Castle (2009–2016): Season 5, Episode 13 - Recoil - full transcript

CASTLE: Previously on Castle...

Whoever owns that account
is the person that killed my mom.

It belonged to a guy
named William H. Bracken.

You mean Senator William Bracken?

(SHUTTER CLICKING)

He's protected. Untouchable.
You're just gonna end up dead.

What do you want, Ms. Beckett?

BECKETT: Everyone that you've ever
had killed.

I want the truth!

See, here's what you don't understand.

It's not who has the gun,

it's who has the power.

Do you really think that's you?

BECKETT: That's gonna leave
a nasty scar.

Every time you see it, think of me.

(GAGGING)

(POLICE SIRENS WAILING)

BECKETT: So, what makes you so sure

that Alexis isn't serious about this guy?

CASTLE: Well, I haven't met him
or approved of him yet,

so it can't be serious.

All suitors must be met
and intimidated by me, personally,

before they can be considered
for official boyfriend status.

LANIE: I would not do that.

Her body was in
that barrel over there, burned.

And I mean, beyond recognition.

Any chance of a positive ID?

Not from fingerprints.

But bone structure tells me
it's a young woman, about 5'4".

So, a transient?

LANIE: I doubt it. There's a bullet hole
in the back of her head.

And then there's her teeth.

Every one of them
was knocked out of her mouth.

So much for dental records.

Well, someone obviously went to great
lengths to make sure she disappeared.

So, none of these guys saw anything.

They panhandle by day,
don't come back here until it's dark.

ESPOSITO: First guy who showed up
said the fire was already going.

Sounds like a dump job.

All right, we have a female, she's 5'4".

Let's start looking through
missing persons reports.

LANIE: Wait.
You may not have to do that.

A titanium screw from her jaw.

Dental implant.

And there's a batch number,
which could give us her name.

RYAN: We traced that dental screw
to Melanie Rogers, 27.

Lived in New Jersey,
near Rutgers University,

where she was a postdoc engineer
in eco-friendly design.

By all accounts,
she was well-liked, respected.

No one I spoke to had any idea
who could have done this to her.

What's an engineer from New Jersey
doing in a barrel in Lower Manhattan?

ESPOSITO: I don't know,
but something was going on with her.

I pulled her phone records
for yesterday.

She made a half a dozen calls to
the same number in a 20-minute period.

- Boyfriend?
- Could be.

It's a 202 number,
but it's listed as blocked.

202. That's Washington, D.C.

ESPOSITO: Yep, preliminary check
shows it's a cell phone.

Which means whoever it is
might be in the city.

Let's get a warrant
on that phone number.

She made one other call after that,
around 4:00 p.m.,

and then after that,
all of her phone activity went dark.

BECKETT: Who was the call to?

It was to her half-sister, Julie.
I took a look, she's her only family.

She works as a loan officer in Midtown.

Bring her in.
She might be able to shed some light.

JULIE: Melanie and I were never
all that close.

But when our dad got sick,
we, um...

We found each other.

Do you have any idea what your sister
was doing in the city yesterday?

No. She came in from time to time.

Do you know if she was dating
anyone recently?

Someone from D.C., perhaps?

Not that I knew about.

Although, just two nights ago,
she met me for dinner.

She mentioned meeting
a friend afterwards.

Did she say who?

I asked, but she said she couldn't
talk about it for some reason.

So, when you spoke with her yesterday,
did it sound like anything was wrong?

I never spoke to her yesterday.

Her phone records indicate
she called you about 4:00.

4:00? No, I was in a meeting.

Oh, my God.

She left a message.

MELANIE: Hey. It's me.
Listen, I think something is going on.

Something's not right.
I'm pretty sure someone's after me.

She's in a parking structure.

You can hear two sets of footsteps.

If anything happens,
tell them "X, T, three."

(GUNSHOT)

(CLICKING)

That's it.

She recorded her own murder.

Okay, parking structure,
letters and numbers.

Sounds like she's reading off
a license plate.

Of the guy that was following her.
And "X, T, three,"

I mean, there's gonna be thousands
of plates with that partial.

Can you play the end again?

I thought I heard something
after the phone hit the ground.

If anything happens,
tell them "X, T, three."

(GUNSHOT)

(CLICKING)

There. Did you hear that?
There's a click.

Let me see what I can do with that.

It's a lighter. That's a Zippo lighter.

