Castle (2009–2016): Season 3, Episode 9 - Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind - full transcript

Hello? Is anybody out here?

All right.

12-letter word for "transcendent."

Otherworldly.

Honestly, sometimes it's
like they're not even trying.

Doing the crossword in pen?
Feeling cocky today, are we?

What is life without challenges?

8-letter word for "estrange."

Ah! You are just in time,
my mini thesaurus.

I need an 8-letter word for
"estrange."

She doesn't hear you, darling.
She's still talking to Ashley.

I should be timing
that phone call.

That's gotta be a record. Please.

I've had relationships
that didn't last this long.

True.

Okay. Bye.

Sorry. We were talking about
the hiking trip next Saturday.

Oh, has Ashley got the all
clear from his parents

to come with us?

They say they want
to meet you first.

Ah, they want to
vet me to make sure

if there's some
kind of rock slide,

that I won't leave their boy
stranded on a mountainside,

having to gnaw off his
own arm to survive.

So you'll do it?

We'll have them over for dinner.

We'll schmooze and impress them.

Would you like me
to cook something?

No, we want to impress them.

And what is that supposed to mean?

So it's "Meet the Parents" time,
huh, Castle?

This is a pretty
critical moment for you.

For me? Why me?

Well, I mean, Ashley is
Alexis' first love, right?

Mm-hmm.

Well, what do you
think will happen

if you don't get on
with his parents?

She'll lose interest in him?
Oh, no. The exact opposite.

I mean, it'll make their
romance feel forbidden,

and they'll be off
doing God knows what.

Trust me. I know.

I never thought of it that way.

My advice is keep
the boyfriend close

but the parents closer.

Hey, guys.

What do we got?
Something messed up.

I've never seen anything like it.

Victim's name is Marie
Subbarao. She's 35.

Security guard found
her last night.

Still getting over it.

Wow. She looks like an
overstuffed sausage.

Lanie, what the hell
happened to her?

It's called explosive
decompression.

From what? What would cause this?

It's a result of exposure to a
zero-atmosphere environment.

Zero atmosphere? As in...
Outer space?

Yep.

- Or?
- I don't have an "or" for you right now, sweetie.

I have to get her body
back to the morgue,

and then I may have some answers.

Okay, well, her body's in a car

in the middle of the rail yard,

so clearly she wasn't
killed in outer space.

There's gotta be
another explanation.

Check this out... She was reading

"Taken by the Fourth Kind",
a book on alien abductions.

So what's your theory, Castle,
that she was abducted

and then killed by aliens?

Mm. The story that
makes more sense

is, uh, alien
abduction gone wrong...

One that ends with Marie
being accidentally blasted

out of the air lock of
the alien spaceship.

Well, if it was E.T.,
he has a nicotine addiction.

We found this cigarette
butt by the rear tire.

It was laying in the track,

which means it was dropped
after the car was parked.

All right. Well,
have C.S.U. check for D.N.A.

Maybe we'll get lucky.

And can you look into
explosive decompression,

see what else might cause it?
You got it.

Thank you.

You do have to admit,

her condition does seem...
Otherworldly.

Marie Subbarao...

The before version.

Born in Chicago, did postgrad
work at Johns Hopkins,

then two years ago,

she takes a job at the Aubrey
Science Center in Midtown

as an astrophysicist.

Doing what?

I'm not really sure.

According to the
center's web site,

she recently landed a grant
from the SETI institute.

The Search for Extraterrestrial
Intelligence... SETI?

That could explain why...
No, it couldn't.

So her working for SETI is
just a wild coincidence?

I'm saying,
it's an interesting fact

that is unrelated to our case.

Aliens were not involved
in Marie Subbarao's death.

Uh, I don't know.

Why, Detective Ryan,
I never figured you for a believer.

All I know is,
my father's cousin Raymond

left this party in
Jersey one night.

He's driving back to Queens,
and bam!

Blinding bright light
comes down from the sky,

next thing he knows, it's morning,

he's on the side of
the Jersey turnpike.

Let me guess.
No memory of what happened.

That is not called
an alien abduction.

That is called a hangover.

