At Castle’s loft.
Alexis: "Her scream pierced the air, falling only on the deaf ears of the dead." Really?
Castle: A little too over-the-top?
Alexis: I think you've been writing too long not to know that it's "I" before "E" except after "C." Ever heard of spell-check?
Castle: Yes, of course. She's got red hair, she's wise beyond her years, and she's about to tell her dad what she thinks of the latest chapter of his new book.
Alexis: I loved it, especially the part with Nikki and Rook in the aircraft carrier. Awesome.
Castle: Stop it. You're embarrassing me.
Alexis: I do have one note, though. This new character, the, uh, Robbery detective?
Castle: Schlemming. What about him?
Alexis: Well, he seems like he kind of came up out of nowhere.
Castle: Yeah, well, I can't argue with that.
Alexis: He's coming off a bit like a doofus.
Castle: You think?
Alexis: I think you should lose him.
Alexis hands the manuscript back and he crosses out Detective Schlemming's name on the page.
Castle: If only it was this easy. Thank you for your help, sweetie. I am so behind on my deadline.
Alexis: That's 'cause you always find new ways to procrastinate.
Martha enters.
Castle: Or they find me. Hello, Mother.
Martha: Oh, hi, guys. I can't stay. I'm just picking up a dress. Chet's taking me to the theater this evening.
Alexis: Oh, what are you seeing?
Martha: New Petrofsky play, Edge of Awakening.
Castle: Wait a minute. Didn't you audition for that?
Martha: Ah, yes. And that wonderful actress Madge Vance got my part, the way she usually does.
Castle: She's not even really your friend. It's nice that you go and support her.
Martha: I know. And I have to go soon, because it's closing. The critics are saying it's a train wreck.
Castle: Oh, there's the Martha Rodgers I know.
Castle's cell rings.
Castle: Ah, it's Beckett. Please tell me there's been a murder, otherwise I'll have to continue writing.
At Wilder's apartment, Castle looks at the body lying face down on the bed.
Castle: People always say they want to die in their sleep.
Lanie: What you want is a good, clean shot to take you out before you know what hit you. Not this poor guy. Bullet missed the heart. He didn't die for quite a while.
Castle: Looks like he was reaching for the phone to call for help.
Beckett: Until our doer took that to his head. Probably didn't want to risk the neighbours hearing a second shot, and so he grabbed the nearest thing and finished him off. There's blood spatter on the clock. Must've been knocked off the nightstand during the attack.
Castle: 10:34. At least we know what time the festivities started.
Beckett checks the window.
Beckett: There's no signs of forced entry. He probably left this open so he could get a breath of fresh air.
Castle: And there's no security cameras either. And I didn't see any on the way in.
Ryan: Cleaning lady found him this morning. She said that usually Wilder would've left for work by the time she got here.
Castle: Wilder. Damian Wilder?
Esposito: Yeah, you know him?
Castle: I know of him. This is a photo from one of his ad campaigns. He-- he runs a line of boutique men's skincare products.
Ryan: You mean, like, bathroom stuff?
Castle: He has got a toner, totally alcohol-free, fantastic. He's got a shaving cream that is ridiculous.
Esposito: I'm good with the drug store stuff, man.
Castle grabs a bottle from Wilder's bathroom.
Castle: No, no, no, no. Hang on. This stuff will change your life.
Castle sprays some into Esposito's hand.
Esposito: It's hot.
Castle: It's hot.
Ryan: It's hot?
Castle: It's hot.
Ryan: It's hot. How do they do that?
Castle: Magic of modern chemistry. It's like getting a shave from a barber. Matter of fact, that's the tagline, "barber in a can."
Esposito: Huh.
Ryan: So it's probably expensive, huh?
Castle: It's 50 bucks a pop, but it's so worth it.
Esposito: Absolutely.
Ryan: Totally.
Castle: Yeah.
Beckett: Guys. A man has been murdered here.
Castle: And we are honouring his legacy.
Lanie: Huh. It's like Sex and the City, only with boys.
Beckett: Maybe you guys can check in with the neighbours, see if they saw or heard anything?
Ryan: Oh, yeah. All over it.
Esposito: Yeah, I'm on it.
Beckett: Come on, Castle. Let me show you what I found. Something was stolen from these cases.
Castle: Hmm. Those are humidity controls.
Beckett: Well, whatever it was, was very valuable, because the killer passed up the plasma TV and the Blu-ray player.
Castle: Robbery gone wrong?
Beckett: Looks that way, doesn't it? And then there's this.
They approach the mirror with bloody "Murdere" written on it.
Castle: Is that an "E" or an "O"? "Mudero," is that Spanish for murder? "Murdere." The killer was French.
Beckett: The thing I don't get about it is why would a thief take the time to write a message out of our vic's blood?
Castle: Especially that message. I mean, we know it's murder. The dead body's kind of a giveaway.
Ryan: So, we're still canvassing, but I thought you'd want to hear this. Neighbour said she was on her treadmill last night listening to music.
Beckett: So she didn't hear the shot.
Ryan: No, but she did open her back door to let the cat in, and she saw someone hopping over the fence on their way out of Wilder's yard.
Castle: You get a description?
Ryan: Yeah, uh, "a foot disappearing over the fence."
Beckett: Did you get a time at all?
Ryan: 10:52 on the button. It was still on her alarm box. She forgot she set it when she opened the door.
Castle: So now we know what time last night's festivities ended. 10:52.
Beckett: Alright, have CSU sweep for prints and fibers, and make sure they hit the back yard as well.
