Castle (2009–2016): Season 8, Episode 3 - PhDead - full transcript
Castle poses as a college professor so he can investigate the gruesome murder of a student while trying to win back the love he thinks he lost in Beckett.
You got me!
I give up.
Oh, boy, oh, boy!
She's finally here!
Hello. I'm your new
home-operating system.
My name is Lucy. What's yours?
Uh, my name is Rick Castle,
and...
And...
my wife just left me.
Yikes. Sucks to be you, Rick.
Can't you hit
any harder than that?
Oh!
Oh. I'll take that as a yes.
Come on.
Listen. You can still back out.
- I can do this on my own.
- Not a chance.
I'd be dead if not for you,
which means I owe you.
Besides, I always wanted
to be a digital investigator
for the NYPD.
It's a real job, Vikram.
You'll be helping the 12th
solve homicides.
By day.
By night, I'll wear a cape
and track down
the mysterious villain
who sent a hit squad to kill us
and scapegoat-murdered
Allison Hyde.
Would you take this seriously,
please?
I just blew up my marriage
to go down this path.
I'm sorry.
Hell, I should be giving you
the chance to back out.
No.
If I don't get justice for
Rachel and for everyone else,
no one will.
We just got to do this fast.
Fast is the one speed
we can't move.
We need stealth.
If this takes any longer,
then Castle is gonna figure out
what we're doing.
And if he does?
He's gonna step in, and he's
gonna put himself in danger.
Then make sure he stays away.
Has Beckett told you
anything about the breakup yet?
Not a word.
You talked to Castle about it?
No. And I've left him
a bunch of messages.
Shakes your faith.
I guess nothing in life
is permanent.
Tell that to the victim.
Oh, hey.
Captain Beckett.
What brings you out
into the field?
Work.
What, do you think
I'm gonna be stuck in the office
- just 'cause I'm captain?
- We...
- so, who's our fugitive?
- No I.D. yet.
But the jumpsuit is
standard issue at Rikers.
But they say that none of their
prisoners have gone missing.
We had them lock down
the facility,
but a 14,000-inmate head count
is gonna take some time.
- You run his prints?
- Yeah. So far, nothing.
Nothing?
The guy's a convicted felon.
His fingerprints are on file.
Probably a glitch.
You know,
those portable scanners...
- sometimes they're wonky.
- Yeah.
Is there any chance that
this wasn't a homicide?
None.
It took brute force
to puncture the victim's body
with that branch.
Someone had to shove him
onto it.
So how does an escaped convict
from Rikers Island
end up in the middle
of Central Park
without anyone seeing him?
It was late.
Lividity puts the time of death
between midnight and 2:00 A.M.
All right, keep running prints.
I'm gonna walk around
and see what I can find.
Hey.
You didn't call me back.
Yeah,
I'm... I'm sorry about that.
Oh, that's okay.
But are you okay?
I'm fine.
I'm just a-a little lost
and taking some space
so I can figure things out.
I just hope that
I haven't hurt him too much.
Girl, please.
Castle is a grown-ass man,
and he knows
that you love him very much.
I'm sure he's okay.
I just don't know what to do,
Lucy.
I've compiled a list of
top-ranked divorce attorneys.
No! I don't want a divorce.
I want my wife back.
How do I do that?
I don't know.
How did you get her
in the first place, Rick?
Has Beckett talked to you?
Give us a minute.
You know better than to think
I would betray her confidence.
Damn it, Lanie, tell me...
why is Beckett
keeping me in the dark?
The man who went Houdini
for two months last year?
Whoa. I didn't Houdini.
I was houdinied.
Doesn't matter.
When you came back, she accepted
you without question,
so you can damn well give her
some space now.
I can't lose her.
I know.
Is that from the 12th?
Castle.
Escaped prisoner.
Young... maybe 21, 22?
Is that...
Iron fence?
- Tree branch.
- Ouch.
Got an I.D. yet?
I'm not telling you.
I've seen this devil before.
Just stop.
Working murders
is not your job anymore.
He's gonna be
an absolute wreck.
And it's our job
not to let him spin out.
That's what the C.D.R.K. is for.
- "Castle depression rescue kit."
- Mmhmm.
Video games,
sumatran civet coffee beans,
enhanced blu-rays of the
original "Twilight Zone," and...
- this.
- 9-woof-woof?
Mm-hmm. Puppies at your doorstep
in 30 minutes or less.
- Ah.
- Puppies.
Good morning, my lovelies.
Isn't it great to be alive?
Richard, are you feeling okay?
Never better.
Because I know
how to win Beckett back.
Is she wanting to be won back?
When we first met,
it was my roguish charm
that caused Beckett
to drop her guard,
but it was my sherlockian skills
that made her
fall in love with me.
I just have to solve
a few cases with her
to show her that, together,
we are still magic.
Richard, you do know
that you cannot just barge
your way into the precinct
and talk your way
onto a case anymore.
I am a licensed
private investigator.
I don't need a precinct
to solve a case.
Now, this tattoo was on the body
of a dead convict
found in Central Park.
I know I've seen it
somewhere before.
I just don't know where.
I do.
Hey. Um, Rikers completed
their head count.
All inmates are accounted for.
So, where'd the Vic's jumpsuit
come from?
A costume shop.
Our John Doe was not an inmate.
He was a college student.
Tattoo on his shoulder is
the original mascot design
of the Hudson U. Red Devils.
Now, I checked
the college website.
Peter Garber.
21 years old,
majoring in marketing.
But that doesn't explain
the jumpsuit.
You guys, it's October.
Halloween's basically
a month-long party in college.
Ah, the hallowed halls
of academia.
I remember them well.
More like the hallowed halls
of crackheads in my schools.
Head over to Peter's frat house.
Interview his roommates.
I'm gonna break the bad news
to the Dean.
- Right.
- Okay.
Hi. I'm Captain Beckett.
I need to speak
with Dean Feller, please.
It will be nice to have a
best-selling author on the faculty.
Oh.
Welcome to the Hudson family,
Mr. Castle.
Oh, please, Dean Feller,
call me "Professor Castle."
Oh.
Captain Beckett.
Fancy seeing you here.
S08E03
PhDead
Castle,
I know what you're doing.
I'm giving back to the community
by molding young minds?
You're not joining this case.
- Aren't you two married?
- Yes, we are.
Dean Feller, meet captain
Beckett of the 12th precinct.
Yes. And husband and wife
need a moment in private.
Whoa, whoa, hang on.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Ah.
It took me an hour to tie this.
Oh, you saw the tattoo
at the morgue, didn't you?
I saw Lanie at the morgue.
I can't recall
if I saw other things
on bodies
with gruesome chest wounds.
Let me ask you... how large of
a donation check did you write
in order to become a professor?
Guest professor.
Look... I have no desire
to interfere with your case,
but I can't help it if
my path crosses with yours
while I'm teaching here.
Castle, I asked for time.
Why can't you give me that?
Because you need me.
I... I can't do this right now.
- Kate.
- I'm sorry to interrupt,
but I really need to know why
there are police on my campus.
A student of yours,
Peter Garber,
was found murdered
in Central Park last night.
That's awful.
He was a wonderful young man...
a model student.
He won
this year's fellowship award.
Well, I'll need access
to all of his files,
as well as a discreet room
to interview his teachers
and friends.
Of course.
And as for you...
Professor, this is
a police investigation.
Stay out of it.
She's such a kidder.
We got something.
What's wrong?
Castle's here.
He bought himself a PhD
to get in on this case.
You guys are not
to work with him in any way.
Is that understood?
- Yeah.
- Yes. Absolutely.