So he killed Melanie,
and then stopped to have a cigarette?

Which means
we might be dealing with a psychopath.

RYAN: So that D.C. Number?
Looks like whoever owns it was in town.

She called it the other night,
right after dinner with her sister.

When she said
she was meeting someone.

RYAN: Yeah. That's right.
Credit card record says

that she was in a cab
just a few minutes later.

I tracked down the driver,

said he dropped her off
at the Standish Hotel at 11:00 p.m.

Perhaps she was meeting her
Washington friend for a secret tryst?

It makes sense.

The Standish is popular with
married men who value discretion.

Maybe someone at the hotel
saw her with him.

HOTEL CLERK: I'm really not sure.

So many people
come through here every day.

Look again. And keep in mind,
this is a murder investigation.

I might have seen her a few times.

What about two nights ago?

Yes, probably.

CASTLE: Was she meeting someone?

I'm gonna need a name.

Look, our clients value their privacy.

You're really putting me
in an awkward position here.

You think this is awkward?

Wait till I get a warrant
and start questioning

all the people that have stayed here
over the past year.

Fine.

HOTEL CLERK: You didn't hear it
from me.

It can't be.

Melanie was having an affair
with Senator Bracken.

BECKETT: That's it.
Esposito's confirmed it.

The number that Melanie was calling
was Senator Bracken's cell phone.

Late night phone calls,
secret hotel meetings.

Bracken was having an affair
with Melanie.

She must've become a liability.

Or she stumbled onto something

that he was involved in
and became a threat.

So he dealt with her, the same way
he dealt with your mother

and tried to deal with you.

This is it, Castle.

This is my chance
to finally make him pay.

Yeah, but we have to be cautious.

We know what happens
to people who go after him.

Except this time
he doesn't know we're on to him.

We've got the advantage here.

Do we?

What do you think he's gonna do
when he sees you coming?

ESPOSITO: How many people
you think this bastard

put in the ground to get here?

Hey, remember, we're only here to see
if he can help us locate Melanie.

Yeah, yeah.
Let him think he got away with it.

Just like he does everything else.

You know, I was really hoping
the next time I saw this guy

would be down the barrel of my gun.

(DOORBELL RINGS)

You're sure I can't change your mind?

I could really use your help
on this one, Bill.

I would if I could, you know that.

You also know how important
this legislation is to me.

Senator, some detectives
are here to see you.

Sorry to trouble you, Senator.
This won't take long.

What's this about, Bill?

SENATOR BRACKEN: I'm not sure.

You look familiar.

Have we met?

I don't think so, sir.

Is there some place we can talk?

I'd offer you both a drink, but I get
the feeling this is an official call.

RYAN: Well, we'd just like to ask you
a few questions about someone.

Melanie Rogers?

Yeah, sure, I know Melanie.
She's a great girl. Is there a problem?

She's missing. Since yesterday.

She's missing?

That's terrible.
Whatever I can do to help.

When was the last time
you saw Ms. Rogers?

Just yesterday. We were both attending
the same eco-conference in the city.

Huh. So you ran into her there?

No. I'm giving the keynote address and
she was helping me with my speech.

So she works for you?

Not exactly.
She agreed to consult with me

on a very important piece of legislation
that I'm unveiling.

So she's a non-paid consultant?

I suppose.

Why?

It's just that you were seen at the
Standish Hotel together two nights ago.

What are you implying?

We're just trying to establish
a timeline of Melanie's whereabouts.

The hell you are.

You're trying to take a professional
relationship and use it against me.

Look, man,
we're not trying to jam you up...

I know where I've seen you.

You work with Detective Beckett.

We just have a few more questions.

Then call my lawyer.

ESPOSITO: The guy's guilty as hell,
but he has an alibi.

He was at some conference all day.
Ryan's checking it out now.

BECKETT: It's gonna check out.

He never does this on his own.
He always sends someone else.

Okay, okay. So, now, not only
do we have to find this killer,

but we have to connect him to Bracken.

ESPOSITO: Except we have no idea
where to start looking.

We don't even have a real crime scene.

No, but we're getting closer.

The FBI performed an analysis
of Melanie's voice mail.

It was a call made from a parking
garage where she was abducted.

They identified the background noise

as the hydraulic motor
of a TC5015 tower crane.

Tower cranes are used
in heavy construction.

Which means the garage
is near a construction site.