Ryan: You got it.
In the conference room, Castle writes on the murder board. He pauses for a moment when he notices Demming leaning in the doorway.
Castle: Demming.
Demming: Castle.
Castle: Do you guys use, uh, boards down in Robbery?
Demming: Sure, yeah.
Castle: Well, come back tomorrow. It'll be full of all sorts of murder-y stuff.
Demming: Beckett asked me to assist in the investigation, so...
Castle: Really?
Beckett: Yeah, because of the robbery component.
Castle: Of course.
Beckett: I tracked down Wilder's next of kin, his cousin Blake. He's in the interview lounge.
In the interview lounge.
Blake Wilder: You know how he got in the business he did? Acne. As a teenager, he had it something terrible. When he asked me to lend him money to start up a business, I was happy to do it. He was one of the good ones. I mean, why somebody would do something like this, I...
Beckett: Blake, we were hoping that you could help us with something. The display cases in the living room were broken into and their contents were missing.
Blake Wilder: That's where he kept his books. He was a collector. Rare printings, signed first editions, things like that.
Demming: Those could run into the thousands, even tens of thousands.
Blake Wilder: So it was robbery? Somebody killed him to take his books?
Demming: Well, it's possible there's another motive. We found a message written on the wall.
Blake Wilder: That's odd.
Beckett: We're still working on that. What we could really use your help on is with the missing books. Did he have a catalogue of his collection?
Blake Wilder: Sure. Damian looked to me to help him out with the business side of things. The insurer he used is a friend of mine. He'll have a catalogue.
Demming: Well, as far as we know, the only thing missing were the books, which suggests the perpetrator went there knowing what he was looking for. Could be he had an opportunity to case the apartment.
Blake Wilder: Well, the kitchen, I mean, Damian had the entire thing renovated. The place was crawling with workers for weeks.
In the conference room.
Demming: Killed for a fortune in stolen books. So I'll run the work crews and see if anybody has priors.
Beckett: Thanks, Tom. I appreciate your help on this.
Demming: I'll let you know if anything turns up.
Castle: I'm not sure why everybody's jumping to the conclusion that this murder was about the stolen books.
Beckett: Maybe because they're missing.
Castle: The message on the mirror suggests an intention to kill, a motive of some kind. Stealing books, just a crime of opportunity.
Beckett: And now who's jumping to conclusions?
Castle: I just hate to see anybody waste their time. The key here is the message, not the books.
Beckett: I think we should pursue both lines of investigation.
Castle: He's your boyfriend.
Beckett: Excuse me?
Castle: I'm sorry. Am I jumping to conclusions again?
Beckett: It's none of your business.
Esposito: Yo. Ran a background check on Wilder. Found this incident report that he filed with the police three days ago. Somebody vandalized his apartment.
Beckett: Poured red paint all over his stoop.
Esposito: Yeah, it turns out that, uh, his company was being picketed by animal rights protestors.
Castle: But all of his stuff is labeled "no animal testing."
Esposito: The problem was with one of his subcontractors, who was doing some of the manufacturing for him. Wilder didn't even know about it.
Castle: That's what the message was. It wasn't misspelled, it was unfinished. They were writing "murderer."
Esposito: So you think that one of the animal rights activists killed him.
Castle: Sure. One of them had enough with the fake blood, decided, "I'm gonna send a message using the real thing."
Beckett: Maybe we should pay Wilder's office a visit and find out more about those protestors.
At Wilder's headquarters.
Lisa Jenkins: We were looking for another manufacturer to replace the one we had been using. But apparently we weren't doing it fast enough for these protestors.
Daphne: Mr. Wilder wanted to do the right thing. He really did. He just needed a little more time.
Lisa Jenkins: The paint-throwing incident at Damian's house Thursday night was the last straw. He scheduled a press conference for this morning. He hadn't told anybody, but he was planning to announce a substantial donation to the animal rights movement as a sign of the company's good faith. They got everything they wanted, but they killed him anyway.
Beckett: Well, to be fair, Miss Jenkins, we don't know that definitively.
Castle: The incident on Thursday, was that the first time that Mr. Wilder had been targeted personally?
Daphne: Usually they just picket outside the building.
Lisa Jenkins: It got so bad, we actually hired a private security firm for a while to run down some of the threats we got in the mail.
Castle: Is there a chance we could take a look at the information they developed? It could be helpful.
Lisa Jenkins: Of course. Yeah. Daphne will put it together for you.
Beckett: We'll also need to see a copy of Mr. Wilder's date book for the last couple weeks.
Lisa Jenkins: Absolutely. Anything you need.
A light bulb dings above Castle's head.
Daphne: Here you go, sir.
Beckett: I cannot believe that you asked for samples.
Castle: She said anything we needed. Besides, it's not for me. It's for Ryan and Esposito.
Beckett: Don't you mean Charlotte and Miranda?
Castle: Wait a minute. That would make me Carrie.
Beckett: You're so metrosexual for even knowing that.
Castle: I only watched that show out of the corner of my eye when my mother had it on. That so did not come out right.
Near the bullpen.
Castle: According to these notes from the private security firm, most of these folks seem like average, everyday, tree-hugging vegetarians. I mean, so far, the worst any of them has done is break into a lab to free a bunch of mice. You come up with anything?
Beckett: There are a handful of recent entries in Wilder's calendar for someone named Natasha. Could be someone that he started dating.
Demming: Hey.
Beckett: Hey.
Demming: So, I ran the workmen who renovated your vic's kitchen. And one of them popped. Meet Jake Cabrese. Two of the apartments he worked on in the past year were later robbed. He was a person of interest in both investigations, but neither of them made.