Maybe. Raymond always was the
lightweight in the family.

Speaking of family,

did our victim have any,
a husband maybe?

Neighbors say she was
single and lived alone.

They barely saw her.

Apparently, she normally came
home from work around 10:00 P.M.

Lanie said that the time of
death was around 9:00 P.M.,

which means work
was the last place

that she was probably seen alive.

This is unbelievable.

Marie was one of my
most gifted researchers.

What did she do here exactly?

Uh, she analyzed the data

fed in from our radio
telescope in new Mexico,

studying radiation from quasars.

For the SETI institute?

No. Most of her work
was NASA related.

And when was the last
time you saw her?

Uh, last night. She was still
here at her office at 7:00 when I left.

And what about you, Ms. Holder?

Oh, we went over the
calendar for next week,

and then she sent me home at 7:30.

Was she having any
problems in life?

Anything unusual happening lately?

-Not that I'm aware of.
-Actually...

Since Monday, she'd been
acting anxious and uptight.

I finally asked her what
was wrong, and she said

that something life-changing
had happened to her.

What was it?
I don't know.

Then on Wednesday, she left
work in the middle of the day.

She didn't come back
until Thursday morning.

Dr. Vaughn, Marie's body

showed signs of
explosive decompression.

Was she doing any kind of research

that would account for that?

Oh, my God.

That's a yes.

It's called an altitude chamber.

We use it to study

thermal life support systems
under reduced pressure for NASA.

What would happen if
a person went inside?

Without protective gear?

Mm-hmm.
Your lungs rupture

from gas expansion

and all the liquid in
your body evaporates.

So all the horrible
effects of outer space

without the view.

Who else had access to this area?

Mostly our researchers
and their assistants.

Maybe 35 people in all.

I'll need a list of
all of their names.

Did Marie have problems
with any of them?

Ted Carter...

Her ex-boyfriend.

After their breakup,
things got ugly between them.

Can I ask what this is about?

Mr. Carter...

Your key card was swiped
at the science center

last night at 7:42.

You mind tell us what
you were doing there?

I went to see someone.
Marie Subbarao?

Why is this any of your business?

We're investigating her murder.

What?

Marie's not dead.

How could she be dead?

Someone put her in
an altitude chamber.

Oh, my God.

Who could've done
something like that?

She was killed at
around 9:00 P.M.,

not long after you
arrived at the center.

Not me. It wasn't me.

How could you think I would
do something like that?

You had motive.

You had access to the chamber.

Why else would you
even go and see her?

To ask her to dinner.

After Marie dumped you and
had you fired. I hope...

It wasn't like that. I quit.

It was too painful
to be around her.

Then on Wednesday,
out of nowhere, she called me.

She wanted to go to coffee.

Now why would she do that?

To mend fences, I-I guess.

She gave me back
some old t-shirts,

some CDs she had of mine,

said she felt bad about
the way things ended.

I thought maybe we still
had a chance, you know?

So I went looking for
her at the center.

What happened when you found her?
Nothing.

We talked for a few seconds.

She seemed upset about something.

I-I tried to find out what,

but she was in a hurry to
get somewhere, so I left.

I went home.

I-I was there by 8:00.

Make yourself at home.

You're gonna be here for a while.

C.S.U. is going through
the altitude chamber.

Once they get back with forensics,

we should be able to
charge Ted Carter.

Tell me this...

How did Carter get the
body to the rail yard?

Well, the altitude chamber

is right next to
the parking garage,

so he probably dumped
her body in the car,

took it out to the rail yard,

and tried to throw
us off the trail.

You know what would
be a better story?

Hmm?

We have an earthbound
solution to this mystery,

and you are disappointed.
I get it.

But that, really?

Come on. Marie said she
had a life-changing event.

What could be more life-changing

than being beamed up by this guy?

Come on, Castle.

We all know that there
is no such thing

as alien abductions.

And yet, most abductees
report the same experiences...

the white light,
the memory flashes.

That's because they all
read the same books,

so of course they
describe the same event...

The dark, lonely road,

the bright light out of nowhere,

memories of being
poked and prodded.

