who sit around thinking about how to kill people.
Psychopaths and mystery writers.
I'm the kind that pays better. Who am I?
I'm Rick Castle.
Castle. Castle.
I really am ruggedly handsome, aren't I?
Every writer needs inspiration and I found mine.
Detective Kate Beckett.
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'd 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.
I love you! I love you!
What is it about full moons that bring out all the crazies?
I don't know. You tell me.
Hey, Karpowski. How's it going?
Same old, same old. And you, Beckett?
- I can't complain. - Yeah.
You guys should really sell tickets. I mean, you got everything,
madness, mayhem.
Now all you need is…
Beckett.
Ashley Cosway, 32, couples therapist.
Husband found her just before midnight.
Was picking her up on his way home after the St. John's game at the Garden.
- Any witnesses? - None so far.
But I did find a receipt for this takeout right here.
Dinner for two.
Yeah, it's from Szechuan Wok, over on Ninth.
The receipt doesn't match any of the cards in the vic's wallet.
- Husband recognize the number? - Mmm-mmm.
- When was it charged? - 6:02 pm.
Lanie puts the time of death around 8:00.
Whoever she had dinner with
may have been the last person to see her alive.
Or the first one to see her dead. Run the card.
You know, if this was one of those super science-y forensic shows,
we'd stick some electrodes in these fishes' brains.
Get a fish-eye view of whatever they saw.
Dr. Parish. When'd they change the dress code downtown?
Well, unlike you, I don't sit around work all night
waiting for the next vic to show.
- Quit looking at the girls, Castle. - Roger that.
Multiple GSWs. Entries look fairly small-caliber, probably a.22.
"Psycho The Rapist"? "You're out of time"?
Looks like a patient lost their patience.
Also his command of grammar.
"Your" should be U-apostrophe-R-E, as in "you are."
That's not even a tough one, not like when to use "who" or "whom."
Do you really think that's the take-away here, Castle?
I'm just saying whoever killed her also murdered the English language.
- Any signs of struggle? - Bruises on both arms.
Check for fibers and hair. See if our killer left anything behind.
OK.
- Castle! - Mmm-hmm.
No. She never discussed her patients. Ash was very professional that way.
What was she doing here so late?
Um, she always would have a couple nights a month
where she'd work late, writing up case notes.
I'd use that as a time to go out with the boys and have a boys' night,
and when I'd get back I'd walk her home.
Did you know who she was having dinner with?
No. I mean, unless someone called her after we spoke.
- And when was that? - Before I left work. 6:00-ish.
I was heading out to the game.
- What did you talk about? - Just a meaningless check-in. And I…
Right now I remember I didn't say "I love you."
- Thank you, Mr. Cosway. - Yeah.
I got another. Pop-and-drop on Hundredth and Second.
Full moon strikes again.
All right, you guys go on uptown and I'll finish up here.
So much for my famous warm honey-milk with Jenny tonight.
Did I just say that out loud?
Her husband calls before 6:00 and the food's picked up at 6:02.
She knew who she was having dinner with.
Someone with bad grammar.
A warm milk nightcap with your lady? That is sad, bro.
It helps her sleep.
How about the sound of your voice? Doesn't… Works on me.
How you doing, Dr. Perlmutter?
The body is speaking.
What's it saying?
It's saying, "Someone shot me." One to the mid-section,38.
Maybe even a.45. He was shot at close range and from behind.
- That's cold. - Yeah, well, that's the living for you.
He have any ID?
Well, wallet's gone. No watch. No jewelry.
Maybe a mugging gone bad.
Well, a looky-loo said she recognized him from the neighborhood.
Gave his info to Officer Whojamiface over there.
"Whojamiface"?
Nice to see you making an effort to bond with the rank and file, Perlmutter.
It's not like you're just leaving yourself a note, you know,
to buy bread on the way home.
You're writing on a person you just murdered.
You're trying to make a point.
A point you care a great deal about,
presumably, because you just killed someone to make it.
So how do you not make sure that you're using the proper language
to make that point?
Frank Anderson, retired middle-school math teacher from IS 161. You want in?
Uh, no, thanks. Full up.