- Okay, so, what do we got?
- A suspect.
Yeah?
Peter was pledge master at the
beta omega rho fraternity house.
Let me guess... he hazed someone
and they threatened revenge?
The opposite, actually.
Scott Powell.
Former beta omega.
Scott terrorized
a group of pledges,
got one of them
sent to the hospital.
So Peter turned Scott in,
got him booted from the frat.
Okay, well,
that sounds like motive.
Let's bring him in
for questioning.
Yeah, that might not be
the right approach.
Scott's dad
is a defense attorney.
When the university tried
to expel Scott,
daddy threatened to sue.
So Scott's not gonna talk to us.
Unless we can get him to talk
without him realizing
that he's talking?
How do you plan on doing that?
So, how's the talent
in your marketing class?
Oh, solid. Especially
this hot blonde named Jenny.
- Aw, for real?
- Yeah.
Hey, did you see that
that frat boy got murdered
last night in the park?
Aw, yeah.
I heard he got impaled.
Ah, was it
Peter, uh... Something.
What house was he in?
I have no idea.
Hey, bro, you know what frat
the dead dude's from?
No, officer, I sure don't.
What?
We ain't cops, man.
Dude, you look like you're 40.
Bitch, please.
I got carded last week.
Yeah, for your AARP card.
And your partner's growing
ear hair in front of my eyes.
All right, funny man.
We heard that you had a hate-on
for Peter Garber.
So you want to tell us
where you were last night?
No. But you can call my lawyer.
He's gonna get a real kick
out of you guys.
Have a nice day.
Oh, and remember...
fiber's your friend.
I don't really have
old-man ear hair, do I?
Guys.
You didn't really think
you could "jump street"
the prime suspect, did you?
Castle, what are you doing here?
I heard about the
Scott Powell hazing incident.
I thought I'd offer the
NYPD my P.I. services.
No, thanks.
- Free of charge.
- No, thanks.
All right, fine.
I guess I'll just use
my newfound faculty privileges
to talk to Scott on my own.
He's got a contemporary-lit
class in 30 minutes.
They have a very special
guest speaker...
a certain ruggedly handsome
best-selling author.
He just might be
the angle we need
to get this guy Scott to talk.
Beckett gave us a direct order.
Will she be more upset
when she finds out Castle
solved this case before us,
or when she finds out
we've been cooperating with him?
Perhaps my secret weapon is
the loophole you're looking for.
What secret weapon?
Anybody sitting there?
Uh, you are.
- Thanks.
- Yeah.
Uh, I'm Scott.
Clara.
So, you know anything about
this Richard Castle guy?
A little.
He's an irreverent crime
novelist with a carefree spirit
and a hatred
of exclamation marks.
Or so I hear.
Hmm.
Well, I saw an interview
with him a few years ago.
He was trying way too hard
to be cool.
I'm sure he's mellowed with age.
"To die, to sleep...
To sleep, perchance to dream."
Or not.
"Aye, for there's the rub.
For in this sleep of death,
what dreams may come?"
William Shakespeare, the bard.
A man as intimate with violence
and murder as any in history.
Who can tell me the classic
motivations for murder?
You, in the printed
non-ironic tee
beside the too-friendly blonde.
- Oh, me?
- Yes.
What might drive a person
to murder?
I don't know. Revenge?
Revenge.
A man wronged,
his reputation besmirched,
so he strikes out in passion.
Some might consider
his actions justified.
What else might drive a person
to kill?
Being forced to read one
of your books?
Though that's probably more
of a motive for suicide.
And, uh, what was
the last book you read...
"Zen and the art of hazing hipsters"?
Oh, I love how you come in here
quoting Shakespeare
like it's just gonna
magically elevate
that treadmill fiction
you write.
Treadmill fi...
Get out.
Now.
Works for me.
Are you okay?
What the hell?
First the cops try and front me,
and then that clown.
Cops?
A guy from my old frat
got killed last night.
Peter Garber.
They think I hated him
'cause he got me kicked out
for hazing some newbies.
But I spent the last semester
trying to make amends.
- With Peter?
- Yeah.
Told him I was sorry, you know,
and he said we were cool.
He even asked me for a favor.
Said he needed
a quiet place to study
away from the frat house.
I work at residential housing,
so I hooked him up with
an empty apartment on the D.L.
Why didn't you tell the cops?
My dad's a lawyer,
and he taught me you never trust
the police.
Actually, you know,
he also taught me
that blondes are more fun.
What say we go out later?
My crew and I found this great
bar last night called Jinx.
I'd love to, but I'm actually
getting fitted for an iron lung
in the morning.
Bye.
Okay, Vikram. What have you got?
I might have identified
Allison Hyde's killer.
Pulled footage
from the hotel cameras
around the time Hyde was killed.
Managed to I.D. everyone,
except this guy.
Look, this doesn't
mean anything.
There's plenty of people
who aren't in our
facial-recognition database.
Didn't just use ours.
I snuck into the NSA,
ran him through
their top-secret database.
It's a civil-liberties
nightmare,
but very comprehensive.
Our well-dressed man
is a total ghost.
So unless you know
a ghostbuster,
we're out of luck.
I-I might know somebody.
He's helped me out in the past,
and he's connected
to this world.
But he's technically dead,
which means you're gonna have
to dig him up.
Just to be clear,
you mean he faked his own death
and now he's hiding
under a new identity
that you need me to uncover?
Yeah.
Good. 'Cause I'm not a huge fan
of shoveling.
What are the odds Peter really
wanted this apartment for studying?
I'd say those odds
are less than zero.
NYPD.
I thought Peter was majoring
in marketing,
not medieval torture.
This stuff isn't for torture.
It's a BDSM dungeon.
What? I read "Fifty Shades,"
and clearly so had Peter.
Okay.
I'm thinking this is
a little less "Fifty Shades"
and a little more
"Fatal Attraction."
So, Peter and
his bondage-curious lover
set up shop here to fulfill
all their fantasies.
Mm. Role play.
Perhaps kinky convict
and wicked warden.
D...
Anyway, Peter tries to break it off.
The lover, spurned,
flies into a murderous rage,
and then impales him
in the park.
All right. We need to figure out
who Peter's been...
Entertaining here.
That means we need to start
knocking on some doors,
- pulling surveillance footage.
- There's an easier way.
Frat boys love to kiss and tell.
If anyone knows
who Peter was involved with,
it will be his brothers.
Yeah, but they
weren't exactly forthcoming
- when we interviewed them earlier.
- Yeah.
That's because you're "the man."
But I'm not.
I'm in.
She's in.
We heard.
You know this isn't
her first frat party, Castle.
You trying to make me
feel better?
You know, it's understandable
if you're feeling a little
overprotective right now
with what's been happening
with Beckett.
"What's happening" is
I'm getting her back.
Are you sure
this is the right way to do it?
She was pretty clear that she did
not want you working this case.
Working cases together is
why she fell in love with me.
That's why I'm going to do
whatever it takes
to solve this case.
Including sending your daughter
into a house full
of drunken frat boys,
dressed like a slutty angel?
Open it. Open it.
It's so sad about Peter.
Were you close with him?
Mmmmmmm.
He was a hottie.
I bet he had
a lot of girlfriends, huh?
Mmmmmmm.
Mmmmmmm.
Hey, hey, hey.
- Her eyes are up here.
- What are you doing?
- I got this.
- Do you?
'Cause I'm hearing
a whole lot of flirting
and zero fact-finding
on who Peter was dating.
Hey, bro. I saw her first.
Get your own girl.
- Ew.
- Ew.
I mean it.
Hit the road, old man.
Old man?
