Castle (2009–2016): Season 3, Episode 21 - The Dead Pool - full transcript

"As he saw
the dark figure approaching,

"he rose up for a better view,

little knowing he was heading
for his doom."

Ooh.
Wow.

I know, right?
Oh, and listen to this.

"To my mentor, Richard Castle,

"without whose support and guidance

"this book never would
have seen the light of day."

All you did was give Alex Conrad

a few notes on his manuscript
then send it to your publisher.

He was the one
who wrote the book.

Mm. That's your version.
In my version...

I gently fostered
the glowing embers of talent,

fanning them
into a literary wildfire.

He's gonna be in town

and asked
to get together with me.

He wants to learn more
about my writing process.

And by "process," you mean
your procrastination

until the very last second...
And then writing out of a desperate panic

in a caffeine-induced haze?
That one?

No, not that one.

The one where I find authenticity

by doing hands-on research
with the NYPD.

Ah. So I'm having Alex meet me
at the precinct later on today.

Beckett will be thrilled with that.
Beckett? I'm sure she won't mind.

You haven't told her yet?

I am sure she will be fine
with it.

Fine with it? Why would I
be fine with it?

Okay. I'm sorry.

Come on. He's a writer.

How much trouble
could he possibly be?

So is that a yes?

Is... is that a no?

Hey, Lanie.
Hey.

Who's this?
Zack Lindsey,

a stand-out on the U.N.Y. swim team.

Or he was before he drowned.
How does a champion swimmer drown?

He had help.
Burns?

From a caustic substance.

Someone put a rag to his face
soaked in the stuff.

He passed out from the fumes,

then was dumped in the pool
to drown.

Based on water and body temp,
I'd say between 1:00 and 5:00 this morning.

And what was the substance?
I won't know till I get him back to the shop.

Who found him?
Zack's teammates when they showed up

for 6:00 A.M. swim practice.
All right. Let's talk to his teammates.

Find out if anyone had it in
for Zack, and let's figure out

where they were
between 1:00 and 5:00 A.M.

I'll go talk to Zack's coach.

It just doesn't seem real,

seeing him lying there like that.
What was he doing here so late?

Training.

Couldn't keep that kid
outta the pool.

Mm.
Two weeks ago,

he got food poisoning
right before a meet.

Sick as a dog,
just puking his guts out.

I told him to withdraw,
but he toughed it out.

Won all his events.

But that was Zack.

He was gonna be
the next Rob Tredwyck

or Michael Phelps.

Did he have
any personal problems?

He was a kid from Bensonhurst,
you know?

I got him a partial scholarship,
but he lived on his own

all the way out there because it's all
he could afford.

What about his parents?

Uh, his dad's gone.

His, uh, mom had to move
to Atlantic City for work.

I...

Promised I was gonna
look out for him.

What about the swim team?

There must have been
some rivalries there.

He and Brian Morris were
our two best chances

to win the tournament this week,
but there was no bad blood,

not with Brian or anyone else on the team.
Okay I'm still gonna need a team roster

and a list of all the people
who had access to this pool.

Uh... excuse me.

Mm-hmm.

This is why Alexis
is never going to college.

Hey.

You want to hear something crazy?
Yeah.

I was talking
to the night janitor.

He was here
till 1:30 last night,

but he saw Zack with another guy.
Do we have a name?

We have a picture, too.
"Rocket" Rob Tredwyck.

Give us a big smile, mate.

Yes, like that.

You love this man.
You want him.

That's funny.
I want him, too.

The guy was invincible in water.

I can't believe he'd drown.

How did you know him?
From a tournament, three years ago.

Zack was a freshman
while I was headed to Beijing.

I could tell he was special.

It was like looking
at a younger version of me.

He was really that good?
Yeah, but, uh, that's not what I meant.

Most kids in this sport,
they come from money.

Zack and me,
we both grew up hard.

So I took him under my wing.

Sounds like you were kind
of a mentor to him.

I was just looking out for my own.

So what were you doing
at the pool last night?

Zack said he wanted
to run drills, and I figured,

what the hell?

Now that I'm retired, I don't
do enough time in the water.

But I think he really just needed a friend.
Why is that?

He just had the talk with his girl.
Where do babies come from?

No, not that talk.

The one I had with
my high school girlfriend

back in Wilmington.

If you want to get to the top,

you can't take everyone with you.

So some people,
you have to leave behind

so you have the talk.
And how did she handle that?

She took it hard.
So did Zack.

But he was worried about her,

worried that she might
do something stupid.

Do you remember her name?

Bridget.
Bridget McManus.

And what time did you
leave the pool last night?

