"You are very beautiful, Nikki Heat." "It is too bad that I have to kill you now." "Uglier men than you have tried, Drago." "You have slapped me." "I will not have..." "Playing with dolls, are we?" "These are action figures." "I am using them to envision a scene." "I owe a few chapters of "Frozen Heat" to my editor, and I've not been able to write a page." "Maybe a case with Beckett might, you know, spark something." "She's prepping for a trial." "That the mail?" "Oh, yeah, yeah." "Thank God Alexis is finally getting some college acceptance letters." "Her friends started getting them weeks ago." "Richard Castle, what on earth are you playing at?" "I don't want Alexis to have to live through that Stanford rejection nightmare again so I'm holding the letters." "This way, she gets them all at once, and she'll get all the good news with the bad." "Richard, that is the dumbest idea you've ever had." "Now you've got to give her these letters before she has a nervous breakdown." "Okay, I will." "I will." "Though you have to admit, watching her have a nervous breakdown is pretty funny." "Unlike yours." "Now what are we gonna do about your writing?" "Oh, I don't know." "I just need something... different, something new, something like..." "Severed heads." "Severed heads?" "The victim was found shot to death after midnight." "According to police, his bag contained three severed heads." "Detective Slaughter, what can you tell us about..." "Get that camera out of my face before I put a bullet in it!" "Oh-ho, mother, forget severed heads." "I want to meet that guy." "You already have a muse, darling." "Yes, well, muses are to provide inspiration, and right now I ain't getting any." "So detective Nikki Heat, meet detective Slaughter." "You know what?" "Park that in the conference room." "Thank you." "Hey." "Castle, what are you doing here?" "I just haven't seen you in a few days." "Thought I'd drop by, see how you're doing." "Thank you." "That's so sweet." "Um, I'm great, actually." "The trial prep is going really well." "I've been getting home at a decent hour, and... it's great to see you." "It's good to see you, too." "Hey, listen, do you know anything about this gang cop named Slaughter?" "The severed-heads homicide, that's why you're here?" "Uh, no." "I mean, just, since you're busy prepping for the trial," "I just thought I'd look into this Slaughter guy, get a sense of who he is for the background research, the... the..." "Unless that's a problem." "No, not a problem." "Great." "So where would I find him?" "Wherever the body is." "Darlin', you might as well confess." "I know you killed him so we could spend some quality time together." "Not if you were the last man on earth." "Don't think I'm not up to the challenge." "How about we skip the macho fantasy, and I just tell you cause of death?" "Let me guess..." "lead poisoning?" "Three shots to the chest." "Most likely died of blood loss within minutes." "Always figured Glitch would end up on this table." "Glitch... it's his street name on account, he's such a screwup." "You fish the slugs out for me?" "Ah." "See?" "You do love me." ".32s, I'm guessing." " You're talking about the bullets, right?" " Yeah." "Aren't you gonna ask about the heads?" " Who the hell are you?" " That's Castle." "He's a writer, and he consults with the 12th." "It's weird." "You can tell they aren't fresh." "You can smell it... formaldehyde with a soupcon of decay." "Judging from the dirt in the hair," "I'd say our victim dug the bodies up and then cut the heads off." "No kidding, Sherlock." "I already got unis checking out the local cemeteries, not that it's any of your business." "Rick Castle, and like Laura said," "I work out of the 1-2 with detective Beckett." "Here's the thing..." "I was hoping I could ride along with you on this one, just for a day or two." " No." " No?" "I need a writer hanging around like I need a case of the crabs." "That's..." "What could I say to change your mind?" "Well, that is a very fine coat." "And it would look fabulous on you." "So are we good?" "No." "See ya, gorgeous." "You said I could ride along if I gave you my coat." "I never said that." "It was implied." "Look, I work alone." "Nothing you say is gonna change that." "I'm friends with