A cell phone rings and Lanie sits up in bed to read the text.
Lanie: I gotta go.
Another cell beeps and Esposito sits up next to her and reads the text on his phone.
Esposito: Me too.
They kiss.
Esposito: I'll see you at the scene, sexy.
Lanie: Okay.
Esposito gets out of bed.
Lanie: Javier Esposito! When we get to this crime scene, do not wink at me. Do not smile at me. And don't even look at me with those puppy dog eyes. Got it?
Esposito hold up his cell and snaps a picture of Lanie.
Esposito: Got it.
In the street.
Castle: Come on, Gina! I'm not having this conversation with you again. Well, I… I gotta go. I'm at work. It is so work! (hangs up).
Esposito: What's up, Castle? How's it going?
Castle: You want my advice? Never sleep with someone you work with.
Esposito: What? What do you mean?
Castle: Trust me, it doesn't end well.
Esposito: Who knows?
Castle: Everyone knows.
Beckett: Everyone knows what?
Castle/Esposito: Nothing.
Esposito (on walkie talkie): On my way.
Beckett: You okay Castle? You seem upset.
Castle: No. No, I'm fine. Why?
Beckett: Okay.
Castle: The murder is here? At Drake's Magic Shop?
Beckett: Yep.
Castle: I've been coming here since I was thirteen years old. This place is a paradise for boys. Whoopee cushions, magic tricks, fake vomit.
Beckett: It's not just for boys, Castle. My grandfather was an amateur magician and I used to come here almost every Sunday afternoon when I was that age, too.
Castle (chuckles): Never pegged you for a magic fan. You know any good tricks?
Beckett: I do this one thing. With ice cubes.
At Drake's Magic Shop.
Ryan: According to his water soaked wallet, the victim's Zalman Drake, the shop owner. His assistant, Eliza Winter, found him in the tank when she opened up the store this morning.
Beckett: Any signs of forced entry?
Ryan: Nope.
Lanie: You know, it is beyond me why people think this is entertaining. I see a guy hanging upside down in a water tank, I think, "You are a fool."
Castle: Huh. You know, the milk cans and the water torture tank, they were real game changers in the magic world. They were the first presentation of real life and death consequences. As the magician held his breath, so did the audience.
Lanie: Well, this magician would have had to hold his breath eight to ten hours, if he wanted to take a bow.
Beckett: So, you're saying between 12 and 2 a.m.?
Lanie: Looks that way. Petechial hemorrhaging in his eyes indicate drowning.
Castle: Failed escape attempt?
Lanie: Well, there's no redness on his ankles where he was hanging. Doesn't look like he struggled to get out. I have a feeling he was dead before he hit the water, but I won't know for sure until I get him back to the lab.
Esposito: Maybe there's another reason he struggled. Suicide note. Says he was in financial trouble and couldn't bear the thought of losing his family's shop so he was going to kill himself.
Eliza Winter: Mr. Drake did not kill himself!
Beckett: How do you know?
Eliza: I just know.
Castle: Is it true, though? Was he going to lose his shop?
Eliza: No. I mean, yes. But two weeks ago he told me that everything was fine, that he had worked it all out.
Beckett: Any idea how? Was there a windfall or an investor?
Eliza: He didn't say.
Beckett: Would he have been able to place himself in that tank?
Eliza: Absolutely. But he wouldn't have. Not Zalman. He loved and respected magic too much.
Beckett: Esposito, there's no signature here.
Esposito: I'll have CSU run it for prints.
Beckett: Have them run the tank and the entries and exits as well.
Esposito: Okay.
Ouside Drake's Magic Shop.
Beckett: When was the last time you saw him?
Eliza: Yesterday morning. He left right after lunch and he was gone the rest of the day.
Beckett: Did he say where he was going?
Eliza shakes her head.
Castle: Was it normal for him to leave the shop in the middle of the day?
Eliza: Yeah, he would do that sometimes.
Beckett: Did you notice any changes in his behaviour? Anything unusual going on in his life?
Eliza: This past month he was gone m… More often. All he'd say was that he was working on something. But he looked a little tired, like he hadn't been sleeping.
Beckett: Can you think of any reason for the change?
Eliza: Yes. Last month, right before all this started, a guy came into the shop and attacked Mr. Drake. He pushed him right through a display case. He said he better watch his back and he was going to sue him for all he was worth.
Near the bullpen.
Beckett (on phone): Thank you, I will hold. (to Castle) So, court records show that a lawsuit was filed against Zalman Drake a month ago. They're pulling it up now. (to Ryan and Esposito) Hey.
Ryan: Hey. We canvassed the area around the magic shop. One of the neighbours said she saw an old white van pull up to the shop around midnight and then heard the gate roll up.
Beckett: Okay, you guys look into that and let's find out where Zalman was disappearing to. I'd like to know what he was doing all the way up until the moment that he died. What about his next of kin?
Esposito: Only surviving relative's a brother in Poughkeepsie. We haven't reached him yet.
Beckett: Alright, thank you guys.
Ryan: Poughkeepsie?
Ryan and Esposito leave.
Castle: Hey. X-Ray specs. Got them at the magic shop. I can see you naked.
Beckett: Really? How do you like my naval ring?
At Ryan and Exposito's desks.
Ryan: Looks like somebody has a secret.
Esposito: Secret? What secret?
Ryan: I can understand a guy not wanting to share. I mean, some things are personal.
Esposito: How did you find out?
Ryan: Dude, everybody knows. It's all over page six.