And only 12 sites in the city
are currently using that crane.

Hey. So, Bracken's alibi checked out.

Witnesses put him
at the Goldman Ecological Conference

all afternoon yesterday.

They also confirmed that Melanie
was there, just like he said.

She was seen leaving at 3:45.

Melanie left the voice mail
from the parking garage at 4:00.

Where was that conference being held?

The Widmark Hotel downtown.

The Widmark? That's five blocks
from that construction site.

Which is right next to a parking garage.

Hey, Beckett! You need to see this!

X, T, three,
just like in Melanie's voice mail.

BECKETT: Did you run the plates?

Yeah. Just came back stolen,
reported four days ago.

BECKETT: All right, you guys check
inside. Espo, pop that trunk.

CASTLE: I may be wrong,
but that looks like a sniper rifle.

You wouldn't be wrong.

ESPOSITO: Yo, Widmark Hotel.
That's where that conference is.

RYAN: Didn't Bracken say
he was giving

a speech there in a couple of days?

ESPOSITO: Mmm-hmm.

I don't think Bracken's our killer.

He isn't.

He's the target.

Based on what we found in the car,

someone was planning on
shooting the Senator

at the eco-conference tomorrow night,
while he delivers his keynote speech.

And if our suspect is still out there,
he's still a threat.

Did we get any prints
off that duffel bag?

Not yet, sir. CSU's still dusting the car,
the notebook

and everything else in the bag,
including the rifle.

Now, we have serial numbers on
the rifle, and we're looking into those.

And our victim. How did
Melanie Rogers get mixed up in this?

Somehow she stumbled upon his plot
and he killed her.

(SIGHS)

Oh, excuse me.

- It's the Mayor. Keep me posted.
- BECKETT: Mmm-hmm.

We might have a description
of our potential shooter.

Widmark security stopped someone

from getting into the conference
without proper credentials.

- When?
- Two days ago.

"A Caucasian, baseball cap,
beard, long stringy hair,"

and he was carrying a large gray
duffel bag, just like that one.

What time?

They said it was about 3:45 p.m.

That's when Melanie
left the conference.

In her message,
she said something wasn't right.

What if she saw this guy
and followed him to the garage?

All right, grab Espo and a sketch artist,

go down,
talk to security at the Widmark.

I want a picture of this guy
in circulation within the hour.

- Yeah.
- (ELEVATOR DINGS)

Kate.

I was gonna finally
put this guy away, Castle.

And now I'm protecting the man
that murdered my mother.

GATES: Senator, we can provide you
with an increased security detail.

But until we apprehend this man,

I recommend
you postpone your speech.

Is that really necessary?

I mean, isn't the threat
all but neutralized?

BECKETT: But we haven't stopped him.

Look, we're talking about someone
that is ruthless, methodical,

someone that killed Melanie Rogers
just to keep her from talking.

That suggests a person
that is intent on seeing this through...

Yes, but you just said
you could increase his security detail.

Look, this isn't just any conference.

The Senator is going to unveil
a far-reaching environmental initiative

that is the cornerstone of his term.

We have issued dozens
of press credentials...

Senator, I cannot guarantee your safety.

I'm speaking at that conference.

This keynote address
puts me on the national stage.

I'm not gonna run and hide

just because some wacko
with a notebook made a threat.

Now, I suggest that you people do
whatever it takes to stop this man.

Thank you.

Very well, Senator. Detective Beckett
will need a moment with you.

Why?

Because she's leading
the investigation.

Is there some reason why you don't
wanna work with Detective Beckett?

SENATOR BRACKEN: Let's find
somewhere private,

shall we, Detective?

Well.

Hard to miss the irony of this situation.

Senator Bracken,
do you have any enemies?

Is there anyone that you can think of
that would like to kill you?

I get threatening letters and e-mails
all the time, comes with the office.

My chief of staff keeps a file.

Anyone with a legitimate claim?

A man doesn't get to my position
without upsetting people along the way.

Most of them aren't crazy enough
to wanna try to kill me.

Present company excluded.

You know, Senator,

I'm not the one that you should be
worried about right now.

It's just us here, Detective.

A shooter on the loose,
me in the crosshairs?

Must be a dream come true for you.

In my dreams, I'm the one
that gets to pull the trigger.

But you know what?

If you're not comfortable with me
leading this investigation,

you're welcome to step outside
and tell everyone why.

