FBI: International (2021) s02e11 Episode Script
Someone She Knew
1
I'm the senior FBI special
agent in the country.
The team you run, they
are sloppy, undisciplined.
I blame you, their leader.
Dandridge planted McKenna
here for his eyes and ears.
Why are you here?
I'm here to learn.
You're being transferred to
the admin division in Alabama.
You have no power to relocate me.
This is going to get
acrimonious very quickly.
Let it. I'm not going without a fight.
Let me tell you a story
about how to completely
screw up your career.
My dad owned an office building.
We grew up on the second floor.
Bottom one, he leased to Larry Beaumont.
Hardware store owner.
One day, Ace shows up
multi-million dollar
big-box hardware company.
They want to buy the building.
So Dad comes home with a moral dilemma.
Does he put a friend out
on the street for a payday?
My mom says, "Follow your heart,"
so he tells Ace to pound sand.
Ace buys a different
building three blocks away.
Within six months, Larry's
customers are shopping
down the street, and he can't
whip up the money to pay rent.
So I ask you, what was
my father's mistake?
Loyalty is a fool's virtue.
Scott Forrester will be in
Alabama by the end of the week.
You wanna stay loyal to him?
Follow him out the door.
I I was kidnapped.
Look, can you please,
please, just call my mom?
My mom.
English no good.
Please help me.
No, no, no.
No, no, no.
Hello?
Morning.
Hey. We need to talk.
- By the end of the week.
- He was very clear.
- OK.
- That's it?
- I'm pushing back.
- When? How?
Because he's pretty
sure the battle's over.
I am doing everything that I can,
calling in every chit that
anyone owes me, all right?
I'm not giving up until
the door is shut in my face.
- All right?
- Hey.
Caught a case.
One sec.
Should we still include her in our work?
She was assigned to this task force.
She's Dandridge's number two.
- McKenna's a solid agent.
- She keeps her head down.
She has given me no reason to doubt her.
Come on. Let's see what she's got.
- Go.
- Katie Marsh.
Disappeared from her home in Minnesota
- in broad daylight in 2012.
- I remember that case.
My mom was glued to the TV
for a solid month and a half.
A distressed teenager showed
up in Ganserndorf, Austria,
claiming to be Katie,
asking for help in English.
Disappeared before police arrived.
D.C. sent this in:
an aged-up Katie based
on childhood photos.
Looks just like her.
Yeah, but we need more proof.
No one wants a repeat
of Nicholas Barclay.
- Who?
- San Antonio, Texas, 1994.
13-year-old Nicholas
goes to play basketball
with some friends. He never comes home.
Three years later, a
teenager shows up in Spain.
Claims to be Nicholas.
The family is overjoyed.
Six months later, a P.I. comes forward,
says he has his doubts,
wants to run some DNA.
A con man?
A serial imposter named
Frédéric Bourdin.
- Sickening.
- OK, let's head to Austria,
see if we can get a track on this girl.
If it is Katie Marsh,
a whole lot of people are
gonna want to know about it.
- I'll bring Smitty up to speed.
- I'd like to assist.
Uh, if that's OK with everyone.
Yeah.
Stadthauptmann Liam Kaufmann.
Special Agent Scott Forrester.
This is Megan Garretson with Europol.
Agents Vo, Kellet, McKenna, and Raines.
Nice to meet you.
Here in Ganserndorf,
my wife buys a ham at the market today
and pays for it next week.
This isn't a town
where girls go missing.
We are alarmed.
We will offer support, but with my staff
only just returning from holiday,
we are not operating at full capacity.
We appreciate any
cooperation you can give us.
- Do you wish to speak to your colleague?
- Who?
The detective.
I believe his name is Saunders.
Forensics report just came in.
Vo and I will take a look.
- Lead the way.
- Yes.
Keith Saunders, Minneapolis PD.
Megan Garretson, Europol.
Scott Forrester, Jamie Kellett, FBI.
We weren't expecting you, Detective.
Well, I was part of
the 2012 investigation.
You know Agent Manuel out of St. Paul?
I worked with him
through the PD's missing
persons task force.
He left me on the Marsh case
as the point of contact within the PD.
Well, we appreciate
you flying all this way,
but no one told us you were coming.
Yeah, well, I'm here.
And here's how I can help.
She left this in the store.
Now, this is Katie ages six and eight.
- It's the same ring.
- Exactly.
They found traces of
phenobarbital on that ring.
Explains her wooziness
in the store video.
They also found DNA on it. Saliva.
It's a match for Katie Marsh.
Oh, my God.
It's clever to lick the ring
to make sure we knew it was her.
OK, we have a match.
Clock is ticking before this becomes
the biggest news story in the world.
Detective, I know you know
we need absolute discretion
in the short window that we have.
Raines, Vo, can you see what they have
for security cameras or CCTV?
I'll head to the convenience
store with Smitty.
Uh, what can I be doing?
Can you get me everything
that you've collected
- since she originally went missing?
- Of course, yes.
Can you look into Detective Saunders?
- He seems a little twitchy.
- Read my mind.
"The American was unwell.
"She kept looking over her shoulder
as if she were waiting for someone."
Did you see anyone: a car,
another person outside?
I saw a gray van drive away,
but I couldn't get the license plate.
What did she say?
She says she hopes you find the girl
before the Krampus does.
A monster mothers used
to tell their children
to keep them from straying too far.
Danke schon.
- Out with it.
- You won't like it.
When has that ever stopped you?
You need to have a plan, Scott.
Don't feed me this bunk about
how you're biding your time.
Uh-huh. Victor Peeters.
- What about him?
- Trojan shield.
He was the first to fold.
After he caved, 800 arrests.
But again and again,
what did you ask me?
"When?"
Never mind that our
evidence was circumstantial,
but you were ready to move.
But what did we do?
We slowly turned up the pressure,
and Peeters did himself in.
This isn't some sting operation
where you can wait it out.
This is your career, Scott.
You're asking me when.
All I'm saying is, not yet.
They're still running StarTraq,
old software circa 2005.
No surveillance, no cached recordings.
Well, if Katie's abductor
wanted to get the hell
out of dodge, maybe he ran a red.
