Crossing Jordan s01e01 Episode Script
Pilot
So, Jordan, what brings you to our anger management workshop today? Well, I was remanded here by my place of employment.
I kicked my boss in the cojones.
He kind of found that to be a problem.
See, I had this guy's brain in my hand when my boss asked me another one of his patronizing questions, and Oh, speaking of, I prefer Dr.
Cavanaugh.
Thanks.
Like I said, I had this guy's brain in my hand, so I couldn't very well punch him, right? I'm a medical examiner for the County Coroner's office.
I cut up dead people for a living.
It's a great way to manage your anger, man.
I see.
And just what exactly are you angry at, Dr.
Cavanaugh? You mean besides inane questions? Oh, I don't know.
The designated hitter always ticked me off.
Then, of course, there's all the crap I see in my line of work.
People killed by drunk drivers, psychos who murder innocent people for no reason.
Injustice.
Yeah, that pisses me off pretty good.
Or how about a ten-year-old girl who has to hear from her fourth grade teacher at recess that her mom was murdered? Her dad left alone to raise her without a mom, without a wife, on a cop's salary.
Does that work for you? Oh, shoot.
What? Oh.
Really? Boston? No, actually, yeah.
It just so happens that I'm available.
Okay.
Yeah, I can be there in the morning.
Thanks.
Bye.
Never mind.
Great.
Yeah, thanks for the help.
Your attention, please.
This is the final boarding call for flight 1203 to Boston's Logan Airport.
Final boarding call to Boston's Logan Airport.
Look, I know I had my problems here in the past.
Wow.
Wow.
My old job back? How flattering.
Okay.
How long are you gonna hold this against me for? Well, that's my final offer.
Take it or leave it.
Please, I really need this job.
Please.
Hello, Jordan.
Garret.
It's nice to see you still dress for success.
Wanted to make a good first impression.
You didn't five years ago.
Why should now be any different? Gloria? How you doing, baby? What you doing here? Oh, I'll let you know when I find out.
Gloria.
We'll talk later.
Uh-huh.
Things have changed since you left, Jordan.
Budget cuts, layoffs.
It seems the death industry isn't economy proof after all.
Whatever happened to Yakura? Oh.
Yeah, you didn't hear? She outmaneuvered me for the job, thereby insuring my slow death in the middle rung of this place forever.
Is everything okay between you two? Yakura? Oh, yeah.
Sure, fine.
How about you? No.
Bug? Hey, man, how you doing? Jordan? Did you lose something, Bug? My larvae.
A thousand of them.
Amazonian butterflies.
They were in two cases this big.
Gee, I'm so sorry.
Wish I could help.
Obviously, some things haven't changed.
We might have to start writing his name in his underwear.
Seen this morning's paper yet? Jonathan Mulroy killed himself.
Really? Yeah.
Dr.
Cavanaugh.
This is so cool.
Kelly, why are you still here? What happened to the circus? Kelly.
This place is going to hell and it's about to get crazier.
Mulroy killed himself? Wow, I think I voted for him.
Well, good.
You can tell him yourself.
He should be here any minute, along with half of City Hall, the D.
A.
S, the press.
Just what we need.
You smell something funny? Garret, it's a morgue.
It's supposed to smell bad.
Thank you.
Yes, that's the problem in a nutshell.
You seem a little stressed.
You have no idea.
My nerves are shot.
I've got an ulcer, high blood pressure, insomnia, constipation.
I get the picture.
It's just I got talked into making a speech tomorrow for career day at Bunker Hill Community College.
I've been a nervous wreck about it all week.
Oh, you'll do fine.
Wow, with your winning personality and Yeah.
Five jobs in four years, that's impressive.
Oh, you know me.
Short attention span.
Uh-huh.
Commendation from Chicago P.
D.
"Solved five murders.
Exemplary skills.
" "Very passionate about her work.
" "Excellent diagnostician.
" So? I know I had my problems here in the past.
Yeah.
No, really.
I just completed an anger management class.
Well, that's good.
Come on, Garret.
Are you giving me my job back or not? Yeah, I am.
But like I said, we've been squeezed pretty hard around here lately, so this is the best I can do.
Is this a joke? No, you brought me all the way back here for this? I could get more on the street selling my kidneys! Just one second.
Hold it.
Hold it.
How can I I want to read this off.
Listen.
One second.
I'm gonna read you some comments that I failed to mention.
Oh, please do.
Listen and learn.
"Insubordination.
" "Obsessive desire to solve crimes.
" You think that's funny, Nancy Drew? "Inability to perform duties without causing bodily harm to co-workers.
" Come on, Jordan.
No, if you knew the story Quiet! Listen to me.
Jordan! The truth is no one else wants you, Jordan.
I'm sorry.
But you want my advice? You take this offer, stay under the radar, do your job and let the cops do theirs.
And for God's sake, would it kill you to put on a business suit? Aw, what the hell? I never cared about money anyway.
Good.
They found a Jane Doe in the alley behind the bus depot.
Possible OD.
Thanks.
So when can you start? How about now? Hey, Joe.
Hey, darling.
Can I help you? Yeah, I'm Dr.
Cavanaugh, the M.
E.
Assigned to this case.
Ah, right.
I remember you from a few years ago, right? Yeah, how could I forget? Sorry I can't say the same about you.
You must be Detective Lang.
No, Detective Collins, Homicide.
Any idea who the decedent is? Nothing so far.
We found this next to the body.
Couple rocks, some crystal meth, PCP.
Working girls like to come down here to score.
Looks to me like she got a little too happy, sat down, died.
Well, I'll take a liver temp.
Cavanaugh, huh? I knew your old man.
Oh, don't worry.
I was one of his friends.
What they did to him, letting him go like that, it's a real shame.
Yeah, well.
It happens sometimes.
Cop gets obsessed with a case, can't let go.
She wasn't a case, she was my mother.
Oh, I'm sorry.
You know, I was just How's he doing? Oh, okay, I guess.
A little lonely.
I'm sure he'd much rather still be on the job.
Well, say hello to him for me, all right? Yeah, sure.
I'll do that.
Subject is a Jane Doe, What's that? It fell out of her jacket.
Thanks.
What is it? A rosary.
She was Catholic.
No bruises, no stretch marks.
I don't know, most of your hookers look like they've been rode hard and put up wet.
