Without a Trace s03e06 Episode Script

Colleen? Get yourself in out of the rain.
Sorry to just show up like this.
Oh, good morning, sunshine.
I didn't expect to see you guys today.
Jake, honey, can you play for a sec while Mommy talks to Mrs.
Reese? I need to ask you a favor.
Oh, Colleen.
If you could just watch him till noon.
You know I visit my father Thursdays.
Please, Mrs.
Reese, I wouldn't ask if it wasn't an emergency.
What emergency? They scheduled a training class at work, and if I miss it, I get fired.
Well, all right, then.
As long as you're back by noon.
Thank you so much, Mrs.
Reese.
Not to add to your woes, hon, but you're a few days behind.
You know I love Jake to pieces, but I need to make a living too.
I'm sorry.
I'll make it up to you.
I promise.
Jake, honey, give Mommy a kiss bye bye.
I love you every day and twice on Sundays.
Bye, Mommy.
I'll see you soon, sweetheart, okay? Sorry I'm late.
Traffic was a bitch.
What do you got? All right.
Colleen McGrath, age 25, living in White Plains.
She dropped off her son, Jake, at the babysitter's, never came back.
Know where she was going? To work.
She has a job at Every Mart, a big retail outlet.
She was supposed to be back by noon.
By 9 p.
m.
She hadn't picked up her kid, so the sitter called the cops.
Cops called Social Services.
Is she a familiar face around here? Nope.
No record of abuse.
No neglect, nothing.
What about the father? Don't know who he is.
Barely know who she is.
No New York driver's license or current address so far.
I get the feeling she wasn't living the high life.
She's a single mom, doing it hard.
She might've split.
Her kid's wearing fifth generation hand me downs but he's clean, he's healthy.
Seemed like she was a good mother.
I assume that's Jake.
Yeah, that's him.
He say anything? Just that he wants his mom.
And did Colleen have a history of not showing up? She's never even been late.
Something happened, I just know it.
She couldn't have just picked up and walked away? That little boy's her whole world.
I can't see her up and leaving him.
But it was unusual for her to come here on a Thursday.
That's one of my days off.
She has somebody else watch Jake on Thursdays.
Know who this person is or where we could find them? No, I'm afraid I don't.
Back to Colleen, do you know where she lives? Yeah, in one of those weekly rate motels.
The Glen Capri, I think it's called.
Now, what about Jake's dad? Did Colleen ever mention him? Not that I remember.
You said that she seemed upset when she dropped Jake off.
Were there any other changes in her behavior lately? Well, last week when she came to pick up Jake Colleen's usually so stressed about money, but not this time.
Those are the ones you wanted, remember? They light up when you step on them.
Is that cool or what? Wow, those are some fancy sneakers.
Yeah, sometimes you gotta live a little.
Must've really set you back.
And worth every cent.
Look at him.
Oh, for you.
For today and tomorrow.
You're paying ahead? Did they give you a raise or something? Oh, yeah, that'll be the day.
Don't worry, okay? She never did say how she came into that money.
But by yesterday it was gone.
Yep.
Do you think that she was involved in something illegal? Oh, she's not the type.
But it made me wonder.
I mean, she was so nervous when she dropped Jake off.
Afraid, even.
I'm not sure how I can help.
Start by telling me what you know about Colleen McGrath.
She's been an associate for almost six months.
Great worker.
Terrific gal.
Part of the Every Mart family.
Mr.
Burdick, do you have any idea why she might've gone missing? Are you sure she is missing? We have employee retention issues.
Sometimes people just leave.
Not without their kids, they don't.
She has kids? The Every Mart family's not big on communication.
Yes, she has a 3 year old son.
Jeez.
I had no idea.
No.
Apparently not.
Now, I'm told that Colleen came here for a training class yesterday.
What can you tell me about that? There wasn't any training class.
There wasn't? You didn't see her? No.
I wouldn't expect her.
She's off on Mondays and Thursdays.
Did she have any problems with boyfriends, coworkers, drugs? Not that I'm aware of.
Okay.
I'm gonna need Colleen's employment records.
I need to talk to her coworkers.
You have to wait till they're on break.
Associates can't conduct personal business on the floor.
Sorry, it's policy.
Mr.
Burdick, I am conducting a federal investigation.