Check for any violations
within our timeframe.
Clinic records have that ambulance
headed to Hotel Karin
a motel, I guess.
15 minute walk from
the convenience store.
Is there information on
what the emergency was?
OK, you and Vo check out the clinic.
See if there's a connection
between missing girl, convenience store,
and emergency at a
motel in the same area.
I checked with Minneapolis
PD about Detective Saunders.
Yeah?
You're not gonna believe this.
You guys ready for my presentation?
Actually, I just found out
you were pulled off Katie's case
and fired by Minneapolis
PD for misconduct.
- That's
- You haven't been a detective in years,
have you?
We spoke with Lieutenant Daniels,
your former supervisor.
Said you were a head
case. Fired with cause.
Yeah, well
Look, Daniels believed Katie
was abducted by a home invader
they caught a month
after the kidnapping.
But the guy never confessed
and Daniels could never prove he did it.
My theory, which I was
about to present to you:
Katie was taken by someone she knew.
Her backpack was missing and
some of her favorite toys
a teddy bear, blue, with
a bell around its neck.
Why would a home invader give
Katie time to pack a go bag?
My theory clashed with Daniels' theory.
That's it. Guess who lost?
We're not interested
in the station politics
- that you got tangled up in.
- Oh, come on, man.
Neither was I. That's why I'm here.
You are not a part
of this investigation.
I am the only one who gave a damn!
I lost my job,
my pension, respect,
but I never stopped.
This case is my life.
Are you sure?
Public records confirmed it.
Is there anything else
you want to tell us?
He and Katie Marsh's mom are married.
I'm not hiding it.
Does your wife know that you're here?
Does she know that we
have a fix on her daughter?
Come on, man.
There is a protocol to when
and how you involve the family.
All right, all right.
Allison is here too.
We flew out together.
At first, Gary, Katy's dad, and I
looked for her night and day,
but after a year, the leads
dried up. He just
he gave up. That's the only
way to describe it.
He just shut Katie out of his mind
like he was pulling down a divider.
Everyone processes grief diff
He wanted to have another kid,
like she was a broken
toy we could replace.
We need to ask you about
your current husband, Keith.
OK.
Normally, a detective
is taken off a case
if his or her involvement
becomes too personal.
It's a fireable offense
in most police departments.
Keith and I didn't get together
until after he was let go.
Any resentment from your ex-husband
when you two started dating?
Gary had already remarried.
He gave up on Katie
and me a long time ago.
Please, Keith only wants
to find my daughter.
Same as you, same as me.
Let us help you.
We'll be in touch when we have more.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
You could hear it in her voice.
- None of that was a lie.
- I agree.
Danke. Remember that bet we made,
that I'd be the first
female director of the FBI?
But only after my term as
the first Black director.
Well, I've gotta add another
ten years to that timeline.
I mean, all this
craziness with Forrester?
Don't count him out yet.
Well, if things go south if
what's your move?
Even punching in 302s till I'm grey
sounds a hell of a lot better
- than saying "yes, Dandridge" on repeat.
- Agreed.
Emil Hochberg, emergency responder.
36 hour shift.
Thanks for talking with us.
This morning, you responded
to a call at Hotel Karin.
- Who was the patient?
- A girl.
Um, severely malnourished
and dehydrated.
- Who called in the emergency?
- Her father.
They'd been hiking the
Sultans Trail for two days
when the child fell ill.
I can send you my report.
What was her name?
To be perfectly frank,
it was an odd situation.
The name I was given was Ilse Aichinger,
but the girl's father
never called her "Ilse."
The whole time, he
only called her "girl."
Turns out, Ilse Aichinger
is an Austrian writer.
I didn't realize it at the
time, but I looked it up later.
Did the father mention
where they were headed?
Mm, no, and actually, I
didn't see any luggage.
I recommended we take the girl
to a hospital for supervision,
but her father refused.
Here in Austria, we cannot
override parental consent.
All of this wasn't enough
to call the authorities?
Did something happen to the girl?
Answer the question.
I've been working 36-hour shifts,
one day off every ten
days since November.
If anything happened to the girl,
- I am sorry.
- Is this her?
The girl I treated was
only six or seven years old.
- You sure?
- Yeah, sure.
Yes, I see it here. Aichinger.
You didn't ask for ID?
It's EU policy for hotel
guests to provide ID.
Not when they pay by the hour.
- No cameras?
- Does this look like the Four Seasons?
- Is that your car?
- Mm-hmm.
I can see a dash cam from here.
Oh, correct. For YouTube, yes?
With crash videos you
can get a lot of views.
- You always park in that spot?
- Yes.
- And it's always on?
- I don't
Can I take a look at your laptop?
That's it. It's Katie.
There's a second victim.
She needed a medic,
but he didn't want to get
wrapped up in hospital red tape
or give up his home address.
Made up a bogus story about
how they'd been hiking.
Timestamp's pretty close
to when Katie showed up at the store.
Abductor had his hands full.
Katie saw her window,
and she went for it.
So who's our second victim?
OK, no luck on our second victim so far,
but I crosschecked the man's face
with Minneapolis PD's arrest records
back at the time of Katie's abduction.
Closest match was for an Otto Lang.
Arrested in Bethel, Minnesota,
for solicitation of an
underaged prostitute in 2011.
Served six months.
He's an American.
Dual citizenship. Born in Austria.
Got an address for him
right here in Millstatt.
- It's him.
- OK.
I want a complete workup on Lang.
Work history, credit
history, ten-print card.
Ask Saunders if he was on
their radar back in 2012.
Do I loop her in?
Not yet. Raines, we've got a suspect.
I'm gonna send you the address.
You and Vo meet us there.
Clear.
Smitty. You see this?
Ready?
Damn.
Lang's our guy.
- He must have just rolled out.
- How did he know we were coming?
What?
Assured, the FBI is working
with Austrian Special Police
to find Otto Lang and
bring Katie Marsh home.
- To the mothers
- McKenna called in her boss
so that he could take the glory.
And put our whole case in jeopardy.
If you have any information
on Otto Lang or Katie
Marsh's whereabouts,
please call the number listed below.
- Call Chief Kaufmann.
- I want this area blanketed.
