"[Congregational singing]" "O lord..." "Am I on the right path?" "If so, please... give me a sign." "[Gunshot]" "[Singing swells]" "[Whirring, steam hisses]" "Nothing worse than bad coffee." "Martha?" "Is everything okay?" "You tell me, kiddo." "Last time we were together, you and Richard were, uh, "ha ha," you know?" "And now, just a few short weeks later, you and Richard are, uh "pfft," you know?" "It's complicated." "Mm." "So were his last two divorces." "Oh, God." "Martha, we're not getting a divorce." "Well, call me old-fashioned, but don't married couples live together?" "Yes, but i-it's complicated, and... and I'm working through a few things." "Richard told me that... right before he declared he was going to win you back." "Look, as you know, my son is a lot of things... some of them good, some of them not so good." "But he is someone you can always count on." "And that is a rare thing, kiddo." "[Cellphone rings]" "[Cellphone beeps] Beckett." "Uh, yeah." "All right." "I'll have detectives respond." "[Cellphone beeps]" "Uh, Martha, I'm sorry." "Uh, there's a murder, and..." "Katherine, darling..." "Look, be honest with yourself and be honest with your husband." "[Sighs]" "Ryan:" "Man, I thought the second kid would be cheaper." "But Jenny..." "she wants all new stuff." "You should see the baby stroller that she picked out." "Seriously, I might have to get a second full-time job." "Or you can make more money from your first job." "What, like overtime?" "No... promotion." "Sergeant's exam is in a week." "Let's take it." "A week?" "!" "When are we gonna have time to study?" "How hard can it be?" "Sergeant Wilkie passed, and he's, like, a chromosome away from a neanderthal." "Maybe you're right." "Okay, I'll call 1PP, sign us both up." "Good morning." "Allow me the pleasure of introducing you to Dave Johnson, 52, single GSW to the sternum." "Killer popped him while he was praying." "[Groans]" "What?" "Did you guys rehearse that?" "Former altar boys." "Yeah." "Probably an involuntary reflex or something." "Wound suggests he was shot between 8:00 and 11:00 p.m. last night." "Kind of late for a church to be open to the public, isn't it?" "It wasn't..." "the sisters of the parish said the place was locked at 6:00, but discovered this morning that the front door had been jimmied." "So, what..." "Dave and the killer broke in together?" "Doubt it... evidence shows that the killer snuck in and shot Dave from behind what was a decorative stained-glass window for prayer." "Ah." "Really?" "!" "[Clacking] What is going on here?" "Ryan:" "Father, did you know Dave Johnson?" "Oh, yes." "He was a faithful parishioner." "Do you have any idea what Dave was doing at the church last night?" "Not a clue." "Perhaps his wife knows." "Have you spoken to Wendy?" "No." "We haven't notified her yet." "But what can you tell us about Dave?" "Did... did he have any enemies?" "Oh, no." "He was a good man, a loving husband, and arguably one of the greatest..." "Greatest what?" "Well, it's going to come out sooner or later." "[Sighs]" "Dave was one of the greatest novelists of the last 50 years." "Dave Johnson?" "Uh, I've never heard of him, father." "That's because he wrote under a pseudonym." "Dad?" "Did you hear?" "Dad?" "It's my pony!" "You can't pet it!" "Your pony?" "What?" "Hey." "What's up?" "[Sighs]" "P.J. Moffet's dead." "P.J. Moffet was one of my literary heroes." "Mine too." "Remember, I wrote that paper about him in eighth grade." "Every author dreams of writing the great American novel, but P.J. Moffet actually did it." "On his first try, too..." ""The Butcherbird's Song."" "And in 25 years, he never wrote another word." "Just one book, then he disappeared from public life." "According to Twitter, he was murdered at St. Mark's on 3rd." "That's wonderful." "Dad, a little respect for the dead." "Not wonderful that he was murdered... wonderful where he was murdered." "St. Mark's... that's in the jurisdiction of the 12th precinct, and I am an expert on all things P.J. Moffet." "So you're still going with the "win Beckett back by working homicides with her" plan?" "That's how I got her to fall for me the first time... that and... when I kiss her, I use the bottom..." "Dad, when it comes to your sex life, how about we stick with the "afterschool special" version?" "That's fair." "Okay, so, what's