At Hixton's apartment.
Reginald Easley: Mr. Hixton, is everything all right? Mr. Hixton.
At Castle’s Loft.
Castle: Kill me now.
Alexis: You got the cell phone bill?
Castle: No, uh, books from my publisher for back cover quotes. Wait. What about the cell phone bill?
Alexis: Nothing.
Martha: Ah, more books to endorse. Couldn't possibly read them all.
Castle: Don't have to.
Castle holds up Kill Me Now to his forehead.
Castle: "A tour de force in terror." - Richard Castle.
Castle holds up another book to his forehead.
Castle: "Does for hot tubs what jaws did for the ocean."
Alexis: Gram, here's a letter for you. Looks official.
Martha: Bachran and Sabasta. Oh, Chet's estate lawyer. They probably resolved the probate…
Castle: You okay?
Martha: Just...memory of him caught me by surprise.
Alexis: Do you think he left you anything in his will?
Martha: Well, he certainly didn't need to, but it...
Martha pulls out another paper.
Martha (whisper): Oh, my...
Castle: Mother, what's wrong?
Martha: Why…
Martha hands the paper to Castle. A check.
In a apartment.
Beckett: A million dollars. Your mom must be in shock. Any idea what she's gonna do with it?
Castle: If I'm lucky, get a place of her own.
Beckett: Yeah, that would be lucky. Can't find much in Manhattan for a million bucks.
At Hixton's apartment.
Castle: Wow. Foosball, basketball, a motorcycle. The owner of this place clearly had ten times that.
Eposito: Try a hundred. Victim's name is Jay Hixton. He won a cool 117 mil. in the Florida lottery last year.
Castle: And then he went on a serious shopping spree. Rookie mistake.
Beckett: Sounds like the voice of experience.
Castle: Mmm. Writing a bestseller in college is a lot like winning the lottery. I spent every penny of it in six months. Good thing I'm not a one hit wonder.
Lanie: Single gunshot to the chest from the stippling and bruising, I'd say there was a struggle. The gun went off, vaporized his heart somewhere between eleven and two last night.
Beckett: It's a big gun. It's too big for that entry wound. This isn't the murder weapon.
Esposito hands Lanie a dollar.
Lanie: Told you she'd spot it first off. Our victim was shot with a 9mm automatic. The bullet went straight through him. We pulled the slug out of the poker table.
Beckett: Okay, so maybe our killer forces Hixton to open this safe. The 357 is hidden inside. Hixton pulls it out, but they struggle and he gets shot.
Beckett spots a framed newspaper headline and lottery ticket on the door to the safe.
Eposito: It's a winning ticket. Hard to believe a little slip of paper's worth over a hundred mil.
Castle: What would you do if you won that kind of money?
Eposito: Easy. Buy a Ferrari.
Castle: I have one. Not as great as you would think.
Eposito: Yeah, but they're hella fast.
Castle: As fast as every other car in rush hour traffic.
Beckett: Any idea how much money was in here?
Reginald Easley: A hundred thousand dollars, secured in a bank bag.
Ryan: Uh, this is Reginald Easley. He's Mr. Hixton's servant.
Reginald Easley: Servant? Young man, I am a traditional English butler. I apprenticed at Buckingham palace.
Beckett: Did he always keep that much hard cash in the safe?
Reginald Easley: Mr. Hixton came from an impoverished background. He found having hard currency around reassuring.
Beckett: How many people knew that it was there?
Reginald Easley: Dozens, no doubt. He had a habit of buying everything in sight. No thought to how much money he was flashing around or how dangerous it was to tell people that there was plenty more of it at home.
Castle: In New York, that's like inviting someone back to your house to kill you.
Beckett: Did he keep that gun in the safe?
Reginald Easley: That's the odd thing, Miss. I know every item in this apartment. I have never seen a gun. But I do know he kept a dye pack in the bag it was stolen.
Beckett: And how was it triggered?
Reginald Easley: It was on a three minute timer that began when the bag left the apartment.
Beckett: Right. Grab some uniforms, canvass the area. Killer couldn't have gotten very far before that pack exploded. When was the last time you saw Hixton?
Reginald Easley: Yesterday evening. He left about five o'clock. I believe he had made plans with his wife.
Beckett: He was married?
Reginald Easley: Oh, yes. With a teenage daughter. Though they'd been separated for some months before I began to work for him. Apparently, the money caused some kind of a rift.
In the interview lounge.
Noreen Hixton: We were so happy then. Trips to Paris and trips to Rome and cars with heated seats and... Then everyone started looking at us different.
Nicole Hixton: Like we were freaks. You could see them thinking, "Why you? Why not me?"
Noreen Hixton: And nothing we did was good enough. So, we moved here. Was supposed to be a fresh start.
Beckett: Why were the two of you separated?
Noreen Hixton: That money, it was… It's like poison. Jay couldn't stop spending it and... And Nicole...
Nicole Hixton: It's okay, Mom.
Noreen Hixton: Nicole got hooked on drugs. And it was the wakeup call we needed, really. Jay and I went from not talking to getting Nicole clean. And then he started using his money for good. He found this soup kitchen on the Bowery that was in dire straits and he said that looking at all those people in need just reminded him that if it wasn't for that lottery, we'd be right there ourselves. He started going there almost every day. It just reminded me of how much… How much I love him.
Castle: Where was it the two of you ended up going last night?
Noreen Hixton: Last night?
Beckett: His butler said that the two of you had a date.
