Castle s04e12 Episode Script
Dial M for Mayor
Blow, winds! And crack your cheeks! Rage! Blow you cataracts and hurricanes, spout till you have drenched our steeples Dad.
I know what you're asking, and the answer is yes.
Yes, you can take your grandmother and her entire production of "King Lear" to college with you.
I'm going crazy.
Ear plugs? Not that.
I need something to do.
I had planned to be at Stanford, but now I'm here, just waiting.
What about school? I finished all my credits.
All I'm taking this semester is Theoretical physics.
Well, maybe this is exactly what you need-- a little time off to discover yourself-- travel, adventure.
Go for a little life experience.
That's a great idea.
I could get an internship.
Practical experience in the job market, you know, test the waters.
Well, not exactly what I was thinking-- Mwah.
Mwah.
Mwah.
Thank you.
Mwah.
Blow, wind! Thunder, fire are my daughters! Daughters That's why King Lear went mad.
Yes, hello? Your timing was perfect.
My mother was teaching three acting classes today, in my living room.
Wait a minute.
What about her studio? Flooded.
They were doing the storm from "King Lear," and things got out of hand.
Remind me to check my insurance.
Hey, Lanie, what do you got? This is Laura Cambridge, 28.
Traffic found her in the passenger seat of the car.
Cause of death? She was strangled between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00 last night.
This bruising here indicates a choke hold.
He probably grabbed her from behind with enough force to crush her hyoid bone.
He? So there was a witness? No, but to kill her in one swift move like that, perp had to be taller and heavier than the victim.
No signs of sexual assault, though.
Was she strangled in the car? CSU cidn't find any signs of any struggle.
Looks like her body was dumped here postmortem.
Whose car is it? Not hers.
She had a non-driver ID card.
Ryan's running the plates to see if we can find the owner.
And what about the purse? This was tossed in the dumpster.
Still has cash in it.
Cell phone? Didn't find one.
What girl in her 20s doesn't have a cell phone? Maybe she's Amish.
Hey.
So I, um, ran those plates off the sedan.
And, uh What? It's from the motor pool at City Hall.
City Hall? Who used it last? Mayor Robert Weldon.
Uh, we're all still a little stunned to hear that one of our cars was mixed up in this.
Trust me.
We're gonna get this all sorted out.
Is that the victim? Yes.
Laura Cambridge.
Do you recognize her, your honor? Uh, my staff would know better, but I don't believe she's connected with this office.
Sir, I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but where were you last night between 8:00 and 10:00 PM? This is one of New York's finest, huh, Ricky? She's the best.
Yeah, so you keep telling me.
I was at a small fund-raiser last night with about 50 other people.
I'll--I'll get you their names.
Yeah, I appreciate that.
And what about the car? It was one of several used by my office for the event.
Uh, apparently, one of my staffers reported it stolen later that night.
Off the record? The people I was with last night were part of my inner circle.
We're forming an exploratory committee for a possible run at governor.
But--but I'm not anxious to make that public yet.
I'll do my best to keep the nature of your business private.
Thanks.
I hoped you'd be there, Rick.
Fondue night with Alexis, but I did send a check.
Thank you for that.
I know that you have a lot more questions, detective.
My chief of staff, Brian Shay, will answer anything else you want to know.
- Listen--listen-- listen to me, Jack.
- I'm listening.
You're swinging in the wind on this, but you get me three more votes on the council, and I'll send you a helicopter.
You're the detective, right? - Yes.
- Have a seat.
Jordan, we don't need you in on this.
You know, I'll--I'll leave you guys to work through this unless, Rick, you want to take a look at our new library initiative.
It wouldn't hurt us to have your endorsement on that.
For the New York Public Library, my first love? Anything.
I've already done your leg work, detective.
The car was checked out by Elizabeth Watson, senior director of communication here at the office.
When she left last night's event around midnight, she discovered that it was missing.
Here's her statement.
With all due respect, Mr.
Shay, police investigations are usually conducted by the police.
Yeah, well, unfortunately, the 24-hour news cycle moves a hell of a lot faster than you do.
And I have to get all my ducks in a row before this thing breaks.
It's my job.
And my job is to find Laura's murderer, so if you don't mind, and even if you do, I'm gonna get my own statement from Ms.
Watson about that car.
And I'm also gonna need statements from all of your staff as to whether they recognize our victim.
Knock yourself out.
But trust me, you're wasting your time.
It's my time to waste.
Now I got a job to do.
So do I.
Let me be clear.
Mayor Weldon is my priority.
And I'm not about to let this thing embolden his opponents and ruin everything that we've built.
He's right, you know? This thing gets out, and they're not ready with a response, that's front-page material for weeks.
It's front-page news either way.
If his staff wants to minimize damage, they'll step back and let me do my job.
Step back? These are politicians.
They can't order at a restaurant without two compromises and an ultimatum.
Beckett, my office.
What did you find out at City Hall? The staffer that reported the car stolen is accounted for all last night, and no one in the mayor's office seems to recognize our victim.
So her ties to that vehicle could be purely coincidental? That's entirely possible.
Castle and the mayor are friends, right? Sir? These investigations are like juggling wet dynamite.
One misstep, and it'll all blow up in your face.
I can handle myself.
Well, that's good, detective, because I won't be the only one watching.
What was that about? Politics And your connection to the mayor.
Oh, what does it matter? We know he's not involved.
What? She's right.
You are biased.
I'm biased? Do you know who Gates voted for in the last election? Because I'm betting it wasn't Weldon.
Espo, where are we on that motor pool? Verification.
Vehicle was checked out at 5:00, reported missing shortly after midnight.
So it was stolen off the street.
Looks like.
Which means, any connection to the City Hall is entirely coincidental.
Hey, Ryan.
What do our victim's phone records show? Any phone calls to City Hall? No phone calls at all, because Laura Cambridge didn't own a cell phone.
And her credit cards haven't been used in six months.
No cell phone and no credit cards? It's like she's from another century.
Amish theory's looking pretty good, bro.
Be nice if it were that easy.
But I think something else was going on with her.
What do you mean? Laura was a professor of literature at Hudson University.
She was a rising star in her department until six months ago.
What happened six months ago? She quit for no apparent reason.
According to her colleagues, she also completely cut ties with them, canceled her cell phone, cut off her credit cards.
Why? No one knows.
It's like something happened to her.
After that, all I could find were paystubs for fast-food restaurants, a laundry service, and an office cleaning company.
It's like she couldn't keep a job.
She went from professor to janitor? That's "Good Will Hunting" but in reverse.
Maybe her family can shed some light.
Well, I tracked down her next of kin.
She has a sister.
She's on her way in now.
All right, you guys dig in to her life, see if we can find out where she was the night she died.
Castle and I will go over to her apartment to see if we can find out who she was with.
Well, honestly, she pretty much kept to herself.
She paid on time.
That's what matters.
That's my stuff! You took my stuff! Unlike those two chuckleheads.
Uh, excuse me, please, officer, and, uh, gentleman.
Hey, pipe down, for crying out loud! "Officer And A Gentleman.
" That could be the name of our crime blog.
Crime blog? The way that you help me write police reports? Got a feeling I'll be writing that one on my own.
Doesn't really seem to be any signs of struggle.
Yeah, no sign of a TV or computer either.
That's weird, right? Bunch of deadbeat tenants in here.
You ever get bored, I'm sure I could fill up a couple of holding cells for you.
Mr.
Harvey, when was the last time you saw Laura? - Did you see her yesterday? - During the day.
She worked nights.
I saw her head to work around 5:00.
Do you know where she worked? Someplace that paid.
That's all I know.
Did you ever see Laura with any friends, boyfriends? No.
Unh-unh.
Uh, but I did see a guy leaving here last night.
When was that? Around 9 30.
Well, that's inside our 8:00 to Do you remember what he looked like? Uh, 6 feet tall, Caucasian, dark hair.
She never mentioned anyone like that.
She wasn't dating anyone.
