06x19 - The Greater Good

[bunniefuu]

What if we got married on the Cyclone?

The roller coaster at Coney Island?

Come on, how much fun would that be?

And talk about an appropriate,

if not slightly on-the-nose metaphor.

A bride and groom together,

side-by-side, as they go through
the ups and downs, the twists and turns

and the loop-DE-loops of life.

Castle, I love you,

but I will not marry you on a ride,
or up in space, or on a slide.

I bet Dr. Seuss
got married somewhere fun.

Yes, his wife's living room.

How many people do you think can fit

in one of those
roller coaster cars anyway?

Twenty? Thirty?

That's a good point.

We should determine exactly
whom we are going to invite.

Yeah. Good idea.

And that way,

we could determine exactly how big
a roller coaster car we need to build.

Or how big of an actual venue we need.
Either way, I'll go and get the paper.

I'll get a pen.

And I will get the phone.

Beckett.

You know, there's a good argument
for keeping the list really small.

Just immediate family.

This argument doesn't have
something to do

with a certain amusement park ride,
does it?

I'm being serious.

Getting married is an intimate act.

And our ceremony
should reflect that intimacy.

And that way,
we could all fit into one car.

Ryan. How do you feel
about roller coasters?

Ooh, they make me nauseous. Why?

No reason. Who's our victim?

Peter Cordero, 26.
According to the super, he lives alone.

He's a futures trader at JP Harding,
the Wall Street investment firm.

And how was he k*lled?

A single GSW to the chest.

Looks like his own future got traded.

Yeah,
not without a fight first.

Who found the body?

Well, that's an interesting question.
At 10:03 p.m.,

a woman made a 911 call
from a pay phone down the block,

but she refused to leave her name.

A pay phone down the block?

But how would she know he was dead,
unless...

Unless she was in the apartment.

Well, lividity places the time of death
between 8:00 and 10:00,

so if the 911 call came in at 10:03...

She could be our k*ller.

Esposito's checking
security cam footage.

Hopefully we caught her on tape.

Now, is it just me,

or is it odd that our victim is wearing

a suit jacket, tie, pants, shoes,

but his shirt is unbuttoned?

It's odd, all right. And look at this.

His shirt was on and buttoned
when he was sh*t.

So, our k*ller unbuttoned his shirt
after he was dead.

Yep.

The k*ller was looking for something.

A pricey necklace?
Or, a bunch of cash taped to his chest,

like Wolf of Wall Street.

There's something else.

I didn't find any defensive wounds.

So, if there was a fight out there,
I don't think this guy was in it.

Yo, Beckett. There are no
security cameras in the lobby,

but I found one in a liquor store
down the street.

It got a sh*t of that pay phone
right when the 911 call came in.

Okay, canvass the neighbors,
see if anyone saw her in the building.

Did you talk to next of kin yet?

Well, the guy didn't have
any immediate family,

but he did list a cousin

in Queens, a Maria Cordero,
as his in-case-of-emergency.

All right, bring her in. Let's see if she
recognizes the woman in the photo.

Castle and I will go to his place of work
and see what they know there.

Right.

No. No.

I'm sorry. I don't know her.

Maria, did your cousin say anything
about having a girlfriend?

No.

He said he didn't have time.
Work was his life.

Were the two of you close?

Peter was like my brother.

When he was 10, his parents d*ed

in the big earthquake in Venezuela.

My parents adopted him
and brought him to the States.

Did Peter say anything
about having any enemies?

No. Peter was a sweet guy.

He never forgot where he came from,

not like those privileged,
silver-spoon types he worked with.

He was a scholarship kid, so everything
he got was through hard work.

When did you talk to him last?

A few days ago.

And how did he seem?

Stressed, actually.

Did he say what about?

No. I don't know.

When I asked him,
he said something happened at work,

but it wasn't anything
he couldn't handle.

JP Harding Investment Bank.

This place is either
the engine of capitalism

or the poster child
of greed and corruption,

depending on which paper you read.

Maybe the invisible hand of the market
k*lled Peter.

It would explain
the lack of defensive wounds.

You know, a prep school buddy of mine
came to work here out of college.

He made a quarter of a billion dollars
before he was 30,

retired and bought an island.

