Castle (2009–2016): Season 3, Episode 10 - Last Call - full transcript

When the body of a dockworker turned bar owner is found floating in the East River, Castle and Beckett's investigation takes them into the forgotten tunnels and passageways of turn-of-the-century New York, where they uncover a secret that's been buried since the days of Prohibition. The story celebrates New York bar culture, setting Castle on a quest to preserve history by buying a bar of his very own.

(ferry horn blows)

(object rattles)

(splash)

(reel clicking)

You've made your point,
andy.

So they closed
the machine shop

And turned it into
an espresso bar.

That doesn't make you
a bad provider.

(clicks)

Look, this is crazy.
It's the East River.

The only thing you're gonna
catch out here is a cold.

(grunts) ooh.

(clicking)

(gasps) oh, my god.

(keyboard keys clicking)

(footsteps approach)

Can you believe my old
grade school shirt still fits?

Oh, like a glove, yes.
A shirt, no. (sighs)

You look like
the incredible hulk.

Nice, dad.
Yeah, that's what you get

When you talk to him
while he's writing.

Mm. Well,
Gracie's gonna love it.

It'll crack her up when
she sees it. Gracie?

Little cutie whose family
moved off to--

I want to say kansas?
After fifth grade.

She e-mailed me she was coming
to town to check out F.I.T,

So I told her she could
spend the night. I asked you.

Was I writing?

(sighs)
(doorbell buzzes)

"incredible hulk"?

Gracie!

(chuckles)

Look at you, greendale girl.

L-look at you. (laughs)

Hi.
Hi.

Uh, you remember gram
and my dad.

Sure. Hey.
It's been forever. (chuckles)

Thanks again for letting me
crash with you guys. Yeah.

So your room
in the same place?

Yeah. Same place,
same old room.

You know, everything the same.
(chuckles) almost.

(laughs)

Looks like someone's
not in kansas anymore.

What happened
to the little hair band,

The knee socks?
Mm.

(cell phone rings)

(clicks open and beeps)

Ah, Beckett.
Excellent timing.

She used to be
so adorable.

I mean, what makes a girl--

A little girl
who used to play hopscotch

And my little ponies--

Suddenly pierce her eyebrow?

It's like
she's been assimilated

By the leather overlords.

You're probably
romanticizing it.

And is anything ever really

The way that we remember it in
grade school? Well, to be honest,

Beyond some
baking soda volcanoes

And sweaty palms,

I have very little memory
of it at all.

You?

(laughs)
mine are mostly orthodontic.

Braces? You mean you weren't
born with that dazzling smile?

The only thing dazzling
was how long

It took my parents
to pay for it.

Body's in pretty good shape
for a floater.

Must not have been
in the water too long.

Well, if the river's
as cold as my nose,

I'd ballpark it within
the last 12 hours, at most.

No I.D.,
but he looks early 40s.

He's got a navy tattoo
on his arm

And a nasty crush injury
along his temporal line.

Any chance he went overboard?

Classic indicators point to
deliberate blunt force,

So I'd say no.

This was no boating accident.

(police radio chatter)

Then we better close
the beaches.

"no boating accident"?

Chief brody? Hooper?

Seriously?

I'll, uh, zip his prints over
to the precinct for an I.D.,

But for what it's worth,
I did find this.

A Gamblers Anonymous
medallion.

Four years without a bet.

Ahh.
"ahh," what?

The East River, a G.A. chip?

Relapsed gambler gets in
too deep with his bookie,

Ends up floating in the drink.

Are you kidding me?

You just went from
Gamblers Anonymous to mob hit?

This is the most celebrated
body depository

This side
of the Jersey wetlands.

Mark my words--
this guy has mob ties.

Case closed.
(hands slap)

No mob ties.

Are you sure?

Good work.

According to his fingerprints,
his name is Donald Hayes--

Navy veteran,
served in Desert Storm,

And he's been a dock worker
since '94.

And somehow
still employed as one.

Our victim Donny Hayes--
currently clocked in

And on duty at the east side
docks. (Castle) which either means

He's an incredibly
dedicated zombie...

Or he's a suspect
in our murder.

(indistinct conversations)

(Beckett) Donny.

Mr. Hayes.

(raised voice)
Donald Hayes.

(indistinct conversations
continues)

What's the matter?
You forget your own name?

Police. Don't move.

(grunts)
ugh!

The man said, "don't move."

(panting) oh.
Wait a minute.

Wait a minute.
You're just cops?

Just cops?

I guess that makes you
just under arrest for murder.

(Beckett) first name Grant,
last name Vyro.

I didn't kill anybody.

Then why'd you run?
I thought you was with union.

Oh, so we're not the only ones
who have a problem

With you killing Donny for his union card?

What are you talking about?
I bought that card.

Do you really
expect us to believe

That you bought Donny's card,
assumed his identity,

And thought
no one would notice?

Guy spent 16 years
working over on the west side.

So I switched
to the east side docks

So no one who knew Donny
would catch on.