A little after midnight.

Where were you
between 1:00 and 5:00 A.M.?

At Buddha Bar
with half the ad agency.

We partied till dawn.
Mm-hmm.

We're ready for you, Rocket.
Man...

Hell of a day to sell cologne.

What were you looking at?

Nothing.

First day I put him in the pool,
he was 2 years old.

Took to it like a fish.

You have kids?

Two daughters and a son.

It's what we do for them, right?

When his dad left

and I was feeling lower
than dirt,

you know what he told me?

He said, "I'm gonna be someone
one day for you, ma,

so you can walk
down the street and be proud."

Who did this?

Who killed my son?

We're doing everything we can
to find out.

Ms. Dinovi, what can you
tell me about Bridget McManus?

Her and Zack have been
an item since high school.

What's this got to do
with Bridget?

Maybe nothing, we're just
checking everywhere.

Did he mention anything else,
any trouble he might be in?

Zack knew what trouble was.
He wanted no part of it.

People don't get out
of our neighborhood.

Zack was gonna make it.

My baby, he was going to make it.

Captain.

Zack's mom.

Anything about the girlfriend?
Not that she knows of.

She seemed to think
everything was okay.

Ah, then there was a lot
he wasn't sharing.

Check out the text messages
that Bridget fired off to Zack

on the night he was killed.

Ooh. Not a lot of "lols"
in there.

"Zack, if you leave me, I swear
to God, I'll kill you."

She has a way with words.
And a record to go with it.

Disorderly conduct.
Mostly minor stuff.

Uniforms are bringing her in now.
It says here she's 5'2".

You really think she could overpower Zack?
Uh, no, but her brothers could.

In grand Irish tradition,
she has four of them,

each over 6 foot, each with
his own claim to fame...

Assaults...
Oh.

Ag. Assault...
Bad.

A.D.W., battery...
Ee. Mm.

Assault on city employee, parking enforcement.
Doesn't count.

Easy.
Dude.

I... just jokes. All right, find
out where her brothers were

between 1:00 and 5:00 A.M.

Castle and I will talk to Bridget.
Thank you, sir.

Kill him?

I've loved Zack Lindsey
since the ninth grade.

You have a funny way
of showing it.

I was pissed.

For five years, I cooked
his steamed chicken breast,

I put his pasta in the tupperware

at 4:00 in the morning,
I kept him company at the gym.

And then he tells me,
"Sorry, Bridge.

I can't have any other voices
in my head."

Like suddenly, I'm a distraction.

Like suddenly, I'm not good
enough for Colorado Springs?

So you threatened to kill him
unless he took you back?

No, that's how I talk, okay?

But there was something going on.

And it had nothing to do
with swimming.

What do you mean?

Lately, he had been stressed,
secretive.

Add that to him saying,
"This is my time,"

and the way those rich
college girls looked at him.

I wasn't born yesterday.
I can do the math.

You thought there was someone else.
Oh, yeah.

So I followed him out of
his apartment the other night,

ready to fight some queen bitch
from Connecticut

for what's mine, only it wasn't another girl.
Well, who was it?

I don't know.
Some scary looking guy.

They met under the el,

and they went at it,
yelling and screaming.

I couldn't tell about what,
though,

'cause the guy had, like, an accent.

What kind of accent...
Spanish, Asian, Russian?

Do I look like I work
at the U.N.?

Not Brooklyn, okay?

Okay. No...

Anyways, I asked Zack
about it afterwards,

and he said it was nothing,
but it wasn't.

Do you think you could describe
this guy to our sketch artist?

So Lanie confirms
no drug in his system,

performance-enhancing
or otherwise.

And from the high levels
of chloride ion in his blood,

she is sure that the burns
came from chlorine.

Hmm. So our
heavily accented killer

rendered Zack unconscious
with a chlorine-soaked rag.

We don't know that he's a killer.
Is this the face of an innocent man?

He had a heated argument
with our victim

the night before he was killed.
And what would his motive be exactly?

He... if...

I... may have a line
on that.

I'm looking at Zack's financials.

The guy only had a partial
scholarship. He still paid

for most of his tuition,
books, and living expenses,

all without taking student loans.

He didn't have a job, and his
mom was just squeaking by.

And NCAA rules

preclude him from receiving
any financial assistance

from outside his family.

So where did he get that money?

You think maybe he borrowed
money from the wrong guys

to finance his dream?
And when he couldn't make the payments,

they came after him.
That would explain the argument.

Esposito.

We don't even know
that there was an argument,

and the only evidence we have
is a sketch of a man

that Bridget claims she saw.
Start processing it.

