Castle s03e02 Episode Script
He's Dead, She's Dead
There are two kinds of folks who sit around thinking about how to kill people: psychopaths and mystery writers.
I'm the kind that pays better.
Who am I? I'm Rick Castle.
Castle.
Castle.
I really am ruggedly handsome, aren't I? Every writer needs inspiration and I found mine.
I'm Detective Kate Beckett.
Beckett.
Beckett? Could you get some backup, please? And thanks to my friendship with the mayor, I get to be on her case.
Do I look like a killer to you? Yes, you kill my patience.
And together we catch killers.
I hate this case.
I know, isn't it great? Mom? Mom? Mom, are you here? Come on.
Come on, Mom, answer.
Oh! Hello! Shouldn't you be in school already? School doesn't start for another hour.
Yeah, if you were hoping to do the walk of shame in private, you're out of luck.
Don't be silly.
I just didn't realize how early it was.
I have been a bit distracted this morning.
Do you mean distracted, or hypnotized by that giant rock on your finger? Wow! Did Chet Palaburn propose? Alexis, I think it's about time we start calling him Uncle Chet.
No, wait a minute.
Wait a minute, you two.
I am not engaged, all right? Yes, Chet did propose last night, and I told him, you know, I needed time to think about it.
And he insisted I keep the ring while I make up my mind.
So Smart man.
Diamonds can be very persuasive.
I can hear it now whispering, "Keep me.
"Keep me.
" Unfortunately, now that Chet has upped the ante, as they say, I'm going to have to decide whether I'm in or I'm out.
I thought you loved Chet.
Oh, I do love him, darling.
I really do.
I Well, you know, it's just that for me it's The thrill is gone? Yes, and it's been gone for quite a while.
Although, this little fellow did bring it back for about 10 minutes.
If he's not the one, then I guess you shouldn't marry him.
That's never stopped her before.
And we miss having you here all the time.
Don't we, Dad? - Dad? - Dad? Saved by the bell.
Ah! It's Beckett.
Castle.
Hey! Did I hear you right? Our victim is Vivien Marchand, the psychic medium? You've heard of her? Yeah! She was very popular in certain Manhattan circles.
As a matter of fact, she did a reading for me at a society party about eight years ago.
It was pretty extraordinary.
Extraordinary? She got everything right.
You know what? Come to think of it, she told me that a beautiful woman would one day move into my loft, and stay with me forever.
She neglected to mention it was my mother.
How did she die? Stabbed in the back of the neck with an ice pick and then stuffed into the sofa.
So, she didn't see that coming.
When did she die? She's in full rigor.
I'd say yesterday afternoon is the approximate time of death.
I got a maintenance worker, said he saw a man leaving the back door of Vivien's office around Description? Tall, Caucasian and tough-looking.
All right, Ryan, check Vivien's calendar and let's interview her clients from yesterday.
Maybe one of them saw the guy.
What I don't get is why put her in the couch? She was alive when she went in.
These scratches on her face indicate that she tried to move.
I'm gonna get her back to the lab.
She's got a notation in here for And nothing else? Nope.
Maybe T.
J.
was a ghost coming to visit.
Mediums are the ones that can see ghosts, right, Castle? Yes, psychics can tell the future.
Mediums can tell the future and talk to the dead.
That's like saying psychics are con artists, and mediums are con artists and charlatans.
I mean, in the end, they're all just fakes.
You sound pretty certain of yourself.
That's because when I started as a cop, I wasted a lot of time on clairvoyants calling tip lines with information that never led to anything.
I mean, I'm surprised you're so gullible.
I'm not saying I can speak with the dead.
I'm just willing to admit that there are people in this world who are more sensitive than me.
Now, that's not hard to believe.
Walked right into that one.
Mmm.
Miss Marchand, do you know of anyone that might have wanted to harm your mother? She was a very spiritual person.
She didn't have any enemies.
A witness saw a tall, dark-haired man leaving here around 2:30 yesterday.
Does that sound like anyone your mother knows? When was the last time you two talked? Around 1:00.
She said she had her last client of the day, and then she was going to spend the afternoon in meditation.
Do you know the client's name? No.
It was a mother and a daughter.
Their names should be in her book.
Well, there was a notation in her calendar at 3:00.
The initials T.
J.
Does that mean anything to you? No.
I'm sorry I can't be more helpful.
Hey.
I remember this case.
A guy's wife goes missing, he seems genuinely distraught.
And then the cops find out he had a girlfriend, and that his marriage was on the rocks.
Yeah.
Did your mother help on that case? Yeah.
She had a vision of him at a local bar, with this pretty blonde named Amber.
So she went to the police with the information.
That's when they started looking at him as a suspect.
And then what happened? He went to prison.
That case really put my mom on the map.
Did your mother continue offering the police help after that? Yes.
All over the country.
My mother helped put away over a dozen people in the last 10 years.
So, here's the list all the people that Penny Marchand claims her mom helped to convict.
Let's see if any of them are out of jail and still holding a grudge.
On it.
Vivien's one o'clock Monday clients are here.
They say they got a good look at the dark-haired guy who was in her office.
Their names are Paula and Marina Casillas.
Casillas.
It's a good name.
Hard to possessive pluralize, though.
The Casillas-es-es car has broken down.
So they will be late for the symphony.
The Casillas-es-es Casillas-es-es.
They're waiting for you in the lounge.
All right.
Thanks.
Usually we're her last clients on Monday.
But when we left, there was a man there, waiting for Vivien.
She seemed surprised to see him, like he wasn't expected.
Oh, and he seemed upset.
I could tell.
Could you describe him? He was wearing dark clothes.
He had black hair going gray at the temples.
Oh, and he He had a scar on his face.
I think she called him Alfred.
Or was it Albert? Okay.
Well, thank you both.
You've been very helpful.
How long had you been going to see Vivien? Four months.
My husband Emilio passed away in April.
We both miss him so much.
So she was helping you get closure.
Yes.
Even at our first session, Vivien already knew so much about my Emilio.
Like what? Well, she knew he made vitamins for a living.
She knew he loved arroz con pollo.
She also knew he was a workaholic.
And that he even died at the office.
Vivien said she thought Daddy had something very important to tell us.
She was going to commune with his spirit last night.
Now we'll never know.
You're not gonna believe this.
Vivien's daughter is pretty sure that Albert is Albert Moreno.
Albert "The Blade" Moreno? Former muscle for the Spilano crime family.
So, Vivien helped put him away.
Mmm-mmm.
He's her client.
Vivien told Albert that if he invested in a New Jersey real estate deal, true happiness would be his.
The deal fell through a month ago.
He lost everything.
Ouch.
You give a guy like that bad advice, he'll see to it you are sleeping with the fishes.
Or you get stabbed in the neck with an ice pick and stuffed in a couch.
Whoa! Albert Moreno is sure living large for a low-level mobster.
Well, I guess mob money goes a little farther when you don't pay taxes on it.
And yet, for Albert, not quite far enough.
Loreen Carter from Real Smart Real Estate.
This house is a Tuscan jewel and is perfect for a young couple.
We're here for Mr.
Moreno.
Yes, I went to see her.
Three months ago, Vivien told me I should invest in some real estate deal.
She knew that I had quit my day job.
I was looking to set myself up for retirement.
She told you that the investment would bring you true happiness, but instead you lost it all.
I was upset.
And then she canceled our last appointment and stopped returning my phone calls.
And then you decided to pay her a visit.
Yesterday, around 2:00.
I told her I'm on my way to meet my broker.
I'm selling my home because I can't pay my mortgage no more.
And then what happened, Mr.
Moreno? Did you get angry? Did things get physical? No, but I was mad.
And when I'm mad, sometimes people get nervous.
She begged me to let the universe sort itself out.
Then she said she was late for an appointment uptown.
Did she say with who? No.
By then I was late to meet my broker, so I left, about 2:30.
And just like that The universe, it sorted itself out.
I'm sorry.
I don't understand.
Turns out my broker's partner is Loreen, here.
My high school sweetheart.
We broke up in '82, but we never got over each other.
The minute I laid eyes on her again, I haven't left her side, and I've never been so happy.
So, Vivien was right.
