Without a Trace s02e23 Episode Script
Lost and Found
- Morning.
- Morning.
- Yankees got their ass kicked last night.
- So I heard.
You all right, Jack? Look a little flushed.
My wife was offered a really good job in Chicago, and she took it.
So she's moving there.
And I've decided to go with her.
So I've put in for a transfer.
- When do you leave? - Two weeks.
- Will you be doing Missing Persons? - No.
Domestic Security.
Good for you, Jack.
We're happy for you, if that's what you want.
It is.
There's no word on my successor yet but as soon as I hear anything, I'll let you know.
Sam.
Martin.
There's a girl in reception, says she needs our services.
- Why don't you go see what it's about? - Sure.
Excuse me.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Special Agent Fitzgerald.
This is Special Agent Spade.
What can we do for you? I was on the Internet last night, and I put my name in a search and I found this.
That's me.
I was kidnapped 13 years ago.
Do you know who kidnapped you? No, I don't know.
I don't remember.
That's why I'm here.
I really wanna know who I am and what happened.
Can you help me? Our girl says she was adopted three months after Serene Andrews was kidnapped.
This is a photo from when she was first adopted.
- Adoptive parents? - Yes.
- What did they say? - They don't even know she's here.
For all Serene knows they're the ones that could have kidnapped her.
- It's hard to tell if this is the same girl.
- Yeah, I know.
I ran those photos through the facial-recognition software.
The results were inconclusive.
And the girl has no recollection of being taken? She was 3 years old.
She's downstairs with Dr.
Harris.
She's gonna try and hypnotize her.
Well.
Here's what Newark sent over from the old case.
Serene Andrews was grabbed from a foster care home in Camden March 18, 1991.
The foster parents were inside the house, the child was playing out back nobody saw the grab.
How did she end up in foster care in the first place? Her biological mother, Lauren Andrews was a crack addict in the Camden projects.
She was doing a stint in a state rehab facility when her daughter was lifted from the foster home.
- No father? - None listed.
What about the original agent that worked on the case? He retired in '97, died last year.
- So we're starting from scratch.
- Not really.
We got the girl.
Maybe we got the girl.
Put everything out of your mind and just breathe.
Now I want you to think about when you were 3 years old.
Whatever you can remember, whatever you see.
Just let go.
I'm in the hallway.
- Where is the hallway? - I don't know.
I'm walking, I think.
And there are other voices now.
Whose voices? Other kids' voices.
They're really loud.
I'm walking down the hall, and they're bumping into me and they're running around and yelling really loud.
- I'm sorry.
I lost it.
- That's okay.
You're doing great.
Serene, that place you were just remembering.
Is that the place you were taken from? I have no idea.
It's all really fuzzy.
- I don't wanna do this anymore.
- Okay.
That's okay.
Let's just talk, okay? What did your parents tell you about your adoption? I can't remember the first time that they talked to me about that.
Well, it doesn't have to be the first time.
Just whatever comes to mind.
I can remember asking my mom about it when I was about 8.
- Mom? - Yes, sweetheart? Tell me about my adoption.
- What do you wanna know? - How did you get me? Well, I couldn't get pregnant but your father and I really wanted to have a child so we went to what's called an adoption agency and the man at the agency showed us many, many children.
But we had one look at you, that beautiful face of yours that beautiful smile, and we knew.
We knew you were meant to be with us and that we were meant to be your parents.
What about my real parents? They didn't want me? Your biological parents loved you very much.
But they were too young to take care of you and they knew that you would have a better life with us.
Do you ever wish you had a real child? You are our real child.
And I don't wish for a second that anything happened any other way.
- Okay? - Okay.
- Mom? Will you lay down with me? - Sure.
I used to do that with her.
I guess it used to make me feel safe, you know? - Mrs.
Barnes? - Yes? Special Agent Jack Malone with the FBI.
I'm here to talk to you about your daughter.
- Did something happen to her? - No.
She's fine.
- She's in our offices downtown.
- Your offices? Why? Would you mind if we continued this conversation inside? Foster parents? - Nobody ever told us about foster parents.
- This is preposterous.
Like I told you, this Serene Andrews may be an entirely different girl than the girl you adopted in which case this will be over very quickly.
Now, I need to know as much as possible about your daughter's biological parents.
We don't know anything.
It was a closed adoption.
According to Serene, you tell stories about them.
When she asked, we told her what we thought would make her feel good but we never knew anything for real.
Other than that she was healthy when we adopted her and that we fell in love with her the moment we laid eyes on her.
It was the best day of our lives.
Just out of curiosity with so many adoption agencies in New York why did you choose one in New Jersey? It's so competitive at the ones in the city.
We found that we weren't getting enough attention.
A friend of ours recommended Lindeman-Hall.
We thought we'd give them a try.
They were great.
We wanna see Serene.
Unfortunately, that's not possible right now.
What are you talking about? Why not? Because I doubt that either one of you can tell me where you were March 18, 1991.
You think that we kidnapped Serene? Is that what she thinks? She doesn't know what to think.
That's why she came to us.
Yeah.
She goes to you.
She goes to you, and not to us.
Serene's always had difficulty trusting people.
Even us.
When we first brought her home, it took her almost a year before she'd let us hug her.
According to Social Services there were 14 foster kids living in this house when Serene Andrews was lifted.
If it is the same girl, she's probably better off living as Serene Barnes on Madison Avenue.