So what does a union card
go for nowadays

Since buying someone else's
is illegal?

Sucker cost me 25 grand.
Oh, come on, Vyro.

Dock workers rake in
over six figures a year.

Why would Donny
trade it in for so little?

Unless he had a gun
to his head,

In which case, it'd be a bargain.
There were no guns.

I needed a job. Donny needed cash.
For what?

He didn't say,
and I didn't care.

(cell phone rings)

(beeps)
Beckett.

I was right about
the blunt force trauma.

A single blow
caved in the ridge here

Along Donny's
squamosal suture.

And whatever did the damage
was kind enough

To leave this shard of red glass
embedded in his skull.

Maybe a heavy vase
or a bottle?

I'll have forensics
take a look at it,

See if they can find
a match.

Based on lividity
and water temp,

I've narrowed time of death

To between 4:00 and 6:00 A.M.
This morning.

What happened here on
the shoulder? Buckshot.

I found several
double-ought pellets

Lodged in the flesh
of his left arm.

So someone conked him
on the head and shot him?

That's where it gets weird.
Scarring indicates

The pellets have been there
about two to three weeks.

And he just left 'em in there? Well,
he certainly didn't seek treatment.

Could've been, he was
in something illegal

Or scared of whoever shot him. Or both.

(Ryan) forget Vyro.

His alibi cleared,
and we tracked down

His personal check
for $25,000,

Endorsed and deposited
by Donny last month.

Vyro paid Donny with a check?
Not mobby enough for you, Castle?

C.S.U.'s still combing
Donny's place,

But no broken red glass,
no signs of foul play,

And no next of kin, either. What
about the Gamblers Anonymous chip?

Any sponsor? Yeah, but he says he
hasn't heard from Donny for months.

So then maybe
Castle was right.

If Donny was desperate enough
to sell his union card,

Then maybe he fell off the wagon
and got in over his head.

Yeah, to the tune of 25 grand.

Yo. Uh, that'd be
lowballing it, bro.

Donny's account shows
that he deposited Vyro's check

About a month ago, adding it
to his existing balance

Of $125,000,

All of which--wait for it--

(clicks button)
is now gone.

Gone?
All of it?

Except for
the remaining balance of $6.23,

All the 150k was spent
in one giant check,

Made payable
to a Wilbur Pittorino,

Listed here as owning
several properties,

As well
as a waste management business

In garfield, New Jersey.
Oh! Waste management.

Any priors?
Yeah.

Back in 1977, Billy Pitt
spent 10 years in federal

For assault and racketeering.

And what?
Racketeering.

As well as shaking down
business owners

Where he operated his, uh,
bookmaking operation.

His what now?
Bookmaking operation.

Oh, so an ex-gambler

Dumps his life savings
on an ex-con ex-bookmaker,

And ends up exed out.

Sounds like Donny was late with
his 150 grand for Billy Pitt,

And he ended up paying for it
with his life.

I think I just said that.

"Castle"
Season 3, Episode 10 - "Last Call"

You know, you might have gotten
a little grayer, Mr. Pitt,

But it seems to me,
you haven't changed much at all.

Must be
all them Pilates classes.

(papers rustle)

Do you recognize
this check?

Of course.
It's from Donny Hayes. So?

So I'm wondering if Donny
didn't owe you more money,

And you didn't flash back to your old
racketeering days. Tap the brakes, sweetie.

Whatever the hell
you dragged me down here for,

I wanna tell you right now that
I paid my tab with johnny law

A couple of lifetimes ago,

And he's got nothing on me since.
(laughs) oh, this guy is gold.

And if you don't believe me,
why don't you ask... Donny?

Is this about Donny?

He was found dead
in the East River this morning.

Now back to the money.
What was it for?

Was it a payment
or was it a gift?

A purchase.
For?

He bought my bar downtown.
He loved the place.

Really?
Enough to drop everything

And dump
his whole life savings into it?

Kid was practically raised
in the joint,

By his grandfather,
Leo the Legend.

Leo the Legend?
You heard of the guy?

Shh.
City's best bartender

Since the days
when "gay" meant "happy."

He was the only father Donny
knew. And where do I find Leo?

Resting in an old silver shaker
behind the bar.

Leo was kind of
the bar historian,

And when he kicked in '97,

We figured, hey,
why not make him part of it?

Ashes behind the bar.

Which is why Donny decided
to buy the--what is it called?

(Billy and Castle) The
Old Haunt. The Old Haunt?

Don't tell me you've never
been to the Old Haunt.

It's legendary. All the great
writers drank there.

We're cops. We go to
cop bars. Your loss.

Donny was there
every night anyhow.

We were
all the family he had.

So what prompted
this sudden sale?

I mean, it seemed like Donny had
to gather money pretty quickly.

The bar had been weighing down
my ledger sheets for years.

I had an offer from one of them
T.J. McChucklenuts franchises,

When Brian, my bartender,
put together some investors

And made an offer of his own.

