Without a Trace s05e06 Episode Script

Daddy.
- Daddy.
- Caleb.
Caleb, wait right there.
I'm coming for you.
- Here I come.
- Daddy.
Stay right there, okay? Daddy.
Stay right there.
I've gotta get Jadon.
Daddy, don't leave me.
Wait right there, Caleb.
Daddy.
- Jadon.
Hold on.
Hold on, I'm coming right there.
Jadon, Daddy's coming for you.
- Wait right there.
Daddy.
- Jadon! Jadon! Daddy.
Help me, Daddy.
Help me.
Help me, Daddy.
Help me, Daddy.
Daddy, help me.
Help me, Daddy.
No kiss? Hey.
I wanted to get an early start.
I didn't wanna wake you.
I'm awake now.
- Call me when you get there, okay? - All right.
As soon as I get settled.
The arson investigator said the fire started somewhere in the center of the truck, not in the engine or gas tank.
Any sign of an accelerant? They're running some tests.
But he's pretty sure that's what they're gonna find.
This windshield was smashed in.
- A fire like that would've just melted it.
Yeah.
- What time the N.
Y.
P.
D.
Call it in? - Uh, about 3 a.
m.
They called his wife, um, Sherise.
She told them he'd left their motel yesterday headed to a construction job in New Jersey.
This isn't on the way to Jersey.
They relocated to New York from New Orleans after the hurricane.
So, you know, maybe he got lost and ended up with a Bad Samaritan.
Listen, do they have any kind of security patrols, any surveillance cameras? No, not that we've found but most of the people use guard dogs around here.
Huh.
Man, first flood, then fire.
If it wasn't for bad luck, this guy would have no luck at all.
Stop.
- Stop.
- So he was headed to New Jersey? I'm not sure.
After he got let go from the Could you stop it? - After he got let go, he said Stop.
Caleb Gibbs, please.
I know that you're upset about Daddy but you being mean to Jadon won't make you feel better.
- I'm sorry.
- No, that's okay.
Mrs.
Gibbs, why don't I take the guys out for fresh air? I'm sure that's not part of your job description.
You'd be surprised.
All right, go on.
- Hurry up.
- All right, let's go.
Let's go.
Come on.
Whoa.
I think somebody needs to go on a diet.
It's been hard on them.
All of us packed into this little room.
And now Aaron Speaking of Aaron, you said he lost his job.
- Mm-hm.
Three days ago.
- Did he say why? He broke something.
L I don't understand why it was such a big deal.
Things like that happen all the time.
I can't believe they'd fire you over dropping some stupid doors.
Does Chuck know? - I don't want any more favors.
- Aaron, we need the money.
- Don't you think I know that? - Shh.
- I'm sorry.
- It's okay.
Hey, I was, uh I was at the library today getting the boys some books.
I came across this article on Greenville, South Carolina.
What's in Greenville? Plenty of skilled jobs, cheap housing.
We don't know anybody in South Carolina.
Look, we are on the shortlist for that apartment.
I'm about to be certified as a nurse's aide.
- This is just temporary.
- I'm tired of temporary.
Tired of wearing other people's clothes, charity jobs.
I'm tired of watching my boys have to play in some parking lot.
Moving is not gonna change that.
Oh, baby, we can do this together.
We just need time.
And then the next day he told me he found a temporary job in New Jersey.
- But he didn't say where in New Jersey? - No.
- Who's Chuck? - He's Aaron's cousin.
He runs the construction company.
He gave Aaron a job.
That's why we moved here.
I hate to ask this, but it's part of my job so I'll go ahead and do it.
Aaron was frustrated, he lost his job.
Do you think it's possible he just ran off? Aaron risked his life to save his kids and he went back to save others.
He is not a man who runs off.
Right.
Viv, I can't find any calls from the motel's pay phone that relate to a job in New Jersey.
- Cell phone? - They don't have one.
- What does this look like to you? Looks like a leg.
I don't know.
- Where was it? - Under the wiper blade.
It's like one of those advertising cards for a concert or a strip club.
Whoever put it there might have seen what happened.
That's a seven color printing.
It could have been done anywhere.
It's difficult to track down who ordered them.
But if they were passed around we might find some on other windshields or in a dumpster.
- Okay, I'll have someone check it out.
- Thanks.
A lot of my extended family came out here after the storm.
Aaron and Sherise are the only ones who stayed.
