"(CHRISTMAS CAROL PLAYING)" "(ENGINE ROARING)" "(GUNSHOTS)" "(CAROL CONTINUES)" "All right, ladies of the Castle household, just a reminder that your portion for the holiday poem is due in less than 72 hours." "I just have to do a polish." "I can't wait to see it." "How's yours coming along?" "Are you ready for your big debut in the Castle family Christmas card?" "Yeah, absolutely." "Gonna be the best year ever." "Yeah." "(LAUGHING) So excited!" "(MARTHA SIGHS)" "(WHISPERING) You guys, I completely forgot." "He said that it wasn't a big deal, but I think it actually kind of is." "It's a very big deal." "We even get a little competitive." "I started working on mine in July." "Welcome to the family." "Yeah." "(CHUCKLES) So what do I have to do again?" "Write six funny, poignant, eloquent lines describing highlights of the past year for you." "Oh, yeah." "And they must rhyme." "Yeah." "What word rhymes with "I'm screwed"?" "(PHONE RINGING)" "Beckett." "BECKETT:" "It's just that rhyming isn't exactly my thing." "This coming from the woman who skipped prom to crash a poetry slam." "Spoken word, Castle." "That's a totally different jam." "I mean, I could write a haiku for you instead." "No, that's against the rules." "Since when do you follow rules?" "Since I'm the one who made them." "You should probably get me your first draft by the time we get to the precinct holiday party." "That's two days away!" "See?" "Plenty of time." "Hey." "Hey." "So get ready for a murder with a little holiday spirit." "It went down around 10:30 p.m." "Witnesses saw a black Mustang, no plates, chasing after this guy." "BECKETT:" "This was a drive-by?" "But he looks like he was shot close range." "Yeah, and the shooter capped him in the head to finish him off." "So this wasn't random." "BECKETT:" "Did anyone get a good look at the assailant?" "Yeah, when he drove by like a bat out of hell." "Fuzzy red hat, big white beard." "Seriously?" "Our killer is Santa Claus?" "Three witnesses, all told the same story." "CASTLE:" "Guys, squeezing down countless chimneys?" "Delivering millions of presents in one night?" "It was bound to happen." "Santa finally cracked." "Or our victim was naughty instead of nice." "(BOTH LAUGHING)" "That's tasteless." "Or our killer just wore a Santa suit because that was the perfect disguise at this time of year." "So what do we know about the victim?" "His name's Eric Mercer, lives in Midtown." "His hospital ID says he was an ER doctor at Saint Simon's." "Do we know where he was coming from?" "Not yet, but he bought a latte at a coffee shop six blocks away from here before our gun-toting Saint Nick came after him." "And the barista there said that Mercer was carrying a blue backpack." "But witnesses who saw Mercer running said there wasn't any backpack." "Okay, let's set up a search from here to that coffee shop." "That backpack may contain clues as to why he was killed." "Well, maybe the last person that Mercer talked to can shed some light on that." "Ten minutes before he was shot," "Eric Mercer called someone at Saint Simon's Hospital." "That was me." "I just talked to Eric a few hours ago." "I'm sorry, this is just such a shock." "How did he seem when you talked?" "A little on edge, I guess." "Like he was in a hurry." "Did he say why?" "I assume it was his uncle." "His uncle has cancer and lives alone." "Eric tried to be there for him." "He missed work last night, too." "Do you know his name?" "Edward, I think." "Edward Mercer." "Maybe he knows why this happened to Eric." "Hey." "LANIE:" "Hey." "What you got for me, girl?" "I found these on the arm of the vic's jacket." "Some kind of tiny crystals." "Could they be from the Christmas decorations that he landed on after he crashed through the window?" "No, these are mineral crystals." "Hopefully the lab can ID them." "Hang on." "You always call me down here after the lab results are in." "Which leads me to believe that you may have some ulterior motives." "Javi, I wanna ask a little favor." "Anything you need." "So my parents barely ever leave Louisiana, and they're flying out to Paris tomorrow, and they have a last-minute layover in New York." "They want us all to get together." "(SWALLOWS) So it's, uh, meet the parents?" "Are you okay with that?" "(SCOFFS) Yeah." "Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" "That's not even really a favor, that's just me stepping up." "Hmm-mmm." "See, I didn't get to the favor part yet." "What?" "You didn't?" "See, um, my parents..." "(CHUCKLES NERVOUSLY)" "My..." "My parents kind of think we're engaged." "Why do they think that?" "Well, you and I were on-again, off-again, and they just got so worried