I believe the word you're
looking for is probed.

And then of course
there's the alien implant

that's used to track
the abductees.

That reminds me of the Lego I got
stuck up my nose when I was 6.

You what?

Uh, guys.

C.S.U. finished going
over the altitude chamber.

Nothing turned up.
What?

I mean, that was the exact machine

that we were looking for,
right in the building

where Marie and her
ex-boyfriend work.

That had to have been
the murder weapon.

There's no blood,
no tissue... it's clean.

That makes no sense whatsoever.

Check other altitude chambers.

It's not like they grow on trees.

Well, that can't be
the only one around.

And look for any other devices
that cause the same injuries.

I'll do my best.

If it's not an altitude chamber,

then what could it be?

Other than that.

Beckett.

Lanie, what'd you find?

Not the answers I was looking for.

Instead, just more questions.
How deliciously cryptic.

Because of the unique
nature of Marie's injuries,

I wanted to thoroughly
document her condition

before conducting the autopsy.

While I was taking the x-rays,

I saw this embedded
in her sinus cavity.

What is that?
I have no idea.

Call me crazy...

That looks just like...
An alien implant.

♪ Castle 3x09 ♪
Close Encounters of the Murderous Kind
Original Air Date on November 15, 2010

What could you
possibly be looking for

by probing up there?

Can we talk about dinner?

Oh, no.

You couldn't convince Gram
to stay out of the kitchen.

I will stock up on
antacids and garbage bags.

No, it isn't that.
It's Ashley's parents.

What about 'em?

He's an economics professor.

The two of them are
serious people, dad.

Y-you may need to
be more buttoned up.

I can be buttoned up.

And if I become unbuttoned,

you can discreetly let me know
with a brutal kick to the shin.

I won't be there.

They thought it would be better
if it was just you and Gram.

You're gonna leave me alone?
You'll do great.

I just wanted to make sure that
you'll make a good impression.

Trust me...
So do I.

Where do you come down
on deficit spending

during an economic downturn?
Thank you.

I take the theory that's
held by most economists...

That deficit spending
is acceptable

as long as it focuses
on public investments,

like infrastructure, defense,
education, research.

Wow. Where did that
answer come from?

Semester of economic
theory at N.Y.U.

Where did that question come from?

I'm trying out
conversation starters.

Well, we started a conversation,

so I guess it worked... kind of.

It's for a dinner
with Ashley's parents.

He's this stuffy economist,
you know?

And I just want to win 'em over,
get them on my side.

But what if they don't take to me?

Oh, come on, Castle. They'll take to you.
Really?

Yeah.
Thanks.

So long as you don't act like yourself.
Oh, nice one.

So where do we stand on
this mysterious implant?

It is not an implant.

Lanie says that it's
a metal fragment,

and she's running
tests on it right now.

How'd it get up her nose?

Well, maybe it was a piece
of the altitude chamber

that got lodged up there.

The altitude chamber
we haven't found?

Yet. The altitude chamber
that we haven't found yet.

And I'm sure that
as soon as we do,

it will lead us
straight to our killer.

I notice you said "Killer"
and not Ted Carter.

Yeah, Carter alibied out.

He ordered pizza the
night of Marie's murder

and signed for it at 8:25.

Alibis in 30 minutes or less.

So at this point,
we have no human suspects.

By definition, no suspect means
"No human suspect."

Well, one might be
coming your way.

I checked Marie's
phone logs at work.

Turns out she made a
30-minute phone call

- before she left the science
center on Wednesday. - To whom?

Benny Stryker.
The Benny Stryker?

This Benny Stryker,

renowned author of
"Taken by the Fourth Kind"?

One and the same.

An astrophysicist and a ufologist,

isn't that like oil and water?

Actually, they used
to be colleagues.

Three years ago,

he and Marie were members
of the same research team,

but Marie was worried
that all his UFO talk

would destroy their credibility,

so she had him
kicked off the team.

From what I hear,
there's been bad blood ever since.

Where can we find Stryker?

Imprisoned in a cold white room...

Strange faces staring
down at us...

These are images
that will haunt us.