Ryan hands Esposito a newspaper. Esposito opens it to find a picture of Castle and Gina with the article RICK AND GINA TRADE BITING WORDS. It looks like an unhappy ending for the publisher and the mystery writer. Famed author (and crime-fighter) RICHARD CASTLE got into a noisy fight with ex-wife/girlfriend/publisher GINA GRIFFIN last night at Le Cirque. Griffin reportedly stormed out of the restaurant after the two exchanged words. Castle, some advice, next time don't dip [obscured] processor in the company ink.
Esposito: "Looks like an unhappy ending for the publisher and the mystery writer."
Ryan: Apparently, he and ex-wife slash girlfriend slash publisher Gina had some words - loud words - at Le Cirque and she stormed off.
Esposito: That's what he was talking about this morning.
Ryan: What I don't understand is why he would try to hide it from us. I mean, we're like family.
Esposito: Maybe he's afraid of what we might think.
At Beckett's desk.
Beckett (hangs up): So, it turns out a lawsuit was filed against Zalman Drake by a Jerome Aspenal. And get this, the judge threw it out yesterday.
Castle: Maybe Jerome decided to take justice into his own hands. What was he suing him for?
In the interview room.
Jerome: Zalman Drake? I was suing him for slander, defamation of character, ruining my life.
Beckett: And how did Zalman do that, Jerome?
Jerome: He read my frigging mind! In front of like, three hundred people.
Castle: During a magic performance?
Jerome: Yeah, it was like this mind reading, card tricks, levitation at the she/SHE charity ball. My in-laws bought a table and I figured, free food, some entertainment, maybe later I get lucky. Turns out, not so lucky.
Beckett: Could you elaborate on that?
Jerome: Yeah. This magician, Zalman Drake, gets on stage, makes this rich dude disappear and reappear and I'm like, "Oh, that's cool." Then he asks for volunteers. My wife raises my hand and says, "Go up there. It'll be fun." So I do. Drake says, stand across from me and think good thoughts. So, I do. He looks at me, concentrates, puts his fingers on my forehead and he goes, "You're thinking of Rita and your trip to Atlantic City last weekend".
Castle: Were you?
Jerome: Yeah, but I was trying not to. 'Cause here's the kicker…
Castle: Your wife's name isn't Rita.
Jerome: Right. So, now I'm living in a motel in Long Island city, my father-in-law fired me, and Rita won't even talk to me 'cause my wife found her number and called her.
Beckett: Where were you last night between twelve and two?
Jerome (to Castle): Why is she asking me that?
Castle: Well, she wants to know if you have an alibi.
Jerome: For what?
Beckett: Zalman Drake was murdered last night.
Jerome: Justice is served.
Castle: When he read your mind, did it take him very long?
Jerome: No, it… No.
Castle: No. Didn't think so.
Beckett: Jerome, we have a witness who says you went to his shop, attacked, and threatened Zalman Drake. When they dropped your lawsuit yesterday, did you decide to take the law into your own hands? Did you go to the magic shop and murder Zalman?
Jerome: No, I didn't go anywhere last night, except for O'Lanahan's at 57th and 7th. Because, thanks to Zalman Drake, I no longer have a wife or a mistress to go home to.
Near the bullpen.
Castle: I wonder how Zalman did it. He must have lifted something from Jerome's pocket with a receipt from his weekend of sin.
Beckett: Like this?
Beckett holds up Castle's cell phone.
Castle: You had your hand in my pocket and I didn't even feel it? Do it again.
Castle's cell rings. Beckett turns the phone to show Castle that it's Gina. Castle takes the phone and rejects the call. Beckett gives him a confused look.
Castle: What?
Beckett: Hey, Ryan, any luck narrowing down Zalman's whereabouts yesterday?
Ryan: Uh, not yet. But I did check into Jerome's whereabouts last night. The barkeep at O'Lanahan's said he was there till close and then he called him a cab.
Castle: So, the only thing he killed last night were his brain cells.
Ryan: And a forensic sweep of the water tank came up negative for any prints on the operating apparatus other than Zalman's.
Beckett: So, either he committed suicide…
Castle: Or the killer wore gloves.
Esposito: Not the whole time. According to the lab, there were fingerprints all over that suicide note and they weren't Zalman's or Jerome's.
Beckett: Did you get a match?
Esposito: Yeah, to a Charles "Chuck" Russell. A low-life street magician with three arrests and two convictions, one for arson and another on an explosives charge.
Beckett: Did he know our victim?
Esposito: Yeah, apparently Zalman is some big muckity-muck with the American Magician's Guild. They have a code of professional conduct and Chuck broke it. He was reckless with pyrotechnics in his act, injured his assistant, so Zalman had him kicked out. He hasn't been able to book a gig since.
Beckett: Where can we find him?
In a park.
Chuck: So, I have Brenda's watch here. She wants me to make her husband disappear. That's a felony, I can't do that. But I can make the watch disappear. Give it up. Thank you, Brenda. Ahh, a dollar. I'll dine on ramen and tap water tonight and think of you. What about you? You got a little something for the United Magicians' College Fund?
Beckett: As a matter of fact, I do. (badges him) We need to talk to you about Zalman Drake.
Chuck: Abracadabra.
Chuck snaps his fingers and smoke bursts from the box he's standing on. When it clears, he's gone. Beckett rolls her eyes, walks behind the box, opens the trap door, and pulls out Chuck.
Beckett: Alakazam, jackass.
In the interview room.
Chuck: Why am I here?
Beckett: You recognize this?
