At Castle’s loft, Alexis dancing dirty in the living room.
Alexis: Five, six, seven, eight. One and two, three and four...
Castle: Why are you all Beyoncé this morning? You got a school dance coming up?
Alexis: No. Ashley gave me some of her cheer routine. She's been on the JV for two years and she wants me to try out for the squad.
Castle: Cheerleading?
Alexis: Yeah, why?
Castle: Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?
Alexis: What's wrong with cheerleading?
Castle: No, no, nothing's, nothing's... I'm just, I didn't know you wanted to be one.
Alexis: Me either. But I watched Ashley practice and it looks like fun. And my college counsellor, Ms. Schaefer, said I need to consider diversifying my activities. I figure I'm a natural because I root for you all the time.
Castle: Ha.
Alexis's cell rings.
Alexis: Oh, I gotta go. Love you.
Castle: Have fun.
Alexis: Five, six, seven, eight.
Alexis dances out the door and Martha comes down the stairs.
Castle: Cheerleading?
Martha: So?
Castle: W…
Martha: The time you wanted to play hockey because all the cool guys in the school were playing it?
Castle: Yeah, but I didn't join the team.
Martha: Well, no, because you knocked out two teeth in the first practice. Darling, let Alexis figure this out on her own. Hmm?
Castle: This coming from the woman who just last week told me not to reserve a seat on the space shuttle.
Martha: Oh. Have to rethink that.
Castle: Really?
Martha: Mm-hmm.
Castle's cell rings and Martha leaves.
In the park.
Ryan: Vic's a female, late-twenties. No ID. She was found hanging from the monkey bars by a jogger just after dawn.
Castle: Is that honey?
Lanie: From the smell of it, I's say it's caramel sauce. But I'll be testing, not tasting.
Beckett: Caramel sauce?
Castle: Maybe our killer has a sweet tooth.
Beckett: Given her state of undress, I'd say it's more likely he had a sexual fetish.
Lanie: I can do the chocolate, I'll even do the whipped cream bikini, but caramel? I prefer slippery to sticky.
Castle: Does she know we can hear her?
Ryan chuckles.
Beckett: Bondage cuffs, custom-made. Looks like our killer liked public play.
Castle: How can you tell the difference between custom and regular?
Beckett: The leather is too high quality to be mass-produced, and it's hand-stitched.
Castle: No, I mean, how can you tell the difference?
Beckett: So, time of death?
Lanie: From body temperature, I'd say between ten and eleven last night. But I'm pretty sure she was not killed here. Based on lividity, she spent several hours in the fetal position after she died, and then was hung here a few hours ago. Petechial hemorrhaging suggests she was suffocated. And then there's these.
Lanie points to striped bruising on the victim's legs.
Beckett: Was she retrained?
Lanie: Looks like it.
Esposito: Yo, Beckett. Crime scene's negative for any signs of a struggle. We found about a dozen partial shoe impressions, but the ground's too cold to get any imprints.
Ryan: But we did find this. Wheel marks, about 18 inches apart.
Castle: Rolling suitcase?
Beckett: And judging by the depth of the tracks, I'd say it was carrying something heavy.
Ryan: Guessing around 105 pounds.
Beckett: So, he killed her elsewhere, and then brought her here.
Esposito: Yeah, which means the crime scene could be anywhere.
Castle: Psychology doesn't make any sense. The crime scene was pretty elaborately staged, which seems to suggest a significant amount of premeditation, but the murder itself, suffocation, might indicate a crime of passion.
Ryan: The guy covered her in caramel. Do you really think we're gonna find a logical explanation?
Beckett: Only a handful of bondage shops in the city do custom work, so let's take photos of those cuffs, send it out, see if anyone can ID where it came from.
Castle: "Only a handful of shops"? Okay, what aren't you telling me?
Beckett: So much, Castle. So very, very much.
Ryan and Esposito look over bondage shop websites.
Ryan: It's a little creepy doing this with you breathing on my neck.
Esposito: Oh, sorry, bro. I'd do it on mine, but IA checks browser history, so...
Ryan: Great. Thanks.
Esposito: What does that thing do?
Ryan: Looks like a potato peeler.
Esposito: Oh, that is nasty.
Ryan: Ugh!
Castle: And illegal in 12 states.
Beckett (on cell): Yeah, you're right, that is weird. Okay, thank you.
Castle: What's weird?
Beckett: Lanie ran a SART kit. There's no signs of sexual assault or activity. This has all the makings of a sex crime, but there's no sex involved.
Castle: Well, maybe our psychopath believes in abstinence.
Beckett: It's more likely he has a performance problem. And there's no ID. Her fingerprints aren't in the system.
Ryan/Esposito: Oh!
Esposito: No, no, no, no.
Ryan: How do you even get in that position?
Esposito: I don't know, but you should try that with your, uh, girlfriend, honey-milk. As a matter of fact, I think I'm going to buy this for you right now.
Castle: Oh, jeez. How do you even get in that position?
Ryan: Right? It's not even possible.
Beckett: Oh, it's possible. Anything on the canvass?
