Without a Trace s01e06 Episode Script

You always cut it close, don't you? Hate to leave the sunny skies.
You think I have time to grab a paper? Three minutes.
You're an angel, Paula.
Thanks.
His name is Patrick Kent.
Vice President of N.
J.
Ridder & Associates investment banking firm.
He checked in for a flight headed home to New York.
Got his boarding pass, wandered off, and never came back.
We pulled his bags off the plane.
People were pretty freaked out.
Did you notice anything unusual about his behavior? No.
He was late, as always.
- But friendly.
- So you saw him quite a bit? Twice a month, like clockwork.
And nothing like this ever happened before? No.
Jack.
Excuse me a sec.
Here are the bags he checked.
Three-day business trip, two empty suitcases.
Maybe he never intended on going to New York.
Maybe he just wanted it to look that way.
So what we have here is Patrick Kent son-in-law of a wealthy New York financier.
I was expecting a ransom note.
He's been missing for 40 hours.
So why are we even on this case? I mean, adult male, free to come and go as he pleases.
Other than a couple of empty suitcases, there's no sign of foul play.
Like I said, we have the missing son-in-law of a wealthy New York financier.
And when Noah Ridder calls, we mere mortals jump.
- Where are we with this? - Danny just checked in.
Kent's got a company car that he keeps out there.
He usually takes it to the airport.
Haven't located it yet.
- 5:00 a.
m.
Danny's up early.
- That's assuming he went to bed.
Where are we with Kent's cell phone? Records show he received a call at 1:55 p.
m three minutes after he checked in five minutes before last call for boarding.
We traced the call to a conference room in his New York office.
Whatever happened on that call stopped him from getting on that plane.
So far, no one in his office is copping to making the call.
I'll head there and see what I can find out.
Great.
Martin, you're on your way to San Diego to liaise with Danny.
Don't forget your surf gear.
- Should we send a referee? - No.
Let them duke it out.
By the way, your wife called.
Twice.
Thanks.
I don't understand.
If you're here, who's looking for him? We have two agents on the ground in San Diego.
They'll coordinate with the FBI office there.
How often did your husband travel to California? Once a month, for about a week each time.
Father sent him to open the San Diego office five years ago.
Tell me about the last time you saw your husband.
It was the morning he left for San Diego.
We had a fight.
Well, not a fight exactly.
- Is the car here yet? - In a big hurry to leave? Traffic's backed up on the Van Wyck.
I don't wanna miss the flight.
Between your problems at the office and your California trips it seems like you're never here.
- You know, I'm doing the best I can.
- I've heard that before.
What do you want from me, Katherine? I gotta go.
I'll be back soon.
I spoke with Father.
He's taking you off the San Diego account.
He agrees it would be better if you spent more time in New York.
You always call your father to help with your marital problems? - How long you been married? - Fifteen years.
- When did it get strained? - I don't know.
I didn't mark the day on a calendar.
How would you describe your husband? He was very focused on work, on the company.
He was under a lot of pressure lately.
And how does he get on with your father? Fine.
Why? Marital stress, trouble at work.
He might have just run off.
In which case, it's not my problem.
If he did, I would like to at least know that he's safe.
Do you think he's in some kind of danger? I don't know.
I don't know what to think.
Your boss received a call from this room at 4:55 on Friday.
Do you have any idea who might've made that call? No.
I was out of here by 4:00.
Patrick usually lets me leave early on Fridays.
Sounds like a good boss.
Yeah.
He's not like the rest of these bastards.
Greedy, lying, misogynistic.
Good combination.
Yeah.
Well, the fish rots from the head.
So how does Patrick survive here? I'm not sure he has been.
The night before he left for San Diego I came in here with some papers for him to sign.
- I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.
- No, it's okay.
Sign.
You work too hard.
The work isn't the hard part.
Trying to do the right thing, that's the hard part.
What did he mean by doing the right thing? I don't know.
My guess is, he feels trapped here.
Do you think he wanted to quit? Even if he did, it wouldn't be that easy.