Noreen Hixton: No. Jay called to cancel at the last minute. He told me something had happened, something that we had to deal with together. And I tried to get him to tell me what it was, but he wouldn't.
Beckett: And where did he call from?
Noreen Hixton: The Bowery soup kitchen. I… I think. That's where we were supposed to meet.
Beckett: Did he have problems with anyone there that you know of?
Noreen Hixton: No one in particular. It was a pretty rough crowd.
Street.
Castle: All my years as a mystery writer point to one unequivocal killer. The butler did it.
Beckett: Oh.
Castle: Oh, come on! How many cases have we actually had where there's a… A butler as a potential suspect? It would be a crime if he didn't do it.
Beckett: And then he shows up the next morning and calls the cops?
Castle: Pretty clever, right? Speaking of clever, I noticed at the crime scene, you never mentioned what you would do if you won the lottery.
Beckett: No, I didn't.
Castle: Is that because it's embarrassing? Ooh! Scandalous.
Beckett: I actually haven't really thought about it, Castle.
Castle: So, not embarrassing or scandalous, just secretive.
They reach the soup kitchen and see a small memorial to Hixton set up in the window.
Castle: Bad news travels fast.
At Bowery Soup Kitchen.
Jim Van-Eps: The man was generous to a fault. When he first started coming here, he'd hand out hundred dollar bills like… Like they were nothing. Got so bad, I had to ask him to stop.
Castle: Why?
Jim Van-Eps: Well, we were attracting a bad element. Still, I'd see Mr. Hixton sneak money to a pregnant woman or a homeless kid. It was a compulsion for him, like he had to give it away because he didn't deserve it somehow.
Castle: Winner's guilt. It's actually quite common with lottery recipients.
Beckett: Did anything suspicious happen with Mr. Hixton when he was here last night?
Jim Van-Eps: Now that you mention it, yeah. A man was hanging around a good part of the afternoon
Beckett: Someone you didn't know?
Jim Van-Eps: I'd never seen him before. But he went right up to Mr. Hixton, when he arrived at six, like he knew him, you know? A few minutes later, he left and never came back.
Beckett: Do you think you could describe him to a sketch artist?
Castle hangs the sketch on the murder board.
Castle: So, our mystery man goes to the soup kitchen, waits for Hixton, and then takes him...where? He wasn't killed for another six hours.
Beckett: And why wait? I mean, if the guy wanted to rob Hixton, why not just take him home and empty his safe?
Castle: And then there's Hixton's gun. Why did he need it, and where did he get it?
Beckett: Well, according to CSU, nowhere legal. The serial numbers were filed off the gun, and Hixton's prints were on the bullets in the chamber, which means he loaded it himself.
Esposito: Found our lottery winner's money bag.
Beckett: Where'd you find it?
Esposito: Alley behind Hixton's building. It was empty, but, as you can see, the dye pack in the bag went off. And it must've gotten on our killer's hands, because we got prints. Belonging to one Todd Shipley, a maintenance worker in Hixton's building. He got off right around the time Hixton was killed.
Beckett: Yeah, but if he's a maintenance worker, he could've picked up the bag after the dye pack went off.
Esposito: I don't think so.
Ryan escorts a blue-faced Shipley down the hallway.
Castle: Either that guy really likes Avatar…
Beckett: Or he's our killer.
In the interview room.
Todd Shipley: I swear, I found the bag on the ground and when I opened it, it went off in my face.
Ryan: That bag was on a three minute timer. Are you telling us that you accidentally picked it up at exactly the wrong time?
Todd Shipley: Man, I'm telling the truth! I… I'd just gotten off work, stopped to get a soda, when I saw someone running out of the alley.
Ryan: This, uh, someone that ran away, what'd they look like?
Todd Shipley: I… I don't know. It was dark.
Ryan: So is your future, Todd, if you don't start telling us the truth.
Todd Shipley: Man, I am! Yo, ask Mr. Lee at the Korean grocery. He… He… He's the one who sold me the soda.
Esposito: Timer was set for three minutes. There's no way he could've gotten downstairs from the 20th floor and bought a drink before the dye pack exploded. Alright, tell me this. Did you see Hixton in the building at all during your shift?
Todd Shipley: Yeah, I was in the lobby when he came home around eleven. Uh, he was sweating like he'd been walking, and since he left early in his Escalade, I asked him where his car was. He said someone had taken it from him.
Near the bullpen.
Ryan: So, Mr. Lee confirmed Shipley's alibi, and Hixton's car is definitely missing.
Beckett: Well, it can't be a coincidence that on the same day Hixton's car was taken he was killed.
Esposito: The killer could've gotten Hixton home key when he took his ride.
Ryan: Address was on the registration. He liked the car so much, he drove over to rob the apartment, got caught in the act.
Castle: Yeah, but why would Hixton go home? Why wouldn't he call the police, report the theft?
Beckett (on phone): Okay. (hangs up) Tracking company's got a lock on Hixton's Escalade. Looks like it's heading west on Canal Street.
Castle: That's the Holland Tunnel.
Beckett: Our killer's making a run for it.
Ryan: Name's Shawn York. Jersey police caught him driving Hixton's car down the turnpike. No sign of the stolen money, though.
Beckett: No disrespect to our Jersey brethren, but let's check that car again. Make sure that that money's not hidden behind a door panel or inside the wheel well.
Ryan: You got it.
Castle: Hey, Ryan, what would you do if you won the lottery?
