Love Me Dead

Love Me Dead
	Season 2, Episode 9
Air date	November 16, 2009
Written by	Alexi Hawley
Directed by	Bryan Spicer
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Love Me Dead is the ninth episode of the second season of Castle.

Summary

Castle and Beckett are thrust into the world of ex-cons and escorts after respected Assistant District Attorney Jack Buckley is tossed off a multi-story car parking garage. Further, Castle sympathizes with the plight of a call girl connected to the case, resulting in his making promises that he and Beckett may not be able to keep. Meanwhile, Castle is concerned, and mildly hurt, when Alexis confides a secret to Beckett and not to him.

Recap

While a couple argues, a body crashes on top of their car. At home, Castle overhears Alexis tells someone about someone who is going to freak out. Castle gets a call and meets with Beckett at the scene. He asks her if she keeps secrets from her dad and she admits she does. Castle explains he wants to be the cool dad and wait until Alexis wants to talk to him. The team finds that Roy is there. He explains the victim was Jack Buckley, the assistant DA. Esposito and Ryan say Buckley's jacket was torn during a fight. They wonder why Buckley was on top of a parking garage since he took the subway. The detectives report that Buckley was divorced with a woman who now lives in California.

At Buckley's office, Scarlett, the secretary, brings in the last cases that Buckley was working on. She says he was upset the past couple days. Another staff member named Nicole says Buckley got in an argument with a man the police brought in. Nicole says the officer was named Frank Curtis. Later, Beckett reports the man brought in was John Knox. Castle sees he has a long criminal record.

In the interrogation room, Knox asks the team what they want. Beckett says Buckley is dead. Beckett says she knows he was charged with attempted homicide, but Knox says he was never convicted. Castle asks Knox if he works out since it would have taken a lot of strength to throw Buckley off a building. Knox says Buckley was upset when he lost the case against him, brought him in to rattle him, but it was nothing to kill him over. Beckett asks if he has an alibi. Knox says he was at an AA meeting in which they can confirm with his sponsor Reverend Daniel Miller.

Ryan updates Captain Montgomery on the case. He says Knox's alibi seems solid. He finds that Buckley made an extra trip before work the day he was killed. Esposito says someone was demanding to talk to Buckley at his apartment. Esposito shows Roy a still shot from a security camera. Castle looks at the photo and recognizes him from the case files Scarlett gave to him. They learn the man is Norman Jessup who was busted for a bank robbery. Esposito says the conviction was overturned two weeks ago on a technicality. Soon after, Buckley filed an intent to retry Jessup.

Beckett and Castle find Jessup getting beat up in a bar fight. Jessup is accidentally punched in his face. Beckett handcuffs Jessup and takes him to the station. Jessup says the guy in the bar started the fight. Jessup says he had no idea his buddies were going to rob a bank when he was busted. Beckett asks how he felt about Buckley's intent to retry. Jessup says he felt like he was going to cry since prison is not fun. Jessup figured if he could talk to Buckley, he would turn him around. Jessup admits he followed Buckley until he got his courage up to talk to him. Jessup says he was at the bar when Buckley was killed. Castle asks if he followed Buckley during his unknown trip before work. Jessup says Buckley argued with an Asian man outside a fancy apartment.

Castle and Beckett are directed to the apartment by Jessup. He asks if he can take off the handcuffs then removes it himself. He explains that he was always good with locks. He shares he applied to locksmith schools, but they wouldn't let him in since he is a felon. Castle gets in the back seat where Jessup shows him how to get out of the handcuffs. Just before they pull up to the building, Beckett gets a call from Alexis who asks to meet her later. Beckett explains to Castle that Alexis only wants some advice.

Beckett learns that the only Asian in the building is Paul Cho who happens to be Buckley's brother in law. Cho says he hasn't seen Buckley in months, but Beckett says he is lying to him. Cho admits he was attacked by a man in a ski mask. The man ordered him to tell Buckley to back off Danton. He says he told Buckley about the message which upset him. He admits he has a fondness for call girls. The team figures that Danton is a pimp. The team wonders since Buckley was investigating the escort service, the pimp found out that one of his family members was a client, used him to send a message, then killed him after he wouldn't back down. Beckett asks Cho to call the escort service and send a girl.

The team waits and meets the call girl who is Scarlett from Buckley's office. They bring her to the station. Scarlett says Buckley was a client of the escort service, but they spent most of their time talking. She says since Buckley found a law book in her bag, he offered her an internship position in his office. Castle asks who Danton is, but she doesn't know. She explains that Danton set up his organization to protect himself.

Promo

Cast

Main Cast

Nathan Fillion as Richard Castle
Stana Katic as Detective Kate Beckett
Jon Huertas as Detective Javier Esposito
Seamus Dever as Detective Kevin Ryan
Tamala Jones as Dr. Lanie Parish
Ruben Santiago-Hudson as Captain Roy Montgomery
Molly Quinn as Alexis Castle
Susan Sullivan as Martha Rodgers

Quotes

Castle: You know, I was in a bar fight once.

Beckett: Really? Who won? Let me guess. Not you.

Norman Jessup: I didn't mean to embarrassed you in front of your girlfriend.

Castle: Thanks

Beckett: For what?

Castle: For not saying, "I told you so."

Beckett: Oh, that starts tomorrow.

Featured Music

"Madly in Action" - The Shys
"Winner" - Swingfly
"Now We Can See" - The Thermals
"Love Fire" - The Emeralds

Trivia

While Norman Jessup tries to teach Castle how to escape handcuffs, he evidently doesn't succeed. In "Cuffed", Castle and Beckett are handcuffed to one another for most of the episode. It is also conceivable that the Spurlochs, dealing with wild animals, spend rather more on their restraints than the police.
In Deep in Death, Beckett revealed that she'd spent a semester abroad in Kiev and speaks native standard Russian. In this episode, Alexis benefits from Beckett's experience studying in a foreign country.
Inconsistency: At the end of the episode when Alexis tells Castle what she has been hiding from him two different shots are clearly cut together. In the one, she has her arm around his neck and in the other she is just standing next to him, and the two cuts alternate.
The picture posted with Castle and Scarlett Price had to be a test/run through. In the actual episode, Castle is in trademark coat with long sleeves. You never see Castle's arms.
When a detective from vice, a friend of Espo's, gets introduced to Ryan, he calls him Honeymilk. When said, Ryan gives Esposito a "what the hell" angry look.
When Norman apologizes for punching Castle, because he happens to mistakes Beckett for Castle's girlfriend. Though, Beckett didn't become Castle's girlfriend until After the Storm.

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