Wait, he owns his own island?

We should definitely invite him
to the wedding.

Excuse me. Hi, I'm Detective Beckett.

We need to speak
with Peter Cordero's boss.

Jamie Berman, I believe?

Can I tell him what it's regarding?

k*lling.

Are you capable of it?

Because if you are, I will make you rich.

Goldman just poached

Consolidated's pension account
from us this morning.

So, I am offering a bounty. Neal.

A million dollars

to the first son of a bitch at this table

to poach an account
back from Goldman.

It's open season, guys.
Open hunting season.

I want you to make them bleed!

Excuse me.

- Yeah.
- Let's go!

Excuse me, Mr. Berman!

Detective Beckett.
Could we have a word, please?

I told you SEC pricks
to talk to my lawyer.

I'm not SEC. I'm NYPD. Homicide.

Homicide?

I apologize for the theatrics, Detective.

But in this world, it gets results.

And here I thought the stories of
Wall Street excess were exaggerated.

Mr. Berman, I understand that
Peter Cordero reported directly to you.

Yes, he was my best
commodities trader.

And one of the nicest guys
you'll ever meet.

In this part of the world, anyway.

Do you have any leads?

Uh, just one.

Do you recognize this woman?

No. I'm afraid I don't.

Well, according to
Peter Cordero's family,

he was having
some trouble here at work.

Do you have any idea
what that might have been?

No idea. In fact, he was having
one of the best months he's ever had.

And what about his clients?
Any problems there?

No, Pete was a rising star.
His clients loved him. But...

But what?

Last week, I was taking
the stairs to the 65th floor.

My version of exercise.

And I saw Peter in the stairwell with
this guy who looked like a gangbanger,

all tatted up his neck,

big scar on his cheek.

Not the kind of guy
you ever see down here.

And he was handing Peter
a package, about yay big.

When Peter saw me,
he looked guilty as hell,

so I just kept walking.

And you didn't ask him about it?

Yeah, I did later,

but he said it was nothing,
so I just let it go.

You saw a gangbanger in your stairwell,
and you just let it go?

This is a high-stress environment,
Detective.

We don't ask a lot of questions

about what our people do to...
To get through the day.

Okay. Do you think you could
describe him to a sketch artist?

I think so.

Great. I need the names of all
of Peter's associates here at work.

Of course.

Lanie's got something for us.

Still no indication
of defensive wounds,

but I did find this
when I checked his nails for DNA.

Numbers, 7-2-3-5-9-8?

He wrote it in pen,
I'd say four or five days ago.

But that's not why I called you.

Look at this.

On his chest, next to the Y incision.

Look at what?

It's subtle.

So subtle I almost missed it.

But I think it explains
why his shirt was ripped open.

You see this grainy material?

Yeah.

It's adhesive residue.

In fact, there's a residue pattern
from his belly to his chest.

- Adhesive?
Mmm-hmm.

Looking at the pattern, I'd say your
Wall Street wolf was wearing a wire.

A wire?

Yes, sir.
We believe our k*ller

removed it from the victim's body
after sh**ting him.

Do we know
who he was wearing a wire for?

Well, we're checking with other
branches of law enforcement right now.

What about this woman
who called in the m*rder?

Have you been able to identify her?

You know, no one in Cordero's life
seems to know who she is,

and we have no idea where to find her.

I think she just found us.

Oh, Lord.

I'd say your case just got
a lot more complicated.

What is it, sir?

They're from
the US Attorney's Office.

You know them?

Uh, not the woman from the photo,

but the woman with her
is Elizabeth Weston,

the US Attorney
for the Southern District.

She also happens to be my sister.

Victoria.

Been a while.

Yes, it has.

And who is this?

I'm Stephanie Goldmark.
Assistant US Attorney.

We're here about the Cordero m*rder.

Oh, that's funny, because we have
a few questions about that ourselves.

Starting, Ms. Goldmark, with

why you didn't identify yourself
when you made that 911 call

from the pay phone.

Because I instructed her not to.

I couldn't afford to compromise
our investigation.

What investigation?

Is there somewhere private we can talk?

All right, Elizabeth,
what's this all about?

