Without a Trace s06e01 Episode Script

Lost Boy

Previously on Without a Trace Todd, we're looking for a girl from your church Jennifer Long.
I don't know anybody by that name.
Todd's real name is Bradley Foster.
He's been convicted of lewd acts with a minor.
He's dead.
Jennifer Did we ever get any traction on this girl? A girl matching her description works at the diner where Foster was shot.
She might have been his next victim.
- Sorry.
- That's okay.
So how long have you been involved in the cultural center? Ever since my wife Kate and I adopted our son Elijah from the Sudan.
We believe it's important, not only for Elijah, but for all the Sudanese living in New York, to have a sense of community, and the cultural center provides that.
There's been a lot of criticism about you and your wife Kate adopting your son solely for publicity purposes, how do you respond to that? You know, we saw an opportunity to give our son Elijah a better life and we took it.
Certainly nothing to be ashamed of there.
- All right, I think that's it.
- Okay.
Take care.
Hey, baby.
Hey, beauty, what you doing? I'm just heading to bed.
How'd he go down? Well, I gave him Mr.
Lion about ten minutes ago and he's been quiet since, so keep your fingers crossed.
I will.
Elijah? What's going on? Elijah! You! Where you going? Come here.
Okay, come on bedtime.
What are you doing? Up? All right, I got him Come on.
Jay, did you leave the gate open? No.
He was on the stairs.
Jay forget to close that gate again? We'll talk about it later.
All right, you sure you're okay? Yeah I'm fine.
Okay, look, I got to stop by the club later, so I'll be home around 3:00.
I love you.
I love you, too.
Bye.
I didn't leave the gate open, okay? Yeah, I know.
I just got scared, okay? I'm sorry.
See you, tough guy.
Bye-bye.
Yeah, tough guy.
Come on.
No more drama tonight, okay? - Okay.
- Okay - Malone.
- Where are you? In the park.
Really? Yeah, my doctor gave me a choice between taking blood pressure medication or walking to work every day.
I chose fresh air.
And how's that working for you? - Unclear.
- Good! Well, here in the land of work, we have a missing four-year-old.
Parents are celebrities.
Yeah? Who's that? The dad's a big hotel and club owner, Christopher Douglas, his wife Kate's an ex-model.
The address is 535 Rivington, and Samantha's on her way there now Oh, yeah? Why not you? Well, I'm still trying to track down that waitress who was one of Bradley Foster's targets.
She hasn't returned any of my calls, and her car has just shown up stolen.
Foster has an accomplice? Well, I'm not sure.
I just need to talk to this waitress, Angela, so I can hopefully put this case to bed.
Would you excuse me for a moment? Hey! What you got? Well, Mrs.
Douglas put the baby down around 9:00 p.
m.
, she went to bed.
Her husband came in around 3:00 a.
m.
, he went to bed.
His 14-year-old son from a previous marriage was staying here, also asleep.
No one saw or heard anything unusual.
Place like this has got to have an alarm.
Mrs.
Douglas doesn't like to set it when her husband's coming in late, because the beeping wakes the baby.
Find out who has an intimate knowledge of their routine.
- I'll check outside.
- All right.
Is there anybody who had access to your daily schedule? staff, personnal assistants Nobody who would have done anything like this.
A baby monitor? So whoever this was was listening to everything we talked about? The signal was pretty clear.
How long have they been down there? It's hard to tell, but some of the magazines dated back a couple of months.
Given what we found downstairs, I'd say that we were dealing with a stalker.
Have either of you had a problem with anyone lately? My God! The guy in the taxi.
- What guy? - It was Tuesday, and I had just taken Elijah to the doctor for his cough.
Taxi! - Can I give you a hand? - No, I got everything, thanks.
- Let's go honey! - How's he feeling? Excuse me? You were just coming from the pharmacy, right? Yeah.
Does he have that cough going around? You know, I would try eucalyptus oil rub, I find it's very effective.
Okay, I haven't tried that, thanks.
Yeah, no worries.
Address is 535 Rivington.
Have a great day.
And you never saw this man again? No.
We get letters from these kinds of guys all the time.
Any of them threatening towards your son? No, it's just usually obsessed-fan kind of stuff.
We give it to our lawyer, she decides whether it needs to go to the police.
We're gonna need to see them.
