Line #53 Recap/CastleS7E13IWitness


1	Castle is asked by Eva Whitfield, a former AP Chemistry classmate who attended Faircroft Preparatory Academy alongside him, to investigate her stockbroker husband Cole after she suspects that he's cheating on her. He confirms her suspicions, and that night, he drives to the Whitfield residence to give her pictures he took of Cole's mistress. However, Castle witnesses Eva's bludgeoned corpse being dragged out of the house's kitchen by someone who highly resembles Cole. Pursuing Eva's killer by driving after them, the faceless perpetrator is able to knock him out in a neighboring forest by punching him in his face.
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3	The ensuing investigation into Eva's murder features several twists and turns that ultimately leave Castle questioning his decision to become a PrivateDetective.
4	----
5	!! Tropes that appear in this episode:
6	* AmoralAttorney: Aubrey's '''far''' more amoral than anyone anticipated, as she had been waiting for years to [[YouKilledMyFather avenge Mallory's murder]].
7	* AssholeVictim: Cole Whitfield may have been innocent of Eva's murder, but he was cheating on his wife with two different women and likely killed his first wife, so his fate wasn't entirely undeserved.
8	* BigBad: At first, it's believed that Eva orchestrated the FrameUp that's plaguing Cole's life. However, the real mastermind behind everything was Aubrey, who then killed Eva and Cole.
9	* TheBluebeard: Played with. Although Cole did likely kill his first wife, he was actually framed for the murder of his second wife as revenge for the first murder.
10	* CallBack: Castle attending Faircroft was mentioned in "[[{{Recap/CastleS6E15SmellsLikeTeenSpirit}} Smells Like Teen Spirit]]" and "[[{{Recap/CastleS7E20Sleeper}} Sleeper]]" (the latter episode also featured a former classmate).
11	* ChekhovsGunman:
12	** Years before marrying Eva, Cole Whitfield had a wife named Mallory who died in a hiking accident that only he witnessed. It's because the "accident" was an InheritanceMurder he got away with, motivating the episode's BigBad into doing what they did.
13	** Aubrey Haskins, Whitfield and Galloway's general counsel, doubles as a PunchClockVillain who's just being a professional attorney for both Cole and Taylor [=McKinley=]. It's a bit shocking to learn that she ''is'' the above-mentioned BigBad.
14	* TheChessmaster: Aubrey turns to be this, ''especially'' given that no one caught on to her vengeful scheme for '''years'''. That only happens after her XanatosSpeedChess backfires.
15	* TheCorrupter: Aubrey was this for Eva, and Eva was this for Robert.
16	* TheCorruptible: Eva and Robert were this after Aubrey corrupted the former into being a WomanScorned, as they both came to want revenge against Cole since he betrayed their trust.
17	* ConnectedAllAlong: It turns out that Aubrey knew both Mallory and Eva. The former was a college friend and the victim of an InheritanceMurder that Cole perpetrated, and the latter was a frustrated wife whom she corrupted into becoming a WomanScorned.
18	* DeceasedFallGuyGambit: Part of Aubrey's XanatosSpeedChess was making it appear that Cole murdered Eva upon finding out that she faked her death before hanging himself to death.
19	* DudeNotFunny: Esposito has a reaction to this effect once he learns that the Ryans created a Match.com profile for him without his permission.
20	* FakingTheDead: Eva and Robert agreed to have him pose as Cole and "fatally bludgeon" her. It's subverted later on when Aubrey ''actually'' bludgeons her to death offscreen.
21	* FailedASpotCheck: Aubrey was clearly in a hurry when she tried to make sure her XanatosSpeedChess went as intended, as she forgot to clean up implicating evidence she left behind at Eva's corporate apartment and in the trunk of her own car.
22	* [[{{Frameup}} Frame-Up]]: Cole continuously asserts that he's on the receiving end of this in spite of his own suspicious and unfriendly behavior. By the end of the episode, he's posthumously proven to be correct.
23	* TheHeavy: Eva and Robert share this role with each other, as it's their actions that drive much of the episode's plot forward.