Esposito: Nothing yet. And nothing back from Missing Persons. Given that it just happened last night, it's most likely not going to be reported for a couple of days.
Beckett: What about the cuffs?
Ryan: We found seven shops in Manhattan that make custom bondage gear.
Esposito: And while we're waiting to hear back, we're going to buy a gift for Ryan's imaginary girlfriend.
Castle: Oh, yeah. When are we going to meet that Jenny?
Ryan: When the time is right, I'll bring her around. I don't want you guys scaring her off.
Ryan's cell rings.
Esposito: Oh. There she is now.
Ryan: Hello? Detective Ryan.
Beckett: You guys, give him a break. I wouldn't bring my boyfriend around here either.
Castle: Boyfriend? Did I miss something?
Ryan: So, that was Barry from The Love Shackle. He says the cuff might be theirs, but he'd have to examine them closely to know for sure.
Beckett: Well, then have Evidence pull them and tell them I'm coming.
Castle: Oh, field trip to a sex store. I love this case.
Ryan: Look at him following her. Who's whipped, huh? Me or him?
Esposito: You, bro. Hands down.
Ryan's cell beeps. He chuckles. Esposito shakes his head.
At the bondage shop.
Castle: You know, while we're here, we should really pick up something for that new imaginary boyfriend of yours. Whoa, this his speed?
Beckett: No, but if you keep talking, I'll put you in one of these.
She zips the mouth shut on a mask.
Barry: Hey, guys. Looking for something special?
Castle: Yes.
Beckett: No.
Barry: Just getting started, huh? Yeah, we get a lot of first-timers. We carry everything from Bondage 101, all the way up to the more advanced stuff for your pleasure PhD. But if you're just looking to dip your toe in the water, these little guys are best-sellers.
Barry holds up fluffy cuffs.
Barry: Wanna give them a try?
Beckett: No, thanks. I've already got a pair of my own.
She moves her coat aside showing her cuffs and her badge. Later, Barry looks over the leather cuffs.
Barry: Double cross lap stitch on the seam. Yeah, this is definitely one of mine.
Beckett: Can you tell us who ordered them?
Barry: Yeah, I remember this kid. Very vanilla. Then again, it's always the normal-looking ones that end up being the most freaky. Right?
Beckett: Do you have a name or a billing address?
Barry: Yeah. The cuffs were purchased six months ago by a Tyler Benton. He had them specially made for his girlfriend. Cute girl, too.
Beckett: You remember her?
Barry: Yeah, brunette, mid-twenties. Asked a lot of questions.
Beckett: Did she by any chance look like this?
Beckett shows Barry the crime scene photo.
Barry: Oh, god.
Beckett: We need to talk to Tyler Benton and find out what he was doing last night.
Castle: My guess is killing his girlfriend.
Tyler shoves the crime scene photo back across the table.
Tyler Benton: That's Jessica. Jessica Margolis. My girlfriend. Next week was our one-year anniversary. I was going to propose.
Beckett: Where were you last night, Mr. Benton?
Tyler Benton: At the hospital. I'm a first year. I was working a 24-hour shift. You can ask my attending.
Beckett pulls out the leather cuffs.
Beckett: Have you ever seen these before?
Tyler Benton: Yeah, I... I bought them for Jessica a few months ago. Why?
Castle: She was found hanging by them in the park. You guys like to play?
Tyler Benton: What? No. We never even used them. They… They were just supposed to be a joke, because of her research.
Castle: Research?
Tyler Benton: I tried to be supportive, but I should've stopped her. I should've pushed her to study something else.
Beckett: What was she studying?
Tyler Benton: The sociology of sexual bondage and domination. She spent months meeting people in that world, trying to understand what made them tick. And they killed her for it.
Beckett: And where did you keep these cuffs?
Tyler Benton: I don-- I don't know. At her place, I guess. Her roommate probably knows. The two of them were, like, attached at the hip.
At Jessica and Danielle's apartment.
Danielle: Jessica and I have been roommates since freshman year. We've lived together so long, we're practically sisters.
Beckett: Tyler said that you might know where she kept the cuffs he gave her.
Danielle: She showed them to me when she got them, but I never saw them after that.
Beckett: When was the last time that you saw Jessica?
Danielle: Yesterday morning.
Castle: What about her research? Did she ever talk to you about where she went, the people involved?
Danielle: No, she pretty much kept all that to herself.
Esposito: Detective Beckett.
Beckett: Excuse me.
Esposito: So, the bed hasn't been slept in and there's no signs of a struggle.
Beckett: Cell phone? Purse?
Ryan: Nada.
Beckett: Which means she was somewhere else when she was killed. Okay, let's put a trace on her cell phone. If she has a GPS locator, we might get lucky.
Esposito: Right.
Beckett goes back to Danielle.
Beckett: Did Jessica ever mention where she was going to be last night?
Danielle: No. I got in at around ten. It didn't look like she'd been home. Since Tyler was on call, I... I assumed she was up at the university working on her thesis.
In Hudson University.
Professor Stevenson: I wish I could help you, Detective. Sometimes she'd work late, but she wasn't here last night.
Beckett: Are you sure about that?