This old man
is gonna kick your ass.
At beer pong.
Beer-pong challenge, everyone!
What exactly is your strategy?
To get any man
to confide in you,
you must first earn his respect.
To do that, I need to bro down.
Thank you.
All right.
Oh!
Mmm.
Oh.
10 bucks on Castle.
You're on.
Hey, Captain.
What are you doing here?
- Surveillance.
- Canvassing.
- Surveillance.
- Canvassing.
In your face, Frankenstein.
We can explain.
I ask one thing of you guys.
Whoo!
All right, all right.
Whoo!
Whoo!
Mmm.
Terrible thing about Peter.
Wish I would have
gotten to know him better.
You, uh, spoken to Julie?
She must be devastated.
Who's Julie?
Isn't that Peter's
girlfriend's name?
Peter was all about
this cougar professor,
Dr. Lillstrom.
He spent all of his free time
with her,
if you know what I mean.
Oh, someone didn't skip
his lesson on subtext.
All right, last shot,
professor. Bring it.
Thank you.
Oops.
Drink.
All right. Party's over.
Unless you want me
to start checking I.D.s.
That was a nice shot.
We should team up.
We could pong hustle.
Castle, go home. You're drunk.
I'm not drunk.
I'm casing the crack.
Crack... crack...
Cracking the case.
You're a lightweight.
Come on, dad. Time to go.
Okay, angel. You're driving.
You're pretty hot for a cop.
- I have a gun.
- Right.
- Beckett.
- It's Vikram.
I found your dead guy
resurrected in New Jersey.
And I know
where you can find him.
It's been a long time.
What the hell
are you doing here?
Sorry to shake your snow globe,
but you helped me once
when I was being framed
for Vulcan Simmons's murder,
and I need your help again.
Forget it.
I paid all my debts.
This man killed
an assistant A.G.
Connected to Bracken's
dirty-money scheme.
I don't know him.
He works for Bracken's partner,
some mystery man or woman
deep inside the CIA.
Why can't you
just leave this alone?
I wasn't built that way.
Look,
I've got a good thing here.
A woman who loves me,
a new life.
I'm happy. You could be, too.
You just have to let it go.
I can't.
What makes you think
the drug shipments stopped
with Vulcan Simmons's death?
Every narcotic has a signature,
a fingerprint, if you will.
You find his,
you pick up the trail.
- Thank you.
- Don't.
You're gonna get yourself
killed.
Come on, boy.
Unh.
Oh. You're getting too
old for drinking games, kiddo.
It was for the case.
The one that Katherine keeps
throwing you off of?
I didn't win her love overnight
the first time.
I'm making progress, huh?
Hey.
Where are we
on Peter's faculty girlfriend?
Dr. Barbara Lillstrom,
head of the psych department
at Hudson U.
Top of her class
at Harvard med school.
She was advising
Peter's senior thesis.
And they had an illicit
student-faculty relationship,
one that ended ugly
once he rejected her.
Yeah, I'm betting Peter
was expecting a bad grade,
not impalement.
I contacted
the psych department.
Lillstrom's been out all week.
She could be on the run.
If she is, she didn't run far.
Or at least her phone didn't.
Her cell signal went dead
yesterday,
but it last pinged off a tower
outside of
a tenantless building here.
That's four blocks away
from where Peter was killed.
You know, if you want
to curry favor with Katherine
after last night's
little debacle,
you might tell her about this.
No, first, we'll confirm
Lillstrom is there.
Then we'll call in the cavalry.
Times like this,
I wish you were more comfortable
carrying a gun on your person,
not just in your desk.
A good P.I. relies on his wits
first, bullets second.
After your wits.
What was that?
This explains
Peter's prison jumpsuit.
- Don't move.
- Easy there, fella.
Unless you're a New York yankee,
quit trying
to steal second base.
Watch your mouth.
I'm just saying,
buy me a drink first.
Take this.
Here, open 4.
No. What?
Are you sure about this?
I have to warn the warden.
What kind of prison is this?
Take a look around.
You notice any similarities...
Between the guards
and the inmates?
- Wait... they're all my age.
- Exactly.
And I'm betting they're all
Hudson University students.
They're doing a re-enactment of
the Stanford Prison experiment.
That thing from the '70s
where they studied
the psychological effects
of making students pretend
to be prisoners and guards?
Makes sense.
Dr. Lillstrom is head
of the psych department.
Who else is gonna have
the kind of pull
to put something like this
together?
Maybe Peter shawshanked his way
out of here.
Peter?
He actually escaped?
You know Peter?
He was in your cell,
but one day we woke up
and he was just gone.
- What did the guards say?
- They freaked.
How'd he get out of his cell?
But we... we didn't know if they
were just messing with our heads,
'cause that's what they do here.
Did you volunteer for this?
I needed the money,
but now I just want to go home.
Wait a minute. Y-you mean,
there's no panic button?
There's no safety mechanism
if you want to quit?
There was a white flag,
but they removed it
when Peter was demoted.
Peter was a guard
before he was an inmate?
Head guard,
recruited by Warden Lillstrom.
But he was nice to us.
I think that's why
Lillstrom turned on him.
She made Peter an inmate,
forced him to sit in the chair.
What chair are we talking about?
Our daily interrogations.
We're strapped to a chair.
Lillstrom flashes images
in our eyes over and over.
All these strange lights.
What does Lillstrom
want to know?
Our secrets.
The darker, the better.
It's like she's
sliding around your brain,
peeking into your soul.
Hey.
Come open this cell.
I give the orders here, inmate.
And I give the grades.
You saw my faculty I.D.
So, here's the pop quiz.
Failure to open this cell
will cause an oh-so-disastrous
end to your academic career...
true or false?
Hey. Hers too.
Take us to Dr. Lillstrom
right now.
Warden. We, um, have a problem.
Damn right we do... years of
planning, of research, ruined!
Do you have any idea
of the damage you've caused?
Ask me if I care.
We're here
investigating Peter's murder.
Peter's dead?
Look, he broke out.
That's not my responsibility.
New York's a dangerous town.
We know all about
your relationship with Peter.
I'm the adviser
on his thesis.
You advised him
on a lot more than that.
You were having an affair.
Excuse me?
We found your little sex dungeon
and the message
you wrote on the mirror.
Peter broke up with you,
didn't he?
So you punished him
the only way you knew how
by making him your prisoner.
Then he escaped.
Is that when you decided
he had to die, doctor?
You killed Peter?
I-it's not true. Any of it.
- You're coming with me.
- Wha...
You open those cells,
but no one leaves here until
I've returned with the police.
Do not listen to him.
Oh, and, uh,
you're indoors and it's dark,
so take off the sunglasses.
You look stupid.
Yet another case closed
courtesy of Richard Castle Investigations.
Um, who is this woman?
And are you in handcuffs?
This man abducted me.
It's not an abduction.
It's a citizen's arrest.
Please get it straight.
Beckett,
please meet Dr. Lillstrom.
She was Peter's teacher...
with benefits.
The real kinky kind, too.
But when Peter ended
their trysts,
she locked him up in a secret,
underground prison experiment,
which is where I caught her.
You're welcome, honey.
You went
to an underground prison?
Alone?
No, not alone.
I had Alexis with me.
Oh, well, since you had backup.
Are you kidding, Castle?
Your daughter?
When you say it in that tone,
I sound like a bad parent.
Regardless,
Dr. Lillstrom is a suspect.
- Trust me.
- Fine.
Thanks.
There's protocol. You know that.
If you had a lead,
you should have called us.
Oh, believe me, I wanted to,
but they locked us up in a cell.
