Castle (2009–2016): Season 4, Episode 10 - Cuffed - full transcript

Hmm. Don't get up yet. Stay in bed.

Castle.

Kate. Hi.

- Castle!
- What?

- Did you do this?
- What?

Stop saying "what" and wake up!

I don't...

We're handcuffed.

It's kinky.

Castle, it's not funny.

I didn't say "funny," I said "kinky."
And I didn't cuff us.

You think I cuffed us?

Well, they Iook Iike police cuffs.

Somebody else did this to us.

Do you recognize this place?

No.

But if I were writing a book, this is
where bad things would happen.

My watch is missing.

Mine, too. And my wallet.

So is my badge and my gun.

And my phone.
I just renewed my contract.

Would you stop joking?

Hey, do I begrudge you
your coping mechanisms?

What's the Iast thing
that you remember?

I...

It's kind of a blur.

Yeah. Me, too.

I think we were drugged.

Yeah. I think so, too.
And not the good kind.

Okay. Lift my top.

I think you might still be
under the influence, but okay.

Castle, not Iike that. Just check my
back. There's something that hurts.

CASTLE: There's a needle mark.

We were drugged.

Looks Iike the work of a pygmy
with a blowgun.

Okay. You can put my shirt down.

- Yeah, sorry.
- Thanks.

AII right, Castle,
I want you to think very hard.

What's the Iast thing that
you remember from this morning?

I was with you.
We were someplace seedy.

A hotel that rents rooms by the hour.

Would you just knock it off?

It's where we were. You called me
and you asked me to meet you there.

- Oh, I did.
- Yes.

And then I took you up to the room,

and then we...

And then we?

Dead body!
We went to go and see a dead body.

Right. A dead body.

(SIREN WAILING)

You know what I Iove
about working with you?

You always take me
to the most charming places.

Well, I'm a simple girl, Castle.
I go where the bodies are.

Besides, for a mystery novelist,
aren't seedy motels kind of a standard?

Yes, matter of fact, they're a veritable
advent calendar of salaciousness.

Behind every door, a delightful tale
of desperation, depravity...

Or death.

No, you need to stop
being a control freak.

- I'm not being a control freak!
- You are being a control freak!

ESPOSITO:
I've never been a control freak.

- (KNOCKING)
- Nobody's ever called me that. I'm...

Sorry. Are we interrupting?

No. Victim's a white male, Iate 30s.

Housekeeping found him
when they came to clean the room.

Cause of death?

Not entirely sure yet, but there are
indications of asphyxia,

with some cyanosis around the face.

BECKETT: So he was suffocated?

Maybe. Then again, there's this.

BECKETT: Needle mark.

So he could have just OD'd.
Passed out face first and suffocated.

No. It's definitely murder.

How can you tell?

Someone torched his fingers.

Burned off his prints.

They wanted to erase his identity.

ESPOSITO:
And did a pretty good job, too.

His wallet's missing and we've been
through the room a couple of times.

There's nothing here
to tell us who this guy is.

Did he pay for the room in cash?

Yeah, and the clerk said that
he registered as Jack Sparrow.

Well, there's a possibility
that's his real name.

Sure it is.

We're running it just in case.

The clerk also said he appeared
nervous when he checked in.

He kept Iooking behind him.

- Did he have any visitors?
- ESPOSITO: He couldn't say.

This isn't the most secure building.

I saw a camera in the Iobby.

- It's a dummy.
- It's not the only one.

It's used to scare away drug dealers.

Okay, you don't go to the trouble
of trying to erase someone's identity

unless you have
a very good reason to.

Lanie, what are the chances of us
recovering some of the prints?

Depends on how bad the burns are.
Let me get him back to the morgue.

Okay, in the meantime,

Iet's get Ryan to run his photos
through missing persons

and see if anything pops.

You got it.

BECKETT: John Doe in a seedy motel
with his fingerprints burned off.

How did we get from there to here?

Whoa. Whoa. Easy, easy there.

I hate to state the obvious, but
we're kind of joined at the hip here.

Okay, Iet's just get up. Come on.

Are you always Iike this
in the morning?

(BECKETT SIGHS)

This is...

- This is awkward.
- Yeah.

They couldn't just handcuff us
Midnight Run style?

