Castle (2009–2016): Season 5, Episode 24 - Watershed - full transcript

The team investigates the death of a woman who hacked a law office for a specific file. It seems she thought her best friend was killed, and she was on a lead to that killer. Beckett interviews with the FBI.

Sorry to keep you waiting,
Detective Beckett.

Not a problem, Sir.
You're a busy man.

Tell that to the
Attorney General.

He just had his
first grandchild.

Now he wants to
show me pictures.

So Agent Stack spoke
very highly of you.

Smart, tenacious,

innovative thinker.

Said you were a good
candidate for the opening

on the AG investigative team.

Well, I appreciate
his confidence, Sir.

You don't agree?

No, Sir. It's just that, um...

Well, I'm-- I'm a
homicide detective.

I-I don't have any
federal experience.

The Attorney General's not
looking for federal experience.

He wants people who
can get the job done.

And from everything I've read,

that might be you.

Well, that's very
kind of you, Sir.

It's not kind.

It's what you
believe to be true,

isn't it?

It's why you got on the
plane this morning,

because given your background,

your qualifications,
and your track record,

you know that you're
headed for bigger things.

Just like you know that
opportunities like this

come along once, maybe
twice in a lifetime.

But if that's not
what you believe,

if you think that you're
just a homicide cop...

Door's right over there.

No, Sir. I know why I'm here.

Well, take a seat.

Let's get started.

Dad, we need to talk.

Which of these do
you like better?

Dad, I'm serious.

I like the green one, but
it kind of looks like

a giant green lizard
is attacking the city,

which is cool, but it's not
what the book is about.

So I either rewrite the book to
make it about a giant lizard

- or--
- Dad.

Magenta. You're right.

It's classic, it's cool,
it tells the story--

Dad.

What?

Professor Rankowsky
still hasn't received

the check for my
Costa Rica trip.

He didn't? That's so weird.

You didn't send it, did you?

I d--why--just why do you want
to go study the Rain Forest

for six weeks anyway?

Dad, we talked about this.

I know, but you're
gonna be staying

in the middle of a jungle,

miles away from the
nearest phone,

hours from the nearest hospital.

You could be bitten
by a poisonous spider

or a poisonous snake.

I looked it up.

Toucans are extremely
aggressive this time of year.

Is this about Paris?

I will admit to being...

slightly overprotective in
light of recent events.

Dad, I can't stop living my
life because of what happened.

And, yeah, I still
have nightmares,

but that's one of the
reasons I want to go.

I don't want to let fear win.

No.

No, of course.
You're right. I'll...

I'll write the check.

But it's not gonna stop me
from worrying about you

or missing you.

And I wouldn't want you to.

But it's only six weeks.

It's not like I'm
going away forever.

No, but it sounds
like someone has.

Good to see ya.

- Hey, 'Sito.
- Hey.

Where's Beckett?

How the hell should I know?

Aren't you two practically
living together now?

Ah, well, she left me alone
for a couple of days

so I could finish "Deadly
Heat," which, by the way,

is both deadly and hot, thank
you very much for asking.

I didn't.

Right.

Hey. Sorry I'm late.

Everything okay?

Um... yeah, fine.

So, um, what do we got?

This way.

The Cedric's your pretty typical

no-star residential hotel.

Mostly transients and
foreign tourists

that don't know any better.

Guests started complaining
of a strange colored water

and also a foul odor

coming from the
pipes this morning.

When maintenance finally
checked it out,

they found her.

Hey, Lanie.

Hey. So we've got a
Caucasian female.

Probably 20, 21 years old.

How'd she die?

Not sure yet.

There's evidence of blunt-force
trauma to the head.

But I won't know cause until I
get her back to the morgue.

CSU found traces
of blood and hair

on that ventilation fan.

They're running it for a match.

So someone smashed
her on the head

and then dumped her in the tank?

Uh, looks like it.

They found blood at the
base of that ladder

and on the handrailing.

Also a bloody partial print.

Who else had access to the roof?

Pretty much anyone.

The latch on the door has
been busted for years,

and often, the residents will
sneak up here for a smoke.

