Castle (2009–2016): Season 4, Episode 21 - Headhunters - full transcript

(SQUEAKING)

(GRUNTS)

(MAN SCREAMING)

CASTLE: (IN FOREIGN ACCENT)
You are very beautiful, Nikki Heat.

It is too bad that I have to kill you now.

Uglier men than you have tried, Drago.

(SCOFFS) You have slapped me.
I will not...

PIaying with dolls, are we?

These are action figures.
I am using them to envision a scene.

I owe a few chapters of Frozen Heat
to my editor,

and I've not been able to write a page.

Maybe a case with Beckett might,
you know, spark something.

She's prepping for a trial.

Is that the mail?

Oh, yeah, yeah.

Thank God AIexis is finally getting
some college acceptance Ietters.

Her friends started getting them
weeks ago.

Richard Castle,

what on earth are you playing at?

I don't want AIexis
to have to Iive through

that Stanford rejection nightmare again.

So I'm holding the Ietters.

This way, she gets them all at once,

and she'II get all the good news
with the bad.

Richard, that is
the dumbest idea you've ever had.

Now, you've got to give her these Ietters

before she has a nervous breakdown.

Okay, I will, I will.

But you have to admit,

watching her have a nervous
breakdown is pretty funny.

Unlike yours.

Now, what are we gonna do
about your writing?

Oh, I don't know.

I just need something different,
something new.

Something Iike...

Severed heads?

Severed heads?

The victim was found shot to death
after midnight.

According to police, his bag
contained three severed heads.

Detective Slaughter,
what can you tell us...

Get that camera out of my face
before I put a bullet in it!

(LAUGHS)

Mother, forget severed heads,
I want to meet that guy.

You already have a muse, darling.

Yes, well, muses are
to provide inspiration.

And right now, I ain't getting any.

So, Detective Nikki Heat,

meet Detective SIaughter.

You know what, park that
in the conference room. Thank you.

Hey! Castle, what are you doing here?

I just haven't seen you in a few days.

Thought I'd drop by,
see how you're doing.

Thank you, that's so sweet.
I'm great, actually.

The trial prep is going really well,

I've been getting home
at a decent hour and...

It's great to see you.

It's good to see you, too.

Hey, Iisten, do you know anything
about this Gang cop named SIaughter?

The severed heads homicide?
That's why you're here?

Well, no, I mean, just since
you're busy prepping for the trial,

I just thought I'd Iook into
this SIaughter guy.

Just get a sense of who he is
for the background research, the...

Unless that's a problem?

No. Not a problem.

Great. So where would I find him?

Wherever the body is?

(MOUTHING) Wherever the body...

Darling, you might as well confess.

I know you killed him so we could
spend some quality time together.

Not if you were the Iast man on Earth.

Don't think I'm not up to the challenge.

How about we skip the macho fantasy,
and I just tell you cause of death?

Let me guess. Lead poisoning?

Three shots to the chest.

Most Iikely died
of blood Ioss within minutes.

AIways figured
GIitch would end up on this table.

"GIitch." It's his street name,
on account of he's such a screw-up.

You fish the slugs out for me?

Ah! See, you do Iove me.

Thirty-twos, I'm guessing?

You're talking about the bullets, right?

Yeah.

CASTLE: Aren't you gonna ask
about the heads?

Who the hell are you?

That's Castle. He's a writer
and he consults with the 12th.

It's weird, you can tell they aren't fresh.

You can smell it.
Formaldehyde with a soup?on of decay.

Judging from the dirt in the hair,

I'd say our victim dug the bodies up
and then cut their heads off.

No kidding, Sherlock.

I already got unis
checking out the Iocal cemeteries.

Not that it's any of your business.

Rick Castle.

And Iike Laura said, I work out of
the one-two with Detective Beckett.

Here's the thing,

I was hoping I could
ride along with you on this one.

Just for a day or two.

- No.
- No?

I need a writer hanging around Iike
I need a case of the crabs.

That's...

What could I say to change your mind?

Well, that is a very fine coat.

And it would Iook fabulous on you.

- So, are we good?
- No.

See you, gorgeous.

You said I could ride along
if I gave you my coat.

I never said that.

It was implied.

Look, I work alone.
Nothing you say is gonna change that.

I'm friends with the Mayor.

Yeah?

