Castle

Previously on "Castle"...

What the hell are you doin'? That's my suspect.

Okay, relax. We're on the same team. Royce?

Hey, kid. All they ever taught us in the academy

was how to do paperwork.

You were the one who taught me how to be a cop.

You were easy to impress. No, I wasn't. I was drowning,

and you were dry land.

I didn't mean for it to go like this.

Mike, I was in love with you.

Go ahead, kid. Do what you gotta do.

And when I arrest you,

you're gonna realize that what you destroyed today

was worth a hell of a lot more than money.

You should've stayed out of this, Royce.

You have no idea

the hell that's about to rain down on you.

Scary.

Where is he? Turn around and go back home

and let me handle this, all right?

Sir, I've seen dead bodies before.

Come on, Kate. You don't want to remember him like this.

Castle, if it was me lying there, would you just walk away?

I'm so sorry, honey.

So tell me what happened.

He was shot in the leg.

Judging from the blood trail,

I'd say the bullet broke the bone.

He tried to hide, but...

Uh, I found this in his pocket.

He just flew in from Los Angeles this afternoon.

What was he doing in L.A.? I heard he moved there

after he lost his bounty hunter's license.

I guess he was trying to make a fresh start.

When was the last time you spoke to him?

When I arrested him.

Lanie, could I?

Sure.

Royce, um...

Had something else in his pocket.

It's addressed to you.

About the case?

No.

Think we got the murder weapon.

Found it in the garbage around the corner.

Gun was definitely fired recently.

Shooter took the time to empty the ammo

before he dumped it.

Worried we'd find fingerprints on the bullets?

This is a cheap street gun. It's a throwaway.

There's threading on the barrel.

Silencer? Yeah.

Allowing our killer to shoot Royce in broad daylight.

Listen, Beckett, we're gonna get this guy.

We got uniforms hitting every store and apartment

in a 5-block radius.

This is New York. Somebody had to have seen something.

L.A. to New York...

it's like Royce was running from something,

like he knew he was in danger.

Yo. You were right about the silencer.

The lab found trace amounts of titanium alloy in the threads.

They've narrowed it done to one of two commercial suppressors.

Both run about a grand.

Why put an expensive silencer on a cheap gun?

Because our killer followed Royce from L.A.

And couldn't bring his own gun on the plane.

But a silencer is just a cylinder.

It could easily be hidden in a checked bag.

Isolate all of the flights that someone

could've followed Royce from L.A. on.

There couldn't have been that many, and specifically,

focus on the people who

might have bought tickets last minute. Right.

What the hell were you into, Mike?

Okay, so we got five flights out of L.A.

That meet our criteria. I ran all the passengers,

and one name popped.

Neel McCauley bought his ticket at the airport

an hour before the flight.

His identity is brand-new... no credit history,

and his driver's license number is a fake.

Neel McCauley, really? Why?

That's Robert de Niro's character in "heat."

That's our guy.

Well, if it is, you're gonna need to get on a plane,

'cause Mr. McCauley flew back to L.A.

Two hours after Royce was shot.

I'm not sending you to L.A. You have no solid evidence

linking Neel McCauley to this murder.

He came to New York for six hours.

Who flies in for that short a stay?

Businessmen do it all the time.

Businessmen don't use false I. D.S... Or pack a silencer.

That's supposition. I need a lot more than that

to justify flying a detective across the country.

You and I both know that the longer I wait

to go out there, the colder this trail gets. Take a day,

shore this up, and if there's sufficient evidence,

I'll contact L.A.P.D. You'll contact the L.A.P.D.?

This is my case. This happened in our jurisdiction.

You think the L.A.P.D. Is gonna lift a finger...

Kate, you're too close to this. No, sir, I am committed.

I am not compromised.

You're torn up!

Kate, things between you and Royce ended badly.

I get it, but that emotion is exactly why

I need to assign this to someone else.

You know what? You're right.

I am too close to this.

I have some vacation days coming up.

I think now would be a good time.

Kate.

I hope you're not thinking about doing something reckless.

No, sir.

Where you going?

Home. The hell you are.

Castle... please.

He was mtraining officer, my friend.

I just... I really need to be alone right now.

"Dear Kate,

"I bet I've written this letter a hundred times.

"Someday, I might actually send it.

"There's no excuse for what I did,

"especially what I did to you.

"But I'm on a righteous path now.

And I hope someday, that path earns me your forgiveness."

Hi.

Yeah.

Excuse me. Detective Beckett? Yes.

You've been upgraded to first class.

I'm sorry. Excuse me.

Sorry about that.

Seat 3-c.

Thank you.

Champagne?

Castle, what are you doing?

Oh, the studio's been after me for weeks

to fly down and do a set visit for the "Heat Wave" movie.

Imagine my surprise when I saw your name on the standby list.

You cannot be a part of what I'm gonna do out there.

I thought you were on vacation. Castle...

It is one thing for you to follow me

when we're in New York, but I am not a cop in L.A.

I don't have any authority or backup.

I'll be your backup.

Besides, going rogue is kind of my specialty.

Yeah, but subtlety isn't.

I'm not gonna get rid of you, am I?

Okay, look...

If we do this together, you have to promise me

that we're gonna fly under the radar.

Of course.

La la la la,

is this what you call "under the radar"?

In L.A., this baby fits right in.

So what's our first stop? My hotel. It's on ventura blvd.

That's all the way in the valley.

How are we supposed to work together if you're an hour away?

Castle, we weren't supposed to work together at all.

Okay, look, the studio comped me a two-bedroom, four-star suite.

You just stay with me. Yeah, right.

What? You'll have your own room.

Uh, no. I am not staying with you.

Ahh. Worried you can't control yourself when we're alone?

Actually, it's not me that I'm worried about.

I assure you, my intentions are pure.

We're so happy to have you back, Mr. Castle.

I've taken the liberty of setting up the suite

just the way you like it. Thank you.

And I've schedule a couples massage at 7:00.

Pure, huh? Uh, Maurice, you can go ahead and cancel that,

and get rid of the flowers and the champagne.

We're here to work.

Very good, sir.

For you.

Thank you, Maurice.

The last time I was here,

I brought this Parisian super model so he thought you...

it's not important. Would you like to choose your room?

No, I'd like to start the investigation.

We haven't even ordered room service yet.

Castle, I'm not here for room service.

I'm here for justice.

Wow. In L.A. for all of a minute,

and already she's spouting cheesy movie dialogue.

Must be something in the air.

This is Royce's place?

This is the address listed on his driver's license.

Did I miss the part where you told me he was rich?

No. He was barely scraping by.

Yeah? Yeah, I'm a friend of Mike Royce's.

Come around the back.

Jerry, I cannot help you out. I'm sorry.

You gotta go without. Yeah.

I gotta go.

Hello. Whoa. You're Gene Simmons.

Yeah, I'm that weird guy in kiss. Yeah, the guy with

the long tongue and everything. Hello.

Who's this pretty little lady?