Castle (Nathan Fillion), Beckett (Stana Katic) and the rest of the team play Texas Hold 'Em, so Beckett finally took up the offer to play poker, thought she didn't want to earlier. So what made her change her mind. Martha (Susan Sullivan) has to interfere as usual and tells everyone that when Castle blinks too much it means he's got a lousy hand. When he taps his fingers, it means he's bluffing and he "might have the nuts." Castle asks Beckett if she isn't afraid of a little action and lets her win. A woman is drowned in motor oil and Ryan (Seamus Dever) comments: "murder never sleeps." That'd be straight out of a book then. Castle is excited and Beckett thinks he's like a kid at Christmas. Ryan: "...with a dead body under the tree." How crude was that comment. Murder is nothing to laugh about.
Castle believes the killer is sending a message with the use of motor oil. The room was rented 5 days. Lanie (Tamala Jones) finds a contusion on the DB's head and she came in on a train from Westchester. Causing Castle immediately to associate the Vic who being married, was here for sex. Lanie finds the drink had sleeping pills. Her husband, Michael Goldman (Alex Carter) reported his wife Alison missing. Castle assumes he could be the killer and put out an alert before the DB was found to avert suspicion from himself. Beckett replies she questions before convicting, that's not what she's said before and besides she doesn't convict, she only arrests!
Michael says Alison worked part time at a Manhattan boutique, which reminded her of the good old days. The good old days for her, turn out to be not so good. Esposito (Jon Heurtas) put out a call to the employer who said he's never heard of her. But Alison had $400. Ryan thinks Castle is right and it is about sex. Castle thinks she had a boyfriend, which gets Esposito going with the boyfriend angle. Well, men tend to be so narrow minded don't they. He probably wanted her to leave her husband. Beckett asks if this 'imaginary boyfriend' has an 'imaginary address'. Michael tells them about Alison using her maiden name Porter and that according to his lawyer, Alison died at 3 months in 1963. Their life was a lie. Such as this episode, full of lies.
Alexis (Molly Quinn) also makes the assertion she was crazy and living a lie. Martha is certain she had to be a criminal; a Mata Hari. Yet Mat Hari was a spy, not a criminal. Martha knows Castle let Beckett win, which means he learned to act from a very good actress. Beckett isn't a bimbo and Martha tells him a real woman, like Beckett, doesn't want to be patronized. Ryan accesses Alison's e-mail account, she had e-mails from an L Wax, Lee Wax, the writer and they assume it's a man. Surprised Castle didn't know Lee was a woman with his literary connections. Lee writes true crime and maybe wanted to commit a murder of his own. Beckett returns her winnings and wants a rematch. Martha blabbed again. Castle suggests with the Captain (Reuben Santiago-Hudson), the Mayor (Joseph C Phillips) and Judge Markway (Dan Catellaneta) ; i.e. "her boss, her boss's boss and the guy who signs her warrants."
Lee Wax (Joanne Kelly) turns out to be a woman. Castle: "Look who's stalking." (Paraphrasing the movie Look Who's Talking (1989) when he sees photos of Allison and Michael in her room. Lee wants to call her lawyer as her publisher advised her to do. Castle asks if she's confessing. She didn't harbour any fugitive. Castle finds Alison's real name Cynthia, on the FBI sheet. So when they found out she wasn't really Alison, why didn't they run her prints, in this case, they should have come up with Cynthia instead. Gosh this episode was elaborate the lengths the writer here, Moira Kirland, went to, to uncover what was really happening. Thought she might have been writing a book of her own! Ha.
In 1989, some friends set off a bomb on a boat and the Captain recalls the case. Lee says the ship was meant to be empty and no one was meant to be on it either. Cynthia contaced Lee to write her memoirs. Castle is sure Cynthia wanted public opinion and sympathy on her side, before she turned herself in. She tried to get out of the bombing with Susan (Julie Armenante) and they argued. Lee was paying Cynthia and has an alibi for Tuesday. She gives Beckett her manuscript, or as is known in publishing, her MSS. She wants to be kept in the loop, obviously she has something to do with it, even if she didn't kill anyone. Beckett tells her she's got a list of writers looking for favours. Lee gives Castle her card, "an all access pass." Most writers would kill for such a story. That can be taken as a clue or a red herring.
Castle comments he'd buy the movie rights to this story. a domestic terrorist clipping coupons. The Captain asks who would hold a grudge for 20 years? Sam Pike (Jack Forbes) the Captain being the apparent suspect. Mrs Eleanor Pike (Susan Ruttan) says Lee didn't tell them about Cynthia. Their son Adam (Fred Koehler) helps out with money and these two have been in the Mentalist. Beckett questions Adam and yes of course he'd have motor oil in the garage, so why ask such a ridiculous and obvious question, oh it's one of Beckett's questions she has to ask before she "convicts." Castle tells him the killer had a personal connection to the bombing. Of course he just gave himself a clue, even though he doesn't realize.Adam also had an alibi, which Castle hopes is true since he'd write a happy ending for that family.
