explain
the 200 grand.

Maybe he needed it
for the girl.

And why he needed to borrow
money from a loan shark

without her finding out.

But Maggie Vega
did find out.

So she decides she's not
gonna take it anymore.

She considers divorce,

but thought about
the endless hours of scrutiny,

The public humiliation
in the media.

Not to mention
that she'd only get half.

Uh, assuming
there's no prenup.

But if she kills him,
she gets everything.

Mm-hmm. She knows
where he's gonna be,

alone, at night.

She goes there.

He trusts her,
lets his guard down.

She moves in close.

She smiles, picks up a bat,

thinks of everything
that he's done to her,

starts with the family jewels

and ends
with the family fortune.

This is crazy.
Why would I kill my husband?

Because you thought
he was having an affair.

You know?

How?
It doesn't matter how we know.

What matters is that
you didn't tell us.

It was a private matter

between Cano and me.
It's also motive.

Mrs. Vega, where were you
on the night

of your husband's murder?
At home alone.

You can check
the security tapes if you want.

So... it's true then?

He was seeing someone else?

We don't
know that for sure.

I do.

He was in love with her.

Her name is Lara.

Mi cariño.
It means "my love."

Who is she?
I don't know.

I've torn this house upside down
looking for a clue.

That note is the only thing
I've found.

"2/16"--that's the day
before the murder.
Yeah.

He went into the city that day,
didn't get home until 10:30.

That's why I knew.

Mrs. Vega, this woman
is possibly involved

in your husband's murder.

Why didn't you
tell us this before?

Because I...

I just didn't
want it to be true.

Home security videos
confirm Mrs. Vega's story,

And C.S.U. tested negative
for blood at Tommy Zane's place.

Where are we
on the girl?

Just finished combing through
Vega's internet records.

There are no I.M's, e-mails
or internet browser searches

connecting him in any way,
shape or form to a Lara.

Phones are a dead end, too.

No one who called or was called
by Vega in the last two months

remembers him mentioning
anyone named Lara.

Well, for a guy who's
supposedly in love,

he doesn't do a very good job
keeping in touch with his girl.

Some guys are just hopeless.

Hey, honey.

Yeah, I was just thinking
about you, thought I'd call you.

Well, I just wanted to call
to say I miss you.

Yeah.
Some guys are just pathetic.

(Ryan) I don't know.
About 7:00.

Don't be jealous.
He still loves you.

Vega met with her
the day before he died,

so let's put photos out
to all precincts

and have uniforms canvass
the area around the field.

Maybe somebody saw her
the night that he was killed.

- Beckett.
- Yes, sir.

How we doing
on the Cuba angle?

Nothing yet. Why?

Just got a call from the lieu
over in Union City, New Jersey.

Vega was involved
in a shouting match

at a restaurant in little Havana
with one of their regulars.

Apparently the cops were
called in to break it up.

Why wasn't there
an incident report?

Cops kept it quiet
at the time

At the request
of the Cuba consulate.

Because of Vega?

No, because of who Vega
was fighting with.

Mario sánchez--head of
the Cuba consulate in New York.

He was one of the diplomats
that took Vega to Cuba.

What did they fight about?

I don't know, but seeing that
they were in Cuba together,

I suggest you find out.

On the night of the 17th,

I was here
at the consulate.

You don't really think
I killed Cano Vega, do you?

Given his change of heart
in Cuba, I can't imagine

That the two of you
were the best of friends.

You could say the same thing

about most of
the Cuban community here.

Yes, but how many of them
ended up dead

after fighting with you
in a restaurant?

I was minding my own business.

Vega was the one who decided
to pick a fight with me.

Why?

I was in charge
of his schedule in Cuba.

I guess he didn't like to be
told what to do or where to go.

Sounds like you kept him
on a pretty tight leash.

We did a counterrevolutionary
the courtesy

of allowing him
back on our soil.

We weren't about to just
let him wander around.

So you would know
better than anyone else

what Vega did on his trip?

That's my job.

Everyone we've spoke to
about Vega

says he came back from Cuba
a different man.

What happened to him
down there?

(chuckles)
He was very emotional

the whole time he was there--

Uh, talking to the locals,
feeling sorry for them

Because they were poor
and he was rich.

Truth is, he felt guilty.

When Vega returned,
he borrowed $200,000 in cash.

Is it possiblet hat he was trying to
funnel money to the island,

Help some of
the locals out, maybe?

Not on my watch.

Yeah, you can't have that.

Rich people sharing their
wealth? That's like socialism.

Please.

The truth is that Cano Vega,
like all americans, was spoiled.

