Body of Proof (2011–2013): Season 2, Episode 3 - Missing - full transcript

Helen!

Let me go! Let me go!

Let me go! Let me go!

No! Noah!

Oh! Get off me!

No!

No! Noah!

- No!
- Let me go!

No!

- Noah!
- Aah!

Helen! Let me go!



Let me go!

So your mom decided
to run again this year.

Good for her.

Bad for me.

Two months of fund-raising
and glad-handing hell.

Dr. Hunt, not a moment too soon.

Where's Sam?

Training at Quantico.

It's a great opportunity,
but really bad timing.

I hear we have a hit-and-run
and a missing child.

You're looking at Helen Martin.

Live-in nanny to
a 6-year-old boy... Noah Parker.

She and Noah were last seen
down by the swings

- about 30 minutes ago.
- What do your witnesses say?



Well, they're all nannies.
Two of them heard screams.

But the one in the middle
saw a silver truck.

We're bringing 'em down to
the station for statements.

- Could use your help on that.
- Yeah, sure.

- What do you make of it?
- My guess is, he came for the kid,

Helen got in the way of the car,
and he just ran her down.

That's mastoid bruising.

Looks like a basilar skull fracture.

She was hit at a high speed.

These scratches here?

These aren't from the impact.

Defensive wounds.
There was a struggle first.

She was fighting for the boy.

An inhaler. Helen had asthma.

No. This mask is designed for kids.

Noah has asthma.

And he's without his inhaler.

I know this must be difficult for you.

I can assure you, we are using
every resource at our disposal.

Now you are certain that this
is what your son was wearing?

Noah's in a phase where
he only likes two shirts.

He had to be wearing
the skateboard robot.

We're also gonna need
a sample of his DNA...

a... a comb or a shirt,
something he wore...

and also his dental records.

Why? What else do you know?
Have you found something?

We don't know anything yet.

Detective Morris is taking
standard precautions.

Jennifer, Tom, this is, uh,
special agent Derek Ames, FBI.

Please sit.

What can you tell us about our son?

Nothing yet. That's why I've come to you,

so we can learn as much as possible

as we start our investigation.

There's more than a 50% chance

that whoever did this is
someone you and your son know,

maybe even trust.

Why don't we start with Helen?

Helen was a saint.

She loved Noah so much.
She was family to us.

Helen's taken care of Noah
since he was born.

She died trying to save our son.

I'm... I'm... I'm sure of that.

What about someone who knew Helen,

someone who might take advantage of her?

Uh, Helen didn't have
any family that we knew of.

As for friends, I...
the truth is, we didn't pry.

Of course.

I've worked on missing persons
cases for 20 years.

You should know,
you're doing everything right.

The more you tell us,

the better the chances
we'll find Noah alive.

Now before we go on,

the best thing for us all
is if we gather Noah's records.

Would you mind?

Derek Ames, the Swami of Calm.

People find good odds comforting.

They can focus on making
their hope a reality.

Three-quarters
of abducted children who die

are killed within the first
three hours of their abduction.

How's that for odds?

We don't have time.

I never said we did.

We'll need all their contacts ASAP.

Where you going?

To see your M.E. about the body.

Hopefully, he'll have a theory.

You mean she, and as for theories...

be careful what you wish for.

Fractures start 48 centimeters up.

Ground clearance for a light truck,

silver paint chips.

Bruises on the thigh are angular,

which could be from a headlight.

Can you match those imprints
to a make and model?

Give us a few hours, and we'll tell you

- if it's standard or luxury.
- Deal.

If you're from the Bureau, I'm not ready

- to announce cause of death.
- Shame. And I came all this way.

I was promised you'd have
a theory. You mind?

What I have is a woman who threw herself

at a speeding truck to protect a child.

Mm-hmm. Oh, I'm Derek Ames.

I'm busy, Derek Ames.

You want my theory?

You're working too fast.

You don't have kids, do you?

There's a boy out there who's terrified

counting on us to find him,

- and you think I'm working too fast?
- One missed detail,

you hold back the whole investigation.

You can't let your heart
get the better of you.

Nobody has ever accused me of that.

Hmm.

There is bruising on the right shoulder.

Looks like finger impressions.

Maybe a couple of days old.

Okay. That's helpful.