Investing in the real estate deal brought you to bankruptcy, which in turn brought you to Loreen and true happiness.
Extraordinary.
So, what do you think? Well, I think it's possible he might have killed Vivien before the universe righted itself.
Not about that.
About them, Albert and Loreen.
Star-crossed lovers reunited by fate.
You mean reunited by coincidence? Oh, let me guess.
You don't believe in fate.
Soul mates? No.
Unicorns? Fairies? Double rainbows? Didn't you ever think your dolls used to get up at night and play with your toys? Sorry.
Hmm.
Let me guess.
You were one of those annoying six-year-olds who stopped believing in Santa Claus because you figured out he couldn't travel faster than the speed of light.
I was three, and we didn't have a chimney.
How'd it go with Moreno? My gut says it's not him, but we still have to look into his alibi.
So you don't believe in fate, yet your gut has magical properties.
That's cool, Scully.
We got calls out on most of Vivien's dirty dozen, we should hear back tomorrow.
Meanwhile, we're going through her client files.
Trips to the hall of records, Internet searches, even got a hold of some autopsy files.
Pretty intimate stuff, too.
You see, Castle? Research.
That's how she made people believe that she has a gift.
And I bet that she even looked into you eight years ago, when she went to that party.
And I bet she looked up Paula Casillas, as well.
That's how she knew that her husband Emilio had a vitamin business.
Is that also how she knew that Albert Moreno would find true love through bankruptcy? She got lucky.
Oh.
Or maybe it's just that she couldn't get everything she needed from her abilities alone and needed to do a little extra digging.
I have a fantastic imagination, yet I still do a ton of research when I write a book.
Surrounded by skeptics.
It's called being a cop, bro.
Oh, great and powerful spirits, tell us, should Gram break up with Chet Palaburn? This thing must be broken.
Well, luckily, I don't need the spirits to tell me when it's time to say goodbye.
Goodbye, my love.
What if you're being too hasty? - Relationships take work, right? - No, no, no.
Love is not about work.
Trust me, it's about passion, it's about chemistry, romance.
It's about your heart pounding faster because you can't wait to see her.
Can either of you look back on a relationship that ended because the thrill was gone and admit that maybe you gave up on love too soon? Dad, you're back with your ex-wife.
Ooh! No, she's right.
Yeah, with Gina, the thrill was long, long gone, but now, it is back with a vengeance.
Of course, it brought along its friends, high-maintenance and shopaholic.
No, I'm sorry, honey.
I'm sorry, but it's just It's over.
I know it.
Hey.
Any news on the dirty dozen? Well, most are still in prison.
But we're thinking this line of investigation may not get us anywhere.
Why not? I called around to a couple of lead detectives, just to check out the level of Vivien's involvement, and they say they've never even heard of her.
She exaggerated her involvement in these cases in order to build her reputation back up.
Or, maybe, the cops didn't want to admit that they had a psychic actually helping them.
I mean, what police detective would willingly acknowledge that a layperson is as talented at solving crimes as she is? Vivien Marchand is not a psychic.
I'd bet my badge on it.
Don't throw those dice until you take a look at this.
"New York Homicide Division Detective Squad.
" It's from Vivien Marchand.
Yeah, it arrived this morning.
Postmarked Monday, the day she died.
That is her letterhead.
"To whom it may concern, I feel that my murder is imminent.
" "And although I have no idea yet where or when this event will occur, "I have had a vision of my death.
"In the vision, I could not breathe.
"I saw a man dressed in black, the number 7-5-1-8 "and I could hear a furious pounding from what seemed to be far away.
"I'm sorry I cannot be more specific.
" The psychic predicted her own murder! Or the killer wrote this in order to throw us off.
Run it.
Maybe we'll get lucky with prints.
- You think she really No.
Yeah, me neither.
Hey, Lanie.
What do we got? We've got cause of death, blood loss and asphyxiation.
And I'm officially putting the time of death between 5:00 and 7:00 p.
m.
on Monday evening.
So that rules out Albert Moreno.
What else? There were no scratches on the ice pick blade.
It was brand new.
Probably bought special just for the occasion.
And her cell phone was in her hand.
She may have tried to dial for help before she expired.
The digits match the beginning of her daughter's phone number, Those are the numbers from the letter.
They're in a different order, but those are the same numbers! Oh, go on.
Go on, say coincidence.
Coincidence.
I'm just saying it's irrefutable.
That's all.
It is not irrefutable, Castle.
As a matter of fact, it is completely refutable.
Okay.
Go on.
Refute me.
Okay, how about this? Vivien is dialing her daughter's number.
Our killer comes in, stabs her in the neck, picks up the phone, drops it into the sofa after her and then puts the numbers into the letter along with the rest of the fake predictions.
Refuted.
No one types a number into a cell phone, anymore.
Preliminaries on the letter aren't giving us much.
There are no usable prints and no DNA.
And the pick up at the mail drop in Vivien's building is 6:00 p.
m.
Time enough for the killer to have written it and mailed it after she was dead.
But why? Why go through all that trouble? To keep us spinning wild theories and chasing after men dressed in black instead of following hard evidence.
I mean, come on, Castle.
The letter's not even signed.
Actually, I talked to Penny Marchand about that.
She says it's possible her mother would type a letter and not sign it, in case her prediction was wrong.
She wouldn't want anybody selling her mistakes on the Internet.
But we still can't prove that Vivien actually wrote the letter.
Until her other predictions come true.
Yeah, I'm just Good, you're back.
I think I got something.
Remember Vivien's first big case? Yeah, the guy with the missing wife and the blonde girlfriend named Amber? His name is Steve Adams.
Unis are bringing him up, right now.
They never found his wife's body.
He did seven years for second degree.
They released him two months ago on parole, only after he agreed to wear an anklet with a tracking device.
So, I called his PO and he sent over this.
The GPS readout puts Steve at Vivien's address Monday afternoon.
So, Vivien finishes with Paula and Marina Casillas at 2:00.
Albert Moreno exits out the back door at 2:30.
And now it's time for her 3:00 p.
m.
with T.
J.
Steve Adams was there from 1:36 to 2:48, waiting for his opportunity.
So he waits there until she's alone, jumps her, stabs her and then stuffs her in the couch.
This is harassment! I haven't done anything wrong! Right through here.
Calm down.
He's wearing all black.
It's gotta be a coincidence.
Or black is the new guilty.
I didn't kill her.
You were the last one to see her alive.
The GPS on your anklet indicates that you were at Vivien's office for over an hour, the day that she was killed.
Yeah, but it's not what you think.
Last week, I got a call from a guy named Cody Donnelly.
He's a reality-TV producer.
He said he could help me clear my name.
How was he going to do that? The day after my wife disappeared, Vivien Marchand told the cops she had a vision of me in a bar with my girlfriend, Amber.
Which was true.
That I was there? Yeah.
But then she started saying she'd had other visions.
Visions that I murdered my wife, which I did not do.
But she was right once, about Amber, so everyone believed her.
Only Vivien had lied about that, too.
What do you mean? Cody Donnelly told me he had proof that Vivien was a customer in the same bar where I took Amber that day.
So she saw me, all right.
With her own eyes.
There was nothing psychic about it.
Nothing.
So you figured if you could prove that Vivien was a fraud, that maybe people would believe that you hadn't killed your wife as well.
I'm an innocent man.
But thanks to Vivien, everyone in the state believed that I killed my wife.
She got a book deal.
I got seven to 10.
And what was in it for Cody Donnelly? He wanted me and Vivien to be on his reality show, You've Ruined My Life.
Oh, I love that show.
It's where people unleash their righteous fury against those who have wronged them.
Usually ends in tears and a hug.
Cody and me, we went to her office with a camera crew.
We sat outside in the van for almost an hour.
When she finally came out, I confronted her.
I called her a fake.
Cody told me to make it big, so I did.
And what did Vivien do? Mostly, she freaked.
Then she got in a cab and took off.
Cody dropped me at my apartment on 2nd and 45th and I never saw her again.
GPS puts Adams at his apartment at the time Vivien was murdered.
Find me some witnesses that can verify that.
You don't trust the GPS? No, those things can be tampered with.
So, Vivien told her daughter that she was gonna be at the office all afternoon, and then at 2:45, she takes a cab and leaves.