Look who he's married to.
Fitzy, let me get that for you.
How was your flight? Jack says I have to be nicer to you.
You guys sure go out of your way to make me feel welcome.
We know our department's small potatoes for a guy like you.
You are off to bigger and better.
I see you got the memo.
- Are we gonna work together, or not? - I don't know.
Are we? Let's start at the bar.
Yeah, sure.
Came in every month or so.
Just saw him a couple days ago.
- Boozer? - No.
Club soda, lime.
Except last time.
He comes in, looks rattled.
Orders a double Jack, neat.
Big tipper.
That day included.
Did he say what he was upset about? Didn't say much at all.
He never did.
Anything else? There was this guy that day.
He kept looking over at him, like he was interested in him.
Thought it was a love thing.
- Did they talk? - No.
But I remember as soon as your guy left, the other guy got up and followed him.
What'd he look like? Tall, mustache.
But that's really about all that I can remember.
Are we all done? We're good.
Problems at home and work, starts hitting the bottle, doesn't stop.
Think he's passed out somewhere in Tijuana? Stranger things have happened, my man.
Sounds to me like his biggest problem was that someone was following him.
I can't begin to tell you how concerned we all are.
Patrick was like a son to me.
Did you and Patrick work together closely? For 13 years.
I liked him the first time Katherine brought him home.
He had street smarts.
Not like all the other silver spoons that she went out with.
Did you speak to him the day he disappeared? I usually e-mail Patrick when he's away.
I hadn't spoken to him for a few days.
Do you have any idea who might've made that phone call from the conference room? No, as my people told you, it could have been anybody.
Katherine seemed to think that he was under a great deal of pressure.
We've been threatened with a trivial lawsuit by some embittered investors.
Patrick was handling the negotiations.
Your fraudulent policies have wiped out our life savings.
We are tired of being ripped off.
Sir, I understand.
I wanna help.
How? With your fat bonuses? Your fat stock options? You bled us dry.
Now it's your turn to bleed.
It's a lousy job, but Patrick was the best man for it.
Why is that? He's honest.
People trust him.
We'd like a list of those shareholders, please.
Why? Because there were a lot of angry investors.
And your son-in-law was right in the line of fire.
Anything you need.
We also need to look at his files.
That I'm gonna have to clear with our attorneys.
Of course you do.
He doesn't want us on this.
So who are we getting pressure from? When I got the call from upstairs, I thought it was Ridder.
His daughter's got plenty of connections.
Maybe it's her.
But she's a daddy's girl.
For something like this she'd have him doing the pushing.
Unless she knows Daddy doesn't want him found.
Not a lot of TLC poured into this place.
These corporate apartments are always a bit depressing.
A bottle of mustard, a box of baking soda.
That's thin, even for a bachelor pad.
The manager said he hasn't seen him in months.
This guy is either living off a steady diet of takeout and Fluff'n Fold, or he's-- Take a look at this.
Check out the date.
Let's give Jack a call.
The boys just called from San Diego.
Patrick hasn't lived in that apartment for months.
There's no hotel charges on his credit card statements.
Mr.
Brooks Brothers is not living out of his car.
That's it.
He's only Mr.
Brooks Brothers on the East Coast.
In New York, he's Nobu, Ralph Lauren, Tiffany's.
But in San Diego, it's Denny's and discount outlets.
Two lives.
This is interesting, though.
He spent $1,000 at a household appliance store two weeks ago.
- In San Diego? - Yeah.
Why do you need a washer-dryer for a place you never go to? Check out the delivery address.
Somewhere far away, Martha Stewart weeps.
Looks like our boy Patrick went to the mattresses.
Hi.
Sorry to bother you.
We're with the FBI.
You seen this man before? Yes.
This is my husband.
I don't understand.
Who reported him missing? We got a call from his office.
Nobody called me.
What happened to him? Is he in trouble? We don't know.
Sweetheart, can you go back to your room, please? How long you been married? Two years.
And you met.