When the poverty
was before his eyes--

It's an unspeakable tragedy.

And then, out of sight,
out of mind. (scoffs)

He didn't know
that I was aware,

but do you want to know

the thing that interested Vega
most about Cuba?

A girl.

What girl?

He met a lot of locals,
kissed a lot of babies.

I can only assume
it was a pretty young thing

he met while
he was touring the island.

Do you know her name?

Lara.

Her name was Lara.

So Vega fell in love
with a girl in Cuba.

If you take Sánchez's word.

Well, he couldn't have
just pulled the name Lara

out of thin air.

According to the note that
the wife found, Vega and Lara

were supposed to meet the night
before he was murdered.

Now how are they supposed to
do that if she's stuck in Cuba?

If she's stuck on the island,

how did she end up in that
photo with Vega at his club?

There has to be an explanation
that makes this all make sense.

(Esposito)
There is.

The woman standing next to Vega
in the picture is not Lara.

A resident near the ballpark
where Vega was killed

I.D.'ed her.
Her names Ana, Ana Rivera.

She's a waitress
in the neighborhood.

Uniforms are
bringing her in now.

What's her connection
to Vega?

Cuba.
She escaped six months ago.

We met at a bar
where I work, near his field.

He heard I'd just
come over from Cuba last year,

and he invited me out
for drinks.

Did you know
he was married?

It wasn't like that.

He just wanted to talk...
about home.

He missed it. I think
that's why he wanted to go.

You were photographed with him
after the trip.

Did he still want to...
just talk?

Yes. He wanted to talk about
my trip here from Cuba.

It was like he was obsessed.
He wanted to know how I got out.

And what did you tell him?

Ana, what did you tell
Mr. Vega?

I said my family knew a man.

If--if you pay him
lots of money,

Mi cariño comes
and takes you to America.

Mi cariño?

His boat.

It takes you to Jamaica,

and then you fly
to America.

It's important that you fly,
because if you come by boat,

then they can send you back.

That's the wet-foot,
dry-foot policy.

Vega was looking for a way

to get his new girlfriend
out of Cuba.

"mi cariño," 2/16, 8:30 pm.
It looks like he succeeded.

"mi cariño"
to Jamaica 2/16,

which means she arrived
on the 17th.

That's the same day Vega died.
That can't be a coincidence.

Ana, you told Mr. Vega
how to get in touch

with the man who got you
out of Cuba.

Yes. He runs a newspaper.

"Una Nueva Esperanza,"

on East 98th.

Alfredo Quintana, the editor?

He lied to us.

All right, first you accuse me
of killing Vega.

Then you're saying
that I'm helping him.

So maybe you guys
should make up your mind.

Well, actually,we made up our minds,

once we saw the $200,000
in your bank account.

That's the exact amount

Cano Vega borrowed
from a loan shark.

Since what you were doing
was illegal,

he didn't want there to be
any record of it.

You know, I don't know
what you're talking about.

These aren't my accounts.
All right?

This is
the foundation's account.

My name isn't even on them.

Which is why you hid
the money there,

to make it harder for us
to find.

These were
charitable contributions.

Where's the girl?

What girl?

Mr. Quintana,
you and your foundation

are facing
human smuggling charges.

Do you really want me to add
obstruction of justice

and aiding and abetting
a murderer to that?

You like the press,
don't you?

How are you gonna like

being linked
to Cano Vega's murder?

You know what they'll see?

That I saved a girl
from under Castro's regime.

For a price.
Yeah, I would've done it for free.

Yeah, but you didn't.

Are you really ready
to stake your entire future

on some girl
you don't even know?

Vega had
an apartment for her.

I took her there
when I got her to the mainland.

Where?

Union City, Summit Avenue.

NYPD!
NYPD!

NYPD!
Police! Police!

Police! Police!
NYPD! NYPD!

(thud)

Clear.
Clear.

Clear.

Looks like
nobody's home.

This girl's in dire need
of a trip to Ikea.

This bed
hasn't even been made.

I don't think
she was sleeping here.

Beckett.

Yeah.

Looks like dirt.

Get C.S.U. down here.

(cell phone beeps
and dials)

You guys.

There's blood.

It's definitely Vega's.

And the footprint?

That's harder to nail down.
The composition of the dirt

is pretty similar to dirt
anywhere in the city.

So we can't actually prove
that she was at the scene?

I just said it's harder.

But there were traces of
titanium dioxide in the dirt.

Chalk.
Like what they use to
trace lines on baseball fields.

So she heads to the field,

takes a little batting practice
on Vega's head,

heads home, packs her things,
hits the road.