Your victim was
a confidential informant for my office,

in an ongoing
criminal investigation of JP Harding.

Which is why Cordero
was wearing a wire.

Yes, and since JP Harding
is on the 65th floor,

we couldn't monitor it live.

Cordero put it on every morning
and turned it in every night,

along with the
attached recording device.

Only last night, he didn't.

I went to his apartment
to see what happened.

That's when I found him,
and the wire was gone.

We think that there was something key
to our investigation on that wire

and that's why he was k*lled.

So, where are you on leads?

Well, uh, ballistics is running the slug,

but right now the only lead is this
sketch provided by Mr. Cordero's boss,

Jamie Berman.

It's of a man he saw with our victim.

Well, I wouldn't put much credence
in that sketch.

Why is that?

Because Berman is the target
of our investigation.

Jamie Berman, head of JP Harding?

We've been trying
to mount a case against him for years.

Insider trading, securities fraud.

We know he's doing it,
we just haven't been able to get proof.

Not without getting inside.

Berman's too careful.

But then last month, we caught a break.

Peter Cordero was found with a baggie
of cocaine during a stop-and-frisk.

With his priors for possession when
he was a teen, he was facing five to ten.

You got Cordero to play ball.

He jumped
at an immunity deal.

He'd already gotten valuable
information on his wire recordings.

But yesterday he was scheduled
to meet with Berman one-on-one.

He was going to push him to open up
about some of his deals.

Cordero may have pushed too hard.

We think Berman made Cordero
in that meeting.

So, you think Jamie Berman's somehow
responsible for Cordero's death?

Well, if Berman knew
he had incriminated himself on tape...

He'd go to any lengths to get it back.

Victoria,

this investigation is ongoing,

and exposing it to Mr. Berman
or anyone at JP Harding

would break federal statutes.

But I thought that this was something
that you and your team needed to know.

I'd certainly say so.

So, I trust that you
will keep my office in the loop

if there are any
significant developments.

Is that clear?

Of course.

Sir, I didn't...
I didn't know you had a sister.

Oh, well, now you do.

US Attorney for the Southern District.
That's a really big deal.

Why hasn't Gates
ever mentioned her before?

I don't know, but there was definitely
a subtle chill between the two of them.

A subtle chill? More like a polar vortex.

I'm guessing something happened
between them in the past.

Something deeply personal that Gates
does not want us to know about.

I'll give you a dollar if you ask her.

- No way.
- Come on, aren't you curious?

Yeah, but I like my job too much.

Hey. So, uh, there may be something
to the US Attorney's theory.

I checked Cordero's calendar.

He was scheduled to meet with Berman
at 5:00 p.m. Yesterday.

And whatever they talked about,

- it got heated.
- How do you know that?

According to building security,

the two of them left shortly after,

and seemed to be
in the middle of a fight.

Yeah, Peter and I had words yesterday.
So what?

So you didn't tell us about that
when we talked this morning.

'Cause it wasn't relevant.

How is it not relevant?

A video shows you leaving together.
Two hours later, he's dead.

It's not relevant because
I didn't k*ll him.

Honestly, Detective,

what would be my motive?

What exactly were the two of you
arguing about?

A business deal.

You looked pretty worked up
for a business deal.

There was a lot riding on it.

What was the deal?

Client confidentiality, Detective.
I'm not at liberty to discuss it.

You had a meeting with Peter
before that.

What were you speaking about then?

Other financial matters.

What kind of financial matters?

Sensitive ones.

Any discussion of which,

even with law enforcement,
would be considered insider trading.

So, unless you have a subpoena...

Who else was at the meeting?

Just the two of us.

And what did you do
after you left the lobby?

Well, we walked up Lafayette
and parted ways around Spring.

What time was that?

Around 6:15.

And where were you
between 8:00 and 10:00?

At my usual table at Le Cirque.

Feel free to check.

It's time.

Now, if you'll excuse me,
I have a conference call with the Fed.

Oh, and if you want to talk to me again,
Detective, call my lawyer.

Le Cirque confirms that Berman
was there from 8:00 p.m. Till 10:25.

It couldn't have been him.

Because a guy like Berman
isn't going to get his hands dirty.

He's gonna hire someone.

Your sister's right.
Berman is behind this.