going to be your way into the case this time?" "Well, all I need is, uh... a client." "You guys, Lanie called." "No usable prints from the crime scene, and no hits off ballistics." "Yo, "The Butcherbird Song" is still a popular novel, right?" "I mean, it's 25 years old, but our victim should still be getting huge royalty checks." "Yeah." "It's required reading in most high schools." "Then why was he living in a one-bedroom apartment and working as a janitor for the past five years?" "I'll call the publisher, have them confirm who he is." "No need." "We can do that for you." "Uh..." "Castle, what are you doing here?" "Meet my client." "This is Wendy Johnson, wife of Dave Johnson, also known as famed novelist P.J. Moffet." "We're here to make a statement." "Well, we'll... escort her to Captain Beckett's office." "Your client, Castle?" "Please don't tell me you ambulance-chased this woman." "Beckett, that is an outrageous accusation." "I, as a member of the writing community, merely went by her home to offer my condolences." "Hmm." "And I suppose you told her that you're a P.I." "Who just happens to have connections with the NYPD." "The topic may have come up." "You look gorgeous, by the way." "Uh, we should go and talk to your client." "Wendy:" "We'd only been married for eight months." "[Chuckles lightly]" "I felt like I'd known him my entire life." "Probably because I grew up just loving that book." "Beckett:" "Uh, yeah, about that, Mrs. Johnson... considering your husband's success, why was he working as a janitor?" "Well, that was research for a new book." "A second P.J. Moffet novel?" "He was doing research for over five years?" "Mm-hmm." "Moffet was legendary for total immersion in his subject matter... much like me with you." "Uh, did you know that before writing a single word of "The Butcherbird Song," Moffet spent seven years living as a drug-addicted eskimo?" "It's true." "He was extremely dedicated to his craft." "Even though he owns a ranch in Wyoming, he insisted we live in Brooklyn for authenticity." "Why did he break into St. Mark's church last night?" "I can only guess it was to pray." "He had been extremely troubled recently." "Do you know about what?" "I think it had to be his research." "[Inhales sharply] When Dave left, he told me he met with someone that morning, and things got heated." "And who did he meet with?" "He didn't say..." "just that the man was dangerous." "Well, what was his new book about?" "Um, the mafia." "Hey." "Where's Castle?" "He took his client home." "Remember, he doesn't work cases with us anymore." "Hey." "So, I found out where our vic was yesterday morning." "According to his financials, he took a cab ride to Brooklyn." "Where was he dropped off?" "This guy's house..." "Milton Cicero." "Works in sanitation." "Word is he's totally mobbed up." "If our vic was doing research for his book and he asked too many questions," "Milton here might have gotten suspicious and taken Dave out." "Milton:" "Okay." "He did come to my house, but I didn't kill him..." "I swear." " So, how do you know him?" " I don't." "He just came over, started asking me all these questions." "About what?" "Union kickbacks." "He wanted to know where all the money comes from." "Say..." "You two have any idea who he really is?" " Yeah." "He's P.J. Moffet, the novelist." " Yeah." "[Chuckles]" "P.J. What?" "The what?" "No." "That is Jimmy "two guns" O'Malley." "Whoa." "Wait." "Wha... uh..." "The Irish mobster who ratted out his whole crew back in the '80s?" "Bingo." "He starts telling me all about Witness Protection and how the feds gave him a new name..." "Dave Johnson." "Hold up... doesn't the mob have a contract out on Jimmy "two guns'" life?" "Do they?" "I wouldn't know anything about that." "Milton?" "Did you try to collect on that reward?" "Don't tell me that you made a call up to the mob in Boston." "I didn't... not call them." "Okay, bye-bye." "[Telephone beeps]" "[Sighs]" "So, I just got off the phone with P.J. Moffet's publisher." "Our author is still very much alive." "Dave Johnson was lying about who he was." "Ryan:" "Yeah, we figured." "So, Dave tells Milton that he's Jimmy "two guns" O'Malley, and then Milton rats him out to the Irish mob." "Maybe our vic was a con man." "And conning the wrong guy got him killed." "S08E04 What Lies Beneath" "[Knock on