"Let's keep this going, people!" "This is a big night for us." "You!" "Get it together, man." "Focus!" "Yes, Chef." "Table 21." "Order in." "Appetizer." "One tuna crudo." "One pork belly." "Two salmons." "One squab." "One quail." "Lovely." "Off it goes." "Here you are." "Excuse me." "There you go." "Enjoy." "Well, bon appetit, everyone." "So, Eric, how would another $20 million for Mexisolar sit with you?" "Once I've seen that factory." "Enough business." "Eat." "Drink." "Be merry for once in your life." "My God, this food is sublime." "I should hope so." "This is the toughest reservation in the city." "Arthur?" "Someone call 9-1-1." "Now you're dead so you can suck it." "Oh, you want more?" "Come get it, buddy." "'Cause I got something special for you." "And I got something special for you... too." "Well, that's not lookin' too good." "What?" "Castle..." "Well, then stick your head out, Patel, and get poned like a real man." "Who is Patel?" "He's this kid from India." "He's been thrashing me for weeks, but not tonight." "Tonight I am bringing it." "It stings, doesn't it?" "Yeah, it kinda does." " Castle." " What?" "Would you rather play with a kid in an imaginary world or with... in the real world." "I w" "I, uh, uh..." " Oh, my God." " What?" "Oh, my God." "You actually have to think about this?" "No." "No." "I don't have to think about it." "Come on over here." " Are you kidding me?" " What?" "You know what?" "Forget it." " Seriously, I died on purpose for you." " Whatever." "Come on." "What." "No, I-- it's not my mom." "It's worse." "Yeah, see you Thursday." "I'm sorry." "You know how I get when I'm gaming." "I was--I was in the zone." "I was like Gretzky." "Well, at least Gretzky knew how to score." "Ouch." "Okay." "Look, I'm--again, I'm very, very sorry." "Do you forgive me?" "You know, Castle, it wasn't too long ago when me wearing a sexy outfit would get... an immediate response from you." "What are you saying, that I'm taking you for granted?" "I don't know, Castle." "Are you?" "Hey, guys." "Victim's over here." "Name is Arthur Felder, 54." "He's a wealthy venture capitalist." "Witness said that he took one bite of his squab and did a nose dive into his plate." "Okay, so this was not an allergic reaction?" "There's no sign of anaphylaxis, but his enlarged pupils and excessive saliva suggest a foreign substance." " He was poisoned." " It looks that way, but I won't know for sure until I run a tox screen." "So how many people had access to the food before it was delivered?" "Esposito's checking on that right..." "now." "Is that Eric Vaughn?" "Uh, yeah." "He was part of the victim's dinner party." "He's that billionaire inventor, right?" "Yeah." "Inventor, innovator, and number eight on my LSL." " LSL?" " Last Supper List." "You and a table of 12, anyone from history." "What is mine, you ask?" "I'm glad you did." "In order, it is Lincoln, Einstein, Ian Fleming," "John Lennon, Joan Of Arc," "Sinatra..." "And you, of course." "Too late, Castle." "So who made the reservation?" "I did, about a week ago." "Did anyone else know that Mr. Felder would be here tonight?" "Uh, his office, but I have no idea who they might have told." "Uh, Mr. Vaughn?" " Okay..." " Excuse me?" " As you can." " Hey." "Fantastic." "Thank you." "All right." "This is a murder investigation." "I'm gonna need your full attention." "I'm so sorry." "That was my pilot." "Arthur's family's in the Caribbean." "I was arranging for my plane to bring them home." "Oh." "Yeah." "Well, that's very generous of you, Mr. Vaughn." "No, please, call me Eric." "And you are?" "Uh, I'm Detective Kate Beckett." "And I am Richard Castle." " Oh, the writer?" " Yeah." "My mother loves your novels." "Oh, I'll get her an autographed copy." "So how well did you know our victim?" "We'd been doing business for many years." "But, uh, we weren't close, I'm afraid." "Any idea who would want him dead?" "None." "Uh, this-- this whole thing is terrible." "Hey, Beckett." " Excuse me." " Of course." "So normally only a handful of waitstaff handle each entree, but in this case, it could've been somebody from the outside." "There was a kitchen door propped open, and CSU found this waiter's vest stashed in a dumpster." "Okay, have unis canvass the area, and I'm gonna want to interview all of the kitchen staff as well." "Right." "Yes." "What?" "Looks as though Vaughn is on your list as well." "Oh." "The things you notice when you're paying attention, Castle." "Yeah, I've been a busboy there for two years." "So where were you at 