Ryan: Winery.
Castle: See? Everyone thinks about it.
Montgomery: Everyone thinks about what?
Castle: What they would do if they won the lottery.
Montgomery: A big-ass boat, 60 footer, monster spinnaker hanging off the bow, two deep sea rods hanging off the stern.
Castle: Sweet.
Beckett: Okay, while you guys are fantasizing about the size of your rods, I'm gonna go and interrogate our suspect.
In the interview room.
Shawn York: Can I get a soda?
Beckett: I'm not your flight attendant.
Beckett whacks Shawn's foot off the table.
Beckett: I'm a homicide detective.
Shawn York: I'mma say.
Beckett: You're a bit of a rambler, Shawn. Assault in El Paso, criminal trespass in Memphis, and now first degree murder in New York City.
Shawn York: Wait, timeout. Who did I kill?
Beckett: Jay Hixton.
Shawn York: No. He was alive when I saw him.
Beckett: That was at the soup kitchen where you jacked his car. But then you got greedy and you followed him to his apartment. He ends up dead, you end up a 100 grand richer.
Shawn York: I didn't kill the guy, and I sure as hell didn't steal his car.
Beckett: Well, then how did you end up driving his car?
Shawn York: He gave it to me.
Beckett: He gave you a $70,000 car? Why would he do that?
Shawn York: I heard on the street Hixton believed in second chances, so I tracked him down. Told him I was down on my luck, and Hixton said he didn't have his checkbook, but did I want his car? I thought he was yanking my chain. Who does that? But, you know, he signed over the title and handed me the keys.
Beckett: He just signed over the title just like that?
Shawn York: Yes, ma'am. Said he wasn't gonna need it anymore.
Beckett: Where were you last night at midnight?
Shawn York: I went to the late movie near my apartment. They're having a Tony Jaa marathon. Can I have that soda now?
Near the bullpen.
Beckett: Theater clerk confirms selling York the ticket and Hixton's signature on the car title is authentic. Who gives away their car?
Castle: Someone who can afford to buy a thousand new ones.
Beckett: So, at six o'clock Hixton gives York his car, and then at eight o'clock he calls his wife and cancels dinner. Told her that there's something they need to talk about, something that they both need to deal with together. Then he gets home at eleven o'clock and about an hour later he's killed. So, what was he doing in the meantime and with whom?
Castle: You know, the guy did like to spend money. If he made any charges on his credit card last night, might gets us close to where he was.
In the conference room.
Esposito: Well, if he spent any money the night he was killed, it was cash. There were no charges on any of his 32 credit cards.
Beckett: 32 credit cards?
Esposito: Yeah. One for every NFL team, and that's just the tip of the iceberg. He also bought a racehorse, minority stake in a lingerie football team, and a Bentley which is currently at the bottom of the Hudson River because he drove it off of a boat he was renting.
Beckett: Wow, sounds like that money really turned Hixton into a different person for a little while.
Castle: Yeah, money doesn't change who you are. It just magnifies your personality.
Esposito: Well, it wasn't all bad. He also bought a house for the clerk that sold him the winning ticket, a mausoleum for his dead neighbour and three acres on the moon.
Castle: Get outta town. He's right down the crater from me.
Beckett: Why doesn't it surprise me that you have property on the moon?
Castle: You know what? Laugh it up. When the earth is a desiccated husk, you will be begging to come live with me in the Nectaris Basin.
Ryan: Hey. So, I searched the car.
Beckett: Oh, yeah. Sorry, York is not our guy.
Ryan: That's okay. Jersey impound lot's nice this time of year. So, no money, as expected. But I did find this.
Beckett: A camera?
Ryan: Lodged under the front seat. Clearly it belongs to Hixton.
Beckett: These are surveillance photos.
Ryan: Yeah, a dozen of them date stamped last week. Hixton was following this guy.
Beckett: Alright, contact the family and butler, see if anyone recognizes him. Meanwhile, we've got a hole in our timeline that needs to be plugged. So, we know that Hixton called his wife at 8 p.m. and we know that he wasn't at the soup kitchen. Let's ping the carrier, see if they know where he was.
Esposito: Alright.
In the break room.
Beckett: What?
Castle: Would you quit your job? If you won the lottery, would you quit being a cop?
Beckett: Well, what else would I do?
Castle: Supermodel. Brain surgeon. American Gladiator.
Beckett: Oh, you got me there, Castle. I've always wanted to leave the force and become an American Gladiator.
Castle: Why don't you want to tell me?
Beckett: Okay, so there's nothing really to tell.
Castle: Come on, you must have a dream.
Beckett: Sure I do. Solve this case, go home, take a nice long bath. But it doesn't look like that's going to happen tonight. Hixton's phone carrier. Hey, Esposito! That phone call to Hixton's wife came from the 500 block of Lexington. I don't think we can get a more exact address. We're gonna have to canvass.
Esposito: Well, maybe not. I just saw a Lexington Avenue in his financials.
Beckett and Castle return to the conference room.
Esposito: Yeah. Right here. He wrote two checks last month. $10,000 each to a company called Meech Industries.
Beckett: Meech? Logan Meech?
Esposito: Yeah, he's listed here as the owner.
Castle: You know him?
Beckett: Yeah, I must've arrested that guy like half a dozen times. He's a low-rent scam artist with a history of violence. Last time I busted him, he was trying to grill cheese a guy in a dry-cleaning press.
Esposito: Why would Hixton be writing checks to a character like that?