the mayor." "Yeah?" "And seeing as how I'm asking you for a favor here, that would mean I would owe you one in return." "Well, any friend of the mayor is a friend of mine." "What's our first move?" "Break the news to Glitch's dad." "That was awesome." "Beckett never drives on the sidewalk." "If you're gonna hang with me, we're gonna lay out some ground rules." "Rule number one, do not use the word "awesome."" "You're a grown man." "Rule number two, stay outta my way." "Is that it?" "That's kinda all-encompassing." "This is the hardest part of the job... breaking the news to the family." "So what's your style, terse yet compassionate," " sensitive but strong?" " Brian." "Glitch is in the morgue." "Someone pumped three rounds into him." "We're sorry for your loss." "My what?" "My "loss"?" "Who the hell are you to talk about my loss?" "Your boy was into something bad, worse than usual." "What do you know about it?" "And why would I tell ya even if I knew?" "Well, it involved cutting the heads off of dead guys." "Doesn't sound like your boy's brand of stupid." "My son... was a simple lad operating in difficult times." "You disparage his memory at your peril." "Now..." "I've gotta go tell his mom, make arrangements." "That's a hard man." "Yeah, you don't get to be top leg breaker in the Westies by being soft." "No wonder he didn't give us anything useful." "Never thought he would." "He's a "take the law into your own hands" kinda guy." "You think he's gonna hunt down Glitch's killer himself." "Yeah, and we're gonna follow him." "The tricky part's gonna be interceding before he kills the guy." "Let's go." "He's on the move." "Where do you think he's going?" "I don't know." "That's why we're following him." "Yeah?" "Outstanding." "Unis found the cemetery where Glitch got the heads." "Four blocks from the crime scene." "Thanks, brother." "When we get back to the office, we'll run these names down, find out who these heads belong to." "Why wait when I can have my team run them right now?" "You got a team?" " Hello?" " I am texting you three names, all recently deceased." "I need you to run 'em for me." "Beckett's not working a case right now." "No, I'm running and gunning with Slaughter from gangs." "Then have him run the names." "I don't work for you." "Ah, Esposito, you are too funny." "He's there, isn't he?" " Uh-huh." " All right." "If you want me to make you look good, it's gonna cost." "Front-row Knicks tickets." "Sounds good." "Oh, and, uh, by the way, your boy Slaughter... he's got quite a reputation in gangs." "His nickname is "The Widowmaker."" "His last three partners were all killed in the line of duty." " All good?" " Yeah." "You think one of those guys could be the killer?" "Nah, he's just trolling for info, which means we watch and wait." "Ahh." "Ah, no, than." "Okay, sure." "So... they call you The Widowmaker." "Hey, not my fault they keep sticking me with idiots." "Speaking of partners," "I've seen pictures of yours." "She's smokin' hot." "You're tapping' that, right?" "What?" "No." "No?" "What's wrong with you?" "Nothing's... nothing's wrong with me." "We're just friends." "Man needs a friend, he gets a dog." "Woman like that, you storm the beaches or die trying." "Come on." "He's heading for that bar." "Showtime." "You packing'?" "Packing?" "No, I'm not a cop." "My vest says "Writer" on it." "Rule number three, you ride with me, you ride strapped." "Come on." "Hey, hey, what about regulations?" "You signed a waiver, didn't you?" "Okay, you take the front, I'll go in the back." "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "Shouldn't we call for backup?" "You got a skirt that says "Writer" on it, too?" "No." "Come on." "Give me ten seconds, then go in hard." "Yell out "NYPD," the louder, the better." "NPYD!" "Associated civilian investigator." "Nobody move." " Drop the gun, dirtbag!" " What did you call me?" "D- dirtbag." "Drop it or your wife will be getting a volume discount at the mortuary." "Come on." "Sit down." "Get him, Sherlock!" "I got him!" "I don't..." "I don't got him." "I don't got him." "I don't got him." "I don't got him." "Little help!" "You're doing fine." "Well done, Sherlock." "Attaboy." "Sync  corrections by Anonymous" "What's this I hear about Castle