And what do we know about her?

Building manager

identified her as a
resident named Crystal Sky.

Checked in 10 days ago to
a room on the 18th floor.

Paid with cash.

Crystal Sky?
That name's so fake,

it sounds like something
out of one of your books.

Right?

Whoa. What--what--what is
that supposed to mean?

What do you mean, what is
that supposed to mean?

Derrick Storm? Nikki Heat?

Jameson Rook?

Would it kill you to
name someone Gonzales

every once in a while?

Well, with no ID
found on the body,

no purse, wallet, or
phone in the room,

it's hard to know who she is.

Well, she's been
here for ten days.

She must have made some friends.

Yeah, I knew her. Um...

I mean, we talked sometimes
in the laundry room.

Did she tell you
anything about herself,

like where she was from?

Texas. Lubbock, I think.

But, you know, things were bad at home.
Her dad.

Any idea what she was
doing in the city?

Oh, I can tell you
what she was doing.

The girl was a prostitute.

She wasn't a prostitute.
Why you gotta say that?

Because it's true.

The way she dressed,

the sounds coming out of her
room at all hours of the night--

We all knew it.

What kind of sounds?

Her with her johns.
The walls here are pretty thin.

Hey, you don't know what
you're talking about, okay?

Oh, Ziff, I know you liked her.

But somebody killed
that poor girl.

These folks need
to know the truth.

When was the last time
any of you saw her?

I saw her yesterday.

Around 11:00 PM. She was heading
for the laundry room.

Was anybody with her?

No, she was alone.

Okay, thank you.

Yo.

CSU just finished their sweep.

Did they find anything?

It's what they didn't find.
There were no prints.

It's like the place
has been wiped down.

The killer must have
come back to the room

to get rid of the evidence.

All right, set up a canvass.

See if anyone else entered
or exited that room.

And, uh, let's pull
surveillance footage

from the security cam
in the elevator.

- Maybe it'll tell us who she was with.
- Right on.

It doesn't take a
best-selling mystery writer

to figure this one out.

Small-town girl with
big-city dreams

ends up turning
tricks to survive.

It's a tragic, yet
all-too-familiar tale.

Except...

That's not this girl's story.

We just got a fingerprint
match off the victim's body.

Uh, her name's not Crystal Sky.

She's definitely not
from Lubbock, Texas.

Well, who is she?

Erika Albrook.

She's an honors
student at Harvard.

Our skid-row hooker is a
Harvard honors student?

Like I said, a tragic, yet
not-so-familiar tale.

5x24
Watershed

This makes no sense.

She was supposed to be in Europe

backpacking with her friends.

I mean...
we dropped her off at the airport.

- When?
- Last Monday.

The same day she checked
in to that hotel.

Any idea what she'd
be doing in the city?

None.
And why would she stay there?

My sister has a
place in midtown.

Were there any personal issues
that we should know about?

Did she have any problems with...
drugs or money?

Erika would never use drugs,

and she had...
she had plenty of money

in her bank account for Europe.

Is it possible she met
someone in the city,

a new boyfriend?

She would've told us.

Are you sure about that?

I don't know anymore.

The only thing I do
know is, our daughter

would never stay in
a place like that.

Detective, this isn't her.

Straight-A student, no
history of trouble,

on a dream European vacation

turns into a hooker
in a ratty hotel.

There is no way I'm letting
Alexis go to Costa Rica now.

Maybe she broke under the
pressure of being perfect

or maybe she just decided

she needed a change.

Honors student to prostitute
in less than a week?

That's quite a change.

Yeah. It doesn't make any sense.

Mm. Hey, where were
you this morning?

What do you mean?

Just called you, a
bunch of times.

Uh, my phone must have been off.

Hey, guys.

Come check this out.

11:00 PM the night Erika died.

She takes the elevator
down to the laundry room.

Now this is 11:05.

She takes the elevator
back up to her room.

Seems perfectly normal.

Yeah, but watch.

This is just after midnight.

She takes the elevator
up to the top floor,

alone, but watch what happens
when she gets there.

It looks like she's making
sure no one sees her.

Or following her. But that's it.

