Without a Trace s03e11 Episode Script
4.0
I'm sorry, but an assembly on drunk driving? Oh, I know.
It's so lame.
Hello.
I live in Manhattan.
I'm waiting for a bus.
Yeah, like, we wish we can drive drunk.
Why do they even have assemblies? I could've been studying for that test this morning.
Which, by the way, I totally failed.
Please.
You've never failed anything in your entire life.
I failed dance.
You got a B.
At our school, that's the same thing.
Speaking of dance I can't believe we haven't talked about Jodi Addington's hair.
She should so not be a blond.
Tara, what's wrong? Nothing.
I just I forgot, I have a dentist appointment today.
What about SAT class? We're going over the answers from last week's practice.
My mom will kill me if I don't go.
She'll kill you even more if you don't get over 1500.
Take notes for me, okay? Sure? Yeah.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Then what happened, Nell? The bus pulled away.
I saw her start to head that way.
Think anyone was following her? I don't know.
A lot of people on the street.
Walk with me.
Did she seem odd or strange, upset in any way? Not when we were talking, but once the bus pulled up, yeah, she did.
Is there any reason you can think of that Tara would've missed the SAT class? No.
But when her mom called last night looking for her she said that Tara didn't actually have a dentist appointment.
Really? You and Tara seem pretty close.
She's my best friend, since seventh grade.
So you know her better than anybody? Any chance she ran away from home? No.
How's she get on with her parents? It's just her mom.
They get along really well.
Any issues at school? No.
Boyfriends? We go to Hayes Healy.
It's all girls.
It's not that easy meeting guys.
I know.
It's a good school.
Would you take me over there and introduce me to some of Tara's friends? Here.
This is her school directory.
I circled all her friends.
I called them already, but I thought that you should have it.
And this is a list of the teachers and coaches that she spends a lot of time with.
Their numbers are there too.
Oh, thank you.
This will be helpful.
Does Tara have a cell phone? I've been trying it.
She doesn't pick up.
Would you mind writing that down? Sure.
Thanks.
Here you go.
Looks like Tara's got her sights set on Harvard.
Yeah.
It's her top choice.
She's already started her essay.
Well, it's not a bad choice.
So I understand that it's just you and Tara.
Yeah.
Her father died when she was 6.
Kidney cancer.
I'm sorry.
Are you seeing anybody right now? No, no.
How about casually? What I mean is, well, are there ever any men in the house? I have two jobs and a teenager.
I don't have time for a social life.
So where do you work? I work at Macy's.
In the bridal department.
I also work three days a week as a night receptionist at a law firm.
You know, I imagine it's tough.
Manhattan rent, private school tuition.
Tara's on a scholarship.
But living in Manhattan I've thought about moving but her education's too important.
So after school, when you're at work, who's with your daughter? Luckily, she's on the swim team so she's at school every night till 6, 6:30.
On the days I don't work late, I'm home by then.
On the other nights, yeah, she's alone.
And what does Tara do with that time? She studies.
Anything else? You know, kids, they can get into all sorts of stuff.
She doesn't seem like that kind of girl, but have you noticed anything? There was one thing.
About three months ago, I got out of work early and when I came home, she was here.
I went to Eagle Stationery, got the notebooks you wanted.
They were out of the pens.
What are you doing here? You were supposed to be swimming.
Yeah, I couldn't deal.
Couldn't deal? Tara, we talked about this.
Okay? Harvard doesn't just look at grades.
You have to stand out.
Swimming makes you stand out.
You need that, especially if you wanna get a scholarship.
I didn't feel well, okay? What do you mean, you didn't feel well? God, you're burning up.
What are these? Those are Did you take these? Just a few.
How many is a few? Tara, how many? I don't know.
Who gave you these? Some guy.
Some guy.
What are you doing? Calling 911.
No! It's not a big deal.
It's the homework drug.
Everybody does it.
"Everybody"? I have a lot to do.
I'll hold.
I thought you were smarter than this.
It was a mistake! Look, I'm sorry, okay? Just don't be mad.
Please.
I wasn't mad.
I was out of my mind scared.
So, what did you do? I took her to St.
Luke's ER.
I had her stomach pumped.
They also did a psych evaluation there.
Apparently this homework drug, it's a known thing.
It's like Ritalin.
She had her midterms coming up.
Someone told her it would give her energy, help her focus.
Well, with the private school, lvy League in the future, it's a lot of pressure.
Do you think it's possible she may have done other things to give herself an edge? I don't know.
All right.
What do you got? Security pictures from the bank near where Tara went missing.
Who's this guy? I don't know, but it looks like he's following her.
He could be a client.
What do you mean? Come here.
This is Tara's computer.
Looking through the desktop, I found file after file of research papers.
One on Roman architecture, one on Hobbes one on this thing called Australopithe Okay.
No, not okay.
She's never taken a class on Roman architecture, on philosophy on the austra whatever it's called.
She's writing papers for other people and making a ton of money doing it.
The girl has a 4.
0 grade average.
She's headed to Harvard.
Why would she risk it? Well, little blue pills cost a lot of money.
Well, if this guy is a client, maybe he didn't like her work.
Tara's a fish.
She was born to be in the water.
I was gonna make her team captain.
Was? Sounds like you changed your mind.
No, the reverse.
She quit the team about four months ago.
Really? She say why? She tried.
I need to focus on academics.
What are you talking about? You're a straight A student.
I know, but SAT's are coming.
In six months.
I need to do really well on them.
Tara, quit the B.
S.
It's the truth.
Something is going on with you.
You've been missing practice, your times are going up.
That's just it exactly.
I'm not that good.
And Harvard doesn't give swimming scholarships anyway.
So, what's the point? Look, it's not like I wanna do this, okay? You know how much I love swimming.
This is the only place I can come and think clearly, and everything's okay.
But I can't do it.
Tara, are you in trouble? No.
You sure? I'm not in trouble.
I just wanna get into college.
I'm sorry.
I don't know what the real reason was.