And seeing as how
I'm asking you for a favor here,

that would mean
I would owe you one in return.

Well, any friend of the Mayor
is a friend of mine.

What's our first move?

Break the news to GIitch's dad.

(TIRES SCREECHING)

(CHUCKLES) That was awesome!
Beckett never drives on the sidewalk.

You gonna hang with me,
we're gonna Iay out some ground rules.

Rule number one,
do not use the word "awesome."

You're a grown man.

Rule number two, stay out of my way.

Is that it?

It's kind of all-encompassing.

This is the hardest part of the job,
breaking the news to the family.

So, what's your style?
Terse yet compassionate?

Sensitive but strong?

Brian, GIitch is in the morgue.

Someone pumped
three rounds into him.

CASTLE: Uh...

Sorry for your Ioss.

My what? My Ioss?

Who the hell are you
to talk about my Ioss?

Your boy was into something bad.
Worse than usual.

What do you know about it?

Now why would I tell you,
even if I knew?

It involved cutting the heads
off of dead guys.

It didn't sound Iike
your boy's brand of stupid.

My son was a simple Iad
operating in difficult times.

You disparage his memory at your peril.

Now I've gotta go tell his mum.
Make arrangements.

That's a hard man.

Yeah.

You don't get to be top Ieg-breaker
in the Westies by being soft.

No wonder he didn't give us
anything useful.

Never thought he would.

He's a "take the Iaw
into your own hands" kind of guy.

You think he's gonna hunt down
GIitch's killer himself?

Yeah, and we're gonna follow him.

The tricky part's gonna be
interceding before he kills the guy.

- (TIRES SCREECHING)
- Let's go. He's on the move.

CASTLE: Where do you think
he's going?

I don't know.
That's why we're following him.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Yeah. Outstanding.

Unis found the cemetery
where GIitch got the heads.

Four blocks from the crime scene.

Uh-huh.

Thanks, brother.

When we get back to the office,
we'II run these names down.

Find out who these heads belong to.

Why wait when I can have my team
run them right now?

You got a team?

Hello?

I am texting you three names.
AII recently deceased.

I need you to run them for me.

Beckett's not working a case right now.

No, I'm running and gunning
with SIaughter from Gangs.

Then have him run the names.
I don't work for you.

(LAUGHING)

Ah, Esposito, you are too funny.

- He's there, isn't he?
- Uh-huh.

AII right, if you want me to make
you Iook good, it's gonna cost.

Front row Knicks tickets.

Sounds good.

Oh! And, by the way,

your boy SIaughter,
he's got quite a reputation in Gangs.

His nickname is The Widow-maker.

His last three partners
were all killed in the line of duty.

- AII good?
- Yeah.

CASTLE: You think one of those guys
could be the killer?

Nah, he's just trolling for info.

Which means we watch and wait.

No, thanks.

Okay, sure.

So, they call you The Widow-maker?

Hey, not my fault
they keep sticking me with idiots.

Speaking of partners,

I've seen pictures of yours.
She's smoking hot.

You tapping that, right?

What? No.

No? What's wrong with you?

Nothing's wrong with me.
We're just friends.

Man needs a friend, he gets a dog.

Woman Iike that, you storm
the beaches or die trying. Come on.

He's heading for that bar. Showtime.

Are you packing?

Packing? No, I'm not a cop.
My vest says "Writer" on it.

Rule number three,
you ride with me, you ride strapped.

Come on.

Hey, hey, what about regulations?

You signed a waiver, didn't you?

Okay, you take the front,
I'II go in the back.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Shouldn't we call for backup?

You got a skirt
that says "Writer" on it, too?

- No.
- Run.

Give me 10 seconds
then go in hard, yelling "NYPD!"

The Iouder the better.

(PEOPLE CLAMORING)

(SHOUTS) NPYD!

Associated Civilian Investigator!
Nobody move!

(ALL CLAMORING)

Drop the gun, dirtbag!

- What did you call me?
- (STAMMERS) Dirtbag, dirtbag.

Drop it or your wife'II be getting
a volume discount at the mortuary.

Come on. Sit down.

Get him, Sherlock!

(GRUNTING)

I don't got it, I don't got it, I don't got it.

Little help?

You're doing fine.

- (BOTTLE SHATTERS)
- (GROANS)

Well done, Sherlock. Attaboy.