No, I mean, you should
have called us be...
wait, they locked you up?
You know what? Never mind.
I don't want to know.
Just go find Ryan and Espo
and take them to the prison.
That man is insane.
I'm innocent.
If he says you're a suspect,
then trust me...
you are far from innocent.
Let's go.
This way, guys.
Oh, no.
Oh, no, no, no, no!
I told them to stay.
They're not dogs, Castle.
They're college kids.
What did you expect?
This place has been
completely cleared out.
Dr. Lillstrom must have had
a contingency plan.
They took all the evidence.
And I let it happen.
All because
I wanted to impress Beckett.
Sorry, Beckett. I screwed up.
Yeah, you did.
And I jeopardized
the entire case.
Again, yes.
But you know what?
If it wasn't for you,
then we'd still be thinking
that Peter's prison uniform
was a Halloween costume.
So, I've been digging into
Dr. Lillstrom.
Did you know that
for the past decade,
she's been contracting
with the army, working psy ops?
Wait a minute.
The Navy funded the first,
the original Stanford Prison experiment.
Maybe the army is behind
Dr. Lillstrom's
modern-day incarnation.
That would explain how the place
was scrubbed so quickly.
Now, why would the military
be interested
in a bunch of college students
playing prison?
Well,
the government's in need of
new counterterrorism techniques
aimed at
the millennial generation
how to get into the minds of
young terrorists and break them.
And what better source
of lab rats
than the millennials
here at home?
But we'll never get
those surveillance tapes back.
So how do we prove that
Lillstrom left the prison
to kill Peter after he escaped?
We need a confession.
Well, the doc likes mind games,
right?
Charge me or let me go.
Which sounds better...
negligent infliction
of emotional distress,
or gross psychological abuse?
What are you doing?
I'm writing an e-mail
to the entire Hud U. Faculty.
Figured I'd let everyone know
that you were conducting
an unauthorized experiment
with members
of the student body,
secretly funded
by the U.S. military.
I'd love to see you prove it,
especially because
every participating student
signs a nondisclosure agreement.
Oh. Well, then, I suppose
you won't mind if I send this.
Wait! Wait.
What will it take for you not to
tell anyone at Hudson about this?
The truth.
Do I have your word, captain?
Hud U. will never hear from me.
Okay.
I didn't kill Peter, and
I wasn't sleeping with him.
That's all you got?
Well, then I'm sending it.
Look, it's the truth!
The night Peter escaped,
I wasn't even at the prison.
Then where were you?
A pipe burst in my apartment.
I was dealing with it all night.
Check with my doorman.
But if you're thinking
whoever was having an affair
with Peter killed him...
I might be able to help.
Now we're talking.
My study deals with extracting
secrets from unwilling subjects.
And Peter revealed
that he was having an affair?
So, who was he sleeping with?
Someone on that list.
Dean Feller, I'm sure
you know why you're here.
Actually, I don't.
Well, we found
the studio apartment.
I don't... I don't know
w-what that is.
Really?
Because we showed your photo
to the neighbors.
- They were able to tell us that...
- Okay.
Look. Peter stood me up
a couple of nights in a row.
And I was hurt,
so I wrote him a message.
Peter stood you up
because he was trapped
inside of Dr. Lillstrom's
prison experiment.
What prison experiment?
Peter told you about the hell
that he was stuck in.
Phone records show
that you received a collect call
from a payphone
near the crime scene.
Yes, Peter called me.
He was panicked.
He told me
to pick him up at the park
and he would explain everything,
but he never said anything
about a prison.
He never showed.
Did Peter tell you
that Dr. Lillstrom extracted
the secret of your affair?
Is that why you killed him?
Because he was the only one
who could verify the truth?
What?
I didn't kill Peter.
I want a lawyer right now.
You're not buying this, are you?
No confession. No smoking gun.
It's just... Not clean.
Well, that's how homicides are
sometimes.
You know that.
Yeah, but something's
still bothering me.
There's a part of the mystery
that hasn't been solved yet.
We're missing part of the story.
And how do you suggest
we find it?
The same way we always do.
We start at the beginning,
back at the prison.
You just want an excuse
to get me alone.
No, Beckett,
I just want the truth.
What really happened to Peter
that night.
Peter was placed in this cell.
And then he escaped.
Yeah, but how?
They said one morning
he was just gone.
So, what are you thinking?
How Peter escaped had something
to do with who killed him?
Only one way to figure it out.
And guess what.
We're gonna figure it out
together.
You're not gonna
get a signal.
- You trapped me in here on purpose.
- No, I didn't.
But since you brought it up,
tell me...
why do you feel trapped
in our marriage?
I don't.
Then why did you leave?
It's complicated.
So is breaking out of a prison,
so we've got some time.
You know what? We're not having
this conversation.
I asked you for space,
and you literally locked me up
in a jail cell.
Okay.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay. Okay.
You... I'll give you space.
I'll give you space.
You know what?
You know, it would be just my luck
it would ricochet and hit you
and then I'd have two murders
to contend with.
Look, relax.
Peter broke out of here,
so... So can we.
Probably.
You're right.
I mean, we've been stuck
in worse places together before.
I like that word... together.
So what happened, Kate?
What did I do wrong?
Castle,
this one's not about you.
It's on me.
I love you.
I always will.
Then let's work it out...
therapy, counseling.
Whatever it takes.
I... I just can't.
Why?
Huh.
"Huh," what?
Before this place
was a prison cell,
it was an office building,
right?
Yeah.
Take a look up.
I bet you
that's how Peter got out.
Come on, Castle.
Uh, this is when
you boost me up.
Uh, right. Up.
Ready. There we go.
Uh, okay.
Oh, got it.
Whew.
You're doing great, honey.
N-not to rush you, but...
Wait a minute.
Something's not right here.
How did Peter reach the vent
from inside the cell?
It was a two-man job.
Two prisoners escaped,
but only one was missing,
which means...
The killer came back!
I'll open the door.
Thanks for coming down
to the station, Emily.
We just have a few questions
about the prison experiment...
and how you helped Peter
escape from it.
What are you talking about?
Well, Peter reached through
the bars, and he hoisted you up,
and you both escaped,
didn't you?
And then you killed Peter
in the park
and returned to the prison,
to your cell...
the perfect alibi.
That's ridiculous.
Why would I kill him?
Emily, we know about
the scholarship.
You needed it to stay in school.
Yeah,
but he won fair and square.
We know that's not true.
Peter won that scholarship
because he was having an affair
with the Dean.
And then when you found out
about it in the prison,
you took your revenge.
It wasn't me.
- Stop lying, Emily!
- It wasn't!
It was a different me!
That experiment
messed with my head!
After we escaped,
I just... snapped.
It was so unfair.
I had worked so hard,
did everything right.
When Peter ran into the park,
I-I went after him.
Then I saw that tree branch.
Why did I do that?
- Thanks for meeting me.
- Yeah.
I finished piecing this together
for our investigation.
You're having second thoughts.
Aren't you?
Yeah. I just knew that
this was gonna be tough.
I didn't think it
was gonna be like this.
I get it. I do.
Look, maybe we need to stop
before we start.
Beckett, I'll follow your lead.
What should we do?
Let's get to work.
That is...
50-year-old scotch.
Yeah. I bought a case of it.
Alexis, that's expensive.
Relax, dad.
The company paid for it.
Oh, okay.
W-wait.
That means I paid for it.
To closing the case.
To generous expense accounts.
So, any progress with Beckett?
You know, at the prison,
we, um, sort of had a moment.
Really?
Yeah.
I think my plan is working.
I mean, it has to, right?
Um, you know what?
We're gonna start a tradition.