So? How'd you find the body?
On the ground.
- Was it positioned in a creepy way? - Yeah, like a guy who was shot.
Oh.
So, just your garden-variety homicide-robbery, huh?
Actually, pop-and-drops are some of the hardest cases to close.
Randomness of the victim, anonymous nature of the crime.
It takes some real serious detective work.
OK. Well, if you guys want any help, you know where to find me.
"Help"? Did you just say "help"?
Don't worry about us, Castle.
We'll probably close ours before your therapist.
- Really? - Mmm-hmm.
Well, perhaps you'd like to make things interesting.
Oh.
Wait. Are you saying you want to wager on who solves their case first?
That's sick, bro. Fifty bucks?
- We win, you pay us both. - Deal.
- Sit down, sit down, sit down. - Hey, hey, hey.
Not a word to Beckett, OK?
If she finds out about this, she'll shoot us.
Secrets, murder and gambling. Three of my favorite pastimes.
- May the best man win. - May he.
Richard, that's appalling. Wagering on death.
They're already dead, Mother,
and who's to say that catching killers cannot be fun?
- Hey, Dad, are you working tonight? - Maybe. Why?
Oh, I just have math club till 6:00,
and then I wanted to take Owen out
for a birthday banana split at Serendipity.
I just want to do something special
because things have been a little rocky with us lately.
Nothing smoothes rocky like Rocky Road.
Just remember, it's a school night. Be home by midnight.
- Dad, I'll be home by 9:00. Love you. - Love you.
- Yeah, bye, darling. - Bye, guys.
Uh, young love. First, banana splits. Then splitting assets.
- Mother, you are a hopeless romantic. - I know.
Mmm.
- Oops, I'm off to an audition. - And I have a bet to win.
Yes, Detective, that's my credit card. I had dinner with her last night.
She's my best friend. When I left her there, she was alive.
- What time did you leave, Ms. Rossi? - Around 7:00.
Then where did you go?
To drinks with other associates from my firm.
I was at the Gansevoort bar until 11:00.
Did you make plans to have dinner together or did you just show up?
She called me. She said she wanted to talk.
- But I didn't… I didn't know. - You didn't know what?
I should have said something.
I should have done something, you know?
- Why did she call, Ms. Rossi? - She needed my advice, as a lawyer.
Something happened last Friday, something bad.
- What? - She wouldn't say.
But I knew it was one of her patients.
She wanted to know how to get a restraining order.
- Against who? - Whom.
She wouldn't say. God, I should've stayed with her.
I shouldn't have let her off the hook.
Looks like Ashley took her oath seriously.
Her husband had no idea that something bad happened on Friday.
Doctor-patient privilege is supposed to protect people, not get them killed.
Hey, so the vic's girlfriend? Alibi's good.
Co-workers confirm that she arrived for drinks at 7:15, left at 11:00.
The husband's buddy places him at the Garden from 7:00 till about 10:00.
Which leaves us with Friday's patients.
Sure would like a peek at Dr. Cosway's notes.
Not without a warrant. We start by running their names.
He threatened and then killed her, he's probably got violent priors.
Once again, Mr. and Mrs. Marx, I'm very sorry for your loss.
And a dark cloud descends.
- Any hot leads? - As a matter of fact, yes.
Turns out our victim went for a walk every night.
Guess who hangs in the park right where our victim was popped?
- Recently fired postal workers? - No. Gang kids. Very rough guys.
- Do they hang out there regularly? - That's right.
Then they didn't do it.
If they're known to hang out there,
then they're gonna know they're gonna get caught.
If they're gonna do something, they're gonna do it somewhere else.
I know what you're doing, Castle. You're trying to mess with our confidence.
If I was trying to mess with your confidence,
I would tell you that our victim talked to her lawyer friend
on the night she was murdered about a restraining order.
And do you have a suspect?
We're narrowing it down. But doesn't that have a lovely ring to it?
Restraining order.
Restraining order. Order…
- Hey. - Hey.
I was just… They were… There was two…
- Yeah? - Beckett, we got a hit.
Hal Ross?
Multiple assault charges over the last 10 years.
He and his wife were Dr. Cosway's 2:00 on Friday.