Giving a whole new meaning
to the term "hit-and-run."

Beckett.
B-e-c-k-e double-t.

Badge 4-1-3-1-9.

I need a T.S.A. hold
on a potential fugitive.

Yes, I'll hold.

Uniforms are circulating
that picture of Lara

we got from Quintana.

They're plastering it
on every storefront

within a mile of her place.
So it was the girl?

Evidence looks that way.
We figure she honey trapped Vega

into giving her
tickets out of Cuba,

and when she got here,
he wanted a little more

than she was willing to give,

and things went south
from there.

Maybe it was
the Cuban government all along.

They hated Vega for defecting.

So they send a beautiful spy
for him to fall in love with.

It works. He smuggles her
back home, and bam!
(snaps fingers)

He's dead.

Sounds like a Castle story.
(laughs)

I'll call it
"Corazón de Fuego."

Yes. I need
a detain and contain.

All no-fly protocols.
Thank you.
(cell phone beeps)

Though we really should
stake out the consulate.
Way ahead of you.

Surveillance has been there
for about an hour.

If she killed him
out of self-defense,

then she'd go back
to the devil she knows.

And yet I'm sensing
skepticism on my theory.

(Ryan) Yeah, thanks.
Mind reader.

Well, you're both geniuses. That
was our guys at the consulate.

They just spotted Lara walking
right through the door.

I don't know
what to tell you.

I've never seen
that girl before.

Well, then you should invest
in some corrective lenses.

Our surveillance team
saw her coming in here

not half an hour ago.

Surveillance team?
You're watching us now?

Only within
the scope of the law.

The watcher
becomes the watched.

I'm a big fan of irony.
Ask her.

She's a Cuban citizen
requesting asylum.

She's a suspect
in a murder investigation.

And you expect me
just to hand her over

to the American authorities?

Mr. Sánchez, as I'm sure
you're well aware,

a country's consulate
and its embassy

have a different set
of rights and privileges.

This is only a consulate.

You do not have
diplomatic immunity.

Produce the girl now

or I will get a search warrant
and make a public spectacle

of your government harboring
a criminal on American soil.

(whispers)
Ouch.

(beeps)

(speaks spanish)

(woman) sí, señor.

(door opens)

(door closes)

No, I-I-I did not
kill him.

please.
You have to believe
then why did you run?

Why did you try
to go back to Cuba?

I was afraid the man
will kill me, too.

What man?
The one who come the night he died.

He come to...
El piso.

The apartment.
He came to the apartment.

There was a man
who came to the apartment

the night that Vega died,
and that's why you were running?

He kill my father.

Your father?

Vega.

Cano Vega is your father?

O-okay, Lara, take us
from the beginning.

Desde del principio.

Vega and my mother...

(speaks spanish)

(speaking spanish)

Vega and her mother
were engaged when he defected.

(continues speaking spanish)
She's supposed to come,
but she didn't.

As punishment for what Vega did,
they threw her mother in pson.

(speaks spanish)
She was pregnant with her
at the time.

Did Vega know about this?

(speaks spanish)

not until
a couple of months ago

When he heard a rumor
that he had a daughter.

Well, that's why Vega
went to Cuba.

(Castle) To see if
he really did have a daughter.

(speaking spanish)

They didn't actually meet

because the government
was watching him.

(continues speaking spanish)
(Esposito)
but he got her a message

saying that he would get her out
as soon as he could.

(crying) The first time
I meet my father was...

Three nights ago,

And I want to tell him

how much suffering
he caused.

(speaking spanish)

She grew up believing

that her father had abandoned
her mother to get rich.

But he told her that
that wasn't true...

(continues speaking spanish)
that he only defected

because her mother said that
she was going to as well.

(continues speaking spanish)
but that she had changed
her mind at the last minute.

All these years,

he had thought that she had
turned her back on him.

(continues speaking spanish)
He never knew that they--

that the government
had made an example of him

to all the other players.

(continues speaking spanish)

He never knew
that she had died in prison.

My father...

is very upset
when I tell him this.

He said he need
to talk to someone.

He, uh, uh,
give me money for food.

I never see him again.

You said earlier that there was
a man at the apartment.

When I go to...

the market
to go buy food,

When I come back...

I see a man at the, um,
um, apartment,

Not my father.

I was so scared,
so I leave.

Then I hear Cano Vega
is dead.

So I run, and I hide.

I just wanted to go home.
(sobs)

He killed my father.

This man who came
to your apartment...

can you describe him
for me?

Yes.

(chuckles) Let--let me
get this straight.

An illegal claiming to be
Cano Vega's daughter,

after being in this country
for less than 24 hours,

identifies someone
who kind of looks like me

from a distance at night?