Thank you.
I tried to set her up with a few guys, but she wasn't interested.
Did your sister have any connection to City Hall or local politics? No, I don't think so.
Were you and your sister close? We used to be.
She used to tell me everything.
And then six months ago, she stopped calling.
She just dropped out of her life.
She gave up her teaching position, she moved out of her apartment on the Upper West Side into that flophouse.
Do you have any idea why? When was the last time you spoke to her? Three days ago.
She called for my birthday.
From where? She didn't have a phone.
I don't know, but she was upset.
She said she was in trouble because of something that happened at work.
Did she tell you why? No.
She said it was too dangerous for me to know.
So Laura Cambridge left a tenure-track position at a respected university for some flophouse and a mysterious night job that got her into so much trouble, she ended up murdered.
What the hell was she mixed up in? The man who left her apartment-- if he's our killer, he was looking for her.
He probably went to her work to find her.
Which means, wherever that is, it's probably the last place she was seen alive.
I got it.
I found where she works.
Her bank statement says she received recent direct deposits from a DAG Corp.
Now I had to dig deep within the city's business registries, but I found one listing for a DAG Corp between 2nd and 3rd in the Bowery.
Let's go.
There it is.
Suite 250.
What kind of business do you think this is-- shadowy import/export, money laundering, sweatshop? Shh.
No, please.
Do you hear that? Stop it.
You're hurting me.
Bobby? Stop! Stop! Aah! - Aah! - NYPD, no I'm a bad little schoolgirl.
It's just an office.
Where only women work? Oh, yeah, baby.
I'm still here.
What is this place? I'd say it's about $4.
99 a minute.
It's not a sweatshop.
It's a sex shop.
Oh, Murray.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, like that.
Corrections by Alex1969 You hear the clicking of stilettos coming towards you, James? Farm, no men for miles.
- Could you stay and - Vampire with sharp teeth for to hold you down while I suck your Laura was one of my favorites.
Just a sweet, intelligent, funny girl.
She'd only been here a few months, and already, she was one of our most popular goddesses.
I can't believe that she's dead.
Was she taking calls last night? No.
No, she took last night off.
Said she had something to take care of.
Laura told her sister that she was in trouble at work, that something had happened.
Nothing happened that I know of.
I mean, she did seem distracted the past few days, but that's about all.
Well, being the chief "sexecutive officer," did you notice any conflicts with her and her colleagues? Well, she kept to herself.
But she got along well with the other girls.
There were no complaints about Laura.
Did she ever tell you why she was working here? What do you mean? I-I just find it odd.
She's a professor with a promising career ahead of her, and then all of the sudden, she decides to become a phone sex operator.
Maybe she liked it.
We get all types here, detective-- students, actresses, moms.
I knew an accountant who did it because she liked the challenge and it turned her on.
It's a powerful thing to make a client lust for you.
Hmm.
Any chance that one of her clients became obsessed with her? Oh, honey, obsession pays our bills.
Could they have found out her real identity, maybe contacted her? Absolutely not.
No, we keep all of our girls anonymous.
Clients can't be contacted directly.
They call one central line, and all our calls are routed to each girl by our dispatcher.
Uh, yeah, it's my job to take the client's name and credit card information and then route the calls to the girls.
It's 3:00 in the afternoon.
Is it always this busy? Sure.
Some guys need a morning jolt, some guys need an afternoon pick-me-up.
Someone shoulda told them, coffee's cheaper.
It's not just about the sex.
That's the part of this business most people don't understand.
Guys call, girls call, they're looking for release.
Sometimes that release is sexual, but sometimes-- It's therapy.
Or so I've been told.
It's true.
Laura was a successful goddess not just because of her sexy talk, but because she was a really good listener.
Well, that might have gotten her killed.
Sarah, were there any clients that she asked to have blocked? No.
What about problems here at work? Was there anything she couldn't tell her boss about? No.
She, um She what? - Sarah? - I'm sorry.
Oh, God.
I'm so sorry.
It's my fault she's dead.
How? Did a client find out who she was? No.
It was the other way around.
Laura came to me about a week ago.
She, um, she wanted a-a client's contact information.
I told her it was completely against policy.
But she was desperate.
She said it was a matter of life and death.
Okay, we're gonna need that client's name.
Edgar Navarro? Hey, I didn't do nothing.
You had no right to drag me out in front of my moms.
No? Where were you last night between 8:00 and 10:00? What's this about? - Do you recognize this woman? - Hey, look, I-- I don't know what she told you, but all we did was talk.
I didn't do nothin' illegal.
Then how come she's dead? W-what? We know that she called you, Edgar, and that the two of you met up.
It's not what you think.
She just needed my help.
What kind of help could you have given her? I learned how to fix computers in prison.
That's why Laura called me.
She needed me to copy some digital recordings for her from their hard drive, but she didn't know how to rip them.
I told her I needed the file extensions.
She said she'd get them and then call me from her cell - to walk her through it-- - Only she didn't even own a cell, Edgar.
Yes, she did.
That's her number right there.
Did she tell you why she needed those files copied? She said she'd heard something on a call, something she wasn't supposed to hear.
Something bad.
She said she needed a copy of it for evidence.
So Laura never mentioned a call that upset or concerned her? She never said a word.
And she never asked for copies of recordings? No, and I'm the one to ask.
This computer room is locked up tight, and I'm the only one with a key.
The lock's broken.
Okay.
The hard drive's gone.
All of our calls for the last two months were on that drive.
When was the last time you were in here? This morning.
Everything was fine.
This must've just happened.
Has anyone visited the office today? Yes, a A man from the gas company.
He said there was a leak in the building because of the construction.
Can you describe him? Um, about 6 feet tall, white, dark hair.
Same guy who was at Laura's apartment the night she died? What the hell was on that recording? Whatever it is it's worth killing for.
So how is the case of the phone sex gal who knew too much going? It's more of a conspiracy thriller, like, uh, "The Conversation" or "Blow Out.
" Everyone wants this recording and the secrets on it.
Oh, very mysterious.
Yeah, and that's not the only mystery.
Why would a woman like Laura Cambridge, a highly educated professor, suddenly quit everything and just drop out of her life for a series of menial jobs culminating in the wonderful world of phone sex? None of the pieces fit.
Hmm.
Who called her? I mean, you must be able to trace the call even though you don't have the recording, right? Well, we have subpoenaed a list of all the incoming calls on Laura's shifts, but that's gonna be like looking for a needle in a needle stack.
Hello.
Mr.
Castle Do you remember me? I called you before.
About detective Beckett's safety.
I remember.
Once again, Mr.
Castle, it seems that we need to talk.
Are you sure it's the same man who called you about Beckett? It's definitely him.
Then the death of this young woman is somehow connected to Beckett's mother? It has to be, otherwise why would he call? What did he say? He said that there were greater forces at play, that more was at stake than we realize.
Clearly this is not just about phone sex.
Whatever Laura Cambridge overheard that night, it got someone's attention, someone big.
What I don't get is, what are you supposed to do about it? I don't know.
He gave me a number to contact him - if I needed help.
- Hmm.
He said I would know when it was time.
You plan to tell Beckett? Tell her what? "Hey, Kate.
I've been taking calls from a shadowy figure who wants to keep you off your mother's murder case so they don't kill you, too"? Yeah.
Okay.
Hold on.
Wait.
What did you say? No, I'm not eating.
Thanks.
Hey.
You're just in time.
Thank you.
What's wrong? Nothing.
So what have we got? Lanie just called.
She said that she found fibers in Laura's mouth and esophagus.
The lab IDed it as light brown cashmere, which was most likely from our killer's coat sleeve.
Brown cashmere.
So we can narrow our suspects down to rich men with impeccable taste.
Are you saying, you're a suspect? Alexis is my alibi.
What about our gas company worker? Well, surprise--he doesn't work for the gas company.
And uniforms said that there was no forensic evidence at the dial-a-goddess office.