For when we solve a case
together.
I don't smoke,
and neither do you.
Who said anything about smoking?
I give up.
Oh, boy, oh, boy!
She's finally here!
Hello. I'm your new
home-operating system.
My name is Lucy. What's yours?
Uh, my name is Rick Castle,
and...
And...
my wife just left me.
Yikes. Sucks to be you, Rick.
Can't you hit
any harder than that?
Oh!
Oh. I'll take that as a yes.
Come on.
Listen. You can still back out.
- I can do this on my own.
- Not a chance.
I'd be dead if not for you,
which means I owe you.
Besides, I always wanted
to be a digital investigator
for the NYPD.
It's a real job, Vikram.
You'll be helping the 12th
solve homicides.
By day.
By night, I'll wear a cape
and track down
the mysterious villain
who sent a hit squad to kill us
and scapegoat-murdered
Allison Hyde.
Would you take this seriously,
please?
I just blew up my marriage
to go down this path.
I'm sorry.
Hell, I should be giving you
the chance to back out.
No.
If I don't get justice for
Rachel and for everyone else,
no one will.
We just got to do this fast.
Fast is the one speed
we can't move.
We need stealth.
If this takes any longer,
then Castle is gonna figure out
what we're doing.
And if he does?
He's gonna step in, and he's
gonna put himself in danger.
Then make sure he stays away.
Has Beckett told you
anything about the breakup yet?
Not a word.
You talked to Castle about it?
No. And I've left him
a bunch of messages.
Shakes your faith.
I guess nothing in life
is permanent.
Tell that to the victim.
Oh, hey.
Captain Beckett.
What brings you out
into the field?
Work.
What, do you think
I'm gonna be stuck in the office
- just 'cause I'm captain?
- We...
- so, who's our fugitive?
- No I.D. yet.
But the jumpsuit is
standard issue at Rikers.
But they say that none of their
prisoners have gone missing.
We had them lock down
the facility,
but a 14,000-inmate head count
is gonna take some time.
- You run his prints?
- Yeah. So far, nothing.
Nothing?
The guy's a convicted felon.
His fingerprints are on file.
Probably a glitch.
You know,
those portable scanners...
- sometimes they're wonky.
- Yeah.
Is there any chance that
this wasn't a homicide?
None.
It took brute force
to puncture the victim's body
with that branch.
Someone had to shove him
onto it.
So how does an escaped convict
from Rikers Island
end up in the middle
of Central Park
without anyone seeing him?
It was late.
Lividity puts the time of death
between midnight and 2:00 A.M.
All right, keep running prints.
I'm gonna walk around
and see what I can find.
Hey.
You didn't call me back.
Yeah,
I'm... I'm sorry about that.
Oh, that's okay.
But are you okay?
I'm fine.
I'm just a-a little lost
and taking some space
so I can figure things out.
I just hope that
I haven't hurt him too much.
Girl, please.
Castle is a grown-ass man,
and he knows
that you love him very much.
I'm sure he's okay.
I just don't know what to do,
Lucy.
I've compiled a list of
top-ranked divorce attorneys.
No! I don't want a divorce.
I want my wife back.
How do I do that?
I don't know.
How did you get her
in the first place, Rick?
Has Beckett talked to you?
Give us a minute.
You know better than to think
I would betray her confidence.
Damn it, Lanie, tell me...
why is Beckett
keeping me in the dark?
The man who went Houdini
for two months last year?
Whoa. I didn't Houdini.
I was houdinied.
Doesn't matter.
When you came back, she accepted
you without question,
so you can damn well give her
some space now.
I can't lose her.
I know.
Is that from the 12th?
Castle.
Escaped prisoner.
Young... maybe 21, 22?
Is that...
Iron fence?
- Tree branch.
- Ouch.
Got an I.D. yet?
I'm not telling you.
I've seen this devil before.
Just stop.
Working murders
is not your job anymore.
He's gonna be
an absolute wreck.
And it's our job
not to let him spin out.
That's what the C.D.R.K. is for.
- "Castle depression rescue kit."
- Mmhmm.
Video games,
sumatran civet coffee beans,
enhanced blu-rays of the
original "Twilight Zone," and...
- this.
- 9-woof-woof?
Mm-hmm. Puppies at your doorstep
in 30 minutes or less.
- Ah.
- Puppies.
Good morning, my lovelies.
Isn't it great to be alive?
Richard, are you feeling okay?
Never better.
Because I know
how to win Beckett back.
Is she wanting to be won back?
When we first met,
it was my roguish charm
that caused Beckett
to drop her guard,
but it was my sherlockian skills
that made her
fall in love with me.
I just have to solve
a few cases with her
to show her that, together,
we are still magic.
Richard, you do know
that you cannot just barge
your way into the precinct
and talk your way
onto a case anymore.
I am a licensed
private investigator.
I don't need a precinct
to solve a case.
Now, this tattoo was on the body
of a dead convict
found in Central Park.
I know I've seen it
somewhere before.
I just don't know where.
I do.
Hey. Um, Rikers completed
their head count.
All inmates are accounted for.
So, where'd the Vic's jumpsuit
come from?
A costume shop.
Our John Doe was not an inmate.
He was a college student.
Tattoo on his shoulder is
the original mascot design
of the Hudson U. Red Devils.
Now, I checked
the college website.
Peter Garber.
21 years old,
majoring in marketing.
But that doesn't explain
the jumpsuit.
You guys, it's October.
Halloween's basically
a month-long party in college.
Ah, the hallowed halls
of academia.
I remember them well.
More like the hallowed halls
of crackheads in my schools.
Head over to Peter's frat house.
Interview his roommates.
I'm gonna break the bad news
to the Dean.
- Right.
- Okay.
Hi. I'm Captain Beckett.
I need to speak
with Dean Feller, please.
It will be nice to have a
best-selling author on the faculty.
Oh.
Welcome to the Hudson family,
Mr. Castle.
Oh, please, Dean Feller,
call me "Professor Castle."
Oh.
Captain Beckett.
Fancy seeing you here.
S08E03
PhDead
Castle,
I know what you're doing.
I'm giving back to the community
by molding young minds?
You're not joining this case.
- Aren't you two married?
- Yes, we are.
Dean Feller, meet captain
Beckett of the 12th precinct.
Yes. And husband and wife
need a moment in private.
Whoa, whoa, hang on.
Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Ah.
It took me an hour to tie this.
Oh, you saw the tattoo
at the morgue, didn't you?
I saw Lanie at the morgue.
I can't recall
if I saw other things
on bodies
with gruesome chest wounds.
Let me ask you... how large of
a donation check did you write
in order to become a professor?
Guest professor.
Look... I have no desire
to interfere with your case,
but I can't help it if
my path crosses with yours
while I'm teaching here.
Castle, I asked for time.
Why can't you give me that?
Because you need me.
I... I can't do this right now.
- Kate.
- I'm sorry to interrupt,
but I really need to know why
there are police on my campus.
A student of yours,
Peter Garber,
was found murdered
in Central Park last night.
That's awful.
He was a wonderful young man...
a model student.
He won
this year's fellowship award.
Well, I'll need access
to all of his files,
as well as a discreet room
to interview his teachers
and friends.
Of course.
And as for you...
Professor, this is
a police investigation.
Stay out of it.
She's such a kidder.
We got something.
What's wrong?
Castle's here.
He bought himself a PhD
to get in on this case.
You guys are not
to work with him in any way.
Is that understood?
- Yeah.
- Yes. Absolutely.
- Okay, so, what do we got?
- A suspect.
Yeah?
Peter was pledge master at the
beta omega rho fraternity house.