She doesn't come back down.

And no one goes back up
there until 4:00 AM.

What about earlier?

No. The last person to
go up to the top floor

was another hotel guest
an hour earlier,

but the guy's 80 years old.

There's no way he's climbing
a water tower with a body.

Sounds like whoever killed
her used the stairs.

Hey. So...

No recent activity on her phone.

She left it with her parents

since she was supposed
to be in Europe.

But, um, check this out.

Credit card charge?

Yeah, from two days ago.

It's her only transaction since
checking in to the hotel.

Margo's.

That's a restaurant in midtown.
It's expensive.

Yeah, and she wasn't alone.

Turns out she split the check
with a Talia McTeague.

Okay, run her down.
Maybe she can give us some answers.

Uh, is there anything
on the canvass?

Nothing useful.

None of the occupants
of the hotel

admit to seeing anyone going
in and out of her hotel room.

But given what they heard
coming from her room at night,

it's pretty clear she
was a prostitute.

If she was a prostitute, she
wasn't very good at it.

Seriously?

You can tell that?

Prostitution usually means sex,

and there's no evidence
of sexual activity.

But what I did find

were defensive wounds,
bruising around the neck,

and evidence of multiple
blows to the head.

I'm guessing someone
held her by her throat

and slammed her head into
that ventilation fan.

Lack of water in
the lungs indicate

that she was dead before
she went in the tank.

Then why bother even
putting her in there?

Water has a great way
of washing away things

like trace DNA.

Wait a minute.
I don't understand.

If she wasn't having sex,

then what were all of those
sounds coming out of her room?

Okay.
So she wasn't really a hooker,

she just wanted everyone
to think that she was.

Why?

I don't know, but not everyone
thought she was a hooker.

That guy next door, he was
pretty adamant she wasn't.

So what did he know
that the others didn't?

I already told you what I know.

Not everything, Ziff.

How did you know she
wasn't a prostitute?

Please, look, I don't
want any trouble.

- Did you murder her?
- What? No.

The nothing you say is gonna
get you into trouble.

Well, I heard those...
sounds, you know.

Come on, Ziff.

There's a hole...

in the wall

in the back of the closet.

You were spying on her?

What did you see?

Well, that's the thing.
I heard all those sounds,

but there was nothing going on.

It was just her sitting
on the bed all night,

fully dressed, with
her headphones on,

typing on her laptop.

There wasn't a
laptop in the room.

There used to be.
She'd be on it all night,

staring at the screen.

Did you ever see anyone
else in there with her?

No.

It was always just her.

Thanks for coming in,
Ms. McTeague.

Of course.
I can't believe she's dead.

So, um, how did you know Erika?

We were friends from Harvard.

We were both computer
science majors.

Do you know what she
was doing in the city?

No.

But you had lunch with
her two days ago. Why?

It was... weird.

That morning, I was
getting coffee

from this place in the village,

and I saw her in this big
argument with some guy.

She was dressed very different--

sexed up and her hair was pink.

Anyway, he storms off,

and I go up to her to say hello.

And she just looks at me

with this panicked
look on her face

and--and bolts.

Later that day, she
tracked me down,

called me at my office, and said

we needed to meet up right away.

So what happened at lunch?

She begged me not to tell anyone

that she was in the city,

that if people found out,

she could be in a
lot of trouble.

Did she say why?

I kept asking her
what was going on,

but she wouldn't talk about it.

She said she was on
some sort of a mission.

A mission?

This guy that she
was arguing with,

do you know who he was or
what they were arguing about?

No.

I just heard him say,

"You have no idea what
you're up against.

These people don't mess around."

Can you describe him?

Yeah.

Uniforms are
canvassing the Cedric,

but so far, nobody
recognizes him.

Here's what I don't get-- why
go through all the trouble

of creating a fake persona

when you're just gonna be
on your laptop all night?

Wait.

Does the Cedric have wi-fi?

Yeah, that's about all it has.

Computer science major,

hours on her laptop?

She's a hacker,

which is why she was
staying at the Cedric.

She could pay in cash
and remain anonymous

while she was using
the IP address.