I'm gonna go back

and take another look at Helen's room.

Uh... I could do with
an extra pair of sharp eyes.

Sure. After I get cause of death.

Hmm. It's a date.

She was so proud of Noah.

Every prayer group, she'd have
another story about him,

another picture.

Did she have any enemies you know of?

I doubt it.

But I don't know her as well
as her friends at church.

Enemies? No. She was loved.

Someone didn't love her.

They left an imprint
of their hand on her neck.

She tried to bring
her boyfriend to services once.

He seemed like bad news.

He never came back.

Do you remember his name?

Oscar Mendez.

Helen's been seeing him
for a couple of years.

Sometimes she would show up with bruises.

Helen had a good heart.

She assumed everyone else did, too.

Oscar Mendez... two drunk and disorderlies,

served five months...
accomplice to assault.

You think I took the Parker boy?
Go check my place.

Right. 'Cause that's exactly
where you'd take him.

Look, I knew this was why
you guys brought me in here.

Look, the boy's all over the news.

- Everybody saying it's a kidnapping.
- And what would you call it, huh?

Murder of the woman I love.

If this was just about Helen,
just about a nanny from Camden,

you and I would never be talking.

Mm-hmm. Want to talk about this?

This is your hand impression on her neck.

I would never hurt Helen, man.

Her friends tell us otherwise.

All right. All right.

Yeah, we got in an argument, all right?

- Helen told me she was leaving town.
- Oh, come on.

You'd been fighting.

What better way to get even
than to take the kid she loves?

I'm not perfect, but she was.

And she was all that I had going for me.

Why... would I want to lose that?

Ah. Cause of death...
transection of the cord

at the foramen magnum
due to blunt force trauma.

So she was killed on impact?

- Correct. Find anything in Helen's room?
- Not a lot,

except a few discarded photos
of Oscar Mendez.

So she dumps him, and then
he tries to exact revenge.

How are the parents holding up?

- Well, good as any.
- Sir, I'll take those.

I'm working them for
as much information as I can.

Sensitive. And you think I move too fast?

At the end of the day,

the boy's either in their arms
or on your table.

Deeds not words.

Start tracing.

- Recording to channel 1.
- Triangulating the area.

Hello.

Mommy!

- Noah, where are you?
- Mommy, help!

- Put down the phone!
- Noah?

Noah?!

- Didn't get it.
- Not enough time.

Body of Proof 2x03 - Missing
Original air date October 4, 2011

Okay, so phone tracking
only took us to north Philly.

And nobody recognized
the kidnapper's voice.

Then this will help.
Noah's kidnapper drove

a 2007 pickup with silver metallic finish

and tinted glass on the side windows.

But that describes, like,
10,000 trucks around Philly.

Except the killer's car

left these marks on Helen's thigh.

Now I took a transparency,

rescaled it, blew it up,
overlaid it with thousands...

Ethan, just show him.

Right, right. Sorry about that. Okay.

Just give me a second.

- You see that?
- Yeah.

You put that on top of that.
They're a perfect match.

Never get in a hit-and-run with
aftermarket diamond plating.

- We will catch you.
- Good work. Let's add it to the Amber alert.

We already did, and we ran it
through the police database.

Five guys in north Philly
have the exact same car.

But only one has three priors
and a huge debt.

Meet Jason Peterson, our creep at large.

I knew it.

What does a mother have to do

- to have dinner with her daughter?
- You cannot come in here.

You've been ignoring me.

That's impossible.

Your election signs are everywhere.

Well, today is your lucky day.

My dockets cleared early,

and I have a reservation at Paulo's.

Oh, Paulo's. How nice. And for how many?

Well, I just thought a friend
would drop by.

Let me guess. Your publicist Sheila.

Mom, we do this every election year.

Just ask. Go ahead and ask.

Just talk to her for 20 minutes.
I have an uphill battle...

I can't. I'm on a case.

Well, it's not like she's gonna
get up off the table and leave.

Megan, you're an integral part
of this campaign.

30 minutes is all I need.

Mother, there is a child missing.

Are you working on the Noah Parker case?

They just nabbed Jason Peterson
off the Amber alert.

Bud's got him now.

- Get off me, man!
- Shut up and move!

Get off me!

Son of a bitch pulled a knife on me!

Yeah?

