"You were told what would happen if you came back here." "Hmm." "The last time I saw you in your P.J.s after 8:00 A.M.," "I think you were 4." "We're off today." "Teachers' retreat." "I didn't feel like getting dressed." "This wouldn't have anything to do with Ashley, would it?" "Did I do the right thing, breaking up with him?" "Oh, sweetie." "I don't know." "That's something only you can answer." "It sucks." "I miss him a lot." "Yeah, well, you're not doing yourself any favors, sitting around reading "Pride and Prejudice."" "That's just gonna make it worse." "You might as well be listening to Adele." "Hey, she totally gets it, and so does Jane Austen." "You know what you need?" "A new life?" "A distraction." "And it just so happens," "I know the perfect post-breakup routine." "Tonight you and I go get chili-cheese dogs from gray's papaya." "We smuggle them into a double feature at the Angelika." "I know you mean well, but I don't think going out with my dad is going to... make me feel better." "Well, how about just a low-key evening with your girlfriends?" "You guys can have a John Hughes' marathon and fill out a "Cosmo" quiz." "Dad, the '80s just called." "It wants its plan back." "Come on." "Gram's upstate." "She's doing some spa retreat." "She'll be out of your hair." "And I can make myself scarce." "A few of my friends have been suggesting a girls' night." "Maybe I'll call 'em." "No maybe." "You're going to call them, and you're going to have a great time." "And if that's the '80s, tell them they can have "Cosmo"..." "But I'm keeping John Hughes." "And if it's Beckett?" "Thank you." "Ooh." "The Sapphire." "In Atlantic City?" "I love that place." "All right." "Who's our victim?" "Is it a showgirl, some big-money high roller?" "No, our victim is Sam Siegel, co-owner of the Sapphire, where you're always a winner." "Yeah, not always, by the looks of things." "Guy cashed in his chips between 9:00 and 11:00." "Took a small caliber to the chest." "Muzzle flash burned his shirt at the point of entry." "The shooter was standing close." "Mm-hmm." "Close enough to give him a bloody lip before pulling the trigger." "So what's a guy like Siegel doing in an abandoned delivery dock in New York City at that time of night?" "Must have been something important enough for him to drive down from Atlantic City." "You know, the man owned a casino." "A guy like that, you'd think he'd have a driver." "Especially since he was expecting trouble." "He came heavy." "It's a .357" "Magnum with all six still asleep in the cylinder." "He didn't even pull it out of the glove box." "If he did." "We'd be standing over the other guy." "Yeah, you gotta know when to hold 'em and know when to fold 'em." "Know when to walk away, and know when to run." "Got it." "Detective Esposito, a little respect, please." "I mean, there is a dead body here." "What'd I do?" "You broke up with her." "We broke up with each other." "That's different." "Yeah, you'd think it'd be different, but no." "Will you tell him?" "No, I told you." "I'm staying out of this one." "All right, guys, call the Sapphire, get some background on Siegel, and look for surveillance cameras or security guards that might have seen something." "Women." "You sure you want to spend the rest of your life with one?" "Uh, yeah." "Mine likes me." "Ooh, speaking of Atlantic City, perfect place for a bachelor party." "Ooh." "That's what I'm talking about, bro." "We could rent one of these right here, hit the casino, maybe the club." "Uh, I-I was thinking more along the lines of..." "Camping trip." "Huh?" "Oh, you were... oh." "Uh, first of all, no." "Second, it's not up to you." "The bachelor party is strictly best man territory." "And by the way, your big date is what, like two months away?" "So you need to officially tell the guy so that he can start planning something." "I still got some time." "Um, I-I'm gonna go check on those cameras." "What the..." "Did you see that?" "He just sidestepped me." "What's that about?" "It's almost as though the thought of marriage fills him with an impending sense of doom." "Oh, no, wait." "That's me." "Nav system?" "Yeah, and it looks like Siegel made a stop just before he got here." "537 West End Avenue." "Looks like Sam's got a friend here in Manhattan." "Sam Siegel, 46 years old, got his start in real estate development, and then he went on to launch the Sapphire Coast Resort and Casino in 1999." "You don't come to be a casino owner without making enemies." "Look at Moe Greene in "The