24	* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Stressed out and regretful over a plan that was never her idea, Eva set out to come forward to the police about everything. She was doing just fine after calling Robert and talking to him about it, but after doing the same with Aubrey, she's doomed to be betrayed in the form of a fatal bludgeoning.
25	* HowWeGotHere: The episode opens with Castle walking surreptitiously through a dark, foggy forest when a mysterious figure knocks him out. Cut to "12 Hours Earlier".
26	* InheritanceMurder: Cole murdered Mallory so that he could inherit several million dollars.
27	* KarmaHoudiniWarranty: In Cole's case, it runs out after he's exposed as an adulterous man. It's taken even ''further'' when he's murdered, as he was responsible for killing Mallory.
28	* MakeItLookLikeAnAccident: Cole killed Mallory by [[DisneyVillainDeath pushing her into a ravine]] in Angeles National Forest during a hike they were on. The police know what he did, [[NotProven but since the evidence they found was circumstantial...]]
29	* TheMistress: Beckett finds out that Cole's affair with his yoga instructor Taylor began less than a year before the episode's events. Later on, Castle is informed by Beckett, Esposito, and Ryan that Cole was also having a ''second'' affair with his colleague Robert James' wife.
30	* {{Narcissist}}: Even Castle himself points out that Cole is this. As such, it's not too shocking to find out that he was cheating on Eva with ''two other women''.
31	* NearVillainVictory: Aubrey's plan for revenge would have worked without a hitch had she [[FailedASpotCheck taken the time to get rid of all the evidence against her]].
32	* NeverSuicide: Cole apparently commits suicide by wrapping a cord around his neck and hanging himself from his house's balcony. In reality, Aubrey [[SlippingAMickey drugged his drink with sedatives]], wrapped the cord around his neck herself, and then hung him from said balcony.
33	* NotHelpingYourCase: Ryan confesses that his wife signed Esposito up for Match.com behind his back and that he's been managing his profile. It's too bad that it led to Esposito almost arresting who he initially thought was a StalkerWithACrush.
34	* NotProven: [[InheritanceMurder Cole murdered Mallory for her inheritance]], but because the evidence was circumstantial, he couldn't be found guilty of the charges brought against him.
35	* PrivateDetective: Castle.
36	* PunchClockVillain: Aubrey's just being an attorney since it's her job. The episode's final twists fully establish that she was an AmoralAttorney from the very beginning.
37	* SheKnowsTooMuch: Not wanting years of plotting to be ruined by Eva coming forward to the police, Aubrey decides that a HeelFaceDoorSlam is a fitting end for her ex-accomplice.
38	* SlippingAMickey: Before he was murdered, Cole was drugged with high levels of sedatives. Given that he had a habit of drinking alcoholic beverages and Aubrey probably knew about that, the most likely way she drugged him was by putting said sedatives into a glass filled with such a beverage that he was drinking from at that time.
39	* SmugSnake: Even as Beckett and Castle confront her, Aubrey denies everything and even voices her doubt that her plan will end just because of her arrest. See TheSummation below to learn more about how deep her smugness runs.
40	* StalkerWithACrush: The trope is averted when Esposito mistakes his date Stacy for this. The truth is that the Ryans signed him up for Match.com behind his back in the hopes of getting him a date for an upcoming weekend of skiing.
41	-->'''Ryan''': What’d you think of Stacy?\
42	'''Esposito''': Oh, man, she was great.\
43	'''Ryan''': Yeah.\
44	'''Esposito''': Until I started getting the stalker vibe from her.\
45	'''Ryan''': What?\
46	'''Esposito''': Yeah. We were right in the middle of appetizers, and that’s when she told me that the blue shorts I was wearing during the triathlon made my legs look sexy. Which is true, but how did she even know I competed? Never mind what color shorts I was wearing. And that’s when she told me that she saw a photo on my profile.\
47	''(Ryan can't help but laugh about the whole debacle.)'' \
48	'''Esposito''': [[DudeNotFunny Oh, this is funny to you? You signed me up for Match.com? Behind my back?]]\
49	'''Ryan''': [[NotHelpingYourCase Well, technically Jenny did. I– I’ve only been... managing your profile.]]\
50	'''Esposito''': Did you think I wouldn’t find out? I almost arrested that girl.\
51	'''Ryan''': Well, we were hoping that you’d be so into her that you’d just let it go.\
52	'''Esposito''': What the hell is wrong with you? I can find my own dates.\
53	'''Ryan''': I know. But you haven’t. And the ski weekend is coming up. Look, look, look, look. We were just trying to help.