Not this girl.
William, could you please get me a rape kit? You got it.
Just a second.
Gloria.
I need to get into Trace Evidence.
Good luck.
We've got Mulroy in here.
D.
A.
's making Yakura go over everything in triplicate.
I thought it was a suicide.
I know.
I thought so.
Everyone's real nervous about it for some reason.
Well, why'd Mulroy do it? Kill himself? I don't know.
Money, politics, a woman? He'd been in the press a lot lately.
So how much longer? A couple of hours.
Go see your dad, get settled in.
Lady, what's the rush? There's no rush.
It's just this case I'm working on.
Teenage prostitute.
Yeah.
Took a really weird turn on me.
How? Well, I just did a pelvic exam on her.
She's still a virgin.
Bang.
What are you doing here? I'm back.
I got my old job back.
Ho-ho! No kidding? Yeah.
Ho-ho! That's great.
That's great.
I thought I'd crash here for a while until I find a place of my own.
Sure, sure.
What happened to LA? Oh, Jordan.
Geez, you cannot go through life poking everybody but God in the eye.
You did.
Yeah.
Look where it got me.
Come on.
Well, the place looks good.
We're gonna go live now to City Hall for an update Wow, it's so clean.
on the death of Councilman Mulroy.
Friends and colleagues are shocked You hear about this? and surprised at the apparent suicide of Councilman Yeah, they're doing the autopsy right now.
Jonathan Mulroy.
He was found dead in his office by a custodian after casting the swing vote that approved the controversial Back Bay Development Project.
It makes no sense.
I've known Mulroy since he was a judge.
He's been all over the papers lately in this big fight with Donald Ballard.
Ballard, the real estate guy? The holdout vote on a $250 million city contract to Ballard.
Next minute, he changes his vote, goes back to his office and hangs himself with his own belt.
he is survived by a wife and two small children.
Ballard.
Reporting live from City Hall I'd follow that lead in a heartbeat.
If I was Now let's get a check of your Accu-Weather forecast.
Listen, I've been reading about this new DNA test they've been doing in Denver, and they've had a lot of success with blood samples as old as 50 years.
Now, this could be the break that we're I'm not interested anymore, Jordan.
What are you talking about? There's this book.
You gotta read it.
Evelyn gave it to me.
Evelyn? Yeah, well, it changed my life.
See, it talks about the five stages of grieving.
There's denial, anger, bargaining, depression, until you finally get to acceptance.
That's what I'm trying to tell you.
I've accepted it.
What do you mean you've accepted it? She was murdered.
You never cried, Jordan.
What? You never cried when she died.
You're still stuck in the anger part.
See? Now, that there, that explains an awful lot.
I am not angry, damn it! And who the hell is Evelyn? Is somebody calling me? I've been meaning to call you about it.
So this here is Jordan, my daughter.
Oh, my goodness.
I've heard so much about you.
Oh Well, here, sit, sit, sit, sit.
Wow.
So Well, you're gonna stay a while, right? Uh-huh.
I know that look, mama.
Don't go caring about her.
She's just a body.
And every body tells a story.
Now, what's yours? There's some kind of powder on her hair.
I'll run an analysis.
Look at this.
There's a hair wedged in next to her bicuspid.
It's wool.
In her mouth? Except for that strand there.
What is that, an eyelash? No, arm hair.
Forearm, actually.
Except, it's not hers.
Wrong color.
She bit someone, through a wool sweater, probably right before she died.
How do you know that? If you've got a hair in your mouth, you feel it.
You take it out.
Judging by how far it was wedged up there, it probably left a hell of a mark.
I thought you said she OD'd? We won't know until the tox screen comes back in the morning.
Unless.
Because I can't think of three words to describe my mother.
Look, it's just a headstone.
What do you usually put on 'em? Uh, fine, fine.
I'll work on it and I'll get back to you.
Garret, how long will it take to requisition a gallon of cyanoacrylate? Don't, don't, don't, don't.
I can get it by tomorrow afternoon.
Why? I'm gonna try to pull a fingerprint off my Jane Doe.
You had the simplest assignment on the books.
It was a sign out.
I know, and I had every intention of staying under the radar, until I found petechial hemorrhages in her eyes.
The cause of death wasn't an overdose, Garret.
It was suffocation.
She was murdered.
It's great to have you back, Jordan.
You were wrong.
Oh, man, that is a hell of a way to start a conversation.
You sound like my ex-wife.
Our Jane Doe, someone smothered her.
I think with a garbage bag.
Oh, wait.
Did you find any trace evidence? We found residue from a talc used inside garbage bags on her face and head.
Other than that, she was clean.
Except I think she bit the perp on the arm.
Probably left a hell of a bruise.
Yeah, but what about the drugs we found? I'll know more after the autopsy this afternoon.
But first I'm gonna try to find a print of the perp's on her body.
Oh, yeah.
We found this rosary in her pocket.
There's a bin number on the clasp.
It might not mean anything.
Well, we'll open a file.
Great.
Thanks.
I gotta get back to work.
Good morning, Bug.
Huh? What's so good about it? So you're the new guy.
I used to be the new guy.
Tremain Sanders.
Call me Trey.
Well, I'm Jordan Cavanaugh, and you can call me whatever you want.
I'm doing a one year fellowship.
I've got four months left.
Well, I'll make sure we don't get to know each other too well.
That's not gonna be easy.
We're cellmates.
This is my desk.
Look, there's $10 in it for anyone who finds my larvae.
They are about to hatch.
So please, don't make me beg.
Sure, Bug.
We'll take a memo on that.
From what I hear about you, at least I won't be the only one getting yelled at by Yakura around here.
Well, don't believe everything you hear.
You know, that used to be her desk there.
Yakura was in here? Yeah, we shared an office.
Well, she certainly traded up.
What happened to you? Let's just say she was a little more of a team player than I was.
You know, we should probably go out and grab dinner sometime, get to know each other better.
Well, you mean sharing a ten by ten office space isn't enough closeness for you? Good point.
I'm here today to talk to you about a career in the exciting field of medical examination.
Now, one might ask what are the skills needed for this dynamic profession? I'm glad you asked that.
For one thing, it helps to be a people person.
You suck.
Oh, hey.
Grab a mask and a face shield.
Oh, hey.
If you like tall, cute guys.
Well, you know me.