door]" "Captain Beckett?" "Hey." "You heard back from the FBI?" "Yeah, it's looking more and more like the Irish mob are responsible for Dave's murder." "Meet Billy o'Rourke, a suspected hit man from southie." "Word on the street is he landed at jfk yesterday afternoon." "Is he still in town?" "Well, as of two minutes ago, he hadn't checked out of the Biltmore Hotel." "Okay." "Go find espo and pick him up." "Yeah." " Ryan?" " Hmm?" "Be careful." "You got it." "Yeah." "[Door opens]" "Is he in there?" "All right, thanks." "Get out of here, kid." "Castle:" "So, she's telling me she needs space." "I'm saying that's a cry for help." "O'Rourke:" "Yeah, Ricky." "I completely agree." " Thank you." " Yeah." "Mm-hmm." "[Guns cock] NYPD!" "Hey, guys!" "How are..." "are you hungry?" "Uh, sorry." "Neither of us ordered pigs wrapped in kevlar." "[Chuckles] Get out." "On your feet right now, O'Rourke." "Castle, how'd you get here?" "Uh, when I gave Dave's wife a ride home," "I saw a receipt from yesterday... a rush dry-cleaning job on Dave's jacket." "The bill was charged to this room." "How did you get here?" "The FBI." "Castle, this guy... he's a hit man for the Irish mob." "No!" "Well, yes, yes." "But w-when you get to know him, he's actually really a l-lovely person." "You know, he's a..." "he's a good listener." "O'Rourke:" "Yeah." "Thank you for that." " Uh, very hospitable." " There you go." "And he actually told me that Dave..." "Ricky, they're cops." "Shut up." "No, they're my cops, though." "These guys are okay." "Just... guys, Billy's not your killer." "Oh, you know this how?" "Billy told me." "Ohhhh." "Yeah." "Oh, and did he also cross his heart and hope to die?" "[Sighs]" "Billy, tell them what you told me." "Okay." "Uh, let's say, uh, hypothetically..." "Hypothetically." "Uh, I came to town to whack Jimmy "two guns"" "and, uh... hypothetically..." "I threw him in the trunk of my rental and drove him out to the marsh by the meadowlands." "You know where that is." "Only, just before..." " hypothetically..." " Of course." "I could put a bullet through his brain, I realized the guy doesn't look anything like Jimmy "two guns."" "Right?" "So Dave explains it's all just a misunderstanding, that he's actually P.J. Moffet..." "[Chuckling] Yeah." "And he's telling everybody he's Jimmy "two guns"" "so he can do research for his new novel." "Yeah, and I'm a huge fan." ""The Butcherbird Song"..." "it's my everything." "Oh, please." "That's..." "I have a copy myself." "Hey, hey, hey, hey!" " Whoa!" " No, no!" "So Billy brings Dave back here, and he pays to have his jacket cleaned." "Yeah." "He even autographed the book for me." "Huh?" "Oh, isn't that lovely?" "Oh." "Oh, hate to burst your bubble, though." "He ended up not being P.J. Moffet after all." "Guy was a con man." " Come on!" " Really?" "!" "No!" "And, by the way, Castle, no matter what you say here, it doesn't prove that your new bff, Billy, didn't off Dave." "No, it doesn't, but his alibi does." "Yeah." "At the time of the murder, he was front row at "The Lion King."" "Uh-huh." "Arguably the best musical in town." "Yeah, well, you're not wrong." "But tell them what you saw before you put Dave in the trunk." " Hypothetically." " Hypothetically." "Yeah, before I snatched up Dave, I saw him having this knockdown, drag-out argument with some tall guy outside his apartment house." "So the guy says to Dave," ""hey, you better come through, like you promised, or there's gonna be serious consequences."" "Admit it..." "he's not so bad of a guy." "[Sighs] Castle, just because his alibi held and he paid for lunch doesn't make him a great humanitarian." "He kills people for a living." "Yes, but without people like him, people like us would be out of a job." "Now, what's our next move?" "Locate and identify this mystery man?" "No." "That's our next move." "Your next move is to go home." "Beckett doesn't want you working the case." "I'm sorry." "No." "Uh, I get it." "Totally understand." "I'll circle back 'round and, uh, update my client." "[Elevator bell dings, door opens] [Muffled] Castle." " That's..." " Yeah." "That's too much." "[Knock on door]" "O Captain, my Captain." "Carl." "Hey." "Thank you for coming up from CSU..." "I need you to give me a rundown of narcotic signatures... specifically heroin." "Basically, every batch of heroin is like a