Let me guess... he hazed someone
and they threatened revenge?
The opposite, actually.
Scott Powell.
Former beta omega.
Scott terrorized
a group of pledges,
got one of them
sent to the hospital.
So Peter turned Scott in,
got him booted from the frat.
Okay, well,
that sounds like motive.
Let's bring him in
for questioning.
Yeah, that might not be
the right approach.
Scott's dad
is a defense attorney.
When the university tried
to expel Scott,
daddy threatened to sue.
So Scott's not gonna talk to us.
Unless we can get him to talk
without him realizing
that he's talking?
How do you plan on doing that?
So, how's the talent
in your marketing class?
Oh, solid. Especially
this hot blonde named Jenny.
- Aw, for real?
- Yeah.
Hey, did you see that
that frat boy got murdered
last night in the park?
Aw, yeah.
I heard he got impaled.
Ah, was it
Peter, uh... Something.
What house was he in?
I have no idea.
Hey, bro, you know what frat
the dead dude's from?
No, officer, I sure don't.
What?
We ain't cops, man.
Dude, you look like you're 40.
Bitch, please.
I got carded last week.
Yeah, for your AARP card.
And your partner's growing
ear hair in front of my eyes.
All right, funny man.
We heard that you had a hate-on
for Peter Garber.
So you want to tell us
where you were last night?
No. But you can call my lawyer.
He's gonna get a real kick
out of you guys.
Have a nice day.
Oh, and remember...
fiber's your friend.
I don't really have
old-man ear hair, do I?
Guys.
You didn't really think
you could "jump street"
the prime suspect, did you?
Castle, what are you doing here?
I heard about the
Scott Powell hazing incident.
I thought I'd offer the
NYPD my P.I. services.
No, thanks.
- Free of charge.
- No, thanks.
All right, fine.
I guess I'll just use
my newfound faculty privileges
to talk to Scott on my own.
He's got a contemporary-lit
class in 30 minutes.
They have a very special
guest speaker...
a certain ruggedly handsome
best-selling author.
He just might be
the angle we need
to get this guy Scott to talk.
Beckett gave us a direct order.
Will she be more upset
when she finds out Castle
solved this case before us,
or when she finds out
we've been cooperating with him?
Perhaps my secret weapon is
the loophole you're looking for.
What secret weapon?
Anybody sitting there?
Uh, you are.
- Thanks.
- Yeah.
Uh, I'm Scott.
Clara.
So, you know anything about
this Richard Castle guy?
A little.
He's an irreverent crime
novelist with a carefree spirit
and a hatred
of exclamation marks.
Or so I hear.
Hmm.
Well, I saw an interview
with him a few years ago.
He was trying way too hard
to be cool.
I'm sure he's mellowed with age.
"To die, to sleep...
To sleep, perchance to dream."
Or not.
"Aye, for there's the rub.
For in this sleep of death,
what dreams may come?"
William Shakespeare, the bard.
A man as intimate with violence
and murder as any in history.
Who can tell me the classic
motivations for murder?
You, in the printed
non-ironic tee
beside the too-friendly blonde.
- Oh, me?
- Yes.
What might drive a person
to murder?
I don't know. Revenge?
Revenge.
A man wronged,
his reputation besmirched,
so he strikes out in passion.
Some might consider
his actions justified.
What else might drive a person
to kill?
Being forced to read one
of your books?
Though that's probably more
of a motive for suicide.
And, uh, what was
the last book you read...
"Zen and the art of hazing hipsters"?
Oh, I love how you come in here
quoting Shakespeare
like it's just gonna
magically elevate
that treadmill fiction
you write.
Treadmill fi...
Get out.
Now.
Works for me.
Are you okay?
What the hell?
First the cops try and front me,
and then that clown.
Cops?
A guy from my old frat
got killed last night.
Peter Garber.
They think I hated him
'cause he got me kicked out
for hazing some newbies.
But I spent the last semester
trying to make amends.
- With Peter?
- Yeah.
Told him I was sorry, you know,
and he said we were cool.
He even asked me for a favor.
Said he needed
a quiet place to study
away from the frat house.
I work at residential housing,
so I hooked him up with
an empty apartment on the D.L.
Why didn't you tell the cops?
My dad's a lawyer,
and he taught me you never trust
the police.
Actually, you know,
he also taught me
that blondes are more fun.
What say we go out later?
My crew and I found this great
bar last night called Jinx.
I'd love to, but I'm actually
getting fitted for an iron lung
in the morning.
Bye.
Okay, Vikram. What have you got?
I might have identified
Allison Hyde's killer.
Pulled footage
from the hotel cameras
around the time Hyde was killed.
Managed to I.D. everyone,
except this guy.
Look, this doesn't
mean anything.
There's plenty of people
who aren't in our
facial-recognition database.
Didn't just use ours.
I snuck into the NSA,
ran him through
their top-secret database.
It's a civil-liberties
nightmare,
but very comprehensive.
Our well-dressed man
is a total ghost.
So unless you know
a ghostbuster,
we're out of luck.
I-I might know somebody.
He's helped me out in the past,
and he's connected
to this world.
But he's technically dead,
which means you're gonna have
to dig him up.
Just to be clear,
you mean he faked his own death
and now he's hiding
under a new identity
that you need me to uncover?
Yeah.
Good. 'Cause I'm not a huge fan
of shoveling.
What are the odds Peter really
wanted this apartment for studying?
I'd say those odds
are less than zero.
NYPD.
I thought Peter was majoring
in marketing,
not medieval torture.
This stuff isn't for torture.
It's a BDSM dungeon.
What? I read "Fifty Shades,"
and clearly so had Peter.
Okay.
I'm thinking this is
a little less "Fifty Shades"
and a little more
"Fatal Attraction."
So, Peter and
his bondage-curious lover
set up shop here to fulfill
all their fantasies.
Mm. Role play.
Perhaps kinky convict
and wicked warden.
D...
Anyway, Peter tries to break it off.
The lover, spurned,
flies into a murderous rage,
and then impales him
in the park.
All right. We need to figure out
who Peter's been...
Entertaining here.
That means we need to start
knocking on some doors,
- pulling surveillance footage.
- There's an easier way.
Frat boys love to kiss and tell.
If anyone knows
who Peter was involved with,
it will be his brothers.
Yeah, but they
weren't exactly forthcoming
- when we interviewed them earlier.
- Yeah.
That's because you're "the man."
But I'm not.
I'm in.
She's in.
We heard.
You know this isn't
her first frat party, Castle.
You trying to make me
feel better?
You know, it's understandable
if you're feeling a little
overprotective right now
with what's been happening
with Beckett.
"What's happening" is
I'm getting her back.
Are you sure
this is the right way to do it?
She was pretty clear that she did
not want you working this case.
Working cases together is
why she fell in love with me.
That's why I'm going to do
whatever it takes
to solve this case.
Including sending your daughter
into a house full
of drunken frat boys,
dressed like a slutty angel?
Open it. Open it.
It's so sad about Peter.
Were you close with him?
Mmmmmmm.
He was a hottie.
I bet he had
a lot of girlfriends, huh?
Mmmmmmm.
Mmmmmmm.
Hey, hey, hey.
- Her eyes are up here.
- What are you doing?
- I got this.
- Do you?
'Cause I'm hearing
a whole lot of flirting
and zero fact-finding
on who Peter was dating.
Hey, bro. I saw her first.
Get your own girl.
- Ew.
- Ew.
I mean it.
Hit the road, old man.
Old man?
This old man
is gonna kick your ass.
At beer pong.
Beer-pong challenge, everyone!
What exactly is your strategy?
