All right, everybody, last hand for the night.
Aw... phooey. It's only... ah!
It's not even midnight.
Some people have jobs to go to in the morning.
Oh, my son, the working stiff.
Phooey.
I fold.
If you don't mind me saying, mrs. R., you fold a lot.
I just don't believe in stringing along a bad hand.
Why waste time?
Actually, mother's game isn't really texas hold'em.
It's strip poker.
Keeps things humming along, if you know what I mean.
Well, frankly, I prefer strip, because even when you lose, you win.
- Raise $20. - Call.
- Make it a hundred.. - Wow.
- 100 bucks? - Man up, bro.
Really?
- I'm out. - Slop.
What about you, castle? You're already in for the blind.
Not scared of a little...
"Action" is my middle name.
Don't worry, sweetheart, he's bluffing
Whenever he blinks too much, It means he's got a lousy hand.
Mother.
- Well... - All right, here we go.
There it is.
- Uh-Oh. - What?
He's not blinking, but now he's tapping,
Which means he might have the nuts..
What's the matter?
You're not afraid of a little action, are you?
All in.
Whoo! Ooh.
- Take him down, beckett. - Yeah, make him pay.
Can't write your way out of this one, huh, castle?
Way to go, beckett.
Maybe someone should change their middle name to "loser"
- Loser. - What can I say. Guess it just wasn't my night.
Ah, see, I told you he was bluffing. It's the...
It's the blinking thing, yeah, you're right.
Beckett.
Yeah, we'll be there in 20.
Homicide on henry street.
- I'll take care of this for you. - Thank you.
- Well, at least you guys are already downtown. - But it's after midnight.
- Murder never sleeps, mrs. R. - Yeah, neither do we.
Oh. Oh. Someone say "murder"?
- Hold on, I'll get my coat.. - Look at him, all excited..
Yeah, like a kid at christmas..
With a dead body under the tree.
- It's motor oil, all right. - Looks like it,
But I'll have to pump out the tub and run some tests to be sure.
It's motor oil, all right. 10W-40.
Empties in the closet.
What kind of a freak drowns a woman in motor oil?
Someone's trying to send a message.
I already told the uniforms.
Once people check in,
I don't wanna know what they do up there.
Her purse was missing, and she didn't have an I.D. On her.
Any chance she paid for the room with a credit card?
All I can tell you is, whoever rented the room on friday
paid cash for a 5-day stay
They were supposed to be out tonight.
So at midnight, I went up to check
If the place was empty and found her in the tub.
It's gonna be a bitch to clean it.
So if anybody was meeting her here...
It's not like the guests arrive and I ring them up!
- This ain't the ritz. - Clearly.
What about tonight? Anyone strange coming in or going out?
Hey, bill.
Jasmine, how's it hangin'?
I think you just described half their clientele.
Unidentified woman— Early 40s, good health.
She's wearing a wedding ring, but there's no inscription.
- Cause of death? - Drowning.
And there's a nasty contusion on the back of her head.
So somebody hit her hard enough to knock her out
And then gave her a motor oil bath.
And I found this in one of her pockets.
Ticket stub for the metro-North.
Our victim took the train in from westchester yesterday morning.
Westchester to lower manhattan?
That's a long way to go for a lube job.
See, when married ladies go to cheap hotels,
It's always about sex.
Or drugs.
The sample in one of the wine glasses
- tested positive for remian. - A sleeping pill.
- Mm-mm. - This was not a crime of passion.
That room was rented for five days
And someone stocked the place up with motor oil.
That takes planning.
And nice suburban ladies don't
just take the train into the city
And not return without somebody noticing.
Irvington P.D. logged a call
last night from a Michael Goldman wanting to report
his wife Allison missing. Clothing and description match.
Said she went into the city for work and never came back.
Said he knew that something was wrong.
Poor guy. Unless he's the killer...
And he's covering his tracks by calling the police
before the body's discovered.
