Castle

You got me!

I give up.

Oh, boy, oh, boy! She's finally here!

Hello. I'm your new home-operating system.

My name is Lucy. What's yours?

Uh, my name is Rick Castle, and...

And...

my wife just left me.

Yikes. Sucks to be you, Rick.

Can't you hit any harder than that?

Oh!

Oh. I'll take that as a yes.

Come on.

Listen. You can still back out.

- I can do this on my own. - Not a chance.

I'd be dead if not for you, which means I owe you.

Besides, I always wanted

to be a digital investigator for the NYPD.

It's a real job, Vikram.

You'll be helping the 12th solve homicides.

By day.

By night, I'll wear a cape

and track down the mysterious villain

who sent a hit squad to kill us

and scapegoat-murdered Allison Hyde.

Would you take this seriously, please?

I just blew up my marriage to go down this path.

I'm sorry.

Hell, I should be giving you the chance to back out.

No.

If I don't get justice for Rachel and for everyone else,

no one will.

We just got to do this fast.

Fast is the one speed we can't move.

We need stealth.

If this takes any longer,

then Castle is gonna figure out what we're doing.

And if he does?

He's gonna step in, and he's gonna put himself in danger.

Then make sure he stays away.

Has Beckett told you anything about the breakup yet?

Not a word. You talked to Castle about it?

No. And I've left him a bunch of messages.

Shakes your faith.

I guess nothing in life is permanent.

Tell that to the victim.

Oh, hey.

Captain Beckett.

What brings you out into the field?

Work.

What, do you think I'm gonna be stuck in the office

- just 'cause I'm captain? - We...

- so, who's our fugitive? - No I.D. yet.

But the jumpsuit is standard issue at Rikers.

But they say that none of their prisoners have gone missing.

We had them lock down the facility,

but a 14,000-inmate head count is gonna take some time.

- You run his prints? - Yeah. So far, nothing.

Nothing? The guy's a convicted felon.

His fingerprints are on file.

Probably a glitch.

You know, those portable scanners...

- sometimes they're wonky. - Yeah.

Is there any chance that this wasn't a homicide?

None.

It took brute force

to puncture the victim's body with that branch.

Someone had to shove him onto it.

So how does an escaped convict from Rikers Island

end up in the middle of Central Park

without anyone seeing him?

It was late.

Lividity puts the time of death

between midnight and 2:00 A.M.

All right, keep running prints.

I'm gonna walk around and see what I can find.

Hey.

You didn't call me back.

Yeah, I'm... I'm sorry about that.

Oh, that's okay. But are you okay?

I'm fine.

I'm just a-a little lost

and taking some space so I can figure things out.

I just hope that I haven't hurt him too much.

Girl, please.

Castle is a grown-ass man,

and he knows that you love him very much.

I'm sure he's okay.

I just don't know what to do, Lucy.

I've compiled a list of top-ranked divorce attorneys.

No! I don't want a divorce.

I want my wife back. How do I do that?

I don't know.

How did you get her in the first place, Rick?

Has Beckett talked to you?

Give us a minute.

You know better than to think I would betray her confidence.

Damn it, Lanie, tell me...

why is Beckett keeping me in the dark?

The man who went Houdini for two months last year?

Whoa. I didn't Houdini. I was houdinied.

Doesn't matter.

When you came back, she accepted you without question,

so you can damn well give her some space now.

I can't lose her.

I know.

Is that from the 12th?

Castle.

Escaped prisoner. Young... maybe 21, 22?

Is that...

Iron fence?

- Tree branch. - Ouch.

Got an I.D. yet?

I'm not telling you.

I've seen this devil before.

Just stop.

Working murders is not your job anymore.

He's gonna be an absolute wreck.

And it's our job not to let him spin out.

That's what the C.D.R.K. is for.

- "Castle depression rescue kit." - Mmhmm.

Video games, sumatran civet coffee beans,

enhanced blu-rays of the original "Twilight Zone," and...

- this. - 9-woof-woof?

Mm-hmm. Puppies at your doorstep in 30 minutes or less.

- Ah. - Puppies.

Good morning, my lovelies.

Isn't it great to be alive?

Richard, are you feeling okay?

Never better.

Because I know how to win Beckett back.

Is she wanting to be won back?

When we first met, it was my roguish charm

that caused Beckett to drop her guard,

but it was my sherlockian skills

that made her fall in love with me.

I just have to solve a few cases with her

to show her that, together, we are still magic.

Richard, you do know

that you cannot just barge your way into the precinct

and talk your way onto a case anymore.

I am a licensed private investigator.

I don't need a precinct to solve a case.

Now, this tattoo was on the body of a dead convict

found in Central Park.

I know I've seen it somewhere before.

I just don't know where.

I do.

Hey. Um, Rikers completed their head count.

All inmates are accounted for.

So, where'd the Vic's jumpsuit come from?

A costume shop.

Our John Doe was not an inmate.

He was a college student.

Tattoo on his shoulder is the original mascot design

of the Hudson U. Red Devils.

Now, I checked the college website.

Peter Garber.

21 years old, majoring in marketing.

But that doesn't explain the jumpsuit.

You guys, it's October.

Halloween's basically a month-long party in college.

Ah, the hallowed halls of academia.

I remember them well.

More like the hallowed halls of crackheads in my schools.

Head over to Peter's frat house.

Interview his roommates.

I'm gonna break the bad news to the Dean.

- Right. - Okay.

Hi. I'm Captain Beckett.

I need to speak with Dean Feller, please.

It will be nice to have a best-selling author on the faculty.

Oh.

Welcome to the Hudson family, Mr. Castle.

Oh, please, Dean Feller, call me "Professor Castle."

Oh.

Captain Beckett.

Fancy seeing you here.

Castle, I know what you're doing.

I'm giving back to the community by molding young minds?

You're not joining this case.

- Aren't you two married? - Yes, we are.

Dean Feller, meet captain Beckett of the 12th precinct.

Yes. And husband and wife need a moment in private.

Whoa, whoa, hang on. Whoa, whoa, whoa.

Ah.

It took me an hour to tie this.

Oh, you saw the tattoo at the morgue, didn't you?

I saw Lanie at the morgue.

I can't recall if I saw other things

on bodies with gruesome chest wounds.

Let me ask you... how large of a donation check did you write

in order to become a professor?

Guest professor.

Look... I have no desire to interfere with your case,

but I can't help it if my path crosses with yours

while I'm teaching here.

Castle, I asked for time.

Why can't you give me that?

Because you need me.