Without a Trace s02e14 Episode Script

Open up, Bob.
Come on, Bob.
Don't make me kick down the door.
I got my nice boots on.
- Hey.
- Hey.
So we got Jessica Prince, 29, bounty hunter.
Showed up to haul in a skip named Robert Bellaqua.
Jessica Prince, I know her.
She was a cop with the NYPD.
Worked a couple of cases together.
She was good.
I even offered to get her an interview at the Bureau.
Before your time.
From Bureau candidate to bail bonds.
That's sort of a step down.
Anything from the neighbors? Yeah, it's a pretty sketchy report.
Gunshots, a car driving away.
The blood on the porch matches Prince's type.
Unfortunately, we struck out with the morgues and hospitals.
- Anyone see the shooter? - No.
But, apparently Bellaqua hasn't been around since he skipped bail on a possession of stolen property charge.
Now, Prince and her mother run a bail bonds business.
- They posted his bail.
- How much? - $15,000.
- On a stolen property charge? - What's that? Three to five, max? - Yeah, if that.
It doesn't make sense to me why this guy would try and take out - a bounty hunter for that kind of time.
- Anything in the house? It was cleared out when NYPD got here.
They didn't have much to go on until Prince's mother called in the Missing Persons report.
Oh, excuse me.
Fitzgerald.
Yeah.
Where? Right.
Okay, thanks.
Jessica's car just turned up on the Overland Parkway.
Windows and tires are shot out and the officer said there's a lot of blood inside.
Okay.
Let's go.
Yeah, I'll take those, too.
Thank you.
I got sick, breast cancer, about 18 months ago.
That's when Jesse left the force to help me out.
I told her I'd be fine, but she was worried I was gonna run myself into the ground.
- So she left the force in good standing.
- Yeah, of course.
Okay.
So what happened the other night? We were about to close up shop for the night when a tip came in.
Oh, great! Thanks for your help.
Sounds like Bob's girlfriend.
- Bob must have pissed her off.
- Or she knows we pay nice for a good tip.
I'll be back by 11:00.
Wait until morning, honey.
I doubt Bob's an early riser.
Yeah.
I'd sleep better knowing we have our $15,000 back.
- At least take the Bear with you.
- It's Bob, Ma.
Take the Bear.
Never hurts to have a little muscle.
All right.
I'll pick him up along the way.
Here.
$500 for the girlfriend.
Nothing like true love.
Love you.
When I didn't hear from her by morning, I called the Bear.
He said she never showed up and never called him.
That's when I went to Bob's address and saw the police.
Was this Bob Bellaqua, was he much of a fighter? Not that I could tell.
No.
I posted his bail before.
Never missed a court date.
Does Jesse usually go out alone on jobs? No.
She's very thorough.
She almost always calls the Bear.
This Bear character, does he have a real name? Larry.
Larry Andrews.
Larry Andrews.
We're gonna need to speak to Larry Andrews.
Excuse me.
These files, they only seem to go back six months.
I'd have to go down to the basement for the rest.
- That would be great.
- Thanks.
She doesn't seem to be 100% sure that Bob's girlfriend called in the tip.
You know, it could be some skip that Jesse's chasing who didn't wanna get caught, so he lured her over to the house.
I'm gonna go over to Jesse's old precinct to sniff around.
Check out this Bear character, Larry Andrews.
- You got it.
- Thanks.
Right, see you.
I was out on patrol.
Heard about the shooting on the radio.
Wasn't my neighborhood.
I didn't even know it was her that got shot until this morning.
I went over and checked it out.
It looks like a lot of gunfire.
We haven't found her body yet.
If she's still alive, any idea why she wouldn't go to a hospital? No.
You guys don't speak anymore? No, we split up a couple of weeks after she quit.
You split up, what is that? She broke up with you, you broke up with her.
What? She broke up with me.
- No hard feelings? - I'm over it.
So why did she quit? She said she was gonna help her mom with her business.
She have any problems with any of the perps, anything personal? You know how it is.
Nobody's happy when you're putting them away but, no, nothing that stands out.
- When was the last time you saw her? - Couple of weeks ago.
One of our guys, Dale Elliott, went down in the line.