I always did have a thing for cops.
Anything? No, not yet.
You know how hard it is to lift a print off human skin.
Even harder to get a viable one.
What about you? I came up empty.
Canvassed the whole neighborhood.
It's like she landed from Mars.
What about the rosary? We traced the bin number back to the distributor.
It's purchased from a shop on Clemens Street.
But get this, that store went out of business nine years ago.
So why was it still in the box? I don't know.
You know what? The encounter wasn't sexual.
She trusted him.
I don't think we're gonna find a print down here.
Can I take this up to her face? Yeah.
Thanks.
There it is.
How do we know it's not one of her own? Well, we don't, not yet.
Well, it's definitely not one of hers.
Points are all different.
But you got yourself a thumb here.
Pretty good one, too.
I got a hunch he's a local.
Let's narrow the search down to Massachusetts DMV.
Yes, ma'am.
And how are you doing with our Jane Doe? Still no ID.
No criminal record, no military, no DMV.
How about running her photo through the missing persons database? Dude, I'm already there.
Sweet.
This could take a while.
You want to grab a cup of coffee? Sure.
Okay.
You know, the way you found that print back there, you think like a cop.
Did your father teach you that? When I was a kid, at night after I'd gone to bed Uh-huh.
my dad would sit at the kitchen table with a glass of Scotch and he'd lay out all the evidence from a case he'd been working on and just stare at it.
Now, I would get out of bed and spy on him.
And he always knew I was there.
And one night, he asked me over, and he says, "Okay, who do you want to be, the victim or the killer?" And that's how it started.
It was like our very own game of Clue, except it was never Colonel Mustard in the drawing room with a knife.
Geez, that's kind of a heavy thing to lay on a kid, isn't it? Well, I guess after everything we'd been through together, it just seemed kind of natural, you know? So, I was wondering, do you, you know, you ever date outside of your Species? Yeah.
They found a match.
Looks like you've got yourself a winner here.
It's Councilman Mulroy.
He had some kind of encounter with her.
But not sexual.
Or at least not consummated yet.
Either way, she wound up dead.
Yeah, and so he kills himself.
Exactly.
It's circumstantial at best.
Not if he's got a bite mark on his arm, it isn't.
Charlie, which drawer is Mulroy in? Sorry, he's gone already.
Define "gone.
" They came and took him away.
The wake's today.
They're burying him.
So what now? There's only one other way to find out.
Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait, wait, wait.
Listen, no, no.
No way.
Look, there are proper channels we can go through for this.
We'll get a search warrant.
Look at this place.
I'm surprised the whole city isn't shut down by now.
The mayor, the D.
A.
, city council Even Donald Ballard showed up.
Mmm? The one in the $3000 suit.
Now, he would be a prime suspect if Mulroy's death was ruled anything but a suicide.
Hey, I will not be a part of this.
No one asked you to be.
What do you think you're doing? I wanted to see if he was wearing the ring I gave him for our anniversary.
You're not Mrs.
Mulroy.
No.
Oh.
Oh.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
He didn't kill her.
Clarice Jenner from Roanoke, Virginia.
She was 17.
Contact her next of kin.
Get them up here as soon as possible.
Okay.
Oh, you know what, could you do me a favor? Run a background check on someone for me.
Donald Ballard.
The Donald Ballard? Just get anything you can on him.
Criminal records, indictments.
Send it over to my office.
Yeah, will do.
What are you looking at? I'm here today I'm sorry, I'm a little bit nervous.
I'm here today to speak to you about a career in the exciting field of medical examination.
So, what is As a medi I'm sorry.
Listen, you don't want to do what I do for a living.
I'm the last guy in the world you should be taking career advice from.
Do you want to hear something? I actually have a puppet on my desk.
My shrink gave him to me.
I'm supposed to use him to say all the things that I'm too chicken to say myself, so maybe he's the guy that should be here talking to you instead of me.
You want my career advice? Because here it is.
Don't follow in your father's footsteps.
Don't follow in anybody's footsteps.
Don't become a doctor just because your mother wants you to become a doctor or because your father never once said he loved you in your whole lousy life.
I don't care.
Take that and do something noble.
Go be an artist.
Be a poet.
Do you understand the courage it takes to become a poet? Find something beautiful in life, even if it's just for a moment.
Something that tells you, you're alive.
That it's gonna be okay.
Anybody have any questions about that? Don't forget what I said.
I'm gonna find out who did this to you.
So, that's all I've got.
Not much.
I know.
She and Mulroy were connected somehow, but how? So, who do you want to be? Victim or killer? Oh, we haven't done that in a long time, Jordan.
I'll be the victim.
I'll be Mulroy.
All right.
It's early evening.
It's just gotten dark.
I'm in the alley.
It's cold out, freezing, but I don't feel it.
I don't feel anything.
It's the barbiturates.
No, you're not in the alley.
You're with me.
Someplace safe and warm.
My car.
You're not afraid of me, because you don't realize yet that I'm gonna kill you.
I trust you.
Yes.
I touch your face.
Why? Maybe you're my mistress.
But I'm still a virgin.
Maybe not for long.
But you reject me.
I can't stand that.
If I can't have you then no one will.
But you don't murder me yourself.
You got someone else to kill me.
How? I'm a politician.
People owe me favors.
But who? I don't know.
Then kill me and we'll find out.
It's cold.
You don't see me.
Someone's in the shadows.
Is it you? I try to resist.
But you're too strong.
And I fight you.
But it's too late.
I can't breathe.
I'm scared.
I don't want to die.
Jordan.
Jordan! You okay? There's too much missing.
What's the connection between them? Until I figure out what she was doing with him You're sure there's nothing else? The rosary.
She had a rosary, but it was still in the box.
It had never been used.
It's just like the one that Mom gave me for my confirmation.
This wasn't from your mother.
I bought it for you when you were born.
It's an old Irish tradition.
The father always gives his daughter a rosary for her confirmation.
Mulroy's an Irish name.
That's it.
Mulroy was her father.
Mulroy.
I didn't think I'd ever hear that name again.
I tried to give her a good life.
I raised her by myself, working two jobs.
She was obsessed with finding out who her father was.
I told her I would tell her someday.
I should have said he was dead.
Five days ago, she got a phone call.
The man wouldn't say who he was and she wouldn't tell me, either.
The next day she was gone.