snowflake." "No two are alike." "To determine if samples are from the same batch, we run a chromatographic impurity signature profile analysis." "Okay." "Um, let's say I have a sample of heroin and I compare it to another sample, and that'll help me determine whether they originated from the same source?" "Exactamundo." "Thank you." "That's all I needed." " What's up, Carl?" " Hey." "Hey, what are you meeting with CSU's narcotics guy for?" "You know, espo, I do have other cases that I have to supervise." "My apologies, Capitan." "So, any luck on finding that mystery man?" "Ryan's scrubbing street-cam footage near David's apartment." "But, yo, I think we're missing something here." "What do you mean?" "Well, if Dave was a scam artist, he is the oddest one I ever heard of." "I mean, yes, he was exhibiting con-man behavior, but to what end?" "Uh, to rip people off." "Who?" "His wife?" "She didn't come from money." "The priest took a vow of poverty." "And the union guy..." "Dave never asked him for a payoff." "Okay, that's a good point." "So what's the upside to Dave's cons?" "[Knock on door] Hey." "So, I I.D.'d our mystery man who threatened Dave." "Guy's name is Eric Logan." "He's a convicted scam artist." "Two collars for assault, including one with a deadly weapon." "You know, maybe Eric and Dave were working a con together and something went wrong." "Any idea where Eric is now?" "Yeah." "I pinged his cell." "We got a location." "Let's go pick him up." "[Dial tone]" "[Ringing]" "Man:" "Evidence room." "Yeah, this is Captain Beckett." "Do we still have the seized heroin from the Vulcan Simmons case?" "Hang on." "Let me check." "Yeah, I'll hold." "Yes, we do." "Good." "That's all I needed." "All right." "Well, thanks anyway for trying." "[Sighs]" "Hey, bad news." "There's no more slots open for the sergeant's exam." "Damn!" "Well, I guess we're gonna have to wait till the next slot opens up." "[Glass clatters] Yeah." "Bogey, 3:00." "NYPD!" "Whoa!" "Geez!" "Castle." "Hey." "I was just going to that, uh..." "Just going to the bodega there." "Pick you something up..." "little slim Jim, yoo-hoo?" "Castle, how did you know that we were here?" "Did you put this tracker on me when you gave me that awkward hug?" "I have no idea what that is." "But I'll take it off your hands." "Yeah, sure." "Here you go." "Oops." "You know I can find that, right?" "Hey, guys." "It's Eric." "[Door opens]" "Bob:" "But I never really had a fair shot in life, you know?" "Uh, my parents... they died in a plane crash when I was a kid." "That's a lie." "Actually, my parents live in Denver." "Cleveland." "Anyway, uh, my name's Steve." "Thanks for listening." "Thanks, Bob." "[Sighs]" "Before we close, friends, today is a sad day, because we just lost one of our own..." "Dave Johnson." "His is a cautionary tale, because last night..." "Dave's lies finally caught up with him." "Let's take a moment for Dave." "What is this, an A.A. meeting?" "P.L.A." " What the hell is P.L.A.?" " Pathological liars anonymous." "Makes perfect sense." "Dave wasn't a con man." "He was a pathological liar." "This is ridiculous." "I didn't kill Dave." " He was my friend." " You sure about that?" "Because the day he was killed, a witness saw you threatening him." "I was his sponsor." "He was in trouble." "I was pushing him to attend the pathological liars anonymous meeting." "[Imitating jon lovitz] Yeah!" "That's the ticket." "That's it." " [Normal voice] Remember?" " Oh, yeah." "Eric:" "How dare you, sir." "Compulsive and pathological lying is a mental disorder caused by psychological trauma." "This is not something to joke around about." "Okay." "Fine." "But, then, how can we believe anything you say about Dave?" "You're a self-confessed liar." "I'm reformed." "I took a vow of honesty, a pledge to refrain from lying." "[Laughs]" "Come on." "Everybody lies." "Not me... not anymore." " Not even a little fib?" " No." " A white lie?" " No." "I can prove it to you." "Ask me what I think about your writing." "What do you think of my writing?" "I think you're a Patterson wannabe, and I think your last book was a boring retread." "[Scoffs]" "You see?" "Brutal truth." "Uh, no." "That's just being mean." "No, honest... unlike you, a man who obviously wears lifts so he can lie about his height." "No, no." "T-these aren't lifts." "These are