The body of Laura Cambridge is found in a car that was abandoned in an alley. The victim’s purse was found ditched in a nearby dumpster. There was money inside, but no cell phone. A run of the license plate reveals that car came from the motor pool at City Hall. The last person to use it happens to be Castle’s good friend—Mayor Robert Weldon.

Mayor Weldon doesn’t recognize the victim. He says the car was reported stolen from a fundraiser the night of the murder. Weldon also reveals that he’s planning to make a run for governor. Castle and Beckett meet the mayor’s Chief of Staff, Brian Shay, and his Deputy Assistant, Jordan Norris. Shay assures Beckett that he will do whatever it takes to protect the mayor. Beckett assures Shay that she’ll do whatever it takes to catch a killer.

Laura Cambridge was once a literature professor who cut off all ties to her previous life about six months ago. Her landlord saw a tall, Caucasian man with dark hair leaving her place the night she was killed. Her sister says Laura was in trouble because of something that happened at her job. Castle and Beckett are shocked to learn that Laura has spent the last six months working as a phone sex operator.

The Chief Sexecutive Officer at Dial-A-Goddess says Laura was one of her most popular employees. The company’s call dispatcher, Sarah, says Laura asked for the contact information of a client, Edgar Navarro. She needed his help to copy some digital recordings. Laura had heard something on a call. Something bad. Someone posing as a gas man steals the hard drive containing all the calls from Laura’s workplace. The imposter matches the description of the person seen leaving Laura’s apartment.