8:20?" "8:20?" "Um, I was at a back sink scraping dishes." "All right." "Um, did you happen to see anyone in the kitchen that you didn't recognize?" "Yeah, you know, someone brushed past me." "Uh, I didn't get a good look, but I remember thinking that he wasn't familiar." "Can you describe him?" "Not really." "He was short, dark hair, maybe." "Uh, things move fast in the kitchen, so I only caught him out of the corner of my eye." "Tell me about that back door." "Is it always open?" " I-it shouldn't be." " Hey." "So it looks like our victim" " Arthur Felder-- wasn't the most fuzziest of guys." "He made his fortune in hostile takeovers." "A couple of weeks ago, he shut down a chemical plant in Newark and sold it off for parts." "It says here that 200 people lost their jobs." "Yeah, and according to his assistant, they got quite a few death threats after they announced the closing." "Corporate raider shutters a chemical plant and ends up eating crow, or in this case, poisoned squab." "It's poetic, diabolically speaking." "Okay, Castle and I will talk to Lanie to see if there's any connection between the poison and the plant." "In the meantime, why don't you guys go through the list of people that made threats and see if anyone was in the vicinity of the restaurant?" "Right on." "Sorry." "It's not a match for any of the chemicals manufactured by that plant." "So what was he poisoned with?" "Something exotic enough not to show up on a chem and unknown toxin evaluation." "I'm running further tests, but all I can say for sure is that it was some sort of paralyzing agent." "Speaking of paralyzing agent..." "Can I just say, Eric Vaughn?" "!" "See, Castle?" "Look, he's on everybody's list." "Yes, yes, he's quite impressive." "And handsome." "And don't forget rich." "And that accent?" " Ooh, honey." " Oh, I know." "All right!" "Okay." "I admit, all right, just as lesser men aspire to be me, he's who the mes of the world aspire to be, okay?" "But that is not gonna help us solve Arthur Felder's murder." "Finding out what he was poisoned with will." "Well, I can tell you this, whatever the poison was, was chemically synthesized and incredibly fast-acting." "The mushrooms he was eating never even made it to his stomach." "Thank you." "Wait." "Mushrooms?" "I saw the menu." "The mushrooms were served with the quail, not the squab." "You're right." "But Ryan said that Felder had the squab." "Yeah, it's my handwriting." "And it's right here on the ticket." "Mr. Felder ordered the squab." "Well, we have reason to believe that he actually ate the quail." "The poisoned quail, Lucas." "How did he end up with it?" "Oh, no." "I-I must have made a mistake." "I'm still learning the spring menu, and the quail with the mushrooms looks a lot like the squab with the artichoke hearts." "And chef was screaming." "So you mixed up the orders." "Oh, God." "Okay, if Felder ordered the squab, then who ordered the quail?" "Yeah, here it is." "The quail was supposed to go to Eric Vaughn." "Felder wasn't the intended target." "They were trying to kill Vaughn." "You mean to say, that poison was meant for me?" "It seems that way." "Oh, good God." "What am I gonna tell Arthur's wife?" "Mr. Vaughn" "Eric, please." "Eric." "Um, look, I understand your concern, but right now, I think we need to focus on you." "Now do you know of anyone that would want you dead?" "No, but you don't get to where I am without making enemies, when one of my innovations succeeds, it often means that someone else's fails." "And being high profile, people tend to want things from me or get angry for things that I can't control." "Well, it sounds like being Eric Vaughn has its price." "Don't get me wrong." "I'm not complaining." "I'm sure you face much tougher situations every day." "Well, you know, when someone is trying to kill you," "I think that you have every right to complain." "So what about recently?" "Have you received any threats?" "Not that I'm aware of." "But if my people don't think it's serious, they often don't bother to tell me." "My assistant Petra can get you the file." "We'll need as much background as she can give us-- disgruntled employees, angry competitors, lawsuits, things like that." "Uh, whatever you need." "Detective, whoever did this is still out there." "It wouldn't be crazy to assume they might try again." "No." "Uh, no, it wouldn't." "Um, look, I can assign some uniformed officers to you, but I think, until we figure out who's behind this, you might consider hiring private security." "And there you go." "What