In the interview room.
Beckett: Logan Meech.
Logan Meech: Detective, I love what you've done with your…
Beckett: Sit down.
Logan Meech: Hey. Who's the new guy?
Beckett: Why? You want to send him Christmas cards from death row?
Logan Meech: What? Wait. I didn't kill anybody.
Castle: So, it's just a coincidence that you were with Jay Hixton shortly before he was shot to death in his apartment.
Logan Meech: What, Hixton's dead? Ugh. He was, uh, one of my investors.
Castle: Really? What is it Mr. Hixton was investing in?
Logan Meech: My relief organization.
Castle: Why is it I'm thinking the only relief Mr. Hixton's money provided was to your own bank account?
Beckett: Did Hixton get onto your scamming him? Did he threaten to go to the cops? Is that why you killed him?
Logan Meech: I told you I didn't kill him. I… I hadn't seen him in weeks.
Beckett: That's funny, because I talked to your landlord and he said that he remembers clearly seeing Hixton at your place last night. So, either you start telling us the truth and playing ball, or I call the D.A. and get them to draw up murder charges.
Logan Meech: Okay, look, hang on a minute now. Um, maybe I, uh, I misspoke, okay? Um, Hixton did actually pay me a visit last night.
Castle: Why?
Logan Meech: He wanted a gun.
Beckett: For what?
Logan Meech: Uh, protection. He was scared. He paid me a grand for a… A 357 that I was holding for a friend.
Beckett: Well, what was he scared of?
Logan Meech: His past. He said it was coming back to get him.
Near the bullpen.
Castle: What does that mean? His past was coming back to get him?
Beckett: And why go to Meech for a gun? Why not just go to the police or hire a body guard?
Ryan: Maybe he didn't think they could protect him.
Esposito: CSU finished processing Hixton's apartment, came across two sets of finger prints that were in the system. Couple of career criminals from Hixton's hometown in Florida.
Beckett: Greg and Ty Page. Previous busts for bank robbery and currently serving a nickel for grand larceny?
Ryan: Yeah, well, that info's a little bit behind. They were released last week due to overcrowding.
Esposito: Yeah, get to the part about who they robbed.
Castle/Beckett: Hixton.
Esposito: A month after he collected his jackpot.
Ryan: Even though they wore ski masks, he recognized them by their voices because they grew up together. It was his testimony that put them away.
Castle: Hixton must've heard they were being released and worried they were coming after him again.
Ryan: According to Florida police, the brothers were in town for all of two days before they packed up their car and headed up north. Told a neighbour that they were going hunting.
Castle: Looks like they bagged themselves a lottery winner.
Martha enters wearing a leopard print dress and fur coat, with both hands full of shopping bags.
Castle: Whoa! Looks like you made a serious dent in your surprise inheritance. Is it safe to say there is not an animal print left in any store in New York City?
Martha: Very funny. Probably true.
Castle: Well, congratulations. Looks like you have successfully completed the first stage in the five stages of hitting the jackpot: shopping.
Martha: What's the next stage?
Castle: Well, if you are my lottery winning victim, you turn to charity and then get shot to death in your living room.
Martha: I'll pass. Besides, I've decided to give back the money.
Castle: What? Why?
Martha: Richard, I was about to break up with the man. Do you really think he would've left me that money if he'd known that? No. No, I'm going to return all this stuff, I'm going to give back the money. It's the right thing to do.
Castle: Well, you've just jumped to stage five. Enlightenment.
Martha: Ah. Then again, Chet did adore me. So, I think I should be able to keep one thing.
Martha pulls on her fur coat collar.
Martha: It's not real.
Castle (answers cell): Ah, Detective Beckett. Did you call to tell me a bedtime story?
Castle walks down the street and joins Beckett for a stakeout in her unmarked squad car.
Castle: Which car is theirs?
Beckett: The maroon one over there, Florida plates. It's registered to a Greg Paige. We put an alert on their plate number, which got triggered when a traffic cop ticketed them about an hour ago.
Castle: Any idea where they are?
Beckett: None. So, we watch the car until someone shows up. (into walkie talkie) Any sign yet?
Esposito: That's a negative… A winery, huh?
Ryan: Jenny and I visited one on our first vacation together.
Esposito: A hundred mil and you're gonna become a farmer? Your fiancé really has done some damage on you, bro.
Ryan: Like Lanie hasn't changed you?
Esposito: Lanie?!
Ryan: Come on, Dude, we… We all know about the two of you.
Esposito tries to laugh it off. And fails.
Esposito: What? Castle and Beckett know, too?
Beckett: You said earlier that money doesn't change us, it just magnifies who we are. What did your windfall magnify in you?
Castle: My inner child. At first. Kind of like Hixton. The one who likes, you know, private jets, five star everything. But then I realized the only luxury I truly care about is freedom. The freedom to write, spend time with Alexis. Having that money just...allows me to live life on my terms.
Beckett: You grew up.
Castle: Well, I wouldn't go that far. That property on the moon?
Beckett: Mm-hmm.
Castle: I just bought that last month.
Beckett smiles. A metal clunk is heard outside.
Castle: Who's this guy?
Ryan: Yo. Dreadlocks, twelve o'clock.
They all get out of their cars to approach the dreadlocks guy that's next to the Pages' car.
Ryan: NYPD, let me see your hands.
Ryan flattens Dreadlocks on the hood of the car and cuffs him.
Beckett: The Page brothers, where are they?