I'd say.
- Tim Hendrix? - Yeah.
Special Agent Johnson with the FBI.
- This is Special Agent Fitzgerald.
- Yes? We're here about Serene Andrews.
- What about her? - We think we may have found her.
Alive? We think that might be her.
She was only with us a couple of months.
It's been so long.
I'm sorry.
We know this is difficult, but maybe you could tell us something about what happened that day.
It was March, I think, but warm.
Because all the kids were playing around out here.
With so many of them, it's hard to make everybody feel happy.
We tried.
We really tried, but Serene Come on, Serene.
Don't you wanna play with everybody else? Everyone come on in for lunch.
Let's go.
Come on.
Let's move.
Serene never came in.
By the time we noticed, she was gone.
It couldn't have been more than According to the police report the neighbors saw a white four-door sedan parked in the alley that day.
I'm the one who told the cops that.
But I don't know anything more.
Do you recognize either of those people? Johnson.
No.
Thanks for your time, Mr.
Hendrix.
Okay, thanks.
We found the Barnes' adoption agency.
It's in Morristown.
- Jack wants us to go check it out.
- Okay, let's go.
Here we go.
Serene Barnes.
Adopted June 14, 1991 by Fran and Adam Barnes, New York, New York.
May we see the file, please? Thanks.
Birth certificate.
Serene Caldwell, born in Bradford, Pennsylvania to mother Theresa Caldwell.
Do you remember anything about this Theresa Caldwell? You know, the thing about this job for every happy moment where the new family gets a child there's an unhappy moment where someone gives that same child away.
I guess there's a yin and yang to it, but The happy moments all kind of blur together for me at this point but the unhappy ones you tend to remember those.
Say goodbye to Mommy now, all right? It's all right, honey.
It's okay.
You're gonna have a new mommy soon.
A better mommy, okay? I promise.
- She's really going to a good home? - A great home.
Trust me.
I tell you, you never get used to that part of the job.
You did all the background checks? Hospital records, everything? Absolutely.
Always.
What's this all about, anyway? Well, I think it's probably just a misunderstanding.
We'll get this back to you as soon as it's cleared up.
- Be my guest.
- Thanks.
Well, our girl Serene should be relieved, assuming this all checks out.
If this all checks out, there's still a Serene Andrews out there somewhere.
We ought to be looking for her.
I don't know.
Something's not right.
That memory she had She remembers a place where there were a lot of children.
That could be anywhere.
And sometimes with hypnosis people give you what they think you wanna hear.
Right.
- Or what they wanna believe, right? - Yeah.
You know, if this is true, it's good news.
She was never kidnapped.
She was legally adopted.
This should make her happy.
I don't wanna tell her just yet.
Not until we've done our due diligence.
I just I think she's been on enough of a roller coaster, you know? I think that's smart.
And very sensitive.
Don't be all proud, okay? I was smart and sensitive before our sessions.
- Samantha.
- Yeah? - I heard about Jack leaving.
- Yeah.
If you wanna talk about it I'm fine, Lisa.
Thank you.
I haven't had much luck with Lauren Andrews.
After the kidnapping in '91 she finished up her rehab and she moved to Virginia.
After that, nothing.
Her trail dead-ends in '95.
- Name change? - Nothing on record.
I'm checking in with old co-workers, friends, but Martin and Viv didn't have much luck with Social Services.
The filing system is from the Stone Age.
What happened with that woman that gave up our girl for adoption? We found her in East Brunswick.
Theresa Caldwell.
She's coming in.
Jack, I have to say, I hate to see you leave.
I'd take you with me if I thought I could drag you away from New York.
Not a chance.
This is my city.
Mine, too.
What did you find out? We don't have all the facts yet but we do know that your parents did not kidnap you.
They wanted you pretty badly, but not badly enough to do that.
That's good to know.
They're on their way in.
They really wanna talk to you.
Okay? Let's go.
How awful for her.
Finding something like that on the Internet and then thinking it's her.
Well, I guess when you're adopted, you always wonder where you come from.
It took a lot of courage for her to come in here.
Giving up Serene was It's the hardest decision that I've ever made.
I'm sure.
Miss Caldwell, I can't tell from the records who the natural father is.
- He's dead.
- I'm sorry.
- When did he die? - About a year after she was born.
That's part of the reason why I had to give her away.
- What was his name? - Steve Rogers.
We never married.
That's why his name isn't on the birth certificate.
- How did he die? - Car accident.
In Morristown? - Trenton.
- 1989? Tell me about your decision to give Serene up for adoption.
Like I said, it was very difficult.
I would never say that I regret having her.
I mean, I would never say that.
Yes, but what was the catalyst for making that decision? - Why are you doing this to me? - What am I doing? Making me talk about all this.
Miss Caldwell, there is a very vulnerable young woman waiting down the hall to meet you.
Trust me when I tell you she's gonna ask you exactly the same questions I'm asking you.
I just want you to be prepared.
- She's here now? - Two doors down.
Look, I don't think that I'm gonna be able to handle meeting her, okay? It was a closed adoption.
It's my right to privacy.
Yes.
Serene Caldwell.
We believe she was born at your hospital January 22, 1988.
I know that was a long time ago.
Before computers, yes, I get that.
Look, if you can just have someone check the old file room and get back to me, that would be great.
I appreciate it.
Thank you.
Okay.
