Castle (2009–2016): Season 3, Episode 23 - Pretty Dead - full transcript

Huh?

Okay, cue the chandelier.

Yeah! Yeah!

Illinois? That's like 500
miles from Manhattan.

No, I know Northwestern
is closer than Stanford.

I'm just saying, that's not
where you want to go. - Alexis?

Hold on, Ash. My dad's talking to me. What?

Don't you have school? Yes.

Look, Ash, I know you,

and I think you need
to get away from home.

I mean, we all need to
get away from home. - Hey.

I gotta go. We'll
talk about this later.

Love you, too. Bye.

"We all need to get away from home"? No.
I should never leave.

We can be the father-daughter
version of "Grey Gardens."

Ew.

You look like you
didn't get any sleep.

I didn't.

I mean, Ashley got his
college acceptances.

He got in everywhere.

Well, that's great. That's not great?

I looked up statistics for
high-school sweethearts

when one of them goes
to college out of state

and the other stays in high school.

The odds are not in our favor.

I mean, I want him
to go where he wants,

but I don't want him to leave,
and he doesn't want to leave,

but I don't want him to resent
me for not going where he wants,

and I don't know what to do. Well,

do what I do. Look at
the odds as a challenge.

Says the man who always loses in Vegas.
Relationships are hard.

Odds are, you'll figure it out.

Odds are, someone's dead.

Castle.

You've gotta be kidding me.

A murder in the theater
of the V.B. Tower Hotel,

Victor Baron's place?

It's not the Baron, is it?

No, but you won't be disappointed.

This one's right up your alley. Why is that?

Because our victim is a contestant.

Death of a beauty queen-- Scandalous.

Yeah, surprised it doesn't
happen more often.

Is that America's dad, Bobby Stark?

What's he doing here?

He's the pageant host.

Oh, please don't tell me

that you watch his sitcom. "Family Foibles"?

Half of what I know
about being a father,

I learned from watching that show.

Hey, Beckett. So what's the story?

Well, according to Candace Ford,
our pageant manager,

the victim is 21-year-old Amber Middleberry.

Yeah, I got it.

The contestants were
rehearsing a production number.

When they brought in
the lighting truss,

Amber was tangled up inside of it.

Must've been a showstopper.
Hey there, Perlmutter.

Detective. Writer. Cause of death?

Choked from behind with her own sash. Hmm.

Probably between 11:00
P.M. and 1:00 A.M.

How did she end up on
the lighting truss?

Near as we can tell, the, uh, lighting truss

was left on stage after
yesterday's rehearsal.

Killer probably thought
he'd buy some time

by dumping her on it and
raising it up to the rafters.

So whoever it was must have known

how to use the stage equipment. Nah,

the lift controls,
they're on a touch screen.

Pretty easy to operate.

When was she last seen alive? Last night.

Contestants--they all went to a
dinner to honor Victor Baron.

10:30, the party wrapped,

and they were all limoed
back here to the hotel.

Amber used her key
card at 10:43 P.M.

to get into her hotel room.

After that, she, uh, wound up here.

Detective, there's something you should see.

A black sequin?

Part of one.
I found it in her hair.

Okay, so the killer might
have transferred it

when he strangled her.

Let's find out who had access
to this ballroom last night.

And let's also talk to
the pageant manager.

I want to see if any
of the girls' outfits

match with this sequin. Will do.

So does Amber Middleberry
have any family?

Yeah. Just her, uh, dad.

She started when she was 9...

Little Miss Wholesome.

Oh, I was against the
whole idea at first,

but Amber's mom had a bug about it, and, uh,

and after her mother died...

I think it just helped
her feel closer to her.

Did your daughter have any
enemies that you know of?

No, of course not.
Everybody loved Amber.

Well, what about the
other contestants?

Were there any rivalries?

She went way back with
some of these girls.

They-- even after she
made it to the semifinals,

everybody was hugging her,
and they were--

They were calling her the
front-runner, and, uh...

This pageant,
this one... was her dream.

When was the last time
you talked with her?

Yesterday morning. I, uh,
I tried to call her last night.

I knew that dinner thing was over.

I wanted to wish her luck,
you know,

but... she didn't answer the phone.

And what time was that?

A little before 11:00.

I, uh... I thought she
must have gone to sleep,

but she must have left her room

and come down here for some reason.

Dan.

I am so sorry.

We're gonna get the
bastard who did this.

You have my word. Thank you, Mr. Baron.

Detectives, a word
upstairs if you don't mind.

This is a dark day.

A sad chapter in the history

of Baron's All-American
Beauty Pageant.

Victor, this is just awful.

My wife Kayla.

