The Murder of Johanna Beckett: Chapter Four

Season three ended with the revelation that Captain Roy Montgomery was a member of the trio of police officers who had kidnapped members of the New York criminal underworld as a form of vigilante justice. The unintentional death of an undercover federal agent at the hands of Montgomery inadvertently led to the eventual murder of Johanna Beckett, although the Captain himself was not involved in that crime. Shortly thereafter, Montgomery and his cohorts fell under the thumb of an unnamed mastermind who used his knowledge of their actions to secure financial and political power. Kate Beckett’s investigation into her mother’s death threatened to reveal the resulting conspiracy, and Roy Montgomery sacrificed his life during the conclusion of season three in order to secure her protection.

Despite his efforts, Kate Beckett was shot in the final moments of “Knockout,” leaving her life hanging in the balance. While Beckett ultimately survives the assassination attempt, the assassin himself leaves few clues in his wake. The rifle recovered once belonged to a Navy Seal killed in action seven years earlier, for instance, and despite the sea of police officers present at Roy Montgomery’s funeral—the location of the shooting—the would-be killer still managed to avoid detection. No fingerprints were left behind but DNA samples were found at the scene, although there are no current matches in the criminal database.

“It just doesn’t make any sense,” Richard Castle tells Beckett’s NYPD partners Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan. “It was supposed to be over. Montgomery sacrificed himself. He said he was ending it. He said that he was doing it to keep her safe. So if the plan was to keep her safe, then why the hell are they still coming after her?” His seemingly rhetorical question is soon answered when he receives an anonymous phone call from someone claiming to be a friend of the former police captain. “He said Montgomery sent him some files,” Castle explains to his mother Martha Rodgers afterwards. “Files that if they ever got out, could hurt some very powerful people. They were using those files as a threat to keep Montgomery’s family from ever being harmed. Beckett’s safety was also part of the deal. He didn’t get the files until after she was shot. He says she’s safe now on one condition—she can’t go near the case. If she does, he can’t guarantee her safety.”

Although not directly related to either Kate Beckett or the death of her mother, the conspiracy surrounding the murder of Johanna Beckett resurfaces in the season four episode of Castle entitled “Dial M for Mayor.” When a former literature professor is found dead in a car that is part of the City Hall motor pool, Mayor Robert Weldon immediately becomes a suspect in the resulting investigation. It is not the only criminal inquiry that the Mayor is facing, however, as the Attorney General’s office is also looking into the embezzlement of $2.3 million from one of the Mayor’s charities.

Earlier in the episode, Richard Castle is once again contacted by the mysterious Deep Throat and, with the political future of Mayor Weldon in severe jeopardy, the former friend of Roy Montgomery leads Castle to a different suspect—Jordan Norris, deputy assistant to the Mayor’s chief of staff. Not only was Norris responsible for embezzling the money with the intention of framing Mayor Weldon, but his conversation about the scheme to the murder victim during a call with a phone sex service directly led to her death. Norris did none of those things on his own, however, but on the behalf of someone whom he refuses to identify.

When Deep Throat first receives the package from Roy Montgomery in the opening installment of season four, he is seen placing a phone call to Washington DC. “Congressional offices, please,” he tells the United States Capital operator, insinuating that the mastermind behind the ongoing conspiracy has national political ties. Mayor Weldon adds to the possibility when he explains to Richard Castle that although his innocence has been proven, the fallout has limited his own future ambitions. “There are people out there,” he explains to Castle. “People who control what goes on in this city and beyond. I wouldn’t play ball so they took me out of the game. It’s been decided—this is as far as I get.”

Confused by the events of “Dial M for Mayor,” Castle demands a second meeting with Deep Throat for an explanation. “You play chess, Mr. Castle?” the mystery man asks after clarifying that his actions were designed to protect Kate Beckett by ensuring that Castle—whose consulting arrangement with the NYPD is contingent upon his friendship with Mayor Weldon—remains by her side. “There are times when a well-placed pawn is more powerful than a king.”

Just how powerful of a pawn Richard Castle may actually be is put to the test during the fourth season finale of Castle, “Always.” When the body of a reformed Latino gang member is discovered in an isolated alley, a potential connection to the crime and the murder of Johanna Beckett arises when it is determined that the victim had earlier broken into the home of Roy Montgomery. Although she was supposed to be away that particular evening, Montgomery’s widow interrupted the thief as he was rifling through the former captain’s personal files. Although the linkage initially appears circumstantial, it is later confirmed when DNA evidence left at the crime scene matches the DNA found on the rifle that almost killed Kate Beckett a year earlier.

“Most likely it’s a clean-up job, making sure Montgomery had nothing else incriminating in his files,” Deep Throat explains to Richard Castle. “As long as Beckett drops her investigation, we still hold all the cards. If she doesn’t stop, they will retaliate. I can’t control the situation if you can’t control her.” With no alternative available to him, Richard Castle concludes that his only option is to finally tell Kate Beckett the truth about his involvement. The words—as well as his admittance that he is in love with Beckett—fail to deter the homicide detective, however, who inevitably feels betrayed by the actions. “You cut a deal for my life like I was some sort of child,” she angrily replies. “My life. Mine. You don’t get to decide.” Castle in turn responds, “Your right, Kate. It’s your life. You can throw it away if you want but I’m not going to stick around and watch you, so this is over.”

Now even more determined to find the man who tried to kill her, Beckett resumes her secret investigation with the sole assistance of Javier Esposito and Kevin Ryan. They eventually track the suspect to a shady hotel, but the would-be assassin gets the drop on them and leaves Beckett dangling from the ledge of a rooftop. Fortunately Ryan realized that the trio were in over their heads and informed Captain Victoria Gates of their actions. While Beckett herself was rescued at the last minute, her actions lead to a suspension from the police force. “Keep it,” she replies when asked by Gates for her badge. “I resign.” After a long walk on the rain soaked streets of New York City, she finds her way to Richard Castle’s apartment and confesses her own feelings for the successful mystery writer. “He got away and I didn’t care,” Beckett tells him in regards to the events of the evening. “I almost died and all I could think about was you.”

It turns out, however, that the break-in at Roy Montgomery’s house is more than a clean-up job and was instead a reconnaissance mission to obtain the identity of Deep Throat. “You have some sensitive information about my employer,” the man who twice tried to kill Kate Beckett tells Deep Throat when he finally tracks him down. The episode then ends with the assassin’s final words to the former friend of Roy Montgomery—“You’re going to tell me where all that information is, and after you do, I’m going to put Kate Beckett in the ground.”

Anthony Letizia (June 6, 2012)

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