Castle (2009–2016): Season 3, Episode 8 - Murder Most Fowl - full transcript
A subway worker is found dead after trying to stop the kidnapping of a twelve year old boy.
There are two kinds of folks
who sit around thinking
about how to kill people
psychopaths and mystery writers.
I'm the kind that pays better.
Who am I? I'm Rick Castle.
Castle. Castle.
I really am ruggedly
handsome, aren't I?
Every writer needs inspiration,
and I've found mine.
I'm Detective Kate Beckett.
Beckett.
- Beckett?
- Could you get some backup, please?
And thanks to my
friendship with the mayor,
I get to be on her case. Oh!
Do I look like a killer to you?
Yes, you kill my patience.
And together, we catch killers.
- I hate this case.
- I know. Isn't it great?
Whoa!
Oh, dude.
Oh!
Dude.
Dude.
Aw. Science project?
No, it's a pet.
Say hello to Theodore, dad.
I'm rat-sitting him for Ashley.
Hello, Theodore.
How goes the rat race?
Did you know
the average life span of a
rat is two to three years?
Ashley's had Theodore for five.
And this is the first time
he's left him with anyone.
Trusting you with
a treasured pet...
That's a big step in a relationship.
Yeah, I guess it kind of is.
I must say,
the little plague pusher
is not very diligent
about his exercise.
I don't know. I-I think it's
just those beady little eyes.
It's a rat, mother.
They all have beady eyes.
That's where the
phrase comes from. Mm.
Dad, those are for Theodore.
He has a very specific diet
I'm supposed to follow.
Well, unless he's Ben,
I'm sure he won't
hold it against me.
If anyone needs me, I'll be in
the park with a dead body. Ah.
Who's Ben?
Killer rat movie.
Before your time.
You know, I understand
ferrets as a pet...
Snakes, spiders, even a hairless mole.
But a rat?
Probably kids in this city
who keep cockroaches as pets.
You're probably right.
What's the strangest
pet you've ever had?
You. Hey, Lanie.
What's this, a hit-and-run?
In a manner of speaking.
Two BMX bikers rode over the body,
then called it in.
But the cause of death
are the gunshot wounds...
One to the chest,
and two more in the back.
So he's wounded on both sides?
Maybe there were two shooters,
he was caught in the cross fire?
Won't know till I get him back
to the lab. You got an I.D.?
Leonard Levitt,
Ozone Park, Queens.
Wallet, cash, keys-
everything still here.
Which means it wasn't theft.
No.
Something much more nefarious.
A feather.
Alternating stripes,
uniform color...
This is no ordinary
pigeon feather.
This... this is
from a bird of prey.
So what are you suggesting,
Castle,
that a bird shot him three times?
Not just any bird.
This is the calling
card of a murderer
known only as...
The Falcon killer.
Or maybe before getting shot,
he just bent down and
picked up the feather.
See, that's why you'll never
be a best-selling novelist.
No sense of drama.
I find that dead bodies
are usually enough.
Thanks, Lanie.
Mm-hmm.
Yo. So we ran background on your vic.
It's pretty thin.
He was a New York
city transit employee.
Worked in the subway out of
the 116th street station.
He worked uptown and
he lived in Queens?
Then what was he
doing in the park?
That's pretty out of the way.
Well, we thought that
he was looking to buy
some weed or some love,
but he has no drug history,
no convictions of
solicitations, no nothing.
And what about his family?
Both parents are deceased.
Guy never married,
has no children.
It's like he barely existed.
Making him the perfect victim.
Mild-mannered city employee
lured into a
conveniently wooded area,
struck down by a murderer
with the speed and cunning
of a bird of prey.
Don't ask. You guys
go to his apartment.
Find out who he is and what he
was doing in the park. Right.
Lividity and temperature puts
time of death between 5:00 and 7:00 P.M.
The victim also has
a broken wrist.
Could be postmortem
from those BMX-ers
playing X games on his corpse.
What about the gunshot wounds?
Al three entry wounds
were made by the
same weapon... A .45.
There was only one shooter.
So the same person
shot him in the front,
and then shot him in the back?
Didn't make any
sense to me either,
so I decided to take
some measurements.
Turns out, the wounds
are of different depths.
The one on his chest
is very shallow,
indicating the shot
came from a distance.
How far? About 150 feet.
That's quite an accurate
shot with a handgun.
Mm. Yeah, I'd say your killer
had some shooting experience.
But the next two shots in
the back were close range,
inside 6 feet, maybe.
So he got shot in the
chest at long range,
turned around to run...
But he's wounded.
The killer goes after him
to finish what he started
with a double tap to the back.
He wasn't just shot.
He was hunted down and killed.
But why?
Whoa.
What was this guy up to?
No idea.
What about that?
Looks like some sort of counter.
What do you think he was
counting? Nothing good.
Night vision, spotting scope,
parabolic microphone...
Top quality, too.
What's a subway worker doing
with all this? I don't know.
But whatever he was into, it had
something to do with the park. Look.
This is right where
his body was found.
5:26... That's around
our time of death.
Looks like he was tracking
something or someone
with the initials B.H.S.
And it looks like that
someone found him.
Surveillance equipment,
clandestine meetings,
a professional hit...
Mix in the subway, and we're looking at
"The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3,"
or better yet, "Money Train."
Any one of these people could
be a secret accomplice.
That's what I love
about the subway.
Down here, everyone's
got a story. See,
that's the difference
between you and me, Castle.
You see the subway as a
place to pick up dialogue
for your novels. Or the
occasional investment banker
on her way to the gym.
I, on the other hand,
see it as a way of getting
from point "A" to point "B."
So Lightbulb Len's dead, huh?
Lightbulb Len? Yeah, it was his
job to change the lightbulbs
in the stations and
tunnels all over New York.
I figured something was wrong.
It's the first time he's
missed work in 22 years.
Mr. Rivera, Len was found
shot to death in the park.
Any idea what he was doing there?
The guy changed
lightbulbs for a living.
You know, a job like that,
it's not for the social.
I mean, in the 12 years
I was his supervisor,
I don't think we ever had
one personal conversation.
But you know who you
should talk to? Who?
Mr. Sansone?
Arthur!
I'm sorry. It's just...
Why would anybody
want to shoot him?
Well, we were hoping that
you could tell us that.
Well, the guy was one of the
unsung heroes of this city.
He saved a lot of lives.
I'm sorry. I thought...
I thought he changed lightbulbs.
Bad things happen in darkness,
Mr. Castle,
dimly lit tunnels,
darkened stairwells.
If Len heard about a blown
bulb before shift end,
he would stay late,
on his own time, to fix it.
And of course,
there was his response
to the Abe Lipschitz tragedy.
1989...
An electrocution of a bulb changer
at the Brighton Beach station.
This is a circuit
interrupter switch.
Shuts down all of the
power inside a tunnel
so that electrical maintenance
could be performed safely.
Down here...
It's called the Lenny Box...
Because it took a visionary
like Len Levitt to design it
and force the transit authority
to install one in every station
in this city.
What about high-tech gear?
Did Lenny ever use any night vision
or microphones for his work?
No. Why?
How about the initials B.H.S.?
Does that mean anything to you?
Maybe someone or something
that Len was keeping tabs on.
The only thing Len
Levitt ever kept tabs on
was every single
bulb he ever changed.
Did he have any enemies
that you know of?
You don't make waves without
making a few enemies.
Because of Len, we're in the
middle of a systemwide changeover
from incandescent to
compact fluorescents.
New technology comes in,
the city ends up with a
warehouse full of old bulbs.
That makes some guy in a suit
at the old bulb
factory very unhappy.
You ask me, corporations
conspired to take Lenny out.
"'Lenny Box.
'" So the guy's an inventor?
Apparently he was an
underground renaissance man.
Guess that explains
all the electronics.
And the counter in his apartment...
All the lightbulbs he changed.
Seriously, this guy changed
over a million lightbulbs?
The man was an unsung hero,
all right?
Cut down by the forces
of Big Bulb. Big Bulb?
The filament-industrial complex.
Lenny's buddy is delusional
if he actually thinks
that Lenny was killed by
a lightbulb conspiracy.
Well, I wouldn't dismiss our
subterranean friend just yet.
I was running through
Len's phone records,
and one jumped out.
The outgoing call
to the New York city
employee tip line?
It's where you call to
rat out your coworkers.
Must "rat" always be
used in the pejorative?
In the Chinese zodiac, the rat is ac...
What was the tip?
Well, all those incandescent
bulbs they were replacing?