about their unmarried daughter that..." "So you told them we got engaged?" "I didn't mean to, it just popped out." "Now, how does something like that just pop out?" "I wanted them to stop bugging me." "I'm sorry, Javi, but once I said it, there it was." "And now here they are." "So the first time I meet your parents, you're asking me to lie to them?" "I'll be lying to them too, but I've been doing it longer." "Wow." "Can I just bring 'em down to the precinct to say hello?" "And you could just pretend for 10 minutes." "I'll make it worth your while." "Yeah, yeah, I can do that." "So we looked into Eric's family history, contacts in his phone and computer." "He does not have an uncle named Edward Mercer." "In fact, he doesn't have an uncle at all." "Then why did he miss his shift?" "And where did he go?" "I may have an answer to that." "It turns out that Eric used the Hytch rideshare app to catch a ride to an address in Queens tonight, a couple of hours before he was killed." "In fact, he took numerous trips to that same address, which line up with shifts that he missed at the hospital." "And what's at this location?" "Certainly not Uncle Edward." "Offices." "It's an office building owned by Evergreen Sanitation NYC." "Are you sure about that?" "Evergreen Sanitation NYC is a known front for organized crime." "Why would Eric Mercer be visiting a mob-owned building?" "Let's head to Queens and find out." "No placards, no names." "It's like this whole place is unoccupied." "And yet Eric missed work to come here." "Repeatedly." "Yeah." "Oh, excuse me, sir." "NYPD." "Could you help..." "Wait, sir, could you please just help us?" "We... (DOOR SLAMS) (SIGHS)" "Beckett." "Whoa." "This is a surgical suite." "Owned by organized crime." "Eric Mercer wasn't just a doctor, he was a mob doctor." "I've worked Organized Crime 16 years," "I know most of the players." "But this guy?" "No." "Well, we believe that he might have been a family doctor for whoever controls Evergreen Sanitation NYC." "Yeah, that's the Carlucci Family." "They've been moving up the charts since Dino Scarpella took over." "But I didn't know that they had a doctor." "Whoa, uh, Dino Scarpella?" "I know that guy." "Seriously?" "Yeah, he helped me with research for a Derrick Storm novel, but back then he was just a mid-level guy." "Detective McBride, if Eric was a doctor for the Carlucci Family, do you have any idea why he would've been targeted?" "I haven't heard anything, if that's what you're asking me." "But, uh, the way he was killed, sounds like somebody was sending a message." "Where would we find Dino Scarpella?" "Uh, his main offices are over in Queens." "It's a strip club called Cica Cica Boom Room." "Why?" "Well, we should go talk to him." "Dino knows me." "He likes me." "If Eric was his mob doctor, he'd wanna help solve this." "Assuming he wasn't involved." "You know, I'll have Detectives Ryan and Esposito coordinate with you on the Mustang and ballistics." "We'll see if any of that connects to anyone in organized crime." "Field trip to a strip club." "(UPBEAT MUSIC PLAYING) (MEN HOOTING)" "Castle, you keep staring like that, you're gonna have to pay for the 2-drink minimum." "I'm sorry." "What were you saying?" "I wasn't saying anything." "You were talking." "About Dino." "About how he's a nice guy in spite of the fact that he's a mobster." "Really?" "No, look, I know you find this hard to believe, but he is a really nice guy." "Yeah, sure." "Up until the point he guts you like a fish." "Rick, is that really you?" "Dino!" "Oh, man." "You know, I just finished your book, Raging Heat." "Really?" "Terrific, wonderful story." "Thank you." "Wonderful, yeah." "So what brings you here?" "And who is this Venus?" "Dino, this is my wife, Kate Beckett." "Detective Beckett." "NYPD." "Uh, she's..." "She's okay." "I'm actually consulting with the police now." "And we're here for your help in a murder investigation." "For you, Rick, I'm happy to help." "And the boys are, too." "Rocco Carlucci, he's my, uh..." "My chief of security." "And this is Christopher Carlucci," "VP of corporate affairs." "Who got whacked?" "A, uh, Dr. Eric Mercer." "Um..." "Yeah, I do not recognize this person." "Mr. Scarpella, we've connected Dr. Mercer to a surgical suite paid for by your organization." "Dino, we know Eric worked for you, but who would wanna do this to him?" "Can you help us out?" "Sadly, I have no help to offer." "But please, stay, enjoy yourselves." "It's on the house." "Uh, Mr. Scarpella..." "Like he said, we got nothing for you." "(CELL PHONE RINGING)" "Hey, Espo." "ESPOSITO:" "So while you and Castle were busy getting lap dances," "Ryan and I did some