Criminal Minds (2005–…): Season 7, Episode 20 - The Company - full transcript

Hotch: Previously
on "Criminal Minds"...

Is my baby girl
on that beach?

One of the victims
that we found

fits Cindi's general
description.

Morgan's cousin fled a stalker.

So whenever unidentified
female remains turn up,

he gets that call.

I know you, Derek.
There is something, isn't there?

My auntie spent years obsessing
over Cindi's last few hours.

It's killing her, Rossi.

I'm never gonna know,
am I?



He picked out
her picture.

She's dead.

[Sobbing]

[Telephone rings]

Woman: Hi. Leave a message
after the tone. [Beep]

Hey, mom, it's me.

They're all out of
the 2%,

so I got 1% instead.

And let me know
if an extra 1%

makes that much
of a difference

and I'll stop at Jewel
or something

all right. Bye.

What--

Hey!



Hey!

[Honking]

Cindi?

Oh, my God.

[Horn honks, crash,
brakes screeching]

[Horn honking]

[Shouting]

Somebody call 911.
Hurry!

[Ringing]

Hey. Everything all right?

Derek, you need to come home.

What's wrong?
Is it ma?

It's Desiree.

She's been hurt.

[Groans]

[Chuckles]

Either my big brother's
in the room,

or somebody else

is wearing his
nasty-ass cologne.

Well, hey there.

Where's Mom?

I sent her home.

I wanted her
to get some rest.

Desi?

What were you thinking?

Who were you chasing?

I didn't see the driver.

But the passenger...

Yeah?

It was Cindi.

Aunt Yvonne's Cindi?

Yes.

Desi...

She's dead.

I swear to God,

she was as close
as you are to me.

Closer.

You gotta listen to me.

Sometimes our mind
plays tricks on us.

We invent things.

It's why eyewitness
testimony is unreliable.

No. When I got her
to look at me,

she didn't just
recognize me,

she said something.

[No audio]

She said "I'm sorry."

Now, would I invent that?

It was her.

[Ring]

How's your sister?

She's awake.
She's talking.

Good.

Morgan, take as much
personal time as you need.

Hotch...

I think I might have
a case out here.

What do you mean?

Look, I need to come clean
about something.

I lied about
someone being dead.

I'm sorry?

Last year, that fisherman unsub
that was dumping the bodies

in the Atlantic,
he claimed that my cousin

was one of his victims.

Falsely. You deduced
he'd never met her.

I told my family
it was him.

Cindi had been missing
for 8 years

and my aunt needed closure.

And even though I kept
looking, I lied, Hotch.

I lied because I wanted
my family to move on.

But now there's evidence
she's alive.

You still there?

We're on our way.

What did you do?

♪ Criminal Minds 7x20 ♪
The Company
Original Air Date on April 11, 2012

== sync, corrected by elderman ==

♪

Morgan:
"Worse than telling a lie

is spending your whole life
staying true to a lie."

Robert Brault.

So your cousin fled
Chicago 8 years ago

because a co-worker
was stalking her?

Yeah, a guy named
John Hitchens.

Cindi and Yvonne came to me and
asked me if they should be worried.

Her emails and phone logs
showed classic stalker behavior.

Reid: Multiple messages
every hour.

Gifts he sent which
she later returned.

That would enrage
a stalker.

But until they become violent,

they're smart enough
to skirt the law.

Human resources at the investment bank
wouldn't do anything,

and Chicago P.D. couldn't.

So Yvonne and I
convinced Cindi to move.

She contacted us from Charleston
on her way to Savannah.

And then she was gone.

And Hitchens blew his brains out
two weeks later in Chicago.

That was good enough
for the local P.D. to conclude

that he'd killed her.

Except for one major detail.
We never found the body.

If his endgame was suicide,
he wasn't organized enough

to dispose of the body
that permanently.

That's why I never
stopped looking.

I just didn't think that she would
surface right back here in Chicago.

We need to reopen
both cases.

Both Cindi's disappearance
and Hitchens' suicide.

The discrepancies in each
would explain her current behavior.

Morgan, I need to talk
to you when we land.

I can't wait.

Auntie,
what are you doing here?

Your older sister
called me about the accident.

She also told me
what Desiree saw.

