FBI: Most Wanted (2020) s02e08 Episode Script

Vanished

The clouds are so cold that tiny ice crystals form.
But how come it rains? Well, when the air is warmer like in the spring, it is rain instead of snow.
So HailStorm can't fight in the spring? Is he the one made of ice? No, that's Glacier.
HailStorm shoots icicles.
I'll put it by the fence.
Whose car is that? I don't know.
Wait.
That's Samuel.
You got a new car? Yup.
Traded my old one.
Guy gave me an unbelievable deal.
Hey, kiddo.
- I made a rain gauge.
- Cool.
Figured we'd celebrate with a big breakfast.
- French toast and eggs? - Sounds great.
Can I go outside? I want to test my rain gauge out.
Yes.
Put on your jacket and don't leave the yard, Caleb.
- Okay.
- Mm-hmm.
And Jamie says if we want to use reclaimed wood, he has some in his barn we can use.
How does that sound? Samuel? - Where'd you go? - Uh, bathroom.
And tell Jamie yes.
I'll come by and get it tomorrow.
Mm.
Still can't believe you got a new car.
Very impulsive.
Kinda like it.
I've been thinking about it forever and I figured You know, why not? - Life's too short.
- Mm.
I forgot eggs! Wanna hit the store? Nah.
You can ride in my new Jeep! Your mom said it was okay.
Can I get a treat? Definitely.
Come on.
Grandma.
Thanks for doing this.
Hmm? Oh, not a problem.
I love Tali and it's a part of my job, so Here we go.
This is Riley.
So what am I dealing with here? Well, he's not grade.
But he's not purebred, either.
Sort of in the middle.
On the younger side with great potential.
He's perfect for Tali.
How much? I think I have a rate sheet around here somewhere if you want to see it.
Sarah, I want to apologize for the other day.
Oh, no, no, no.
No, I overstepped and I got it wrong, but, you know, Tali's gonna be here a lot and I just don't want it to be awkward between us.
You didn't get it wrong.
I didn't? No, you just you caught me off-guard and I reacted in the moment.
I understand.
I don't understand.
Right.
Here's the deal.
I'm just coming off of a breakup from a very bad relationship.
It's part of the reason I moved here, and - I'm sorry.
- Don't be.
It was the right thing to do.
I'm glad I did it.
But then I started to find my footing again and the last thing I was expecting was You.
I'm not saying no, Jess.
Ask me again.
Would you consider having dinner with me? Yes.
Got the call last night.
Packed my bags, hit the Acela.
Here I am.
- Where you coming from? - Counter-terrorism in DC.
How many wiretaps did you have to sit on? Too many.
Trust me.
Started out in LAPD gang unit for six years.
Soon as a temporary call of duty came out for Fugitive Task Force, I jumped at it.
I always wanted to work with the best of the best.
My supervisor put in a good word for me with Jesse.
What? It's Jess or Boss.
I'd go with Boss.
- 'Scuse me.
- Oh, I'm sorry.
Hey, Barnes.
Check this out.
Hana must really miss us.
Oh, good, you're here.
- You meet everybody? - Yes, sir.
Clinton's assignment got extended.
Agent Ortiz is gonna join us.
He comes very highly recommended, so let's make him feel welcome.
- I just wanna say that - Barnes, what have we got? I just read the Amber Alert.
Two female victims, Caroline Vaughter, and her 89-year-old grandmother, Amanda.
Stabbed to death in their home in rural Maine.
EMS responded to a Life Alert call.
Notified local PD.
Caroline has an eight-year-old son, Caleb.
He's missing.
Child Abduction Rapid Deployment called the Director and asked for all hands.
Stranger kidnappings are rare.
What about the father? Is he in the picture? Died two years ago.
Sheriffs found a black Jeep abandoned in a parking lot ten miles from the house.
Registered to a Dean Judd in Portland.
He wasn't home.
Not answering his cell.
- Criminal record? - No.
That's why they think it's stolen.
Prints are all over it and at the Vaughter's house belonging to this guy.