real police work and found a Carlucci connection to the murder." "Yeah, wait." "What kind of a connection?" "Well, turns out the family's number two, Christopher Carlucci, owns a black Mustang." "Guess what was stashed inside?" "A Santa suit." "With blood on it." "Christopher Carlucci, we need to talk." "Why did you kill Eric Mercer?" "I didn't." "Okay, then why don't you clear this up for me?" "Where were you at the time of the murder?" "And why did witnesses see your Mustang at the crime scene?" "And why did we find a Santa suit stuffed in the trunk of your car with Eric's blood on it?" "Look, Christopher, I don't think you just woke up one morning and decided to kill the family doctor." "That kind of order comes from above." "Did Dino Scarpella give the order?" "I want a lawyer." "I wonder why the Carluccis would kill their own doctor." "Maybe he saw something he shouldn't have." "Let the wrong mobster die on his table." "(CELL PHONE RINGING)" "Excuse me." "Yeah." "Richard Castle." "DINO:" "Rick, we need to talk." "He said he wanted you to meet him at the strip club?" "Why?" "He just said that it was urgent." "And when Dino Scarpella issues an invitation, you don't RSVP with "no."" "Yeah, you do, especially if he put a hit out on Eric Mercer." "Look, he called me at the precinct, he knows I'm married to you." "I'm in no danger here." "Oh, God, Castle, this just sounds like an epitaph." "Um, you know what?" "I'm gonna go with you." "He said to come alone." "You're gonna have to trust me on this." "Dino, he's an honorable man." "Yeah, well, I bet that's what Eric thought, too." "Buy yourself something nice, sugar, okay?" "Take your mind off this tragedy." "And don't tell your mother, okay?" "(SNIFFLES) Thanks, Daddy." "Jane, the roll of cash she spends on clothes could choke a horse." "I even bought an imitation couture company, but the fake stuff isn't good enough for my girl." "Right?" "Especially now." "She's upset." "She and Eric, they were very close, very close since they were kids." "So you're admitting he was your doctor?" "I don't like that word, "admit."" "Acknowledging?" "Wow, Rick, me and you, we had a good relationship once, huh?" "We still do, don't we?" "Well, I don't know." "I need to know I can speak freely." "That you're not gonna turn around and repeat what I say to the authorities." "Dino, you can trust me." "Eric was family." "My cousin Bruno's kid." "By a girl he had on the side." "Bruno, he died in the slammer, so I looked after Eric." "I sent him to the best schools." "I didn't want him to work for the family, but if you wanna hear God laugh, you tell him..." "You tell him all your plans, right?" "So what happened?" "Few years back, one of my guys got shot." "It happens." "He would've croaked, but Eric stepped up." "Next thing I know..." "Next thing I know, he's got a taste for the life." "I need to find out who did this to him." "Don't take this the wrong way, Dino, but I think you already do know." "It was not Christopher." "All the evidence says that it was." "He was framed." "He's innocent." "When it comes to this, anyway." "I know, because I was with him." "Dino, if that's true, all we have to do is call Beckett." "You can alibi him." "Mmm, no, that's no good." "See, at the time, me and Christopher, we were engaged in a sensitive business transaction." "And by sensitive, you mean illegal." "I don't like that word either." "My point is this." "The cops are not looking for Eric's killer because they think they already got him." "Even if they are out looking for him, nobody in my world's gonna give 'em the time of day." "And this is where you come in." "Me?" "Yeah." "I need you to prove Christopher's innocence and find Eric's killer." "Hey, nobody connected is gonna talk to the cops." "But if I vouch for you, give you access no cop has ever gotten..." "Dino, I don't know if I'm the guy..." "I could crack a joke about making you an offer you can't refuse." "But you cannot refuse." "Understood." "Good." "But if I figure out who did this, you have to let me bring the killer to justice." "And by justice, I mean legal justice, not just taking him out." "When the time comes, I need to call Beckett." "We will swear by the code of silence." "(KNIFE SLICES)" "Omerta?" "(KNIFE SLICES) Ow!" "(SLAPS HAND) Ow!" "You're blood now, Rick." "You're family." "Do not let me down." "So let me get this straight." "You wanna re-investigate Eric's murder on behalf of your friend," "Dino, the mob boss?" "Okay, well, when you put it like that, it sounds bad." "It sounds bad no matter how I put it." "Castle, we have the killer." "Christopher was with Dino at the time." "According to Dino." "Dino