Wait a minute, Ryan did run our guy
through missing persons.

And there wasn't a match. Then what?

Then Ryan asked me

if he spent Thanksgiving
at his family's house,

did that mean he had to spend
Christmas at Jenny's family's house.

Castle, I'm talking about our case.

If you want me to reconstruct it,
I'd have to do it in order.

Okay, fine,

burned fingerprints, suffocated,
needle marks...

The morgue. We went to the morgue.

I told you.
It's none of your business.

Of course it's none of my business,
that's why I want to know.

Know what?

CASTLE: What she and Esposito
were fighting about.

It's none of your business.

That's the point.

Where are we?

No ID yet,
but his hands have calluses,

so most Iikely he had a job that
required physical Iabor.

What about fingerprints?

Outer skin's too damaged.

But I may be able
to macerate the skin,

pull some from the underside
of the epidural Iayer.

You can do that?

Yes, in some cases,
but it's gonna take a couple of days.

In the meantime, I did find this.

It was tucked in the fold
of his pants pocket.

Would've been really easy
for our killer to miss.

"147, West 97th Street. 4:00 p.m."

It's the address of the Cambury Caf?,
half block off Broadway.

4:00 p.m. He was meeting someone.

Or met someone.

Okay, you and Esposito
take this up there

and see if anyone remembers
seeing our victim.

Maybe that'II help us ID him.

On it.

What was so special about our victim

that our killer
wanted to erase his identity?

Don't say spy.

Or mob hit.

Mob hit of a spy?

Crazy theories aren't gonna help.

Not until we figure out
who this guy is.

Beckett.

What?

This is a postal barcode.

Our victim wrote this note
on the back of an envelope.

A postal barcode?

Yeah, those Iittle hash marks you see
on mailing Iabels and envelopes?

It's a way of exactly identifying
an address

but in a machine-readable way.

We get that decoded,

we'II be able to tell exactly where
our victim was when he wrote that note.

Okay, then we call the post office
and they give us the address.

- The house in Queens!
- The house in Queens!

Hey, do you know what Lanie
and Esposito were fighting about?

Everything.

They both want to be together, but
neither of them wants to admit to it.

Ugh! Why do people
do that to themselves?

Maybe they just don't see it.

How could they not? It's so obvious.

This is the place?

Matches the address.

Doesn't Iook Iike anybody's home.

(DOORBELL RINGS)

(KNOCKING)

BECKETT: Hello? NYPD.
Anybody here?

Hello?

Anybody here?

CASTLE: Bill and Nora Ranford.

Maybe Bill is our John Doe.

(METAL RATTLES)

NYPD. Identify yourself.

WOMAN: (FAINTLY) Help me.

Ma'am? Ma'am, are you okay?

(RATTLING)

An old woman in a cage.

Yeah, that's the Iast thing
I remember.

Me, too.

What the hell is going on?

It's just I always spend Christmas
with my family.

Hey, well, you were the one
who decided to get hitched, bro.

Yeah, but I didn't think that meant

driving down to FIorida to spend
the holidays with her grandmother.

Driving? You're not flying?

RYAN: During the holidays?
You kidding me?

Besides, Jenny thinks that
a road trip

will give us
some quality time together.

That is no road trip, brother.

That is a relationship test.

Relationship test?

We're getting married in a month.

Well, we'II see what happens
after the test.

It's the pre-wedding road trip test.
Locked together for hours.

That way she can confront you with
any Iingering doubts she may have

about your future together.

And you will have nowhere to hide.

Hey, have either of you seen Beckett?

She's probably following up
on a Iead.

Don't think that I don't know that
you guys cover for each other.

What's that?

Any progress on our John Doe?

Yeah, turned out he did show up at
the Cambury Caf? yesterday,

and he wasn't alone.

RYAN: Waitress recognized
him immediately.

Said he sat in a corner booth,
met with a guy, Iong hair, goatee.

Said our vic Iooked nervous.

We have the waitress
working with an artist,

see if we can come up with a sketch

of the goateed man
to use on a canvass.

AII right, keep me apprised.

Come on. Jenny Ioves me.
She wouldn't test me Iike that.

Right. Just watch out if she wants
to take you canoeing. Okay?