But what we did get from dial-a-goddess were their copious call logs-- about 200 pages worth.
These ladies are busy.
I've been going through them all morning, trying to sort Laura's calls from the other girls' lines.
Are there any calls in there from the mayor's office? I thought you said you were confident that he wasn't involved? I'm just trying to be thorough and impartial.
Not yet, but the private sector is well-represented.
I got calls from the Met, banks, several high-profile brokerage houses.
No wonder the economy collapsed, huh? Yo, Beckett.
Excuse me.
What do you got? Hey.
If anything shows up in here and it's tied to either Beckett's shooting or Johanna Beckett's murder, would you tell me right away? Wait.
You guys think this is connected-- No.
Not you guys.
Beckett doesn't know, and I don't want her to know.
Why do you think it's connected? I just I just want to cover all my bases.
- Okay? - Okay.
- Thanks.
- You guys.
So uniforms canvassing around Laura's apartment found a cab that recognized her pic.
He said that two days ago, he dropped her off at the Gotham 11 TV Station downtown.
A television station.
Why would she go to a television station? Why would she go into the phone sex business? Why would she do any of these things she did? Well, hopefully I'll get some answers, but first, I ran down that cell number we got from Edgar Navarro.
It's a pay-as-you-go phone.
Laura just activated it six days ago.
She's hardly used it.
She made one call to Edgar and another on the day she died to an agent.
A federal agent? No, a book agent.
Trevor Hanes.
It's just absurdly tragic.
Laura was an incredibly talented writer.
You were her agent? Yeah, we signed her as a client about six months ago on the back of an astonishing book proposal.
What's the book about? It's a scathing indictment of societal inequity as seen through the lens of the working poor.
A sort of contemporary take on how the other half lives.
A privileged young woman gives up every comfort to experience life below the poverty line.
That's why she took all those jobs--firsthand research.
The thing pitches itself really.
So we'll need to see a copy of that manuscript.
Her investigations might have led to her death.
Well, there isn't one, at least not that I've seen anyway.
Bedsides I don't think she was killed because of her anticapitalist polemic.
What do you mean? Earlier this week, she called my office, said she stumbled upon a much more explosive story-- a scandal involving a very prominent, very powerful New Yorker.
She said it would rock the city to its very foundations.
W-what--what prominent New Yorker? She wouldn't say.
I just assumed it was a pitch for her next book.
We were gonna discuss it this week.
Sorry.
Excuse me.
Hey, Espo.
- What's up? - I'm at the Gotham 11 office.
There's something you need to see.
This is Pat McConnell, Laura's college buddy.
Tell 'em what you told me.
Well, I hadn't seen Laura in years.
So a few days ago, she calls me out of the blue, says she needs to see some raw footage we shot for this research project she's working on.
So I set her up at this edit bay.
She was here for over eight hours.
I mean, at one point, she even fell asleep.
I came by to check on her, she had her eyes closed.
- Raw footage of what? - It's all B-roll of Mayor Weldon-- City Council meetings, playground openings, backstage at a press conference.
A scandal about a prominent, powerful New Yorker.
And check out this last tape she was watching.
That's the reading train foundation.
I went to their gala last year.
Now look at the girl on the side of the screen.
That's Laura.
That's impossible.
He said he didn't know her.
Castle, look what the mayor is wearing.
It's a light brown coat, and it looks like cashmere.
That's just the coat that our killer was wearing.
Beckett, I know this man.
I've known him 12 years.
He's not a killer.
You don't know that.
Yes, I do.
Castle, he lied about knowing our victim.
He was standing next to her.
That doesn't mean he knew her.
You know how many people he meets in a day? Expecting him to remember them all-- that's like expecting me to remember everyone who comes to my book signings.
You're biased.
You're damn right, I'm biased.
Robert Weldon is a good man.
Even good men make mistakes.
He had access to that car.
His aide said that he left the event at 9:00 PM.
That's right inside of our kill zone.
Fine.
What's his motive? I don't know, at least, not yet.
Then give him a chance, because the minute you move on him, his career is over.
So what's the latest? We've got a couple of promising leads.
I'm hoping to find something concrete soon.
Well, anything more on the victim? Anything connecting her back to City Hall? No, not yet.
All right, detective.
Anything pops, you let me know.
Great.
Now I'm a liar.
You know what I think? I think she's hoping it's him, because if he's gone, I'm gone.
Castle, you can't make this one about you.
Where are you going? You're right.
We have to figure out Weldon's motive.
There's no way that Gates is gonna let me subpoena that coat without it? Really, that's your takeaway? What do you want me to do, Castle? I know that he's your friend, but I'm sorry, if he killed that girl-- - He didn't.
- Then let me prove it.
Ryan? All right.
Thanks for your help.
Anything else on that video? Actually, yeah.
When we first saw Laura, she was wearing a volunteer badge for the reading train foundation.
She was on staff at the mayor's charity.
That doesn't mean he knew her.
Ryan, you're with me.
Castle, I'm sorry, but you can't be objective on this one, so I'm gonna have to pursue it on my own.
No, uh, I don't know if Mayor Weldon and Laura Cambridge were acquainted.
I don't know much about her at all.
She wasn't here very long.
What do you mean? Well, we hired Laura as a volunteer about a week ago.
A few days later, we had to fire her.
Why? She was caught copying confidential files.
What kind of files? Accounting files.
Any idea why she would be interested in those files? - Ms.
Park? - It's sensitive.
I'm not supposed to talk about it.
Ms.
Park, a woman was murdered, and we are trying to figure out why.
You can talk to us here, or we can go downtown.
We've recently discovered some discrepancies in our accounts.
- We found there was some money missing.
- How much money? $2.
3 million.
There's an internal investigation going on.
This investigation, does it have anything to do with Mayor Weldon? Thank you.
Attorney General's office confirms that Mayor Weldon is the subject of the investigation.
We were looking for motive, and here it is-- $2.
3 million worth.
Weldon embezzled from his own charity.
Someone must have told Laura about it during one of her sessions, and she decided to investigate.
When she found enough evidence to expose the mayor, he killed her to shut her up.
You gonna tell her? I have to.
This will destroy Weldon, you know? Yeah, I know.
And when he's gone, the first thing she'll do is get rid of Castle.
I know.
Are you sure about this? Yes, sir, but the moment I file a warrant request for that coat, it becomes public record.
So? So then everyone will know that Mayor Weldon is a person of interest.
Isn't he? Yes, but what if I'm wrong? It could ruin his career.
We are tasked by the city of New York to protect its people.
Sometimes that task comes with a cost.
I know what they call me, detective-- "Iron Gates.
" I hear the whispers.
"She's from IA.
She must hate cops.
" Well, the truth is, I love cops.
My daddy was a cop.
My uncles were cops.
But the sergeant who assaulted my patrol partner under the color or authority Who holds him accountable? We do.
Go to the mayor, get him to voluntarily surrender his coat for fiber testing without a warrant.
Tell him it's the only way to keep it out of the media.
But if he refuses, you get that warrant and you do your job, whatever the cost.
You going to see Weldon? Yes.
I'd like to come with you.
I think I can help.
I don't think you can.
Look, I heard what you said.
I did.
And I think I can be a valuable asset.
I play poker with the guy.
I can tell when he's bluffing.
And what about if I have to force his hand, can you be an asset then? Look, I don't think he did it.
But if he did, I want to know.
That makes me objective.
Sir, you don't have to talk to them.
It's--it's my job.
It's okay, Brian.
I don't need you to protect me.
- Sir-- - I haven't done anything wrong.
Please.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Your honor, I appreciate you speaking with us.
Well, it sounded like I didn't have a choice.
Well, the last time we spoke, you said you that you didn't know Laura Cambridge.
That's right.
And yet here you are standing next to Laura-- a volunteer at reading train.
I-I didn't recognize her, but in context, I-I remember her.
This event was a few nights ago.
She was trying to talk to me, but-- Did she talk to you? No, I got pulled away.
