Castle

H-o-I-v-l.

Hoilv.

Vlohi.

Hovil. No. That's not a word, either.

Did you seriously stay up

staring at this scrabble board all night

instead of going to bed?

With these five remaining tiles,

I have to craft a word scoring 9 points

and I turn defeat into victory.

Oh, my gosh.

Did you really beat dad at scrabble?

I concede nothing, except that I need more coffee.

That is quite an accomplishment, young lady.

Nobody beats him... ever.

Oh, yeah. He's mentioned that... repeatedly.

Ahh, how the mighty have fallen. Mm.

"Richard Castle. One word short."

I cannot allow this to be my epitaph.

I saw that.

Hmm?

Beckett.

Okay, I'll admit defeat... thanks.

Because I love you.

You're letting me win after I already won.

Under the condition that we have a rematch tonight.

Oh, wow. Now you're dictating the terms of surrender.

Take it or leave it, please.

Hey.

Hey. So, what happened here?

Well, according to our... witness,

our victim, one Logan Moore,

was hauling ass on a skateboard

with a guy on a motorcycle chasing him.

Sounds like a scene from an action movie.

Yeah, I know, especially when the biker started shooting

and Logan crashed through that window right there.

Anything about our victim that'll explain what happened?

Not yet... just that he's 21,

has a California driver's license.

About all we got at this point.

So, this biker...

was our witness able to give a description?

Our witness is royally wasted.

All he knows is that sometime between 3:00 and 4:00,

it was "death race 2000" out here.

The evidence backs him up, too.

CSU found fresh tire tracks in that dirt over there.

They're making casts as we speak.

So either this is the worst case of road rage ever

or someone was hell-bent on killing Logan Moore.

But why?

And why was he out skateboarding between 3:00 and 4:00 A.M.?

Well, if he needed some fresh air, he got some...

by way of three holes in his back

from. 9mm hollow-points.

So, no eyes on the shooter.

There's no security-cam coverage in this area.

Our victim's from out of town,

so he had to have been staying somewhere.

Did you find a hotel key or a receipt?

Well, we did find this key hung around his neck

and this scrap of paper in his pocket.

It's a West Village address.

You and Esposito check that out.

Castle and I will see what we can find out about our victim.

Can you just hang on for one second for me?

Hey, Lanie.

Were you able to schedule the fitting for your dress?

Absolutely.

And the dress that you picked out for me is gorgeous.

It's the right mix of elegant and saucy.

Well, I had to do right by my maid of honor.

Okay, I got to go. I'll see you.

All right.

Hey, Lanie.

Hey.

So, did we hear right?

Are you Beckett's maid of honor?

Yeah, she asked me the other day.

Do you have any idea who Castle's best man is?

First, "congratulations, Lanie."

Oh! Thank you!

Second, I don't know if he's picked anyone yet.

You... really think it's one of you?

You two.

Reality of it is,

is that Castle's friends with famous people,

like James Patterson and Stephen King.

Who?

Come on, man... you really think Castle wants one of those guys

standing beside him when he ties the knot?

You know, maybe you're right.

Castle's spent practically every day in the precinct

for the past few years.

Why wouldn't he ask one of us to be his best man?

Why wouldn't he pick me to be his best man,

is what you mean.

Oh, Javi. I'm the obvious choice.

If you can't see it, I can't explain it to you.

Yes?

NYPD.

Me and Logan hung out when I lived in L.A.

I really liked him.

Was he staying with you, Holly?

Is this a key to your apartment?

No.

I... I don't know where he was crashing.

Well, did he stop by?

'Cause your address was in his pocket.

Yeah, he did, but it was weird.

Logan called last week out of the blue.

He was flying into town, and he asked

if he can have a small box shipped here.

Well, if it was small, why didn't he just take it with him on the plane?

He didn't want to deal with TSA

because he said they always gave him a hard time.

What was in the box?

Um, his... skateboard tools and stuff.

At least, that's what he said.

But you didn't believe him.

It's just, when he came to get it,

he acted kind of strange.

He noticed some tape had come loose on the box,

and... he freaked out.

He made me swear I hadn't opened it.

Holly, do you have any idea what was in that box?

I don't know.

I... I really don't.

Do you know why he flew into town in the first place?

For the games.

What games?

Logan was a pro skateboarder.

He was here for the New York Street Sports Festival,

down by Chelsea piers.

Okay, so, the Street Sports Festival kicked off yesterday.

Logan Moore was entered

into the street-style skateboarding event

and favored to win.

His star was on the rise.

It's all the more impressive given his humble origins.

Logan's bio says he was born in the Bronx.

He bounced around foster care after his mother went to prison.

Then he ran off to California, made his mark as a skater,

and never looked back.

And then he was killed by a gun-wielding biker.

Not in the bio, but, obviously, there's more to the story.

Hey. So, CSU I.D.'d those tracks at the scene.

They were made by Michelin S12S, a type of off-road tire.

Why would someone ride an off-road bike on the streets?

That would just wear the tires down to nothing.

Unless it's the only type of bike the killer had access to.

One of the main events at the games is motocross,

and those are the tires they use.

CSU's checking to see if any of those are a match to the track.

Okay, good.

So, our killer could be connected to the games.

Yep. And I'm laying money it was Manny Castro.

And who is Manny Castro?

A top pro who had beef with Logan.

Six months ago, Logan showed him up

at an event in Los Angeles,

then beat him two more times after that.

Tension got super-high between the two of them.

Oh. A reigning champion unable to cope with defeat.

That sounds familiar.

Yeah, but then yesterday, things got physical.

A fan posted this on YouTube.

Hey! I'm talking to you, Logan!

You think you can just walk away from me?!

Get off me, man!

Your skating days are done! You're done!

You hear me, Logan?!

- Where's Manny Castro now? - At the venue.

The street-style event just ended, and Manny won.

Whoa! Nice tail whip!

Oh. So you know the lingo?

Any extreme sports in your history I've yet to hear about?

Well, I mean, I think catching killers

is pretty extreme.

And then there's marrying you.

Ah, yes. I admit I am extreme.

Extremely handsome.

Yep... with a high degree of difficulty.

There's Manny.

Big heart for you.

(GIGGLES) Thanks.

Manny Castro?

Yeah, that's me.

NYPD. We need to talk to you about Logan Moore.

Guy's a loser. What's there to talk about?

How about his murder?

When Logan didn't show up for the event,

I... I didn't know what to think,

but I sure as hell didn't kill him.

Manny, you repeatedly swore to do just that

after he beat you in L.A.

And in Austin. And Tampa.

I talk a lot of trash. The fans go nuts for it.

It's all part of the show.