is this?" "It's just me not taking you for granted." "Oh." "So what did you talk about there, you and Vaughn?" "Oh, we were just going over the investigation, talking out the next few s" "Wait a minute." "Is this" "Are you..." "Is this you being jealous?" "Jealous?" "Yes." "The guy won a Macarthur Genius Award." "Do you know who they give those awards to?" "Geniuses." "Okay?" "He's got one company bringing clean water to Africa and another one that might actually cure cancer." "So, yes, when you're in a room with him alone," "I'm a little jealous." "I saw--I saw how you looked at him." "Oh, my gosh." "Castle." "It's Eric Vaughn." "He was voted one of the hundred most interesting people on the planet." "Of course I'm gonna swoon a little, just like you would if Bar Refaeli walked through the door." "But it's meaningless." "Yeah, you're right." "It's just..." "The guy's so impressive." "But he's not you." "Besides, the guy could get any woman he wants." "He's not interested in me." "Right?" "I know." "Okay." "I spoke with the commissioner, and he's agreed to provide Vaughn with a protective detail." "Uh, great." "I actually have a few uniforms that I'd like to recommend for duty." "No." "Mr. Vaughn has requested you." "He what now?" "Sir, I'm a homicide detective, not some bodyguard." "Trust me, I know." "But this comes directly from the commissioner." "Why doesn't Vaughn just hire a private army?" "He can afford that." "I don't know why, Mr. Castle." "I just know what my orders are." "He wants Detective Beckett and only Beckett." "Can he even do that?" "I think he just did." "Beckett's hanging with Vaughn?" "Oh, hell, yeah, you should be worried." "His hit list includes half of "Maxim's" hot 100." "Oh, and unlike you, his helicopter doesn't need a remote control." "Don't listen to him, Castle." "Beckett's loyal to you." "She's not gonna be seduced by his charms." "Really?" "So you'd let Jenny hang with him then?" "Hell, no." "I wouldn't let Jenny near that guy." "Thanks." "Okay, but..." "I'm not worried." "I'm not." "Okay?" "I just" "I can't believe that the department is forcing her to hang out with some womanizing rich guy against her will." "Yeah." "Unbelievable." "Yeah, she's never done that." "You know what we need to do?" "We need to solve this case, and fast." "Okay?" "The sooner we catch this killer, the sooner we get her away from Vaughn." "Where are we on that waiter vest we found in the alley?" "CSU was checking for trace evidence." "No fibers." "And they couldn't pull any prints off the buttons." "No." "Have 'em do it again." "Whoever wore that vest is our killer." " I know." "We have done this before." " Have you?" "Castle!" "Chill." "We may have another lead." "Uniforms picked up a homeless guy in the same alley right where that vest was found." "He may have seen something." "Well, then why aren't we talking to him?" "Because at the moment, he is stupid drunk." "Seeing double." "We'll have a better chance of a description once he sobers up." " I'm on it." " What do you mean, you're on it?" " Where are you going?" " To make him the best damn cup of coffee he's ever had." "This is a big mistake." "The best way for me to keep you alive is to get out there and catch the guy that's behind this." "You underestimate yourself, Detective." "I'm quite sure you can do both." "And are you willing to bet your life on that?" "You don't even know me." "I know enough." "You graduated at the top of your class." "You're the youngest woman in the history of the NYPD to make detective." "You have the highest closure rate of anyone in the department." "And earlier this year, you bucked every protocol to save a senator's life." "Do you have any idea how remarkable you are?" "You don't, do you?" "If anyone can keep me safe, it's you." "Good afternoon, Eric." "We've put extra security in place, but we have to talk about Mexisolar." "Detective Beckett," "David Anderson, my attorney." "The detective is looking after me, so make sure she has everything she needs." "If he gives you any trouble, we can put him on investor conference calls all day." "I might take you up on that." "Eric, it's important to keep Mexisolar RD moving" " if we want to launch Q-3." " Detective." "I put together summaries of our entire portfolio of companies... per your request, along with any complaints against them or Mr. Vaughn." "Briefing in an hour?" "Yeah, that would be great." "Thanks." "Hey, Lanie." "What's up?" "Your cause of death." "The poison was a chemically synthesized, weaponized agent, similar