is playing you." "Mobsters get arrested." "It's a cost of doing business." "Dino knows that." "So why go through the trouble of asking me to look into it unless Christopher was innocent?" "Firstly, he didn't exactly ask you." "And secondly, he just wants his number two back." "Well, there's more to it than that." "Omerta." "We made the blood oath." "It was not my idea, and I did not have a choice." "So you believe Dino because he gave you a paper cut?" "Look, if I look into Eric's murder and the trail leads back to Christopher Carlucci, so be it." "But if it doesn't, don't you wanna know who the real killer is?" "Fine." "But you have to promise that Captain Gates isn't gonna find out that we're poking around an already closed case." "And you have to keep me looped in every step of the way." "I promise." "And since Dino gave me an all-access pass with the family," "I'm gonna start by talking to Christopher." "Thank you." "I heard Dino Scarpella and Castle had a sit-down." "What do you think that's about?" "I don't know." "But I don't like him going around us like this." "Hey, baby." "Hey." "Hey!" "Javier, these are my parents, Walter and Melinda." "How you doing..." "Oh, okay." "We're huggers in the Parish family, son." "And go ahead, call me Dad." "Oh, okay." "Ooh, I can see where Lanie gets her beautiful eyes from." "And her medical brain must come from you." "I hear that you're a surgeon?" "Cardiothoracic." "But retired." "No shop talk, dear." "The only talk I want is to hear the story." "What story?" "The proposal, of course." "LANIE:" "Oh!" "That story!" "Right. (LAUGHS)" "Javi?" "Yes, the story." "Um..." "Well, we, um..." "You know, baby, you tell it so much better than me." "Why don't you..." "This guy!" "You should have seen him." "He rows Lanie out into the middle of the Central Park boat pond." "He gets down on one knee, so nervous he nearly capsizes the boat, almost sends them both into the water." "(GASPS) That's just what Lanie did, when she saw that ring." "Ah!" "Perfect fit." "Right." "RYAN:" "I'm Kevin, by the way." "Espo's partner and, you know, proposal planner in crime." "That's so romantic." "I wanna hear all about the courtship." "I just wish we had time for all of that." "Right." "But, you know, with us having to get back to work, and you having to catch your plane..." "Yeah." "Actually, I just got a text that our flight's been delayed till tomorrow." "So why don't we all go out and have dinner a little later?" "Ohhh!" "(LANIE LAUGHS NERVOUSLY)" "Yes, that sounds great, Walter." "I mean, Dad." "(DOORS CLATTERS)" "You sure he's good?" "Ask your questions." "I'll tell you what I know." "Thanks." "So Dino says you were set up." "So who'd wanna frame you?" "(SCOFFS)" "I'm his right-hand man." "I know 50 guys who'd slit my throat like that." "But they'd kill me." "Not one of 'em would frame me." "All right, then let's talk about Eric." "Eric, uh, recently had some concerns." "Concerns that someone was after him?" "Not exactly, uh..." "See, Eric being our doctor, we kept that secret." "You know, so he could have a life outside the family." "But I guess he was afraid that his secret got out, because a few days ago, he comes to me and he asks a favor." "What kind of a favor?" "He wanted phone-tap detectors." "You know, tracing equipment." "He thought he was being watched." "By whom?" "I don't know." "You know, at the time, I thought he was just being paranoid." "But I wanted to be safe, so I hooked him up with Cyber Rita." "Are you morons ready?" "I'm cutting the alarm in three, two, one." "(BEEPS) Bam." "Yeah, I helped the doc." "Well, did Eric tell you who he thought was watching him?" "What are you talking about?" "When he asked for the counter-surveillance equipment." "That's not what he asked me for." "It isn't?" "No, Christopher called me and told me to give Eric whatever he needed." "So I did." "And what did Eric need?" "Well, it sounds like Eric told Christopher one thing and me another." "So I'm not gonna say another word until I'm sure that Lurch over there isn't gonna have me sleepin' with the fishes." "Lurch, would you..." "Rocco, I mean, could you..." "He wanted hot credit cards." "Stolen credit cards?" "What for?" "So he could buy things and not have to pay for them." "Thank you." "That's..." "I gave him a dozen." "So each is good for about two grand before it needs to be tossed." "Did Eric say why he needed $24,000?" "Maybe for wheels." "He asked if he could use the card to access a Swipe-N-Go car rental, but I told him he was definitely gonna need a fake ID to go with the card." "Okay, could you email me those credit card numbers so I could see if he used