Beckett: Sounds like someone we should talk to.
Demming: We're running down his whereabouts as we speak.
Castle: A-ha! Meet Lance Newman, arrested five times for violent agitation. His favourite tool of protest, the bucket of fake blood.
Demming: Isn't fake blood kind of a staple with these types?
Castle: Last month, he painted the word "murderer" on a congressman's car because he voted against a fishing ban. When the driver tried to stop him, Newman bashed him in the side of the head with his paint bucket.
Beckett: You know, I'd like him more if we could find something that would connect him with our vic.
Castle: You mean, like the string of violent letters he wrote to Wilder? Sent to his home address?
Beckett: Nice job, Castle. Let's go pick him up.
Castle: Yeah. Let's.
Demming: Mmm.
In the interview room.
Lance Newman: You've got the wrong guy.
Castle: Last Thursday night, someone pours fake blood all over Wilder's stoop. Three days later, he ends up dead. It does not take a genius to make the connection.
Lance Newman: Yeah, but I didn't kill him. Look, I… I told you already. I went to the movies Sunday night.
Castle: Yes, yes, yes. We have someone running down that alibi. What about Thursday? You got one for then, too?
Lance Newman: Thursday, I don't remember.
Castle: Well, then how about you spend the night in lockup? Might refresh your memory.
Lance Newman: Last Thursday, I went over there with the paint...
Castle: Bam! So, you admit that it was you vandalized Wilder's apartment?
Beckett: Castle.
Lance Newman: Yes. Okay. I… I threw paint on his stoop, which is then when I heard him fighting with someone inside, a woman. They were throwing stuff, and I really thought they were gonna kill each other.
Beckett: Did you see who she was?
Lance Newman: No. I just heard them yelling.
Beckett: And what exactly did you overhear?
Lance Newman: She said something about being humiliated, and he said something about a gun.
Castle: A gun?
Lance Newman: "You put a gun to my head," I think it was.
Castle: Okay, now you're just making stuff up.
Ryan enters, hands Beckett a sheet of paper and whispers in her ear.
Beckett: Well, Mr. Newman, good thing you used the automated ticket booth at the theater Sunday night. Your alibi checked out.
Castle/ Lance Newman: Really?
Beckett: Really.
Near the bullpen.
Beckett (on phone): Okay, thanks.
Beckett hangs up.
Castle: Check this out. According to his calendar, Wilder had dinner with this Natasha person Thursday night. Could be that she's the person our animal-loving friend was talking about.
Beckett: I thought you said that he was making all that up.
Castle: That was...
Beckett: That was Wilder's assistant on the phone. Apparently, Wilder and Natasha Piper had started dating recently.
Castle: The girl from the print ads?
Beckett: Yep. And she said she was a real piece of work. Tore up a set at a photo shoot a couple weeks ago because they had the wrong bottled water for her.
Castle: Well, it seems like a good bet she was the one fighting with Wilder Thursday night.
Beckett: Yeah. Could be she went back on Sunday to get one last word in. I should pick her up in the morning.
Demming: Hey.
Beckett: Hey. How did things go with the workman?
Demming: Well, found him sitting in his garage on a couple G's worth of stolen power tools, but...the night of the murder, turns out he was watching his kids in a play at church, so...
Beckett: Yeah, it's been that kind of a day.
Demming: Yeah. You ready to go?
Beckett: Ready.
Castle: Thought we were knocking it off for the night.
Beckett: We are. We're just, um, sharing a cab. Good night, Castle.
Demming: Night.
Castle: Night.
At Castle’s loft.
Castle: Hey, how was the play?
Martha: Oh, awful.
Castle: Well, that must've made you happy.
Martha: You know what the worst part was? Its badness made Madge's performance all that much better. She was wonderful. She was like a revelation.
Castle: Oh, Mother, I'm sorry.
Martha: Thank you. You know, I went into the theater thinking, "Yeah, she kind of snaked that part out from under me." But then I... I hate to admit it. She deserved to get it.
Castle: I'm sure you would've been terrific in that role.
Martha: Oh, you are so sweet. But you know something, darling? In life, you just have to accept the fact that not everything is gonna go your way.
In the interview lounge.
Beckett: Thank you so much for coming in, Miss Piper. First of all, let me say that I am so sorry for your loss.
Natasha Piper: Yeah. Don't be.
Castle: Uh, how long had the two of you been seeing each other?
Natasha Piper: I don't know. Two months. Does it really matter?
Castle: Apparently not.
Natasha Piper: If you ask me, he got exactly what he deserved.
Beckett: Really?
Natasha Piper: Yeah. Really. Bullet in the chest.
Beckett: Don't forget about the bludgeoning part.
Natasha Piper: Oh, how could I? Right upside his little head.
Beckett: So why did you do it?
Natasha Piper: You seriously think I did this? I read about it in the paper. But he did have it coming. Can you believe that that little toad was cheating on me? Me?
Beckett: Okay, so why don't we just start from the beginning. Where were you the night that he was killed?
Natasha Piper: On Sunday, I was in the Hamptons. I took the jitney out in the morning and sat next to Perez Hilton, or all people. He blogged all about it. You can check yourself.
Castle pulls out his phone to check.
Beckett: Well, we have a witness who says that Mr. Wilder argued with a woman in his apartment on Thursday. Was that you?
Natasha Piper: No, that wasn't me. So it probably means that he was with her. The bitch that he was two-timing me with. The one from the motel.