How about we question him before we convict him?
You got an address?
- Thanks.
I don't un-Understand.
- DWh-Where did you say that she was found? - At an S.R.O. in the city..
It's a single room occupancy. It's like a transient hotel.
Why would she be in a place like that?
Can you think of anyone she might've been meeting?
No.
My wife and I were happily married, detective.
We had no secrets.
You told police last night that your wife went into the city
- for her job? - She was working part-time..
We'd had some financial setbacks the last few years.
I'd been laid off, and we had to give up the apartment.
How did your wife handle the move to the suburbs?
Not, uh, not too well.
Allison missed the city, so a couple months ago,
She got a job working three days a week
at a clothing boutique in Manhattan...
This little place on 72nd called Lehane's.
She said that being there...
I'm sorry.
She said that being there...
reminded her of the good old days.
So I'm trying to put together a timeline
- of Allison Goldman's last hours. First call I make
is to Lehane's, the store where she worked.
I say to the owner, "good morning, sir I'd like to talk to you about your employee
- Allison Goldman. - And?
- And he says, "who?". - Allison didn't work there.
- Not yesterday, not ever.. - Well, if she wasn't going into the city
three times a week for a job Then what was she doing there?
And how did she come home friday night
with 400 bucks in cash for the family kitty?
Maybe Castle was right. Maybe this was about sex.
The lady was a soccer mom.
Come by my daughter's school about 3:30.
- The place is like happy hour.. - Maybe she had a boyfriend..
Yes, a boyfriend... Someone she met in line at Zabar
or, uh, one afternoon at the museum
When she, uh, ducked in to escape a rainstorm.
Maybe it was someone she already knew from the city,
Someone who reminded her of when times were good,
Before she had to give up that cute apartment
- with the partial river view. - Someone who was slipping her a little cash
While he was slipping her something else.
Yeah, Allison Goldman wouldn't have some cheap affair.
This person would've had to have meant something to her...
Someone who cared for her, someone who listened to her.
Only now he wanted a little more return for his investment,
- Something she wasn't willing to do. - Like leave her husband.
- And when she wouldn't, then he got violent.. - Yep.
You know, I feel so stupid. Here I am looking for evidence,
And all I had to do was just make something up
So this imaginary boyfriend killer..
Do you think that he has an imaginary address?
Detective Beckett?
Mr. Goldman, what is it?
My lawyer called the social security office this morning
To let them know that Allison had passed away.
He faxed this to me two hours ago.
A death certificate?
Yeah. For Allison Porter.
Now Porter was my wife's maiden name.
But it says here that Allison Porter died in 1963.
When she was 3 months old.
But this child's social security number
is the same as my wife's.
My wife wasn't the womanshe said she was.
Our whole life together...
Was a lie.
So for 20 years,
this woman was living under a false name?
- That's crazy.. - Yeah, her husband was pretty shaken up.
Trust me on this one, kiddo. When a woman marries a man
and doesn't bother to tell him Who she is for 20 years,
She's a crimina... Mata Hari, shady lady.
- In other words, a very good actress.. - Speaking of which... You seem to have inherited
- a bit of my talent.. - Oh? How so?
The poker game. You let Beckett win.
I don't know what you're talking about.
Come on. I checked your cards.
I- I didn't want to take her money
in front of all her friends.
Kate Beckett is not some bimbo who needs big, strong you to look out for her.
She's a real woman.
And a real woman does not want to be patronized.
- She's right, dad. - Yeah..
I was being nice.
Castle. Yeah, I'm on my way
All right, I'm on my way
to the precinct to find out Who this Mata Hari really was.
Allison Goldman e-mail account..
Allison writes:
"Lee, can we meet on tuesday instead this week?"
Lee writes back, "sounds good. The usual place."
Tuesday. The day that she was murdered.
So Allison's imaginary boyfriend has a very real e-mail account.