Levitt claims that he had
evidence his supervisor was
stealing them and then reselling
them on the black market.
You mean Mario Rivera? The same.
The charges pan out,
the guy could lose his
job and his pension.
Oh, and get this, before he
was in the transit authority,
Mario was in the marine
corps for eight years
where he won a weapons
medal for sharpshooting.
♪ Castle 3x08 ♪
Murder Most Fowl
Original Air Date on November 8, 2010
Where were you last night
between 5:00 and 7:00 P.M.?
Working. We checked.
You clocked out at 4:34.
You, uh, hop the B or the
D down to 59th street.
The express only takes,
what, ten minutes?
Plenty of time to get to the park, kill Len.
Why would I kill Len?
Because he filed a
report against you
with the transit authority when
he found out about Costa Rica.
What the hell are you
guys talking about?
These are e-mails that
were sent from you
to your contact in Costa Rica.
These are my private e-mails.
Sent from a workplace computer,
which means we can look.
So I was thinking about
taking a vacation down there.
Yeah, drink a few cervezas, maybe
go parasailing on the beach,
sell some lightbulbs
to some locals.
The city has a warehouse full
of old, incandescent lightbulbs
that you figured
no one would miss,
so you sold them to a
wholesaler in Costa Rica
for 20 cents a pop.
That's 100 grand.
Only someone did miss them.
Someone with the word
"lightbulb" in his name.
When you found out
Len was on to you,
you realized you could lose
your job and your pension.
You couldn't afford to let him
go to the transit authority
with what he knew.
I didn't kill nobody. Well,
then why don't you just come clean
with what you did last night
between 5:00 and 7:00?
The thing about murderers, Mario,
is they tend to not
have solid alibis.
Generally because they're
murdering somebody.
Look...
Those old lightbulbs were
just gonna get destroyed
and end up in a landfill.
I was doing the city a favor.
So I make a little extra.
So who gets hurt?
Uh... I'm gonna go with Len.
Last chance, Mario.
After work, I went up to
the grand concourse
to pack up a shipment
of lightbulbs.
They went out to Costa
Rica last night.
You can check.
I was there.
Thanks.
He's telling the truth.
Len's call to the tip line?
Turns out that the transit cops
had him under surveillance
all last week.
His tail has him in the Bronx
last night just like he said.
Call the transit cops
and tell them that we just closed
their case for them. Right.
So if lightbulbs didn't get
Lenny killed, then what did?
You know, it can't be a
coincidence that he was killed
right there at about the same
time that he has written down.
And what does "B.H.S." stand for?
Bronx high school?
Hmm. Big honkin' stereo?
Boys have shoes?
Try Byron H. Singer.
I found a small vendor
decal on the side
of the parabolic microphone
we found in his apartment,
so I called the vendor
to find out if he knew
why Len bought the equipment.
Turns out,
Len didn't buy it at all.
It was purchased two months
ago by an insurance actuary
named Byron H. Singer.
B.H.S.!
Sorry.
Mr. Singer,
thank you for coming down.
They said it was important.
Do you know a man
named Len Levitt?
What did that bastard tell you?
He didn't tell us anything.
Good, because he's a liar.
He thought he knew better than me.
He thought he knew better
than everybody. Mr. Singer...
I don't care if he
didn't believe me.
I don't care how much it hurt him.
I know what I saw.
And what did you see?
The two of them, together,
in the park,
like a pair of lovebirds.
But he accused me of
making the whole thing up.
I mean, why would I make
something like that up?
Why would anybody?
Mr. Singer, what exactly
did you see in the park?
I saw enough.
And believe me, I was pretty
shocked to see them together.
I knew I had to tell Len
before somebody else did.
Len must have been very
angry when you told him.
Very angry and jealous,
but I had followed them
and found their secret spot.
And I told him where
and when to find them.
I even lent him
some of my equipment
so he could spy on them himself.
So Len goes to the park,
and he sees for himself.
And then he confronts
them in a jealous rage,
and they kill him.
They do what now?
Er.
What are you talking about?
What are you talking about?
Uh... who did you see
in the park that night?
The red-tailed hawks.
Oh. There haven't been a nesting
pair in the park for 40 years.
You mean, this is about birds?
Not just birds.
The red-tailed hawks.
Len oversees the log in the
central park boathouse,
where all the sightings
are officially recorded.
But he refused to
acknowledge my sighting.
So I told him,
if he didn't believe me,
he should go out to the
park and see for himself.
They nest at dusk.
Mr. Singer, were you in the park
yesterday between 5:00 and 7:00 P.M.?
Usually I am, but yesterday
I was in my office, working.
And can any of your
colleagues verify that?
I'm sure they can,
but about the hawks...
And I want this on
the official record...
I would never exaggerate or
fabricate a bird sighting.
It's unthinkable.
They're there, and I saw them first.
I'm putting that in
the official record.
So the equipment, the park,
the feather, and B.H.S....
It looks like we've
explained everything.
Yes, except why he was killed.
Morning, mother.
Morning.
So why is gram on the table
and why are you on the floor?
Dad, he's gone.
Theodore? When I fed him his
quinoa salad with wheat berries,
I must not have closed the
cage door all the way,
and now he's gone,
and Ashley's going to hate me.
Oh, he's not gonna hate you.
He'll understand.
No, he won't. He trusted me,
and I let him down.
No, not yet, you haven't.
We'll find him. Have you looked
in your room? And in gram's, too.
If that creature entered my room,
I'm gonna need a new bed...
And wardrobe.
Dad, what if he got out?
Like "out" out?
All right, Theodore
is an uptown rat.
He's here someplace.
Okay, to find a rodent,
you have to think like a rodent.
You are Theodore.
What do you want? Food.
Eh, you got a personal chef.
You're not hungry.
Warmth. I'd want to
stay warm and safe.
Yeah, a cozy, quiet place,
out of the way,
where no one's gonna step on you.
Front hall closet.
Nice.
You see him? No.
He's not here.
He's not here.
What?
You need to go.
And leave you ratless?
It's my responsibility, dad.
Not yours. I'll find him.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
All right. You call me...
If you need anything.
Just so you know, I'm checking
into the Plaza, and you're paying.
Okay, Castle, I'm here.
What was so important?
Your first clue is...
The curious incident of
the dog in the nighttime.
Oh, jeez, Castle.
I haven't even had my coffee yet.
Thank you.
From the Sherlock Holmes story,
"Silver Blaze."
Holmes unmasks the murderer
because of what didn't happen.
The dog didn't bark.
That's how he knew the dog must
have known the killer. Okay.
Yes, I remember the story.
Then you know that the
hardest form of detection
is looking for the
thing that isn't there.
Byron said that Len was
going to verify the hawks.
Verify, as in "provide proof,"
which means...
He would've had a camera...
Which we didn't find.
And if he was taking pictures...
We should be able to figure
out what he was up to.
We found the body here, where
he took the last two bullets...
Running away from his killer.
He had a broken wrist.
From the BMX guys
riding over his body.
Or he fell from a tree.
This tree.
There's a fresh divot.
It's all birds.
Mm. Red-tailed hawks.
Looks like Byron Singer was
telling the truth after all.
Yeah, remind me to
notify the bird police.
But I doubt it was the
hawks that killed him.
Whoa.
Lightbulb Len witnessed
a child abduction.
And the last thing he
saw was his killer.
We don't know his name or age,
but we're estimating between
10 and 12 years old.
He has brown hair, hazel eyes,
and was last seen
wearing shorts, sneakers,
and a gray and white jacket.
Now our kidnapper is male, brown
hair, between 5'10" and 6".
He was carrying a Glock .45,
which matches the
size of the slugs
that we found in
our victim's body.
Now both photos have
time stamps on them,
so we know that the
abduction took place
at 5:12 P.M. on Tuesday.
After 48 hours,
the chances of finding a child
abduction victim alive go way down.
The only thing that matters
is finding that kid.
If he's been missing for 36 hours,
how come his parents haven't reported it?
They might not know.
Or they might be under duress.
He was wearing shorts,
which probably means he knew
he was going to the park.
Well, if he wasn't lured there,
maybe he knew his kidnapper.
But then why would the
kidnapper need a gun?
I e-mailed the photo to
the New York State Police
and the parole division.
They're looking into
any kidnappers with
this abduction M.O.
And Esposito is canvassing
that part of the park
looking for any witnesses.
Well, what about schools?
If the boy goes to a local school,
they'd know he was absent.