All right, thanks.

Uniforms just
got to Zack's place.

Looks like it's been tossed.

This place looks like
my first apartment.

We used to have cockroach races.

Wonder if that's how Kafka
got the idea.

Looks like Zack
didn't do his chores.

Zack was killed and then
his place gets trashed?

Not a coincidence.

You think maybe this was part
of a debt collection effort?

Well, then why'd they leave
the TV and the laptop?

Or the medical supplies.

Dental pick.

You think plaque
slows you down in the water?

They were looking
for something specific.

You don't rip through a mattress

unless you've run out
of places to look.

Maybe they didn't find
what they were looking for.

Maybe it's still here, but it's just
too well hidden.

What?

Medication?

Only one thing I know of

comes in little vials like that.

Anabolic steroids.
Zack's clean. Why would he have steroids?

Maybe he's not as clean
as we thought.

Yep, it's steroids all right.

I thought you said Zack
wasn't using steroids.

The test wouldn't pick up stuff like this.
Why not?

It's loaded with masking agents
and designed to beat the test...

Virtually untraceable unless
you look for it specifically.

- So he was using.
- Nope.

I went back and tested
for this, too.

Your boy is steroid-free.

Well, if he wasn't
using steroids,

then what was he doing with them?
Virtually undetectable?

Where does a drug like that come from?
There's been some talk about

a new beat-the-test
performance-enhancing drug

being developed
somewhere in Eastern Europe.

Eastern Europe...

Home of
the hard-to-identify accent.

Given how great
everyone says Zack was,

this whole steroids thing
just doesn't make sense.

Well, we know
he needed the money.

If he wasn't using, maybe he was dealing.

Well, that definitely would've given him
the cash needed to make ends meet.

Yeah, but he only had a couple of vials.

Maybe he was low on inventory,

and the man
Zack was arguing with,

our secretive Slav,
he was the distributor.

If there even was a man.

For all we know,
Bridget was lying.

Well, she wasn't lying
about her brothers.

I talked to all four of them,

one Irishman to another
and another.

Anyway, they alibied out.

They were in New Paltz
when Zack was killed.

All of them?
Mm-hmm.

For what?

They were at a sporting event
of a... sorts.

Which was?

Leprechaun toss.
Don't ask.

Anyway, the, uh, older brother,
he got first place.

Oh, man.

Well, the merits
of Irish culture aside...

Hey.
Sorry.

Perhaps this suggests that
Bridget was telling the truth

about our elusive Estonian.
I'll run the sketch past Narco and Vice,

see if they recognize him.
Okay, and check if Zack was on their radar.

And, Esposito, can you
talk to Zack's teammates

about the steroids,
find out what they knew?

Zack would never touch steroids.

None of us would.

Mm-hmm.
Look, the fact of the matter is,

Zack was clean, but we found
steroids at his place.

We're just trying
to figure out why.

Are you saying you think Zack was a dealer?
Look, it's not enough that he's dead.

Now you gotta drag him
through the mud?

Let me tell you something
about Zack Lindsey...

He was the heart and soul
of this team.

He was the person
we wanted to be.

So if you found drugs, they were
there for another reason.

Whatever the reason,
he was up to something.

Statements from three
of his neighbors say that

he was going out
and staying out all night.

Yes, to the pool to train.
We already know that.

Except half the time, he was
leaving without his gym bag,

so where was he going?

I'm hoping that you're
asking that just for effect

because you already have
an answer.

I-I got nothing.

Maybe you're
looking at it wrong.

Maybe the steroids have nothing
to do with his murder.

Maybe they're your red herring.

Alex, so glad you made it.

Alex Conrad, please meet
detective Beckett.

Detective Beckett,
Alex Conrad, my protege.

Nice to meet you.
It's a real pleasure, detective.

I have read "Heat Wave"
and "Naked Heat" so many times,

I feel like I know you...

The piercing intelligence,
the self-assured beauty.

Oh, um, thank you.

Uh, so what were you saying
about the steroids?

Well, nothing really.

I was just looking at the board,
and I noticed that this swimmer kid,

he's caught between two worlds.

Now if were writing the story,

the steroids would just be
a red herring,

and the real killer

would be someone
from the old neighborhood.

Uh, yeah. But, hey,
that's just me.

Clearly I'm new at this.

Alex, don't worry.
It takes years of experience...

No. No, you're right.
We don't have any proof

that his has anything to do
with the steroids.

We've just been assuming.
We do need to look

into Zack's old neighborhood as well.
Seriously? I was helpful?

Yes. Yes, you were.
Yes, but you probably have lots of questions,

so we should get going.