Vehicle checkpoints,
rolling surveillance,
neighborhood door-to-door canvassing.
And make sure someone is up
geolocating Lang's
phone when it goes hot.
I will deal with Dandridge.
Hey. You told him we had a suspect?
No. No, I didn't know he was coming.
We had Lang!
If you had waited an hour
hell, if you had waited 20 minutes
to give your little showboat speech,
Katie Marsh might be in this
police station right now.
Standard protocol for a missing child
is releasing a BOLO the
moment we have information.
I put Katie and Lang's
faces on the morning news,
the night news, every social media
Senator Preuitt from Minnesota
and Deputy Director Van Leer
want to speak with both of you.
Now.
Special Agents Forrester and Dandridge,
this is Senator Preuitt, Minnesota.
Morning, gentlemen.
The senator sits on
the judiciary committee,
but her involvement here is personal.
She worked in the Minneapolis
DA's office in 2012.
Special Agent Forrester,
what's our status?
We have identified Katie's abductor.
Austrian police are conducting
a sweep of his neighborhood,
including door-to-door canvassing
and roadblocks at all choke points.
And Special Agent Dandridge,
I understand you are
taking over the fly team.
- Correct.
- Good.
What your words meant
to my constituents,
the thousands of search party
volunteers we had back then,
each and every one of
them was so comforted
by your transparency.
I want to commend you, Special Agent.
Well, I know how important it is
for the bureau to keep
the public informed.
I want a daily Sitrep on case progress.
Bring this girl home.
Dismissed.
Our second victim, Clara
Brenner from Spannberg,
town 15 miles west of here.
Good work.
They're here to
ID some items in the attic,
see if they recognize
anything as Katie's.
Maybe she left us
another clever message.
- OK.
- Mrs. Saunders? Come with me.
I want you to be honest with me, Keith,
because, no offense, we
didn't get started off
- on the right foot.
- Yeah.
No. Hey, look, that's on me.
And I appreciate you including us now.
Are you going around my back
to Special Agent Dandridge?
- The guy on TV?
- Mm-hmm.
I never saw him before this afternoon.
There were six people
present when we ID'd Katie,
and I know without a doubt
that I can trust five of them.
Guys like Dandridge are the reason
I turned my badge in, OK?
He doesn't care about Katie.
He cares that the TV cameras are on.
Not my kind of cop.
Look in my eyes.
You got a rat? It ain't me.
OK.
Makers Craft Fair. St. Paul, 2011.
Six months before it happened.
There was a ring toss. I won this.
Never won anything before in my life.
I gave it to Katie.
Mm, this, I don't recognize.
This man, Lang, he stole her childhood.
It's good that he didn't
lock her up here 24/7, right?
Do you think he
Do you think he abused her?
I don't want to give you an
answer because we don't know.
But when we find her,
and we will find her,
I want you to give her
all the love, support,
and counseling she'll need,
no matter what she endured.
Yes.
Do you think she remembers me?
At the convenience store,
you're the one she asked for.
She knew you'd never stop looking.
Here's the full profile on Otto Lang.
Austrian citizenship through his mother,
American through his father.
Dad left Austria before Lang was born.
Otto grew up here, but his mom
passed away when he was two.
He was raised by his
aunt, Margarethe Lang.
She was abusive.
Police reports back to Otto's childhood,
but Margarethe was never charged.
Josef Fritzl, also Austrian.
Abducted his own daughter and
locked her in the basement.
His mother was abusive.
Psychiatrists believe that caused him
to develop antisocial
personality disorder.
Otto Lang was reclusive too.
Now works six-month
stints driving trucks.
Solitary work, night shifts. Fits.
In 2012, Lang tried to
connect with his father.
He was in the States for a year
working as an InterconExpress driver.
Route ran through Katie's neighborhood.
He was watching her, waiting
for the perfect moment.
Clara Brenner, Lang's second victim.
Five years old when she was taken.
We crosschecked missing persons cases
and confirmed she
disappeared two years ago.
One day, Clara walked to school.
She never made it home.
Any connection to Lang's M.O.
with the delivery trucks?
Lang was working for a shipping depot
whose warehouse was
located along Clara's path.
Austria's track record with
abductions is spotty at best.
I remember Clara Brenner.
Have her parents been
told she's still alive?
Her mum overdosed shortly after.
Single mum, suicide.
Where are we on Lang's vehicle?
No hits yet, but a
BOLO's out and active.
- We've got real-time eyes on
- Where are you going?
- To speak to Keith Saunders.
- He chased Lang for a decade.
He may have some insight
into his next move.
Do you feel the most
worthwhile use of your time
- is interviewing a failed detective?
- I do.
We think the InterconExpress
truck is the key.
You know, when Agent Kellett
showed me Lang's photo,
I couldn't even place him.
By the time we spoke to Lang,
he'd been reassigned
to a route in Jersey.
And he played it off like
he barely even remembered Katie.
Well enough to convince me.
- Hey, it's not your fault.
- Of course it is.
I interviewed him, and I let him walk.
Sometimes your gut makes a
case, sometimes it doesn't.
Every cop knows that.
You've been looking for Lang for years.
You know him better than anyone.
Is there anything that you can think of,
no matter how insignificant,
that might help us?
Look, the thing I
focused on in my career
was pattern recognition, right?
Study how perps think,
repeated behavior.
But every time I thought
I had this guy pegged,
I'd had it wrong. There
wasn't a pattern.
- Maybe that's the pattern.
- What?
Thank you.
What if Lang isn't on the run?
What if he is waiting this out?
I checked if Lang owned any property
besides the house in Millstatt.
Search came up empty.
What about the aunt?
She's in hospice care in Stuttgart.
Nurses say he's never visited her.
And the lakeside cabin
where Lang grew up
was repossessed by the banks years ago.
There is a pattern here
that isn't a pattern.
I'm just not seeing it.
Hey, got a hit on Lang's vehicle.
Dandridge wants you to intercept.
I gotta go, Scott.
Go.
Uh, Forrester pick up a lead?
Anything I can help with?
Dandridge asked you to check in?
Kellett, I swear I
didn't tell him anything.
Sure.
Hold on.
- Turn off the ignition.