Have uniforms fax his photo
to all schools in the
five boroughs. Done.
That car looks to be, like,
a compact or a subcompact.
Can we get the make or model?
Lab's already looking into it.
We're pulling video from all
traffic cameras on the streets
leading in and out of the
park on Tuesday evening.
Maybe we'll catch a license plate.
Or the driver's face.
What if we were to enlarge
this part of the photo...
Not the face, just this
part of the window?
Are you thinking
of the reflection?
I'm wondering if maybe we
can see the kidnapper's face
in that side view mirror.
It's worth a shot.
I need a C.S.U. photo tech up here now.
You sure you haven't seen him?
Man, I see so many kids every day,
I couldn't tell one from the next.
What about a blue car
around the same time,
somewhere in this area?
Tuesday about 5:00? Yeah.
Yeah, as a matter of fact,
a blue Saturn. You sure?
Yeah. People I forget.
Things that get in my way, I remember.
It was parked right in
front of my regular spot.
Instead, I gotta set up at
the edge of the roadway.
I almost get clipped by a cab.
Anybody inside?
No, because I woulda yelled
at the driver if there was.
I don't know what's wrong with
people in this city. Yeah, thanks.
Yeah.
Our pretzel vendor I.D.'ed
the kidnapper's car
as a blue Saturn sedan,
anywhere from '97 to '02.
The problem is, there are
6,000 blue Saturns registered
in the tristate area alone.
Ryan, where are we
on the traffic cams?
The make and model will
help narrow it down,
but there's a lot of footage.
There's also no central
database for school absences.
We can't sort by grade or gender,
and there's a bad cold
making the rounds,
so more kids are out than usual.
What about state police?
Whole lot of nada,
and nothing popped
on parolees with the
same kidnapping M.O.
Yes, I'll continue to hold.
Detective, enhanced and
enlarged. Thank you.
Oh, the enhancement only increased
the pixilation on all these.
You can't even see there's
a side view mirror.
Well, it's not like on "24", Castle.
In the real world, zoom and
enhance can only get us so far.
Yeah, but you can't even...
There's no reflection. It's just mush.
Are you okay?
Yeah.
No. God, this kid isn't that
much younger than Alexis.
Don't worry. We'll find him.
Alexis.
What? I've seen this before.
You've seen what? This mark on his sock.
Alexis used to get these
when she played soccer.
They're cleat marks from where
other kids kick her in the shin.
If he was playing
soccer in the park,
he might be a part of an
organized team or a league.
And youth leagues have web
sites that you can go to.
The parents and kids can
track scores and standings.
I spoke to the
league commissioner,
and only one 10- to 12-year-old
team practiced on Tuesday...
The Wildcats.
There!
Tyler Donegal.
He's 12. Ryan, let's get
everything we can on this kid.
The clock is ticking,
and we gotta bring him back alive.
Tyler Donegal lives with
his mother in Westchester.
Court records show
that the parents' divorce was
finalized two months ago.
You reach the parents?
Just got off with the mother-
Mirielle Lefcourt.
She moved out of
the city last year.
Got remarried to an
anesthesiologist last month.
She says she has no idea
that her son is missing.
He was spending two days
in the city with her ex.
She's on her way in now.
If the father had custody,
where the hell is he,
and why didn't he
report the boy missing?
We're working on that, sir.
The father's a maintenance
supervisor at High-Rise
on West Broadway and Canal.
He lives six blocks from Central Park.
Yo.
Donegal called in sick for
work yesterday and today.
Divorced parents, one child,
one spouse remarries quickly?
So she dumps the
janitor in the city
for the doctor in the burbs.
All the father has left is his son.
It's got all the hallmarks
of a custodial abduction.
You got a photo?
I'll get one.
Dean Donegal.
5'10", 175...
Brown hair.
Well, the vitals match.
Yeah. Yeah, but why do you need
a gun to kidnap your own son?
You just put him in the car,
tell him you're
going for ice cream.
What's he doing?
Hey, Beckett, the mother's here.
All right, Ryan,
you go to Dean's office.
Esposito, you check
out his apartment.
Maybe something else is going
on with that family. Right.
Where's my son?
That's what we're trying to
determine, Mrs. Lefcourt.
When was the last time
that you spoke with him?
Uh, two days ago when I dropped
him off at his father's.
He was supposed to be with Dean.
Have you talked to Dean?
We're trying to locate him now.
He's not at work?
He never misses work.
Can you tell me about the divorce?
How did Dean take that?
Um, not well. He was
very bitter and angry.
Does he own a gun?
A handgun.
Yes. There were break-ins
in his building.
Do you know what kind?
Why are you asking
me about a-a gun?
Was somebody shot?
Was my son shot?
No, nobody was shot,
Mrs. Lefcourt.
It's just, the man who took
your son was carrying a gun.
Now I'm gonna have to
show you this photograph.
Do you recognize this man?
I don't know. Is that Dean?
I was hoping that
you could tell me.
What about this car?
Is that his car?
No, Dean doesn't own a car.
He... he rents one as he needs one.
A Glock.
Dean's gun, it's a Glock.
We had to itemize our
property for the divorce.
Mrs. Lefcourt, does Dean have a
place that he likes to take Tyler?
Any, um, favorite hangouts?
No, as far as I know,
he's never taken him anywhere.
That's not true.
Dean's family has a
cabin in the Poconos.
Pennsylvania state police are
on their way to the cabin.
With any luck, we'll find Tyler.
You okay?
I can't imagine how
Tyler's mother feels.
Yeah, me neither.
When Alexis was 4,
we went Christmas shopping
at some mall in... in White Plains.
I was trying on some
charcoal fedora.
I turn around,
she is gone, vanished.
I looked everywhere, so did mall
security, so did the police.
We searched for an hour.
You don't have to be a novelist
to think of all the
worst-case scenarios.
Where'd you find her?
Behind a rack of winter coats.
She got bored.
She crawled underneath
there and went to sleep.
To this day,
I still dream about that.
Just got off with Esposito.
Looks like Dean's on the move.
What did they find?
It's what they didn't find...
No toothbrush, no deodorant,
no shampoo in the shower.
I'll run his credit card
for anything that
indicates he's traveling.
Dean's desk?
You can't miss it,
right? Pictures everywhere.
He calls it Tyler-Palooza.
Is this his only work area?
Yeah. Uh-huh.
How'd he sound when
he called in sick?
Did he sound... stressed?
Tell you the truth, Detective,
Dean didn't call in sick.
I covered for him. Why?
His ex-wife got remarried
to some rich doctor
like five minutes after
the divorce was final.
He had legal bills up the ass.
I figured,
he just needed to spend a
little time with his son.
So what if he didn't call in sick?
I had his back.
That's how we do it down here.
Hey, Teresa!
All right, already.
Whoa.
What's in Indy, Dean?
Maybe he's got family
in Indianapolis...
Someone who can hide him.
Yeah, but there weren't
any airline tickets
purchased in his name or in Tyler's.
Yo, the cabin's empty.
P.A. State Troopers
say it looks like
there hasn't been
anybody there in months.
We just got a hit on Dean
Donegal's financials.
An hour ago, he booked a motel
room in Jamaica, Queens.
That's not far from the airport.
He might still be trying
to get Tyler out of town.
If we're lucky. He shot someone,
he's on the run,
he's under extreme duress.
Let's get him before this
ends bloody for everyone.
NYPD! Tyler!
Tyler, you here?!
Hands! Show me your hands! Tyler!
Bathroom's clear. He's not here.
Where's Tyler?
I don't know. They told
me to check into a motel
and wait for further instructions.
Who did?
I don't know. All I know is,
they took him.
And if I help you,
they'll kill my son.
Where is Tyler, Dean?
I told you, I don't know.
Why were you going to Indianapolis?
Indian... What are
you talking about?
We know you were
checking on airfares.
I was researching a
trip for the holidays.
What, you think I took my own son?
You were in a hotel
by the airport.
That's where they
told me to go. Who?
Please. They said,
if I talk to the cops, he's dead.
Dean, if you're son is in danger,
then you need to tell
us what you know.
I went to pick him
up after practice.
When he wasn't at the usual spot,
I figured he must
have walked home.
When I got back to my apartment,
that phone was on my doormat.
It had a text on it.
"We have your son. Tell no one.
Use only this phone."
Contact the police,
and Tyler dies."
"Stand by. We will tell you
where to go and what to do.
Tell no one. Your son's
life depends on it."
What do they want from you?
I have no idea.
Dean's Glock is a 9 millimeter.