(EXHALES)

(GRUNTS)

Hey.

What's this I hear about
Castle researching with another cop?

Don't you have some fives to fill out?

I'm sure it's just a phase.
You know Castle.

He's probably caught up
in the severed heads

and the rush of the gangster squad...

I don't care what he's wrapped up in,

just so Iong as he stays out of my hair.
Thanks.

(ELEVATOR DINGS)

Hey. Put him on ice for me.

Shea, keep it in the family, huh?

Where's interrogation?

Straight through the first door,
right there.

Come on, you.

BECKETT: What the hell happened?

Oh, you should have seen it.

SIaughter got the drop on the one guy,

but the other guy tried
to make a break for it.

I had to take his ass down.

You what? Are you kidding me?

You're a writer, Castle, not a cop.

Hey, I can take care of myself.
You just never give me a chance.

Yeah, because I'm not trying
to get you killed.

And what is he doing using our box?

I invited him to.

Castle, that's not your place.

I didn't think you'd mind.

Besides, guys Iike SIaughter,

they just float from
precinct to precinct, you know.

They're Iike nomads,

wandering the streets of New York City,

kicking ass and taking names.

Which isn't
the most original turn of phrase,

but the character is so great.

It's really gonna help me
shake up this next Nikki Heat book.

Yeah, sure.

If you Iive Iong enough
to actually write about it.

SHEA: I didn't kill Glitch.

Then why did his father come after you?

I don't know, but you gotta
convince him that I'm innocent.

No, no, no, no, no.

You gotta convince me.

Or I'm gonna park you in holding,

and sit back and marvel at how
Brian removes your Iimbs

- with his bare hands.
- (GROANS)

I was at my sister's house
on Long Island Iast night.

You can call and ask her.

So why does Brian think
you killed his son?

Really, Shea?

Want me to bust out
Jake and the Fatman again?

(GRUNTS)

Brian heard me and GIitch
had a falling out, but we didn't.

It's just... (EXHALES)

Finn Rourke told us all
to stay away from him.

The head of the Westies
made you freeze GIitch out?

Why?

He screwed up another job Iast week.

He abandoned a truck full of
stolen medical equipment on the FDR

after he ran out of gas.

The only reason Finn didn't
have GIitch killed was Brian.

Because he knew he was
crazy enough to go after him

if anything happened to his kid.

Why did GIitch have
a bag full of heads?

No clue.

When was the Iast time you saw him?

Two days ago.

Said he was going to do something
to get back in good with the Westies.

Did he say what it was?

No. And I didn't ask.

How could GIitch think that
cutting the heads off dead bodies

would get him back in good
with the Westies?

He wasn't a deep thinker.

I wouldn't knock myself out
Iooking for motive.

Cappuccino?

- Rule four.
- COP: Castle.

Oh! Perfect. Thank you.

Thank you very much.

Esposito said
you'd have something for him?

That's...

Tell him they're on their way.

AII right.
Looks Iike we got IDs on our heads.

AII three belonged to members
of the Trench Town Posse.

Hot damn. Mystery solved.

Trench Town Posse.

Jamaican gang runs girls and drugs
from Brooklyn to the Bronx.

They're fighting a turf war
with the Westies

over the Morningside Heights.

I bet GIitch thought
he could make his bones

by cutting the heads off
of Westie enemies.

Bet he planned on putting those heads
in some high-ranking Jamaican beds.

Like the horse's head. The Godfather.

Yeah, that's the stupidest thing
you've said yet.

And just dumb enough
to seem smart to GIitch.

And knowing that boy,
he'd run his mouth,

Jamaicans hear about it
and they ambush him. Come on.

I got a source on the street,
tied in with the Jamaicans.

He'II be able to give us intel.

I Iove this "run and gun" police work.

- DR. BURKE: You're upset.
- No.

Yes, okay? Fine.

Yes, I thought that the two of us
were actually getting closer together.

And now it seems Iike
he's just pulling away.

Have you asked him why?

Yes. And he said,
"Oh, everything is fine."

What makes you think it isn't?

Because he's acting Iike
a complete jackass!

He shows up at the precinct with
these bimbos hanging on his arm

and now he's running around
with another cop.

Is this other cop a woman?

No. No! Why... (SIGHS)

Why would you even ask that?
That's not even the point.

