Castle (2009–2016): Season 7, Episode 23 - Hollander's Woods - full transcript

A death occurs in the woods and Castle becomes obsessed with the case because it reminds him of a pivotal event in his childhood. Beckett reaches a turning point in her life.

Boom!

"Hello.

I'm serious and brooding
Richard Castle."

"And I am friendly, accessible,

ruggedly handsome
Richard Castle."

Wow, dad.

Could your head get any bigger?

Can you blame me?

I'm accepting

the poe's pen career
achievement award.

It is the biggest honor
a mystery writer can get.

I am joining
the pantheon of greats

to whose heights
I have always aspired.

So which big head?

Uh, I like the ruggedly
handsome, smiling giant you.

I like the serious,
brooding giant you.

All right, mother.
You are the tie-breaker.

Which of these
should be hanging behind me

- at the ceremony next week?
- Oh.

Darling, you know I refuse
to play favorites.

I love both of my son's
big heads equally.

All right.

I am off to meet
a friend of mine

whose father just passed away.

Oh, Martha, I am so sorry.

Oh, no, no. don't be.

He had a r-rich, full life.

And, more importantly, he has a
rent-controlled loft in Chelsea,

which, if I play my cards right,
could be mine.

Bye.

Well, there's the "death as
opportunity" spirit we all love.

Oh, looks like we have
an opportunity of our own.

Oh! Let's head out.

We'll go head-to-head later.

See where I'm heading?

You know, with this award,
you going for captain,

we could be New York's
newest power couple.

Oh, Castle, don't jinx it.

I haven't even gotten
my exam results back yet.

You, you aced it.

No, man. It was that guy
with the ax in his heart.

He bled out in the barcalounger.

We called him
"lord of the flies," remember?

No, no, no. You're wrong, bro.

It was the pet-shop owner
whose wife fed him to the dogs.

What are you guys
fighting about?

Uh, the first case
that Captain Montgomery

partnered us on
10 years ago today.

Really? It's your manniversary?

And I didn't get you anything.

There's still time.

You the folks from the 12th?

I'm Trooper Collins.

Thanks for coming
out of your jurisdiction.

Our victim's a Jane Doe.

It appears
she was attacked in the woods

and chased onto the road,

where she was hit by that truck.

Because of the assault,

we're classifying the death
as a homicide.

Any idea
where she was coming from?

It's state game land.

Not a house for miles.

- Any I.D. on the body?
- No.

And we ran her prints,
but they're not on file.

We've got our teams out there
searching the woods,

but we found these
tucked into her bra.

$50 bill, key card,
and a cash receipt.

From a coffee shop in the city,
dated yesterday.

This card
looks like a hotel key.

But it's not
from anywhere around here.

We think maybe she was
staying in the city.

We were hoping you could
help us track down who she is

and what she was doing here.

Yeah, of course.

Trooper Collins?

These carvings on her face?

The crosses?

Freaky, right?

We think she was maybe
running from whoever did that.

They look ritualistic.

Yeah. And it gets freakier.

Just as that trucker
hit the girl,

he says he saw
something emerge from the woods.

Some thing?

A dark figure wearing a mask.

What kind of mask?

He was pretty shaken,
so we didn't press.

We'll get a full statement
from him once he's been treated.

Where is he?

At the hospital in Woodbury.

Excuse me. Trooper Collins. Go.

We need to talk to that driver.

I tried to stop. I did.

But she just came
out of nowhere.

Mr. Walters, the trooper said you
saw something in the woods.

Yeah. It almost didn't seem real...

like it was some kind of ghost.

Freaky as all hell.

Can you describe it?

It wore a dark ragged coat

with a mask like a doll's face.

Like porcelain?

Yeah.

It was white, with black
where the eyes should have been.

Were there markings on it?

- Yeah.
- Like what?

Like streaked teardrops
coming from the eyes.

Uh, and the... the face,
it was, uh...

bisected with two black lines,
like a cross.

Yeah.

How'd you know that?

Castle, what's going on?

It was real.

What was real?

Beckett, I've seen
that mask before.

S07E23
Hollander's Woods

The sketch
is from the truck driver.

You ready to talk about it?

I was 11 years old.

Uh, my mother
was touring with "Pippin."

