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.
I really am ruggedly handsome, aren't I?
Every writer needs inspiration. And I found mine.
Detective Kate Beckett.
Beckett.
- Nikki Heat? - The character he's basing on you.
And thanks to my friendship with the mayor,
I get to be on her case.
I would be happy to let you spank me.
And together, we catch killers.
We make a pretty good team, you know?
Like Starsky and Hutch.
Turner and Hooch.
You do remind me a little of Hooch.
Yeah, Paula, that sounds perfect.
Yeah, close the deal.
Thank you. And to you.
- Hey. - Hey.
Ask me why I'm here.
You know, I ask myself that question every day.
That was Paula, my agent, with big news
- about my book "Heat Wave." - Mm-hmm.
- Wanna guess? - Guessing would imply caring.
I'll give you a hint.
The headlines in the trades might read,
"Castle best seller to 'heat' up big screen."
Your book is being made into a movie?
And you are about to be immortalized
on the silver screen.
Actually, Nikki Heat is going to be immortalized, not me.
Yes, well, technically, but it's been widely publicized that you are the inspiration.
So who would you like to play you in the movie?
Whoa. Are you kidding?
They're really making a Nikki Heat movie?
- Dude, did I call it or what? - Ah, congrats, bro.
- Thank you! - What do you think,
can we get James McAvoy for Detective Raley?
- I'm gonna go with Javier Bardem. - Beckett.
Yes, I'd like to report a murder.
Do you have an address?
Where's the fun in that?
Okay.
Who is this?
Oh, a fan.
- Tell me more about this murder. - Tracing.
Well, I did it.
And that's all you need to know.
Got it.
- Hello? - 42nd and Lex.
- That's Grand Central Station. - Yeah, let's go.
According to tech,
the phone call came from the second booth on the end.
Here's his wallet.
Thank you.
You got it.
His name's Alex Peterman, lives in Dobbs Ferry.
So it wasn't a robbery.
He's a personal injury attorney.
Taking the late train home.
Anything other than GSWs?
Nope, just the 5 shots to the chest from a 45.
A 45 makes a pretty loud snap, crackle and pop.
I find it hard to believe no one heard it on the main concourse.
He must have used a suppressor
and waited for the train to pass by.
And let's face it-- New Yorkers are famous
for their "hear no evil, see no evil" attitude.
I'll give you a call with an update
- once I get him back to the lab. Thank you.
- Hey. Quick-- who do you want to play you in the Nikki Heat movie? - Halle Berry.
See? Some people are just great at that game.
You know who we could get for you? Angelina. No.
Kate Beckett, Kate Beckinsale.
We'll call you K-Becks.
Hey, guys, where are we on the case?
We got a woman who says that she heard
a loud sound around 8:45--
sounded like a car door slamming.
And she said she saw a white male,
30s, average height, exiting the waiting room,
moving very quickly to the 42nd street exit.
Said he was wearing a black coat, black ball cap, sunglasses
and had some sort of beard, maybe a goatee.
All right, let's see if anyone can corroborate her description,
and let's make up a sketch, show it to Alex Peterman's family,
See if they recognize the killer.
What is it?
He called to report his crime.
And that voice...
it's like he did this for fun.
Hey. You're up early.
Yes, I have a date with Beckett at the morgue.
What nefarious plots are you two hatching?
Uh--
My birthday is coming up.
Uh-huh.
I think you should tell him, gram.
Sometimes he gives good advice.
- Sometimes? - Yeah, maybe you're right.
But I am not in the mood for any of your cavalier quips.
I'll be serious as a shark attack.
Chet has asked me to move in with him.
I told her... that I thought it was too soon.
They've only been dating a few months.
When you get to be our age, every minute counts.
To that end, I have made a list of pros and cons.
So far the pros are winning.
- "Pro-- he makes me feel young." - Well...
- I make you feel young. - Oh, darling.
"Cons-- I don't want to live in another man's home."
You are not another man. Besides, I trained you.
Who knows what bad habits
Chet picked up along the way, you know?
Mother, whatever you decide, I will support you,
the same way I have since the last man you lived with
stole your life savings.
Cause of death is multiple gunshot wounds.
Tox indicates he had a martini about an hour before he died.
Other than that,
there is nothing interesting about the body.
So then why the call?