I just got a little bingo on Lauren Andrews.
Her new name is Lauren Dardis.
She lives in Yonkers, she's married, and she's got two kids.
- She cleaned herself up.
- Yes, she did.
- You're not mad at me? - Of course not.
We're just worried about you, honey.
That's all.
Serene.
- I need to show you something.
- Sure.
Do you know this woman? Who is this? Is this my mother? Is she here? We don't know anything for sure yet.
I just need you to look at the picture, focus and tell me if you remember her, okay? - I know her.
- You do? Yeah.
- I know her, but I - But what? She doesn't think Theresa is her mother.
No, neither do I.
Dates don't match.
Miss Caldwell.
I'm sorry, but I just can't wait here anymore.
I just have a few more questions I'd like to ask you.
Maybe I could just come in another time, or you could call me or something but right now, there's someplace I have to be.
All right.
Excuse me, you have a hair.
Thank you.
Thanks.
- Wanna put a tail on her? - Yeah.
And get a sample of Serene's hair.
We're gonna do a DNA test.
- Lauren Dardis? - Yes.
Formerly Lauren Andrews of Camden, New Jersey.
- Yes.
- I'm Danny Taylor.
I'm with the FBI.
Do you recognize this girl? This is my daughter.
- Are you sure? - She's my daughter.
Of course I'm sure.
Where is she? When they came to tell me at the rehab center that someone took Serene I was doing good.
I was clean.
They told me when they put me there that that's the only way that I would ever get her back.
And there I was, clean, finally.
But she was gone.
You have no idea who might have taken her? No.
How about her father? I told the police at the time, I don't even know who her father is.
That's what my life was like back then.
That's why they took her from me.
- Are you okay, Mom? Mom? - Shut up.
- Are you okay? - Shut up.
- Are you okay? - Shut up! I can't hear.
Miss Andrews.
We got a call from your neighbor.
You know, my husband.
He knows about my past.
The drugs.
And everything else.
But I never told him about Serene.
Now, maybe you can.
Same girl.
Now, that makes things simpler.
Yeah, thank you.
Much simpler.
There's no record of a Serene Caldwell being born at Bradford County Hospital in 1988.
The birth certificate is a fraud.
Let's go see Mr.
"Yin Yang.
" It's not like those birth certificates have bar codes on them.
Pretty easy to duplicate.
But when somebody comes to you, ready to give away their kid you don't call the hospital to double-check - make sure it's actually their kid? - Of course we do.
That was 13 years ago.
You know how many assistants we've had since then? I'm sure, at the time, I had somebody check it out.
So how did Theresa Caldwell find you? I don't know.
You think I remember? Do you remember if you ever had contact with her - before or after the adoption? - No.
Then you won't mind if we have a look at your old phone records.
Not as long as you've got a subpoena.
My poor girl.
I just hope whatever she learns out of this, It frees her in some way.
I mean, she was looking for herself on the Internet because there was something she needed to know.
- Excuse me, Mrs.
Barnes.
- Yes.
I've just been speaking with a woman who claims to be Serene's biological mother.
She says that Serene has a birthmark just below her right shoulder, shaped like a thimble.
Is that true? That's right.
She does.
She's here.
She'd like to see Serene.
Serene should be in any minute.
I don't know what I'm gonna tell her.
I mean, about who I am.
I mean, about who I was.
Just tell her the truth.
It's all she wants to hear.
Yeah, I guess so.
After all this time.
I'll just leave you two alone.
Okay.
Come on, sit.
Aren't you gonna miss this? You're not gonna have moments like this working Domestic Security in Chicago.
Yeah, I'm gonna miss it.
I'll check on Theresa Caldwell's phone records.
We left two surveillance units outside the adoption agency.
I'm gonna finish that background on Porter.
I spoke with Van Doren.
I recommended that you take over the unit.
That wasn't my main concern, but thank you.
She supports it.
It's just a question of getting through the bureaucracy.
Is this what you really want? It's the right thing.
If you have something to ask me, Martin, go ahead.
Am I the only one who didn't know? Vivian knows.
I'm not sure about Danny.
We tried to be discreet.
- Well, that's good.
- It was over two years ago, Martin.
- It was before you got here.
- Yeah.
Well, I guess old feelings die hard.
They don't die.
They just fade.
And then you feel bad that they faded.
Because you wonder what they meant when you had them.
Well, I guess if they didn't fade there wouldn't be room for new ones.
No, I guess there wouldn't.
- Agent Spade? - What's the matter? My mother, Lauren.
That woman.
She says she wants me to come live with her.
She says that I'm her daughter, and I should be with her.
She can do that? She can take her? Technically, Lauren Andrews never lost custody.
I don't get it.
You said she was living in a crack house that the state took her away because she was unfit in the first place.
It was a temporary injunction, pending her recovery.
- She recovered.
- So what? She can walk out of here with our daughter? Is that what you're telling me? Look.
The results from the DNA test come in tomorrow, okay? Until then, you have temporary custody of Serene.
In the meantime, I suggest you contact your attorney.
Now, if you'll excuse me.
We got Theresa Caldwell.
You rented a white Buick four-door sedan on March 18, 1991.
Is that correct? That was 13 years ago.
That was the same day that Serene Andrews was kidnapped.
Well, actually I remember I was having a lot of car trouble around that time.
You didn't even own a car at the time.
In fact, that was the first time that year that you even rented a car.