I was gonna sell it to him,
and then Donny outbid him.

And how did Brian feel
when Donny bought the place?

He wasn't thrilled about it,

But at least he wasn't working
for T.J. McChucklenuts.

Lanie just swabbed
the shard of glass

And found trace amounts
of alcohol.

A container
of alcoholic beverage,

A resentful bartender...

And given the location
of the Old Haunt,

A potential crime scene

Just two blocks
away from the river.

Convenient for all
your body dumping needs.

So, Castle...

Can I buy you a drink?

Why, detective Beckett,
I thought you'd never ask.

(Beckett) so how well do you
know this bar, Castle?

Oh, I haven't been here
in years. Not since Alexis.

But I wrote most of my first
novel in one of these booths.

Oh. Okay, well,
that explains a lot.

It sold
over three million copies.

No, I mean
why you're so excited.

Oh, well, it's loaded
with history--

First as a blacksmith,
then as a bordello.

It only became a bar during
prohibition as a speakeasy,

And it was one of the best.

I swear, I can still feel
the vibration

Of every notorious episode
of glamour and debauchery

In its walls. Oh, easy,
Castle. It's just a bar.

No, no, T.J. McChucklenuts
is just a bar.

The Old Haunt is the last
of a dying breed

Of proud institutions

Standing up
to ruthless gentrification.

It's a classic...

What--what are you doing?

Well, I'm not gonna get
much out of Brian

Looking like a cop.

Undercover. I like it.

But you might want to pop
one more button, just in case.

(inhales deeply)

(exhales)

(playing up-tempo
instrumental song)

This is how a bar should
smell. Mm. Yeah. Stale beer.

You know,
I'd write in more bars

If there
were more bars like this.

(plays spy movie riff)

(chuckles)
nice to see you, eddie.

Been a long time.
Thank you for remembering.

Come over here. Check out the wall of
fame. (playing up-tempo instrumental song)

Who is that handsome devil
just two over from Hemingway,

Directly above
the infamous booth where

"in a hail of bullets" was
born? Oh, my goodness, Castle.

(chuckling)
you were so cute back then.

Back then?

(music continues)

(indistinct conversations)

A lot of memories.

That's old Leo, which would
make that young Donny.

But I don't see
any red bottles.

What are you looking at?

Nothing.

Welcome to the Old Haunt,
folks.

Uh, is Donny here,
by any chance?

Not yet, but he will be,
and he won't mind one bit

That you're sitting
in his regular spot,

You know, I knew this place
felt right for a reason.

I'm Kate.
I'm one of his old friends.

And this is Rick.

Brian.

And any old friend
of Donny

Is a new friend of mine.

Tell me, Brian, um...

You don't by any chance
carry a liqueur--

It's really delicious

And it comes in this
red bottle?

Oh!

Yeah, that, uh,
red bottle we shared

Down in that little cantina
in Tierra del Fuego?

Red, huh?

Uh, let's see.

No red here. Just your standard
brown, green, and clear.

Uh, let me check the other end
of the bar. Did you see that?

How could I miss it?
Can't he see we're together?

Undercover.

No, his reaction...
When I mentioned Donny.

I don't think he knows.

Maybe he's just
a good liar.

(Brian) ah, no luck.

Maybe I could interest you
in a blue vodka?

Oh, no, thank you.
Way too early for vodka.

Well, think about it, folks.
I'll be back in a sec.

Actually, Brian, we're not
really here for a drink.

How could Donny be dead?

I was
just with him last night.

What time was that?

4:30 A.M. I locked up
on my way out,

And Donny went to do the books
in the office, like always.

Are you sure he was alone
when you left?

Positive.
Man, this is crazy.

That guy was like a brother to me.

Even though he bought the bar
out from under you?

You know about that?

I mean, he didn't even
offer you to be a partner.

That doesn't sound very brotherly to me.

Hey, any beef I had with Donny
was short-lived.

We hashed it out.

So now you're just stealing from him.
What?

What? Couldn't help but notice
your trick with the fruit, Brian.

You pretend
to ring up a drink,

You stuff the money in the till,
and you keep track of it

By throwing pieces of fruit
into the sink.

Cherries are $10.
Limes, what, $20?

At night's end, you tally up
your fruit so you know how much

To put into your tip cup
before you lock the register.

So what happened, Brian?
Donny catch you stealing?

Things get physical?
Over an extra 30 or 40 bucks?

That's not even stealing.
It's skimming. Donny understood.

The owner understood?

We'd all been family
long enough.

Donny knew I had to get creative
to make my rent once in a while.

I'd like to see his office.
Sure. It's in the basement.

The basement?

I've never seen this.

No one knew it was there
until the flood of '98.

Billy Pitt pulled up
the old linoleum,

And there it was.
(clicks and squeaks)

(latch clanks)

(door clatters)

(Castle)
a hidden basement.

How cool is this?

Did I say "cool"?

Make that awesome.

The perfect place
for a murder.

No one can hear you scream.