Hey, uh,
if it's not overstepping,

uh, just in the interest of
keeping it real, I was wondering

if I could ask you a few questions

for the case I'm coming up with for
"Seriously Dead."

Why don't you just give me a buzz
when the two of you are done?

I mean, if it's okay with you.
Why wouldn't it be okay?

Okay.
Okay.

It's so not okay. After
everything I've done for him,

he goes and tries to steal
my muse.

Muse thievery.
What's the punishment for that,

five to ten in mythology jail?

Yes, you laugh.

Go ahead.
Laugh all you want.

But now I finally know
what Obi-Wan Kenobi felt like

when Darth Vader turned on him.
Oh.

I shoulda seen this coming.
You know what they're calling him

down at Black Pawn Publishing?
No.

Alex Conrad?
"The next Richard Castle."

Oh.
Yes.

I thought it was a compliment,
but, no.

He's trying to replace me.
What are you gonna do?

I am going to remove my glowing
review of "Dead Serious,"

and replace it with cover art
for "Heat Rises."

That ungrateful little weasel...
Dad, you ever think

that maybe you're overreacting
a teensy bit?

You ever think that maybe
he admires you so much

that spending time with Beckett
is to understand you better?

Don't confuse me
with your reasonableness.

I'm just saying...

Maybe he's not the nefarious
muse-snatcher you think he is.

Maybe you should
give him a chance.

Maybe...

You're right.

Okay, great. Thank you
for your cooperation.

Thank you.

So Bridget McManus says that

Zack didn't really run with
the Bensonhurst crowd anymore,

but she did give me a list

of all of his
old neighborhood buddies.

Oh, how about I run it down?
Yeah, great.

Yeah.

Muffins.

Mm-hmm. Alex Conrad
sent them to me.

Alex.

"Thanks for last night." Guess
you two got together last night.

Yeah, we talked about procedure.

Oh, so... nothing special.

I don't know.

He said he was gonna use it all
for his next book,

said next time he wants to talk about cases.
Next time?

So something came up
on our victim.

Not sure what to make of it.
About steroids?

No.
About our mysterious Moldavian?

No, not that either.

Vice and Narcotics struck out
on Zack and the sketch.

But I ran Zack's fingerprints

through the unsolved
latent database.

His prints match a set

found on a car stolen in Queens
two weeks ago.

Who's the owner?

A Patricia Farrell.

Name doesn't ring a bell.

I think I know...
What these are about.

It's, um, a video I saw

on an underground web site
a while ago.

Not surprising.

Just watch.
Hmm.

Here.

So that's how Zack made
tuition and rent

all without a job.
Oh, Zack had a job all right.

He was a car thief.

Now we know how Zack
made his money,

why he was out all night...
He was playing Grand Theft Auto.

Yeah, the live-action version.

Maybe he boosted the wrong car
and got in trouble

with the people he was working with.
Our lethal Lithuanian, perhaps?

Guess again, bro.

I ran the names of Zack's pals
from Bensonhurst.

One of them has a prior for auto theft...
a Thomas Marcone.

Tommy Marcone?
Bridget said that

that was Zack's best friend in high school.
Lots of car thieves run in pairs.

Let's go to Bensonhurst.

That's it. Scanlon's bar...

Tommy Marcone's
unofficial hangout.

Looks like the neighborhood
is mourning their local hero.

Yeah, well, at this point,
I'm not sure that's what he was.

Man born into hardship

struggles to reach
for something greater,

only he can't escape
the demons of his past.

It's "Oedipus,"
it's "The Godfather,"

"The Beverly Hillbillies."

It wasn't that funny.

No, I'm sorry.
I just got a message.

From who? Conrad? It is,
isn't it? What did he say?

Nothing. He just wants to know
what time I can meet up tonight.

And that made you laugh?

Yeah.

He's funny.

Take me down
to the liquor store

yeah, I need my poison
close at hand

take me down

Tommy Marcone.

NYPD.

You got the wrong guy.

Remember when?

You're still on probation, aren't you?

Got a couple of questions
about Zack Lindsey's murder.

Why you gotta sweat me
in front of the whole bar?

What do you want me to do,
take you downtown?

I know that the two of you were stealing
cars together.

You can't prove that.

I know that the two of you
were friends,

I know that I've got
Zack's prints on a stolen car,

and I also know
that you have priors.

And since you two
are friends, we thought

maybe you'd care that Zack's
laying on a slab

and thought
you might want to help him.

He's dead. Ain't nothing I can do now.

Why don't you tell me where you were

between 1:00 and 5:00 A.M.
the night of the murder?

You're wasting your time.