Exactly, and whatever
she was hacking into

was either so illegal
or so dangerous,

she had to make sure they
couldn't trace it back to her.

And even if they did
trace it back to her,

they'd still have to find her
amongst hundreds of residents.

So she created a
whole false persona.

And who's gonna look twice
at a runaway hooker?

I mean, she's like the girl
with the dragon tattoo.

Only they did find her,

which is why we can't
find her laptop.

Whoever she went up against

killed her and took it.

Uh, problem.
We don't know who she went up against,

and none of her friends
seem to know either.

Okay, contact the Cedric's
internet provider

and get a list of all
the IP addresses

accessed by residents
over the past two weeks.

There's gotta be an answer
somewhere in there.

How about I take a break
from writing tonight,

you come to my place, I
open a bottle of wine?

Detective Beckett.

Can I have a word?

Yes.

I'll catch you later?

She's all yours.

Sir.

Shut the door.

Have a seat.

I, uh...

just got a call about you...

from the deputy
director of the FBI.

Apparently you had quite
the interview in DC.

This morning.

Look, Sir, it was--

I just want to tell
you that, um...

I gave you my highest
recommendation.

You did?

Kate, this is the kind of work
you were meant to be doing.

You'd be on the national stage,
utilizing all your talents.

This is an incredible
opportunity.

I would've killed to have a
shot at something like this

when I was your age.

Thank you, Sir, but it
was just an interview.

I mean, it's a
long shot at best.

No, I wouldn't be
so sure about that.

From what I hear,
you're on a short list.

And with any luck, this
could be your last case.

Oh, girl, you scared me.

What are you doing
here so early?

I just wanted to see if you had
anything new on the victim.

Well, I was able to
place time of death

between 12:00 midnight
and 1:00 AM.

Oh, and I found traces of
creosote under her fingernails,

which is probably meaningless

since the boiler room is right
next to the laundry room...

And it could've gotten on her
hands when she went down there.

But...

That's not why
you're here, is it?

Okay. What's wrong?

Nothing...

yet.

Lanie, if you had
the opportunity

to do something that
you wanted to do

but it would mean that...

Everything in your
life might change,

would you take it?

Well, it depends.

How good is the opportunity?

Great. Really, really great.

But the job's in DC.

And you're worried about Castle.

I mean, we're in this
relationship, but...

We never talk about
where we're going.

And that's okay right now.
It's just...

But if I get that job...

Then you're gonna have to.

Yeah.

Maybe that's not
such a bad thing.

Yeah, but what if it is?

Hey, Castle.

Yeah. No, I just wanted to get
an early start on the day.

I didn't want to wake you up.

Okay. All right.
I'll meet you there.

So I ran down all
the IP addresses

that were accessed through
the hotel server...

to find out what our
victim was up to.

Any luck?

The majority of the IPs
were to porn sites.

Really, which ones?

I took the liberty
of ruling those out,

as well as normal
commercial sites--

Google, Amazon, YouTube.

That narrowed it down to
a couple hundred sites.

So we're still looking for
a needle in a haystack.

Not necessarily.
I took those and went back,

looking for multiple unique site
hits that coincided with the dates

your victim was checked
in to the hotel.

That left about 20.

Now we're talking, girl.

- I-I can deal with 20.
- You might not have to.

Of those 20, I looked for IPs
that were accessed late at night...

during the period when
your witness claimed

the victim was on her laptop.

This is your most
likely candidate.

The server IP was accessed
multiple times a night

nearly every night Erika
was at the hotel.

And who's it belong to?

IP was traced to
Banks & Bauer.

It's a boutique law
firm in midtown.

Represents high-level
politicos and corporations.

Maybe Erika was some kind
of online Erin Brockovich,

you know, a crusader for good

delving into the seedy
underbelly of the legal system

in order to uncover
some seamy truth.

Or maybe she was just
hired by a rival firm

to steal privileged information.

Now why must you be so cynical?

It's in my job description.

Which is why you need me.

Okay, why don't you dig
into Erika's life?

Castle and I will hit the law firm
and see if there's any connection.

Thank you?

