Law & Order Special Victims Unit s12e01 Episode Script

In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous, In new york city, the dedicated detectives Who investigate these vicious felonies Are members of an elite squad known as the special victims unit.
These are their stories.
- That sounds great, mackenzie! - What? - You sound like a rock star.
Love you too, mom.
It's an "a"! Sweetie, it's "a"! You're hitting the "g"! You gotta hit the "a"! Mackenzie? Honey? Mackenzie! Mackenzie, the door is stuck! Honey! Who is out there? Mackenzie, answer me! If you touch my baby, I'll kill you! Help! I'm trapped in here! Please, come back with my baby! Call 911! Can you describe the perpetrator? No, I never saw him.
He locked me in the bathroom.
Did he say anything to you? No, no.
I was 20 feet away, And there was nothing I could do to protect her.
Where's your husband? He's at work, where he always is.
He said he'd be right here.
I don't know why it's taking him so long.
Do you have any idea who took mackenzie? One of these men.
You keep a file of child molesters.
Who live within a ten-block radius of our apartment.
I printed it off the sex offenders registry.
I live here, damn it! Oh, my god.
I--I can't go through this again.
I can't.
Again? Mackenzie's gone missing before? Our other daughter, ella, was abducted ten years ago.
Was that ever resolved? No.
She's still out there.
She's still out there.
What if--what if he's been watching her all these years, And he came back for mackenzie? I always keep the front door locked and deadbolted.
Okay, well, there's no sign of forced entry now.
Does anybody else have a key? No.
You noticed anything missing? What does it matter? We're just wasting time.
Shouldn't we be out there looking for her? We've already issued an amber alert, But even the smallest detail that you can give us Could help us find your daughter.
Where's her backpack? Well, I hung it on the chair This morning when I was cleaning.
Maybe she brought it in the dining room.
Check your purse.
- For what? - Missing credit cards.
If the kidnapper used them, we can track him that way.
Seems like a pair is missing.
Oh, she must be wearing her wheelie sneakers.
Pamela almost killed me when I bought them for her.
The cards are all here, But I took out $200 from the atm yesterday and it's missing.
Why would he leave the cards? Mrs.
Burton, are you absolutely positive That somebody else was in your apartment? Yes! He locked me in the bathroom.
But you didn't actually see or hear him.
No.
No.
Wait a minute.
What are you accusing my wife of? Nothing, but we just have to ask.
Now, has mackenzie ever run away before? No! Never! I am telling you, someone took my daughter! This is the only way out of the building.
I signed for those for mrs.
Schwartz in 7-g.
Ooh! Brat better not have broken anything.
Freeze it.
That's definitely mackenzie.
Keep going.
No sign of any kidnappers.
Girl just went for a joy skate.
I don't understand.
How could she put us through this, Knowing what happened to ella? No, it's him.
I know it.
Mackenzie would never do this by herself.
Yeah, well, the first thing we need to do Is contact all of her friends.
She's probably at one of their houses.
- No! - We just moved here.
She hasn't had time to make friends.
What about her school? I homeschool her.
So she never leaves your sight? No, no, never.
Maybe she needed a little space.
Mackenzie is ten! She doesn't need space! She needs someone to watch her and protect her, Which I've given up my life to do! What about her computer? Does she do her schoolwork on it? Yes, but we don't let her on it Without someone monitoring her.
Actually I let her on it last night.
But you were watching her, right? There was a mets game on.
Kevin! She was sitting right there, pam.
One hour, kevin.
I asked you one hour to watch her.
She cleared the history.
Pretty savvy for a kid with limited computer access.
But someone had to teach her how.
An internet predator.
We have a tech who can retrieve anything.
So can I, actually.
We installed a program that records Every site mackenzie goes on, Every keystroke.
Wow, that'sDiligent.
Yeah.
This is from-- from last night.
"mack10," that's obviously mackenzie.
"hey, mack, got ur snail mail.
Miss u 2"? Who's she emailing? Who's eddie d? I don't know.
Pam? "r u finally ready?" "totally.
I'm so outta here.