Well, then I guess
we're stuck with each other.

So, then let me make one thing clear.

This man killed Melanie Rogers,
and when someone commits murder,

whoever he is, Senator,

I will bring him to justice.

No matter how long it takes.

I'll have my chief of staff
send over the letters.

(DOOR CLOSES)

Tell you something,

if I'm her, I'll sit in there
shuffling papers till whoever it is

puts a bullet in Bracken's head.

No, you wouldn't.

'Cause that would make you
no better than he is.

The guy murdered Beckett's mother,
Captain Montgomery,

who knows who else.

Bracken's got it coming to him,
so I say let it come.

(DOOR OPENS)

Mayor's asking for an update.
What's the latest?

The serial number on that rifle

led us to a hunting store
in Paterson, New Jersey.

The owner ID'd our suspect
from the sketch.

The paperwork indicates that
several firearms were purchased,

but the name and address
are all bogus.

Okay. Take a few units to canvass
the area near the store

and take the sketch of our suspect.

All right.

Detective Esposito?

- Any word from CSU?
- Yes, sir.

They discovered part of a receipt
with a smudge on it in the duffle bag.

They're trying to get
a partial print off of that.

Now, there's no point of sale
on the receipt,

but the SKU number matched that hat.

Manufacturer's sending over a list
of outlets in the Tri-State area,

but there's over 200 locations.

Focus on the ones in Jersey first.

Twenty-four hours
before Bracken speaks.

Maybe Beckett will have better luck
with those threat letters.

CASTLE: Man, these people
need to get a life.

Most of these guys,
it seems their only companionship

is the space alien that talks to them
through their microwave.

Yeah, well, there's a lot of lonely
and confused people out there,

but so far none of the letters
match the handwriting

in our suspect's notebook.

Considering what he's capable of,

you would think Bracken would have
more formidable enemies.

Obviously you never saw
the letter that I sent him.

I did, actually. I liked the way you dotted
the "l" on "kill" with a little heart.

It was a nice touch.

Well, I was trying to give it
a personal feel.

Well done.

So, we're really not gonna
talk about this?

Well, I mean, Castle,
what is there to talk about?

Honestly? Practically everything.

Which is why all I can do
is treat it like another case.

'Cause that's what it is.
It's just like any other case.

You're tired, Castle.
Why don't you go get some rest?

No. No, no, I can stay if you like.

No, come on. Go.
I'll call you if I need anything, okay?

You really are remarkable,
you know that?

BECKETT: I'm working on this case
where I need to find a suspect.

And I came across a piece of evidence.
It's a letter that he wrote.

And there's no addresses, no name.

Just a postmark from New Jersey.

And I know in my gut
that this is our big break.

One way or another,
it's gonna lead us straight to him.

And yet here you are, talking to me.

BECKETT: If we find this suspect,

then someone worse, much worse,
is going to escape justice.

CARTER: I take it no one else knows
about the letter.

BECKETT: No. Not yet.

CARTER: Well, as a police officer,
you must've faced similar dilemmas.

BECKETT: Yeah.

CARTER: Why is this time different?

BECKETT: Because this time,
it feels like there's no right choice.

CARTER: Maybe the right choice
is the one you can live with.

CASTLE: Hey. You guys seen Beckett?

No. Not since last night.
We thought she was with you.

No, I tried her a couple of times
this morning,

but she wasn't picking up.

ESPOSITO: (ON PHONE)
All right, thanks.

Yo, I'm trying to get through this list
of stores that sell the baseball caps.

Half of them aren't even open yet.
What about you?

Nada. The canvass around
the gun store turned up empty.

- Hey.
- Hey!

You guys,
where are we on the suspect?

Nowhere. And Senator Bracken
speaks in less than 10 hours.

You find anything in those letters?

No. Nothing significant.

You doing all right?

I need a second.

(EXHALES DEEPLY)

(SNIFFLES)

You guys, there's...

Yo, I just heard back from CSU
on that receipt from the duffel bag.

They get a print off that smudge?

No, but it contained traces of synthetic
motor oil and brake pad residue.

Sounds like our guy's a mechanic.

So, then maybe he was shopping
for the rifle near work.

Where's that store again?

Paterson. Just off the highway.

It's a place to start.

All right, I'm gonna get you guys
addresses on your way.

I'll compile a list of every service
station within a five-mile radius,

and we'll expand from there.