Beckett: What motel?
Castle: Oh, he did blog about it. You two ate at the Southampton Grill? I love that place.
Beckett: Castle.
Castle puts his phone away.
Castle: What motel?
Natasha Piper: The one in Jersey that I followed him to Thursday morning. I was right. He was cheating on me.
Castle: With who?
Natasha Piper: I don't know. He went up to the corner room on the second floor. I didn't stick around to watch.
Beckett: So you can't be sure that it was a woman that he was meeting with.
Natasha Piper: No. But why else would he be there? And just for the record, she's gotta be some kind of dirty skank, 'cause that place was a dump.
In the conference room.
Castle: A cheap skank at a rundown motel is actually a better lead than a n angry ex-girlfriend. And a much better lead than stolen books.
Beckett: What was that?
Castle: I said... My, don't you gentlemen look clean-shaven today?
Esposito: Yeah, that was some sweet stuff, bro.
Ryan: Yeah, Jenny said my face never felt so smooth.
Castle: Barber in a can.
Beckett: Okay, guys. Got it. Comes out hot. Case?
Esposito: Oh, yeah. Uh, nothing unusual in Wilder's financials. His call records were clean, too. No calls except to places you would expect.
Ryan: Ballistics report came back negative. No unusual fibers or fingerprints in the apartment or backyard either.
Beckett: Alright, talk to the neighbours again. Find out if any of them remember seeing him with a woman Thursday night.
Esposito: Dude...
Esposito gives Castle a chin up nod before he and Ryan leave.
Beckett: I'm wondering why a man as wealthy as Wilder would choose a cheap motel in Jersey to have a tryst.
Castle: Maybe there's more going on than just a tryst.
At Jersey Motel.
Castle: His name is Damian Wilder.
Clerk: Never seen him before. But I wasn't on duty. Benny was.
Beckett: Well, I'd like to talk with Benny.
Clerk: So would I. He didn't show up for work today which is why I'm here covering on my day off.
Beckett: Do you have contact info for him?
Castle: The corner room, second floor, who stayed in there last Thursday?
Clerk: Uh, let's see. Paid cash up front, four nights. Name was Scarlett O'Hara.
Beckett: Scarlett O'Hara?
Castle: She's a fictional character.
Clerk: It's that kind of place.
Beckett's on the phone at her desk.
Beckett: Okay. Thanks. (hangs up) Benny's roommate said that he came home from his shift, packed a bag and left in a hurry.
Castle: Is it just me, or is the timing a little suspicious?
Beckett: I'm gonna put a want out for him in the system. He's got to be out there somewhere.
Castle: You know, the clerk said our mystery woman rented the room for four nights. Wilder's calendar was pretty packed the whole time. It's hard to figure him getting back out there to see her.
Beckett: So why did she rent it for that long? What was going on out there?
Demming: Breaking news. Guess what just turned up for sale online? A first edition Catcher in the Rye and a signed For Whom the Bell Tolls.
Castle: I take it those are both items in Wilder's collection?
Demming: Bingo. The site belonged to a rare book dealer. Goes by the name of Lukas Canby. He's got a jacket for dealing in stolen property, and last month he was arrested for assaulting another book dealer at an auction that didn't go his way.
Beckett: So he's got a history of violence and possession of our vic's property.
Demming: Care to sit in while I get him to confess to Wilder's murder?
Beckett: Don't mind if I do.
Demming and Beckett leave.
Castle: "You care to sit in while I get him to confess to Wilder's murder?"
In the interview room.
Demming: $50,000 worth of books goes missing from a dead man's apartment, turns up in your possession. You can see how that's a problem. Can't you, Lukas?
Beckett: You want to explain what happened?
Lukas Canby: Sure. But you'll never believe me.
Demming: Try us.
Lukas Canby: I bought them from some guy in the park.
Demming: In the park?
Lukas Canby: Near the 76th Street entrance. This homeless looking guy had them laid out on a blanket. Didn't have a clue what they were worth. Gave his 100 bucks for the whole lot. Man, was I feeling lucky that day.
Demming: Yeah, that's how I felt when I followed that leprechaun to this pot of gold.
Lukas Canby: I didn't steal those books, and I most certainly didn't kill anybody. It was this homeless guy. Had to be.
Beckett: Really?
Lukas Canby: Yeah.
Beckett: You expect us to believe that he broke in to Wilder's apartment, killed him for $50,000 worth of books just to sell it to you for 100 bucks.
Demming: Doesn't add up, pal.
Beckett: Where were you Sunday night?
Lukas Canby: Home, alone.
Demming: Well, I wouldn't worry. You won't be alone in your cell. Rikers is overcrowded these days.
Beckett and Demming exit. Castle stays in observation and watches them through the other windows.
Beckett: Let's have CSU take samples from Lukas' apartment and office, run them against what they recovered.
Demming: Might be something that puts him at the crime scene, yeah.
Beckett: In the meantime, we should check on his story about the homeless guy, just in case.
Demming: It's a nice day to be out in the park. Can I buy you a hot dog?
In the hallway.
Castle: They're supposed to be finding that homeless guy. I don't know how they're gonna do that when all they can do is make goo-goo eyes at each other.
Ryan: Beckett's a good cop. She can canvass and make goo-goo eyes at the same time.
Castle: Maybe we should call the motel, see it Benny's turned up.
Ryan: I just called ten minutes ago. Besides, chances are, this book guy that Demming's got in the lockup did it.
Castle: Oh, don't say that.
Ryan: What? Oh, you want to be the one to crack it, not Demming, right?