I will talk to whomever, wherever, whenever I want to.
That sign says "no vacancy.
" Why's this place so dead? The tenants are at work.
I'm not comfortable letting you in Colleen's room.
Why is that, Mr.
Cleary? Out of respect for her privacy.
We don't care about code violations.
Just open the door.
The presidential suite.
You get what you pay for.
I'll say.
You know, if Colleen really did take off she didn't take much with her.
Hey, Danny.
What do you make of this? Let me see.
It's got pins in the front, pins in the back.
That's a pretty fancy key.
Where's the fancy lock, Mr.
Cleary? I assume it doesn't go with this motel.
Never seen it before.
Mr.
Cleary, do you know if Colleen has a husband or boyfriend? I get the feeling she wasn't a one man girl, know what I mean? No, tell us.
Few days back, I got a noise complaint.
Apparently Colleen is entertaining a man in her room.
Next night, I figured out what she was up to and I busted her.
Two hundred dollars.
I know.
I know that.
Look, I'll do whatever you want.
Okay.
Bye.
Take it someplace else, Colleen.
What do you mean? You can't do your business here.
I won't warn you again.
I was just using the phone.
"I'll do whatever you want"? Not in my hotel.
Don't need that kind of trouble.
Just leave me alone.
I know you and some guy were going at it.
Turn another trick here, you're out.
Just leave me alone! I guess I really hit a nerve.
I can't imagine why.
With Colleen gone and all, I mean, I gotta rent this room or I lose money.
So if you guys are pretty much done No, we're not.
Colleen McGrath has no phone, no car, no credit cards, no bank accounts.
She's fallen right off the grid.
She was never on it to begin with.
She's got a clean record.
No prostitution busts.
Well, she was making extra money somehow.
She must've had a second job.
Only has one set of payroll deductions.
Well, then, she got paid in cash.
Colleen worked at Every Mart five days a week, right? Other two days, she was working someplace else.
You seem pretty sure about that.
Do the math.
There's no way she could make ends meet with just this one job.
People do it all the time, Sam.
On 7 bucks an hour? Think about this.
Just staying at that motel, Martin, cost her $ 175 a week.
In a place like White Plains, she could rent a studio for less.
She'd have to come up with a deposit.
How's she gonna save that up? Every Mart kept her under 40 hours so they didn't have to pay benefits so her take home tops out at 227 a week.
On top of rent, she has childcare, food What if it just got to be too much and she couldn't do it anymore? No.
She was struggling, but she was getting by.
Well, then, why did she buy this? A backpack? Purchased at Every Mart through her employee discount on the same day that she bought those fancy shoes for her son.
Now, listen, maybe Colleen gave him those shoes as a goodbye present before she hit the road.
Okay, but all her stuff was still at the motel.
If she left, why didn't she take it with her? Nora? Special Agent Jack Malone, FBI.
So I gather.
FBI showing up, that's big excitement around here.
I'm told that you and Colleen McGrath were good friends.
We must be.
I'm smoking nonstop since I heard she was gone.
I understand that she was experiencing some financial difficulties.
Yeah, I guess a big expense had come up.
Any idea what that was? It's not like being broke's big news around here.
Tell me about the men in her life.
There's just Jake.
That's it.
You know, nobody else around here seems to know that she has a kid.
I hope you didn't tell them.
Is it a secret? From management.
The store'd just as soon not hire moms.
They figure you'll be late, miss days.
Right.
Let's just get back to the men for a minute.
We believe Colleen might've been turning tricks.
She's poor, so she must be a whore? We just know she had a second job.
We all do.
You can't live off what you earn at this cheap ass place.
Colleen cleaned houses on her days off, same as me.
Do you know who she worked for? No, but I know she was having trouble with them.
Hey, Nora, you got a minute? Sure, honey.
What's up? I was wondering if you know of any other cleaning gigs.
What about the house you got? It's getting weird there.
Weird how? With the husband.
He coming on to you? I'd rather not talk about it.
Oh, I've been there before, baby.
I know what you're thinking: What kind of freak wants to get in my pants? You'd be surprised.
No, I wasn't thinking that at all.
Point is, if it gets ugly, get out.
I can't.
Not unless I line up something else.
You hear about anything, just let me know, okay? You got it.
She didn't bring it up after that, and I didn't push it.