- Speaking of your sister...
- Let's not.

If Berman is behind this, he will do
everything he can to protect himself.

Knowing that the feds
are watching him,

he would be careful to cover his tracks.

It's going to be next to impossible
to trace this back to him.

So, all we're really sure of
is that the sketch he gave us

is a load of fictitious crap
meant to send us in the wrong direction.

It's not as fictitious as you think.

I just got the ballistics back
on the b*llet that k*lled Cordero.

Striations match a slug

that was pulled from a robbery sh**ting
at a bodega in the Bronx

three months ago.

The detectives
couldn't make a case,

but their three best suspects were
g*ng members, including this guy.

Same guy.

Same g*n.

Hector Nunez?

Yeah, runs the South Bronx territory
of Los Caballeros g*ng.

Priors include as*ault,
attempted manslaughter,

and conspiracy to distribute cocaine.

No! You're wrong.

Peter had nothing to do with cocaine.
He hated dr*gs.

Did you know he was arrested
last month for possession?

That's impossible. I know Peter.
He'd never use that stuff.

Are you sure, Maria?

Because he was seen

receiving a package last week
from this guy.

No. No.

It can't be.

You recognize him?

Hector Nunez.

He was Peter's best friend growing up.

But then he got mixed up in a g*ng
and he tried to drag Peter in, too.

Afterwards, Hector changed,
he became dangerous.

Peter cut ties with him
over a decade ago.

Can you think of any reason
why he'd be back in Peter's life?

Hector was a devil. Peter would have
never gotten mixed up with him again.

Unless he didn't have a choice.

This is a long way from Wall Street.

This doesn't make any sense.

If Peter was into dr*gs,
he had enough money

to get them from downtown.

Why would he risk
getting them from someone

that he knew was dangerous?

There it is. El Baile club.

Yeah, unofficial headquarters
of Los Caballeros.

Stick close.

If Hector's as dangerous as advertised,
things might get a little hairy.

"Hairy" is my middle name.
That sounded a lot better in my head.

Are you sure
this is the right place?

Those guys don't look very dangerous.

What about those guys?

Ah, you mean the heavily armed ones.

We're looking for Hector Nunez.

Beckett.

Hector Nunez.

Detective Beckett, NYPD.

Detective, you shouldn't be here.

You could get hurt.

Such a dangerous neighborhood.

Yeah, well, maybe I should take you
down to my neighborhood.

Let me save you some time.

Whatever it is, I didn't do it.

And I suppose you've never heard
of a Peter Cordero either.

What about Peter?

He's dead.

Who did this?

Well, we were thinking you...

Might be able to tell us.

I'd never hurt Peter.
He was my best friend.

When we were kids, and the g*ng
wanted to take him, I wouldn't let 'em.

I knew he could do better.

So, how did he end up
sh*t and k*lled with your g*n?

Something was going on with him.

He called me last week,
first time in years.

Said that he was into some deal
that was going to make him rich,

but it was dangerous.

And in case something went wrong,
he needed to protect himself.

He said he needed a w*apon.

You're saying you gave him that g*n?

Well, he said
he couldn't buy one himself

'cause he was being
watched all the time.

Was that what was in the package
you gave him in the stairwell?

Yeah.

That deal that he was into,
was it dr*gs?

Not dr*gs. Money.

Something to do with bank accounts.

Bank accounts?

Last Thursday night,

he came to me,
said he needed one last favor.

He needed me to take an envelope
to a manager at some bank in Midtown,

Suisse Federal something.

Why couldn't he just do it himself?
Why would he need you?

Said he couldn't afford to be seen
at the bank. It was too risky.

What was in the envelope?

He said something
about transfer instructions.

It was sealed, but there was a bank
account number written on the outside.

Do you remember the number?

I wrote it down,
in case something went wrong.

I guess it did.

Not the same six-digit number
that was on his hand.

After I took the envelope to the bank,

I called Peter at work
to confirm it was done.

That's the last time we talked.

Hector's alibi checks out.

He was at Lady of Mercy Nursing Home
visiting his mom when Peter was k*lled.

Mysterious financial transactions,

a deal so dangerous he needed a g*n?