I had donors I had to speak with.
I remember her saying that she wanted to talk to me, but circumstances prevented it.
So you and Laura never actually spoke? - No.
- Not even on the phone? No, honestly, after that night, I never gave her a second thought.
You know, in this photo, you're wearing a light brown cashmere coat.
We'd like you to turn it over to CSU for testing.
Respectfully, I'm going to have to decline.
- Why? - Robert Give her the coat.
It can only be good for you.
I'm afraid I can't do that.
Why? I had nothing to do with Laura Cambridge's murder, or the theft of money from my charity, or anything else I've been accused of in the last 48 hours.
Do you think that any of this is a coincidence? - Robert-- - No, me here, talking to you, this is exactly what they wanted to have happen, so, no, I will not give you my coat.
Look, there's a conspiracy against me, and I will not voluntarily feed it.
What conspiracy? Don't you think it's funny that all this is happening the moment I consider running for governor? Rick, I'm used to having enemies.
But this is an organized effort to destroy me.
So right now, I don't trust anyone.
Well, he has good reason to not turn over his coat.
Yes, guilt.
A conspiracy.
Is it so far-fetched? Maybe Laura found out about it and tried to warn him.
Or maybe she and Weldon did talk.
She confronted him with what she knew, and he killed her.
Mm.
I believe the conspiracy.
I mean, I know Weldon.
And Weldon knows you.
Conspiracies, intrigue-- that's your bread and butter.
That's exactly the kind of story that you would respond to.
I'm sorry.
Are--are you suggesting he's playing me? I am suggesting that you consider the possibility.
I have a procedure to follow.
He didn't provide his coat willingly, so I'm gonna have to get a court order.
Look, once word gets out that the NYPD subpoenaed his clothing in connection with embezzlement and murder, that man's career will be over.
Not if he's innocent.
Are you kidding me? Kate, this is politics.
Perception is reality.
The truth won't matter.
What am I supposed to do, Rick? I can't just stop being a cop just because it's inconvenient.
No.
No, no, no, just you can wait.
All right? For something else, for another lead.
For the coat to disappear? You don't think I don't know what's at stake here? Do you think I actually want to do this? Then don't do it.
I don't have a choice.
My office is cooperating fully with both investigations.
And I stand here with 100% confidence that a full and thorough investigation will reveal that I am completely innocent of any wrongdoing.
You still believe him? I do.
You've been down this road before with a friend.
You believed Damian Westlake.
He's rotting in prison for murder.
Damian and I were kids together.
Believing in him was sentiment.
My experience tells me, Weldon is innocent.
My experience tells me, there's something very wrong with this whole situation.
In that case, maybe it's time to phone a friend.
Right there, Mr.
Castle.
That'll be fine.
You know Weldon's not behind this.
That's why you offered your help.
He's right about the conspiracy, isn't he? He isn't wrong.
So what do I do? How do I help him? Listen to the evidence.
That's what Laura did.
No, I-I watched the video of Laura and the mayor a hundred times.
There's nothing there.
I met Weldon a few times before this.
I liked him.
You didn't set his house on fire.
No.
I just threw gasoline on it.
Beckett.
You need a ride? But we gotta stop and pick up my kids.
Thanks for coming.
I wasn't sure that you would, given the way we left things.
I can't apologize for doing my job, Castle.
And I would never ask you to.
So why did you call me here? Because I had an epiphany.
All this time, we've been looking for evidence when we should've been listening instead.
This all started when Laura told Edgar Navarro she heard something on a call, something she wasn't supposed to hear.
We writers call this "The Inciting Incident.
" Whoever she spoke to, whatever she heard, is what led to her murder.
Well, what does it matter? I mean, the hard drive is stolen, the recording is gone.
We'll never know what she heard on that call.
No, but we might know who she heard it from.
You remember how Laura fell asleep - watching those B-roll tapes at Gotham 11? - Mm-hmm.
She was closing her eyes.
She wasn't watching the tape, she was listening to them.
So you're saying she was trying to ID our caller's voice? I had Sarah, our goddess dispatcher, listen to those B-roll tapes.
It's him.
I'm sure of it.
He was one of Laura's regulars.
Show her who.
How much more time can I spend here? The mayor? Another 20 minutes, sir, then we have to get back to your office for your meeting with That guy.
Jordan Norris-- Deputy Assistant to the mayor's Chief of Staff.
Mr.
Norris, you told us that you didn't know Laura Cambridge.
That's right.
And yet your 89-year-old grandmother, Greta Markenson did.
According to the phone sex records, Laura received numerous phone calls from her.
Which made poor Greta look pretty frisky until we realized, you'd been house-sitting at her apartment.
I-I may have called that service from time to time, but I-I never knew who I was talking to.
I mean, how would I? We'll get to that in a minute.
In the meantime, we checked your phone records, and you sent this text to a burner cell about a month ago.
Now to most people, that would look like a series of random numbers.
So we looked into it.
Those are actually numbers to a bank account for Mayor Weldon and his charity.
Numbers that someone could've used to make it look like the mayor was embezzling money.
The man who trusted you, and you sold him out.
So what did they give you, Jordan? What'd they promise you? I-I thought this was just about the money.
I-I didn't know.
I didn't know they'd try to destroy him.
And when you found out you'd betrayed the man you work for, it ate you up, didn't it? So much so that one night after too many shots of Tequila, you called Laura and you let it all spill out.
Oh, you didn't mean to, but she was such a good listener.
It was anonymous.
I-I was supposed to be safe.
But you weren't, because she was a writer and you gave her the story of her life.
So she tracked you down.
She confronted you.
She was gonna blow the whistle on you, on your friends.
She had to be stopped.
We talked to your doorman, Jordan.
We know that she visited you that night.
Okay.
She was there.
But sh-she left after 20 minutes.
I I didn't kill her.
You didn't have to.
All you had to do was call that same burner phone, and whoever answered sent a man, a man without a face, who choked the life out of Laura Cambridge.
And then he broke into her home and her work and he destroyed all of the evidence of everything she knew.
Whose phone was it, Jordan? You don't understand.
These people they're more dangerous than you know.
You are looking at I am offering you a way out.
Now who did you call? I want a name.
Who did you call? I, uh A name, Jordan.
O-- Say it.
Okay.
The person that I called w-- If it's all the same to you, I prefer my client not be asked any more questions.
Your client? Mr.
Norris, I'm Bill Moss.
From now on, please don't speak to anybody outside of my presence.
I've been retained to represent you.
By who? We're done here.
It seems our mayor will live to fight another day.
Justice has prevailed.
Not for Laura Cambridge.
We charged Mr.
Norris with criminal facilitation.
That's something.
Jordan Norris is a pawn.
I want the people controlling him.
Oh, it's a long game, Kate.
Play it piece by piece.
Then why would you abandon all your plans? You've been cleared of all charges.
You know, for someone who kills off all his characters, you have a strange stubborn streak of optimism in you, but, no.
I can't run for governor in two years, I can't run for president in six.
That dream is done.
There's gotta be something we can do.
You're innocent.
A little too innocent.
There are people out there-- I realize it now-- people who control what goes on in this city and beyond.
I wouldn't play ball, so they took me out the game.
It's been decided.
This is as far as I get.
So what are you gonna do now? I am going to continue being an outstanding mayor for the greatest city on earth.
Why did you contact me, Mr.
Castle? The case is resolved.
Resolved? How is it resolved? Someone tried to destroy this city's mayor, and I want to know who.
Trust me when I say, it's not your concern.
It is if it involves Beckett or her mother's murder.
You're a writer, finish this sentence.
If Weldon had been run out of office I'd be gone from the 12th precinct.
And then who'd keep Beckett from looking into things she shouldn't? Who'd keep her out of harm's way? So you did this to protect her? Why? You play chess, Mr.
Castle? There are times when a well-placed pawn is more powerful than a king.
I have your number if I need to reach you.
You don't reach me, Mr.