- Ah!
- I got this! I got it!

Take this.

Come on. Come on.

Where is he, huh? Where's the boy?

Helen Martin's blood
is all over your truck.

You are done. Now where is the boy?

You'll never know.

You don't care, do you?

You don't even care

that there's a boy out there
who might be dyin'.

Hell, you don't even care
that I'm a cop. Well, fine.

I'm not gonna care either.

Okay, what am I looking at?

The material you recovered
from her nails...

sand, uh, detergent.

That's a strawberry seed,
maybe from jelly.

It's all just from being a nanny.

- Nothing from the struggle?
- What about this?

What is that?

Don't look at me.

Isolate it, get it on a slide,
and then I'll...

Oh, speak of the devil.

- Hi. I was just about to call you.
- It'll have to wait.

I need you to come
to the precinct right now.

- Why? What happened?
- Jason Peterson is dead.

Bud's with internal affairs.
He's already off the case.

So I wouldn't go and talk
to him right now, okay?

- Me...
- How could you let this happen?

Can we not do this now?

A boy's been kidnapped,
and you cannot control yourself

long enough to get one answer
out of his kidnapper?

I was interrogating the suspect,
and he went out like a light.

- Oh, you don't believe me?
- Would you?

This is not the time, okay?

Look, I'm sure that came
from a place of concern,

but Bud is under a lot
of pressure already. I...

What concerns me is,
he couldn't handle this pressure.

Medics did everything they could,

but it was hopeless.

C.P.R. compressions
could explain those bruises.

Not the ones on his neck.

Look, Jason attacked Bud
while he walked in.

I mean, maybe he was
just defending himself.

I suppose he had to knee
him in the flank, too?

To subdue a suspect? Yeah.
I've done it myself.

Let's just keep to the matter at hand.

The only person who knows

where the boy is hidden...

is now in your custody.

Time to make a dead man speak.

Derek was pretty sure that this guy

is somehow connected to the family.

Yeah, I've worked with Derek before.

He's pretty sure about everything.

Our kidnapper is quite the smoker.

Huh.

Lesions in his bones.

I'll bet his heart
is as black as his lungs.

Carcinoma, widely metastatic
through the skeleton.

Cancer could explain that rib fracture.

Yeah, maybe. But so could Bud Morris.

The consult is over,

but your scrubs tell me
you're here to stay.

You need to find
where Jason hid Noah Parker.

Cause of death can't be
your priority. I can help.

One body, one pathologist.

I'll assist, okay?

I've had other missing person
cases before.

Why this one?

I was new here. It was my...

it was my third autopsy...

a battered mom whose daughter
had gone missing.

Curtis and I worked on that case
for two weeks straight.

They never found the girl?

Oh, they found her.
She was my fourth autopsy.

Oh. It looks like his spleen
might be ruptured.

Could be trauma? That's bad news for Bud.

You needed a lab?

Yeah. Where are you at on that material

- from Helen's fingernails?
- We think it's a fungus. It has spores.

Spores transfer.

And Jason has got scratches on his hands.

You think she got the spores from him?

All I see are dirty fingers
with a few splinters.

- Did either of you smell the fungus?
- Like we had a choice.

It was like rotten oysters.

Perfect. Turn off the lights.

- That is cool.
- Looks like our kidnapper glows in the dark.

What is it?

Fox fire. It's a bioluminescent fungus.

It grows on wood.

If it comes from the place
where Noah's hidden,

we're looking for a place
that's dark, damp...

and deadly for a boy with asthma.

You look like hell. Get some sleep.

Are you any closer to Noah?

You know...

you should not be in this building,

let alone near this case.

I found this... underneath
the seat of my car.

It's gotta be Noah's.

I must have missed it
when I patted Jason down.

He probably stashed it
on his way into the station.

It looks chewed on.

Well, if that's the case,

the maybe it's been where Noah's been,

maybe there's a trace.

I'll let Megan know.

Was it really necessary...

locking the door and pulling the cable?

Come on. We don't even tape
those interrogations.

You know those cameras
aren't on. Those were tactics.

Tactics?

You know, Megan found
bruises on his neck,

internal bleeding,

and a ruptured spleen.

I have been your best defense,

but I am now running on empty, okay?

You should go.

Why do I ever call you?