To get any man
to confide in you,
you must first earn his respect.
To do that, I need to bro down.
Thank you.
All right.
Oh!
Mmm.
Oh.
10 bucks on Castle.
You're on.
Hey, Captain.
What are you doing here?
- Surveillance.
- Canvassing.
- Surveillance.
- Canvassing.
In your face, Frankenstein.
We can explain.
I ask one thing of you guys.
Whoo!
All right, all right.
Whoo!
Whoo!
Mmm.
Terrible thing about Peter.
Wish I would have
gotten to know him better.
You, uh, spoken to Julie?
She must be devastated.
Who's Julie?
Isn't that Peter's
girlfriend's name?
Peter was all about
this cougar professor,
Dr. Lillstrom.
He spent all of his free time
with her,
if you know what I mean.
Oh, someone didn't skip
his lesson on subtext.
All right, last shot,
professor. Bring it.
Thank you.
Oops.
Drink.
All right. Party's over.
Unless you want me
to start checking I.D.s.
That was a nice shot.
We should team up.
We could pong hustle.
Castle, go home. You're drunk.
I'm not drunk.
I'm casing the crack.
Crack... crack...
Cracking the case.
You're a lightweight.
Come on, dad. Time to go.
Okay, angel. You're driving.
You're pretty hot for a cop.
- I have a gun.
- Right.
- Beckett.
- It's Vikram.
I found your dead guy
resurrected in New Jersey.
And I know
where you can find him.
It's been a long time.
What the hell
are you doing here?
Sorry to shake your snow globe,
but you helped me once
when I was being framed
for Vulcan Simmons's murder,
and I need your help again.
Forget it.
I paid all my debts.
This man killed
an assistant A.G.
Connected to Bracken's
dirty-money scheme.
I don't know him.
He works for Bracken's partner,
some mystery man or woman
deep inside the CIA.
Why can't you
just leave this alone?
I wasn't built that way.
Look,
I've got a good thing here.
A woman who loves me,
a new life.
I'm happy. You could be, too.
You just have to let it go.
I can't.
What makes you think
the drug shipments stopped
with Vulcan Simmons's death?
Every narcotic has a signature,
a fingerprint, if you will.
You find his,
you pick up the trail.
- Thank you.
- Don't.
You're gonna get yourself
killed.
Come on, boy.
Unh.
Oh. You're getting too
old for drinking games, kiddo.
It was for the case.
The one that Katherine keeps
throwing you off of?
I didn't win her love overnight
the first time.
I'm making progress, huh?
Hey.
Where are we
on Peter's faculty girlfriend?
Dr. Barbara Lillstrom,
head of the psych department
at Hudson U.
Top of her class
at Harvard med school.
She was advising
Peter's senior thesis.
And they had an illicit
student-faculty relationship,
one that ended ugly
once he rejected her.
Yeah, I'm betting Peter
was expecting a bad grade,
not impalement.
I contacted
the psych department.
Lillstrom's been out all week.
She could be on the run.
If she is, she didn't run far.
Or at least her phone didn't.
Her cell signal went dead
yesterday,
but it last pinged off a tower
outside of
a tenantless building here.
That's four blocks away
from where Peter was killed.
You know, if you want
to curry favor with Katherine
after last night's
little debacle,
you might tell her about this.
No, first, we'll confirm
Lillstrom is there.
Then we'll call in the cavalry.
Times like this,
I wish you were more comfortable
carrying a gun on your person,
not just in your desk.
A good P.I. relies on his wits
first, bullets second.
After your wits.
What was that?
This explains
Peter's prison jumpsuit.
- Don't move.
- Easy there, fella.
Unless you're a New York yankee,
quit trying
to steal second base.
Watch your mouth.
I'm just saying,
buy me a drink first.
Take this.
Here, open 4.
No. What?
Are you sure about this?
I have to warn the warden.
What kind of prison is this?
Take a look around.
You notice any similarities...
Between the guards
and the inmates?
- Wait... they're all my age.
- Exactly.
And I'm betting they're all
Hudson University students.
They're doing a re-enactment of
the Stanford Prison experiment.
That thing from the '70s
where they studied
the psychological effects
of making students pretend
to be prisoners and guards?
Makes sense.
Dr. Lillstrom is head
of the psych department.
Who else is gonna have
the kind of pull
to put something like this
together?
Maybe Peter shawshanked his way
out of here.
Peter?
He actually escaped?
You know Peter?
He was in your cell,
but one day we woke up
and he was just gone.
- What did the guards say?
- They freaked.
How'd he get out of his cell?
But we... we didn't know if they
were just messing with our heads,
'cause that's what they do here.
Did you volunteer for this?
I needed the money,
but now I just want to go home.
Wait a minute. Y-you mean,
there's no panic button?
There's no safety mechanism
if you want to quit?
There was a white flag,
but they removed it
when Peter was demoted.
Peter was a guard
before he was an inmate?
Head guard,
recruited by Warden Lillstrom.
But he was nice to us.
I think that's why
Lillstrom turned on him.
She made Peter an inmate,
forced him to sit in the chair.
What chair are we talking about?
Our daily interrogations.
We're strapped to a chair.
Lillstrom flashes images
in our eyes over and over.
All these strange lights.
What does Lillstrom
want to know?
Our secrets.
The darker, the better.
It's like she's
sliding around your brain,
peeking into your soul.
Hey.
Come open this cell.
I give the orders here, inmate.
And I give the grades.
You saw my faculty I.D.
So, here's the pop quiz.
Failure to open this cell
will cause an oh-so-disastrous
end to your academic career...
true or false?
Hey. Hers too.
Take us to Dr. Lillstrom
right now.
Warden. We, um, have a problem.
Damn right we do... years of
planning, of research, ruined!
Do you have any idea
of the damage you've caused?
Ask me if I care.
We're here
investigating Peter's murder.
Peter's dead?
Look, he broke out.
That's not my responsibility.
New York's a dangerous town.
We know all about
your relationship with Peter.
I'm the adviser
on his thesis.
You advised him
on a lot more than that.
You were having an affair.
Excuse me?
We found your little sex dungeon
and the message
you wrote on the mirror.
Peter broke up with you,
didn't he?
So you punished him
the only way you knew how
by making him your prisoner.
Then he escaped.
Is that when you decided
he had to die, doctor?
You killed Peter?
I-it's not true. Any of it.
- You're coming with me.
- Wha...
You open those cells,
but no one leaves here until
I've returned with the police.
Do not listen to him.
Oh, and, uh,
you're indoors and it's dark,
so take off the sunglasses.
You look stupid.
Yet another case closed
courtesy of Richard Castle Investigations.
Um, who is this woman?
And are you in handcuffs?
This man abducted me.
It's not an abduction.
It's a citizen's arrest.
Please get it straight.
Beckett,
please meet Dr. Lillstrom.
She was Peter's teacher...
with benefits.
The real kinky kind, too.
But when Peter ended
their trysts,
she locked him up in a secret,
underground prison experiment,
which is where I caught her.
You're welcome, honey.
You went
to an underground prison?
Alone?
No, not alone.
I had Alexis with me.
Oh, well, since you had backup.
Are you kidding, Castle?
Your daughter?
When you say it in that tone,
I sound like a bad parent.
Regardless,
Dr. Lillstrom is a suspect.
- Trust me.
- Fine.
Thanks.
There's protocol. You know that.
If you had a lead,
you should have called us.
Oh, believe me, I wanted to,
but they locked us up in a cell.
No, I mean, you should
have called us be...
wait, they locked you up?
You know what? Never mind.
I don't want to know.