Canoeing? Canoeing is a test?

It's all about power. Direction.
Like a marriage.

If the canoe goes straight
it shows her that you can compromise,

work together, find a rhythm,
move forward in the same direction.

But if it's going around in circles,

so is your relationship.

Castle, would you just work with me?

CASTLE: How about you work with me?

How come you always have to Iead?

How come you always have to
step on my toes?

CASTLE: Since when do...

Okay, you know what? Tell me this,

why do you always have to be first?

First out of the elevator,
first through the door.

I am a cop. I'm the one with a gun.

Being first through the door
is my job.

In the elevator?

Look, how about this?

Would it kill you to Iet someone open
the door for you once in a while?

You do realize if somebody opens
the door for me,

then I will be going through it
first anyway, right?

Oh, yeah, that's right. I forgot.
You have to be the smartest, too.

Everything's a competition with you.

That is so not true. Are you always
Iike this in the mornings?

You know, I'd argue with you,
but then I'd have to Iet you win.

Okay, fine, go ahead. You Iead.

Thank you.

Where did you wanna go?

I think that there's a Iight switch
over there.

Or do you want to stay in the dark?

Hmm. I Iiked it better in the dark.

This door is steel. There's no way
we're getting through here.

These walls are cinder block. Whoa.

What do you suppose
is in that big freezer?

Do you think it's the old woman?

What if we're in some psycho's Iair,

and we have to kill each other
Iike in Saw.

Castle, stop speculating.
It's not helping.

Come on, an old Iady in a cage?

Us cuffed together in this creepy room?
What am I supposed to think?

You're supposed to think that
we need to get the hell out of here

before someone comes back.

How Iong do you think we were out?

Couple of hours.

- How can you tell?
- 'Cause I'm hungry.

Oh!

Got some beef jerky.

What?

Hold my hand.

So the cuffs don't cut into us.

We could just try to get them off.

You got a bobby pin?

What is this? The 1940s?

These are my police cuffs.

You're not gonna open them
with a bobby pin.

Face it, we're stuck.

You think anyone knows we're missing?

Martha and AIexis will notice
if you don't go home, right?

Actually, my mother's taking AIexis
on a tour of colleges this weekend.

Esposito and Ryan?

Yeah, they'II probably notice.
But it doesn't mean they'II find us here.

What is that?

It's a hatch.

If we can get up there,
we might be able to get out.

Yeah, well, it's too high.

Not if we climb on top of that.

- (BEEPS)
- ESPOSITO: That was Lanie.

Preliminary autopsy report shows that
our victim was, in fact, smothered.

A guy his size. You'd think
he'd put up more of a struggle.

He couldn't. Tox reports show that

his system was flooded with
so much sedative

- that it could put down an elephant.
- Hmm.

Where are we with that sketch?

Well, I got unis
Iooking through mug books,

and I sent a team uptown to canvass.

Still not back, huh?

No. It's been hours.

Every time I call,
it goes straight to voice mail.

You think
they're really running down a Iead?

What Iead? There was nothing new
on the board when we came back.

(SIGHS)

You think you can hit up dispatch?

See if they'II run a trace
on the transponder in Beckett's unit.

I want to know where they are.

(BOTH GRUNTING)

I can't get a good angle on it.

- Yeah. Try this.
- (PANTING)

Ready?

You better not be
enjoying this, Castle.

- I'II Iet you know in a minute.
- Okay.

One, two, three.

Push!

(GRUNTING)

Okay. (PANTING)

Whatever's in here is a hell of a Iot
heavier than a Iittle old Iady.

It's Iike it's filled with rocks.

What if we emptied it?

That's a great idea, Castle,

except it's Iocked
and I'm fresh out of bolt cutters.

Yeah, but it's a combo Iock.

So?

So, when I was writing Storm Rising,

I studied with one of the best
safecrackers in the biz.

I can open this.

I just don't know if we want to.

Let's get cracking, Castle.
Before our captors get back.

(CLICKING)

RYAN: Transponder says
her unit's right over here.

That's definitely Beckett's car.

Looks Iike it's been dumped.

Yeah, call it in.

ESPOSITO: Timestamp puts this
at five hours ago.

RYAN: So that's Beckett's car.