Or maybe because I love you

and I just want to make sure you're okay?

Are you doing your homework?

Uh-huh.

Did you ask your father?

Okay, well, just make sure
you bring your phone.

I love you.

Oh, I know that look.

Lacey's fine.

- How was dinner?
- It was terrific.

- Hmm.
- I just came by to see

- how your case is coming along.
- Terrific.

The one man who knows
where the boy is, is dead,

our detective might have killed him,

and the only lead I have
in the case is wood fungus.

Well, I thought this might help.

It's every case I could find

in which Jason Peterson is mentioned.

Those are the abstracts.
I'm sending the files over.

And the quid pro quo is?

I'm here to help, Megan,

and to find out what I said
that was so terribly wrong.

You know how hard it is for me
to see that everywhere?

That was the worst day of my life.

And every time you run for office,

I have to relive it.

So that's what that picture means to you?

I always found it
a point of family pride...

for becoming successful...

for staying strong.

Daddy killed himself,
we suffered, and I miss him.

How is that a point of family pride?

If there's anything else I can do

to help you find that boy...

Honestly,

if it weren't a campaign year...

No, I don't want anything in return.

Wish I could believe that.

Dr. Hunt, you called?

Oh, hi. Yeah.

Um, we found blood in the saliva

on Noah's toy.

- And that could mean anything.
- It just doesn't feel right.

My team is running labs on the blood,

but I want to talk to Noah's parents.

- Is that the best use of your time?
- If his health is at issue, yes.

But you haven't even found
the cause of death

for Jason Peterson yet.

I'm trying to prevent Noah's.

You coming or not?

You not goin' with her?

I guess not.

Hmm.

I believe this belongs to Noah.

We found that after
Jason Peterson was arrested.

I need to ask you some questions

about Noah's health.

Did he have an asthma attack recently?

My son is gone,

and you're asking me about asthma

when your people
killed the man who took him?

You have every right to be angry.

But your son is still out there,

and he needs your help.

I'm sorry.

Everything's been so hard.

Tom's business has been struggling.

My family won't give him another loan.

We've spent so much time fighting...

neither of us have been there for Noah.

God.

I just want my son back.

We're getting an image.

Oh, my God.

Oh, my God. Noah!

We've got our motive.

We have more than that.
Look at the picture.

He's sick,

and a lot worse than I thought.

Sweaty hair means fever,

sunken eyes... dehydration,

and blue mouth... oxygen deprivation.

Hmm. Or it could mean he's in a hot room,

he's not getting water,
and he has asthma.

If he's coughing up blood,

he's got a fever, and a bad one.

Well, on a positive note...

Can't wait to hear this.

...he's alive, he's not alone,

and this tells us who we're dealing with.

Hastily constructed,
no visual time stamp,

like a newspaper or TV, no mention

of a future phone call or exchange plan...

now that is not the work
of a slick extortionist.

So whoever has Noah
is incompetent and desperate.

Hmm. How is that a good thing?

Because Jason may not
have known the Parkers,

but his accomplice does.

The problem is,
Jason's contact list is huge.

Now we're running all the leads,

but we could use some evidence
from the body.

I'll have something for you in an hour.

I promise.

You promised him evidence?

I got carried away.

You wouldn't be the first

to get carried away by Derek Ames.

May I remind you that
you already have a boyfriend?

Huh.

What is it?

It looks like Jason swallowed
some kind of an insect.

Maybe we can get Curtis
to find out where it came from.

Well, his carotids look fine,

but the bruises go
deep into Jason's neck.

Bud could lose his entire career
over one mistake.

If we don't find Noah,

Bud is gonna have to live
with a lot worse than that.

What are you doing here?

Nobody else is talking to me.

How's it comin'?

Finding an accomplice

is like finding a needle in a haystack.

Bud, you'd better prepare for the worst.

Every sign on Jason's body
points to trauma.

I.A.'s already talking about
voluntary manslaughter.

What the hell happened in there?

Does it really matter?

I lost that boy.

On my watch, I lost that boy.

I could come back.

Not if it's the Parker case.

What did you find?

A trace on Jason's teeth. Uh, cocaine.

Nice stuff, too.
Cut with talc and synephrine.

Synephrine?
Not a lot of dealers in Philly

cut their cocaine
with a weight-loss drug.