You might recognize her

as Baron's All-American beauty, 1995.
Yes, of course.

Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, yes.

This is just devastating,
for us and--and for the girls.

We... we're like family.

How well did you know her?

Um, sh-she was a sweet girl,
a hell of a violinist.

Yes, she was.

Mark my words--
I am putting the entire weight

of the Baron empire
behind this investigation.

Anything you need,
just say the word.

Detective, I know, uh,
you have to do your thing.

Uh, I'm just hoping,

uh, since we are airing the
pageant live this Friday,

if we could minimize
the press, you know,

to be fair to the other girls.

We're gonna have to be
fair to our victim first.

And speaking of press,
could we get rid of the cameras?

This is, after all,
a murder investigation

not a reality show.
We, um, we film everything...

Behind the scenes at the pageant.

We like to catch the girls
talking about each other,

let them confess their
hopes and fears.

You get the glamour,
but you also get the underbelly.

People love the underbelly. Yes, they do.

But maybe this isn't the time.

So were all the girls
staying at the hotel?

That's right. Okay,
I'll need access to Amber's room.

We'll also need hotel
security tapes.

Now were those cameras recording
last night's dinner? - Of course.

Okay, we'll need the footage.

We'll also need to interview
all of the pageant contestants.

I'll have Candace give
you anything you need.

Great. Thank you very much.

It was nice to meet you. Come again.

Oh, no, we don't--

We don't want them
to come again, no.

Small-town girl comes to New
York for the fairy tale,

ends up with the horror story.
Pageants aren't fairy tales.

They're demanding,
high-pressure competitions

that bring out the very best
and the very worst in people.

That is the voice of experience.

Oh, my God.
You were a beauty queen.

No. I had a roommate freshman year--
Debbie Winokur.

It was like living with
Elle Woods on steroids.

Well, then...

This ought to bring
back some memories.

You're slouching.
Winners never slouch.

Castle, they're everywhere.

Smells like a perfume counter
at a department store.

Beats the usual
lowlifes and nut jobs.

I don't know if you can say

that nut jobs and beauty
queens are mutually exclusive.

Yeah, but none of 'em connect to the murder.

I checked the sequin against all
their dresses...- I bet you did.

And none of 'em are a match.

Okay, look at the
footage from the dinner.

Let's make sure that
the dresses we checked

are the ones they actually wore.

Hmm. Watch a parade of beautiful
women in evening attire?

Yeah, I can do that. I bet you can.

Hey, so I've been
interviewing these ladies...

I bet you did.
About their alibis last night.

Anyway, there's someone that
you should talk to. - Mm-hmm.

So tell 'em

what you told me about
what happened after dinner.

When we got back to the hotel,

I wanted to go work out a
couple of my dance moves.

I'm one of the semifinalists,
so I get to perform

in the broadcast. Congratulations.

Thanks. I'm doing an
interpretive dance

to JLo's "I'm Into You."

And then what happened?

I changed into sweats and went to the stage,

and that's when I heard it.

You heard what?

Uh, a fight.

It was coming from
the dressing room.

It was Amber and some guy.

Did you see the guy? The door was closed.

It started getting loud,
so I bolted.

But now I wish I
had done something.

I mean...maybe he's the
one who killed her.

His voice, did you recognize it?

No.

What were they arguing about?

"How could you do this to me?
You have no right.

Who do you think you are?" Stuff like that.

It kinda sounded like
he was her boyfriend.

So that was Amber's dad.

He said he didn't know
anything about a boyfriend.

Neither did any of the other girls.

Maybe she was keeping it a secret.

He said, if anyone knew what
was going on in Amber's life,

it was, uh, Justin Hankel,
Amber's pageant consultant.

I coached her on her routine,
interviews,

oversaw stylists, makeup,
clothing, violin lessons,

glamour shots--
everything she needed to win.

The two of you must have spent a

lot of time together.
Well, that's what it takes.

Today's pageants are
not just about beauty.

They're about brains, talent, social issues.

And what, with the money
and the exposure at stake,

winning one of the majors
can launch a career.

What about a boyfriend?
Was she in a relationship?

No boyfriends.
That is a rule for my clients,

and Amber was no exception.

She knew that she needed
to focus 100% of her energy

on the pageant.

You know, the night that she died,
she got into an argument.

Any idea with who?

No. The last time I saw
her was before her dinner.

But like I told that
other detective,

something was going on.

How so?

She'd been off the last
couple of days, upset.

And I went to pick her
up for a costume fitting,

and it looked like
she had been crying.

Did you ask why?

She said that someone was
trying to take advantage of her.

I asked her who,
but she said she would handle it.