You ever see this man?

No, and your watch is
too expensive for a cop's.

So, detective, who's this guy?

Idle hands

He's the guy buying a round
for the house.

Tommy, if you know something,
you should talk.

Hey, everybody,
a round for the house

in memory of Zack Lindsey.

Zack was a great kid.

Everybody around here loved him,

Tommy included.

Well,
the guy in the sketch

is definitely Jimmy Lennon...

Grand theft auto,

conspiracy to sell
stolen vehicles,

assault, assault with a
deadly weapon.

He immigrated to the U.S.
when he was 28,

but he was born Janusz Lenadovsky

in Minsk, Belarus.

Belarus. I knew it.
That's right next to Lithuania.

It says here that he owns
an auto repair shop on Avenview.

Watch your backs on this one.
This guy is dangerous.

There.

Jimmy Lennon.

NYP... Hey!

Hey!

Round up the others.
Call burglary/auto.

Hey! Hey! NYPD!

This is clean business. I fix these cars.
Really?

I bet the people who own them
would be surprised to hear that.

Now I want to know about Zack Lindsey.
I know nothing.

Not the best three words to have
falling out of your mouth, Jimmy.

I was half expecting "moose"
and "squirrel."

You're going to jail.
How long depends on you.

Jail in your country is vacation.

Then I will make it
very difficult.

Here's what I think... I think
that Zack stole cars for you.

But he had bigger plans,
and he told you he wanted out.

You were worried
he couldn't keep his mouth shut,

so you threatened him

and told him,
there's no walking outta this.

And when he didn't change
his mind, you followed him

to the pool and you killed him.

Is there anything
you want to add to that?

You should help yourself, Jimmy.
This is your last chance.

Swim for gold.

What?

There's a car over there

with the license plate
"swm4gld."

Oh-oh-oh-oh.

This car is registered
to a Brian Morris

of Greenwich, Connecticut.

Brian Morris.
That's one of Zack's teammates.

That's his main rival.

So either Brian needed
his engine rebuilt or...

Or this car is stolen.

So why would Zack
steal Brian's car?

I don't know. But I know why it
gave Brian a motive for murder.

Those steroids we found
in Zack's apartment...

Mm-hmm.
That he wasn't taking?

Maybe they're Brian's.

Why you got me in here?
I didn't do nothin' wrong.

No? Zack's rival on
the swim team, Brian Morris,

we found his stingray
at the chop shop...

the one you stole.

I don't even know
what that means.

Zack's prints were on it,
and so were yours.

So stop playing around.

Why did you boost the car?

Because Brian Morris
is a silver-spoon-licking punk.

He hated Zack
for being a better swimmer.

Two weeks ago, he spiked Zack's
pregame meal to make him sick.

Zack won the meet anyway.

Didn't take him long to
figure out it was Brian, though.

So you took the car out of revenge?
"Swm4gld" vanity plates...

I mean, can you get
any more douchey?

Brian's up in Greenwich
with his own training pool,

private coaches,
whatever he needs.

Meanwhile Zack's stuck here
boosting cars just so he can eat

'cause he can't take a nickel
of outside money

or else he's done.
How did you find the steroids?

You always search a car.

You never want more
than you bargained for.

Like a dead mobster in the trunk?
That stuff happens.

We searched the car like always,

Zack found a bag
underneath the seat,

and he knew right then and there,
Brian was juicing.

Did Zack have any plans
for this information?

He hadn't figured that out yet.
Kind of a big deal, you know?

I told him he should turn that
cheating bastard Brian in,

get his ass banned.
Guess he never got the chance.

I guess not.
Zack was supposed to be your friend, Tommy.

Why didn't you tell us this
from the start?

I don't know. Maybe...

I was scared.

All right. Stick around.

I'm not done with you.

You recognize this, Brian?

If it's gonna be adversarial
from the outset, detective...

How's this for adversarial, counselor?

Zack Lindsey was killed
after he found

a cache of illegal steroids
in your client's car.

A car he apparently stole.

And oddly enough, your son
never, ever reported it...

She's like a tiger in there.

I never get tired of watching her.
Me neither.

Seems like Alex Conrad
feels the same way.

...Was gone.

A classic car worth
over 70 grand goes missing,

and you're telling me that
you had no idea it was gone?

Why would I? I...
I barely even drive it.

You knew that car was stolen.

You didn't want
police to recover it

in case they found more of these.
You have no proof of that.

Zack could've planted
steroids in Brian's car.

But he didn't.

You know, I think that Zack
confronted you

about those steroids.

And you knew if he reported you,
you could kiss

your olympic dreams good-bye,
and so you killed him.