Castle.
I reach you.
Corrections by Alex1969
I know what you're asking, and the answer is yes.
Yes, you can take your grandmother and her entire production of "King Lear" to college with you.
I'm going crazy.
Ear plugs? Not that.
I need something to do.
I had planned to be at Stanford, but now I'm here, just waiting.
What about school? I finished all my credits.
All I'm taking this semester is Theoretical physics.
Well, maybe this is exactly what you need-- a little time off to discover yourself-- travel, adventure.
Go for a little life experience.
That's a great idea.
I could get an internship.
Practical experience in the job market, you know, test the waters.
Well, not exactly what I was thinking-- Mwah.
Mwah.
Mwah.
Thank you.
Mwah.
Blow, wind! Thunder, fire are my daughters! Daughters That's why King Lear went mad.
Yes, hello? Your timing was perfect.
My mother was teaching three acting classes today, in my living room.
Wait a minute.
What about her studio? Flooded.
They were doing the storm from "King Lear," and things got out of hand.
Remind me to check my insurance.
Hey, Lanie, what do you got? This is Laura Cambridge, 28.
Traffic found her in the passenger seat of the car.
Cause of death? She was strangled between the hours of 8:00 and 10:00 last night.
This bruising here indicates a choke hold.
He probably grabbed her from behind with enough force to crush her hyoid bone.
He? So there was a witness? No, but to kill her in one swift move like that, perp had to be taller and heavier than the victim.
No signs of sexual assault, though.
Was she strangled in the car? CSU cidn't find any signs of any struggle.
Looks like her body was dumped here postmortem.
Whose car is it? Not hers.
She had a non-driver ID card.
Ryan's running the plates to see if we can find the owner.
And what about the purse? This was tossed in the dumpster.
Still has cash in it.
Cell phone? Didn't find one.
What girl in her 20s doesn't have a cell phone? Maybe she's Amish.
Hey.
So I, um, ran those plates off the sedan.
And, uh What? It's from the motor pool at City Hall.
City Hall? Who used it last? Mayor Robert Weldon.
Uh, we're all still a little stunned to hear that one of our cars was mixed up in this.
Trust me.
We're gonna get this all sorted out.
Is that the victim? Yes.
Laura Cambridge.
Do you recognize her, your honor? Uh, my staff would know better, but I don't believe she's connected with this office.
Sir, I'm sorry to have to ask you this, but where were you last night between 8:00 and 10:00 PM? This is one of New York's finest, huh, Ricky? She's the best.
Yeah, so you keep telling me.
I was at a small fund-raiser last night with about 50 other people.
I'll--I'll get you their names.
Yeah, I appreciate that.
And what about the car? It was one of several used by my office for the event.
Uh, apparently, one of my staffers reported it stolen later that night.
Off the record? The people I was with last night were part of my inner circle.
We're forming an exploratory committee for a possible run at governor.
But--but I'm not anxious to make that public yet.
I'll do my best to keep the nature of your business private.
Thanks.
I hoped you'd be there, Rick.
Fondue night with Alexis, but I did send a check.
Thank you for that.
I know that you have a lot more questions, detective.
My chief of staff, Brian Shay, will answer anything else you want to know.
- Listen--listen-- listen to me, Jack.
- I'm listening.
You're swinging in the wind on this, but you get me three more votes on the council, and I'll send you a helicopter.
You're the detective, right? - Yes.
- Have a seat.
Jordan, we don't need you in on this.
You know, I'll--I'll leave you guys to work through this unless, Rick, you want to take a look at our new library initiative.
It wouldn't hurt us to have your endorsement on that.
For the New York Public Library, my first love? Anything.
I've already done your leg work, detective.
The car was checked out by Elizabeth Watson, senior director of communication here at the office.
When she left last night's event around midnight, she discovered that it was missing.
Here's her statement.
With all due respect, Mr.
Shay, police investigations are usually conducted by the police.
Yeah, well, unfortunately, the 24-hour news cycle moves a hell of a lot faster than you do.
And I have to get all my ducks in a row before this thing breaks.
It's my job.
And my job is to find Laura's murderer, so if you don't mind, and even if you do, I'm gonna get my own statement from Ms.
Watson about that car.
And I'm also gonna need statements from all of your staff as to whether they recognize our victim.
Knock yourself out.
But trust me, you're wasting your time.
It's my time to waste.
Now I got a job to do.
So do I.
Let me be clear.
Mayor Weldon is my priority.
And I'm not about to let this thing embolden his opponents and ruin everything that we've built.
He's right, you know? This thing gets out, and they're not ready with a response, that's front-page material for weeks.
It's front-page news either way.
If his staff wants to minimize damage, they'll step back and let me do my job.
Step back? These are politicians.
They can't order at a restaurant without two compromises and an ultimatum.
Beckett, my office.
What did you find out at City Hall? The staffer that reported the car stolen is accounted for all last night, and no one in the mayor's office seems to recognize our victim.
So her ties to that vehicle could be purely coincidental? That's entirely possible.
Castle and the mayor are friends, right? Sir? These investigations are like juggling wet dynamite.
One misstep, and it'll all blow up in your face.
I can handle myself.
Well, that's good, detective, because I won't be the only one watching.
What was that about? Politics And your connection to the mayor.
Oh, what does it matter? We know he's not involved.
What? She's right.
You are biased.
I'm biased? Do you know who Gates voted for in the last election? Because I'm betting it wasn't Weldon.
Espo, where are we on that motor pool? Verification.
Vehicle was checked out at 5:00, reported missing shortly after midnight.
So it was stolen off the street.
Looks like.
Which means, any connection to the City Hall is entirely coincidental.
Hey, Ryan.
What do our victim's phone records show? Any phone calls to City Hall? No phone calls at all, because Laura Cambridge didn't own a cell phone.
And her credit cards haven't been used in six months.
No cell phone and no credit cards? It's like she's from another century.
Amish theory's looking pretty good, bro.
Be nice if it were that easy.
But I think something else was going on with her.
What do you mean? Laura was a professor of literature at Hudson University.
She was a rising star in her department until six months ago.
What happened six months ago? She quit for no apparent reason.
According to her colleagues, she also completely cut ties with them, canceled her cell phone, cut off her credit cards.
Why? No one knows.
It's like something happened to her.
After that, all I could find were paystubs for fast-food restaurants, a laundry service, and an office cleaning company.
It's like she couldn't keep a job.
She went from professor to janitor? That's "Good Will Hunting" but in reverse.
Maybe her family can shed some light.
Well, I tracked down her next of kin.
She has a sister.
She's on her way in now.
All right, you guys dig in to her life, see if we can find out where she was the night she died.
Castle and I will go over to her apartment to see if we can find out who she was with.
Well, honestly, she pretty much kept to herself.
She paid on time.
That's what matters.
That's my stuff! You took my stuff! Unlike those two chuckleheads.
Uh, excuse me, please, officer, and, uh, gentleman.
Hey, pipe down, for crying out loud! "Officer And A Gentleman.
" That could be the name of our crime blog.
Crime blog? The way that you help me write police reports? Got a feeling I'll be writing that one on my own.
Doesn't really seem to be any signs of struggle.
Yeah, no sign of a TV or computer either.
That's weird, right? Bunch of deadbeat tenants in here.
You ever get bored, I'm sure I could fill up a couple of holding cells for you.
Mr.
Harvey, when was the last time you saw Laura? - Did you see her yesterday? - During the day.
She worked nights.
I saw her head to work around 5:00.
Do you know where she worked? Someplace that paid.
That's all I know.
Did you ever see Laura with any friends, boyfriends? No.
Unh-unh.
Uh, but I did see a guy leaving here last night.
When was that? Around 9 30.
Well, that's inside our 8:00 to Do you remember what he looked like? Uh, 6 feet tall, Caucasian, dark hair.
She never mentioned anyone like that.
She wasn't dating anyone.
Thank you.
I tried to set her up with a few guys, but she wasn't interested.