them?" "Yeah." "(ALARM RINGING) Oh." "Ah!" "Which of you idiots just triggered the security door?" "Stolen credit cards, a possible getaway car?" "It sounds like Eric was about to go on the run." "Only the killer got to him first." "Okay, so if Christopher didn't kill him, then who did?" "Maybe whatever Eric was charging on those cards could give us a lead." "Unfortunately, the cards are a bust." "I ran the numbers." "No recent activity." "Did we ever find those cards?" "No, not in his hospital locker, or in his apartment, or on his body." "Hmm, maybe the killer took them." "Well, I'll have Tory monitor the numbers, see if any activity pops." "Think I got a lead." "So we're really thinking that this killer is not Christopher Carlucci, right?" "Yes." "Maybe." "No." "Oh, come on, the guy is guilty." "Nobody thought otherwise until Castle over here started moonlighting for the mob." "I think that might be overstating it a little." "You took a blood oath." "You let them turn you into an honorary mobster." "What's wrong with you?" "RYAN:" "Come on, man." "How many people outside of the mafia ever get to swear Omerta?" "I think it is an experience of a lifetime." "Of course you would." "But didn't you say you had a lead?" "Yeah." "The lab was able to identify the crystals that Lanie found on Eric's sleeves." "They're made up of sodium ferrocyanide mixed with sodium chloride, which means..." "It's road salt." "It hasn't snowed in weeks." "So why would Eric be literally up to his elbows in salt?" "I don't know, but there are only four salt depots on the island, and one of 'em happens to be within three blocks of our crime scene." "The blue backpack." "We searched for it, we never found it." "That's because just before Eric died, he hid that bag." "The salt depot." "CASTLE:" "Man, the places we go to follow a lead." "But if it points to our killer, it's worth it indeed." "If that's you trying to help me with my poem, then it's not working." "Right over here." "This is where Eric gained access." "Wait, is that the uh..." "Right there." "CASTLE:" "The victim's blue backpack." "You were right." "Eric must've stashed it here before he was killed." "Yeah, but what was he trying to hide that he didn't want anyone to find?" "Bloody clothes?" "With bullet holes." "LANIE:" "Here's what I can tell you." "The guy who wore these clothes was about six feet, maybe 180, 200 pounds." "What about his injuries?" "Two shots to the back." "Both bullets exited the front of his body." "Based on where he was hit and the amount of blood, he probably didn't survive." "So did any stiffs come in with those kinds of wounds?" "Minus his clothes, of course." "No, I already checked." "Can you tell when he was shot?" "Blood coagulation says it was within the last two days." "Eric missed work two days ago, and his Hytch app showed that he went to that surgical suite in Queens." "So then maybe this was one of his mob patients." "He wasn't." "At least, not according to Dino." "No recent gunshot wounds in the family, and Eric hadn't treated anyone in the past week." "Then Eric must've treated someone else, someone not connected to the Carluccis." "Could that mean that Eric operated on someone from another family?" "If he did, and said mobster is dead or missing, then perhaps Detective McBride has heard about it." "Meantime, I'll run DNA to see if this blood matches anyone in the system." "Thanks, Lanie." "Hey, hey." "Hey." "So what's the game plan to survive dinner with your parents?" "I don't know." "We barely survived five minutes with them." "(SIGHS)" "Well, what if they ask us where we wanna live?" "When we want kids?" "(STAMMERING)" "They gonna see right through us." "Maybe we should come clean." "Javi, I can't come clean." "If I come clean, I will never hear the end of this." "Look, you met them, you kept your promise." "You can skip dinner." "I'll say something came up, like a dead body." "No way." "I can't be the kind of fiance that bails on the one time your parents were in town." "I have to go." "We're engaged." "We're not engaged." "But we could be." "Someday." "And I don't want them to hate me then because I skipped out now." "MCBRIDE:" "So I asked around about the other crime families, looked into who might've gone missing or taken a bullet the last few days." "I think I got your guy." "6' 1", 190 pounds." "He'd fit in those clothes." "Luca Tessaro?" "Of the Tessaro crime family?" "Yeah, and the family's beating the drums because Luca disappeared three days ago." "Aren't the Tessaros and the Carluccis rivals?" "No, more like sworn enemies." "Which could be why things went bad for your doctor." "You don't cross family lines." "What do we