researching with another cop?" "Don't you have some fives to fill out?" "I'm sure it's just a phase." "You know Castle." "He's probably caught up in the severed heads and the rush of the gangster squad..." "I don't care what... what... he's wrapped up in just so long as he... stays out of my... hair." "Thanks." "Hey, put him on ice for me, huh?" "Shea, keep it in the family, huh?" " Where's interrogation?" " Right there." "First door right there." "Come on, you." "What the hell happened?" "Oh, you should have seen it." "Slaughter got the drop on the one guy, but the other guy tried to make a break for it." "I had to take his ass down." "You what?" "Are you kidding me?" "You're a writer, Castle." "Not a cop." "Hey, I can take care of myself." "You just never give me a chance." "Yeah, because I'm not trying to get you killed." "And what is he doing using our box?" "Well, I invited him to." "Castle, that's not your place." "I didn't think you'd mind." "Besides, guys like Slaughter, they just float from precinct to precinct, you know?" "They're like nomads, wandering the streets of New York City, kicking ass and taking names, which isn't the most original turn of phrase, but the character is so great." "It's really gonna help me shake up this next Nikki Heat book." "Yeah, sure, if you live long enough to actually write about it." "I didn't kill Glitch." "Then why'd his father come after you?" "I don't know, but you gotta convince him that I'm innocent." "No, no, no, no." "You gotta convince me or I'm gonna park you in holding then sit back and marvel at how Brian removes your limbs with his bare hands." "I was at my sister's house on long island last night." "You can call and ask her." "So why does Brian think you killed his son?" "Really, Shea?" "Want me to bust out Jake and The Fatman again?" "Brian heard me and Glitch had a falling out, but we didn't." "It's just..." "Finn Rourke told us all to stay away from him." "The head of the Westies made you freeze Glitch out?" "Why?" "He screwed up another job last week." "He abandoned a truck full of stolen medical equipment on the FDR after he ran out of gas." "The only reason" "Finn didn't have Glitch killed was Brian, because he knew he was crazy enough to go after him if anything happened to his kid." "Why did Glitch have a bag full of heads?" "No clue." "When's the last time you saw him?" "Two days ago." "He said he was gonna do something to get back in good with the Westies." "Did he say what it was?" "No, and I didn't ask." "How could Glitch think that cutting the heads off dead bodies would get him back in good with the Westies?" "He wasn't a deep thinker." "I wouldn't knock myself out looking for motive." "Cappuccino?" "Rule four." "Castle." "Perfect." "Thank you." "Thank you very much." "Esposito said you'd have something for him." "Uh, that's..." "Tell him... tell him they're on their way." "Thank you." "All right." "Looks like we got IDs on our heads." "All three belong to members of the Trenchtown posse." "Hot damn." "Mystery solved." " Uh..." " Trenchtown posse, jamaican gang... runs girls and drugs from Brooklyn to the Bronx." "They're fighting a turf war with the Westies over the morningside heights." "I bet Glitch thought he could make his bones by cutting the heads off of Westie enemies." "Bet he planned on putting those heads in some high-ranking jamaican beds." "Like a horse's head, "The Godfather."" "Yeah, that's the stupidest thing you said yet, and just dumb enough to seem smart to Glitch." "And knowing that boy, he'd run his mouth," "Jamaicans hear about it, and they ambush him." "Come on." "I got a source on the street tied in with the Jamaicans." "He'll be able to give us intel." "I love this run-and-gun police work." "You're upset." "No." "Yes." "Okay?" "Fine." "Yes." "I thought that the two of us were actually getting closer together, and now it seems like he's just pulling away." "Have you asked him why?" "Yes, and he said..." ""Oh, everything is fine."" "What makes you think it isn't?" "Because he's acting like a complete jackass!" "He shows up at the precinct with these bimbos hanging on his arm, and now he's running around with another cop." "Is this other cop a woman?" "No!" "No." "Why... why would you even ask that?" "That's