It j--it wasn't like her
not to confide in me.

Could it have been one
of the other contestants?

There's a lot of pressure
on these girls to win.

And it can get really...
"political" between them.

Do you think it's possible
political turned deadly?

I don't know. Winning
means fame and fortune.

No one remembers the runner-up.

Besides, people have
killed for less.

That still doesn't explain who
she was arguing with. - Guys.

I got something.

One of the girls?

Just watch. Ever since
I was a little girl...

This is from Baron's
dinner last night.

That's our victim, Amber.

And I just feel so very
honored to be here.

She's laying it on
thick for Victor Baron.

But that's not the
interesting part.

Now watch this.

Ah. There.

See that?

Look at her face.

Looks like whatever good-guy
sitcom star Bobby Stark said,

she didn't like it.
Don't just look at her face.

Look at his tux.

Black sequins.

Yo.

Bobby Stark's blazer,

courtesy of the costume lady at the pageant.

And the broken black sequin? Perfect match.

Bam, said the costume lady.

Ooh, she's not the
only lady saying bam

when it comes to Bobby Stark.
Does he have a record?

Uh, no criminal charges,

but Mr. Stark has
quite the reputation.

Three women filed restraining
orders against Bobby Stark

in the last year, all for unwanted advances.

How come I didn't hear
about this on "TMZ"?

Oh, word is Stark paid

quite a bit of cash to
make it all go away.

Oh, it gets better.
I was talking to Candace Ford

and a couple of the other girls.

They said that Bobby
Stark had started paying

quite a lot of attention to Amber.

Maybe it was unwanted attention.

Maybe Bobby didn't know how
to take no for an answer.

You lookin' at me? Hmm?

You lookin' at me? Mr. Stark,
I'm detective--

Nobody else around.
You must be lookin' at me.

Mr. Stark. Hmm?

Have a seat, please. Yeah.
Hey, you like that bit?

That's my, uh, Bobby de Niro.

Playing a homicidal maniac.
Sold it though, right?

See, I got this range as an actor.

You probably don't know about
that because I'm always typecast

as Mr. Nice-Guy Dad. Yeah,

well, I don't think you'll have that problem

now that you're a murder suspect.

Murder suspect? What?
Is she joking? You joking?

What was your relationship
with Amber Middleberry?

Oh, come on. Are you serious?
I didn't kill her.

If anything, I was
trying to recruit her.

Recruit her? For what? Yeah,
for my, uh, Goddess Train.

The Goddess Train?
It's my own little private pageant.

And how did Amber respond to
this oh-so-enticing offer?

You know what?
She hadn't seen the light yet,

but she was coming around.

I could always tell the
innocent act when I see it.

Besides, who wouldn't want
to ride the Bobby rocket?

Everyone from what we hear.

Mr. Stark, here's what
I think happened--

After dinner, you invited Amber
back to your dressing room,

and she had the bad sense to agree.

And that's when you tried
to make another pitch

to get her on board your Goddess Train.
When she shot you down,

you flew into a rage
and you strangled her.

You were rehearsing on
that stage all week.

You knew all of the equipment-- Just stop.

Would you just--just stop?

You guys are crazy, you know that?

Okay, well,
then maybe you can explain

why we found this broken
sequin from your jacket

on her body.

Where were you between 11:00
and 1:00 A.M. last night?

Uh... I don't know.

I'm a little foggy on that,
actually.

I was, uh, partying pretty hard.
Who were you with?

I'm not sure, but...

Whoever it was, we were
definitely using strawberry oil.

Okay, so let me get this straight.

You don't remember where you were

or what you were doing last night?

That's bad, right?

That guy's dropped more pills
than a 3-fingered pharmacist.

I just can't believe
that someone who's given

so much great fatherly advice
on TV could be guilty of murder.

Well, he's a drug-addled predator

who left physical
evidence on the body.

Well, when you put it that way...

Hey, Esposito. Yo.

We need to reconstruct
Stark's evening.

Check his phone records,
double-check security cameras

at the hotel.

We need hard evidence to
place him at the crime scene.

I got something that might help.

Amber had her violin
with her at dinner,

but it wasn't with the body

or anywhere at the crime scene.
So where'd it go?

Well, we know Amber
went to the hotel,

so maybe she dropped it off there.

Except uniforms inventoried the room.
It wasn't there,

and her dad and consultant
didn't see it either.

So maybe she had it
when she was killed.

And Bobby Stark disposed of it.

Check trash cans, dumpsters,
and sewer drains by the hotel.

If someone saw him
ditch the violin,

we can connect him to the murder. Right on.

Oh, beauty pageant intrigue.