know about Luca's disappearance?" "Well, three nights ago, 911 got reports of shots fired near his neighborhood." "Officers responded." "They didn't find anything, but Luca hasn't been seen since." "Thank you, Detective." "Whatever you need." "Why would Eric treat Luca Tessaro, a member of a rival family?" "See, this is the beauty of me being mobbed-up." "Temporarily." "I can go straight to the source and ask Dino." "Castle, just be careful." "If Eric treated a Carlucci enemy, then Dino had motive." "Dino is not gonna ask me to investigate if it's gonna lead back to his doorstep." "I shall return with answers." "The boys and I will check the area where those shots were fired." "Maybe officers missed something." "Well, if unis missed something, I'm not finding it." "All five 911 callers said they heard shots near this underpass, so if Luca Tessaro was killed here, there's gotta be evidence." "Assuming he's really our victim." "He definitely is." "Lanie just texted." "Luca Tessaro's in the system and the prelim DNA markers from the bloody clothes are a match." "Now, how did Luca and Eric cross paths in the first place?" "Yeah." "BECKETT:" "You guys," "I found a slug." "Call CSU." "Hey, I found something else." "Check this out." "That's blood." "Rocco, you must be privy to the inner workings of the family." "Do you mind if I ask you a few questions?" "I'm gonna go ahead and take that as a yes." "So, first of all, how well did you know Eric Mercer?" "You're a man of few words, Rocco." "Very, very few words." "How about Luca Tessaro?" "Eric have any history with him?" "Luca's a sore subject." "A sore subject." "Why, because he's a Tessaro?" "Because he's a stain upon this family." "Okay, I take it Eric didn't like him." "Eric hated Luca." "We all do." "For what he did to Jane." "Dino's daughter?" "How is she involved?" "One night, she's at this club." "Luca was there, and he tried to have his way with her." "Word got back to Dino." "He was ready to kill Luca, wanted to pull the trigger himself." "And did he?" "Mmm-mmm." "Jane stopped him." "She didn't want a war between the families." "Besides, she's a woman who can take care of herself." "Hey, Beckett." "I just got some very interesting news." "BECKETT:" "Yeah, so did I." "We found blood evidence at the scene where Luca was shot." "Go on." "It was Luca's blood on a bracelet." "CSU pulled a thumbprint off of it that matched a DMV record." "For Jane Scarpella." "She's Dino's daughter." "Look, it's possible that Jane killed Luca, she got Eric to help cover it up, and then she killed him, too." "I just..." "I don't know what her motive would be." "I think I do." "Good, then let's hear it." "Can't." "I gotta go." "I'll call you back and tell you later." "I hope." "The boss will see you now." "Dino." "What news do you have for me, Rick?" "Who killed Eric?" "DINO:" "You come in here, to my house of business, and accuse my daughter of not one but two murders?" "Not accuse, as much as..." "Perhaps she's a person of interest." "You think I don't know what that means?" "You disappoint me, Rick." "I came to you." "I put my faith in you." "I thought we had an understanding." "We did." "We do." "Look, you're the last..." "(CLICKS)" "Whoa, whoa." "(STAMMERING) Dino, what are you doing?" "I don't tolerate lies, Rick." "Dino..." "Hey..." "Hey, we're family, remember?" "That's right." "You never disrespect family." "Who disrespects you?" "I respect you, Dino!" "I respect the hell out of you!" "Dad, I heard Mr. Castle had information on Eric's killer." "Oh." "What's going on?" "Step out, Jane." "I'm conducting business." "Dino, ask her." "Ask her." "You at least owe me that much." "If she's guilty, you need to know." "Otherwise, you can't protect her." "Guilty?" "Guilty of what?" "Luca Tessaro's murder." "Police found your bracelet where he was shot." "Jane, you tell him." "(EXHALES)" "Tell him you weren't there, Jane." "You better tell him." "(GUN COCKS)" "Tell him!" "Jane, tell him!" "Daddy, I'm sorry!" "I was." "But I didn't kill him." "I was trying to save him." "Save him?" "Dad, Luca and I, we were in love." "You were in what?" "After what he did to you?" "That story about him coming onto me, I made it up." "Made it up?" "What do you mean you made it up?" "What was I supposed to say?" "That I was in love with a Tessaro?" "If either family knew our secret, we could never be together." "Daddy?" "I'm processing this news." "Jane, uh, what happened that night?" "(JANE BREATHING HEAVILY)" "Luca called me, gasping for breath." "He'd been shot." "By the time I got to him, he was unconscious, dying." "He needed help, so I dragged him into my car." "That's probably how I