#Castle Episode 11 Recap

"Castle, P.I."

Unable to work alongside Kate or the 12th Precinct, Castle gets his private investigator license.

Woman goes to her apartment. Pours a drink. There's a shadow. Broken window.

Castle making breakfast. Moira is surprised he's dressed. So is Kate. She asks if he has something special planned for today. Yes. A surprise for you. She tells him to spill. Phone rings.
Shana Baker is the victim. Ryan informs Kate. Perlmutter is on the case. Time of death is between 9 and 10:30pm. There was a cig butt on the fire escape. Where's the dog? Espo says it's gone. Castle arrives. Shows his PI license. Kate asks him to talk aside. She says the PI license doesn't change anything. He says he's conducting a parallel investigation on behalf of the client. Kate says this crime scene is closed, so you have to go. Castle says that's fine. he'll investigate elsewhere. LOL. Kate tells Ryan to talk to the super and the next of kin.
Kate and Espo go to the school where Shana worked. Discussing Castle. Who is already there. He hands Kate coffee. This school is a bastion for the city's elite. He says he was there first, so Kate's following him. LOL. Shana's boss says she hadn't been here in a couple days. Acceptance and rejection letters went out recently. Espo plays them a message from Shana's voicemail. A very angry man. Castle and Kate left in the office alone. She's off to go back to the precinct. He's looking around the office. Spots a photo of Shana's dog.
Gates is not happy that Castle showed up. The DA was explicit on this. Tells Kate and the others you can't help Castle at all, or there will be hell the pay. Kate thinks Castle will get bored and move on. Ryan suggests Castle might solve the case before we do. She says no way.
Castle following the dog's GPS. A man is carrying the dog. Goes into an alley. Grabs Castle.

Castle gets pepper sprayed. Ooops. Guy says he's Shana's friend and is surprised she's dead.
Kate and Espo talk to Bryan, the man from the phone call. Shana let his son in the school. 2 days ago. Why did Shana change her mind? Don't know. She just did.
Espo says the info holds up. Kate says dig into Whitman. He's hiding something. Shana withdrew a bunch of cash the day before death.
Shana's friend has Sparkles because Shana was going out of town very suddenly.
Perlmutter finds Castle looking at the victim's chart. Chases him around the table. LOL. Give me that! Castle figures Shana was on a plane. Kate calls and asks if Shana traveled recently.
Shana went to Boston 2 days ago. Paid in cash. Landed yesterday at 6pm. Cell records say she called a news desk. Ryan says Shana paid for lunch 2 days ago. Met with an attorney. Where can we find the lawyer?
Kate goes to the building and looks for the office. Door is ajar. Castle is already with Nicole. He works here! Welcomes to Richard Castle Investigations. Ha!

Castle tells Kate how he got Nicole there to talk to. Care to sit in on the interview? Ha!
Nicole says she met Shana a few months ago. Shana was going to a university in Boston. She was asking about murder statutes. Castle thanks her for her time. Castle and Kate start to theorize together, then Kate says we shouldn't be doing this. Espo calls. New Whitman deets. She leaves.
Espo and Kate talk to Whitman again. Shana's trip to the university - you're going to tell us what she wanted there. Shana wanted to talk to the Dean of Students. He swears that's all he knows.
Dean confirms Shana was there yesterday. Looking at 1999 incident reports. Ryan says bet Castle knows. Kate thinks not. Espo says ask him.
Castle and Alexis eat dinner at the office. Chinese food. Castle is trying to figure out the connection to the university. Kate calls. Both on speakerphone. And neither gets info. See ya tonight! LOL.
Kate poured wine, his favorite. Hands him a full glass. Castle tops hers off, too. LOL. Both trying to figure out what the other knows. So you do know something. Maybe. Why don't we trade? Can't. Think about our victim. Should rules stand in the way of justice? Go at the same time. Old boyfriend that died at Radnor Univ. Shana was investigating his murder. Excited about theorizing together, they kiss. Case work gets them hot, LOL.

Castle and Kate in bed. Phone rings. It's Ryan for her. Castle figures she texted Ryan to get the files.
Ryan asks what she was doing up at 2am. Work. LOL. Ryan says the file has been tampered with. Witness reports are missing. Shana went to the Alumni Office.
Castle's Googling. Tells Alexis he might have something. An ad that's above the fold on a school newspaper. Track down the reporter. Or the editor. Frank Jackson.
A reporter at the NY Ledger. Ryan tells Kate and Espo that Frank was at the party Shana's boyfriend died at.
Castle finds Frank Jackson. You left something out of that article. Jackson says he'll talk in a more private spot.

Espo says Castle found Jackson. Kate calls him. He shows up. With Jackson.
Castle and Kate talk to Jackson. He says he didn't see what happened to Jeff, but he's sure someone was there, too. Someone big pressured me to alter the article. I was a kid and scared. Cops said it was an accident. But I can't hide from it anymore. Who pushed Jeff out the window?
Kate and Castle tells Gates that Mr. Elliot killed Shana. Gates says you need bulletproof evidence. Kate says we can match his DNA on the cigarette. Gates says you'll get his DNA how? Tells Castle he can't be involved anymore. Castle agrees and leaves.
Castle followed and Ryan and Espo got it first. Just missed out.
Gates and Kate meet with Mr. Elliot. He says he didn't push Jeff. it was an accident. His father covered it up so he wouldn't be prosecuted in the court of the public. He says he's being set up. Someone urged Shana to look into him. I make my name fighting corporate greed. This is the perfect way to destroy my career. Kate says you killed Shana. He says he was at a fundraiser. Swears he's being set up. Castle says he's telling the truth! Spaulding Elliot is not our killer. Surprise!

Gates yells at Castle. Castle introduces the dog sitter, with the dog. He takes the dog to Mr. Elliot, who starts sneezing uncontrollably. And gets hives.
So Ryan's conspiracy theory is right. So who are we dealing with? Gates tells Castle to leave.
Castle in his office. Having a drink. Kate comes in. She says the cig had BBQ sauce on it. Elliot had BBQ last week. Went through the security footage and.....Nicole walks in. She got a call to come. Castle asks her who hired her to kill Shana? Kate arrests her.
Wine again. Think we'll ever know who Nicole Morris worked for? Elliot is determined to find out, so probably. Kate is proud of Castle. Impressed. He says he's got ideas for his new books. And wants to keep with the PI thing. She gets a box with a bow. A Sherlock hat and a magnifying glass. Awww. And now they get frisky....if the hat stays on.

Next week - Castle's first client.