No, I've never seen her
before in my life.

Ms. Banks, you're sure?

Oh, I'm positive.

Mitch. This is my
partner-- Mitch Bauer.

Do you know this girl?

No. Should I?

The police think she may
have hacked our server.

Why, what did she access?

We don't know.

- Well, is she in custody?
- Sort of.

What do you mean, sort of?

She's dead.

Actually, she was murdered, and we
believe it might have to do with

whatever it was she was trying
to access from your system.

Security software and firewall
protection don't indicate any incursion.

Yeah, but if the hacker is good,
your software may not pick it up.

Is there any way to
trace network activity

on your server for
the past week?

Yeah.

There--between 11:00 PM
and 3:00 AM.

All last week.

But according to the usage logs,

no one was signed on to
the system at that time.

Are you telling me,
this girl had access

to our records for the
past week and a half,

and you have no idea
what she was doing?

I'm afraid so.

Are there any cases
or litigation

that your firm's
involved in currently

that might hinge on
privileged information?

Are you kidding me, Detective?
We're a law firm.

All of them.

So no one at the law firm knew
what she was looking for either?

Either that or they're
covering something up.

But the only evidence of what she was
up to is on that missing laptop.

So without it, we're
dead in the water,

much like Erika.

Too soon.

Hey, guys. I got something.

That phone call that she made
to her friend to arrange lunch

had me wondering exactly
where that call came from.

Turns out, it was a
payphone at the hotel.

So I ran down the other
calls made from that phone.

One of 'em popped.

Ian Blaylock?

Yeah, he was an attorney
at Banks & Bauer

until he was fired
six months ago.

She made three phone calls
to him from that phone.

Each lasting over five minutes.

This is Blaylock.

Mr. Blaylock, NYPD.

Mr. Blaylock, open up.

I think our plot just thickened.

I'm pretty sure this
wasn't a suicide.

How can you tell?

See that diagonal ligature
mark running up his neck?

Yeah.

Well, that's what
we'd expect to find

because the weight of the body pulls
the cord into a vertical line.

But?

But this other faint
ligature mark--

see how it runs horizontally
across his neck?

He was strangled first.

Then strung up.

So we have a second murder.

Well, technically,
it's the first murder.

Given temperature
and decomposition,

I'd say he died at least a day
before our lady in the water tank.

Beckett.

So I was going through
Blaylock's recent activity.

I found this chat exchange between
him and an anonymous user.

"Changed my mind.

"Can't live like this anymore.

"Will tell you
everything I know.

Where can we meet?"

The person replies,"There's a
place near where I'm staying.

Cedric Hotel. Rooftop.
At midnight."

She asked him to
meet her up there.

She must have thought it was a
location she could control.

Uh, guys, look what time
he sent the message.

10:00 PM the night
she was murdered.

Right, but according to
Lanie's time of death,

Blaylock was already dead.

So this was sent by
whoever killed him.

He lured her out.

Then killed her, too.

So the folks at the
law firm claim

that they have no idea why
anyone would murder Blaylock

or why Erika was
looking for him.

Did they at least tell you
why they let Blaylock go?

Only that it was a
personal issue.

Well, it must have
been pretty serious.

We checked with friends.

Apparently, he was a
rising star at the firm

until about a year ago
when, out of the blue,

he just became distant
and withdrawn.

His marriage fell apart, and
he started doing drugs.

It's like something happened.

So Erika was looking
into the firm.

Blaylock used to
work at the firm.

And now they're both dead.

Why?

Just heard back from
Erika's parents.

The law firm rang a bell.

Turns out that Erika's best
friend from high school

interned there last
summer-- a Pam Bonner.

Okay.

Maybe she can give
us some answers.

Where do we find her?

Um, Mount Hope Cemetery
in Westchester.

She was killed last
summer in a car crash.

What were the circumstances?

Well, there were no witnesses, but
according to the police report,

she was driving home from
the firm's summer party.

She lost control and
crashed into a tree.

Autopsy indicates that she
was intoxicated at the time.

But Erika never believed
the official account.

Any reason why?

Well, she believed that Pam
would never drive drunk.