Some things never change. Ah!

Oh, here it is.

I didn't know you competed.
Well, that's because I didn't win.

Oh. But I will tell you,
the women I competed against--

Just as cutthroat as they are now.
What was your talent?

The way I wore a sweater.

Hi, honey. Hey, Alexis.

What's wrong?

Ashley made his decision.

Uh-oh.

Stanford?

No.

He decided to go to school here in New York.

What's not good about that?

Stanford was his dream.

I don't want to stand
in the way of that.

He'll just end up hating me for it.

And this could be the most
important decision of his life,

so I made a decision, too.
I broke up with him.

Oh, baby.

No, it's okay.

Well, she's right, you know?

I mean, odds are,
it won't work out.

She's just being practical.
Relationships aren't math problems.

You don't solve them
by being practical.

I mean, what happens when
she meets her soul mate,

but she doesn't risk it
because it's not practical?

Okay, then what about Hawaii?
Earrings?

Ooh. Lingerie?

Things you buy a woman.
I used to kill on "Pyramid."

It's my 30th anniversary.

Oh, sir, congratulations.

30 years of marriage,
and you don't know what to buy her?

If you stayed married
long enough, you'd know,

it's hard to stay original
after the first ten.

That's fair. So what's the
secret to your success?

There's no secret. Just...

Keep showing up.

Any luck on Bobby Stark?

Yeah, but you're not gonna like it.

Paparazzi snapped photos of him

going into the Tribeca Grand Hotel

at 11:30 with a brunette
wearing Jackie O. Glasses.

At 1:00 A.M.,
he left, at which point

he relocated to a gentlemen's
club to watch mud wrestling.

Amber left her room at 11:00.

Where was he between
11:00 and 11:30?

In a cab on his way to Tribeca.

And we know this for a fact?

Yeah, he was tweeting photos
of his manhood along the way.

And that's how you
trend on Twitter.

So the sequin must have broken off

onto Amber after he
bumped up against her.

Cut him loose. He's not our guy. Right.

Which means we are dead in the water.
I wouldn't go that far.

Her stolen violin? We found it.

- Where?
- Dumped in a garbage bin behind the hotel.

Disposed of by our killer,

just not the killer we thought.
Did we get prints?

Yeah, Amber Middleberry's

and one other set
belonging to the lovely,

the talented...

Contestant from Georgia.

Which one was... Oh.

Amber and I have been friends
since little Miss Spangles.

Why would you think I killed her?

Because your prints were all
over the violin case, Joy.

And she had it with
her when she came back

from dinner last night.

I held it for her while
she fixed her tights.

They were on the violin, too.

She wasn't even supposed
to be a semifinalist,

but then she nailed all
her pageant questions.

It was supposed to be her weakness,

but she blew everyone away.
She was going to win.

So then you killed her and
you dumped her violin.

No, that is not what happened.

Last night when we went
back to the hotel, I saw her

go into her room, drop off her stuff,
and then leave again.

But she left so fast,
her door didn't close all the way,

so I went to shut it,
and that's when I saw her violin.

She just left it there.
It was like a sign.

I thought...

Joy Jones, how badly
do you want this?

How badly did you want it?

More than anything.

I'm 25.

I'm old.

This is the last
year I can qualify.

I thought if I took her violin,
it might throw her off enough

in the talent finals
that I could beat her.

But that wasn't enough for you,
was it? You thought,

why not just take Amber out
of the contest completely?

No. All I did was take her violin,

and when I found out she
was dead, I panicked.

I thought someone might find out,
so I threw it away.

That's a pretty good act, Joy,

but the judges just
aren't buying it.

No, I swear.
I didn't have to kill Amber

to get her out of the pageant.

I found something
in her violin case,

something awful.

And what did you find?

The reason she was murdered.

If these got out,
it would've ruined her.

She would've been kicked
off the circuit for good.

Oh, my God.

She is absolutely, totally...

Naked. There's a note
on the back of that one.

"You know my price.
Pay up or I will destroy you."

So she was being blackmailed.

Looks like somebody made
good on their threat.

Beauty queens and naked pictures--

as American as
socialites and sex tapes.

Amber dreamt of
winning this pageant,

why would she take those photos?

I mean, she knew the
chance that she was taking.

Well, just because you're
smart and beautiful

doesn't mean you
have good judgment.

I didn't mean me.

Just got off with Amber's father.

That was a tough conversation.

You mean, he didn't
know about the photos?

And Amber didn't tell him
about the blackmailer either

or try to borrow money.

Well, maybe she paid off
the blackmailer on her own.