But you don't think she was brushing up on vocab for the SAT's? Do you? Was it drugs? She's a teenager.
It's possible.
But I never saw anything.
Did you ever see any guys hanging around? Was there a boyfriend? No.
I would've noticed that.
Do you recognize this guy? No.
Me either.
So who is he? Did he do something to Tara? I don't know.
I'm gonna give you my card in case you think of anything else.
Gimme a call.
Yeah.
Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to talk to you alone.
Can this wait? I have English.
Ms.
Resnick throws a fit if I'm late.
No, this is about your suspension.
I'll talk to you later.
Okay, you were busted for plagiarizing a paper, but you never said who did it.
Was it Tara? I'm not here to get you in trouble, all right? Your friend is missing.
I'm trying to determine if those papers have anything to do with it.
I don't know.
Don't know what? If it has to do with it.
But it could? Yeah.
There's been something going on with her.
These last couple of months she's been, like, a different person.
Just the fact she's writing these papers.
She used to be so competitive, and now she's helping everyone else get A's.
So that's what she's doing in the afternoons? Writing papers instead of swimming? I don't know what she's been doing.
We all used to hang out all the time and now I only see her on the way to SAT prep or when she comes by to drum up business.
Gwen, come on.
I can write you an awesome paper on Madame Bovary.
Don't do it, Gwen.
I know what I did wrong with yours.
It was way too theoretical.
Yours will be much simpler.
No one will ever know.
You'll get an A for sure.
I write an A paper, they'll know.
Well, then I'll write you a B paper.
I'll even write you a C paper if you want.
You couldn't write a C paper if you tried.
Yes, I can.
I've done it.
Someone paid you to get them a C? You paid her to get you suspended.
Come on, Gwen.
I really need the money right now.
Why? What's going on? Nothing.
So, what do you say? I say, no.
I don't care about grades anymore.
Fine.
I gotta go.
How much does she charge per paper? Ten bucks a page.
And did she write a lot of them? Tons.
Any idea what she's using the money for? I have no idea.
Sam, I was finally able to access her e mails.
All the papers she's been writing she's been sending to one account.
"Knicks thirty two"? A.
K.
A.
Ryan Barrett.
He's a freshman at Columbia.
How far do these go back? Four months.
Before that, nothing.
That's right around the time she quit the swim team.
I bet something happened then that made her do this.
Look at this.
The guy from the surveillance photo.
It sure is.
Let's go.
She writes papers for me.
It's not against the law.
Carrying around a bag of prescription medication without a prescription is against the law.
My doctor gave those to me.
You're not helping yourself.
We've checked your bank account.
Fifteen thousand dollars is a lot for a freshman.
You're dealing.
Pills, papers, who knows what else.
If you're stepping it up to kidnapping I'm not a kidnapper.
Why did you follow her? I didn't.
We have it on film.
Looks an awful lot like you, doesn't it? She owed me some papers, so I followed her after school.
Is that why she didn't get on the bus? She saw you? She didn't even know I was there.
I scared the crap out of her.
Tara.
Ryan.
Oh, my God.
What are you doing here? I need those papers.
Look, I can't talk to you right now.
I've got five pissed off customers calling me.
Look, I'm sorry, but I have to go.
They paid up front.
They want their money back.
I'll write them as soon as I can, okay? What the hell am I supposed to do? Tell them they're coming, okay? I'll write them as soon as I can.
I have to go.
You're ruining my credibility.
And that was it? She took off.
Last I saw, she was racing into some deli.
You're quite the businessman.
I didn't force her into this.
She's the one who came to me.
When was that? Four months ago.
Somebody told her I might be able to hook her up with some study aids.
That's when you gave her the drugs? Yeah.
She found out I had this paper thing going, offered to write some.
For more medication? For cash.
She gets her drugs somewhere else.
How do you know she takes them? Come on.
The way she was acting yesterday sweaty and nervous, she's taking something.
She tell you what the money was for? No.
You said she ran into a deli.
You know the name of it? No, but it's on the corner of 96th and Amsterdam.
Let me talk to your big sister.
What do you mean, boyfriend? Who? Some kid from class? Well, you tell your sister I wanna talk to her when she gets in.
Yes, about the boyfriend.
Yeah, I miss you too.
Okay.
Already it's starting.
Yeah, wait until she's 12.
Did you come to depress me? No, I was just at the deli.
They had Tara's cell phone.
Apparently, she was so upset that she left it in the bathroom.
Now, there's a text message on it from yesterday at 5:30 p.
m.
That's after she went missing.
It says, "O.
M.
G.
" What's that? "Oh, my God.
" "Be home 6:30, N.
" Who's N? Well, my guess is, it's Nell Clausen.
So? I send messages to her all the time.
I know you met her last night.
I spoke with your neighbor.
Made a positive ID of Tara.
He also said that you gave her a package at about 6:30.
I also know that 10 minutes before you sent that text message you got a call from a payphone.
Was it Tara? Yeah, but I never spoke to her.
Did you leave a message? What was on it? She told me not to tell anybody.
You know, I really admire loyalty in friendships but you don't have that option right now.
There's this guy.
He and Tara were supposed to get together.
What guy? I don't know his name.
You told me she didn't even have a boyfriend.
He's not a boyfriend.
He's a hookup.
I couldn't tell you about him because he's married.
Is that what the message was about? What about the package? He was supposed to take her somewhere.
Like, away for the night.
There's this dress I have that looks cute on her.
She wanted to borrow it.
She was waiting for it when I got there.
Did you get my message? Yeah.
What happened? I went to his apartment.
Is that why you didn't go to SAT class? Yeah.
He lives right near the bus stop.
Turns out, his wife had to go out of town last minute.
Where's he taking you? I don't know.
He's got a house in the country somewhere.
Oh, my God.
Okay, okay.
Stay here, I'll go get the dress.
Okay.
I am so excited for you.
I know.
I'm pretty excited for myself too.
I came out a couple minutes later, gave her the dress, and she left.
And you have no idea who this guy is? No.
