Castle (2009–2016): Season 2, Episode 2 - The Double Down - full transcript

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'd 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.

Ahhh!

I love you! I love you!

What is it about full moons
that bring out all the crazies?

I don't know. You tell me.

Hey, Karpowski. How's it going?

Same old, same old. And you, Beckett?

I can't complain.

You guys should really sell tickets.
I mean, you got everything,

madness, mayhem.
Now all you need is...

Beckett.

Ashley Cosway, 32,
couples therapist.

Husband found her
just before midnight.

Was picking her up on his way home

after the St. John's game
at the Garden.

- Any witnesses?
- None so far.

But I did find a receipt
for this takeout right here.

Dinner for two.

Yeah, it's from Szechuan Wok,
over on Ninth.

The receipt doesn't match
any of the cards in the vic's wallet.

- Husband recognize the number?
- Mmm-mmm.

- When was it charged?
- 6:02 pm.

Lanie puts the time of death
around 8:00.

Whoever she had dinner with

You know, if this was one of those
super science-y forensic shows,

we'd stick some electrodes
in these fishes' brains.

Get a fish-eye view
of whatever they saw.

Dr. Parish. When'd they
change the dress code downtown?

Well, unlike you,
I don't sit around work all night

waiting for the next vic to show.

- Quit looking at the girls, Castle.
- Roger that.

Multiple GSWs. Entries look fairly
small-caliber, probably a.22.

"Psycho The Rapist"?
"You're out of time"?

Looks like a patient lost their patience.

Also his command of grammar.

"Your" should be U-apostrophe-R-E,
as in "you are."

That's not even a tough one,
not like when to use "who" or "whom."

Do you really think that's
the take-away here, Castle?

I'm just saying whoever killed her
also murdered the English language.

- Any signs of struggle?
- Bruises on both arms.

Check for fibers and hair.
See if our killer left anything behind.

Okay.

- Castle!
- Mmm-hmm.

No. She never discussed her patients.
Ash was very professional that way.

What was she doing here so late?

She always would have
a couple nights a month

where she'd work late,
writing up case notes.

I'd use that as a time to go out
with the boys and have a boys' night,

and when I'd get back
I'd walk her home.

Did you know who
she was having dinner with?

No. I mean, unless someone called her
after we spoke.

- And when was that?
- Before I left work. 6:00-ish.

I was heading out to the game.

- What did you talk about?
- Just a meaningless check-in. And I...

Right now I remember
I didn't say "I love you."

- Thank you, Mr. Cosway.
- Yeah.

I got another. Pop-and-drop
on Hundredth and Second.

Full moon strikes again.

All right, you guys go on uptown
and I'll finish up here.

So much for my famous warm
honey-milk with Jenny tonight.

Did I just say that out loud?

Her husband calls before 6:00
and the food's picked up at 6:02.

She knew who
she was having dinner with.

Someone with bad grammar.

A warm milk nightcap with your lady?
That is sad, bro.

It helps her sleep.

How about the sound of your voice?
Doesn't... Works on me.

How you doing, Dr. Perlmutter?

The body is speaking.

What's it saying?

It's saying, "Someone shot me."
One to the mid-section, .38.

Maybe even a.45. He was shot
at close range and from behind.

- That's cold.
- Yeah, well, that's the living for you.

He have any ID?

Well, wallet's gone. No watch.
No jewelry.

Maybe a mugging gone bad.

Well, a looky-Ioo said she recognized
him from the neighborhood.

Gave his info to Officer Whojamiface
over there.

"Whojamiface"?

Nice to see you making an effort to
bond with the rank and file, Perlmutter.

It's not like you're just leaving
yourself a note, you know,

to buy bread on the way home.

You're writing on a person
you just murdered.

You're trying to make a point.
A point you care a great deal about,

presumably, because
you just killed someone to make it.

So how do you not make sure
that you're using the proper language

to make that point?

Frank Anderson, retired middle-school
math teacher from IS 161. You want in?

No, thanks. Full up.

So? How'd you find the body?

On the ground.

- Was it positioned in a creepy way?
- Yeah, like a guy who was shot.

Oh.

So, just your garden-variety
homicide-robbery, huh?

Actually, pop-and-drops
are some of the hardest cases to close.