Samuel Smith.
BOLOs already out on him and his 2008 Pontiac.
In the system for a juvie arrest for involuntary manslaughter.
Denny Straight, eight years old, was found drowned in a lake near Augusta.
Samuel was arrested, never charged.
Any connections between Samuel and the victims or the boy? Not that I can find.
No ransom note, either.
This isn't about money.
How old was Samuel when he was arrested? - Uh, looks like 14.
- 14.
Teenage years are when some pedophiles realize they're attracted to children.
Denny was eight.
Same age as Caleb.
So are we thinking we're dealing with a sexual predator? Every parent's worst nightmare.
Let's get to Maine.
You and Ortiz get to the crime scene.
Barnes and I'll hit Samuel's last known.
And call Isobel.
Tell her we need the G5.
You guys have a plane? Nice.
Pro tip for the ride to the airport? New guy gets in the back seat.
Bag.
You're gonna need it.
I thought we were going to the store.
We will.
Just let me do a few things here first.
You said I could get a treat.
You'll get your treat, Caleb.
You just have to be patient.
- You okay, LA? - Yeah.
Why? Well, you still got that puffy parka on.
I'm freezing my ass, man.
It snows in DC, but this is next-level.
What do we got? ERT sent us photos of tire tracks by the abandoned Jeep.
Yeah? Let me see.
Well, that's a bust.
They'll never be able to print those.
Sure we will.
We got sharp edges with debris in them.
These are fresh.
What you know about tracks? Isn't LA one big, concrete freeway? I used to hunt with my uncles in North Texas.
Dirt, mud, snow.
Not much different.
What'd you hunt? Feral pigs.
- Really? - Yeah.
I wasn't real interested in hunting something that couldn't fight back.
Well, you make a mistake hunting pigs, you miss out on some bacon.
You make a mistake over here, people die.
Yeah.
Thanks for clearing that up.
Samuel's place reminds me of my Grandma Lottie's.
Only thing missing is a jar of ribbon candy stuck together since the '70s.
Church was a big deal.
If you didn't show up, you better be dying.
My father had the same philosophy about the racetrack.
Lots of commentary about the Bible here.
Leviticus, Judges, Ezra.
All Old Testament.
"No one can enter the Kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
" John 3:5.
His parents had Samuel late in life.
Could've been an oopsie baby.
- When did they die? - 13 years ago.
No other addresses for him on record, so guess he's been living here his whole life.
Well, either he likes their style or he was so dominated by their memory that he can't change anything.
That's strange.
Samuel was an only child, right? Yeah, this had to have been him.
Kid spent a lot of time in here.
Under a watchful eye.
Looks like it was a deadbolt.
You think they punished him by locking him in here? Maybe.
I mean, their books are all about the first Testament, which is about atonement, consequences for your sins.
What's going on down there? The VIN's been scratched off.
Let's see if the lab can work on it.
There's no boat or trailer registered to Samuel, so whose is this? - Kenny, what's happening? - Hey, Boss.
So I pulled Augusta PD's records.
Turns out Samuel was in there twice.
Well, why did we only get one hit this morning? Well, that's because this one, Samuel wasn't a suspect, he was a victim.
He was hit by a car when he was seven years old.
Driver was a Jonathan Van Courtland.
Samuel's dad filed a police report but he never followed up.
Maybe they settled privately or with insurance.
Another thing.
Augusta PD's system logs every time a file is accessed.
Samuel's juvie file was pulled 11 years ago by a cop in Waterville.
He's retired now, but he's still around.
Right.
Send me the address.
We'll head there as soon as we're done here.
What is that? Paint? - I don't know.
- Whatever it is, it's recent.
Get ERT to take a sample.
That's not all.
Bench seats? You think they belong to the boat out there? Why would Samuel take them out? Mm, Denny, the eight-year-old who drowned? They found him in a lake, didn't they? You think he's taking Caleb out in the water? I think that once you kill somebody, and you get away with it You do it again.