to the organic compound saxitoxin." "Saxitoxin?" "It usually occurs in shellfish, but not this version." "Whoever created this had access to a pretty sophisticated lab, and this one's been supercharged." " Thanks." " Speaking of supercharged, is it true that you're with Eric Vaughn?" "I mean, Kate I know you love Castle and all, but, girlfriend" "Bye, Lanie." "Bye." "Hello there, Lanie." "I'm Eric Vaughn." "Ah, and I think you're absolutely ravishing." "Saxitoxin?" "Yeah, are you familiar with it?" "The Vaughn alliance partnered with a university lab to develop a next-generation antidote to that entire class of neurotoxins." "And have you had troubles with anyone associated with the lab?" "Cindy." "Who's Cindy?" "Cindy Paralti." "She's our lead researcher." "A few months ago, we were presenting at a conference in Singapore." "We had a few drinks, and" "And it ended badly." "I get it." "Actually, it started badly." "She expressed some deep-seated feelings for me, ones that I didn't share, so when I declined, she took it hard." "He is being polite." "She went "Fatal Attraction" for a couple of weeks." "And you still work with her?" "She's a very talented researcher." "Detective, we're all misled by our hearts sometimes." "It shouldn't end a career." "It shouldn't end a life, either." "So where does Cindy live?" "By the university labs in Lower Manhattan." "So in the city..." "near the restaurant." "And with access to saxitoxin." "I have a PhD in chemistry from MIT." "Of course I've heard of saxitoxin." "Pretty dangerous stuff, Cindy." "You ever work with any of it?" "We do, as do a lot of other labs." "Ms. Paralti, we understand that you and Eric Vaughn had a personal falling out." "Yeah." "So?" "So any hard feelings?" "It was painful, but I got over it." "Did you?" "Because that hasn't been your pattern." "You've had restraining orders filed against you by three ex-boyfriends." "You've keyed cars, slashed tires." "Straight out of a Carrie Underwood song." "Yeah, but you know what" " Carrie Underwood never sang about?" " What's that?" "Using a chemically enhanced neurotoxin to poison a guy in a restaurant." "See, Eric Vaughn, he survived." "But one of the other people he was with wasn't so lucky." "Someone tried to kill Eric?" "No." "I would never." "Ms. Paralti, you had access to the toxin." "Where were you last night, Cindy?" "At the opera." ""Madame Butterfly."" "You can check." "I got something." "Okay, so after two cups of coffee, a latte, and three espressos, our homeless friend" "Mr. Hazelton over there-- finally sobered up." "He said he saw who stashed the vest in the dumpster." "He said the fellow was dressed in a busboy uniform." "Wait a minute." "Are you saying it wasn't someone from the outside?" "It was someone who worked at Iago?" "Right." "So I showed him photos of all the Iago employees, and he fingered this guy." "Cory Harrison." "Wait a second." "I spoke with this guy." "He tried to pin it on somebody else." "Well, then he's lying, trying to make it look like it was someone from the outside when it was him all along." " Why would he want to poison Vaughn?" " Let's ask him." " Coffee?" " No." "I should probably stop, too." "One more." "NYPD!" "Police!" "Over here." "Looks like someone got here first." "Ooh." "Goose down allergy?" "I'll live, unlike Cory Harrison." "Killer clearly used a pillow as a poor-man's silencer." "No sign of forced entry, either." "Maybe he knew his killer." "He also knew what was coming." "I found defensive wounds on Mr. Harrison's wrists." "But that's all I'm gonna find." "Someone washed his hands with bleach." "Disposing of DNA and trace evidence?" "Shooter sounds like a pro." "Yep, and I think I know why he was here." "The lab confirms it." "The bottle in Cory Harrison's apartment contains the toxin that killed Felder." "So someone was using him to spike Vaughn's food, and then got rid of him." "Which means somewhere in Harrison's life-- his family, financials, or work-- there's the key to whoever's behind all of this." "Maybe someone at the restaurant knew what he was up to." " We should go back there." " Mm-hmm." "No, you and the boys can go back there, Mr. Castle." "Beckett's going to the Fairwyck Hotel." "What's at the Fairwyck?" "Eric Vaughn." "As long as we have a killer running around," "I need him somewhere safe." "He booked the presidential suite, and from now until the time we catch whoever's behind all this, you're staying there with him." "In the presidential suite?" "Uh, Sir, are you s-serious?" "You want