Jared Swanstrom (Keith Diamond) was caught after the bombing. Esposito says an anonymous call from a woman turned him in. Jared spoke to Lee and doesn't hold any grudges against Cynthia, she wanted to run and he felt guilty, since he built the bomb and Cynthia told him the bomb exploded early. Castle thinks this is Cynthia's story since they had an argument over the bomb and Susan set the bomb. Alexis points out Jared didn't mention any argument. Castle posits writing is about choices, knowing what to include, how much etc. A ghost writer can only write what they're told.
Castle, who of late is always in Beckett's chair, read the interview notes and Lee left out this from the book. the publisher told him Cynthia had full approval over everything that was written. The publisher didn't like the book. Then he comes up with a catchy title along the lines of, 'Kaboom: The true story of a suburban housewife and the crime that shocked America.' Adam lied about his alibi and admits he was at Cynthia's hotel, but he didn't go in. Awoman went in as he could hear voices, which could point to Eleanor, but that's too obvious and she only wanted the money; which was sent to them after the bombing. Castle next door, erratically or excitedly thinks it was Lee.
Lee tells them only a novelist could come up with such a twist, as she told her publisher Cynthia was lying. Castle wouldn't write a memoir as he could paint himself to look good. A memoir is about truth. Cynthia's memoir was to garner sympathy, she didn't send the money. They mull it over at the poker game and Judge Markway believes the FBI. The Mayor asks what they know about the case. Giving Castle the clue this time. Susan wanted to save the Pikes, so where did the money come from. (Susan of course.) Beckett folds on purpose and the others wanted to see Castle cry like a girl. The Mayor comments, "no matter how down he gets, he manages to rise like the dead." Which is Castle's clue. That's what he calls the twist: that Susan is alive.
They're drinking lots of coffee this episode. The most recent money envelopes are postmarked Pennsylvania. The post master doesn't recall anything Beckett asks him but does remember a woman with scars, when Castle specifically asks that. See she can't ask the right questions either. When interviewing Susan, she looked so guilty looking down and left all the time. Cynthia wanted to kill Susan, so she killed her instead. Cynthia only wanted the book written. Susan e-mailed Lee's request for info. Cynthia met her and she offered her a drink, but Susan doesn't drink. SO if they were friends wouldn't Cynthia have known that. Cynthia rented the room and it was her plan to murder Susan. She saw the oil and realized what Cynthia was going to do.
Castle states Cynthia wanted to make it look like suicide. The publishers wanted a true crime story when her DB was found. When they were talking to Susan it seemed like Castle and Beckett were filling in the blanks for her, instead of her telling them what happened. Cynthia's dead now (as I say a lot) so Susan can say anything she wants to about her and what happened. Castle tells Lee she'll hear about the arrest in the news. If it wasn't for her, there wouldn't be a case. Castle replies she just wanted Cynthia in prison so she could write a true story. What she did was slimy and he revokes her pass. One day he'll use this in a book.
Castle and Beckett agree to a rematch when he returns his money to her. She says the same thing he did, that he didn't want to embarrass her in front of her friends and vice versa. Castle feels sorry for Susan since she'll end up in jail now because of Cynthia's greed and Jared is no longer responsible for the bomb being defective. Beckett says Cynthia is dead though. Yeah like she'd care about what happened to a criminal. Castle asks if they're going to play for pride or clothing. Castle wants the top cards and she asks what he's got up his sleeves. Castle: "Aside from my muscular arms."
Maybe it's me, but Susan looked guilty, she really wanted to get Cynthia, not for the book, but for revenge. That she got blown up and Cynthia lived a life in public, whereas she had to live in the shadows with her scars. As I said this episode was all about lies and they so easily believed Susan was the Vic here, especially Castle. So much for the both of them being able to read people. I was disappointed with Castle (the man) here for this reason. That's a first. Anyway, the storyline here wasn't new or original, as it's been done in many shows, where a bombing takes place from years ago and someone turns up alive. In the Flame Red episode of the Mentalist, Patrick (Simon Baker) thinks one of the men who was meant to have died in a fire, his DB never found, is behind the deaths of others in fires. His motive being revenge. Only the man was really dead and Patrick disguised himself as the dead man to draw out the real killer.
As for calling Jared Swanstrom, they may as well have called him Swansong! Some bloops: The DB in the morgue blinks and also breathes. The mayor apparently folds and raises even before Castle and Beckett have made their moves. Cynthia's FBI sheet lists her weight as 14 lbs.
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