Samuel took another kid, huh? What do you mean, another? I'm pretty sure he did the same thing 11 years ago.
Daniel Cain.
Nine years old.
Samuel was his tutor.
Story was that Daniel got lost in the woods and died of exposure, but mother always thought that Samuel took him.
And why is that? Something about him rubbed her the wrong way.
You know, so she fired him.
And a week later, a Tuesday in September, Daniel walks into the woods and doesn't walk out.
- Did you question Samuel? - Oh, yeah.
I didn't have any evidence.
But you were interested enough to pull his juvie file.
I talked to him, you know? Something about that guy made the hair on the back of my neck stand up.
- Evil? - Yeah.
So I start thinking he's had to have done this to other kids.
You just don't do something like that at 14 and then stop.
I didn't have any proof, though.
Can you tell us about the search for Daniel? The whole town came out.
You know, there was a bad storm out that night.
And the parents, though, they didn't want to quit, you know? Traipsing outside, screaming for their kid.
Three days later, a cadaver dog alerts about ten miles from the Cain place.
We didn't find a body, you know? Those woods are wild with animals that would've tore it up.
My guess? If you don't find your missing kid in three days, you'll be looking for a body.
Here.
Drink up.
I already had one.
I know, but two glasses will make you extra-strong.
Whole thing.
Come on.
Good boy.
I knew you could do it.
Where's my mom? I didn't want to have to do this.
Caleb your mom doesn't love you anymore.
Yes, she does.
Well, all the times you misbehaved, telling her you brushed your teeth when you didn't, talking back.
I'll be better.
I promise.
It's too late.
She was tired and overwhelmed.
She said she was gonna put you up for adoption.
- Really? - But I saved you.
You should be grateful.
And if you behave, and promise me you'll do everything I tell you to, we can have a really good time.
Kinda feel funny.
You're probably just tired.
- Here.
Come here.
- I wanna go home.
You are home.
Come on.
All right.
Yeah.
When your mom and I were dating, remember all the fun we had? Fishing, hiking Foster Falls? It's just you and me now.
It'll be okay.
Just go to sleep.
So we got a dozen lakes in a 100-mile radius.
State police are covering all marinas and boat ramps.
They have the manpower for that? Missing kid? They got guys from Vermont to New Hampshire coming in on their days off.
Denny in a lake, Daniel in the woods.
- Now Caleb.
- There might be others.
We're pulling missing children files, for the last 11 years.
The same age, gender, Maine and neighboring states.
When Samuel took Daniel, he didn't harm the parents.
When he took Caleb, he killed the mom and the grandmother.
So why the change in MO? Maybe Caroline tried to stop him.
Mama bear mode fighting for her child.
Or maybe Samuel did know them.
Single mom and a disabled grandmother in the middle of nowhere? - Makes for an easy target.
- Uh-huh.
Those tracks ERT pulled by the stolen Jeep? They fit models Pontiacs and Chevrolets.
Well, Samuel could be driving his own car.
Yeah, and you see the pattern impression? - Mm-hmm.
- The outer edges are soft because the car's out of alignment.
- Okay, add that to the alert.
- I already did.
Anything on the owner of that Jeep? Still haven't heard back.
Okay.
We got anything else? Uh, Samuel's employer.
A sporting goods store in Augusta.
Okay.
You and Ortiz run that down.
Kenny and I'll go see the Cain parents.
We got the retired cop's take on Daniel's disappearance.
Now I wanna hear theirs.
This is Daniel when he was nine.
He got that scar birdwatching.
Fell out of a tree.
Here you go.
So Samuel Smith was Daniel's tutor? Yeah.
Yeah, we met him after he posted a flyer in the coffee shop.
Who expects the devil to be wearing a jacket, carrying a math workbook? Daniel wanted to be an ornithologist.
He kept track of every bird he saw.
I, uh I do it for him now.
That's nice.
May I ask you a question? What made you so suspicious of Samuel? One night, I walked into Daniel's room.
Daniel was on the floor doing his homework.
Samuel was spooning him.
