Tessa Horton is found dead and strapped to the ceiling of her apartment by jagged wire. A symbol has been carved into her forehead. She appears to be the victim of a ritualistic murder. The killer took time to clean up, but there are prints on the doorway. Portions of Tessa’s hard drive have been wiped clean. The victim’s roommate says her friend was a shy girl who was seeing a mystery man. Shockingly, the prints found on the doorway are a match to our favorite mystery man: Richard Castle.

Beckett believes Castle must have touched the door when he first visited the crime scene, yet CSU claims the prints were there before he arrived. The victim’s neighbor gives a description of a gentleman who visited Tessa the night she was killed. Her boss, Lloyd Kurtzman, matches the sketch artist’s portrait. The team tries to link Kurtzman to a custom earring found at the crime scene. Too bad surveillance footage shows someone else buying the jewelry. The guy on the tape looks familiar. The guy on the tape looks a lot like Castle.

A mildly-freaked Beckett knows there has to be an explanation behind this latest lead. Ryan has no choice but to let Esposito in on the secret relationship their colleagues have recently struck up. As for the case, things are looking bad for Castle when his friends show up at his place with a search warrant. They traced the jewelry purchase back to him through his financial records. They also find physical evidence linking him to the murder of Tessa Horton. Castle is cuffed and placed under arrest.