You think? You think this dude did something to her? That's what we have to look into.
Any idea what this guy's name is? No.
But I'm pretty sure his house is in Scarsdale.
Colleen once said he drove some red sports car.
I'm not seeing any calls to Scarsdale, Jack.
From what I can make out, she's been working for the guy for like five months.
She would've had to call him.
But that's one call in thousands.
Everyone at the motel uses that phone.
I got something.
Calls to a Ted Fortman on 1461 June Street in Scarsdale.
Here's the red car.
Haven't met Mr.
Fortman yet, but I feel like I know him already.
What, not your type? No.
What is your type? Not Mr.
Fortman.
Mr.
Fortman.
Special Agent Spade, this is Special Agent Taylor.
We're with the FBI.
What can I do for you? We wanted to ask you a few questions about Colleen McGrath.
I don't know anybody by that name.
How'd you get that shiner? I don't think that's any of your business.
Mr.
Fortman, does this key look familiar? No, I don't think I know that Have you ever seen this woman before? No, I've never seen her before.
Are you sure about that? You won't explain the black eye, Colleen McGrath's gone missing I had nothing to do with that.
Then why'd you lie about knowing her? That was stupid.
I got flustered.
Well, here's your chance to set the record straight.
Well, I told you, she's the maid.
That's not all she is, is she? I don't follow.
I think you do.
I believe your wife just booked a trip to Cancún because of a falling out.
You spoke to my wife? Long enough for her to tell me that she was filing for divorce.
I have a feeling it had to do with Colleen.
You have an affair with her? Look, I was having an affair, okay, but not with the help.
Her name is Colleen.
Colleen McGrath.
Yeah, well, this whole mess is her fault.
This ought to be good.
How is it all her fault? Look, a week and a half ago, my wife was in the city so I brought home a lady friend.
And, you know, I forgot that Colleen was there and she walked in on us.
What did you do? Well, we had a little talk about being discreet.
I thought we had an understanding and a couple days later I found out I was wrong.
What are you doing here? Just finishing up.
Think you still have a job after what you did? What do you mean? My wife just left me because of your big mouth.
I didn't tell her anything.
She knew I had a woman here.
How did she know about that, huh? I don't know.
Not from me.
I wouldn't.
I need this job.
You should've thought about that before you ratted me out.
You have to believe me, Mr.
Fortman.
I never said a word, I swear.
Yeah, get out.
If your wife is gone, you'll need somebody to look after the house.
Get out of my house! Fine! But I want my $ 100.
For the two days I worked.
Take it up with my wife, okay? You probably spent $ 100 at lunch.
I need that money.
I'm not giving you a dime.
I'm not leaving until I get it.
You're not leaving? Let's go.
Hey! Damn! You hit me in the eye! A hundred dollars, you pig.
Mr.
Fortman, you are a class act.
So, what happened then? She stormed off and drove away.
She drove? There was a pickup waiting for her.
It was black with a red stripe.
Do you know who was driving? I didn't see that.
Okay, before this big blowout you notice anything different in Colleen's behavior? She's the maid.
Okay, we're gonna need you to look at some photos ID the make and model of that truck.
We also need you to establish your whereabouts when Colleen went missing.
Thanks, Mr.
Carter.
We appreciate your help.
Ted Fortman's got an alibi.
That's okay because Colleen's ex boyfriend, Ray Weaver, fits the profile.
How'd you get a line on him? Court records.
He's Jake's dad.
And it turns out he owes Colleen Plus, his ex roommate said that Colleen called last week.
Maybe she tried to make him pay and it didn't go well.
That's what I think.
Did you get his address? Nothing current, but he's in construction.
He works as a day player on salvage crews in the city.
Yeah, I know, so do 1000 other guys, but I'll get a list of contractors and start calling.
We could use some extra bodies.
Where's Danny and Viv? Recanvassing the motel now that Colleen's neighbors are home from work.
All right.
We think Colleen may have been riding around in a black truck.
Have you seen a truck like this around here? Nope.
All right, I don't suppose you know of any local babysitters, huh? Sure don't.
Someone's calling for a Colleen.
Is there a Colleen around here? I'll take it.
Hi.
Who am I speaking with? Dr.
Evans? Yes.
We're with the FBI.