My smother is a nitemare.
" She's talking about me.
"wish I cud hide u here, But if marie found u, she'd kil us both.
" All right, this isn't new.
He's been grooming her.
- See? I knew it.
"run away with me?" "yes! Grand central "c u there.
" Aw, we're too late.
It's five after.
They were supposed to meet at 12:00.
They haven't gotten on a train yet.
Let's split up.
I need you to shut it down for a half an hour.
- Which train? - All of them.
Yeah.
That's not gonna happen.
Sorry.
I'm on my lunch break.
Just give me two seconds.
Take a look at this.
She'd be traveling with an older man.
You know how many people come through here every hour? I stopped looking at faces years ago.
Mackenzie! Mackenzie! Mackenzie! - Excuse me, nypd.
- Excuse me, sorry.
Mackenzie! - Excuse me.
Nypd.
Mackenzie! Mackenzie! Mackenzie! Mackenzie! Mackenzie! That's her! That's her! That's her! Where? It's her! He changed her clothes! - Where? - Mackenzie! Mackenzie! You're not going anywhere with my daughter! Let go of my daughter.
I'm sorry.
I-I-I was sure it was her.
She--she had the same walk as mackenzie.
She's not gonna be here.
We should be checking the trains.
We have officers on every track.
I need back-up in vanderbilt hall.
Close all the exits.
Mackenzie! Whoa, wait, wait, wait! You, don't move! - Let go of me! - Mr.
Burton! - You bastard! Mr.
Burton! Mr.
Burton, calm down! Calm down! No! - Calm down, please.
- Relax, relax.
Relax.
Hey, are you okay? Do you need medical attention? No.
No, I'm okay.
Great, 'cause you're under arrest.
Hey, what for? You have the right to remain silent.
Anything you say can and will be used Against you in a court of law.
You have the right to an attorney.
If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you.
- My name is not Eddie.
- It's Erik Weber.
You're not the only genius Surfing the internet with a fake name.
Erik/eddie? You couldn't come up With a different first initial? Look, I just met that little girl today, okay? Oh, so it was strictly an online relationship until now.
There is no relationship.
Yeah, well, you two certainly seemed to be chatting it up Like you were best friends.
I thought she was a runaway, So I bought a couple of sodas, Caught up with her in the waiting hall To talk her into going home.
Really? No, to her parents.
So you roam the city, saving children in peril.
Is that it? I've also been known to rescue kittens and lost puppies.
I was trying to help.
Ask mackenzie.
Was the man you were with at grand central eddie d? Bite me.
Oh, stop it.
Honey, answer him.
Was that the man you that were talking to on the internet? You know, the one that you told I was a nightmare? How did you see that? I deleted it.
He tricked you into running away with him, didn't he? He didn't trick me.
It was my idea.
I still can't believe you read my email.
Just so you know, nobody's emails are private.
Munch.
There are agencies that monitor every word we type.
Okay, listen, is this eddie d? Yes.
He's not gonna get in trouble, is he? Come on, he's really nice.
How many times have I told you not to talk to strange men? You know what they can do to you, sweetie.
He didn't do any sex things.
- Did he touch you? - No! - Are you sure? - Stop! Mrs.
Burton, can we talk outside for a second? No, I'm not leaving mackenzie.
No, no.
Pamela, please, let these people do their jobs.
No.
Not everyone is out to harm us.
Okay.
All right, well, I would be more comfortable With the female detective, the nice one.
You're an idiot.
You don't think that we're tracing this Back to you as we speak? No.
I didn't write this.
The lies aren't helping you any here, pal.
I'm not lying.
Look I don't even know anyone named marie.
Oh, I'm betting you do.
Some poor patsy that you deluded Into thinking that she was your girlfriend, Who's oh so understanding about your dysfunctional sex life? Who you trot out just to throw people off The fact that you're a pedophile! Would you stop calling me that? I would never hurt a child.
I am a member of c.
O.
A.
P.
"citizens organized against predators.
" It's a neighborhood watch group.
I also volunteer as a mentor.
So you can get unsupervised access to kids.