custom, prescription insoles." "Uh-huh." "What are you laughing about?" "You clearly dye your hair so you can lie about your age." "Just... just a little bit in... in the temples." "Okay, l-l-let's assume what you're saying..." "Is..." "Is true." "You said Dave was in trouble." "What kind of trouble?" "It started a couple weeks ago." "He fell off the wagon." "He started lying out of control, and he was scared." "Scared of what?" "And he had uncovered something... something dangerous, illegal." "Why didn't he come to the cops?" "Oh, he'd lied so many times to so many people... even his own wife... he knew nobody would believe him." "He was the boy that cried wolf." "But whatever it was, he said he needed proof before he could go public." "Beckett:" "Go public with what?" "Ryan:" "He didn't know." "And you think that this sponsor's telling the truth?" "Well, as far as we could tell." "Plus, his alibi is rock-solid for the murder." "We got to figure out what Dave was onto two weeks ago that got him killed." "Already on it." "Great job, guys." "I'll see you in the morning?" " All right." " Thanks." "[Cellphone chimes]" "[Cellphone beeps]" "Text from Castle." "Yeah, me too." "Both: "My place." "Important."" "Maybe he found something." "What do we do?" "We go over to his place." "We find out what's what." "Whatever we do, we don't..." "Oh, hell no." "But what if she finds out?" "We lie our asses off." "Yeah." "Wait... do you hear something?" "No. don't think so." "[Mariachi music playing, indistinct conversations]" "Hola, amigos!" "Bienvenidos a casa Castle, huh?" "[Laughs]" "♪ Ay, arriba arriba ♪" "♪ Yo no soy marinero ♪" "♪ Yo no soy marinero, por ti sere ♪" "♪ Por ti sere, por ti sere ♪" "[Shouts in Spanish]" "Nice!" "Very nice!" "Gentlemen, very nice." "Grab a drink." "Uh, what is this?" "This is just me saying thank you to my family at the 12th precinct." "Oh!" "You're trying to buy our love." " What?" "!" " So we'll help you win Beckett back." "No!" "Come on, guys." "These are for you." "Well, you're putting us in a really tough spot here." "You know we're friends with Beckett, too." "Plus, Beckett's our boss now." "She doesn't want you working cases." "Guys, I love her, okay?" "And I'm gonna get her back." "The only way I know how to do that is solving murders together, so I'm not going anywhere." "So sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride." "And try the tostadas." "They're wagyu beef." "Ah." "I do love me some wagyu." "Thank you." "[Cellphone chimes]" "[Mariachi music plays]" "What's up?" "[Chuckles]" "Oh, nothing." "Uh, Jenny just..." "you know, she wants me to pick up some stuff on the way home." "Really?" "'Cause that text message said "sergeant's exam."" "[Crunching loudly]" "Okay." "Uh, I may have lied... earlier." "There was an exam slot open, but only one." "[Slurps loudly]" "So you took it..." "without even talking to me?" " Bro, that was my idea." " I'm sorry." "You know how stressed out about money I've been lately." "A bump in pay would really help." "Javi... hey!" "No." "Save it." "Hey, Ryan, I couldn't help but overhear about your financial concerns." "Maybe you and I could work together." "How?" "Well..." "Do a little, uh, moonlighting for me." "Just keep me in the loop as to what's going on at the 12th." "You want me to be a rat for you?" "Hell no." "I would pay you $500 a week." "I'll do it." "Hey, partner." "Food truck is here, so I got you some breakfast... double salsa, just the way you like it." "Oh." "Hey." "Thanks." "What the hell?" "Uh, I was just treating that burrito like you treated me." "Okay, I lied to you." "I'm..." "I'm sorry." "I have responsibilities." "I guess looking out for your partner's back isn't one of them." "[Sighs] You guys okay?" "Fine." "What's up?" "I need you to go down to city hall." "Dave's boss said that Dave had an incident there two weeks ago, and his janitorial company was forced to reassign him to another facility." "What kind of incident?" "[Scoffs] I think that's what she's sending us down there to find out." "Yeah, we're on it." "Okay." "What have you got for me?" "Yeah, apparently, our vic had some sort of confrontation down at city hall, so we're running down there to talk to the deputy chief of staff." "Okay, yeah. [Laughs]" "I love you, too, sweetie." "Bye-bye." "[Cellphone beeps] That was weird." "What?" "Ryan