Right make, wrong model.
Lightbulb Len was
killed with a .45.
The SIM card from his
cell phone is a burner,
and the text messages aren't
coming from another phone.
They're coming from an
Internet texting service
based in the Ukraine-
no I.P. Address, untraceable.
Track the SIM. I want a
printout of every text message.
And get the electronic
serial number off that phone.
I want to find out where
it was purchased and by whom.
You got it, sir.
What do they want from you?
Are they after a ransom?
Are you kidding?
I'm 40 grand in debt
after my divorce.
I'm looking up at broke.
What about your ex-wife's
new husband? He has money.
They're not calling him.
They're calling me.
What if they find out I'm here?
I just want my son back.
Then your best option
is to work with us.
Let us help you.
I need to get some air.
Look, I know that this is hard.
But you have to trust us.
We will find him.
Okay.
Don't let 'em hurt my boy.
Where is he? Where is Tyler?
You should've been
there to pick him
up at soccer practice!
We're doing everything we can.
This is why I should've never
agreed to joint custody.
It's gonna be all right.
Stay outta this.
You're not family.
He's my boy, too! Sit down!
That's enough!
Now I need everyone to calm down,
cooperate, and think.
Dean, you notice anyone unusual
hanging around your son,
anything out of the ordinary
going on in his life?
No. I mean, I... I don't think so.
What about you two?
Nothing comes to mind. No.
Now this abduction
was clearly planned.
So the kidnapper had to know
where Tyler was gonna be.
Sir, this is a message.
It's from the kidnapper.
There's a video attached.
Hi, dad.
I know you're worried,
but I'm okay.
They say if you do what they
ask, everything will be fine.
Just don't go to the police.
I'll see you soon, and
don't forget to feed Ace.
Oh, thank God he's alive.
There's a time stamp on it...
1:31 A.M.
That was sent eight minutes ago.
It's a good thing, Mrs. Lefcourt.
It's called a proof of life video.
The kidnapper sent it to
prove your son's alive,
and that you do
exactly what they ask.
Okay. You will do exactly
what they ask you to.
Do you understand? Wait.
Play that last part again.
Don't forget to feed Ace.
Who's Ace? I don't know any Ace.
We don't have any pets.
He's sending us a message.
He's a smart boy.
Uh, Ace could refer to
a person or a business.
Sir, there's another text.
"680 Canal Street. 30 minutes."
That's the building where I work.
What's there,
a jewelry store, a bank?
No, just offices. Well, why you?
What's so special about that
building that they need you?
Uh...
Oh, God.
Because I have elevator access to
all the floors in the building.
You're a human key.
Sir, I just talked to
the building's owner.
He's e-mailing blueprints and
a tenant list for 680 Canal,
including the secure floors.
Ryan and
Esposito are with me.
We'll take Dean to the building.
I've arranged to have an
E.S.U. team standing by
in striking distance. Sir,
you can't take Dean to that building.
It is way too dangerous.
He's a father who loves his son.
You're not gonna be
able to stop him.
And until we find the boy,
we don't have any other choice.
Scrub the video.
Look for anything that could
lead us to him. Yes, sir.
All right. We're a block away.
We'll be able to see and hear
everything that's happening, okay?
And we cloned your phone
so we'll be able to read
your texts in real time.
You follow the kidnapper's
instructions to the letter.
No cowboy stuff,
you understand me? Yes.
Hi, dad.
I know you're worried,
but I'm okay.
They say if you do what they ask,
everything will be fine.
Just don't go to the police.
I'll see you soon,
and don't forget to feed Ace.
There are no identifying
markers in the background.
It's all black.
I don't know if we're
gonna find him in time.
The video was taken at 1:31 A.M.
But they didn't send it till 1:39.
Yeah, well,
sometimes it takes a while
for a text to go through.
Yeah, but eight minutes?
You want Dean to do
something for you.
You make a proof of life video.
But you wait eight
minutes to send it. Why?
Well, maybe there wasn't a
signal or not enough bars.
Yeah. Maybe they had to walk
a long way to get a signal.
Maybe they were under a...
Underground.
"Ace.
" It's not "Ace."
It's A-C-E...
The A, C, and E subway lines.
They're holding
Tyler in the subway.
He must have spotted a sign.
There's half a dozen stations
where the A, C, and E stop.
That's too many to search.
Yeah, but the last stop
for all three lines
is on Canal Street
and West Broadway.
That's...
Right under Dean's building.
They've been holding him under
everyone's nose. Let's go.
Check every room on the
east end of the station.
You guys, check ticket
booths on both ends. Go.
Right. Got it.
Castle, what are you thinking?
The only reason to keep him
here is for a quick getaway,
which is helped by the
fact that 680 Canal Street
has its own entrance
to the subway.
If it were me...
I'd keep close enough
to hook up with my partners
but far enough that I
would be out of the way.
Which means he's holding Tyler
on the west end of the tunnel.
West end of the tunnel? This room.
All right. You should
stay back. No chance.
"Go to the 37th floor now."
They said 30 minutes.
It hasn't been 30 minutes yet.
They're changing the timetable
in case you went to the cops.
What's on the 37th floor?
Nothing. It's vacant.
It's not even secure.
Try Beckett.
Nothing.
It's going straight to voice mail.
She must already be in
the subway. I gotta go.
Remember, we can see and hear everything.
Anything goes south,
a hundred cops will be
on you inside a minute.
Not until you find my son.
Just my luck.
Pulled graveyard tonight.
All right. He's in.
Not bad with the guard.
Guy's all right.
Camera and mic are all good.
Whoa.
Take us to the 39th floor.
I want to see Tyler first.
Just follow instructions.
You'll see him soon enough.
What's on the 39th floor?
A financial firm...
Breskin & Wright.
37 was just a staging area.
They let him see their faces.
As soon as they get
what they came for,
they're gonna kill him.
Just like Lightbulb Len.
Beckett's still going to
voice mail. Castle, too.
Sir... what do you want to do?
If we go in before
we find the kid,
we might lose 'em both.
Beckett.
One armed and the kid.
If I go in, he'll kill him
before I get a shot off.
He's holding a flashlight.
If we kill the ambient light,
he'll light up like
a Christmas tree.
We just...
It's like it's meant to be.
Maybe Lenny can prevent
another tragedy.
On my count.
Three, two...
One.
Hit P-1. The subway.
I did what you asked.
Now where's Tyler?
You'll see him in a minute.
Sorry, Dean.
Last stop.
Lobby.
We're supposed to
go to subway level.
Why are we stopping at the lobby?
Don't look at me.
No, look at me.
I suggest you drop your weapons.
Where's Tyler?
The ringleader was Robert Kincaid...
Former bond trader.
He's the one who planned
the entire operation.
The economy might have collapsed,
but he was still
gonna get his payday.
Most of them were
ex wall streeters.
They knew that they needed a
biometric clearance in order
to get on secure floors,
and they knew that Dean
wasn't gonna help them,
so they took Tyler as leverage.
But all they took were files.
Financial files, containing
unpublished earnings reports.
To a savvy investor,
they'd be worth millions.
Would've worked, too,
if Lightbulb Len hadn't have been
taking pictures in the park.
Mm. He helped catch
his own killer.
And foiled a kidnapping.
It's kind of poetic...
In an unspeakably
tragic sort of way.
Mm. The guy you
shot in the subway?
The thug Kincaid hired
to do his dirty work.
He just confessed
to kidnapping Tyler,
murdering Lightbulb Len,
and no surprise,
he ratted out Kincaid
in two seconds flat.
Oh. Speaking of rats...
I-I gotta... I gotta go.
I'm the worst person
in the whole world.
No, you're not.
You're wonderful, and you're
kind, and you're sweet.
I'm a rat killer.
You don't know that.
You may just be a loser.
A-a rat loser.
This did not come out right.
Look...
If he cares, he'll understand.
Yeah, he'll understand, all right.
When he sees me in the halls
at school, he'll think,
there's the awful girl
that lost my best friend.
It's him.
Hi. Hi.
I missed you.
I missed you, too.
W-what's wrong?
It's about Theodore.
When I fed him, he must have
got out of his cage, and...
And he's gone.
He's gone?
We looked everywhere. I swear.
We've turned this whole place
upside down. How'd he get out?
I must not have
locked the cage right.
Ashley, I'm so sorry.
You have every right to hate me.
Come on, Alexis. I...
I'm... I'm upset,
but I don't hate you.
You don't?
I mean, no, look at this place.
Look at what you did
to try to get him back.