He goes by the screen name "LWax220".
- The husband said it didn't sound familiar to him. - We cyber-Tracked it down.
Check this Castle.. The guy's a writer.
A real writer or an "I took a course at the learning annex" writer?
Well, his name is Lee Wax.
He writes true crime.
"Bobby Socks and blood..."
"The true story of a cheerleader and eagle scout
and the murder that shocked america".
- Gimme a break. - Well, maybe he got tired of
writing about other people's murders
And decided to commit one on his own.
What's this?
Your winnings from the other night.
I'm not an idiot.
I know you threw the last hand.
How did you figure it out?
That's not the point.
Oh, my mother called you, didn't she?
You owe me a rematch.
Fine. You wanna play? Let's play.
How about tomorrow night?
- With your mystery buddies? - What, are you kidding?
No, no, no, those guys would eat you alive.
No, I was thinking of something a little more local.
My, uh, Gotham City crew.
Guys I beat on a regular basis.
- Your Gotham City crew. - Yeah, the Captain, the Mayor
and Judge Markway. You know, your boss, your boss' boss
and the guy that signs your warrants.
Or would that make you nervous?
I mean, I wouldn't want to throw your game.
But I also don't want you to feel patronized.
Just set it up and prepare to get your ass kicked.
Hello?
C'e' nessuno?
Look who's stalking.
Stay here.
- Hey! Who the hell are you? - Who the hell are you?
Lee Wax. What are you doing in my apartment?
- You're a woman. - Either you tell me who you are right now,
or I am calling the cops.
I am the cops. My name is Detective Kate Beckett.
We would like to ask you some questions
- about Allison Goldman. - Allison.
Just...
Just, uh, let me get my lawyer.
Why do you need a lawyer?
Why do you think?
So you're confessing.
No, I'm not confessing to anything. It's just...
My publisher instructed me not to talk to law enforcemen
- until I had a lawyer present.. - Your publisher?
You know, I would like to state for the record
That I never harbored, nor did I conceal, a fugitive.
- What are you talking about? - Allison Goldman.
If that's why you're here, then obviously you found her.
Yes. Murdered.
Murdered?
Murdered by who?
Well, given your unhealthy obsession for her,
I'm going to take a wild stab at... you.
Me?
No, I am a ghostwriter.
- We were working on her memoir. - Memoir?
Why would Allison Goldman need a memoir?
Wait. So you don't know who she really is?
We do now.
Apparently, our Westchester housewife
was also a fugitive.
That's Allison Goldman?
A.K.A. Cynthia Dern. In 1989, she and two friends
set off a bomb on a tanker owned by a big oil company.
I remember this. Some radical environmentalists
protesting the "Exxon Valdez" spill.
Yes. One was killed, one was caught. But Cynthia Dern was never found.
Looks like her past finally caught up with her.
Jared Swanstrom, uh, built the bomb.
Susan Mailer and Cynthia snuck onboard to set it,
only something went wrong.
You see, the ship was supposed to be empty of oil and people,
But the captain, Sam Pike, had come back.
He was paralyzed in the explosion.
How did you track down Cynthia?
I didn't. She contacted me.
Cynthia had decided to turn herself in,
but before she surrendered,
She wanted to get her story out to the public
and express her remorse.
And get public opinion on her side.
It's a great way to influence a potential jury pool.
But she did it, right? So how was she planning on influencing them?
Cynthia told me that
on the night of the bombing, she had tried to back out.
When she realized that the captain was aboard,
She argued with Susan Mailer to call it off,
but Susan refused.
Susan went to set the bomb herself
and ironically, died in the explosion.
- She was vaporized. - So why would she come out of hiding now?
Money. She need the cash.
You were paying her?
A couple hundred a week. If the book had sold well...
I don't have to tell you how much money was at stake.
When was the last time you saw Cynthia?
Tuesday afternoon.