Godfather."" "And this guy seems to be a stand-up citizen." "He has a foundation that gives money to charities and public schools." "All right, check with the staff at the casino." "See if he had any meetings here in Manhattan and find out what time he left Atlantic City." "All right." "You know, if someone asked to meet me at an abandoned warehouse in the dead of night," "I'd pass." "I've written that scene enough times to know how it ends." "Hey, that address that was on Siegel's GPS?" "Turns out it's a building where his ex-wife Rebecca lives." "How long have they been divorced?" "About six months." "Recent enough for there to still be hard feelings." "Mm." "Well, according to the neighbors, very hard feelings." "There was a report of a loud argument last night, and neighbors said they saw Siegel leaving her place just after 8:30." "That's just before he was killed." "Yeah, we argued, but I didn't kill him." "Was it normal for him to come and see you after the divorce?" "No." "In fact, I hadn't seen him in months." "We don't really get along anymore." "What were the two of you fighting about?" "Ms. Siegel?" "He said he was in trouble." "What kind of trouble?" "He wouldn't say, but he wanted me to sign over an investment property that was still in both of our names-- a building here in Queens, just a store and some apartments." "I don't know why, but..." "He was very worked up about it." "He offered me $1.5 million for my share, which is as much as the whole place was worth." "He said his life depended on it." "So this building..." "He offered you full price of $1.5 million instead of half, and you still said no?" "I didn't know." "I thought he was working an angle." "I told him I couldn't sign anything without my lawyer." "And after Sam left your place last night, what'd you did?" "I was in my apartment for the rest of the evening." "So the doorman confirms the ex-wife's story." "She was in her apartment all night." "Detective Beckett," "I just received a call from the mayor of Atlantic City." "Mr. Siegel's death is front-page news." "They're asking about suspects." "Yes, sir." "So are we." "Well, how about the property he asked his ex to sign over to him?" "Anything on that?" "Um, just that the victim purchased it a year and a half ago and paid cash for the full amount." "Yeah, the real estate agent was surprised anyone bought it." "It had been on the market for..." "quite a while." "Just got off the phone with Sam Siegel's office." "Apparently, he didn't leave Atlantic City alone last night." "There was no indication of a passenger in his car." "Not a passenger." "A driver." "Around 6:30, one of Sam's regular drivers, Ralph Marino, picked him up in front of the casino and drove him to New York City." "And where is he now?" "No one knows." "He didn't show up for work today." "Which means he's either floating in the Hudson..." "Or he's involved." "Well, what do we know about Mr. Marino?" "Well, he's no boy scout, that's for sure." "Background check shows felony racketeering and assault charges." "Put out an all points on Ralph Marino." "I'll have our brethren in Atlantic City do the same." "You boys head down to Atlantic City to Siegel's casino." "Talk to Marino's friends and coworkers and see if any of them can shine some light on his whereabouts." "Meanwhile, Beckett, you run point from here, get unis canvassing for Marino, and figure out why in the hell Siegel was so desperate to get control over that property in Queens." "Yes, sir." "Come on, Castle." "Oh, uh, captain gates said the boys are going to Atlantic City." "Yeah, I don't think she meant you." "Actually, that's my call." "You're with them." "Besides, detective," "I'm looking forward to seeing what you can do without him." "What are you doing?" "What does it look like?" "Did you think I was gonna pass up a road trip to the Boardwalk Empire, the east coast epicenter of dancing, gambling, showgirls, and sin?" "You do realize, we're going there to investigate a murder, don't you?" "Gentlemen, if I have learned one thing, it's to not let a little thing like murder get in the way of having a good time." "And also, shotgun." "Hey, Alexis." "I hope you're not answering because you are busy planning your girls' night." "Anyway, I'm going out of town on a case, and we may just be spending the night." "Yeah." "So I'll call and I'll check on you." "Love you." "Bye." "Come on, Castle." "We are not spending the night." "How can you say that?" "And maybe Ralph Marino will be very difficult to