not even the point." "The point is, I don't understand why he's acting like this." "I mean, what did I do?" "Well, maybe, from his point of view, the question is, what didn't you do?" "Wait." "What?" "W- what do you mean?" "When you were shot, Castle said that he loved you." "How long ago was that?" "Seven months ago, but I wasn't ready to hear that then..." "What do you think he's telling you with his behavior?" "That maybe he's not there anymore?" "That maybe he's not ready?" "What if I waited too long?" "You weren't waiting, Kate." "You were healing." "Yeah, but then in the meantime, he's moved on." "Or he's protecting himself by not taking more emotional risks." "So then what do I do?" "What do you want to do?" "I tell you what I'd do," "I'd go all caveman on that partner of yours." "Show her what time it is in real-man land." "Real-man land?" "Oh, is that what you were showing Laura when we were back at the morgue?" "Just throw a little attention her way, make her happy." "You know who I'm mackin' on is this hot new redhead just started working there." "That girl's barely street legal." "A redhead?" "Yeah." "About 5'5", blue eyes, intern?" "Yeah." "You know her?" "That's my daughter." "Seriously?" "That girl got an ass..." "Hey." "Relax, Sherlock." "I'm just playin'." "All right." "As long as we're clear that my daughter's off-limits." "Yeah." "You pack a little punch there for a writer." "There's my guy." "Nah, you stay here." "Keep an eye out." " You okay?" " I got a name." "What happened in there?" "Did you kill him?" "You don't want to know." "We were never here." " What are you doing?" " Jeez!" "You okay?" "That guy is insane." "Yeah, I know." "I tried to tell you." "No, he's insane." "Why?" "What did he do?" "Jeez!" "I can't talk now." "I want those tickets." "Hey." "What's up?" "What are you talking about?" "Where?" "Oh, there." "Um..." "Nothing." "I mean, obviously, not nothing." "We were talking." "We weren't just moving our..." "I gotta go to the bathroom." "Hey." "What the hell?" "I thought you killed him." "Yeah, you shoulda seen the look on your face when I came out that door." "That's not funny." "That's not funny." "No, no, it's hysterical!" "Look at 'em laughing it up." "Okay." "Just acting like they own the place." "I'm gonna say something." "No, don't." "It's not worth it." "I feel like he's cheating on us." "He's not cheating on us, Ryan." "He's just... branching out." "Don't take it personally, son." "Marc Gibson." "I'm undercover on the gang task force." "I had to make sure I could trust ya, that you had my back if things got ugly." "Luckily, you passed." "Well, you were right about the Jamaicans taking out Glitch." "Neighbors near the cemetery heard gunshots on the night of the murder." "Source tells me a low-level banger named Maxi" " was the one doing the shooting." " Ah." "He's holed up in a building on Avenue A and 5th." "Take a walk, fellas." "Let's go, man." "Maxi, why you gotta make this so hard, huh?" "We both know you killed that Westie kid last night." "I want me lawyer." "Your lawyer?" " Sure." "He's right in here." " Uhh!" "Wait!" "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "What are you doing?" "Tell me you killed him or they're gonna have to" " hose you outta here, Maxi." " I didn't kill no one!" "Wait!" "Wait!" "Wait!" "I got a call that some Westie boy was running his mouth about digging up our dead." "Me go out to the cemetery to ambush him, but I never fire no shot!" "You better stand back." "This guy's gonna pop like a grape." "No, wait!" "I swear!" "He wasn't alone!" "A group of Mexicans was waiting there next to a tricked-out escalade!" "Are you telling me a third gang is involved in this?" "Man, I don't know who they are, man!" "But that Glitch clearly knew them!" "He told 'em he had the heads, then things went south!" "The Mexicans opened fire on him and took off running," " and so did I." " Okay, okay, okay, so the Mexicans hunted down Glitch, and they shot him." "Or he did and he's making up a story." "No, no, no, no, no!" "I can prove it!" "The escalade had Texas plates." "I saw the first two letters... "R" and "X."" "Okay, Maxi." "But that license better check out, or I'm gonna come back here and recycle your ass." "It will