It was just so inappropriate.
I kicked him out.
A week later, Daniel disappeared.
Samuel threatened to sue the cops for harassment, so they backed off.
We didn't care about getting sued, so we followed him for months.
We were obsessed.
- Where'd he go? - Work and home.
That was it.
I still don't understand.
How does someone do that to a child? Truth is that there is no answer.
After it happened in the mornings when I went into the kitchen to make the coffee, there was this moment.
I knew when I turned the corner, Daniel would be sitting there at the table eating cereal, swinging his legs.
Ready with some weird bird fact.
Then one morning, there was no magical thinking.
That chair was empty.
It was gonna stay empty.
Caleb Isaac Vaughter, when your eyes first met mine, we were tethered.
Your skin, your ribs, your eyelashes Your shoulder blades and feet.
You shall be cleansed.
No one can enter the kingdom unless they are born of water and the Spirit.
Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
A stranger to my son.
So did Samuel talk about what he does on weekends? He's not much for small talk, which suits me fine.
Mostly, we talk about the store.
And how long have you known him? Long time.
He used to come in with his dad.
Slowed down a mite after he got hit by that car.
- But he's a good kid.
- Good kid? You know this isn't the first boy he's kidnapped? Young man, our system says innocent until proven guilty.
He was never charged with anything.
I trust him with this store.
He's a reliable employee.
Then how come he hasn't shown up to work for two days? I don't know.
Any idea where he is? No.
I haven't talked to him.
What do you mean you trust him with your store? Well, I almost never come in.
But lest you think I'm an idiot, my trust isn't without limits.
Everything's on camera or online.
I can log in and see Ike O'Clair bought snowshoes.
We're gonna need access to your system.
Inventory, footage, everything you got.
That might take a while.
You know what, Jerry? We don't have a while.
There's an eight-year-old kid missing and we're trying to save his life.
So you either go back to that office and get us what we need or I'll do it myself.
We are not playing.
You believe this guy? Has a pedophile working for him and he acts like we're the ones putting him out? So is that story about you true? What'd you hear? You and Hot-Foot-Steve busted someone out in Jersey, but you didn't tighten the cuffs.
Suspect got into the neighborhood and the Bureau had to call in local PD to lock it down.
Cost 20 grand in overtime and the defense tried to use it at trial.
It wasn't my finest hour.
What happened? Like you said, I didn't tighten the cuffs.
Got a month's suspension.
But it was a good reminder to pay attention to the little things.
Here you go.
Login and password for a guest account.
You should be able to see everything.
Thank you.
Hey, guys.
Just got the lab report.
They ID'd the drops from Samuel's garage.
It's aluminum.
Almost looks like spatter from a weld.
Was he trying to restrain Caleb? Keep from jumping overboard? Except the spatter's on the outside.
Wouldn't welding something to the outside of a boat affect the weight and balance? Probably.
Unless he wanted to sink it for some reason.
I got something from the store records.
Samuel logged every sale, and matched it to customer receipts, except for three transactions last month.
Looks like he faked some sales, took some stuff, and fudged the inventory to cover his tracks.
What'd he take? Shovels, something called a mattock, and a bunch of scuba tanks.
Well, a mattock's used for deep digging.
It'll break through stone, roots, you name it.
He's digging deep and he needs tanks of air.
What if the boat's not going in the water? What if he's welding something to it to seal it? - A tomb.
- Could be.
He could be burying Caleb.
Well, if he's burying him, why would he need the air? Well, maybe he learned a lesson from Denny and Daniel.
Killing them means he can't satisfy his urges.
It's better to keep him alive.
Okay, Samuel took 20 tanks.
Each has 90 minutes of oxygen.
That's what? - 30 hours.
- 30 hours.
30 hours.
Okay.
Guys, PD finally found Dean Judd, the owner of the stolen Jeep.
He was out of the country on business, flew home last night, and his car was missing from long-term parking.
So Samuel stole it from the airport? They sent surveillance footage from a car rental agency across the street.