Randomness of the victim,
anonymous nature of the crime.

It takes some real serious
detective work.

Okay. Well, if you guys want any help,
you know where to find me.

"Help"? Did you just say "help"?

Don't worry about us, Castle.

We'll probably close ours
before your therapist.

- Really?
- Mmm-hmm.

Well, perhaps you'd like
to make things interesting.

Oh.

Wait. Are you saying you want to wager
on who solves their case first?

That's sick, bro. Fifty bucks?

- We win, you pay us both.
- Deal.

- Sit down, sit down, sit down.
- Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey.

Not a word to Beckett, okay?

If she finds out about this,
she'll shoot us.

Secrets, murder and gambling.
Three of my favorite pastimes.

- May the best man win.
- May he.

Richard, that's appalling.
Wagering on death.

They're already dead, Mother,

and who's to say
that catching killers cannot be fun?

- Hey, Dad, are you working tonight?
- Maybe. Why?

I just have math club till 6:00,

and then I wanted to take Owen out for
a birthday banana split at Serendipity.

I just want to do something special

because things have been
a little rocky with us lately.

Nothing smoothes rocky
like Rocky Road.

Just remember, it's a school night.
Be home by midnight.

- Dad, I'll be home by 9:00. Love you.
- Love you.

- Yeah, bye, darling.
- Bye, guys.

Young love. First, banana splits.
Then splitting assets.

- Mother, you are a hopeless romantic.
- I know.

- Oops, I'm off to an audition.
- And I have a bet to win.

Yes, Detective, that's my credit card.
I had dinner with her last night.

She's my best friend.
When I left her there, she was alive.

- What time did you leave, Ms. Rossi?
- Around 7:00.

Then where did you go?

To drinks with other associates
from my firm.

I was at the Gansevoort bar until 11:00.

Did you make plans to have dinner
together or did you just show up?

She called me.
She said she wanted to talk.

- But I didn't... I didn't know.
- You didn't know what?

I should have said something. I should
have done something, you know?

- Why did she call, Ms. Rossi?
- She needed my advice, as a lawyer.

Something happened last Friday,
something bad.

- What?
- She wouldn't say.

But I knew it was one of her patients.

She wanted to know how
to get a restraining order.

- Against who?
- Whom.

She wouldn't say.
God, I should've stayed with her.

I shouldn't have let her off the hook.

Looks like Ashley
took her oath seriously.

Her husband had no idea that
something bad happened on Friday.

Doctor-patient privilege is supposed to
protect people, not get them killed.

Hey, so the vic's girlfriend?
Alibi's good.

Co-workers confirm that she arrived
for drinks at 7:15, left at 11:00.

The husband's buddy places him at
the Garden from 7:00 till about 10:00.

Which leaves us with Friday's patients.

Sure would like a peek
at Dr. Cosway's notes.

Not without a warrant.
We start by running their names.

He threatened and then killed her,
he's probably got violent priors.

Once again, Mr. And Mrs. Marx,
I'm very sorry for your loss.

And a dark cloud descends.

- Any hot leads?
- As a matter of fact, yes.

Turns out our victim
went for a walk every night.

Guess who hangs in the park
right where our victim was popped?

- Recently fired postal workers?
- No. Gang kids. Very rough guys.

- Do they hang out there regularly?
- That's right.

Then they didn't do it.
If they're known to hang out there,

then they're gonna know
they're gonna get caught.

If they're gonna do something,
they're gonna do it somewhere else.

I know what you're doing, Castle.

You're trying to mess
with our confidence.

If I was trying to mess
with your confidence,

I would tell you that our victim
talked to her lawyer friend

on the night she was murdered
about a restraining order.

And do you have a suspect?

We're narrowing it down.
But doesn't that have a lovely ring to it?

Restraining order.

Restraining order. Order...

- Hey.
- Hey.

I was just... They were...
There was two...

- Yeah?
Beckett, we got a hit.

Hal Ross?

Multiple assault charges
over the last 10 years.

He and his wife
were Dr. Cosway's 2:00 on Friday.

- What are you doing?
- Hey. Hey, hey. Hey, hey!

- Castle, not cool.
Stairs.

- Why'd you do that?
- Do what?