Seems to me there's a lot more to your
sister's star witness than she knew.

Than she knew,
or than she chose to tell us about.

Sir?

Yo, I talked to the manager
at Suisse Federal.

He confirmed that a bank account
with those numbers exists,

but he refused to give out
any information on it.

Did he at least acknowledge
it was Peter Cordero's account?

He couldn't,
because he didn't know himself.

It's a numbered account,
set up for privacy.

So the only way that anyone
can access it is with a password.

So there's no way to know
what Cordero was doing.

No.

Unless...

Six digits...

Seems kind of password-y to me.

Okay, read it to me.

7-2-3-5-9-8.

Come on.

We're in!

Castle, you've done it again.

What's it say?

The balance is zero dollars.

Zero dollars?
That doesn't seem very dangerous.

Feels like the end of a treasure hunt

where you open up the chest
and it's just full of sand.

Wait. Go to the day
Mr. Nunez claims he did the transfer.

March 21 st.

Oh, my God. $25 million.

Whoa! That's some expensive sand.

Looks like it came into the account
the day before

at 8:34 in the morning.

And then Hector transferred it out.

A secret $25-million transfer
that got him k*lled.

What the hell was Cordero into?

All right.

- Any luck?
- No.

I just talked
to the head of Suisse Federal Bank.

Given international
banking regulations,

there's no way to tell where that money
came from or where it went.

Or if the money is even Cordero's.

He could've been moving it
for someone else.

Sir,
if this transaction was somehow

responsible for Cordero's death
and we can't track it,

then we may never be able
to find his k*ller.

There may be another way.

- $25 million?
- That's right.

And your informant went to a great
deal of trouble to keep it secret.

And you have no idea
where the money came from?

No, but odds are
it's what got him k*lled.

Elizabeth,

if you know anything about this...

Of course I don't know
anything about this.

You don't believe me.

Do you blame me?

I didn't know.

And given the lengths he went
to hide the transaction,

he clearly didn't want me to know.

Okay. Fine.

Then I'm going to need access
to Peter Cordero's wire recordings.

For what?

Because there may be
something on those tapes

- that's relevant to his m*rder.
- We went through them.

If there was anything on there,
we would've heard it.

Not if you weren't listening for it.

I'm sorry, Victoria,
but those wire recordings

are a privileged part
of a confidential investigation.

I can't give you access.

Can't, or won't?

Do you think I'm blind?

Bringing down someone
as big as Berman,

you'd be able to write your own ticket.

The Mayor's Office.

Attorney General.
Everything you always dreamed of.

But you need Cordero's testimony.

And if he was involved in anything dirty
while acting as a witness,

it would jeopardize your whole case.

That's why you won't give us
those tapes,

because you're afraid
of what we might find.

Taking down a shark like Berman would
send a signal to every fraudulent actor

in the financial markets.

I have to think about the greater good.

Oh, is that what you tell yourself
so you can sleep at night?

You could never play the game,
could you?

It's why you're stuck behind a desk

instead of running the entire force
down at One PP.

I am not stuck anywhere.

And I will never, never apologize
for doing my job to the letter of the law.

Now,

I'm gonna need those wire recordings.

Or do I have to go over your head?

Anything that you find,
you bring it to me first.

Do you understand?

I will not have you screw up
another one of my investigations.

Let's not put her on the list.

Yeah.

I feel bad for Gates.

My sisters could never work together.

I tell you,
when the two of them went at it... Oof!

I wouldn't mind going at it
with Gates' sister.

Oh, yeah?

How would you like having Gates
as your sister-in-law?

What?

I think I got something.

So, on March 21 st,

Peter Cordero's wire
picked up a call from Hector Nunez

to confirm that the transfer was done.

The call came in at 9:25 a.m.

That's pretty much what Hector said.

Yeah. But listen to the next two calls
that Peter makes.

He's saying, "I'm calling
on behalf of Armando Garcia.

"I want to make sure
that his money was received.

"And can you confirm the amount?"

Then he says, "Thank you,"
and then hangs up.

Who's Armando Garcia?

I checked with JP Harding, they don't
have any clients by that name.

So it wasn't company business.

No. Now listen to the second call.

Is he in?

It's Peter Cordero calling.