lost my bracelet." "So you called Eric?" "I didn't know what else to do." "Eric told me to meet him at the surgery room." "He did everything in his power to save Luca, but he couldn't." "Which explains Eric's murder." "If the Tessaros found out Eric was involved with Luca's death, they would've retaliated." "What did they know, Jane?" "Nothing." "Eric got rid of the body and the clothes, so nothing could lead them to our family." "Jane, did Luca tell you on the phone who shot him?" "Who wanted him dead?" "No, but last week, he said something was up with the Tessaros." "Somebody was making a power grab, and he was trying to find out who." "I swear, if the Tessaros killed my Eric, we're going to war." "BECKETT:" "Lovers from rival families?" "Oh, that sounds like Romeo and Juliet." "Right down to Eric as the apothecary." "Yo." "Jane's alibi checks out." "Doorman places her at home during Eric's murder." "What about the street cams in the area around Luca Tessaro's shooting?" "We looked." "There's no cameras out that way." "Ugh." "Which means we're dead in the water." "Which means I could be dead in the water." "If one of the Tessaros killed Luca and Eric, we need to figure out who it was." "Well, unless you got a bud in that family, too, they're not gonna talk." "Luckily, a credit card just did the talking." "Remember those hot numbers that Eric got from Rita?" "Well, someone just used one of 'em to order a pizza for delivery." "It's the killer." "He must've got the cards off Eric's body." "Delivery to where?" "To a tile import business owned by Luca's cousin, Dante Tessaro." "And with Luca out of the way," "Dante becomes heir apparent to the Tessaro Family." "This tile business, what's the address?" "This is it." "(GUN COCKS)" "(GUN COCKS)" "One more step, and I'll blow your heads off." "Luca Tessaro?" "You're alive?" "Luca, put your weapon down." "Why?" "So you can take me out?" "Finish the job?" "Who sent you?" "BECKETT:" "Nobody sent us, Mr. Tessaro." "We're not here to kill you." "As a matter of fact, we thought you were already dead." "CASTLE:" "Look, if you don't believe us, you can always ask Jane." "Isn't that right, Jane?" "Wait." "It's okay, Luca." "They can help." "We knew our families would never approve of what we had, so we were gonna use the opportunity to leave the life for good." "Disappear." "Those credits cards that Eric got, they were to help you get away?" "(SIGHS) But when Eric got popped," "I figured it was the same guy who shot me." "You know, maybe he found out I was alive, and went after Eric to get to me." "Who was trying to kill you, Luca?" "I didn't see him." "No one ever has." "But he calls himself "Il Penumbra."" "Well, what do you know about him?" "He's a new player who showed up a few months ago." "He started hitting up store owners on our turf for protection payments." "Well, then the store owners must know who he is." "He was reaching out to them anonymously, through email." "Wire the payment or face consequences." "One of our dry cleaners refused to pay, his store burned down to the ground." "Mafia 2.0." "LUCA:" "Whoever this guy is, he was moving into our territory, and the family ordered me to track him down." "I uncovered the account where the shopkeepers were wiring him the money." "Next thing I know, I get a call from some guy saying he could help." "He tells you to meet him under the bridge, but it's a setup." "The shopkeepers we talked to confirmed Luca's story." "This Il Penumbra's been terrorizing them for months." "How do you track someone who nobody's seen?" "Not through that bank info that Luca uncovered." "It dead-ended at a private account in the Cayman Islands." "And given international banking laws, there's no way to determine who owns that account." "But maybe there is." "I, uh, made a new friend who might help us skirt those pesky international banking laws." "Now, Rita, I know this is a big ask, but if we can figure out who owns that account, we'll find Eric's real killer." "Now, is this Penumbra character the same guy that framed Christopher?" "We believe so, yes." "All right, fine, I'll help." "But only 'cause I don't wanna sleep alone on Christmas." "You and Christopher?" "(KEYBOARD CLACKING)" "Okay, and..." "(BEEPING)" "You gotta be kidding me." "That's not even a clever alias." "You know, this guy might be using that alias to withdraw his cash, but I bet he created the account remotely." "You think you can trace the account back to the computer it originated from?" "I think you should tell Christopher he's sleeping over New Year's Eve, too." "Rita determined Il Penumbra's Cayman account was opened using a server at the Midtown Library