I was in New Hampshire,

staying with the family
of a classmate

for presidents' day weekend.

Their home abutted a few hundred
acres of state forest

called Hollander's Woods.

We were told never
to go into the woods alone.

Somebody told you not to,
so you had to do it anyway.

I walked for hours.

I was cold, completely lost.

And that's when I saw him...

a figure clad in black,
kneeling.

And after a few moments,
he left.

And that's when I saw her
on the ground.

"Her"?

A body.

First body I ever saw.

Her throat had been slit,
and those same symbols

were carved into her forehead
and her cheeks.

I touched her arm.

I remember thinking
how cold it was.

Tell anyone
what you've seen here today,

and I'll find you and kill you.

Do you understand?

Go!

Why do you think
he let you live?

I don't know.

I waited till I got back
to the city

to call the police
from a pay phone.

I was too scared
to let them know who I was.

And who was the girl?

That's just the thing.

They searched the woods
with cadaver dogs.

They never found a body.

So you never figured out
who she was?

I checked local papers.

No one in the area
had been reported missing.

When I got older,
I checked with missing persons,

even the f.B.I. Database,

for anyone
matching her description

or any crimes involving
those symbols or that mask,

but there was nothing.

It's like it never happened.

And after a while,
I started to wonder if it had.

That day in the woods, Kate...

that's why I do what I do.

I'm driven to figure out
the story

because I could never
figure out that one.

Why didn't you ever
tell me this before?

I think I didn't want it
to be real.

But it is real.

He's real.

He killed before,

and he just tried to kill again.

I checked
with the police department

near Hollander's Woods.

Their logs do show
that they received a call

in February of '83
reporting a body.

But after coming up empty,
they assumed it was a prank.

Okay, what about
the F.B.I. database?

There's been no other
occurrences in the past 30 years

of any assaults or murders
with this M.O.

Beckett, this thing
that Castle says happened,

it was decades ago.

Is he really sure about this?

As sure as I've ever seen him.

- Hmm.
- So, our Jane Doe...

anything
on that coffee-shop receipt?

Yeah, a barista there
remembered seeing our victim.

She wasn't a regular,

but she had been in several
times in the past few days.

Was anyone with her?

No. She came in alone.

She'd get her drink,
take a seat,

and spend hours
staring out the window.

Okay, why don't we set up
a canvass of the neighborhood?

Maybe someone there
knows who she is.

After all these years,

do you really think
it could be the same killer?

We won't know until we find him.

Yo.

That key card
that we found on the victim?

It was tracked to an extended-stay
motel out in Queens.

She paid cash for the room.

Didn't present an I.D.

Registered as Jane Smith.

Not her real name, I'm guessing.

So we still don't know
who she is.

Did she have a car when
she checked in?

No. Cab dropped her off.

Which means
someone took her to those woods.

How long
has she been staying here?

About two weeks.

Espo, check the drawers.

See if we can find anything
to I.D. our victim.

Beckett.

Photos. All of the same woman?

And look at this.

- License plate numbers.
- Hundreds of them,

along with the registered
address of each vehicle.

Why would she have that?

Look at the plate numbers.

Each one has the letters "x"
and "z" in it.

Our victim was looking
for someone specific.

Yeah, but who?

I think
I know someone we can ask.

I knew something bad
would happen to Emma.

I was trying to find her,
to... to stop her.

Mr. Malloy, what was
your daughter doing in the city?

Two months ago,
a friend of hers disappeared.

Emma was trying to find her.

Wait.

Was this her friend?

Yeah. Zoey Addison.

And what exactly do you mean
by "she disappeared"?

Zoey had a boyfriend
that was beating on her.

So she took his car and was
on her way to stay with Emma.

But she never showed.

Couple days later,
the cops found the car

by the side of the road
with a busted radiator...

But no sign of Zoey.

- Did they talk to the boyfriend?
- Oh, yeah.

But he was two states away
with an alibi.

He reported the car stolen,

so the cops just figured
that Zoey was on the run

and ditched it for another ride.

But Emma knew that Zoey
wouldn't do that...

not without calling.

So Emma took a leave
from her cashier's job

to try to find her,
retracing her route.

Em found a waitress
at a truck stop

who saw Zoey get
in the back of a white Sedan.