Thank you.
- What are you doing? - Hey. Hey, hey.
- Castle, not cool. - Stairs.
- Why'd you do that? - Do what?
All right, I'm just gonna say it, I've got a feeling.
Doesn't happen often, but I am feeling it, this is our guy.
Mr. Ross?
What's up? Garbage on my sidewalk again?
Uh.
Would you mind putting that down?
Where were you last night between the hours of… When was that again?
What are you talking about?
- Are you familiar with Ashley Cosway? - Well, yeah, sure. The doc.
Well, she was murdered last night.
What? The doc's dead?
Can you confirm your whereabouts between 7:30 and 9:00 last night?
Yeah, sure. I was here. I'm open till 10:00 every night.
- Can anyone corroborate that? - My employees.
Well, how convenient that your alibis are on your payroll.
What would make you think that I killed the doc?
Mr. Ross, you have a history of violence. Assault. Battery.
OK, well, why do you think I was in therapy?
OK, Doc Cosway showed me that I was only hurting myself.
Come on, Hal, we know something bad happened last Friday. Come on.
Something happened all right, but it wasn't in my session.
You want to talk to somebody, you try the appointment before mine.
Why is that?
Judy and I, we were in the little waiting room before our session.
- We hear all this yelling. - About what?
I don't know. But this guy was cursing Doc Cosway out big time.
And it was kind of scary.
I was tempted to go in there,
but then we heard the guy leave.
Did you get a good look at his face?
No, no, no, he went out the hallway door.
Doc got us, she was rattled, but she did our session anyway.
I got a feeling this isn't our guy.
Hinkle. Evan Hinkle.
He's had the appointment before the Rosses
every week for the last two years.
Yeah, the guy's clean. There's no record of anything.
Two straight years of therapy, maybe he just snapped.
Have uniforms bring him in. I'm gonna go get a coffee.
Esposito tipped me off to the bet. Thought I'd toss a little towards ours.
Toss away, my friend.
And spread the word around, if anyone else wants a taste.
Let's go. Come on, big fellow.
Left over here.
Take a seat.
Whoa, whoa, whoa!
I thought you said you guys were looking
for a gang member, like a teenager.
- You were right. They alibied out. - So who's in cuffs?
Just a mugger who happened to be working in the same area
the same night our vic was killed.
Yeah, he was picked up with a.45 on him,
which happens to be the same round that was found in our vic.
Just waiting on ballistics. Unless he confesses first.
- So where's his lawyer? - Ooh! Whoa, whoa.
- He hasn't asked for one. - Well, I know a guy.
What's the matter, Castle? Are you getting worried?
Worried? Worried? I'll make you cry.
You wanna bet? Or maybe double down?
No, no, no, no. Not money. Humiliation.
Loser wears a dress to the precinct for a week.
Why stop there? Loser also shaves his head.
Or are you chicken?
You're on, honey-milk.
- "Honey-milk." - Damn it.
For the record, Mr. Hinkle,
you're admitting that you were Dr. Cosway's 1:00 appointment?
I knew this would happen. I knew it.
First time I met her, I knew she'd leave me.
Why does this always happen? Why do people keep leaving me?
She didn't leave you, Mr. Hinkle. She was murdered.
Yeah, just like my first wife.
- Your first wife was murdered? - That's right.
I smothered her to death.
Yeah.
That's what she told me.
I murdered her with love.
That's why she left.
Just tell us about your last appointment with Dr. Cosway.
We were just starting to make progress. You know the irony here?
Her death is my moment of greatest crisis and I don't have her to lean on.
What was all the screaming about at the appointment last Friday?
Screaming? Last Friday? I did not see her last Friday.
You're in the books. "You're" with an apostrophe.
Yeah, well, I canceled an hour before.
- You canceled? - Yes. Yes, I was having chest pains.
I went to the ER at St. Vincent's.
$15,000 later, turns out I was just having a panic attack,
about Mother, you know.
- I think we're done here. Thank you. - Thank you.
You know, at least Dr. Cosway didn't charge me
for canceling last minute.
Why not?
Uh, she said she was going out to lunch with her husband,
so it was time well-spent.