Brian, you killed Zack,

and then you
broke into his apartment

and tried to cover your tracks.

To my recollection,

at no point did Zack Lindsey
and I discuss

any performance-enhancing
substance.

And I have no idea
who killed him.

Not a gold medal performance,
Brian.

Where were you
between 1:00 and 5:00 A.M.

the night of the murder?
We've been over all this.

I was at the practice pool
at my parents' house.

This DVD is from a camera
mounted above the training pool.

It has the date and time running in the corner.
Easily altered.

Furthermore, the Morris family
and staff all swear

Brian was at home, and I have affidavits.
I'm sure you do.

So unless you're charging
my client, we're done here.

My son will go to the Olympics,

and no one's going to
derail that, detective.

Brian had means, he had motive.

That's at least two.
What about opportunity?

Clearly, his father would do
whatever it takes

to cover for him
so he can keep on swimming.

Well, with the kind of team
Brian had, there's no way

we'll be able to prove that
he was at the U.N.Y. pool.

Maybe because he wasn't.

Look what kind of guy
Brian is... pampered,

protected,
dominated by his father.

This is not a man of action.

So what are you suggesting?

That he's not the kind of guy
to get his hands dirty.

Maybe daddy cleaned up his mess.
Or he hired someone to do it for him.

Ryan, can you look into
the Morris' financials?

Look for large payments made
around the time of the murder,

especially cash withdrawals.
Already on it.

The dad is a hedge fund manager,

so you practically need
an M.B.A. to follow the money.

But there was something
about the kid.

There was a bond.
As in bail bond?

As in savings bond. Three days
after Brian's car was stolen,

he cashed in a savings bond
in the amount of $25,000.

That's enough to hire a hit man.

Especially in today's
competitive job market.

Did Brian Morris cash that bond
at Greenwich Federal Bank?

Matter of fact, he did.
What do you got?

We just searched
Thomas Marcone's place.

Found tools
of the auto theft trade.

But we also found this.

That looks like 25 grand.

And guess where it's from.

Greenwich Federal Bank.

I didn't kill Zack.
Tommy, it seems like

every time you open your mouth,
another lie falls out.

But I'm not lying. Then why did you
take 25 grand from Brian Morris?

A man you characterized
as a "cheating bastard,"

as I recall.

Okay, I may have gotten
Zack killed,

but not the way you think.

It was blackmail.
You blackmailed Brian Morris.

Him being on steroids...

Yeah, I figured that knowledge
was worth something.

Was Zack in on this?
He woulda kicked my ass

up and down 18th Avenue if he found out.
And been justified.

Look, Brian didn't know me,
and I figured, he wouldn't pay

if he got blackmailed
by some anonymous mook.

So you pretended to be Zack.

I used the library computer
and Zack's e-mail account.

I emailed Brian

saying I had his 'roids
and I was gonna rat him out

unless he put 25 grand
into a paper bag

and left it underneath
a bench at the quad.

When the coast was clear,
I picked it up.

I never meant
for anyone to get hurt.

I'd like that phone call now.

Okay, so Zack stole Brian's stash

and because of Tommy,

Brian thought that Zack...
Was blackmailing him.

Brian's motive just keeps
getting stronger and stronger.

Almost like it's on steroids.

Ms. Dinovi.
Tommy Marcone called,

said you have him in here.

He said Brian Morris killed my son.
We don't know all that.

We just know he's a person of interest.
So why didn't you arrest him?

We don't have enough to hold him.
And he's the son of a millionaire.

I bet that doesn't hurt either.
Around here, it's about the evidence,

not how fat someone's wallet is.

Yeah, well,
I live in the real world,

and I know that boy's family,
and they're gonna do

whatever it takes to protect him
because they can.

Captain...
Zack's all I had.

We can't figure out if Brian
is connected to the murder

until we find the real killer.

Then you're gonna
have to dig deeper.

If Brian and his family
are involved, then there's

gotta be a connection,
and I want it found.

All right, great.
Thank you.

We struck out again.
The Morris' house in Connecticut

is gated,
and the security company says

that nobody left
the night of the murder.

These guys have everything covered.
Hmm.

What?

Zack's e-mail account,

the one Tommy used
to ask Brian for a donation?

The blackmail message was sent
at 3:02 P.M.

You'd think that would've caused
a flurry of telephone calls.

But he only made one call
right after... 3:19.

That's the father's office
in New York.

Do we have the dad's records?

Yeah, I got it right here.
Starting at 3:21 P.M.,

Benjamin Morris made
about a dozen phone calls,

all to the same 2-1-2 number.