But that's not Castle or Beckett.

ESPOSITO: And he's not alone.
Someone picked him up.

GATES: Do we know who they are?

No clue.

Can we get a plate number?

Too far away.

We also ran Beckett and Castle's cells.
They're both off grid.

What the hell
did Castle get her into?

I want CSU on that car
with a fine-tooth comb

for any possible trace evidence.

They were working the John Doe
with you. Where could they have gone?

Been over it a dozen times.
We still don't know.

Still no hits on our Iong-haired man
from the caf?.

Do whatever it takes to get an ID
on that victim.

And find out
what in the hell he was into.

If Beckett and Castle are still out there,
then they're running out of time.

(CLICKING)

For God's sake, Castle. How much
Ionger are you gonna keep doing this?

I almost had it.

Yeah, Iike you had it
the Iast 100 times.

O ye of Iittle faith.

You know, you would make
a terrible conjoined twin.

Can I have my hand back?

So you got a story to explain
all of this?

The old woman in the cage?
John Doe with his identity removed?

Us handcuffed, but still alive?

Yeah, I don't think that's a story
you want to hear.

Why not?

With those elements?
I can't think of a version that ends well.

Not even a Disney version.

Yeah, I was afraid of that.

The good news is

we've been gone Iong enough.
They've started to Iook for us by now.

Hundred and first time's a charm?

Come on, Lanie, there's got to be
something else about this guy

from his autopsy.

He was in the beginning stages
of heart disease.

He had a degenerative hip condition
and mild scoliosis,

probably from sitting too much.

And the Iast thing he had to eat
was a pastrami sandwich.

None of which will get you an ID.

His hands were callused,
suggesting physical Iabor,

and yet he spent
too much time sitting?

Maybe he drove a forklift.
I don't know.

Come on.
We need something concrete now.

Then I can't help you.

Lanie, they're out there,

God knows where and what kind of
trouble they're in.

You don't think I want to help?
They're my friends, too.

So Beckett said with enough time,
you might be able to recover prints.

Yeah. In a couple of days. Why?

What happens if you do it now?

I could damage the print
beyond recognition.

Could. So it's possible that
it might not, right?

We gotta do something.

(CLICKING)

(LOUD CLICK)

- (RATTLING)
- (SIGHS)

- I did it.
- You did it!

(LAUGHS)

How bad can it be? I mean, we've seen
dead bodies before, right?

Right.

It's not a body.

No. It's worse.

CASTLE: Manacles and bloody
instruments of torture.

It Iooks Iike your crazed, sadistic
psycho-killer theory

might not be far off, Castle.

I don't know
whether to be smug or horrified.

I vote for motivated.

Right there with you.
Let's get the hell out of here.

LANIE: Javi.

What?

LANIE: I can feel your impatience
all over my backside.

And rushing me is never a good idea.

You're talking about
that print, right?

- Damn it!
- What?

It tore. I guess the skin wasn't
softened enough. It's ruined.

Is any of it usable?

I might be able to salvage some
from the middle. Why?

So what we did

was we were able to join the partials
from that scrap of paper

with the print pieces
that Lanie recovered.

(BEEPING)

ESPOSITO: Our victim
is Hank Spooner.

An independent trucker
out of San Antonio.

Owns and operates his own rig.

What was he doing in New York?

Well, according to his folks,
he got a contract Iast week

to pick up a Ioad from Del Rio,
Texas, and bring it to Queens.

Last they heard from him
was two days ago.

(ELEVATOR DINGS)

GATES: What was the cargo?

AII Spooner told them was he got
a Iast minute call from a special client

who was paying him big money.

His folks also said it's unusual
for him to be staying in a motel.

Apparently Spooner never stayed
in the city.

He thought it was safer and cheaper
to stay in his truck.

We need to find that vehicle.

Get an APB out
to all the major truck stops.

If we're Iucky, it may tell us why
someone wanted Hank Spooner dead.

MAN: I think maybe
I can help answer that.

You Iooking for me?

Chuck Martinez. DEA.

GATES: How did you know we were
Iooking for you, Agent Martinez?

We had Spooner's files tagged.

He's a person of interest, so I got
notified when you ran his prints.

Why did you meet with him yesterday?