Castle: Well, the guy is not even Homicide. Doesn't that bug you just a little?
Ryan: Maybe a little. But that's not why it bugs you, is it?
Esposito: Yo. Just heard back from the phone company. Only one call came into the motel room during the four days that it was rented to Scarlett O'Hara.
Ryan: Ooh, let me guess. Rhett Butler? Right? Rhett Butler? See what I did there?
Esposito: Call lasted two minutes. Came in around the same time that Wilder's ex said he went up to the room.
Castle: The only one who would have known Wilder was there would've been the woman planning to meet him.
Ryan: Maybe she called to say she was running late.
Esposito: Yeah, well, here's the money part. The call came from Wilder's company.
Castle: He was having an affair with someone from work.
Esposito: Yeah, but unfortunately the way that they route the calls, we're only able to narrow it down to an extension on the third floor of his building.
Ryan: Well, we can rule out all the men, since we know Scarlett was a woman.
Esposito: Yeah, and most likely, it was the woman that Wilder was fighting with in his apartment.
Castle: There's got to be a way we can figure out who it was.
Esposito: We could do a sound lineup.
Castle: Sound lineup?
Ryan: Yeah, we bring in the guy who overheard the argument, have him listen to voice samples from the women on the third floor, see it he recognizes any of them.
Castle: You can do that?
Ryan: We don't even need to bring any of the women in. We just patch in the voice mail system, pull samples from there.
Castle: You guys, if this works, I'll keep you both in shave cream for a year.
Esposito: Deal.
Ryan: Mm-hmm.
Esposito: Yo.
Beckett and Demming escort the homeless guy through the precinct.
Castle: You found him?
Demming: Take a seat.
Beckett: Yeah, we got lucky. Apparently, Marty the junkie here is a permanent fixture in that part of the park. He was panhandling right about where Lukas said he bought the books.
Demming: Which Marty's already admitted to selling to him for 100 bucks.
Castle: Has he admitted to breaking into Wilder's apartment?
Demming: Well, that's where things get interesting. His alibi for the break-in is solid. He picked up a few extra bucks at a soup kitchen, cleaning up after hours.
Beckett: Claims he found the books in a garbage can. Says he saw somebody dumping them there a couple hours after our murder.
Demming: Which, a pretty good bet, that is our killer. I'm gonna sit him down with a sketch artist now. Come on, Marty.
Demming escorts Marty to a room.
Beckett: Any leads on our mystery woman?
Castle: Actually, yes.
In the interview room.
Voicemail Message 1: Hey, you've reached Katie Marks. I'm not at my desk right now. Leave a message, and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.
Lance Newman: It's not her.
Ryan: Okay. I will cue to the next one.
Castle: So did Marty the junkie say he got a good look at who it was that tossed the books?
Pretty good, yeah.
Voicemail Message 2: Hi, you've reached Melinda.
Beckett: Hopefully one of these two leads will pan out.
Castle: Yeah, hopefully.
Voicemail Message 3: Hey, it's Samantha. I'll be out of the office...
Beckett: I'm going to go and check on that sketch.
Voicemail Message 3: ... Leave a message or try my cell.
Ryan: Okay, how about this one?
Voicemail Message 4: Hi, this is Jane. I'm away from my desk, so please leave a message.
Ryan: No dice, huh?
Voicemail Message 5: You've reached Sophie. I can't take your call right now, so leave your name and number and I'll get back to you.
Castle: The next one.
Ryan: Only three more.
Voicemail Message 6: Hi, this is Lisa Jenkins. If you've reached this, that means I'm out of the office. Please leave a message.
Lance Newman: That's her.
Castle: Lisa Jenkins. That's the woman we interviewed. You sure?
Lance Newman: Yeah, I'm positive.
Castle rushes out with the profile page to tell Beckett.
Ryan: Remember our deal Castle.
Castle: It was Lisa Jenkins. Wilder was fighting with Lisa...
Beckett: That's a pretty solid likeness.
Demming: Yeah, right?
Castle: What?
Demming: It's Marty's sketch of the man he saw tossing the books. Wilder's cousin, Blake.
In the interview room.
Beckett: So, we have a witness who says that he heard Lisa Jenkins in a knock-down-drag-out with Wilder, and another one says that he saw Wilder's cousin dumping his books. But what we don't have from either suspect is motive.
Castle: Easy. Lisa's affair with Wilder went south. They could no longer work together side by side, and she didn't want to have to quit her job. Detective Demming?
Demming: You know, could be anything. I don't know. Maybe Blake didn't like the fact that Wilder grew up to be more successful than him. Maybe he was sick of getting beat at golf.
Demming: To be honest with you, I'm not that concerned about a motive right now. I've got an eyewitness that saw him tossing his cousin's prize book collection the night of the murder.
Castle: I have a witness, too.
Demming: That heard Wilder fight with someone three days ago. It doesn't mean anything.
Beckett: Guys...
Castle: At least I have a motive.
Demming: Yeah, but you can't put your suspect at the scene.
Beckett: Guys.
Castle: Did I miss the part where you've got a motive?
Beckett: Guys! This isn't a competition. We've got two good suspects. Seems to me that we should bring them in and see what they say.
Lisa Jenkins: Okay, fine. Damian and I had an argument at his apartment on Thursday night. But I was not having an affair with him, and I never went to New Jersey to meet him an any motel.
Beckett: Our witness said that he heard things being thrown, and that Wilder said something about having a gun to his head.