me to babysit this guy?" "He's insisting." "Apparently, you made quite an impression." "Uh, Sir, I" "Detective, I know how you feel, but whoever killed that busboy was a pro, which means he may strike again, and I am not going to lose one of the world's most influential men on my watch." "You know, it's one thing to follow him around, but quite another to be shacking up with him." "Castle, I am not shacking up with him." "I'm just doing my job." "Right." "You don't trust me." "Oh, no." "Of course I trust you." "No, you don't." "That's what this is all about." "Otherwise, this wouldn't be an issue." "Shall we?" "Yes." "A coffee break at a time like this?" "Really, guys?" "What's your problem, bro?" "Look, you need to call Jenny, and you need to call whoever it is you call, because we are not going home until we solve this murder." "All right?" "Let's get to that restaurant and get some answers." "Seriously, guys." "I mean it." "This is the nicest safe house I've ever seen." "Well, if someone's trying to kill you, you might as well make the most of it, eh?" "I should get to work." "Apologies to Novatech, and let's cancel the Mexisolar trip until summer." "Thanks, Petra." "When were you last in contact with Jeff Sussman?" "It's not Sussman." "But you fired him, and he was convicted of embezzling." "That sounds like a suspect to me." "Look, the guy screwed up and paid for it." "But I set his mother up in an assisted-living facility." "Jeff was very grateful." "It's not him." "Are you expecting anyone?" "I took the liberty of ordering some room service." "Good evening, ma'am." "May I come in?" "Uh, actually, no." "Sorry." "Hey." "Listen, given the way that Felder was killed," "I would prefer if my people oversaw the food preparation." "May I at least grab the champagne?" "It is sealed." "Yeah." "Okay, fine." "Excuse me." "Here." "Thank you, sir." "I'll make sure that we get you some food up here." "That's okay." "We have the essentials." "Pour you a glass?" "Oh, no, thank you." "I'm on duty." "You take your work seriously." "I like that about you." "It makes me feel safe." "Oh, my God!" "No." "Are you okay?" "Yes." "I think you're gonna have to protect me from myself." "Okay." "Um, I'm gonna go and get you some ice, okay?" "You know what?" "I'm glad Cory's dead." "After what happened, the bloody health department shut me down." "I mean, if I'd known what he did, I'd have killed him myself." "Yeah, except we think whoever put him up to poisoning your food was the one who killed him." "You want revenge?" "Help us find his killer." "What do you want to know?" "Did you notice anything unusual about Cory the day of the poisoning?" "Yeah." "The son of a bitch was late." "I'm sorry." "That's it?" "You don't understand." "No one's late, ever." "It's one of my rules." "I mean, I should've fired him on the spot." "Why didn't you?" "The look in his eyes." "It was like he'd seen a ghost." "Something happened to him that day." "Something bad." "Here." "That should help with the swelling." "Yes, but, uh, not my pride." "You know, with your bedside manner, you could've been a doctor." "Me?" "No, no." "A lawyer, maybe." "I was, uh, in pre-law." "I could've represented you in your case against the cork." "But instead, you became a cop." "Why?" "Uh, someone close to me was killed, and that just... changed things and changed me." "You know, I was supposed to be an architect." "No, seriously." "But my sister died when I was in college-- heart defect." "So I dropped out and invented a new heart valve." "That was my first patent." "It's amazing how fate changes lives, isn't it?" "I should get back to work." "At least have a glass of champagne." "I mean, I have suffered for it, after all." "Okay, fine." "You know what?" "You put it that way..." "But just half a glass, okay?" "Go on." "Three-quarters." "Yeah." "We talked to Cory Harrison's girlfriend." "According to her, he was in a good mood when he left her apartment yesterday morning." "Then something must have happened between home and the restaurant." "In fact, something did." "We took a look at Cory's routine." "Pretty much every morning, he left his apartment, picked up his daughter, took her to preschool." "Then he'd walk to the bus stop, where he'd catch the 10-X from Staten Island into the city." "Ah." "Great, Captain, you're here." "Did you tell her?" "I did tell her." "Okay, this is the security video footage from the bus shelter yesterday." " Show her the..." " Yeah." "Show her the..." "Thank you." "There's our busboy Cory talking