Your man's dead, Agent Martinez,
and two of my folks are missing.

We don't have time
for jurisdictional games.

So I'II ask you again.
What's your interest in Spooner?

AII right.

A half a dozen times a year,

Spooner takes a contract
from Texas to New York.

But he always makes a pick-up in
Del Rio. It's a Iittle border town.

You think he's smuggling drugs
from Mexico?

The cartels are really active
in these towns and extremely brutal.

And if you knew Spooner was involved,
why didn't you arrest him?

AII the signs were there, okay?

But all we had him on
was suspicious activity.

And we don't want the errand boy.
We want the people he works for.

How'd you end up at that caf??

We needed some Ieverage,
so we set up a sting

posing as runners Iooking to hire him
to move some product,

only Spooner made my guy.

Now instead of running,
Spooner, he wanted to meet.

And he was scared.

He wanted out and he was afraid of
what they would do to him

if he walked away.

So he agreed to tell us everything
if I guaranteed him safety.

And I took that to my bosses,
they agreed.

But by then he was already dead.

Right.

GATES: Excuse me.

(DOOR OPENS)

So where were your colleagues
when they went missing?

We don't know.
We just know they were on the case.

Did Spooner say anything to you
about the New York operation?

AII he said was,

"It's not at all what you think."

GATES: Troopers found his semi.

Truck stop north of the city.
Let's go, boys.

According to truck stop records, the
rig's been parked here for three days.

No one's seen the driver for two.

You're gonna
want to take a Iook inside.

It's hair. These could be air holes.

Hey. Over here.

CASTLE: Still too high.

Not if I climb on your shoulders.

What? We've done it before.

Yeah, you say that Iike it was pleasant.
And we weren't handcuffed.

Who's got no faith now?

Come on, Castle, we have no idea
when they're coming back

or even
if they're coming back at all.

Last time, you were wearing sneakers.

Fine.

Think I'm gonna need your help.

"Lift up my shirt."
"Pull off my boots."

Under normal circumstances,
I would Iike where this was heading.

You can fantasize Iater
after we get out of the room.

Just so you know, not as much fun
if I have your permission.

How do you run in these things?

Shut up and pull.

Agent Martinez, are you sure
these guys were smuggling drugs?

If I had answers, I'd share.

Captain Gates...

- What'd you find?
- Waybills.

Spooner delivered to a furniture
store in Lower Manhattan two days ago.

- Get on it.
- Yeah.

Call your bosses.

Tell them I want all the files
on this investigation.

I'm getting my people back.

Okay, ready?

Ready.

One, two, three. Go!

Oh, jeez.

(BECKETT GRUNTING)

(GRUNTING)

Whoa! Castle!
Okay, can you put me down?

Okay. Easy.

(PANTING)

If we ever get out of here, we should
seriously consider joining the circus.

Let me try it from behind, okay?

AII right, I'm game.

Okay.

- Ready?
- Ready.

One, two, three.

Okay.

Okay, I'm Iifting my right hand.
Ready?

Okay.

Not so fun as I would have thought.

You know, I'm getting a Iittle tired
of you walking all over me.

BECKETT: It's open.

Okay. I think I can pull myself...

(BECKETT SCREAMING)

Hey! Let us out of here!

What do you want from us?

Captain Gates,
furniture store owner verified

that he took delivery from Spooner
a couple days ago.

He said it was just
a couple of coffee tables

packed near the rear of the truck.

And you believed him?

He's a family man,
didn't have any priors.

But he did say something happened
during delivery. Something weird.

As they were unloading the shipment,

a box fell off a stack
and hit him in the shoulder.

He said the box must've been empty
because it bounced right off of him.

He tried to joke with Spooner,

asked him if he was shipping
cotton candy or air,

Spooner kind of got squirrely, said
it was just a couple of empties there

packed there to fill some space.

The owner thought
it wasn't a big deal,

but then he heard something
from behind the boxes.

Something that
sounded Iike breathing.

So Spooner takes
a few small Iegitimate jobs

in order to justify
his smuggling trips

and places a wall of empties in front
of whatever his real cargo is.

Did the owner have any idea
where Spooner was headed?

None.

Beckett and Castle
were on to something.

Where in the hell did they go?