Was he a good employee? Man, he had a cabinet business back in New Orleans.
He could do this job with his eyes closed.
- Then why'd you fire him? - I didn't fire him.
He told his wife that he was let go.
Tony.
Tony.
I shuttle back and forth between four different job sites.
I don't do the day-to-day management.
These guys are from the FBI, looking for Aaron.
I haven't seen him since he quit.
He wouldn't quit.
He needed this job.
- He's nuts.
- What do you mean by nuts? Three days ago we were blowing up two stories of reinforced concrete.
After the signal I did the final check.
Aaron was nowhere to be seen so I went looking for him.
Aaron.
Aaron, why the hell are you still in here? I found some copper piping I thought we could recycle.
- Didn't you hear the blast warning? - No.
- How could you not? - I didn't hear it.
Get the wax out of your ears, you almost got killed.
Well, you saved me, so everything is cool.
- What's up with you? - Nothing.
- You heard the blast signal, didn't you? - What the hell are you talking about? You wanna kill yourself? I'll give you 5 bucks to go to the top of the Empire State Building, but not here.
- He packed up and left an hour later.
- You had no idea this was going on? - No.
- I'm sorry, Chuck.
- I didn't think it was my place.
- No, I got it.
That's okay.
Is there anything else? No.
I think that's That's it for now.
- Thank you.
- Come here, let me talk to you.
Uh, hey, guys.
What do you keep in these blue bottles over here? Uh, paint thinner.
Pretty sure we found the melted version of those in his truck.
I think we did.
You know, what if this guy killed himself and tried to make it look like something else happened? It's possible.
Call Harbor Patrol.
Have them check around Whitestone Bridge to see if they can dredge up a body.
Aaron Gibbs.
No.
Sorry, I don't know him.
What time were you putting these promo cards on windshields? - Where did you find it? - The Bronx.
I don't go out there.
No, I stay in lower Manhattan, sometimes Brooklyn.
So whoever picked it up, picked it up in one of those places.
Huh.
Well, we found four more in a nearby dumpster.
Isn't it amazing how all those people from Manhattan and Brooklyn all drove to the same place? Yeah, go figure.
Huh.
You sure the women on your website are all over 18? I mean, you know what happens if one of them isn't.
- What do you want? - I wanna know if you've seen him.
There's a fight club in a warehouse nearby.
It's a SmutSuperstore kind of crowd.
So I go by, I paper some cars, I stay for the fights.
How does Gibbs figure into all that? He gets in the ring.
Yeah.
Yeah.
- Yeah.
Get up.
Hey, come on.
Come on.
A bit later, I smell smoke.
And when I went outside, the truck was on fire.
What's the name of the man who grabbed him? Name's Fletcher.
He organizes the fights and the gambling on the side.
Any idea why he had a problem with Gibbs? I don't like to stick my nose where it don't belong.
That look familiar? It should, because that's your jacket.
It's soaked with paint thinner.
- So? - That's what you used to torch Aaron Gibbs' truck.
- Wasn't me.
- We got a witness.
Saw you drag him from the fight club.
I really don't know what you're talking about.
The first rule of fight club: Don't talk about fight club.
Well, how many of these illegal fights have you staged? Because you do know that the fine is $ 10,000 per fight.
So just tell us what happened when you dragged him outside.
He stole money from me.
I just wanted it back.
A bunch of money's missing from the cash drawer.
Billy saw you walk away from the office.
- Well, Billy's wrong.
- Nobody else was back there.
Give me that.
That's not mine.
Tell me where my money is.
- You need money this bad? - Come on, come on.
Don't do that, okay? Look, I'd give you the money if I could.
Have a nice ride home.
We left him.
I didn't see him after that.
Is there anyone who can confirm that besides the guys that were with you? - I can give you a few names.
- A few? A few is three.
I'm gonna need more than that.
- So how much money was missing? - A couple thousand bucks.
He must have hid it somewhere before the fight.
You threatened to set him on fire.
Do you honestly think he wasn't gonna give it back? The guy fights without gloves for 50 bucks.
Who knows what he would have done for that kind of money? No, I am not gonna say anything to your parole officer.
But you have to promise me that you're not gonna do it again.
Okay.
All right, the promoter's story checks out.
There was a fire, he and his thugs went back into the club.
And the guy I just talked to reported his car stolen last night.
Why wasn't that on the N.