Man: Upstairs.
At Page brothers' recording studio.
Greg Page/Ty Page: Move that ass. Move that ass./Get on the floor. Get on the floor.
Greg Page: Sexy as hell as I come through the door.
Ty Page: 12 gauge shotgun. Get on the floor.
Greg Page: Jump on the counter, let off a round.
Ty Page: You wet yourself as you hit the ground.
Greg Page: Take command with my outside voice.
Ty Page: We're robbing this bitch. We ain't got no choice.
Greg Page: Don't hit the alarm. Don't beg for your mama.
Ty Page: Seal up that bag.
Greg Page/Ty Page: Won't be no drama./Move that ass. Move that ass.
Beckett: Shut it down.
Greg Page/Ty Page: Get on the floor. Get on the floor.
The background music stops.
Ty Page: Move…
Greg Page: What the hell, yo? That was slamming!
Castle: Three armed cops and a writer makes four. You're under arrest. So, get on the floor.
Ryan looks through a bag full of cash.
Ryan: Got about 60 grand here.
Beckett: Where's the other 40 you took from Hixton's safe when you killed him? You spend it on your rap career?
Greg Page: Nah, you've got it all wrong, Shorty. We didn't kill the man. We came up here to help him.
Ty Page: Got out the joint for good behaviour. Dude called us up, said he needed a saviour.
Castle: Stop rapping. I'll buy the album. Saviour?
Greg Page: Yeah. His daughter got back into drugs. He needed to make things right, so he called us.
Beckett: The two of you robbed Hixton at gunpoint in Florida. Why would he call you?
Greg Page: When Hixton realized what kind of trouble Nicole was in, he knew we were the only people he could turn to.
Beckett: And what could you possibly do to help his daughter with her addiction?
Greg Page: Problem wasn't the drugs. It was her dealer. Her cat named Oz. Nicole was under his spell something fierce. When Hixton found out about it, he went to go see Oz, told the man, "Stay away from my daughter." When Oz didn't, he called us. You don't believe me, look in my wallet.
Ryan: Looks like Nicole lied to me when she told me she didn't recognize him.
Beckett: It's the guy Hixton had under surveillance. Is this Oz?
Greg Page: Yep. When Hixton called us, we drove right up here, jumped Oz outside this club downtown.
Ty chuckles.
Greg Page: Yo, Ty hit his body guard with a pipe, I stuffed Oz in the trunk, drove under the bridge and beat on his ass. Then we came straight here. Been bouncing tunes ever since.
Beckett: Is that true? Did they come here last night?
The recording tech nods.
Greg Page: Yeah, we told the man to stay away from Nicole, or we're gonna put your ass in the river. He told us we should do it, 'cause if we let him live, we was gonna burns us alive. You want to know who killed Hixton, gotta be Oz.
Castle: So, Hixton gets a gun to protect himself from Oz. He can't get the cops, 'cause that'll get his daughter in trouble.
There's a loud explosion nearby.
Ty Page: What the hell was that?
Beckett: Ryan, watch them.
Ryan: Stay right where you are.
Esposito exits from the recording studio and backs away from the Pages' blazing car.
Castle: Looks like Oz wasn't kidding when he said he'd burn them alive.
In the interview lounge.
Beckett: Is it true, Nicole? Did you start using again?
Nicole Hixton: After I got clean, Oz found me. He said he wanted me back.
Noreen Hixton: Nicole.
Nicole Hixton: I'm sorry, Mom. I'm so sorry.
Noreen Hixton: And your father knew?
Nicole Hixton: He blamed himself. He said that he was gonna fix it all, but I never thought...
Castle: This Oz, you think he's capable of killing your dad?
Nicole nods.
Nicole Hixton: This is all my fault. Dad is dead because of me.
Noreen Hixton: It's okay.
At the police station.
Esposito: Oz, AKA Marvin Osminkowski.
Castle: No wonder he changed his name.
Esposito: According to Vice, he has a lucrative gig pedaling high end product to the city's rich and famous, and a car bomb is definitely his M.O. Competing dealer got blown up last year, but didn't have enough evidence to convict.
Castle: So, Oz shoots Hixton for ordering the beat down, and then attempts to barbeque the Page brothers to complete his revenge.
Beckett: Alright, let's go pick up Oz.
Esposito: Yeah, well, that's gonna be difficult. According to Vice, Oz pretty much operates off grid. The only time he's on is when he's dealing out of word of mouth night clubs. And, even there, he's got a network of bouncers, waiters, and patrons as lookouts. If Oz catches one whiff of bacon, he vanishes into thin air.
Castle: There's gotta be some way to slip under the radar.
Beckett gives Castle a look.
Castle: What?
Beckett: I think we're gonna need your Ferrari.
Castle comes at home with Beckett right behind him dressed to the nines for the club.
Castle: Mother.
Martha: Oh, my. Look at you. Oh, you look gorgeous.
Castle: I'm just gonna grab my keys and change.
Martha waits for Castle to leave the room.
Martha: You two going out on a date?
Beckett: Oh, no. We're just doing a little undercover work. So, how are you doing?
Martha: Ahhh eh. I've been better.
Beckett: Castle told me that you decided to give the money back?
Martha: Yeah, well, I tried. Chet's kids refused to take it. They said their father loved me, wanted me to have the money. So, I'm...you know, trying to figure out what to do with it. Everything I come up with seems so selfish and petty.
Beckett: Well, it doesn't have to be that way.