The point is, I don't understand
why he's acting Iike this.

I mean, what did I do?

Well, maybe, from his point of view,
the question is, what didn't you do?

Wait, what? What do you mean?

When you were shot,
Castle said that he Ioved you.

How Iong ago was that?

Seven months ago,
but I wasn't ready to hear that then.

What do you think he's telling you
with his behavior?

That maybe he's not there anymore?

That maybe he's not ready?

(SIGHS)

What if I waited too Iong?

You weren't waiting, Kate.
You were healing.

Yeah, but then in the meantime,
he's moved on.

Or he's protecting himself
by not taking more emotional risks.

So then what do I do?

What do you want to do?

SLAUGHTER: I tell you what I'd do,

I'd go all caveman
on that partner of yours.

Show her what time it is
in Real Man Land.

- Real Man Land?
- Uh-huh.

Oh, is that what you were showing Laura
when we were back at the morgue?

I just throw a Iittle attention her way,
make her happy.

I'm macking on this hot new redhead
who just started working there.

That girl's barely street Iegal.

(LAUGHS)

- Redhead?
- Yeah.

About 5'5", blue eyes? Intern?

Yeah. You know her?

- That's my daughter.
- Seriously?

That girl got an ass.

(GRUNTS)

Hey, relax, Sherlock. (CHUCKLES)
I'm just playing.

AII right. As Iong as we're clear
my daughter's off Iimits.

Yeah.

You pack a Iittle punch there,
for a writer.

(PANTING)

There's my guy.

Hold on, you stay here.
Keep an eye out.

(TIRES SCREECHING)

(GUNSHOTS)

(WOMAN SCREAMS)

You okay?

I got a name.

What happened in there?
Did you kill him?

You don't want to know.
We were never here.

(SCREECHING)

- What are you doing?
- Jeez!

You okay?

That guy's insane.

Yeah, I know. I tried to tell you.

No. He's insane.

Why? What did he do?

Jesus!

I can't talk now.

I want those tickets.

Hey, what's up?

What were you talking about?

Where?

Oh, there. Um...

Nothing.

I mean, obviously, not nothing.

We were talking.
We were just moving our...

I gotta go to the bathroom.

(ELEVATOR DINGS)

What the hell?

I thought you killed him.

Yeah, you should've seen the Iook
on your face when I came out that door.

(BOTH LAUGH)

That's not funny.

That's not funny!

No, no, it's hysterical.

(LAUGHING LOUDLY)

Yeah.

Look at them, Iaughing it up.

Okay...

Just acting Iike they own the place.
I'm gonna say something.

No, don't. It's not worth it.

(RYAN SIGHS)

I feel Iike he's cheating on us.

He's not cheating on us, Ryan.
He's just branching out.

Hmm?

Don't take it personally, son.

Marc Gibson. I'm undercover
on the Gang Task Force.

I had to make sure I could trust you,

that you'd have my back
if things got ugly.

Luckily, you passed.

Well, you were right about
the Jamaicans taking out GIitch.

Neighbors near the cemetery heard
gunshots on the night of the murder.

Source tells me

a Iow-Ievel banger named Maxi
was the one doing the shooting.

He's holed up in a building
on Avenue A and Fifth.

Take a walk, fellas.

Maxi, why you gotta
make this so hard, huh?

We both know you killed
that Westie kid Iast night.

I want my Iawyer.

Your Iawyer. Sure, he's right in here.

(GRUNTS)

(SCREAMING) Wait!

Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
What are you doing?

Tell me you killed him, or they're gonna
have to hose you out of here, Maxi.

I didn't kill no one!

Wait! Wait! Wait!

I get a call that some Westie boy

was running his mouth
about digging up our dead.

We gone to the cemetery
to ambush him, but I never fire no shot.

Better stand back,
this guy's gonna pop Iike a grape.

No, wait! I swear! He wasn't alone.

A group of Mexicans was waiting there
next to a tricked out Escalade.

You telling me
a third gang is involved in this?

Man, I don't know who they are, man.

But that GIitch clearly knew them.

He told them he had the heads,
then things went south.

The Mexicans opened fire on him
and took off running and so did I.

CASTLE: Okay, okay, okay,

so the Mexicans hunted down GIitch
and they shot him.

Or he did and he's making up a story.

No, no, no, no. I can prove it.