Come on.
Gimme a break.
I don't.
She's your best friend.
She tells you everything.
She doesn't tell you the name of a married guy she's having a fling with? It's true.
She wouldn't tell me.
I swear to you, I don't know.
How long has it been going on? A while.
Look, I think you should drop this whole thing.
Tara's out having a good time with this guy.
Nothing's happened to her.
You're 16 years old.
What the hell would you know? Your friend's out there with some married guy whose name you don't even know, and you think she's fine? Take a look at this.
Right there in the margin.
"Are you going to Fiona's party? Check one.
Yes.
No.
" Just below that.
"Luke Jamison, 1109 Columbus Avenue, Number 315.
" It's from the third week of August.
That's a little over four months ago.
Maybe he's the reason she quit the team.
Maybe he's the married guy.
All right.
Here we go.
Luke Jamison, M.
D.
Graduated NYU Med School in '95.
So, what, that makes him probably 34.
No wonder she kept it a secret.
Dr.
Jamison? Yeah.
We're with the FBI.
We wanna ask a few questions about Tara Patterson.
Who? We found your name in one of her school notebooks.
Sorry, guys.
I Maybe this will jog your memory.
Oh, yeah.
I understand that you took her to your country house last night.
You realize she's a minor? She's 15.
I don't know what you're talking about.
The fact she's missing.
Let's talk about this in my office.
First of all, this is a free clinic.
I can't afford rent on my studio apartment, let alone a country house.
And second, that girl was my patient.
That's it.
I've never seen her outside this clinic, ever.
What was she coming in for? That's confidential.
We can go downtown and get a subpoena but that's gonna slow down the investigation.
Now, why was she here? All right.
When she came in, she said she thought she had food poisoning.
She didn't.
You're pregnant.
What? According to when you had your last period, almost four months.
That's impossible.
I can do another urine test if you want, but I don't have any symptoms.
I'm not getting fat.
No, but it explains why you've been nauseous.
Well, are you sure it's not, like, a lactose thing or something? My mom can't eat dairy.
Well, what about your period? It skips all the time.
When I'm stressed out or swimming a lot.
We need to talk about what we're going to do, looking forward.
I need to get it taken care of.
Tara, you can only terminate a pregnancy within the first 14 weeks.
You're way past that.
What do you mean? You have to do it.
I have a chem test Friday that I need to study for and our first swim meet's next week and there's SAT's, and I'm supposed to go to Harvard.
I can't be pregnant.
But you are.
Okay, so, what? Does that make her seven, eight months along? A little over eight.
And she's a teenager.
That's a risk factor for premature labor.
So she could give birth any time? Eight months? According to the doctor, yeah.
How could I not know? She was good at hiding it.
Not that uncommon.
Her poncho.
I gave it to her last year.
She hated it.
For the last month, she's worn it every day.
A lot of things are gonna make more sense.
Like those pills you found.
She may have been taking them in order to miscarry.
It's why she quit the swim team.
Why wouldn't she tell me? I'm not some ogre.
I would have understood, helped.
She wouldn't have had to go through this by herself.
Maybe she hasn't been.
What do you mean? Any idea who the father is? Eight months ago it was spring break.
She was at Andover.
They have a two week leadership program there.
When she got back she told me all about it.
You're joking, right? No.
Okay.
What? I thought you'd be happy for me.
What about you having sex at 15 could possibly make me happy? I don't know.
The fact that it's something I wanted to do.
So if you wanted to smoke crack I'm supposed to be happy about that.
Please tell me you used a condom.
Tara, if you're gonna be stupid enough to have sex, please be smart enough to Yes! We used a condom.
Okay.
Okay.
Honey, you've got such big plans.
We've both worked so hard for this.
I wanna make sure you're not gonna throw it all away.
I slept with one guy on my spring vacation.
I just wanted to have fun.
For once.
Where are you going? Out.
Tara! She didn't come home till after dark.
This kid from Andover.
Do you know his name? I asked her.
She wouldn't tell me.
A base is a solution with more OH ions than H ions.
What's Avogadro's theorem? That matter can be neither created nor destroyed.
Did you find her yet? No, not yet.
They're making us take our chem exam.
Can you believe that? Do you know if she met some guy from Andover last spring? Yeah.
What was his name? All I remember is that they went skinny dipping together.
Gavin.
Don't remember his last name.
His first name was Gavin.
Do you know where I can find him? I think he goes to Keenan Prep.
Thank you.
By the way, you were wrong.
Avogadro's theorem says that equal volumes of different gases contain the same number of molecules.
I knew that.
Where were you yesterday around 4:00? Basketball practice.
And after that? I was at home.
What's this about? About Tara Patterson.
She's been missing for 24 hours.
She's also eight months pregnant.
She got pregnant when she was at Andover, around the time she met you.
Yeah, I knew she'd gotten pregnant, but she told me she'd taken care of it.
Last night was the first I'd spoken to her in three months.
You spoke to her last night? What time? I was asleep.
I didn't even know who it was when she called.
Who? Tara Patterson.
Hey, what's up? I'm sorry.
Did I wake you? Yeah.
I have a midterm tomorrow.
Do you mind if I call in a couple days? Actually, I sort of need to talk to you now.
Do you remember when I called you and told you that I was pregnant and I was gonna take care of it? Yeah.
That really wasn't true.
I mean, I was pregnant, but it was too late to do anything so it looks like I'm having it.
Hello? I'm sorry, did you just say you're having a baby? I know you need to sleep, but it's starting to hurt and I need some help.
What? You're having it right now? Can you come over, please? Just for a little while.
You don't ever have to see me again.
I don't believe this.
You're telling me this now? I didn't have anyone else to call.
Call a doctor.
I don't have one.
I don't have anyone.
Tara, I can't leave.
I'm sorry.
If you don't come, I'm gonna do something to the baby.
I swear to God I will.
Look, Tara, I can't help you, okay? Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
I know.
I should have called an ambulance.
But I was so freaked out.
Do you have any idea where she was? No.
