Lanie calls them and she has found out something interesting. Apparently, someone administered last rites to Carver after he died. With that information, they locate Father Aaron Low who was friends with Carver. When they bring him in for questioning, the shoes he is wearing are the same that left a print in the blood in Carver’s office. They question him and he eventually admits that he was at the office, but when he got there, Carver was already dead. So he called 911 and left, afraid that the cops would frame him. Beckett doesn’t believe him and they arrest him.
Back at the bullpen, Royce is waiting for her and asks her to lunch. Ryan interrupts them, saying that they identified who put the bug in Carver’s office and it was none other than his wife. Beckett tells Royce to stop by after her shift so they can go out for drinks. Castle looks a little jealous.
They question Brooke Carver and she says that she bugged her husband’s office because she thought he was cheating on her. But when she finally worked out the courage to listen to what it had been recorded, it was Carver talking to Father Aaron Low about how much he loved her and wanted to save their marriage. After that she threw the receiver away and never doubted her husband again.
They find out that Father Aaron volunteered at the same prison Random had been locked up in and that just can’t be a coincidence. Turns out that Random’s cell mate just happened to be Clifford Stuckey’s partner and he had been arrested for a jewel heist, but had died of a heart attack three weeks before. Castle figures out that the document Beckett had called the world’s least interesting doodle is actually a treasure map. They bring Father Aaron back in for interrogation and he confesses he knew about the map and that Carver wanted to find it and give it to the church.
Random had broken into Stuckey’s apartment, but he wasn’t there. But luck just wasn’t on his side because someone saw him and called the police. In fact, it was Father Aaron who turned him in and Carver bailed Random out after convincing him to give him a third of the treasure and then told him he should keep it at the office for safekeeping. The night of the murder, Carver had called Father Aaron saying he had figured out the map, but when he got there he was already dead. He says that the old man killed him and he knows that because Stuckey had overheard Carver and Random talking about it the night before and threatened them. With this new information, Ryan and Esposito go pick up Stuckey, but the old man — who had no need of a walker — gives them a slip and runs away.
Turns out, though, that both Brooke’s and Father Aaron’s alibis checked out so they were back to square one. Beckett decides to call it a day and goes meet Royce at a bar. They seem to be really comfortable with each other and Kate is laughing. Like, actually laughing. I think that was the first time I’ve ever seen her laugh in the last two seasons. Then she tells him that she found the guy who killed her mother and tells the story about how she had to shoot him and Royce comforts her and even makes her laugh again. They’re getting ready to leave when Ryan calls her. Random, their first suspect, was never delivered at Central. Royce never took him there. Before Kate can ask him about it, Royce disappears.
Castle stayed at the precinct, trying to figure out the map. Alexis shows up and gives him the good news. He had previously told her that if she wanted a Vespa, she had to earn the money herself. Well, not even 24 hours later, she already had it. When Castle asks her how she did it, she tells him she sold the light sabers he had given her a kid. He is obviously upset about it, as it was such an important part of her childhood, but covers up saying he’s frustrated with the case. Alexis asks to take a look at the map and notices that it has a lot of fold marks on it, like on those paper fortune tellers. Then Castle realizes it could be like on MAD Magazine, where they had to fold the picture in a certain way so it would show a completely different picture. They give it a few tries and eventually get it right. The map formed the words under the gun.
Kate is back at the precinct and she can’t believe Royce would do something like that. However, they find out that back in 1990, when Stuckey’s partner went to jail, the detective on the case had been Royce, so he knew about the jewels and the map all along. Royce calls Beckett at the precinct and she tells him to turn himself in. When he says he can’t and that he just wanted to apologize for the way things had turned out, Kate says she had been in love with him. He had been the only one who had supported her when everyone else told her she should just leave her mother’s case alone. Then she says that when she arrests him, he’s going to realize that what he was destroying that day was worth a hell of a lot more than money and slams down the receiver.
With a completely impassive face, she asks the boys if they got a trace. Everyone looks at her shocked and Esposito tells her he got an address. Castle asks if that had all just been an act and she says of course it had been. When she passes Castle and is sure that no one is looking at her, the mask falls and she breaks down. That scene was downright heartbreaking and I just wanted to give her a hug. But at the same time, it was beautiful to watch and a testament to how amazing Stana’s acting is. Way to go, girl.
They go to the address Esposito got and, even though Royce wasn’t there anymore, they find Random handcuffed to a chair. He tells them the whole story and how he had to team up with Carver and the priest, but instead of figuring out the map, they just wanted to argue about how unchristian it was to leave Carver’s wife out of the deal. That had taken place in Carver’s office, which Brooke had bugged. So that led to the conclusion that Brooke heard about the money and killed her husband to get her hands on the map.
They get a trace on her at Carver’s office, but when they get there she’s already gone. When they find a cemetery brochure on the desk, they realize that the only place that the treasure could be buried was there. After all it would never be torn apart for something to be built on. So they go to the cemetery and when they find the right tomb — for someone named Gunn, no less — everyone shows up at once. Brooke — who confesses she killed her husband — Royce and Stuckey and they’ve all got guns pointed at them. Before things go bad, Beckett suggests they should make sure there’s even a treasure and asks Castle to start digging. He fakes having found something and that gives the team a chance to immobilize everyone. They all get arrested and Kate has to do the difficult task of handcuffing Royce and giving him voice of prison.
Back at the precinct, Castle complains that it was frustrating not having found the treasure. They discuss that maybe the map was incomplete and that there was one last clue somewhere. Then they look more closely at Stuckey’s partner’s picture and realize there are roman numbers who don’t really fit into the tattoo on his arm. Of course Castle convinces her to go look for it and later we find out they did find the jewels, but Beckett made him give it back to its rightful owner. The good thing was he had gotten a hug out of the whole thing and was very satisfied with himself.
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