But they'll also unite us

and help us remember,

we didn't choose this.

We were chosen.

One more time.

We didn't choose this.
We were chosen.

He's like the Tony Robbins
of alien abductions.

I see we have some new members.

Maybe you'd like to introduce yourself,
tell us your story.

Huh.

Do you actually think

I had something to do
with Marie's death?

Mr. Stryker, where were you
on Thursday at 9:00 P.M.?

At a book signing in Queens.

But you did have recent
contact with Marie.

In fact, she called
you on Wednesday.

What was that about?

You know, I could tell you,

but I see,
you wouldn't believe it.

Whatever you say will
receive a fair hearing.

Well, that hasn't
been my experience.

Marie called me
last week in crisis.

She had picked up anomalous
submicrowave bursts

on her radio telescope.

It was not just the background
noises of the universe.

It was a signal coming
from somewhere nearby

with a repetitive pattern.

As in... contact?

Or so she believed.

So she booked more time on
her radio telescope array

and studied that
section of the sky,

which is when the trouble started.

What trouble?

Lost time.

Four hours on Sunday, just gone.

Then she started having
mental flashbacks...

a white room, a blurry
face questioning her.

Are we saying,
Marie was abducted by aliens?

The classic indicators were there.

I just tried to help
her make sense of it.

After Marie called you on Wednesday,
she left the center.

Do you know where she went?

She said she was
gonna get proof of...

What she knew was there.

Proof of aliens?
And did she?

I never heard from her again.

I assumed they stopped her

before she got too
close to the truth.

Who? The government.

I warned her, she was
probably being followed

by men determined...

To keep the existence
of aliens a secret.

It's like that Will Smith movie,

only I'm guessing
a lot less funny.

These agents are real, Mr. Castle.

They fear the revelation
that we are not alone

would be too shocking.

Hysteria would break out.
Nations would crumble.

That's why they try to
discredit believers like me

and eliminate people who
threaten to expose the truth...

people like Marie.

The bookstore confirms that
Stryker was signing his opus

between 7:00 and 10:00 P.M.

Looks like we're back
to an empty space

in the suspect column.

Yeah, but at least our
timeline is making more sense.

This whole Sunday-ish area,
the life-changing event,

that's when she was abducted.

Wednesday, she leaves work,

that's when she was looking
for proof of alien life.

Thursday, she comes back to work,
feeling better,

until she leaves and winds up...

Explosively decompressed.

Overall, a big week.

You know what this
timeline shows me?

A lot of erratic behavior
that could be due to drug use

or any number of
medical conditions.

All right.

Let's say Marie

is a drug-addled psychotic
with a brain tumor.

She still went looking for proof.

She went looking for what
she thought was proof.

Whatever it was,
what if she found it?

Where would it be?

Come on, Castle.
You don't actually believe

that Klingons are
behind this, do you?

Killer aliens is a reach,
even for me.

But government agents
covering up the truth?

Not so crazy.

Yes, it is.

I mean, when this is
all said and done,

it will all come down to
where and how she was killed.

And I bet it will
have nothing to do

with secret agents or massive
government conspiracies.

I'll take that bet.

Detective.

Where did everything go?

Two men came this morning
with a-a federal warrant.

They loaded all of Marie's
stuff into a truck.

Who were they?
From which agency?

They just said the government.

I'd like my payment in
small bills, please.

My contact at Justice

says no warrant was
issued for Marie's office.

Well, then people claiming
to be federal agents

seized her property.

I mean, there's gotta
be an explanation.

Men in Black.

Other than that.
I'll put out more feelers.

Meantime, keep me posted.

Okay, thank you.

Marie found proof,
and they covered it up.

It's just like Benny Stryker said.

Do you honestly expect
me to believe a theory...

any theory... that ends with
"like Benny Stryker said"?

What else could it be?
Who made off with all her stuff?

Maybe Marie was working

on a classified
government project,

and they confiscated her data.

Was her data in her furniture?
Because they took that, too.

Well, without knowing who
"they" are,

we can't find them.

You know...

The key lies in the murder weapon.

Esposito, tell me that you've
located that altitude chamber.