I was waiting tables at the Baja Cantina.
I'd just moved here from Oklahoma.
Why is this important? The more we know about your husband, the better the chances that we'll find him.
And what did he do for a living? I thought you spoke to his office.
When was the last time that you saw him? It was Friday morning.
He was supposed to stay until Monday, like always but he said he had to get back to New York.
Bacon order coming up, little man.
Extra crispy.
Can I go outside and play with my new glove? Not until you finish your breakfast.
No, it's okay.
I'll keep it warm for you.
You spoil him.
And me.
You make it easy.
Why do you have to leave so early? I'll be back before you know it.
Are you okay? You've been quiet lately.
Something wrong? Not a thing in the world.
I always ask him to share his problems with me but he just says he doesn't want me to worry.
He had two empty suitcases with him on the plane.
Do you have any idea why? Yeah.
He was starting to move more of his clothes here.
I told him that our situation had to change.
He had to spend more time here, or we had to move with him to New York.
- So he committed to coming here? - Yeah.
He even started a restaurant with my brother.
He just said he had to go back to New York to finish some things with work.
And by Christmas, everything will be settled.
- Did he say what needed to be finished? - No.
'Cause he doesn't talk to me about his work.
But I think it was getting serious because after he left, a man showed up with a package.
And he said that if he didn't deliver it to Patrick, he would lose his job.
But I told him Patrick had already left for the airport.
- Have you ever seen this man before? - No.
What did he look like? Forties average-looking guy.
Mustache? Could be.
I don't remember.
- Did he give a name? - No.
But I saw his car.
It was a green pickup.
Jack wants us to check out her brother.
What does he say about the two guys following Patrick? They're on it.
He's checking out the shareholders.
I dropped the ball on that work thing.
Don't worry about it.
It went right over her head.
Trust me.
This Kent guy is moving his stuff out here, starting a restaurant with her brother.
Everything says he's leaving the cold for the warm.
And all of a sudden he leaves them both behind? You know that guy following him at the airport? Could be the same guy coming around here.
- An angry shareholder? - Yeah.
There's about 20,000 of them.
Imagine that.
Keeping two wives in the dark for that long.
I know.
I can't date two women for a month without blowing my cover.
I know some women that can.
Women are better liars than men.
It's proven.
What if she did know, and she's just playing us? - What do we get from telling her? - I want to see her reaction.
You think she already knows.
On some level.
I just want to see how deep.
How long? About two years.
- And there's a child? - Stepson.
He said he didn't want any children.
Does she know about me? No.
Is there a possibility that he was going to run off with her? It's hard to tell at this point.
Is there anything in his behavior that you can think of that makes sense now? He was unhappy.
But I never imagined anything like this.
What did you imagine? I don't know.
To be honest with you, I haven't thought about it until now.
What about your father? What about him? - Would he have any idea? - No.
Why would he? People in his position tend to know what's going on around them especially when it concerns their employees.
If my father did know, he would have told me.
Right.
What do you think? She's hiding something.
Hard to tell with the drinking, but.
Two lives.
Two wives.
Twice as many people to piss off.
Yeah.
A quick trip to the divorce lawyer would fix that.
What's your point? This guy's not worth finding? This is a guy who has run from all his obligations.
He's lied to everybody he knows.
Or he's a middle-class guy, marries a tycoon's daughter realizes he made a pact with the devil, and he can't escape.
When was the last time that you saw him? I haven't seen Patrick in over a week.
I've been pretty busy around here.
A week? Are you sure about that? Because your workers said that Patrick was here with you a couple of days ago.
So I got a bad memory.
I'm sorry.
I got a lot on my mind.
I got a lot on my mind.
So why don't you sit down and relax, and attempt to come clean with us? I think it might make you feel better.
They said you guys were having a fight.
What was the deal? We weren't fighting.
I was just trying to protect him.
This guy came in.
He said he was a restaurant inspector.
He had an ID badge.
What did he ask you? It was normal at first, until he starts asking questions.
- What'd you tell him? - Nothing.