Run it.

It's a Dr. Rex Colabro.

He's got
a sports medicine practice.

He's got a lot of
big-time athletes as clients.

So Benjamin Morris finds out

that his son
is being blackmailed,

and the one phone call
he makes is to Dr. Colabro?

The only reason that
that would make sense is if...

Dr. Colabro knew about
the steroids,

maybe even supplied them.

I don't supply steroids
to anyone.

Never have. Never will.

I've seen the long-term damage
they cause.

As far as I'm concerned,
the stuff's poison.

And what about Brian Morris?
Is he a patient of yours?

That's confidential information.

His father called you seven times

in a 2-hour period
on Tuesday.

What did the two of you talk about?
That's confidential as well.

Dr. Colabro, your clientele
is mostly high-profile athletes.

How fast do you think
they'll abandon ship

once they find out you're talking with
us about steroids? I'm guessing fast.

And when they find out
it's steroids and murder,

it'll jump to light speed. Murder?
You think I'm mixed up in a murder?

I think that it would be
in your best interest

to help us.
Tell us what you

and Benjamin Morris talked about.

And point of fact...

Brian was your patient, but I'm
guessing his father was not.

So confidentiality
really doesn't apply.

How's this?

Hypothetically...

Why would an overbearing father

of a steroid-using swimmer
call you?

"Hypothetically"...

He might have asked how long
a certain banned drug

would remain detectable
in someone's system.

Worried his son would test positive.
And what else might have come up?

That the way an athlete
can avoid testing

is if he's injured

and temporarily withdraws
from the sport.

Hypothetically.

Hypothetically.

I'll get a warrant, check
Colabro's office for steroids.

You won't find any.

Benjamin called in
to concoct a strategy

to protect Brian's eligibility.

This is damage control
not murder.

Well, it looks like the strategy
has been put into effect.

Brian quit the swim team,
said he injured his shoulder.

No swim team, no drug testing.
Mm-hmm.

So I checked Lanie's report
on the steroids

against the file I got from Vice.

They intercepted a shipment
of similar steroids

that came to New York from a lab in Romania.
So let's look into Brian's life,

see if there's any connection
to Romania.

If we can find a connect,
then hopefully we'll be able

to find Zack's killer.
Kate, you ready?

Yeah. Um, let me
just go get my purse.

You guys are going out
again tonight?

What can I say?
She's a wealth of information.

You are lucky to have her.

Yeah. Yeah, I am.

Too bad about tonight, though.

Too bad how?

Well, it's poker night. Lehane
and Connelly are in town.

I thought
you might want to join us,

but if you have plans.
No way. You're...

You're inviting me
to your mystery writers' poker night?

Well, come on.
You're a mystery writer now, right?

Yeah, but those guys
are legendary. I mean, uh...

Yeah.
Yeah, they are.

Ah, well.
If you're unavailable...

Three, two, one.

Well, wait, wait, wait.

Bingo.

Hang on a second.

Oh, yeah.

They're gonna love you.

Gentlemen.
This the new guy?

Alex Conrad, Michael Connelly,
Dennis Lehane.

It's really awesome
to meet you guys.

I am a, uh, huge fan.

It's not a book signing, kid.
We're here to play poker.

Right.

Ah, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, oh.

That's Cannell's seat.

Oh.
That's the rule.

We lose a member,
nobody sits there for a year.

Okay.

Sorry.

So we were just talking about
our books becoming movies.

Michael had "Lincoln Lawyer,"

I had "Shutter Island,"
Ricky has "Heat Wave."

So what about your book, kid?

They gonna make it into a movie?

Oh, uh, not yet.

So, Ricky, what's going on
with the dead swimmer?

Treading water.
Dennis, your bet.

Well, it reads like
a crime of passion to me.

I bet the girlfriend did it.
The girlfriend? You're kidding, right?

You move through the
girlfriend no later than page 50.

Yeah, the woman scored
is like the oldest rodeo clown

in the book.
Is he serious?

Oh, he's "dead serious."

Well, you know, I just thought we were...
How many books have you written?

Just the one.
And this...

And this one book made you,
like, a crime-solving genius,

did it? You know what I did
after I wrote my first novel?

Hmm?
I shut up and I wrote 23 more.

I can tell ya, a case like this,

guilty party is usually
the guy with the biggest secret.

You know, Dennis is right.

Aside from Brian, who has
the most to lose

if this steroid use gets out?

You know,
I think I might just know.

This is ridiculous.

I was in my apartment
in faculty housing that night.

You could just ask around.

We know you were
in your apartment that night.

Okay. So then why am I here?
Do you know what this is, coach?