Did she mention that she was going to see anyone else,
- Maybe someone from her past? - No, no, Cynthia was really paranoid about
being discovered before the book came out.
She didn't want me to get in touch with anyone from her old life.
- with anyone from her old life. - But you did, anyway..
Any true crime writer worth their salt
is gonna check her story with other sources.
Okay, so I made a few calls.
The sources that you were talking to,
did any of them want her dead?
Maybe, but...
remember, nobody knew how to find her.
I mean,I didn't even know where she lived.
I'm gonna need to see your interview notes
and your manuscript.
You can have whatever you want, but in return
I'd like to be kept in the loop as the investigation proceeds.
What for?
- My book. - You're gonna go through with it?
- But Cynthia's dead. - Correction, Cynthia was murdered,
Which means her memoir
just became a true crime story,
which is kind of my forte.
You'd be doing me a huge favor.
You know, I- I would love to.
But I have a whole list of writers
who are hanging around, looking for favors.
So thank you very much, though, for cooperating, and I'll...
Catch you on the dark side.
It's a pretty sweet gig
You've scored for yourself, mr. Castle.
Is this your secret to writing best sellers?
Follow the pretty cop lady around
and take copious notes?
I like to think talent played a small part.
Still, this is the kind of all-access pass
most writers would kill for.
Let's get to the part where you tell me what you want.
Well, maybe you can give me a call sometime...
one professional to another.
Or do you need to check with your boss lady?
Why don't you give me your number,
and I'll see what I can do?
A domestic terrorist who clips coupons.
I just might buy the movie rights myself.
Well, the bombing obviously wasn't
a very sophisticated operation.
Susan Mailer was killed in the blast,
And Jared Swanstrom was caught by the FBI
- And served 15 years. - Allison Goldman, a.k.a Cynthia Dern
Managed to stay a fugitive for nearly two decades.
And then she poked her head out of hiding,
and a couple months later, she's dead.
Well, who would hold a grudge for 20 years?
How about the people whose lives she's ruined?
You say she was living in Irvington?
That's just a couple of miles away from here.
In the months leading up to her death,
Cynthia was working with a journalist.
We spoke with Lee Wax several times.
She never told us Cynthia was involved.
She should have.
Excuse me, will you? Excuse me, please.
This is hard for him.
He's still angry about what happened. We all are.
This your son?
Adam.
- He's a sailor, just like his dad. - The settlement wasn't enough to
cover all of Sam's medical costs.
Adam's been working and helping out
since he was a teenager.
Adam? I'm detective Kate Beckett.
Is this about her?
Cynthia or Allison or whatever she called herself?
Did you have any idea that she lived so close?
Didn't know, didn't care.
You didn't care about the woman
who almost killed your father?
- I find that hard to believe. - You know, my family waited 20 years
For the cops to find Cynthia Dern
So my dad could get just a little bit of justice.
Well, it's too late for that now.
So what do you want from us?
Well, I thought you might want to know how Cynthia died.
She was drowned in motor oil.
Motor oil?
It's almost as if whoever did it had
a personal connection to the bombing.
Adam, if I looked in your garage right now, would I find motor oil?
would I find motor oil?
I own a boat and a car, detective.
And where were you last tuesday?
I bartend at the Foxtail Grill on Manchester every tuesday.
Are we done?
Yes, for now.
Thank you.
You know what?
I hope his alibi checks out. I hope he didn't do it.
And here I thought you would be saying
What a great story it would make if Adam Pike did it..
- A son taking revenge for his father. - It is a good story. It's a great story.
Personally, I would just write a happier ending for that family.
Beckett.
FBI files on the tanker bombing in '89
- I've been going through them. - And?
Three days after the bombing, they captured Jared Swanstrom
at a motel where he'd been hiding out.
Feds had a tip line. Some helpful citizen calls
And said they'd seen Swanstrom at the motel.
Feds go in, grab him up, easy peasy.
It's pretty standard stuff.