The Escalade had Texas plates.

I saw the first two Ietters. "R" and "X."

Okay, Maxi,
but that Iicense better check out

or I'm gonna come back here
and recycle your ass.

It'II check. It'II check!
It'II check, man, I swear.

- Bye-bye.
- SIaughter!

Get me out of here! Help!

Another gang. That's plausible, right?

- Yep.
- MAXI: SIaughter!

You threaten enough guys,
you get a feel for their honesty.

But you wouldn't have
really crushed him?

Of course not. It would have been
more Iike a mangling.

MAXI: SIaughter!

SIaughter!

(PHONE RINGING)

- Detective Ryan.
- Yeah, it's Castle.

I have a partial Texas plate
I need you to run.

First Ietters "R" and "X."

Yeah, Castle, (EXHALES)
that's gonna be really tough for me.

I'm pretty busy.

Really? You too, huh?

- Get the Ferrari.
- You know, Castle,

Jenny's been bugging me
to set you up with her cousin, Ramona.

She's a dental hygienist.

Mmm-hmm. Sounds good.

(WHISPERS) Ferrari.

And I want the Ferrari for the weekend.

AII right. Hey, and buddy,
I am never going to forget this.

AII right, we're all set.

AII right.

We'II get the results in the morning.

Tonight, we celebrate.

Celebrate what?

Well, you survived
the first day on the job with me.

(CHUCKLES) Well, did you ever have
a partner who didn't?

You know, I'd Iove to celebrate, but...

But what?

But nothing. But nothing. Let's...

Let's do this. What's the worst
that can happen, right?

(ALEXIS SCREAMING)

What happened?

Dad, I got in, I got in!

Where?

AImost everywhere so far.

Oxford, Princeton, Sarah Lawrence!

That's great, honey.
I knew it would work out.

- Really?
- Yeah.

Then why were you
hiding the Ietters from me?

- What?
- Come on, Dad.

I can read a postmark.
Some of these came Iast week.

Oh! I just... I'm sorry.

Honey, I'm just trying to protect you.

I'm 18 now.

You need to trust
that I can take care of myself.

What?

I got into Stanford.

Yes! Oh, great!

That's always been
your first choice, right?

And yet I sense trouble.

I don't know. I mean, I should be happy.

But after they shot me down
for early admission...

They rejected you.
And you feel betrayed.

How am I supposed to get over that?

You Iook Iike crap.

Here. Little of the hair of the dog,
that'II get you flying right.

No, it's not gonna do anything
to turn back time.

Anyway, where are we going?

A salvage yard in the Bronx.

I ran that Texas plate myself Iast night.

Turns out Maxi was telling the truth
about the third player.

Escalade was registered
to a Cesar Vales.

Runs with a Mexican gang.

Rumor has it
they're making inroads into New York,

trying to corner the market
on the city's crank trade.

So Vales is coming into town,

trying to muscle in on the Westies
and the Jamaicans.

(SCOFFS) Yeah.
Which ain't exactly easy to do.

Well, it would be a Iot easier if he
could get them to take each other out.

That's good.

So he's sitting around trying to think
about a way to make that happen,

and he overhears GIitch
running his mouth.

Right, he realizes

if a Westie was to turn up murdered
with a bag full of Jamaican heads,

both sides would go to war.

And they can jump in
and take over the territories.

Are you sure it's such a good idea
to go after this guy ourselves?

Maxi made him sound
pretty dangerous.

Piece of cake.
Guy's nothing but a two-bit punk.

He's high-Ievel Mexican mafia,
about as dangerous as they come.

According to the DEA,

Cesar Vales is suspected
in the deaths of over a dozen people,

including three cops in Mexico

who were killed with a sledgehammer
and then cut up into pieces.

You don't think Castle and SIaughter
are going after him?

I'd put money on it 'cause I wasn't the
only one who ran his plates Iast night.

SIaughter did, too.

If Castle and SIaughter go after this
guy, they're gonna both end up dead.

We need to warn Castle.

I tried, but his phone
keeps going to voicemail.

I got a bad feeling that they're on
their way to take down Vales right now.

You're not going
to mangle anyone today, are you?

I Iike to keep my options open.

There's a hell of a Iot of them.

Just follow my Iead.

Hola, gentlemen,

on behalf of the NYPD,

I'd Iike to welcome you to the
greatest city on God's green Earth.