- Toss the keys out the window.
Do it now!
Exit your vehicle with
your hands above your head.
Clear.
Who the hell are you?
Uh-huh.
Where'd you get this vehicle?
A man at the Pizza & Wurstl Standl
gave me 1,000 euro to exchange cars.
He was traveling with his daughters.
- With two girls?
- Uh-huh.
How long ago was this?
- I I don't know. I, um
- 30 minutes, an hour? Think.
Two, maybe. Drei, dreieinhalb Stunden?
Three and a half hours.
I mean, Lang could be
halfway to Bratislava by now.
A truck, Chevy.
- Beige. Year?
- Uh, '99, I think.
- No GPS.
- Record's clean.
Did you leave any personal
items in your truck?
Uh, no. I don't think so.
- But my mom's sporttasche.
- Gym bag.
Could she have left anything in the bag,
anything with a tracker?
Her phone, an iPad,
a Tile keychain maybe?
I don't know. I
I gave her a Fitbit for Christmas.
Raines, I need you to get
a location on a Fitbit.
It's registered under the name Altmann.
- Lea.
- Lea Altmann.
Found it.
Hands up where we can see them.
It's clear.
Kellett, check this out.
There must have been a struggle.
If that's the girls'
blood, I swear to God
They should be close by.
I'll have Austrian Special
Police get a search team going.
If we can figure out
exactly how Katie and
Clara were abducted,
we can do the math on
where Lang's taking them.
Well, Katie picked
up the mail every day.
Lang must've coerced her into his truck,
hit her with the phenobarbital
to quiet her down.
Lang's route took him
to the Duluth seaport.
The day he took Katie was the same day
there was a big shipment going out.
He must've hid her in a crate.
The mail depot Clara would pass
feeds right into a rail
cargo shipping yard.
You're not gonna like this.
Right here's where we found the Chevy.
There's a freight yard
a half a mile away.
And the next train leaves in
30 minutes, headed to Morocco.
No U.S. extradition.
That's it. That's our lead.
Katie and Clara are on that train.
But something's not clicking.
When Lang first took the
girls, he had months to plan.
He studied his route.
He knew how to circumvent checkpoints.
And right now, he is under fire.
All the more reason to run.
Or maybe choose to wait it out.
That's your problem, Forrester.
You don't make sure-footed decisions.
You like to fly by
the seat of your pants.
That is why we're making a change.
If there's even a 5% chance
those girls are on that train,
I will not risk losing them,
so you can either get on board
or waste your time digging
into Margarethe Lang.
How did you know I was
looking into Lang's aunt?
My job is to be on top
of things. Gear up.
Hey. I know that you
and Dandridge are close,
but just hear me out.
OK.
Some agents join the bureau
to play the promotion game.
Others work cases.
It's naive to think that any of us
- can escape the politicking.
- Sure.
But when people ask
me whose side I'm on,
I always say the victim's.
And right now, Zoey, you and me,
this is just two agents talking.
You saw Dandridge right then.
Is that the kind of
guy you wanna empower?
But if you know something,
if you know how he's been
on top of my every move,
right now, you get to decide
what kind of agent you wanna be.
- Open it up.
- Open!
All clear.
- Well?
- Nothing in the train cars or crates.
We missed something.
They're not here.
Raines, check the cameras.
The last train left six hours ago.
The girls were never here.
- Our theory is that
- They're not here.
Shh.
Katie Marsh, Clara Brenner.
I'm Scott. I'm with the FBI.
I'm gonna get you out of here, OK?
Where's Otto Lang?
Aah!
Get down!
Aah!
You're okay. Hey, hey, you're okay.
Hey, girls. You OK?
So we're gonna take you
both back to the station.
Katie, your mom will meet us there.
You're safe now.
We got Lang.
And I couldn't have done it without you.
So thank you.
Katie's here waiting for you.
Hey. Hey, Katie.
- Mom?
- Honey, you're safe now.
You're going home.
What about Clara?
She's my sister.
Every day before Clara came along, I
I prayed for everything to just be over.
From the moment I saw her,
she gave me hope.
Mom
I stayed alive for Clara.
And I am so happy you did, baby.
Mom.
- I'm sorry, Mom.
- No.
- I'm so sorry.
- No, I'm sorry.
I love you.
Deceased mother, no next of kin.
Policy in Austria would be
to have Clara put into
their foster care system.
There's adoption, but
we'd have to find
Allison and I will do it.
Are you sure?
Where's the paperwork?
Senator, Deputy Director,
thanks for making the trip.
Just the man we were looking for.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
- Senator.
- Scott.
If you'll recall, sir,
I was running point.
We found Katie at a location
I was told it was
Special Agent Forrester
who found Katie.
Yes. Yes, everyone did good work.
A team effort, under my direction.
- Your take?
- I was just doing my job, sir.
Dandridge, I want you on the
next plane back to Washington.
I'm sorry?
You issued an unauthorized wiretap
on a federal agent's phone.
- What?
- His.
How you knew where this
investigation was going,
listening in like a weasel.
Do I need to refer you to
the bureau's code of conduct?
I figured out how you
bypassed the affidavit,
and I told the deputy director.
The Office of
Professional Responsibility
would like a word, in person.
As for you, I was hoping you'd consider
running the fly team a little longer.
It would be my privilege.
Props to you, man,
but you really left us
hanging till the last minute.
Exert minimal effort.
Use your opponent's force against them.
Aikido. Ever see "Under
Siege," Steven Seagal?
I would've paid a lot of money
to see Scott and Dandridge
slug it out for real.
Dandridge wouldn't
have lasted ten seconds.
Your point?
After Belgrade, I told
him to come after me
with everything that he's got.
Oh, I knew it'd throw
him into a tailspin.
And McKenna, you knew she'd flip?
If only I were that good.
I told her to come.
Seems like I was a
bit too quick to judge.
- Hey.
- Hi.
- Hey. I'm buying.
- Hi.
Uh, bourbon, neat.
So what's next for you, Zoey?
Uh, deputy legat position in
Warsaw just opened up, so
Running around with us convinced you
to chain yourself to a desk?
Oh, I'll be back. Just not sure when.
- Thanks.
- Cheers.