Yeah, until you get to the part where
the tipster never collects onthe reward.
And who was the tipster?
That's just it. The FBI never knew
- 'cause she didn't leave a name. - She?
Records describe the voice as young and female.
It could be Cynthia Dern.
Do you think she would give up her friends to the cops?
Doesn't matter what I think.
It only matters what Swanstrom thought.
The guy did 15 years in prison.
That's a long time to think about who put you there.
So you weren't bearing any old grudges?
Against Cynthia? What for?
For turning you in.
It was Cynthia who called the cops the night you were arrested.
Well, if that's true, she was just trying to save herself.
Right after the bombing, Cynthia wanted to run..
You know, try to make it to canada.
- But I, uh, I fell apart.
- Why?
Guilt. I'm the one who built the bomb.
- I'm the one who messed it up. - Messed it up how?
The girls were supposed to have three minutes to get off that ship before it went off..
Three minutes.
When Cynthia got back in the car that night, she said that something had gone wrong,
That the bomb had.. Had blown early.
I'm the reason that Susan Mailer is dead.
At least one of them took responsibility for what happened that night.
Yeah. Maybe even a little too much responsibility.
- You don't believe Jared Swanstrom's story? - Well, that's the thing
It's not his story. It's Cynthia's.
You wanna break it down for those of us who've already had a glass of wine?
Cynthia told Lee Wax that she and Susan Mailer had an argument as to whether
or not to set off the bomb once they knew the captain was onboard.
Cynthia backed out.
Susan went on to set off the bomb by herself and...
boom.
But today, Jared Swanstrom said that Cynthia told him
there was something wrong with the timer.
She never said anything about an argument.
Oh... well, that is a rather glaring omission.
You know, when I'm writing,
I find it's all about choices..
What to put in, what to leave out,
when to reveal some information, when to hold something back.
but as someone else's ghostwriter, you only know
what they want you to know.
But Lee Wax isn't Cynthia's ghostwriter anymore, right?
Now that she's dead, it's no longer a memoir.
It's a true crime story.
and it sounds like the true story
Is a whole lot juicier than Cynthia's lies.
Good morning.
Oh. Hey.
Sorry. I've just...
been going over Lee Wax's interview notes.
When she spoke to Jared Swanstrom,
he told her the same thing he told us.
Cynthia said the bomb blew early,
but she left that version out of her book.
That's because it contradicted Cynthia's latest story,
that the girls argued when they discovered
that captain Pike was still onboard
and that Susan set the bomb alone.
According to the publisher,
Cynthia has full approval over everything Lee Wax wrote.
It was her way or the highway.
You talked to the publisher?
I am... somewhat known in those circles.
Anyway, they didn't like it.
They were looking for a true crime tell-all,
and what they were getting
was some sanitized bunch of remorseful boohooing
They were getting ready to pull the plug.
And now?
Well, now that Cynthia's murder is all over the media,
they're back onboard,
So long as the book takes a more sensationalized angle..
"Kaboom! The true story
of a domestic terrorist turned suburban housewife
and the crime that shocked America."
- Catchy. - Thanks.
So with Cynthia out of the way,
Lee Wax is sitting on a potential best seller.
People have killed for a lot less.
Beckett.
All right, bring him in.
What?
Adam Pike's alibi fell apart.
He was lying about being at work on tuesday night.
I didn't kill her.
I didn't even know where she was.
We're not gonna get anywhere if you keep lying to me.
I know you went to Westchester.
I spoke to Cynthia's husband. He remembers
seeing a guy just like you outside their house,
a couple weeks before she was murdered.
Don't make me put you in the lineup.
I just...
Wanted to talk to her.
- How'd you find her? - That writer.
The way she kept talking about what happened to my dad..
She knew things that only someone on that ship could know.
So I...
started following her around.
eventually, she led me to Cynthia Dern.
And why didn't you call the police?