So a man cannot help a child without Without being a suspect? Are you really that jaded? With perverts like you out there? You bet, I am.
My sister My sister Was raped.
And it destroyed her.
And when I was 16, She killed herself.
So what you are accusing me of I would never.
Detectives? Mackenzie confirmed that erik here is, in fact, The infamous eddie d.
Really? You doubted it? Not too may pedophiles make goo-goo eyes at you The way he was.
You fell for that shtick? He's a manipulator.
Well, let's turn the tables.
Mackenzie's only ten.
Who knows if she's even swearable.
The d.
A.
Is gonna want a full confession.
Hold up, liv.
I'm gonna have to pull you.
Why? You're gonna have to finish interviewing mackenzie.
Her mom is demanding a penis-free environment.
Well, we saw that coming.
I'll handle him solo.
Uh, have we nailed him on the email trace yet? Computer crimes got us the I.
P.
Address.
I just sent munch and fin with a subpoena To get the customer name.
Okay.
no detective benson? What a shame.
I had a hook in him.
You know, I noticed she wasn't wearing a wedding ring.
Is she seeing anyone? Really? Seriously? Let's drop the act.
It's not an act.
Mackenzie just gave you up.
What? She admitted you're her online boyfriend, That you two were gonna run away together.
You're You--you're lying.
Why--why--why-- why would she say that? Guess your hold on her isn't as strong as you thought it was.
No, you tricked her into telling you What you wanted to hear.
You know, she-- she is a messed up kid.
Erik So just tell me what really happened.
The judge will take into consideration That you're sparing this poor child The trauma of a trial.
I didn't do anything! Erik, it's over! It's over now.
No, it's not! Because her real abuser is still out there.
You know, I know this little girl Is miserable at home.
You know, you should be looking at the parents.
They're not my real parents.
I'm adopted.
Who told you that? Eddie? No, the lard-ass caseworker who dropped me there.
They adopted me, like, a year ago.
Where were you before that? Bunch of places.
Foster homes.
How were those? They sucked.
Is that where you met eddie d? I take that as a yes.
Was he your foster father? No.
Caseworker? Mack, was he Was he your mentor? What's that? Somebody who helps you with your homework Or teaches you things.
Yeah.
He taught me stuff, But I taught him more.
Like what? How to wrestle.
Really? Did you guys wrestle a lot? Yeah.
Did he ever hurt you? It's wrestling.
That's what you're supposed to do.
Where did he hurt you? Once he twisted my arm real bad, But it was an accident.
Where'd you guys wrestle? In the bedroom.
Whose bedroom? Mack, whose bedroom? Marie, we traced the solicitation of a minor To your account.
No frigging way.
It wasn't me.
We think it was your pal, erik weber.
Who the hell is that? Maybe you know him by his screen name, eddie d? - Huh? - This guy.
He your boyfriend? I wish.
I've never seen him before.
"eddie dangerous with a 'd.
'" Whose is this? Wesley! March your butt out here.
You're eddie d? That's just my screen name.
And mackenzie's your girlfriend? No.
Mack's my best friend.
That's who all this is about? I shoulda known when the school called this morning.
They caught him trying to sneak out.
She put you up to this, didn't she? You guys were gonna run away together.
Like you got it so bad here.
I told you that girl was nothing but trouble.
Didn't I tell you to stay away from her? Why is that? I've been taking in foster kids for 15 years.
Mackenzie was the worst.
Nothing but back talk-- - that's not true.
Mack was the best.
You were always mean to her for no reason.
She was the only one here who was ever nice to me.
Mackenzie, why did you lie About the man in the train station? I couldn't snitch on wesley.
If marie found out, she would kill him.
So this was all because you missed your foster brother.
They won't let me see him.
Okay? It's not fair.
Sweetie, we just wanted you to have a fresh start.
Aren't you happy with us? Pam.
I apologize for wasting your time.
Well, it wasn't my time so much as the dozens of officers Who combed the city for her, And the four detectives who worked on the case all day.
Can you apologize, mackenzie? Why? Mackenzie! Sorry.
You're free to go.