find, and I think we should start looking at the craps tables." "Yeah." "Oh, I'm starting to understand why you ditched Beckett." "A-and for the record, the one guy in this car who's not a real cop is not allowed to call shotgun." "Called it fair and square." "Maybe Castle's right." "I mean, if--since we're gonna be there, we might as well consider the Sapphire as a potential bachelor party venue." "I'm so happy you said that, because there are a number of establishments down there that cater to bachelor party events." "I think maybe we should take a little sampling." "No, no, no." "We are not sampling any clubs." "What?" "Come on, bro." "Why are you stalling us on this?" "Look, Javier, I-I..." "I got some bad news." "I had to ask Jenny's half-brother Nelson to be my best man." "Nelson?" "That guy I met at your birthday party?" "16, with braces, couldn't stop talking about being a mathlete." "It was a family thing." "I-I didn't have a choice." "Yeah, you did." "No, actually, when it comes to weddings, uh, you don't." "Trust me." "You do not want to start a marriage with a family feud." "This sucks." "I know." "And I was gonna give you an awesome send-off, bro." "I know." "Well, boys, I'm sorry." "I'm sorry it had to come to this." "I didn't want it to, but it looks like we have no choice." "There is no other way." "I.B.P.W.O.C." "Impromptu bachelor party while on case." "Ah, you smell that?" "That is the smell of hopes, dreams, and endless opportunities." "Not to be confused with cigarette smoke, day drinking, and desperation." "Well, that's the great thing about casinos-- no clocks, no windows, and no judgments." "How you doin'?" "Maybe we should stay the night." "What?" "Detective Ryan, NYPD." "I'm here to investigate Mr. Siegel's death." "The concierge is right over there." "Nadine." "Gentlemen, welcome to the Sapphire." "I'm Nadine, the personal concierge." "We're all devastated to learn about Sam." "We're supposed to meet Sam's business partner" " Charlie Turner." "We need to talk to him about one of your employees." "He asked me to escort you to his table." "Follow me." "And if you have any other questions about the hotel, don't hesitate to ask." "Uh, actually, now that you mention it," "I'm curious, who's playing on the main stage?" "Just in case we have time to squeeze in a show." "Well, we're hosting an Elvis impersonators convention this weekend, so we're only featuring carrot top." "Carrot top?" "I haven't seen him perform since his crazy makeover." "It'll be like a new show." "Well?" "Uh, no luck so far on Marino." "A.C.P.D. said that he's not at his apartment, nothing turned up on the canvass." "What about the building in Queens?" "Well, online search shows that there's no liens or lawsuits, so there doesn't seem to be anything unusual about it." "Keep digging." "Mm-hmm." "Uh, look, detective," "I know you're probably thinking that I have you here as some kind of punishment." "You're a good cop, but I think you can be better if you minimize the distractions." "Hell of a thing, losing Sam." "You know, he and I started out in this business together?" "We built this place from the ground up." "Do you have any idea what Sam was doing in New York?" "Wasn't like him." "He hated the city." "Yo, Tommy." "Good to see you back." "Anything you need, let me know." "You know what I need?" "I need my luck to change." "I'm sure it will." "Big whale, lots of dough." "What about Sam's driver last night--Ralph Marino?" "What can you tell us about him?" "Not much." "He drove me a couple of times." "Here's his personnel file, like you asked." "Honestly, after what happened between them," "I don't know why Sam kept him around." "Well, what happened?" "Mr. Turner, sorry to interrupt." "Facial recognition got a hit on a card counter." "Table six, purple shirt." "Gentlemen, I'd like you to meet my security tech Daniel Sullivan." "The same software you guys use to track terrorists, we use to track low-life thieves." "Security escort, table number six, purple striped shirt-- guy's counting cards." "Looks like you run a tight ship." "Everybody thinks they can beat the house." "If you don't lay down the law, they'll rob you blind." "Well, you said something happened between Ralph and Sam." "What was that?" "About a week ago, the two of them had a scuffle at the bar." "About what?" "Sam asked this dancer to, uh... blow on his dice." "Turns out, she was Ralph's girl." "Oops." "Yeah, Sam was always a ladies' man, and a lot of those ladies were already spoken