check." "It will check!" " It'll check, man!" "I swear!" " Bye-bye." "Slaughter, get me out of here!" "Another gang." "That's plausible, right?" "Yep." "You threaten enough guys, you get a feel for their honesty." "But you wouldn't have really crushed him?" "Nah, of course not." "It would've been more like a-a mangling." "Slaughter!" "Aah!" "Detective Ryan." "Yeah, it's Castle." "I have a partial Texas plate I need you to run." "First letters "R" and "X."" "Yeah, Castle." "That's gonna be really tough for me." "I'm pretty busy." "Really?" "You, too, huh?" "Get the Ferrari." "You know, Castle, Jenny's been bugging me to set you up with her cousin Ramona." "She's a dental hygienist." "Mm-hmm." "Sounds good." " Ferrari." " And I want the Ferrari for the weekend." "All right." "Hey, and, buddy, I am never gonna forget this." "All right." "We're all set." "All right." "We'll get the results in the morning." "Tonight... we celebrate." "Celebrate what?" "Well, you survived the first day on the job with me." "You ever have a partner who didn't?" "You know, I'd love to, uh, celebrate, but..." "But what?" "But nothing." "But nothing." "Let's..." "let's do this." "What's the worst that could happen, right?" "What happened?" "Dad, I got in." "I got in!" "Oh, where?" "Almost everywhere so far." "Oxford, Princeton, Sarah Lawrence." "That's great, honey." "I" " I knew it would work out." "Really?" "Yeah." "Then why were you hiding the letters from me?" " What?" " Come on, dad." "I can read a postmark." "Some of these came last week." "Oh." "I just..." "I'm sorry." "Honey, I-I'm just trying to protect you." "I'm 18 now." "You need to trust that I can take care of my... myself." "What?" "I got into Stanford." "Yes!" "Oh, great!" "That's always been your first choice, right?" "And yet, I sense trouble." "I" " I don't know." "I mean, I should be happy, but after they shot me down for early admission..." "They rejected you, and you feel betrayed." "How am I supposed to get over that?" "You look like crap." "Here." "Little hair of the dog." "That'll get you flying right." "No." "It's not gonna do anything to turn back time." "Anyway, where are we going?" "Salvage yard in the Bronx." "I ran that Texas plate myself last night." "Turns out Maxi was telling the truth about the third player." "Escalade was registered to a Cesar Vales." "Runs with a Mexican gang." "Rumor has it they're making inroads into New York, trying to corner the market on the city's crank trade." "So Vales is coming into town trying to muscle in on the Westies and the Jamaicans." "Yeah, which ain't exactly easy to do." "Well, it would be a lot easier if he could get them to take each other out." "That's good." "So he's sitting around trying to think about a way to make that happen, and he overhears Glitch running his mouth." "Right, he realizes, if a Westie was to turn up murdered with a bag full of jamaican heads, both sides would go to war." "And they could jump in and take over their territories." "Are you sure it's such a good idea to go after this guy ourselves?" "I mean, Maxi made 'em sound pretty dangerous." "Piece of cake." "Guy's nothing but a two-bit punk." "He's high-level mexican mafia." "About as dangerous as they come." "According to the DEA, Cesar Vales is suspected in the deaths of over a dozen people, including three cops in Mexico who were killed with a sledgehammer and then cut up into pieces." "You don't think Castle and Slaughter are going after him?" "I'd put money on it, 'cause I wasn't the only one who ran his plates last night." "Slaughter did, too." "If Castle and Slaughter go after this guy, they're gonna both end up dead." " We need to warn Castle." " I tried, but his phone keeps going to voice mail." "I got a bad feeling that they're on their way to take down Vales right now." "You're not gonna mangle anyone today, are you?" "I like to keep my options open." "There's an awful lot of 'em." "Just follow my lead." "Hola." "Gentlemen, on behalf of the NYPD," "I'd like to welcome you to the greatest city on God's green earth." "Unless you want your friends to see what the inside of your head looks like, back off." "Wow." "Now what seems to be the problem, officer?" "You Vales?" "That's me." "Name Michael Reilly mean anything