Professor Stevenson: I was here till eleven grading papers. I would've seen her.
Beckett: As her advisor, how much would you know about the people that she was researching?
Professor Stevenson: She was spending a lot of time with a dominatrix named Mistress Venom.
Castle: Mistress Venom? Sounds more like Penthouse Forum than PhD.
Professor Stevenson: Mr. Castle, people who study sex-related fields are often derided within academia. Jessica was determined not to be held hostage by their little minds. Venom was Jessica's guide to that world. If you want to know more about the people Jessica was studying, you'll have to ask Venom.
In an office.
Professor Stevenson: Kelly, this is Detective Beckett and Richard Castle. They need to see Jessica's research.
A maintenance man unlocks a file drawer.
Castle: She kept her notes locked up?
Kelly: She was a finalist for the Kellerman Fellowship. When you're competing against other people in the department, the last thing you want to do is leave your notes lying around.
Beckett: Well, looks like a lot of late nights.
Kelly: When Tyler was on shift, she'd just pull an all-nighter and go visit him on his breaks.
Matt Haley: Kelly, did you hear how they found her?
Kelly: Matt.
Matt Haley: Tied to the monkey bars on a playground in her underwear!
Kelly: Matt, um, this is Detective Beckett. She's here investigating Jessica's death. Matt, Jess, and I all started the PhD program at the same time.
Beckett: I can tell you were close.
Matt Haley: I'm sorry, it's just...
Beckett: Kelly, did Jessica have any enemies in the department? Anyone in school that she didn't get along with?
Matt Haley: Just because we were competing for the same fellowship doesn't mean that we weren't civil.
Kelly: Not everyone was civil. In the last few weeks, Jessica was getting these phone calls on her office line.
Beckett: What kind of calls?
Kelly: Heavy breathing. Moaning. Made you want to take a hand sanitizer shower.
Castle: Seems a little immature for grad students.
Matt Haley: Look, I'm studying the impact of AIDS treatments in inner city clinics. Kelly's is about overcoming the glass ceiling. And Jessica was watching a dominatrix dig her stiletto into some loser's chest. She was bound to get some grief for it.
The maintenance man finally get the file cabinet open.
In the conference room.
Castle: Jessica's notes on Venom's sessions are pretty detailed. She studied these guys like lab rats.
Beckett: But she only identifies them by nickname. Ladyboy, Pin Cushion, and Scared Bunny.
Castle: You know, if they didn't know what Jessica was doing and one of them found out...
Beckett: Fear of exposure would be a strong motive to kill.
Castle: I wonder what attracted her to all of this.
Beckett: Well, according to her thesis proposal, she became interested in S&M after witnessing a dysfunctional relationship up close. Apparently, her dissertation compares "the overt expressions of dominance in the dungeon to more subtle expressions in real world relationships, like who drives."
Castle: Hey, I would drive if you would let me. That actually didn't prove my point like I thought it would.
Beckett: You know, it says here that Mistress Venom works in a bondage club somewhere in Dungeon Alley, but it doesn't say which one.
Castle: Dungeon Alley.
Beckett: It's an area between Chelsea and Midtown. There's a whole slew of fetish clubs there.
Castle: Yes, I know where Dungeon Alley is. I want to know, how do you know?
Beckett: Vice raided a few of them looking for a reason to shut them down. But since there's no sexual contact and the acts are all consensual, it was all perfectly legal.
Castle: Mmm. You know, you should moonlight. Seriously, you would make a fortune. Come on, haven't you even wanted to do something with your handcuffs other than arrest criminals?
Beckett: No, but there is one hot, wild, kinky thing that I do like doing. Putting killers behind bars.
Castle: See? You're already a tease. You're halfway there.
Ryan: Hey, we tried to trace the creepy calls that Jessica was getting at her office, but since they were routed through the main switchboard at the college, there's no way to determine their source.
Beckett: What about the cell phone?
Esposito: The day she died, she placed a call to her boyfriend at the hospital, she placed a call to her voicemail at the office, and she placed two calls to Lady Irena's House of Pain.
Beckett: Lady Irena's House of Pain. That must be where Mistress Venom works. Did you get an address?
Esposito: Yeah. An office building on 38th.
Ryan: Conveniently located for all your lunchtime spanking needs.
Beckett: Alright, you guys look through her notes, see if there's anything that's there that might implicate one of her clients. Meanwhile, Castle and I will go and meet this Mistress Venom.
Castle: Whips, women, and murder. Sounds like my lucky day.
Beckett: I'm so glad you're excited by this. (on cell) Hi. My name is Kate, and my boyfriend has been a very bad boy. Yes, that's right. His name's Ricky.
Castle: What are you doing?
Beckett (on cell): Actually, a friend of mine recommended a Mistress Venom.
Castle: Wait.
Beckett (on cell): Is she available today? 4 p.m.? Sur, that's perfect.
Castle: No.
Beckett (on cell): Thank you.
Beckett hangs up.
Castle: Okay, that's very funny. Now call her back.
Beckett: Uh-uh, Castle. This is the perfect way to get Venom without tipping our hand. What's the matter, Castle? You afraid of a little role play?