Did your sister have any connection to City Hall or local politics? No, I don't think so.
Were you and your sister close? We used to be.
She used to tell me everything.
And then six months ago, she stopped calling.
She just dropped out of her life.
She gave up her teaching position, she moved out of her apartment on the Upper West Side into that flophouse.
Do you have any idea why? When was the last time you spoke to her? Three days ago.
She called for my birthday.
From where? She didn't have a phone.
I don't know, but she was upset.
She said she was in trouble because of something that happened at work.
Did she tell you why? No.
She said it was too dangerous for me to know.
So Laura Cambridge left a tenure-track position at a respected university for some flophouse and a mysterious night job that got her into so much trouble, she ended up murdered.
What the hell was she mixed up in? The man who left her apartment-- if he's our killer, he was looking for her.
He probably went to her work to find her.
Which means, wherever that is, it's probably the last place she was seen alive.
I got it.
I found where she works.
Her bank statement says she received recent direct deposits from a DAG Corp.
Now I had to dig deep within the city's business registries, but I found one listing for a DAG Corp between 2nd and 3rd in the Bowery.
Let's go.
There it is.
Suite 250.
What kind of business do you think this is-- shadowy import/export, money laundering, sweatshop? Shh.
No, please.
Do you hear that? Stop it.
You're hurting me.
Bobby? Stop! Stop! Aah! - Aah! - NYPD, no I'm a bad little schoolgirl.
It's just an office.
Where only women work? Oh, yeah, baby.
I'm still here.
What is this place? I'd say it's about $4.
99 a minute.
It's not a sweatshop.
It's a sex shop.
Oh, Murray.
Yeah, yeah.
Yeah, like that.
Corrections by Alex1969 You hear the clicking of stilettos coming towards you, James? Farm, no men for miles.
- Could you stay and - Vampire with sharp teeth for to hold you down while I suck your Laura was one of my favorites.
Just a sweet, intelligent, funny girl.
She'd only been here a few months, and already, she was one of our most popular goddesses.
I can't believe that she's dead.
Was she taking calls last night? No.
No, she took last night off.
Said she had something to take care of.
Laura told her sister that she was in trouble at work, that something had happened.
Nothing happened that I know of.
I mean, she did seem distracted the past few days, but that's about all.
Well, being the chief "sexecutive officer," did you notice any conflicts with her and her colleagues? Well, she kept to herself.
But she got along well with the other girls.
There were no complaints about Laura.
Did she ever tell you why she was working here? What do you mean? I-I just find it odd.
She's a professor with a promising career ahead of her, and then all of the sudden, she decides to become a phone sex operator.
Maybe she liked it.
We get all types here, detective-- students, actresses, moms.
I knew an accountant who did it because she liked the challenge and it turned her on.
It's a powerful thing to make a client lust for you.
Hmm.
Any chance that one of her clients became obsessed with her? Oh, honey, obsession pays our bills.
Could they have found out her real identity, maybe contacted her? Absolutely not.
No, we keep all of our girls anonymous.
Clients can't be contacted directly.
They call one central line, and all our calls are routed to each girl by our dispatcher.
Uh, yeah, it's my job to take the client's name and credit card information and then route the calls to the girls.
It's 3:00 in the afternoon.
Is it always this busy? Sure.
Some guys need a morning jolt, some guys need an afternoon pick-me-up.
Someone shoulda told them, coffee's cheaper.
It's not just about the sex.
That's the part of this business most people don't understand.
Guys call, girls call, they're looking for release.
Sometimes that release is sexual, but sometimes-- It's therapy.
Or so I've been told.
It's true.
Laura was a successful goddess not just because of her sexy talk, but because she was a really good listener.
Well, that might have gotten her killed.
Sarah, were there any clients that she asked to have blocked? No.
What about problems here at work? Was there anything she couldn't tell her boss about? No.
She, um She what? - Sarah? - I'm sorry.
Oh, God.
I'm so sorry.
It's my fault she's dead.
How? Did a client find out who she was? No.
It was the other way around.
Laura came to me about a week ago.
She, um, she wanted a-a client's contact information.
I told her it was completely against policy.
But she was desperate.
She said it was a matter of life and death.
Okay, we're gonna need that client's name.
Edgar Navarro? Hey, I didn't do nothing.
You had no right to drag me out in front of my moms.
No? Where were you last night between 8:00 and 10:00? What's this about? - Do you recognize this woman? - Hey, look, I-- I don't know what she told you, but all we did was talk.
I didn't do nothin' illegal.
Then how come she's dead? W-what? We know that she called you, Edgar, and that the two of you met up.
It's not what you think.
She just needed my help.
What kind of help could you have given her? I learned how to fix computers in prison.
That's why Laura called me.
She needed me to copy some digital recordings for her from their hard drive, but she didn't know how to rip them.
I told her I needed the file extensions.
She said she'd get them and then call me from her cell - to walk her through it-- - Only she didn't even own a cell, Edgar.
Yes, she did.
That's her number right there.
Did she tell you why she needed those files copied? She said she'd heard something on a call, something she wasn't supposed to hear.
Something bad.
She said she needed a copy of it for evidence.
So Laura never mentioned a call that upset or concerned her? She never said a word.
And she never asked for copies of recordings? No, and I'm the one to ask.
This computer room is locked up tight, and I'm the only one with a key.
The lock's broken.
Okay.
The hard drive's gone.
All of our calls for the last two months were on that drive.
When was the last time you were in here? This morning.
Everything was fine.
This must've just happened.
Has anyone visited the office today? Yes, a A man from the gas company.
He said there was a leak in the building because of the construction.
Can you describe him? Um, about 6 feet tall, white, dark hair.
Same guy who was at Laura's apartment the night she died? What the hell was on that recording? Whatever it is it's worth killing for.
So how is the case of the phone sex gal who knew too much going? It's more of a conspiracy thriller, like, uh, "The Conversation" or "Blow Out.
" Everyone wants this recording and the secrets on it.
Oh, very mysterious.
Yeah, and that's not the only mystery.
Why would a woman like Laura Cambridge, a highly educated professor, suddenly quit everything and just drop out of her life for a series of menial jobs culminating in the wonderful world of phone sex? None of the pieces fit.
Hmm.
Who called her? I mean, you must be able to trace the call even though you don't have the recording, right? Well, we have subpoenaed a list of all the incoming calls on Laura's shifts, but that's gonna be like looking for a needle in a needle stack.
Hello.
Mr.
Castle Do you remember me? I called you before.
About detective Beckett's safety.
I remember.
Once again, Mr.
Castle, it seems that we need to talk.
Are you sure it's the same man who called you about Beckett? It's definitely him.
Then the death of this young woman is somehow connected to Beckett's mother? It has to be, otherwise why would he call? What did he say? He said that there were greater forces at play, that more was at stake than we realize.
Clearly this is not just about phone sex.
Whatever Laura Cambridge overheard that night, it got someone's attention, someone big.
What I don't get is, what are you supposed to do about it? I don't know.
He gave me a number to contact him - if I needed help.
- Hmm.
He said I would know when it was time.
You plan to tell Beckett? Tell her what? "Hey, Kate.
I've been taking calls from a shadowy figure who wants to keep you off your mother's murder case so they don't kill you, too"? Yeah.
Okay.
Hold on.
Wait.
What did you say? No, I'm not eating.
Thanks.
Hey.
You're just in time.
Thank you.
What's wrong? Nothing.
So what have we got? Lanie just called.
She said that she found fibers in Laura's mouth and esophagus.
The lab IDed it as light brown cashmere, which was most likely from our killer's coat sleeve.
Brown cashmere.
So we can narrow our suspects down to rich men with impeccable taste.
Are you saying, you're a suspect? Alexis is my alibi.
What about our gas company worker? Well, surprise--he doesn't work for the gas company.
And uniforms said that there was no forensic evidence at the dial-a-goddess office.
But what we did get from dial-a-goddess were their copious call logs-- about 200 pages worth.