With New York plates containing
the letters "x" and "z"?

Yeah.

The waitress told Emma
it had an oval sticker

in its back window
that said "NYC."

That's what she was doing
in the city.

She was trying to track
the car Zoey got into.

Mr. Malloy, do these woods
mean anything to you?

Is there any reason
that Emma would be in them?

Were they on Zoey's route,
maybe?

Somewhere near
where she disappeared?

Zoey was coming from Pittsburgh,
the opposite direction.

And all this time, no one's
heard anything from her?

Zoey didn't have family.

And if it wasn't for Emma,

no one would have even known
that she'd disappeared.

That's why I
could never find the girl

I saw in the woods.

He targets people
who won't be missed...

hitchhikers, stranded motorists.

He asks them
a couple of questions.

If they fit the profile,
he kills them.

And if not, he's just some good
samaritan giving them a ride.

That's why he didn't kill me.

It would have
attracted attention.

30 years.

How many times
do you think he did this? 10?

20? 100?

I should have found
a way to stop him.

Castle, you were 11 years old.

And what happened to you
back then was terrible.

And I know that you're
thinking of this case

as a way
to exorcise those demons,

but we don't know
what we have here.

We don't even know
if this is the same person.

Of course it's the same person.

See, Emma must have been able
to do what I never could.

She tracked him down.

That's why he went after her.

I have to find this guy, Kate.

I need to end this.

Guys, is there any way

to check police records
from 30 years ago?

See if there were
any abandoned cars

ticketed within a 50-mile
radius of Hollander's Woods?

Sure. We just have to call

all the municipal police
departments in the area...

And wait for them
to stop laughing long enough

to beg them to check
their dusty storage rooms.

You serious?

We need to know exactly
what we're dealing with here,

so happy manniversary.

Detective Beckett. A word?

- Close the door.
- Oh, yeah.

I just got a call
from 1PP.

They want me to take you
off shift tonight

for a performance review.

Um, sir,

my review's not scheduled
for another three months.

D-do you think
that this has something

to do with the captain's exam?

No, they don't ask for a meet
to discuss exam results.

They notify you by mail.

So w-what's going on?

I don't know, and none
of my sources are talking.

But they want you there at 7:30.

Well, maybe it's good news.

Maybe you're getting
an award, too...

"career achievement
in homicide."

Yeah, okay,
it's probably not that.

But, still,
it could be good news.

Well, then why is my cop sense
telling me it's bad?

Hey, guys. Got something.

I was running those license
plates on Emma's list,

seeing if any of the owners
have criminal backgrounds,

when I noticed this car
registered to an address

right down the street
from the coffee shop

where Emma went
the day she was killed.

She was surveilling that car.

She must have thought
it was the one

that Zoey got into
at the truck stop.

And when the owner of the car
realized she was onto him,

- he went after her.
- Whose car is it?

That's the weird thing.
It belongs to this woman.

Connie Lewis.

But she's 72
and has no criminal record.

What's her address?

There it is.

White sedan,
"x" and "z" in the plate,

"NYC" sticker in the window.

Exactly as Emma's witness
described.

Yeah, but how's
a 72-year-old woman

connected to all of this?

You okay?

After all these years, I may
finally get some answers.

Mrs. Lewis?

NYPD.

It's open.

TV's on.

Mrs. Lewis, can you hear me?!

Mrs. Lewis?

Mrs. Lewis?

Mrs. Lewis?

Mrs. Lewis?

There were no outward signs
of trauma

or carvings in her skin.

But until I get her
back to the morgue,

we can't rule out homicide.

How long has she been dead?

Based on decay,
I'd say about three years.

How did no one notice?

The killer did,
and he used her car.

And maybe her place.

Beckett.

Look what I found
in the kitchen.

The same matchbook that we found
in Emma's hotel room.

If Emma was tailing the killer,

she could have
followed him there.

I tracked down
Lewis' next of kin.

Only family listed is a son.

Found this number for him
in her things.

910 area code?
Where's that from?

- North Carolina.
- Okay.

I'll handle the notification,
see what he knows.

Not much, if he hasn't seen her
in three years.

What kind of a son
doesn't check on his own mother?

Not all families get along.

My father didn't talk
to his brother for 20 years.

Shh.

It's empty.

Check for the phone.