You called the hotel looking for Colleen.
Right.
I spoke to your colleague.
I can't believe she's missing.
Is there a place we can talk in private? Sure.
Right over here.
So you were calling her about her son? Yeah.
I was just following up.
Following up about what? She brought him in a week ago for routine vaccinations, but then I discovered a problem.
What kind of problem? I had our ENT take a look at Jake.
We found some scarring in his ear canal.
Scarring? From what? An untreated infection, maybe.
It's hard to really know.
Is it serious? We just have to deal with the fact that he has some hearing loss in the right ear.
Permanent hearing loss? The ENT says about 40 percent.
I mean, Jake's in his own world sometimes, but I never thought I mean, he's a dreamy kid, you know.
I was the same way.
It's not as bad as it sounds, all right? It's completely treatable.
Jake just needs a hearing aid.
A hearing aid? How much do they cost? Well, you should be able to find one for about $500.
I don't have that kind of money, Dr.
Evans and I don't have any way of getting it.
This can't wait, Colleen.
We don't want this affecting his development.
Is there a state program, maybe? Not that you qualify for.
But I know a woman, she's a foster mom she got her boy a hearing aid.
That's different.
Foster children are the state's responsibility.
Lucky for them.
I wrote her a prescription for the hearing aid, then she left.
Did she fill the prescription? That's what I was calling to find out.
Yeah, listen, I really gotta get back to my patients.
I hope you find Colleen.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Well, that's probably why she needed extra money.
She knew that if he was in foster care, he'd get that hearing aid.
She didn't do it, Martin, okay? She's not the kind of woman who would abandon her child, so let's just drop it.
Hey, Viv, any luck? Nobody's talking.
Not exactly getting a lot of love, are we? Hey! FB! Hey, it's okay, I'm with the FBI.
Do you know that guy? His name's Jeff.
His family lives here.
The cops are after him.
For joyriding or something.
You guys are here about Colleen? Yeah.
You know her? Not really.
I just hope you find her, that's all.
You know, people stay missing or get found on a small detail so if you know anything at all that might help Okay.
Well, for one thing, Colleen came by yesterday morning asking me if I could watch her son.
I couldn't.
I had to work.
Have you watched him in the past? I hardly know Colleen.
But she was desperate.
There was a problem with the sitter.
What kind of problem? I don't know.
Do you know who the sitter is? No.
What's the other thing? I'm sorry? You said, "For one thing, Colleen" What's the other thing? I'd just gone to go get some groceries and I was heading back to my room, minding my own business and I heard a lot of yelling from Colleen 's room.
You don't know who you're screwing with! End up with a bullet in your head in the goddamn river! I'm gonna mess you up! One or the other! What are you looking at? Nothing.
Are you okay? He's gonna kill me.
I don't know who this guy is, but if he knew that I was talking to you he'd come after me like he did Colleen.
That's a cool bus, Jake.
Is that your favorite bus? Yeah.
Jake, I want to ask you a question, okay? When your mommy's at work and Mrs.
Reese isn't taking care of you who takes care of you? Jean.
Jean? Okay.
Is Jean a girl? Like me? Jake, I wanna show you a picture, okay? Okay? Do you know who that man is? Do you know who it is? I want my mommy.
I'm sorry, Jake.
I didn't mean to scare you.
I just I think that's enough.
I'm sorry.
Cover the inside.
Hey, Nora.
May I? Yeah.
You gotta quit these things.
They're gonna kill you.
I don't wanna get fat.
I'll save it for later.
All right.
We're gonna post these around the neighborhood.
This guy look familiar to you? Hard to say, as many faces as I see.
What about that pickup? Who belongs to that? That's the boss's, Mr.
Burdick.
You think him and Colleen were hooking up? That's disgusting.
Of course not.
Though I heard that they had some kind of argument in the stockroom last week.
That's good to know, Nora.
Thanks.
Hey, what the hell? Why are you doing this to me? You lied to me.
You picked up Colleen from her cleaning job.
That a crime? I used to give her a ride.
What kind of ride is that? It wasn't like that.
She was always taking the bus or walking.
The word is you two had a fight in the stockroom.
What was that about? I care for Colleen, but she put me in an impossible situation.
Hey, Colleen.
Hi, Mr.
Burdick.
Come on.