Chuck: That's a baggie. And that's a letter. Next.
Castle: Careful, Chucky. Next could be a murder charge.
Beckett: Your fingerprints are on it.
Chuck: So?
Beckett: So, I find it strange that someone else's fingerprints are on another guy's suicide note.
Chuck: What are you talking about?
Castle: Your old friend, Zalman Drake.
Chuck: Zalman?
Beckett slides a photo of Zalman across the table.
Chuck: Yeah, that's him. He killed himself? Man.
Beckett: We found him drowned in the water torture trick in his shop.
Castle: You must have thought you were pretty clever, staging it to look like botched escape.
Chuck: I didn't stage anything. I had nothing to do with it.
Beckett: Well, then maybe you can explain your prints on that.
Chuck hesitates. And Beckett starts to get up.
Beckett: Alright.
Chuck: No, wait. Okay, listen, I… I gave him this note.
Beckett: You gave him a suicide note?
Chuck: Not that note, the other note on the paper, the one you can't see. Hold it under a black light.
Beckett holds a black light flashlight over the paper revealing neon letters.
Chuck: It's an invoice. For services rendered.
Beckett: What kind of services?
Chuck: He wanted me to get him something. Something illegal.
Beckett runs the black light over the rest of the paper. "You owe me for (20) 1.25 lbs. C4. You know how much."
Beckett: C4 explosives?
Chuck: Ironic, right? He wants explosives from me when that's what he got me booted for. But he promised to get me reinstated in the Guild and I wanted to work.
Beckett: Whoever wrote this note probably thought they took a blank piece of paper.
Chuck: "Whoever" being not me.
Beckett: You provided him with enough C4 to blow up half a city block. What was it for?
Chuck: Maybe it was for a magic trick.
Beckett: Come on.
Chuck: No, listen. Zalman didn't just run the shop and do corporate gigs. He was also this genius trick designer. Rumor has it he was creating cutting edge illusions for the hottest guy out there.
Beckett: And who is the hottest guy out there?
Near the bullpen.
Castle: Tobias Strange? He's the Johnny Depp of magic. I saw him in Vegas. He made a Ferrari disappear.
Ryan: Why would anybody want to do that?
Esposito: Oh yeah, he's in town. Saw him perform a couple of weeks ago. Awesome, awesome show. Yeah, we loved it.
Castle: We?
Esposito: Yeah. Me and my buddy. Ray.
Ryan: You have a buddy named Ray who you went with to a magic show?
Esposito: Yeah. What about it?
Beckett: Okay guys. Hold Chuck on an explosives trafficking charge and let's see if this Johnny Depp of magic knows what his trick designer was really into and why it required so much C4.
At the theatre.
Tobias Strange: Voilà. Pull it tight. All the way. Make sure it's locked. Okay, guys, thirty seconds. Starting now.
Beckett: Excuse me!
The assistant looks at Beckett and lets the rope slip through her hands. The door of knives drops into the cabinet doorway and bloody knives come through the front screen.
Castle: Oh, my God!
Crewman: Get it open!
Female Assistant: Is he okay?
Crewman: Get in there!
Female Assistant: Hurry!
Crewman: Slide there!
A crewman opens the door, but the doorway is empty.
Crewman: Where is he?
Tobias: Hey! This is a private rehearsal! Who the hell let them in here?
Beckett and Castle turn to look behind them in the aisle.
Beckett (badges him): All access pass.
Tobias: Zalman has been the heart of the New York magic community since he inherited the shop from his dad. It's a huge loss.
Beckett: I understand that he worked for you.
Tobias: Used to. We parted ways last month.
Beckett: Why?
Tobias: I heard from one of my vendors that he might be working for someone else. So, I confronted him. Turns out, he was poached.
Beckett: Do you know by whom?
Tobias: He didn't say. Look, Zalman had been my exclusive designer and engineer for fifteen years. He created some of my most famous tricks. If he had had any stage presence, he would have been a world class magician himself.
Castle: Well, it must have been very upsetting to have him leave after all those years. Didn't that put some of your trade secrets at risk?
Tobias: A thinly veiled accusation, Mr. Castle. Of course I was upset. But I never doubted his discretion.
Beckett: Mr. Strange, did any of your illusions require the use of an explosive?
Tobias: Well, the term "smoke and mirrors" isn't metaphoric in our business, Detective. Much of misdirection depends on flashes of light.
Beckett: What about C4?
Tobias: The key to making something look dangerous is to have complete control over the outcome. C4 is too volatile, unpredictable. It kills.
Castle: Any idea what Zalman would be using it for?
Tobias: Nothing magical, I assure you. Have you checked his workshop?
Beckett: We haven't come across a workshop.
Castle: Probably where he'd been disappearing to everyday.
Beckett (to Tobias): Do you know where it is?
Tobias: Ah, you know how magicians are about secrets. But whatever he was working on, you will probably find there.
Beckett and Castle exit.
Castle: It's an age old story. Magician at the top of his game, angry that his trick designer has jumped ship for the competition, kills him instead of letting his trade secrets fall into enemy hands.
Beckett: It's magic, Castle. Not the Cold War.
Castle: Well, if it's not the Cold War, why does Zalman need military-grade explosives?
Beckett: I don't know. Hell, we don't even know if it really was murder. I mean, for all we know, it could have actually been a suicide.
Beckett's cell rings.
Beckett: It's Lanie.
Castle: Let me guess. It wasn't a suicide.
Beckett (answers cell): Beckett.
Lanie waits for Beckett and Castle wearing a sparkly cocktail dress.