Lisa Jenkins: No, no. He was talking about the protestors. You see, Damian was unhappy because it was taking so long for us to find a new manufacturer. And as head of production, he felt that was on me. I didn't think it was fair, and things got a little heated.
Beckett: Could you tell us where you were Sunday night?
Lisa Jenkins: I was out for dinner with some friends.
Beckett: After dinner?
Lisa Jenkins: Can you be a little more specific?
Beckett: Yeah, I can be a lot more specific. Uh, let's say between 10:34 and 10:52.
Lisa Jenkins: I was home, alone. Though I did step out at some point. My neighbourhood has alternate side of the street parking, and I had to move my car, find a different space.
Castle: Did anyone see you?
Lisa Jenkins: Not that I know of.
Beckett: And what time was that?
Lisa Jenkins: Uh, 10:15 maybe?
Castle: You live, what, 10 blocks down Lex from where Wilder lived? At that hour, that drive would take you two minutes.
Lisa Jenkins: I suppose. I've never really timed it.
In the hallway.
Castle: Did you see how squirrelly she got when you asked her where she was Sunday night?
Beckett: I'll have Esposito talk to her doorman. There might be security cam footage that might nail down how long she was gone from her apartment. Okay.
Beckett sees Demming enter with Blake Wilder.
Castle: Can I sit in?
Beckett: Yeah, right.
In the interview room.
Blake Wilder: I can't believe that you guys are dragging me down here on the word of some bum. And then accusing me of murdering my own cousin.
Demming: Well, believe me. We'd like nothing more than to be able to rule you out. So tell me again. You said you were meeting some friends for a drink Sunday night?
Blake Wilder: Yeah, a… At McDugan's, after eleven.
Beckett: That's about a block away from your cousin's place.
Blake Wilder: Yeah.
Demming: And you say you were at home until you went out to meet your friends?
Blake Wilder: Yes.
Demming: Are you sure about that? Because I'm gonna talk to your doorman.
Blake Wilder: I-- I don't have one.
Demming: I'm gonna talk to your neighbours. I'm gonna check your credit card receipts. And if you weren't home when you say you were, I'm gonna find out about it.
Blake Wilder: Alright, alright, fine. I didn't go straight to the bar. I went to a newsstand. I bought some cigarettes, alright? My friends think that I quit, but every once in a while, I get a craving that I can't put off. So, I went to the ATM, I got some cash. I bought a pack, smoked a few, threw the rest away.
Beckett: What time was that?
Blake Wilder: I don't remember.
Demming: Well, your ATM will.
Beckett: You can take a seat.
Demming: Excuse us.
Near the bullpen.
Demming (on cell): Yeah, at a newsstand, corner of 32nd and Lex? Yeah, yeah, go ahead. I'll hold.
Castle: Ah! There she is, leaving her building.
Esposito: Well, time stamp says 10:18.
Castle: Which would give her plenty of time to jump in her car, get down to Wilder's place by 10:34.
Beckett: Well, we know that the killer left the crime scene at 10:52. So the question is, when did she get back?
Demming (on cell): Yeah, got it. Thanks. (hangs up) So the bank confirmed Blake's ATM withdrawal.
Beckett: And?
Demming: 10:39 p.m. Right smack in the middle of our timeline.
Beckett: So that means it wasn't him.
Esposito: Here she is coming home. Let me just rewind a little bit.
Castle: And what does the time stamp say?
Beckett: 10:47.
Castle: That's inside our timeline. That's impossible.
Beckett: It wasn't her either.
Castle: I was so sure.
Demming: Tell me about it.
Beckett: You know what, guys? It's late. Why don't we just call it a night? Good night.
At Castle’s loft.
Castle: Hey, there.
Martha: Hi.
Castle: What are you doing here?
Martha: Oh, Chet had one of his ghastly political functions. I needed my stationery. I'm writing a note to Madge to tell her how brilliant her performance was.
Castle: Oh, don't do that.
Martha: Why not?
Castle: Mother, she's your rival. You should be crushing her, not giving her comfort.
Martha: Are you all right?
Castle: Yes. No. Give Madge my best.
Castle steps out of the elevator.
Beckett: Oh, good. You're just in time. Looks like we caught a break on our Scarlett O'Hara.
Castle: You found her?
Beckett: Found the next best thing, the clerk who checker her in to the motel. Police picked him up in Atlantic City for charges of disorderly conduct.
They enter the interview lounge to find the hung over Benny.
Beckett: Morning sunshine. Why'd you leave town in such a hurry, Benny?
Benny: I was feeling lucky. Wanted to get to the craps table fast as I could.
Castle: Did you have a good time down there, Benny?
Benny: Dude. I appreciate you guys intervejecting with the police down there on my behest.
Beckett: Well, we wanted to talk with you.
Benny: Oh, I'm happy to help. One favour, though. Could you not talks so loud? My head is killing me.
Beckett: Last Thursday, you were on duty when a Scarlett O'Hara checked in.
Benny: Yeah. Yeah, I think I remember.
Castle: What did she look like?
Benny: I would've done her.
Beckett: Anything else?
Benny: Um... She was small for her size.
Beckett pulls out a photo of Damian Wilder.
Beckett: Do you recognize this man?
Benny: Yeah. That guy is a total nut bar. Last week, think it was Thursday, matter of fact, he pulls into the motel in a fancy foreign job. He goes straight up to the corner room on the second floor. Couple minutes later, he charges down, starts asking me all the same questions you were asking me. "Who rented the room? What did she look like?"
Castle: He didn't know?