These ladies are busy.
I've been going through them all morning, trying to sort Laura's calls from the other girls' lines.
Are there any calls in there from the mayor's office? I thought you said you were confident that he wasn't involved? I'm just trying to be thorough and impartial.
Not yet, but the private sector is well-represented.
I got calls from the Met, banks, several high-profile brokerage houses.
No wonder the economy collapsed, huh? Yo, Beckett.
Excuse me.
What do you got? Hey.
If anything shows up in here and it's tied to either Beckett's shooting or Johanna Beckett's murder, would you tell me right away? Wait.
You guys think this is connected-- No.
Not you guys.
Beckett doesn't know, and I don't want her to know.
Why do you think it's connected? I just I just want to cover all my bases.
- Okay? - Okay.
- Thanks.
- You guys.
So uniforms canvassing around Laura's apartment found a cab that recognized her pic.
He said that two days ago, he dropped her off at the Gotham 11 TV Station downtown.
A television station.
Why would she go to a television station? Why would she go into the phone sex business? Why would she do any of these things she did? Well, hopefully I'll get some answers, but first, I ran down that cell number we got from Edgar Navarro.
It's a pay-as-you-go phone.
Laura just activated it six days ago.
She's hardly used it.
She made one call to Edgar and another on the day she died to an agent.
A federal agent? No, a book agent.
Trevor Hanes.
It's just absurdly tragic.
Laura was an incredibly talented writer.
You were her agent? Yeah, we signed her as a client about six months ago on the back of an astonishing book proposal.
What's the book about? It's a scathing indictment of societal inequity as seen through the lens of the working poor.
A sort of contemporary take on how the other half lives.
A privileged young woman gives up every comfort to experience life below the poverty line.
That's why she took all those jobs--firsthand research.
The thing pitches itself really.
So we'll need to see a copy of that manuscript.
Her investigations might have led to her death.
Well, there isn't one, at least not that I've seen anyway.
Bedsides I don't think she was killed because of her anticapitalist polemic.
What do you mean? Earlier this week, she called my office, said she stumbled upon a much more explosive story-- a scandal involving a very prominent, very powerful New Yorker.
She said it would rock the city to its very foundations.
W-what--what prominent New Yorker? She wouldn't say.
I just assumed it was a pitch for her next book.
We were gonna discuss it this week.
Sorry.
Excuse me.
Hey, Espo.
- What's up? - I'm at the Gotham 11 office.
There's something you need to see.
This is Pat McConnell, Laura's college buddy.
Tell 'em what you told me.
Well, I hadn't seen Laura in years.
So a few days ago, she calls me out of the blue, says she needs to see some raw footage we shot for this research project she's working on.
So I set her up at this edit bay.
She was here for over eight hours.
I mean, at one point, she even fell asleep.
I came by to check on her, she had her eyes closed.
- Raw footage of what? - It's all B-roll of Mayor Weldon-- City Council meetings, playground openings, backstage at a press conference.
A scandal about a prominent, powerful New Yorker.
And check out this last tape she was watching.
That's the reading train foundation.
I went to their gala last year.
Now look at the girl on the side of the screen.
That's Laura.
That's impossible.
He said he didn't know her.
Castle, look what the mayor is wearing.
It's a light brown coat, and it looks like cashmere.
That's just the coat that our killer was wearing.
Beckett, I know this man.
I've known him 12 years.
He's not a killer.
You don't know that.
Yes, I do.
Castle, he lied about knowing our victim.
He was standing next to her.
That doesn't mean he knew her.
You know how many people he meets in a day? Expecting him to remember them all-- that's like expecting me to remember everyone who comes to my book signings.
You're biased.
You're damn right, I'm biased.
Robert Weldon is a good man.
Even good men make mistakes.
He had access to that car.
His aide said that he left the event at 9:00 PM.
That's right inside of our kill zone.
Fine.
What's his motive? I don't know, at least, not yet.
Then give him a chance, because the minute you move on him, his career is over.
So what's the latest? We've got a couple of promising leads.
I'm hoping to find something concrete soon.
Well, anything more on the victim? Anything connecting her back to City Hall? No, not yet.
All right, detective.
Anything pops, you let me know.
Great.
Now I'm a liar.
You know what I think? I think she's hoping it's him, because if he's gone, I'm gone.
Castle, you can't make this one about you.
Where are you going? You're right.
We have to figure out Weldon's motive.
There's no way that Gates is gonna let me subpoena that coat without it? Really, that's your takeaway? What do you want me to do, Castle? I know that he's your friend, but I'm sorry, if he killed that girl-- - He didn't.
- Then let me prove it.
Ryan? All right.
Thanks for your help.
Anything else on that video? Actually, yeah.
When we first saw Laura, she was wearing a volunteer badge for the reading train foundation.
She was on staff at the mayor's charity.
That doesn't mean he knew her.
Ryan, you're with me.
Castle, I'm sorry, but you can't be objective on this one, so I'm gonna have to pursue it on my own.
No, uh, I don't know if Mayor Weldon and Laura Cambridge were acquainted.
I don't know much about her at all.
She wasn't here very long.
What do you mean? Well, we hired Laura as a volunteer about a week ago.
A few days later, we had to fire her.
Why? She was caught copying confidential files.
What kind of files? Accounting files.
Any idea why she would be interested in those files? - Ms.
Park? - It's sensitive.
I'm not supposed to talk about it.
Ms.
Park, a woman was murdered, and we are trying to figure out why.
You can talk to us here, or we can go downtown.
We've recently discovered some discrepancies in our accounts.
- We found there was some money missing.
- How much money? $2.
3 million.
There's an internal investigation going on.
This investigation, does it have anything to do with Mayor Weldon? Thank you.
Attorney General's office confirms that Mayor Weldon is the subject of the investigation.
We were looking for motive, and here it is-- $2.
3 million worth.
Weldon embezzled from his own charity.
Someone must have told Laura about it during one of her sessions, and she decided to investigate.
When she found enough evidence to expose the mayor, he killed her to shut her up.
You gonna tell her? I have to.
This will destroy Weldon, you know? Yeah, I know.
And when he's gone, the first thing she'll do is get rid of Castle.
I know.
Are you sure about this? Yes, sir, but the moment I file a warrant request for that coat, it becomes public record.
So? So then everyone will know that Mayor Weldon is a person of interest.
Isn't he? Yes, but what if I'm wrong? It could ruin his career.
We are tasked by the city of New York to protect its people.
Sometimes that task comes with a cost.
I know what they call me, detective-- "Iron Gates.
" I hear the whispers.
"She's from IA.
She must hate cops.
" Well, the truth is, I love cops.
My daddy was a cop.
My uncles were cops.
But the sergeant who assaulted my patrol partner under the color or authority Who holds him accountable? We do.
Go to the mayor, get him to voluntarily surrender his coat for fiber testing without a warrant.
Tell him it's the only way to keep it out of the media.
But if he refuses, you get that warrant and you do your job, whatever the cost.
You going to see Weldon? Yes.
I'd like to come with you.
I think I can help.
I don't think you can.
Look, I heard what you said.
I did.
And I think I can be a valuable asset.
I play poker with the guy.
I can tell when he's bluffing.
And what about if I have to force his hand, can you be an asset then? Look, I don't think he did it.
But if he did, I want to know.
That makes me objective.
Sir, you don't have to talk to them.
It's--it's my job.
It's okay, Brian.
I don't need you to protect me.
- Sir-- - I haven't done anything wrong.
Please.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Your honor, I appreciate you speaking with us.
Well, it sounded like I didn't have a choice.
Well, the last time we spoke, you said you that you didn't know Laura Cambridge.
That's right.
And yet here you are standing next to Laura-- a volunteer at reading train.
I-I didn't recognize her, but in context, I-I remember her.
This event was a few nights ago.
She was trying to talk to me, but-- Did she talk to you? No, I got pulled away.
I had donors I had to speak with.