I did...

At the Physics Center
at Hudson University.

It was the only other one
in the five boroughs.

See?

It's clean.

C.S.U. just checked.

Well, there's gotta be another
device that does the same thing.

Lanie and I looked into that.

The only thing we found was
an industrial vacuum packer.

It's used for food processing.

Check into every
single one in town.

We need to locate
that crime scene.

Castle.

Just prove that E.T.
did this, bro, please.

I hunt people, not machines.

I'm working on it.
Thank you.

Maybe we should focus

on Marie's mystery Wednesday trip.

Castle, finding proof of aliens

will not help us catch our killer.

It will if she went somewhere

with an industrial vacuum packer.

If she did, it was off
the Jersey turnpike.

Her e-zpass account shows
her getting off at exit 9.

Where'd she go from there?
Hard to say.

I checked her credit cards.
No activity in the area.

What are you doing?

I am mapping it.

New Jersey turnpike, exit 9.

Let me share with you the many
wonders that await us at exit 9.

Oh, there's an arts center,

some state park with scenic
hiking trails and canoeing,

an astounding amount of day spas,

and the Plainsboro Observatory.

Yeah, Marie was here on Wednesday.

She said she needed
to use our telescope.

Why would she need this one?

Marie usually worked
with a radio telescope.

This is an optical telescope.

So she came here to get a visual
on something up there in space?

She said she picked
up signal anomalies.

She wanted to see where
they were coming from.

She took an image capture,
then she left.

Could we get a copy of that image?

I checked the telescope's hard drive.
She erased everything.

Coordinates, the image capture...
It's all gone.

She erased everything.

What the hell did
she see up there?

Marie Subbarao,
a sober-minded scientist

believes she was
abducted by aliens

after intercepting
strange radio signals.

Using a telescope,

she photographs the
source of the signal.

The next day, dies mysteriously.

Then her office is raided by
shadowy government agents.

I'm not asking you
to dye your hair red

and call me Mulder.

I would simply ask that you
consider the possibility

that Marie had knowledge of

or made contact with
something up there...

That somehow led to her death.

We will continue our investigation

and solve this case,

and it will have nothing to
do with little green men.

They're gray, actually.

Castle, the truth...the real truth...
is out there.

Dead battery?

Maintenance just replaced it.

My phone isn't working.

Mine isn't either.

Neither is my watch.

You have a logical explanation
for this, too, right?

Marie Subbarao had information...

Information we need.

Where's Beckett?

Who are you?

Where's Castle?

I am an NYPD detective.

Where is it?

Where's what?

We all know what Marie Subbarao
was involved with, detective.

That information must not get out.

Yeah, but we don't have it.

Where is it?

Is this the part
where you bring out

the old Nazi with
the dentist drill?

If you don't cooperate,

we'll find a way to
get at the truth.

We'll do whatever it takes
to protect our way of life.

From what?

A woman who thought that
she was abducted by aliens?

You're out of your league,
detective.

You have no idea how deep this is.

Now where is it?

Who are you?

Identify yourself.

What, CIA, NSA...

M.I.B?

Shape-shifting aliens
that only look human?

Who killed Marie Subbarao?

If you keep asking
questions you shouldn't,

you may end up like Marie.

Who killed her?

No one you could ever reach.

What about J.F.K.?

Was it the second shooter
on the grassy knoll?

Third shooter backed by mafia?

Castro? Mafia and Castro?

Okay, whatever you
guys are looking for,

we don't know where it is.

Come on. No, dude.

Come on. Don't. Don't. Ah!

No.

Are you okay?

Castle, did that really happen?

Do I have a...

Oh, no.

'Cause you got a...

This is outrageous.

An illegal detention
of an NYPD detective?

Who says the government
is unresponsive?

They're all over this alien cover-up.
Who are these men?

Agents of some sort.

They probably are the ones who
cleared out Marie's office.

Well, I'm glad you two are all right,
but no one snatches up

my people and detains 'em.
I'll get into this.

Those men knew who killed Marie,

and they refused to tell us.

They also refused to confirm
that J. Edgar Hoover

liked to wear dresses.