Beckett smiles gleefully and walks away.
Castle: Yeah, you better run.
At Lady Irena's House of Pain.
Castle: This place looks like a law firm.
Beckett: What'd you think it was going to be? Torture wheels and women in corsets?
Castle: Well, yeah.
Beckett: That's in the back.
Receptionist: Welcome to Lady Irena's House of Pain. How can I serve you?
Beckett: Well, answer her! You see what I have to deal with? My boyfriend Ricky has an appointment at 4 p.m. with Mistress Venom.
Receptionist: Will you be joining him?
Beckett: Oh, yes. I have been dying to watch him squirm.
Receptionist: Mistress Venom would be delighted to have an audience. Follow me, please.
Beckett: Do you think we could gag him?
Remember, my safe word is "apples."
At Lady Irena's House of Pain, playroom.
Castle: You should bring your new boyfriend here.
Beckett: Mistress Venom?
Lady Irena: Mistress Venom is unavailable, but I'm Lady Irena. I own this dungeon. I'm sure we can find another dominatrix to suit your needs.
Beckett: I'm afraid we can't. I'm Detective Beckett. (badges her) I need to speak with her right now concerning a murder investigation.
Lady Irena: Who was murdered?
BeckCastle: ett: Jessica Margolis. The PhD student who was observing her sessions.
Lady Irena: There was no one observing her sessions.
Beckett: Are you sure?
Lady Irena: Positive. Privacy is paramount in my dungeon.
Beckett shows Lady Irena the crime scene photo.
Beckett: You've never seen this girl?
Lady Irena: Of course I've seen that girl. She wasn't observing Mistress Venom. She was Mistress Venom.
Lady Irena opens up a photo portfolio showing dominatrix Jessica.
Beckett compares the portfolio to the crime scene photo with striped bruises on Jessica's legs. They match the shape of the dominatrix boots.
Beckett: Well, this explains the marks on her body. Jessica must've been wearing this before she died.
Lady Irena: Like cruel shoes, these outfits can leave marks for hours after you wear them. She had three sessions yesterday. She left around 7:30.
Castle: You really had no idea that Jessica was conducting a sociological experiment out of your dungeon?
Lady Irena: No. She came to me about six months ago. Quickly became one of my most requested doms.
Beckett: Did Jessica have any clients who were unusually obsessed with her?
Lady Irena: Of course. I mean, they all were. But her clients were submissive. Killing is an act of dominance.
Beckett: You and I both know that people aren't that simple. Men might come here for humiliation and torture, but it's easy to imagine that one of them might have been pushed too far and lashed out.
Lady Irena: If she was concerned for her safety, she would've told me.
Beckett: Do you have a list of Jessica's clients?
Lady Irena: Detective, all the services that we provide here are perfectly legal. Now, part of that service is protecting the privacy of our client. I'm not about to betray the trust that they've paid for because you have a hunch.
Beckett: Oh, I think it's more than just a hunch.
Lady Irena: Well, gee, I'm sorry. Unless you have a court order, my hands are tied, so to speak.
Beckett: You're pretty well-versed in law for a dominatrix.
Lady Irena: Don't let the leather fool you. I used to be a partner at a law firm.
Castle: Wow.
Lady Irena: When you dominate and manipulate men in every boardroom and courtroom that you're in, this just seemed like the natural progression.
Irena approaches Castle.
Lady Irena: It's called Mistress Red.
Castle: Excuse me?
Lady Irena: My lipstick. I noticed you couldn't stop staring.
In the hallway.
Castle: I'm sorry. It was just hypnotic.
Beckett: It's not you. It's her.
Castle: If you're so upset, we could find someone for you to go medieval on. Like, uh, him, perhaps?
Beckett: She wants to protect her clients. What about her girls?
Mistress Sapphire: Hey. You the cop?
Beckett: I'm Detective Beckett.
Mistress Sapphire: I'm Mistress Sapphire. So it's true? She's dead?
Beckett: Yes. I'm sorry.
Mistress Sapphire: This weird thing happened last week I think you should know about.
Castle: With one of her clients?
Mistress Sapphire: Sort of. A first-time client came in for a session, but he left just after a few minutes. I found her in the locker room, crying.
Beckett: Did she tell you why?
Mistress Sapphire: No.
Beckett: This client, do you remember anything about him?
Mistress Sapphire: It was a week ago and I only saw him from behind, but he was wearing one of those medical shirts.
Beckett: Scrubs.
Mistress Sapphire: Yes.
Castle: You thinking what I'm thinking?
Beckett: Jessica's boyfriend discovered her secret identity.
Castle: And instead of proposing to her, he kills her.
In the interview room.
Tyler Benton: Jessica was the love of my life. Why would I want to hurt her?
Beckett: Because she hurt you.
Tyler Benton: What the hell are you talking about?
Beckett: You said so yourself, you wanted her to stop. You were going to make her study something else. It must've been a real shocker when you realized she wasn't just studying that world, she was living it.
Becket slaps the dominatrix Jessica photo on the table.