to some guy." "And that is the 10-X bus, but Cory does not get on." "He is late for work." "He risks getting fired just to talk to this guy." "Well, what do we know about him?" "Nothing." "We can't get a good look at him." "It's like he knows where the camera is." "Right, but this is where it gets interesting." " How do I..." " That one." "That one?" "Wait." "That's the bottle of poison." "Right, and after he used it to poison the food," "I'm betting this guy came back and shot him to tie up loose ends." "He's your killer." "Look, I wish I could help you, but, uh, I simply just don't know him." "Ryan, we gotta go over that video again." "There's gotta be something in it that'll help us figure out who he is." "Uh, excuse me." "Looks as though you two were enjoying yourselves." "Castle" "What about pajamas-- homely flannel or skimpy sleep shorts?" "Oh, my gosh." "You're sounding like my dad dropping me off at summer camp." "Did they serve champagne at your summer camp?" "I was being polite." "Castle, do you think I want this?" "Do you think I asked to be here?" "I think you're making the best of it." "You know I would rather be with you." "Well, then maybe I should stay and we can protect him together." "No, I am not letting you do this." "I'm not letting you turn this investigation into some kind of a twisted competition." "Look..." "Don't make this harder than it needs to be." " Please." " Okay." "But only because you said please." "Since we can't get a clean look at this guy's face," "I'm hoping there's some other way we might be able to ID him." "Fortunately, we're all much more than our faces, Detective." "Harrison's driver's license lists him at 5'10"." "That other guy looks like he's 6'2"." "Posture is an indication of spine curvature." "I'd say it puts him in his early 40s." "Watch his hand." "He makes two distinct movements." "First he grabs Mr. Harrison's arm, then he passes him the poison spray." "He's left-handed." "And look at his neck." "That's a bandage." "Maybe covering up a recent injury or a tattoo." " Yeah." " Hey." "So I think I know how this guy got Cory to poison the food." "Don't say money." "I've been through his financials." "There's nothing there." "Might be something a lot more personal." "I canvassed the preschool that Cory's daughter attends." "A teacher recognized him when I showed her the screengrab." "Remembers seeing him hanging around the school the day before." "So you think he threatened to hurt the daughter if Cory didn't poison the food?" "It might explain why he was so upset when he got to the restaurant." "Where are we on ballistics?" "Slug from the crime scene is pretty mangled, but it's a possible match to another one in the system." "We should know more in a few hours." "Okay, dad." "The box said something about a soothing infusion of calming herbs." "Anyway, it's a calm tea, and you need to calm down." "How am I supposed to calm down?" "It's Eric Vaughn." "Dad, Beckett is over the moon for you." "So give her a little credit, huh?" "It's no different than when she was protecting Senator Bracken." "Yeah, you're right." "Oh!" "Except for the fact that when it was Bracken, they weren't having a slumber party at a fancy hotel." "And let's face it." "Compared to Bracken, Eric Vaughn is like George Clooney." "Oh, no." "Eric Vaughn's way sexier than Clooney." "What?" "He is." "Yes, and Beckett is protecting him at the Fairwyck as we speak." "Oops." "I was just reminding dad that Beckett is a professional and totally committed to their relationship." "Eh, well..." "Not totally committed." "What do you mean?" "Well, there isn't a ring on her finger, is there?" " I..." " Technically, she's not really committed at all." "Ta." "I'm gonna need more of that tea." "Hey, Beckett, ballistics got multiple matches on the gun used in Cory Harrison's murder, connecting the weapon to four killings outside the state." "Okay, so where were those other murders?" "Detroit, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Memphis." "There was never enough evidence, but a name did come up." " Who?" " Thomas Barber." "42." "Used to be a button man with links to organized crime in Chicago." "According to his file, he's a freelancer now." "I'll text you his photo." "So is this the same guy that we saw on the bus stop video?" "Yep." "He's a match for height, age," " and placement of a creepy neck tattoo." " All right." "Put an APB out for him and start checking plane and train manifests, along with any other transportation systems into the city, and