Were you gonna say something?

No, we're past it.

RYAN: Who knew Paterson
had so many service stations, huh?

I'm pretty sure we left Paterson
five shops ago.

RYAN: (SIGHS) "Back in 20 minutes."

Well, we don't have
20 minutes to waste.

ESPOSITO: Let's move on to the next
one. We'll circle back around.

Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait a minute.
Wait a minute.

Hey, look on top of the counter,
they sell those hats here.

(BANGING ON DOOR)

ESPOSITO: Open up! Police business!

MECHANIC: All right,
I'm coming. Relax.

Don't break my glass.
Yeah, I see it. What?

How you doing? NYPD.
You know this guy?

Maybe. He looks like
one of my mechanics.

I mean, he used to be.
I laid him off, like, three weeks ago.

Do you have any paperwork he might
have filled out? Maybe a work order?

I might have some back here.

Yeah, that's it, right there.

Handwriting's a match. It's our guy.

CASTLE: Robert McManus has
a history of schizophrenia.

Multiple stays at a psych ward.

Recent episodes were triggered
by his son's death.

ESPOSITO: Hey.

Hey, where are we on deployment?

Every beat cop in the city has his photo.

SWAT's sitting on his place in Jersey,

but his neighbors say
he hasn't been there in a month.

He disappears for long stretches.

We're scouring through his financials,
but they are severely outdated.

The guy closed his accounts years ago.
Basically living off the grid.

Got something. We canvassed near
a diner McManus used to frequent.

An SRO desk clerk just ID'd him.
He's been staying there a month.

BECKETT: NYPD!

OFFICER 1: NYPD! Don't move!

OFFICER 2: Clear!

OFFICER 3: Clear!
OFFICER 4: Clear.

Clear.

Take the place apart. Look for anything
that might lead us to him.

We should check
the rest of the building.

I'll talk to the manager for details
on his routine.

NYPD. Show me your hands.

Don't move. Don't move or I'll shoot!

(DOOR OPENS)

Hey, just spoke to Ryan.
McManus is still out there.

But the boys are going door-to-door
in every building nearby.

I had him in my sights.

I had him.

So you missed. So what?
It could happen to anyone...

No.

I didn't miss.

What do you mean?

I found a letter in the threats file.

It was from McManus.

How long have you known about this?

Since last night.

McManus was accusing Bracken
of murdering his son.

I looked into it.
He was a 24-year-old kid.

He was an intern for Bracken's
re-election campaign.

He had a meeting scheduled
with a reporter,

and the next day
they found him hanged.

And you think Bracken...

(WHISPERING) I don't know, Castle.
My God.

I almost suppressed evidence.

I was gonna burn that letter.

But you didn't.

I didn't miss McManus.

I looked him in the eye
and I saw his pain.

And I couldn't take that shot.

What if I wanted him to get away?
Wanted him to go through with this?

Then what does that make me?

(DOOR OPENS)

Is there anything new?

Nothing yet on McManus,

but a search of his room turned up
wires, detonator, traces of C-4.

Looks like he was building a bomb.

A bomb? Did anyone find it?

No. If he built something,

it's either with him,
or already out there waiting to go off.

Beckett, hang on.

He had a rifle, Castle.
A rifle, not a bomb.

If he detonates that thing
tonight at the conference

and innocent people get hurt...

Okay, this is not your fault.

How is it not my fault? I'm a cop.

I had a job to do, and I didn't do it.
I've gotta make this right.

I gotta find that bomb
and save Bracken's life.

Looks like you just got some help.

Found him hiding on a rooftop
three blocks away.

What about the bomb?

Asked him about it.
Asked him about Melanie Rogers, too.

He's not much of a talker.

He hasn't said a word
since we picked him up.

Take him to interrogation.

What makes you think
he's gonna talk to you?

'Cause I know him.

BECKETT: Hi, Robert.

I'm Kate.

Why don't you take those things off?
They look uncomfortable.

I know what it's like
to lose someone that you love.

To live with that pain.

To feel the rage towards the person
responsible for it.

Towards Bracken.

BECKETT: He took someone
close to me.

He killed my mother.

And then he went after my friends.

Even tried to kill me.

Is she talking about Bracken?

She's just trying to get through to him
any way she can.

The man killed my son.

No one cared.

I care.

He needs to pay.

Not with a bomb, Robert.

You and me, we're not like him.
We don't hurt innocent people.