Castle walks in and stops so as not to disturb them.
Beckett: You know, someone once told me that money doesn't change you, it just magnifies who you are. You cared about Chet. Maybe you could do something that would honour his memory somehow.
Martha: That is a lovely thought. Thank you. Really, thank you.
Castle's smiling that Beckett quoted him as he walks further into the room.
Castle: Alright. Got the keys.
Beckett: Oh, great. I'm driving.
Castle: You're driving? Beckett, this is… This is a Ferrari. It is a high-performance vehicle designed to respond instantaneously to your every whim, your every movement, every…
Beckett snatches the keys.
Beckett zooms down the street, weaving in and out of cars, and pulls up short in front of the club, handing Castle the keys.
Beckett: Wow. Nice car.
Beckett dances her way into the nightclub, Castle following her to the bar. She dances close to Castle.
Beckett: Get us some drinks and keep your eyes peeled for Oz, okay?
Beckett turns and Castle tries to hold his composure as Beckett's hair brushes his face.
Castle: Okay.
Castle stares after Beckett's short skirt as she dances away. She stops and gives him a look and he breaks out of his fantasy world.
Castle: Drinks. Got it.
Castle orders drinks as Beckett spots Oz and makes her way across the floor to his booth. Beckett makes eyes at Oz and he sends away the other girls in the booth. The body guard stops her.
Beckett: Oh, come on, please. You gotta let me go in there and see him.
Oz gives his body guard a nod and he lets her through.
Beckett: Hey.
Marvin Osminkowski: Hey, yourself. Haven't seen you around here before.
Beckett: Oh, that's because I just came into town.
Marvin Osminkowski: Oh, yeah?
Beckett: Yeah.
Marvin Osminkowski: From where?
Beckett: Ibiza.
Marvin Osminkowski: Mmm.
Beckett: So, a little birdie told me all about you.
Marvin Osminkowski: Yeah?
Beckett: Yeah. Said that you know how to keep a party going all night long.
Marvin Osminkowski: Little birdie got a name?
Beckett: Of course.
Marvin Osminkowski: You gonna tell me what it is?
Beckett: No.
They both giggle.
Castle: Yeah, I'm coming.
Marvin Osminkowski: That your boyfriend?
Beckett looks over to see Castle doing a dorky dance with the cocktail glasses in the air as he tries to squeeze through the crowd.
Beckett: For now.
Oz chuckles.
Marvin Osminkowski: I like you.
Beckett: Yeah?
Marvin Osminkowski: Yeah.
Beckett: Well, prove it.
Marvin Osminkowski: What kind of party you looking to get into?
Beckett: Um. I like to feel shiny.
Marvin Osminkowski: Shiny, huh?
Beckett: Yeah.
Marvin Osminkowski: Okay.
Beckett: Yeah.
Marvin Osminkowski: I think I got something to fit that bill. But it's gonna cost ya.
Oz pulls a small back of drugs out of his suit pocket and cups it under his hand.
Beckett: That's okay. Good things always do.
Oz reaches over to hand Beckett the drugs. She sits up and puts out her hands to take the drugs, then twists his arm behind his back and slams him against the table. She kicks the body guard in the crotch and he falls over. She holds her hand out Castle who reached the table just as the guard fell. Castle holds out one of the drinks to her.
Beckett: No! Handcuffs.
Castle: Right.
Castle puts down a drink, pulls them out of his pocket, and hands them to her before taking a sip of his drink.
In the interview room.
Marvin Osminkowski: You sure took a big step down in the wardrobe department.
Beckett: Then let's take an even bigger step down. Into a prison jumpsuit. I got you dead to rights on possession with the intent to sell. That's 20 years federal time. But that's nothing compared to time that you're gonna do for first degree murder.
Castle: Not to mention felony blowing crap up.
Marvin Osminkowski: I don't know what you're talking about.
Beckett: You remember this guy? You should. You killed him. And these two you tried to kill with a car bomb.
Marvin Osminkowski: Look, I had to get those country boys back. But I didn't have anything to do with Hixton. I swear.
Castle: Here's the thing, Marvin, we showed your picture around Hixton's place. Oddly enough, people saw you there right about the time he was killed.
Beckett: Page brothers gave you a serious beating. You vowed revenge, and then Hixton shows up dead with witnesses claiming to see you at the crime scene? That doesn't look good for you, Marvin, and lying to us will only make it worse.
Marvin Osminkowski: Okay. Maybe I had hard feelings about my medical condition and maybe I paid Hixton a visit to discuss them. But I abandoned ship before I got to his door.
Beckett: You were hot to straighten Hixton out and you changed your mind. Do you really expect us to believe that?
Marvin Osminkowski: It's the truth. I took the elevator up to Hixton's place. When the doors opened, there was a guy standing right there. He got a good look at me. If I would've gone through with my visit, he would've pointed me out of a lineup easy. So, I walked away.
Castle: You get a good look at this guy?
Marvin Osminkowski: Yeah. Rode back down to the first floor with him. He was maybe 50. Proper looking. Wearing old school tuxedo.
Castle: The butler really did do it.
Near the bullpen.
Castle: Easley, the butler. Loyal, devoted, seemingly distraught over the death of his master. Yet, all the while, lurking behind that mask of servile correctness, was a killer.
Beckett: Or Oz is just trying to kick up some dust. I mean, what's the butler's motive.
Castle: Well, in fiction it would be one of two things. Firstly, he was carrying on a tour d'affair with his master's wife.