Well, gee, guys.

What, do I--what, do I sign
my confession right now

or after the big, uh,
press conference?

Well, now's good.

(laughs)
Come on, kids.

Come on.

You know he was my friend.

Not to mention,
a hefty commission.

What's my motive?

The thing about people
who have a lot, Mr. Fox,

is that they have
the most to lose.

I'm sure Vega felt betrayed
when he learned the truth.

The truth? About what?

Your favorite story--
Barcelona, 1992.

Only you left out the part
where you lied to Cano Vega

about helping
his fiancée defect.

It's not my fault
that she changed her mind,

All right?
Truth is, you couldn't
get her off the island.

But you did know that
he'd rather be there with her

than here making big bucks
for you in the majors.

So you let him believe
that she had changed her mind.

And to keep him from ever
finding out the truth,

you had her put away.

Put away? In Cuba?
(laughs) oh, come on.

I-I have a lot of pull,

but, uh, influencing
a military dictatorship

isn't as easy

as getting a dinner reservation
at Le Cirque.

You'd influenced
their people before.

Manuel Gutierrez,
A.K.A. El pulpo--

The octopus.

You walked away
with the star player

of the Cuban national team
for a rolex.

We did a little research.

He was the chief witness
at her trial.

Was denouncing
Vega's fiancée

always a part of your plan
with el pulpo

or did you have to
pay extra for that?

I've heard
you're a killer negotiator.

You can't possibly
be serious.

When Vega figured out
what you had done,

he called you from his club
and told you to meet him.

I think he came after you
and threatened to destroy you

And that's why you killed him.
It's a hell of a story, kids.

I paid el pulpo to take care
of my player's girl

when the Cuban government is
sending away people every day?

(chuckles)
That's a hell of a tale.

It's pure conjecture.

You know
what's not conjecture?

The blood that we found

on the driver's side floor mat
in your car.

That was Vega's blood.
As much as you tried to clean

those $5,000 pair of shoes
you were wearing

while you smashed
Vega's skull in,

you didn't
quite get all of it.

Hello, Cynthia.
Call my lawyer.

You tell him
he's about to earn

the outrageous, obscene amounts
of money I pay him.

(handcuf clink)

(hangs up receiver)

Turn around.
(sighs)

Turn around.

Robert Fox, you're under arrest
for the murder of Cano Vega.

(elevator bell dings)
(Castle) What's gonna happen
to Lara?

She can stay in the states
for a year, and then decide

whether she wants to apply
for citizenship or not.

Oh, I can't imagine
her staying.

Her last bit of family
is gone.

I mean, the only person
that she knew here is dead.

Well, there is
one more person

that she should meet.

So you're Lara?

She was born in Cuba
right after Mr. Vega defected.

(Castle)
She's not his girlfriend.

She's his daughter.
Cano had a daughter?

(Lara)
My father...

didn't know how you would like
to have me here.

He, uh... he had fear

to tell you about me.

(sighs)

(whispers)
It's okay.

Yo sé que mi papá
la queria mucho

Y nunca quiso herirla.

She says she knows her father
loved you very much,

and he didn't want
to hurt you.

Pero yo espero...

Uh... Al igual que mi papá

Que juntos podriamos formar
una familia.

And that she hoped
and he hoped that,

together,
you could be a family.

(voice breaks)
yo soy Maggie.

Mi casa es su casa.

(voice breaks)
Thank you.

(All Night Chemists'
"Whole Again" playing)

(keys jangle)

(door opens)

Hey, dad.

Hey, daughter.
What are you doing up so late?

Waiting for you.
Did I do something wrong?

(chuckles)
No.

I was just thinking about
what you said about your dad,

how he could be anything
you imagine him to be--

An astronaut or a pirate.

Whipped cream inventor.
Or whipped cream inventor.

But there's one thing
he can't be.

What's that?
A dad.

Just a regular dad, teaching
his son how to ride a bike

or helping him with homework
or having a catch.

It makes me sad you didn't get
to have those things.

Well... I can't miss
what I didn't have.



What if you could have it?

You have a time machine
behind the kitchen counter?

♪ well, it's the morning
I love best ♪

(deep voice)
What do you say, son?

How about a game of catch
with your old man?

♪ ...Than I'll allow ♪

Yeah, I'd like that.

(normal voice)
Good.

♪ I don't want to be reminded ♪

Ooh! (laughs)

♪ at all ♪

♪ that I no longer
have the time ♪

You ready?

Ready.

♪ ...Rising around me ♪

(glass shatters)

(object clatters)
Oh.