It's just a coincidence.
Is that the same coincidence that the neighbors saw the same car parked in an alley behind Serene's foster home on the same day? We checked the hospital records.
The birth certificate is phony.
Steve Rogers, the man you alleged to be her father died a year before she was born.
We ran DNA tests.
Yours against hers.
Guess what? No match.
You are not the mother.
It wasn't my idea, okay? Then whose idea was it? Michael Kraus? - Michael? - Yes.
He's listed as the second driver on this car-rental agreement.
Oh, God.
Who is he? Does he work for the adoption agent? - No.
- Do you? We weren't working for anybody, okay? We just wanted her.
Hey, Serene.
Sweetheart? Hi, darling.
Now just come on.
I'm gonna give you a better life.
I swear, I am gonna give you a better life.
Michael is not a kidnapper.
He's my brother, okay? - I did this for him.
- And why is he so invested in Serene? Serene is his daughter.
The last time I spoke to you you said you didn't know who the father was.
I don't.
Apparently someone named Michael Kraus thinks he's the father.
- Michael? - Kraus.
He and his sister are the ones that took Serene.
But that's impossible.
He was in jail at the time.
No, he got out three weeks earlier on good behavior.
Oh, my God.
I had no idea.
- Was he your boyfriend? - Yes.
At the time that Serene was born? Yes, but I told him then I wasn't even sure if she was his.
He wound up in jail six months after she was born.
I never heard from him again.
I guess he did a little soul-searching while he was in jail and decided he wanted to get his daughter back.
Son of a bitch.
Have you talked to him? Where is he? Look, I wanna make one thing clear here.
None of this should come down on Theresa.
I made her do everything.
Well, that's gonna be up to the prosecution, Mr.
Kraus.
Now, would you mind telling us how this whole thing went down? When I got out in '91, the first thing I did was go looking for Lauren and Serene.
I went over to her apartment.
It was boarded up and the super said they dragged her off to some rehab and they put Serene in a foster home.
Nobody would tell me where she was.
So I did some looking around, and I found this adoption broker.
Anyway, he tells me there's no way in hell that I'm gonna get custody even if they did one of those paternity tests.
He says I'm not gonna get custody 'cause I'm a felon.
Even though the mother's a junkie.
So, what? This broker, he offers to dig around for you? Yeah, he had some connection downtown with some social service.
Anyway, he finds Serene, and he tells me where she is.
I go down there, and the place is a dump.
They had kids running around all over the place and she's sitting there all alone.
No one's taking care of her.
I mean, she looked so unhappy.
And I said to myself, '"There's no way my girl is gonna live this life.
'" I go back to the broker, and he tells me if I can get my hands on her that he'd get me the papers I needed.
- Forged birth certificate.
- Right.
Tells me it'll cost me $5,000.
But he does it all the time, there'll be no problem.
So we took her.
So you go through all of this to get her, and then you give her up? Why? Couple of months go by, and he calls me.
He tells me he wants his money.
I tell him I don't have it.
I'm broke.
He tells me, if I don't pay him, he's gonna go to the cops.
Then he tells me that he'll give me $5,000 for Serene.
That he found a family that would take her.
They live in Manhattan, on Madison Avenue.
- She ain't gonna do better than that.
- Okay.
But after all we went through to get her, are you sure you wanna do this? Theresa, it's not about me.
It's about what's best for her.
They look like nice people.
I didn't have a choice.
If I didn't do what he said, he'd rat me out.
And then what? She winds up at some lousy foster home or with Lauren, smoking crack in some ghetto.
Did you ever deal with anybody else from that adoption agency? No.
Just him.
Look.
This guy was a real scumbag, all right? I mean, selling and trading kids? I mean, it's sick.
What if that family he showed me was in on the scam? I mean, what if she didn't wind up with a good family? She did end up with those people.
And as far as we can tell, they're wonderful parents.
What do you mean? You saw her? She's a great kid.
- So she's in the right place.
- Yeah.
She is in the right place.
- Here he is.
- My God.
He's beautiful.
I can't believe you got this done so fast.
You're a miracle-worker.
I just know my business.
FBI.
Charles Porter, you are under arrest for accessory to kidnapping child endangerment and extortion.
I have to take the baby until we can sort this out.
But wait.
What's going on here? - This is our baby.
- This may not be your baby.
- You'll have to come with us.
- This is a mistake.
It's okay.
Mrs.
Dardis has something she'd like to discuss with you.
I've thought about it and I've decided that this is where you belong.
And it's not because I don't want you.
It's because these are your parents now.
And I don't wanna get in the way of your happiness.
My lawyer will have the adoption papers drawn up to make it official.
I would like to see you sometimes, though, you know? Maybe on the weekends or whenever it feels right for you.
Yeah.
That sounds good.
- Lf it's all right with you.
- Of course.
Okay, so I'm gonna go.
Lauren.
- You talked to her? - I may have said something.
Thank you.
You take care, Serene.
I was just talking to Dr.
Harris.
- About what? - About you.
About us, I should say.
- I'm afraid to ask.
- Don't be.
It's What we had, it was good.
It was what we both needed at the time.
Yeah, I guess it was.
- In another life, maybe? - Maybe.
Yeah.
I really hope that you and Marie will be happy in Chicago.
I'm sorry if I ever hurt you.
Me, too.
I better keep doing this, or else I'm gonna lose my nerve.