And when they found Pam, she
was wearing high heels,

and Erika said she
never drove in heels.

Three deaths, all leading back to
the law firm of Banks & Bauer.

Is it just me, or is this starting
to smell like a John Grisham novel?

A single-car accident
with no witnesses?

Guys, this is a classic
conspiracy cover-up.

Though only a lowly intern,

Pam stumbles onto something
the firm is doing,

something big, nefarious.

She has to be silenced,
only after the accident,

Blaylock can't take the
guilt or admit the truth.

So his only bastion is to escape
into the sweet oblivion of drugs.

And then when Erika
starts coming around,

they realize that they're gonna have
to act by eliminating them both.

But what are they covering up?

Whatever it is,

the only possible evidence
is on Erika's laptop,

which our killer took.

Yeah.
Wait, are we sure about that?

Erika was meeting Blaylock
on the roof, right?

A guy who, according to the e-mail,
she didn't know very well.

If I'm Erika, I'm
hiding that laptop.

Well, we searched her room.
It wasn't there.

Wait. Do you guys remember the
footage from the elevator?

Yes. She went down to
the laundry room first.

And Lanie said that she found traces
of creosote under her fingernails

from the boiler room next door.

The laptop's in the basement.

Oh, man.
This was Castle's theory.

How'd we draw the short straw?

I don't know.
Let me ask you something.

You notice anything
weird about Beckett?

What do you mean?

Well, she's... she's different.
Something's off.

What are you saying, like,
she's pregnant or...

What are you talking about?
Where did that even come from?

Well, you said she was acting different.
They're consenting adults--

Beckett is not pregnant.
Come on, man.

What's so wrong about
being pregnant?

You know, I-I can't even talk
to you about this right now.

Okay. Well, um,

try to get over it before Jenny
tells you the news, okay?

What? Are you serious?

Congratulations, man.
That's great.

Thanks, man.

Hold up.
There's something up here.

- What's that?
-That's a laptop.

Okay. No, that's great.
Thank you.

So they found the laptop.

I knew it. So what was on it?

Well, the hard drive is encrypted,
so techs are going through it now.

Well, somewhere on that computer is
a conspiracy of lies so heinous,

so deadly...

- What's this?
- What's what?

Boarding pass.

- Castle--
- You fly to DC yesterday?

- Yes, I did.
- Why?

I was invited down
for an interview.

What kind of interview?

For a position with a
federal task force.

I'm sorry.

You interviewed for another
job in another city...

and you didn't tell me?

I didn't tell you about it because
it was just an interview,

and I knew that you
would be upset.

Yeah. Yeah, you're
damn right, I'm upset.

Castle, I just wanted to
see what was out there.

What's wrong with that?

What's wrong with it is
that you hid it from me.

In fact, you lied about it.
I wouldn't do that to you.

Castle, this isn't about you.
This is about me.

This is about my life.

So you're seriously
considering this?

Yes. This is a
wonderful opportunity.

It'll be a chance to do more.

Without me.

Castle, please don't do this.
Please don't make this about us.

I'm sorry.
Tell me how this isn't about us?

You get this job, you move to DC,
I'll never see you.

That's pretty much the end of
our relationship, isn't it?

You don't know that.

And I probably won't
even get the job.

That's not the point.

The point is, you knew
what this could mean

and it didn't occur
to you to include me.

Or worse, it did occur to you...

and you chose not to.

Now what does that say about us?

Not much, you ask me.

- Castle--
- I can't be here right now.

- You okay?
- Yep.

- Where's Castle?
- I don't know.

We had a fight, okay?

What, like a regular fight or...

How bad?

Hey, guys. We got something.

Once your victim hacked
into the law firm,

she started with the basics--
e-mails, calendars, payroll.

Then she moved on to
client and personal files.

Do we know what she
was looking for?

Hard to say, but for
the last few nights,

Erika became very focused on the
firm's accounting department.

The accounting department?

It appears that she
was looking into

Ian Blaylock's billable
hours records.

Focusing exclusively on
one week last summer.

Wait a minute.

That's the same week as
Pamela Bonner's car accident.