Because I wanted to look her in the eye.
I wanted to tell her none of it mattered.
Her blood money wouldn't buy our forgiveness.
What money?
What do you mean by "blood money"?
After I found out where Cynthia lived
I went and told my mom.
I didn't know if we should call the feds or what.
She started crying.
She told me
we'd been getting money every month since the bombing.
Different amounts.. Sometimes more, sometimes less..
but every month.
and she thought that the money was coming from Cynthia Dern?
The first envelope, there was a note.
"Please forgive me."
Susan Mailer was dead. Swanstrom was in prison.
There wasn't anybody else.
You know, with this kind of evidence, Cynthia could've been caught years ago.
Mom said without that money,
we wouldn't have made it,
And she figured, as long as Cynthia was free, the money would keep coming.
So why did you lie to me about where you were last tuesday?
Because I was there.
At the hotel. I followed her.
Look, I was just gonna talk to her.
I spent an hour walking up and down that hallway,
Trying to get up the courage to go and knock on that door.
You know, I- I was gonna do it.
But then someone got off the elevator and knocked on her door instead.
You saw her killer?
I didn't get a good look, but I did hear them talking.
- And I can tell you one thing. - What?
It was a woman.
Lee Wax.
Beckett!
It was Lee Wax!
Beckett!
Lee Wax!
Lee...
Murder. Are you people crazy?
I have an eyewitness who can place you at the S.R.O.
Where Cynthia's body was found. You had motive, means andopportunity.
Please. Only a novelist
Because she never told me. Are you sure?
could come up with a twist this absurd.
Not as absurd as killing a woman to salvage your story.
Drowning her in motor oil
gave you just the ending you need.
I'm a true crime writer
so I don't have your talent for fiction.
We know your publisher wanted to dump your contract.
Because I told them that I thought Cynthia was lying.
So you didn't believe her remorse was genuine?
When Cynthia cried, it was for herself.
She wanted to cash in and keep herself out of jail. That's it.
Well, she must've felt some responsibility
for what happened.
After all, she sent the Pikes money year after year..
What money?
Every month since the bombing,
the Pikes have been receiving money
courtesy of Cynthia Dern.
Only, there's nothing about that in your notes.
We're sure.
Look, the tuesday that Cynthia was killed,
I was out to dinner with my publisher
until after midnight,
so I couldn't have killed her.
Remind me, if I ever decide to write a memoir,
to never write a memoir.
Okay.
Why not?
Because memoirs are about truth.
And I'm not a very truthful person.
It would be too easy to make myself look good.
It might be harder than you think..
Maybe.
But I would sure start
with the most generous thing I ever did.
You mean, like how you anonymously sent money to your victims
Because you felt so guilty about what you'd done?
The object of Cynthia's memoir was to gain sympathy.
What could be more sympathetic
than sending the Pikes guilt money for 20 years?
It doesn't make sense that Cynthia didn't tell Lee Wax.
A meno che il denaro non venisse da Cynthia.
It had to be from Cynthia. Swanstrom was in prison and Susan Mailer was dead.
Call. And you're sure no one else was involved?
No, just the three of 'em, assuming you believe the FBI. Call.
You know, we don't really have to talk about this.
Anything to stop his honour here
from talking bout budget initiatives.
Okay, judge. Who was it that appointed you again?
Now the FBI believe. But why take Cynthia Dern's word for anything
that happened the night of the bombing
when her own ghostwriter didn't even trust her?
You know, the judge is right.
What do we actually know about what happened?
Not much.
According to Lee Wax's notes,
captain Pike heard two women arguing
Just before the explosion, and Cynthia claims
that she was trying to change Susan's mind.
- Fold. - But if we assume Cynthia was lying..
then maybe it was Susan that wanted to save Pikeke
And Cynthia that wanted to run. Raise $20.
Right. But the bomb was already set,
So the 3-minute timer is already ticking.