It's been moved.

You inside, drop your weapon!

There's a hole in the floor.

You guys, he's below us.
Let's go!

Hey!

Noah Lewis. 52.

He did a stint in the army
back in the '90s.

There's no recent record
of employment.

He told the neighbors that
his mother was bedridden

and that he was taking care
of her.

So they just assumed
that he was the good son.

Yeah, but the relationship
was far from rosy.

Four years ago,
his mother had him committed

to a state mental institution

after he threatened her
with a knife.

So I got in touch
with the state-appointed shrink

who's treating him.

He says that Noah has
borderline personality disorder

and exhibited
violent tendencies.

So it's him.

Any record of where he was
30 years ago?

Well, we're a little bit more
focused on where he is now.

We have teams
still combing the neighborhood.

We put out a bolo.
But so far, nothing.

Your theory about the killer's M.O.
may have just paid off.

You found something?

Yeah, from February of '83.

The day after you saw that body,

police ticketed
an abandoned pickup truck

they saw by the roadside
near Hollander's Woods.

The truck belonged to a farmer

who'd loaned it to
a young woman, a migrant worker,

to go out and make a supply run.

When the cops told the farmer
that they'd found his truck,

he assumed
that she'd just run off.

So he never reported
her missing.

No. He didn't want to get her
in trouble with immigration.

Did he remember who she was?

Yeah.

And he had a photo.

What was her name?

Rosalita Campo.

We'll dig deeper into Noah,

see if we can connect him
to that area 30 years ago.

We'll find him, Castle.

I promise.

I'm supposed to head off
to my review.

Do you want me to postpone?

Uh, no. I should go with you.

I'll be all right.

I'll call you when I'm done,
okay?

Okay.

- Bye.
- Bye.

Hey.

Hey.

- Are you busy? I can...
- No, I was just, um...

Reading something I wrote
a long time ago.

Dad, how old were you
when you knew?

Knew what?

That you wanted to be a writer.

Since I was a kid, I guess.

Why?

I'm finishing my junior year,

and I have no idea
what I want to do.

By the time you were my age,

you'd already published
your first book,

and now you're winning
this amazing award

because you followed
your passion.

How can I be amazing
if I can't find mine?

Trust me.

You will.

Or...

Or it'll find you.

And one day, you will look back,

and you will realize that...

Every experience you ever had,

every seeming mistake
or blind alley,

was actually a straight line

to who you were meant to be.

And whatever you become,
there's no question in my mind

you are going to be amazing.

And you know how I know?

How?

'Cause you already are.

They're ready for you,
detective.

Take a seat.

So, Detective Beckett,

says here you took
the captain's exam.

Yes, sir.

What you makes you think
you're qualified to be captain?

My experience
in the 12th precinct

has made me comfortable
in a leadership position,

- and at this point...
- What I mean is...

What makes you think
you're even qualified

to be an NYPD detective?

Sir?

Your job is to enforce the law,

yet you have
repeatedly ignored it.

In Los Angeles,
you investigated a case

- outside of your legal jurisdiction.
- But...

you used your badge
to pursue a personal vendetta

against Senator Bracken,
crossing the line

and endangering the lives
of others numerous times.

Sir, that man was a murderer.

You've withheld
case information from superiors

and flown in the face of
authority whenever it suits you,

not to mention your working
relationship with Richard Castle.

Tell me, detective,
how often have you let

your personal feelings
for your husband

dictate your actions
in pursuit of a suspect?

Sir, that is unfair.
I never let...

and when he went missing,
you used your position

and a great deal
of the taxpayers' money

to search for him, enlisting
the aid of fellow detectives.

And, well, you are infamous
for being the inspiration

for the fictional
NYPD detective Nikki Heat,

who spends more time on her back

than she does pursuing killers.

Detective Beckett,
how do you expect to lead

or even continue
in your current job

when it's clear you've
exercised such poor judgment?

Sir, if you would look
at my record...

We are looking at your record.

You are not qualified
for a captaincy,

and in my opinion...

You are not qualified
to be a detective.

Thank you. You can go.

You're wrong, sir.

Excuse me?

I said, "you're wrong."

In every case
you have referenced,

I have not only successfully
brought the killer to justice,

but I did so with
the utmost respect for the law

and for the department
I represent.