And you think this was Mulroy? No, of course not.
He wished she had never been born.
I was 20 years old, all strung out, you know.
I was arrested for possession.
He was a judge then.
He said he'd get me parole if I slept with him.
So I did.
Strange, isn't it? A love for a father is a powerful thing.
Even when he don't want you.
They found out about it somehow, contacted her, told her they knew who her father was.
Yeah, but who? Mulroy was a politician.
He had lots of enemies.
Could have been anyone.
Ballard.
Uh, no.
Too easy.
He and Mulroy had been at each other's throats in the press for two weeks.
It's too public.
You think it's just coincidence that Mulroy changed his vote at the last minute, handing Ballard a $250 million contract? Come on, he was blackmailed.
They were gonna expose his illegitimate daughter.
Do you expect me to believe that Donald Ballard's walking around right now with a bite mark on his arm, that he actually killed her? Not personally, no.
But 250 million bucks buys a hell of a lot of cover.
Oh, so now it's a massive conspiracy, huh? Mulroy grew himself a conscience and killed himself at the last minute.
They never planned on that.
Don't you see, that left them with a teenage girl out there who knew too much.
They had no choice.
They had to kill her.
Look, even if that were true, I don't know how you would even approach the D.
A.
With something like this.
Ballard plays golf with the governor.
Then maybe he just needs a little prodding.
Where are you going? To see Ballard.
Whoa, whoa.
And say what, that, "You're under arrest"? You are not a cop, Jordan, and you are gonna cost us this whole damn case.
Now, why don't you just stick to your job and let me do mine? Do you understand? Yeah.
Yeah? Oh, where? Hey, hey, hey.
Yeah, I'll be right over.
Jordan, got a suspect.
What? Yeah, they got him in Mass General in the ER.
I'll meet you there.
All right.
He's a junkie who lives in a flophouse half a block from the crime scene.
It was a routine stop by a couple of beat cops.
He ran.
He hid under a house.
But how do we know it's him? He confessed.
He says he got her high, tried to get in her pants, and when she put up a fight, he killed her.
What about the bite mark? Well, see for yourself.
If there's one there, good luck finding it.
Yeah, they sent in a K-9 unit to flush him out.
Doctor says it's gonna take over a 100 stitches.
What about the murder weapon? Evidence bag.
We're gonna send this down to the lab and see if they can pull some trace evidence off of it.
Make sure you look on the inside for eyeliner and lipstick.
Actually, it's not gonna be necessary.
Looks like you found your murder weapon.
Excuse me.
So, about that little dinner we're supposed to have.
Yeah, uh, listen.
I'm sure you're a really nice guy.
I mean, you're very attractive and all.
You probably graduated top 10º/º of your class? Five, top five.
Five.
The fact is I can't go out with anybody I work with.
Believe me, nothing good ever comes of it.
Oh-ho, man.
That's embarrassing.
You thought I was asking you out? Weren't you? No.
I just figured being low men on the totem pole, we could stick together, watch each other's back.
That's all.
Truth is you don't have anything to worry about with me.
Why is that? Sorry, but I don't date white women.
Yeah, this is Collins.
Why'd he give her the rosary? What? Mulroy.
He didn't love her, never acknowledged her.
Why'd he give it to her? Come on, Jordan.
It's over.
We've got our man.
I keep thinking something doesn't make sense.
There's never a happy ending to these things.
There's just closure.
I want to apologize The Ballard file.
for those things that I said earlier.
Why don't you let me make it up to you? Have a drink with me.
Sure.
Great.
And I will meet you at the Tap Room at the Plaza at 9:30.
Okay.
Okay, I'll see you then.
Is everything okay? Why did you lead me to believe that you don't know Donald Ballard? What are you talking about? You worked for him.
As a bodyguard.
I saw a photograph.
What, are you checking me out? You acted as though you'd never even seen the man before.
Why wouldn't you at least mention that you worked for him? Yeah, but I worked for the mayor, too.
What, are you gonna arrest me for that? You know, half the guys on the force moonlight doing security details.
Hell, I make $38 grand a year.
I barely met the guy.
Is everyone a suspect to you? Roll up your sleeves.
What? I want to see your arms.
You're crazy, you know that? Hmm? You really are your father's daughter.
I'm sorry.
Hey, I just saw you in the photo and I thought What, that I'm the killer? Huh? That's great.
That is just great.
It's me.
I get all worked up over things.
I care way too much about my cases and it gets me into trouble.
That's why my life is a disaster half the time.
You know, I've got no editor in my brain.
You know, and the worst part of it all is that I was really starting to like you.
I'm sorry.
Are we moving too fast? No.
No.
Okay.
I just need to Do you have a bathroom? I do.
It's over there.
Great.
Want something to drink? Yeah, uh, sure.
Whatever you got.
Scotch all right? Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
I think this is where we left off.
Yeah? Oh.
Oh, my gosh.
What's this? Oh, what have we here? Oh, I've been a bad boy.
Hmm, really? I've been a very bad boy.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Are we moving too fast? Not at all.
Whoa, whoa, wait, wait a minute.
What are you doing? Everyone knows you never wear white when you use concealer.
You know, this goes a lot higher than Ballard.
You don't want to piss these people off.
Why not? Because they're gonna kill me? Truth is I don't care if I die.
That's my whole problem.
It's what the shrinks told me when I was 15.
I won't serve a day.
You know, it's too bad for you.
You'll never know what you missed.
Hey, Garret? Hey.
I caught the murderer.
You did? Yeah.
Good for you.
But he was just the trigger man.
This thing goes all the way to City Hall.
I'm going after Ballard.
No, you're not.
If there's something there, let the police handle it.
But the Jordan, I hired you back.
I can fire you.
You'd do that? Jordan, let it go, please.
Look, Garret, are you okay? My mother died three weeks ago.
She had Alzheimer's.
I'm sorry.
I You know, I didn't It's all right.
I mean, we hadn't had a real conversation in five years, and I thought I'd already mourned her loss, you know, in my own way, but when she finally died, I don't know, I just Nothing makes any sense anymore.
"Hold dear to your parents "for it is a scary and confusing world without them.
" That's Emily Dickinson.
Listen, I needed to have you back here, Jordan.
Don't ask me why.
I don't even know.
I don't even know myself.
I'll see you in the morning, okay? Yeah.