Hey, everything's taken care of.
But we're running out of time.

We need to get this done
in the next couple of days.

Is that gonna be a problem?

Good.

"Everything's taken care of."
That must be about the $25 million.

But what exactly was getting done
in the next couple of days?

And how did it get him k*lled?

We need to find Armando Garcia.

Yeah, unfortunately,
it's a pretty common name.

There are hundreds of
Armando Garcias in the US alone.

It's gonna be hard to narrow it down.

Unless we can find out
who he was calling.

At 9:25, Peter would've been at work.

He would've made those phone calls
from his desk phone.

If we can get those phone records,

they could tell us
what he was involved in.

I'll put in for a warrant.
Hopefully we'll get it by morning.

You know,
I was thinking about

Gates' sister, and it got me wondering.

Do you have any family
I don't know about?

I don't think so.

Good. Because this
"intimate" wedding of ours...

Oh, no. You, too?

- How bad is yours?
- I've got over 100.

I'm at 300 over that.

Four hundred?

Well, to be fair, I am world famous...

Ish.

I mean, look, it's a first draft.
It just needs some editing.

Just brutal, ruthless editing.

Castle, Michael Connelly?

You haven't seen him in over a year.

And do you not remember
what he wrote about your last book?

No. I think we got our first edit.

Uh, well, I have to invite Connelly,

because if he finds out that
Jonathan Kellerman made the cut...

And I have to invite Kellerman,

because I have to invite
Wes Craven and Stephen King.

Yeah, but we've got to start somewhere.

Well, I think I know where.

Aunt Theresa?

Really?

After what she posted about me
on Facebook?

She took it down.

Fine.

What are we gonna do? We can't have
500 people at the wedding.

Hello, you two.

Ah, help has arrived in the form
of a neutral third party.

Someone who was born to be
brutal and ruthless.

Thank you. Thank you. A-ha.

Oh, we're still working
on the invite list, I see.

Yes, actually.
And would you mind joining us?

Love to. Let me get my list.

Oh, you know, I had no idea
how many people

I needed to invite
until I wrote them all down. Hmm!

Good news. I cross-referenced
my mother's list with my list.

We have three names in common.

Wow, three names. That's great.

That takes us from, what, 585 to 582?

There's gotta be a better way
to cut this down.

Ryan, you guys kept
your wedding small.

What was it, like, 100 people?

Yeah. That's all we could afford.

How did you contain the list?

I have a lot of relatives
who hate me now.

So, the warrant on Cordero's phone
finally came through.

Whoever this Armando Garcia is,
it has something to do with Venezuela.

That's where Peter was from.

Yeah. That first call,
confirming the $25 million?

It was made to a bank in Venezuela.

The second call was to

the Venezuela consulate
right here in the city.

It was the direct line of
a senior official there, a Luis Delgado.

Clandestine wire transfers,

a high-ranking consulate official,
all circling around

the mysterious Armando Garcia.

What was Cordero doing?

I don't know, but I can't wait to find out.

Swiss bank accounts,
secret money transfers,

it's got international intrigue
written all over it.

It was just a simple passport request.

- A passport request?
- Yes.

That's why he called.

What about the money?

I'm afraid I don't know anything
about any money.

Really? I suppose you've never heard
of Armando Garcia either.

Armando Garcia?

Yes, of course
I've heard of Armando Garcia.

You have?

That's who I got the passport for.

Wait, I thought that the passport
was for Peter Cordero.

Yes,

Peter Cordero. Armando Garcia.

It's the same guy.

When his aunt and uncle
moved him to New York,

he changed his name to fit in.

But his birth name
was Armando Garcia.

He was sending the money to himself.

And you said he was requesting
a passport. A Venezuelan passport?

Yes, of course.

Cordero applied to reestablish
his Venezuelan citizenship

and we were more than happy to oblige.

Under the name Armando Garcia.

That's right.

But there was something odd
about his request.

He asked to pick up the passport
in Mexico City.

Mexico City? Did he say why?

No.

But he was supposed to get it yesterday
at our embassy there.

He had booked a flight from
Mexico City to Caracas that night.

He was running away?

Not just running away.
Changing his identity completely.

He never intended to testify.