No one can help you carry
the body up the stairs either.

Maybe somebody
marched Donny at gunpoint

Down to the river,
killed him there.

If the killer had a gun,
why would he use a bottle?

Don't ruin my story
with your logic.

It smells like fresh paint.

(Brian) yeah, Donny had been
putting in a lot of work

To fix the place up--
new brass rail,

Refurbished wood on the bar.

(Castle)
you find something?

(Beckett sighs)

These are buckshot holes.

(clatters)

(letter opener thuds)

You own a shotgun,
Brian?

No. C.S.U.'s gonna comb this
place from top to bottom--

Blood, buckshot,
broken red glass.

So if you have something to say--
look, if a shotgun was fired down here,

Everybody in the bar
would know about it.

Not if it was after hours.

We're talking about
two or three weeks ago.

Did Donny have a beef with anyone
then? You said two weeks ago?

Uh, yeah.

It was a couple of weeks ago.
I was, uh, closing up alone.

I had just done my cash drop
down in the basement safe,

And I came up, and some guy
was knocking on the door--

Pick-up Pete.

"pick-up Pete"?
Big hit with the ladies?

No. He drives a pickup.

Ah.
Gun rack?

Yeah.
Regular upstate redneck.

Anyway, he said that he dropped
his wallet in the booth,

So I let him in.

Next thing you know,
he's got his hands all over me.

He's pushing me against the bar.
All of a sudden,

The basement door pops open,

And here comes Donny,
like Hemingway's ghost.

Guess I missed him
down there,

But I'm glad he showed up
when he did.

He grabbed a baseball bat,
chased Pete out.

He smashed his taillights,

Put a few dents in the pickup
for good measure

Before the jackass
could drive off.

Donny told me to go home
and to forget about it.

He said that Pete
was eighty-sixed for life.

That was the last time we talked
about it until last night.

And what happened last
night? Pete showed up again.

Donny wasn't having any of it.
He just threw that trash out.

Said the next time,

It wouldn't be the truck
he used the bat on.

So Donny eighty-sixed Pete
for life.

Looks like Pete
returned the favor.

Pick-up Pete,
a.K.A. Pete Mucha.

He's got a couple of dismissed
domestic assault charges

And he is also
the proud owner

Of a Remington 870 shotgun.

(scratches paper)

And Ryan and Esposito
are bringing him in now.

What do you think
of "The Castillion"?

For?

Well, the Old Haunt
just reminded me

Of how vital tavern culture is
in this town.

I thought, why not open up
a little tavern of my own?

So instead of buying a drink,

You're gonna buy a whole bar?

My way of giving back.

Yeah, to your ego.
"The Ego."

(slurring words)
someone call the police!

Let me go.
I'm perfectly fine!

Pick-up Pete,
I take it.

Yeah, we found him getting
tossed out of a bar uptown.

And, uh, just like
the shotgun in his truck,

He's a little loaded.
Ohh.

Well, maybe a murder charge
will sober him up.

Yeah. Come on.

(Pete moaning)

"the Castle."

It'll just have
a wee drawbridge to let you in.

(Ryan)
congratulations, Pete.

You're our drunkest
murder suspect this year,

And that includes St.
Patrick's day. What did I win?

Well, that depends on you,
Pete. You know my name, too?

And did you just say "murder"?
Your driver's license says

You're from up in cortland.

What, they don't have
any bars up there,

Or did you get eighty-sixed
from them, too?

The city's where I work,

You know, like drywall,
like pipe setting.

And I do some of my best
pipe laying after work,

If you know what I mean.
(laughs)

Hey.

You own a shotgun, Pete.

You like hunting, do you?

Wait a minute.

You after me for murdering
a 2-point buck?

Nah. We're after you
for your little dust up

At the Old Haunt
two weeks ago.

The Old Haunt!
That's where I was last night.

Donny wouldn't let me in

Because of
that bitch bartender.

For the record,
she came on to me.

That why you came back
and you killed him,

'cause you were drunk and angry,
and he wouldn't let you in?

Donny's dead?

What'd you really do
last night, Pete?

Whoa! Hey!

Why would I kill the guy?

Maybe because he trashed your truck.
And you were too drunk to shoot straight

The last time you came after
him with a shotgun. Shotgun?

Look, he trashed my truck.
So what?

He more than paid
for the damages.

(Ryan and Esposito)
he what now?

After he pounded my truck,
I started calling the cops.

Well, he calmed down real fast,
and out came this fat wad,

And he peeled off a cool grand
like it was nothin'.

Donny... Gave you $1,000?

He had plenty more.

I asked him, "what,
did you score lotto?"

And he was all like,
"yeah, sorta."

You can ask my repair guy.

I paid with Donny's cash.

Don't go anywhere.
I'm gonna make a call.

Don't worry.
We're gonna get this guy.

Pete's alibi holds.

He was sleeping it off

At a friend's apartment
over in murray hill.

It's weird that a guy who had
only $6.23 in his bank account

Had enough cash on hand to peel
off a "g" like it was nothing.