for." "It seems like he was on a little hot streak lately." "But that's the thing about luck, huh?" "I won!" "It changes." "Thank you very much, Mr. Turner." "We may need to interview some of your staff while we're here." "Of course." "Nadine can help you with whatever you need." "All right." "Thanks." "Guys..." "Ralph listed--as his emergency contact--his cousin." "Guess where he lives." "Where?" "New York City." "Eight blocks from our crime scene." "Great place for Ralph to hide out." "Going somewhere, Mr. Marino?" "Hey!" "Hey!" "Hold it." "Show us your hands, now." "I know how it looks." "But I swear to God and my mother, I didn't kill him." "That's why you run away from me with 9-millimeter tucked in your pants, 'cause you're innocent?" "Come on, Ralph." "We know that you and Sam weren't on the best of terms." "He and I were square." "I would never hurt him." "Look, all I did was drive him." "I wasn't there when he was shot." "Why not?" "You were his driver." "So what did you do, go for a midnight stroll?" "As a matter of fact, yeah." "A-after he spoke to his ex, he told me to take him out to this abandoned warehouse on the other side of town." "He said there was someone he needed to meet." "He said he needed to meet him alone." "Who?" "Don't know." "Sam gave me 500 bucks, told me to find my own way home, so I-I crashed at my cousin's place." "And this morning, I" " I hear what happened on the radio." "I figured, with my record, folks would be looking at me." "Did you see anybody else there before you left?" "Black S.U.V. drove up to the dock just as I was leaving, but I didn't see who was inside." "Ballistics is checking your 9." "You better hope it's not a match." "What do you think?" "I think he's not stupid enough to kill Sam, knowing it'll just point right back at him." "So Sam drove up to New York to secure the property in Queens from his ex-wife and then went to the docks to meet with someone." "Sounds like someone was expecting the property, and when Sam couldn't deliver, they killed him." "Why?" "What's so special about that property?" "Ladies, thank you so much." "You have no idea." "These will not go to waste." "Thank you." "All right." "All right." "It was not easy, but I did it." "I managed to get three front-row seats to the burlesque show at the Borgata, also reservations at a premium table at the X Club with bottle service." "Sweet." "What'd you guys come up with?" "Well, Sam's assistant didn't know anything about the property in Queens, but she did remember something odd about yesterday." "Apparently, Sam followed his usual morning routine-- he had a massage in the hotel, then a meeting with his casino manager, then after lunch, he came back with a bloody lip." "How'd he get it?" "Well, Sam was evasive, but his assistant said, it looked like someone hit him." "So Sam gets punched, and soon after, he rushes off to New York, frantically trying to get that property." "Then he's shot dead." "Well, it's gotta be connected." "The problem is, we don't know who threw that punch." "I think I know how we can find out." "You said yesterday at 2:00 P.M.?" "Yeah, that's correct." "It'll take a second for facial recognition to pick out Mr. Siegel in all the footage." "Do you keep former guests in the system?" "Sure do." "That's how we flag gamblers with priors." "What about me?" "Let's see." "Richard..." "Castle." "Oh, resident, New York City..." "Mm-hmm." "Disorderly conduct, resisting arrest in 2003, and, uh, apparently last time you were at the Sapphire, you accidentally set a mattress on fire, and the drapes were covered in jam." "Yeah." "That was a fun night." "Check." "Ah, here he is." "That's Mr. Siegel, leaving the elevator at 2:00 P.M." "He already has a bloody lip." "Can you back that up to earlier?" "Sir, am I interrupting?" "Just running background on the tenants in the Queens building." "I-I think I might know why someone wanted Sam dead." "According to his bank, Sam wired over $10 million out of the Sapphire's business account yesterday, wiping it clean." "$10 million?" "Wh-where did he transfer it to?" "To an offshore account in the Caymans." "Beckett." "So here he is, parting ways with the pit boss at one of the tables." "No bloody lip yet." "Let it play, please." "Is there another angle on that?" "That's Charlie Turner, Sam's business partner." "Why would Charlie attack Sam?" "I think I know." "That was Beckett." "Sam Siegel's been embezzling from the casino." "He's ripped 'em off for millions." "Sounds like Sam was