I'm sorry that I put you through the wringer.
Well, you were just doing your job.
Very impressively, I might add.
I'm, uhI'm sure you're anxious to get out of here, So have a good one.
You know, if you wanted to make it up to me, um You could buy me a cup of coffee.
Well, I, uh I don't mix business and You know.
I'm not business anymore.
You cleared me, right? So I'm told I'm a nice guy, and I'm steadily employed.
It's very tempting, but I'm-- I'm still gonna have to say no.
So it was nice meeting you.
Nice to meet you.
The elevators are over there.
- Okay.
- Thank you.
That was totally weird.
Suspect just asked me out.
Well, this is weirder.
Uni just found this in the kids' interview room.
"olivia, I can't talk with them here.
"I know they are spying on me.
"they hurt me.
"they put things inside me to control me.
Please help me.
Mack.
" What the hell did we send this kid home to? It's a cry for help.
We have to investigate.
Well, don't forget who we're dealing with.
Staged her own kidnapping.
Look, she's been locked up with a helicopter mom For a year now.
This could just be her latest bid for freedom.
"they hurt me.
" We can't ignore that.
Other than the band-aid, I didn't see any marks or bruises on her.
They put things inside her to control her? I hate to admit it, But it sounds a little paranoid/delusional, even to me.
And if they are doing something to her? What do we do, we just wait Until she winds up in the hospital Or in the morgue? Okay, while the burtons' first daughter was never found, Do we know if they were cleared of any involvement? Pull the cold case.
If they are hurting her, We can't let her spend another night there.
Mackenzie was officially a runaway.
I suppose that justifies a visit by home services.
It's after 9:30.
We've all had a hard day.
Can't this wait until the morning? No, I need to inspect the premises And interview all family members tonight.
The visit was triggered after we filed our report.
It's completely routine.
You think I'm an unfit mother.
I don't think anything, ma'am.
I am just here to check on the welfare of the child.
Okay, of course.
Whatever Whatever you need.
Why don't we start with a tour of the house? Where are the bedrooms? I'll keep mackenzie company.
All right, well, they're this way, But it's almost her bedtime.
That's all right.
I will try and make this as quick as possible.
Okay, um I got your note.
Are you okay? I can't talk.
She's listening.
No, she's not.
She's with ms.
White.
Now, you need to tell me what they're doing to you, Because if you're in danger, I'll take you out of here.
No matter where I go, she'll find me.
Mackenzie, we're not gonna let her.
Now, you said in your note That they put something inside of you.
What was it? A computer chip.
Mackenzie.
It has all my information on it.
It knows everywhere I go.
That's how they found me yesterday.
Okay? I can't hide.
They didn't find you, we did.
And there's no computer chip inside you.
There is! Look.
Looks like you got a shot.
It was in a shot.
That's how dr.
Zaydok put it in.
- Look - It itches.
There's nothing in your arm.
They probably told you that so you behave.
No! Okay, I'm not lying.
It's for real.
Please, just feel it.
It's tiny What is that? I told you.
A computer chip.
Actually, it's an rfid chip-- Radio frequency identification.
Like they put in dogs.
It's the same basic technology.
So the burtons can track Every single move their daughter makes? Not yet.
In the future, chips will be equipped with gps, But for now, they simply carry a 16-digit number Unique to each client.
So why would the burtons freak their kid out now If they can't even put her under surveillance yet? To save her life.
If she were ever in an accident, The hospital could scan the implant And retrieve valuable medical information.
So can any third-rate hacker, Or uncle sam for that matter.
How much private information Can you put in these chips? The applications are unlimited.
In the future, we'll be able to track children, The elderly, criminals, immigrants.
Welcome to the new world order.
Just so you know, nobody forced mackenzie into this.
I don't do any implantations On children without their consent.
How could you put that inside your child without her consent? I didn't.
She wanted it.
Mackenzie, is that true? I had to say I did.
If I didn't, she'd never let me go outside again.
Kiddo, you were not being punished.
SweetieHoney.
You know how much I worry about you.
I just want to keep you safe.
you don't even like me.