just told me he loved me." "I'm sure he was just covering." "Don't you feel the least bit conflicted about turning him into a mole?" "He's not stealing state secrets." "I'm just paying him to keep me in the loop on their cases." "So you can ingratiate yourself in said cases and find new ways to interact with Beckett." "Well, if by "ingratiate myself,"" "you mean "dazzle her with my sherlockian genius,"" "then, yes, that's exactly what I mean." "So, what did Ryan say?" "That our victim got himself into some trouble at city hall that might have got him killed." "So what do you say we call my good buddy the mayor?" "Dave was a janitor, dad." "I sincerely doubt he was on the mayor's radar." "Reed:" "We fired Dave Johnson after he broke into the accounting office." "And he tried to run when security caught him." "Well, what did he say when they caught him?" "Oh, some nonsense about being on a mission from God or something... which was incredibly disrespectful, given how he got the job in the first place." "And how's that?" "Oh, he was recommended by Father Arguello at St. Mark's." "The blind priest?" "Yeah." "So?" "Dave was killed in Arguello's church." "Oh." "Uh..." "Well, look, I-I'm no detective, but that sounds like a clue." "Uh, if you'll excuse me..." "Yeah." "Thank you." "Looks like we need to talk to the good father." "Let's go." "Oh, wait." "Just a second." "Um, make a quick phone call to Jenny." "Be right there." "[Ringing]" "Alexis:" "A mission from God?" "Castle:" "Well, that's what Ryan said." "On the other hand, Dave was a compulsive liar." "Still, most lies have a kernel of truth in them." "Like when you went to fashion week, but you neglected to mention that you were taking my platinum credit card?" "I was more thinking about our victim and how he lied about being a fugitive mobster in order to investigate union kickbacks." "Kickbacks that could be connected to city hall... hence, Dave breaking into the accounting office." "But what does any of this have to do with a blind priest?" "Well..." "Ask, and ye shall receive." "[Car doors close]" "Uh, excuse me, Father." "We are investigating Dave Johnson's murder." "We'd like to ask you a few questions regarding your relationship with him." "I was his priest, my son." "I gave him spiritual guidance." "And which part of that guidance included breaking and entering at city hall?" "The blind priest just ran away." "This cannot end well." " Hey!" " Hey, watch it!" "Huh." "Should we..." "Damn it." "Yes." "What?" "!" "Beckett:" "So, let me get this straight... you got parkoured by a blind priest?" "I'd say the blindness is under dispute." "Uh-huh." "And what about the fact that he's 60?" "Was he faking his age, too?" "60 is the new 20." "Did you call just to bust my chops?" "Yeah." "Pretty much." "[Elevator bell dings]" "Um, all right, Speedy, I got to go." "Make sure you stretch before bed." "[Click, dial tone]" "They got the priest." "How do you know?" "Beckett was having too much fun." "Wait." "Beckett was having fun..." "with me." "Score." "Imagine how much fun she's gonna have with the runaway priest." "Arguello:" "Can I be honest with you?" "I went blind to get out of Tampa." "It was miserable down there." "The humidity was just oppressive." "When I learned that priests with certain disabilities have their pick of assignments, I-I didn't even hesitate." "I don't understand what any of this has to do with Dave Johnson's murder." "[Sighs]" "Dave's lying was a terrible burden... one that he'd been carrying since childhood." "I offered him a way to make amends." "And this is you still being honest?" "Yes." "Dave's lying torpedoed his accounting career." "That's why he was working as a janitor at city hall, pretending to be a reclusive author." "My parish was about to miss a payment to the city, due to my..." "mismanagement of funds." "I simply asked Dave to sneak into the accounting office and log the payment into the computer as received." "Ohhh!" "So this wasn't about making amends." "This was about helping you." "When Dave was hacked into the city budget, he found evidence of a secret slush fund... $10 million siphoned from social programs to line someone's pocket." "It was a lie Dave couldn't stomach, so he vowed to expose it." "And you believe that whoever controlled this alleged slush fund discovered Dave's