- Thank you, Mr. Hinkle. - Thank you.
And by the way, it's a common mistake,
but it's not ironic that Dr. Cosway's not here for you to lean on.
It's just simply tragic.
It would be ironic if her death made you feel better.
- Castle. - Just… You can…
- What's with the super-cop? - I have no idea what you're talking about.
- OK, thank you. I appreciate it. - I'm in for $50, you know that.
So what you got?
I just got a ping on Ashley's credit card.
Lunch charge at Petit Bistro right next door to her office.
The hostess confirmed that Ashley and Jason
were having lunch there on Friday.
And the only reason she remembers it
is because they were making kind of a scene.
He's our screamer.
They were arguing all the way back to the office.
He's the one she was getting a restraining order against.
Jason's alibi that he was at the game with his friend feel a little squishy to you?
Like a wormy apple.
- Hey, Karpowski. - Yo.
Why don't we take a better look at Jason Cosway?
Work situation, financials and hotel bills.
Yeah, OK. Copy that.
- Want a coffee? - No, thanks.
I'm so in!
Hey, Stegner.
Just admiring the great board work, Beckett.
Care to share any insight?
- I really need to go file. - Uh-huh.
I'd be more than happy to take that off your hands.
Son of a… Nobody move.
- What is this? - Girl Scout cookie orders.
Huh.
- Girl Scout cookie orders? - Yeah. I'm just helping out the troop.
Funny, I didn't realize Alexis was a Girl Scout.
Oh, no, she's got so many activities, I can barely keep track.
- Freaking great. - What happened?
- Ballistics screwed us. - Ballistics screwed us.
Our mugger's gun doesn't match the bullet taken from our vic.
What's going on?
Betting on murder cases, guys? Really?
- What? No. - That'd be wrong.
I'm telling you, it's Girl Scout cookies.
Girl Scout cookies are sold in February.
You guys should be ashamed of yourselves. Now get back to work.
Listen, I'm sorry. I know it was wrong. I just thought…
Beckett, you are never gonna believe this.
Yeah, well, the bar on "unbelievable" is pretty high right now.
Vic's husband took out a $3 million life insurance policy
on his wife last month.
Hundred on us.
Look, the life insurance was Ashley's idea, OK?
OK, fine, Jason. It was Ashley's idea. Can anyone confirm that?
Yes, I'm sure someone can. Maybe a friend.
Well, her best friend Brandy had no idea about the life insurance.
But she did know about a restraining order
that your wife was trying to get against you.
That's insane. It is absolutely ridiculous.
You wanna tell us about last Friday?
What about last Friday?
About the screaming match at lunch that led all the way back to her office?
- We have multiple witnesses, Jason. - OK. Great. You have witnesses.
We had a fight. You know what that proves? We're married.
What did you fight about?
I don't know what the fight was about. I can't remember.
See, I'm having a hard time believing that.
How does he even know we're watching?
Uh, no wonder she's going after him so hard.
Straight.
I was at a basketball game.
Oh, yes. That's right. With your frat buddy, Skip.
Yes, juries do love it when friends alibi friends.
Why don't you get the hot dog guy to vouch for me, OK? If you trust him.
- What was your seat number? - What, excuse me?
Come on, it was just last night. Don't tell me you don't remember?
They were… They were Skip's tickets. Why don't you ask him?
Don't tell me for one second you didn't have to get up
during that lame halftime show and remember what section to go back to.
The only thing I remember is the fact
that we were sitting there right behind the home bench.
Ah, OK.
- You ever have seats like that? - Yeah, right.
- So, divorce isn't an option. - Divorce. Divorce?
Hey, what are you on to, bro?
I didn't want a divorce, OK, pal? And I didn't kill my wife!
- So? Can we charge him? - We still need evidence.
I'm gonna get a warrant for his apartment and see what it turns up.
Are they watching TV?
I'm afraid they've thrown in the proverbial towel.
Huh.
- Hey, guys. - Everything OK?
Yeah, we're just enjoying last night's game.
Yeah. Isn't it great when you can get it on demand?
I love this part. Check it out.
But he's covered up good,
and there yet is another time out.