To see T.
J.
, whoever that is.
Let's get a hold of Steve Adams' producer, Cody Donnelly.
I want to see him and his footage of Vivien, first thing in the morning.
You got it.
I am so glad that you are home.
You would not believe the day I had.
Oh, I think I got you beat.
Mother, what's wrong? And why are you still engaged to Uncle Chet? Richard, Chet is dead.
What? How? I went to his apartment this morning, and his kids were there, Boomer and Lotte.
They said he'd had a stroke in his sleep.
I mean, God, I He was so young and Mother, I am so sorry.
So, Boomer and Lotte see the ring.
Naturally, they assume that their father and I are engaged.
And now they're worried about how I'll handle the news.
And, well, I spent the whole day with them receiving visitors.
And they kept telling me how happy their father had been since we'd been together.
And how I was the love of his life.
And there I was, about to break his heart.
And now they want me to give the eulogy.
I don't think I can.
Oh, Richard.
- Mom, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
- I know.
There she is! All right, I see her! Go get her! Vivien Marchand, you remember me? You told the cops that you had a vision of me in a bar.
Is that the footage from Cody Donnelly? Yeah.
He's waiting for you in interrogation.
Where's Castle? He had some personal issues he had to deal with.
What have we got? It's going just like Steve Adams says.
Vivien comes out, he gets in her face Get the camera out of here! She gets in the cab.
And we get a partial on the license plate.
I'll run it down, see if I can find out where the taxi dropped her off.
Turn it off.
Turn it off.
Detective Beckett? Hi, Penny, what are you doing here? Is there somewhere we could talk privately? What's wrong? Did you remember something? No, it's not that.
I'm afraid I wasn't completely honest with you the other day.
The fact is, I have a little bit of what my mother did.
Sometimes I have dreams that are meaningful.
Last night, I had a dream about you.
Okay.
And I can't really explain why, but I feel very strongly that I'm supposed to tell you something.
Something important.
Are you ready? - I'm ready.
- Alexander.
- Alexander? - Alexander.
I don't know who he is, or what he means to you.
- I don't know any Alexander.
- You will.
You will meet an Alexander, and he will be extremely important to you.
At some future date, he may save your life.
Okay.
Good to know.
Thank you, Detective.
Thank you, Penny.
Candid-reality gold, mate.
Cody Donnelly presents, famous mystery writer follows a tough but beautiful New York cop around for research.
She'd never go for it.
She's a real Mr.
Donnelly, I appreciate you coming What are you doing here? For the record, I was going to say, "big rule follower.
" I was not discussing the case, I swear to God.
Naked Heat comes out tomorrow, and Cody here was admiring the billboards.
Is that your smoking-hot silhouette on the posters, then? No.
So, Mr.
Donnelly, where did you go after you left Vivien's office? After we got all that great footage, I dropped Steve off at his place.
Around 3:30 or so.
That was just before Vivien Marchand called me.
Really? And what did she want? To save what was left of her career.
I mean, she knew the film I had on her was damaging.
She said if I buried it, she'd give me something better.
Better, like what? Better, like murder.
You see, Vivien said she was hot on a killer.
She said it was bigger than Steve Adams.
This time, there was a body.
She was gonna let me film the moment that she confronted the soon-to-be-accused.
She said that she had to confirm one last suspicion.
And that I had to be ready to go at a moment's notice 'cause we were gonna catch a killer.
And when was this confrontation going to take place? Straight away.
I got an urgent text about two hours later.
I gathered up my crew, including security, thinking this was it.
And then when I called her back, no answer.
I'm guessing she was already dead.
Any news on Vivien's hunt for a murderer? Well, she had several clients who came to her because of unsolved crimes in the family.
But the ones that we talked to said that their cases are just as cold now as when they first came to her.
Hey, I found the cab.
The driver says he took Vivien to a residence at 112th and Riverside.
Doorman says he remembers Vivien going up to apartment 2C.
It's rented to Nick and Toni Johnston.
Toni Johnston.
T.
J.
If Vivien came to see Toni Johnston the day she died, it had to have been about something important, like this killer she was chasing.
But you'll probably say it was just a coincidence.
Castle, why is it so important to you that I believe all this stuff about fates and psychics and Santa Claus? Because if you don't believe in even the possibility of magic, you'll never ever find it.
Can I help you? Toni? I'm Detective Kate Beckett and this is Richard Castle.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
I'm so stressed out.
I can't believe this is happening.
So you know that Vivien was murdered? When I saw the paper yesterday, I nearly puked up my oatmeal.
Why did Vivien come to visit you on Monday? Look, this is all very personal and private and it involves my sex life.
Will you promise to keep it confidential? - I - Absolutely.
Okay.
Earlier this year, I did a terrible thing.
I had an affair with my husband's boss.
Very discreet.
No one ever knew about it.
That's why Vivien called me.
She knew about the affair? She called me out of the blue.
She knew we met at the company Christmas party, that we used to rendezvous at the Starburst Hotel.
Everything.
Extraordinary.
I know, right? I mean, my mind was totally blown.
An affair? Ms.
Johnston, did Vivien ever talk to you about murder? No.
She just told me she knew how I had cheated on Nick, my husband, and then she asked me a lot of questions about him.
What kind of questions? She asked if he had a temper, and if I felt safe.
She was sure Nick did know about the affair.
Vivien said the spouse always knows.
Did she ever say how she knew all of this? All of this incredibly personal information, the details of which could not be readily found in a hall of records or through an Internet search? Oh, yeah.
The guy I was cheating with, he told her everything.
You know, I'm gonna have to speak with him.
Oh, you can't.
I mean, you can't, he's dead.
That's why we stopped seeing each other.
He died last April.
Heart attack.
You're telling me that your dead lover told Vivien about your affair.
That's right.
She said Emilio came to her in a dream.
Emilio? Emilio Casillas.
Your lover was Emilio Casillas? Well? Emilio Casillas' autopsy file makes for some very interesting reading.
But do you think he was murdered? According to the ME's notes, in addition to the cause of death, which was massive heart failure, Casillas showed signs of alopecia, and his fingernails were thinning.
Which means what, exactly? I'd have to exhume the body and run some tests, but it could be toxic overdose of selenium.
And what's selenium? It's a mineral that's naturally found in the body, and in small amounts, it's good for you.
They even sometimes add it to diet pills, health drinks.
But too much of it can be poisonous.
Health drinks.
Maybe it was also in the vitamins that the Casillas' made.
So that would mean it would be at the factory.
Vivien told Toni that her husband knew about the affair with Emilio Casillas.
So, Toni's husband Nick works at the Casillas' company.
He would have easy access to the selenium, and to Emilio.
And didn't the Casillas' daughter say that her father died in the office? That's probably where he received the fatal dose.
So, Nick Johnston figures out his wife is sleeping with his boss - Mmm-hmm.
and he poisons him.
And then Nick discovers that Vivien's on to him, and kills her, too.
Hey.
So I just spoke to Nick Johnston's foreman.
He said that Nick clocked out early the day that Vivien died.
At 5:00.
But his wife said he didn't get home till at least 7:00.
That would've been plenty of time for him to get to Vivien's office, murder her, write the letter, all before the mail was picked up.
But how did he find out that Vivien talked to Toni? Toni wouldn't have told him.
Toni didn't.
But Vivien did.
The foreman said that Nick asked for the time off after he was visited by a woman.
A woman who looked a lot like Vivien Marchand.
So Vivien was putting her plan into action.
She'd bring Nick down to her office, then she'd call Cody Donnelly, have him bring his camera crew.
She would confront Nick about Emilio Casillas' murder and capture it all on film.
Vivien was about to solve Emilio's murder.
And then be returned to her former glory as New York's most famous psychic medium.
It's a pretty bold move.
But how did she get on to Emilio's murder in the first place? How many times do I have to say it? She was a psychic.
I'm sorry, what? Psychic.
Or maybe just very intuitive.
According to Vivien's notes, Paula said Emilio had been working longer hours in the months before his death.
She wrote, "Affair?" She also wrote this, "Starburst Hotel.
" It's the closest place to Emilio's office that rents by the hour.
The manager there said Vivien came by last week.