Unless you want your friends to see

what the inside of your head Iooks Iike,

back off.

MAN: (CHUCKLES) Whoa!

Now, what seems to be
the problem, officer?

- You Vales?
- That's me.

The name Michael Reilly
mean anything to you? Aka GIitch?

No, I'm afraid not.

That's funny,

'cause I got an eyewitness
who puts you and your girls here

shooting the hell out of him
in Queens two nights ago.

That is funny.

Hey, you. Where's your badge?

In his other coat.

Hmm.

Yeah, Vales,

we know all about your plan
to use GIitch to spark a gang war

so you could move your drug business
into New York.

Wow. Your partner here,
is pretty high-strung, isn't he?

Yeah.

High-strung?

Whoa, whoa, whoa.

- (SIRENS BLARING)
- Hey!

NYPD!

RYAN: NYPD! Let me see your hands!

Party's over!

That's too bad, because this
was just getting interesting.

If I were you, I'd get your affairs in order
'cause I'II be back.

Hey! SIaughter!

Going in there Iike that without backup,
putting a civilian in harm's way,

that's not only reckless,
that is bad police work.

You're just Iucky that we traced Castle's
phone and we found you guys in time.

Well, you think I'm going to thank you
for almost ruining my play?

You had a play?

I always have a play.
I had to escalate things.

We could find
the weak member of the herd.

That kid.

SLAUGHTER: Exactly.

He's the one
I'm gonna get to flip on Vales,

once I figure out how
to separate him from the pack.

Who knew all these years
we've been working together

that you had a death wish?

What, that? That wasn't bad.

SIaughter had a plan.

Yeah, he had a plan to get you killed.

(CELL PHONE BUZZING)

It's SIaughter.

I gotta go.

AII right.

Next time,
we might not be there to save you.

You need to do something.

Espo, if the guy's hell-bent
on Ieaving the nest,

then there's nothing
that I can do about it.

You don't really feel that way. Do you?

Don't you Iisten to those whiners,
Sherlock. You got balls.

Yeah, I may have needlessly put you
in a Iittle harm's way there with Vales,

but seeing as it paid off...

- What do you mean "paid off"?
- (BANGING TRUNK)

- What was that?
- What was what?

MAN: Hey, come on, man!
That's not cool!

Is there someone in the trunk?

Gilberto Mendoza. Our weak Iink.

Let me the hell out of here, man!

PIease tell me
that we're just going to talk to him.

Yeah, pretty much.

- (TIRES SCREECHING)
- (GILBERTO SCREAMING)

Come on, man! Cut it out! Can't do that!

This is wrong. You gotta stop.

Not until he flips on Vales.

(GILBERTO SHOUTING)

Hear that, Gilberto?

Only way you're getting out of
that trunk is if you rat out your boss.

Well, guess what,
I'm not saying nothing.

Hey, remember that favor
you promised me?

There's this civilian
review board thing coming up.

Excessive force complaints,
total BS, right?

(GILBERTO SCREAMING)

Anyway, you being a friend
of the Mayor and all,

I figure a statement from you

would go a Iong way in making
those charges go away, right?

- You're crazy.
- Is that a no?

I'II do it. I'II do it if you stop.

- (TIRES SCREECHING)
- (HORN HONKING)

Outstanding.
Next Tuesday, 9:00 a.m. sharp.

I'II send you an email.

Hey, man, I know my rights, all right?

- This is kidnapping. Police abuse.
- Uh-huh.

I know something, too, Gilberto.

You got a brother in juvie
back in Texas.

Poor Iittle Hector.

I hear he cries himself to sleep
every night.

Hey, what the hell are you doing?

Just having a Iittle chat here
with Gilberto.

Listen, unless you want something
very bad to happen to Hector,

you're gonna help me bury Vales,
aren't you?

Aren't you?

- Okay.
- Okay, what?

I need to hear the magic words.

Vales killed GIitch.

"Vales killed GIitch." Yes!

Victory!

GILBERTO: Vales was Iooking for a way

to take over the Jamaicans'
and Westies' turf.

That's when we heard about

this punk-ass Westie
trying to prove himself

and Vales saw his chance.

He convinced GIitch

that if he dug up a couple of Jamaicans
and cut off their heads

that it would get him back in tight
with his Westie pals.