Cheers.
I'm the senior FBI special
agent in the country.
The team you run, they
are sloppy, undisciplined.
I blame you, their leader.
Dandridge planted McKenna
here for his eyes and ears.
Why are you here?
I'm here to learn.
You're being transferred to
the admin division in Alabama.
You have no power to relocate me.
This is going to get
acrimonious very quickly.
Let it. I'm not going without a fight.
Let me tell you a story
about how to completely
screw up your career.
My dad owned an office building.
We grew up on the second floor.
Bottom one, he leased to Larry Beaumont.
Hardware store owner.
One day, Ace shows up
multi-million dollar
big-box hardware company.
They want to buy the building.
So Dad comes home with a moral dilemma.
Does he put a friend out
on the street for a payday?
My mom says, "Follow your heart,"
so he tells Ace to pound sand.
Ace buys a different
building three blocks away.
Within six months, Larry's
customers are shopping
down the street, and he can't
whip up the money to pay rent.
So I ask you, what was
my father's mistake?
Loyalty is a fool's virtue.
Scott Forrester will be in
Alabama by the end of the week.
You wanna stay loyal to him?
Follow him out the door.
I I was kidnapped.
Look, can you please,
please, just call my mom?
My mom.
English no good.
Please help me.
No, no, no.
No, no, no.
Hello?
Morning.
Hey. We need to talk.
- By the end of the week.
- He was very clear.
- OK.
- That's it?
- I'm pushing back.
- When? How?
Because he's pretty
sure the battle's over.
I am doing everything that I can,
calling in every chit that
anyone owes me, all right?
I'm not giving up until
the door is shut in my face.
- All right?
- Hey.
Caught a case.
One sec.
Should we still include her in our work?
She was assigned to this task force.
She's Dandridge's number two.
- McKenna's a solid agent.
- She keeps her head down.
She has given me no reason to doubt her.
Come on. Let's see what she's got.
- Go.
- Katie Marsh.
Disappeared from her home in Minnesota
- in broad daylight in 2012.
- I remember that case.
My mom was glued to the TV
for a solid month and a half.
A distressed teenager showed
up in Ganserndorf, Austria,
claiming to be Katie,
asking for help in English.
Disappeared before police arrived.
D.C. sent this in:
an aged-up Katie based
on childhood photos.
Looks just like her.
Yeah, but we need more proof.
No one wants a repeat
of Nicholas Barclay.
- Who?
- San Antonio, Texas, 1994.
13-year-old Nicholas
goes to play basketball
with some friends. He never comes home.
Three years later, a
teenager shows up in Spain.
Claims to be Nicholas.
The family is overjoyed.
Six months later, a P.I. comes forward,
says he has his doubts,
wants to run some DNA.
A con man?
A serial imposter named
Frédéric Bourdin.
- Sickening.
- OK, let's head to Austria,
see if we can get a track on this girl.
If it is Katie Marsh,
a whole lot of people are
gonna want to know about it.
- I'll bring Smitty up to speed.
- I'd like to assist.
Uh, if that's OK with everyone.
Yeah.
Stadthauptmann Liam Kaufmann.
Special Agent Scott Forrester.
This is Megan Garretson with Europol.
Agents Vo, Kellet, McKenna, and Raines.
Nice to meet you.
Here in Ganserndorf,
my wife buys a ham at the market today
and pays for it next week.
This isn't a town
where girls go missing.
We are alarmed.
We will offer support, but with my staff
only just returning from holiday,
we are not operating at full capacity.
We appreciate any
cooperation you can give us.
- Do you wish to speak to your colleague?
- Who?
The detective.
I believe his name is Saunders.
Forensics report just came in.
Vo and I will take a look.
- Lead the way.
- Yes.
Keith Saunders, Minneapolis PD.
Megan Garretson, Europol.
Scott Forrester, Jamie Kellett, FBI.
We weren't expecting you, Detective.
Well, I was part of
the 2012 investigation.
You know Agent Manuel out of St. Paul?
I worked with him
through the PD's missing
persons task force.
He left me on the Marsh case
as the point of contact within the PD.
Well, we appreciate
you flying all this way,
but no one told us you were coming.
Yeah, well, I'm here.
And here's how I can help.
She left this in the store.
Now, this is Katie ages six and eight.
- It's the same ring.
- Exactly.
They found traces of
phenobarbital on that ring.
Explains her wooziness
in the store video.
They also found DNA on it. Saliva.
It's a match for Katie Marsh.
Oh, my God.
It's clever to lick the ring
to make sure we knew it was her.
OK, we have a match.
Clock is ticking before this becomes
the biggest news story in the world.
Detective, I know you know
we need absolute discretion
in the short window that we have.
Raines, Vo, can you see what they have
for security cameras or CCTV?
I'll head to the convenience
store with Smitty.
Uh, what can I be doing?
Can you get me everything
that you've collected
- since she originally went missing?
- Of course, yes.
Can you look into Detective Saunders?
- He seems a little twitchy.
- Read my mind.
"The American was unwell.
"She kept looking over her shoulder
as if she were waiting for someone."
Did you see anyone: a car,
another person outside?
I saw a gray van drive away,
but I couldn't get the license plate.
What did she say?
She says she hopes you find the girl
before the Krampus does.
A monster mothers used
to tell their children
to keep them from straying too far.
Danke schon.
- Out with it.
- You won't like it.
When has that ever stopped you?
You need to have a plan, Scott.
Don't feed me this bunk about
how you're biding your time.
Uh-huh. Victor Peeters.
- What about him?
- Trojan shield.
He was the first to fold.
After he caved, 800 arrests.
But again and again,
what did you ask me?
"When?"
Never mind that our
evidence was circumstantial,
but you were ready to move.
But what did we do?
We slowly turned up the pressure,
and Peeters did himself in.
This isn't some sting operation
where you can wait it out.
This is your career, Scott.
You're asking me when.
All I'm saying is, not yet.
They're still running StarTraq,
old software circa 2005.
No surveillance, no cached recordings.
Well, if Katie's abductor
wanted to get the hell
out of dodge, maybe he ran a red.
Check for any violations
within our timeframe.
Clinic records have that ambulance
headed to Hotel Karin
a motel, I guess.