He confirmed to Vivien that the lovebirds had been regulars early this year, and she gave him 200 bucks for his trouble.
Okay.
But how does Vivien go from "affair" in general to "affair with Toni Johnston"? That, my friends, is a pretty big leap.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
That is until you see the picture.
This is from Vivien's research.
This is Toni in the red dress, and Emilio next to her, at the company's last Christmas party.
Pretty cozy, huh? Where did she get this? There's a bulletin board at the Casillas' vitamin factory, where employees post pictures.
She could have taken it from there.
So Vivien suspects that Emilio is a cheater.
She gets a hold of his autopsy file, starts thinking that maybe his cheating got him killed.
And she starts doing her usual research to prove her theory.
And all of this investigation leads her right back to Nick Johnston.
She had it all worked out.
Right up until that awkward moment where Nick Johnston stabbed her in the neck with an ice pick and fed her to the couch.
You've got the wrong guy.
I didn't kill that psychic.
We know she came to see you.
Yeah, she said she needed to talk to me in private.
Said it was urgent, had something to do with my wife.
So I punched out early and went uptown to her office.
And what did you do when you got there? Nothing.
The door was locked.
I pounded on it for 10 minutes.
Nobody answered.
I figured she was blowing me off, so I went home.
That's a pretty convenient story.
It's the truth.
Okay, why don't we start talking about Emilio Casillas? What about him? You knew that he was sleeping with your wife.
They thought they were being so careful, but yeah, I knew.
So what did you do? Nothing.
Seriously, Nick? Do you actually expect me to believe that you just sat by and let your boss take your wife away from you? Do you think I'm that dumb? She's not that dumb.
I guess it doesn't matter now.
I When I found out, I went to Emilio and I asked him to stop seeing her.
And what happened? He said no.
He was in love with her.
I threatened to tell his wife, and he just said, "Do what you gotta do.
" So I decided that I wasn't gonna do his dirty work for him.
If he wanted to leave his wife of 30 years, then he should just be a man and do it himself.
But I wanted to save my marriage, so I kept my mouth shut.
Two weeks later, Emilio was dead.
And you did nothing to help that along.
Is that what you're saying? Help what along? He had a heart attack.
The stress of being a lying, cheating asshat finally did him in.
Penny Marchand is here.
She says it's urgent.
Penny, what is it? Detective, I have something important to tell you.
Penny, is this about the mystery man? Because I really don't know any Alexander.
Alexander? Yeah, I'll tell you about it later.
Penny, I'm in the middle of a very Detective, you have to listen to me.
I know who murdered my mother.
So, let me just get this straight.
You're telling me that you had a dream that your mother was murdered by the Freemasons? In the dream, I was having dinner with my mother in a Masonic Hall.
She was very concerned.
She kept pointing to men around the room and saying, "Ask the Masons what happened.
"That's the only way you'll get closure.
" Where are we? Steve Adams' alibi checked out.
What about Nick Johnston? Well, I told him not to take any trips out of town until we got this sorted out.
Well, the good news is, with this Freemasons lead, we have a whole new crop of suspects.
- Freemasons? - Freemasons? Ignore him.
So, Paula and Marina Casillas.
If they knew that Emilio was cheating, that would be motive.
Maybe they found out that Vivien was investigating his death.
But they were Vivien's clients.
Why would murderers go to a psychic for closure? They also have an alibi for the evening Vivien was killed.
Uniforms canvassed the restaurant where they were dining with friends.
They were there from 5:00 p.
m.
till after 7:00.
Was this restaurant anywhere near Vivien's office? Yeah, around the corner.
A new place.
Mason's.
"Ask the Masons and they will give you closure.
" Let's not get carried away.
Ask the Masons, please.
Just this once.
Believe.
You know what's going on here? - No, not really.
- Me neither.
No matter what happens, we will never speak of this again.
Hello.
This is Detective Kate Beckett with the NYPD.
Could I speak with the owner, please.
Hello, Mr.
Mason.
I have a couple of questions to ask you.
Mrs.
Casillas, whose idea was it to go and visit Vivien Marchand in the first place? We have had a very long day.
Please just answer the question.
It was my idea.
Mother thought it cost too much, but I missed Daddy so much that I was willing to try anything.
And when she knew so many private things about your father? It was almost like being with him.
Like he was in the room with us.
The night Vivien Marchand was murdered, the two of you went to dinner with friends at Mason's.
That's right.
It's a new place.
My mother wanted to try it.
The waiter confirmed that you were there from 5:00 until 7:30.
How was your meal? Did you order wine with dinner? Yes.
No.
I mean, they don't have a liquor license yet, so you bring your own.
So, you brought your own bottle of wine with you, then? No, Mother went out to the liquor store and brought us a bottle.
She was gone about 20 minutes.
And what time was that? Paula, we went to the liquor store.
You didn't buy that bottle of wine at 5:15.
According to this receipt, you bought it at 3:12.
And at the same time, you bought an ice pick.
I don't understand.
You bought that bottle of wine and then you put it aside.
And then at 5:15, you left the restaurant and went straight to Vivien's office and murdered her.
Then you went and you retrieved the bottle of wine.
You returned to the restaurant.
You had dinner with your daughter and your friends.
That's crazy.
Mom, tell them.
Why would she do something like that? To cover up another murder.
Your father's.
Did you figure out that Emilio was cheating, or did he tell you? He told me that he had met someone.
That she was young and beautiful and that I was just a boring, old lady.
I took some selenium from the factory, and every morning I put a little bit in his coffee.
My God! Mom.
When you wanted to go see Vivien, I went along, to humor you.
But she knew things that she shouldn't have known.
And then when she told you that Emilio wanted to tell you something important And said she was going to spend the evening communing with his spirit The cheating son of a bitch was gonna tell on me.
After everything that he had done.
I couldn't let that happen! I had to kill her, to stop him! Mother, stop talking! We want a lawyer.
Paula Casillas has lawyered up.
He's already trying to suppress her confession.
Will that work? You know, I doubt it, but Paula's done talking.
Did you ask her who wrote the letter? You know, I didn't get a chance.
I guess it'll have to remain a mystery.
Actually, not quite.
Do you remember the last clue? The sound of knocking from far away.
Mmm-hmm.
That would have been Nick Johnston.
He said he pounded on that door for quite some time before he finally gave up and went away.
Vivien was already dead.
Yeah, but Paula could've still been in the office, waiting for him to leave.
She would have heard the knocking, just like she saw the phone, just like she saw Albert Moreno, who was probably dressed in black, so she just put it into the letter to throw us off.
Hmm.
Only, according to your timeline on the murder board, by the time Nick got to the office at 5:45, Paula was back at the restaurant.
So the office was empty.
Except, of course, for Vivien.
Oh, before I forget, what did Penny say about Alexander? Nothing.
Just some silly stuff that didn't really make any sense.
Why? Because my middle name is Alexander.
I thought your middle name was Edgar.
Been perusing the personal section of the Richard Castle website again, have we? No, I changed my middle name to Edgar, for Edgar Allan Poe, back when I changed my last name to Castle.
My given name is Richard Alexander Rodgers.
What a coincidence, huh? Well, I think that was a lovely service.
And, if I may say, your speech was the best.
Well, thank you for writing it.
And I think, you know, between the two of us, we managed to capture the essence of Chet.
Yes.
And, Boomer and Lotte, very, very gracious about taking the ring back, and the whole Oh, God, I feel terrible.
You know, you really have nothing to feel guilty about.
Oh, Richard, please.
No.
If anything, by telling Chet you wanted to think about getting engaged, you gave him one more day of hope.
But now he knows.
He's up there, I assume, and he knows everything.
He knows he gave his heart to a woman who is shallow and a little cowardly and didn't really deserve him.
Move over.
- What? - Come here.
- Oh, honey.
I don't have the - No, go on.
Now you can ask Chet anything you want to know.
Chet, darling, do you forgive me? There.
Yes.
Now, you know.
Oh! You moved it.
Yes, I did.
And let me tell you something else.
Chet was nobody's fool.
He knew you, all of you.
And he loved you.
And I'm sure wherever he is now, he still does.
Come on.
Get some sleep.
Richard.