He was just stringing my sister along
until he could escape.

All he had to do was drive to Mexico.

Once he boarded that flight to Caracas
under his new identity,

paid for it with a new credit card,

Peter Cordero would cease to exist.
Your sister would never find him.

But he wasn't going to leave
empty-handed.

So he made one last desperate deal.

The night he was k*lled,

he was preparing to disappear forever,
along with the $25 million.

You don't just conjure $25 million out
of thin air. It came from somewhere.

And given the circumstances,
nowhere legal.

If you're right,

it'll destroy my sister's case.

All his testimony will be tainted.

So, what do you want us to do?

Find the truth.

In order to do that, we need to know
where the money came from.

And there's no way to find out.

Uh, maybe there is.

You know that secret
Armando Garcia credit card,

you know, the one he used
to buy the plane tickets?

We found another charge on it.

For a computer station
he rented at an Internet café.

He was there the exact same time that
$25 million showed up in his account.

So whatever he was doing there
was related to the transfer.

That café has security video.

If we can get a look
at the computer screen

or Peter's fingers on the keyboard,

maybe we can figure out
where that money came from.

And why he was k*lled.

Sir, uh, you okay?

Uh, just trying to figure out
how to tell my sister

her case is compromised
without her blaming me.

Why would she blame you?
I mean, you're just doing your job.

There's a history.

Mmm.

1998.

I had just been made
head of Internal Affairs.

Elizabeth was in the DA's Office.

We called ourselves the dynamic duo.

At the time, Elizabeth was closing in

on a heroin ring in East New York
and they had an undercover inside.

His testimony was key to the case, but...

He was dirty?

He'd skimmed a few eight balls

off the very bust Elizabeth
was building her case around.

When my office caught him reselling it,

she came to me,
begged me not to file charges.

Asked me to think of the greater good.

I did my job that day, too.

Hasn't been the same
between us since.

Security video is in.

There's Cordero.

But the angle is over
the monitor, we can't see the screen.

Or the keyboard.

There's no way to tell what he's doing.

Wait a minute, wait.

Who is that?

Take a look at the time code.

It's right around the moment

the $25 million got into
Cordero's Swiss bank account.

It's him.
He transferred the money to Cordero.

A covert transfer
from an untraceable IP address,

paid for under an alias.

These people took
extraordinary measures

to keep from being discovered.

Zoom in. Freeze it.

Wait. That's Cordero's boss.
That's Jamie Berman.

Why would Berman
secretly pay Cordero $25 million?

Only one reason.
Cordero must've told Berman

about the US Attorney's investigation.

And Berman was paying him
to throw the case.

If Berman was paying Cordero
to throw the case,

then the recordings from his wire
were all lies.

Berman was feeding

the US Attorney's Office false evidence.

And if Elizabeth
was building her case on that,

she would've been torn apart
by the defense.

Keeping her out of Berman's business
for quite a while, if not forever.

All this time, my sister thought
she was taking down Berman,

when he was really
trying to take down her.

The one thing it doesn't explain,
though, is why Cordero was k*lled.

Berman's up to his eyeballs in this.

You bring him in here
and find out what he knows.

Yes, sir.

I'm afraid you're mistaken,
Detective.

I didn't transfer any money
to Mr. Cordero.

Certainly not $25 million.

And yet, the moment that

you pressed that button, $25 million
showed up in Cordero's account.

You have no evidence that account
belongs to Mr. Cordero.

Just as you have no evidence
that money came from my client.

Then why were you with him
in that Internet café?

They have good coffee.

I think there's a reason
why you went out of your way

to keep that transfer a secret.

I think Cordero told you

that he was being forced to be
an informant for the US Attorney.

And knowing that he would
never be able to work again,

he struck a deal with you.

$25 million

in exchange
for providing false evidence

to undermine the investigation.

What investigation?

You know exactly what investigation.

And when you found out
that he wasn't going to finish the job,

that he was going to leave town
and take your money with him,

you had him k*lled.

And then you took the wire
that you knew he was wearing

to cover up any recorded evidence
of the m*rder.

That's all wild speculation.

Not to mention
you have your facts wrong.

You said Peter was wearing his wire
when he was k*lled?

I'm afraid that's not possible.