She showed up at the funeral.
- Hey.
- Hey.
- How've you been? - I've been okay.
- I can't believe Dale - Yeah, I know.
- How are you holding up? - Okay, I guess.
Hey.
What, someone's got to croak to catch sight of you? Tom.
Brett.
What happened to you, girl? I've been, you know, helping out at the family store.
Just 'cause you're not dating that one anymore doesn't mean you can't come around.
- Okay.
- Good.
We're all heading over to Stanton's.
Everybody would love to see you.
Yeah.
No, I got to go back to the office.
Send my regards.
That's the thing about it.
Once you leave it's like you're not in the club anymore.
I think she found it hard to be around me.
- It was just too hard for her.
- Okay.
Thanks for your help.
I just spoke to the sarge.
He's gonna send over Jesse's case files.
He also gave me these.
They're threatening letters.
They say things like, "I'm gonna screw you because you screwed me.
" "Watch your back.
" They all have the same return address.
White Hills Correctional Facility.
Do you have the name of the con? Just the prisoner number.
I'm gonna track it.
- So you recognize him, Bear? - Yeah, that'd be Bob.
And you're sure you didn't see him that night.
I didn't see him because I wasn't there.
Like I told Lorraine, Jesse never came by.
We'll be canvassing your neighborhood.
If she did stop by your house, we're gonna know about it.
I wish she did.
Then we wouldn't be sitting here getting acquainted.
- So where were you? - I was at home with my wife.
We were babysitting our granddaughter.
You know that song, The wheels on the bus go round and round? - Sang it 50 freaking times.
- I feel your pain.
- You got kids? - No, just a couple of nieces.
So, why do you think she went alone? I don't know.
She's been a little distracted lately.
Like her mind's been somewhere else.
I know where they're headed.
Donuts must have just come out of the fryer.
- You thinking about going back? - On the force? No.
Been there.
No offense, but sitting outside some skel's house sipping diet soda - doesn't seem like your destiny.
- My mom needed the help.
She can place an ad, you know.
- You know what I mean.
- Sure, I know.
I just figured the reason you'd been so quiet lately is because you were thinking about moving on.
I've been quiet lately? It isn't like you were Kathie Lee before.
But, yeah, quieter than usual.
Get used to it.
I'm not going anywhere.
I think that's our guy.
She always missed being a cop.
And I don't think she ever got over that guy she was dating.
- You mean Mark Casey? - Yeah, that guy.
He dumped her pretty hard, I think.
She's barely been dating since.
You're telling me she got careless over a guy who broke up with her a year-and-a-half ago? All I'm saying is, she let her guard down.
I don't know why.
Okay, thank you.
Yeah.
Bye.
Got a sighting on Bob Bellaqua walking into his girlfriend's apartment FBI! You're looking for Bob? Yeah.
He's staying with Debbie, downstairs.
- Hey! FBI! - FBI! Freeze! - FBI! Freeze! - Hold him! Come on! Back over there! All right.
- Give him your jacket.
- Use your own jacket.
Cover it up, Bob! - I was taking a bath.
- Next time, try hot water.
Debbie and I went to Atlantic City for a couple of days.
- I wasn't running from anybody.
- We just got back this morning.
Then you didn't call in the tip saying that Bob was in his house? No.
Jesse Prince went to your house based on that tip and somebody tried to kill her.
And it looks like you've got a good motive, Bob.
Me? Why? You tried to skip out on your bail, Bob, and Jesse wanted to haul your ass in.
Come on.
It's been a couple of weeks.
The judge adds on another month.
Whatever.
I just wanted a little extra time with Deb, that's all.
All right, look.
I got nothing against Jesse, or her mom.
We had no beef.
She treated me right.
- Not like this.
- Sorry for the inconvenience.
- Where were you staying in Atlantic City? - The Knightsbridge.
Call them.
They'll tell you I was there.
Checked all the hospitals and morgues.
No Jane Does, no Jesse.
Who's this? This is Dewayne Mitchell, the guy who sent those letters to Jesse.
He did three years for carjacking.
Jesse was the arresting officer.
He just got out of jail a month ago.
- His PO officer know where he is? - Doesn't have a damn clue.
