#Castle episode 19 recap

"Habeas Corpse"

When Richie “The Pitbull” Falco, a larger-than-life personal-injury attorney is found dead, Beckett and Castle investigate the many clients and competitors who had motive to kill him. But the mystery deepens when they discover a shocking secret that may be linked to Richie’s murder.

Castle stars Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle, Stana Katic as NYPD Detective Kate Beckett, Susan Sullivan as Martha Rodgers, Molly Quinn as Alexis Castle, Penny Johnson Jerald as NYPD Captain Victoria Gates, Tamala Jones as Medical Examiner Lanie Parish, Jon Huertas as NYPD Detective Javier Esposito, and Seamus Dever as NYPD Detective Kevin Ryan.

Guest stars in "Habeas Corpse" include Scott Broderick as Richie Falco, Nikki DeLoach as Annie Klein, Don McManus as Archie “The Savannah Hammer” Bronstein, Brian McNamara as Mike Sampson, and Meredith Monroe as Elise Resner.
Ep 19:

Car chasing a man. Dead end alley. Person gets out of the car and....

Alexis studying law. Kate helped her study. Alexis hurried off to her test. Kate says she'd be an amazing lawyer. Castle says Kate could've been Chief Justice with her brain. Phone rings.

Ryan won't tell Castle what he and Espo are doing for the talent benefit. Ryan and Espo are 2-time winners. Lanie says the vic died from blunt-force trauma to the head. Kate recognizes the guy as a personal injury attorney. Then the rest remember his commercials, too. Except Ryan. Who's in bed before the commercials run, lol.

Richie Falco's office. Kate and Castle talk to a woman at the office. She says Richie was acting paranoid recently, and Richie actually missed work. He told her to not worry and it'd be over soon. She says Richie really cared. His clients loved him. She can't imagine anything people would kill him for. Kate says his body was found in Hamilton Heights. Woman says Richie would go to St. Simon's Hospital sometimes.

Espo and Ryan visit Lanie. She says Richie was in the countryside recently. Pollen on his pants. And he has taser marks. Within an hour of his death.

So where did he go and why was he tortured? Gates asks Castle for a word. Their celebrity performer dropped out and Gates asks Castle. He says Beckett and I would be happy to. He wants to compete for the trophy, too. Done. Kate is not so thrilled. She asks Castle talk aside. Shouldn't you have asked me about this? He says relax, we'll do our routine. She says that's people singing naked in the shower, not a routine! LOL.

Ryan has security footage. Richie was shoved into a car at 11pm. Registered to Derek Bolt.

Espo and Ryan find Bolt and he runs. Espo tackles him.

Ryan and Kate talk to Bolt. He says he thought they were collections agents. Richie is dead, Derek, and he was last seen being shoved into your BoltMobile. Derek says he hired Richie for a paternity suit. They were supposed to meet with the baby mama and her lawyer. Richie says he had a life-dependent meeting at a diner.

Where was Richie through the day? Espo twisted his knee and is on crutches now. But the talent competition is still on. How about a wager? If we win, you will dedicate your next book to Espo and Ryan. And if the castles win? We'll call you King Castle for a month. Kate says Ryan is right, we don't need to make a wager on this. Castle and Espo don't listen.

Richie called his ex wife and said he was in trouble and needed help. She says we were at a corporate firm when we met. Richie self-destructed around 5 years ago from the pressure.

Richie's office was ransacked. Computer and case files are missing. Kate says canvas the building and get CSU down here. Ryan calls Kate. Waitress saw Richie fighting with Archie Bronstein. The assistant says Archie was competition and hated that Richie was getting the best of it.

Kate and Castle talk to him. He saw Richie at the diner. They had words at the hospital and the diner. Why was he interested in this client? Archie points her out. He last saw Richie at 11:45pm. This might be related to Richie's extracurricular activities. He'd do anything for a price.

Espo and Ryan at Richie's office. Tech shows them a hole with a duffel bag. Rope, duct tape, rags, gloves, chloroform. Glow sticks that are still glowing. So who got kidnapped?

Ryan says the rag tested positive for Chloroform. Richie broke in somewhere. But we can't rule out an abduction. A sheet with cities and dates. Sampson Investigations.

Did PI work for Richie. Richie borrowed night vision goggles. And asked about alarm schematics. Richie asked what's the best way to get rid of the body?

Hmm.... Kate and Castle discussing. Where are Ryan and Espo? In interrogation. Castle and Kate see Ryan and Espo practicing their routine. His knee is fine! Castle says now we have to win.

Tori found something. Richie was an hour north of the city. At a parking lot for a trailhead in a national forest. The Castles go out there to look for fresh grave. Kate says I need people to take me seriously and need it to stay that way. Castle says okay, we'll do something elegant. Castle spots the flowers. And then the fresh dig. Kate digs. Castle isn't helping. She says the competition will be a disaster. There's a reason Gates doesn't get up on the stage and have fun. Do you want me to cancel? No. She finds something. A body bag. And there's a man with a shotgun behind them!

Castles are tied up. They're alone. Guy is gone and so is the body. Keys and phones are gone. They try to break the zip ties. Castle gets out. Then Kate.

Precinct. Kate gives orders to Ryan. So far, no connections to Richie. Castle tells Espo to lose the limp. We saw you rehearsing.

Castle and Kate practicing. Martha congratulates them. She's helping them with their dance. Castle wants to raise the stakes on the bet. Martha tells Kate to stop worrying. Kate says she has stage fright. Her throat closes up on stage. Rick doesn't know. You have to tell him! But Kate doesn't want to let him down.

Gates says Kimmel is back to perform, so we don't need you, Castle. Ryan says cameras in the trees found Mike Sampson was your guy. They arrest him. Where is the body? Pop the trunk. The bag is there. Castle opens it. It's a crash test dummy.

Ryan says Sampson had the missing files, shredded. Kate asks Lanie what's so special about the dummy. Lanie says it's been murdered. Metal projectile pieces in the chest.

They talk to the woman in the hospital. Jodi remembers Richie. He wouldn't stop asking about the accident. What car did you drive? It was a rental. A woman asked about the car. She said she was from the insurance company. But the insurance would already know what car you'd been in by now....

Espo says Jodi was driving a Modesto sedan. The shrapnel must be from a defect in the airbags. And Modesto was a client of the corporate firm Richie worked for. Richie wanted to expose the cover-up. Settle a karmic debt. He stole the dummy from Modesto and buried it in the woods. Kate says we don't have evidence, though. Ryan has the sketch - Richie's ex-wife. She is lead counsel for Modesto. Dun dun dun.....

They talk to the ex. Kate says you didn't tell us about Modesto or the airbags. Why did Richie really call you? A head's up? He didn't want you to be blindsided. She says there's no cover-up and I didn't kill Richie. There was a recent break-in at Modesto to grab a dummy. You hired Sampson to retrieve it. She says we have our own in-house investigators. But she has seen this guy before.

Talking to the Savannah Hammer. Sampson gave you up. You knew Modesto would pay millions to get that dummy back. He says I have an alibi. Not anymore. And we found the taser. And the drops of blood on the carpet in your car. Hammer says Richie was naive. That dummy was a goldmine!

Espo and Ryan performed, and won again. Castle and Kate missed it. Espo brings up the debt. Castle says we didn't get a chance to compete. Ryan says you're off the hook. Until Castle talks smack. Espo and Ryan taunt him, but Castle turns it down.

Kate says you know. You called Kimmel. He overheard her talking to Martha. Asks why she didn't say anything? She didn't want to disappoint him. They go home. And sing in the shower. "Under My Skin". LOL.

Next ep - Castle's mystery. April 20th.