15 minute walk from
the convenience store.
Is there information on
what the emergency was?
OK, you and Vo check out the clinic.
See if there's a connection
between missing girl, convenience store,
and emergency at a
motel in the same area.
I checked with Minneapolis
PD about Detective Saunders.
Yeah?
You're not gonna believe this.
You guys ready for my presentation?
Actually, I just found out
you were pulled off Katie's case
and fired by Minneapolis
PD for misconduct.
- That's
- You haven't been a detective in years,
have you?
We spoke with Lieutenant Daniels,
your former supervisor.
Said you were a head
case. Fired with cause.
Yeah, well
Look, Daniels believed Katie
was abducted by a home invader
they caught a month
after the kidnapping.
But the guy never confessed
and Daniels could never prove he did it.
My theory, which I was
about to present to you:
Katie was taken by someone she knew.
Her backpack was missing and
some of her favorite toys
a teddy bear, blue, with
a bell around its neck.
Why would a home invader give
Katie time to pack a go bag?
My theory clashed with Daniels' theory.
That's it. Guess who lost?
We're not interested
in the station politics
- that you got tangled up in.
- Oh, come on, man.
Neither was I. That's why I'm here.
You are not a part
of this investigation.
I am the only one who gave a damn!
I lost my job,
my pension, respect,
but I never stopped.
This case is my life.
Are you sure?
Public records confirmed it.
Is there anything else
you want to tell us?
He and Katie Marsh's mom are married.
I'm not hiding it.
Does your wife know that you're here?
Does she know that we
have a fix on her daughter?
Come on, man.
There is a protocol to when
and how you involve the family.
All right, all right.
Allison is here too.
We flew out together.
At first, Gary, Katy's dad, and I
looked for her night and day,
but after a year, the leads
dried up. He just
he gave up. That's the only
way to describe it.
He just shut Katie out of his mind
like he was pulling down a divider.
Everyone processes grief diff
He wanted to have another kid,
like she was a broken
toy we could replace.
We need to ask you about
your current husband, Keith.
OK.
Normally, a detective
is taken off a case
if his or her involvement
becomes too personal.
It's a fireable offense
in most police departments.
Keith and I didn't get together
until after he was let go.
Any resentment from your ex-husband
when you two started dating?
Gary had already remarried.
He gave up on Katie
and me a long time ago.
Please, Keith only wants
to find my daughter.
Same as you, same as me.
Let us help you.
We'll be in touch when we have more.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
- Thank you.
You could hear it in her voice.
- None of that was a lie.
- I agree.
Danke. Remember that bet we made,
that I'd be the first
female director of the FBI?
But only after my term as
the first Black director.
Well, I've gotta add another
ten years to that timeline.
I mean, all this
craziness with Forrester?
Don't count him out yet.
Well, if things go south if
what's your move?
Even punching in 302s till I'm grey
sounds a hell of a lot better
- than saying "yes, Dandridge" on repeat.
- Agreed.
Emil Hochberg, emergency responder.
36 hour shift.
Thanks for talking with us.
This morning, you responded
to a call at Hotel Karin.
- Who was the patient?
- A girl.
Um, severely malnourished
and dehydrated.
- Who called in the emergency?
- Her father.
They'd been hiking the
Sultans Trail for two days
when the child fell ill.
I can send you my report.
What was her name?
To be perfectly frank,
it was an odd situation.
The name I was given was Ilse Aichinger,
but the girl's father
never called her "Ilse."
The whole time, he
only called her "girl."
Turns out, Ilse Aichinger
is an Austrian writer.
I didn't realize it at the
time, but I looked it up later.
Did the father mention
where they were headed?
Mm, no, and actually, I
didn't see any luggage.
I recommended we take the girl
to a hospital for supervision,
but her father refused.
Here in Austria, we cannot
override parental consent.
All of this wasn't enough
to call the authorities?
Did something happen to the girl?
Answer the question.
I've been working 36-hour shifts,
one day off every ten
days since November.
If anything happened to the girl,
- I am sorry.
- Is this her?
The girl I treated was
only six or seven years old.
- You sure?
- Yeah, sure.
Yes, I see it here. Aichinger.
You didn't ask for ID?
It's EU policy for hotel
guests to provide ID.
Not when they pay by the hour.
- No cameras?
- Does this look like the Four Seasons?
- Is that your car?
- Mm-hmm.
I can see a dash cam from here.
Oh, correct. For YouTube, yes?
With crash videos you
can get a lot of views.
- You always park in that spot?
- Yes.
- And it's always on?
- I don't
Can I take a look at your laptop?
That's it. It's Katie.
There's a second victim.
She needed a medic,
but he didn't want to get
wrapped up in hospital red tape
or give up his home address.
Made up a bogus story about
how they'd been hiking.
Timestamp's pretty close
to when Katie showed up at the store.
Abductor had his hands full.
Katie saw her window,
and she went for it.
So who's our second victim?
OK, no luck on our second victim so far,
but I crosschecked the man's face
with Minneapolis PD's arrest records
back at the time of Katie's abduction.
Closest match was for an Otto Lang.
Arrested in Bethel, Minnesota,
for solicitation of an
underaged prostitute in 2011.
Served six months.
He's an American.
Dual citizenship. Born in Austria.
Got an address for him
right here in Millstatt.
- It's him.
- OK.
I want a complete workup on Lang.
Work history, credit
history, ten-print card.
Ask Saunders if he was on
their radar back in 2012.
Do I loop her in?
Not yet. Raines, we've got a suspect.
I'm gonna send you the address.
You and Vo meet us there.
Clear.
Smitty. You see this?
Ready?
Damn.
Lang's our guy.
- He must have just rolled out.
- How did he know we were coming?
What?
Assured, the FBI is working
with Austrian Special Police
to find Otto Lang and
bring Katie Marsh home.
- To the mothers
- McKenna called in her boss
so that he could take the glory.
And put our whole case in jeopardy.
If you have any information
on Otto Lang or Katie
Marsh's whereabouts,
please call the number listed below.
- Call Chief Kaufmann.
- I want this area blanketed.
Vehicle checkpoints,
rolling surveillance,
neighborhood door-to-door canvassing.