SLAUGHTER: So Vales wanted to use
the heads to spark a gang war,

have the Westies and Jamaicans
to go at it till no one's Ieft standing,

then he waltzes in,
takes over the territory?

Yeah.

What went down at the cemetery?

Vales got GIitch to dig up the bodies.

The plan was to kill him and make it
Iook Iike the Jamaicans did it.

And GIitch must have sensed it
or something,

'cause he took off right
as we started to open fire.

Tell me about the murder.

Look, kid, I know you're scared.
And I was a Iittle rough.

But I talked to the DA and the feds.

They said you cooperate with me,

your brother's sentence
will be reduced to time served,

and both of you get
a free ride into WITSEC.

So, tell me how it went down.

We chased him, we cornered him.

Under the overpass?

Yeah.

SLAUGHTER: And?

And then Vales shot him twice
and just Ieft him for dead.

How many times?

Three.

He shot him three times.

What do you think you're doing?

CIosing this case.

I got an arrest warrant for Vales
burning a hole in my pocket.

You coached that kid
through his interrogation.

What? No, no.
I just refreshed his recollection.

Really? 'Cause the way he was talking,
he didn't even witness that murder.

Vales has bodies on him
Iike you wouldn't believe.

Women, children, cops.

I get a chance to put him away,
I'm going to take it.

Question is, are you in or out?

I guess I'm out.

Well, that's a shame.

I had high hopes for you, Sherlock.

I never thought
you'd punk out on me Iike this.

Hey, I need some help.

Sorry, Castle, caught a murder.

Talk to Beckett.

Hey.

How's it going?

You can skip the small talk, Castle.
What do you want?

SIaughter went too far.

Well, isn't that what he does?

AIong with
"kicking ass and taking names"?

He pressured a kid into
making a false statement

so he could arrest Vales.

So you came to me so I can fix it?

You have every right to be mad.

You warned me about SIaughter
and I wouldn't Iisten.

I'm just trying to make this right.

It's not my case, Castle.

Even if I wanted to help,

we've got strict rules about interfering
in another cop's investigation.

I'm not asking you to do it for me.

I'm asking you to do it

so the real killer
doesn't get away with murder.

What makes you think

I'm actually gonna fall
for that blatant manipulation?

Because it's true.

What's this?

A traffic cam shot of Vales' car
10 blocks from the cemetery,

heading away from the overpass
where GIitch was killed.

11:57? GIitch was killed after midnight.

This shows that
Vales couldn't have killed him.

You did this for me?

AII this time you had my back?

I had Ryan run a traffic cam search
while he was pulling a plate?

It's not a smoking gun, Castle.

Okay? You can't even see Vales' face
in that photo.

It's not enough
to change SIaughter's mind,

unless you've got something else.

There is one more thing
that doesn't make sense.

This is a map of the area.

Here's the cemetery,
here's the overpass.

But to get to it, GIitch would
have to climb a six-foot fence.

Why do that when there's
a subway station a block away?

Why hide when you can run?

Maybe we can find out.

CASTLE: According to the CSU report,

GIitch was shot
somewhere around here.

He staggered away and ended up
on the other side of that pillar.

So you think that Vales' plan was

to use GIitch and the Jamaican heads
to start up a gang war?

Yeah. Why?

I don't know, Castle.
It's not what I'm seeing.

Let's say I'm Vales,

and I shoot GIitch to start that war.

Where do you think would be
the best spot to drop off that body?

In the middle of Westie territory.

Exactly. So why did he Ieave it here?

Oh, crap.

Well,

imagine my surprise when
I got to the station with my killer

and I hear
you're stirring up my crime scene.

Okay, Iook, I can explain...

Save it.
He doesn't know any better, but you do.

What I know is that you coerced
a confession out of an 18-year-old kid.

I didn't coerce jack.

He works for a guy
who's got a trail of bodies

that stretches all the way back
to the Rio Grande.

If he doesn't go down for this,
the body count just grows.

We got a traffic video camera photo
of Vales' Escalade

10 blocks from here
when the murder went down.

Yeah, so what?
Could you see him in the car?

Not exactly.

And if his Iawyer gets a hold of it,
you've handed him reasonable doubt.

And Vales walks.

Maybe he deserves to walk.

He deserves to be
pulled apart by horses.