Not an option.
Any money Amber did have

went to paying for shoes,
gowns, and spray tans.

She only had 50 bucks in the bank.

And she didn't have any
recent withdrawals either.

Justin said that she was upset.
Maybe that's because

she didn't have the money
to make it go away.

Yeah, but then why kill her?

I mean, a smart blackmailer
would give her the time

to get the cash. Not if she
threatened to go to the police,

forcing him to take deadly action.

Deadly action-- that's a good title.
I rechecked her phone.

There's no record of
any unusual calls.

I figure the blackmailer
contacted her

through her hotel phone,
that way he couldn't be traced.

Castle, have you taken
a look at these photos?

Only in so far as it pertains
to the investigation.

Look at the lighting
and the composition.

Whoever took these knew
something about photography.

A professional. I mean,
it happens all the time.

Girl gets a session with a pro,
they finish, he offers

to take a few art shots,
she's desperate for the cash,

he promises he'll never
show it to anybody...

Until she makes it big,
in which case,

they suddenly surface. Esposito,

let's get ahold of the
pageant consultant.

Let's get a list of
all the photographers

that Amber's had sessions with.

One of them might be our
blackmailer. All right.

This must have been what
she was so upset about.

She knew, if the pageant found out,
it would've all been over.

It is all over. But why
didn't she just tell me?

Do you have any idea

who might have taken
these photographs?

With that hairstyle,
it must have been six months ago.

I'll have to check my calendar.

So uniforms talked

to the pageant girls that
Amber was closest to.

She didn't tell them
about the photos either.

Well, she probably thought
they'd use it against her.

Beckett, you're a woman, right?

Sir, I have no idea
what to get your wife.

Still no luck on the gift?

Keep coming up empty.

The best thing to give a woman
is something she said she wanted

when she didn't think
you were listening.

What if I wasn't listening?

Gift certificate?

Beckett.

So according to her
pageant consultant,

Amber was in the city about six
months ago for a photo shoot.

He thinks they were taken
around the same time.

And who was the shoot with?

A photographer named Dax Lattimer.
Does he have a record?

Negative, but I asked around,
and the guy's

no stranger to dirty pictures.

On top of headshots, he also
freelances for adult magazines.

Well, sounds like our guy. Where is he now?

He's at a studio in
the East Village.

I'm heading there now. Okay.
I'll have Ryan meet you.

Sure, I remember Amber.
Very sweet gal.

I took some headshots for her.

You take anything else while you were at it?

Maybe some snaps of her
wearing nothing but a smile?

Amber wasn't the type.
She was all about the glamour.

So what's this about?

She was murdered.

And we think whoever killed her
took this picture right here.

Yeah, well, I didn't take this.
I'm not that mediocre.

Really? These were shot around
the time you worked with Amber.

And we all know you do more
than just pets and families.

Hey, we all have to pay the bills.

And with Amber's star on the rise,

that photo's worth some serious coin.
Pretty girl like that,

alone here with you in the studio?

Hey, you have to believe me.
I didn't take this photograph.

Besides, we weren't alone.
She was with someone. - Who?

Some boyfriend.
The guy was a real creep, too.

Amber didn't have a boyfriend.

Well, she did when she was here.

In fact, he fancied himself a
photographer, kept telling me

I should shoot Amber
in natural light.

This boyfriend have a name?

Jerry. Jeremy. Something like that.

Mr. Lattimer, where were
you night before last

between 11:00 P.M. and 1:00 A.M.?
At home with my wife,

trying to rock my
colicky son to sleep.

It's a doorman building,
so you can check.

Okay, thanks.

Amber's dad said that she
used to have a boyfriend--

Jeremy Keiper.

Keiper? Was he creepy? Yeah,
well, her dad thought so.

As far as he knows,
they broke up late last year

because she realized that
he was holding her back.

The dad thinks that the boyfriend's

still in Illinois. Well,
that's the beauty of blackmail--

You can do it from anywhere.
Blackmail, maybe. But not murder.

Why don't we find out if
Keiper paid her a visit lately?

On it.

Bad boyfriends and pageant queens?

This is like Debbie
Winokur all over again.

You having flashbacks?

It was my own private Vietnam.

Our place smelled of hair spray,

perfume, and cigarettes.

I'm surprised that we didn't
spontaneously combust.

I love the smell of hair
spray in the morning.

It smells like... victory.

Excuse me, Mr. Castle?

Ashley.

I'm sorry to bug you at work,
but Alexis established

a-a no calls, no contact policy.
She told me.

Look, I-I made a big mistake.

I thought if I chose Stanford,

A-Alexis would think that
I was blowing her off.

I-instead, she's mad at
me because I chose her

over where I want to go to school.