Tyler Benton: What the hell is this? This is crazy. You're telling me this is real? You're telling me Jessica was one of them?
Beckett: Why did you go to the dungeon last week? Was it to confront her?
Tyler Benton: The dungeon?
Castle: We have a witness who saw you there.
Beckett: It's completely understandable. The woman that you loved lied to you. I could see how you could lose control and go into a jealous rage.
Castle: And then, in a panic, decide to stage the body in a manner so unusual, we'd naturally assume it was someone in the bondage world.
Tyler Benton: I never went to a dungeon. there was no jealous rage, because I didn't know! I was going to marry her. We just signed a lease to move in together three days ago. If I was so angry with her, why would I do that?
Near the board.
Beckett: He was telling the truth about the lease. Not only did he and Jessica sign the lease, but it was also notarized.
Montgomery: Doesn't mean he didn't do it. He could have had her sign to help his alibi.
Castle: Maybe she was afraid of him. I've been thinking. he dysfunctional relationship she refers to in her research. There's a passage where she describes Subject A as being afraid to tell Subject B that she's leaving because he'd become dangerously co-dependent. What if she was describing Tyler?
Montgomery: Maybe that's why she became a dominatrix. To give her the courage to stand up for herself.
Beckett: We have uniforms combing through hospital security footage. If Tyler left at any point that night, there should be some trace.
Montgomery: In the meantime, let's just keep digging through those notebooks. We're gonna need more than speculation if we want to file charges.
Beckett: Great.
At the loft; Castle's looking over Lady Irena's House of Pain website on his laptop. Alexis looks over his shoulder.
Alexis: Dad!
Castle freaks and shuts the laptop.
Alexis: Do we need to talk about this?
Castle: This is research for a case.
Alexis: Oh.
Castle: And we need to get you some noisier shoes. Seriously, I...
He turns around and sees her cheerleading outfit.
Castle: You made the team.
Alexis: No. Tryouts aren't for another month, but Ashley let me take her uniform home to see how it fit.
Castle: And what do you think?
Alexis: I think it's totally not me, which is why I kind of like it.
Castle: It's not you, so you like it?
Alexis: Yeah. You know how in Storm Fall, you killed off Derrick Storm because you were bored with him?
Castle: Yeah?
Alexis: Sometimes I feel that way about me. Like I'm hiding inside my comfort zone and maybe it's time to venture out a little.
Castle: Well, does that venture have to include pom-poms?
Alexis: I don't want to look back on high school and feel like I missed out on something. So, promise you'll be supportive.
Castle: Yeah, I... I promise.
Alexis: Go, Dad! Whoo! Move, move, move, get out of the way, 'cause Bears are coming and we're ready to play. Grrr, Bears!
Beckett stares at the murder board. Castle enters.
Castle: You ever want to be a cheerleader?
Beckett: No. Did you?
Castle: Not me. Alexis. She wants to try out for the team.
Beckett: So?
Castle: So? You see what they wear? She wants to join a team, why not join mathletes?
Beckett: Why can't she do both. Besides, kids try on personalities the way they try on clothes. It's the way that they figure out who they are.
Castle: What are you looking for?
Beckett: According to the security footage, the boyfriend never left the hospital during his shift. It wasn't him.
Castle: Maybe he faked the footage.
Beckett: He's an intern, not Jason Bourne.
Castle: Oh. There goes my Subject B theory.
Beckett: So, Jessica left the dungeon at 7:30, and she was killed sometime between ten and eleven. If she didn't go home or to the university, then where did she go?
Esposito: Beckett. Something in here you gotta see.
In the conference room.
Esposito: It's one of Jessica's subjects. She calls him Sam-I-Am.
Castle: Because he has a Dr. Seuss fetish?
Ryan: Because he's a SAM, a Smart-Ass Masochist. According to her notes, a SAM pretends he wants to be submissive, but what he actually wants to do is dominate his mistress, usually with passive aggression.
Esposito: Instead of asking for what he wants, he makes a game of making the other people upset so that he can be punished.
Beckett: Really? There's people like that?
Beckett looks at Castle.
Ryan: Only these SAMs can be dangerous, sometimes resorting to threats to provoke their response.
Beckett: Listen to this, "He said Mistress Venom was the one who needed to be punished. He said he was going to find her, tie her up, and drown her, but in something... sweet, like caramel."
Montgomery: Sexual obsession and a description of the crime scene. Sounds like our guy to me.
Esposito: Yeah, but we only got a nickname.
Montgomery: We have more than a nickname. We have enough to force Lady Irena to turn over her client list.
Beckett (on cell): Judge Markway, please.
Castle: Oh, sounds like someone's gonna get punished.
William Caraway paces in interrogation while Beckett, Castle and Esposito watch behind the glass.
Esposito: William Caraway, AKA Sam-I-Am. Senior Vice President at Stewart, Cabot and Segansky.
Castle: The global consulting firm? No wonder Lady Irena was protecting his identity.
Beckett: Castle, why don't you sit this one out? I think Mr. Caraway will respond better to a strong female hand.
Castle: Sam-I-Am. In a box. With a fox. We're gonna need some popcorn.
Beckett enters interrogation.