Well, the only thing
we had at the time

was this address.

And we were already covering it.

Or they must've seen or heard
something that you didn't.

Okay, I want you guys to...

Go, go, go!

- NYPD!
- NYPD!

NYPD!

MAN 1: Hold position!
MAN 2: Show yourself!

CIear.

Room clear!

CIear!

CIear!

This place is empty. You really think
this is where they went?

If they were here,
they're not here now.

MAN: Hey, Detective, Iook in here.
There's some kind of hatch.

AII right, Iet's seal it off
for processing.

Damn it.

It's hard-cased steel, Castle.

We're not getting out of these
without keys.

You know, there is another way.

We don't go through the cuffs.

You mean...

Mad Max. 127 Hours.

Are you offering
to cut off your own hand?

Whoa. Mine?
No, I was thinking about yours.

My hand? Why my hand?

It's smaller.

(FOOTSTEPS)

(WHISPERS) They're coming.

MAN 1: Tell him it's a good price.

And if he Iikes her, I got two more
that fell into my Iap

that I can sell you at a discount.

I just need to move them now.

(MAN 2 SPEAKING ARABIC)

That sounds Iike Arabic.

(DOOR OPENS)

They're going to the other room.

(INDISTINCT VOICES)

Castle, someone else is in there.

MAN 2: She is very beautiful.

MAN 1: Just Iike you asked.

(DOOR CLOSES)

- They're holding someone else.
- The old woman?

No, it's more Iike a girl. Like...

Like they're trying to sell her.

It's human trafficking.

That's what this is.
They're abducting and selling people.

That's why we're still alive.

They're not going to kill us.
They're gonna sell us.

What? I'm a best-selling author.

I wonder what I'd be worth.

Let's not find out, okay?

Yeah, still.

(MAN TALKING ON POLICE RADIO)

Anything?

From the cut marks, Iooks Iike
this hatch was just installed.

Any idea why?

No. CSU is gonna sweep
for prints and trace.

What'd the neighbors say?

That the bank foreclosed on the
previous owners,

Bill and Nora Ranford,
six months ago.

But a couple of weeks ago,
new neighbors moved in.

Get an ID?

They kind of kept a Iow profile,

but neighbors think that there were
two of them, brothers.

They got an ID on their ride.
BIack F-150.

A black F-150?

That means Beckett and Castle
were here.

Not only that, but a couple of nights
ago, the guy from across the street

says he hears some noises
in the middle of the night.

So he goes to the window
and sees a semi pulling up.

Spooner was here, too?

Yeah. Whatever was going on,
this was the place.

Why don't you wake up the Registrar?
See who bought this property.

I want to know who these guys are.

(KNOCKING)

Hello! Can you hear us?

Castle, I can hear
somebody breathing.

Maybe she's sedated.

Hello! Can you hear us?

(POUNDING)

(SHATTERS)

- This wall is stucco and tile.
- So?

So the others are all cinder block.

If we start digging we might be able
to break through and help her.

How is getting out of one prison and
into another gonna help any of us?

Well, Iet me ask you this, if it was AIexis
on the other side, what would you do?

(HAMMERING)

Yeah. Okay.
The moment you hear. Thanks.

- CSU?
- Yeah.

Negative on prints from the house.
PIace was wiped.

What'd you get from the Registrar?

Well, the house was foreclosed on
five months ago.

It's still owned by National Bank.
Our guys must've been squatting.

- Did you say National Bank?
- Yeah, why?

The files Agent Martinez sent over.

Yeah.

Spooner made a delivery
to a Brooklyn house two months ago.

A couple days Iater,
the Feds raided the place,

but by then,
whoever was in the house was gone.

AII they found was a hatch cut into
the floor which accessed the basement.

Sounds familiar.

Yeah, but when
they traced the property,

it was bank-owned. By National Bank.

Our guys must be targeting distressed
properties to run their operations from.

Okay, get a Iist of all the National Bank
owned properties in the New York area,

starting with the properties that
have a basement.

If they're working off the National
Bank foreclosure Iist,

that may be where they're finding
their safe houses.

Okay, that should do it. Shift.
(COUGHS)

Okay.

- Okay. Ready?
- Ready.

Go.

(BECKETT GRUNTING)

Shift over.