The body isn't interesting. Excuse me.
But the bullets are.
Check out the marking on the end of the slugs.
Aftermarket factory stamps?
No.
Those aren't stamps. They're letters.
And look, they're hand-etched.
They spell something. They spell...
"kinki."
No.
"Nikki."
Nikki Heat.
That's why he called me.
That's why he said he was a fan.
He dedicated this murder to me.
Does he realize she's a fictional character not a real person?
Obviously, he's delusional, but given that Nikki Heat
is based on Detective Beckett, maybe he's confusing the two.
And we showed Alex Peterman's family
the sketch of our suspect. He did not look familiar.
How are we on forensics?
CSU grabbed about 200 fingerprints,
a thousand fibers and 60 odd DNA samples,
and that was just from the phone box.
They're working them up now...
after they clear their backlog.
Beckett. Guy on the phone's asking for Detective Heat.
Beckett.
Nikki, did you get the first part of my message?
Yes, I did.
Well, the second is at the Central Park carousel.
Same MO.
She was shot 4 times with a 45.
There are contusions on the victim's left side
consistent with the muzzle of a 45
being jammed into her ribs.
I'm guessing the killer is left-handed.
CSU pulled the slugs from the back of the carriage?
Yes, there were letters on the slugs.
They spell "w-i-l-l."
So he's sending a message.
"Nikki will"...
What? Nikki will what?
- Thank you, Lanie. - Mm-hmm.
I guess it's official. Our guy is a serial killer.
I would think that a serial killer
would be like the holy grail for a crime novelist.
I guess it would be if it weren't for the Nikki Heat of it all.
I'm feeling a little bit responsible.
Really? Like the Beatles are responsible
for Charles Manson 'cause of "Helter Skelter"?
Or is it more like Jodie Foster is responsible
for John Hinckley shooting Reagan?
If I hadn't created Nikki Heat--
He would still be killing.
He'd just find another reason why.
All right, folks. Make way.
Now what's going on?
Either a UFO just landed on the other side of the park...
Or else the FBI is here to claim jurisdiction over this case.
Maybe they just want to ride on the carousel
before the line gets too long.
Rope off a 10-foot circumference around the carousel.
Sweep for prints and trace evidence.
Close off the park entrance at 6th.
- Work up the entire footpath. - Mm-hmm.
Here it goes.
Nikki Heat I presume.
It's Beckett. Detective Kate Beckett.
Yeah, I read all about you in "Cosmo."
And you must be the celebrity writer tagalong, Richard Castle.
Special Agent Jordan Shaw. Jor-Jordan Shaw?
The same Jordan Shaw that broke
the Hudson Valley Strangler Case back in 1991?
I also play a mean game of scrabble.
Now that we all know each other, I'd like to see the body.
Agent Shaw, my people have already secured the area.
CSU is on the scene, and we are canvassing the park.
So as happy as I am to see the cavalry,
there's really not much left here for you to do.
Detective, the gods in the Marble Halls
have sent me here to catch a killer, which I will do
with or without your help, okay?
- Now could I see the body? - That is so going in the movie.
Can you say that again, but start from "Marble Halls"?
Unis pulled this from a trash bin. Wallet's inside.
The vic's name is Michelle Lewis.
According to her business card, she's a dog walker.
There's a print here, and it's too large to be our victim's.
Let's get it to the lab for--
What are you doing?
That print is already in the lab and being processed.
No muss, no fuss, no black powder on your clothes.
Wow. There's an app for that?
That's why I joined the FBI, Mr. Castle, for the toys.
I'm really eager to see that body.
Can I take a look at that--
Be a chance to check it later.
What is going on?
They're setting up the war room.
War room?
Tell me everything you know about Jordan Shaw.
She is like the federal you.
She is good. She is real good.
She cracked open that Hudson valley Strangler Case
when she was just 25.
I thought they caught him off of a speeding ticket.
Well, don't ask me how, but she profiled that he drove a Yugo.
They found a girl tied up in the back.
Uh-huh. Jordan Shaw saved that girl's life.
I've never seen you so excited to meet anyone before.
- No, I just-- I'm-- oh, I'm impressed with-- - Excuse us.
- Watch it. - I...
Can we go see the war room now?
- You're running partials, too, right? - Through all databases.