Beckett: Sit.
William Caraway: First, why don't you tell me why the hell I'm here? I got a board...
Beckett: I said sit down. Now.
He sits.
Beckett: Good boy. Your mistress would be very proud of you.
William Caraway: Excuse me?
Beckett: Mistress Venom? Lady Irena's House of Pain? You like to be tied up. You like to be spanked. But more than anything, you like to make threats.
William Caraway: I don't know what you're talking about.
Beckett: There is no dominatrix-client privilege in New York, and your mistress was very thorough in documenting your deepest, darkest desires. The thing with the matches, how you liked it messy.
William Caraway: She wrote that down?
Beckett: She also wrote how you wanted to turn the tables on her. How you threatened to tie her up and drown her in caramel.
William Caraway: It's fantasy.
Beckett: But the fantasies weren't enough. And so you had to make your dreams come true.
She slaps down the crime scene photo.
William Caraway: No, that's not possible.
Beckett: The more she said no, the more you became obsessed. You didn't want to be the submissive. You wanted to dominate her. And the ultimate domination is murder.
William Caraway: No, I swear. I didn't even know she was dead.
Beckett: You were very specific in your threats, and that's exactly how we found her. Do you really expect me to believe that, that wasn't you?
William Caraway: Well, someone must've found out. Someone could've read her notes.
Beckett: Where were you two nights ago? Mr. Caraway, where were you?
William Caraway: I was with my wife. It was our anniversary.
Near the bullpen.
Esposito: His wife confirms it. He was with her at the anniversary party all night.
Beckett: This staging was way too specific to be just a coincidence. Somebody knew.
Esposito: Maybe she told someone.
Castle: Maybe someone had access to the research. Filing cabinet's not Fort Knox. Anyone with access would have read exactly what we read and could've used it to throw us off their trail.
Beckett: Okay. You and Ryan go back to the dungeon. See if any of the girl swap stories after work. Meanwhile, Castle and I will go to the university and see who had access to her research.
Esposito: Okay.
At Lady Irena's House of Pain.
Mistress Sapphire: No. Mistress Venom never mentioned him to me or any of her other clients.
Esposito: Really? Come on. You girls don't share shop talk?
Mistress Sapphire: You work here long enough, and the kinkiest things you could ever imagine are just another day at the office. The only time we trade info is if we share clients, but Mistress Venom didn't share. Do you mind un-strapping my boot?
Esposito looks over at Ryan.
Ryan: Uh, thank you, Mistress Amber?
Mistress Amber: Yes.
Ryan: Mistress Scorpion. Okay. Getting confused, I'm sorry.
Esposito: If you like.
Esposito kneels to untie the boot laces.
Mistress Sapphire: Faster.
Esposito: Is, uh, is there a possibility that she may have mentioned one client's fetishes to another client?
Mistress Sapphire: Absolutely not. Lady Irena beats confidentiality rules into our heads. Mistress Venom wasn't stupid. Is there a problem?
Esposito: It's just this knot. It's, like, an octagonal knot. It's got, like, eight sides. I've never seen a knot like this.
Ryan: Detective Esposito bringing crime to its knees.
Esposito moves to get up. Sapphire shoves him back down.
Mistress Sapphire: Stay.
Ryan: So, none of the girls claim that they remember Jessica talking about any of her clients, but I think we might have an explanation as to where she was between the time she left work and when she was killed. Mistress Scorpion thinks that Jessica might have been working off the books.
Mistress Sapphire: Well, if she was, then she was asking for trouble. Nothing upsets Lady Irena more than some girl trying to screw her out of her 40%.
Esposito still can't get the knot undone. Sapphire slaps his hand with her riding crop.
Esposito: Ow.
Mistress Sapphire: Hey, Irish. You wanna help out your little buddy here? He seems to be all thumbs.
In an office at Hudson University.
Beckett: You were her office mate, Kelly. It would have been very easy for you to access her files.
Kelly: No, it wouldn't. I told you, she was very private about her work.
Castle: You mean to tell me she didn't once slip out to the bathroom and just leave her notes sitting on the desk?
Kelly: If she did, I wouldn't be interested. and the night she was killed, I was in Westchester with my folks.
Beckett: Does anyone else have access to this office?
Kelly: The only other person with a key to the office is Maintenance.
Castle: What about your keys? Did you ever lose them, or lend them to a friend?
Kelly: No. I mean, I gave them to Matt last week because he said he had some papers here. What, you think he broke into her filing cabinet and took her research?
Castle: That is exactly what I'm thinking. You said it yourself, it's a very competitive program, and they were both finalists for the same fellowship. This is, uh, Matt's proposal for studying the effect of AIDS on inner city clinics. Look at the picture.
Beckett: He's in scrubs.
Castle: It wasn't Tyler who confronted Jessica at the dungeon.
Beckett: It was Matt.
In the interview room.
Matt Haley: I borrowed Kelly's keys. That doesn't prove anything.
Beckett: Which is why we took a look at the whole picture. This is a list of phone calls made from your cell phone to the university switchboard. Each one coincides with a harassing call to Jessica.