Lanie: It took you two long enough! Where were you? Europe?
Beckett: Traffic.
Lanie: Girl, you could've used the gumball.
Castle: Dressed to the nines, in a big hurry... So, where are you going and who's the lucky victim?
Lanie: I'll tell you what, Castle. You tell me what's going on between you and Gina and I'll tell you where I'm going tonight.
Beckett: What are you talking about?
Lanie: He and his girlfriend had a big fight a Le Cirque. It was in the paper.
Castle: Can we talk about the victim, please?
Lanie: Okay. No water in the lungs.
Beckett: He wasn't drowned?
Lanie: Nope. But he was asphyxiated, which sometimes presents the same way.
Lanie points out the purple marks on Zahlman's face.
Beckett: Bruising.
Lanie: Like someone held their hand over his nose and mouth. He was murdered before he was put into the tank.
Castle: And then his killer took what he thought was a blank piece of paper and typed out the suicide note.
Beckett: But why kill him that way? I mean, why make it look like a suicide?
Castle: Cover up the murder.
Beckett: The murder, or something bigger involving explosives? We got to find that workshop.
At Castle’s loft.
Castle: You are the picture of a civilized evening at home.
Martha: And you are a caveman. Darling, we are your family. Why didn't you tell us about this?
Martha hold up the newspaper.
Martha: Have you spoken to her? You know, since your PDA?
Castle: My?
Martha: Public Display of Anger.
Alexis: It says you were fighting, Dad. What about?
Castle: Well, if you must know…
Martha: Yes.
Castle: We were fighting about how much we'd been fighting. If you don't mind, I'd really like to change the subject.
Castle pulls a quarter out from behind Alexis' ear.
Alexis: What am I, six? At least pull out a twenty.
She grabs the quarter and rolls out a twenty dollar bill.
Castle: Wow.
Castle enters at the police station, just as Beckett is heading out.
Castle: I was thinking…
Beckett: Come on, Castle. Keep up.
Beckett grabs her coffee from him.
Castle: Where are we going?
Beckett: Zalman's workshop.
Castle: You found it? How?
Beckett: In his soggy wallet was a soggy metro card. Ryan ran it through the Automated Fare Database. He was travelling from a subway stop near his magic shop to the last stop out in the Bronx.
Castle: So, we're canvassing the neighbourhood. Do we need vests?
Beckett: No. No vests. Remember that power outage a couple weeks ago? Shut down the subway?
Castle: Yes.
Beckett: Well, I looked into Zalman's financials. He hired a town car that day with his credit card and we now have his address.
In a warehouse.
Castle: You sure this is the place?
Beckett: This is where they dropped him off.
Castle: Well, it looks abandoned. Bricked up.
Beckett: Look, look, look. Footprints.
Castle: Yes, to nowhere.
Beckett: That's what he wanted us to think.
Beckett runs her hand along the bricks and pushes one in. The "wall" slides open.
Beckett: Open sesame.
The wall/door closes behind them.
Castle: Zalman's Fortress of Solitude.
Beckett: Wow, Castle. My grandfather would have loved this place. Look, he has a guillotine. And an iron maiden! He even had a zigzag box. You know, you would have liked my grandfather. In fact, you remind me of him a little.
Castle: I'm flattered.
Beckett: Mm.
Beckett notices something on the floor and Castle looks down where her flashlight is pointing.
Castle: Wheelchair tracks?
Beckett: Yeah, and they look fairly fresh.
Castle: Maybe he had a visitor.
Beckett: Yeah. Look recent.
The wheelchair tracks go over some newspapers on the floor.
Castle: These papers are dated the day he was killed.
Beckett: I'm gonna have to get CSU to sweep this whole place.
Castle points his flashlight at a green fork-and-spoon X with a white background painted on the wall.
Castle: Is this an accident or art?
Beckett: Castle, take a look at this. Pages are ripped. Like he didn't want anyone to know what he was working on.
They hear a noise and turn as the iron maiden opens. Mr. Drake steps out.
Beckett: Zalman?
Zalman Lookalike: Who the hell are you?
Castle: Best trick ever.
At Zalman's workshop, Beckett holds Mr. Drake at gunpoint.
Beckett: NYPD. Keep your hands where I can see them.
Mr. Drake claps on the lights.
Zalman Lookalike: Whoa, whoa, whoa. What… What's going on? What are you doing here?
Castle: Zalman?
Zalman Lookalike: Edmund. Edmund Drake.
Beckett: His brother from Poughkeepsie?
Castle: You're a twin.
Edmund: Yeah. Can I put my hands down?
Beckett: Uh, yeah.
Castle: Why were you hiding in the iron maiden?
Edmund: It's the entrance from the other room.
Beckett: I'm Detective Beckett. We're here about your brother.
Edmund: So am I. Where is he?
Beckett: You don't know? Mr. Drake, I'm sorry to tell you, but your brother is dead.
In the break room.
Castle: Are you kidding me? He has an identical twin who wears glasses. That's the worst disguise since Clark Kent and you believe him?
Beckett: I have no reason not to. Look at him. He's devastated.
Castle: It's an act! Don't you ever go to movies? It's... it's probably Edmund who's dead and that dweeb in the next room is Zalman. I bet he killed his brother to take over his life.
Beckett: As an accountant, in Poughkeepsie?
Castle: Well, I...
In the interview lounge.
Edmund: I knew something was wrong when he called me a couple of days ago.
Beckett: What did he call about?