The lab's getting us information as fast as we can follow up.
I thought there was a backlog at the lab.
I have a federal fast pass, so I get to jump the line.
Currently we a running 35 solid leads
based on DNA, prints,
trace evidence found from both crime scenes,
and we're running it through the FBI data matrix.
The matrix also looks for a connection
between the victims in case the killer has a type
or a favorite hunting ground or isn't killing randomly.
Both Alex Peterman and Michelle Lewis belonged to
the same Wessex gym, but they went to different locations.
They were both members of MoMa.
Hmm. They both adopted their dogs
from the same ASPCA.
Wow! Sounds like it does your job for you.
A machine can collate. It can't think.
It takes a mind to hunt a mind.
Take this guy.
He calls the police to report his own crime,
likes to kill in heavily populated areas
and uses bullets as messages.
Now most of these stalker types can barely tie their own shoes.
This one's different, smarter.
You almost sound like you admire him.
I admire him the way Robert Shaw admired the shark in "Jaws."
The better I know him, the easier it'll be to catch him.
That's like when I'm writing.
The killer's voice doesn't sound authentic
unless I understand his motivation.
Well, this guy likes to make a scene.
I wouldn't be surprised if he was also an arsonist.
In fact, I think that's what drew him
to the Nikki Heat character in the first place-- her name.
Speaking of Detective Heat...
Oh. Whoa. Whoa. Guys. Listen.
Not that I don't appreciate the royalties, but, uh,
why do you need a hundred copies of "Heat Wave"?
If our killer is obsessed with Nikki Heat, then so are we.
Avery, Cliff notes, please.
A real estate tycoon is killed.
Detective Nikki Heat catches the case
and investigates suspects who wanted the man dead.
There's a trophy wife, of course,
- dangerous mobsters--- - Uh, uh, excuse me.
It's-- it's a-- it's a "New York Times" best-seller.
I don't think there's a need to make it sound quite so dry.
Thanks.
Heat's life is complicated by a reporter named Jameson Rook,
who's following her around for an article he's writing.
Heat and Rook verbally spar, and in chapter 11,
admit their attraction for one another and have sex.
Mm-hmm.
It's fiction.
In the end, when the killer's revealed, it turns out it's actually--
Oh, oh, oh. Spoiler alert.
In deference to Mr. Castle's artistic sensitivity,
you can all read the book to find out the identity of the killer.
Thank you.
And if you want me to autograph those for you,
just form a single file line right here.
Or not.
We got a hit. That pinkie print off the second victim's purse
belongs to a Donald Salt, 2-time loser,
on parole for a manslaughter conviction in 2005.
They just matched it to the partial pinkie print
- your team recovered from Grand Central. - Two pinkie prints?
So he was at the station and the carousel.
And the purse puts him with our victim.
Let's mount up.
Yeah. Okay. Just pulling up now.
Yep, got it.
Salt lives in that brick building.
His supervisor says he left work an hour ago.
So he should be home by now.
When the others get here, we'll take him.
- What is he doing? - He, um, touches things.
Night vision goggles. I think I have the newer model, though.
You know, maybe in my third book,
Nikki Heat will cross swords with a
good-looking, yet coldhearted FBI profiler.
Call it "Federal Heat."
Or maybe not.
So howi'm... We're-- two been we're not sleeping together.
Um...
We're- we're not sleeping together
We-- he-- he just observes me.
Yeah. I've seen how he observes you.
No, she's right. Aside from my second wife,
this is the most sexless relationship I've ever been in.
I've been profiling people for a long time.
I'm hardly ever wrong.
Well, this time you are... Wrong.
So if you're not sleeping together,
Why do you keep him around?
You know I can hear you?
He's actually proven to be surprisingly helpful.
Hmm. Have to take your word on that.
Put the taser down.
Okay, the team's here.
You stay in the car.
You heard her, Castle. Stay.
Could you at least crack the window for me?
Come on. Let's go. Move, move.
Let's make it quick and bloodless.
Go, go, go, go.
Hang on.
Stop! FBI! Hey!
Aah!
Aah! Oh!
Oh!
Ohh! Oh!
Oh!
See, I'm helping.
Yeah. I'll buy you an ice cream later.
Agent Shaw, we got a problem.
His pinkie finger's missing.
Which one of you is Nikki Heat?