Whatever mistakes I've made in my life, I raised a good man.
I'm the kind that pays better.
Who am I? I'm Rick Castle.
Castle.
Castle.
I really am ruggedly handsome, aren't I? Every writer needs inspiration and I found mine.
I'm Detective Kate Beckett.
Beckett.
Beckett? Could you get some backup, please? And thanks to my friendship with the mayor, I get to be on her case.
Do I look like a killer to you? Yes, you kill my patience.
And together we catch killers.
I hate this case.
I know, isn't it great? Mom? Mom? Mom, are you here? Come on.
Come on, Mom, answer.
Oh! Hello! Shouldn't you be in school already? School doesn't start for another hour.
Yeah, if you were hoping to do the walk of shame in private, you're out of luck.
Don't be silly.
I just didn't realize how early it was.
I have been a bit distracted this morning.
Do you mean distracted, or hypnotized by that giant rock on your finger? Wow! Did Chet Palaburn propose? Alexis, I think it's about time we start calling him Uncle Chet.
No, wait a minute.
Wait a minute, you two.
I am not engaged, all right? Yes, Chet did propose last night, and I told him, you know, I needed time to think about it.
And he insisted I keep the ring while I make up my mind.
So Smart man.
Diamonds can be very persuasive.
I can hear it now whispering, "Keep me.
"Keep me.
" Unfortunately, now that Chet has upped the ante, as they say, I'm going to have to decide whether I'm in or I'm out.
I thought you loved Chet.
Oh, I do love him, darling.
I really do.
I Well, you know, it's just that for me it's The thrill is gone? Yes, and it's been gone for quite a while.
Although, this little fellow did bring it back for about 10 minutes.
If he's not the one, then I guess you shouldn't marry him.
That's never stopped her before.
And we miss having you here all the time.
Don't we, Dad? - Dad? - Dad? Saved by the bell.
Ah! It's Beckett.
Castle.
Hey! Did I hear you right? Our victim is Vivien Marchand, the psychic medium? You've heard of her? Yeah! She was very popular in certain Manhattan circles.
As a matter of fact, she did a reading for me at a society party about eight years ago.
It was pretty extraordinary.
Extraordinary? She got everything right.
You know what? Come to think of it, she told me that a beautiful woman would one day move into my loft, and stay with me forever.
She neglected to mention it was my mother.
How did she die? Stabbed in the back of the neck with an ice pick and then stuffed into the sofa.
So, she didn't see that coming.
When did she die? She's in full rigor.
I'd say yesterday afternoon is the approximate time of death.
I got a maintenance worker, said he saw a man leaving the back door of Vivien's office around Description? Tall, Caucasian and tough-looking.
All right, Ryan, check Vivien's calendar and let's interview her clients from yesterday.
Maybe one of them saw the guy.
What I don't get is why put her in the couch? She was alive when she went in.
These scratches on her face indicate that she tried to move.
I'm gonna get her back to the lab.
She's got a notation in here for And nothing else? Nope.
Maybe T.
J.
was a ghost coming to visit.
Mediums are the ones that can see ghosts, right, Castle? Yes, psychics can tell the future.
Mediums can tell the future and talk to the dead.
That's like saying psychics are con artists, and mediums are con artists and charlatans.
I mean, in the end, they're all just fakes.
You sound pretty certain of yourself.
That's because when I started as a cop, I wasted a lot of time on clairvoyants calling tip lines with information that never led to anything.
I mean, I'm surprised you're so gullible.
I'm not saying I can speak with the dead.
I'm just willing to admit that there are people in this world who are more sensitive than me.
Now, that's not hard to believe.
Walked right into that one.
Mmm.
Miss Marchand, do you know of anyone that might have wanted to harm your mother? She was a very spiritual person.
She didn't have any enemies.
A witness saw a tall, dark-haired man leaving here around 2:30 yesterday.
Does that sound like anyone your mother knows? When was the last time you two talked? Around 1:00.
She said she had her last client of the day, and then she was going to spend the afternoon in meditation.
Do you know the client's name? No.
It was a mother and a daughter.
Their names should be in her book.
Well, there was a notation in her calendar at 3:00.
The initials T.
J.
Does that mean anything to you? No.
I'm sorry I can't be more helpful.
Hey.
I remember this case.
A guy's wife goes missing, he seems genuinely distraught.
And then the cops find out he had a girlfriend, and that his marriage was on the rocks.
Yeah.
Did your mother help on that case? Yeah.
She had a vision of him at a local bar, with this pretty blonde named Amber.
So she went to the police with the information.
That's when they started looking at him as a suspect.
And then what happened? He went to prison.
That case really put my mom on the map.
Did your mother continue offering the police help after that? Yes.
All over the country.
My mother helped put away over a dozen people in the last 10 years.
So, here's the list all the people that Penny Marchand claims her mom helped to convict.
Let's see if any of them are out of jail and still holding a grudge.
On it.
Vivien's one o'clock Monday clients are here.
They say they got a good look at the dark-haired guy who was in her office.
Their names are Paula and Marina Casillas.
Casillas.
It's a good name.
Hard to possessive pluralize, though.
The Casillas-es-es car has broken down.
So they will be late for the symphony.
The Casillas-es-es Casillas-es-es.
They're waiting for you in the lounge.
All right.
Thanks.
Usually we're her last clients on Monday.
But when we left, there was a man there, waiting for Vivien.
She seemed surprised to see him, like he wasn't expected.
Oh, and he seemed upset.
I could tell.
Could you describe him? He was wearing dark clothes.
He had black hair going gray at the temples.
Oh, and he He had a scar on his face.
I think she called him Alfred.
Or was it Albert? Okay.
Well, thank you both.
You've been very helpful.
How long had you been going to see Vivien? Four months.
My husband Emilio passed away in April.
We both miss him so much.
So she was helping you get closure.
Yes.
Even at our first session, Vivien already knew so much about my Emilio.
Like what? Well, she knew he made vitamins for a living.
She knew he loved arroz con pollo.
She also knew he was a workaholic.
And that he even died at the office.
Vivien said she thought Daddy had something very important to tell us.
She was going to commune with his spirit last night.
Now we'll never know.
You're not gonna believe this.
Vivien's daughter is pretty sure that Albert is Albert Moreno.
Albert "The Blade" Moreno? Former muscle for the Spilano crime family.
So, Vivien helped put him away.
Mmm-mmm.
He's her client.
Vivien told Albert that if he invested in a New Jersey real estate deal, true happiness would be his.
The deal fell through a month ago.
He lost everything.
Ouch.
You give a guy like that bad advice, he'll see to it you are sleeping with the fishes.
Or you get stabbed in the neck with an ice pick and stuffed in a couch.
Whoa! Albert Moreno is sure living large for a low-level mobster.
Well, I guess mob money goes a little farther when you don't pay taxes on it.
And yet, for Albert, not quite far enough.
Loreen Carter from Real Smart Real Estate.
This house is a Tuscan jewel and is perfect for a young couple.
We're here for Mr.
Moreno.
Yes, I went to see her.
Three months ago, Vivien told me I should invest in some real estate deal.
She knew that I had quit my day job.
I was looking to set myself up for retirement.
She told you that the investment would bring you true happiness, but instead you lost it all.
I was upset.
And then she canceled our last appointment and stopped returning my phone calls.
And then you decided to pay her a visit.
Yesterday, around 2:00.
I told her I'm on my way to meet my broker.
I'm selling my home because I can't pay my mortgage no more.
And then what happened, Mr.
Moreno? Did you get angry? Did things get physical? No, but I was mad.
And when I'm mad, sometimes people get nervous.
She begged me to let the universe sort itself out.
Then she said she was late for an appointment uptown.
Did she say with who? No.
By then I was late to meet my broker, so I left, about 2:30.
And just like that The universe, it sorted itself out.
I'm sorry.
I don't understand.
Turns out my broker's partner is Loreen, here.
My high school sweetheart.
We broke up in '82, but we never got over each other.
The minute I laid eyes on her again, I haven't left her side, and I've never been so happy.
So, Vivien was right.
Investing in the real estate deal brought you to bankruptcy, which in turn brought you to Loreen and true happiness.
Extraordinary.