All right, I'm just gonna say it,
I've got a feeling.

Doesn't happen often,
but I am feeling it, this is our guy.

Mr. Ross?

What's up?
Garbage on my sidewalk again?

Would you mind putting that down?

Where were you last night between
the hours of... When was that again?

What are you talking about?

- Are you familiar with Ashley Cosway?
- Well, yeah, sure. The doc.

- Well, she was murdered last night.
- What? The doc's dead?

Can you confirm your whereabouts
between 7:30 and 9:00 last night?

Yeah, sure. I was here.
I'm open till 10:00 every night.

- Can anyone corroborate that?
- My employees.

Well, how convenient that your alibis
are on your payroll.

What would make you think
that I killed the doc?

Mr. Ross, you have a history
of violence. Assault. Battery.

Okay, well,
why do you think I was in therapy?

Okay, Doc Cosway showed me
that I was only hurting myself.

Come on, Hal, we know something bad
happened last Friday. Come on.

Something happened all right,
but it wasn't in my session.

You want to talk to somebody,
you try the appointment before mine.

Why is that?

Judy and I, we were in the little
waiting room before our session,

- we hear all this yelling.
- About what?

I don't know. But this guy
was cursing Doc Cosway out big-time.

And it was kind of scary.
I was tempted to go in there,

but then we heard the guy leave.

Did you get a good look at his face?

No, no, no,
he went out the hallway door.

Doc got us, she was rattled,
but she did our session anyway.

I got a feeling this isn't our guy.

Hinkle. Evan Hinkle.

He's had the appointment
before the Rosses

every week for the last two years.

Yeah, the guy's clean.
There's no record of anything.

Two straight years of therapy,
maybe he just snapped.

Have uniforms bring him in.
I'm gonna go get a coffee.

Esposito tipped me off to the bet.
Thought I'd toss a little towards ours.

Toss away, my friend.

And spread the word around,
if anyone else wants a taste.

Let's go. Come on, big fellow.

Left over here.

Take a seat.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!

I thought you said you guys
were looking

for a gang member, like a teenager.

- You were right. They alibied out.
- So who's in cuffs?

Just a mugger who happened to be
working in the same area

the same night our vic was killed.

Yeah, he was picked up
with a.45 on him,

which happens to be the same round
that was found in our vic.

Just waiting on ballistics.
Unless he confesses first.

- So where's his lawyer?
- Ooh! Whoa, whoa.

- He hasn't asked for one.
- Well, I know a guy.

What's the matter, Castle?
Are you getting worried?

Worried? Worried? I'll make you cry.

You wanna bet?
Or maybe double down?

No, no, no, no, no, no. Not money.
Humiliation.

Loser wears a dress
to the precinct for a week.

Why stop there?
Loser also shaves his head.

Or are you chicken?

You're on, honey-milk.

- "Honey-milk."
- Damn it.

For the record, Mr. Hinkle,

you're admitting that you were
Dr. Cosway's 1:00 appointment?

I knew this would happen. I knew it.

First time I met her,
I knew she'd leave me.

Why does this always happen?
Why do people keep leaving me?

She didn't leave you, Mr. Hinkle.
She was murdered.

Yeah. Just like my first wife.

- Your first wife was murdered?
- That's right.

I smothered her to death. Yeah.
That's what she told me.

I murdered her with love.
That's why she left.

Just tell us about your last appointment
with Dr. Cosway.

We were just starting to make
progress. You know the irony here?

Her death is my moment of greatest
crisis and I don't have her to lean on.

What was all the screaming about
at the appointment last Friday?

Screaming? Last Friday?
I did not see her last Friday.

You're in the books.
"You're" with an apostrophe.

Yeah, well, I canceled an hour before.

- You canceled?
- Yes. Yes, I was having chest pains.

I went to the ER at St. Vincent's.

$ 15,000 later, turns out
I was just having a panic attack,

about Mother, you know.

- I think we're done here. Thank you.
- Thank you.

You know, at least Dr. Cosway didn't
charge me for canceling last minute.

Why not?

She said she was going out to lunch
with her husband,

so it was time well-spent.

- Thank you, Mr. Hinkle.
- Thank you.

And by the way, it's a common mistake,

but it's not ironic that Dr. Cosway's
not here for you to lean on.