Okay.

Okay.

Together. Ready?

- Yeah.
- Go.

(GRUNTING)

(KICKING)

(TILES CLATTERING)

(PANTING)

I've always Iiked your Iegs,
but now I respect them.

Yeah. Yours aren't so bad either.

For the next police picnic, we should
do the three-Iegged race together.

You're on. AII right.

Hello? Can you hear us?

I suppose you want to go in first?

No. You go ahead.

- Don't mind if I do.
- Okay.

Hello. Are you there?
We're here to...

(LOW GROWLING)

(ROARING)

(BECKETT SCREAMS)

- (ROARING)
- A tiger?

Yeah! It's a tiger.
And it almost bit my face off.

Wait, now that explains the cage
and the chains.

And the butcher knives
for the raw meat.

A tiger.
That's what they were haggling over?

Yeah, well, tigers are endangered.
Trafficking them is illegal.

We walked in on their operation.

Walking in on their operation
is not our problem right now.

That tiger walking in here
is our problem.

Don't worry, Castle.
She's not gonna get through that wall.

- (ROARS)
- (SCREAMS)

Hey! Back! Get back!

Is it just me, or does she Iook
a Iittle bit hungry?

Yeah, that's bad.

What are you doing?

I'm just gonna buy us some good will.

No, no, no, Castle.
Don't go near her.

CASTLE: I think she's going for it.

Yeah. And then when she's done
with that, she'II want more.

(SCREAMING) Get back!
She's coming!

(GROWLING)

So National Bank has close to
100 properties in foreclosure

in the outer boroughs.

But our folks have certain needs,

so we filtered out all the ones
without basements.

Come on, Castle.
We gotta cover that hole.

Push.

(BOTH GRUNTING)

(GROWLING)

Again.

RYAN: The two houses we know they
used had other common elements.

CIose freeway access, Iong,
wide driveways that can fit a semi,

and both are situated in between
empty Iots or unoccupied houses,

minimizing the nosy-neighbor factor.

Now you cross reference all that,

it Ieaves us with 11 Iikelies
in the outer boroughs.

(STRAINING)

Beckett.

What do we do?

Divvy up the Iist.

Get unis out to all 11 properties.

And Iet's bring them back alive.

We get in the freezer.

It'II Iatch and we'II suffocate.

Would you rather be eaten?

I was Iooking for option three.

Get behind me.

(SNARLING)

I have a plan.

ESPOSITO: 817, Fincher Drive.

Industrial building, foreclosed on
eight months ago.

RYAN: Looks empty,
just Iike the Iast three places.

ESPOSITO: Let's do a walk around,
see if there's anything in back.

RYAN: Yeah.

This is your plan?
Do you know how high tigers can jump?

(ROARS)

High!

But we're still alive, aren't we?
Okay.

Esposito, over here.

Call for backup.

(ROARING)

Remember what I said
about joining the circus?

- Uh-huh.
- Changed my mind.

She's playing with us.
She's gonna knock it over.

What are we gonna do?

There's only one thing to do.

Scream Iike Iittle girls.

Help!

CASTLE: Help!
BECKETT: Help!

- CASTLE: Get us out of here!
- Wait. Listen.

- BECKETT: Help, somebody!
- You hear that?

- Yeah.
- CASTLE: Come on, we're down here!

BECKETT: Help! Somebody help us!

Help! Help!

ESPOSITO: Beckett! Castle!

Esposito!

Is that a tiger?

Yeah, yeah, that's a tiger!

Hey, how about getting us out?

Okay, hang on. We'II be right there.

CASTLE: Yeah.

(CLANGING)

Drop the hardware, boys,
or I'II blow you both away.

CASTLE: Help us!

BECKETT: Guys, open the hatch!

CASTLE: Guys?
BECKETT: Ryan!

Espo, help!

CASTLE: Open the door, boys!
BECKETT: Help!

(SNARLS)

Put your weapon down.

Doesn't matter which one of us
you shoot first.

Whoever's Ieft standing
will kill you.

Maybe I'II shoot
the pretty one first.

(SNARLING)

Luckily, I don't gotta choose.

(GUN COCKS)

Y'all put them down.

You first.

BOBBY: Let's just kill them, Ma.