Are you sure she said she was going to hurt the baby? I thought she was bluffing, but yeah.
Jack.
We ran Gavin's phone records.
Tara called from Lewis Clausen's office on the Upper West Side.
How is he related to Nell Clausen? He's her father.
All right.
Open up.
FBI.
Hello? Hi.
Hi.
What are you doing under there? I'm not sure.
This is Agent Fitzgerald.
Hi.
Nice to meet you.
Wanna come out here and lie to me some more? Where's Tara and the baby? They were both gone when I got here.
I have no idea where they are, I swear.
You know, you're really starting to piss me off.
Sorry.
I know you think you're helping your friend but she's walking around with a newborn and if anything happens to that baby, she's going to jail and I'm gonna hold you responsible as an accessory.
I was just trying to be a good friend.
If you really wanna be a good friend, start by telling the truth.
Okay.
How long have you known about this? A few months.
How did you find out? I figured it out in the locker room.
Since she couldn't have an abortion, what was she gonna do? We had a plan.
We came up with it together.
You should tell your mother.
Are you kidding? She'd shoot me and then herself if she ever found out.
I just have to go somewhere where I can have the thing and no one will know.
What about my sister? In California? Oh, my God.
It's genius.
She's a nurse.
And she's totally cool, right? She wouldn't tell a soul.
Okay.
Well, it's already been five months so November, December, January, February.
I'm sure I can get enough money together by then for a bus ticket.
What about your mom? Well, I guess at first she'll think I ran away.
After a few days, I'll call and tell her I had a nervous breakdown.
She'll totally believe that.
And the baby? I don't know.
I can't talk about that right now, okay? All I know is I'm going to California.
It would've worked.
Except that she went into early labor.
And the married guy.
You made that up, right? Sorry.
But she did come to my apartment for clothes.
Hers were all wet.
And a blanket.
And I gave her the keys to my dad's office.
So why didn't you come with her? It was my mom's birthday.
I had to have dinner with her.
I snuck out at around 11, after my parents went to bed.
And how was she when you got here? Not good.
Oh, my God! Oh, my God! It says here you have to stay relaxed.
"Tenseness of the body intensifies the sensation of pain.
" I can't do this! I can't! It also says we should be timing the contractions.
"Place a hand on the mother's abdomen.
You will feel a hardening ball.
Time the intervals.
" I don't have a watch.
Do you have a watch? Shut up, Nell! Shut up! I'm sorry! Oh, God, it hurts! I really think we need to call 911.
No, you can't! You can't! Okay, okay.
Is it getting any better? Yeah, a little.
I'm sorry I told you to shut up.
No, it's okay.
Do you wanna walk around? I read it goes faster if you walk around.
No, I just I just wanna lie here.
Okay.
It went on like that all night.
So, what time was the baby born? Around 5 in the morning.
I had to cut the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors.
It was so intense.
Was the baby okay? I don't know.
I guess.
Was the baby breathing? Well, yeah, it was screaming.
But I was more concerned about Tara.
She was crying so hard.
She wouldn't even look at it.
So, what happened after that? I had to check in at home.
So you just left her here? I was gonna come right back but then you made me go to the bus stop and followed me to school.
By the time I got here, she was gone.
We gotta check the dumpsters in the area.
Danny, call Sanitation find out when they pick up the trash around Nell's father's office.
If it's today, ask them to hold off.
What about safe havens? We're calling all of them.
If she's on foot, she's probably still in Manhattan.
And if she's left the baby outside and nobody's found it yet we got about two hours before it freezes to death.
Yeah, so I was headed outside to have a smoke when I saw this young girl.
She was sitting She was sitting right there.
This her? Yeah, that's her.
You talk to her? Well, I wasn't planning on it, but then I heard the baby cry.
Is that yours? Yeah.
Boy? Girl? Girl.
What's her name? She doesn't have one.
Well, whatever you name her, she has your eyes.
Hey, you wanna bring her inside? Make sure she's okay.
We'll get you both warmed up.
I'll buy you a cup of hot chocolate.
No.
Okay.
Well, how about I go get a blanket, a washcloth and at the very least, we could clean this white stuff off her, you know? She's probably hungry too.
I'll show you what to do when I get back.
Wait here, okay? Don't leave.
So then when I came back out, she was gone.
Did you call Security? Yeah.
They looked up and down the street, but couldn't find her.
When you called, I knew exactly who you were looking for.
Okay, thank you for your help.
Good luck.
Thanks.
Okay, she could've left the baby here, no harm, no foul.
Why didn't she? Not ready to give it up yet.
Tara picked her college, she was going to California to have her baby.
She's a planner, and she doesn't have a plan.
And she needs somewhere warm to sit and think about what she's gonna do.
She lives uptown, this bus goes downtown.
Right near the school.
Yeah, Martin, I found her.
She's by the pool.
Hi.
My name is Jack.
I'm with the FBI.
We been looking for you.
Would you mind if I sat down next to you? It's nice here.
I could see why you'd wanna come here.
It's quiet.
You can think.
She's beautiful.
Thanks.
She had anything to eat? I just fed her.
You know, your mom's worried sick about you.
Yeah.
Does she know? Kind of had to tell her.
Hey, do you mind if I hold the baby? Just to make sure she's okay? Come here.
Come here, sweetie.
I got you.
Hello.
Hello.
Oh, it's okay.
Oh, she is beautiful.
So do you have a plan yet? Sort of.
That's good.
My mom's not gonna think so.
Well, you know what parents are like.
No matter how old you get, you're always their baby.
It doesn't matter if you threw up on them or kept them up all night because you were crying or because you got pregnant.
In the end all they wanna do is hold you and tell you that they love you.
Do you have a name? Rose.
That's beautiful.
It's my grandma's name.
Well, welcome to the world, Rose.
You wanna go back with your mother? Come on.
Here we go.
What do you say we take the two of you to the hospital make sure you're okay? Okay.
Okay.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
It's okay.
Oh, baby.
Thank you.