English
- Morning.
- Yankees got their ass kicked last night.
- So I heard.
You all right, Jack? Look a little flushed.
My wife was offered a really good job in Chicago, and she took it.
So she's moving there.
And I've decided to go with her.
So I've put in for a transfer.
- When do you leave? - Two weeks.
- Will you be doing Missing Persons? - No.
Domestic Security.
Good for you, Jack.
We're happy for you, if that's what you want.
It is.
There's no word on my successor yet but as soon as I hear anything, I'll let you know.
Sam.
Martin.
There's a girl in reception, says she needs our services.
- Why don't you go see what it's about? - Sure.
Excuse me.
- Hi.
- Hi.
Special Agent Fitzgerald.
This is Special Agent Spade.
What can we do for you? I was on the Internet last night, and I put my name in a search and I found this.
That's me.
I was kidnapped 13 years ago.
Do you know who kidnapped you? No, I don't know.
I don't remember.
That's why I'm here.
I really wanna know who I am and what happened.
Can you help me? Our girl says she was adopted three months after Serene Andrews was kidnapped.
This is a photo from when she was first adopted.
- Adoptive parents? - Yes.
- What did they say? - They don't even know she's here.
For all Serene knows they're the ones that could have kidnapped her.
- It's hard to tell if this is the same girl.
- Yeah, I know.
I ran those photos through the facial-recognition software.
The results were inconclusive.
And the girl has no recollection of being taken? She was 3 years old.
She's downstairs with Dr.
Harris.
She's gonna try and hypnotize her.
Well.
Here's what Newark sent over from the old case.
Serene Andrews was grabbed from a foster care home in Camden March 18, 1991.
The foster parents were inside the house, the child was playing out back nobody saw the grab.
How did she end up in foster care in the first place? Her biological mother, Lauren Andrews was a crack addict in the Camden projects.
She was doing a stint in a state rehab facility when her daughter was lifted from the foster home.
- No father? - None listed.
What about the original agent that worked on the case? He retired in '97, died last year.
- So we're starting from scratch.
- Not really.
We got the girl.
Maybe we got the girl.
Put everything out of your mind and just breathe.
Now I want you to think about when you were 3 years old.
Whatever you can remember, whatever you see.
Just let go.
I'm in the hallway.
- Where is the hallway? - I don't know.
I'm walking, I think.
And there are other voices now.
Whose voices? Other kids' voices.
They're really loud.
I'm walking down the hall, and they're bumping into me and they're running around and yelling really loud.
- I'm sorry.
I lost it.
- That's okay.
You're doing great.
Serene, that place you were just remembering.
Is that the place you were taken from? I have no idea.
It's all really fuzzy.
- I don't wanna do this anymore.
- Okay.
That's okay.
Let's just talk, okay? What did your parents tell you about your adoption? I can't remember the first time that they talked to me about that.
Well, it doesn't have to be the first time.
Just whatever comes to mind.
I can remember asking my mom about it when I was about 8.
- Mom? - Yes, sweetheart? Tell me about my adoption.
- What do you wanna know? - How did you get me? Well, I couldn't get pregnant but your father and I really wanted to have a child so we went to what's called an adoption agency and the man at the agency showed us many, many children.
But we had one look at you, that beautiful face of yours that beautiful smile, and we knew.
We knew you were meant to be with us and that we were meant to be your parents.
What about my real parents? They didn't want me? Your biological parents loved you very much.
But they were too young to take care of you and they knew that you would have a better life with us.
Do you ever wish you had a real child? You are our real child.
And I don't wish for a second that anything happened any other way.
- Okay? - Okay.
- Mom? Will you lay down with me? - Sure.
I used to do that with her.
I guess it used to make me feel safe, you know? - Mrs.
Barnes? - Yes? Special Agent Jack Malone with the FBI.
I'm here to talk to you about your daughter.
- Did something happen to her? - No.
She's fine.
- She's in our offices downtown.
- Your offices? Why? Would you mind if we continued this conversation inside? Foster parents? - Nobody ever told us about foster parents.
- This is preposterous.
Like I told you, this Serene Andrews may be an entirely different girl than the girl you adopted in which case this will be over very quickly.
Now, I need to know as much as possible about your daughter's biological parents.
We don't know anything.
It was a closed adoption.
According to Serene, you tell stories about them.
When she asked, we told her what we thought would make her feel good but we never knew anything for real.
Other than that she was healthy when we adopted her and that we fell in love with her the moment we laid eyes on her.
It was the best day of our lives.
Just out of curiosity with so many adoption agencies in New York why did you choose one in New Jersey? It's so competitive at the ones in the city.
We found that we weren't getting enough attention.
A friend of ours recommended Lindeman-Hall.
We thought we'd give them a try.
They were great.
We wanna see Serene.
Unfortunately, that's not possible right now.
What are you talking about? Why not? Because I doubt that either one of you can tell me where you were March 18, 1991.
You think that we kidnapped Serene? Is that what she thinks? She doesn't know what to think.
That's why she came to us.
Yeah.
She goes to you.
She goes to you, and not to us.
Serene's always had difficulty trusting people.
Even us.
When we first brought her home, it took her almost a year before she'd let us hug her.
According to Social Services there were 14 foster kids living in this house when Serene Andrews was lifted.
If it is the same girl, she's probably better off living as Serene Barnes on Madison Avenue.