Look, auntie, we don't know
anything for sure yet.

Derek Morgan, what is going on
with my daughter?

Please.

[No audio]

Rossi: Detective Palmer,
what do you have?

I wish we had more
to give you.

You know how missing
persons cases are.

Actually,
there's quite a bit here.

These were found in Hitchens'
apartment after the suicide.

Some were blown up
from the original film stock.

So if Hitchens took them,
he didn't

zoom in on Photoshop.
He's an old-school shutterbug.

Reid and Prentiss, check Hitchens'
photographic background.

Even 8 years ago,
most people had gone digital.

The gun Hitchens used
to kill himself

was traced to this dealer.

Local guy. Completely
by the book. No record.

The .44 was the only gun
in Hitchens' possession.

That's a big gun
to kill yourself with.

We should talk to the dealer,

find out what his mindset
was when he bought it.

[Cell phone rings]

Hey.

Hey.

Um, I sent you the case file
Chicago P.D. sent me.

I got it.

Yeah. So there's that.

Bad, huh?

Yeah. Yeah.
It's pretty bad.

Penelope,
can you just talk to me?

Uh-huh.

Yeah, what about?

I don't care.
Just--just talk.

Ok, um...

[Nervous laugh] Um...

What?

I--God, this is
the first time in my life

I don't have anything
to say.

Except that I'm--
I'm here for you.

Ok, Derek? I'm right here.

Yeah, I know you are.

The gun was bought
8 years ago?

At least, if not longer.

Here we go.

Oh, yeah.

There he is.

John Hitchens?

Hitchens?

No, ma'am. The fellow who bought
this piece was Malcolm Ford.

Hmm.

Excuse me.

Well, maybe the gun
traded hands.

Malcolm Ford sold it
to Hitchens,

and Hitchens shot himself?

Or he never sold it to Hitchens
at all. He used it on him.

So I guess the real question
here is, who's Malcolm Ford?

We're leaving.

Ready.

Wait.

Put this
in the glove box.

Good day.

Hey.

Getting away
for the weekend?

Just headed up to the cabin.

Ah. Have fun.

Will do.

Malcolm, do we
have to do this?

Maybe she didn't
recognize me.

Maybe. But we can't
take that chance.

So Cindi had two stalkers.

No, only one. Ford fits the
profile better than Hitchens.

Ford had multiple assault
and harassment charges,

all filed by ex-girlfriends
and random women he met.

And Garcia found
credit card purchases

for black and white
photographic equipment for Ford.

So this guy killed
Hitchens and then set him up.

Behaviorally
it would make sense.

If Ford was stalking
your cousin,

he would have seen Hitchens
as competition,

so he kills him
and he plants the photos

to throw off your investigation.

Hotch, I want to bring this guy in
and question him personally.

Garcia just sent us
his address.

Morgan.

Have you told your aunt
about any of this?

She, uh...Yeah.

We need to know
how Ford found Cindi.

So you need to ask her.

Is that it?

That's it.

FBI!

It's clear here.

JJ: Clear.

Reid: Clear.

Guys.

The house is empty,
but there's evidence

of a woman living here.

JJ: Looks like they both
packed up in a hurry.

They were trying
to cover their tracks.

What the hell is she
doing with this guy?

Hello, you two.

You must be Cindi.

Dominic has told me
so much about you.

This is Dominic
and is wife Suzy.

They're gonna
help us out.

Cindi? You have
permission.

Thank you for all your help.

Please let me know
if I can be of service.

Impressive.

Can we hide the car?

Yeah. There's room
in the garage.

And I've been in touch with a guy
who can get you into Canada.

We're not going
to the cabin?

Why don't I take you inside?

Right this way.

Let me give you the tour.

How long you been married?

12 years.

Want to know the secret?

Communication.

He talks, I listen.

Down here, sweetheart.

This is my room.

You can take the bed.

I wouldn't do that.

What is it?

It's a head box.

He would take
my cousin's head

and put it through
the hole, and then he'd...

Morgan, we need
to deliver a profile.

Why, Reid?

We know
who the unsub is.

We need to deliver
the profile.

I've had lots of servants,
but none like her.

How'd you do it?