So now I'm going to Stanford,
which is where I wanted to go

in the first place, but--
but if you call her and tell her that,

she'll be even angrier with you for

ignoring her boundaries. Exactly.
Look, I think Alexis and I

can make the whole long-distance thing work.

I really do.
Would you tell her that?

Would you talk to her for me?

Ashley, I-I appreciate,
it was probably very hard for you

to come down and talk to me today,

but I just don't think it's
very appropriate for me to get--

Mr. Castle, have you ever
been crazy about someone

who was determined
to push you away?

Hey, Castle, uh... Oh, sorry, guys.

Uh...

No, it...

It's o--um...

Ashley, I'm--I'm sorry.
I do have to go.

Please just, um,
think about it, okay?

Okay.

What's that about?

He wants me to advocate for him.

Oh. Well, that's sweet.

Yeah. And awkward.

Mostly awkward. Yo, Beckett!

I just got off the phone
with Jeremy Keiper's mom.

Turns out Jeremy moved
to New York last month,

said he was going to
"make something of himself."

Looks like he made himself into
a blackmailer and a killer.

Jeremy keiper, NYPD. Open up.

Mr. Keiper?

Anybody here?

Beckett.

Looks like someone had
a hard time letting go.

Castle.

This is a classic murder-suicide.

Jeremy blackmails
his ex-girlfriend,

not because he needs the money,

but because clearly, he's obsessed with her.

Amber rejects him and
his scheme-y schemes.

He flips, he snaps,
he kills her, and then,

faced with the reality of
what he's done, hangs himself.

Only one problem with your theory,
Castle. - Which is?

This wasn't a suicide. This wasn't?

If he'd hanged himself,

the marks on his neck
would angle upwards.

Yes, which they do.
Yes, but if he was strangled,

the marks would go straight across.
This guy's got both.

Then the hanging was a cover
up for the strangulation.

Well, there's also
peri-mortem bruising

on the arms and across the ribs.

I'm guessing there was a struggle.
Estimated time of death?

Well, judging by
temperature and lividity,

he was killed half a day before
Amber Middleberry. - Before Amber?

Yes, before!

Now can you please move? You're in my light.

This doesn't make any sense.
If he didn't kill Amber...

How do a blackmailer and his
victim both end up dead?

Yo, check this out.

His hard drive's been wiped.

That's our connection, Castle.
It's the one thing

that Amber and Jeremy had
in common... those photos.

Someone didn't want them
to see the light of day.

Amber's dad had no idea this
was going on with his daughter.

She didn't even mention Jeremy's
name in the last six months.

Is there anything else that Jeremy and Amber

could've been involved with while

they were together? No,
not that he can recall.

These pictures,
by today's standards,

are--are downright tasteful.

How do these get you killed?
It can't be about naked pictures.

Something else must have
been going on. Unless...

- Unless what?
- Unless Jeremy wasn't the only blackmailer.

What if he had a partner? I mean,
we know Amber

was arguing with someone
the night she was killed.

We know it couldn't
have been Jeremy,

because he was already dead.
Why would the partner kill Jeremy?

Maybe they had a falling out.

Maybe Jeremy decided he couldn't hurt Amber,

but the partner still
wanted his payday.

So he takes out Jeremy and decides

to go after Amber himself?
But Amber decides to call his bluff.

She says she's gonna
contact the police.

Now the blackmailer has no choice.
He has to kill her

and get rid of all the
evidence of blackmail.

Ryan.

Give me everything you got on Jeremy Keiper.

I'm sorry, baby.

Whoa. It's late.
I'll leave you to it.

Hey.

Hey.

Whatcha looking at?

You really miss him, don't ya?

You know I-I hate to interfere--

Since when?

Point taken.

Ashley dropped by the
precinct to see me today.

He did? Why?

He wanted me to
intercede on his behalf.

What'd he say?

Well, he looked about
as happy as you do,

and he wanted me to tell you

that he has decided
to go to Stanford.

Oh.

And...

He wants to give a
long-distance relationship

a shot.

He thinks it could work.

What do you think?

I think that nothing is certain.

And you could be ending something

that might have worked
if you had just...

Given it a little more time.

What if I'm just cutting my losses

on something that was
never meant to be?

Well, then we can be the
father-daughter version

of "Grey Gardens."

Life is a journey,

and there is no
predicting the outcome.

The only thing you can
control are your choices,

and they'll... they'll
define who you are.

I would just hate to
see you so focused

on the problem right
in front of you

that you... completely
miss the entire picture.

That's pretty good advice.

Yeah. Yeah, actually it is,
isn't it?