Castle: You made those calls.
Matt Haley: Look, it was a joke.
Beckett: How about your little visit to Jessica at the dungeon last week? Was that a joke as well?
Castle: She didn't tell anybody where the dungeon was, so how'd you find it? Did you follow her or the clues in her research?
Beckett: You were her rival for a fellowship. You needed her out of the way. And when you read her research, you saw your chance.
Matt Haley: Look, I needed that funding, okay? My work is important. I mean, come on. Seriously, I couldn't let her get that fellowship. And when I saw her research, I mean, it read like fiction. So, I went to the dungeon to find out.
Castle: So you broke into her filing cabinet, you copied her research, and then you followed her to the dungeon. You're not putting a whole lot of checks in the innocent column here, Matt.
Matt Haley: "The innocent column." Listen, I threatened her, alright? But I did not kill her. When I found out that she was Mistress Venom, I told her that if she didn't withdraw her fellowship application, I was going to tell her boyfriend.
Castle: And when that didn't work, you killed her.
Matt Haley: It did work. Jessica withdrew her application the day before she was killed.
Beckett: How do you know?
Matt Haley: Because she blind copied me on an e-mail that she sent to the head of the committee. We were cool. What she was most concerned about was getting back this research that I copied. So, as soon as she was out of the running, I brought it all back to her apartment.
Near the bullpen.
Castle: You know you are morally challenged if your murder alibi is a blackmailing scheme.
Beckett: Yeah, but if he's telling the truth, then we have no motive.
Ryan and Esposito enter.
Castle: Well, hello, gentlemen, how was your trip to the dungeon?
Ryan: Well, we learned that Esposito's not very good with laces.
Esposito: There were a lot of laces... I… I loosened them for you.
Ryan: Yeah, sure. None of the girls admit to Jessica sharing any of her clients' secrets with them.
Esposito: Oh, one of them thought that she might've been seeing clients outside of the dungeon, which might explain the hole in our timeline.
Ryan: But we ran through her phones and financials again, we can't find any record of it. How about you? I hear you have a suspect.
Beckett: Had. Matt was telling the truth. Jessica pulled out of the fellowship.
Castle: But if he was telling the truth, then where's all the research he brought back to her apartment? Given her concerns for privacy, she wouldn't just throw it away. And we know she didn't take it back to the university.
Beckett: Well, maybe we missed something. Maybe she hid it somewhere. Or maybe Matt is lying about the research.
At Jessica and Danielle's apartment.
Beckett: So, you didn't see a stack of paperwork?
Danielle: No. I would've noticed that. Maybe she took them up to school.
Castle: No, it wasn't there either.
Danielle: Are you sure Matt's telling the truth?
Castle: Most people lie to avoid suspicion, not a lot of people lie to incriminate themselves.
Beckett: That night that you came home, did you notice anything different or out of place?
Danielle: Now that you mention it, I did find something odd. Earlier today I was emptying the dishwasher and I found a wine glass with lipstick on it. Didn't seem like Jessica's shade, and it wasn't one of mine. I put it aside to hand wash it later.
Danielle hands Beckett the wine glass and Beckett hands it to Castle.
Beckett: Recognize this shade?
Castle: If I'm not mistaken, and I rarely am, that's Mistress Red.
In the interview room.
Beckett: Did you know that lip prints are a lot like fingerprints? No two are exactly alike.
Lady Irena: Hmm.
Beckett: We found this on a wine glass in Jessica's apartment. What do you think we'll find when we compare it to your lips?
Lady Irena: That stain could've been there for months.
Beckett: But it wasn't.
Castle: We checked with your car service. They said they dropped you off at 9 p.m. in front of Jessica's place the night she was killed.
Beckett: You were the last one to see her alive. What happened that night?
Castle: Did you find out who she really was? That she was studying her clients without their permission? I mean, if word of that got out, it would have destroyed your business. That can't have made you happy.
Lady Irena: And you're grasping at straws, and that can't make you happy. Detective, at this time, I'm exercising my right to legal counsel. I won't be answering any further questions.
Castle and Beckett exit. Ryan and Esposito catch up to them in the bullpen.
Ryan: Yo, how'd it go with Lady Irena?
Beckett: She's lawyering up. What did you guys find at Jessica's apartment?
Esposito: Well, looks like we found the crime scene. Irena was pretty good at cleaning up after herself. There was no trace or blood evidence, but the area around Jessica's bedside table lit up like a Christmas tree. It'd been scrubbed down with bleach.
Beckett: That's why we didn't find Jessica's research. Irena got rid of it all.
Ryan: Yeah, but she didn't quite clean everything. Once CSU stripped the bed, a swab test revealed dried saliva in one of her pillows from her screams as she was smothered.
Castle: Looks like she'd do anything to protect her business. Even kill.
Beckett: Alright, lawyer or not, let's book her.
Esposito: Let's do it.
At Castle’s loft.
Martha: Are you straining those noodles or just my patience?
Castle: Hmm? Oh, I'm sorry, just this case. I keep thinking that I'm missing something.
Martha: Yeah, me, too. Salt.