And make sure someone is up
geolocating Lang's
phone when it goes hot.
I will deal with Dandridge.
Hey. You told him we had a suspect?
No. No, I didn't know he was coming.
We had Lang!
If you had waited an hour
hell, if you had waited 20 minutes
to give your little showboat speech,
Katie Marsh might be in this
police station right now.
Standard protocol for a missing child
is releasing a BOLO the
moment we have information.
I put Katie and Lang's
faces on the morning news,
the night news, every social media
Senator Preuitt from Minnesota
and Deputy Director Van Leer
want to speak with both of you.
Now.
Special Agents Forrester and Dandridge,
this is Senator Preuitt, Minnesota.
Morning, gentlemen.
The senator sits on
the judiciary committee,
but her involvement here is personal.
She worked in the Minneapolis
DA's office in 2012.
Special Agent Forrester,
what's our status?
We have identified Katie's abductor.
Austrian police are conducting
a sweep of his neighborhood,
including door-to-door canvassing
and roadblocks at all choke points.
And Special Agent Dandridge,
I understand you are
taking over the fly team.
- Correct.
- Good.
What your words meant
to my constituents,
the thousands of search party
volunteers we had back then,
each and every one of
them was so comforted
by your transparency.
I want to commend you, Special Agent.
Well, I know how important it is
for the bureau to keep
the public informed.
I want a daily Sitrep on case progress.
Bring this girl home.
Dismissed.
Our second victim, Clara
Brenner from Spannberg,
town 15 miles west of here.
Good work.
They're here to
ID some items in the attic,
see if they recognize
anything as Katie's.
Maybe she left us
another clever message.
- OK.
- Mrs. Saunders? Come with me.
I want you to be honest with me, Keith,
because, no offense, we
didn't get started off
- on the right foot.
- Yeah.
No. Hey, look, that's on me.
And I appreciate you including us now.
Are you going around my back
to Special Agent Dandridge?
- The guy on TV?
- Mm-hmm.
I never saw him before this afternoon.
There were six people
present when we ID'd Katie,
and I know without a doubt
that I can trust five of them.
Guys like Dandridge are the reason
I turned my badge in, OK?
He doesn't care about Katie.
He cares that the TV cameras are on.
Not my kind of cop.
Look in my eyes.
You got a rat? It ain't me.
OK.
Makers Craft Fair. St. Paul, 2011.
Six months before it happened.
There was a ring toss. I won this.
Never won anything before in my life.
I gave it to Katie.
Mm, this, I don't recognize.
This man, Lang, he stole her childhood.
It's good that he didn't
lock her up here 24/7, right?
Do you think he
Do you think he abused her?
I don't want to give you an
answer because we don't know.
But when we find her,
and we will find her,
I want you to give her
all the love, support,
and counseling she'll need,
no matter what she endured.
Yes.
Do you think she remembers me?
At the convenience store,
you're the one she asked for.
She knew you'd never stop looking.
Here's the full profile on Otto Lang.
Austrian citizenship through his mother,
American through his father.
Dad left Austria before Lang was born.
Otto grew up here, but his mom
passed away when he was two.
He was raised by his
aunt, Margarethe Lang.
She was abusive.
Police reports back to Otto's childhood,
but Margarethe was never charged.
Josef Fritzl, also Austrian.
Abducted his own daughter and
locked her in the basement.
His mother was abusive.
Psychiatrists believe that caused him
to develop antisocial
personality disorder.
Otto Lang was reclusive too.
Now works six-month
stints driving trucks.
Solitary work, night shifts. Fits.
In 2012, Lang tried to
connect with his father.
He was in the States for a year
working as an InterconExpress driver.
Route ran through Katie's neighborhood.
He was watching her, waiting
for the perfect moment.
Clara Brenner, Lang's second victim.
Five years old when she was taken.
We crosschecked missing persons cases
and confirmed she
disappeared two years ago.
One day, Clara walked to school.
She never made it home.
Any connection to Lang's M.O.
with the delivery trucks?
Lang was working for a shipping depot
whose warehouse was
located along Clara's path.
Austria's track record with
abductions is spotty at best.
I remember Clara Brenner.
Have her parents been
told she's still alive?
Her mum overdosed shortly after.
Single mum, suicide.
Where are we on Lang's vehicle?
No hits yet, but a
BOLO's out and active.
- We've got real-time eyes on
- Where are you going?
- To speak to Keith Saunders.
- He chased Lang for a decade.
He may have some insight
into his next move.
Do you feel the most
worthwhile use of your time
- is interviewing a failed detective?
- I do.
We think the InterconExpress
truck is the key.
You know, when Agent Kellett
showed me Lang's photo,
I couldn't even place him.
By the time we spoke to Lang,
he'd been reassigned
to a route in Jersey.
And he played it off like
he barely even remembered Katie.
Well enough to convince me.
- Hey, it's not your fault.
- Of course it is.
I interviewed him, and I let him walk.
Sometimes your gut makes a
case, sometimes it doesn't.
Every cop knows that.
You've been looking for Lang for years.
You know him better than anyone.
Is there anything that you can think of,
no matter how insignificant,
that might help us?
Look, the thing I
focused on in my career
was pattern recognition, right?
Study how perps think,
repeated behavior.
But every time I thought
I had this guy pegged,
I'd had it wrong. There
wasn't a pattern.
- Maybe that's the pattern.
- What?
Thank you.
What if Lang isn't on the run?
What if he is waiting this out?
I checked if Lang owned any property
besides the house in Millstatt.
Search came up empty.
What about the aunt?
She's in hospice care in Stuttgart.
Nurses say he's never visited her.
And the lakeside cabin
where Lang grew up
was repossessed by the banks years ago.
There is a pattern here
that isn't a pattern.
I'm just not seeing it.
Hey, got a hit on Lang's vehicle.
Dandridge wants you to intercept.
I gotta go, Scott.
Go.
Uh, Forrester pick up a lead?
Anything I can help with?
Dandridge asked you to check in?
Kellett, I swear I
didn't tell him anything.
Sure.
Hold on.
- Turn off the ignition.
- Toss the keys out the window.
Do it now!