What do we do now? Sit tight.
We're expecting a ransom call at some point.
But until then, we're doing everything we can to find him.
It's not like Angela to just not show up, she's never missed a day of work before.
When was the last time you saw her? Actually, the night you called looking for her, like, two weeks ago, I gave her the message, and that was it but it's weird she didn't call, you know, at least for her check.
Do you remember the guy that was killed? Yeah, Todd.
Now, do you remember if he ever came in here with anyone else? He had a buddy, a guy named Joe.
Took a real shine to Angela.
Now, now, eyes above the headlights, please.
Well, you can't blame a guy.
No blame, just shame.
Do I hear a little Texas in there? Will it affect my tip if I say yes? I don't know, maybe.
Where you from? I was born near Galveston.
But I wasted most of my 20s in El Paso.
I know it, I know it well.
I got two ex-wives out there.
Well, that beats my one ex-husband.
You you got any family out here? No.
Why, you looking to play house? See? What did I tell you? She's a riot.
Now, you mentioned this Joe was wearing a cleaning uniform did you see if he was driving a van? Yeah, from the cleaning company.
I saw it the night I told Angela you were looking for her.
I'd already put the "Closed" sign out front, he saw it and kept on going.
Do you think you could describe him to a sketch artist? Sure.
My shift's over in half an hour.
I'll wait.
- Malone.
- Hey! I need a favor.
I think we were right about Bradley Foster having an accomplice.
So if I send you a sketch, could you get Jen Long to make an I.
D.
? I'll give it a shot, but the last time I talked to her, she didn't seem to remember much.
Well, considering what she's been through, it's probably for the best.
Okay, I'll see what I can do.
Hey, Jack.
I think we got a hit on the guy from the boiler room, we pulled his prints off the baby monitor, some of them turned up on the letters that were sent to Kate.
Name's Dwight Feeney, 27, no record.
- We're bringing him in now.
- Okay.
Can't wait.
Where's the kid, Dwight? What kid? The kid you kidnapped.
Their kid, Elijah.
I absolutely do not know what you are talking about.
Then let me clarify.
You're a loser, obsessed with a model who camped out in her boiler room and listened to her conversations over a baby monitor.
I admit I have feelings for Kate, but I didn't touch that little thing.
If you're interested in who would hurt him, I may be able to help.
You never said I had to watch him! Jay, all I'm asking is that you just start to take a little responsibility around here, okay? Like what, parenting? - You're the one who adopted him.
- You watch your mouth! No, I'm always third in line around here! It's Kate, then Elijah, then me.
That is not how it is, Jay.
You know it's true.
I wish you'd left him in Africa.
I'd check into that kid before you start pointing fingers at innocent people.
Innocent? We've got you on breaking and entering, stalking, and that baby monitor is good enough for an illegal wire tap.
And I'm still not convinced you didn't hurt that kid.
You're wasting your time.
All right, thanks.
So Kate's stalker alibis out.
He was on duty at a security job all night.
Yeah? And I think he may be right about Jay.
He went to return a DVD about an hour ago, and no one's seen him since.
Now these are his recent emails, come here, check this out Take a look at this one.
Where is it? Here we go.
"If you want Elijah, here's how to find him.
" Who's the recipient? I'm still trying to figure that out.
But look at this attachment - The family's itinerary for the week.
- Yeah.
Who needs a baby monitor when you know their schedule? Let's run this kid's credit card and ATM, if he's on the run, he's gonna need cash.
You got it.
Have you seen this boy? Excuse me, seen this boy? - Seen this boy? - No! He bought a bus ticket here ten minutes ago with a credit card.
Oh, the bus here, the bus here.
Martin! Martin! Stop the bus! FBI! Stop the bus! FBI! All right, everybody, listen up.
FBI, just stay in your seats.
Where's Elijah? I don't know.
Better tell me where he is or I'll throw you out the window myself.
I don't know.
I didn't want it to happen.
I don't care what you say he did, you're not talking to my son without a lawyer.
Well, if you want Elijah back, you need to let us talk to him.
I just talked to him, okay? And it's nothing.
He was pissed at me, so he sold the itinerary to a photographer, so he could get a Nintendo that I said he couldn't have.
The guy wanted some street shots of us.
Jay panicked, thinking somehow he got Elijah kidnapped.