There's a hit on our BOLO around 7:00 a.
m.
two days ago.
The Pontiac.
That's our guy.
Who's that with him? Samuel has a partner.
Depending on when Caleb was buried, he might only have a few hours of air left.
Where are we on the partner? Traffic cams only have him for a minute.
All right, well, Samuel lived a narrow life.
How did he meet this guy? Could've been at work.
I'm scanning the store tapes now.
Forensics reconstructed the VIN from the boat trailer at Samuel's.
Belongs to a Drew Abner.
He owns a car repair shop in Augusta.
Well, he would definitely have the tools to grind down a VIN number.
And he lives three miles from Samuel.
Drew Abner? We're the FBI.
We need to talk.
Stop right there! Hey! What the hell? I'm sorry! It's a sickness.
Where's Caleb, huh? Get up! - Who? - The boy Samuel kidnapped.
- I don't know.
- What are you sorry about? Samuel and I, we like to trade things, all right? I gave him my boat a few weeks ago.
In exchange for what? - Pictures of kids.
- What? Turn around.
Did you steal a car with Samuel yesterday? What? No, no, no, no, no, no.
No, I was at the doctor's all morning.
And you can check it out.
I swear.
- It's not him.
- We'll do that.
Right now, I'm more interested in Samuel.
- Where is he? - I don't know.
- Can you call him? - I don't have his number.
Then how'd you keep in touch? I send him a message through an anonymous chat app.
He calls me back from a number.
It's always different.
- Start redeeming yourself.
- Send him a message.
- What do you want me to say? - Tell him you want to meet.
- And what if he won't? - Doesn't matter.
Just keep him talking.
Hey.
What's up? I got something for you.
I've probably seen it before.
Not this.
Another time.
Uh, it's video.
He's young.
Your type.
Look, I gotta go.
You want this or not? 30 minutes.
The place from before.
He's late.
Could've gotten spooked.
We have a plan B if this doesn't work? If he's 30 minutes away, we're talking hundreds of square miles.
Caleb'll be out of oxygen before we search 5% of it.
Well, let's hope plan A works, then.
I got the car.
One occupant.
Can't tell if it's Samuel or his partner.
Go, go, go.
FBI! Get on the ground! Stop right there! Get down! FBI! All right, listen.
Settle down, Samuel.
I know what they do to guys like me in prison.
Okay.
Let's make a deal.
You sound like Denny.
"P-p-please.
" You all finding his body taught me a lot.
Where's Caleb, Samuel? You'll never find him.
Wait! He killed Caleb with that jump.
Now we have no leads.
- Kid's probably already dead.
- Not necessarily.
Samuel said that the cops found Denny's body.
With Caleb, he said, "You'll never find him.
" - Not find his body.
- So Caleb could still be alive? So if he started a tank when he came to meet Drew, that means Caleb has about 50 minutes of air left.
- How are we coming, Kenny? - Got two pings.
One to a tower in Appleton.
The other's to a remote location by a river and the road between them's under repair.
- Car was out of alignment.
- That could've done it.
All right, 16 River Road It's the only one there.
The owner is Jonathan Van Courtland Family Trust.
Van Courtlands.
That's the family that hit Samuel with their car.
This is it.
This is where we could find Caleb.
It's okay.
It's a test.
He's testing me.
FBI! Stay where you are! Damn it.
Watch that door, far right! Hey! Get back here! - We need him alive, Kenny! - Got it! Hey, hey! Turn around! Hands above your head.
Where is he? Where is he? Where's Caleb? Daniel? What? You're Daniel Cain? I'm not Daniel.
I'm Laz.
Where did Samuel bury Caleb? You're trying to trick me.
My father warned me about men with badges.
Your mom and dad are Michelle and John.
They miss you.
My family is my father, Samuel.
What were you drawing? I-I just do that when I'm scared.
Bar locks on the door.
Handcuffs on the bed.
For 11 years, he took pieces of Daniel.
I'm not sure there's anything left.
He had to forget to survive.