Who else would do that?
You cared about him a lot.
Yeah, but...
I care about you more.
who sit around thinking
about how to kill people
psychopaths and mystery writers.
I'm the kind that pays better.
Who am I? I'm Rick Castle.
Castle. Castle.
I really am ruggedly
handsome, aren't I?
Every writer needs inspiration,
and I've found mine.
I'm Detective Kate Beckett.
Beckett.
- Beckett?
- Could you get some backup, please?
And thanks to my
friendship with the mayor,
I get to be on her case. Oh!
Do I look like a killer to you?
Yes, you kill my patience.
And together, we catch killers.
- I hate this case.
- I know. Isn't it great?
Whoa!
Oh, dude.
Oh!
Dude.
Dude.
Aw. Science project?
No, it's a pet.
Say hello to Theodore, dad.
I'm rat-sitting him for Ashley.
Hello, Theodore.
How goes the rat race?
Did you know
the average life span of a
rat is two to three years?
Ashley's had Theodore for five.
And this is the first time
he's left him with anyone.
Trusting you with
a treasured pet...
That's a big step in a relationship.
Yeah, I guess it kind of is.
I must say,
the little plague pusher
is not very diligent
about his exercise.
I don't know. I-I think it's
just those beady little eyes.
It's a rat, mother.
They all have beady eyes.
That's where the
phrase comes from. Mm.
Dad, those are for Theodore.
He has a very specific diet
I'm supposed to follow.
Well, unless he's Ben,
I'm sure he won't
hold it against me.
If anyone needs me, I'll be in
the park with a dead body. Ah.
Who's Ben?
Killer rat movie.
Before your time.
You know, I understand
ferrets as a pet...
Snakes, spiders, even a hairless mole.
But a rat?
Probably kids in this city
who keep cockroaches as pets.
You're probably right.
What's the strangest
pet you've ever had?
You. Hey, Lanie.
What's this, a hit-and-run?
In a manner of speaking.
Two BMX bikers rode over the body,
then called it in.
But the cause of death
are the gunshot wounds...
One to the chest,
and two more in the back.
So he's wounded on both sides?
Maybe there were two shooters,
he was caught in the cross fire?
Won't know till I get him back
to the lab. You got an I.D.?
Leonard Levitt,
Ozone Park, Queens.
Wallet, cash, keys-
everything still here.
Which means it wasn't theft.
No.
Something much more nefarious.
A feather.
Alternating stripes,
uniform color...
This is no ordinary
pigeon feather.
This... this is
from a bird of prey.
So what are you suggesting,
Castle,
that a bird shot him three times?
Not just any bird.
This is the calling
card of a murderer
known only as...
The Falcon killer.
Or maybe before getting shot,
he just bent down and
picked up the feather.
See, that's why you'll never
be a best-selling novelist.
No sense of drama.
I find that dead bodies
are usually enough.
Thanks, Lanie.
Mm-hmm.
Yo. So we ran background on your vic.
It's pretty thin.
He was a New York
city transit employee.
Worked in the subway out of
the 116th street station.
He worked uptown and
he lived in Queens?
Then what was he
doing in the park?
That's pretty out of the way.
Well, we thought that
he was looking to buy
some weed or some love,
but he has no drug history,
no convictions of
solicitations, no nothing.
And what about his family?
Both parents are deceased.
Guy never married,
has no children.
It's like he barely existed.
Making him the perfect victim.
Mild-mannered city employee
lured into a
conveniently wooded area,
struck down by a murderer
with the speed and cunning
of a bird of prey.
Don't ask. You guys
go to his apartment.
Find out who he is and what he
was doing in the park. Right.
Lividity and temperature puts
time of death between 5:00 and 7:00 P.M.
The victim also has
a broken wrist.
Could be postmortem
from those BMX-ers
playing X games on his corpse.
What about the gunshot wounds?
Al three entry wounds
were made by the
same weapon... A .45.
There was only one shooter.
So the same person
shot him in the front,
and then shot him in the back?
Didn't make any
sense to me either,
so I decided to take
some measurements.
Turns out, the wounds
are of different depths.
The one on his chest
is very shallow,
indicating the shot
came from a distance.
How far? About 150 feet.
That's quite an accurate
shot with a handgun.
Mm. Yeah, I'd say your killer
had some shooting experience.
But the next two shots in
the back were close range,
inside 6 feet, maybe.
So he got shot in the
chest at long range,
turned around to run...
But he's wounded.
The killer goes after him
to finish what he started
with a double tap to the back.
He wasn't just shot.
He was hunted down and killed.
But why?
Whoa.
What was this guy up to?
No idea.
What about that?
Looks like some sort of counter.
What do you think he was
counting? Nothing good.
Night vision, spotting scope,
parabolic microphone...
Top quality, too.
What's a subway worker doing
with all this? I don't know.
But whatever he was into, it had
something to do with the park. Look.
This is right where
his body was found.
5:26... That's around
our time of death.
Looks like he was tracking
something or someone
with the initials B.H.S.
And it looks like that
someone found him.
Surveillance equipment,
clandestine meetings,
a professional hit...
Mix in the subway, and we're looking at
"The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3,"
or better yet, "Money Train."
Any one of these people could
be a secret accomplice.
That's what I love
about the subway.
Down here, everyone's
got a story. See,
that's the difference
between you and me, Castle.
You see the subway as a
place to pick up dialogue
for your novels. Or the
occasional investment banker
on her way to the gym.
I, on the other hand,
see it as a way of getting
from point "A" to point "B."
So Lightbulb Len's dead, huh?
Lightbulb Len? Yeah, it was his
job to change the lightbulbs
in the stations and
tunnels all over New York.
I figured something was wrong.
It's the first time he's
missed work in 22 years.
Mr. Rivera, Len was found
shot to death in the park.
Any idea what he was doing there?
The guy changed
lightbulbs for a living.
You know, a job like that,
it's not for the social.
I mean, in the 12 years
I was his supervisor,
I don't think we ever had
one personal conversation.
But you know who you
should talk to? Who?
Mr. Sansone?
Arthur!
I'm sorry. It's just...
Why would anybody
want to shoot him?
Well, we were hoping that
you could tell us that.
Well, the guy was one of the
unsung heroes of this city.
He saved a lot of lives.
I'm sorry. I thought...
I thought he changed lightbulbs.
Bad things happen in darkness,
Mr. Castle,
dimly lit tunnels,
darkened stairwells.
If Len heard about a blown
bulb before shift end,
he would stay late,
on his own time, to fix it.
And of course,
there was his response
to the Abe Lipschitz tragedy.
1989...
An electrocution of a bulb changer
at the Brighton Beach station.
This is a circuit
interrupter switch.
Shuts down all of the
power inside a tunnel
so that electrical maintenance
could be performed safely.
Down here...
It's called the Lenny Box...
Because it took a visionary
like Len Levitt to design it
and force the transit authority
to install one in every station
in this city.
What about high-tech gear?
Did Lenny ever use any night vision
or microphones for his work?
No. Why?
How about the initials B.H.S.?
Does that mean anything to you?
Maybe someone or something
that Len was keeping tabs on.
The only thing Len
Levitt ever kept tabs on
was every single
bulb he ever changed.
Did he have any enemies
that you know of?
You don't make waves without
making a few enemies.
Because of Len, we're in the
middle of a systemwide changeover
from incandescent to
compact fluorescents.
New technology comes in,
the city ends up with a
warehouse full of old bulbs.
That makes some guy in a suit
at the old bulb
factory very unhappy.
You ask me, corporations
conspired to take Lenny out.
"'Lenny Box.
'" So the guy's an inventor?
Apparently he was an
underground renaissance man.
Guess that explains
all the electronics.
And the counter in his apartment...
All the lightbulbs he changed.
Seriously, this guy changed
over a million lightbulbs?
The man was an unsung hero,
all right?
Cut down by the forces
of Big Bulb. Big Bulb?
The filament-industrial complex.
Lenny's buddy is delusional
if he actually thinks
that Lenny was killed by
a lightbulb conspiracy.
Well, I wouldn't dismiss our
subterranean friend just yet.
I was running through
Len's phone records,
and one jumped out.
The outgoing call
to the New York city
employee tip line?
It's where you call to
rat out your coworkers.
Must "rat" always be
used in the pejorative?
In the Chinese zodiac, the rat is ac...
What was the tip?
Well, all those incandescent
bulbs they were replacing?
Levitt claims that he had
evidence his supervisor was
stealing them and then reselling
them on the black market.