Call me Duane.
Isn't it your day off? Yeah.
You know what? I really gotta run.
Whoa, whoa, what? What's the matter? Nothing.
What's in the bag, Colleen? What the hell is wrong with you? I'm sorry.
You're sorry? Look, I needed the money for a medical thing.
I didn't know what else to do.
So this is your solution? Now you're out of a job.
No, please, Mr.
Burdick.
I swear, I've never done anything like this.
Please, Mr.
Burdick, give me another chance.
Please.
Don't ever do this again.
I won't.
Thank you.
So you just let her walk? I have a soft spot for her.
You don't even know her.
She's raising money for a hearing aid for a son you know nothing about and you let her go out of the goodness of your heart? That's right.
You strike me as quite the humanitarian.
Let's go discuss this further.
This gets out, it's gonna cost me my job.
Lie to me again, I'll make sure it gets out.
I'll have it announced with the next blue light special.
Ray Weaver? Special Agent Johnson and Taylor.
This isn't about my child support.
It's about Colleen.
She went missing two days ago, Ray.
What? Oh, man, what about Jake? Relax, Jake's okay.
He's with Social Services.
Well, I need to see him.
First you have to answer a couple questions.
We know that Colleen tried to reach you.
Have you seen her? No, but she started calling this past week.
Last I heard from her was three days ago.
She was in a full on panic.
Yeah? I need money, Ray.
Colleen, if this is about the hearing aid No, I took care of that.
But I need $ 1000.
I said I'd make good on the child support, and I will.
I need 1000.
Right now.
What for? It doesn't matter what for.
Well, listen, I can't just pull a grand out of my ass.
This is life and death, Ray.
What are you talking about, life and death? Colleen, are you there? I need that money.
Please, Ray.
I need that money.
I'd never heard Colleen so worked up.
I wired her 268 bucks to a check cashing joint everything I scraped together for the hearing aid.
She said she'd bought it already? Yeah.
It was news to me.
Now, did she ever mention a babysitter named Jean? Just that she was trouble.
Do you know her last name? Morris, I think it was.
I've told you guys everything I know.
Now, I wanna see my son.
Okay.
We'll take you to him.
Hey.
Hey.
So Ray Weaver was right.
Colleen ordered the hearing aid from a Bayside pharmacy.
She paid, but never picked it up.
Where did she get the money? And why did she need a grand from Ray when she'd already purchased it? None of this makes any sense.
No.
You know, unless Unless she borrowed it from a loan shark and then was unable to pay it back.
The guy who roughed her up? It tracks.
That would explain her phone call to her supposed john.
The loan shark is pressing her to pay up, she only has $200.
Wherever she is, she's in trouble, Martin.
This case is really getting to you.
Yeah.
Is it the kid? It's all of it.
Found our babysitter.
Jean Morris? No Jean Morris, but a Jeanette Maris.
She lives in White Plains.
And get this: The last two months, she's called Every Mart 10 times.
Gotta be looking for Colleen.
Let's go.
Thanks, man.
Jeannette Maris.
FBI, open the door, please.
We got one down.
Clear.
She's alive.
Jeanette Maris? Jeanette Maris, can you hear me? Sam, check it out.
Heroin.
Maybe the trouble between Colleen and Jeanette had to do with this.
Hey.
Wake up! Hey, come on.
Let's get her up.
Rise and shine.
Let's go.
Who are you? FBI.
Where's Colleen? I don't know any Colleen.
That's a lie, Jeanette.
Hey, where'd this come from, huh? That's not mine.
Oh, no? Whose is it, then? You gotta be quicker than that, Jeanette.
I suppose this isn't yours either.
I don't do that anymore.
Yeah? Then why can't you stop looking at it? Where's your spot, Jeanette? Let go of me! Get off me! You want this? Do you want this? You know you do.
Just say the word, I'll fix you up.
Think she's kidding? Just give us what we want and we can all walk out of here happy.
I get to keep my stash? Yeah, you can keep your stash.
What do I gotta do? Tell me about Colleen.
It was last week.
I had it kicked.
I was clean until she came along.
Hey, Jake.
Going somewhere, Colleen? Just taking a bus ride to the city.
Is it okay if I put his juice in the fridge? He wants it cold.
Sure, whatever.
See you later, honey.