Who is this photographer? His name is Goran Stanka, he works outside of my club all the time.
I'll check it out.
I'm telling you Stanka didn't have anything to do with this.
And neither did Jay.
You seem pretty sure about that.
I just don't want you guys wasting your time.
Why would you think we were wasting our time? A couple of months ago, I I received a letter from a man claiming to be Elijah's biological father.
I didn't know what to do.
So I referred it to my lawyer.
But this guy would not let it go.
Did you get my letter? Sorry? My name is Isaac Gahran.
I believe I sent you a letter a month ago.
What can I do for you? As I stated before, I am the boy's father.
I went to fight in the war and I left my son at a refugee camp after his mother died from disease.
When I came back I was told that he was sent to the United States.
And now he's with you.
I have his birth papers.
And I will submit DNA for testing if you wish.
The adoption agency told us both of his parents had died.
This kind of miscommunication is typical in the camps.
It is a beautiful name you have chosen Elijah.
What do you want? I want what's right.
Is there any particular reason you didn't tell us about this in the beginning? Well, you said that some stalker was hanging out in our boiler room and it had nothing to do with this guy.
Look, I know that I screwed up, that's why I'm telling you this now.
What is it you're trying to cover up? Like what? Like an illegal adoption.
No, absolutely not.
Look, I know how it looks in the papers.
A couple of rich jerks, they fly their private jet, waltz over to Africa and they hand pick a kid.
But no one knows what we went through before Elijah.
Kate and I tried to have a child for years.
She had four miscarriages.
The last one nearly did us in.
She couldn't leave the house for weeks.
She was five months pregnant.
And then Elijah, he changed all that.
This kid, he's such a force of life, he's so happy.
I wasn't going to let anybody take that away from us.
So your wife has no idea about this Sudanese guy? No, she doesn't.
I wanted to protect her after all she'd been through.
How much did you pay him? $50,000.
- Any word from Sam yet? - Yeah, Goran Stanka alibis out for last night.
What about Isaac Gahran? I'm checking with the Sudanese consulate to see if they can help, but I think we may have some luck with the Douglas' housekeeper.
She was mugged last week and the house keys were in her purse.
- And she didn't tell the family? - No, she was afraid of getting fired.
- Description? - Only that he was black.
Put out an APB as soon as they finish with the sketch.
- All right, you got it.
- Oh, and do me a favor.
Hold down the fort for an hour.
You can call me if you need me.
Sure, everything okay? Yeah, I've just got to take care of some stuff.
See ya.
I like the new hair.
Yeah, I need a change.
You want to talk about how you're doing? I don't go out much.
My mom says that I watch way too much TV.
And it's good to get some sun.
Not for me.
I don't want to ruin this florescent light tan I've got going on.
Another woman's gone missing.
If you can help us identify this man, we might be able to find her.
When I woke up in the van after they took me, he was there.
Bitch! Looks like we got a biter.
It's not funny, that bitch scratched me.
So cut her nails next time.
Look, I'm serious as cancer.
You break her or I will.
She won't be of use to anyone when I'm done with her.
Listen up, sweetheart.
You touch me again, I'll slit your throat.
You got it? I'm really sorry.
Yeah.
Listen, if there's anything that you can remember What kind of van it was, where you drove, anything, it would help us.
He had me blindfolded.
I remember a toll booth on a bridge, though.
The fare was $4.
50, I think.
Well, that helps.
I don't want to keep remembering.
Here you have it, Isaac's sketch.
Thank you.
What's this? Sam sent over these photos that the paparazzo took the day the housekeeper got mugged.
So we're hoping to get lucky.
These are the ones from across the street.
It's Christopher and Kate walking to their car.
That's the housekeeper? Keep going.
Keep going.
Stop.
Who's that? Go to the next one.
Let me enhance the face.
That's our guy.
So Isaac not only conned the dad, but he took the kid to see how much more he could get.
It's the gift that keeps on giving.
Isaac Gahran, or Isaac Mahi, as he's known to his coworkers at the pizzeria.
He got a driver's license in that name.
Born in Southwest Sudan, came here six years ago.
- Refugee? - No.
He was a soldier with the SPLA.
He came in on a German passport.
What's he been doing since? Before the pizzeria, he worked at an adoption agency as a translator until they fired him for trying to pull another paternity scam.