Adapted by:
It's so lame.
Hello.
I live in Manhattan.
I'm waiting for a bus.
Yeah, like, we wish we can drive drunk.
Why do they even have assemblies? I could've been studying for that test this morning.
Which, by the way, I totally failed.
Please.
You've never failed anything in your entire life.
I failed dance.
You got a B.
At our school, that's the same thing.
Speaking of dance I can't believe we haven't talked about Jodi Addington's hair.
She should so not be a blond.
Tara, what's wrong? Nothing.
I just I forgot, I have a dentist appointment today.
What about SAT class? We're going over the answers from last week's practice.
My mom will kill me if I don't go.
She'll kill you even more if you don't get over 1500.
Take notes for me, okay? Sure? Yeah.
I'll see you tomorrow.
Then what happened, Nell? The bus pulled away.
I saw her start to head that way.
Think anyone was following her? I don't know.
A lot of people on the street.
Walk with me.
Did she seem odd or strange, upset in any way? Not when we were talking, but once the bus pulled up, yeah, she did.
Is there any reason you can think of that Tara would've missed the SAT class? No.
But when her mom called last night looking for her she said that Tara didn't actually have a dentist appointment.
Really? You and Tara seem pretty close.
She's my best friend, since seventh grade.
So you know her better than anybody? Any chance she ran away from home? No.
How's she get on with her parents? It's just her mom.
They get along really well.
Any issues at school? No.
Boyfriends? We go to Hayes Healy.
It's all girls.
It's not that easy meeting guys.
I know.
It's a good school.
Would you take me over there and introduce me to some of Tara's friends? Here.
This is her school directory.
I circled all her friends.
I called them already, but I thought that you should have it.
And this is a list of the teachers and coaches that she spends a lot of time with.
Their numbers are there too.
Oh, thank you.
This will be helpful.
Does Tara have a cell phone? I've been trying it.
She doesn't pick up.
Would you mind writing that down? Sure.
Thanks.
Here you go.
Looks like Tara's got her sights set on Harvard.
Yeah.
It's her top choice.
She's already started her essay.
Well, it's not a bad choice.
So I understand that it's just you and Tara.
Yeah.
Her father died when she was 6.
Kidney cancer.
I'm sorry.
Are you seeing anybody right now? No, no.
How about casually? What I mean is, well, are there ever any men in the house? I have two jobs and a teenager.
I don't have time for a social life.
So where do you work? I work at Macy's.
In the bridal department.
I also work three days a week as a night receptionist at a law firm.
You know, I imagine it's tough.
Manhattan rent, private school tuition.
Tara's on a scholarship.
But living in Manhattan I've thought about moving but her education's too important.
So after school, when you're at work, who's with your daughter? Luckily, she's on the swim team so she's at school every night till 6, 6:30.
On the days I don't work late, I'm home by then.
On the other nights, yeah, she's alone.
And what does Tara do with that time? She studies.
Anything else? You know, kids, they can get into all sorts of stuff.
She doesn't seem like that kind of girl, but have you noticed anything? There was one thing.
About three months ago, I got out of work early and when I came home, she was here.
I went to Eagle Stationery, got the notebooks you wanted.
They were out of the pens.
What are you doing here? You were supposed to be swimming.
Yeah, I couldn't deal.
Couldn't deal? Tara, we talked about this.
Okay? Harvard doesn't just look at grades.
You have to stand out.
Swimming makes you stand out.
You need that, especially if you wanna get a scholarship.
I didn't feel well, okay? What do you mean, you didn't feel well? God, you're burning up.
What are these? Those are Did you take these? Just a few.
How many is a few? Tara, how many? I don't know.
Who gave you these? Some guy.
Some guy.
What are you doing? Calling 911.
No! It's not a big deal.
It's the homework drug.
Everybody does it.
"Everybody"? I have a lot to do.
I'll hold.
I thought you were smarter than this.
It was a mistake! Look, I'm sorry, okay? Just don't be mad.
Please.
I wasn't mad.
I was out of my mind scared.
So, what did you do? I took her to St.
Luke's ER.
I had her stomach pumped.
They also did a psych evaluation there.
Apparently this homework drug, it's a known thing.
It's like Ritalin.
She had her midterms coming up.
Someone told her it would give her energy, help her focus.
Well, with the private school, lvy League in the future, it's a lot of pressure.
Do you think it's possible she may have done other things to give herself an edge? I don't know.
All right.
What do you got? Security pictures from the bank near where Tara went missing.
Who's this guy? I don't know, but it looks like he's following her.
He could be a client.
What do you mean? Come here.
This is Tara's computer.
Looking through the desktop, I found file after file of research papers.
One on Roman architecture, one on Hobbes one on this thing called Australopithe Okay.
No, not okay.
She's never taken a class on Roman architecture, on philosophy on the austra whatever it's called.
She's writing papers for other people and making a ton of money doing it.
The girl has a 4.
0 grade average.
She's headed to Harvard.
Why would she risk it? Well, little blue pills cost a lot of money.
Well, if this guy is a client, maybe he didn't like her work.
Tara's a fish.
She was born to be in the water.
I was gonna make her team captain.
Was? Sounds like you changed your mind.
No, the reverse.
She quit the team about four months ago.
Really? She say why? She tried.
I need to focus on academics.
What are you talking about? You're a straight A student.
I know, but SAT's are coming.
In six months.
I need to do really well on them.
Tara, quit the B.
S.
It's the truth.
Something is going on with you.
You've been missing practice, your times are going up.
That's just it exactly.
I'm not that good.
And Harvard doesn't give swimming scholarships anyway.
So, what's the point? Look, it's not like I wanna do this, okay? You know how much I love swimming.
This is the only place I can come and think clearly, and everything's okay.
But I can't do it.
Tara, are you in trouble? No.
You sure? I'm not in trouble.
I just wanna get into college.
I'm sorry.
I don't know what the real reason was.
But you don't think she was brushing up on vocab for the SAT's? Do you? Was it drugs? She's a teenager.