Y.
P.
D.
Log? He's on parole.
He's not supposed to be at a fight.
He reported the car stolen from his home along with his cell phone he left on the seat.
How'd you get consent to look through his records? What can I say? He loved my accent and my voice.
- I like your voice and your accent.
- Yeah.
Okay, so let me see.
Yeah, there's a 15-second phone call at 9 p.
m.
That night.
To who? I got a call, but I didn't recognize the caller ID so I let it roll over to voice mail.
Did you check the message? Static.
- Uh, I couldn't hear anything.
- Mr.
Barr, at this point there are too many things that you know nothing about.
What do you mean? Well, you didn't know that your own cousin was suicidal.
You don't know much about a phone call you received the night he went missing.
So either you're lying or you're being stupid.
You wanna talk about the phone call? Why, so you can pick him up and throw him in jail? - You think he deserves to be in jail? - He's a black man.
Does it matter? Does your cousin love his wife and kids? Yeah, more than anything.
Then wouldn't it make sense that he'd wanna go home and be with them? Look, wherever you think he is something has gone wrong.
So why don't we just cut to the chase? Let's talk about the phone call.
You talked to him, right? - Yeah.
- What did you talk about? He told me he wanted to come by and see me.
Hey.
Hey.
What happened to you? They cold? - Cold enough.
Listen, I need you to do me a favor.
What's going on? I need you to look after Sherise and the kids for me.
There's something I gotta do.
Are you in trouble? I just need you to look after Sherise and the kids.
Sure.
You know, I know a lot of our people are hanging their heads because their homes washed away.
I know it must be hard to lose everything.
I didn't ask for your pity.
No.
No, you're asking me to take care of your business.
You ever think about what happened, maybe it happened for a reason? I mean like it was a test? It was a weather pattern.
I mean, it didn't happen to you, it just happened.
You know, nothing you do is gonna bring back what you had.
You know, the only test you have is Sherise and the kids and this new life.
I need you to think about that.
I just need you to look after my family, okay? So I gave him a change of clothes and he left.
- Where was he going? - He didn't say.
You aware that he stole $2000? No.
Any idea why he'd do that? Well, before the hurricane, Aaron had trouble with the IRS.
Now, he tried to work it out but it wasn't like the Big Easy was a boomtown back then.
We didn't find any trouble with the IRS when we did our research.
He paid it.
He borrowed the money from From this guy in, uh, construction finance.
What's his name? Aaron called him, uh Big Bobby.
I wouldn't have let him fight, not if I'd known about it.
You ever notice any bruises? He had a couple and some cuts.
He said he got them at work.
But he wouldn't let me touch them and I just thought I don't know what I thought.
Why was he doing this? He might have tried to borrow money from a guy named Big Bobby.
- Does that ring any bells to you? - No.
It's like we're talking about someone else, not Aaron.
Is there any other way that he might have tried to raise money? People he could call, things he could sell? Nobody we know has anything of value left.
What about the gold watch? What gold watch? Um, your husband was seen with a gold watch after the fight.
Apparently it's of some value.
It was gold? Does that mean something to you? Caleb has nightmares.
They're about different things, but there's a big gold clock in a lot them and he won't talk about it.
Would you mind if I talked to your son? No, go ahead.
How you doing, there, tiger? Your name Caleb? Did your mom tell you who I was? - A policeman.
- That's right.
- I'm trying to find your dad.
- He left before breakfast.
Okay.
That's good.
That's a good thing to know.
Did he say where he was going? No.
Is there anything that you could tell me that could help me find him? Doesn't have to be big.
Could be a little thing.
Sometimes little things really help.
What about, uh? What about a gold watch? Do you know anything about that? Caleb, do you like stories? Yeah.
Can I tell you one? I need you to really concentrate on my story, okay? So can you close your eyes? Go ahead, sweetheart.
This nice lady works here and she wants to help us.
Go ahead.
My story is about a boy named Billy.
And he's 6 years old, just like you.
And he spent the whole day playing baseball.
It made him really tired.
So Billy sat under a tree.
And there was a breeze.
And the leaves from the trees moved back and forth.
It made Billy even more tired.
So he decided to take a nap.
And in the cool grass he fell sound asleep.
Sound asleep.
Tell me about the gold watch.
Where did you see it? In the boat.
But what will Wilson do if the water comes up more? He'll go somewhere high.
That's what hamsters do.