So, what do you think? Well, I think it's possible he might have killed Vivien before the universe righted itself.
Not about that.
About them, Albert and Loreen.
Star-crossed lovers reunited by fate.
You mean reunited by coincidence? Oh, let me guess.
You don't believe in fate.
Soul mates? No.
Unicorns? Fairies? Double rainbows? Didn't you ever think your dolls used to get up at night and play with your toys? Sorry.
Hmm.
Let me guess.
You were one of those annoying six-year-olds who stopped believing in Santa Claus because you figured out he couldn't travel faster than the speed of light.
I was three, and we didn't have a chimney.
How'd it go with Moreno? My gut says it's not him, but we still have to look into his alibi.
So you don't believe in fate, yet your gut has magical properties.
That's cool, Scully.
We got calls out on most of Vivien's dirty dozen, we should hear back tomorrow.
Meanwhile, we're going through her client files.
Trips to the hall of records, Internet searches, even got a hold of some autopsy files.
Pretty intimate stuff, too.
You see, Castle? Research.
That's how she made people believe that she has a gift.
And I bet that she even looked into you eight years ago, when she went to that party.
And I bet she looked up Paula Casillas, as well.
That's how she knew that her husband Emilio had a vitamin business.
Is that also how she knew that Albert Moreno would find true love through bankruptcy? She got lucky.
Oh.
Or maybe it's just that she couldn't get everything she needed from her abilities alone and needed to do a little extra digging.
I have a fantastic imagination, yet I still do a ton of research when I write a book.
Surrounded by skeptics.
It's called being a cop, bro.
Oh, great and powerful spirits, tell us, should Gram break up with Chet Palaburn? This thing must be broken.
Well, luckily, I don't need the spirits to tell me when it's time to say goodbye.
Goodbye, my love.
What if you're being too hasty? - Relationships take work, right? - No, no, no.
Love is not about work.
Trust me, it's about passion, it's about chemistry, romance.
It's about your heart pounding faster because you can't wait to see her.
Can either of you look back on a relationship that ended because the thrill was gone and admit that maybe you gave up on love too soon? Dad, you're back with your ex-wife.
Ooh! No, she's right.
Yeah, with Gina, the thrill was long, long gone, but now, it is back with a vengeance.
Of course, it brought along its friends, high-maintenance and shopaholic.
No, I'm sorry, honey.
I'm sorry, but it's just It's over.
I know it.
Hey.
Any news on the dirty dozen? Well, most are still in prison.
But we're thinking this line of investigation may not get us anywhere.
Why not? I called around to a couple of lead detectives, just to check out the level of Vivien's involvement, and they say they've never even heard of her.
She exaggerated her involvement in these cases in order to build her reputation back up.
Or, maybe, the cops didn't want to admit that they had a psychic actually helping them.
I mean, what police detective would willingly acknowledge that a layperson is as talented at solving crimes as she is? Vivien Marchand is not a psychic.
I'd bet my badge on it.
Don't throw those dice until you take a look at this.
"New York Homicide Division Detective Squad.
" It's from Vivien Marchand.
Yeah, it arrived this morning.
Postmarked Monday, the day she died.
That is her letterhead.
"To whom it may concern, I feel that my murder is imminent.
" "And although I have no idea yet where or when this event will occur, "I have had a vision of my death.
"In the vision, I could not breathe.
"I saw a man dressed in black, the number 7-5-1-8 "and I could hear a furious pounding from what seemed to be far away.
"I'm sorry I cannot be more specific.
" The psychic predicted her own murder! Or the killer wrote this in order to throw us off.
Run it.
Maybe we'll get lucky with prints.
- You think she really No.
Yeah, me neither.
Hey, Lanie.
What do we got? We've got cause of death, blood loss and asphyxiation.
And I'm officially putting the time of death between 5:00 and 7:00 p.
m.
on Monday evening.
So that rules out Albert Moreno.
What else? There were no scratches on the ice pick blade.
It was brand new.
Probably bought special just for the occasion.
And her cell phone was in her hand.
She may have tried to dial for help before she expired.
The digits match the beginning of her daughter's phone number, Those are the numbers from the letter.
They're in a different order, but those are the same numbers! Oh, go on.
Go on, say coincidence.
Coincidence.
I'm just saying it's irrefutable.
That's all.
It is not irrefutable, Castle.
As a matter of fact, it is completely refutable.
Okay.
Go on.
Refute me.
Okay, how about this? Vivien is dialing her daughter's number.
Our killer comes in, stabs her in the neck, picks up the phone, drops it into the sofa after her and then puts the numbers into the letter along with the rest of the fake predictions.
Refuted.
No one types a number into a cell phone, anymore.
Preliminaries on the letter aren't giving us much.
There are no usable prints and no DNA.
And the pick up at the mail drop in Vivien's building is 6:00 p.
m.
Time enough for the killer to have written it and mailed it after she was dead.
But why? Why go through all that trouble? To keep us spinning wild theories and chasing after men dressed in black instead of following hard evidence.
I mean, come on, Castle.
The letter's not even signed.
Actually, I talked to Penny Marchand about that.
She says it's possible her mother would type a letter and not sign it, in case her prediction was wrong.
She wouldn't want anybody selling her mistakes on the Internet.
But we still can't prove that Vivien actually wrote the letter.
Until her other predictions come true.
Yeah, I'm just Good, you're back.
I think I got something.
Remember Vivien's first big case? Yeah, the guy with the missing wife and the blonde girlfriend named Amber? His name is Steve Adams.
Unis are bringing him up, right now.
They never found his wife's body.
He did seven years for second degree.
They released him two months ago on parole, only after he agreed to wear an anklet with a tracking device.
So, I called his PO and he sent over this.
The GPS readout puts Steve at Vivien's address Monday afternoon.
So, Vivien finishes with Paula and Marina Casillas at 2:00.
Albert Moreno exits out the back door at 2:30.
And now it's time for her 3:00 p.
m.
with T.
J.
Steve Adams was there from 1:36 to 2:48, waiting for his opportunity.
So he waits there until she's alone, jumps her, stabs her and then stuffs her in the couch.
This is harassment! I haven't done anything wrong! Right through here.
Calm down.
He's wearing all black.
It's gotta be a coincidence.
Or black is the new guilty.
I didn't kill her.
You were the last one to see her alive.
The GPS on your anklet indicates that you were at Vivien's office for over an hour, the day that she was killed.
Yeah, but it's not what you think.
Last week, I got a call from a guy named Cody Donnelly.
He's a reality-TV producer.
He said he could help me clear my name.
How was he going to do that? The day after my wife disappeared, Vivien Marchand told the cops she had a vision of me in a bar with my girlfriend, Amber.
Which was true.
That I was there? Yeah.
But then she started saying she'd had other visions.
Visions that I murdered my wife, which I did not do.
But she was right once, about Amber, so everyone believed her.
Only Vivien had lied about that, too.
What do you mean? Cody Donnelly told me he had proof that Vivien was a customer in the same bar where I took Amber that day.
So she saw me, all right.
With her own eyes.
There was nothing psychic about it.
Nothing.
So you figured if you could prove that Vivien was a fraud, that maybe people would believe that you hadn't killed your wife as well.
I'm an innocent man.
But thanks to Vivien, everyone in the state believed that I killed my wife.
She got a book deal.
I got seven to 10.
And what was in it for Cody Donnelly? He wanted me and Vivien to be on his reality show, You've Ruined My Life.
Oh, I love that show.
It's where people unleash their righteous fury against those who have wronged them.
Usually ends in tears and a hug.
Cody and me, we went to her office with a camera crew.
We sat outside in the van for almost an hour.
When she finally came out, I confronted her.
I called her a fake.
Cody told me to make it big, so I did.
And what did Vivien do? Mostly, she freaked.
Then she got in a cab and took off.
Cody dropped me at my apartment on 2nd and 45th and I never saw her again.
GPS puts Adams at his apartment at the time Vivien was murdered.
Find me some witnesses that can verify that.
You don't trust the GPS? No, those things can be tampered with.
So, Vivien told her daughter that she was gonna be at the office all afternoon, and then at 2:45, she takes a cab and leaves.
To see T.
J.
, whoever that is.
Let's get a hold of Steve Adams' producer, Cody Donnelly.