And regarding my relationship
with Mr. Castle,

he has proven to be
a brilliant partner,

and he's always had my back.

And as for his... fictional
representation of me,

I'm proud to have been
his inspiration,

and I am proud to be his wife.

You asked,
"how do I expect to lead?"

By continuing to fight
for what's right,

not for what's easy.

My job is to protect
the citizens of New York,

and I will do it by doing
my job better than anyone else

and getting results.

I don't cross the line.

I put myself on it.

And if you have
any other questions,

then you can ask the families

of the victims
that I have served.

Detective Beckett.

Sit down.

That was an impassioned
and powerful response.

In fact, it was exactly
what we were hoping for.

This wasn't
a performance review.

Then why would you
attack me like that?

We wanted to see
if you could defend yourself.

Kate, this was an audition.

For what?

Your future.

We've been looking
for someone like you...

someone who isn't corruptible,

a certifiable hero
who the people can get behind.

Kate, you're bigger
than what you're doing now.

You know it.

It's why you went to D.C.,
why you took the captain's exam.

You want a bigger stage,
and we want to give it to you.

We think
you have an amazing future.

Doing what?

We'd like you to run
for New York State Senate.

State senator?

And they say
it's just the start.

Apparently the party has had
their eye on me for a while now.

They think that people are
looking for someone like me.

And what do you think?

I don't know, Castle.

I'm a cop, not a politician.

Did I ever tell you

that I was in a model u.N.
When I was a kid?

My mom was one
of the chaperones.

And after watching me,
she said, "you know, Katie...

You can grow up
and be anything you want."

I just wanted to be her.

I just wanted to make
a difference.

And you have.

The question now is, can you
make a bigger difference?

Castle, if you saw the way

that they attacked me
in that room...

And in a campaign,
it would only be worse.

You, Alexis, my dad, Martha...

you guys would all be fair game.

We're a tough bunch.

So you think I could do it?

I know you can.

They said that I aced
my captain's exam.

I could probably have my own
precinct within the year.

When do you have to decide?

Soon.

Well, whatever you decide...

I will back your play.

Thank you.

Beckett.

That matchbook lead paid off.

The unit that we put on that bar

spotted Noah Lewis
heading inside.

E.S.U. just took him down.

They found him.

Where's my mother?

Being autopsied.

I warned her,

but she wouldn't stop
running her mouth at me.

Now she doesn't say a word.

It's what she deserved.

Well, what about the others?

Did they deserve what they got?

We know what you've done,
Noah...

Who you really are.

Tell us about Emma Malloy.

I'm not good with names.

You know her.

Where were you
the night before last?

- Out.
- Out where?

Neighbors said
your car was gone.

- I took a drive.
- Did you drive to the woods?

What about this girl?
Zoey Addison.

She was seen getting
into your car, Noah.

Now she's gone.

Mm. She's pretty.

Is she dead?

I can't help you.

Where do you take them,
the others?

How do you make them disappear?

We have your car, Noah,
your house.

We will find evidence.

Did Emma find evidence?

Is that why you went after her?

Because she got too close?

Is that why you shot at us?

You were in my house.

don't you see?

I'm the victim here.

I'm the victim.

What's wrong?

Just he's been getting away
with it for 30 years.

I thought he'd be
more... formidable.

We have a problem.

I just spoke with C.S.U.

So far, they haven't found
anything in the house or the car

that links Noah to Emma or Zoey.

So we can't connect him
to either of their murders?

What about his mother's?

Autopsy results indicate that she died
of natural causes.

Right now, all we have this guy
on is mishandling a body.

He shot at us.

Yeah, but he was
hiding in the closet at the time.

He can claim he didn't know
we were cops. He can plead out.

Castle, we can't even link
this guy to Hollander's Woods.

In '83,
he was at a military academy

all the way in south Carolina.

It was presidents' day weekend.

He could have been on vacation
or... or just skipping school.

Except those records are gone,
so there's no way to prove it.

All the jury's gonna hear is that he was
1,000 miles away from New Hampshire.

- Without evidence, we don't have a case.
- The key to this is Emma.

We need to place his car in the
area at the time she was attacked.

Let's coordinate with Collins
and set up a canvass up there.