Told her about The Company

and what they'd do to her
if she didn't behave.

Hmm.

Oh. There's one number
programmed on here.

He'll get you
to Toronto tonight.

He a company man?

You can trust him.

Auntie...

Do you know that man?

Yes.

He went to the church
Cindi and I went to.

Did you talk to him?

He talked to us.

Is this him?

Yes.

Most stalkers
have the delusion

that the woman that they're after
wants to be with them.

But not this man.

He lays low
and he follows you.

He watched us
pack up Cindi.

And then he kept
watching her

all the way
to Charleston.

But if he brought her
back here,

why didn't she
try to escape?

After 8 years in captivity

at the hands
of Malcolm Ford,

we believe Cindi Burns'
ego has been shattered.

As a result, he could afford to
give her some degree of freedom

and trust that
she would stay with him.

Which is why it's going to be
very difficult

to get Cindi away
from her captor.

We believe she's suffering
an extreme form of Stockholm syndrome.

Like that girl
from the seventies, Hearst.

Patty Hearst, that's right.

So is Cindi gonna start
robbing banks now?

No. He's done something
a lot worse.

He got her to believe
in The Company.

What's The Company?

It's a sadomasochistic
role play scenario,

a game, essentially, in which a cabal
of men tell their submissives

they can trade their slaves
at their whim.

If you displease your master
or try to escape,

the company will find you,
kill you, and kill your family.

The voluntary submissives
understand that it's just a fantasy,

but Malcolm Ford has gotten
Cindi to believe it's real.

How?

This was dated 3 years
after her abduction.

Which means
for the last 5 years,

her only reality
was his unending abuse.

Then he gave her this.

This is a slave contract.

She signed her name.

Ohh...

My baby girl.

The documentation
we've found on the company

informs our profile and will
inform your manhunt,

because it might point to
where Malcolm Ford is now.

The language
on their contract

speaks of
an underground network,

which tells us that
he has a few men he trusts.

Which means that what
started as an S&M game

could now be a ring.

All right.

He said this is where
he'd pick us up.

Stop it.
Right now.

Yes, sir.

[Sobs]

I think it's time
for a lesson.

No! I'll behave,
I promise.

Please, I'll behave,
I promise.

You had your chance.

Huh? Huh?
[Choking]

I want you to get that damn
cabin out of your mind, ok?

'Cause we're
not coming back.

Is that clear?

[Chokes] Clear.

- Hmm?
- Yes.

[Coughing]

Now go get me
something to eat.

[Cell phone rings]

Stop.

I know what
you're thinking.

You're thinking
you got nothing left.

But that's not true.

You got family.

Malcolm, please,
he's not a threat to us.

But you are.

And when you think
about your next step,

I want you to think
about this.

I got eyes on him
right now.

One phone call from me
and he's dead in 30 seconds.

Is that what you want?

Hmm.

That's what I thought.

[Alarm beeping]

What's going on?

You said you wanted dinner.
It was an accident.

Sir, what's the problem?

My wife forgot
to put this back.

Ma'am, I'm gonna need
to check your purse.

No. It's just
a misunderstanding.

Ma'am, please come with me.

Look,

we're paying for it, ok?

It's a misunderstanding
and we're leaving.

I just thought I was doing
what you told me to do.

Malcolm, please.
I'm really sorry.

We can make it
if we leave right now.

We'll just go.
We can leave right now.

Don't you come at me.

You're gonna pay for this.

[Sirens]

Garcia, did you get a hit?

Yes. A 911 call
at a grocery store

identifying a couple
matching their description.

Now, Hotch and the gang
on their way,

but you guys are closer.

Take a left.

I got it. Hang on.

I see him.
There he is.

[Siren]

Get out of the car and put your
hands where I can see them.

Put your hands behind your head
and get on your knees.

Is there a problem, sir?

What do you got, Morgan?

Nothing.

What do you mean,
nothing?

The car is empty.

Morgan?

Agent Derek Morgan?

Ha ha. Well, well.

Where is she?

Where is who?

Where is she?

Derek.

Get up.

Officer.

Where are you going?

I'm going to ride back
to the station with him.

Oh, no, you're not. You're gonna
stay here processing the scene.

- Rossi, come on.
- No.