I want to see him and his footage of Vivien, first thing in the morning.
You got it.
I am so glad that you are home.
You would not believe the day I had.
Oh, I think I got you beat.
Mother, what's wrong? And why are you still engaged to Uncle Chet? Richard, Chet is dead.
What? How? I went to his apartment this morning, and his kids were there, Boomer and Lotte.
They said he'd had a stroke in his sleep.
I mean, God, I He was so young and Mother, I am so sorry.
So, Boomer and Lotte see the ring.
Naturally, they assume that their father and I are engaged.
And now they're worried about how I'll handle the news.
And, well, I spent the whole day with them receiving visitors.
And they kept telling me how happy their father had been since we'd been together.
And how I was the love of his life.
And there I was, about to break his heart.
And now they want me to give the eulogy.
I don't think I can.
Oh, Richard.
- Mom, I'm sorry.
I'm sorry.
- I know.
There she is! All right, I see her! Go get her! Vivien Marchand, you remember me? You told the cops that you had a vision of me in a bar.
Is that the footage from Cody Donnelly? Yeah.
He's waiting for you in interrogation.
Where's Castle? He had some personal issues he had to deal with.
What have we got? It's going just like Steve Adams says.
Vivien comes out, he gets in her face Get the camera out of here! She gets in the cab.
And we get a partial on the license plate.
I'll run it down, see if I can find out where the taxi dropped her off.
Turn it off.
Turn it off.
Detective Beckett? Hi, Penny, what are you doing here? Is there somewhere we could talk privately? What's wrong? Did you remember something? No, it's not that.
I'm afraid I wasn't completely honest with you the other day.
The fact is, I have a little bit of what my mother did.
Sometimes I have dreams that are meaningful.
Last night, I had a dream about you.
Okay.
And I can't really explain why, but I feel very strongly that I'm supposed to tell you something.
Something important.
Are you ready? - I'm ready.
- Alexander.
- Alexander? - Alexander.
I don't know who he is, or what he means to you.
- I don't know any Alexander.
- You will.
You will meet an Alexander, and he will be extremely important to you.
At some future date, he may save your life.
Okay.
Good to know.
Thank you, Detective.
Thank you, Penny.
Candid-reality gold, mate.
Cody Donnelly presents, famous mystery writer follows a tough but beautiful New York cop around for research.
She'd never go for it.
She's a real Mr.
Donnelly, I appreciate you coming What are you doing here? For the record, I was going to say, "big rule follower.
" I was not discussing the case, I swear to God.
Naked Heat comes out tomorrow, and Cody here was admiring the billboards.
Is that your smoking-hot silhouette on the posters, then? No.
So, Mr.
Donnelly, where did you go after you left Vivien's office? After we got all that great footage, I dropped Steve off at his place.
Around 3:30 or so.
That was just before Vivien Marchand called me.
Really? And what did she want? To save what was left of her career.
I mean, she knew the film I had on her was damaging.
She said if I buried it, she'd give me something better.
Better, like what? Better, like murder.
You see, Vivien said she was hot on a killer.
She said it was bigger than Steve Adams.
This time, there was a body.
She was gonna let me film the moment that she confronted the soon-to-be-accused.
She said that she had to confirm one last suspicion.
And that I had to be ready to go at a moment's notice 'cause we were gonna catch a killer.
And when was this confrontation going to take place? Straight away.
I got an urgent text about two hours later.
I gathered up my crew, including security, thinking this was it.
And then when I called her back, no answer.
I'm guessing she was already dead.
Any news on Vivien's hunt for a murderer? Well, she had several clients who came to her because of unsolved crimes in the family.
But the ones that we talked to said that their cases are just as cold now as when they first came to her.
Hey, I found the cab.
The driver says he took Vivien to a residence at 112th and Riverside.
Doorman says he remembers Vivien going up to apartment 2C.
It's rented to Nick and Toni Johnston.
Toni Johnston.
T.
J.
If Vivien came to see Toni Johnston the day she died, it had to have been about something important, like this killer she was chasing.
But you'll probably say it was just a coincidence.
Castle, why is it so important to you that I believe all this stuff about fates and psychics and Santa Claus? Because if you don't believe in even the possibility of magic, you'll never ever find it.
Can I help you? Toni? I'm Detective Kate Beckett and this is Richard Castle.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
Oh, my God.
I'm so stressed out.
I can't believe this is happening.
So you know that Vivien was murdered? When I saw the paper yesterday, I nearly puked up my oatmeal.
Why did Vivien come to visit you on Monday? Look, this is all very personal and private and it involves my sex life.
Will you promise to keep it confidential? - I - Absolutely.
Okay.
Earlier this year, I did a terrible thing.
I had an affair with my husband's boss.
Very discreet.
No one ever knew about it.
That's why Vivien called me.
She knew about the affair? She called me out of the blue.
She knew we met at the company Christmas party, that we used to rendezvous at the Starburst Hotel.
Everything.
Extraordinary.
I know, right? I mean, my mind was totally blown.
An affair? Ms.
Johnston, did Vivien ever talk to you about murder? No.
She just told me she knew how I had cheated on Nick, my husband, and then she asked me a lot of questions about him.
What kind of questions? She asked if he had a temper, and if I felt safe.
She was sure Nick did know about the affair.
Vivien said the spouse always knows.
Did she ever say how she knew all of this? All of this incredibly personal information, the details of which could not be readily found in a hall of records or through an Internet search? Oh, yeah.
The guy I was cheating with, he told her everything.
You know, I'm gonna have to speak with him.
Oh, you can't.
I mean, you can't, he's dead.
That's why we stopped seeing each other.
He died last April.
Heart attack.
You're telling me that your dead lover told Vivien about your affair.
That's right.
She said Emilio came to her in a dream.
Emilio? Emilio Casillas.
Your lover was Emilio Casillas? Well? Emilio Casillas' autopsy file makes for some very interesting reading.
But do you think he was murdered? According to the ME's notes, in addition to the cause of death, which was massive heart failure, Casillas showed signs of alopecia, and his fingernails were thinning.
Which means what, exactly? I'd have to exhume the body and run some tests, but it could be toxic overdose of selenium.
And what's selenium? It's a mineral that's naturally found in the body, and in small amounts, it's good for you.
They even sometimes add it to diet pills, health drinks.
But too much of it can be poisonous.
Health drinks.
Maybe it was also in the vitamins that the Casillas' made.
So that would mean it would be at the factory.
Vivien told Toni that her husband knew about the affair with Emilio Casillas.
So, Toni's husband Nick works at the Casillas' company.
He would have easy access to the selenium, and to Emilio.
And didn't the Casillas' daughter say that her father died in the office? That's probably where he received the fatal dose.
So, Nick Johnston figures out his wife is sleeping with his boss - Mmm-hmm.
and he poisons him.
And then Nick discovers that Vivien's on to him, and kills her, too.
Hey.
So I just spoke to Nick Johnston's foreman.
He said that Nick clocked out early the day that Vivien died.
At 5:00.
But his wife said he didn't get home till at least 7:00.
That would've been plenty of time for him to get to Vivien's office, murder her, write the letter, all before the mail was picked up.
But how did he find out that Vivien talked to Toni? Toni wouldn't have told him.
Toni didn't.
But Vivien did.
The foreman said that Nick asked for the time off after he was visited by a woman.
A woman who looked a lot like Vivien Marchand.
So Vivien was putting her plan into action.
She'd bring Nick down to her office, then she'd call Cody Donnelly, have him bring his camera crew.
She would confront Nick about Emilio Casillas' murder and capture it all on film.
Vivien was about to solve Emilio's murder.
And then be returned to her former glory as New York's most famous psychic medium.
It's a pretty bold move.
But how did she get on to Emilio's murder in the first place? How many times do I have to say it? She was a psychic.
I'm sorry, what? Psychic.
Or maybe just very intuitive.
According to Vivien's notes, Paula said Emilio had been working longer hours in the months before his death.
She wrote, "Affair?" She also wrote this, "Starburst Hotel.
" It's the closest place to Emilio's office that rents by the hour.
The manager there said Vivien came by last week.
He confirmed to Vivien that the lovebirds had been regulars early this year, and she gave him 200 bucks for his trouble.