So I was on one of those internet barter sites,
and I was looking--
It, uh, doesn't matter what I was looking for.
But I came across the ad.
"Finger wanted. Will pay top dollar."
And what's top dollar for a pinkie finger?
5,000 bucks.
Sounds like a real deal.
Hey, you get less than that for a kidney.
So anyway, I e-mailed him back.
I told him I had everything he wanted.
You gave him the finger. What more did he want?
He wanted me to have a violent felony conviction
and to be recently paroled.
And you also had to be willing to suffer through
the indignity of a false arrest.
He told me Detective Nikki Heat would be coming for me...
and it might get physical.
He didn't mention anything about Captain America
with the taser gun.
So he warned you
that he would be planting your print at a murder scene.
Which is why you have an alibi.
Was perched on my favorite bar stool
at McSorley's until closing every night
since that man took my digit and walked away with it in his cooler.
Is this the man?
I'm not sure. I didn't really see him.
He had a hat and sunglasses.
Who bandaged your finger?
He did.
He said you'd notice.
Ooh, be gentle with me, Nikki.
There's numbers here.
This looks like a code.
Severed digits,
a secret code-- this is like one of my books.
You should've been with me on the recapitator case.
What, that guy in Phoenix who switched his victims' heads?
That was your case?
Our techs have run the numbers
through all conventional cryptology. We can't crack it.
Which means what?
There's either a reference key that we don't have
or the code itself is just a random string of numbers.
It's not random. He bought another man's finger so he could leave a print
that would lead us directly to this code.
It's how he taunts Nikki.
"Are you clever enough to solve my riddle?"
So whatever this reference key is,
he thinks you can find it.
Those numbers could mean anything.
Well, the left-hand column is less than 300.
Right-hand column is no more than 260.
And the combination of the joined pair most likely yields a word.
Words.
It's "Heat Wave."
When we typeset a manuscript, it's usually 300 words a page.
And "Heat Wave" is less than 300 pages.
First column is a page number...
Counting backwards from the bottom.
79. Second column is a word.
- 32, 33. "I." - 126--80, "will."
145--204, "kill."
"I will kill"...
Hang on. I'm uploading the text right now.
"I will kill
"someone else before
"midnight tonight unless you stop me."
Midnight. That's eight hours away.
He's putting us on the clock. He's daring us to stop him.
Kickin' it old-school?
The white board's always worked for me.
I've been going over subway routes,
trying to see if I can trace a pattern
from Grand Central to the carousel
to the next location, and so far, nothing definitive.
Well, maybe there's something about how he chooses his victims.
- First a man, then a woman. - A lawyer and a dog walker?
Let's face it. There's no pattern there.
There's no way to predict where he's gonna go next,
and it's already 9:00, and we're out of time.
And every murder he commits in the name of Nikki Heat...
A very wise woman once told me,
you can't blame Jodie Foster for John Hinckley.
But you can blame her for "Nim's Island."
Llead just came in now. Let's get it to Avery.
What have you got?
Lab results came back on that bandage.
Tested positive for formaldehyde,
methanol and ethanol.
- Embalming fluid. - Embalming fluid.
The lab found traces of formaldehyde at Grand Central
and ethanol at the carousel.
Our killer works at a mortuary.
Or he could be a hospital employee
or a janitor at a morgue.
No. Castle's theory is more likely.
Bring up all the mortuaries in the city.
We've got over a thousand in the New York City area alone.
We can't hit all these before midnight.
Can you cross-reference mortuary experience
- with criminal records? - Or job finder groups for ex-cons.
- Yes! - I can try.
Six names.
Mobilize the troops. I want every one of these guys
in our custody before midnight.
I see what you mean about him being helpful.
Any of these undertakers look good for it?
They all say the same thing, "we work with dead bodies
all day, we don't need to make more."
He baited us, just like with that fingerprint.
We're wasting our time.
He's on the phone. He's asking for Nikki Heat.
We're tracing the call.
Hello.
Nikki?
You were supposed to stop me.
I wanted you to stop me.
Tell me where you are.
Will you come alone?
Yes, just you and me.
We can figure this out.
I can help you. You just need to trust me.
Tell me something...
how does it feel to know that you have failed?
Check the stairs. Get a unit on the roof.
I want eyes on every inch of this structure.