It's possible.
But I never saw anything.
Did you ever see any guys hanging around? Was there a boyfriend? No.
I would've noticed that.
Do you recognize this guy? No.
Me either.
So who is he? Did he do something to Tara? I don't know.
I'm gonna give you my card in case you think of anything else.
Gimme a call.
Yeah.
Now, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to talk to you alone.
Can this wait? I have English.
Ms.
Resnick throws a fit if I'm late.
No, this is about your suspension.
I'll talk to you later.
Okay, you were busted for plagiarizing a paper, but you never said who did it.
Was it Tara? I'm not here to get you in trouble, all right? Your friend is missing.
I'm trying to determine if those papers have anything to do with it.
I don't know.
Don't know what? If it has to do with it.
But it could? Yeah.
There's been something going on with her.
These last couple of months she's been, like, a different person.
Just the fact she's writing these papers.
She used to be so competitive, and now she's helping everyone else get A's.
So that's what she's doing in the afternoons? Writing papers instead of swimming? I don't know what she's been doing.
We all used to hang out all the time and now I only see her on the way to SAT prep or when she comes by to drum up business.
Gwen, come on.
I can write you an awesome paper on Madame Bovary.
Don't do it, Gwen.
I know what I did wrong with yours.
It was way too theoretical.
Yours will be much simpler.
No one will ever know.
You'll get an A for sure.
I write an A paper, they'll know.
Well, then I'll write you a B paper.
I'll even write you a C paper if you want.
You couldn't write a C paper if you tried.
Yes, I can.
I've done it.
Someone paid you to get them a C? You paid her to get you suspended.
Come on, Gwen.
I really need the money right now.
Why? What's going on? Nothing.
So, what do you say? I say, no.
I don't care about grades anymore.
Fine.
I gotta go.
How much does she charge per paper? Ten bucks a page.
And did she write a lot of them? Tons.
Any idea what she's using the money for? I have no idea.
Sam, I was finally able to access her e mails.
All the papers she's been writing she's been sending to one account.
"Knicks thirty two"? A.
K.
A.
Ryan Barrett.
He's a freshman at Columbia.
How far do these go back? Four months.
Before that, nothing.
That's right around the time she quit the swim team.
I bet something happened then that made her do this.
Look at this.
The guy from the surveillance photo.
It sure is.
Let's go.
She writes papers for me.
It's not against the law.
Carrying around a bag of prescription medication without a prescription is against the law.
My doctor gave those to me.
You're not helping yourself.
We've checked your bank account.
Fifteen thousand dollars is a lot for a freshman.
You're dealing.
Pills, papers, who knows what else.
If you're stepping it up to kidnapping I'm not a kidnapper.
Why did you follow her? I didn't.
We have it on film.
Looks an awful lot like you, doesn't it? She owed me some papers, so I followed her after school.
Is that why she didn't get on the bus? She saw you? She didn't even know I was there.
I scared the crap out of her.
Tara.
Ryan.
Oh, my God.
What are you doing here? I need those papers.
Look, I can't talk to you right now.
I've got five pissed off customers calling me.
Look, I'm sorry, but I have to go.
They paid up front.
They want their money back.
I'll write them as soon as I can, okay? What the hell am I supposed to do? Tell them they're coming, okay? I'll write them as soon as I can.
I have to go.
You're ruining my credibility.
And that was it? She took off.
Last I saw, she was racing into some deli.
You're quite the businessman.
I didn't force her into this.
She's the one who came to me.
When was that? Four months ago.
Somebody told her I might be able to hook her up with some study aids.
That's when you gave her the drugs? Yeah.
She found out I had this paper thing going, offered to write some.
For more medication? For cash.
She gets her drugs somewhere else.
How do you know she takes them? Come on.
The way she was acting yesterday sweaty and nervous, she's taking something.
She tell you what the money was for? No.
You said she ran into a deli.
You know the name of it? No, but it's on the corner of 96th and Amsterdam.
Let me talk to your big sister.
What do you mean, boyfriend? Who? Some kid from class? Well, you tell your sister I wanna talk to her when she gets in.
Yes, about the boyfriend.
Yeah, I miss you too.
Okay.
Already it's starting.
Yeah, wait until she's 12.
Did you come to depress me? No, I was just at the deli.
They had Tara's cell phone.
Apparently, she was so upset that she left it in the bathroom.
Now, there's a text message on it from yesterday at 5:30 p.
m.
That's after she went missing.
It says, "O.
M.
G.
" What's that? "Oh, my God.
" "Be home 6:30, N.
" Who's N? Well, my guess is, it's Nell Clausen.
So? I send messages to her all the time.
I know you met her last night.
I spoke with your neighbor.
Made a positive ID of Tara.
He also said that you gave her a package at about 6:30.
I also know that 10 minutes before you sent that text message you got a call from a payphone.
Was it Tara? Yeah, but I never spoke to her.
Did you leave a message? What was on it? She told me not to tell anybody.
You know, I really admire loyalty in friendships but you don't have that option right now.
There's this guy.
He and Tara were supposed to get together.
What guy? I don't know his name.
You told me she didn't even have a boyfriend.
He's not a boyfriend.
He's a hookup.
I couldn't tell you about him because he's married.
Is that what the message was about? What about the package? He was supposed to take her somewhere.
Like, away for the night.
There's this dress I have that looks cute on her.
She wanted to borrow it.
She was waiting for it when I got there.
Did you get my message? Yeah.
What happened? I went to his apartment.
Is that why you didn't go to SAT class? Yeah.
He lives right near the bus stop.
Turns out, his wife had to go out of town last minute.
Where's he taking you? I don't know.
He's got a house in the country somewhere.
Oh, my God.
Okay, okay.
Stay here, I'll go get the dress.
Okay.
I am so excited for you.
I know.
I'm pretty excited for myself too.
I came out a couple minutes later, gave her the dress, and she left.
And you have no idea who this guy is? No.
Come on.
Gimme a break.
I don't.
She's your best friend.