It's just simply tragic.

It would be ironic
if her death made you feel better.

- Castle.
- Just... You can...

What's with the super-cop?

I have no idea
what you're talking about.

- Okay, thank you. I appreciate it.
- I'm in for $50, you know that.

So what you got?

I just got a ping on Ashley's credit card.

Lunch charge at Petit Bistro
right next door to her office.

The hostess confirmed
that Ashley and Jason

were having lunch there on Friday.

And the only reason she remembers it

is because they were making
kind of a scene.

He's our screamer.

They were arguing
all the way back to the office.

He's the one she was getting
a restraining order against.

Jason's alibi that he was at the game
with his friend

- feel a little squishy to you?
- Like a wormy apple.

- Hey, Karpowski.
- Yo.

Why don't we take a better look
at Jason Cosway?

Work situation,
financials and hotel bills.

Yeah, okay. Copy that.

- Want a coffee?
- No, thanks.

I'm so in!

Hey, Stegner.

Just admiring the great board work,
Beckett.

Care to share any insight?

- I really need to go file.
- Uh-huh.

I'd be more than happy
to take that off your hands.

Son of a... Nobody move.

- What is this?
- Girl Scout cookie orders.

Huh.

- Girl Scout cookie orders?
- Yeah. I'm just helping out the troop.

Funny, I didn't realize Alexis
was a Girl Scout.

Oh, no, she's got so many activities,
I can barely keep track.

- Freaking great.
- What happened?

- Ballistics screwed us.
- Ballistics screwed us.

Our mugger's gun doesn't match
the bullet taken from our vic.

What's going on?

Betting on murder cases, guys?
Really?

- What? No.
- That'd be wrong.

I'm telling you, it's Girl Scout cookies.

Girl Scout cookies are sold in February.

You guys should be ashamed
of yourselves. Now get back to work.

Listen, I'm sorry. I know it was wrong.
I just thought...

Beckett, you are never
gonna believe this.

Yeah, well, the bar on "unbelievable"
is pretty high right now.

Vic's husband took out a $3 million life
insurance policy on his wife last month.

Hundred on us.

Look, the life insurance
was Ashley's idea, okay?

Okay, fine, Jason. It was Ashley's idea.
Can anyone confirm that?

Yes, I'm sure someone can.
Maybe a friend.

Well, her best friend Brandy
had no idea about the life insurance.

But she did know
about a restraining order

that your wife
was trying to get against you.

That's insane.
That is absolutely ridiculous.

You wanna tell us
about last Friday?

What about last Friday?

About the screaming match
at lunch

that led all the way back to her office?

We have multiple witnesses, Jason.

Okay. Great. You have witnesses.
We had a fight.

You know what that proves?
We're married.

What did you fight about?

I don't know what the fight was about.
I can't remember.

See, I'm having a hard time
believing that.

How does he even know
we're watching?

No wonder
she's going after him so hard.

I was at a basketball game.

Yes. That's right.
With your frat buddy, Skip.

Yes, juries do love it
when friends alibi friends.

Why don't you get the hotdog guy to
vouch for me, okay? If you trust him.

- What was your seat number?
- What, excuse me?

Come on, it was just last night.
Don't tell me you don't remember?

They were... They were Skip's tickets.
Why don't you ask him?

Don't tell me for one second
you didn't have to get up

during that lame halftime show and
remember what section to go back to.

The only thing I remember is the fact
that we were sitting there

- right behind the home bench.
- Ah, okay.

- You ever have seats like that?
- Yeah, right.

So, divorce isn't an option.
Divorce. Divorce?

Hey, what are you on to, bro?

I didn't want a divorce, okay, pal?
And I didn't kill my wife!

- So? Can we charge him?
- We still need evidence.

I'm gonna get a warrant for
his apartment and see what it turns up.

Are they watching TV?

I'm afraid they've thrown in
the proverbial towel.

- Hey, guys.
- Everything okay?

Yeah, we're just enjoying
last night's game.

Yeah. Isn't it great
when you can get it on demand?

I love this part. Check it out.

But he's
covered up good,

and there yet is another time out.

That's their third time out.

Yeah, already. They're just barely
halfway through the first half.