Right. Now check it out.

The highway patrol determined
that Pam Bonner's accident

occurred between
1:30 and 2:00 AM.

And Ian Blaylock billed for
an incoming phone call

from a client at 1:45 AM.

So you think one of his clients
might have been involved?

Maybe ran her off the road?

According to the highway patrol,
it was a one-car accident.

You guys, what if
Erika was right?

What if Pamela wasn't driving
drunk or in her high heels?

In fact, what if Pamela
wasn't driving at all?

Someone else was driving,

someone who crashed

and didn't want to be
blamed for Pam's death.

So he put her behind the
wheel, fled the scene.

And then called their lawyer.

Who made that phone
call to Blaylock?

For security, the firm replaces
its clients' names with codes.

This one's 47BGO.

Okay, that firm's never gonna
give up that information.

Let's see where else
that code shows up.

Cross-reference it, see if we can
ID our person from there.

You don't have to look too far.

Blaylock billed that
very same client

for a round of golf the
day after the car crash.

Well, that'd be a perfect
place to discuss details.

No one would over hear them.

So according to the
starter at the pro shop,

Blaylock was playing golf
with another member--

Colin Rigsdale III.

- Of the Rigsdale political family?
- Yeah.

Word is daddy's grooming him
for a State Senate run.

Not if this gets out.

A fatal car crash
with a college chick?

Nah, he'd be done.

That's why he was
covering it up.

With Blaylock's help
until the guilt set in.

And then Erika started
poking around,

and people started dying.

It says here Rigsdale's still
represented by banks and Bauer.

Give 'em a call.
Tell 'em I'm coming.

Right.

Hey, what's going on?
Where's Castle?

Don't ask.

Thank you for meeting
with me, Mr. Rigsdale.

Well, when Jessica
told me someone

had hacked into their system,

I was, of course, concerned.

I think we all know what my
political opponents might do

if they managed to access
confidential information.

So the girl who hacked
into our system,

did you find out
what she was after?

Yes, and we also believe we
know why she was killed.

Are you familiar with a
girl named Pamela Bonner?

Detective, what is this about?

Mr. Rigsdale?

The name's not familiar.

Really? I understand

that she was an intern here
at the firm last year.

Isn't that correct?

And isn't it also correct
that you attended

the Banks & Bauer summer
associate party last year?

Don't answer that.

Detective, what are you doing?

The same thing that my victim
Erika Albrook was doing,

trying to figure out

how her best friend Pamela
Bonner actually died.

Her death was an accident.

Really?

Then why do we have a
record of Ian Blaylock,

Mr. Rigsdale's
attorney at the time,

receiving a phone call from
him at 1:45 that night?

Detective, this is
privileged information.

It's inadmissible.

And we're not in court.

This meeting is over.
You need to leave. Now.

Just tell me, how am I
supposed to trust her?

How am I even supposed to-- to
be in a relationship with her

if she won't let me in?

Well, Richard--

After everything that we've
been through together, I...

I just don't understand.

I hate to say it,
kiddo, but I do.

Look, the truth is,

Katherine is a bright,
ambitious woman.

She should be interviewing
for that job.

Whose side are you on?

You want her to put you first

when neither one of you know

where the relationship is going.

Do you know how absurd that is?

I mean, that is as bad

as your not signing that
check for Alexis' program.

This isn't about me.

Are you sure?

I know you.
You do not hold back.

Except...

this thing with Katherine.

It took you, what, three years
to tell her how you felt.

Another year to act on it.

And now, first sign of trouble,
you're ready to run.

Why?

Now you're having a good
time, you both are,

and I know you say you love her,

but, darling, this
is who she is.

So is it possible that the
reason you have held back

is because somewhere
deep down inside

you don't think this
is gonna really work?

I take it he didn't confess.

I didn't need him to.

I just needed to see his eyes.
It's him.

Well, the evidence
begs to differ.

His prints are in the system

from his arrest at a political
protest a decade ago.

I ran 'em against the partial.
It's not a match.

And the papers put him at his
family's compound in Maine

during Erika's murder.