So you knew about the wire?

You admit you were in on it with him?

Jamie...

It's not illegal to know.

And I guarantee you,
you will never link me to that payment.

So you'll never be able
to prove witness tampering.

But, yeah, I knew about the wire.

And Peter wasn't wearing it
when he was k*lled

because he had already left it
for the feds

at the dead drop
at Lafayette and Spring.

How do you even...

The walk that you took together.
You were with him.

I saw him go into the mailbox store,
and put it into one of those boxes.

Thank you for coming.

Of course.

There's been a break in the case?

Yes, actually. New information has
surfaced about Peter Cordero's m*rder.

In fact, it seems

someone in the US Attorney's Office
lied about Cordero not leaving his wire

at the dead drop the night of his death.

No one lied.

I went to the drop myself. It wasn't there.

Elizabeth.

Tell her.

Stephanie,
if Peter never turned in his wire,

how did that day's recordings
end up on your computer?

See, even though you erased them,

the tech department here
was able to recover everything.

I don't know what you're talking about.

Standard procedure was to turn them
over for analysis the next morning.

But you listened
to those tapes that night.

And you heard something
you weren't supposed to,

at least not until Cordero was gone.

I came to the US
believing in the American dream.

So I worked hard and tried to be honest
in a corrupt world,

working for corrupt and greedy people,
because I still believed.

But when you, the US Government,
plants dr*gs on me,

threatens to destroy my future,

all because you need someone
to testify,

how am I supposed to still believe?

I did everything I could
to play by the rules.

But no one else does.

So by the time you hear this,
I'll be gone.

We brought in the cop
that busted Cordero.

He confessed to planting the cocaine,
on your orders.

Why, Stefanie?

You said you needed someone
on the inside.

To make the case against Berman.
For the greater good!

No. Not like this.

When you heard that recording
and found out Peter was leaving,

you knew it would all come out.

So, you went to his place.

I went to try and talk to him.
But he wouldn't listen.

And then you saw his g*n,
and you made sure

that his story would never get out.

And you made it look like he was k*lled
for that recording.

Detective Beckett,

Mr. Castle,
I would like to commend you

for your exemplary work in the face
of headwinds from me and my office.

Oh, thank you, but, I mean,
we were just all doing our jobs.

Following our captain's lead.

Did you manage to track down
that $25 million?

Yes. It turns out that Mr. Cordero
donated a large portion of it

to rebuild his hometown,

the one that was destroyed in
the earthquake that k*lled his parents.

Are you going to try to recover it?

Well, it's very difficult to reclaim funds
once they've left the country.

I think that we have better uses
for our resources.

I should be going, but thank you, again.

What about Berman?
Do you still have a case?

Well, not the one that I thought.
But at least I won't embarrass myself

in court presenting evidence
that's untrue.

Then Berman paid $25 million
for nothing.

- I bet that hurt.
- Probably,

but it's not enough.

We will build our case the right way.

It may take some time, but we'll get him.

Thank you, Victoria.

For what?

For doing your job so well.

So, I know it's late,
and you probably want to get home,

but after today,

I could really use a drink.

And a sister.

Me, too.

You know, in the end,
Gates' sister wasn't that bad.

Does that mean we have to invite her
to the wedding?

Yeah, what about that? Our lists.

Castle, we can't have
that many people coming.

Agreed. So, what do we do?

I think we have to decide
why we're actually having this wedding.

I mean, are we doing this
not to insult hundreds of people,

or are we doing this for us?

Well, for us.

Well, then why don't we just
take a minute

and write down the names
of all the people

that absolutely, positively
have to be there,

no matter what, to make us happy.

One minute.

Yeah.

It's not much time.
What if we forget someone?

Then they shouldn't have been invited
in the first place.

Let's do it.

Okay.

All right.

- Are you ready?
- Yep.

One minute. And, go.

You stopped writing.

So did you.

Of course, I'm gonna have to invite
my mother. And Alexis.

Yeah, and my dad and Aunt Theresa.

Right.

Espo and Ryan, who'll bring Jenny.

Lanie.

Lanie.

I'm gonna have to invite
the poker group.

Yeah. Maddie.

Gates.

Ooh, and Gates' family.