I said you were my silent partner.
That's it.
- Did he ask about Amalia and Robert? - No, it wasn't like that.
What's going on with you? You in some kind of trouble? He wouldn't tell me, and I didn't push.
Why wouldn't you tell us this at the beginning? He did right by my sister, okay? And Robert.
- And you.
- And me.
What's the deal with this place? What's in it for Patrick? He lent me the money.
He said he wasn't going to get too involved.
I couldn't shut him up after that.
He got really into it.
He said he wanted to work here after he moved out.
I guess Wall Street ain't doing too well these days.
This inspector, what did he look like? Tall, mustache, 40, 45.
- Do you mind? - Go ahead.
Tall, mustache? Sounds like the guy at the airport.
- He's not a restaurant inspector.
- Or an angry investor.
No.
Whoever this guy is, he's serious.
I did call.
I told you, I got hung up.
No.
I'm not ignoring you, okay? You're the one who seems to not want to work this out.
What are you doing? Trying to figure out who was following our Prince Charming.
Don't judge the guy.
Sounds like he was really trapped.
It's called divorce.
What is with you people? You're taking it a little personally.
You go to a lawyer, he draws up the papers.
You sign them, you swallow your regret and you move on.
And, of course, you're speaking from experience.
Fine.
Do whatever you want.
I was married once.
When I was 18.
Really? It was red-hot for the first two weeks, and ice-cold the last four months.
At least you understand commitment.
Thanks.
What? I ran the passenger manifests on all Kent's JFK-San Diego flights in the last year.
On the last five, the same name appears on each flight.
Inbound and outbound.
Thomas Shannon.
You run him? Retired Secret Service.
They normally go into private security work.
- Corporate? - Let's see.
N.
J.
Ridder & Associates.
- Security Department, please.
-I'll transfer you.
-Security.
- Thomas Shannon, please.
Mr.
Shannon does not work out of this office.
But I can take a message.
No, thank you.
Why was Noah Ridder having his son-in-law followed? Why didn't you tell me that you were having your son-in-law followed? Patrick is married to my daughter.
And he is the vice president of my company.
You don't just throw accusations around unless you can prove them.
So why have him followed in the first place? Unexplained absences.
Meetings with unknown associates.
We thought it best to take a deeper look.
But he would've recognized your own security personnel.
So you hired Mr.
Shannon.
That's right.
What did you find? I followed Patrick for two months, mostly in the San Diego area.
He had a series of clandestine meetings with an individual.
And what did you suspect? That he might be selling our research to the competition.
Our investigation was not complete when he went missing.
Mr.
Shannon, do you drive a green pickup truck? No.
Did you speak to his wife at the San Diego apartment on the day he disappeared? No.
As soon as he left his place, I tailed him to the airport.
So that was you at the bar? He had a couple of drinks, stayed there about half an hour.
Thanks a lot.
And where did he go after the bar? He checked in, went to buy a newspaper.
I didn't want to draw attention, so I boarded the plane.
I figured he would, too.
That's the last I ever saw of him.
Right.
So did you tell Katherine about the second wife? How do you tell your daughter a thing like that? How could you not? I wanted to have all the information first, before I spoke to her.
Did you find out who made that call from the conference room? I'm sorry, not yet.
I'm getting the distinct impression you don't want us to find your son-in-law.
If the accusations are gonna start, then we're done here.
If you impede this investigation again in any way there will be a lot more than accusations flying your way.
Understood? He's afraid.
He thinks we're onto something.
I'm sure he's quaking in his boots.
We got nothing on him.
That's gonna change.
Viv, I want to use your resources at the SEC and get everything on him.
You really think Ridder was trying to off his own son-in-law? It isn't the first time a powerful man tried to get rid of someone standing in his way.
If Shannon was telling the truth about the green pickup there is a second guy following him.
Twice the reason to chuck it all.
The walls were caving in, he took off.
Why would he run away from San Diego from the one thing that was working in his life? No, it's not him.
It's been three days.