intrusion?" "And they killed him for it." "Ryan:" "So, what do you think?" "It tracks with what our victim told his sponsor." "And with Dave's questions about union kickbacks." "It doesn't matter." "It's non-actionable." "There's no way we're gonna get a subpoena for city hall based on hearsay told to a not-blind priest from a pathological liar." "I guess Dave was right... no one believes the boy who cries wolf." "Ryan:" "So what are you saying..." "we give up?" "Because that's not the Beckett that I know." "No, I'm not saying that we should give up." "What I am saying is, I've been a captain for about five minutes." "If we take this to the D.A., nobody's gonna take me seriously ever." "Okay." "We'll get proof." "Money's gone." "Even if there is a secret slush fund, the person controlling it killed Dave to cover it up, buried the money deep, covered his tracks." "So what are we supposed to do?" "We do our homework." "We find out who could pull off a slush fund in the city budget, which means we have to talk to someone with contacts and resources in city hall." "Someone who's best friends with the mayor?" "Someone like..." "Castle?" "He's gonna be so smug about this." "I'm sorry." "Did you say you... needed my help?" "Castle." "You heard her say it, right?" " Dad, let it go." " Thank you." "Castle, do you have the intel we need or not?" "[Laughs] Tell her." "[Sighs] When I was in middle school, dad did four months of extensive research into the inner workings of city finance for a novel he was writing." "Yes, but then I realized that that novel would be the most boring novel in the history of novels, so I wrote a Derek Storm book instead." "Okay, so, then, you have a pretty good idea of which city officials would be able to hide a $10 million slush fund." "Yes, and it's a pretty small list." "The only people with access to the entire budget are the comptroller, the mayor's chief of staff, and the deputy chief." "Stephen Reed..." "the guy we met with." "I know for a fact that the chief of staff is in London with the mayor." "Esposito:" "And I made a few discreet calls." "The city comptroller was at a fundraiser when Dave was shot." "Which means Reed is our main suspect." "Okay, so, how do we get this guy?" "May I suggest the "midnight run" stratagem?" " The what?" " "Midnight run."" "It's one of the top five buddy movies of all time." "And you're suggesting we base our legal strategy upon this buddy-cop movie?" "No, he's right." "It could work." "At the end of the movie," "Robert de Niro tricks a mobster into taking computer discs he thinks contain evidence against him, and just by showing up to take them, the mobster is committing conspiracy to obstruct justice." "If we can trick Reed the same way, then we've got all the leverage we need to expose the slush fund and go after him for Dave's murder." "But, Kate, you can't be involved." "Why not?" "Because if Reed isn't involved, then all this blows up in our face, and you take the hit." "And you don't need that." "Let us shield you, Captain." "[Sighs] Okay." "I'm out... for now." "Thanks." "[Door opens]" "[Door closes]" "Okay, how do we do this?" "First, I'm gonna need to borrow your blind priest." "Mr. Reed?" "Mr. Reed!" " Father." " Oh!" "What are you doing here?" "Uh, your office told me where to find you." "Ah." "Well, sorry, Father." "I'm appointment-only, even for the clergy." "I don't think you want your office to hear what we're about to discuss." "Dave Johnson was one of my flock." "Who got fired for being where he didn't belong." "Yes, but while he was there, Dave told me he stumbled across your little secret account." "Uh, I have no idea what you're talking about." "And, uh, my hot dog's waiting, so..." "Dave was a cautious man, Mr. Reed." "He took proof of the account... proof that he left on a thumb drive on the altar of my church behind the chalice before he was killed." "I give you this information as a gift." "If you were to make the church's debt disappear, as a token of appreciation, well, the lord would be grateful." "Well... [Clears throat]" "Like I said..." "Father..." "I got no clue what you're talking about." "Don't ever come see me again." "Bless you, my child." "Think it worked?" "Of course it worked." "We'll know tonight." "That it worked." "[Door opens]" "[Door closes]" "All right." "You know what to do." "Are