You just want ella back.
Mackenzie! Mr.
Burton, may I? I don't think putting that chip in you was right.
But I don't think that they would do anything To purposely hurt you.
Huh? They seem to really care about you.
you don't understand.
That's the only reason they picked me.
Sweetie, they made a doll to look like you, right? No, it's not.
It was ella's.
They made it to look like her, And they did the same thing to me.
What do you mean? They make me wear her clothes.
They cut my hair like hers.
This is ella? This is the real me.
They dye your hair? And they made me have an operation.
They gave you a nose job? It really hurt.
Am I to understand that mackenzie had a nose job? She broke it years ago in a skateboarding accident.
Her foster parents didn't even take her to the hospital.
It caused a deviated septum.
We got it fixed for her.
Why is that a problem? It was an unnecessary cosmetic surgery.
Excuse me, if giving a child a nose job is a crime, You'd have to arrest half the parents On the upper west side.
So do you have any more plastic surgeries - Planned for her? - No! Of course not.
I guess you don't really need it, Considering you've already turned mackenzie Into a perfect replica of your real daughter.
Mackenzie is our real daughter too.
We love her just as much as ella.
Well, you got a funny way of showing it.
Dyeing her hair? Making her wear ella's clothes? They happen to fit.
You think it's abusive to have her wear Perfectly good hand-me-downs? I think that it's sick to cherry-pick through orphans, Looking for a photo-double replacement daughter.
I love Ella! You mean mackenzie.
no.
She doesn't.
Of course I do.
Oh, mackenzie, of course I do.
I, um I think you should leave now.
Can't you see that little girl is miserable? You will take my daughter away from me over my dead body.
What do you think happened To the burtons' first daughter, ella? They were staying in a cabin Up the mountain when ella disappeared.
Any suspects? They were convinced it was a camper Who tried to take pictures of ella The day before on a hiking trail, But I cleared him.
You look at anyone else? The day it happened, The burtons said a little red-haired girl Came by and asked if ella could come play.
Says here the mom went looking for her 20 minutes later, Found the red-head climbing out of a gully? No ella.
Girl told the mom she ran home ten minutes before.
You ever check out the red-head's dad? We checked out every cabin in a 30-mile radius.
Red-haired girl didn't exist.
I could never prove it, But I think the Burtons killed ella.
It was the last day of your vacation.
You went fishing on the lake, Leaving your wife and daughter cooped up in that remote cabin.
They weren't cooped up.
They'd been hiking and swimming.
In fact, ella had the time of her life.
Yeah? What about your wife? Kevin has no idea what it's like to live with this guilt.
So tell me.
Why did I let her go with that girl? With the red-haired girl.
Pamela, she doesn't exist.
I didn't make her up! She was wearing green shorts and an orange shirt, And she was older than ella, maybe 13 or 14.
I never saw that girl, But that does not mean that pamela is lying.
Kevin, you can't change what happened to ella, But you can stop her from doing it again.
My wife would never hurt anybody.
The pain just never stops, and Sometimes I just start screaming, And I can't stop screaming, and I still--I wake up crying every day.
Pamela is not a child killer.
You have to understand How much she changed when she lost ella.
How much we both changed.
She used to be Someone who was so full of happiness.
She laughed all the time.
And we were So much in love.
And now You don't recover from things like this.
You need this to be over.
It will be.
Where's ella? When we find ella.
Yes, where is she? The man with the camera, He took her picture the day before she disappeared, And he had the red-head girl lure her away.
Where's ella's body? No.
Please, no.
No, I-- God, why won't anyone believe me? She's not dead! The man with the camera took her, And the police won't tell me who he is, 'cause they think I'm gonna-- It's in that file.
Please, please.
Please tell me who he is.
Come on, cutie pie, let me see that million-dollar smile.
Let me see it once.
Take ten, folks, While micky finds a backdrop that's not so cheesy.
Hey.
Remember your old friends, the burtons? Oh, you gotta be kiddin' me.
That was ten years ago.
Cops grilled me for 18 hours on that.
I was already in north bergen by the time that girl was taken.