All right.
I did a little digging into Jesse's NYPD personnel file.
Turns out she had a misconduct charge filed against her a few months before she quit.
This guy said that she planted a gun on him.
Name's Keenan Carson.
He's doing 15 to life on a drug related homicide rap.
Is this the kind of guy that could organize a hit from the inside? - He's got a long list of nasty associates.
- Where is he now? He's in the tombs awaiting another trial, but we're bringing him over.
Now we have two of her collars that claim she's dirty.
But, for what it's worth, the conduct charge was dropped before it ever got to a review board, so Jesse was cleared.
Danny, I want you to talk to the ex-boyfriend about this misconduct charge.
See if he can shed any light on it.
Martin, let me know when Carson gets here.
Tell us what you know about Jesse Prince.
- Who's that? - She's the reason you're doing 15 to life.
Oh, yeah.
That Jesse Prince.
What's up with the police misconduct charge you filed against her - a couple of years ago? - She planted a gun on me.
A gun that wasn't mine.
Freeze! - I got a gun! - It's not mine! Shut up! - That's not mine! - I guess this isn't either? Nice.
But I'm telling you that gun was not there before those cops came.
I own guns.
Just not that one.
I'm sure you'll be thrilled to hear that Jesse Prince took a bullet two days ago.
No kidding.
- Is she all right? - I'm sure she'll appreciate the concern.
Especially when she finds out you're the one who called in the hit.
You think I'm John Gotti? No one's doing me any favors.
If somebody got to her, I'm all for it.
I just don't know anything about it.
The guy's probably lying.
But if she was planting guns as a cop she could be doing the same thing as a bounty hunter.
Yeah, if the guy's not lying.
If a perp wanted to get even with her it's a lot less risky to take out a bounty hunter than it is a cop.
If it was a revenge hit, we'd probably have a body by now.
Maybe she's still alive.
And if that's the case, then why is she hiding if she's not dirty? I don't know.
But I'm inclined to give the people I work with the benefit of the doubt.
That charge against Jesse? It's a crock.
You mean to tell me you've never had a perp throw one of those your way? No one's ever accused me of planting a gun.
Look, the guy was a scumbag and a liar.
That's why the charge got dismissed.
End of story, all right? I'm sorry it slipped my mind.
Did you love her? Yeah, I loved her.
- Why did you dump her? - It wasn't working out.
Why did you tell Agent Malone that she's the one that dumped you? Every breakup's got a story, right? I thought that maybe it was that you just didn't want to date a dirty cop anymore.
We're back to that.
I know you're protecting her.
I need to know why you're protecting her.
If I was protecting her I didn't do such a good job, did I? Okay, thanks.
Bye.
That was the Knightsbridge Motel.
Bobby B and his girlfriend checked in the day before the shooting checked out this morning.
Somebody who knew Bobby B and his girl were gonna be out of town lured Jesse to that house.
Somebody smart, with reliable inside information.
And somebody ballsy enough to set up a good frame job.
I just got a lead on the ex-con that sent those letters to Jesse.
Brother says he's shacked up in Brooklyn.
Let's go.
Junkie said Dewayne's been squatting in a room on the third floor.
All right.
Sam and Viv, cover the fire escape and the alley.
Martin, come with me.
There's someone in there.
- Come on out! FBI! - Show me your badge! - Just drop the gun! - Show me your badge! - Come out! - I'm working with bail enforcement! - Bear! - Who's that? It's Agent Fitzgerald.
Drop the gun and come out.
Okay.
Slide it out.
All right.
Put your hands on your head.
- Turn around.
- You got him? Where's Jesse? Lorraine sent me.
She said she was here.
Are you sure it's Jesse's blood? We won't know 100% until we get the lab results back.
Oh, God.
When we went to Mitchell's apartment we found Bear in there, snooping around.
I almost blew his head off.
- What did he say? Has he heard from her? - He said that you sent him.
Look, I had a feeling she might be there, so I told him to check it out.
I'm sorry I didn't tell you, but we don't go by the book like you.
What's going on, Lorraine? Did she contact you? Is that what's going on? Look, you better play ball with me, or else we're gonna haul your ass in.
Yeah, she contacted me.
A couple of hours ago.
Ma, it's me.
Honey.
Oh my God! Are you okay? Where are you? I can't talk.
I need you to do something for me.
What's happened to you? Let me come get you.
It's not safe.
My phone book.
A kid named Luka Velez.
Why, are you in trouble? What's going on? Ma, I can't explain this right now.
You don't have to.
I don't care what's happened.
Whatever it is, you can come home.
It'll be okay.
Just get his pager number.
Hurry.
I got a pal at the phone company so I traced the call to the building on Jefferson Street.
- Who is this Luka Velez? - He's a gang-banger.
Do you think your daughter is involved in any criminal activity? I don't know.
Okay, Lorraine, here's what I'm gonna do.
I'm gonna leave an agent here to watch you.
If she calls in, you're gonna play ball with us.
You got it? Got it.
- Freeze.
- Who are you? FBI.
Come on, Dewayne.
Look, I don't know where Jesse is.
I swear it.
Well, you know where she was last night.
She was here.
Notice how we cleaned the place up? Yeah.
Sorry if we missed a couple of blood stains on the floor.
Look, I'm not denying she was here, all right? She needed help and I helped her.
Yeah.
So what kind of help could she need from an ex-con? Ex-con? I was in the Army for four years, all right? I learned how to deal with all kinds of gunshot wounds.
And she had a gunshot wound.
Dewayne, I need you to help me.
I need you to fix me up.
What the hell happened to you? I got shot.
I need you to get the bullet out.
I'm not a doctor, all right? You need to be in a hospital right now.
I'm not going to a hospital.
Now fix me up.
Okay, so let me get this straight.
You write a novel's worth of hate mail.
Out of the blue, she shows up here and you decide to play Florence Nightingale.
Why'd she come to you? I sent all those letters when I was upstate, right? Being locked up in that place, it wasn't long before I realized that what she did by busting me was actually a good thing.
Considering where I was headed, she pretty much saved my life.
So when I got out last month, I tracked her down and I told her my story.
Thanked her.
And she remembered your medical expertise in her time of need.
I guess.
I don't think it did her much good, though.
- Bleeding's bad, Jesse.
- Just do it.
This is gonna hurt.
Hold on.
You're doing good.
You're doing great.
Just hold on.
I'm gonna need that.
It ain't going nowhere.
I'm telling you, she was ripped up.
- She say who shot her? - I asked her, but she didn't tell me.
She just slept it off, and got up and left in the morning.
- She say where she was going next? - I didn't ask.
I figured somebody probably followed her, too, so I got up out of here also.
- Where'd you go? - Library.
I'm trying to pass my EMT exam.
Yeah, that's gonna have to wait, 'cause you're coming with us.
But I didn't do nothing.
Yeah, well, we'll find out, won't we? Let's go.
Jack, remember Luka Velez? The guy Jesse was asking her mom about? I'm bringing him in.
There's his file.
Aggravated assault, larceny, all gang-related.
Jesse listed on any of the arrest reports? No, but on one of the busts, Luka got arrested with a guy named Sean Purcell.
Three weeks ago, Purcell murdered a cop named Dale Elliott who was on the same crash squad as Jesse.
I know.
Jesse was at the funeral.
- Did you talk to NYPD about Purcell? - Yeah.
He's on the run.
There's been an APB out on him for three weeks.
Yeah, well, this Velez character better have some answers.
Yeah, I may have seen her.
What do you guys want? I want you to drop the attitude to start, all right? We're not interested in you.
We know that Jesse was trying to contact you about your friend Purcell.
- Did she find you? - Yeah, she found me.
- And? - And I told her I don't know where he is.
- His life is in danger.
- From the cops? What do you mean? They say he killed a cop, and my bet is, he's never making it to court.
I don't have anything to do with cops.
Okay, look, you know what? Don't tell me where he is.
Just give Sean a message.
You can do that much for me, right? - I don't know.
Maybe.
- Lf you want your friend alive, you will.
Tell him to meet me tomorrow at the B-Line, at noon.
- B-Line.
- Yeah.
- You mean the bus? Which stop? - He'll know.
That's all she said.
So I paged Sean and I told him.
The B-Line.
Luka, we're gonna need that pager number, okay? Yeah, whatever.
Did she tell you that the cop Purcell killed was a friend of hers? It's none of my business.
Thanks for your help.
Alive and on the run, hooking up with gangsters.
That's not good.
Unless the reason that she's trying to find Purcell is payback for him killing her cop friend.
You know, there is a B-Line that runs through the Bronx and Brooklyn.
I know it's a long shot, but see if you can pin down where they might meet.
Okay.
We really need to find a connection between Purcell and this murdered cop.
All right, I'll talk to the DA's office, see if I can get someone down there.
- You okay? - Yes, coffee's cold.
Turns out that Sean Purcell worked at a Laundromat of the B-Line bus stops last year.
It's such a long shot.
We've got someone staking it out, just in case Jesse shows up.
I guess it's possible that Dale Elliott found out that she was into something dirty.
Then she hired Purcell to kill him.
That would explain why she was trying to find him.
- You met her, right? - Couple times.
I spent four days with her, doing surveillance.
It was just the two of us, sitting in a van with a broken heater.
It was like 10 below outside.
We had to talk just to keep warm.
She felt really solid to me.
Like she was a cop that would do the right thing.
Jack, it was only four days.
I guess.
I'll keep you posted if we find anything else.
Yeah.
So when did you take over the Dale Elliott case? Three weeks ago.
Sean Purcell was our only suspect from the beginning.
He was alone at his place when Elliott was shot.
Eyewitnesses near the scene saw him run out right after the gunshot.
It looked open and shut.
Do you know of any connection between Purcell - and a bounty hunter named Jesse Prince? - Why? We believe that Miss Prince may be involved in the murder.
- I don't think so.
- Why not? Because she called me a couple of weeks ago, wanted to talk.
I told her to come up to the office.
She said she couldn't.
She said she had some information on the Elliott case so I went over to her office.
All right, I know how this looks, but Sean Purcell is innocent.
Wonderful, let me see the proof.
I need to know you're not gonna talk to anyone.
Not even the police.
Whatever you tell me will be held in confidence.
I think Purcell was framed.
- By cops? - Yeah.
- Who? - I don't know yet.
But I'm working on it.
Why don't you go to IA? Trust me.
My word's not gonna be very good with IA.
So how will you get the proof? I'll get it.
- Did you see her again? - No.
Has something happened to her? There were only four other cops on the scene that day.
Dale Elliott, who's dead.
Tom Mulcahy and his partner, Brett Lowney.
And Mark Casey, Jesse's ex-boyfriend.
I want to talk to him.
Officers Lowney and Mulcahy left the motor pool about half hour ago.
- They're on patrol.
- Where are we with the B-Line? It's 18 square miles of bus routes.
- And no leads? - Not yet.
I tracked down Casey.
He called in sick today.
- That's convenient.
- No, he really is home.
Department Dispatch reached him about 10 minutes ago.
It might be a good chance for us to separate Casey from Lowney and Mulcahy.
I've brought him in.
There is no way he's gonna come back a second time.
Especially without a lawyer.
I don't want him coming in here.
- Hey.
- Hey.
Thanks for getting out of bed to come to see me.
- How you feeling? - You know.
That time of year.
- You said you had some information? - I do.
All right.
- What're we waiting for? - Why don't we step inside? Guess he's doing a little remodeling.
You know what I can't figure.
Is why Bellaqua would invite Jesse back to his house to kill her.
I don't know the guy, but in my experience, most criminals aren't too smart.
Yeah, the smart ones are hard to pin down.
- Oh, yeah.
- Especially when they're wearing a badge.
You got a gun? Yeah, sure.
- Where? - What? - Show me.
- You know what? I'm out of here.
I said show me.
So what? You gonna shoot me? I am seriously considering it.
Where's your gun? Turn around.
Spread your legs.
Where's your gun? Turn around.
Sit down! Sit! You shot Jesse.
You shot her like a dog in the street and you left her outside this dump to bleed to death.
You know, I could say I shot JFK and it wouldn't hold up in court.
You had a gun in my face.
I'm gonna have your badge for this.
You know what, Mark? Nobody knows we're here.
Not my people, not your people, no one.
It was Mulcahy and Lowney.
They shot Dale.
- And you knew nothing about it.
- No, I knew.
Yeah, I knew about Dale.
I knew they shot him.
But, I wasn't there.
Found out about it afterwards.
I told them she was onto them.
They wanted to take care of it.
But I said that I could handle her.
I wanted to talk to you at the funeral, but I couldn't with everybody there.
What's on your mind? I think I know who killed Dale.
Come on.
It's that punk, Sean Purcell.
No, I know Purcell.
He was one of my skips, okay.
I know you guys have been hot after him, so I got a tip and I went and I found him, and he told me what happened.
He said Dale showed up at his house, started to search the place.
Next thing the kid knows, a couple other cops show up and blow him away.
- You got him there, Dale? - Yeah.
Keep an eye on this dirt bag while I check the back.
Get him! Go! And you and I both know that Dale would never have turned his back on a perp like that.
You know it.
Okay, listen.
I think you're crazy, okay? But I will look into it.
- No, you need to go to IA.
- With what, Jess? You don't have anything.
And you don't have any credibility.
Just don't do anything stupid, all right? I'll look into it and I'll get back to you.
I promise.
But Jesse had no idea you were involved in this.
No.
So what'd you do? Run back to your boys and rat her out? No, they were just supposed to take out Purcell.
They couldn't find him.
They panicked.
They said that we had to take her out also.
- Where are they now? - Following Purcell.
They've been on him since yesterday.
They knew Jesse would have to find him to testify.
What were you gonna do? Take a sick day while they killed her? Get up, you scumbag.
- Agent Johnson.
- It's Jack.
What's going on? We're tracking Mulcahy's car through his radio transmission.
They're moving through Astoria.
They're trailing Purcell.
He'll lead them right to Jesse.
But the B-Line's nowhere near there.
- We just lost the signal.
- Damn it.
We just lost the signal.
What was the last location? - What was his last location? - 23rd and Crescent.
Maybe the B-Line isn't a bus.
Check all the registered businesses in the area.
Got it.
Head down to the left.
I got Purcell moving three rows in.
Stay on him.
Sean.
How you doing, sweetheart? How you doing, Sean? Freeze.
Freeze! FBI! Get down! Down! Get his gun away.
- You got it covered? - Yeah.
Got him.
Let me help you up.
Easy.
All right? How you doing? It's good to see you again.
Come on.
Get you out of here.
- Hey, Jess.
- Hi.
Take a seat.
Mulcahy's been upgraded to stable.
Looks like he'll be out of the hospital in a week.
- Lucky for him.
- The DA's office thinks it's a slam-dunk.
But they're gonna need you to testify against all three men.
Yeah, I don't have a problem with that.
Good.
- I just wish I figured it out earlier.
- Figured out what? Dale came to me a few weeks after I got hit with the misconduct charge.
I just didn't put it together.
Internal Affairs still thinks you planted that gun.
This thing's not going away.
Come on.
You were there.
- I didn't do anything.
- I know.
What, so IA's gonna take this guy's word over five cops - that were in the room that say I'm clean? - It's very political right now.
You gotta believe me, you don't want IA in your life.
'Cause once they get their teeth in you, they don't let go.
- So what am I supposed to do? Quit? - Take a leave of absence.
After a year or so, things will cool down.
Apply for reinstatement.
- At another precinct? Is that what - It wouldn't hurt.
So what am I supposed to say? Like what, after four years on the job, I need a break? Your mom's sick, right? Say you're going to help her out.
Look, it's all gonna work out.
You'll be back in no time.
I thought he was trying to save my career.
He was trying to save your life.
I just talked to my friend in the recruiting office.
That offer for an interview is still out there.
You're gonna let a bounty hunter into the FBI.
Sure, why not? Everybody's got a past.
Think about it.
Okay.
Come on.
I'll walk you to the elevator.
Thanks.
Listen, stay in touch, huh? Yeah.
See you.
- Hey.
- Hey there.
So, I'm curious.
How did you break Casey? I don't know.
I think he had a guilty conscience.
English.