Whoa! That's their third time out.
Yeah, already. They're just barely halfway through the first half.
Yeah, that would be, what, just before 8:00?
Yeah.
That's Jason Cosway.
- Mmm-hmm. - And I believe that that, my friends,
is the definition of an airtight alibi.
Castle, what size dress do you wear? Six? Eight?
- Sixteen? - Mmm.
- Dad? - Mmm-hmm?
Yes? You OK?
Uh.
Have you ever been really sure about something
and then have it all just fall apart?
As a matter of fact, I have.
Owen?
It was a train wreck.
- What happened? - Thalia.
What's a Thalia?
Some perky girl with big teeth.
She came over to our table, gushing about how she and Owen
went to Camp Chumash together
third grade summer and how she was his first crush.
The whole night was one big walk down memory lane.
I'm sorry, sweetie.
And the weird part was that Owen didn't even remember her.
Not that it stopped him from being totally into it.
I mean, even in the taxi back, he kept saying how amazing it was
that they met after all these years at Serendipity.
How it was so…
- Serendipitous. - Serendipitous.
How am I supposed to compete with that?
Sorry.
- Where are you now? - Yes, I'm in the elevator right now.
Where have you been?
Apologizing for the male race. Did we catch a break?
- No. But the boys did. - Another mugger?
I don't know, but they look pretty hot on something.
What? What do you have?
Why don't you go ahead and give them a little taste, bro?
Turns out our vic had a rent-controlled apartment.
Stays in the family, it stays rent-controlled.
- $562 a month. Three bedrooms. - I'd kill for that.
According to a neighbor, vic's son-in-law borrowed money
from the old man a bunch of times over the years,
but recently he cut him off.
Son-in-law…
Ryan.
Really? Yeah, we're on it. Come on.
- Something good? - Let's go.
- Well, what is it? - Wouldn't you like to know?
Hey, come on.
Got a bad feeling about this.
Are we really rooting against solving a murder?
Well, I don't want to shave my head, do you?
- Why would I shave my head? - You're in on the bet, aren't you?
Yeah, but I didn't realize…
Beckett.
OK. We'll be right there.
Lanie just found something in the forensic report.
Well, I hope it's better than their son-in-law.
And you're sure it was them?
OK, thanks.
I don't even want to know.
Two bartenders and the manager put Frank's son-in-law, Eric,
and daughter, Christina, uptown at their friend Eddie's birthday party
at Dublin House from 9:15 till after midnight.
Dude, if I have to shave my head it's going on you.
- What are you doing here? - What are you doing here?
Lanie called us.
- No. She called us. - Yeah.
Actually, I called both of you. I think your cases might be connected.
Perlmutter was giving me the rundown on Ryan and Esposito's mugging case
when a certain forensic detail popped out at me.
- Orthosilicic acid. - Ortho what-now?
It's the fancy term for "saltwater compound."
That's not very specific.
True, but we identified the diatoms in the sample as well,
which makes it extremely specific.
It narrows it down to a single body of water.
So our guy took a swim.
Not quite. It was only trace amounts.
But we found orthosilicic acid
with the exact same diatoms on Ashley Cosway, as well.
Both victims had contact with the same body of water?
- Direct contact. - What are the odds?
It'd be like finding the same fingerprint on both bodies.
Do we know what body of water?
No. I would need a sample to test it against.
- Castle? - Could it be a small body of water?
Sure. As long as it's salt water.
Dr. Cosway's fish tank. Check out Nemo.
Clownfish need saltwater to live.
OK, but how did this get on both of our vics?
Wouldn't they have had to stick their hands in there or something?
You see that salt encrustation along the top?
- Yeah. - The pump just kicks it into the air.
Yeah, anyone who spent time in that office
would have trace amounts of that tank's specific saltwater compound on them.
So, then, Frank had to have been in Ashley's office
some time before he was murdered?
It's possible. But remember, Ashley was murdered first.
Then our perp was in there.
That's where he got the compound on him,
then he transferred it to Frank when he took his watch and wallet.
Which means both of our vics were killed by the same person.
- I thought Dad was mugged. - Yeah, like, randomly.