keep in mind, this guy is a gun for hire, so we find him," "we're gonna find whoever put him up to this." " On it." "Keep you posted." " Okay." "It's gonna be fine." "I know it is." "I've worked with the best, and you'd run circles around any of them before your first cup of coffee." "I feel completely safe in your care." "After knowing me for just two days?" "No, after knowing you for two minutes." "So you think you got me figured out, huh?" "Except for one thing." "Are you and Castle..." "Yes." "Is it serious?" "Yes." "Yeah, you could say it's serious." "But the truth is, you don't really know." "Otherwise, you wouldn't have hesitated." "No, it's just, uh..." "We've never really talked about it." "That's all." "Why not?" "We just haven't." "Then he's a fool." "No, it's, uh..." "It's just, it's--it's complicated." "Kate, there's nothing complicated about meeting a woman like you and knowing what to do." "No." "Aah!" "Get down!" "Okay why?" "Hey, Beckett." "Hey, Castle." "I'm fine." "Okay." "All right." "Thanks, Captain." "Vaughn's already back at the precinct." "Gates wants to keep him there until we find a new safe house." "Yeah, preferably one without windows that snipers can shoot through." "It looks like the shot came from the hotel across the street." "Uniforms are canvassing for Barber, but so far, nothing." "I don't understand." "How did he even know you and Vaughn were here?" "Well, maybe he's been watching us since Vaughn survived the attempt at the restaurant." "Hey, Beckett, I hate to do this to you, but I need to take your statement." "No, that's fine." "All right, uh, where were you standing when the first shot came?" "Uh..." "I was... right over here." "Okay, and, um, where was Vaughn?" "Right there." "Right, uh... here?" "Yeah." "Why was he standing so close?" "I don't understand." "That would..." "Wait a minute." "If he was standing there... then the bullet would've gone right through his head." "How did Barber miss?" "Well, before the first shot, Vaughn stumbled." "Stumbled?" "Kids and old people stumble." "How did he stumble?" "I don't know." "He just did." "So he ate the wrong entree and avoided being poisoned, and then he stumbled at just the right moment to avoid being shot by an assassin through a window." "Nobody's that lucky." "What's going on here, Kate?" "He kissed me." "Okay, Castle?" "He what?" "I think I have all I need here." "Look, I'm not gonna lie to you." "We were talking about you, we were talking about relationships, and then he kissed me." "But it didn't mean anything, at least not to me." "Well, if he kissed you, why wouldn't you just push him away?" "Oh." "Which is... why he's not dead." "Yo." "The front desk clerk from the hotel across the street positively identified Thomas Barber." "Said he was staying under an assumed name." "Any sign of him?" "No, but the phone records from his room show that he made several calls to a single number." "You'll never guess who Barber was calling." "Ms. Paralti, some additional information has come to light since you were last here." "Like the fact that your father was in financial dire straights to the tune of $75,000." "He nearly lost the family farm, and then suddenly... he didn't." "What does that have to do with anything?" "Well, it may explain why you did something you otherwise wouldn't." "Like turn over a lethal dose of neurotoxin in exchange for the money to pay off that debt." "I don't know what you're talking about." "What's this?" "The records of phone calls made by Thomas Barber, a contract killer." "Phone calls that he made to you." "Look, please, I..." "I didn't know he was gonna hurt anyone." "He told me he was from a rival lab, that they wanted the patent first." "I was mad at Eric, a-- and I needed the money." " Where did you meet?" " We didn't." "We talked on the phone, and I dropped the vial at a prearranged place." "How did you get paid?" "He told me to set up an offshore account." "The day after the drop, the money just appeared." "Hey, guys, check it out." "The money arrived via a wire transfer." "With Cindy's cooperation, we were able to track it to a Mexican energy company called Mexisolar." "I heard Eric talk about this." "What does a Mexican solar company have to do with Eric Vaughn?" "He owns it." "In fact, the night that Arthur Felder was poisoned, he and Eric Vaughn were arranging a site visit to the company because Felder wanted to double-up his investment." "So whatever's going on, it has to involve this company." "Yeah, but, Beckett, there's more." "The person