Okay.
Good night, Garret.
I kicked my boss in the cojones.
He kind of found that to be a problem.
See, I had this guy's brain in my hand when my boss asked me another one of his patronizing questions, and Oh, speaking of, I prefer Dr.
Cavanaugh.
Thanks.
Like I said, I had this guy's brain in my hand, so I couldn't very well punch him, right? I'm a medical examiner for the County Coroner's office.
I cut up dead people for a living.
It's a great way to manage your anger, man.
I see.
And just what exactly are you angry at, Dr.
Cavanaugh? You mean besides inane questions? Oh, I don't know.
The designated hitter always ticked me off.
Then, of course, there's all the crap I see in my line of work.
People killed by drunk drivers, psychos who murder innocent people for no reason.
Injustice.
Yeah, that pisses me off pretty good.
Or how about a ten-year-old girl who has to hear from her fourth grade teacher at recess that her mom was murdered? Her dad left alone to raise her without a mom, without a wife, on a cop's salary.
Does that work for you? Oh, shoot.
What? Oh.
Really? Boston? No, actually, yeah.
It just so happens that I'm available.
Okay.
Yeah, I can be there in the morning.
Thanks.
Bye.
Never mind.
Great.
Yeah, thanks for the help.
Your attention, please.
This is the final boarding call for flight 1203 to Boston's Logan Airport.
Final boarding call to Boston's Logan Airport.
Look, I know I had my problems here in the past.
Wow.
Wow.
My old job back? How flattering.
Okay.
How long are you gonna hold this against me for? Well, that's my final offer.
Take it or leave it.
Please, I really need this job.
Please.
Hello, Jordan.
Garret.
It's nice to see you still dress for success.
Wanted to make a good first impression.
You didn't five years ago.
Why should now be any different? Gloria? How you doing, baby? What you doing here? Oh, I'll let you know when I find out.
Gloria.
We'll talk later.
Uh-huh.
Things have changed since you left, Jordan.
Budget cuts, layoffs.
It seems the death industry isn't economy proof after all.
Whatever happened to Yakura? Oh.
Yeah, you didn't hear? She outmaneuvered me for the job, thereby insuring my slow death in the middle rung of this place forever.
Is everything okay between you two? Yakura? Oh, yeah.
Sure, fine.
How about you? No.
Bug? Hey, man, how you doing? Jordan? Did you lose something, Bug? My larvae.
A thousand of them.
Amazonian butterflies.
They were in two cases this big.
Gee, I'm so sorry.
Wish I could help.
Obviously, some things haven't changed.
We might have to start writing his name in his underwear.
Seen this morning's paper yet? Jonathan Mulroy killed himself.
Really? Yeah.
Dr.
Cavanaugh.
This is so cool.
Kelly, why are you still here? What happened to the circus? Kelly.
This place is going to hell and it's about to get crazier.
Mulroy killed himself? Wow, I think I voted for him.
Well, good.
You can tell him yourself.
He should be here any minute, along with half of City Hall, the D.
A.
S, the press.
Just what we need.
You smell something funny? Garret, it's a morgue.
It's supposed to smell bad.
Thank you.
Yes, that's the problem in a nutshell.
You seem a little stressed.
You have no idea.
My nerves are shot.
I've got an ulcer, high blood pressure, insomnia, constipation.
I get the picture.
It's just I got talked into making a speech tomorrow for career day at Bunker Hill Community College.
I've been a nervous wreck about it all week.
Oh, you'll do fine.
Wow, with your winning personality and Yeah.
Five jobs in four years, that's impressive.
Oh, you know me.
Short attention span.
Uh-huh.
Commendation from Chicago P.
D.
"Solved five murders.
Exemplary skills.
" "Very passionate about her work.
" "Excellent diagnostician.
" So? I know I had my problems here in the past.
Yeah.
No, really.
I just completed an anger management class.
Well, that's good.
Come on, Garret.
Are you giving me my job back or not? Yeah, I am.
But like I said, we've been squeezed pretty hard around here lately, so this is the best I can do.
Is this a joke? No, you brought me all the way back here for this? I could get more on the street selling my kidneys! Just one second.
Hold it.
Hold it.
How can I I want to read this off.
Listen.
One second.
I'm gonna read you some comments that I failed to mention.
Oh, please do.
Listen and learn.
"Insubordination.
" "Obsessive desire to solve crimes.
" You think that's funny, Nancy Drew? "Inability to perform duties without causing bodily harm to co-workers.
" Come on, Jordan.
No, if you knew the story Quiet! Listen to me.
Jordan! The truth is no one else wants you, Jordan.
I'm sorry.
But you want my advice? You take this offer, stay under the radar, do your job and let the cops do theirs.
And for God's sake, would it kill you to put on a business suit? Aw, what the hell? I never cared about money anyway.
Good.
They found a Jane Doe in the alley behind the bus depot.
Possible OD.
Thanks.
So when can you start? How about now? Hey, Joe.
Hey, darling.
Can I help you? Yeah, I'm Dr.
Cavanaugh, the M.
E.
Assigned to this case.
Ah, right.
I remember you from a few years ago, right? Yeah, how could I forget? Sorry I can't say the same about you.
You must be Detective Lang.
No, Detective Collins, Homicide.
Any idea who the decedent is? Nothing so far.
We found this next to the body.
Couple rocks, some crystal meth, PCP.
Working girls like to come down here to score.
Looks to me like she got a little too happy, sat down, died.
Well, I'll take a liver temp.
Cavanaugh, huh? I knew your old man.
Oh, don't worry.
I was one of his friends.
What they did to him, letting him go like that, it's a real shame.
Yeah, well.
It happens sometimes.
Cop gets obsessed with a case, can't let go.
She wasn't a case, she was my mother.
Oh, I'm sorry.
You know, I was just How's he doing? Oh, okay, I guess.
A little lonely.
I'm sure he'd much rather still be on the job.
Well, say hello to him for me, all right? Yeah, sure.
I'll do that.
Subject is a Jane Doe, What's that? It fell out of her jacket.
Thanks.
What is it? A rosary.
She was Catholic.
No bruises, no stretch marks.
I don't know, most of your hookers look like they've been rode hard and put up wet.
Not this girl.
William, could you please get me a rape kit? You got it.
Just a second.
Gloria.
I need to get into Trace Evidence.