I can count 'em on one hand.

Do you recognize any of the names here?

Megan's mother gave them to us.

- Don't know him.
- Strange.

Because in Jason's body,

we found the exact same blend
of cocaine you sell.

I don't know him.

You both... ran stolen auto parts

to the exact same dealers...

for years.

- Should I say it again?
- That's a shame.

Because...

I've got a lot of people telling me

you both hatched this plan

to steal a little boy for money.

Now the boy's missing.

Now I'd love to know,
was that Jason's idea...

- or yours?
- Look, I had nothing to do with that, man.

- All right.
- I don't mess with kids.

Then you tell me everything
you don't know

about Jason Peterson.

Come on.

He come by about two weeks ago,

looking for some junk.

Said he had a toothache.

We, uh...

run some parts together in the past,

but I hadn't seen this guy
in over a year, man.

Running auto parts
means hiding places, right?

I want a full list.

Now.

He's got hiding places all over the city.

- What else was Jason dealing?
- I don't know.

But it's gonna take the police
all day to check 'em.

Well, Noah might not have that long.

Try the river.

The bug the kidnapper inhaled
is a young caddis fly.

They need open freshwater to breathe.

So three places along the Delaware.

Noah got sick fast,

so we're looking for poor air quality.

That looks like a rail yard.
Let's start there.

Call Derek, will you?

Tell him I'll meet him at the station.

Go! Go! Go! Go!

- Go! Go! Go! Go! Go!
- Clear!

Clear here.

Got a police scanner.

If they were here,
they knew we were coming.

There's no wood here.

There's no place for that fungus
on Jason's body to grow.

Maybe this is not their only hideout.

Ames.

He was here.

They must have just left.

Blood.

Noah's got pneumonia.

Could be a cut.

Look at the spray pattern.

He's coughing up blood.

No new calls. No idea where the boy is.

Please tell me you found something.

- I'm working on it.
- Work faster.

The problem is, I don't know
which of these bruises

are from the kidnapping,
Bud's interrogation,

or just being Jason Peterson.

Well, hopefully, something on his body

will give us a lead to where that boy is.

There's no cancer in his jaw, is there?

No.

The mandible looks clean. Why?

Kevin the drug dealer

said he needed something for a toothache.

So if there's no cancer there...

then why the toothache?

Those aren't tobacco stains.

The gums are rotting.

It looks like an advanced infection,

but that tissue's too far gone
to take a culture.

Maybe we don't need to.

I had assumed that these bruises

were lumps from Bud's interrogation.

But... maybe...

it might be...

sulfur granules.

Actinomycosis.

Okay.

Let's start with the arteries
around the spleen.

You wanted to see me?

Sit down.

Might as well read that.

It's yours.

Can I just hear it from you?

An infection started in his teeth

that moved into his blood,

and finally, one of his arteries burst.

So...

I didn't cause it?

Jason Peterson died
of a burst mycotic aneurysm,

which had been slowly dissecting

long before he came to the station.

You didn't do it.

Bud...

did you think you killed him?

I've replayed that 20 minutes
over and over again.

Everything I'd done before...

but this time, I...

I wanted that confession.

I wanted to save that kid.

I lost control.

I understand.

It's a horrible thing to know
that you've killed someone.

Megan.

Thank you.

I'm sorry to interrupt again,

but... but we identified the infection

that burst Jason's arteries.

Actinomyces...

well-known cause of vaporizer lung.

Apparently, Tom Parker's
business went bankrupt

last year.

Maybe he needs the ransom
to bail him out.

So he kidnaps his own kid?

Maybe. Desperate man.

What's going on? What did you find?

Bacteria in your son's vaporizer.

It gets airborne,
and then infects the lungs.

I replace that water all the time.

Not the filter. Most people don't.

- That's where bacteria can thrive.
- How is any of this relevant?

This is what killed Jason Peterson.

Cancer had already compromised
his immune system,

so he was susceptible.

Is that what Noah has, too?

It could be. He has severe pneumonia.

How is any of this gonna get Noah back?

Because now we know
Jason was in this room.

How is that possible?

My guess...

is with the help of an accomplice.

Who?

I was hoping you'd tell us, Mr. Parker.

An inside job would
make you the ideal inside man.

Why would I kidnap my own son?