Just go find Ryan and Espo
and take them to the prison.
That man is insane.
I'm innocent.
If he says you're a suspect,
then trust me...
you are far from innocent.
Let's go.
This way, guys.
Oh, no.
Oh, no, no, no, no!
I told them to stay.
They're not dogs, Castle.
They're college kids.
What did you expect?
This place has been
completely cleared out.
Dr. Lillstrom must have had
a contingency plan.
They took all the evidence.
And I let it happen.
All because
I wanted to impress Beckett.
Sorry, Beckett. I screwed up.
Yeah, you did.
And I jeopardized
the entire case.
Again, yes.
But you know what?
If it wasn't for you,
then we'd still be thinking
that Peter's prison uniform
was a Halloween costume.
So, I've been digging into
Dr. Lillstrom.
Did you know that
for the past decade,
she's been contracting
with the army, working psy ops?
Wait a minute.
The Navy funded the first,
the original Stanford Prison experiment.
Maybe the army is behind
Dr. Lillstrom's
modern-day incarnation.
That would explain how the place
was scrubbed so quickly.
Now, why would the military
be interested
in a bunch of college students
playing prison?
Well,
the government's in need of
new counterterrorism techniques
aimed at
the millennial generation
how to get into the minds of
young terrorists and break them.
And what better source
of lab rats
than the millennials
here at home?
But we'll never get
those surveillance tapes back.
So how do we prove that
Lillstrom left the prison
to kill Peter after he escaped?
We need a confession.
Well, the doc likes mind games,
right?
Charge me or let me go.
Which sounds better...
negligent infliction
of emotional distress,
or gross psychological abuse?
What are you doing?
I'm writing an e-mail
to the entire Hud U. Faculty.
Figured I'd let everyone know
that you were conducting
an unauthorized experiment
with members
of the student body,
secretly funded
by the U.S. military.
I'd love to see you prove it,
especially because
every participating student
signs a nondisclosure agreement.
Oh. Well, then, I suppose
you won't mind if I send this.
Wait! Wait.
What will it take for you not to
tell anyone at Hudson about this?
The truth.
Do I have your word, captain?
Hud U. will never hear from me.
Okay.
I didn't kill Peter, and
I wasn't sleeping with him.
That's all you got?
Well, then I'm sending it.
Look, it's the truth!
The night Peter escaped,
I wasn't even at the prison.
Then where were you?
A pipe burst in my apartment.
I was dealing with it all night.
Check with my doorman.
But if you're thinking
whoever was having an affair
with Peter killed him...
I might be able to help.
Now we're talking.
My study deals with extracting
secrets from unwilling subjects.
And Peter revealed
that he was having an affair?
So, who was he sleeping with?
Someone on that list.
Dean Feller, I'm sure
you know why you're here.
Actually, I don't.
Well, we found
the studio apartment.
I don't... I don't know
w-what that is.
Really?
Because we showed your photo
to the neighbors.
- They were able to tell us that...
- Okay.
Look. Peter stood me up
a couple of nights in a row.
And I was hurt,
so I wrote him a message.
Peter stood you up
because he was trapped
inside of Dr. Lillstrom's
prison experiment.
What prison experiment?
Peter told you about the hell
that he was stuck in.
Phone records show
that you received a collect call
from a payphone
near the crime scene.
Yes, Peter called me.
He was panicked.
He told me
to pick him up at the park
and he would explain everything,
but he never said anything
about a prison.
He never showed.
Did Peter tell you
that Dr. Lillstrom extracted
the secret of your affair?
Is that why you killed him?
Because he was the only one
who could verify the truth?
What?
I didn't kill Peter.
I want a lawyer right now.
You're not buying this, are you?
No confession. No smoking gun.
It's just... Not clean.
Well, that's how homicides are
sometimes.
You know that.
Yeah, but something's
still bothering me.
There's a part of the mystery
that hasn't been solved yet.
We're missing part of the story.
And how do you suggest
we find it?
The same way we always do.
We start at the beginning,
back at the prison.
You just want an excuse
to get me alone.
No, Beckett,
I just want the truth.
What really happened to Peter
that night.
Peter was placed in this cell.
And then he escaped.
Yeah, but how?
They said one morning
he was just gone.
So, what are you thinking?
How Peter escaped had something
to do with who killed him?
Only one way to figure it out.
And guess what.
We're gonna figure it out
together.
You're not gonna
get a signal.
- You trapped me in here on purpose.
- No, I didn't.
But since you brought it up,
tell me...
why do you feel trapped
in our marriage?
I don't.
Then why did you leave?
It's complicated.
So is breaking out of a prison,
so we've got some time.
You know what? We're not having
this conversation.
I asked you for space,
and you literally locked me up
in a jail cell.
Okay.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, okay. Okay.
You... I'll give you space.
I'll give you space.
You know what?
You know, it would be just my luck
it would ricochet and hit you
and then I'd have two murders
to contend with.
Look, relax.
Peter broke out of here,
so... So can we.
Probably.
You're right.
I mean, we've been stuck
in worse places together before.
I like that word... together.
So what happened, Kate?
What did I do wrong?
Castle,
this one's not about you.
It's on me.
I love you.
I always will.
Then let's work it out...
therapy, counseling.
Whatever it takes.
I... I just can't.
Why?
Huh.
"Huh," what?
Before this place
was a prison cell,
it was an office building,
right?
Yeah.
Take a look up.
I bet you
that's how Peter got out.
Come on, Castle.
Uh, this is when
you boost me up.
Uh, right. Up.
Ready. There we go.
Uh, okay.
Oh, got it.
Whew.
You're doing great, honey.
N-not to rush you, but...
Wait a minute.
Something's not right here.
How did Peter reach the vent
from inside the cell?
It was a two-man job.
Two prisoners escaped,
but only one was missing,
which means...
The killer came back!
I'll open the door.
Thanks for coming down
to the station, Emily.
We just have a few questions
about the prison experiment...
and how you helped Peter
escape from it.
What are you talking about?
Well, Peter reached through
the bars, and he hoisted you up,
and you both escaped,
didn't you?
And then you killed Peter
in the park
and returned to the prison,
to your cell...
the perfect alibi.
That's ridiculous.
Why would I kill him?
Emily, we know about
the scholarship.
You needed it to stay in school.
Yeah,
but he won fair and square.
We know that's not true.
Peter won that scholarship
because he was having an affair
with the Dean.
And then when you found out
about it in the prison,
you took your revenge.
It wasn't me.
- Stop lying, Emily!
- It wasn't!
It was a different me!
That experiment
messed with my head!
After we escaped,
I just... snapped.
It was so unfair.
I had worked so hard,
did everything right.
When Peter ran into the park,
I-I went after him.
Then I saw that tree branch.
Why did I do that?
- Thanks for meeting me.
- Yeah.
I finished piecing this together
for our investigation.
You're having second thoughts.
Aren't you?
Yeah. I just knew that
this was gonna be tough.
I didn't think it
was gonna be like this.
I get it. I do.
Look, maybe we need to stop
before we start.
Beckett, I'll follow your lead.
What should we do?
Let's get to work.
That is...
50-year-old scotch.
Yeah. I bought a case of it.
Alexis, that's expensive.
Relax, dad.
The company paid for it.
Oh, okay.
W-wait.
That means I paid for it.
To closing the case.
To generous expense accounts.
So, any progress with Beckett?
You know, at the prison,
we, um, sort of had a moment.
Really?
Yeah.
I think my plan is working.
I mean, it has to, right?
Um, you know what?
We're gonna start a tradition.
For when we solve a case
together.
I don't smoke,
and neither do you.
Who said anything about smoking?