to you?" "AKA Glitch." "No." "I'm afraid not." "That's funny, 'cause I got an eyewitness that puts you and your girls here shooting the hell outta him in Queens two nights ago." "That is funny." "Hey, you." "Where's your badge?" "In his other coat." "Yeah, Vales, we know all about your plan." "Use Glitch to spark a gang war so you could move your drug business into New York." "Wow." "Your partner here, he's pretty high-strung, isn't he?" "Yeah." " High-strung, huh?" " Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa." "Hey!" "NYPD!" "NYPD!" "Let me see your hands!" "The party's over." "That's too bad, because this was just getting interesting." "If I were you, I'd get your affairs in order, 'cause I'll be back." "Hey!" "Slaughter." "Going in there like that without backup, putting a civilian in harm's way, that's not only reckless, that is bad police work." "You're just lucky that we traced Castle's phone and we found you guys in time." "What, you think I'm gonna thank you for almost ruining my play?" "You had a play?" "I always have a play." "Had to escalate things." "That way I could find the weak member of the herd." "That kid." "Exactly." "He's the one I'm gonna get to flip on Vales once I figure out how to separate him from the pack." "Who knew all these years we've been working together that you had a death wish?" "Come on, that?" "That wasn't bad." "Slaughter had a plan." "Yeah, he had a plan to get you killed." "It's Slaughter." "I gotta go." "All right." "Next time, we might not be there to save you." "You need to do something." "Espo, if the guy is hell-bent on leaving the nest, then there is nothing that I can do about it." "You don't really feel that way, do you?" "Don't you listen to those whiners, Sherlock." "You got balls." "Yeah, I may have needlessly put you in a little harm's way there with Vales, but seeing as it paid off..." "What do you mean, paid off?" "What was that?" "What was what?" "Hey, come on, man!" "It's not cool!" "Is there someone in the trunk?" "Gilberto Mendoza, our weak link." "Get me the hell outta here, man!" "Please tell me that we are just going to talk to him." "Yeah, pretty much." "Come on, man!" "What's going on?" "!" "You can't do that!" "This is wrong." "You gotta stop." "Not till he flips on Vales." "You hear that, Gilberto?" "Only way you're gettin' out of that trunk is if you rat out your boss." "Well, guess what." "I'm not sayin' nothing!" "Hey, remember that favor you promised me?" "There's this civilian review board thing coming up." "Excessive force complaints." "Total BS, right?" "Anyway, you being a friend of the mayor and all," "I figure a statement from you would go a long way to making those charges go away, right?" "You're crazy." "Is that a no?" "I'll do it!" "I'll do it if you stop!" "Outstanding." "Next Tuesday." "9:00 AM sharp." "I'll send you an e-mail." "Hey, man, I know my rights, all right?" " This is kidnapping." "Police abuse." " Uh-huh." "I know something, too, Gilberto." "You got a brother in juvie back in Texas." "Poor little Hector." "I hear he cries himself to sleep every night." "Hey, what the hell are you doing?" "Just having a little chat here with Gilberto." "Listen, unless you want something very bad to happen to Hector, you're gonna help me bury Vales, aren't ya?" "Aren't ya?" " Okay." " Okay, what?" "I need to hear the magic words." "Vales killed Glitch." "Vales killed Glitch." "Yes." "Victory." "Vales was looking for a way to take over the Jamaicans' and the Westies' turf." "That's when we heard about this punk-ass Westie trying to prove himself, and Vales saw his chance." "He convinced Glitch that if he dug up a couple of Jamaicans and cut off their heads, that it would get him back in tight with his Westie pals." "So Vales wanted to use the heads to spark a gang war?" "For the Westies and Jamaicans to go at it till no one's left standing, then he waltzes in, takes over the territory?" "Yeah." "What went down at the cemetery?" "Vales got Glitch to dig up the bodies." "The plan was to kill him and make it look like the Jamaicans did it." "And Glitch must have sensed it or something, 'cause he took off right as we started opening fire." "Tell me about the murder." "Look, kid, I know you're scared, and I was