Yeah, well, he'd never
do this himself,

and hiring someone else is too
risky for a public figure.

He'd...
he'd get a close associate

or a trusted friend to do it.

So why don't we dig in to
his life and find out who?

Right.

Beckett.

Detective.

Deputy Director Anthony
Freedman calling.

You remember?
From the interview.

Uh, yes, Sir. Yes, I do.

Uh, what can I do for you?

You can say yes.

Detective, you got the job.

Hey, where's Beckett?

She took off about an hour ago.

Something's going on,

but she wouldn't tell me what.

Huh.

Well, I was looking in to
Rigsdale's known associates

and I came across this photo.

That is Martin Tillage,
Rigsdale's half brother

and the black sheep
of the family.

Look familiar?

Yeah, we interviewed this guy.

He was one of the
guests at the Cedric.

He must have checked
in to try to find her

and then hung around

so his departure didn't
look suspicious.

He's gotta be our guy.

I'll have uniforms pick him up.

- See if you can find Beckett.
- Yeah.

It sounds like a great offer.

Yeah, it is.

Your mom would be proud.

Hell, I'm proud.

So... what are you gonna do?

I don't know, dad.

It's like I'm standing
at a crossroads

and I have to choose between
two possible futures.

Why do you think you
have to choose?

Because, dad, he's right.

If I take this job,

then there's not gonna
be time for anyone else.

And then if I don't--

It'll be because of him,

and you'll end up
resenting him for it.

Or... worse.

Dad, I don't know what we have.

I don't know if it's... real.

It's like we've been
doing this dance

for the past five years and...

I mean, what happens
when the music stops?

What if all we were in
love with was the dance?

You know, your whole life,

you've never had a
relationship go this far.

You know, somewhere around here,

you always end them.

Now why is that?

Look, Katie, I know you.

When you get scared,

you hide in your work.

And I just want you to be sure,

whatever decision you make,

it's because it's what you want

not because you're afraid.

This job...

It's what I want.

Then tell him.

He's gonna hate me, dad.

That's something you'll
have to live with.

My last case...

I better go end it.

There you are.

Sorry it took me so
long to write it.

Go have fun.

Thanks, dad.

Dad, are you okay?

Yeah.

You seem sad.

No, I'm fine.

It's only Costa Rica.

I'll be back before you know it.

Oh, that's--that's sweet, but,
no, it's not about that.

It's, uh...

Something your
grandmother told me.

There comes a point in our lives

when we have to stop
fooling ourselves

into thinking life's gonna
be the way we want it to be.

Start seeing things for
how they really are.

So I was there. So what?

I needed a place in the city
to stay for couple of nights.

Is that a crime?

No, but killing a girl is.

What did your brother
promise you, Martin--

respectability for
the black sheep,

a place at the family table?

I told you, I've never seen
this girl before in my life.

You're wasting your time.

Do you have any idea
how many people

have sat across that table and
confessed their sins to me?

What makes you think that
you're any different,

any smarter?

You've only been in
this room for one hour.

But this room...

This room has been my life...

My home.

And I will not let you sit there
and lie to me in my own home.

This is a partial print
found at the crime scene

in the victim's blood.

It's a match to yours, Martin.

Am I still wasting my time?

I've got enough to convict you.

So the question is,

how many years of your own
life are you gonna sacrifice

for someone else's future?

Or are you ready to deal?

He's prepared to
give a statement

implicating his brother

in both murders as
well as the accident.

Would you guys mind taking it?

Yo, Kate.

Yeah.

What's up?

Yeah, what's going on?

Look, there's something that
I have to tell you guys,

but there's someone else
that I have to tell first.

Castle.

It's me.

We need to talk.

Yeah, we do.

I'm sorry.

I shouldn't have kept secrets.

It's who you are.

You don't let people in.

I've had to scratch and
claw for every inch.

Castle, I--

Please let me finish.

I've been doing a lot
of thinking about us,

about our relationship,
what we have...

Where we're headed.

I've decided I want more.

We both deserve more.

I agree.

So whatever happens...

And whatever you decide...

Katherine Houghton Beckett...

Will you marry me?