She tells you everything.
She doesn't tell you the name of a married guy she's having a fling with? It's true.
She wouldn't tell me.
I swear to you, I don't know.
How long has it been going on? A while.
Look, I think you should drop this whole thing.
Tara's out having a good time with this guy.
Nothing's happened to her.
You're 16 years old.
What the hell would you know? Your friend's out there with some married guy whose name you don't even know, and you think she's fine? Take a look at this.
Right there in the margin.
"Are you going to Fiona's party? Check one.
Yes.
No.
" Just below that.
"Luke Jamison, 1109 Columbus Avenue, Number 315.
" It's from the third week of August.
That's a little over four months ago.
Maybe he's the reason she quit the team.
Maybe he's the married guy.
All right.
Here we go.
Luke Jamison, M.
D.
Graduated NYU Med School in '95.
So, what, that makes him probably 34.
No wonder she kept it a secret.
Dr.
Jamison? Yeah.
We're with the FBI.
We wanna ask a few questions about Tara Patterson.
Who? We found your name in one of her school notebooks.
Sorry, guys.
I Maybe this will jog your memory.
Oh, yeah.
I understand that you took her to your country house last night.
You realize she's a minor? She's 15.
I don't know what you're talking about.
The fact she's missing.
Let's talk about this in my office.
First of all, this is a free clinic.
I can't afford rent on my studio apartment, let alone a country house.
And second, that girl was my patient.
That's it.
I've never seen her outside this clinic, ever.
What was she coming in for? That's confidential.
We can go downtown and get a subpoena but that's gonna slow down the investigation.
Now, why was she here? All right.
When she came in, she said she thought she had food poisoning.
She didn't.
You're pregnant.
What? According to when you had your last period, almost four months.
That's impossible.
I can do another urine test if you want, but I don't have any symptoms.
I'm not getting fat.
No, but it explains why you've been nauseous.
Well, are you sure it's not, like, a lactose thing or something? My mom can't eat dairy.
Well, what about your period? It skips all the time.
When I'm stressed out or swimming a lot.
We need to talk about what we're going to do, looking forward.
I need to get it taken care of.
Tara, you can only terminate a pregnancy within the first 14 weeks.
You're way past that.
What do you mean? You have to do it.
I have a chem test Friday that I need to study for and our first swim meet's next week and there's SAT's, and I'm supposed to go to Harvard.
I can't be pregnant.
But you are.
Okay, so, what? Does that make her seven, eight months along? A little over eight.
And she's a teenager.
That's a risk factor for premature labor.
So she could give birth any time? Eight months? According to the doctor, yeah.
How could I not know? She was good at hiding it.
Not that uncommon.
Her poncho.
I gave it to her last year.
She hated it.
For the last month, she's worn it every day.
A lot of things are gonna make more sense.
Like those pills you found.
She may have been taking them in order to miscarry.
It's why she quit the swim team.
Why wouldn't she tell me? I'm not some ogre.
I would have understood, helped.
She wouldn't have had to go through this by herself.
Maybe she hasn't been.
What do you mean? Any idea who the father is? Eight months ago it was spring break.
She was at Andover.
They have a two week leadership program there.
When she got back she told me all about it.
You're joking, right? No.
Okay.
What? I thought you'd be happy for me.
What about you having sex at 15 could possibly make me happy? I don't know.
The fact that it's something I wanted to do.
So if you wanted to smoke crack I'm supposed to be happy about that.
Please tell me you used a condom.
Tara, if you're gonna be stupid enough to have sex, please be smart enough to Yes! We used a condom.
Okay.
Okay.
Honey, you've got such big plans.
We've both worked so hard for this.
I wanna make sure you're not gonna throw it all away.
I slept with one guy on my spring vacation.
I just wanted to have fun.
For once.
Where are you going? Out.
Tara! She didn't come home till after dark.
This kid from Andover.
Do you know his name? I asked her.
She wouldn't tell me.
A base is a solution with more OH ions than H ions.
What's Avogadro's theorem? That matter can be neither created nor destroyed.
Did you find her yet? No, not yet.
They're making us take our chem exam.
Can you believe that? Do you know if she met some guy from Andover last spring? Yeah.
What was his name? All I remember is that they went skinny dipping together.
Gavin.
Don't remember his last name.
His first name was Gavin.
Do you know where I can find him? I think he goes to Keenan Prep.
Thank you.
By the way, you were wrong.
Avogadro's theorem says that equal volumes of different gases contain the same number of molecules.
I knew that.
Where were you yesterday around 4:00? Basketball practice.
And after that? I was at home.
What's this about? About Tara Patterson.
She's been missing for 24 hours.
She's also eight months pregnant.
She got pregnant when she was at Andover, around the time she met you.
Yeah, I knew she'd gotten pregnant, but she told me she'd taken care of it.
Last night was the first I'd spoken to her in three months.
You spoke to her last night? What time? I was asleep.
I didn't even know who it was when she called.
Who? Tara Patterson.
Hey, what's up? I'm sorry.
Did I wake you? Yeah.
I have a midterm tomorrow.
Do you mind if I call in a couple days? Actually, I sort of need to talk to you now.
Do you remember when I called you and told you that I was pregnant and I was gonna take care of it? Yeah.
That really wasn't true.
I mean, I was pregnant, but it was too late to do anything so it looks like I'm having it.
Hello? I'm sorry, did you just say you're having a baby? I know you need to sleep, but it's starting to hurt and I need some help.
What? You're having it right now? Can you come over, please? Just for a little while.
You don't ever have to see me again.
I don't believe this.
You're telling me this now? I didn't have anyone else to call.
Call a doctor.
I don't have one.
I don't have anyone.
Tara, I can't leave.
I'm sorry.
If you don't come, I'm gonna do something to the baby.
I swear to God I will.
Look, Tara, I can't help you, okay? Thanks.
Thanks a lot.
I know.
I should have called an ambulance.
But I was so freaked out.
Do you have any idea where she was? No.