There's got to be
a place he goes...

somewhere out of the way
where he puts the bodies.

You said
that he was seeing a shrink.

Yeah.
A, uh... a Dr. Van Holtzman.

You know, maybe Noah said
something during his sessions

that could help us.

Where do we find Holtzman?

If Noah ends up walking,

you're gonna have
to have me committed.

Excuse me.

We need to speak
with Dr. Holtzman, please.

Of course. Just a moment.

Listen, if after seven years
of your crazy theories,

you haven't
already been committed,

then I think you're pretty safe.

Hi. I'm Dr. Holtzman.

I understand
you've been looking for me.

Yeah, I'm detective Beckett.

This is Richard Castle.

We need to speak with you

regarding one
of your patients... Noah Lewis.

Of course.

Let me just finish
with these prescriptions,

and I'll be right with you.

Okay.

Beckett, I know that voice...

from that day
in Hollander's Woods.

It's him. He's the killer.

Castle, that was
over 30 years ago.

- You can't possibly...
- Kate, when he spoke,

I could feel the knife
at my throat.

I will never forget that voice
as long as I live.

Sorry about that.

Shall we talk in my office?

Please, have a seat.

I wish I could say
that I was surprised

to hear what Noah had done.

But he was very troubled.

We did everything we could for
him while he was in our care.

Dr. Holtzman, how long have you
been treating Mr. Lewis?

Four years.

We got him stable
after his mother committed him,

but a condition of his release

were state-mandated sessions
every month.

And what did the two of you
talk about?

Anger, intimacy,
his animosity toward women.

You went to Dartmouth.

Yes, for undergrad.

Uh, when was the last time
you saw Mr. Lewis?

A few days ago.

He was quite agitated.

He thought
someone was following him.

I thought
he was just being paranoid,

so I adjusted his meds.

And you had no idea that he was
about to do something violent?

None.

He's done this before, you know.

Abducted women,
killed them in the woods...

possibly for years.

How do you know?

Witnesses.

When he does it,
he wears a mask.

Now, why would he do that...
wear a mask when he kills them?

- I don't know.
- If you had to guess.

What kind of psychosis
would drive a man to do that?

Something terrible
in his childhood?

The mind of a psychopath
is not that simple.

But he kills them anyway.

So why would he need to hide
his face behind this?

Maybe he's not hiding it.

Maybe this is his true face...

The monster
he knows he really is,

and he wants his victims

to see it and fear it
before they die.

Maybe his real mask

is the man he has to pretend
to be every day.

His voice?

I know. It sounds crazy.

Because it is, Castle.
We already have a suspect.

Ah, the perfect suspect.

Because Dr. Holtzman
knew intimate details

about his patients,
he set Noah up to take the fall

just in case
anyone got onto the murders.

And Holtzman was
in New Hampshire, at Dartmouth,

in 1983.

He's a family man, married
to his wife for 24 years.

Kids, well-respected,
never been arrested.

And witnesses.

They saw the victim get
into Noah's car, not Holtzman's.

I can't explain that yet, but...

Holtzman is behind this, and...

Babe, the voice... is it
possible you're misremembering?

You've made this killer
your personal bogeyman.

You said so yourself.

You wanted him
to more formidable.

You don't believe me.

He's clean.

He has no connection
to this case.

We've got nothing to go on.

Less than nothing.

All we have
is a 30-year-old voice I.D.

From a witness
who was a kid at the time.

Look, Castle, we want
to solve it as much as you do.

You know what?

I expected this from these guys.

Just not from you.

Castle.

I'm sorry.

You said it was him.
I believe you.

Except you're right.

There's nothing we can do.

We'd have to sit on him for
years, hoping he makes a move.

This is not how the story
was supposed to end.

I was thinking.

How did he make those victims
disappear without a trace?

Well, he would have had
to have taken them somewhere.

Somewhere his family
didn't know about.

He'd have to have a lair,
a storage space somewhere.

Too many things could go wrong.

There could be a flood,
a nosy manager.

He would have to find a place

over which he had
absolute control.

So I did a property search.

It came up empty on him,
but I did find this.

- Farmland?
- Yeah.

Owned by Holtzman's parents,
both deceased.

It's in a trust.

Holtzman is listed
as the sole trustee.

It's possible his wife
doesn't know about it.