We don't believe it was random anymore.
Mr. Cosway's wife, Ashley, was killed earlier that night.
We think the same person killed your father
and then tried to stage it as if they were two isolated incidents.
We're trying to find a connection between them.
This is Mrs. Cosway and this is Mr. Anderson.
Do either of them look familiar?
No. Not at all. I'm sorry.
Mrs. Cosway was a therapist. Did your father ever go to therapy?
Dad? No.
No disrespect to your wife, but he didn't really go for that kind of stuff.
Well, this is a list of Mrs. Cosway's patients.
Would you mind taking a look at the names,
see if you recognize any of them?
I don't think so.
- No. - No.
Take your time.
Do you really think there's a connection here?
I mean, we live in different parts of the city,
you know, we work at different places, we're…
Go ahead, you can say it, we're black and you're white.
No, no, I'm just saying we're different. That's all I was saying.
They may have inadvertently witnessed something
or been privy to some information
that someone very powerful wanted to keep under wraps.
There are any number of possibilities.
- We just want… - Grovner.
- What was that? - This name, Grovner.
It kind of rings a bell.
Do you remember, about five years back,
some kid's dad shoved him for some reason.
Yeah, school security got involved.
I think his name was Grovner.
We'll get a warrant for his patient file. If there's a connection, we'll find it.
So, the principal at IS 161 said that Grovner assaulted your vic
after Mr. Anderson reported him on suspicion of child abuse.
Which is why Grovner and his wife went to couples counseling.
Apparently, it didn't go too well, though,
'cause they ended up filing for divorce
and, get this, Mrs. Cosway testified against Grovner in court.
So Grovner had reason to go after both our victims.
Yeah, went away for five years for domestic abuse.
Says right here he was released last month.
So, what are the odds, huh?
Two people from opposite lives being connected by one jack-hole.
Just demonstrates that any two people can be connected.
- Yeah, like the movie Crash. - Dude, Crash is overrated.
Actually, it's more like Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon.
I got a question.
Now that we're all working the same case.
- Does that mean the bet's off? - Hell, yeah.
- You got the address? - Yeah, it's around back.
Banner day. Gonna close two cases with one arrest.
Like Christmas.
Don't decorate the tree just yet, boys. It might be a coincidence.
Oh, come on, Debbie Downer.
There are no such things as coincidences in murder cases.
How many times do I have to tell you?
I mean, it's the basic foundation of every crime book I've ever written.
No coincidences.
That's him. Ready?
Put your hands up. Let's see them, buddy.
- Keep it up. - Keep your hands up.
Put up your hands so we see them!
Wesley Grovner, I'm Detective Kate Beckett.
What? I miss another parole meeting?
He's clean. So to speak.
Where were you last Tuesday night?
Am I being punked?
If by "punked" you mean "arrested for murder," yeah.
You think I went somewhere Tuesday night and killed somebody?
Actually, two somebodies.
Hey! I'm Houdini.
Nice bling, huh?
Oops.
Check this out.
This stoop is the edge of my Earth since I busted parole a week ago.
Whatever you think I did, I ain't your guy.
That's quite the coincidence.
How dare you! How dare you take my dress!
- You're as thoughtless as your father! - I'm sorry, I just…
Stop! No! I didn't… I didn't take anything!
- I didn't! - I ought to break your little wrists!
Mother, have you finally…
Have I finally what, dear?
Hey, Dad.
- You're rehearsing. - Yes, I have a call back.
Oh, and you believed us? Oh, my God. That's marvelous.
You know, I am a better actress than I think I am.
You OK, Dad? You look upset.
Turns out something I was so sure of was just a coincidence.
- Oh, is this about the murder? - Exactly.
It so happens that our two victims were connected.
It just had nothing to do with their deaths.
You know, I bet if you looked hard enough
you'd find a connection between everybody in this city.
I mean, it's the great thing about New York.
Yeah, and if there wasn't a connection, you could always pretend there is one.
Besides the rehearsal, we have another drama going on here this evening.
Oh. Owen?
You know how Thalia said she had a crush on Owen at Camp Chumash?
Serendipity at Serendipity. Yeah.