(WHISPERING) Where's the C-4?

You're trying to confuse me.

Or trick me into saying something
I shouldn't.

I'm trying to take down Bracken,
same as you.

And we gotta do it in the right way.

You and me
are on the same side, Robert.

You're on his side.

He controls everybody.

You're all in his pocket,
every last one of you.

BECKETT: No, I'm not.
I'm just like you, Robert.

She's losing him.

ROBERT: You're not like me.

You're making stuff up.
Making up stories.

If you went through what I went through,
you would want to see him dead!

Everything that I told you was true.

Robert, look at me.

Where's the C-4? If that thing goes off,
then there's blood on our hands.

And I cannot live with that
and I know that you can't either.

GATES: Detective, a word.

Sir!

Detective!

Sir, I can do this. I can reach him...

It's over, Detective.

Just give me another minute.

I just got a call from the feds.

They found the bomb.

McManus rented a box at a post office.
The C-4 was there.

He'd wired it into a vest.

He also obtained credentials
for the conference somehow.

Well, thank you, Captain,
for everything you've done.

Well, actually, Detective Beckett
deserves most of the credit.

She led the team.

(CELL PHONE RINGING)

Excuse me, Senator.

GATES: Good afternoon, Mr. Mayor.

(DOOR CLOSES)

I heard how you led the team.

You fired what, two shots from close
range and both of them missed?

All this talk about justice.

I guess I was right about you.

(KNOCK AT DOOR)

Check this out.

What better way to celebrate
the end of a difficult case

than with a bottle of...

CASTLE: What are you doing?

Castle, look at this vest
McManus supposedly made.

The zip ties and the wires.

They're expertly done.

You saw McManus, he was barely able
to button his own shirt.

In his current state, no.

But he could've done this
while he was still on his meds.

And what about Melanie's body?

He burned it and then he knocked out
her teeth to keep it unidentifiable.

And then he leaves a duffel bag
in a stolen car for us to find?

That doesn't make any sense.

Well, he's mentally ill.

I mean, not everything he does
is going to make sense.

No, Castle. Something is not right.

That Zippo lighter that we heard
on Melanie's voice mail?

McManus doesn't smoke. We didn't
find a Zippo in any of his things.

Kate,

let it go.

I mean, you don't have
anything to prove.

Not to Bracken, not to me,
not to yourself.

Castle, this isn't about
proving something.

This is about evidence.

All the evidence, the letter,
the notebook, the bomb,

everything traces back to McManus.

What if somebody wanted us
to find him?

What if they're framing him?

So that everyone would think
that the threat was over

while the real assassin is still out there.

The C-4 in the vest.

What if that was the bomb
that we were supposed to find?

And there's another bomb
that's still out there,

planned for the keynote address?

That's an event whose time and place
has been known for weeks.

If a bomb went off
during Bracken's speech,

they could say McManus set it
before he was apprehended.

Bracken's supposed
to go on stage at 8:00.

That's 20 minutes away.

Look, I know that I don't have any proof.
I know that this sounds crazy...

And you know how determined
Bracken was to give this speech.

If you stop it, and you're wrong,
your career is over.

And if I'm right?

(DIALING)

This is Detective Beckett,
badge number 41319.

I'm calling for the evacuation
of the Widmark Hotel.

(TIRES SCREECHING)

(PHOTOGRAPHERS CLAMORING)

Detective Beckett!

Castle, why don't you see if you can
get an update from the bomb squad?

Right.

What the hell is going on here?
Who called in the bomb squad?

We had a credible threat, sir.

Credible according to who?

I think we should speak alone.

We believe someone that you know
is trying to kill you.

What? You already have
the man in custody.

We believe McManus was set up

because of the threatening letter
that he sent you,

which means the individual involved
has access to the files in your office.

And you have evidence for all of this?

You don't have evidence?

Look, I'm not gonna make
this kind of accusation lightly.

So you called in a bomb scare
based on what? A hunch?

OFFICER: Beckett?

We finished our search
of the primary target area, Detective.

We found no explosive device.

What about the stage?
Did you check the podium...

We swept everything in a 50-foot radius

of where the Senator
would be speaking.

All right, well, this is ridiculous.
Let's just get everybody back inside.

I'm sorry, Senator,

we still have to conduct
a thorough search of the building.

It's gonna take a few more hours,
I'm afraid.