I'd say.
- Tim Hendrix? - Yeah.
Special Agent Johnson with the FBI.
- This is Special Agent Fitzgerald.
- Yes? We're here about Serene Andrews.
- What about her? - We think we may have found her.
Alive? We think that might be her.
She was only with us a couple of months.
It's been so long.
I'm sorry.
We know this is difficult, but maybe you could tell us something about what happened that day.
It was March, I think, but warm.
Because all the kids were playing around out here.
With so many of them, it's hard to make everybody feel happy.
We tried.
We really tried, but Serene Come on, Serene.
Don't you wanna play with everybody else? Everyone come on in for lunch.
Let's go.
Come on.
Let's move.
Serene never came in.
By the time we noticed, she was gone.
It couldn't have been more than According to the police report the neighbors saw a white four-door sedan parked in the alley that day.
I'm the one who told the cops that.
But I don't know anything more.
Do you recognize either of those people? Johnson.
No.
Thanks for your time, Mr.
Hendrix.
Okay, thanks.
We found the Barnes' adoption agency.
It's in Morristown.
- Jack wants us to go check it out.
- Okay, let's go.
Here we go.
Serene Barnes.
Adopted June 14, 1991 by Fran and Adam Barnes, New York, New York.
May we see the file, please? Thanks.
Birth certificate.
Serene Caldwell, born in Bradford, Pennsylvania to mother Theresa Caldwell.
Do you remember anything about this Theresa Caldwell? You know, the thing about this job for every happy moment where the new family gets a child there's an unhappy moment where someone gives that same child away.
I guess there's a yin and yang to it, but The happy moments all kind of blur together for me at this point but the unhappy ones you tend to remember those.
Say goodbye to Mommy now, all right? It's all right, honey.
It's okay.
You're gonna have a new mommy soon.
A better mommy, okay? I promise.
- She's really going to a good home? - A great home.
Trust me.
I tell you, you never get used to that part of the job.
You did all the background checks? Hospital records, everything? Absolutely.
Always.
What's this all about, anyway? Well, I think it's probably just a misunderstanding.
We'll get this back to you as soon as it's cleared up.
- Be my guest.
- Thanks.
Well, our girl Serene should be relieved, assuming this all checks out.
If this all checks out, there's still a Serene Andrews out there somewhere.
We ought to be looking for her.
I don't know.
Something's not right.
That memory she had She remembers a place where there were a lot of children.
That could be anywhere.
And sometimes with hypnosis people give you what they think you wanna hear.
Right.
- Or what they wanna believe, right? - Yeah.
You know, if this is true, it's good news.
She was never kidnapped.
She was legally adopted.
This should make her happy.
I don't wanna tell her just yet.
Not until we've done our due diligence.
I just I think she's been on enough of a roller coaster, you know? I think that's smart.
And very sensitive.
Don't be all proud, okay? I was smart and sensitive before our sessions.
- Samantha.
- Yeah? - I heard about Jack leaving.
- Yeah.
If you wanna talk about it I'm fine, Lisa.
Thank you.
I haven't had much luck with Lauren Andrews.
After the kidnapping in '91 she finished up her rehab and she moved to Virginia.
After that, nothing.
Her trail dead-ends in '95.
- Name change? - Nothing on record.
I'm checking in with old co-workers, friends, but Martin and Viv didn't have much luck with Social Services.
The filing system is from the Stone Age.
What happened with that woman that gave up our girl for adoption? We found her in East Brunswick.
Theresa Caldwell.
She's coming in.
Jack, I have to say, I hate to see you leave.
I'd take you with me if I thought I could drag you away from New York.
Not a chance.
This is my city.
Mine, too.
What did you find out? We don't have all the facts yet but we do know that your parents did not kidnap you.
They wanted you pretty badly, but not badly enough to do that.
That's good to know.
They're on their way in.
They really wanna talk to you.
Okay? Let's go.
How awful for her.
Finding something like that on the Internet and then thinking it's her.
Well, I guess when you're adopted, you always wonder where you come from.
It took a lot of courage for her to come in here.
Giving up Serene was It's the hardest decision that I've ever made.
I'm sure.
Miss Caldwell, I can't tell from the records who the natural father is.
- He's dead.
- I'm sorry.
- When did he die? - About a year after she was born.
That's part of the reason why I had to give her away.
- What was his name? - Steve Rogers.
We never married.
That's why his name isn't on the birth certificate.
- How did he die? - Car accident.
In Morristown? - Trenton.
- 1989? Tell me about your decision to give Serene up for adoption.
Like I said, it was very difficult.
I would never say that I regret having her.
I mean, I would never say that.
Yes, but what was the catalyst for making that decision? - Why are you doing this to me? - What am I doing? Making me talk about all this.
Miss Caldwell, there is a very vulnerable young woman waiting down the hall to meet you.
Trust me when I tell you she's gonna ask you exactly the same questions I'm asking you.
I just want you to be prepared.
- She's here now? - Two doors down.
Look, I don't think that I'm gonna be able to handle meeting her, okay? It was a closed adoption.
It's my right to privacy.
Yes.
Serene Caldwell.
We believe she was born at your hospital January 22, 1988.
I know that was a long time ago.
Before computers, yes, I get that.
Look, if you can just have someone check the old file room and get back to me, that would be great.
I appreciate it.
Thank you.
Okay.