Yeah, that would be, what,
just before 8:00?

Yeah.

That's Jason Cosway.

And I believe that that, my friends,
is the definition of an airtight alibi.

Castle, what size dress do you wear?
Six? Eight?

Sixteen? Yeah.

- Dad?
- Mmm-hmm?

Yes? You okay?

Have you ever been
really sure about something

and then have it all just fall apart?

As a matter of fact, I have. Owen?

It was a train wreck.

- What happened?
- Thalia.

What's a Thalia?

Some perky girl with big teeth.
She came over to our table,

gushing about how she and Owen
went to Camp Chumash together

third grade summer
and how she was his first crush.

The whole night
was one big walk down memory lane.

I'm sorry, sweetie.

And the weird part was that Owen
didn't even remember her.

Not that it stopped him
from being totally into it.

I mean, even in the taxi back,
he kept saying how amazing it was

that they met after all these years
at Serendipity. How it was so

- serendipitous.
- Serendipitous.

How am I supposed to
compete with that?

Sorry.

- Where are you now?
- Yes, I'm in the elevator right now.

Where have you been?

Apologizing for the male race.
Did we catch a break?

- No. But the boys did.
- Another mugger?

I don't know,
but they look pretty hot on something.

What? What do you have?

Why don't you go ahead
and give them a little taste, bro?

Turns out our vic
had a rent-controlled apartment.

Stays in the family,
it stays rent-controlled.

- $562 a month. Three bedrooms.
- I'd kill for that.

According to a neighbor,
vic's son-in-law borrowed money

from the old man a bunch of times
over the years,

but recently he cut him off.

Son-in-law...

Ryan. Really? Yeah, we're on it.
Come on.

- Something good?
- Let's go.

- Well, what is it?
- Wouldn't you like to know?

Hey, come on.

Got a bad feeling about this.

Are we really rooting
against solving a murder?

Well, I don't want to shave my head,
do you?

- Why would I shave my head?
- You're in on the bet, aren't you?

Yeah, but I didn't realize...

Beckett.

Okay. We'll be right there.

Lanie just found something
in the forensic report.

Well, I hope it's better
than their son-in-law.

And you're sure it was them?
Okay, thanks.

I don't even want to know.

Two bartenders and the manager
put Frank's son-in-law, Eric,

and daughter, Christina, uptown
at their friend Eddie's birthday party

at Dublin House from 9:15
till after midnight.

Dude, if I have to shave my head
it's going on you.

What are you doing here?
- What are you doing here?

Lanie called us.

- No. She called us.
- Yeah.

Actually, I called both of you.
I think your cases might be connected.

Perlmutter was giving me the rundown
on Ryan and Esposito's mugging case

when a certain forensic detail
popped out at me.

- Orthosilicic acid.
- Ortho what-now?

It's the fancy term
for "saltwater compound."

That's not very specific.

True. But we identified the diatoms
in the sample as well,

which makes it extremely specific.

It narrows it down
to a single body of water.

So our guy took a swim.

Not quite. It was only trace amounts.
But we found orthosilicic acid

with the exact same diatoms
on Ashley Cosway, as well.

Both victims had contact
with the same body of water?

- Direct contact.
- What are the odds?

It'd be like finding the same fingerprint
on both bodies.

Do we know what body of water?

No. I would need a sample
to test it against.

- Castle?
- Could it be a small body of water?

Sure. As long as it's salt water.

Dr. Cosway's fish tank.
Check out Nemo.

Clownfish need saltwater to live.

Okay, but how did this
get on both of our vics?

Wouldn't they have had to stick
their hands in there or something?

You see that salt encrustation
along the top?

Yeah.
- The pump just kicks it into the air.

Yeah, anyone who spent time
in that office

would have trace amounts of that tank's
specific saltwater compound on them.

So, then, Frank had to have been
in Ashley's office

some time before he was murdered?

It's possible. But remember,
Ashley was murdered first.

Then our perp was in there.

That's where he got
the compound on him,

then he transferred it to Frank
when he took his watch and wallet.

Which means both of our vics
were killed by the same person.

- I thought Dad was mugged.
- Yeah, like, randomly.

We don't believe
it was random anymore.

Mr. Cosway's wife, Ashley,
was killed earlier that night.

