Castle Episode 7.07 Once Upon a Time in the West

A certain trio of Castle and Beckett's crime-solving colleagues is a little peeved that they weren't invited to the wedding that took place in "The Time of Our Lives." Lanie gets over it quickly, but Ryan and Espo hold a grudge. Castle is smack-dab in the middle of some serious awkwardness until a call comes in about a murder. What luck! On the downside, Castle discovers he won't be going on a honeymoon anytime soon. Beckett used up all of her vacation days searching for him.

Whitney Williams died after going into cardiac arrest at a hospital. Her last word was "diamondback." The victim was a scholar who was sent to the finest schools by a program that helps disadvantaged children. Phillip Dagmar is the sponsor of the program. His wife says Whitney's mother died recently. The victim was at a dude ranch in Arizona with the name Diamondback. All indications are that she was poisoned there.

Castle suggests an undercover operation at the dude ranch after the local sheriff refuses to help. He and Beckett pose as honeymooners. Gentleman James Grady welcomes though to the old west ranch. There are staff hands in red bandanas everywhere to help with their adventure of choice. Grady's wife, Daisy May, gets Castle and Beckett set up in the bunkhouse where Whitney stayed. Their room isn't exactly a suite at the plaza.

Castle and Beckett's bunkhouse-mate, Tobias, says Whitney used to stay out all night with one of the ranch hands. The guy was married. Beckett looks for clues in a hog-tying class while Castle checks out the town saloon were the marshal asks him if he's seen the "wanted" Peacock brothers. No such luck. Castle does, however, find a married ranch hand named Ollie, who gets ticked when he accuses him of being a cheater.

Ollie claims Whitney came on to him to get his key to the ranch shed. The victim stole some of the dynamite that was inside. She was snooping around a Native American reservation. Castle picks up a stagecoach, not to mention his and her six-shooters, for their trip to the reservation. They learn that Whitney was looking for a river or stream. She needed a word translated that could have meant one but not the other.

Castle and Beckett take a break from the case to sit by a fire under the starry Arizona sky. It's almost like they are on a real honeymoon. Then things go south fast. Beckett stops a sexy striptease to shoot at Castle between his legs. It's to get rid of a rattlesnake that was headed his way. Their horses, named Ryan and Esposito, take off on them. This is so not their honeymoon.

Back in New York, Ryan and Esposito (not the horses) recover Whitney's research. They also find a letter from a guy named Clyde that's dated 1992. It was addressed to "Slim" in care of a woman named Rebecca Doolin of Hoboken, New Jersey. Clyde, who was partnering with someone named Dutch, was looking for the meaning of the same word Whitney was looking to clarify. It holds the secret of the Peacock Boys.

Castle finds it hard to concentrate on the case with Beckett dressed in her sexy cowgirl outfit. Nevertheless, they learn that the Peacock Boys were train robbers from 1893 who were eventually gunned down. However, the gold they stole was gone. Whitney believed treasure hunters were looking for the gold in the wrong place. Castle literally wants to go for the gold to crack the case.

Slim was the nickname of Whitney's mother. Clyde was her dad. Castle and Beckett find what they believe is the missing gold. Instead, they discover skeletal remains. It's Clyde. Whitey must have found the bones, too. She flew back to New York to confront Phillip Dagmar, who says he didn't kill anyone. He knows who did though. It was his other partner, Gentleman James Grady.

Castle is in the salon with Grady, who is a very quick draw. The two men stare each other down. Their fingers near their respective guns. DRAW! BANG! Grady's gun is shot out of his hand by the fastest cowgirl in the west and the best detective in New York City-Kate Beckett Castle.

Captain Gates tells Esposito and Ryan to stop their whining about not being invited to the wedding. She suggests a way to make things up to their friends. Back in Arizona, Beckett throws a rope around Castle. She reveals that Ryan and Espo have given her some of their vacation days as a wedding present. They'll be staying in the old west little longer. After all, this is their honeymoon! Of course, Beckett still wants to go to that island getaway they had planned all along. But for now... Giddyup!