Good luck.
We've got Mulroy in here.
D.
A.
's making Yakura go over everything in triplicate.
I thought it was a suicide.
I know.
I thought so.
Everyone's real nervous about it for some reason.
Well, why'd Mulroy do it? Kill himself? I don't know.
Money, politics, a woman? He'd been in the press a lot lately.
So how much longer? A couple of hours.
Go see your dad, get settled in.
Lady, what's the rush? There's no rush.
It's just this case I'm working on.
Teenage prostitute.
Yeah.
Took a really weird turn on me.
How? Well, I just did a pelvic exam on her.
She's still a virgin.
Bang.
What are you doing here? I'm back.
I got my old job back.
Ho-ho! No kidding? Yeah.
Ho-ho! That's great.
That's great.
I thought I'd crash here for a while until I find a place of my own.
Sure, sure.
What happened to LA? Oh, Jordan.
Geez, you cannot go through life poking everybody but God in the eye.
You did.
Yeah.
Look where it got me.
Come on.
Well, the place looks good.
We're gonna go live now to City Hall for an update Wow, it's so clean.
on the death of Councilman Mulroy.
Friends and colleagues are shocked You hear about this? and surprised at the apparent suicide of Councilman Yeah, they're doing the autopsy right now.
Jonathan Mulroy.
He was found dead in his office by a custodian after casting the swing vote that approved the controversial Back Bay Development Project.
It makes no sense.
I've known Mulroy since he was a judge.
He's been all over the papers lately in this big fight with Donald Ballard.
Ballard, the real estate guy? The holdout vote on a $250 million city contract to Ballard.
Next minute, he changes his vote, goes back to his office and hangs himself with his own belt.
he is survived by a wife and two small children.
Ballard.
Reporting live from City Hall I'd follow that lead in a heartbeat.
If I was Now let's get a check of your Accu-Weather forecast.
Listen, I've been reading about this new DNA test they've been doing in Denver, and they've had a lot of success with blood samples as old as 50 years.
Now, this could be the break that we're I'm not interested anymore, Jordan.
What are you talking about? There's this book.
You gotta read it.
Evelyn gave it to me.
Evelyn? Yeah, well, it changed my life.
See, it talks about the five stages of grieving.
There's denial, anger, bargaining, depression, until you finally get to acceptance.
That's what I'm trying to tell you.
I've accepted it.
What do you mean you've accepted it? She was murdered.
You never cried, Jordan.
What? You never cried when she died.
You're still stuck in the anger part.
See? Now, that there, that explains an awful lot.
I am not angry, damn it! And who the hell is Evelyn? Is somebody calling me? I've been meaning to call you about it.
So this here is Jordan, my daughter.
Oh, my goodness.
I've heard so much about you.
Oh Well, here, sit, sit, sit, sit.
Wow.
So Well, you're gonna stay a while, right? Uh-huh.
I know that look, mama.
Don't go caring about her.
She's just a body.
And every body tells a story.
Now, what's yours? There's some kind of powder on her hair.
I'll run an analysis.
Look at this.
There's a hair wedged in next to her bicuspid.
It's wool.
In her mouth? Except for that strand there.
What is that, an eyelash? No, arm hair.
Forearm, actually.
Except, it's not hers.
Wrong color.
She bit someone, through a wool sweater, probably right before she died.
How do you know that? If you've got a hair in your mouth, you feel it.
You take it out.
Judging by how far it was wedged up there, it probably left a hell of a mark.
I thought you said she OD'd? We won't know until the tox screen comes back in the morning.
Unless.
Because I can't think of three words to describe my mother.
Look, it's just a headstone.
What do you usually put on 'em? Uh, fine, fine.
I'll work on it and I'll get back to you.
Garret, how long will it take to requisition a gallon of cyanoacrylate? Don't, don't, don't, don't.
I can get it by tomorrow afternoon.
Why? I'm gonna try to pull a fingerprint off my Jane Doe.
You had the simplest assignment on the books.
It was a sign out.
I know, and I had every intention of staying under the radar, until I found petechial hemorrhages in her eyes.
The cause of death wasn't an overdose, Garret.
It was suffocation.
She was murdered.
It's great to have you back, Jordan.
You were wrong.
Oh, man, that is a hell of a way to start a conversation.
You sound like my ex-wife.
Our Jane Doe, someone smothered her.
I think with a garbage bag.
Oh, wait.
Did you find any trace evidence? We found residue from a talc used inside garbage bags on her face and head.
Other than that, she was clean.
Except I think she bit the perp on the arm.
Probably left a hell of a bruise.
Yeah, but what about the drugs we found? I'll know more after the autopsy this afternoon.
But first I'm gonna try to find a print of the perp's on her body.
Oh, yeah.
We found this rosary in her pocket.
There's a bin number on the clasp.
It might not mean anything.
Well, we'll open a file.
Great.
Thanks.
I gotta get back to work.
Good morning, Bug.
Huh? What's so good about it? So you're the new guy.
I used to be the new guy.
Tremain Sanders.
Call me Trey.
Well, I'm Jordan Cavanaugh, and you can call me whatever you want.
I'm doing a one year fellowship.
I've got four months left.
Well, I'll make sure we don't get to know each other too well.
That's not gonna be easy.
We're cellmates.
This is my desk.
Look, there's $10 in it for anyone who finds my larvae.
They are about to hatch.
So please, don't make me beg.
Sure, Bug.
We'll take a memo on that.
From what I hear about you, at least I won't be the only one getting yelled at by Yakura around here.
Well, don't believe everything you hear.
You know, that used to be her desk there.
Yakura was in here? Yeah, we shared an office.
Well, she certainly traded up.
What happened to you? Let's just say she was a little more of a team player than I was.
You know, we should probably go out and grab dinner sometime, get to know each other better.
Well, you mean sharing a ten by ten office space isn't enough closeness for you? Good point.
I'm here today to talk to you about a career in the exciting field of medical examination.
Now, one might ask what are the skills needed for this dynamic profession? I'm glad you asked that.
For one thing, it helps to be a people person.
You suck.
Oh, hey.
Grab a mask and a face shield.
Oh, hey.
If you like tall, cute guys.
Well, you know me.
I always did have a thing for cops.
Anything? No, not yet.
You know how hard it is to lift a print off human skin.
Even harder to get a viable one.