[Cell phone rings]

Yeah.

Wow.

Baby, I'm sorry.

It's been a long night.

Ok, Mr. Snappy.

I was just letting you know

that I sent the grocery store
security camera footage

to your tablet.

You're welcome.

Ok, out with it.
Where's your head at presently?

Honestly, I'm trying
to figure out

why I'm not back
at that police station

trying to break
this son of a bitch.

Ohh...

What are you doing?
What was that for?

For thinking that
this is about you.

Penelope, it is about me.
He called me out by name.

[Loudly] Ohh!

Will you stop doing that.

Well--

seriously, Derek,
seriously--

you know, in the entire
time I have known you,

you are like the glistening
hero in the movie of life.

And now, just because
some guy, some ass-hat guy

decides to call you out
by name,

you think you have
the right to get all weird

and decide "this time
it's personal"?

Really? Derek, did you
ever stop to think that said ass-hat

is exhibiting this behavior
just to get under your skin?

As a matter of fact, I have.

Ok, you know,
well, a real hero

would roll with that instead of
tripping over his gigantic ego.

And as a wise black man
once told me,

baby girl, you be trippin'.
So I tell you what--

why don't you call me back
once you've gotten off

the self-absorption train and
decide to be a real hero,

the kind that Cindi
is waiting for.

I am hanging up on you.

Hey, Detective.

Yeah.

Is this what
my cousin stole?

Well, according
to the manager.

She said it was an accident.

No.

No.

She knew exactly
what she was doing.

How's it going?

He hasn't asked
for a lawyer yet.

He's baiting us.

Which means we need
an interrogation strategy

to throw him off.

He's expecting Morgan.

So then I get home
and, of course,

he's still up
past his bedtime.

Uh. Ohh. It reminds me
why I'm not married.

Oh, well, neither am I,
technically.

Oh, yeah, you're right.
That's true.

Do you guys ever--

Oh. No, I really
don't need a man

to tell me what to do.
- Yeah.

- Excuse me.
- Shh.

Uh, the adults are talking.

When it's your turn to speak,

I'll give you permission.

Ok? So, anyway...

Yeah. Any sleep?

Uh, no. Of course not.

Uchh.

What are we doing here
anyway?

Oh, yeah.
Um...

Oh, ok. So, yeah.

Mal, you want
to confess now

or just go straight
to prison?

Look, my wife and I had
a disagreement in that store.

Whoa--wife?

You're married?

No. This is about
John Hitchens.

His suicide is looking
more like a murder

and the gun
traces back to you.

Ok. Uh, let's go talk
to this wife.

He's not talking.

I don't know who this
Hitchens person is,

but if you had anything,
you'd charge me already.

You're here
because of Cindi.

Caught us.

You know what?
This is my favorite part.

This is where you hang yourself
with your own tongue.

So, please, keep talking.

What are you doing here?

You got a baby at home
being raised by a man

you're not married to.

What are you doing here?

Well, it's work.
But we make it work.

Where's Cindi?

Huh. Work.

I know all about work.

Negotiating
who does the dishes,

fighting over who folds
the laundry.

Except Cindi and I
never fight.

She knows her role.

After you beat her
into signing a contract.

What we have is a bond
you know nothing about.

But I'll tell you about it.

If you ask permission.

Come on.

You're curious, aren't you?

You want to know
our secret.

Please let me
go back in there.

No.

His guard is down.
He thinks he can manipulate me.

We can't give him
what he wants.

We need to keep him
off balance.

Then let me go in.

I can get in his head.

The way he got into yours?

Look, I know I have
no right to ask this,

but please just trust me
on this.

I can break him.

What time is it?

You know what that is?

My dinner.

The time?

When I was growing up,
my dad worked midnights.

My mom worked
pretty late, too.

So me and my sisters
had a lot of dinners

at Cindi and my aunt's house.

It was kind of fun.
Because you get to eat

the stuff that you don't
always get to eat at home.

Stuff like this.

Same label, same everything.

It feels like 10:00,
maybe 10:15.

Let's say 10:15.

So when Cindi stole this,

it was no accident, Malcolm.

She was sending
a message to me.

A message?

For 8 years
you beat her down

to where she could
barely look up.