Exit your vehicle with
your hands above your head.
Clear.
Who the hell are you?
Uh-huh.
Where'd you get this vehicle?
A man at the Pizza & Wurstl Standl
gave me 1,000 euro to exchange cars.
He was traveling with his daughters.
- With two girls?
- Uh-huh.
How long ago was this?
- I I don't know. I, um
- 30 minutes, an hour? Think.
Two, maybe. Drei, dreieinhalb Stunden?
Three and a half hours.
I mean, Lang could be
halfway to Bratislava by now.
A truck, Chevy.
- Beige. Year?
- Uh, '99, I think.
- No GPS.
- Record's clean.
Did you leave any personal
items in your truck?
Uh, no. I don't think so.
- But my mom's sporttasche.
- Gym bag.
Could she have left anything in the bag,
anything with a tracker?
Her phone, an iPad,
a Tile keychain maybe?
I don't know. I
I gave her a Fitbit for Christmas.
Raines, I need you to get
a location on a Fitbit.
It's registered under the name Altmann.
- Lea.
- Lea Altmann.
Found it.
Hands up where we can see them.
It's clear.
Kellett, check this out.
There must have been a struggle.
If that's the girls'
blood, I swear to God
They should be close by.
I'll have Austrian Special
Police get a search team going.
If we can figure out
exactly how Katie and
Clara were abducted,
we can do the math on
where Lang's taking them.
Well, Katie picked
up the mail every day.
Lang must've coerced her into his truck,
hit her with the phenobarbital
to quiet her down.
Lang's route took him
to the Duluth seaport.
The day he took Katie was the same day
there was a big shipment going out.
He must've hid her in a crate.
The mail depot Clara would pass
feeds right into a rail
cargo shipping yard.
You're not gonna like this.
Right here's where we found the Chevy.
There's a freight yard
a half a mile away.
And the next train leaves in
30 minutes, headed to Morocco.
No U.S. extradition.
That's it. That's our lead.
Katie and Clara are on that train.
But something's not clicking.
When Lang first took the
girls, he had months to plan.
He studied his route.
He knew how to circumvent checkpoints.
And right now, he is under fire.
All the more reason to run.
Or maybe choose to wait it out.
That's your problem, Forrester.
You don't make sure-footed decisions.
You like to fly by
the seat of your pants.
That is why we're making a change.
If there's even a 5% chance
those girls are on that train,
I will not risk losing them,
so you can either get on board
or waste your time digging
into Margarethe Lang.
How did you know I was
looking into Lang's aunt?
My job is to be on top
of things. Gear up.
Hey. I know that you
and Dandridge are close,
but just hear me out.
OK.
Some agents join the bureau
to play the promotion game.
Others work cases.
It's naive to think that any of us
- can escape the politicking.
- Sure.
But when people ask
me whose side I'm on,
I always say the victim's.
And right now, Zoey, you and me,
this is just two agents talking.
You saw Dandridge right then.
Is that the kind of
guy you wanna empower?
But if you know something,
if you know how he's been
on top of my every move,
right now, you get to decide
what kind of agent you wanna be.
- Open it up.
- Open!
All clear.
- Well?
- Nothing in the train cars or crates.
We missed something.
They're not here.
Raines, check the cameras.
The last train left six hours ago.
The girls were never here.
- Our theory is that
- They're not here.
Shh.
Katie Marsh, Clara Brenner.
I'm Scott. I'm with the FBI.
I'm gonna get you out of here, OK?
Where's Otto Lang?
Aah!
Get down!
Aah!
You're okay. Hey, hey, you're okay.
Hey, girls. You OK?
So we're gonna take you
both back to the station.
Katie, your mom will meet us there.
You're safe now.
We got Lang.
And I couldn't have done it without you.
So thank you.
Katie's here waiting for you.
Hey. Hey, Katie.
- Mom?
- Honey, you're safe now.
You're going home.
What about Clara?
She's my sister.
Every day before Clara came along, I
I prayed for everything to just be over.
From the moment I saw her,
she gave me hope.
Mom
I stayed alive for Clara.
And I am so happy you did, baby.
Mom.
- I'm sorry, Mom.
- No.
- I'm so sorry.
- No, I'm sorry.
I love you.
Deceased mother, no next of kin.
Policy in Austria would be
to have Clara put into
their foster care system.
There's adoption, but
we'd have to find
Allison and I will do it.
Are you sure?
Where's the paperwork?
Senator, Deputy Director,
thanks for making the trip.
Just the man we were looking for.
- Well done.
- Thank you.
- Senator.
- Scott.
If you'll recall, sir,
I was running point.
We found Katie at a location
I was told it was
Special Agent Forrester
who found Katie.
Yes. Yes, everyone did good work.
A team effort, under my direction.
- Your take?
- I was just doing my job, sir.
Dandridge, I want you on the
next plane back to Washington.
I'm sorry?
You issued an unauthorized wiretap
on a federal agent's phone.
- What?
- His.
How you knew where this
investigation was going,
listening in like a weasel.
Do I need to refer you to
the bureau's code of conduct?
I figured out how you
bypassed the affidavit,
and I told the deputy director.
The Office of
Professional Responsibility
would like a word, in person.
As for you, I was hoping you'd consider
running the fly team a little longer.
It would be my privilege.
Props to you, man,
but you really left us
hanging till the last minute.
Exert minimal effort.
Use your opponent's force against them.
Aikido. Ever see "Under
Siege," Steven Seagal?
I would've paid a lot of money
to see Scott and Dandridge
slug it out for real.
Dandridge wouldn't
have lasted ten seconds.
Your point?
After Belgrade, I told
him to come after me
with everything that he's got.
Oh, I knew it'd throw
him into a tailspin.
And McKenna, you knew she'd flip?
If only I were that good.
I told her to come.
Seems like I was a
bit too quick to judge.
- Hey.
- Hi.
- Hey. I'm buying.
- Hi.
Uh, bourbon, neat.
So what's next for you, Zoey?
Uh, deputy legat position in
Warsaw just opened up, so
Running around with us convinced you
to chain yourself to a desk?
Oh, I'll be back. Just not sure when.
- Thanks.
- Cheers.
Cheers.