Benny: That's what I said. I told him, if he had to ask me whose room it was, he shouldn't be going in there in the first place. He stomped off, got in his car. He left. Boom. Never saw him again.
Beckett: And you won't either. He was murdered Sunday night.
Benny: With that kind of attitude, this is not surprising. Well, if I've answered all your queries to your satisfaction, am I free to go?
Beckett: Just one more query if you don't mind. According to the Atlantic City police, you arrested in a diamond lounge of a strip club for trying to set a rodeo clown on fire.
Benny: That was a misunderstanding and...
Beckett: My question is, how does a $9 an hour hotel clerk pay for a $500 an hour VIP lounge?
Benny: I won at craps. Like I said, I was feeling lucky.
Castle: Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! That's a Damian Wilder bag.
Benny: Who?
Beckett: That's the guy who was killed. Where'd you get that?
Benny: Um...
Beckett: Where'd you get it, Benny?
Benny: Please, just not so loud.
Castle: Where did you get it?
Benny: I found it in the room.
Castle: Scarlett O'Hara's room?
Benny: After check out on the fourth day, I went up there on account of she never returned the key. The room was like nobody'd even been there. The bed was made towels were on the rack. I gave it a quick once-over, figured I'd tell housekeeping not to bother going in. I found the bag under the bed.
Beckett: And what was in it?
Benny: Eh...
Beckett: What was in it?!
Benny: Ah! There was money. Lots of it.
Beckett: How much?
Benny: Seventy-five grand. There.
Castle: Did you blow it all, Benny?
Benny: It was the best three days of my life.
In the break room.
Beckett: A duffel bag full of cash, an anonymous hotel room and an angry Wilder. All of that adds up to only one thing.
Castle: Blackmail.
Demming: It's the only scenario that makes sense.
Beckett: So, the blackmailer contacts Wilder with instructions to meet at the motel at a certain time.
Castle: Probably to show him proof of whatever it is she has against him.
Beckett: But she doesn't want him to know who she is, or that she works at his company.
Castle: So she calls in to the room, makes her demands by phone.
Beckett: He confronts the clerk, trying to figure out who it is that's extorting him.
Castle: At some point in time, Wilder returns to the room with the duffel bag full of cash, puts it under the bed as instructed.
Beckett: Only Benny makes off with the money before the blackmailer's had a chance to pick it up.
Castle: Making for one angry blackmailer.
Beckett: Angry enough to kill.
In the interview lounge.
Benny: No, not her either. Man, this dead guy had a lot of good-looking babes working for him.
Beckett: Any of them our Scarlett O'Hara?
Benny: Not her. Or her, but I'd do her. Not her, who I would not do. Not her. I would maybe do her. Hey, look. It's her.
Beckett: You're sure this is the woman who rented the room?
Benny: Yes.
Beckett: Rebecca Strong. She's a lab tech at the company.
Castle: Oh, she's got cruel eyes. I bet she enjoyed watching Wilder suffer.
At Wilder’s labs, Rebecca sobs and babbles mostly incoherently.
Rebecca Strong: What was I thinking? I should've stayed out of it.
Castle: What did she stay?
Beckett: "What was I thinking? I should've stayed out of it." It's cry talk. There's not a girl alive who hasn't heard it from a sobbing, heartbroken girlfriend. What should you have stayed out of, Rebecca? The blackmail?
Rebecca Strong: Incoherent sobbing.
Beckett: You tried to do the right thing?
Rebecca nods.
Beckett: Well, who wouldn't listen? Did you have an accomplice?
Rebecca Strong: Was just me.
Beckett: Well, then what is this all about?
Rebecca Strong: Benzophyosopheme.
Beckett: I'm sorry. I didn't get that one.
Rebecca Strong: Benzophyosopheme.
Castle: That's not cry talk. It sounds like a chemical compound.
Beckett: You work in product testing, right? Were they using benzophyosopheme in a company product?
Castle: Is there some kind of problem with it? Is that what the blackmail was about?
Beckett: So then when you said that you were trying to do the right thing, did you approach your superiors about the problem?
Rebecca Strong: Yes.
Beckett: And did Wilder do anything about it?
Rebecca Strong: No.
Castle: He came out with a product that has benzophyosopheme in it anyway.
Rebecca Strong: Exactly.
Castle: Well, how bad is this stuff?
Rebecca Strong: It can cause capillary damage if you use it long enough.
Beckett: So then you figured, if they weren't gonna listen to you, why not cash in on it? And then you threatened to make it public if Wilder didn't give you $75,000.
Rebecca Strong: Yes.
Beckett: Well, you were in over your head, Rebecca.
Rebecca Strong: I know, and I want to make things right if I can.
Beckett: It's too late for that now.
Rebecca Strong: I… What if I gave it back?
Beckett: You killed a man.
Rebecca Strong: I still have the money.
Beckett: You still have the money?
Rebecca Strong: I killed a man?
Beckett: Damian Wilder.
Rebecca Strong: I didn't kill Mr. Wilder.
Beckett: You have the money?
Rebecca Strong: It's still in the duffel bag that I got from under the bed.
Beckett: Wait. The money from the motel room?
Rebecca Strong: $75,000.
Beckett: Well, then the money that Benny found...
Castle: Where did it come from?
In the conference room.
Demming: $75,000. It was in her hall closet just like she said it'd be.
Castle: Two blackmail payoffs? I don't get it.
Beckett: Rebecca must have missed the second duffel bag under the bed when she went to pick up the money.
Demming: Which is why Benny found it when he went back there later.