I just got a little bingo on Lauren Andrews.
Her new name is Lauren Dardis.
She lives in Yonkers, she's married, and she's got two kids.
- She cleaned herself up.
- Yes, she did.
- You're not mad at me? - Of course not.
We're just worried about you, honey.
That's all.
Serene.
- I need to show you something.
- Sure.
Do you know this woman? Who is this? Is this my mother? Is she here? We don't know anything for sure yet.
I just need you to look at the picture, focus and tell me if you remember her, okay? - I know her.
- You do? Yeah.
- I know her, but I - But what? She doesn't think Theresa is her mother.
No, neither do I.
Dates don't match.
Miss Caldwell.
I'm sorry, but I just can't wait here anymore.
I just have a few more questions I'd like to ask you.
Maybe I could just come in another time, or you could call me or something but right now, there's someplace I have to be.
All right.
Excuse me, you have a hair.
Thank you.
Thanks.
- Wanna put a tail on her? - Yeah.
And get a sample of Serene's hair.
We're gonna do a DNA test.
- Lauren Dardis? - Yes.
Formerly Lauren Andrews of Camden, New Jersey.
- Yes.
- I'm Danny Taylor.
I'm with the FBI.
Do you recognize this girl? This is my daughter.
- Are you sure? - She's my daughter.
Of course I'm sure.
Where is she? When they came to tell me at the rehab center that someone took Serene I was doing good.
I was clean.
They told me when they put me there that that's the only way that I would ever get her back.
And there I was, clean, finally.
But she was gone.
You have no idea who might have taken her? No.
How about her father? I told the police at the time, I don't even know who her father is.
That's what my life was like back then.
That's why they took her from me.
- Are you okay, Mom? Mom? - Shut up.
- Are you okay? - Shut up.
- Are you okay? - Shut up! I can't hear.
Miss Andrews.
We got a call from your neighbor.
You know, my husband.
He knows about my past.
The drugs.
And everything else.
But I never told him about Serene.
Now, maybe you can.
Same girl.
Now, that makes things simpler.
Yeah, thank you.
Much simpler.
There's no record of a Serene Caldwell being born at Bradford County Hospital in 1988.
The birth certificate is a fraud.
Let's go see Mr.
"Yin Yang.
" It's not like those birth certificates have bar codes on them.
Pretty easy to duplicate.
But when somebody comes to you, ready to give away their kid you don't call the hospital to double-check - make sure it's actually their kid? - Of course we do.
That was 13 years ago.
You know how many assistants we've had since then? I'm sure, at the time, I had somebody check it out.
So how did Theresa Caldwell find you? I don't know.
You think I remember? Do you remember if you ever had contact with her - before or after the adoption? - No.
Then you won't mind if we have a look at your old phone records.
Not as long as you've got a subpoena.
My poor girl.
I just hope whatever she learns out of this, It frees her in some way.
I mean, she was looking for herself on the Internet because there was something she needed to know.
- Excuse me, Mrs.
Barnes.
- Yes.
I've just been speaking with a woman who claims to be Serene's biological mother.
She says that Serene has a birthmark just below her right shoulder, shaped like a thimble.
Is that true? That's right.
She does.
She's here.
She'd like to see Serene.
Serene should be in any minute.
I don't know what I'm gonna tell her.
I mean, about who I am.
I mean, about who I was.
Just tell her the truth.
It's all she wants to hear.
Yeah, I guess so.
After all this time.
I'll just leave you two alone.
Okay.
Come on, sit.
Aren't you gonna miss this? You're not gonna have moments like this working Domestic Security in Chicago.
Yeah, I'm gonna miss it.
I'll check on Theresa Caldwell's phone records.
We left two surveillance units outside the adoption agency.
I'm gonna finish that background on Porter.
I spoke with Van Doren.
I recommended that you take over the unit.
That wasn't my main concern, but thank you.
She supports it.
It's just a question of getting through the bureaucracy.
Is this what you really want? It's the right thing.
If you have something to ask me, Martin, go ahead.
Am I the only one who didn't know? Vivian knows.
I'm not sure about Danny.
We tried to be discreet.
- Well, that's good.
- It was over two years ago, Martin.
- It was before you got here.
- Yeah.
Well, I guess old feelings die hard.
They don't die.
They just fade.
And then you feel bad that they faded.
Because you wonder what they meant when you had them.
Well, I guess if they didn't fade there wouldn't be room for new ones.
No, I guess there wouldn't.
- Agent Spade? - What's the matter? My mother, Lauren.
That woman.
She says she wants me to come live with her.
She says that I'm her daughter, and I should be with her.
She can do that? She can take her? Technically, Lauren Andrews never lost custody.
I don't get it.
You said she was living in a crack house that the state took her away because she was unfit in the first place.
It was a temporary injunction, pending her recovery.
- She recovered.
- So what? She can walk out of here with our daughter? Is that what you're telling me? Look.
The results from the DNA test come in tomorrow, okay? Until then, you have temporary custody of Serene.
In the meantime, I suggest you contact your attorney.
Now, if you'll excuse me.
We got Theresa Caldwell.
You rented a white Buick four-door sedan on March 18, 1991.
Is that correct? That was 13 years ago.
That was the same day that Serene Andrews was kidnapped.
Well, actually I remember I was having a lot of car trouble around that time.
You didn't even own a car at the time.
In fact, that was the first time that year that you even rented a car.