Okay.
But how does Vivien go from "affair" in general to "affair with Toni Johnston"? That, my friends, is a pretty big leap.
- Yeah.
- Yeah.
That is until you see the picture.
This is from Vivien's research.
This is Toni in the red dress, and Emilio next to her, at the company's last Christmas party.
Pretty cozy, huh? Where did she get this? There's a bulletin board at the Casillas' vitamin factory, where employees post pictures.
She could have taken it from there.
So Vivien suspects that Emilio is a cheater.
She gets a hold of his autopsy file, starts thinking that maybe his cheating got him killed.
And she starts doing her usual research to prove her theory.
And all of this investigation leads her right back to Nick Johnston.
She had it all worked out.
Right up until that awkward moment where Nick Johnston stabbed her in the neck with an ice pick and fed her to the couch.
You've got the wrong guy.
I didn't kill that psychic.
We know she came to see you.
Yeah, she said she needed to talk to me in private.
Said it was urgent, had something to do with my wife.
So I punched out early and went uptown to her office.
And what did you do when you got there? Nothing.
The door was locked.
I pounded on it for 10 minutes.
Nobody answered.
I figured she was blowing me off, so I went home.
That's a pretty convenient story.
It's the truth.
Okay, why don't we start talking about Emilio Casillas? What about him? You knew that he was sleeping with your wife.
They thought they were being so careful, but yeah, I knew.
So what did you do? Nothing.
Seriously, Nick? Do you actually expect me to believe that you just sat by and let your boss take your wife away from you? Do you think I'm that dumb? She's not that dumb.
I guess it doesn't matter now.
I When I found out, I went to Emilio and I asked him to stop seeing her.
And what happened? He said no.
He was in love with her.
I threatened to tell his wife, and he just said, "Do what you gotta do.
" So I decided that I wasn't gonna do his dirty work for him.
If he wanted to leave his wife of 30 years, then he should just be a man and do it himself.
But I wanted to save my marriage, so I kept my mouth shut.
Two weeks later, Emilio was dead.
And you did nothing to help that along.
Is that what you're saying? Help what along? He had a heart attack.
The stress of being a lying, cheating asshat finally did him in.
Penny Marchand is here.
She says it's urgent.
Penny, what is it? Detective, I have something important to tell you.
Penny, is this about the mystery man? Because I really don't know any Alexander.
Alexander? Yeah, I'll tell you about it later.
Penny, I'm in the middle of a very Detective, you have to listen to me.
I know who murdered my mother.
So, let me just get this straight.
You're telling me that you had a dream that your mother was murdered by the Freemasons? In the dream, I was having dinner with my mother in a Masonic Hall.
She was very concerned.
She kept pointing to men around the room and saying, "Ask the Masons what happened.
"That's the only way you'll get closure.
" Where are we? Steve Adams' alibi checked out.
What about Nick Johnston? Well, I told him not to take any trips out of town until we got this sorted out.
Well, the good news is, with this Freemasons lead, we have a whole new crop of suspects.
- Freemasons? - Freemasons? Ignore him.
So, Paula and Marina Casillas.
If they knew that Emilio was cheating, that would be motive.
Maybe they found out that Vivien was investigating his death.
But they were Vivien's clients.
Why would murderers go to a psychic for closure? They also have an alibi for the evening Vivien was killed.
Uniforms canvassed the restaurant where they were dining with friends.
They were there from 5:00 p.
m.
till after 7:00.
Was this restaurant anywhere near Vivien's office? Yeah, around the corner.
A new place.
Mason's.
"Ask the Masons and they will give you closure.
" Let's not get carried away.
Ask the Masons, please.
Just this once.
Believe.
You know what's going on here? - No, not really.
- Me neither.
No matter what happens, we will never speak of this again.
Hello.
This is Detective Kate Beckett with the NYPD.
Could I speak with the owner, please.
Hello, Mr.
Mason.
I have a couple of questions to ask you.
Mrs.
Casillas, whose idea was it to go and visit Vivien Marchand in the first place? We have had a very long day.
Please just answer the question.
It was my idea.
Mother thought it cost too much, but I missed Daddy so much that I was willing to try anything.
And when she knew so many private things about your father? It was almost like being with him.
Like he was in the room with us.
The night Vivien Marchand was murdered, the two of you went to dinner with friends at Mason's.
That's right.
It's a new place.
My mother wanted to try it.
The waiter confirmed that you were there from 5:00 until 7:30.
How was your meal? Did you order wine with dinner? Yes.
No.
I mean, they don't have a liquor license yet, so you bring your own.
So, you brought your own bottle of wine with you, then? No, Mother went out to the liquor store and brought us a bottle.
She was gone about 20 minutes.
And what time was that? Paula, we went to the liquor store.
You didn't buy that bottle of wine at 5:15.
According to this receipt, you bought it at 3:12.
And at the same time, you bought an ice pick.
I don't understand.
You bought that bottle of wine and then you put it aside.
And then at 5:15, you left the restaurant and went straight to Vivien's office and murdered her.
Then you went and you retrieved the bottle of wine.
You returned to the restaurant.
You had dinner with your daughter and your friends.
That's crazy.
Mom, tell them.
Why would she do something like that? To cover up another murder.
Your father's.
Did you figure out that Emilio was cheating, or did he tell you? He told me that he had met someone.
That she was young and beautiful and that I was just a boring, old lady.
I took some selenium from the factory, and every morning I put a little bit in his coffee.
My God! Mom.
When you wanted to go see Vivien, I went along, to humor you.
But she knew things that she shouldn't have known.
And then when she told you that Emilio wanted to tell you something important And said she was going to spend the evening communing with his spirit The cheating son of a bitch was gonna tell on me.
After everything that he had done.
I couldn't let that happen! I had to kill her, to stop him! Mother, stop talking! We want a lawyer.
Paula Casillas has lawyered up.
He's already trying to suppress her confession.
Will that work? You know, I doubt it, but Paula's done talking.
Did you ask her who wrote the letter? You know, I didn't get a chance.
I guess it'll have to remain a mystery.
Actually, not quite.
Do you remember the last clue? The sound of knocking from far away.
Mmm-hmm.
That would have been Nick Johnston.
He said he pounded on that door for quite some time before he finally gave up and went away.
Vivien was already dead.
Yeah, but Paula could've still been in the office, waiting for him to leave.
She would have heard the knocking, just like she saw the phone, just like she saw Albert Moreno, who was probably dressed in black, so she just put it into the letter to throw us off.
Hmm.
Only, according to your timeline on the murder board, by the time Nick got to the office at 5:45, Paula was back at the restaurant.
So the office was empty.
Except, of course, for Vivien.
Oh, before I forget, what did Penny say about Alexander? Nothing.
Just some silly stuff that didn't really make any sense.
Why? Because my middle name is Alexander.
I thought your middle name was Edgar.
Been perusing the personal section of the Richard Castle website again, have we? No, I changed my middle name to Edgar, for Edgar Allan Poe, back when I changed my last name to Castle.
My given name is Richard Alexander Rodgers.
What a coincidence, huh? Well, I think that was a lovely service.
And, if I may say, your speech was the best.
Well, thank you for writing it.
And I think, you know, between the two of us, we managed to capture the essence of Chet.
Yes.
And, Boomer and Lotte, very, very gracious about taking the ring back, and the whole Oh, God, I feel terrible.
You know, you really have nothing to feel guilty about.
Oh, Richard, please.
No.
If anything, by telling Chet you wanted to think about getting engaged, you gave him one more day of hope.
But now he knows.
He's up there, I assume, and he knows everything.
He knows he gave his heart to a woman who is shallow and a little cowardly and didn't really deserve him.
Move over.
- What? - Come here.
- Oh, honey.
I don't have the - No, go on.
Now you can ask Chet anything you want to know.
Chet, darling, do you forgive me? There.
Yes.
Now, you know.
Oh! You moved it.
Yes, I did.
And let me tell you something else.
Chet was nobody's fool.
He knew you, all of you.
And he loved you.
And I'm sure wherever he is now, he still does.
Come on.
Get some sleep.
Richard.
Whatever mistakes I've made in my life, I raised a good man.