Beckett: Yeah, but we looked through Wilder's financials with a fine-tooth comb. There was nothing in there to suggest that he pulled that kind of cash.
Demming: It's hard to imagine he had it just lying around.
Castle: What would happen if Wilder didn't pay the blackmailer?
Beckett: Well, that would mean letting the capillary damage issue go public.
Castle: What if he didn't care? What if he wanted to do the right thing and pull the product, even if it meant a huge financial hit and possible litigation?
Beckett: Then anyone with a financial stake in the company would have incentive to keep that from happening.
Castle: And they surest way to do that would be to kill Wilder and pay off the blackmailer.
Beckett: So the cousin would have company stock worth a fortune from when he lent Wilder the start-up money.
Castle: Yeah, but we know he didn't do it.
Beckett: And then Lisa Jenkins could be looking at criminal liability if it got out that she let a dangerous product go to market.
Demming: Yeah, but we know she didn't do it either.
Beckett: Well, something doesn't make sense here.
Esposito: Castle.
Castle: Hey.
Esposito: Mm-mmm. Come here. What's wrong guys?
Esposito holds up the shaving cream Castle gave them.
Ryan: Benzophyosopheme.
Castle: Oh, no. Not the shave cream.
Esposito: Yeah, in the shave cream. It says here right on the can.
Ryan: That's how they get it to come out hot.
Esposito: Might as well just be shaving with napalm, bro.
Castle: Well, she said it only does damage long term. You guys have only used it the one time. I'm still on my first can.
Ryan: Could've ended up with irreversible capillary damage.
Castle: I was...
Beckett: The timeline's wrong.
Castle: Exactly. There wasn't time to do any damage.
Beckett: No, for the murder.
Castle: What are you talking about? What is she talking about?
Demming: I don't know.
Castle: Where you going?
Beckett: Wilder's apartment. I know who did it. I know who killed him.
Castle/Demming: Who?
At Damian Wilder's apartment.
Beckett: I just shot Damian Wilder in the chest, and he's bleeding out. It's dark. But I still manage to sop up some of the blood. And I head over here to start writing the message implicating the protestors. But it takes longer than I thought it would because I keep having to go back in order to get more blood. And then all of a sudden, I hear a noise out the back. So I stop and I think to myself, "You know what? I better get the hell out of here."
Castle: Hold on. You're forgetting about the bludgeoning part.
Beckett: I walk out the front door and I let it lock behind me. I race across the street, I hail a cab, and it's about 10:40.
Demming: Yeah, but now you're forgetting about the stolen books.
Castle: The noise outside. You're thinking there was someone else.
Beckett: Someone who had no idea that Wilder had already been shot. Someone who came in through the back into the bedroom, and in the dark, found a heavy object and bludgeoned him on his bed.
Castle: Two killers.
Demming: So it's the second killer who steals the books.
Beckett: And then getting those books out of this display case takes a few minutes, after which, it's out the door, and it's 10:52.
Castle: Giving the first killer more than enough time to get home, where she can be seen by, let's say, a security camera.
Demming: And the second killer wouldn't appear to be involved if he was, say, buying cigarettes when the gunshot went off.
Beckett: Lisa and Blake came here separately to kill Wilder, and by doing that, they both inadvertently alibied each other out.
Castle: They both knew it was their only chance to stop Wilder before he stepped forward. The press conference he had called... It was not about animal rights. He was about to announce a product recall.
Demming: And they each decided they couldn't let that happen. They both killed him, and they both paid the blackmailer.
Beckett: Which means they both had to raise a lot of money in not a lot of time.
At the observation room.
Beckett: We found withdrawals from bank accounts, money market funds, even 401(K)s. All of it totaling $75,000 from each one of them.
Montgomery: They didn't cover their tracks because they didn't think anyone would get on to the blackmail and come looking.
Beckett: It turns out Blake was leveraged in debt up to his eyeballs. If the company stock had taken a hit, the whole house of cards would've fallen.
Montgomery: And her?
Beckett: She didn't want to serve time. She's the one who sat on initial reports that there were problems with the shaving cream.
Montgomery: Poor Wilder. Tried to do the right thing and gets himself killed.
Beckett: Castle and Demming were right about the two of them all along.
Montgomery: Nice of you to give them both the satisfaction of taking down their suspect.
Beckett: Well, it's the least I could do. Male vanity being what it is.
Castle and Demming exit their interrogation rooms at the same time and meet in observation.
Castle: Hey.
Demming: Hey.
Castle: So listen, thanks...Thanks for your help on this one.
Demming: Oh, you know, same team.
Castle: Guess I'll see you around.
Demming: Yeah.
They both exit observation without ever leaving the doorway.
In the conference room.
Ryan: One murder, two killers. That's something you don't see every day.
Esposito: Yeah. That's definitely another one for the record books.
Castle: You guys seen Beckett? I wanted to congratulate her. She's the one who cracked this one open.
Ryan: I think she's in the back processing the charges.
Castle: Thanks.
Ryan and Esposito toss their fast food wrappers in the trash.
Ryan: Oh! Bank all day.
Esposito: Nothing but net, though.
Castle walks down the hall and finds Beckett. Then he sees Demming step out from a doorway and kiss her. Castle goes to the break room. Beckett walks down the hall and catches his eye through the window. He tries to avoid gaze and gets himself a coffee as a distraction.
Beckett: Castle. What are you still doing here?
Castle: Hey. Just about to leave myself. Good job closing the case.
Beckett: Yeah. Well, we make a good team.
Castle: Yeah. Good night.
Beckett: Thanks. Night.