You mean Mario Rivera? The same.
The charges pan out,
the guy could lose his
job and his pension.
Oh, and get this, before he
was in the transit authority,
Mario was in the marine
corps for eight years
where he won a weapons
medal for sharpshooting.
♪ Castle 3x08 ♪
Murder Most Fowl
Original Air Date on November 8, 2010
Where were you last night
between 5:00 and 7:00 P.M.?
Working. We checked.
You clocked out at 4:34.
You, uh, hop the B or the
D down to 59th street.
The express only takes,
what, ten minutes?
Plenty of time to get to the park, kill Len.
Why would I kill Len?
Because he filed a
report against you
with the transit authority when
he found out about Costa Rica.
What the hell are you
guys talking about?
These are e-mails that
were sent from you
to your contact in Costa Rica.
These are my private e-mails.
Sent from a workplace computer,
which means we can look.
So I was thinking about
taking a vacation down there.
Yeah, drink a few cervezas, maybe
go parasailing on the beach,
sell some lightbulbs
to some locals.
The city has a warehouse full
of old, incandescent lightbulbs
that you figured
no one would miss,
so you sold them to a
wholesaler in Costa Rica
for 20 cents a pop.
That's 100 grand.
Only someone did miss them.
Someone with the word
"lightbulb" in his name.
When you found out
Len was on to you,
you realized you could lose
your job and your pension.
You couldn't afford to let him
go to the transit authority
with what he knew.
I didn't kill nobody. Well,
then why don't you just come clean
with what you did last night
between 5:00 and 7:00?
The thing about murderers, Mario,
is they tend to not
have solid alibis.
Generally because they're
murdering somebody.
Look...
Those old lightbulbs were
just gonna get destroyed
and end up in a landfill.
I was doing the city a favor.
So I make a little extra.
So who gets hurt?
Uh... I'm gonna go with Len.
Last chance, Mario.
After work, I went up to
the grand concourse
to pack up a shipment
of lightbulbs.
They went out to Costa
Rica last night.
You can check.
I was there.
Thanks.
He's telling the truth.
Len's call to the tip line?
Turns out that the transit cops
had him under surveillance
all last week.
His tail has him in the Bronx
last night just like he said.
Call the transit cops
and tell them that we just closed
their case for them. Right.
So if lightbulbs didn't get
Lenny killed, then what did?
You know, it can't be a
coincidence that he was killed
right there at about the same
time that he has written down.
And what does "B.H.S." stand for?
Bronx high school?
Hmm. Big honkin' stereo?
Boys have shoes?
Try Byron H. Singer.
I found a small vendor
decal on the side
of the parabolic microphone
we found in his apartment,
so I called the vendor
to find out if he knew
why Len bought the equipment.
Turns out,
Len didn't buy it at all.
It was purchased two months
ago by an insurance actuary
named Byron H. Singer.
B.H.S.!
Sorry.
Mr. Singer,
thank you for coming down.
They said it was important.
Do you know a man
named Len Levitt?
What did that bastard tell you?
He didn't tell us anything.
Good, because he's a liar.
He thought he knew better than me.
He thought he knew better
than everybody. Mr. Singer...
I don't care if he
didn't believe me.
I don't care how much it hurt him.
I know what I saw.
And what did you see?
The two of them, together,
in the park,
like a pair of lovebirds.
But he accused me of
making the whole thing up.
I mean, why would I make
something like that up?
Why would anybody?
Mr. Singer, what exactly
did you see in the park?
I saw enough.
And believe me, I was pretty
shocked to see them together.
I knew I had to tell Len
before somebody else did.
Len must have been very
angry when you told him.
Very angry and jealous,
but I had followed them
and found their secret spot.
And I told him where
and when to find them.
I even lent him
some of my equipment
so he could spy on them himself.
So Len goes to the park,
and he sees for himself.
And then he confronts
them in a jealous rage,
and they kill him.
They do what now?
Er.
What are you talking about?
What are you talking about?
Uh... who did you see
in the park that night?
The red-tailed hawks.
Oh. There haven't been a nesting
pair in the park for 40 years.
You mean, this is about birds?
Not just birds.
The red-tailed hawks.
Len oversees the log in the
central park boathouse,
where all the sightings
are officially recorded.
But he refused to
acknowledge my sighting.
So I told him,
if he didn't believe me,
he should go out to the
park and see for himself.
They nest at dusk.
Mr. Singer, were you in the park
yesterday between 5:00 and 7:00 P.M.?
Usually I am, but yesterday
I was in my office, working.
And can any of your
colleagues verify that?
I'm sure they can,
but about the hawks...
And I want this on
the official record...
I would never exaggerate or
fabricate a bird sighting.
It's unthinkable.
They're there, and I saw them first.
I'm putting that in
the official record.
So the equipment, the park,
the feather, and B.H.S....
It looks like we've
explained everything.
Yes, except why he was killed.
Morning, mother.
Morning.
So why is gram on the table
and why are you on the floor?
Dad, he's gone.
Theodore? When I fed him his
quinoa salad with wheat berries,
I must not have closed the
cage door all the way,
and now he's gone,
and Ashley's going to hate me.
Oh, he's not gonna hate you.
He'll understand.
No, he won't. He trusted me,
and I let him down.
No, not yet, you haven't.
We'll find him. Have you looked
in your room? And in gram's, too.
If that creature entered my room,
I'm gonna need a new bed...
And wardrobe.
Dad, what if he got out?
Like "out" out?
All right, Theodore
is an uptown rat.
He's here someplace.
Okay, to find a rodent,
you have to think like a rodent.
You are Theodore.
What do you want? Food.
Eh, you got a personal chef.
You're not hungry.
Warmth. I'd want to
stay warm and safe.
Yeah, a cozy, quiet place,
out of the way,
where no one's gonna step on you.
Front hall closet.
Nice.
You see him? No.
He's not here.
He's not here.
What?
You need to go.
And leave you ratless?
It's my responsibility, dad.
Not yours. I'll find him.
Are you sure?
Yeah.
All right. You call me...
If you need anything.
Just so you know, I'm checking
into the Plaza, and you're paying.
Okay, Castle, I'm here.
What was so important?
Your first clue is...
The curious incident of
the dog in the nighttime.
Oh, jeez, Castle.
I haven't even had my coffee yet.
Thank you.
From the Sherlock Holmes story,
"Silver Blaze."
Holmes unmasks the murderer
because of what didn't happen.
The dog didn't bark.
That's how he knew the dog must
have known the killer. Okay.
Yes, I remember the story.
Then you know that the
hardest form of detection
is looking for the
thing that isn't there.
Byron said that Len was
going to verify the hawks.
Verify, as in "provide proof,"
which means...
He would've had a camera...
Which we didn't find.
And if he was taking pictures...
We should be able to figure
out what he was up to.
We found the body here, where
he took the last two bullets...
Running away from his killer.
He had a broken wrist.
From the BMX guys
riding over his body.
Or he fell from a tree.
This tree.
There's a fresh divot.
It's all birds.
Mm. Red-tailed hawks.
Looks like Byron Singer was
telling the truth after all.
Yeah, remind me to
notify the bird police.
But I doubt it was the
hawks that killed him.
Whoa.
Lightbulb Len witnessed
a child abduction.
And the last thing he
saw was his killer.
We don't know his name or age,
but we're estimating between
10 and 12 years old.
He has brown hair, hazel eyes,
and was last seen
wearing shorts, sneakers,
and a gray and white jacket.
Now our kidnapper is male, brown
hair, between 5'10" and 6".
He was carrying a Glock .45,
which matches the
size of the slugs
that we found in
our victim's body.
Now both photos have
time stamps on them,
so we know that the
abduction took place
at 5:12 P.M. on Tuesday.
After 48 hours,
the chances of finding a child
abduction victim alive go way down.
The only thing that matters
is finding that kid.
If he's been missing for 36 hours,
how come his parents haven't reported it?
They might not know.
Or they might be under duress.
He was wearing shorts,
which probably means he knew
he was going to the park.
Well, if he wasn't lured there,
maybe he knew his kidnapper.
But then why would the
kidnapper need a gun?
I e-mailed the photo to
the New York State Police
and the parole division.
They're looking into
any kidnappers with
this abduction M.O.
And Esposito is canvassing
that part of the park
looking for any witnesses.
Well, what about schools?
If the boy goes to a local school,
they'd know he was absent.
Have uniforms fax his photo
to all schools in the
five boroughs. Done.
That car looks to be, like,
a compact or a subcompact.