Hmm. Abducted by government agents,
huh? Come on.

What were you two really doing?

It's not a hickey, Esposito.
You both have one.

I wish it was a hickey.
It's from the injectors.

Is that what the kids are
calling it these days?

They were Men in Black.

Where are you with
the vacuum packers?

So far, I have found over a hundred
machines in the five boroughs.

C.S.U.'s checking 'em
as fast as they can.

And the cigarettes?

No D.N.A. match,
but they are a Chinese brand

only found in Asia or on the
black market in Chinatown.

So maybe she was
killed by an alien,

just an illegal alien.

Hey.

Those hickeys?
Yes.

No.
I wish.

Okay. So tech just went
through your vehicle.

Turns out you were
hit with an E.M.P....

an electromagnetic pulse...
which knocked out all the electronics.

And here's how they found
you in the first place.

Tracers, listening devices...

They must have been
watching the science center.

That's when they put these
accessories in my car.

Maybe that's what
was up Marie's nose.

Perhaps they were
tracking her, too.

No, it wasn't a
tracer or an implant.

Lanie identified
it as aspergillus.

It's a rare calcification
resulting from

a sinus infection.

The calcification is so dense,
it reads like metal.

There you go. Logical explanation.

Yeah. I would disguise my tracking
implants as a rare medical

you know, the bottom
line is that these guys

were desperate to get
whatever Marie took,

so we gotta find it first,

because that'll lead
us to the killer.

Yeah, but we really don't
know what we're looking for.

But we do know that
they don't have it.

Which means it wasn't
in Marie's office.

She maybe hid it somewhere.

Maybe with someone she trusted,
somebody under the radar.

Ted Carter said
that Marie gave him

some of his stuff back
last Wednesday night.

Maybe that's not all she gave him.

I don't understand.

It's just books and
T-shirts mostly.

Mr. Carter, did you notice

anything different in the
things that she gave you,

anything that wasn't there before?

No, it's all my stuff.

It's just T-shirts,
Jefferson Starship CD...

Oh! This CD got me
through two weeks

of "Storm Watch" writer's block.

I don't remember it
being a 2-disc set.

This one's unmarked.

Marie's proof perhaps?

Oh, oh, oh, no, wait.

That's it?

I mean, no pomp, no circumstance?

What's on this could shake
the very foundations

of our existence.

We need to pause and savor...

Please. Let's just stick it
in and get this over with.

I mean, the fact of the matter is,

there's probably nothing
of any value on that CD...

To our investigati...

You were saying?

No way.

Behold this image,
gentlemen and lady.

We are witness to
a stunning event...

a turning point in human history...

the moment we knew...
We were not alone.

For who can deny that this...

Is an alien spacecraft?

It does kinda look like one.

Yeah, but this image?

I mean, it's gotta be doctored.
Right, Beckett?

I don't know.
Whoa.

What are you saying?

Are you saying,
you think that this is real?

Well...

It doesn't look doctored.

Okay, just for clarity,
so we know later who said what,

you are conceding

that it is a possibility

that this is an alien spaceship?

What I am saying

is that we now know what
these agents were after.

That close.
Yeah.

And as far as I'm concerned,

let a higher pay
grade deal with it.

We now have leverage that we can
use with our mystery agents.

How? It's not like we can
just call 'em up? Mm.

W... uh, we do have a box of bugs.

It's the next best
thing to a batphone.

We have what you want.
You know where we are.

You really think
that's gonna work?

Please take a seat.

So where is it?

Not a chance.

I want something in return...

The name of Marie
Subbarao's killer.

Ladies first.

Why are you showing me this?

It's the photo that Marie
took from the observatory

of the alien ship.

I'll be on my way now.

Wait a minute. We had a deal.

You said you had what I want.
As it happens, you don't.

You're not leaving.
Marie Subbarao was murdered

in the most awful way imaginable,

and her killer is still out there.

You owe it to her.
Give us that name.

Maybe she isn't who
you think she is.

What's that supposed to mean?

I mean, if it's not this,
then what?

Why all of this fuss
over an astrophysicist

who analyzes radio signals?