Yeah.

Remind me to get you a subscription

to a girlie magazine for Christmas.
Oh, that is so thoughtful,

but I'm not looking
at the naked girl.

What are you looking at?

Everything but the naked girl.

We were so focused on Amber,

we almost missed
the entire picture.

What if Amber and Jeremy
were killed not because of

who was in this photo,
but because of

where the photo was taken?
Anything look familiar?

Sure does.

You can thank me later.

Talk about a motive for murder.

If these photos got
out to the tabloids...

It would destroy everything.

NYPD.

The memorial for Amber
should be simple, tasteful...

And very, very classy. Yes.

Detective.

Is there something I
can help you with?

Yes, we need to ask
you a few questions.

Ask away.

Fine.

Tell us about the blackmail

and the murder of
Amber Middleberry.

Shut the cameras off. Go, now!

I thought you said that
everybody loves the underbelly.

This-- What's going on, Victor?

What's going on is,
we finally figured out who,

aside from Amber...

would be nervous about
these photos. What photos?

Oh, my God. Oh, my God! Victor.

Oh, my God! I-it's not what it looks like.

It's not what it looks like? This is...

This is our house in the Hamptons.

This is our bed.
It's our vacation bed.

Right underneath the
$2-million Picard that

you purchased at the auction,
which just happens to be

the companion to this painting

here in your office.
We read all about it

on the spread they did on you in
"Today's Architect."

Looks as though you were
hoisted on your own Picard.

I can explain. We agreed,
Victor. Never again.

It was just a weekend.

Just a weekend?
I have friends in the Hamptons.

What if somebody saw? I won't be humiliated

because you can't keep it
in your pants! No one saw.

No one saw. No, you took
photos so everyone could see.

I didn't take those pictures.
Here's what I think happened--

Amber was being blackmailed.

She couldn't pay,
so she came to you for help.

Only you had a lot to lose,
and those pictures,

they have a way of getting out.

So instead of paying off her
blackmailer, you killed him,

and then you came back here

and took care of her.
That's not what happened.

The cameras aren't rolling
any longer, Mr. Baron.

You can drop the act.

It's not an act.
Amber wasn't being blackmailed.

The conniving bitch
was blackmailing me.

She was blackmailing you?

She showed me the pictures.
She told me that she had

her boyfriend come and
take 'em while I was away.

Wait. You left her
alone in my house?

I had a meeting in the city.
I was coming right back.

How could you be so stupid, Victor?

She said if helped
her win the pageant,

the photos would never see the light of day.

"You know the price.
Pay up or I'll destroy you."

It wasn't to Amber.
It was from Amber.

She was still with her boyfriend.

They were in it together.
So then what did you do?

I slipped her the
pageant questions.

Why do you think she was
doing so well? You ass!

Whoa! Whoa. Hey! Hey!

Mr. Baron, where were you
between 11:00 and 1:00 A.M.

the night of the murder?
After the reception,

I had drinks with
councilman Bollinger.

Uh, I got home at, uh, at 1:00 A.M.

Kayla was with me,
weren't you, babe?

Kayla, is this true?
Were you with him?

Oh.

Yes.

Who else knew, Victor?

Who do I need to be
ashamed in front of?

No one else knew.
Well, someone else must've,

otherwise two people
wouldn't be dead.

The only other person
I told was Candace.

I told her what Amber
was trying to do--

to me, to the pageant.

I-I-I told her to take care of it,

to make the problem go away.

Maybe she did.

I don't want to see any
fingerprints on those glasses.

Being careful of fingerprints,
are we, Candace?

We want everything to be perfect.

This pageant really is your baby.

You noticed? 17 flawless years.

So then you would do anything to protect it.

We know that Mr. Baron told
you about the blackmail.

And we know that he
asked you to handle it.

Kill her? I wanted to kill Baron.

17 flawless years, and he wants
me to give her the answers

so his little fling
can wear the crown?

But it was either that

or that snake destroys everything.

Where were you the night that
Amber was killed? - Please don't.

Ms. Ford-- I was with someone.

Who?

I can't.

Candace, if you have an alibi-- Bobby Stark.

I was with him at
the Tribeca Grand.

And the worst part is...

He doesn't even remember.

Tribeca Grand confirms
that Stark was with Candace

at the time of the murder.

She did smell a little
bit like strawberry oil.

Baron's alibi checks out, too.

Which leaves us without a suspect.

Okay, get into it
with Baron's lawyers.

Just because Candace
didn't kill them

doesn't mean he didn't hire
someone else to do it. - Right.

Blind, naked ambition-- I think

even your Debbie Winokur
would've been appalled.