You think I don't know
what you're doing?

You let McManus get away
so that he would take me down,

and when that didn't play out,

you decided to ruin the most
important moment of my career.

- That's not what this...
- No.

You save that for the review board!

You have overplayed your hand,
and I am going to bury you!

Oh, God, Castle, I don't understand.
How did we get this so wrong?

We knew we were taking a risk.

No, there's got to be a reason
that they were framing McManus.

They had to have been planning this
for tonight, here.

That's the only thing that makes sense.

Or he wasn't being framed.

Maybe they couldn't get the bomb
in the building.

With the heightened security
because McManus was on the loose,

maybe they had to make
a different plan.

Place the bomb
somewhere more accessible.

Kate, it's over.

(FAINT CLICKING)

(CLICKING ECHOING)

CASTLE: Kate!

Castle, the driver!

SENATOR BRACKEN: His name is
Noah Charles.

He was my driver for five years.

Any reason why
he'd suddenly want you dead?

I assume because someone paid him
a great deal of money.

You don't seem shocked.

There's another world out there,
Mr. Castle,

one that most people don't see.

Run by money, influence, power.

And the people in it will do
anything they can to stay on top.

But I assume that
you already know that.

I wouldn't have done it,
you know, what she did.

I'd have stood and watched.

So, he's not talking.

But a search of his apartment
turned up a pair of gloves

with traces
of Melanie Rogers' blood on it.

They also found a fake beard and
a baseball cap just like McManus'.

So McManus could be seen
at the conference by security.

It's all part of the setup.

Melanie met Noah a bunch of times.

She probably recognized him
on the day,

wondered what he was doing
and followed him.

If she got on to him, he would've had
no choice but to kill her.

What a shame.

She was a sweet kid.

Hey, got a sec?

BECKETT: Yeah.

We did a little digging
into that driver of yours.

It turns out you're not
his only employer, Senator.

We took a look into his financials.

There're a series of large deposits
made into his checking account.

Let me guess.

Untraceable wire transfers
bounced through shadow accounts

in Switzerland and the Middle East?

Just like you would've done.

Thanks, guys.

You know who's behind this, don't you?

I have my suspicions.

Who?

Someone who's gotten rich

making powerful people promises
that I needed to keep.

What does a kingmaker do
when a king no longer follows orders?

I need a name.

You've done enough, Detective.

Senator, that person is still out there,
and I have no way of getting to him.

You're not safe.

I am touched by your concern,

but I think maybe you forget
who you're dealing with.

Sir, we have to leave.

You're already
30 minutes behind schedule.

Detective Beckett,
would you walk me out?

You saved my life.

Yeah, well,
you can't win 'em all, can you?

I suppose this means I'm in your debt.

Nothing's changed
between us, Senator.

Even so.

It's a dangerous world
out there, Detective.

You never know
when you might need a friend.

McManus' son.

Was that you?

If I said no,
would you really believe me?

MAN: There he is!

WOMAN 1: Senator!
MAN: Senator Bracken!

- Senator Bracken!
- Senator Bracken!

- Senator...
- Senator!

REPORTER: Is it true the attempt
on your life was an inside job?

REPORTER 2: Witnesses say they
arrested your driver. Any comments?

REPORTER 1: Did it have anything
to do with

your environmental initiative?

Look, the Senator is very busy...

No, no, that's okay.
I'll make a statement.

As you all know, last night
an attempt was made on my life.

And though I was not able to introduce
my initiative at the eco-conference,

it has only strengthened my resolve

to move forward
with this historic piece of legislation.

SENATOR BRACKEN: And I would
like to especially thank

the brave men and women

of the New York City Police
Department who thwarted this plot.

NEWS ANCHOR: And in a shocking
development,

federal agents arrested
Benjamin Moss,

founder of the powerful Super PAC
American Way,

after connecting him to payments made
to the Senator's would-be assassin.

Moss, a former presidential...

My God.

It was Ben Moss?

Biggest kingmaker of them all.

But Bracken only had him arrested.

The way he was talking, I half expected
the guy to die in a "plane crash"

or some kind of mysterious
"car accident."

No, this is so much better.

Now, Bracken's a folk hero.

The rare politician willing
to stand up to special interests

and fight for what's right,
even if it costs him his life.

You're right. That's a better story.

The kind of story
that could make a guy president.

He'll slip up eventually.
And when he does, I'll be ready.