I should be back by 7.
What happened when Colleen got back? She got pretty bent out of shape.
Mommy! Hi, sweetie.
Look what I got for you.
You like it? Why don't you play for a sec.
Give it back.
Don't know what you're talking about.
My backpack was only out of my sight when I was here.
What, are you calling me a thief? I was one bag short.
That's over $ 1000 worth.
You brought drugs into my house? Where is it, Jeanette? It isn't mine, okay? Do you know what they're gonna do to me if I don't get it back? I don't know what you're talking about.
Yes, you do! Let go of me before I call the cops.
You wanna tell them your story? Then get the hell out.
Did she say whose drugs they were? No.
How about where they were being delivered? Said she was taking a bus to the city.
That's all she said.
All right.
I'll bag this and get it to the lab.
You said I could have that.
Stay where you are.
You arresting me, you bitch? Yeah, I'm arresting you.
Colleen's got drug dealers thinking she ripped them off because of you.
Maggie Scott? Special Agent Jack Malone.
Thanks for taking the time to talk.
I got plenty to spare.
What's this about? We're looking for a woman who worked as a drug mule and based on the chemical analysis of the heroin it'd appear that you and she worked for the same ring.
Trying to find out about the organization.
I gave detailed statements.
I'm sure you've seen them.
I'd like to hear it from you.
I was working in a coffee shop.
This guy, Ken, would come in on occasion, we would talk.
He saw I needed money.
One day, he told me he knew an easy way I could make $800.
And he offered you half up front, right? At the time, that felt like I had won the lottery.
How did it work? I would take a bus to Port Authority.
Someone would meet me, I'd give them a tote bag full of drugs and they'd give me the other half of my money.
But? But I never made it to Port Authority.
I was waiting for my bus to the city when a cop pulled up and I got so nervous, I fainted.
He went to help me and looked inside the tote bag for my ID.
Found the heroin.
Prosecutor made it sound like I was some kind of drug kingpin.
And here I was, practically living out of my car.
I got five years for possession with intent plus another five for being within 1000 feet of a school.
Live and learn.
If you ever find this missing woman, have her stop by.
I'll scare her straight.
She delivered short.
Well, then, I guess she's not exactly missing, is she? Thanks.
You're positive you've never seen her before? Yes, ma'am.
Excuse me, Mr.
Peters.
I'm Special Agent Spade with the FBI.
How can I help you? This woman took a bus to White Plains five days ago.
Look familiar to you? Yeah.
I remember this lady.
You do? Where was she? Right there.
Sitting on that bench.
You don't forget someone having that bad a day.
We're boarding, ma'am.
Last call, 5: 15 to White Plains.
Are you all right, ma'am? Everything's just gone so wrong.
I'm sure that's not true.
Oh, is that your son? Yeah.
He's a good looking boy.
You think he'd? You think he'd like one of these? Thank you.
It's never as bad as you think.
I think this time it is.
Was she with anyone else? No, she was alone.
Okay.
Thank you for your time.
How'd it go at Port Authority? Pretty much a dead end.
Yeah, well, tomorrow's another day.
You're going home? Yeah.
The case is going cold, and I haven't seen my son in two days.
Right.
Sorry.
It's okay.
Though if you wanna keep on pushing, you can help Martin go through those.
What are they? Case files.
Viv had the DA send over anything that might be relevant.
Shouldn't have been so hard for her, you know? She deserved better.
We'll find her, Sam.
She just didn't leave us much to go on.
Martin, this isn't about records or files or paper trails.
The problem is she's invisible.
I mean, this woman has vanished into thin air.
And if it weren't for Jake, it wouldn't have even made a ripple.
I ca I feel like things happen to people like her.
They happen and no one notices.
And no one's held accountable.
Well, the best way to do something about that would be to help me with these files.
Okay? Okay.
There's a file here on a drug mule that went missing two years ago in Westchester County with a similar profile.
Twenty six year old woman, Elizabeth Rogers.
What happened to her? They found her body a month later in the Raritan River.
She'd been shot.
Was there a suspect? Let me check.
What? There was a suspect.
Witnesses gave a description.
That's the same guy.
Sam? Where are you going? Jack.
Whoever this man is, he took Colleen.
And she's not the first.
I think I know how to get him.
Okay, I'm listening.