It's only a few miles from where
Emma was hit by that truck.

Tax records show that there's
a barn on the property.

He must have held her there.

It's private,
in the middle of nowhere.

The perfect lonely place.

Only, I would never get
a warrant.

And if I searched it
without one,

then any evidence I would find
would be inadmissible.

'Cause you're a cop.

But you're not.

It would be trespassing.

You would be breaking the law.

But if you found something...

And I know how much
this means to you,

so whatever you decide,
I will back your play.

Looks deserted.

This is the property line.

You should stay back here
on this side.

Okay, but you're
not going in alone.

Keep me on speaker.

Let me know what you find.

Right.

So, what are you seeing?

Looks like he uses it
for storage.

Creepy, creepy storage.

Beckett, it's the same car
that Noah has.

Same color...

Same license plate,
same sticker... everything.

That's how he did it.

So if someone spotted him, it
would lead right back to Noah.

But you're gonna need more
than that to call the police.

Look around.

He may have kept trophies
from his victims.

You okay?

Yeah.

Oh, God.

Castle?

Castle, what do you see now?

I see them.

Photos of his victims.

I see all of them.

Beckett, he's here. He's inside.

How did you find me?

I've been looking for you
since Hollander's Woods.

The boy.

That was you?

I should have killed you
when I had the chance.

You can't win, Holtzman.

We know who you are.

It doesn't matter.

You'll both be dead,
and they'll never find me.

Castle!

It's locked!

- Beckett!
- Castle!

I can't get in!

The danger
of facing your demons...

is that sometimes
the demons win.

Castle, what's going on
in there?!

Castle!

Beckett!

God!

Are you okay? You okay?

Still more gruesome
discoveries and many more questions

at the rural property of
noted psychologist Van Holtzman

as authorities continue

to find the buried bodies
of his victims.

Thought you were practicing
your speech for tonight.

Oh, yeah. I was.

I just, um...

I couldn't help but wonder...

if it wasn't for him,
for that day in the woods,

would I even be here?
Would we be here?

Babe, we're not here
because of him.

We're here because of who we are
in the face of people like him.

That's why you write mysteries.

That's why I became a cop.

We're both trying to bring
justice to this world.

Now...

I'm gonna go and get dressed

so I can be very proud tonight
of who you are.

Murder, mystery, the macabre...

tonight's honoree
has mastered them all.

For years, he's kept
his readers under his spell

with his electrifying prose.

I'm very proud to present
this year's recipient

of the poe's pen
career achievement award,

my good friend Richard Castle.

Michael Connelly,
ladies and gentlemen.

Thank you very much, Michael.

And my thanks to all of you
for this honor.

You know, I-I...

I've spent
a lot of time the last few days

thinking about how I got here.

The long hours, the blank pages.

Most people think that writing
is a solitary profession,

that we spend our days
in our imaginary worlds...

Fighting, loving, dying.

But we don't do it alone...

Because anything that's good
in our writing comes from truth.

And the truth is,

I'm here because
of the people in my life.

Mother.

You will always be
a star in my eyes.

And, Alexis,
you amaze me every day.

You two are my redheaded pillars
of unconditional love.

To my friends
at the 12th precinct...

You let me in.

Especially you two,
Javier, Kevin.

You've made me
your brother-in-arms,

and I thank you for that.

And Kate.

Seven years ago, I thought
I would never write again.

And then you walked
through the door.

And my whole world changed.

You were right...
you said I had no idea.

But now I do.

This is because of you.

Because of us.

Always.

That was a lovely speech,
darling.

Oh, well, I was inspired.

Castle, who's
gonna be your inspiration

if Beckett
becomes state senator?

Yeah, you won't be able
to follow her around anymore.

Oh, I don't know.

Maybe I'll write
a political thriller next.

Ooh, I would so read that.

Beckett, if you do run,
I'll help with your campaign.

Thank you.

That's a pretty big step, Kate.

Have you decided
what you're going to do?

Not yet, but whatever it is,

I'm looking forward
to the adventure.

One thing's for sure...
things are gonna change.

Well, I know one thing
that will never change...

what we all have.

A toast.

To us.

- To us.
- To us.

Cheers.

It's the precinct.

There's been a murder.

- What?
- Oh.