We think the same person
killed your father

and then tried to stage it
as if they were two isolated incidents.

We're trying to find a connection
between them.

This is Mrs. Cosway
and this is Mr. Anderson.

Do either of them look familiar?

No. Not at all. I'm sorry.

Mrs. Cosway was a therapist.
Did your father ever go to therapy?

Dad? No.

No disrespect to your wife, but he
didn't really go for that kind of stuff.

Well, this is a list
of Mrs. Cosway's patients.

Would you mind taking a look
at the names,

see if you recognize any of them?

I don't think so.

- No.
- No.

Take your time.

Do you really think
there's a connection here?

I mean, we live in different parts
of the city, you know,

we work at different places, we're...

Go ahead, you can say it,
we're black and you're white.

No, no, I'm just saying we're different.
That's all I was saying.

They may have inadvertently
witnessed something

or been privy to some information

that someone very powerful
wanted to keep under wraps.

There are any number of possibilities,

- we just want...
Grovner.

- What was that?
- This name, Grovner.

It kind of rings a bell.

Do you remember,
about five years back,

some kid's dad shoved him
for some reason.

Yeah, school security got involved.

I think his name was Grovner.

We'll get a warrant for his patient file.
If there's a connection, we'll find it.

So, the principal at IS 161 said
that Grovner assaulted your vic

after Mr. Anderson reported him
on suspicion of child abuse.

Which is why Grovner and his wife
went to couples counseling.

Apparently, it didn't go too well, though,

'cause they ended up filing for divorce

and, get this, Mrs. Cosway testified
against Grovner in court.

So Grovner had reason
to go after both our victims.

Yeah, went away for five years
for domestic abuse.

Says right here he was released last
month. So, what are the odds, huh?

Two people from opposite lives
being connected by one jack-hole.

Just demonstrates that any two people
can be connected.

- Yeah, like the movie Crash.
- Dude, Crash is overrated.

Actually, it's more like
Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.

I got a question. Now that we're all
working the same case,

- does that mean the bet's off?
- Hell, yeah.

- You got the address?
Yeah, it's around back.

Banner day.
Gonna close two cases with one arrest.

Like Christmas.

Don't decorate the tree just yet, boys.
It might be a coincidence.

Oh, come on, Debbie Downer.

There are no such things
as coincidences in murder cases.

How many times do I have to tell you?

I mean, it's the basic foundation
of every crime book I've ever written.

No coincidences.

That's him. Ready?

Put your hands up.
Let's see them, buddy.

- Keep it up.
- Keep your hands up.

Put up your hands so we see them!

Wesley Grovner,
I'm Detective Kate Beckett.

What? I miss another parole meeting?

He's clean. So to speak.

Where were you last Tuesday night?

Am I being Punk'd?

If by "Punk'd" you mean
"arrested for murder," yeah.

You think I went somewhere
Tuesday night and killed somebody?

Actually, two somebodies.

Hey! I'm Houdini. Nice bling, huh?

Oops.

Check this out.

This stoop is the edge of my Earth
since I busted parole a week ago.

Whatever you think I did,
I ain't your guy.

That's quite the coincidence.

How dare you!
How dare you take my dress!

- You're as thoughtless as your father!
I'm sorry, I just...

Stop! No!
I didn't... I didn't take anything!

- I didn't!
- I ought to break your little wrists!

Mother, have you finally...

- Have I finally what, dear?
- Hey, Dad.

- You're rehearsing.
Yes, I have a call back.

Oh, and you believed us?
Oh, my God. That's marvelous.

You know,
I am a better actress than I think I am.

You okay, Dad? You look upset.

Turns out something I was so sure
of was just a coincidence.

- Is this about the murder?
- Exactly.

It so happens that our two victims
were connected.

It just had nothing to do
with their deaths.

You know, I bet if you looked
hard enough

you'd find a connection
between everybody in this city.

I mean, it's the great thing
about New York.

Yeah, and if there wasn't a connection,
you could always pretend there is one.

Besides the rehearsal, we have another
drama going on here this evening.

Oh. Owen?

You know how Thalia said she had
a crush on Owen at Camp Chumash?

Serendipity at Serendipity. Yeah.

No. More like subterfuge at Serendipity.