Where's Mommy? She's helping Grandma to be safe.
We're on our way to her now.
Hey.
Over here.
Hey.
Help.
Everybody's gone.
- Had to break through my roof.
- Give me your hand.
- Help me.
- Hold on.
I gotta get up.
Hey, hey, hey.
Daddy.
- Come over there.
- Go to the roof.
I'll come over there.
- Don't leave me.
Hold on.
I got my kids in here.
Get me out of here.
Come on, man, don't leave me.
Daddy.
Hold on, hold on, hold on.
Daddy.
- Hey, you gotta stop it.
Take my hand.
The boat.
No.
Stop it.
Caleb.
Gold watch can't hurt you anymore.
So you can open your eyes and feel happy and loved.
Why wouldn't he tell his wife? I have one word for you.
- Manslaughter.
- But it's so unlikely that anyone would convict him for trying to protect his children.
Yeah, well, he doesn't know that.
Here's the picture of the neighborhood.
Here is where he dropped the kids off.
And this here is Aaron and Sherise's place in the 9th Ward.
And there's about 40 houses with broken roofs along the way.
- How would he know who the guy was? - He knew what he looked like.
But he'd need access to information to track him or his family down.
Maybe he went to an internet café.
Library? I know Aaron.
He comes into the library all the time to get books for his kids.
- Have you seen him recently? - Uh, he was in two days ago.
Did he use a computer while he was there? Yes.
He was looking for a friend from New Orleans.
Aaron, I didn't realize you were still here.
The library's about to close.
Uh, I'm almost done.
- Is everything okay? - Yeah.
If I wanted to print out a picture, what would I do? - Oh, just hit control-P.
- Oh, great.
Thank you.
Oh.
I guess you found him.
- What? - Your friend.
Oh, yeah, yeah.
Is that his son? He's very handsome.
Yeah, he is.
Then he left.
- I haven't seen him since.
- Did you see anything on the picture? - A name or a number? - No.
Sorry.
Look, I'm gonna need to borrow that computer.
- Okay.
- All right.
Thanks.
Agent Spade? Where are the boys? - They're sleeping in your break room.
I thought maybe it would be okay if I came up to get an update.
You know, I'll make sure Mrs.
Gibbs gets back.
Thanks.
A policeman in New Orleans found Big Bobby for us.
He was running a contracting scam.
He's been in jail for the past six months.
So Aaron is trying to find that man.
If he's still alive, or his family.
It looks like that, yeah.
But why hasn't he called me? I don't know.
If he were okay, he'd call me.
You shouldn't jump to conclusions.
- We're still working - You know, I can still see it.
Even if I'm not looking at some pictures.
I lived that.
You know, we just kept waiting.
All those days.
And after a while the water and the dead bodies and the fear It was never going to end.
I would have done anything to save my boys.
I can't imagine what it must have been like.
I'm sure you've seen hard things.
It's not the same.
But they stay with you, don't they? Yeah, they do.
As for what Aaron did even if he thought he had to it it's in his soul.
He can't let it go.
The library computers delete web histories after one day so I can't track the website.
Can you figure out what he threw into the queue? Print queues are self-flushing.
But it seems pretty obvious he was visiting Katrina clearing-house sites.
So I sent a web crawler through all of them looking for the names of the victims you gave me.
- How many did that narrow it down to? - One.
Meet Joseph Lewis and his son Jesse.
I haven't seen Jess since your people called me.
But we're not usually awake at the same time.
Most nights he's out scavenging through abandoned houses looking for stuff to sell.
- How long has he lived here? Couple months.
After the floods he went to Ohio, stayed with an aunt.
He came back to New Orleans to look for his dad.
Did he have reason to think his father was alive? I don't think so.
I just get the feeling that without the body It's been really hard for him to deal with everything.
How about this guy? The FEMA guy? Ha.
He was here yesterday.
- He doesn't work for FEMA.
- Why would anybody pretend they did? - Good way to get your ass kicked.
- What did he want? He said Jess had some money coming.
Hansen's Sno-Bliz reopened.
That's good.
Yeah, it's still delicious.
You should try it.
Jesse Lewis? - Yeah, who wants to know? Aaron Gibbs.
- Well, do I know you? - He works for FEMA.
Well, actually, I Is there anywhere we can talk in private? - Be nice, he brought you money.
- Money? This must be my lucky day.