Beckett/Castle: Ew./No.
Castle: Second, had to be the money.
Ryan: I think Castle might be on to something. I dug a little deeper into Reginald Easley, and his last few employers all say the same thing. Easley resigned after some of their valuables went missing.
At Hixton's apartment.
Castle: I realize I've been thinking about this all wrong. You're not a frivolous person, so you wouldn't do frivolous things with your lottery winnings.
Beckett: Castle.
Castle: No, no. I'm gonna figure this out. If you e…
Beckett grabs his arm to silence him as she draws her gun. Hixton's door is ajar. Beckett enters cautiously and finds the butler tidying up.
Castle: Packing your things?
Reginald Easley: These aren't my things. They belong to my employer.
Castle: Must be hard being around all this wealth and none of it yours.
Reginald Easley: I'm content with my lot.
Beckett: Really? We read up on you. Born in Leeds to a single mother who was a seamstress. With the right training, you lost the lowbrow accent and learned to fit in with the gentry where you saw people spend more in one day than your mother made in an entire year.
Castle: Then along comes Hixton, a man with an upbringing not unlike your own. But he owned all this. And he owned you. Not because of any special talent or intelligence, just because he guessed six numbers. And you didn't. And taking from Hixton wasn't really stealing, it was just correcting a karmic injustice.
Beckett: You made him open that safe, but what you didn't know was that he had a gun. And when he reached for it, this is where it ended.
Reginald Easley: What on earth makes you think that?
Beckett: We know that you were here the night that he was killed, Mr. Easely. Long after you said that you had left.
Reginald Easley: Early on, he bought 25 first edition Dickens. Charles Dickens. The man didn't even read. He just liked the look of the leather on their spines.
Beckett: Mr. Easley…
Reginald Easley: I stole two of them. To me it was like levying a tax on him for being an idiot, but then I had a change of heart. I brought them back here that night around eleven o'clock, thinking he was out with his wife. But, for some reason, he was here. I… I heard the shower running.
Beckett: Your excuse for coming back here the night that he was killed was that you had a change of heart?
Reginald Easley: Yes. I'd like to say it was because his turn to philanthropy made me see him in a different light, as a good man one shouldn't steal from. But the truth is, I was scared his bad luck would become mine.
Castle: He won over a hundred million in the lottery. One could hardly consider that bad luck.
Reginald Easley: Mmm. His marriage failed, his daughter fell into drugs, and he was just gunned down in his own apartment. That, sir, is the universe what did you call it? Yes, correcting a karmic injustice.
Beckett: What do you mean?
Reginald Easley: The winning lottery ticket. Hixton let it slip one night after a little too much time with the bottle. He always played the same numbers. The dates he and his wife met and were married. 1-3-95 and 10-24-98.
Castle: None of those numbers are on the ticket.
Reginald Easley: All the misery that came from the money? Hixton believed it was because he stole the ticket.
At Montgomery's office.
Montgomery: So, you think Hixton was murdered because he stole the ticket?
Beckett/Castle: No./Yes.
Castle: Come on. I mean, it was worth a fortune.
Beckett: Easley had every reason to make up that story. And even if those weren't Hixton's regular numbers, it still doesn't prove that he stole the ticket.
Castle: But the theft explains so much about Hixton's behaviour. The director of the soup kitchen said that Hixton compulsively gave away his money like he felt he didn't deserve it. I called it "winner's guilt." But what if it was another kind of guilt entirely?
Beckett: Okay, fine. Let's say that you're right. Let's say that Hixton stole the ticket. There's still no evidence suggesting that that contributed to his death.
Castle: You're the first person to tell me that there are no coincidences in a murder investigation.
Montgomery: Hold on, Detective. He's got a point. You said Hixton told Meech his past was coming back to get him. Now, we thought he meant the Page brothers, but this ticket represents the biggest thing that ever happened to him. I call that a major motive for murder.
Beckett: Okay, fine. Then, if it's true, how do we prove it?
Castle: The numbers.
Near the bullpen.
Castle: 2, 4, 8, 19, 41, and 79. I know it's a long shot, but if we can figure out what these numbers signify, we might be able to find the ticket's real owner.
Montgomery: I play my kids' birthdays.
Esposito: I play my firsts. Sex and combat.
Ryan: I play his firsts, too. What? That way we both win and it's not awkward.
Castle: Beckett?
Beckett: Uh, sorry. I don't play, Castle.
Castle: But, if you did?
Beckett: Well, doesn't really matter, Castle. I mean, the fact is, Hixton won the lottery a year ago. If he stole that ticket, why didn't the rightful owner come forward sooner?
Montgomery: Maybe the rightful owner is dead.
Castle: Maybe Hixton killed him. The moon. The weird purchases Hixton made as soon as he won. He bought three acres on the moon and a mausoleum for his neighbour.
Beckett: Find out everything we can on this neighbour.
Esposito: I'm on it.
Beckett: If you're right, Castle, I'm betting Hixton neighbour never imagined that the luckiest day of his life would also be his last.
Esposito: Booyah! Neighbour’s name was Hank Walters. He died the day the winning numbers were announced.
Castle: Walter's birthday 2/8/41. Three of the numbers in the lottery ticket.
Esposito: Two days later, Hixton came forward to claim his 117 million dollar check.
Beckett: What did Walter's die of?
Esposito: Natural causes.
Castle: For real?