Your business...

had already gone belly-up.

Your marriage was ending.
You had nothing left.

You needed a way to cash out.

Is this what you've been working on?

Is this your best theory?

Family abductions happen all the time.

All you needed was a ruse and a hired hand

- to carry it out, grab Noah.
- I want my son back more than anything.

But things started
to go south, didn't they?

Helen fought and died,
Jason got arrested,

and then...

and then you had nothing left,
you didn't know what to do.

I love Noah. I loved Helen like family.

Why would I ever put
either of them in harm's way?

Come on. You were desperate!

Now who else had access to that room?

- I've already told you everything!
- No, you haven't!

- You haven't told us anything!
- I can't think! Please!

Mr. Parker...

your son Noah is at risk...

partly because of me.

Now if you didn't do this,

you have to help us right now.

W... wait.

Six weeks ago...

I took Jen to Cape May
for the long weekend.

It was a romantic getaway.

I was trying to fix things between us.

And you left Noah alone with Helen.

For two days.

That's out.

So who did Helen trust

that would let Jason
into the Parker house?

I spoke with her boyfriend
Oscar, and it wasn't him.

A fight put him
in County General Hospital

the weekend the Parkers were out of town.

And get this... Helen was
with him the whole time.

- Then who took care of the boy?
- Who did Helen trust the most?

One of the nannies.

Great minds.

If Jason was exposed
to a fungus at a hideout,

then presumably,
his accomplice was as well.

And the nannies handled
their own witness statements.

So?

So...

What are those marks?

Fungus... the same kind
we found on Jason Peterson.

Gentlemen, I give you

Rena Talbot,

our second kidnapper.

She lied right to my face.

So she gave us Oscar
just to throw us off.

The good news is, the family
that Rena works for

- is out of town and has been for a week.
- What's the bad news?

- She works for the Shaws.
- As in Madeline Shaw, the heiress?

- Why is that bad news?
- The last time I tried to get

a warrant for that family, it was
for a second cousin, and I went 0-for-4.

So are we gonna get one
on a Sunday morning?

Okay, I'm curious.
How'd you get the warrant?

I know someone.

Now I'm more curious.

Where's the boy? Where's Noah Parker?

- I have no idea what you're talking about.
- You're lying to me. Take her inside.

We'll go room by room.

Dark and damp.

He's down here!

What's that?!

Shut down the streets.
They're ready to go.

Hey. Wait a minute.

- I had no idea the boy was down there.
- Oh, really? That's strange,

'cause you're the one who put him there.

Your boyfriend Jason... you remember him?

He was in debt, needed cash quick.

But you know what you forgot?

Helen.

She fought for that boy.

She gave her life trying to save him.

You remember that.

Get her out of here.

Do you ever slow down?

Do you?

In the right company.

Um, when I'm not working,

I'm with my daughter.

And if she's not available?

Well, I'm sure you have
a brilliant suggestion.

After every case,

I like to go for a long ride
on my motorcycle.

That's not very smart.

It's very relaxing.

You do know that motorcyclists

are the biggest organ donors
in the country?

Yeah, sure,

which is why having a drink with you

is a much safer alternative,
don't you think?

That was way too smooth.

Or maybe I'll see you on my bike.

Uh, not before I see you on my table.

Hmm.

Call me if you change your mind.

I see the Parker boy
is back with his family.

Oh.

Thanks to Helen Martin.

Something tells me you will be presiding

over Rena Talbot's trial.

Oh, actually, the cases
are assigned by lottery,

- but my publicist would love it.
- Mm-hmm.

What's this?

The scariest four hours of my life.

The day your father killed himself,

I came back to a house
filled with cops and you gone.

Ran away, they said.

For the next four hours, I was frantic.

I thought that maybe I had
lost both you and your father.

But they found you.

You were sound asleep
in your father's toolshed.

I didn't know where you were.

Is that why you've been helping,

because you... lost a child
for four hours?

Megan...

I lost you for the next 30 years.

So why did you help?

Well, I wanted them
to find the Parker boy,

but I wanted you to find him
more than that because I...

I knew how much it meant to you.

I miss you, Megan.

I spend a lot of my time

wondering how I can get you back.

You'll still be campaigning
for me, I hope.

You do not give up, do you?

I...

Oh, my God.