Maybe we can help him remember.
Samuel took another little boy.
Just like when he took you.
He buried this little boy in a boat and he's running out of time.
One time, Father left the door unlocked.
I waited seven hours and 36 minutes, then went outside.
He'd been waiting.
I don't want to get hurt again.
Samuel isn't with us anymore, okay? He's never gonna hurt you again, I promise you.
Daniel, look at me.
It's over, okay? You're safe.
All of this it's over.
You know, your mom She kept your bird log.
Every time she sees a snow goose or a blue-winged teal or a mourning dove, she marks it.
F-F-F-Father told me my parents hate me.
No, no, no, no, no.
They love you.
They love you.
They can't wait to see you.
But Daniel, please.
Please just tell me where Caleb is.
I I only went to the hole once to help Father carry the boat.
Do you remember where that was? There was a juvenile cardinal in a tree.
I looked for its nest.
I remember there was piles of rocks.
- Okay.
That's good.
- What else? Where was that? - I don't know.
- Well, try to think.
- I can't.
- Yes, you can.
I know you can.
Where was the sun? Was it in front of you, to the left of you, behind you? It was, uh, through the windshield.
Through the windshield.
So you were driving a car, you're driving a car.
- Yes.
- Okay, great.
Was the road Was it dirt or was it paved? It was paved.
I remember a pile of rocks after a hairpin turn.
And then the road ended.
There was a lot of snow.
So you left tracks? Up here! I got tracks! I think it's up here.
- There! - I see it.
It's a tank! Tank's empty.
- All right.
- There it is.
Okay.
Here it is! Let's dig.
Keep digging.
I hit something! There's a window! Caleb! Caleb! - Do you see anything? - No.
- Caleb! - Caleb! - Can you hear us? - There's a latch! - Caleb! - All right, it's open.
Okay.
Get your shovels under.
- Ready? - Ready! Got it? One, two, three.
Hurry up.
Come on, come on.
- I got him.
- You got him? Yeah, I got him, I got him.
Over here.
Lay him down.
Come on, buddy.
It's all right.
It's all right.
We got him.
It's all right.
Caleb, Caleb.
Can you hear me? Caleb? Come on, Caleb.
He's breathing! He's breathing.
Oh, he's breathing.
There we go, there we go.
Good boy.
Okay.
Caleb, can you hear me? Huh? Can you hear me? Attaboy.
Come on.
Put the blanket on him.
There we go.
Caleb, can you hear me? Get EMT here.
Quick as they can.
On it.
Let's get a medic down at my location.
We found him.
Well done.
Well done.
Good boy.
Good boy.
Crosby talked to the Van Courtlands.
When they hit Samuel with their car, they paid his family off and gave them an unofficial, 50-year lease on the house.
So he could kill Daniel and raise him as Lazarus without anyone around.
Wouldn't have mattered.
11 years and Daniel only went alone outside once.
And he was raped for it.
You know I worked with Hot-Foot-Steve a couple times? Yeah? We hooked this Russian mobster out in Long Island.
Thing is, Hot-Foot didn't tighten the cuffs.
- Guy almost got away.
- Huh.
Wasn't you who screwed up in Jersey, was it? You took the fall for him.
He was retiring.
Suspension would've messed that up.
All this kid has been through and he's gonna end up with strangers in foster care.
Actually, Jess tracked down an aunt and uncle in Michigan.
They have a son the same age.
They're flying in this afternoon.
It's okay.
It's okay, Caleb.
- You're safe.
- It's all right, buddy.
It's okay.
Where am I? In a hospital in Portland.
- Who are you? - I'm Sheryll.
This is Ivan.
- We're with the FBI.
- Nice to meet you.
Where's my mom? Where is he? He's in our office.
I need you to be prepared.
Daniel's experienced a lot of emotional trauma, and psychologically, he's unpredictable.
I would suggest that you don't move towards him or try to touch him.
Just let him make the first move.
Daniel? Honey, it's me.
Mom? My baby.
Oh, my baby.
Hey.

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