54	* StringTheory: After Castle becomes convinced that Cole was murdered and didn't kill Eva, Beckett walks into his office to see a board covered with a complex timeline evidence and strings.
55	* TheSummation: Beckett and Castle's final conversation with Aubrey doubles as this since it explains everything that she did.
56	--> '''Beckett''': Ms. Haskins, you should know what Cole Whitfield’s bloodwork came in showing [[SlippingAMickey high levels of sedatives]].\
57	'''Castle''': So high, in fact, [[NeverSuicide he wouldn’t be able to hang himself]].\
58	'''Beckett''': So we re-checked his phone records and noticed that you called his house on numerous occasions.\
59	'''Aubrey''': Of course I did. I’m general counsel for Cole’s company.\
60	'''Beckett''': Yeah, but most of these phone calls came in after Cole was at work.\
61	'''Aubrey''': [[ConnectedAllAlong Eva consulted with me as well.]]\
62	'''Castle''': That’s when you found out her marriage was falling apart. And about her prenup. [[TheCorrupter So you whispered in her ear.]] Told her how she could [[WomanScorned punish Cole and make a little walking away money in the process]].\
63	'''Aubrey''': Really? And why would I do that?\
64	'''Beckett''': You know, we were surprised to learn that Cole’s first wife, [[ChekhovsGunman Mallory]], was [[ConnectedAllAlong a sorority sister of yours in college]]. And you were devastated by her death.\
65	'''Aubrey''': We all were.\
66	'''Beckett''': Yeah, but you were the one who told friends that he got away with murder, so why, after all of these years, would you leave a top-level law firm to join Cole’s company?\
67	''(Aubrey has a few moments of StunnedSilence to herself.)''\
68	'''Castle''': Here’s a theory. You took the job to insinuate yourself into Cole’s life. [[YouKilledMyFather Searching for the right way, the right moment, to get revenge for Mallory.]] And you found it with Eva.\
69	'''Aubrey''': That’s absurd.\
70	'''Beckett''': [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Is it?]] Eva called your cell phone from the corporate apartment landline after she was already supposedly dead.\
71	'''Castle''': Eva got cold feet. She wanted to come forward but you couldn’t have that, not after all those years, after all that planning. [[HeelFaceDoorSlam So you decided that Eva’s fake murder would have to become a real one.]] [[DeceasedFallGuyGambit And killing Cole was just a way of tying up loose ends.]]\
72	'''Aubrey''': [[SmugSnake Wow. That’s an exciting story, Mr. Castle. Maybe it will make a great book, but it doesn’t make for much of a case.]]\
73	'''Beckett''': We got a warrant. [[FailedASpotCheck We found Eva’s blood and DNA in the trunk of your car.]]\
74	''(Aubrey is visibly taken aback that her XanatosSpeedChess backfired.)''\
75	'''Beckett''': It’s over, Ms. Haskins.\
76	'''Aubrey''': [[SmugSnake I doubt it.]]
77	* UnwittingPawn: Both Eva and Robert were ultimately this to Aubrey.
78	* WomanScorned: Aubrey convinced Eva to become this by faking her death (with Robert's help), transferring the $7.4 million in their joint bank accounts to a bank account she made for herself in Switzerland, and then flying to that country so she can live there.
79	* XanatosSpeedChess: After Eva decides to tell the truth to the police, it only takes ''a few hours'' for Aubrey to change her plan. [[HeelFaceDoorSlam Murdering]] [[SheKnowsTooMuch Eva]] at her corporate apartment, Aubrey tossed her corpse into the Hudson River and [[DeceasedFallGuyGambit planted evidence that would implicate Cole]] [[NeverSuicide before killing him as well]]. [[NearVillainVictory It almost worked]].

Context Recap / CastleS7E13IWitness