trying to beat the house." "And Charlie laid down the law." "Something you forgot to tell us, Charlie?" "Business partners have disputes." "Doesn't mean anything." "What was it about?" "The thread count on the new sheets." "Not the 10-plus million that Sam stole from the casino?" "You knew he was embezzling." "Okay, yeah, I knew." "So?" "So it's 10 million motives for murder." "You know, you may have noticed, we have a few cameras here at the casino." "Take a look." "I was here, not in New York, killing my partner." "Really?" "Mm-hmm." "'Cause that right hook kinda looks like a warning to me." "Yeah, you know, this town..." "If you're not careful, it corrupts your soul." "Sam and I were partners 20 years, and still, he thinks it's okay to steal from me?" "When I saw he'd transferred the $10 million out," "I found him on the casino floor, and he denied even knowing about it." "Can you believe it?" "So I punched him, and I told him, friend or no friend, he better have that money back in my account, or he'd never walk again." "So I must have scared him, because I get a call a few hours later, and he said he'd have the money back in my account today." "And now it's today." "And my friend is dead, and the money's still gone." "So the boys checked security footage, and they said that Charlie was on the casino floor the whole night." "He could've paid someone." "Yeah, but why would he kill Sam before he got his money?" "And if Sam actually stole something, why wasn't he on a plane to Barbados?" "Why was he wasting his time coming up to New York?" "And how is all this connected to the property in Queens?" "I think we're missing something." "There's some piece of the puzzle that'll help make all of Sam's seemingly random actions make sense." "Actually, that's something that Castle's pretty good at, taking a look at what we have and then helping to find that piece." "Mr. Castle likes to throw a whole lot of crazy theories against the wall." "Real detectives don't have that luxury." "It's our job to look at the facts." "The bank report indicates that Sam moved the money at 9:47 A.M." "via electronic transfer on their web site." "Now if we can find out who Sam talked to or met with right before that, we could maybe figure out what's going on." "9:47?" "Yes." "Sam's assistant has him..." "At a massage." "Yeah, Mr. Siegel had an hour session yesterday at 9:00." "Why?" "Well, we need to know if Sam made or received any phone calls or perhaps any visitors during his session." "No." "He was very focused on the service." "Amber, we know he went online at 9:47." "We just need to know if he made contact with anybody right before or right after." "I told you, he wasn't on the phone and he wasn't online." "Well, what with mobile devices being so small and slim, perhaps he had it in his hand." "His hands were otherwise occupied." "Oh." "Oh." "I get it." "That--that kind of massage." "So then Sam didn't make the transfer." "He didn't steal the money." "Somebody stole it from him." "Uh, Amber, we need to know if, um, perhaps there was anything, uh, maybe, unusual about the appointment." "The only thing that seemed odd was that" "Nadine called that morning to confirm the appointment." "Nadine-- the personal concierge?" "Why was that unusual?" "Mr. Siegel's assistant usually books the appointment." "This was the first time Nadine ever called." "Wait a minute." "Did you say her name was Nadine Espinoza?" "Yeah, the concierge." "That name mean anything to you?" "Uh, Espinoza is the last name of one of the tenants in Sam's building in Queens-- uh..." "Teresa and Juan." "They run the bodega on the ground floor, and they have a daughter named Nadine." "That's our connection." "Ryan, bring her in." "Yes, sir." "Nadine's supervisor said she left her office ten minutes ago, claimed she needed to go home sick." "Well, there's a chance we can catch her outside." "Let's go." "There she is." "Oh, my God!" "Stop!" "Hey!" "No!" "No!" "Help!" "Hey!" "Hey!" "What the..." "We're not gonna be seeing carrot top tonight, are we?" "Yeah, so, honey, it turns out" "I am going to be stuck here for the rest of the night." "Well, is everything all right?" "Yeah, yeah, just-- the case just got a little complicated." "But I want you to have a great time tonight with your girlfriends." "I will, if you promise to be safe." "Deal." "Love you." "Love you, too." "Hey, Jules." "Come on in." "I've got my fave "get over a breakup" snack, and a kick-ass chick flick-- "Bridesmaids," of course." "Okay." "Uh, the girls are on their way, and it turns out, my dad's out of town, so we have the whole place to ourselves." "Cool." "By the way, Mena said her boyfriend might swing by and drop of her jacket." "Isn't he friends with Brian from homeroom?" "Hot-as-hell Brian?" "Yeah." "I think they're doing a bros' night at the movies." "Well, maybe we could invite them over, too, all watch a movie here." "Brian?" "Yeah." "He's, like, a total jock." "Completely the opposite of your type." "I know." "He's so... not Ashley." "I'll text Mena." "So Beckett says the plates on the S.U.V. came back as stolen." "Most likely the same S.U.V. that was spotted coming out of that abandoned warehouse where Sam was killed." "If it's the same car, why would they want Nadine?" "Because whatever this is, Nadine is knee-deep in it." "Try neck-deep." "A.C.P.D. let me check in to that laptop in Nadine's work bag." "I checked her browser history." "Guess who paid a visit to the New Reserve Bank web site yesterday at 9:47 A.M.?" "Nadine's our thief?" "Yep, our concierge pulled quite a score." "She logged in with Sam's account information and transferred the 10 mil." "So whoever took her is after the money." "They tried to get it from Sam." "When that didn't work, they killed him, and now they've gone for Nadine." "Okay, but we still don't know who "they" are." "There's only one person who makes any sense." "The guy whose money it is." "Why would I kidnap my own concierge?" "Because you found out she was the one who stole your money." "Nadine stole my money?" "You can stop the theatrics." "We know you know." "Mr. Turner, your casino maintains a fleet of black S.U.V.s to shuttle around your high-rollers." "All the casinos do." "That doesn't prove anything." "Well, then you won't mind if we inspect them." "Just to make sure they're all accounted for." "We're done here." "Excuse me?" "You people are here from another state." "You have no jurisdiction and you have no warrant, and I believe I've tolerated your presence long enough." "Get out of my casino." "Are you kidding?" "Do I look like I'm kidding?" "I want you to leave." "Now." "Can he do that?" "What?" "How did you guys get kicked out?" "Turns out Charlie's version of full cooperation isn't all that full." "The only reason he kicked us out is because he's behind the whole thing." "Yeah, but kidnap somebody right in front of his casino?" "That's a bit bold." "If he knew it was her, why would he wait?" "Why didn't he just grab her in the casino while she was on shift?" "Yeah, I mean, he did seem genuinely surprised when we told him it was Nadine." "Maybe he didn't know." "Yeah, but he's the only one with motive." "Well, not necessarily." "What if someone else knew what Nadine did and wanted the money?" "How would they find out?" "Maybe Nadine told 'em." "I mean, that would explain the phone records." "How so?" "Listen, I pulled her phone history." "She called a number inside the casino immediately before and after making that transfer at 9:47." "I tracked down the extension to a-a Daniel Sullivan." "Daniel?" "That's Charlie's security guy." "That would explain how Nadine got ahold of Sam's passwords." "Daniel is her partner." "He's got eyes and ears all over that casino." "All right." "See what he knows." "We can't." "He's inside the casino, and their security won't let us back in." "Okay, sit tight." "I'm driving down." "No." "No, no." "Beckett, you don't have to do that." "No, no, we got-- we really have-- we got it." "Yeah, she's gone." "So I told coach, if I'm open on the 3, the point guard better feed me." "That's really interesting." "But did you have to invite half the team over?" "I like your hair." "It's..." "Red." "Will you excuse me for a sec?" "Hey, I need to talk to you." "Can it wait a second?" "I think someone just broke the blender." "Who are all these people?" "Jamie Cruz just posted an update on Facebook that you're having a party." "What?" "He's kind of a loser, though, so I'm--I'm sure he doesn't have that many friends." "Yeah." "I mean, how many people are just sitting at home waiting to hear about a party?" "This is the worst impromptu bachelor party while on case ever." "This is humiliating." "We're homicide detectives with the NYPD." "Unfortunately, we're in New Jersey." "At least we're not on a ticking clock because a woman's been kidnapped." "Oh, wait." "We are." "There's gotta be some other way we can get in." "What if I told you, I could get us back in the hotel, past security, all..." "While circumventing facial recognition?" "How the hell are you gonna do that?" "Thank you." "Thank you very much." "How do you know she wasn't talking to me?" "Well" "What, Elvis can't be brown?" "I'm Elvez." "Hey." "How you doin'?" "What the hell?" "We'd like a word about Nadine." "You're joking, right?" "Does it look like we're joking?" "Okay." "Why are you guys dressed like that?" "A better question is, why did Nadine call you at 9:48 yesterday?" "You know about that?" "We know you two were partners." "Who took her?" "Who was in the S.U.V.?" "I don't know." "I... this wasn't supposed to happen." "Are you guys saying that you accidentally stole" "$10 million from Charlie and Sam?" "No, we didn't steal it." "We were--we were using it as leverage." "To get Sam to hand over that building in Queens for her parents." "Yeah, but it-- it's not why you think." "Nadine and I started dating a few months ago." "We're in love." "We wanted to start over, move somewhere, but Sam wouldn't let her go." "They were an item?" "No, only in his mind." "She refused all of his advances, but he wouldn't stop." "Why didn't she report him?" "Because this was his casino." "Nobody would've taken her seriously." "She tried to quit about a year ago." "That's when he bought her parents' building and threatened to evict 'em if she didn't sleep with him." "I had to do something to stop him." "So you came up with a plan to hold the money hostage until he turned over the deed?" "He was gonna sign it over as a quitclaim, and then I was gonna transfer the money back." "And then Nadine would be free." "None of this explains who killed Sam." "Something about the money made Sam panic." "What do you mean?" "When I called Sam to give him instructions about the deed, he told me, I stole the wrong person's money." "And he told me, when they found out, we'd all be dead." "Who was he talking about?" "I don't know." "Oh, hey, guys." "Uh, we were just leaving." "This isn't the ballroom." "Huh." "Let me guess." "Facebook?" "Twitter." "You might want to just leave this open, by the way." "There's, like, a whole bunch of people lining up for the elevator downstairs." "Julie, this is a disaster." "Chill." "It's just a party." "Have some fun for once." "Fun?" "I don't even know half these people." "Oh, what about, um..." "Uh, Brian?" "He has the I.Q. of a squirrel." "Oh, God." "My dad's gonna kill me." "Please." "You have the coolest dad ever." "If he were to walk in right now, I bet he wouldn't care." "You're right." "He probably wouldn't care." "The problem is, I do." "Everybody, listen up." "The party is over." "Thanks for coming, thanks for spilling, thanks for telling every teenager with a pulse." "Now, everybody, out." "Oh, really?" "Really?" "If it wasn't illegal, I'd kick your ass." "Wonder where they took Castle." "You were told what would happen if you came back here." "Now I'm not stupid enough to beat on cops, but you, on the other hand, are a different story." "I want my money, Mr. Castle, so you better tell me everything you know." "I know it's not your money." "Would you excuse us?" "Who told you?" "No one told me." "I put the pieces together." "Sam's murder, Nadine's kidnapping, none of it makes any sense if it was your money." "You know what I think?" "I think the money Nadine stole from you actually belonged to someone else." "Otherwise, you wouldn't be so desperate." "So tell me, Charlie, what happened, you and Sam take out a loan from an institution that doesn't offer flexible payment plans?" "You borrowed money from the mob." "That's why you didn't want us sniffing around here." "What I can't figure out is, how could you be so stupid?" "The banks weren't lending." "We needed a cash infusion, or else we would've had to fold." "And now the money's gone." "You have any idea how bad it is to default on a loan from the mob?" "How'd they find out about Nadine?" "Hell if I know." "Maybe Sam told 'em." "All I know..." "Is that I need my money back." "I can get your money back for you." "But I need you to do something for me." "Who are they?" "No." "No way." "Come on, Charlie." "They killed Sam." "And unless they get their money back, they're gonna kill Nadine and then you." "Those are your cards." "Is this really how you're gonna play 'em?" "Um... funny story?" "We, uh, look, this is..." "We can explain." "No, I'm not even sure I want to know." "It was Castle's idea." "And it worked." "I know who killed Sam." "Who?" "Tommy Moretti." "He made a hard-money loan to the Sapphire six months ago, and it's due." "It was his money that Nadine stole." "Felony assault, attempted murder, racketeering-- the feds have been trying to get him for years." "He was at the bar earlier today." "He told Charlie he needed his luck to change." "Probably a veiled threat." "What if he kills her?" "Nah, he wants his money too much." "Just stick to the plan." "Charlie called Moretti, told him to meet him at the casino, first thing in the morning when the banks open." "Once you turn over the $10 million, he'll turn over Nadine." "And then we'll arrest him for Sam's murder." "And what if he smells a trap?" "He won't." "We'll be ready." "Here he comes." "Tommy Moretti." "The guy is a sociopath." "The problem is, with half the city on his payroll, no one can touch him." "You got some pretty big balls, kid, to steal from me." "Look, I-I'm sorry, Mr. Moretti." "I had no idea you were involved." "I'll log on and transfer the funds as soon as I see Nadine." "You got a lot of demands for a kid who's lucky to be sucking down air right now." "You said you'd let her go." "Okay, here's where it gets interesting." "Funny." "Somehow I figured I wasn't done." "Take a seat, Mr. Moretti." "We got a few questions about Sam Siegel's murder." "You got me in a cooperative mood, detective." "Now that I got my money back, what can I do for you?" "The night of Sam's murder, you charged a meal at Carmine's." "That's about a mile away from the crime scene." "That's a long way to go for good chicken parm." "I had a craving." "For good Italian or for the $10 million Sam stole from you?" "Come on." "If I had killed Sam, you think you would've ever found the body?" "The guy you're looking for ain't me." "But you were there." "Sam called me." "He said he was having trouble repaying the loan." "So I arranged a meeting." "Yeah, at just the kind of place guys like you like to put bullets into guys like him." "You can't get money from a dead guy." "I'd have broken his legs and taken his casino first." "Now see, I knew all about the blackmail." "Sam told me." "He said I had nothing to worry about because his ex-wife had signed over the property in Queens." "The blackmailers were transferring the 10 mil back." "He was gonna drop off the money in the morning, so..." "I gave him an extra 24 hours." "It was the last I saw of him." "Except Sam lied." "His ex-wife never signed." "Yeah, she did." "He showed me the signature himself." "That's the reason I gave him the extra time." "I didn't lie." "So then what happened to the paperwork after Sam left your apartment?" "He took it with him." "That's odd." "I would've thought I would've found it on his body." "But we didn't." "It made me wonder where it was." "Maybe the person who killed him took it." "Yeah, maybe she did." "So uniforms found this in your apartment's trash bin." "It has your signature on it." "You did lie." "He pleaded with me..." "Begged me to sign that form." "And when I said no, he took out his gun, put it in my mouth, and told me, if I didn't sign the form, he would paint the walls with my brains." "The only reason I was able to get that divorce was because he said I had gotten old, that he was done with me." "And I was grateful, grateful for a way out." "But with a man like Sam..." "You're never really out." "So when he told me that someone wanted him dead," "I thought, here's my chance." "So then what happened?" "He made a call from my phone about the meet." "After he left," "I took out the .38 that he gave me for our second anniversary," "went out the service exit." "And I hunted him down like the vicious animal he was." "I've asked the D.A." "to look into the mitigating circumstances." "They'll take her situation into account when they offer her a plea." "Thank you for your help on this one." "I enjoy checking out the view from the trenches once in a while." "Yeah, well, it helps to be surrounded by a good team." "You mean Castle." "You said it, not me." "He's not a cop." "Yeah, but that's what makes him so good." "Well, speaking of which, uh, where are they?" "I gave them the afternoon off." "Apparently, Ryan got stuck with an underage best man, so the boys are giving him the unofficial bachelor party." "I trust you'll edit their side of the investigation in the report." "Hey." "What happened to you?" "Nothing." "Nothing." "What-- what happened here?" "Nothing." "Where's the, um..." "Where's the little silver dog statue that's usually on the back of the couch?" "Oh, I think gram said she needed it for set dressing for her play."