Uh, yeah.
Everybody in my business does.

But nobody on my team takes that stuff.

Brian Morris does.

That's not true.
Apparently, this is his steroid of choice.

It comes from Romania.

I understand you've been to Romania four
times in the past two years.

My wife's family is from Bucharest.

So you're trying to tell me,
it's just a coincidence?

- Yeah. - So if I search your apartment
and your office,

you're telling me that I wouldn't find
any of these vials?

You don't understand.

Brian Morris was a lock to win it all.

He had the body,

he had the talent, the money
to make himself the best.

He's the reason I came
to coach at U.N.Y.,

but last year, Brian peaked,

started fading
at the ends of races,

and from outta nowhere, Zack became
the guy to beat.

So you decided
to give Brian an extra boost

so he could catch up with Zack.
Brian's father came to me.

He asked if there was
anything more I could do,

he said he'd donate millions
to the program

if that answer was yes.

Yeah, but it wasn't just
about the money, was it?

Every coach knows, he has to
hitch his wagon to a star.

In fact, you'd done it before,
with somebody very special.

Before going to U.N.Y.,
you were coaching in Wilmington.

That's right. So?

You ever give that same boost
to your swimmers there?

They keep those old samples,
don't they?

Thanks so much, Rocket.
We really appreciate it.

Oh, thank you so much
for the interview.

Detective Beckett,
Mr. Castle.

How goes the investigation?
Any new leads?

Actually, we think
we caught a break.

Well, that's great.
Mm-hmm.

Yes, it is. Well,
for everyone except you.

I... I don't...

Drop the act, Rob.

We know how you got to be
the Rocket.

Coach Rome told us about
how he gave you rocket fuel

back in Wilmington

and didn't stop
until you went all the way.

What the hell
are you talking about?

I have never juiced. I have
the test results to prove it.

Yeah, but they weren't
testing for the right thing.

We checked your blood samples

from the last gold medal race
you won

against the designer steroids
that Zack found in Brian's car.

It came back positive.
There was a mistake.

And then off of that,
we got a warrant

to search your hotel room,
where we found

a shirt with chlorine on it...
pure chlorine...

the kind that killed Zack.

We're waiting for D.N.A.
test results right now.

No, I was at Buddha Bar
the whole night.

And it was packed there.
You could've easily slipped out

and come back
without anyone noticing.

This is ridiculous.

Why would I kill Zack?

Because when Zack found steroids
in Brian's car,

he was conflicted
about what to do.

So he sought counsel

from the one guy
he knew he could trust...

Captain America,
chest full of medals,

guy on the cereal box.

Only you realized,
coach Rome had given Brian

the same steroids
he had given to you.

And you knew that if Zack talked,
you would be found out.

They'd erase your name
from the record books.

They'd take away all your medals.

You would lose everything.

And there was no way
you were gonna let that happen.

Turn around.

Take a long look, Rob.

Where you're going...

I don't think they have pools.
Let's go.

You know, it is ironic...

The one man Zack thought
he could trust... his mentor...

turned out to be his killer.

Yeah, speaking of mentor,
I heard that you guys

were pretty hard
on Conrad last night.

Hard on him?

No, no, it was just
a little friendly hazing.

To hear him describe it,
it sounds like

someone was trying to teach him a lesson.
What? Why would I want to do that?

Because you didn't want him
to spend time with me.

That is completely...
True?

Yes. Fine.

It's true. I'm jealous.

There. I said it.

I...

I want you all to myself,

and to have you spending time
with another writer,

that upsets me.

And if... if that
makes me petty, so be it.

Guilty as charged.

Actually, I kinda think
it's sweet.

You do?

I do.

And that's why
you don't have to worry

about me hanging around
with Conrad anymore.

From now on,
I am a one-writer girl.

I do feel kinda bad.

He is my mentee after all. He
really didn't do anything wrong.

I wouldn't feel so bad.

And then he said,
"They used to do this to me

for talking in class."

True story. Hey, since, uh,
we, uh, closed the case,

uh, we figured we'd take Conrad
on a little field trip

up to Rikers.
Yeah, I have a pretty heavy prison scene

in "Seriously Dead," and I want
to get all the facts right.

Will you still send me
your writer's draft?

Yes, as soon as I change the killer.
Girlfriend?

Rookie mistake.

It was nice to meet you, Alex.
You, too.

Come on.

So... a dude can be a muse,
right, bro?

I mean, that's not weird
or anything, is it?

No, it's not weird.
No. Mnh-mnh.

Nah. Yeah.

That's a little weird.

Yeah.

Thank you.

Always.

Oh.