He was just here. That body can't be too far.
Over here! A lot of blood.
A woman's shoe.
Got a broken heel.
- Strands of hair. - Looks like she put up a fight.
There's four shell casings.
There's no way she would've survived without medical attention.
Then where's the body?
He always leaves the body where he kills.
And he always kills in famous places
with lots of foot traffic.
He's changing his MO.
Which makes him more unpredictable,
which makes him more dangerous.
Structure's clear. There's no body.
Where the hell did he put her?
He put her in his trunk.
That blood trail ends right here.
So he waited, probably left his car idling,
takes down his victim, popped his trunk, put her in,
drove away, body on board.
Get the parking attendant to give us a list
of all the vehicles through here and the video footage.
You think he used his own car?
No, but if he stole it tonight,
he might not have had time to switch the plates.
We put out an APB.
I'll get my guys to get a roster of all the people who had monthlies on this floor.
My people are already on it.
I got way more people than you do.
Your captain has a unit on your apartment.
- Go home. Get some rest. - It's not necess--
No argument. You're no good to me if you're burned out.
He roars like an angry, caged animal.
He's heading towards the outer hatch area.
The blows don't seem to be injuring his hands.
There's no-- there's no blood that I can see.
Hey.
- Hi. - What are you still doing up?
Oh, can't sleep. Too much on my mind.
You know, decisions to make and...
Wow. One of your old wedding videos.
Oh-ho-ho. Are you kidding?
This guy's a pushover compared to my ex-husbands.
So the pros outweighed the cons?
Darling, this was always supposed to be
a temporary situation-- un-until I got back on my feet, you know.
Well, the Rodgers women always follow their hearts.
Yeah.
You okay?
This case, it just...
If it wasn't for my book--
What are you gonna do, darling,
stop writing because some idiot has got a screw loose?
No, it's just...
I never intended to put her in harm's way.
Let me tell you something about Kate Beckett.
That gal can take care of herself.
Really.
Whoo! Wow!
Castle? What are you doing here?
Wine?
So what happened to your security detail?
I didn't see anyone outside.
I sent them home after I got in.
What?
The windows are locked, the door is locked,
I'm armed.
So our guy killed the others where they were found.
Why not this girl?
Why didn't he just leave her in the garage
where we'd find her?
He's changing it up.
Or this victim is special.
Oh, no, thanks.
No, no, Agent Shaw said we need to decompress.
Nothing decompresses like a 2000 Chąteauneuf-du-Pape.
Oh, well, if special agent Shaw said so...
What is that supposed to mean?
Nothing. I just see the way that you listen to her,
the way that you look at all of her fancy equipment.
Now my murder board's not enough for you?
Now you need a smart board?
- Are you jealous? - I'm not jealous. I'm just embarrassed...
the way that you act like a 10 year old,
all impressed by her data matrix.
"oh, it collates information so quickly, Agent Shaw.
- Tell me all about it." - You are ridiculous.
And then to top it off, you are now building theory with her.
So?
So you're supposed to be building theory with me.
You're supposed to be on my team.
Well, I thought we were all on the same team?
We are. It's just... I think that if you have an insight,
you should run it by me first.
Fine. I will. Now drink your wine.
Thanks.
But I am tired.
And... I need to go to bed.
Oh, no. I'm not leaving.
I'm here to protect you.
What, with your vast arsenal of rapier wit?
There is a madman gunning for you because of me.
I am not going to leave you alone.
Okay, fine. I am too tired to argue.
But if I see that doorknob turn,
I will have you know, Mr. Castle,
that I sleep with a gun.
Understood.
You're still here... and you're making pancakes?
I was hoping for bacon and eggs, but your eggs are expired
and your bacon has something furry on it.
Yeah, well, I mostly order in.
I figured that from the styrofoam temple
you've got going on in that refrigerator.
Coffee's brewed. I think your filter's broken though.
I'll order you a new one later.
Wow. Looks like you thought of everything.
Except the paper.
Castle, we don't have time for the paper.
- There's a body out there that I gotta find. - Woah!
Looks like it found you.
So you had just gotten up, right?
Yeah. Castle just finished making breakfast,
- and he went to the door-- - What kind of breakfast?
Uh, I'm sorry?
What kind of breakfast was he making?
Pancakes.