Why can't I know what's happening? - Robert, let's go for a walk on the beach.
- Okay.
Let's sit.
Your husband Patrick is legally married to a woman who lives in New York.
What? What are you talking about? They've been married for 15 years.
- In New York? - Yeah.
Who is it? I can't share that information with you right now.
He's kept two separate lives.
One on each coast.
It's a lie.
I don't believe it.
I'm sorry.
I wish it was, but.
I want to be alone.
This glove's a real beaut.
You know what you need to do? You need to put a ball inside, wrap it up put it under your mattress and sleep on it.
It'll break it in.
Patrick does that for me.
Patrick's a smart guy.
You miss him? You know what I did when I was your age and I missed someone? What? I used to lay in my bed at night, and I used to look out the window.
And I'd stare up at the sky and I would name each of the stars after someone that I missed.
So whenever I felt lonely I'd look up at the sky and I'd see Daniella, Erica, and Andrea right there.
It made it a little better.
- How'd she take it? - She had no idea.
How is he doing? He's waiting for that loser to come back.
It's not right, Martin.
To show up one week in a month Iet a kid like that love you, and then abandon him.
We don't know he abandoned anyone.
He knew he could never come through for him.
There's a lot of fathers who are around all the time that don't pay any attention to their kids.
You know what the worst part is? He's gonna figure out that Patrick was a fraud.
What do you think that's gonna do to him? We contacted the SEC because we think the class-action lawsuit has something to do with Patrick Kent's disappearance.
The shareholders might be up in arms but if Ridder knew what Patrick Kent was really up to that could cause some ire.
- Why is that? - Because Patrick Kent came to us.
He suspected there were SEC violations at R&A.
So he was a whistle-blower? He was trying to be.
I met with him at a restaurant in San Diego The Buoy.
You'll get full immunity in exchange for your testimony.
And no one innocent gets screwed.
Absolutely.
What can you show me? This is just the beginning.
The rest comes later.
This is good.
It's very good.
Okay.
Two things.
First, the due diligence part.
I need you to know this will not be easy.
The life you've known for the past 20 years won't be yours anymore.
You'll lose friends, money, maybe more.
Is that clear? And the second? Why are you doing this? Because it's easier.
Easier than what? Than waking up every morning knowing your whole day is gonna be a lie.
He was different.
Most of these guys, we have to hold a gun to their heads, threaten fines, prison time.
But he volunteered.
Truth is, without him we don't have a case.
We were supposed to meet the day after his disappearance to give me the rest of the documents.
That's probably why he was coming home early.
Can I see what you have? The wild thing is, we just figured out Ridder had it rigged so Patrick would take the fall for the lawsuit.
So that's why he blew the whistle? Tit for tat.
No.
Patrick never knew about it.
I guess he just wanted to do the right thing.
Whistle-blowing.
That's plenty of motive for Noah Ridder.
- What do you think, Viv? - Go sweat Shannon.
He'll never roll over.
But I think Katherine might.
Listen to this.
Voicemail left on Patrick's cell phone.
Wife number one.
- From the conference room? - No.
It was left two days after Patrick disappeared.
Patrick, I'm going out ofmy mind.
I'm so sorry about all this.
She's been drinking.
The way he told me, that bastard, calling me to his office like an employee.
Shannon? I should've taken your side.
I hate him so much.
Her father.
I would've forgiven you if you'd told me.
If you'd only told me.
- She's been lying to us all along.
- She's been protecting her father.
But from what? You're a liar, Katherine.
You've been lying to us from the beginning.
You lied about Patrick's second wife in San Diego.
You lied about the whistle-blowing, and you're lying to us again.
- I'm not.
- I think you are.
If you want us to find your husband, we need your help.
You have to tell us what you know.
Patrick came to me a few months ago and he thought that there was fraud in the company and that Father was behind it.
I told him to let it go, but he wouldn't.
So you told your father.
I thought that they could work it out.
You knew your father was having him followed? Not until that day when he summoned me to his office and put that man Shannon on the speakerphone and he told me everything.