Can we get the make or model?
Lab's already looking into it.
We're pulling video from all
traffic cameras on the streets
leading in and out of the
park on Tuesday evening.
Maybe we'll catch a license plate.
Or the driver's face.
What if we were to enlarge
this part of the photo...
Not the face, just this
part of the window?
Are you thinking
of the reflection?
I'm wondering if maybe we
can see the kidnapper's face
in that side view mirror.
It's worth a shot.
I need a C.S.U. photo tech up here now.
You sure you haven't seen him?
Man, I see so many kids every day,
I couldn't tell one from the next.
What about a blue car
around the same time,
somewhere in this area?
Tuesday about 5:00? Yeah.
Yeah, as a matter of fact,
a blue Saturn. You sure?
Yeah. People I forget.
Things that get in my way, I remember.
It was parked right in
front of my regular spot.
Instead, I gotta set up at
the edge of the roadway.
I almost get clipped by a cab.
Anybody inside?
No, because I woulda yelled
at the driver if there was.
I don't know what's wrong with
people in this city. Yeah, thanks.
Yeah.
Our pretzel vendor I.D.'ed
the kidnapper's car
as a blue Saturn sedan,
anywhere from '97 to '02.
The problem is, there are
6,000 blue Saturns registered
in the tristate area alone.
Ryan, where are we
on the traffic cams?
The make and model will
help narrow it down,
but there's a lot of footage.
There's also no central
database for school absences.
We can't sort by grade or gender,
and there's a bad cold
making the rounds,
so more kids are out than usual.
What about state police?
Whole lot of nada,
and nothing popped
on parolees with the
same kidnapping M.O.
Yes, I'll continue to hold.
Detective, enhanced and
enlarged. Thank you.
Oh, the enhancement only increased
the pixilation on all these.
You can't even see there's
a side view mirror.
Well, it's not like on "24", Castle.
In the real world, zoom and
enhance can only get us so far.
Yeah, but you can't even...
There's no reflection. It's just mush.
Are you okay?
Yeah.
No. God, this kid isn't that
much younger than Alexis.
Don't worry. We'll find him.
Alexis.
What? I've seen this before.
You've seen what? This mark on his sock.
Alexis used to get these
when she played soccer.
They're cleat marks from where
other kids kick her in the shin.
If he was playing
soccer in the park,
he might be a part of an
organized team or a league.
And youth leagues have web
sites that you can go to.
The parents and kids can
track scores and standings.
I spoke to the
league commissioner,
and only one 10- to 12-year-old
team practiced on Tuesday...
The Wildcats.
There!
Tyler Donegal.
He's 12. Ryan, let's get
everything we can on this kid.
The clock is ticking,
and we gotta bring him back alive.
Tyler Donegal lives with
his mother in Westchester.
Court records show
that the parents' divorce was
finalized two months ago.
You reach the parents?
Just got off with the mother-
Mirielle Lefcourt.
She moved out of
the city last year.
Got remarried to an
anesthesiologist last month.
She says she has no idea
that her son is missing.
He was spending two days
in the city with her ex.
She's on her way in now.
If the father had custody,
where the hell is he,
and why didn't he
report the boy missing?
We're working on that, sir.
The father's a maintenance
supervisor at High-Rise
on West Broadway and Canal.
He lives six blocks from Central Park.
Yo.
Donegal called in sick for
work yesterday and today.
Divorced parents, one child,
one spouse remarries quickly?
So she dumps the
janitor in the city
for the doctor in the burbs.
All the father has left is his son.
It's got all the hallmarks
of a custodial abduction.
You got a photo?
I'll get one.
Dean Donegal.
5'10", 175...
Brown hair.
Well, the vitals match.
Yeah. Yeah, but why do you need
a gun to kidnap your own son?
You just put him in the car,
tell him you're
going for ice cream.
What's he doing?
Hey, Beckett, the mother's here.
All right, Ryan,
you go to Dean's office.
Esposito, you check
out his apartment.
Maybe something else is going
on with that family. Right.
Where's my son?
That's what we're trying to
determine, Mrs. Lefcourt.
When was the last time
that you spoke with him?
Uh, two days ago when I dropped
him off at his father's.
He was supposed to be with Dean.
Have you talked to Dean?
We're trying to locate him now.
He's not at work?
He never misses work.
Can you tell me about the divorce?
How did Dean take that?
Um, not well. He was
very bitter and angry.
Does he own a gun?
A handgun.
Yes. There were break-ins
in his building.
Do you know what kind?
Why are you asking
me about a-a gun?
Was somebody shot?
Was my son shot?
No, nobody was shot,
Mrs. Lefcourt.
It's just, the man who took
your son was carrying a gun.
Now I'm gonna have to
show you this photograph.
Do you recognize this man?
I don't know. Is that Dean?
I was hoping that
you could tell me.
What about this car?
Is that his car?
No, Dean doesn't own a car.
He... he rents one as he needs one.
A Glock.
Dean's gun, it's a Glock.
We had to itemize our
property for the divorce.
Mrs. Lefcourt, does Dean have a
place that he likes to take Tyler?
Any, um, favorite hangouts?
No, as far as I know,
he's never taken him anywhere.
That's not true.
Dean's family has a
cabin in the Poconos.
Pennsylvania state police are
on their way to the cabin.
With any luck, we'll find Tyler.
You okay?
I can't imagine how
Tyler's mother feels.
Yeah, me neither.
When Alexis was 4,
we went Christmas shopping
at some mall in... in White Plains.
I was trying on some
charcoal fedora.
I turn around,
she is gone, vanished.
I looked everywhere, so did mall
security, so did the police.
We searched for an hour.
You don't have to be a novelist
to think of all the
worst-case scenarios.
Where'd you find her?
Behind a rack of winter coats.
She got bored.
She crawled underneath
there and went to sleep.
To this day,
I still dream about that.
Just got off with Esposito.
Looks like Dean's on the move.
What did they find?
It's what they didn't find...
No toothbrush, no deodorant,
no shampoo in the shower.
I'll run his credit card
for anything that
indicates he's traveling.
Dean's desk?
You can't miss it,
right? Pictures everywhere.
He calls it Tyler-Palooza.
Is this his only work area?
Yeah. Uh-huh.
How'd he sound when
he called in sick?
Did he sound... stressed?
Tell you the truth, Detective,
Dean didn't call in sick.
I covered for him. Why?
His ex-wife got remarried
to some rich doctor
like five minutes after
the divorce was final.
He had legal bills up the ass.
I figured,
he just needed to spend a
little time with his son.
So what if he didn't call in sick?
I had his back.
That's how we do it down here.
Hey, Teresa!
All right, already.
Whoa.
What's in Indy, Dean?
Maybe he's got family
in Indianapolis...
Someone who can hide him.
Yeah, but there weren't
any airline tickets
purchased in his name or in Tyler's.
Yo, the cabin's empty.
P.A. State Troopers
say it looks like
there hasn't been
anybody there in months.
We just got a hit on Dean
Donegal's financials.
An hour ago, he booked a motel
room in Jamaica, Queens.
That's not far from the airport.
He might still be trying
to get Tyler out of town.
If we're lucky. He shot someone,
he's on the run,
he's under extreme duress.
Let's get him before this
ends bloody for everyone.
NYPD! Tyler!
Tyler, you here?!
Hands! Show me your hands! Tyler!
Bathroom's clear. He's not here.
Where's Tyler?
I don't know. They told
me to check into a motel
and wait for further instructions.
Who did?
I don't know. All I know is,
they took him.
And if I help you,
they'll kill my son.
Where is Tyler, Dean?
I told you, I don't know.
Why were you going to Indianapolis?
Indian... What are
you talking about?
We know you were
checking on airfares.
I was researching a
trip for the holidays.
What, you think I took my own son?
You were in a hotel
by the airport.
That's where they
told me to go. Who?
Please. They said,
if I talk to the cops, he's dead.
Dean, if you're son is in danger,
then you need to tell
us what you know.
I went to pick him
up after practice.
When he wasn't at the usual spot,
I figured he must
have walked home.
When I got back to my apartment,
that phone was on my doormat.
It had a text on it.
"We have your son. Tell no one.
Use only this phone."
Contact the police,
and Tyler dies."
"Stand by. We will tell you
where to go and what to do.
Tell no one. Your son's
life depends on it."
What do they want from you?
I have no idea.
Dean's Glock is a 9 millimeter.
Right make, wrong model.
Lightbulb Len was
killed with a .45.