Well, isn't that domestic?
Anyway,
the paper usually arrives at 4:00, and we were up at 7:00.
So that means the killer had a 3-hour window
where he could've left the body there unnoticed.
And exactly what time
did you and Mr. Castle go to bed last night?
I think we're done here.
Dude, I see Beckett in her jammies...
Wine glasses on the table.
There's nothing going on with Beckett and me.
No more than there was yesterday.
Dude, you made her pancakes?
It's just breakfast.
Pancakes is not just breakfast.
It's an edible way of saying,
"thank you so much for last night."
Castle, come on. We're your friends. Details.
All right. Come here.
There are no details.
I can't even look at you right now.
Witness refuses to cooperate.
Now we know why he took the body.
"I know where you live." This was a threat.
More than that.
He's saying he's disappointed in you.
In his mind, he gave you fair warning
that he was going to kill again.
If you had been smarter, you would've been able to stop him.
He's saying, "this one is on you."
I'm profiling him, Detective, not agreeing with him.
The guy is a friggin' nut bar.
Don't let him get to you.
Talk about irony.
- Do we have an ID on our vic? - No, not yet.
There's no purse, no missing person's report filed.
The coroner's van's downstairs.
We need to get the body to the morgue and pull the slugs.
Only four entry wounds.
If the pattern holds,
he should have a 4-letter word cross.
That's sunny. I have a 4-letter word for him, too.
Why don't you two escort the body to the morgue
and let me know what you find?
Okay.
Once you're dressed, of course.
Hey. Heard you two were making pancakes
when the body dropped.
- Nothing happened. - Right.
So what do you got?
Letters on the slugs.
"b-u-r-- "
- "Burn." Nikki will burn. - Well, that's chilling.
Our victim's fingerprints aren't in the system.
Do you have anything that can ID her?
Well, I found formaldehyde on her.
Yeah, that's from the killer.
He left it at the other scenes as well.
Not traces. It was under her fingernails, in her hair.
She worked with embalming fluid.
I also found traces of clay, polyurethane and animal blood.
I don't know who she is, but I can tell you what she does.
She's a taxidermist.
It's so cute, the way you two do that.
- Taxidermy? - Embalming fluid plus animal hair
equals Norman Bates' favorite pastime.
It can't be just a coincidence that we found embalming fluid
at our first two crime scenes as well.
So the killer and this victim were connected.
It seems so.
So there's only seven taxidermy shops in the city.
My guys are running them down right now.
But if there was a connection between them,
why didn't comparison matrix find it?
Maybe it's not as simple as a work relationship
or going to the same gym.
Like you said, it takes a mind to hunt a mind.
Yo. We got an ID on our third vic.
Her name is Sandra Keller.
She works at a taxidermy shop downtown.
Any connection between her and our killer?
A colleague of hers said she had a run-in with a guy
who maybe matched our sketch-- a customer whose Bichon Frise
had been killed in the park by another dog-- a Rottweiler.
Customer was heartbroken.
He paid half up front to have his Mr. Bumpkins
preserved for eternity.
When he came back to pick up his dog, didn't have the fee.
When Sandra refused to give up stuffed Bumpkins,
the guy went ballistic and stormed out of the store.
Two nights later, they had a break-in.
Among the things that went missing are this guy's
stuffed Bichon Frise and a bunch of embalming fluid.
That explains why we found traces of it at the murder scenes.
He also trashed the store's computer.
There's no client data, no name.
My agents interviewed all of Michelle Lewis' dog walking clients.
One couple had to put their Rottweiler down because
Michelle lost control of it, and it killed another dog.
Mr. Bumpkins.
So grief-stricken, our killer blames Michelle and Sandra
for the loss of his best friend and decides to get revenge.
All of this about a dog?
What does this have to do with Nikki Heat?
The dog's the trigger.
Maybe he was reading the book when it was killed.
When he snapped, he somehow blamed Nikki for it.
It seems a little absurd.
You must be a cat lover.
Detective, he's looking for a reason to kill. This is it.
What about our first vic?
How does Peterman fit in to all this?
Well, he was a personal injury lawyer.
Maybe our murderer wanted to file
a wrongful doggy death suit.
According to Peterman's notes,
back in January, he had a meeting with a Ben Conrad
over a lawsuit about a dead dog.