Edmund: Money. He said someone was paying him a half a million dollars and he needed my help to hide it.
Beckett: Hide it how?
Edmund: To make sure that the government never found out where it came from. The way he was talking, it sounded like he had gotten involved in something illegal.
Castle: And what were you doing, at his warehouse?
Edmund: Well, I just had this feeling yesterday that something was terribly wrong. And when I tried to reach him, I couldn't. I drove down to the city. I think it was a twin thing, you know? All our lives we've had this...connection.
Castle: Yeah, course. Twin thing. Tell me, Mr. Drake, given your legacy, why didn't you ever get into the family business, too?
Edmund: I didn't have the passion, or the skill. Zalman and I, we, uh, we did have an act together, as kids.
Edmund pulls out a picture from his wallet and hands it to Beckett. She looks at it, smiles, and then hands it to Castle.
Edmund: He would disappear up on stage and then-- then I would appear in the back of the audience. I guess it was only amazing to people who didn't know we were twins.
Castle: Well, you're being modest. I'm sure you fooled a lot of people.
Beckett: Mr. Drake, the activities that your brother was involved in, if you looked through his things do you think you would be able to determine what he was doing?
Edmund: Zalman was a brilliant engineer and, uh, I'm afraid my brain just doesn't work that way. He was something special, you know? Light up a room. Look, Detective, I don't know what he got mixed up in, but I just know he didn't deserve to die.
Near the bullpen.
Castle: I can't believe you're letting him just walk out of here! If this was a movie…
Beckett: It's not a movie. And what am I supposed to charge him with? Being a twin?
Castle: Being an evil twin. In a magic murder.
Beckett: A half a million dollar payment that he's hiding from the government? Bricks of C4? That doesn't sound like magic to me.(answers cell) Beckett.
At Zalman's workshop.
Espostio (on cell): CSU is just finishing their initial sweep. So far we haven't been able to find anything to indicate who Zalman might have been working for, other than Tobias Strange. But CSU did find some trace residue of C4 explosives on the workbench.
Beckett (on cell): And what about the tracks?
Esposito (on cell): You were right. They are from a wheelchair. The tracks are pretty distinctive. We're running down make and model now.
Beckett (on cell): Yeah, well, with any luck, Professor X will turn out to be Zalman's mystery client.
Esposito (on cell): Alright, thanks.
Castle: What about this? Zalman gets in over his head. He lures his brother down here, suffocates him, sticks him in a tank so it looks like he's dead. Meanwhile, Zalman, as Edmund, inherits his own magic shop, collects his own insurance, all the while takes Edmund's wife and children, who love him, as his own. It's Dead Ringer!
Beckett: Are you still talking?
Castle: Edmund is Zalman.
At the autopsy room.
Lanie: Couldn't be more wrong. I ran the prints on our victim. He's Zalman.
Beckett: Satisfied Castle?
Castle: More like, disappointed.
Lanie: Well, maybe this'll cheer you up.
Castle: Old man hair!
Lanie: White rabbit fur. Came from his teeth and throat.
Castle: So he was killed by a rabbit who did not want to be pulled out of a hat.
Lanie: Your guess is as good as mine. In the process of trying to determine how Zalman was asphyxiated, I also discovered the presence of a low dose of organophosphates in his nose and throat.
Beckett: Organophosphates?
Lanie: It's found in hydraulic fluids. Jet engine oil, insecticides, nerve agents.
Castle: Nerve agents?
Beckett: Well along with the C4, our magician's sounding more like a terrorist.
Lanie: The amount is too small to indicate that he had been working with them directly, but he definitely was exposed to them recently.
Esposito: Oye, chica! I was in the 'hood and I thought that we should talk about the…
Lanie: Tests! That you had me run. Um, they're in the back. I'll go get them.
Esposito: Yeah. Thanks.
Beckett: What tests?
Esposito: Different case. Hey, I was just about to call you. You know those wheelchair tracks that you found at Zalman's workshop? Well, they had a saw tooth pattern unique to one brand of tire made for electric wheelchairs. We called half a dozen specialty shops that stock that tire, and we cross referenced recent purchases with the mailing list of the magic shop.
Beckett: Did you get a match?
Esposito: Yeah. Thaddeus Magnus. He's a professional government protestor. He's got multiple arrests for civil disobediences and, get this, drives a white van.
Castle: Government protestor. Civil disobedience. You mix that in with C4 and nerve agent? You're looking at Tim McVeigh.
Beckett: You have an address?
Esposito hands Beckett a piece of paper.
Beckett: Thanks.
Esposito: Mm-hmm.
Castle: Nice work.
Castle and Beckett leave.
Lanie: That was close.
Esposito: No, this is close.
Esposito pulls Lanie close and they kiss.
At Thaddeus Magnus's apartment.
Castle: How does a guy in a wheelchair lift someone into a tank of water?
Beckett knocks.
Beckett: Mr. Magnus. NYPD. Open up.
Castle (whisper):Maybe the wheelchair is an act. In every magic story, there's an unexpected twist where things aren't always what they seem. It's an obligation of the genre.
Magnus opens the door from his wheelchair.
Magnus: What?
Beckett (badges him): NYPD. We need to ask you a few questions about Zalman Drake.
Magnus: Zalman Drake of Drake Magic. End of an era. I hear it was a failed escape.
Beckett: More like a successful murder.
Castle: He was asphyxiated before he was lowered into the tank.
Magnus: You mean he was really murdered?
Castle: And guess whose van was spotted outside his shop right about when he died?
Magnus: Would you just not touch that, please? Took me five years to build it.
Beckett: What was he working on for you? What were the explosives for?
Magnus: Explosives? What are you talking about? Look, Zalman was my friend. He didn't work for me, I worked for him, making specialty items for those tricks he designed. Nothing explosive, just things like that.
Manus gestures towards a set of moulded feet sticking out of a box that Castle's touching.
Castle: Doesn't change the fact you were at his store when he died.
Magnus: Does it look like I could have lifted him into a tank?
Castle: Well, maybe you borrowed a set of legs. Maybe these, or someone else's.
Feet (giggle): Stop it!
Magnus: If anyone killed him, it was those guys he met.
Beckett: What guys?
Magnus: The guys he was working for. I was there at the warehouse when they called. I went there to pick up a check for some work I did on a job. They wanted to meet him, told him to go to the store after closing. Zalman asked me to drop him off. Next thing I hear, he's dead. I didn't know it was murder.
Beckett: The job that you did for him, what was it?
Magnus: He wanted me to make him a mechanical arm. You know, something to trigger a switch remotely.
Castle: Theoretically, what could it trigger?
Magnus: Well, anything. Turn on a light, ring a bell...
Beckett: Set off a bomb?
Magnus: Oh, look, I swear, I thought he was joking.
Beckett: About what?
Magnus: He said this was his greatest magic trick ever. Said he was getting paid a fortune to get away with murder.
Near the bullpen.
Ryan: Do you really think someone would hire a magician to help them get away with murder?
Beckett: I mean, it's brilliant, really. Magicians are masters at misdirection. If they can manipulate audiences, they can manipulate witnesses. They could even make people testify to things that never happened.
Castle: It's so hard to believe that a person with that much respect for magic would use his skills to kill.
Beckett: He needed to save his shop and a half a million dollar payday was too good to be true.
Ryan: It was. Instead of a payday, he got whacked.
Beckett: Well, the people who hired him probably figured it was safer to kill him then run the risk of having an attack of conscience and rat them out.
Castle: Okay. So, without evidence, how are we going to find them?
Beckett: By finding out exactly who they hired Zalman to kill. We know he was working on a trick involving C4 and a remote triggering device.
Ryan: Well, whoever he killed went out with a bang.
Beckett: There can't have been that many deaths in the tri-state area in the last couple of weeks where someone was killed by an explosion. Where are we with ATF and the fire department?
Ryan: We're supposed to get their reports in the morning.
Beckett: Okay. Meantime, let's see what we can dig up ourselves.
Castle’s loft.
Castle: Do you know how many explosions there are in New York City every week? Steam pipe explodes. Gas stove explodes.
Martha: Unhappy couple explodes. But didn't you explode in a rather ritzy restaurant with uh…
Castle's cell rings.
Martha: Ah-ha. Speak of the devil. You're not going to answer that?
Castle slides his phone across the counter, waves his hand, and it's gone.
Castle: Answer what?
Martha: Ooh, well done. Of course, making your phone disappear doesn't make your problem disappear.
Castle: No.
Martha: Hey, come on, kiddo. What's going on with you two? Really?
Castle: Nothing's going on.
Martha: Tsk.
Castle: No, nothing at all. Everything is fine. Everything is... just fine. It's ordinary. Problem is, I… I don't want ordinary. I want…
Martha: Magic.
Castle: Yeah. You know what the problem is, is...we just aren't in love. Neither one of us wants to admi... Organophosphates. It wasn't a nerve agent. It was jet oil. Zalman was at an airport.
Martha: What? I…
Castle: I gotta go.
Castle hurried off excitedly.
Martha: Now you see him, now you don't.
Near the bullpen.
Castle: Hey! I think I figured out who Zalman was paid to kill.
Beckett: Billionaire philanthropist Christian Dahl?
Castle: How did you?
Beckett: Organophosphates, jet oil, airport.
Castle: It's like we could be twins. Connection.
Beckett: Conjecture. All we know right now is that Dahl took off from Teterboro Saturday afternoon intending to set a transatlantic speed record in his jet.
Ryan: Apparently, something went wrong and the plane broke up midair. Witnesses out on an oil tanker on Long Island Sound claim to have seen a white flash and smoke in the sky.
Castle: Well, a midair explosion would account for all the C4 that Zalman bought form Chuck.
Ryan: And Magnus' remote triggering device.
Castle: Well, whoever wanted Christian dead probably killed Zalman to cover up the crime.
Beckett: Except all we have now is speculation.
Esposito: Yo. I just got off with the FAA. They're sending over footage of the takeoff.
The team watches the FAA video.
Castle: Okay, there's Dahl getting on his jet for the transatlantic flight attempt. Looks like he's doing his pre-flight. Look at that.
A white pulls up with a white fork-and-spoon on a green painted background.
Beckett: It matches the outline on the wall in Zalman's workshop. He was painting a decal.
Castle: Zoom in on that guy.
Beckett: It's Zalman Drake.
Ryan: He's dressed like a caterer.
Esposito: Probably so he can get past security. He delivered something.
Castle: Yeah, explosives and a triggering device. This was a murder for hire. Skip ahead... and freeze it.
Beckett: He planned for Christian Dahl's plane to break up over the Atlantic.
Castle: It's the perfect crime. No evidence.
Ryan: No body.
Esposito: No killer.
Near the bullpen.
Esposito (on phone): Are you crazy? I've never even tried anything like…
Esposito sees Ryan coming.
Esposito: Yeah, okay. Yeah, me too. Bye.
Ryan: Who was that?
Esposito: Coast Guard. I was just seeing if they, uh, found the plane's data recorder.
Ryan: Hmm. Did they?
Esposito: Did they what?
Beckett: Hey, guys! Where are you on Christian Dahl?
Ryan: This guy is unbelievable. He became a billionaire by always being exactly in the right place at exactly the right time to invest in whatever stock, product, or idea was just about to hit.
Beckett: Did he have any enemies? Anyone that was threatening him?
Esposito: No, all the people I talked to loved him. He gave away more money than Oprah and he gave a lot of money to research into the Occult.
Ryan: He climbed Everest, he flew across Europe in a hot air balloon, he even drove a dogsled in the Iditarod.
Beckett: Well, with that much going for him, he had to have had a couple of haters.
Ryan: Just one. And she had both motive and opportunity.
Ryan hands Beckett a magazine.
Beckett: Naomi Weldon?
Ryan: Naomi Weldon Dahl. Christian's wife and former fashion model. Apparently, a month ago, Christian caught her having an affair and according to their prenup, if he divorced her, she wound up with nothing.
Beckett: And if he dies, she inherits billions.
Castle: Where was this photo taken?
Ryan: Ah, you noticed. The Dahl Foundation Benefit six weeks ago.
Castle: And the entertainment for the evening was...?
Beckett: Zalman Drake.
Castle: You know, Jerome did say Zalman made someone disappear that night.
Beckett: Naomi sees his performance and wonders if Zalman can make her husband disappear forever.
Ryan: And with billions on the line…
Esposito: Half a million is just chump change.
In the interview room.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: When they told me that Christian's plane disappeared, that's exactly what I thought.
Beckett: That your husband's death was no accident.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: Christian was a perfectionist. And he was superstitious. He did three background checks before he married me.
Beckett: You and your husband had an airtight prenuptial agreement.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: Standard when two high profile people marry.
Beckett: And if you left the marriage, or had an affair, you'd be leaving the marriage without spousal or child support.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: Those were the terms. I have my own career. I can take care of myself.
Beckett: But you were having an affair.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: Whether or not I had an affair is none of your affair. If you're implying that I murdered my husband to be with someone else, you're mistaken. I wouldn't kill anyone.
Castle: Not even to inherit a fortune?
Naomi Weldon Dahl: Well then, the joke would be on me. There is no fortune. All of Christian's accounts have been frozen.
Beckett: You mean you're in you're in probate?
Naomi Weldon Dahl: No, I mean frozen.
Beckett: Why?
Naomi Weldon Dahl: You'll have to ask the District Attorney's office. God knows they wouldn't tell me.
Near the bullpen.
Beckett (hangs up): That was the D.A. Apparently, at the time of his death, our billionaire investment guru was being investigated by the SEC. They thought that he was making his money the old fashioned way. By stealing it. All of his amazing stock returns were falsified. The whole thing was a ponzi scheme. As it turns out, they were a couple of weeks away from indicting Christian Dahl for massive fraud. He was going to lose everything and face fifty years in federal prison.
Castle: If I were him I'd want to disappear, too.
Beckett: And what better way to disappear…
Castle: Than hire a magician?
Beckett: Bingo.
Castle and Beckett re-watch the footage of Christian Dahl's takeoff.
Castle: Christian Dahl is on the plane doing his preflight check. Zalman leaves the plane. Dahl taxis to the runway and takes off.
Beckett: Well, he had to have gotten off at some point, otherwise it would have been a suicide mission, and you don't need a magician for that.
Castle: Unless...
Castle rewinds the video.
Castle: That isn't Christian Dahl.
Beckett: It looks just like him.
Castle: Dummy. Not you. The… On… In the cockpit. They switched out real Dahl for dummy Dahl. Magnus didn't build a triggering device for an explosion. The arm he built was for doing the preflight check. The whole thing is an automaton. That's the magic trick. He made it look to the world like Christian Dahl was still on the plane the same way Tobias Strange made it look like he was still in the cabinet when the swords went in.
Beckett: And then he used the catering box to get the dummy on board and Christian Dahl off. Then who's piloting that plane?
Castle: Christian Dahl. Only not from the cockpit. He had it rigged to fly by remote control. See? Zalman puts the box in the van. There's probably a console inside there, linked to the plane's avionics. Dahl takes off remotely, flies out over the Atlantic…
Beckett: And then he detonates the explosion and everyone thinks that he's dead because everyone's seen him on board.
Castle: Only Dahl is very much alive and there's only one person in the world that knows it.
Beckett: Zalman. And as long as he's alive, he's a threat to Dahl.
Castle: So, Dahl has to tie up that one loose end.
Beckett: But he can't risk anyone knowing that he's still alive.
Castle: So, Dahl has to kill Zalman himself.
Castle and Beckett stare excitedly at each other until Castle notices that spark.
Beckett: What?
Castle: Nothing. So, what do we do now?
Castle turns quickly back to the TV and tries to hide the feelings he just recognized.
Beckett: Well, it's four days since the accident. Christian Dahl's probably in some non-extradition country with a chunk of his fortune by now.
Castle: Yeah, probably. Unless...
Beckett: Unless what?
Castle: W… Well, Dahl does everything publically. The guy loves being famous. Everyone thinks he's dead. A guy like that... No, it's crazy.
Beckett: Castle, crazy's exactly what we need right now.
At Church, Christian Dahl's Memorial Service.
Beckett: Castle, this is crazy.