The SIM card from his
cell phone is a burner,
and the text messages aren't
coming from another phone.
They're coming from an
Internet texting service
based in the Ukraine-
no I.P. Address, untraceable.
Track the SIM. I want a
printout of every text message.
And get the electronic
serial number off that phone.
I want to find out where
it was purchased and by whom.
You got it, sir.
What do they want from you?
Are they after a ransom?
Are you kidding?
I'm 40 grand in debt
after my divorce.
I'm looking up at broke.
What about your ex-wife's
new husband? He has money.
They're not calling him.
They're calling me.
What if they find out I'm here?
I just want my son back.
Then your best option
is to work with us.
Let us help you.
I need to get some air.
Look, I know that this is hard.
But you have to trust us.
We will find him.
Okay.
Don't let 'em hurt my boy.
Where is he? Where is Tyler?
You should've been
there to pick him
up at soccer practice!
We're doing everything we can.
This is why I should've never
agreed to joint custody.
It's gonna be all right.
Stay outta this.
You're not family.
He's my boy, too! Sit down!
That's enough!
Now I need everyone to calm down,
cooperate, and think.
Dean, you notice anyone unusual
hanging around your son,
anything out of the ordinary
going on in his life?
No. I mean, I... I don't think so.
What about you two?
Nothing comes to mind. No.
Now this abduction
was clearly planned.
So the kidnapper had to know
where Tyler was gonna be.
Sir, this is a message.
It's from the kidnapper.
There's a video attached.
Hi, dad.
I know you're worried,
but I'm okay.
They say if you do what they
ask, everything will be fine.
Just don't go to the police.
I'll see you soon, and
don't forget to feed Ace.
Oh, thank God he's alive.
There's a time stamp on it...
1:31 A.M.
That was sent eight minutes ago.
It's a good thing, Mrs. Lefcourt.
It's called a proof of life video.
The kidnapper sent it to
prove your son's alive,
and that you do
exactly what they ask.
Okay. You will do exactly
what they ask you to.
Do you understand? Wait.
Play that last part again.
Don't forget to feed Ace.
Who's Ace? I don't know any Ace.
We don't have any pets.
He's sending us a message.
He's a smart boy.
Uh, Ace could refer to
a person or a business.
Sir, there's another text.
"680 Canal Street. 30 minutes."
That's the building where I work.
What's there,
a jewelry store, a bank?
No, just offices. Well, why you?
What's so special about that
building that they need you?
Uh...
Oh, God.
Because I have elevator access to
all the floors in the building.
You're a human key.
Sir, I just talked to
the building's owner.
He's e-mailing blueprints and
a tenant list for 680 Canal,
including the secure floors.
Ryan and
Esposito are with me.
We'll take Dean to the building.
I've arranged to have an
E.S.U. team standing by
in striking distance. Sir,
you can't take Dean to that building.
It is way too dangerous.
He's a father who loves his son.
You're not gonna be
able to stop him.
And until we find the boy,
we don't have any other choice.
Scrub the video.
Look for anything that could
lead us to him. Yes, sir.
All right. We're a block away.
We'll be able to see and hear
everything that's happening, okay?
And we cloned your phone
so we'll be able to read
your texts in real time.
You follow the kidnapper's
instructions to the letter.
No cowboy stuff,
you understand me? Yes.
Hi, dad.
I know you're worried,
but I'm okay.
They say if you do what they ask,
everything will be fine.
Just don't go to the police.
I'll see you soon,
and don't forget to feed Ace.
There are no identifying
markers in the background.
It's all black.
I don't know if we're
gonna find him in time.
The video was taken at 1:31 A.M.
But they didn't send it till 1:39.
Yeah, well,
sometimes it takes a while
for a text to go through.
Yeah, but eight minutes?
You want Dean to do
something for you.
You make a proof of life video.
But you wait eight
minutes to send it. Why?
Well, maybe there wasn't a
signal or not enough bars.
Yeah. Maybe they had to walk
a long way to get a signal.
Maybe they were under a...
Underground.
"Ace.
" It's not "Ace."
It's A-C-E...
The A, C, and E subway lines.
They're holding
Tyler in the subway.
He must have spotted a sign.
There's half a dozen stations
where the A, C, and E stop.
That's too many to search.
Yeah, but the last stop
for all three lines
is on Canal Street
and West Broadway.
That's...
Right under Dean's building.
They've been holding him under
everyone's nose. Let's go.
Check every room on the
east end of the station.
You guys, check ticket
booths on both ends. Go.
Right. Got it.
Castle, what are you thinking?
The only reason to keep him
here is for a quick getaway,
which is helped by the
fact that 680 Canal Street
has its own entrance
to the subway.
If it were me...
I'd keep close enough
to hook up with my partners
but far enough that I
would be out of the way.
Which means he's holding Tyler
on the west end of the tunnel.
West end of the tunnel? This room.
All right. You should
stay back. No chance.
"Go to the 37th floor now."
They said 30 minutes.
It hasn't been 30 minutes yet.
They're changing the timetable
in case you went to the cops.
What's on the 37th floor?
Nothing. It's vacant.
It's not even secure.
Try Beckett.
Nothing.
It's going straight to voice mail.
She must already be in
the subway. I gotta go.
Remember, we can see and hear everything.
Anything goes south,
a hundred cops will be
on you inside a minute.
Not until you find my son.
Just my luck.
Pulled graveyard tonight.
All right. He's in.
Not bad with the guard.
Guy's all right.
Camera and mic are all good.
Whoa.
Take us to the 39th floor.
I want to see Tyler first.
Just follow instructions.
You'll see him soon enough.
What's on the 39th floor?
A financial firm...
Breskin & Wright.
37 was just a staging area.
They let him see their faces.
As soon as they get
what they came for,
they're gonna kill him.
Just like Lightbulb Len.
Beckett's still going to
voice mail. Castle, too.
Sir... what do you want to do?
If we go in before
we find the kid,
we might lose 'em both.
Beckett.
One armed and the kid.
If I go in, he'll kill him
before I get a shot off.
He's holding a flashlight.
If we kill the ambient light,
he'll light up like
a Christmas tree.
We just...
It's like it's meant to be.
Maybe Lenny can prevent
another tragedy.
On my count.
Three, two...
One.
Hit P-1. The subway.
I did what you asked.
Now where's Tyler?
You'll see him in a minute.
Sorry, Dean.
Last stop.
Lobby.
We're supposed to
go to subway level.
Why are we stopping at the lobby?
Don't look at me.
No, look at me.
I suggest you drop your weapons.
Where's Tyler?
The ringleader was Robert Kincaid...
Former bond trader.
He's the one who planned
the entire operation.
The economy might have collapsed,
but he was still
gonna get his payday.
Most of them were
ex wall streeters.
They knew that they needed a
biometric clearance in order
to get on secure floors,
and they knew that Dean
wasn't gonna help them,
so they took Tyler as leverage.
But all they took were files.
Financial files, containing
unpublished earnings reports.
To a savvy investor,
they'd be worth millions.
Would've worked, too,
if Lightbulb Len hadn't have been
taking pictures in the park.
Mm. He helped catch
his own killer.
And foiled a kidnapping.
It's kind of poetic...
In an unspeakably
tragic sort of way.
Mm. The guy you
shot in the subway?
The thug Kincaid hired
to do his dirty work.
He just confessed
to kidnapping Tyler,
murdering Lightbulb Len,
and no surprise,
he ratted out Kincaid
in two seconds flat.
Oh. Speaking of rats...
I-I gotta... I gotta go.
I'm the worst person
in the whole world.
No, you're not.
You're wonderful, and you're
kind, and you're sweet.
I'm a rat killer.
You don't know that.
You may just be a loser.
A-a rat loser.
This did not come out right.
Look...
If he cares, he'll understand.
Yeah, he'll understand, all right.
When he sees me in the halls
at school, he'll think,
there's the awful girl
that lost my best friend.
It's him.
Hi. Hi.
I missed you.
I missed you, too.
W-what's wrong?
It's about Theodore.
When I fed him, he must have
got out of his cage, and...
And he's gone.
He's gone?
We looked everywhere. I swear.
We've turned this whole place
upside down. How'd he get out?
I must not have
locked the cage right.
Ashley, I'm so sorry.
You have every right to hate me.
Come on, Alexis. I...
I'm... I'm upset,
but I don't hate you.
You don't?
I mean, no, look at this place.
Look at what you did
to try to get him back.
Who else would do that?
You cared about him a lot.
Yeah, but...
I care about you more.