What about you? I came up empty.
Canvassed the whole neighborhood.
It's like she landed from Mars.
What about the rosary? We traced the bin number back to the distributor.
It's purchased from a shop on Clemens Street.
But get this, that store went out of business nine years ago.
So why was it still in the box? I don't know.
You know what? The encounter wasn't sexual.
She trusted him.
I don't think we're gonna find a print down here.
Can I take this up to her face? Yeah.
Thanks.
There it is.
How do we know it's not one of her own? Well, we don't, not yet.
Well, it's definitely not one of hers.
Points are all different.
But you got yourself a thumb here.
Pretty good one, too.
I got a hunch he's a local.
Let's narrow the search down to Massachusetts DMV.
Yes, ma'am.
And how are you doing with our Jane Doe? Still no ID.
No criminal record, no military, no DMV.
How about running her photo through the missing persons database? Dude, I'm already there.
Sweet.
This could take a while.
You want to grab a cup of coffee? Sure.
Okay.
You know, the way you found that print back there, you think like a cop.
Did your father teach you that? When I was a kid, at night after I'd gone to bed Uh-huh.
my dad would sit at the kitchen table with a glass of Scotch and he'd lay out all the evidence from a case he'd been working on and just stare at it.
Now, I would get out of bed and spy on him.
And he always knew I was there.
And one night, he asked me over, and he says, "Okay, who do you want to be, the victim or the killer?" And that's how it started.
It was like our very own game of Clue, except it was never Colonel Mustard in the drawing room with a knife.
Geez, that's kind of a heavy thing to lay on a kid, isn't it? Well, I guess after everything we'd been through together, it just seemed kind of natural, you know? So, I was wondering, do you, you know, you ever date outside of your Species? Yeah.
They found a match.
Looks like you've got yourself a winner here.
It's Councilman Mulroy.
He had some kind of encounter with her.
But not sexual.
Or at least not consummated yet.
Either way, she wound up dead.
Yeah, and so he kills himself.
Exactly.
It's circumstantial at best.
Not if he's got a bite mark on his arm, it isn't.
Charlie, which drawer is Mulroy in? Sorry, he's gone already.
Define "gone.
" They came and took him away.
The wake's today.
They're burying him.
So what now? There's only one other way to find out.
Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait, wait, wait.
Listen, no, no.
No way.
Look, there are proper channels we can go through for this.
We'll get a search warrant.
Look at this place.
I'm surprised the whole city isn't shut down by now.
The mayor, the D.
A.
, city council Even Donald Ballard showed up.
Mmm? The one in the $3000 suit.
Now, he would be a prime suspect if Mulroy's death was ruled anything but a suicide.
Hey, I will not be a part of this.
No one asked you to be.
What do you think you're doing? I wanted to see if he was wearing the ring I gave him for our anniversary.
You're not Mrs.
Mulroy.
No.
Oh.
Oh.
Thank you.
You're welcome.
He didn't kill her.
Clarice Jenner from Roanoke, Virginia.
She was 17.
Contact her next of kin.
Get them up here as soon as possible.
Okay.
Oh, you know what, could you do me a favor? Run a background check on someone for me.
Donald Ballard.
The Donald Ballard? Just get anything you can on him.
Criminal records, indictments.
Send it over to my office.
Yeah, will do.
What are you looking at? I'm here today I'm sorry, I'm a little bit nervous.
I'm here today to speak to you about a career in the exciting field of medical examination.
So, what is As a medi I'm sorry.
Listen, you don't want to do what I do for a living.
I'm the last guy in the world you should be taking career advice from.
Do you want to hear something? I actually have a puppet on my desk.
My shrink gave him to me.
I'm supposed to use him to say all the things that I'm too chicken to say myself, so maybe he's the guy that should be here talking to you instead of me.
You want my career advice? Because here it is.
Don't follow in your father's footsteps.
Don't follow in anybody's footsteps.
Don't become a doctor just because your mother wants you to become a doctor or because your father never once said he loved you in your whole lousy life.
I don't care.
Take that and do something noble.
Go be an artist.
Be a poet.
Do you understand the courage it takes to become a poet? Find something beautiful in life, even if it's just for a moment.
Something that tells you, you're alive.
That it's gonna be okay.
Anybody have any questions about that? Don't forget what I said.
I'm gonna find out who did this to you.
So, that's all I've got.
Not much.
I know.
She and Mulroy were connected somehow, but how? So, who do you want to be? Victim or killer? Oh, we haven't done that in a long time, Jordan.
I'll be the victim.
I'll be Mulroy.
All right.
It's early evening.
It's just gotten dark.
I'm in the alley.
It's cold out, freezing, but I don't feel it.
I don't feel anything.
It's the barbiturates.
No, you're not in the alley.
You're with me.
Someplace safe and warm.
My car.
You're not afraid of me, because you don't realize yet that I'm gonna kill you.
I trust you.
Yes.
I touch your face.
Why? Maybe you're my mistress.
But I'm still a virgin.
Maybe not for long.
But you reject me.
I can't stand that.
If I can't have you then no one will.
But you don't murder me yourself.
You got someone else to kill me.
How? I'm a politician.
People owe me favors.
But who? I don't know.
Then kill me and we'll find out.
It's cold.
You don't see me.
Someone's in the shadows.
Is it you? I try to resist.
But you're too strong.
And I fight you.
But it's too late.
I can't breathe.
I'm scared.
I don't want to die.
Jordan.
Jordan! You okay? There's too much missing.
What's the connection between them? Until I figure out what she was doing with him You're sure there's nothing else? The rosary.
She had a rosary, but it was still in the box.
It had never been used.
It's just like the one that Mom gave me for my confirmation.
This wasn't from your mother.
I bought it for you when you were born.
It's an old Irish tradition.
The father always gives his daughter a rosary for her confirmation.
Mulroy's an Irish name.
That's it.
Mulroy was her father.
Mulroy.
I didn't think I'd ever hear that name again.
I tried to give her a good life.
I raised her by myself, working two jobs.
She was obsessed with finding out who her father was.
I told her I would tell her someday.
I should have said he was dead.
Five days ago, she got a phone call.
The man wouldn't say who he was and she wouldn't tell me, either.
The next day she was gone.
And you think this was Mulroy? No, of course not.
He wished she had never been born.
I was 20 years old, all strung out, you know.