She never even went to
Camp Chumash, but her friend did,

and Thalia wanted to meet Owen,
so she staged the whole thing.

That is so budding-sociopath.

I knew it couldn't be a coincidence.
I mean, really? What are the odds?

Yeah, what are the odds?

Hey, Castle. How you doing?

Well, for a second last night, I thought
my mother was beating Alexis. So...

Yeah, well, Grovner
was a head-turner for all of us.

His GPS checked out, by the way.

Well, Crash was on this morning,
followed by Footloose,

so I guess anything can happen.

- Are you okay?
- Yeah.

It's just this one reminds me
of my mom's case.

What Frank Anderson's family must be
going through, especially Christina.

Mourning her dad's death,

thinking that it was random,
and then finding out that it wasn't.

I guess you could say,
"What does it matter?

"The person that you love is dead."
But knowing why matters.

- Yo, fish tank's a bust.
- What?

Lanie called.
Water sample is not a match.

You believe that? We're nowhere.

What is it with these two cases?

Yeah, Grovner
was almost too good to be true.

- Not almost.
- Yeah, and you guys and the husband.

I was sure it was him.
And your son-in-law.

I know. Same deal. Felt it.

Okay, it's not the fish tank,
but they are connected.

We just have to figure out how.

It's just we've been over these cases
so many times,

it's hard to see straight anymore.

All right. We'll start over. Fresh eyes.
You take our murder, we'll take yours.

All right.
- Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

Say that again.

You take our murder, we'll take yours.

Could it be that easy?
You take mine, I'll take yours.

- What are you getting at, Castle?
- Strangers on a Train.

The Hitchcock movie.

I'm partial to the novel
by Patricia Highsmith, but yes.

We have two strong suspects,
but with airtight alibis,

- right?
- Right.

We know they're connected.
What if the connection is the killers?

Jason and Eric committed
each other's murders.

And made sure they had
an airtight alibi for the murder

they knew they'd be suspected of.

It's not our victims who are connected.
It's our murderers! Crisscross!

Okay, so we know
Jason was at the Garden

watching the game
till it finished at 10:00.

And then he made the call
from Ashley's office at 11:47.

Garden is on 32nd.
Her office is on 18th.

It would've taken him max 20 minutes.

So why did it take him two hours?

Because, Esposito, he jumped in a cab,
went uptown, killed Frank.

Which happened at 11:00.

He easily makes it back to his wife's
office in time to find her body at 11:47.

And we know that Eric
clocked out of work at 6:03.

And Ashley's killed at 8:00.

He shows up for the party at the bar
at 9:15.

Something tells me their alibis
are not going to be so airtight

for the other murders.

Mr. Cosway.
We were just coming to see you.

Oh, hey. You guys have news?
I mean, is it the old patient of Ashley's?

- That turn out to be anything, or...
- No, but we are making progress.

Okay. What can I do for you?

Just like to ask you a few questions
about the night of the murder.

Do you guys have any suspects
at all yet, or...

We're looking at someone right now.

Okay, well, actually, I have to meet
the movers at Ashley's office,

- so if you don't mind walking with me...
- Not at all.

Could you tell us what you did right
after the basketball game?

After? Why do you ask?

We're just trying to
get our timeline straight.

Not accusing me of killing my wife
again, are you?

I can assure you that we are 100%
certain you did not kill Ashley.

It's just, the night of the murder,

you said that you were on your way
to pick her up right after the game.

Yeah, so?

Well, then why did it take you two hours

to get from the Garden to 18th Street?

Look, I knew Ash wanted to work late,
all right.

I didn't want to bother her,
so I just killed some time.

Ooh.

Sorry. Go ahead.

- And then I stopped at a newsstand.
- Where?

Somewhere on Seventh.
Maybe it was 26th.

I don't know. Anyway, I bought myself
a slice of pizza. At Ray's.

Original Famous or Famous Original?

There's one on 28th and there's one
on 23rd. I can't remember which.

I'm a little confused here, you know.

There is somebody out there
that killed my wife.

Mr. Cosway,
we're just trying to figure this out.

Um, I, uh... After that, I went home.

Is there anyone that can vouch for that?

Yeah, I'm sure somebody
in my building.

- Thank you so much for your time.
- Of course.