The girls argue, wasting precious seconds...
Susan runs towards the ticking bomb
to try to shut it down...
While Cynthia runs for cover.
Right. Susan gets to the bomb, but too late.
Boom.
Which means Susan Mailer didn't die trying to set the bomb.
She died trying to save an innocent man's life. Fold.
It still doesn't explain where the money came from.
Fold.
Well, what about it, Castle? You're good with twists.
- Where'd the money come from?
- I'm thinking.
Yeah, well, you might want to think up some chips for the pot,
'Cause it looks like it's just you and me.
All right, detective Beckett..
- I'm all in.
Oh, what's the matter? You afraid of a little action?
Oh, do us a favor, detective. Beat his pants off.
Yes, please, beat my pants off, if you dare.
Beckett, do me proud.
To hell with proud, make him cry like a little girl.
All right.
Sorry, fellas, it's just not my night.
Oh, who's a good little boy?
Who's a good little boy?
You are and you are and you are.
- Don't you ever get tired of winning, Castle? - You'd think so, right? But no.
Well, I think that's it for me.
Detective, it was a pleasure.
- Mr. Mayor.
- Sorry we couldn't solve your case.
And I'm sorry I couldn't make him cry like a little girl..
Mm. Well, it's not your fault, detective.
No matter how down he gets, he always manages to rise
from the dead.
- Oh, now that'd be a twist. - What?
The money had to come from Cynthia
because Swanstrom was in jail
- And Susan Mailer was dead, right? - Right.
But what if Susan Mailer didn't die in that explosion?
What if she's still alive?
- Susan Mailer? Alive? - Her body was never found.
Yeah, because she was vaporized in the explosion.
Well, maybe she was thrown clear.
Ma allora avrebbe avuto delle brutte bruciature
burned and would've need care.
And no one matching her description
ever checked into area hospitals.
Mere details, my good man.
Um, around here we call them "facts."
Well, then let's go get us some facts.
Please don't think less of me.
I did what I had to do to survive.
These are from all over the place.
Uh, not the recent ones
The recent ones are all the same.
Lititz, Pennsylvania.
If we're gonna road-Trip, I'm gonna have to pee first.
- I've never seen her before. - Are you positive?
- Didn't he sound positive? - Castle.
Okay.
How about her?
- She'd be older now. - How much older?
20 years.
I don't think so.
That's what I get for listening to a mystery writer.
She might have scars or walk with a limp.
Like she's been in an accident?
It could be Mary Wright.
Mary Wright?
She comes in once a month or so.
Buys a money order to send to her relatives in new york.
Do you have her address?
It sounds naive now, but, um...
Everything I did back then I did because
I thought it would help.
We're not here because of the bombing, Susan.
We're here because of what you did to Cynthia Dern.
Her body was found in a tub of motor oil.
But you already know that.
Forensics is going through that room as we speak.
and believe me, they will find something,
Something that connects you to Cynthia's death.
She should've just left it all alone.
She had a husband and a good life.
But that wasn't Cynthia. Once she decided on something,
- Well, you just better not be in her way. - Like that night on the tanker?
I saw the captain go below.
I don't know how he got back onboard without us seeing.
I- I tried...
But I was.. I was too late.
When the bomb exploded, I was thrown overboard.
I can still feel the heat on my skin...
Even today.
How did you survive without medical attention?
Um, a friend took me in.
A- A med student nursed me back to health.
- I got a new identity. - And Mary Wright was born.
It's not hard to live like a ghost
When everyone you love thinks you're dead.a.
I never contacted anyone from my former life...
not even my parents.
But you still sent money to the Pikes.
They had a son... medical bills.
I- I was responsible.
Everything could've stayed just the way it was except...
Except Cynthia decided to write a book..
That reporter put a post on an environmental board
Asking for info on Cynthia.
I e-mailed, pretending to be an old friend of the group.