I got witnesses.
We're more interested in what you saw.
When you ran into the burtons on the hiking trail, Were they getting along? Did you notice any bruises or injuries on the daughter? No.
Feel free to look for yourself.
That was during my nature period.
I was gonna be the next ansel adams.
But the kids are where the money is.
God, I hate 'em.
There it is.
For a guy who hates kids, You seem pretty obsessed with them.
Purely from an artistic point of view.
Munch, check this out.
Girl in the back of the pick-up truck.
Green shorts, orange top.
Pamela's red-headed girl is real.
- What's your connection to her? - None.
I shot that in the back of a country mart on my way home.
Same day ella disappeared.
The original cops see this? No.
Uh, ella's on a different roll.
Did they ask you if you saw a girl That matched her description? They asked me if I was traveling with a little girl.
I told 'em I didn't have any kids, At least none that I knew of.
Did you catch this girl's name? No name.
No idea where's she's from.
And of course micky didn't get the license plate in the photo.
Yoan who took ella, ucted her too.
Well, let's check the national database.
The facial recognition system uses skeletal measurements.
We'll come up with a bunch of false positives, But, hopefully, she'll be in there with them.
nope.
I don't see her.
Well, then she was never reported missing.
Um, but let me check a different database.
We have over 2,000 active cases In the innocent images project.
Well, if you find her in child pornography, You need to run ella.
She's never shown up, but look at this.
That's her.
We raided a company producing underaged porn Back in '02.
She was 16.
Her name is darla pinnington.
Where is she now? Darla pinnington? I'm in the middle of a massage.
Hey.
Wait your turn.
Hey, pal, happy fun times are now officially over.
Get out.
Darla, we need you to come with us.
That was a legitimate massage.
You can't arrest me.
We're not here to arrest you.
We just want to talk About ella? I don't know any ella.
Why are you protecting him? He abducted you too.
He forced you into porn.
Nobody abducted me.
Nobody forced me to do anything.
I left home when I was 15.
I did what iad to.
You have three pops for prostitution since then.
Now, you don't cooperate, we can violate your probation.
So do it.
I got nothing to tell you.
Do you have a mother? 'cause ella's has been going through hell For the last ten years.
Just tell us if she's alive.
And you can't tell us about this mystery man Because he doesn't exist, right? You know what I think? You killed ella.
No! You lured her into that ravine.
- We were just playing.
- You were four years older, A lot bigger.
You had a crappy life, nobody ever loved you.
You were so filled with hate, you had to take it out on her.
That's not what happened! Perfect girl from a perfect family.
You hated her for it, So you killed her like an animal.
I tried to save her! From who, darla? Save her from who? It's okay.
It's okay, just tell us.
my father.
My mom left us.
He couldn't stand being in the house.
He just threw me in the truck, and we drove around for weeks, Drunk the whole time.
He'd stop and sleep it off in the woods.
Is that where he saw ella? He told me to ask her to play.
I didn't know what he was gonna do to her.
What was that? Make her be his wife.
She was ten.
I didn't wanna help him, But he was my daddy.
Where is she now? He slaughtered her.
Caught her trying to escape, Started beating her, wouldn't stop.
She kept screaming, "help! He's killing me!" And I just left, and I never looked back.
Where did this happen? At our farm.
Dale's always stayed pretty much off the grid, But, still, this is pretty hard to believe.
It's easy enough to hide someone around here.
And no one's ever seen him with a girl? - Not since darla left.
- Gun! Drop the weapon! Sheriff renshaw, What the hell are these people doing on my land? Drop it! Get on the ground now! I'm afraid I'm gonna have to take you in, dale.
For the kidnapping and murder of ella burton.
Well, good luck with that one.
Your daughter gave you up.
Yeah, darla never was right in the head.
Took after her mother.
These detectives have a search warrant For your property.
We're gonna dig up every inch of your land Until we find her body.
El.
Hey, it's okay.
It's okay.
What's your name? Where are you taking my husband? Ella? Are you ella? It's okay, honey.
You're safe now.
It's okay, honey.
It's okay.