No. More like subterfuge at Serendipity.
She never even went to Camp Chumash, but her friend did,
and Thalia wanted to meet Owen, so she staged the whole thing.
That is so budding-sociopath.
I knew it couldn't be a coincidence. I mean, really? What are the odds?
Yeah, what are the odds?
Hey, Castle. How you doing?
Well, for a second last night, I thought my mother was beating Alexis. So…
Yeah, well, Grovner was a head-turner for all of us.
His GPS checked out, by the way.
Well, Crash was on this morning, followed by Footloose,
so I guess anything can happen.
- Are you OK? - Yeah.
It's just this one reminds me of my mom's case.
What Frank Anderson's family must be going through, especially Christina.
Mourning her dad's death,
thinking that it was random, and then finding out that it wasn't.
I guess you could say, "What does it matter?
"The person that you love is dead." But knowing why matters.
- Yo, fish tank's a bust. - What?
Lanie called. Water sample is not a match.
You believe that? We're nowhere.
What is it with these two cases?
Yeah, Grovner was almost too good to be true.
- Not almost. - Yeah, and you guys and the husband.
I was sure it was him. And your son-in-law.
I know. Same deal. Felt it.
OK, it's not the fish tank, but they are connected.
We just have to figure out how.
It's just we've been over these cases so many times,
it's hard to see straight anymore.
All right.
We'll start over. Fresh eyes. You take our murder, we'll take yours.
- All right. - Whoa, whoa, whoa.
Say that again.
You take our murder, we'll take yours.
Could it be that easy?
You take mine, I'll take yours.
- What are you getting at, Castle? - Strangers on a Train.
The Hitchcock movie.
I'm partial to the novel by Patricia Highsmith, but yes.
We have two strong suspects, but with airtight alibis,
- Right? - Right.
We know they're connected. What if the connection is the killers?
Jason and Eric committed each other's murders.
And made sure they had an airtight alibi for the murder
they knew they'd be suspected of.
It's not our victims who are connected. It's our murderers!
Crisscross!
OK, so we know Jason was at the Garden
watching the game till it finished at 10:00.
And then he made the call from Ashley's office at 11:47.
Garden is on 32nd. Her office is on 18th.
It would've taken him max 20 minutes.
So why did it take him two hours?
Because, Esposito, he jumped in a cab, went uptown, killed Frank.
Which happened at 11:00.
He easily makes it back to his wife's office
in time to find her body at 11:47.
And we know that Eric clocked out of work at 6:03.
And Ashley's killed at 8:00.
He shows up for the party at the bar at 9:15.
Something tells me their alibis are not going to be so airtight
for the other murders.
Mr. Cosway. We were just coming to see you.
Oh, hey. You guys have news? I mean, is it the old patient of Ashley's?
- That turn out to be anything, or… - No, but we are making progress.
OK. What can I do for you?
Just like to ask you a few questions about the night of the murder.
Do you guys have any suspects at all yet, or…
We're looking at someone right now.
OK, well, actually, I have to meet the movers at Ashley's office,
- so if you don't mind walking with me… - Not at all.
Could you tell us what you did right after the basketball game?
After? Why do you ask?
We're just trying to get our timeline straight.
Not accusing me of killing my wife again, are you?
I can assure you that we are 100% certain you did not kill Ashley.
It's just, the night of the murder,
you said that you were on your way to pick her up right after the game.
Yeah, so?
Well, then why did it take you two hours to get from the Garden to 18th Street?
Look, I knew Ash wanted to work late, all right.
I didn't want to bother her, so I just killed some time.
Ooh.
Sorry. Go ahead.
- Uh, and then I stopped at a news stand. - Where?
Uh, somewhere on Seventh. Maybe it was 26th.
I don't know. Anyway, I bought myself a slice of pizza.
At Ray's.
Original Famous or Famous Original?
There's one on 28th and there's one on 23rd.
I can't remember which.
I'm a little confused here, you know.
There is somebody out there that killed my wife.
Mr. Cosway, we're just trying to figure this out.
Um, I, uh… After that, I went home.
Is there anyone that can vouch for that?
Yeah, I'm sure somebody in my building.