- Looks like we found our body of water.
- Strangers on a boat?

So, what's the verdict?

Eric Marx takes the same
water taxi to work, too.

Bam, said the lady!
There's our connection.

Oh, no, it gets better.

Lanie ran the substance on our vics
against the Hudson River water.

It's a match.

Marx gets on the boat uptown,
Cosway joins him at Chelsea Piers

and they ride to Pier 11 together.

So one day, maybe they start talking.
Maybe about the Yankee bullpen,

maybe about the attractive secretary
leaning up against the railing.

And Jason starts grumbling
about his wife.

Eric maybe mentions
how he covets Frank's apartment.

Yeah, well, there's an open upper deck.

I figure that's where they were
doing their plotting.

And how the water from the Hudson
got on both of them.

It gets transferred
from Eric Marx's jacket and gloves

to Ashley Cosway when they struggle.

Then to Frank Anderson when Jason
Cosway swipes his watch and wallet.

- Done deal.
- Except it's all circumstantial.

The DA will never buy it without
hard evidence or a confession.

Oh, we're gonna get a confession.

Not if we get one first.

So, bet's back on?

You bet your britches
the bet is back on.

What are the odds?

You guys really think
a jury's gonna believe

in such a crazy story like this, huh?

Juries are smart.

Yeah, yeah, they are. But you see,

they're gonna have to do
two separate trials here.

And the prosecutor's gonna have to
convince them that I killed someone

who I have no connection to and
no motive whatsoever to want dead.

And to me that's ridiculous.

Sounds like you've given this
some serious thought, Mr. Cosway.

Cute. But wrong.

You made a pact with Eric Marx
on the deck of that boat. Don't crack.

No one will ever be able to
prove what you did.

I told you guys already,
I only met him the other day.

You rode the same water taxi
to work every day.

And so does a hundred other people,
every day.

- It was your idea, wasn't it?
- Really?

Yeah. There's always one alpha
in every conspiracy and that was you.

Eric was malleable, wasn't he?
And that suited you just fine.

Mmm-hmm.

But Ashley wasn't, was she?
She was a strong, professional woman.

A psychologist, no less.
You couldn't just push her around.

Then why did I marry her?

That's the question you asked yourself
every day, isn't it?

Because you realized you didn't want
a wife, you wanted a puppy.

Now, you get a judge
with political aspirations, bro...

- Yeah, we're talking death penalty.
- New York, still a lethal injection state.

Now, you confess, you cop a plea,
it's a different story.

You're gonna save the state
all sorts of money on a trial.

Yeah, practically guaranteed
to get off with just life.

Yeah, and then the judge

can get his political bones
on someone else.

- Like your boy, Jason.
- No, no, I know my rights, all right?

So you can stop with this whole
"good cop, bad cop..."

Good you know your rights, Eric,

because your buddy Jason
just rolled on you.

- Oh, man. Come on!
- Oh, yeah!

Cosway just signed his confession.

Copped a nice little plea.
At your expense. Sorry, dude.

Told you we'd get our guy first.

No, no. Wait! Wait, wait, wait.

It was his idea, not mine.
He planned the whole thing.

- Ryan, you were on fire tonight.
- New nickname, Ice-posito.

Excellent work, Detective.

Yeah, well, once we realized that Jason
was the alpha and wouldn't break,

it was obvious that Eric
was the weak link.

Nice. When you guys came in the room
and we knew you were playing,

everything just kind of went...

Yeah, that's right, of course,
we were right with you guys.

- Oh, please.
- That was the whole point,

was that you weren't in on it.
That's how we sold it.

Well, that's neither here nor there,
because we won the bet.

- How's that?
- Our guy broke.

Yeah. Because we broke him.

So what? It's like soccer. You score
in our goal, it's still our point.

Soccer? Really?
You're going with that one?

- Works for me.
- Well, then, how about baseball?

Because this team just
knocked it out of the park.

Yeah, but our team
was supposed to be at the bat.

- Again with that one.
- Your team didn't make it to the field

because they were too scared
to get off the bus.

Castle, our team drove the bus.

Yeah, well,
then how about NASCAR?

As our car flew to the checkered line,
you guys crashed and burned.

Under a beautiful full moon.