It didn't take long for me to figure out
That she had found Cynthia and Cynthia was lying
- About what happened on the ship. - You tracked her down. You confronted her.
I threatened to turn myself in
if she went through with the book..
give myself up, tell the authorities everything.
She begged to meet with me first..
Somewhere we could talk.
That's when you rented the room?
Oh, no, Cynthia rented the room, not me.
- It was all part of her plan. - Her plan?
Her plan to murder me.
W- When I got there, she poured me a drink.
"Let's toast to old friends," she said.
Only, you see, I don't drink.
I tried to leave. She wouldn't let me.
I- I hid in the bathroom.
that's when I saw it...
the tub, full of oil.
Then I understood.
She didn't plan to talk to you.
She planned to kill you and make it look like suicide.
That wine was laced with a sleeping pill.
You were supposed to drink it and then drown in the oil.
And then the world would think that you were
Racked with guilt over the Pikes all these years
And that you finally decided to commit suicide
Once your body was discovered, the public would clamor
For the true story.. Cynthia's true story..
With you now cast as the villain.
We struggled.
She lost her balance and fell against the sink and...
Hit her head.
I should've called for help,
but I just wanted it to be over.
So I...
I dragged her to the tub and...
I...
I pushed her in.
You see, I was already dead.
I just wanted to keep it that way.
I heard you made an arrest.
You can hear all about it in the morning news.
Oh, come on, after all the help I gave you on this case,
You can't give me any more information than that?
Well, I could, but I just keep thinking
that if it wasn't for you, there wouldn't be a case in the first place.
- in the first place. - What does that mean?
Tutte le persone del passato di Cynthia
that you interviewed..
How did you manage to let every one of them know
- That you were in contact with her? - What are you implying?
You wanted someone
to put two and two together and call the cops.
You wanted Cynthia in prison.
That way, you could tear up the contract you had with her
And write the story you wanted to write
With an ending that would sell more books.
I mean, you couldn't call the authorities yourself.
What kind of story would that be?
That's a lovely theory,
but even if it's true, I didn't kill Cynthia Dern.
I didn't even do anything illegal.
Oh, no, no, no, it's not illegal.
It's just slimy.
So your, uh, all-access pass
has been revoked.
Oh, and one more thing..
One day, and one day not far from now,
I'm gonna use this in a book.
Susan Mailer's in booking.
Mm.
All these years,
trying to do the right thing, trying to make amends...
Because of Cynthia's greed, she's gonna end up in jail.
If you're looking for a happy ending,
You've come to the wrong place.
Next time, I guess I'll just try that massage parlor
on 2nd avenue. Just kidding.
Actually, who needs a happy ending when you have a story
With people pretending to be dead,
Living under assumed names,
Plotting fake suicides and murder for revenge?
You know, I'm glad to see that you're entertained
I, however, have to call michael Goldman
And let him know that his wife was a sociopath.
But you also get to call Jared Swanstrom and tell him
That he's no longer responsible for Susan Mailer's death.
- As a matter of fact, Susan Mailer's still alive. - Which is why Cynthia is now dead.
Wow, you are all about the cloud, aren't you?
Never the silver ling.
Okay. Maybe this might cheer you up a little bit.
- Your winnings.
- My winnings?
Oh, don't play coy with me. You threw your hand.
All right, I was trying to be nice.
I didn't want to embarrass you in front of your friends.
Now we're even,
so what do you say to a little showdown?
Head-To-Head. Toe-To-Toe.
Winner take all.
Mano a mujer.
"Hand to woman"?
Whatever it takes.
- You're on. - No mercy.
- I'm gonna make you hurt. - Oh, you're gonna get hurt.
- What are we playing for? - Pride. Or clothing.
I think I got a bag of gummy bears.
Shuffle.
Deal.
Comfy with texas hold'em?
I'm comfy so long as my cards come from the top of the deck.
Huh. What you got up your sleeves?
Aside from my muscular arms?