- Thank you so much for your time. - Of course.
Last call for…
- Looks like we found our body of water. - Strangers on a boat?
So, what's the verdict?
Eric Marx takes the same water taxi to work, too.
Bam, said the lady! There's our connection.
Oh, no, it gets better.
Lanie ran the substance on our vics against the Hudson River water.
It's a match.
Marx gets on the boat uptown, Cosway joins him at Chelsea Piers
and they ride to Pier 11 together.
So one day, maybe they start talking.
Maybe about the Yankee bullpen,
maybe about the attractive secretary leaning up against the railing.
And Jason starts grumbling about his wife.
Eric maybe mentions how he covets Frank's apartment.
Yeah, well, there's an open upper deck.
I figure that's where they were doing their plotting.
And how the water from the Hudson got on both of them.
It gets transferred from Eric Marx's jacket and gloves
to Ashley Cosway when they struggle.
Then to Frank Anderson when Jason Cosway swipes his watch and wallet.
- Done deal. - Except it's all circumstantial.
The DA will never buy it without hard evidence or a confession.
Oh, we're gonna get a confession.
Not if we get one first.
So, bet's back on?
You bet your britches the bet is back on.
What are the odds?
You guys really think a jury's gonna believe
in such a crazy story like this, huh?
Juries are smart.
Yeah, yeah, they are.
But you see, they're gonna have to do two separate trials here.
And the prosecutor's gonna have to convince them that I killed someone
who I have no connection to
and no motive whatsoever to want dead.
And to me that's ridiculous.
Sounds like you've given this some serious thought, Mr. Cosway.
Cute. But wrong.
You made a pact with Eric Marx on the deck of that boat. Don't crack.
No one will ever be able to prove what you did.
I told you guys already, I only met him the other day.
You rode the same water taxi to work every day.
And so does a hundred other people, every day.
- It was your idea, wasn't it? - Really?
Yeah. There's always one alpha in every conspiracy and that was you.
Eric was malleable, wasn't he? And that suited you just fine.
Mmm-hmm.
But Ashley wasn't, was she?
She was a strong, professional woman.
A psychologist, no less. You couldn't just push her around.
Then why did I marry her?
That's the question you asked yourself every day, isn't it?
Because you realized you didn't want a wife,
you wanted a puppy.
Now, you get a judge with political aspirations, bro…
- Yeah, we're talking death penalty. - New York, still a lethal injection state.
Now, you confess, you cop a plea, it's a different story.
You're gonna save the state all sorts of money on a trial.
Yeah, practically guaranteed to get off with just life.
Yeah, and then the judge
can get his political bones on someone else.
- Like your boy, Jason. - No, no, I know my rights, all right?
So you can stop with this whole "good cop, bad cop…"
Good you know your rights, Eric,
because your buddy Jason just rolled on you.
- Oh, man. Come on! - Oh, yeah!
Cosway just signed his confession.
Copped a nice little plea. At your expense. Sorry, dude.
Told you we'd get our guy first.
No, no. Wait, wait, wait.
It was his idea, not mine.
He planned the whole thing.
D It's the little things you say d.
- Ryan, you were on fire tonight. - New nickname, Ice-posito.
Excellent work, Detective.
Yeah, well, once we realized that Jason was the alpha and wouldn't break,
it was obvious that Eric was the weak link.
Nice, when you guys came in the room and we knew you were playing,
everything just kind of went…
Yeah, that's right, of course, we were right with you guys.
- Oh, please. - That was the whole point.
Was that you weren't in on it. That's how we sold it.
Well, that's neither here nor there, because we won the bet.
- How's that? - Our guy broke.
Yeah. Because we broke him.
Uh, so what? It's like soccer.
You score in our goal, it's still our point.
Soccer? Really? You're going with that one?
- Works for me. - Well, then, how about baseball?
Because this team just knocked it out of the park.
Yeah, but our team was supposed to be at the bat.
Again with that one.
Your team didn't make it to the field
because they were too scared to get off the bus.
Castle, our team drove the bus.
Yeah, well, then how about NASCAR?
As our car flew to the checkered line, you guys crashed and burned.
Under a beautiful full moon.