Let Tony the Tiger
have at the others Iike we planned.

CASTLE: Get us out of here!

BECKETT: Open the door!

The stakes are considerably raised!

Help!

- Help!
- BECKETT: Help us!

Your boys shoot,

I swear, the Iast thing I do is put
a bullet right through your head.

Your choice.

You New Yorkers ain't nearly as scary
as a Texas Iawman.

That being said, I'm betting more
of you are gonna be here soon.

So Iet me tell you
what's gonna happen.

Me and my boys are gonna
back on out of here.

Either get yourselves killed
trying to stop us,

or you can forget all about us
and go save your friends.

That's your choice.

(SNARLING)

I'm so sorry. I've got nothing else.

Javi?

Kate...

No, Castle. I did not survive
a bullet to the heart

to die as tiger kibble.

- (ROARS)
- (BECKETT SCREAMING)

Let them go.

Oh, God!

It ate them.

BECKETT: It didn't eat us!

But it will if you don't hurry.

Nice hangout.

MAN 1: Police!

MAN 2 ON MEGAPHONE:
Get out ofyourvehicle.

Put your hands in the air
and get out of the vehicle now.

MAN 3: Put your hands up!

MAN 1: Hands in the air right now!

RYAN: Handcuffed together that Iong?

I'm surprised you two
didn't kill each other.

Yeah, well,
there were a couple of moments.

Until we found our rhythm.

I think we'II fly to FIorida.

What?

I believe this is yours.

- This, too.
- Thank you.

How did you guys...

...even find us?

Well, we followed your bread crumbs,
and it Ied us here.

And Iucky for all of us,

some of my detectives keep me
informed as to their whereabouts.

Thanks to you two, I'm instituting
a new policy in our department.

No one goes anywhere
without calling it in.

Thanks, guys. Really appreciate that.

ESPOSITO: Well, at Ieast
we won't have to Iook so hard

next time we save your ass.

I missed you, by the way.

BECKETT: Really? Prove it.
ESPOSITO: I'II prove it.

RYAN: How was that tiger?
BECKETT: Espo, stop it.

RYAN: (ROLLING "R") Was it great?
ESPOSITO: What?

MARTINEZ: Her name
is Ruth Spurloch.

And it turns out her and her sons are
major suppliers of endangered tigers

to wealthy customers
all around the world.

Hard to believe
it's worth killing for.

The exotic animal trade
is a million-dollar industry,

and Texas,
which has almost no regulations,

is one of the few places in the world

where selling and breeding tigers
is not illegal.

Ruth and her boys were making
millions off her breeding farm.

Spooner would truck them
from Del Rio up to New York.

And then wealthy clients would
smuggle them past Customs

and ship them out
on their private jets.

Right. Except outside of Texas,

trafficking endangered species
is a criminal offense.

So Ruth didn't want
Spooner ratting her out.

Which is why when we showed up
at her house, she played the victim.

So she could get the drop on us.

Yeah, and knocked out us
using animal tranquilizers.

Which can't be good for me.
I still have a taste in my mouth.

Yeah.

Well, I'm gonna turn the trafficking
case over to the FBI and Customs.

You can coordinate with them
on your murder charge.

Thank you, Agent Martinez.
I'II walk you out.

Hey,

as expected, the hair from the truck
is tiger, and the blood is from raw meat.

They used the hatches to throw down
food to the cats

or sedate them with darts.

What's gonna happen
with that tiger, anyway?

Shoot him.

She'II get transferred
to a sanctuary.

Or that.

Probably end up in a zoo.
Why? You want to go and visit her?

No. No, thanks. I'm good.

AII right, you guys get some rest.

- You, too.
- Yeah.

That has got to be the strangest
brush with death I've ever had.

Me, too.

But I'II tell you,
after that experience,

if I ever have to be hitched
to someone, it would be you.

Hitched?

Hitched? No, I didn't say "hitched."

I said "cuffed." Handcuffed.
Not hitched,

the colloquial or any other
connotation or meaning.

It's okay, Castle.
I understood what you meant.

And for what it's worth,

if I ever have to spend another night
handcuffed to someone again,

I wouldn't mind if it was you either.

Really?

The next time,
Iet's do it without the tiger.

Next time?