Not to mention all the repairs
he made to the bar.

Maybe he was skimming, too.
If he was skimming that much,

There'd have to be someone
he wasn't paying--

A supplier, distributor? Why don't
you guys go back to the Old Haunt

And take a look
at Donny's ledgers?

Let's find out where that money
was coming from.

Here you go, detective.

Thank you.

So C.S.U. Processed
that bar and basement,

And there's no indication
of any broken red glass.

And the only blood they found
was under the buckshot.

So it wasn't
our murder scene.

Well, looks like Donny
left that bar alive.

(Ryan)
you know, I don't get it.

If Donny got shot down here,
and he didn't do anything wrong,

Why didn't he report it?
The last thing

Any new bar owner wants
is trouble with the cops.

Even an accidental shooting
on the premises

Could've cost Donny
his liquor license for good.

Oh, probably why he shelled out for
Pete's truck damage, too. I don't see how.

His personal account

Isn't the only thing
that's tapped out.

The Old Haunt
was barely breaking even,

Operating at a loss most days.

There's no way he was throwing
money around. Yet, he was.

I've got invoices here--
one for the new brass rail

And one for the new wood
for the bar,

Each totaling
close to 6 grand.

Both of 'em are stamped "petty cash.
Paid in full." Nothing petty about that.

You sure
there's nothing in there

About him winning the lotto?

Actually...

Maybe there is.

(Beckett) a consignment receipt

From Hagen and Graham
auction house?

Why is a guy like Donny
doing business

With a place that sells
picassos and rembrandts?

His business
was barely breaking even.

He was on the verge of losing
everything. And with his union card gone,

It looks like he found something
else to sell. Yeah, but what?

What does a dock worker have
that's valuable enough for

A place like Hagen and Graham's
to be interested?

Maybe something
that wasn't his.

(Castle) now here's a place
that honors history

And values craftsmanship.

You're pretty into this whole
preserving history stuff, huh?

I think just lately, I've been
noticing the changes.

You mean
in Alexis' goth friend?

No, I was thinking
more along the lines

Of times square.

You know, once it had a real
New York grit and character.

And now they should just
call it times square land.

(man) ahem.

So sorry
to have kept you waiting.

I'm steven Heisler,
associate director.

I'm detective Kate Beckett.
This is Richard Castle. Mm.

We were wondering

If you recognize this man.
Oh, yes. Donald Hayes.

We don't get many dock workers
here, as you might imagine.

What's this about?

He was murdered.
Murdered? Good lord.

We understand that he put
an item up here for auction.

We were wondering
what it was.

Are you familiar with a man
by the name of Jimmy Walker?

Sure. Everybody knows Jimmy Walker.

No, not the actor who played
J.J. on "Good Times."

No, the former Mayor
of New York.

Took office 1926,

Went by the nickname
"Beau James,"

Famous for being a corrupt
politician, renowned womanizer,

And also openly defiant
of prohibition.

Ah. So you do know him.

What does the former Mayor
have to do with this?

Donald had an item
that once belonged to him.

You see,
Mayor Walker was rumored

To have had a private liquor
collection thought to contain

One of the finest whiskeys ever distilled.
Unceremoniously dumped into the sewers

When federal agents
ran Walker out of office.

Donald came in with
the sole surviving bottle--

An 1875 St. Miriam,
Rock od Scotland.

I knew what it was
the moment I saw

The "j.W."
pressed into its wax seal.

An 1875 St. Miriam--that is
the holy grail of scotches.

I would kill
for just a taste of that.

Do you have a picture
of this bottle of scotch?

(clicking mouse) (Castle)
where did Donny get it?

Left to him
by his grandfather Leo,

Who apparently was given it
as a gift

When he returned from
world war ii. (beeps)

And there you have it.
Oh.

And where is that bottle now?

It was sold for $26,000

To an internet millionaire
named Jeffrey McGuigan.

A red glass bottle.

At 26 grand...

That is one
expensive murder weapon.

How did you say
this guy made his millions?

Internet gaming.
Owns about 50 sites.

The guy spent 26k
on a bottle of whiskey.

He could treat himself to
nicer digs. (rings doorbell)

What's his motivation?
All I know is that

This is about a body's throw
away from the river.

Speedy wok my ass.
(techno music playing)

You're not even speedy wok.

We're here about a purchase
that was made

At Hagen and Graham's.

Is there
a Jeffrey McGuigan here?

I go by Magoo.
It's my street name, you know?

Seriously, you're
Jeffrey McGuigan? Magoo.

And yeah, I've purchased
a ton of crap at that place.

Come on in.



(Castle) so this piece of crap
we're looking for, Magoo,

Is a priceless
red bottle of scotch.

No, it had a price, all right.
But it was pretty tasty.

Tasty?
(slurps)

You describe a 135-year-old
bottle of scotch as "tasty"?

I mean, you know, after I
mixed in a little root beer.

Yeah, okay, Magoo,
let's see that bottle.