That explains how he got to the Douglas'.
I don't think so.
They went through a different adoption agency.
I think he spotted them at the cultural center.
Or he opened up a tabloid.
They made a big deal out of it.
Made them an easy mark.
We have any idea on a location? Last known address was an SRO in Brooklyn, but he moved out a couple of days ago.
- Okay.
I'll see you inside.
- All right.
- Malone.
- Hey, Jack.
We got a hit on that partial from the pizza delivery truck.
- Isaac Gahran? - No, no.
It's not Gahran.
It belongs to a 17-year-old Sudanese kid named Luol Nimiera.
He came to the states five years ago with a group of orphans known as the Lost Boys of the Sudan.
Left their villages after they were wiped out by the militia.
We have an address? Yeah, he lives with a foster family in Astoria, but they haven't seen him in days.
This foster family, do they know anything about this Isaac character? No.
Just that they were friends.
Okay, I want you to pull up Luol's phone records.
The Sudanese community is pretty tight-knit.
Somebody there will know him.
Detective Morris, Special Agent Johnson.
Thank you for coming.
Oh, it's my pleasure.
Any luck finding the waitress? No, but Jen Long confirms that Joe Giusti was Foster's accomplice.
I have a theory on their MO, if you're interested.
I'd love to hear it.
I've got three other victims, found in foreclosed homes in depressed areas.
Now, the banks are desperate to unload these places, but they're not exactly hot properties, right? So our guys swoop in offering six months rent up front in cash, the bank jumps, it's a done deal.
Okay, so the bank gets the money, no questions, and they get all the privacy they need.
Exactly.
I want you to start digging up foreclosures in areas off bridges matching the toll your victim Jen mentioned.
See if something pops.
Yeah.
Shouldn't there be a ransom call by now, or a letter or something? Mrs.
Douglas, why don't you take a seat? Typically, yes, but in these situations, there are no set rules.
I feel like I'm going crazy.
I- I feel like this isn't even real.
All right, listen.
The best thing you can do the best thing all of us can do is stay focused on finding Elijah.
I'm going to ask you a few questions about the man in this photograph.
That's that's the shy boy from the cultural center.
All right, let's get you all cleaned up.
All right, Picasso? Come on.
No, no.
Excuse me.
Excuse me, sir.
What are you doing? I'm very sorry.
I work here.
I dropped the paint.
Forgive me, please.
Oh, no, no, no, no.
I You didn't do anything.
I I apologize.
What is your name? Luol.
Luol.
Nice to meet you.
I'm Kate, and this is Elijah.
Elijah? Hello, Elijah.
Hi.
The mask he is painting is Dinka.
No? Yes.
Elijah was born to a Dinka tribe in - southern Sudan.
- I am Dinka, as well.
- You hear that, Elijah? - Yes.
Yeah.
Luol is a fellow countryman.
Well, I must go.
The other children are running out of paint.
- Luol? - Yes? Yeah.
I think it's really important that Elijah get a sense of his homeland.
Maybe you could tell him a few stories sometime.
He is too little for all that.
All of my stories are filled with lions and crocodiles.
It was very nice to meet you.
Likewise, Luol.
He was just so gentle with Elijah.
And the way that he looked at him I don't know.
It was It was like they were connected.
Do you keep your house keys in your purse? Yeah.
Why? Because I'm willing to bet that's what he was looking for.
You interrupted him.
Plan B was mugging your housekeeper.
You know, Christopher and I we fell in love with the Sudan.
The music, the art, the people.
I wanted Elijah to experience it.
To be proud of it.
I don't know, there's just also so much brutality there.
Maybe I should have just kept him away.
These are Luol's cell phone records.
Your number shows up nearly 70 times, and the last phone call he made, it was to you.
It is as I said, I know Luol from the center.
Nothing more.
Peter, we spoke to everybody at the center.
You and Luol walked from the Sudan to a Kenya refugee camp when you were nine years old.
You've been to hell and back together.
Did you have anything to do with the kidnapping of this child? No, sir.
I'm in America for my bright future, and that is all.
I'm not involved in any of this.
Then you have nothing to worry about.
All you have to do is answer our questions.
What are you afraid of, Peter? Maybe it is true that Luol belongs in prison.
But he can't go home.
There is no home.