Castle mumbles protest as Martha dumps a boatload of salt into the tomato sauce.
Castle: Can you die from sodium poisoning?
Martha tastes it.
Martha: Ooh, you have a point.
Alexis: Hey, that smells good.
Castle shakes his head.
Alexis: But I already ate?
Castle nods.
Martha: Oh, no!
Castle: So, did you and Ashley do cheerleading practice?
Alexis: Uh, no. Turns out cheerleading conflicts with my fencing schedule, my violin lessons, and French Club. Cheerleading's more of a lifestyle. And as much as I'd like to visit, it's not really a place I'd like to live.
Martha: I told you she'd figure it out.
Castle: Well, we both learned a valuable lesson today. You learned that you can expand your horizons and grow. I learned that, if that involves short skirts and boys, I'm not going to like it.
Alexis: Fair enough.
Martha: Fine. Now that you've both learned your lessons, how about starting on the dishes?
Castle: We are gonna need a fire hose to clean this up.
Martha: I cooked. Someone else cleans up.
Castle: Clean up.
Castle jogs up to Beckett at her desk.
Castle: Who washed the pillowcase?
Beckett: What?
Castle: Esposito said CSU didn't find anything until they stripped the bed. That means there was saliva on the pillow, but not on the pillowcase.
Beckett checks the file.
Beckett: You're right, someone washed the pillowcase. But the washer/dryer cycle would've taken at least an hour.
Castle: At which point, the roommate would've been home.
Beckett: Irena couldn't have gotten out in time.
Castle: Only one person could've cleaned the apartment.
At Jessica and Danielle's apartment.
Danielle: I… I don't understand. I thought you'd caught the killer.
Beckett: We thought so, too.
Danielle: If it wasn't her, then who?
Beckett: It was you, Danielle.
Danielle: Me? Why would I kill my best friend?
Castle: In her research, Jessica describes being in a dysfunctional relationship. One she was scared to leave because the other person had become so dangerously co-dependent.
Beckett: At first, we thought it was her boyfriend Tyler. But it wasn't, was it?
Danielle: I don't know what you're talking about.
Beckett: The research that Matt dropped off. Her research. Must've been very hurtful to read all the things that she wrote about you.
Danielle: Jessica loved me. She would never hurt me.
Castle: "Subject B shows all the signs of being a masochist. Completely dependent for a sense of self."
Beckett: We know you read the files, Danielle. That's why you staged her body that way.
Danielle: No. I didn't read anything. There was nothing here.
Beckett: Because you got rid of it all.
Danielle: You're wrong.
Beckett: It had to have been you, Danielle. You were the only one who had the time to clean up after yourself.
Castle: Judging from her office space, wasn't the kind of girl to scrub her floor clean with bleach. Jessica told you she had to get away from you. She told you she was going to leave.
Danielle: She... She was everything to me. I thought we were family. But then she wrote those awful things. She had no right.
Beckett: What happened that night?
Danielle: She said she was going to move out. That she was done with me. I pushed her. She fell. Her head hit the table. She started to scream. She said... She said she hated me. I told her to shut up! I just wanted her to shut up!
Beckett: And then you put a pillow over her head and you suffocated her.
Danielle: I didn't mean to kill her. I just didn't want her to go.
Near the bullpen.
Beckett: In the end, Castle was right. The murder was a crime of passion. The cuffs, the caramel were all just theater to throw us off.
Castle: I can't help but think that if Matt hadn't copied Jessica's research, Danielle never would have read it and none of this would have happened.
Montgomery: Well, now he won't get his precious little fellowship or his degree. But what about Lady Irena? What was she doing at the apartment?
Beckett: Some of the girls thought that Jessica was working off the book, so Irena came by to tell her to knock it off.
Castle: They had a glass of wine and she left. She just did it on the wrong night.
Montgomery: Yeah, but why'd she give you such a hard time then?
Beckett: Because she's a lawyer.
Castle: And a dominatrix.
Jenny enters.
Ryan: Hey! You made it!
Ryan kisses her. Castle and Esposito stare slack jawed.
Ryan: Guys, I want you to meet Jenny.
Jenny: Hi.
Beckett: Welcome. We've heard wonderful things about you.
Jenny: The same goes for all of you. I feel like I know you guys already. You are so much prettier than your picture in Cosmo . Kevin gave me his copy of Heat Wave . I could not put it down. And thanks for being such a great partner. You know, make sure you keep him safe out there.
Esposito: You got it.
Ryan: We have a movie to catch. I'll see you guys tomorrow.
Beckett: You guys have a great time.
Esposito: Damn. If I had a girl like that, I might be whipped by her, too.
Castle: Now we know why he didn't bring her around sooner.
Beckett: So the two of you don't act like idiots around her?
Esposito: No. So we wouldn't try to steal her from him.
Castle: So, what about this imaginary boyfriend of yours, are we going to see him around here? Or is he at home tied to a bed?
Beckett: What's the matter, Ricky? You jealous?
Castle: No. You only get to punish him at night. You punish me all day.
Beckett: Well, you deserve it.
Castle: What did I do to you?
Beckett: Let's just start with the first day we met.