It was you who called Patrick from the conference room the day he disappeared, wasn't it? I was so upset.
I know everything.
I know about your California whore.
Katherine, calm down.
Calm down? You have been lying to me for two years.
Every day for two years.
How could you do this to me, to Father? Why don't you leave him out of this for once? He gave you everything that you have.
Except you.
I never got you.
I'm sorry, Katherine.
I didn't want it to end this way.
And now you're afraid your father had him killed.
I don't know.
I just wanted another chance.
Stay away from me.
Katherine, don't listen to them.
Listen to me, you son of a bitch.
Your own daughter thinks you're involved with your son-in-law's disappearance.
- Where's Patrick? - Katherine, you come with me.
Get him out of here.
She wants nothing to do with you.
- Ridder passed the polygraph.
- You don't look surprised.
I don't think he killed him.
I think he wanted to.
That's why he told Katherine about the second wife.
He was preparing her.
But then she called, and Kent bolted out of the airport.
But what I don't get is why he didn't sprint back to the second wife.
Listen to this.
That class-action suit, there's 37 plaintiffs who live in San Diego.
But only one drives a green pickup.
The second guy the one who came looking for Kent on the day that he disappeared the San Diego wife said that he was driving a green pickup.
Arlin Tompkins? FBI.
I lost everything.
My whole life savings because of those Ridder guys.
Slow down.
How did you meet Patrick Kent? At a shareholder meeting in New York.
A bunch of us were trying to get a class-action suit together.
- And you wanted to kill him.
- No.
He was different from the rest of the R&A guys.
He listened to me.
He said he'd help.
Why'd you go to his house the day he disappeared? I hadn't heard from him for a few weeks.
I was getting frustrated.
The lady there said he had gone to the airport.
But the weird thing is, as I was walking in, he was walking out.
Mr.
Kent, is there any progress in my case? I'll call you later.
I'm late for a meeting.
- You said that three weeks ago.
- Let go of me.
You said you'd help.
That was it? You just watched him go? No, I was pissed.
I got in my car and I followed him when he drove away from the airport.
I was trying to get him to pull over.
He started driving faster.
He was pushing it.
We were coming up on a bridge.
I backed off.
He was going too fast.
He didn't have time to correct.
And? He skidded out, the truck flipped, and it went into the water.
There was nothing I could do.
His car just sank right to the bottom.
You ever hear of calling 911? I'd been drinking.
Who was gonna believe me? I panicked, and I left.
He was the only one who listened to me, who cared about the truth.
Let's go see this bridge.
Come on.
Oh, my God.
It's okay.
Did they find him? The divers are working on it now.
It's Patrick's car.
Do you think she told him the truth? I don't know.
You think she should? I'm thinking the kid doesn't need to know.
A plane is not supposed to be in the sky.
It's not natural.
And neither was that flight attendant, but you weren't afraid of her.
If it isn't the bronze boys.
Don't start.
- Where's Jack? - In his office.
Goldin just called me from the SEC.
He got a package this morning from Patrick Kent.
Sent from the airport on the day he disappeared.
- Enough to put Ridder away? - For a long time.
How'd it go with Mr.
Fitzgerald? Good.
He took a little breaking in, but he's a good guy.
I need you to sign this for me.
Did the divers find the body? Nope.
The locals think the current carried it away.
Pretty smart guy, Patrick Kent.
To be able to pull off this whole double-life business and not get caught.
Seems to me like he'd have an escape plan in case something went wrong.
It does, doesn't it? What's the name of the witness who saw Patrick drive off the bridge? Tompkins.
Arlin Tompkins.
Tompkins.
Right.
Patrick was the one person who was helping him.
Tompkins might feel like he owed him a favor.
And taking the hit for leaving the scene of an accident isn't the hardest way to pay someone back.
That's pretty smart.
If that's what happened.
So you wouldn't be shocked if Amalia and Robert moved in six months.
No.
But then again, it was probably the current.
Probably.