Peterman declined to take the case though.
That's the last piece of our puzzle.
What do you have on Conrad?
Just a photo from the DMV.
Got you, you son of a bitch.
Yeah.
Okay.
Okay, sweetie.
Mommy's gotta go arrest somebody, okay?
I'll be home for dinner. All right. I love you.
Bye.
- You're a mom? - Yeah.
And you can holster your gun. You're both staying here.
What? No, come no. This is the final takedown.
You can't let her do this to us.
No, Agent Shaw is right. I'm his target.
I can't compromise your team
by walking into the line of fire.
We'll take him down. It'll still be your collar.
Wow. She's a mom. I never would've pegged her for that.
I figured she was a career-driven woman
with no time for a family.
Well, not everybody makes that choice.
- Beckett. - He's calling for you.
Put him on.
Hello.
Oh, you think you're so smart, don't you, Nikki?
You think, what, just because you found me that you won?
He knows we're here.
It's over, Ben. Time to give up.
No, it is not over!
Ben, listen to me. You're surrounded.
I need you to put the gun down.
You know I can't do that, Nikki.
Ben, I need you to step outside of your apartment
with your hands raised.
That's not our game. One of us has to die.
No one has to die.
Somebody always has to die!
And since it can't be you...
Ben.
Go!
Go! Go! Go!
Kitchen's clear!
Bathroom's clear!
We're sending the gun to ballistics,
but given it's a 45, it's probably the same one
he used on our other victims.
And probably the same one he was gonna use on you.
Uh, actually, no.
He was planning something a little bit more spectacular.
Cell phones?
He was making a detonator.
Good-bye, Nikki. Good-bye, Nikki.
He was extracting formaldehyde
from the embalming fluid he stole to create cyclonite--
A near military-grade explosive.
When you profiled him, you said he was probably an arsonist.
I also said he liked to make a big scene.
Schematics of the precinct.
He was planning on killing you
and taking the whole station with you.
"Nikki will burn." I can see the poetry in that.
The terrible, homicidal poetry.
I just wouldn't have profiled this guy as suicidal.
I guess once we found him,
it was the only way he could control the situation.
Well, at least Conrad saved us the trouble of a trial.
And the best news is, I'm out of your hair.
The best news...
is that it's over.
Hey.
I thought you went to bed an hour ago.
I couldn't sleep.
I thought the case was over.
Oh, it is. Wrapped up all nice and neat.
That's a good thing, right?
In a book, that's a good thing.
In real life, nothing is that neat.
What's got you still up?
Gram.
I can't believe she's leaving tomorrow.
I mean, yeah, when she first moved in,
I couldn't imagine having her around all the time.
But now I... can't imagine her being gone.
Listen...
It's a fact of life.
People we love leave us.
Unless you chain 'em to a radiator,
which for some reason is illegal.
But, uh... knowing her...
She'll be back in six months.
Oh, good. You're both up.
Darling, I need you to help me decide on what to take.
Oh, and I need to get my bags down.
Richard, could you give us a hand?
A hand.
What?
The bruising pattern on the second victim--
The killer used his left hand.
And... you see his handwriting?
Look at the slope on the "4" and the loop on the "6."
Yeah. So he was left-handed.
Well, Ben Conrad shot himself with his right hand.
If the man in the window was Ben Conrad,
he would've shot himself on the left side.
Ben Conrad didn't kill himself.
Ben Conrad was murdered by the man in the window.
Ben-- Ben's not our killer.
- The real killer was just playing with us. - But the evidence--
No, it was-- it was planted there to lead us to Ben.
He wants us to think it's over.
He wants us to drop our guard.
He wants to make a big scene.
"Nikki will burn."
Beckett.
Oh, God.
Montgomery took the detail off her place. She's alone.
She's not picking up. Call the precinct.
Tell them to get over there right away.
Tell them we were wrong. Tell them the killer's still alive.
You lock this door behind me. Don't let anyone in.
Captain Montgomery, please. Yes, tell him it's an emergency.
Come on, Beckett. Pick up. Pick up the phone. Pick it up!
What, Castle?
It wasn't Ben Conrad. He's not the killer!
The killer's still alive! The killer's still alive!
Good-bye, Nikki. Good-bye.
Kate!
Subtitles by Brainquake