It's just a coincidence.
Is that the same coincidence that the neighbors saw the same car parked in an alley behind Serene's foster home on the same day? We checked the hospital records.
The birth certificate is phony.
Steve Rogers, the man you alleged to be her father died a year before she was born.
We ran DNA tests.
Yours against hers.
Guess what? No match.
You are not the mother.
It wasn't my idea, okay? Then whose idea was it? Michael Kraus? - Michael? - Yes.
He's listed as the second driver on this car-rental agreement.
Oh, God.
Who is he? Does he work for the adoption agent? - No.
- Do you? We weren't working for anybody, okay? We just wanted her.
Hey, Serene.
Sweetheart? Hi, darling.
Now just come on.
I'm gonna give you a better life.
I swear, I am gonna give you a better life.
Michael is not a kidnapper.
He's my brother, okay? - I did this for him.
- And why is he so invested in Serene? Serene is his daughter.
The last time I spoke to you you said you didn't know who the father was.
I don't.
Apparently someone named Michael Kraus thinks he's the father.
- Michael? - Kraus.
He and his sister are the ones that took Serene.
But that's impossible.
He was in jail at the time.
No, he got out three weeks earlier on good behavior.
Oh, my God.
I had no idea.
- Was he your boyfriend? - Yes.
At the time that Serene was born? Yes, but I told him then I wasn't even sure if she was his.
He wound up in jail six months after she was born.
I never heard from him again.
I guess he did a little soul-searching while he was in jail and decided he wanted to get his daughter back.
Son of a bitch.
Have you talked to him? Where is he? Look, I wanna make one thing clear here.
None of this should come down on Theresa.
I made her do everything.
Well, that's gonna be up to the prosecution, Mr.
Kraus.
Now, would you mind telling us how this whole thing went down? When I got out in '91, the first thing I did was go looking for Lauren and Serene.
I went over to her apartment.
It was boarded up and the super said they dragged her off to some rehab and they put Serene in a foster home.
Nobody would tell me where she was.
So I did some looking around, and I found this adoption broker.
Anyway, he tells me there's no way in hell that I'm gonna get custody even if they did one of those paternity tests.
He says I'm not gonna get custody 'cause I'm a felon.
Even though the mother's a junkie.
So, what? This broker, he offers to dig around for you? Yeah, he had some connection downtown with some social service.
Anyway, he finds Serene, and he tells me where she is.
I go down there, and the place is a dump.
They had kids running around all over the place and she's sitting there all alone.
No one's taking care of her.
I mean, she looked so unhappy.
And I said to myself, '"There's no way my girl is gonna live this life.
'" I go back to the broker, and he tells me if I can get my hands on her that he'd get me the papers I needed.
- Forged birth certificate.
- Right.
Tells me it'll cost me $5,000.
But he does it all the time, there'll be no problem.
So we took her.
So you go through all of this to get her, and then you give her up? Why? Couple of months go by, and he calls me.
He tells me he wants his money.
I tell him I don't have it.
I'm broke.
He tells me, if I don't pay him, he's gonna go to the cops.
Then he tells me that he'll give me $5,000 for Serene.
That he found a family that would take her.
They live in Manhattan, on Madison Avenue.
- She ain't gonna do better than that.
- Okay.
But after all we went through to get her, are you sure you wanna do this? Theresa, it's not about me.
It's about what's best for her.
They look like nice people.
I didn't have a choice.
If I didn't do what he said, he'd rat me out.
And then what? She winds up at some lousy foster home or with Lauren, smoking crack in some ghetto.
Did you ever deal with anybody else from that adoption agency? No.
Just him.
Look.
This guy was a real scumbag, all right? I mean, selling and trading kids? I mean, it's sick.
What if that family he showed me was in on the scam? I mean, what if she didn't wind up with a good family? She did end up with those people.
And as far as we can tell, they're wonderful parents.
What do you mean? You saw her? She's a great kid.
- So she's in the right place.
- Yeah.
She is in the right place.
- Here he is.
- My God.
He's beautiful.
I can't believe you got this done so fast.
You're a miracle-worker.
I just know my business.
FBI.
Charles Porter, you are under arrest for accessory to kidnapping child endangerment and extortion.
I have to take the baby until we can sort this out.
But wait.
What's going on here? - This is our baby.
- This may not be your baby.
- You'll have to come with us.
- This is a mistake.
It's okay.
Mrs.
Dardis has something she'd like to discuss with you.
I've thought about it and I've decided that this is where you belong.
And it's not because I don't want you.
It's because these are your parents now.
And I don't wanna get in the way of your happiness.
My lawyer will have the adoption papers drawn up to make it official.
I would like to see you sometimes, though, you know? Maybe on the weekends or whenever it feels right for you.
Yeah.
That sounds good.
- Lf it's all right with you.
- Of course.
Okay, so I'm gonna go.
Lauren.
- You talked to her? - I may have said something.
Thank you.
You take care, Serene.
I was just talking to Dr.
Harris.
- About what? - About you.
About us, I should say.
- I'm afraid to ask.
- Don't be.
It's What we had, it was good.
It was what we both needed at the time.
Yeah, I guess it was.
- In another life, maybe? - Maybe.
Yeah.
I really hope that you and Marie will be happy in Chicago.
I'm sorry if I ever hurt you.
Me, too.
I better keep doing this, or else I'm gonna lose my nerve.
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