who authorized the wire transfer into Cindy's account was Eric Vaughn." "It looks like he's behind this whole thing." "That can't be right." "Yo." "I just got off the phone with the consulate in Tijuana." "This company--Mexisolar-- it doesn't exist." "They shut down the factory in Mexicali months ago." "What?" "This is making no sense." "Au contraire, my friends." "For the first time, this is making perfect sense." "Mexisolar... is a scam." "Eric Vaughn's been using it to fleece his investors." "Castle, Vaughn is worth a billion dollars." "He's not gonna be running scams." "Oh, Beckett." "That's what they said about Bernie Madoff." "And like Madoff, it's quite possible" "Vaughn's entire empire is a house of cards." "If Felder was going to visit the Mexisolar factory, he'd have found out about the scam." "The house of cards would collapse." "Eric Vaughn couldn't have that." "And what better way to get away with murder than by making yourself look to be the intended target?" "Don't you see?" "This entire thing is a charade." "He's our killer." "He played us." "Well, mostly you." "Of all the confessions over all the years, this one... is going to hold a special place in my heart." "Castle, I'm going in there..." "Alone." "But we're a team, and the universe demands that I see him crumble." "No, this one has to be about putting Vaughn away and nothing else." "And don't worry." "He will crumble." "Leave the blinds open." "I'm not sure which I should be more disturbed about, that someone tried to shoot my head off or that you pushed me away when I kissed you." "Uh, yeah, let's-- let's talk about that, about these attempts on your life, about Mexisolar." " Mexisolar?" " Your company." "The one that doesn't exist." "Of course it exists." "I should know, I founded it and invested millions." "Right, so did Arthur Felder." "$30 million, to be exact." "And now it's all gone." "What is this, a joke?" "It's not a joke." "That's Mexisolar." "No, no, this is crazy." "The company's completely solvent." "Our factory is state-of-the-art." "I've seen cash flow reports, signed contracts." "You mean like these?" "They're fraudulent." "That's not possible." "How is it not possible?" "You signed them." "Look, my staff give me dozens of documents to sign every day." " It's your company." " Yes." "But I don't oversee the day to day." "Then who does?" "That is quite a story, Detective." "Oh, it is." "It's got everything-- larceny, betrayal, murder, and you looting millions from Mexisolar." "But since you had Eric Vaughn signing off on all of the reports, no one took a hard look at the company." "Until Arthur Felder wanted to see where his money was going." "And you couldn't have that, could you?" "Uh, you think I killed Arthur Felder?" "Yes, but it was Vaughn that you wanted dead." "You knew that the paper trail would make it look like he had embezzled money from the company." "So you hired a hit man," " except he killed the wrong guy." " Oops." "You have no proof of any of this." "Don't be so sure." "The bank that transferred the money to Cindy Paralti captured an IP address, and they traced it back to your computer." "It's over, David." "Look, I didn't steal that money." "I just made some bets with it that underperformed." "I-I-I took the new Mexisolar funding, and I doubled down." "I mean, that's what Eric would have done." "Damn it." "The hole just getting deeper and deeper." "It all would've come out, and it would've meant prison." "I had no choice." "It's amazing how you can know someone for ten years and never really know them at all..." "And know someone for a few days, and... feel like you know them so well." "Well, you will be happy to know that the feds caught Thomas Barber trying to cross the Canadian border, so... it's over." "Yeah." "I suppose it is." "Take care, Eric." "You, too, Kate." "Leaving?" "You know..." "That's an extraordinary woman you have there." "I know." "Do you?" "What is it, Castle?" "I was really comfortable on that couch." "There's something I need to do, something that..." "you need to see." "Wait." "No, Ca" " I didn't say that I never want you to play your game again." "No, I know." "Don't worry." "I have more cords." "This is just symbolic." "But you're right." "I've been taking you for granted." "But no longer." "Tonight... it's all about me." " Shouldn't it be about me?" " Nope." "'Cause tonight it's all about me... giving you... a romantic full-body massage." "Castle." "Yeah?" "Where are we goin'?" "To the bedroom." "Come on." "You're gonna love this."