I remember her saying that she wanted to talk to me, but circumstances prevented it.
So you and Laura never actually spoke? - No.
- Not even on the phone? No, honestly, after that night, I never gave her a second thought.
You know, in this photo, you're wearing a light brown cashmere coat.
We'd like you to turn it over to CSU for testing.
Respectfully, I'm going to have to decline.
- Why? - Robert Give her the coat.
It can only be good for you.
I'm afraid I can't do that.
Why? I had nothing to do with Laura Cambridge's murder, or the theft of money from my charity, or anything else I've been accused of in the last 48 hours.
Do you think that any of this is a coincidence? - Robert-- - No, me here, talking to you, this is exactly what they wanted to have happen, so, no, I will not give you my coat.
Look, there's a conspiracy against me, and I will not voluntarily feed it.
What conspiracy? Don't you think it's funny that all this is happening the moment I consider running for governor? Rick, I'm used to having enemies.
But this is an organized effort to destroy me.
So right now, I don't trust anyone.
Well, he has good reason to not turn over his coat.
Yes, guilt.
A conspiracy.
Is it so far-fetched? Maybe Laura found out about it and tried to warn him.
Or maybe she and Weldon did talk.
She confronted him with what she knew, and he killed her.
Mm.
I believe the conspiracy.
I mean, I know Weldon.
And Weldon knows you.
Conspiracies, intrigue-- that's your bread and butter.
That's exactly the kind of story that you would respond to.
I'm sorry.
Are--are you suggesting he's playing me? I am suggesting that you consider the possibility.
I have a procedure to follow.
He didn't provide his coat willingly, so I'm gonna have to get a court order.
Look, once word gets out that the NYPD subpoenaed his clothing in connection with embezzlement and murder, that man's career will be over.
Not if he's innocent.
Are you kidding me? Kate, this is politics.
Perception is reality.
The truth won't matter.
What am I supposed to do, Rick? I can't just stop being a cop just because it's inconvenient.
No.
No, no, no, just you can wait.
All right? For something else, for another lead.
For the coat to disappear? You don't think I don't know what's at stake here? Do you think I actually want to do this? Then don't do it.
I don't have a choice.
My office is cooperating fully with both investigations.
And I stand here with 100% confidence that a full and thorough investigation will reveal that I am completely innocent of any wrongdoing.
You still believe him? I do.
You've been down this road before with a friend.
You believed Damian Westlake.
He's rotting in prison for murder.
Damian and I were kids together.
Believing in him was sentiment.
My experience tells me, Weldon is innocent.
My experience tells me, there's something very wrong with this whole situation.
In that case, maybe it's time to phone a friend.
Right there, Mr.
Castle.
That'll be fine.
You know Weldon's not behind this.
That's why you offered your help.
He's right about the conspiracy, isn't he? He isn't wrong.
So what do I do? How do I help him? Listen to the evidence.
That's what Laura did.
No, I-I watched the video of Laura and the mayor a hundred times.
There's nothing there.
I met Weldon a few times before this.
I liked him.
You didn't set his house on fire.
No.
I just threw gasoline on it.
Beckett.
You need a ride? But we gotta stop and pick up my kids.
Thanks for coming.
I wasn't sure that you would, given the way we left things.
I can't apologize for doing my job, Castle.
And I would never ask you to.
So why did you call me here? Because I had an epiphany.
All this time, we've been looking for evidence when we should've been listening instead.
This all started when Laura told Edgar Navarro she heard something on a call, something she wasn't supposed to hear.
We writers call this "The Inciting Incident.
" Whoever she spoke to, whatever she heard, is what led to her murder.
Well, what does it matter? I mean, the hard drive is stolen, the recording is gone.
We'll never know what she heard on that call.
No, but we might know who she heard it from.
You remember how Laura fell asleep - watching those B-roll tapes at Gotham 11? - Mm-hmm.
She was closing her eyes.
She wasn't watching the tape, she was listening to them.
So you're saying she was trying to ID our caller's voice? I had Sarah, our goddess dispatcher, listen to those B-roll tapes.
It's him.
I'm sure of it.
He was one of Laura's regulars.
Show her who.
How much more time can I spend here? The mayor? Another 20 minutes, sir, then we have to get back to your office for your meeting with That guy.
Jordan Norris-- Deputy Assistant to the mayor's Chief of Staff.
Mr.
Norris, you told us that you didn't know Laura Cambridge.
That's right.
And yet your 89-year-old grandmother, Greta Markenson did.
According to the phone sex records, Laura received numerous phone calls from her.
Which made poor Greta look pretty frisky until we realized, you'd been house-sitting at her apartment.
I-I may have called that service from time to time, but I-I never knew who I was talking to.
I mean, how would I? We'll get to that in a minute.
In the meantime, we checked your phone records, and you sent this text to a burner cell about a month ago.
Now to most people, that would look like a series of random numbers.
So we looked into it.
Those are actually numbers to a bank account for Mayor Weldon and his charity.
Numbers that someone could've used to make it look like the mayor was embezzling money.
The man who trusted you, and you sold him out.
So what did they give you, Jordan? What'd they promise you? I-I thought this was just about the money.
I-I didn't know.
I didn't know they'd try to destroy him.
And when you found out you'd betrayed the man you work for, it ate you up, didn't it? So much so that one night after too many shots of Tequila, you called Laura and you let it all spill out.
Oh, you didn't mean to, but she was such a good listener.
It was anonymous.
I-I was supposed to be safe.
But you weren't, because she was a writer and you gave her the story of her life.
So she tracked you down.
She confronted you.
She was gonna blow the whistle on you, on your friends.
She had to be stopped.
We talked to your doorman, Jordan.
We know that she visited you that night.
Okay.
She was there.
But sh-she left after 20 minutes.
I I didn't kill her.
You didn't have to.
All you had to do was call that same burner phone, and whoever answered sent a man, a man without a face, who choked the life out of Laura Cambridge.
And then he broke into her home and her work and he destroyed all of the evidence of everything she knew.
Whose phone was it, Jordan? You don't understand.
These people they're more dangerous than you know.
You are looking at I am offering you a way out.
Now who did you call? I want a name.
Who did you call? I, uh A name, Jordan.
O-- Say it.
Okay.
The person that I called w-- If it's all the same to you, I prefer my client not be asked any more questions.
Your client? Mr.
Norris, I'm Bill Moss.
From now on, please don't speak to anybody outside of my presence.
I've been retained to represent you.
By who? We're done here.
It seems our mayor will live to fight another day.
Justice has prevailed.
Not for Laura Cambridge.
We charged Mr.
Norris with criminal facilitation.
That's something.
Jordan Norris is a pawn.
I want the people controlling him.
Oh, it's a long game, Kate.
Play it piece by piece.
Then why would you abandon all your plans? You've been cleared of all charges.
You know, for someone who kills off all his characters, you have a strange stubborn streak of optimism in you, but, no.
I can't run for governor in two years, I can't run for president in six.
That dream is done.
There's gotta be something we can do.
You're innocent.
A little too innocent.
There are people out there-- I realize it now-- people who control what goes on in this city and beyond.
I wouldn't play ball, so they took me out the game.
It's been decided.
This is as far as I get.
So what are you gonna do now? I am going to continue being an outstanding mayor for the greatest city on earth.
Why did you contact me, Mr.
Castle? The case is resolved.
Resolved? How is it resolved? Someone tried to destroy this city's mayor, and I want to know who.
Trust me when I say, it's not your concern.
It is if it involves Beckett or her mother's murder.
You're a writer, finish this sentence.
If Weldon had been run out of office I'd be gone from the 12th precinct.
And then who'd keep Beckett from looking into things she shouldn't? Who'd keep her out of harm's way? So you did this to protect her? Why? You play chess, Mr.
Castle? There are times when a well-placed pawn is more powerful than a king.
I have your number if I need to reach you.
You don't reach me, Mr.
Castle.
I reach you.
Corrections by Alex1969