Esposito: Yeah. He was an old man dying of, like, six different things. Lanie went over the autopsy, said everything looked like it was on the up and up.
Castle: So, Walters is bed ridden. Hixton, like any good neighbour, asks the old man if there's anything he can do for him. Walter says, "Yes. Buy me a lottery ticket." Maybe it was a one time thing, maybe he did it all the time. This time, numbers are announced and Walter's won. Hixton rushes back to tell him and finds Walter's dead.
Beckett: And doesn't know what to do. That's why it took him an extra day to come forward. He was struggling with the moral implications.
Castle: Yeah. But desperate times call for desperate measures. He claimed the ticket as his own. Clearly no one else knew about it.
Beckett: What about family? Did Walters have any?
Ryan: Well, according to the county records, he only living relative of Hank Walters is a nephew named Tom. And guess where he lives?
Beckett: New York City.
In the interrogation room.
Tom Walters: I'm sorry. Are you telling me that I might inherit a hundred million dollars?
Castle: Come on, Tom. You already figured that out. You confronted Hixton. You told him you wanted restitution. He said no, things got ugly, and Hixton ended up dead.
Beckett: So, you grabbed what was in the safe, and you took off.
Tom Walters: What?
Beckett: Knock it off, Tom. You're the old man's only living relative. You're the only one with motive for revenge.
Tom Walters: No. I'm not his only relative. He's got a son.
Beckett: No, he doesn't. We checked.
Tom Walters: Well, sure, he's not biological. Hank dated his mom for, like, five years while the kid was growing up. The two bonded like crazy. Kept in touch even after the romance broke up. They even spend every holiday together for the last ten years.
Castle: This son, is his birthday 4/19/79?
Tom Walters: Uh, yeah. How'd you know?
Castle: Because those are the three remaining numbers on the winning lottery ticket.
Beckett slaps a photo of the winning lottery ticket on the table.
Beckett: You lied to us about who you are, Shawn. These are your Dad's numbers. Your birthday and his.
Shawn York: I don't know what you're talking about.
Castle: When did you realize that Hixton had stolen the winning ticket? Was it when you were still in prison in Memphis?
Beckett: Or was it after you got out, went to go and visit your Dad, found out he was dead? And that his mausoleum was paid for with the stolen winnings.
Castle: Can't imagine how you must have felt. How driven you were to come to New York, make things right.
Beckett: You tracked down Hixton at the soup kitchen, threatened him with all kinds of things if he didn't do right by you. He freaked out. He gave you his car. But that wasn't enough, was it?
Shawn York: You can't prove any of this.
Beckett: I can prove all of it, Shawn. We found the money from Hixton's safe in your apartment with trace amounts of his blood on it.
Castle: So, what happened next? I mean, why would you walk away with only a hundred grand? He owed you millions.
Shawn York: Hm. I went to his apartment to collect what was mine. He told me I didn't deserve the money. Said that I was a dirt bag criminal and all I was gonna do, if he gave it to me, was put it up my nose. Instead, he was gonna give it all away to those in need. I told him I was in need. Then he grabbed for my gun. It went off.
In the hallway.
Castle: So, what's gonna happen with all that money?
Beckett: Well, that's for the lawyers to decide. The good thing is that Nicole is going back into rehab and her mom's gonna be there for her when she gets out.
Castle: Well, at least something good will come of all this.
Beckett: Mm-hmm.
Castle: That is it for me. I am beat. I'll see you tomorrow.
Beckett: Wait, you giving up? No more questions about my innermost jackpot dreams?
Castle: You said you didn't have any.
Beckett: Goodnight, Castle.
Castle: Goodnight.
At Castle’s loft.
Castle: Good evening, ladies.
Alexis: Hi.
Castle gasps and crosses his fingers when he sees Martha looking over some papers.
Castle: Are you buying property?
Alexis: Gram decided what to do with her inheritance. I think it's perfect.
Castle: Really? What?
Martha: I'm going to open the Martha Roger's School of Acting.
Castle: Oh. I… I thought you were gonna do something to honour Chet.
Martha: Well, I am. Oh, no, Chet was always encouraging me to use my enormous talent to help people.
Castle: Then wouldn't you call it the Chet Paliburn School of Acting given the auspices?
Martha: No, well-- It's customary when you're opening the school, you use a great teacher's name. Like, um, Strasberg, Meisner, Adler, and now Rogers. Oh, I am, however, going to commission a portrait to be done of Chet that will hang in the lobby so his legacy will last forever.
Castle: Nice.
Alexis: Mmm.
Castle: Legacy.
Martha: What?
Castle: I know what Beckett would do.
Beckett's playing guitar, singing in a foreign language, when someone knocks at the door.
Beckett: Castle.
Castle: I know what you would do if you won the lottery.
Castle walks past her into the room.
Beckett: By all means, please come in. So, what is your big insight into a financial decision that I will never have to make?
Castle: You would use the money to honour your mother's legacy. On the way over here, I called the dean of your mom's old law school. We talked about starting a scholarship in Joanna Beckett's name. One that would provide a full ride for a student planning on dedicating their career to those in the legal system without a voice, the kind of people your mom championed. And, with your blessing, I would like to host a fundraiser to fund it.
Beckett: You just can't stay out of my personal life, can you?
Castle's smile fades at Beckett's serious expression. Then she smiles.
Beckett: Thank you. It's really sweet.
Castle: We definitely have to invite the mayor, and all of his campaign contributors. Some of them can be boorish. They got this one guy...