How much? It's $2000, but I need to talk to you.
There's some things Why don't you just give me the money now and we could talk later? - Matt, you want a drink? - I'd rather have the rent money.
I'm not gonna spend it all.
I promise.
I don't wanna give you this money until I make sure you have Why is what I do any of your business? Thanks.
I asked if him there was money for me.
He just said no.
- And that was it? - He wanted to know what bar Jess might be headed to.
I gave him a couple of ideas and he left.
I'm gonna need to know what those are too.
Jack.
Found this behind the bed in Jesse's room.
Looks like Aaron found him.
Yes, I faxed you his picture.
Did you see him last night? Okay, thank you very much.
Bye.
So, what was it, a microwave? That's interesting.
Okay, do me a favor.
You have my number.
If you see him, call me.
Thank you so much.
Kid didn't go to any of the bars on my list.
He had a couple of beers at a place called Izzy's.
He's a regular.
Okay, how does a 16-year-old become a regular at a bar? Lots of reasons to drown his sorrows and no one to keep him from doing it? Where does he get money? Well, the owner said that the kid sometimes trades for drinks.
The microwave? Yup, he found it inside an abandoned home near the bar.
Hey, I think I found Jesse.
If it's him, he just bought a bus ticket that leaves New Orleans in 20 minutes.
All right, listen up.
Everyone needs to step outside.
There's gonna be a short delay.
Let's go.
Not you.
- Jesse Lewis? What's going on? FBI.
Why's everybody in my business all of a sudden? We think you know why.
It'd be better if you told us what happened.
Get out of my face.
Why don't you just settle down, tell us where he is? Aaron is a coward.
Creeping around, pretending to be somebody he's not.
Yeah, we know that.
A watch and some money doesn't even begin to make up for anything.
Yeah, your dad was worth more than that.
You damn right he was.
Now he knows what it feels like to be left behind.
Who's there? It's me, Jesse.
Are you some type of queer? Why you keep following me? - Why won't you leave me alone? - Look, I needed to talk to you.
I wasn't straight up with you.
I don't work for the government.
Well, I'm still keeping your money.
Jesse, I need to talk to you about your father.
What about my father? - I saw him.
- You saw him where? - When? When did you see him? - That night that the levees broke.
That doesn't help me.
- Me and my boys, we were in our boat.
- Why are you still talking to me, man? - What do you want from me? - Your father, he wanted to get in.
And I tried.
I tried to help him.
But then the The boat started rocking and I just I kept thinking that my sons, you know I kept I kept thinking that my sons were gonna fall out.
And your father, he wouldn't let go.
Where did you get this? - It slipped off his arm.
- So why didn't you give it back? What did you do to him? Your father's dead, Jesse.
No.
How do you know that? Because I killed him.
You what? You what? - What? - I'm sorry.
- You think money makes that okay? - That wasn't what I thought.
- I just want you to understand - Understand what? Get away, just get away.
Just get away.
Look, I get it.
Listen to me, Jesse, you're 16 years old.
If you let this man die, your life's finished.
There's nothing that you two guys can do to me to make my life worse than it already is.
I got nothing left.
I got nothing.
Mr.
Gibbs? Aaron Gibbs, are you down there? Yeah.
My name's Jack Malone from the FBI.
Are you hurt? I don't think so.
- Can you move your legs? - Yeah.
Unh.
Are you okay? Yeah.
Unh.
I'm too old for this crap.
You okay? Gonna get you out of here.
- Just keep still.
- All right.
I gotta move this.
How you holding up? What's gonna happen with Jesse? You know, he's a minor.
There's a number of options.
I keep thinking if You know, maybe if my family had been on the roof and his father in the boat things would have turned out differently.
Yeah.
You and your sons would have died waiting for help.
Doesn't make what I did right.
There hasn't been one night in 14 months that I've closed my eyes and not seen his father.
I don't know, I was just thinking maybe if I came down here and talked to him.
If I If I just told him.
A long time ago, when I was first joined the bureau there was, um a little 8-year-old girl who went missing on her way home from school.
And I put in 20 hours a day for three months just trying to find her.
And I got nothing.
And I think about her.
You know, from From time to time.
But I think about her mother every day.
You do the best you can.
You You did the best you could.
What do I do now? You go back to your family.
And then what? This way, this way.
He all right? No.
There's no excuse for what they let happen down there.
It's unbelievable.
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