a little rough." "But I talked to the DA and the Feds." "They said, you cooperate with me, your brother's sentence will be reduced to time served, and both of you get a free ride into WITSEC." "So tell me how it went down." "We chased him, we cornered him." "Under the overpass?" "Yeah." "And?" "And then Vales shot him twice and just left him for dead." "How many... how many times?" "Three." "He shot him three times." "What do you think you're doing?" "Closing this case." "I got an arrest warrant for Vales burning a hole in my pocket." "You coached that kid through his interrogation." "What?" "Nah, nah." "I just refreshed his recollection." "Really?" "'Cause the way he was talking, he didn't even witness that murder." "Hey." "H..." "Vales has bodies on him like you wouldn't believe... women, children, cops." "And I got a chance to put him away." "I'm gonna take it." "The question is, are you in or out?" "I guess I'm out." "Well, that's a shame." "I had high hopes for you, Sherlock." "Never thought you'd punk out on me like this." "Hey." "I need some help." "Sorry, Castle." "Caught a murder." "Talk to Beckett." "Hey." "How's it going?" "You can skip the small talk, Castle." "What do you want?" "Slaughter went too far." "Well, isn't that what he does, along with kicking ass and taking names?" "He pressured a kid into making a false statement so he could arrest Vales." "So you came to me so I can fix it?" "You have every right to be mad." "You warned me about Slaughter, and I wouldn't listen." "I'm just trying to make this right." "It's not my case, Castle." "Even if I wanted to help, we've got strict rules about interfering in another cop's investigation." "I'm not asking you to do it for me." "I'm asking you to do it so the real killer doesn't get away with murder." "What makes you think I'm actually gonna fall for that blatant manipulation?" "Because it's true." "What's this?" "A traffic cam shot of Vales' car 10 blocks from the cemetery, heading away from the overpass where Glitch was killed." "11:57." "Glitch was killed after midnight." "This shows that Vales couldn't have killed him." "You did this for me?" "All this time, you had my back." "I had Ryan run a traffic cam search while he was pulling a plate." "It's not a smoking gun, Castle." "Okay?" "You can't even see Vales' face in that photo." "It's not enough to change Slaughter's mind unless you've got something else." "There is one more thing that doesn't make sense." "This is a map of the area." "Here's the cemetery." "Here's the overpass." "But to get to it, Glitch would have to climb a 6-foot fence." "Why do that when there's a subway station a block away?" "Why hide when you can run?" "Maybe we can find out." "According to the CSU report," " Glitch was shot somewhere around here." " Uh-huh." "He staggered away and ended up on the other side of that pillar." "So you think that Vales' plan was to use Glitch and the jamaican heads to start up a gang war?" "Yeah." "Why?" "I don't know, Castle." "That's not what I'm seeing." "Let's say I'm Vales and I shoot Glitch to start that war." "Where do you think would be the best spot to drop off that body?" "In the middle of Westie territory." "Exactly." "So why did he leave it here?" "Oh, crap." "Well... imagine my surprise when I got to the station with my killer, and I hear you're stirring up my crime scene." "Okay, look, I can explain." "Save it." "He doesn't know any better, but you do." "What I know is that you coerced a confession out of an 18-year-old kid." "I didn't coerce jack." "He works for a guy who's got a trail of bodies that stretches all the way back to the Rio Grande." "If he doesn't go down for this, the body count just grows." "We got a traffic video camera photo of Vales' escalade 10 blocks from here when the murder went down." "Yeah, so what?" "Could you see him in the car?" "Not exactly." "And if his lawyer gets ahold of it, you've handed him reasonable doubt, and Vales walks." "Maybe he deserves to walk." "He deserves to be pulled apart by horses." "But the law says I can't do that." "But what I can do is," "I can lock him up in prison for the rest of his life." "Now the question is, are you gonna back off or am I gonna have to report you for jumping my case?" "You do what you gotta do, Slaughter." "And I'll do the same." "Thanks." "We got about an hour to figure out who really killed Glitch before I get called to the carpet by the chief of detectives." "What can he do to you?" "Well, best-case scenario, he suspends me." "And worst-case scenario?" "Crap." "So I'm Glitch." "I just dug up three bodies, cut the heads off 'em, which was horrible, to try and win my way back in with the Westies." "And then the kindly mexican gentlemen" "I thought were helping me suddenly pull out guns and try to kill me." "Running for my life," "I end up on the wrong side of this fence." "Where you can see a sign for the subway." "So why would you climb a barbed wire fence when can just hang a right and hop a train outta here?" "Fear." "For all I know, the Mexicans are driving the streets looking for me." "With all these street lights on, I'd be a sitting duck." "But under here, it would be pitch black, so I climb the fence and I hide." "Why hide when you can escape?" "Because I wasn't just hiding." "I was waiting." "I called for help." "But when they found Glitch's body, he didn't have a phone on him, so..." "So either the killer took it or..." "Or he used that pay phone." "Why'd you call me down here?" "Because we have definitive proof that Vales didn't kill Glitch." "And you want to rub my face in it?" "No." "Look, Slaughter, we're different kids of cops." "Yeah." "And although I'm not a fan of your methods," "I know you don't want to send an innocent man to jail when you know that the real killer is still out there." "Okay." "So who killed Glitch?" "We know he called you, Brian." "Your son dialed your cell from that pay phone about a half an hour before he was murdered, and you answered that call." "We also have surveillance photos of you at that subway stop from before and after the murder." "All those years... all those screwups... must have been unbearable for a stand-up guy like you, huh, Brian?" "And then Glitch calls you to tell you that he screwed up again." "But this time, it was different, wasn't it?" "He'd crossed the line." "He was your son." "Which made him my responsibility." "So I did what had to be done." "He wasn't even surprised." "'Twas if he'd been waiting for it his whole life." "Then why didn't you take the heads?" "That way, none of this would come back on you and the Westies." "He vanished into the dark after I'd shot him." "Even with his last breath, that boy managed to screw me up." "Well, at least you'll finally get a conviction on Brian." "That's gotta be some consolation." "But Vales still walks." "Excuse me." "Counselor." "Can I speak with your client for a second?" "She probably wants my autograph." "You feel cocky." "I get it." "You just dodged a murder rap." "Probably gonna go out tonight and celebrate with your boys, and you should paint the town." "But then in the morning," "I want you to get the hell out of my city." "But I like it here." "You might like it right now." "But starting tomorrow, you're gonna see just how hard a city New York can be when the full force of the NYPD comes crashing down on you with 30,000 cops making it their daily duty to make your life" "a living hell." "Counselor, you can take him away now." "Oh, that is sexy." "What, you want to hit me for that, too?" "No." "That's for not having my back." "Oh, and if I ever see a character in one of your novels like me, we're gonna have words." "So I'm gonna see you at the hearing on Tuesday, right?" "You got it." "Outstanding." "Detective, you ever want to go on a date that ends in hot sex after a drunken fistfight, you know where to find me." "Uh, yeah, in never-gonna-happen land." "Hey." "Thanks very much for your help." "No problem, Castle." "It's what partners are supposed to do." "Basking in the glory of you?" "No, trying to figure out what to do." "Stanford has always been my dream school." "But what if their initial rejection was the universe sending me a sign that I'm better off somewhere else?" "You think you'd be better off somewhere else?" "I don't know." "Do you?" "I don't know, either." "I guess the question is, do you want it badly enough... to get over being hurt?" "You know what I think would help with this decision?" "Ice cream." "Race you." "That's cheating!"