Seriously? You're just gonna
walk into my crib

And start bossing me around?
(Castle) Well, I don't see it here.

You didn't happen to... break
the bottle over... something?

What is this about?
You know, I may have

Dropped out of Cornell
when my company went public,

But I still know my rights.

That bottle
that you purchased

Might have been used
to commit murder.

So unless you want to learn
your miranda rights,

You better quit stalling
and show us where it is.



Yeah, okay, cool.
I'm not stalling.

Great.
Yeah.

(people laugh
and speak indistinctly)

(objects clatter)

You were throwing it out?

In the blue bucket.
I recycle.

(bucket thuds)

Well, it's still intact.

Unless a sliver of glass
came out when it hit--

Man, nobody hit anybody.

Yes, well, keep mixing
root beer with fine scotch,

That may change...
Okay, Castle. Let's go.

Just so you know.
Thank you.

Cretinous little uncultured
palate doesn't deserve--

Did you hear what he said?
Root beer.

(mouths words) if I was 15 years
younger, I'd give that kid such a pinch.

(Lanie) same glass,

But the shard in Donny's head

Is way too big to have come
from this bottle.

Which means it can't be

The only remaining bottle
in the world.

Clearly not.

Which means I still have
a shot at getting a taste.

(sniffs) which means that Donny
came across a second bottle.

Yeah, upside his head. Okay,
so maybe Leo gave a bottle

To a relative or a friend,

And once Donny learned how much
it was worth, he went after it.

And got more
than he bargained for.

I think I'm gonna do
a little research on Leo,

See what we can dig up
on Mayor Walker

And his mystery whiskey.

Research.

I'm gonna do that, too.

Yeah.

(inhales deeply)



(clatters)



(rattling)

(sniffs)



It's called the sidecar--

One of the best drinks to come
out of the prohibition era... Mmm.

A time when getting a drink
meant secret doors,

Gangsters, and bootleggers.

Ooh, Rick,
I'm loving this idea.

You know, our town could use
a throwback joint.

Ooh, perfect name for it--
"Rick's cafe americain."

Mother, that's perfect.

I was trying to come up
with a bogie reference myself.

All I could think of
was "Castle-blanca."

I thought it was a little
too on the nose. Yeah.

I need a drink.
H2o, dirty.

Tap water it is.

So where's your dark shadow?

She went out with some people
she met at F.I.T

I was not invited.

I don't know whether to be
delighted or outraged.

Me neither.
She's really defensive,

And she makes fun of everything
that's important to me.

I keep looking for the Gracie I knew,
but she's just not there anymore.

Well, you're not the same girl
you were back then either.

You know,

Maybe she's just responding to how
you've changed. I haven't changed.

Oh, darling, please.
Look at you.

You are tall, beautiful,
sophisticated.

You have a glam gram,
and...

Him, and a boyfriend.

You know, did it ever
occur to you, that might be

Rather intimidating to a
girl from kansas? Intimidated?

When I asked
where she got her gloves,

She said it was a place I wouldn't go
to. Now you took that as an affront,

And she was just probably
being self-deprecating.

Mm-hmm. You know what? I think
someone needs a virgin mojito.

Go grab me some more mint.
It's in the fridge.

(imitates Humphrey Bogart) here's
looking at you, kid. And you.

Oh! Whoa!

You coulda told me
you booby-trapped it.

Oh, yes. Well, that's just
how I protect my stash

From g-men and mobsters.

Mm. At least help me
reload them.

Right.

Reload.
(clicks open and beeps)

(keypad beeps)

(laughs) reload.

(phone rings)
oh!

(line clicks) Beckett, I think
I know how Donny was shot.

Take a trip with me to
a simple yet dangerous time...

Castle, C.S.U. Already swept
through this entire basement,

And we were just tucked in
with my laptop.

"we"?

Josh and I.
He was helping me research.

Anyway, a dangerous time
when prohibition was law

And bootleggers the lawless,

Often going
to extreme measures

To protect
their liquid treasure.

Can you get to the point?
Yes.

You remember
when Donny jumped up

And rescued Annie
from pick-up Pete?

She said
she completely missed him

When she was down here
doing her safe drop.

It was late. She was tired.
I can relate.

Or maybe
he wasn't down here at all.

Buckshot wall...

Wall directly opposite.

Help me move the shelf.

And what exactly
are we hoping to find?

The truth. The same thing
Donny was hoping for.

In all the stories
that Leo ever told,

This bar historian,

What if he saved one story
just for Donny?

A story that Leo himself
could never verify

Because the trapdoor to
the basement wasn't discovered

Until after he died.

When Billy Pitt decided
to sell the bar,

And T.J. McChucklenuts
was going to buy it,

Donny realized he had to
find out before it was too late.

Find what?

Donny sold his union card
and bet his life savings

That Beau James--
come.

(grunting, shelf creaking)

Help me.

(groans) there we go.

That Beau James' secret stash
really existed.

(grunts) are you pushing?