I tell you what, Peter.
I'll make a deal with you.
You tell us what we want to know, and I guarantee that Luol will stay in this country.
I was cleaning up at the center this morning.
Luol? What happened to you? Isaac caused an accident, Peter.
What? - Whose blood is that? - You must hide this.
- I cannot.
- I need you to hide.
- What have you done? - I need you to help me, please! What did you do, Luol? I need some money.
What? How much? $500.
That will be enough.
Enough for what? To go away.
Call the others, see what you can find.
I will call you when it is safe.
I will call you when it is safe.
And whose blood was on the knife? He would not tell me.
I hid the knife in a storage closet at the center.
Let me get ERT down there.
Okay.
Peter, I want you to listen to me very carefully.
Do you know where Luol went? No.
And he has not called me yet for the money.
Do you know where Isaac lives? Yes.
Write.
FBI! Looks like we got a ransom note.
Jack, come take a look at this.
Welcome to America.
Do you how long they were there or where they were going? And can you tell if any of the blood belong to Elijah? We're still doing a full check on the house, but at this point, it appears that Isaac's the only victim.
Excuse me.
So Luol just called Peter for the money, he wants to meet on 92nd Street and Riverside Park.
Okay.
Excuse me.
Freeze! FBI.
I'm going to ask you one more time.
Where is the boy? Look at me when I'm talking to you! Where is the boy?! Hey! I'm talking to you! Please! I should be put in a prison.
Now I will go.
- I will not argue.
- You can forget about prison.
I'm going to put you on the first plane back to the Sudan, and make sure you're on the front lines of that civil war.
Isaac was a soldier, right? He was conditioned for violence.
I don't think you're like that.
I think you came to get away from all of that.
And if you did kill him, I'm willing to bet it was self-defense.
Isaac told me the child was stolen by this rich American family, and that he knew where the real parents were in Africa.
I thought we were going to reunite them.
But that was not Isaac's true intention.
He's hungry.
So am I.
He needs food.
We should go to the store.
He can eat that.
We cannot feed him junk, Isaac.
It is all we have.
What is this? A ransom note.
No! No, Isaac.
This is not about money.
He belongs with his real parents.
I'm sure they are long dead.
You said they were still in Africa, that we would return the child to them.
You lied to me.
Come on, Luol.
You're naive.
That note says you will kill him if they do not pay.
It won't come to that, my dear.
They bought him before.
They'll buy him again.
He's a favorite pet.
Why should we not get paid? And what if you're wrong, Isaac? What if you're wrong and they refuse to pay?! Then I'll mail the boy back to them in tiny little pieces.
What do you think people back home would say about you? You have to forget Africa, Luol! You're in America now.
I had to protect the child.
And that's all we care about, is the safety of that child.
He is safe where he is.
He's just a baby.
He's defenseless.
He can't take care of himself.
If you help us find him, we can protect him.
- You understand? - You are with the government.
- Why should I trust you? - Because the government's job is to protect its people.
And I'm going to do my best to hold up my end of the bargain.
Where I come from, that is not what a government does.
A government does not care for a child.
My father ran one way and I ran another.
I do not know what happened to him.
My brother I carried my brother until the skin of my feet wore off.
We ate berries and sucked water from the mud until his stomach started to hurt.
He died in my arms, and then I put him down.
I left him on the ground.
I had to keep walking.
I wonder what future there is with these things in my head.
Luol, listen to me.
Look at me.
This child doesn't have to die.
I will only speak with his mother.
Okay.
At the camp in Kukoma, they told us being in America was like heaven.
They lied; they told us to give us hope.
I mean you no disrespect, sir.
None taken.
Putting him behind bars seems absolutely wrong on every level.
You know, in my opinion, Isaac orchestrated the whole thing.
Luol did everything he could to save that kid.
Sounds about right to me.
Hey, little man, you okay? My name's Martin.
I'm a policeman.
Come on.
Let's get you out of here.
Are you hurt anywhere? No? Okay, come on.
One of Joe's aliases popped on a lease.
True to form, he paid three months in advance in cash.
Clear.
Clear.
Clear.
This doesn't add up.
It's commercial-grade deadbolts affixed to the outside of multiple doors.
He spent some money here.
This is too organized.
This feels a lot bigger than two perverts getting their rocks off.

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