Unless what she
analyzed was secret.

That's it, isn't it?

She intercepted
classified information.

Yeah, you did say that
she took something

that was vital to our security.

And we found Chinese
cigarettes at the crime scene.

Was she working with the Chinese?

Look, either you tell
us the truth now,

or we take what we
know to the media.

What makes you think they'll print it?
Oh, they probably won't.

But I know more than a
dozen bloggers who will.

Not to mention over half a million

of my own followers on Twitter.

Nothing I say can leave this room.

You have our word on that.

Last month, we determined
that an enemy operative

had intercepted classified,
coded data streams

between the Pacific
fleet and the Pentagon.

You think it was Marie.

The intercepted
transmissions coincided

with Marie's tasking
her radio telescope

to point at our satellite,

which was nowhere
near where she was

supposed to be doing her research.

So that wasn't a photo of a UFO.

That was your spy satellite.

But the real damage done
is the data she downloaded,

which I fear is now in
the hands of the Chinese.

So then who killed her?
Her handler, I imagine.

The Chinese must have
known we were on to them.

They were smart enough

to make it look like
the boyfriend did it.

Who's this handler?

Someone from Chinese intelligence.

We were never able
to identify him.

Whoever he is,
you'll never catch him.

It's over.

It's never over.

In the book,
I take a bold new look

at the linear
aggregation of markets.

It's about time someone did.

So Ashley tells me
you're an author as well.

Tell me about your writing,
Mr. Castle.

I don't read popular fiction.

I find most of it
crass and tawdry.

Yes. Right.

Well, I, uh...

I think of my writing

as character studies
in human behavior,

looking into the heart of
what makes people tick.

For instance, what would
make an ordinary person,

like yourself,

commit an act that's
unusually heinous

or some...

Out of character...

Would you excuse me

for a-a moment?

Beckett.

Marie was acting out of character.

What self-respecting
espionage agent

would act strangely

and risk blowing her cover?

Maybe she wasn't the real spy.

Well, that might explain
the test results

that Lanie just sent over.

Marie had traces of sodium
pentothal in her system.

Somebody gave her truth serum?

Maybe it was the real spy.
The white room, the questions...

That's why Stryker thought
she was abducted by aliens.

Well, if Marie wasn't the spy...

Then the real spy is
someone with access

to that radio telescope
at the science center.

I'm heading over there right now.

I'll meet you there
as soon as I can.

More wine?

Got another request here,
redirecting the telescope

to the satellite coordinates.

Signed by Marie,
just like all the others.

Well, out of character or not,

it looks like she was
the spy after all.

Wait a minute.

These two signatures
are different.

The... the A's don't match.

You're right.

And look who else makes an
"a" like that?

"Dr. Charles Vaughn."

He forged her signatures
to make it look as though

Marie was the one intercepting
the satellite transmissions.

So maybe Marie saw a request
with her fake signature,

and she got curious.

So she put in a request of her own

to have the telescope
scan that part of the sky.

So that's when she intercepted
the weird signals.

After that, she lost time.

And then when she told
Benny Stryker about it,

he assumed that she
had been abducted...

Which she had been,
only not by aliens, by Dr. Vaughn,

who drugged her to figure
out how much she knew.

When he realized
how close she was,

he got rid of her.
Yeah, but he's the one

who told us about the
altitude chamber.

Yeah, because he knew it would
lead us to Marie's ex-boyfriend.

Dr. Vaughn is gone.
He's not at his place.

But you know what is?
Three vials of sodium pentothal.

Any idea where he went?
No, but it looks like he left in a rush.

Call T.S.A. and have him
put on a no-fly list,

and keep me posted.
He's on the run.

If he heard we asked for
those request forms,

he would've been tipped off.

He probably had an
escape plan in place,

just in case his cover was blown.

And Chinese handlers who can
smuggle him out of the country.

Not to be negative,

but the odds of catching
this guy are not great.

Unless we enlist the help of
a certain government agent

who wants him just
as bad as we do.

I may want to put you guys on
my friends and family plan.

We now believe that Dr. Vaughn is the spy.

Marie figured it out,
and then he killed her.