But the Iaw says I can't do that.

But what I can do is I can Iock him up
in prison for the rest of his Iife.

Now, the question is,
are you gonna back off

or am I gonna have to report you
for jumping my case?

You do what you gotta do, SIaughter,
and I'II do the same.

Wow.

(LAUGHING)

Thanks.

We got about an hour to figure out
who really killed GIitch

before I get called to the carpet
by the Chief of Detectives.

What can he do to you?

Well, best-case scenario,
he suspends me.

And worst-case scenario?

(SIGHS) Crap.

So I'm GIitch. I just dug up three bodies,

cut the heads off of them,
which was horrible,

to try and win my way back in
with the Westies.

And then the kindly Mexican gentlemen
I thought were helping me

suddenly pull out guns
and try to kill me.

I'm running for my Iife,

I end up on the wrong side of this fence.

Where you can see
a sign for the subway.

So why would you climb
a barbed wire fence

when you can just hang a right
and hop a train out of here?

Fear.

For all I know, the Mexicans are
driving the streets Iooking for me.

With all these street Iights on,
I'd be a sitting duck.

But under here, it would be pitch black.

So I climb the fence and I hide.

Why hide when you can escape?

Because I wasn't just hiding.

I was waiting. I called for help.

But when they found GIitch's body,
he didn't have a phone on him.

So either the killer took it or...

Or he used that pay phone.

Why'd you call me down here?

Because we have definitive proof
that Vales didn't kill GIitch.

And you wanna rub my face in it?

No.

Look, SIaughter,
we're different kinds of cops.

(SCOFFS) Yeah.

And although I'm not
a fan of your methods,

I know you don't want to send
an innocent man to jail

when you know that
the real killer is still out there.

Okay. So who killed GIitch?

BECKETT:
We know he called you, Brian.

Your son dialed your cell
from that pay phone

about half an hour
before he was murdered,

and you answered that call.

We also have surveillance photos
of you at that subway stop

from before and after the murder.

AII those years. AII those screw-ups.

Must have been unbearable
for a stand-up guy Iike you, huh, Brian?

And then GIitch calls you to tell you
that he screwed up.

Again.

But this time it was different, wasn't it?

He'd crossed a Iine.

He was your son.

Which made him my responsibility.

So I did what had to be done.

He wasn't even surprised.

It was if he'd been waiting for it
his whole Iife.

Then why didn't you take the heads?

That way none of this would
come back on you and the Westies.

He vanished into the dark
after I'd shot him.

(SCOFFS)

Even with his Iast breath,
that boy managed to screw me up.

CASTLE: Well, at least you finally
get a conviction on Brian.

That's gotta be some consolation.

Vales still walks.

Excuse me.

Counselor, can I speak
with your client for a second?

She probably wants my autograph.

You feel cocky. I get it.

You just dodged a murder rap.

Probably gonna go out tonight
and celebrate with your boys.

And you should. Paint the town.

But then, in the morning,

I want you to get the hell out of my city.

But I Iike it here.

You might Iike it right now.

But starting tomorrow, you're gonna see
just how hard a city New York can be,

when the full force of the NYPD
comes crashing down on you

with 30,000 cops
making it their daily duty

to make your Iife a Iiving hell.

Counselor,
you can take him away now.

That is sexy.

What?

- You wanna hit me for that, too?
- No.

(GROANS)

That's for not having my back.

And if I ever see a character
in one of your novels Iike me,

we're gonna have words.

So I'm gonna see you
at the hearing on Tuesday, right?

You got it.

Outstanding.

Detective, you ever want
to go out on a date

that ends in hot sex
after a drunken fist fight,

you know where to find me.

Yeah. In "never gonna happen" Iand.

(HOARSELY) Hey, thanks very much
for your help.

No problem, Castle.
It's what partners are supposed to do.

Basking in the glory of you?

(SIGHING) No.
Trying to figure out what to do.

Stanford has always been
my dream school,

but what if their initial rejection
was the universe sending me a sign?

That I'm better off somewhere else.

Do you think
you'd be better off somewhere else?

I don't know. Do you?

I don't know, either.

I guess the question is,

do you want it badly enough
to get over being hurt?

You know what I think
would help with this decision?

- Ice cream.
- Ice cream.

Race you.

(SQUEALS)

That's cheating!