I am pushing!

(grunts)

(pants)

Okay.

That's...

Wow.

Oh, Castle.

This is where Donny was
when Annie made the drop.

(hinge squeaks)

Oh-ho.

Donny would've given
one pull on this door,

And blam said the lady.

(liquid trickling)
do you hear that?

Rushing water.

If that water leads
to the East River,

Then that's probably
where Donny was killed.

(object scrapes)

What are you doing?

We're gonna need a light,
right? (match sizzles)

(blows air)
not so fast, indy.

We're also gonna need
breathable air, so...

Torch would be more fun.

This must be a part
of the old sewer system.

Probably used these
as access tunnels

During prohibition.

It's incredible, isn't it?
Ooh.

Yeah, aside from the fact
that it's... (rat squeaks)

Damp, cramped, dark,

And we are almost certainly
walking in rat poop.

(singsongy) awesome.
Don't forget the C.H.U.D.S.

(normal voice) C.H.U.D.S?

Cannibalistic humanoid
underground dwellers.

These sewers
are crawling with them.

You know,
I kind of figured you more

For an "alligator in the sewer"
type of guy.

There's alligators
down here?

(rats squeaking)

What is this?

Whoa.

This looks like
an old passageway

That was bricked up
a long time ago.

Yeah, until Donny
got at it.

(switch clicks,
electricity buzzes)

(cackles)

Mayor Walker's moniker.

"1919"--that's
when prohibition started.

Best time capsule ever.

(Castle) imagine Donny's joy
when he realized

That Leo's legends
were true.

$26,000 a bottle--who cares
if Brian was skimming?

There's gotta be

A hundred bottles of scotch
on these walls.

Take one down
and pass it around.

Hey. That's evidence.

And there's already a lot
that's been taken.

It's fairly recently, too.

These bottles
are caked with dust,

And the empty spaces
are relatively clean.

Here's our murder weapon.

Hopefully
with some prints on it.

There's probably blood
mixed in there, too...

In case you were
thinking of tasting it.

Come on.
I'm not that desperate.

Mm-hmm. So someone else

Finds out
about Donny's treasure,

Follows him down here,

Surprises him,
a fight breaks out,

And the killer grabs
the only weapon available...

Striking the fatal blow.

And it looks like our killer

Dragged the body
right back out the same way.

Look at this,
all the way down.

And then it travels
all the way...

Ah, this tunnel
has everything--

Secret scotch vault,

Private murder nook,

Convenient sewage disposal.

(thuds) I bet you this water
leads straight to the East River.

(grunts)

This is fairly bright.

Someone's been here
in the past few hours.

(object clatters)

Police! Don't move!
(clatters)

(footsteps running)
stop! NYPD!

This way. This way.
(grunts)

(both panting)

Where did he go?

He was right in front of us.
I heard him.

(pants)

This is a dead end.

He couldn't
have gotten past us.

There is no other way
he could've gotten out.

So how did he get away?
(pants)

(Montgomery)
what do you mean, gone?

He was right there
in front of us, and then...

(snaps fingers)
nothing but a brick wall.

And there's no way this guy
could've gotten past you two

And snuck out through the Old
Haunt? No, it was too narrow.

Brian the bartender
and a handful of regulars

Were still upstairs.

They swear, no one came out
before we did.

We think that
our spirit-loving Mayor

Didn't want to be seen
going back and forth

From his favorite speakeasy,

So he had a back way entrance
built to his stash.

Hidden from view,
and trust me, we looked.

Yo, just got off the phone
with Lanie.

She confirms the blood
on the broken bottle is Donny's.

It's definitely our murder weapon. But we
run the prints, and we still came up empty.

No matches to anyone at
the Old Haunt or in our system.

It took 70 years
to find a way

Down to those tunnels
from the Old Haunt,

And somehow our killer
finds another way in? How?

There's gotta be
another access point

From the tunnel
to the East River sewer line.

But the sewer bureau's map
doesn't have anything.

It's like con ed doesn't even
know those tunnels exist.

That's because
these are modern sewer lines.

Any of the old sewer lines
that didn't get patched in

When the new ones were built,

They just got bricked up and abandoned.
That's like old subway lines. There are

Whole stations underground no one's
seen for decades. So basically,

We need to take a look
at an old sewer map,

And once we figure out where
our killer disappeared to,

We might be able to find some witnesses
on the other end. Then let's find that map.

(lowered voice) now...
(thuds)

This place could use
a little gentrification,

At the very least,
a copy machine.

It's the pre-world war ii
archives section, Castle.

Half of this probably hasn't
been seen in over 70 years.

Lower east side, 1920.

That's about when prohibition
was getting started.

Aw, you see how much nicer
the neighborhood was back then?

You think that little box there
might be the Old Haunt?

Yeah, that's where it would be,

Not long after
its bordello phase.

You can still see the little garter belts.
Okay, there's a sewer line

Running under it
that wasn't on the newer map,

So that's gotta be our tunnel. Which would
put Walker's whiskey right about here.