Castle: Crazy, but in character. Look at the kind of guy Christian Dahl was, how he loved the limelight, his fascination with life after death. You think a guy like that is going to miss the opportunity to attend his own funeral?
Beckett: Would you?
Castle: Not a chance.
Beckett: Okay. So, if he's here, how do we find him?
Castle: Well, he'll be in disguise, of course. Look for an anomaly. Someone who's trying to fit in, yet sticking to the outskirts. Someone who isn't engaging in conversation, but at the same time eavesdropping on other people's conversations. Someone who's…
Beckett: Got long hair, a beard, and thousand dollar shoes?
Beckett turns Castle's head to see Dahl.
Castle: Yeah, that'll work too.
Beckett: Mr. Dahl.
Beckett badges him. Dahl turns to run, but Ryan and Esposito are backing them up.
Esposito: Should've stayed dead, bro.
In the interview room.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: So I faked my own death. So what? That's not a crime. What are you going to charge me with? Littering the Atlantic? I'll stand in line behind BP.
Beckett: The charge is premeditated murder.
Castle: We figured out your little trick. Zalman performed for your charity event, he made you disappear, giving you the inspiration to pull the ultimate escape. You knew he needed money, so you made him an offer he couldn't refuse.
Beckett: But you never planned on paying him, did you Mr. Dahl? No, you planned on using his desperation over the loss of his family's legacy to make people think that he committed suicide.
Castle: Staging a shooting is too cumbersome. Too many questions. Where'd the gun come from? So, you used what you had on hand to get rid of the only person on Earth who knew you were still alive. Once he was gone, you'd be free and clear.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: Is… is this what you do when you can't solve a crime? Concoct fantasies?
Beckett: The rabbit hair that lined your gloves was found on our victim. You called Zalman, met him at his shop, put your gloved hand over his mouth and then you smothered him.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: If you think I'm afraid of you or the SEC, I will beat your pants off and enjoy every minute of it. Assuming you can find me once I'm out on bail.
Beckett: It's not me that you should be scared of, Mr. Dahl, or the SEC. You should be afraid of what you've become.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: Well, if you're done with your lecture, your petty threats, I'd like to see my…
Dahl sees something over Beckett's shoulder in the mirror. He looks behind him.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: My lawyer.
Castle: Something wrong, Dahl?
Naomi Weldon Dahl: No.
Beckett: Christian?
Naomi Weldon Dahl: How are you doing that?
Beckett and Castle look back towards the one-way glass.
Beckett: Doing what?
Someone in white passes behind Dahl. A wet hand reaches out to him and Dahl jumps out of his chair and backs up against the wall.
Castle: Is he having flashbacks?
Beckett: I don't know.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: Do you see him?
Beckett: Who?
Naomi Weldon Dahl: He was right here. Oh God. You can't… You can't be here.
We see a shot of a pale, dripping wet, Zalman dressed in white stands on the other side of the mirror.
Naomi Weldon Dahl: You're dead! You're dead. I... I killed you.
The mirror goes black.
Beckett: Alakazam, jackass.
Near the bullpen.
Castle: How did you know that would work?
Beckett: I didn't. Just knew he'd lawyer up. So, I figured, why not take a shot?
Castle: Your grandfather would be proud.
Edmund steps out of Observation rather wet, wearing pale makeup and a white shirt, followed by Tobias Strange.
Beckett: Thank you so much, gentlemen.
Tobias: Always a pleasure to lend a hand to the NYPD. I might add this one to my repertoire. A tribute to your brother.
Edmund: Thank you, Detective, Mr. Castle.
Castle: So, what's going to happen to Drake's Magic Shop?
Edmund: Tobias and I were discussing that. Zalman put his life on the line for it, so we'd like to find a way to keep it alive.
Tobias: Maybe we can pull a solution out of our collective hats.
Beckett: Goodnight.
Tobias: Bye.
Ryan: Hey, could you, uh...
Beckett: Oh, yeah.
Ryan hands Beckett a file and a pen for her to sign. Castle offers his back as a solid writing surface.
Beckett: So... Where's Esposito?
Ryan: Ha. Take a wild guess.
Beckett/Castle: Lanie?
Ryan: Can you believe they still think that none of us know?
Castle: Well, let's let them keep thinking that a while longer. The bubble bursts soon enough.
Beckett: Not if you're in it with the right person. Thanks.
Beckett hands the signed file back to Ryan and Castle's cell rings. It's Gina.
Castle: Excuse me, I need to take this.
Beckett: Yeah.
Castle walks down the hall to take the call. Beckett thinks for a moment about the phone call.
Beckett grabs a bottle of water from the vending machine and starts to walk out the other door. She stops when she hears Castle on the phone.
Castle: No. No, what I'm saying is... it's over.
Uncertain, Beckett walks back through the break room to the bullpen.
Near the bullpen.
Castle: Heading out?
Beckett: Yeah, it's late.
Castle: Motorcycle Boy?
Beckett: I really wish you would stop calling him that.
Castle: Doctor Motorcycle Boy?
Beckett: He's on shift tonight. I was going to see if I could catch the comfort food truck.
Beckett stops and turns back to Castle.
Beckett: You want to come?
Castle: Macaroni and cheese? Warm biscuits? Hot chocolate? How could I say no?
Beckett giggles.
Castle: Hey, I wanted to say thanks, for, um... not mentioning that article or asking what was going on.
The get on the elevator. Beckett pulls a bouquet of silk flowers from her sleeve and hands it to Castle.
Beckett: Not a problem.
Castle smiles as the elevator doors close.