I'm inclined to agree,

which leaves the agency
with some egg on its face.

And which agency did
you say that was again?

I didn't.
We dug deeper on Dr. Vaughn.

Turns out he has a
fondness for gambling.

He ran up quite the tab
at an Atlantic City casino

controlled by the Chinese.
After that,

they owned him.
Do you know where Dr. Vaughn is now?

I know where to start looking.

Using his cell phone number,
I can triangulate his position.

Well, he's gotta be worried
about being tracked.

He probably turned it off.

Then we'll just turn it back on.
You can do that?

We turned off your phones,
didn't we?

Yeah, and the car.

He's in the warehouse
district in Chinatown.

1400 block of Canal Street.

Could we get a closer look?

There he is.
Fancy.

That's just a few blocks
away from where we found

Marie's body.
Maybe that's where he killed her.

And who is that guy?
Oh, wait.

He's the cigarette-smoking man.

Otherwise known as Ung Kyu.

He's a high-level Chinese
Intelligence agent.

So our murder suspect
is meeting his handler.

Which means Dr. Vaughn
may still have the data.

Well, then let's go get him.

Where are the predator drones,

the black helicopters,

all those S.W.A.T.
teams rappelling down on ropes?

Budget cuts. It's vital
to our national security

that we take these men alive.

These guys are trained agents.
They probably have

cyanide capsules in their
teeth in case they're caught.

We'll worry about their
teeth when the time comes.

Patrol cars have
closed off all streets

in a 5-block radius.
And air support's on the way.

All right. What's the plan?

Vaughn's cell phone
signal has gone dark,

which means he's underground.
According to our intel,

this building has an
extensive basement

with two methods of ingress.
Actually,

most of the basements
on this side of town

are linked through doorways
used as escape routes

for illegals in case
of an I.N.S. raid.

So you're saying that
Vaughn and Kyu could be

in either of the adjoining
buildings as well?

Welcome to New York.

Let's go.

NYPD. Stay where you are.
Oh!

That's a vacuum packer at 1:00.

Looks like we found
our murder weapon.

Have you seen this man?

Go, go.

Semester abroad?

Nah, a TV show I used to love.

Ah. Nice job.

Thanks.

Get on your knees.

No. Wait! Please!

I-I got rid of Marie.
I did everything you asked.

Wait. Wait, wait, wait, wait.
I can still help you.

Wait. Wait, wait.

Mnh-mnh.
Please. No, I can still help you. Please.

NYPD! Drop that gun.

Oh!

On the ground. Now.

Cyanide capsule!

Ew! Gum. False alarm.

Where is the data?

In a... U.S.B.
drive in his pocket.

Think we'll get a medal for this?

This never happened.

Guess that means I can't
put this on Twitter.

Vaughn's already
spilling his guts.

Yeah, a near execution will
shake your loyalties like that.

Between his confession and
the espionage charges,

he and Ung Kyu will spend
the rest of their lives

in federal prison, thanks to you.

And to Castle.
Yes, and Mr. Castle.

Might I have a private word
with Detective Beckett?

Of course.

Hey, sweetie. Look, um,
about the parental review.

I failed, and I know,
and I'm... I'm sorry.

Whoa. Whoa, whoa,
whoa, whoa, whoa.

They... they found me fascinating?

Camping with you...
They want to go camping with us?

No. No, no, it's...
No, that... Yeah, that'd be great.

That'd be so much fun.

Mm-hmm.

I love you, too. Bye.

So what'd he tell you?

Uh, he told me something
in confidence.

What?

Well, I wish I could
tell you, Castle,

but it was classified.

Well, what did he tell
you that was classified?

Was it about aliens?
The truth about UFOs?

Are you gonna tell me

or you just gonna
make me keep guessing?

I don't know. This guessing
thing is kinda fun.

- All right. Was it about what
happened at Roswell? - No.

Area 51?
No.

Loch ness monster is real?
Yeah.

Really?!
No.

- Ah. You had me. They're
controlling the weather? - No.

Our thoughts?
No.

Our buying habits?
Actually, speaking of shopping,

I read this really interesting...