branch." "Public terminal." "Makes sense." "Especially since most libraries don't have security cameras." "But the convenience store across the street from this one does." "So we pulled the video feed from the same day that Il Penumbra created the account." "It's time-stamped, so... (KEYBOARD CLACKING)" "BECKETT:" "There." "That's the only person who leaves in the minutes after the account was opened." "Well, hello, Bad Santa." "Thanks for coming to see us, Detective." "Of course." "Our investigation uncovered something that we hope the Organized Crime Unit might have information about." "MCBRIDE:" "Uh, what'd you find?" "Luca Tessaro." "Alive." "From the clothes that you told me about," "I assumed that he was dead." "He almost was." "We believe the person that shot Luca also killed Eric Mercer to cover their tracks, which means the shooter knew that the two of them were in contact." "This shooter goes by the name of Il Penumbra." "Does that ring a bell?" "Can't say it does." "Okay." "Well, this Il Penumbra, he planted evidence to frame Christopher Carlucci of Eric's murder, after using a Mustang like Christopher's to commit the crime." "I'm not sure where you're going with this." "Your neighbor owns a black Mustang." "He said that you slipped him a little cash to borrow it for that night." "We had CSU sweep the car." "They found traces of Eric's blood on the floor mat, left there by your boot." "Are you accusing me of murder?" "Along with the attempted murder of Luca Tessaro, and felony extortion." "We found the account in the Caymans." "You've been working OCU for 16 years, watching bad guys get rich." "So you decided to play both sides and get a little piece of the action." "This'll never fly in court." "Yeah, well, there's only one way to find out." "Rick." "Hey." "(CHUCKLING)" "CHRISTOPHER:" "Mr. Castle," "I'm very grateful." "And so is Rita." "And my daughter, Jane, she thanks you, too." "What's gonna happen to her and Luca?" "I decided it's better to bless her relationship and unite with the Tessaros than to lose my kid." "'Tis the season of peace, no?" "Rick, you did me a favor." "I owe you." "When the time comes, you call me." "Thank you very much." "(CLEARS THROAT)" "It's a call I hope I never have to make." "Merry Christmas." "MELINDA:" "Dinner was so great." "We can't wait to see you two lovebirds again." "Maybe next time we can talk about the wedding?" "Maybe." "One step at a time, Mom." "Well, it was great to finally meet you both." "All right, pumpkin." "Bye, Mommy." "Love you." "You be good." "I will." "All right." "ESPOSITO:" "You guys have a good trip." "Thank you for that." "Oh, it was actually much easier than I thought it was gonna be." "But, you know, it made me think seriously about us." "And where we are." "Javi, I don't think we should do this here." "No, I have to say this." "Lanie, being fake engaged to you made me realize how great we are together." "But not the way that your parents are." "Or Castle and Beckett, or Ryan and Jenny." "I know." "I feel it, too." "I mean, I'm crazy about you." "I'm crazy about you, too, but just, you know, not in that way." "And you deserve what they have." "We both do." "(CHUCKLES)" "What are you gonna tell your parents?" "The truth." "But after the holidays." "No need to spoil their vacation." "Mmm-hmm." "Hey." "(CLICKS TONGUE)" "So then he cut you with a little ceremonial dagger?" "Did it hurt?" "Yeah, it hurt, but you can't let him know that, right?" "So my face was like a stone." "The Black Hand." "Right." "Right." "Can I have a word, Mr. Castle?" "Yeah, of course." "Here." "Tell me the rest later." "Who wants nog?" "Is there a problem, Captain?" "As he was being transferred to Central Booking," "Detective McBride was shot and killed by unknown assailants." "The DA learned that you were cooperating with members of organized crime in your investigation." "People who might have wanted McBride dead." "This doesn't look good." "Especially for you." "I am so sorry, Mr. Castle, but the DA spoke to the Mayor and... (SIGHS)" "You are no longer permitted to work with the NYPD." "BECKETT:" "Castle." "Hey!" "Okay, so I, um, got my draft of the poem for the family Christmas card." "Wanna hear it?" "Yeah." "Okay. (CLEARS THROAT)" ""This has been an epic year Life's been full of joy and tears" ""Solving crimes and catching killers" ""Just like Castle's famous thrillers" ""We share a passion every day As partners go, we're here to stay"" "It's great." "Thank you." "Is something wrong?" "What could be wrong?" "You're here." "Oh." "RYAN:" "All right, everybody." "Let's light this baby up!" "(CHEERING)" "RYAN:" "Merry Christmas!" "Looks great this year."