A man could grab himself
a bottle, come and go

Without ever being seen.

But come and go from where?
Where did he start from?

Here's where our tunnel ends
and our killer vanished.

There's one, two,
three sewer lines

That branch off from that point. Any
of which our killer could've accessed

To get away from us.

So if we can figure out

Exactly where
the three sewers end,

We can subpoena traffic cams

Around the time
the killer got away,

Maybe get an I.D.

Or maybe we won't need
any of that.

You said no one
has laid eyes on these maps

In over 70 years,

Only it says here,

Someone checked this one out
just two weeks ago.

And I'll bet a bottle
of Beau James' whiskey

That someone was trying
to make their way

Back to the Mayor's stash,
just like we are.

Going once, going twice...

(bangs) sold to the
gentleman in the back.

Next up, we have a marvelous
1955 Chateau Restivo blanc,

And we'll start the bidding
at $1,200.

Do I hear $1,200?

There's $1,200.
Do I hear $1,250?

$1,250 there.
$1,300?

13--

(clears throat)
$1,300 in the back.

Do I hear $1,350?

$1,350...

(crowd murmuring)

$1,350...

Oh.

Do I hear...

14--

(murmuring continues)

(Beckett) it's just a sad case
of Donny trusting the wrong guy.

He told Heisler
about the Beau James' stash,

And Heisler got greedy.
He convinced Donny

That the whiskey
would fetch a better price

If he sold it
a bottle at a time,

So Donny left the stash where he
found it. And that gave Heisler

Enough time to figure out where it was
hidden. When Donny caught him in the vault,

Heisler panicked, hit him with
a bottle. Yo. We figured out

How Heisler disappeared on you
in the tunnel. Secret passageway.

Basically.

He had a hidden entrance
that could only be opened

From the other side.
Now C.S.U. Followed it

From the street to the abandoned
sewer to the tunnel,

Just like Mayor Walker had drew it
up. (Ryan) here's, uh, three cases

That Heisler hadn't gotten
around to selling yet.

(mutters)

At 26 g's a pop,

You're looking at just under
a cool million. (chuckles)

I just--how might I acquire
one of these for myself?

Castle, I told you,
they're evidence.

Yes, but who's to say
that today's evidence

Can't be tomorrow's nightcap?
That would be me.

I'm sure it'll be a few months
before we can figure out

Where this and the rest of this stuff
belongs. (cell phone rings and beeps)

Montgomery. Yeah.

Look at you.

Isn't it cool?
Gracie took me shopping

In this place
I never even knew existed,

And it's right down
the street from here.

They had the greatest stuff.
She has a really good eye.

Well, Alexis looks good in everything.
I'm glad you two reconnected.

We just had to get to know
the new us's.

Neither of us are 10 anymore.

Thanks for letting me crash
at chez Castle.

It reminded me
of the good ol' days

Before life got too real,
you know?

I do know.

I'm gonna walk her
to the train.

Bye.
Mm.

Gram's waiting downstairs.

Thanks for the warning.
(laughs)

Wow. I remember that phase.

That's about
when I got my tattoo.

You've got a tattoo?
Well, on--

I... Where?

Just heard from
the D.A., Castle.

Apparently since
all of these bottles

Used to belong to Beau James,
and he used to be our Mayor,

It's her opinion that
they're owned by the city.

But she says if you're willing
to make a generous donation

To the NYPD
widows and orphans' fund,

You can have one of Beau James'
best for your very own.

This is early Christmas,
baby.

I... May...

(voice breaking)
I was not expecting this.

Are you crying?
Yes.

I don't know what to say.
Try "let me get my checkbook."

(normal voice) yes,
of course. Of course. But I...

I will only accept this
if you all share it with me.

Twist my arm.
No.

Not here.
Um, at the Old Haunt.

We will toast to Donny
with his family.

Yeah, well, what ab--
what about that place?

What happens to the Old Haunt? It's gonna
go back to the bank, which means that

T.J. McChucklenuts is gonna
get another shot at it.

Oh, I wouldn't worry
about the Old Haunt.

You bought it, didn't you?

So are you joining us?

You know, I'd love to.

It's late, and I've got
a lot of paperwork.

It's 9:00 on a Saturday.

It's 9:15, actually.

♪ the regular crowd
shuffles in ♪

(chuckles)

♪ there's an old man
sitting next to me ♪

(Montgomery, Ryan and Esposito)
♪ making love ♪

♪ to his tonic and gin ♪

♪ he said, "son,
can you play me a memory? ♪

♪ "I'm not really sure
how it goes ♪

(Beckett and Castle)
♪ "but it's sad and it's sweet ♪

♪ "and I knew it complete ♪

♪ when I wore
a younger man's clothes" ♪

Oh!

(all) ♪ "sing us a song,
you're the piano man ♪

♪ "sing us a song tonight ♪

♪ "well, we're all in the mood
for a melody ♪

♪ and you got us
feeling all right" ♪