you sure about this?" "Go big or go home, except... in this case, home might be jail." "[Sighs]" "[Door opens]" "[Door closes]" "Is that him?" "I don't know." "It's got to be him." " Don't move!" "NYPD!" " Stop!" "Reed!" "[Switch clicks]" "[People gasp]" "It's gone." "[Switch clicks]" "Damn it!" "Where'd he go?" "We're screwed." "Catching him with that empty thumb drive was our whole conspiracy charge." "Did it work?" "Did what work?" "Are you the one that turned the lights out?" "I-I told her to do that." "Why in the hell would you do that?" "Well, I thought our "midnight run" stratagem needed a little twist." "Trust me, guys... if this works, we're gonna have him on a whole lot more than just obstruction." "What if it doesn't?" "[Computer beeps]" "Hi." "I'm Richard Castle, private investigator." "The moment you plugged this thumb drive into your computer, it injected a virus into your system." "[Key clacking] By now, that virus has searched your keystroke history and found where you've moved your hidden slush fund." "It's the computer equivalent of an exploding dye pack." "Oops." "[Grunts]" "So, I guess we can add destruction of city property to those charges." "I didn't kill him." "Why would I?" "He was a liar." "Plus, I have an alibi." "Oh, let me guess..." "you were home, alone, asleep?" "No, I was out playing poker with your boss, the police commissioner." "Which means your killer's still out there." "So, what do we know?" "Dave Johnson..." "he was a pathological liar who stumbled upon a secret slush fund and then decided to expose it." "And everyone connected to that alibi'd out." "So we've got nothing?" "No." "We can safely assume that Dave was killed over a lie." "[Groans] Which lie, then?" "Well, if I was writing this," "I would fall back on a theme." "A lie is a betrayal of trust." "And there is no greater betrayal... than a lie in a marriage." "Yeah, well, that might be, but Wendy thought that Dave was P.J. Moffet." "What if she found out he wasn't?" "You have this all wrong." "I didn't kill Dave." "We found fragments of stained glass in your car." "It matches the broken glass found in the church." "[Chuckles]" "I only married Dave because he told me he was a famous author." "I-I just..." "I thought I was gonna be living in luxury." "And... and he insisted that we live in poverty, even though he had millions." "Only, he was lying." "And you found out." "You know, what I don't understand is, why would you kill him?" "Why didn't you just divorce the guy?" "Because he had to pay." "For what he cost me." "I could have married Ben Shapiro, the carpet king of Nassau County." "But instead, I married a liar who ruined my life." "[Sighs]" "Wendy Johnson, you are under arrest for the murder of your husband." "Wait." "Wait!" "Oh." "In a few days, you're gonna receive an invoice." "I'd appreciate prompt payment." " Hey." " Hey." "Hey, hey!" "Stop!" "Stop, stop, stop!" "Listen. [Sighs]" "I'm gonna call 1PP, and I'm gonna ask them to give you that last sergeant's exam slot instead of me." "I don't need your charity." "It's not charity." "[Scoffs] Hey!" "Hey, I did wrong by you." "I'm trying to make amends here." "Hey, bozos." "Did it ever occur to you that your captain could pull some strings and get you both a slot?" "Did you?" "Yeah." "And I expect you to pass." "Good job today." " Thanks, Captain." " Thanks, Captain." "All right." "Good luck, man." "Castle?" "Relax." "Doesn't mean anything." "It's just a little congratulatory coffee after solving a tough case." "Wow." "I can never make it like you." "Even though you taught me how." "That's 'cause I lied." "There's a, uh..." "Special ingredient." "I kept it a secret." "Really?" "What is it?" "Well, now, if I told you that, you might not need me anymore." "Then don't tell me." "And since we're being honest, there's something that I have to tell you." "I hated Moffet's book." "What?" "!" "Wha..." "Why didn't you tell me?" "Because you gave it to me when we first started dating, and I knew it was important to you, so..." "I lied." "[Chuckles]" "[Cellphone ringing]" "I'm sorry." "I have to get this." "[Ringing continues]" "Okay." "Have a good night." "[Ringing continues] You too." "[Ringing continues]" "Vikram." "Hey." "Did you get the test results on the heroin from the Vulcan Simmons case?" "Okay." "Now we can get to work."