Yeah, she would've.

Debbie wanted to be a beauty queen

because she believed in
the ideals of beauty.

She wanted to be beautiful on the

inside and outside.
I thought you didn't like her.

Well, deep down, behind all
of the makeup and the hair,

she wasn't terrible.

She was just a miserable
person to live with.

Unlike Amber, winning wouldn't
have meant a thing to her

if she had to cheat to do it.

Yeah, talk about choices
that change your life.

When do you make that choice?

When does winning become

more important than your soul? I don't know.

You have to be pretty
cold and calculating

to make some of the choices Amber did.
Cold and calculating?

What?

Amber was cold and calculating.

Yeah, so?

So all of those people
we talked to about her,

one of them is lying.

Tragedy... struck the
Baron's all-American pageant

with the untimely passing of
our Illinois All-American,

Ms. Amber Middleberry.

I was fortunate to have
worked closely with Amber.

She meant the world to me.

Well, then why did you kill her?

What? I didn't kill Amber.

You're lying. You've been
lying to us the whole time.

You told us that she was upset,
that she was feeling

like she was being taken
advantage of and threatened.

But she was the one
doing the threatening.

There was no reason
for her to be upset.

You know, you're interrupting
a dress rehearsal. Okay?

I don't even know what you
two are talking about.

Oh, yes, you do.
You got on to the blackmail.

You thought the old boyfriend
was taking advantage

of your prized client,
so you confronted him.

We ran your credit cards. We know

about the taxi trip you
took to Jeremy's apartment.

So tell us, when you
killed Amber's boyfriend,

did you know that Amber
was in on the scheme?

Justin, stop.

Oh.

Where are you going, aah!

A word of advice, Justin.

When the lady says stop,

stop.

Justin confessed to everything.

His last three clients were losers.

Amber was supposed to be his comeback,
and if she didn't win,

he was through.

Apparently he found the same
naked photos that we did,

thought that her ex-boyfriend
was trying to exploit her.

He was worried,
if they called the cops,

that her secret would get out,
and they'd both be ruined.

So he decided to
handle it on his own.

Unfortunately, Jeremy was drunk,

he got violent, and Justin
ended up killing him.

And he staged it like
it was a suicide.

Once Amber found out,
she threatened to turn him in,

and he killed her. That's a
whole pageant of bad choices.

Good work, you two.

Uh, good work, you all. Thank you.

Mm. I see a beauty queen
worthy of a crown.

Always the charmer, Rick.
Baby, what you doin' here?

You know I was just
comin' to swoop you up.

Yeah, well, I know how you
lose all sense of time

when you're working.
I figured I'd meet you here. - Mm-hmm.

Do you guys have any big plans?

Dinner and dancing with the
best husband in Manhattan,

especially since he gave
me that gift this morning.

Oh, what did you end up giving her?

I followed your advice, Castle.

I thought about some of the things

Evelyn said she wanted the
past couple of years...

And my gift to her is, next year,

I'm retiring from the force.
We're gonna go traveling.

We're gonna go to all
the romantic places.

Wait. Are-- are you serious,
boss? You really want to retire?

I haven't accomplished

everything I wanted to on the job,
but I've done enough.

It's time for me to move on.
Best gift ever--more Roy.

Mm-hmm.

Look, I taught you
guys everything I know

about doing this job, all right?

You're gonna be fine without me.

Oh, for crying out loud,
lose the long faces. Smile, please.

That's an order.

Hey, you kids take care, all right?

You guys behave now. You have a good time.

Congratulations, you guys.
Good night. Thank you.

Bye. Happy anniversary.

Good night.

Good night, captain.
What the hell did you say to him?

Nothing. No, I just told him

to listen to what his
wife wanted. Damn, Castle.

How can you th-- I di--

There's no way--

Castle, let me let you
in on a little secret.

Captain Montgomery
retires all the time.

Just give it a week or two.

He's like the Brett
Favre of the NYPD.

Trust me. He's not going anywhere.

Not going anywhere.

Hey, so I've been
meaning to ask you,

did Alexis make a
decision about Ashley?

Oh, she did, actually.

She decided it was,
uh, worth the risk.

And she's going to
just keep showing up.

That's a good choice.

See you tomorrow.

See you tomorrow.

Ashley, what are you doing here?

Hey, Mr. Castle. Hey, dad. Guess what.

What?

I'm going to Stanford.

What? I'm applying for early admission.

And since I've been
taking extra classes

each semester since
my freshman year,

I have enough credits
to graduate in the fall.

What?

Yeah, this way, Ash and I
will be together in January,

in college.

What?

That was actually her idea, sir.

What?