Are you sure she said she was going to hurt the baby? I thought she was bluffing, but yeah.
Jack.
We ran Gavin's phone records.
Tara called from Lewis Clausen's office on the Upper West Side.
How is he related to Nell Clausen? He's her father.
All right.
Open up.
FBI.
Hello? Hi.
Hi.
What are you doing under there? I'm not sure.
This is Agent Fitzgerald.
Hi.
Nice to meet you.
Wanna come out here and lie to me some more? Where's Tara and the baby? They were both gone when I got here.
I have no idea where they are, I swear.
You know, you're really starting to piss me off.
Sorry.
I know you think you're helping your friend but she's walking around with a newborn and if anything happens to that baby, she's going to jail and I'm gonna hold you responsible as an accessory.
I was just trying to be a good friend.
If you really wanna be a good friend, start by telling the truth.
Okay.
How long have you known about this? A few months.
How did you find out? I figured it out in the locker room.
Since she couldn't have an abortion, what was she gonna do? We had a plan.
We came up with it together.
You should tell your mother.
Are you kidding? She'd shoot me and then herself if she ever found out.
I just have to go somewhere where I can have the thing and no one will know.
What about my sister? In California? Oh, my God.
It's genius.
She's a nurse.
And she's totally cool, right? She wouldn't tell a soul.
Okay.
Well, it's already been five months so November, December, January, February.
I'm sure I can get enough money together by then for a bus ticket.
What about your mom? Well, I guess at first she'll think I ran away.
After a few days, I'll call and tell her I had a nervous breakdown.
She'll totally believe that.
And the baby? I don't know.
I can't talk about that right now, okay? All I know is I'm going to California.
It would've worked.
Except that she went into early labor.
And the married guy.
You made that up, right? Sorry.
But she did come to my apartment for clothes.
Hers were all wet.
And a blanket.
And I gave her the keys to my dad's office.
So why didn't you come with her? It was my mom's birthday.
I had to have dinner with her.
I snuck out at around 11, after my parents went to bed.
And how was she when you got here? Not good.
Oh, my God! Oh, my God! It says here you have to stay relaxed.
"Tenseness of the body intensifies the sensation of pain.
" I can't do this! I can't! It also says we should be timing the contractions.
"Place a hand on the mother's abdomen.
You will feel a hardening ball.
Time the intervals.
" I don't have a watch.
Do you have a watch? Shut up, Nell! Shut up! I'm sorry! Oh, God, it hurts! I really think we need to call 911.
No, you can't! You can't! Okay, okay.
Is it getting any better? Yeah, a little.
I'm sorry I told you to shut up.
No, it's okay.
Do you wanna walk around? I read it goes faster if you walk around.
No, I just I just wanna lie here.
Okay.
It went on like that all night.
So, what time was the baby born? Around 5 in the morning.
I had to cut the umbilical cord with a pair of scissors.
It was so intense.
Was the baby okay? I don't know.
I guess.
Was the baby breathing? Well, yeah, it was screaming.
But I was more concerned about Tara.
She was crying so hard.
She wouldn't even look at it.
So, what happened after that? I had to check in at home.
So you just left her here? I was gonna come right back but then you made me go to the bus stop and followed me to school.
By the time I got here, she was gone.
We gotta check the dumpsters in the area.
Danny, call Sanitation find out when they pick up the trash around Nell's father's office.
If it's today, ask them to hold off.
What about safe havens? We're calling all of them.
If she's on foot, she's probably still in Manhattan.
And if she's left the baby outside and nobody's found it yet we got about two hours before it freezes to death.
Yeah, so I was headed outside to have a smoke when I saw this young girl.
She was sitting She was sitting right there.
This her? Yeah, that's her.
You talk to her? Well, I wasn't planning on it, but then I heard the baby cry.
Is that yours? Yeah.
Boy? Girl? Girl.
What's her name? She doesn't have one.
Well, whatever you name her, she has your eyes.
Hey, you wanna bring her inside? Make sure she's okay.
We'll get you both warmed up.
I'll buy you a cup of hot chocolate.
No.
Okay.
Well, how about I go get a blanket, a washcloth and at the very least, we could clean this white stuff off her, you know? She's probably hungry too.
I'll show you what to do when I get back.
Wait here, okay? Don't leave.
So then when I came back out, she was gone.
Did you call Security? Yeah.
They looked up and down the street, but couldn't find her.
When you called, I knew exactly who you were looking for.
Okay, thank you for your help.
Good luck.
Thanks.
Okay, she could've left the baby here, no harm, no foul.
Why didn't she? Not ready to give it up yet.
Tara picked her college, she was going to California to have her baby.
She's a planner, and she doesn't have a plan.
And she needs somewhere warm to sit and think about what she's gonna do.
She lives uptown, this bus goes downtown.
Right near the school.
Yeah, Martin, I found her.
She's by the pool.
Hi.
My name is Jack.
I'm with the FBI.
We been looking for you.
Would you mind if I sat down next to you? It's nice here.
I could see why you'd wanna come here.
It's quiet.
You can think.
She's beautiful.
Thanks.
She had anything to eat? I just fed her.
You know, your mom's worried sick about you.
Yeah.
Does she know? Kind of had to tell her.
Hey, do you mind if I hold the baby? Just to make sure she's okay? Come here.
Come here, sweetie.
I got you.
Hello.
Hello.
Oh, it's okay.
Oh, she is beautiful.
So do you have a plan yet? Sort of.
That's good.
My mom's not gonna think so.
Well, you know what parents are like.
No matter how old you get, you're always their baby.
It doesn't matter if you threw up on them or kept them up all night because you were crying or because you got pregnant.
In the end all they wanna do is hold you and tell you that they love you.
Do you have a name? Rose.
That's beautiful.
It's my grandma's name.
Well, welcome to the world, Rose.
You wanna go back with your mother? Come on.
Here we go.
What do you say we take the two of you to the hospital make sure you're okay? Okay.
Okay.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
It's okay.
Oh, baby.
Thank you.
Adapted by: