Castle s03e08 Episode Script

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? Dude.
Dude? Dude.
Oh.
Science project? No, it's a pet.
Say hello to Theodore, Dad.
I'm rat-sitting him for Ashley.
Hello, Theodore.
How goes the rat race? Did you know the average life span of a rat is two to three years? Ashley's had Theodore for five and this is the first time he's left him with anyone.
Trusting you with a treasured pet? That's a big step in a relationship.
Yeah.
I guess it kind of is.
I must say, the little plague-pusher is not very diligent about his exercise.
I don't know why, I think it's just those beady little eyes.
It's a rat, Mother.
They all have beady eyes.
That's where the phrase comes from.
Dad! Those are for Theodore! He has a very specific diet I'm supposed to follow.
Well, unless he's Ben, I'm sure he won't hold it against me.
If anyone needs me, I'll be in the park with a dead body.
Bye.
Who's Ben? Killer rat movie.
Before your time.
You know, I understand ferrets as a pet.
Snakes, spiders, even a hairless mole.
But a rat? There are probably kids in the city who keep cockroaches as pets.
You're probably right.
Strangest pet you ever had? You.
Hey, Lanie.
Was this a hit and run? In a manner of speaking.
Two BMX bikers rode over the body, then called it in.
But the cause of death are the gunshot wounds.
One to the chest, and two more in the back.
So he's wounded on both sides? Maybe there were two shooters? He was caught in the crossfire? Won't know till I get him back to the lab.
Got an ID? Leonard Levitt, Ozone Park, Queens.
Wallet, cash, keys.
Everything still here.
Which means it wasn't theft.
No.
Something much more nefarious.
A feather.
Alternating stripes, uniform color.
This is no ordinary pigeon feather.
This is from a bird of prey.
So what are you suggesting, Castle? That a bird shot him three times? Not just any bird.
This is the calling card of a murderer known only as the Falcon Killer.
Or maybe before getting shot, he just bent down and picked up the feather.
See, that's why you'll never be a best-selling novelist.
No sense of drama.
I find that dead bodies are usually enough.
Thanks, Lanie.
Yo, so we ran background on your vic, but it's pretty thin.
He was a New York City Transit employee, working the subway out of the 116th Street Station.
He worked Uptown and he lived in Queens? Then what was he doing in the park? That's pretty out of the way.
Well, we thought that he was looking to buy some weed or some love, but he has no drug history, no convictions for solicitations.
No nothing.
And what about his family? Both parents are deceased.
Guy never married, has no children.
It's like he barely existed.
Making him the perfect victim.
Mild-mannered city employee lured into a conveniently wooded area.
Struck down by a murderer with the speed and cunning of a bird of prey.
Don't ask.
You guys go to his apartment.
Find out who he is and what he was doing in the park.
Right.
Lividity and temperature puts time of death between 5:00 and 7:00 p.
m.
The victim also has a broken wrist.
Could be post-mortem from those BMXers playing X Games on his corpse.
What about the gunshot wounds? All three entry wounds were made by the same weapon, a.
45.
There was only one shooter.
So the same person shot him in the front and then shot him in the back? It didn't make sense to me either, so I decided to take some measurements.
Turns out the wounds are of different depths.
The one on his chest is very shallow, indicating the shot came from a distance.
- How far? - About 150 feet.
That's quite an accurate shot with a handgun.
Yeah, I'd say your killer had some shooting experience.
But the next two shots in the back were close range.
Inside six feet, maybe.
So he got shot in the chest at long range.
Turned around to run But he's wounded, the killer goes after him to finish what he started with a double tap to the back.
He wasn't just shot.
He was hunted down and killed.
But why? What was this guy up to? No idea.
What about that? Looks like some sort of counter.
What do you think he was counting? Nothing good.
Night vision, spotting scope, a parabolic microphone.
Top quality, too.
What's a subway worker doing with all this? I don't know.
Whatever he was into, it had something to do with the park.
Look.
This is right where his body was found.
That's around our time of death.
Looks like he was tracking something or someone with the initials BHS.
And it looks like that someone found him.
Surveillance equipment to clandestine meetings, a professional hit.
Mix in the subway, we're looking at The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, or better yet, Money Train.
Any one of these people could be his secret accomplice.
That's what I love about the subway.
Down here, everyone's got a story.
See, that's the difference between you and me, Castle.
You see the subway as a place to pick up dialogue for your novels.
Or the occasional investment banker on her way to the gym.
I, on the other hand, see it as a way of getting from point A to point B.
So, Light Bulb Len's dead, huh? Light Bulb Len? Yeah, it was his job to change the light bulbs in the stations and tunnels all over New York.
I figured something was wrong.
It's the first time he's missed work in 22 years.
Mr.
Rivera, Len was found shot to death in the park.
Any idea what he was doing there? The guy changed light bulbs for a living.
You know, a job like that, it's not for the social.
I mean, in the 12 years I was his supervisor, I don't think we ever had one personal conversation.
- But you know who you should talk to? - Who? Mr.
Sansone? Arthur! I'm sorry, it's just Why would anybody want to shoot him? Well, we were hoping that you could tell us that.
Well, the guy was one of the unsung heroes of the city.
He saved a lot of lives.
I'm sorry, I thought he changed light bulbs.
Bad things happen in darkness, Mr.
Castle.
Dimly lit tunnels, darkened stairwells.
If Len heard about a blown bulb before shift end, he would stay late on his own time to fix it.
And of course, there was his response to the Abe Lipschitz tragedy.
Electrocution of a bulb changer at the Brighton Beach station? This is a circuit interrupter switch.
Shuts down all the power inside a tunnel so that electrical maintenance can be performed safely.
Down here it's called the "Lenny box" because it took a visionary like Len Levitt to design it and force the Transit Authority to install one in every station in this city.
What about high-tech gear? Did Lenny ever use any night vision or microphones for his work? No.
Why? How about the initials BHS? Does that mean anything to you? Maybe someone or something that Len was keeping tabs on? The only thing Len Levitt ever kept tabs on was every single bulb he ever changed.
Did he have any enemies that you know of? You don't make waves without making a few enemies.
Because of Len, we're in the middle of a system-wide changeover from incandescent to compact fluorescents.
New technology comes in, the city ends up with a warehouse full of old bulbs.
That makes some guy in a suit at the old bulb factory very unhappy.
You ask me, corporations conspired to take Lenny out.
Lenny box.
So the guy's an inventor.
Apparently, he was an underground renaissance man.
Guess that explains all the electronics.
And the counter in his apartment.
All the light bulbs he changed.
Seriously? This guy changed over a million light bulbs? The man was an unsung hero, all right? Cut down by the forces of Big Bulb.
Big Bulb? The filament-industrial complex.
Lenny's buddy is delusional if he actually thinks that Lenny was killed by a light bulb conspiracy.
I wouldn't dismiss our subterranean friend just yet.
I was running through Len's phone records and one jumped out.
The outgoing call to the New York City employee tip line? It's where you call to rat out your coworkers.
Must "rat" always be used in the pejorative? In the Chinese zodiac, the rat What was the tip? All those incandescent bulbs they were replacing? Levitt claims that he had evidence his supervisor was stealing them and then re-selling them on the black market.
- You mean Mario Rivera? - The same.
The charges pan out, the guy could lose his job and his pension.
Oh, and get this.
Before he was in the Transit Authority, Mario was in the Marine Corps for eight years, where he won a weapons medal for sharpshooting.
Where were you last night between 5:00 and 7:00 p.
m? Working.
We checked.
You clocked out at 4:34 p.
m.
You hopped the B or the D down to 59th Street, the express only takes, what, 10 minutes? Plenty of time to get to the park and kill Len.
Why would I kill Len? Because he filed a report against you with the Transit Authority when he found out about Costa Rica.
What the hell are you guys talking about? These are emails that were sent from you to your contact in Costa Rica.
These are my private emails.
Sent from a workplace computer.
Which means we can look.
So? I was thinking about taking a vacation down there.
Yeah.
Drink a few cervezas, maybe go parasailing on the beach.
Sell some light bulbs to some locals.
The city has a warehouse full of old incandescent light bulbs that you figured no one would miss.
So you sold them to a wholesaler in Costa Rica for 20 cents a pop.
That's a hundred grand.
Only someone did miss them.
Someone with the word "light bulb" in his name.
When you found out Len was onto you, you realized you could lose your job and your pension.
You couldn't afford to let him go to the Transit Authority with what he knew.
I didn't kill nobody.
Well then why don't you just come clean with what you did last night between 5:00 and 7:00? The thing about murderers, Mario, is they tend not to have solid alibis.
Generally because they're murdering somebody.
Look, those old light bulbs were just gonna get destroyed and end up in a landfill.
I was doing the city a favor.
So I make a little extra.
So who gets hurt? I'm going to go with Len.
Last chance, Mario.
After work I went up to the Grand Concourse to pack up a shipment of light bulbs.
They went out to Costa Rica last night.
You can check.
I was there.
Thanks.
He's telling the truth.
Len's call to the tip line? Turns out the transit cops had him under surveillance all last week.
His tail has him in the Bronx last night just like he said.
Call the transit cops and tell them that we just closed their case for them.
Right.
So if light bulbs didn't get Lenny killed, then what did? You know, it can't be a coincidence that he was killed right there at about the same time that he has written down.
And what does BHS stand for? - Bronx High School? - Hmm.
Big Honking Stereo? Boys Have Shoes? Try Byron H.
Singer.
I found a small vendor decal on the side of the parabolic microphone we found in his apartment.
So I called the vendor to find out if he knew why Len bought the equipment.
Turns out Len didn't buy it at all.
It was purchased two months ago by an insurance actuary named Byron H.
Singer.
BHS.
Sorry.
Mr.
Singer, thank you for coming down.
They said it was important.
Do you know a man named Len Levitt? What did that bastard tell you? He didn't tell us anything.
Good, because he's a liar.
He thought he knew better than me.
He thought he knew better than everybody.
- Mr.
Singer - I don't care if he didn't believe me.
I don't care how much it hurt him.
I know what I saw.
And what did you see? The two of them, together in the park, like a pair of lovebirds.
But he accused me of making the whole thing up.
I mean, why would I make something like that up? Why would anybody? Mr.
Singer, what exactly did you see in the park? I saw enough.
And believe me, I was pretty shocked to see them together.
I knew I had to tell Len before somebody else did.
Len must've been very angry when you told him.
Very angry and jealous.
But I had followed them and found their secret spot, and I told him where and when to find them.
I even lent him some of my equipment so he could spy on them himself.
So Len goes to the park and he sees for himself And then he confronts them in a jealous rage, and they kill him.
They do what now? They kill him.
The cheating girlfriend and the lover.
What are you talking about? What are you talking about? Who did you see in the park that night? The red-tailed hawks.
There hadn't been a nesting pair in the park for 40 years.
You mean this is about birds? Not just birds.
The red-tailed hawks.
Len oversees the log in the Central Park boathouse where all the sightings are officially recorded, but he refused to acknowledge my sighting.
So I told him if he didn't believe me, he should go out to the park and see for himself.
They nest at dusk.
Mr.
Singer, were you in the park yesterday between 5:00 and 7:00 p.
m? Usually I am, but yesterday I was in my office, working.
And can any of your colleagues verify that? I'm sure they can.
But about the hawks, and I want this on the official record.
I would never exaggerate or fabricate a bird sighting.
It's unthinkable! They're there and I saw them first.
I'm putting that in the official record.
So the equipment, the park, the feather, and BHS.
Looks like we've explained everything.
Yes, except why he was killed.
Good morning, Mother.
Morning.
So why is Gram on the table and why are you on the floor? Dad, he's gone.
Theodore? When I fed him his quinoa salad with wheat berries, I must not have closed the cage door all the way.
And now he's gone and Ashley's going to hate me.
He's not going to hate you.
He'll understand.
No, he won't.
He trusted me and I let him down.
No, not yet you haven't.
We'll find him.
Have you looked in your room? And in Gram's, too.
If that creature entered my room, I'm gonna need a new bed.
And wardrobe.
Dad, what if he got out? Like out, out.
All right, Theodore's an uptown rat.
He's here someplace.
Okay, to find a rodent, you have to think like a rodent.
You are Theodore.
- What do you want? - Food.
Nah, you got a personal chef.
You're not hungry.
Warmth.
I'd want to stay warm and safe.
Yeah, a cozy, quiet place out of the way, where no one's gonna step on you.
- Front hall closet! - Nice.
You see him? No.
He's not here.
He's not here.
What? You need to go.
And leave you rat-less? It's my responsibility, Dad.
Not yours.
I'll find him.
- Are you sure? - Yeah.
Right.
Call me if you need anything.
Okay.
Just so you know, I'm checking into The Plaza, and you're paying.
Okay, Castle, I'm here.
What was so important? Your first clue is the curious incident of the dog in the nighttime.
Oh, jeez, Castle.
I haven't even had my coffee yet.
Thank you.
From the Sherlock Holmes story Silver Blaze.
Holmes unmasks the murderer because of what didn't happen.
The dog didn't bark.
That's how he knew the dog must've known the killer.
Okay, yes.
I remember the story.
Then you know that the hardest form of detection is looking for the thing that isn't there.
Byron said that Len was going to verify the hawks.
Verify, as in provide proof, which means He would've had a camera.
Which we didn't find.
And if he was taking pictures We should be able to figure out what he was up to.
We found the body here, where he took the last two bullets.
Running away from his killer.
He had a broken wrist.
From the BMX guys riding over his body.
Or he fell from a tree.
This tree.
There's a fresh divot.
It's all birds.
Red-tailed hawks.
Looks like Byron Singer was telling the truth after all.
Yeah, remind me to notify the bird police.
But I doubt it was the hawks that killed him.
Whoa! Light Bulb Len witnessed a child abduction.
And the last thing he saw was his killer.
We don't know his name or age but we're estimating between He has brown hair, hazel eyes.
He was last seen wearing shorts, sneakers and a gray and white jacket.
Now, our kidnapper is male.
Brown hair, between 5'10" and 6 foot.
He was carrying a Glock.
45, which matches the size of the slugs that we found in our victim's body.
Now, both photos have time-stamps on them, so we know that the abduction took place at 5:12 p.
m.
on Tuesday.
After 48 hours, the chances of finding a child abduction victim alive go way down.
The only thing that matters is finding that kid.
If he's been missing for 36 hours, how come his parents haven't reported it? They might not know.
Or they might be under duress.
He was wearing shorts, which probably means he knew he was going to the park.
Well, if he wasn't lured there, maybe he knew his kidnapper.
Well, then why would the kidnapper need a gun? I emailed the photo to the New York State Police and the Parole Division.
They're looking into any kidnappers with this abduction MO and Esposito is canvassing that part of the park looking for any witnesses.
What about schools? If the boy goes to a local school, they'd know he was absent.
Have uniforms fax his photo to all schools in the five boroughs.
Done.
That car looks to be like a compact or a subcompact.
Can we get the make or model? Lab's already looking into it.
We're pulling video from all traffic cameras on streets leading in and out of the park on Tuesday evening.
Maybe we'll catch a license plate.
Or the driver's face.
What if we were to enlarge this part of the photo? Not the face, but just this part of the window.
Are you thinking of the reflection? I'm wondering if maybe we can see the kidnapper's face in that side-view mirror.
It's worth a shot.
I need a CSU photo tech up here now.
You sure you haven't seen him? Man, I see so many kids every day, I couldn't tell one from the next.
What about a blue car, around the same time? Somewhere in this area.
- Tuesday? About 5:00? - Yeah.
Yeah, as a matter of fact, a blue Saturn.
You sure? Yeah, people I forget.
Things that get in my way, I remember.
It was parked right in front of my regular spot.
Instead, I gotta set up at the edge of the roadway.
I almost get clipped by a cab.
Anybody inside? No, because I would've yelled at the driver if there was.
I don't know what's wrong with people in this city.
Yeah.
Thanks.
Yeah.
Our pretzel vendor IDed the kidnapper's car as a blue Saturn sedan, anywhere from '97 to '02.
The problem is there are registered in the Tri-State area alone.
Ryan, where are we on the traffic cams? The make and model will help narrow it down, but there's a lot of footage.
There's also no central database for school absences.
We can't sort by grade or gender.
And there's a bad cold making the rounds, so more kids are out than usual.
What about State Police? Whole lot of nada.
And nothing popped on parolees with the same kidnapping MO.
Yes, I'll continue to hold.
Detective.
Enhanced and enlarged.
Thank you.
The enhancement only increased the pixilation in all these.
You can't even see there's a side-view mirror.
Well, it's not like on 24, Castle.
In the real world, zoom and enhance can only get us so far.
Yeah, but You can't even There's no reflection.
It's just mush.
Are you okay? Yeah.
No.
God, this kid isn't that much younger than Alexis.
Don't worry.
We'll find him.
Alexis.
What? I've seen this before.
- You've seen what? - This mark on his sock.
Alexis used to get these when she played soccer.
They're cleat marks from when kids kick her in the shin.
If he was playing soccer in the park, he might be a part of an organized team or a league.
And youth leagues have websites that you can go to.
The parents and kids can track scores and standings.
I spoke to the league commissioner and only one 10 to 12-year-old team practiced on Tuesday, the Wildcats.
- There! - There! Tyler Donegal.
He's 12.
Ryan, let's get everything we can on this kid.
The clock is ticking and we gotta bring him back alive.
Tyler Donegal lives with his mother in Westchester.
Court records show that the parents' divorce was finalized two months ago.
You reach the parents? Just got off with the mother, Mirielle Lefcourt.
She moved out of the city last year, got remarried to an anesthesiologist last month.
She says she has no idea that her son is missing.
He was spending two days in the city with her ex.
She's on her way in now.
If the father had custody, where the hell is he? And why didn't he report the boy missing? We're working on that, sir.
The father's a maintenance supervisor at a high rise on West Broadway and Canal.
He lives six blocks from Central Park.
Donegal called in sick for work yesterday and today.
Divorced parents, one child.
One spouse re-marries quickly.
So she dumps the janitor in the city for the doctor in the 'burbs.
All the father has left is his son.
It's got all the hallmarks of a custodial abduction.
You got a photo? I'll get one.
Dean Donegal.
Well, the vitals match.
Yeah, but why do you need a gun to kidnap your own son? You just put him in the car, tell him you're going for ice cream.
What's he doing? Hey, Beckett, the mother's here.
All right.
Ryan, you go to Dean's office.
Esposito, you check out his apartment.
Maybe something else is going on with that family.
Right.
Right.
Where's my son? That's what we're trying to determine, Mrs.
Lefcourt.
When was the last time that you spoke with him? Two days ago, when I dropped him off at his father's.
He was supposed to be with Dean.
Have you talked to Dean? We're trying to locate him now.
He's not at work? He never misses work.
Can you tell me about the divorce? How did Dean take that? Not well.
He was very bitter and angry.
Does he own a gun? A handgun, yes.
There were break-ins in his building.
Do you know what kind? Why are you asking me about a gun? Was somebody shot? Was my son shot? No, nobody was shot, Mrs.
Lefcourt.
It's just the man who took your son was carrying a gun.
Now, I'm gonna have to show you this photograph.
Do you recognize this man? I don't know.
Is that Dean? I was hoping that you could tell me.
What about this car? Is that his car? No, Dean doesn't own a car.
He rents one as he needs one.
A Glock.
Dean's gun, it's a Glock.
We had to itemize our property for the divorce.
Mrs.
Lefcourt, does Dean have a place that he likes to take Tyler? Any favorite hangouts? No, as far as I know, he's never taken him anywhere.
That's not true.
Dean's family has a cabin in the Poconos.
Pennsylvania State Police are on their way to the cabin.
With any luck, we'll find Tyler.
You okay? Can't imagine how Tyler's mother feels.
Yeah, me neither.
When Alexis was four, we went Christmas shopping at some mall in White Plains.
I was trying on some charcoal fedora.
I turn around, she is gone.
Vanished.
I looked everywhere.
So did mall security, so did the police.
We searched for an hour.
You don't have to be a novelist to think of all the worst case scenarios.
Where'd you find her? Behind a rack of winter coats.
She got bored.
She crawled underneath there and went to sleep.
To this day, I still dream about that.
Just got off with Esposito.
Looks like Dean's on the move.
What did they find? It's what they didn't find.
No toothbrush, no deodorant, no shampoo in the shower.
I'll run his credit card for anything that indicates he's traveling.
Dean's desk? You can't miss it, right? Pictures everywhere.
He calls it Tyler-palooza.
Is this his only work area? Yeah.
Uh-huh.
How'd he sound when he called in sick? Did he sound distressed? To tell you the truth, Detective, Dean didn't call in sick.
- I covered for him.
- Why? His ex-wife got remarried to some rich doctor, like five minutes after the divorce was final.
He had legal bills up the ass.
I figured he just needed to spend a little time with his son.
So what if he didn't call in sick? I had his back.
That's how we do it down here.
Hey, Teresa.
All right, already.
Oh.
What's in Indy, Dean? Maybe he's got family in Indianapolis.
A friend.
Somebody he can trust.
Someone who can hide him.
But there weren't any airline tickets purchased in his name or in Tyler's.
Yo.
The cabin's empty.
P.
A.
State troopers say it looks like there hasn't been anybody there in months.
We just got a hit on Dean Donegal's financials.
An hour ago, he booked a motel room in Jamaica, Queens.
That's not far from the airport.
He might still be trying to get Tyler out of town.
If we're lucky.
He shot someone, he's on the run, he's under extreme duress.
Let's get him before this ends bloody for everyone.
- NYPD! - NYPD! Tyler! Hands! Show me your hands! Tyler! Tyler! Bathroom's clear.
He's not here.
Where's Tyler? I don't know.
They told me to check into a motel and wait for further instructions.
Who did? I don't know.
All I know is they took him.
And if I help you, they'll kill my son.
Where is Tyler, Dean? I told you, I don't know! Why were you going to Indianapolis? Indian What are you talking about? We know you were checking on airfares.
I was researching a trip for the holidays.
What? You think I took my own son? You were in a hotel by the airport.
That's where they told me to go! Who? Please.
They said if I talk to the cops, he's dead.
Dean, if your son is in danger, then you need to tell us what you know.
I went to pick him up after practice.
When he wasn't at the usual spot, I figured he must have walked home.
When I got back to my apartment, that phone was on my doormat.
It had a text on it.
"We have your son.
Tell no one.
Use only this phone.
"Contact the police and Tyler dies.
"Stand by, we will tell you where to go and what to do.
"Tell no one.
Your son's life depends on it.
" What do they want from you? I have no idea.
Dean's Glock is a nine millimeter.
Right make, wrong model.
Light Bulb Len was killed with a.
45.
The SIM card from his cell phone is a burner.
And the text messages aren't coming from another phone.
They're coming from an internet texting service based in the Ukraine.
No IP address, untraceable.
Track the SIM and I want a printout of every text message.
Then get the electronic serial number off that phone.
I want to find out where it was purchased and by whom.
You got it, sir.
What do they want from you? Are they after ransom? Are you kidding? I'm 40 grand in debt after my divorce.
I'm looking up at broke.
What about your ex-wife's new husband? He has money.
They're not calling him.
They're calling me.
What if they find out I'm here? I just want my son back.
Then your best option is to work with us.
Let us help you.
I need to get some air.
Look, I know that this is hard, but you have to trust us.
We will find him.
Okay.
Don't let them hurt my boy.
Where is he? Where's Tyler? You should've been there to pick him up at soccer practice! I should never have agreed to joint custody.
- How could you let this happen? - Stay of out this.
You're not family.
- He's my boy, too! - Sit down! That's enough! Now I need everyone to calm down, cooperate and think.
Dean, did you notice anyone unusual hanging around your son? Anything out of the ordinary going on in his life? No.
I mean, I don't think so.
What about you two? Nothing comes to mind.
No.
Now this abduction was clearly planned.
So the kidnapper had to know where Tyler was going to be Sir, this is a message.
It's from the kidnapper.
There's a video attached.
Hi, Dad.
I know you're worried, but I'm okay.
They say if you do what they ask, everything will be fine.
Just don't go to the police.
I'll see you soon, and don't forget to feed Ace.
Thank God.
He's alive.
There's a time-stamp on it, 1:31 a.
m.
That was sent eight minutes ago.
That's a good thing, Mrs.
Lefcourt.
It's called a proof of life video.
The kidnappers sent it to prove your son's alive and that you do exactly what they ask.
You will do exactly what they ask you to.
Do you understand? Wait, play that last part again.
Don't forget to feed Ace.
Who's Ace? I don't know any Ace.
We don't have any pets.
He's sending us a message.
He's a smart boy.
Ace could refer to a person, or a business.
Sir, there's another text.
"680 Canal Street.
30 minutes.
" That's the building where I work.
What's there? A jewelry store? A bank? No, just offices.
Why you? What's so special about that building that they need you? Oh, God.
Because I have elevator access to all the floors in the building.
You're a human key.
Sir, I just talked to the building's owner.
He's emailing blueprints and a tenant list for 680 Canal, including the secure floors.
Ryan and Esposito are with me.
We'll take Dean to the building.
I've arranged to have an ESU team standing by in striking distance.
Sir, you can't take Dean to that building.
It is way too dangerous.
He's a father who loves his son.
You're not going to be able to stop him.
And until we find the boy, we don't have any other choice.
Scrub the video, look for anything that could lead us to him.
Yes, sir.
All right.
We're a block away.
We'll be able to see and hear everything that's happening, okay? We've cloned your phone so we'll be able to read your text in real time.
You follow the kidnapper's instructions to the letter.
No cowboy stuff, you understand me? - Yes.
Hi, Dad.
I know you're worried, but I'm okay.
They say if you do what they ask, everything will be fine.
Just don't go to the police.
I'll see you soon, and don't forget to feed Ace.
There are no identifying markers in the background.
It's all black.
I don't know if we're gonna find him in time.
The video was taken at 1:31 a.
m.
, but they didn't send it till 1:39.
You know, sometimes it takes a while for a text to go through.
Yeah, but eight minutes? You want Dean to do something for you, you make a proof of life video, but you wait eight minutes to send it.
Why? Maybe there wasn't a signal or not enough bars.
Yeah.
Maybe they had to walk a long way to get a signal? Maybe they're under Underground.
Ace! It's not Ace.
It's A-C-E.
The A, C and E subway lines.
They're holding Tyler in the subway.
He must've spotted a sign.
There's half a dozen stations where the A, C, and E stop.
There's too many to search.
Yeah, but the last stop for all three lines is on Canal Street and West Broadway.
That's Right under Dean's building.
They've been holding him under everyone's nose.
Let's go.
Check every room on the east-end of the station.
You guys check ticket booths on both ends.
Go! - Right.
- Got it.
Castle, what are you thinking? The only reason to keep him here is for a quick getaway, which is helped by the fact that 680 Canal Street has its own entrance to the subway.
If it were me, I'd keep close enough to hook up with my partners, but far enough to have it be out of the way.
Which means he's holding Tyler on the west-end of the tunnel.
West-end of the tunnel.
This room.
All right, you should stay back.
No chance.
"Go to the 37th floor.
Now.
" They said 30 minutes.
It hasn't been 30 minutes yet.
They're changing the timetable in case you went to the cops.
What's on the 37th floor? Nothing.
It's vacant.
It's not even secure.
Try Beckett.
Nothing.
It's going straight to voicemail.
She must already be in the subway.
I gotta go.
Remember, we can see and hear everything.
Anything goes south, 100 cops will be on you inside of a minute.
Not until you find my son.
Just my luck.
Pulled graveyard tonight.
All right, he's in.
Not bad with the guard.
The guy's all right.
Camera and mic are all good.
Whoa.
Take us to the 39th floor.
I want to see Tyler first.
Just follow instructions.
You'll see him soon enough.
What's on the 39th floor? A financial firm.
Breskin and Wright.
Thirty-seven was just a staging area.
They let him see their faces.
As soon as they get what they came for, they're going to kill him.
Just like Light Bulb Len.
Beckett's still going to voicemail.
Castle, too.
Sir, what do you want to do? If we go in before we find the kid, we might lose them both.
Beckett.
One armed and the kid.
If I go in, he'll kill him before I get a shot off.
He's holding a flashlight.
If we kill the ambient light, he'll light up like a Christmas tree.
We just It's like it's meant to be.
Maybe Lenny can prevent another tragedy.
On my count.
Three, two, one! Hit P-1.
The subway.
I did what you asked.
Now where's Tyler? You'll see him in a minute.
Sorry, Dean.
Last stop.
Lobby.
We're supposed to go to subway level.
Why are we stopping at the lobby? Don't look at me.
No, look at me.
I suggest you drop your weapons.
Where's Tyler? The ring leader was Robert Kincaid, former bond trader.
He's the one who planned the entire operation.
The economy might have collapsed, but he was still gonna get his payday.
Most of them were ex-Wall Streeters.
They knew that they needed biometric clearance in order to get on secure floors.
And they knew that Dean wasn't gonna help them, so they took Tyler as leverage.
But all they took were files.
Financial files containing unpublished earnings reports.
To a savvy investor, they'd be worth millions.
Would've worked too, if Light Bulb Len hadn't been taking pictures in the park.
He helped catch his own killer.
And foil the kidnapping.
It's kind of poetic.
In an unspeakably tragic sort of way.
The guy you shot in the subway? A thug Kincaid hired to do his dirty work.
He just confessed to kidnapping Tyler, murdering Light Bulb Len and, no surprise, he ratted out Kincaid in two seconds flat.
Oh.
Speaking of rats.
I gotta I gotta go.
I'm the worst person in the whole world.
No, you're not.
You're wonderful and you're kind and you're sweet.
I'm a rat killer.
You don't know that.
You may just be a loser.
A rat loser.
This did not come out right.
Look, if he cares, he'll understand.
Yeah, he'll understand, all right.
When he sees me in the halls at school, he'll think, "There's the awful girl that lost my best friend.
" It's him.
Hi.
Hi.
I missed you.
I missed you, too.
What's wrong? It's about Theodore.
When I fed him, he must've got out of his cage and And he's gone.
He's gone? We looked everywhere.
I swear.
We turned this whole place upside down.
How'd he get out? I must not have locked the cage right.
Ashley, I'm so sorry.
You have every right to hate me.
Come on, Alexis.
I'm upset, but I don't hate you.
You don't? I mean, well, look at this place.
Look at what you did to try to get him back.
Who else would do that? You cared about him a lot.
Yeah, but I care about you more.
Found him!