I was arrested for possession.
He was a judge then.
He said he'd get me parole if I slept with him.
So I did.
Strange, isn't it? A love for a father is a powerful thing.
Even when he don't want you.
They found out about it somehow, contacted her, told her they knew who her father was.
Yeah, but who? Mulroy was a politician.
He had lots of enemies.
Could have been anyone.
Ballard.
Uh, no.
Too easy.
He and Mulroy had been at each other's throats in the press for two weeks.
It's too public.
You think it's just coincidence that Mulroy changed his vote at the last minute, handing Ballard a $250 million contract? Come on, he was blackmailed.
They were gonna expose his illegitimate daughter.
Do you expect me to believe that Donald Ballard's walking around right now with a bite mark on his arm, that he actually killed her? Not personally, no.
But 250 million bucks buys a hell of a lot of cover.
Oh, so now it's a massive conspiracy, huh? Mulroy grew himself a conscience and killed himself at the last minute.
They never planned on that.
Don't you see, that left them with a teenage girl out there who knew too much.
They had no choice.
They had to kill her.
Look, even if that were true, I don't know how you would even approach the D.
A.
With something like this.
Ballard plays golf with the governor.
Then maybe he just needs a little prodding.
Where are you going? To see Ballard.
Whoa, whoa.
And say what, that, "You're under arrest"? You are not a cop, Jordan, and you are gonna cost us this whole damn case.
Now, why don't you just stick to your job and let me do mine? Do you understand? Yeah.
Yeah? Oh, where? Hey, hey, hey.
Yeah, I'll be right over.
Jordan, got a suspect.
What? Yeah, they got him in Mass General in the ER.
I'll meet you there.
All right.
He's a junkie who lives in a flophouse half a block from the crime scene.
It was a routine stop by a couple of beat cops.
He ran.
He hid under a house.
But how do we know it's him? He confessed.
He says he got her high, tried to get in her pants, and when she put up a fight, he killed her.
What about the bite mark? Well, see for yourself.
If there's one there, good luck finding it.
Yeah, they sent in a K-9 unit to flush him out.
Doctor says it's gonna take over a 100 stitches.
What about the murder weapon? Evidence bag.
We're gonna send this down to the lab and see if they can pull some trace evidence off of it.
Make sure you look on the inside for eyeliner and lipstick.
Actually, it's not gonna be necessary.
Looks like you found your murder weapon.
Excuse me.
So, about that little dinner we're supposed to have.
Yeah, uh, listen.
I'm sure you're a really nice guy.
I mean, you're very attractive and all.
You probably graduated top 10º/º of your class? Five, top five.
Five.
The fact is I can't go out with anybody I work with.
Believe me, nothing good ever comes of it.
Oh-ho, man.
That's embarrassing.
You thought I was asking you out? Weren't you? No.
I just figured being low men on the totem pole, we could stick together, watch each other's back.
That's all.
Truth is you don't have anything to worry about with me.
Why is that? Sorry, but I don't date white women.
Yeah, this is Collins.
Why'd he give her the rosary? What? Mulroy.
He didn't love her, never acknowledged her.
Why'd he give it to her? Come on, Jordan.
It's over.
We've got our man.
I keep thinking something doesn't make sense.
There's never a happy ending to these things.
There's just closure.
I want to apologize The Ballard file.
for those things that I said earlier.
Why don't you let me make it up to you? Have a drink with me.
Sure.
Great.
And I will meet you at the Tap Room at the Plaza at 9:30.
Okay.
Okay, I'll see you then.
Is everything okay? Why did you lead me to believe that you don't know Donald Ballard? What are you talking about? You worked for him.
As a bodyguard.
I saw a photograph.
What, are you checking me out? You acted as though you'd never even seen the man before.
Why wouldn't you at least mention that you worked for him? Yeah, but I worked for the mayor, too.
What, are you gonna arrest me for that? You know, half the guys on the force moonlight doing security details.
Hell, I make $38 grand a year.
I barely met the guy.
Is everyone a suspect to you? Roll up your sleeves.
What? I want to see your arms.
You're crazy, you know that? Hmm? You really are your father's daughter.
I'm sorry.
Hey, I just saw you in the photo and I thought What, that I'm the killer? Huh? That's great.
That is just great.
It's me.
I get all worked up over things.
I care way too much about my cases and it gets me into trouble.
That's why my life is a disaster half the time.
You know, I've got no editor in my brain.
You know, and the worst part of it all is that I was really starting to like you.
I'm sorry.
Are we moving too fast? No.
No.
Okay.
I just need to Do you have a bathroom? I do.
It's over there.
Great.
Want something to drink? Yeah, uh, sure.
Whatever you got.
Scotch all right? Yeah.
Oh, yeah.
I think this is where we left off.
Yeah? Oh.
Oh, my gosh.
What's this? Oh, what have we here? Oh, I've been a bad boy.
Hmm, really? I've been a very bad boy.
Oh, I'm sorry.
Are we moving too fast? Not at all.
Whoa, whoa, wait, wait a minute.
What are you doing? Everyone knows you never wear white when you use concealer.
You know, this goes a lot higher than Ballard.
You don't want to piss these people off.
Why not? Because they're gonna kill me? Truth is I don't care if I die.
That's my whole problem.
It's what the shrinks told me when I was 15.
I won't serve a day.
You know, it's too bad for you.
You'll never know what you missed.
Hey, Garret? Hey.
I caught the murderer.
You did? Yeah.
Good for you.
But he was just the trigger man.
This thing goes all the way to City Hall.
I'm going after Ballard.
No, you're not.
If there's something there, let the police handle it.
But the Jordan, I hired you back.
I can fire you.
You'd do that? Jordan, let it go, please.
Look, Garret, are you okay? My mother died three weeks ago.
She had Alzheimer's.
I'm sorry.
I You know, I didn't It's all right.
I mean, we hadn't had a real conversation in five years, and I thought I'd already mourned her loss, you know, in my own way, but when she finally died, I don't know, I just Nothing makes any sense anymore.
"Hold dear to your parents "for it is a scary and confusing world without them.
" That's Emily Dickinson.
Listen, I needed to have you back here, Jordan.
Don't ask me why.
I don't even know.
I don't even know myself.
I'll see you in the morning, okay? Yeah.
Okay.
Good night, Garret.