But when my sister saw her at that
intersection, Cindi knew.

She knew I would
come for her.

So she was letting me know
that she's still in there,

that she's alive
and she's waiting.

She wouldn't do that.

Oh, yes, she would.

She had a whole storeful
of food to choose from,

Malcolm, and she chose that.

She fought you
for as long as she could,

and now she's fighting you again and
you can't handle that, can you?

What time is it?

You know, it's funny

that you keep mentioning
the time.

You had 20 minutes
from the store to your arrest.

You knew we were coming.
Why didn't you run?

You could have easily
got away, but you didn't.

So something
must have slowed you down.

Cindi slowed you down,
didn't she?

And you knew
you couldn't be found

with a crying, bleeding
prisoner in your car,

so you kicked her
to the curb.

You wish
it could be that easy.

But it's not.

Then explain it to me.

What don't I know, Malcolm?

You don't know
what she became.

You don't know
the love she had for me.

Had?

You just said "had,"
past tense.

You have a love
if she's alive.

You had one if she's dead.

What did you do to her?!

Morgan.

No. No, you didn't have
enough time

to dispose of the body
properly. We know that.

And we will find her.

Morgan, out.

And when we do, I will personally
nail your ass to the wall.

That's what time
it is, bitch!

Is it 10:30 now?

Bet it is.

Yeah. Feels like 10:30.

What was that for?

I was in control.
I wasn't gonna hurt him.

Someone's retained a lawyer
on Malcolm's behalf.

- He didn't invoke.
- I did.

Cindi.

Oh, my God.

Stop.

You're not to speak to her
or Malcolm Ford

without me present.

What the hell is this?

You're holding my client
on suspicion of kidnapping.

As you can see,
the victim's alive and well.

Kept against her will.

No. He's my husband.
Now drop the charges.

Cindi, why are you
doing this?

Because I love him.

We've been clear that we would
like all charges dropped.

We still have some questions
about John Hitchens.

And Mr. Ford has explained
that the gun

that Hitchens used
to shoot himself was stolen.

He even filed
a police report.

So, what else
do you need to know?

We need a new plan.
We can't hold him.

There's one more thing.

Wait.

I can't talk to you.

No, no. It's ok.

I trust you.

Baby...

Let me just...

Let me just look at you.

Oh!

What has he done to you?

He loves me.

You call that love?

I have to go.

I have to make him dinner.

That's not her.

That is not
my daughter.

You did good.

You mean it?

Let's go to the cabin.

Rossi: We need to
rethink the profile.

This ain't Stockholm.

It could be
battered wife syndrome.

No, it's not.

Morgan, the way
they hugged each other,

I--I think she genuinely
loves him.

I'm telling you,
that's not the woman I know.

She wouldn't do that.

So what is it, Derek?
Why would she behave this way?

She said she needed
to cook dinner for him.

Is that what you cook
for your husband?

Would you
make that for will?

No. I might for Henry,
though.

Exactly.

When I was growing up,
this is what Cindi and I ate.

This exact brand.

Hotch, what did your mom
make you for breakfast?

Oatmeal and orange juice.

What do you make for Jack?

Oatmeal and orange juice.

Same brand.

Mm-hmm. Yeah.

She might have been cooking dinner,
but it was not for Malcolm Ford.

- You think they have a child.
- Yes, I do.

We didn't profile that.
There's no evidence of one

in the home or in their lives.

Unless Ford keeps the child
from her to keep her in line.

I mean,
that fits the profile.

It's a stretch.

It's the only theory
that would explain her behavior.

All right, Morgan.

Prove it.

You want me to file
a harassment suit against the FBI?

No, I don't.

I just have a couple more
questions about the case.

Actually, these are questions
that only you can answer.

For the life of me,
I couldn't figure out

how a woman could be
held prisoner for over 8 years

and retain a lawyer
so quickly.

I mean,
how could she do that,

unless Malcolm told her
where to go?

Malcolm and I
know each other. So?

Except he needed a lawyer

who understood the delicacy
of his situation, didn't he?

So I did some digging.

And I found out about
your mail order bride from Russia.

If I sat her down and I asked her
about The Company,

what do you think
she would tell me?

[Clears throat]

Ok, look.

I'm a negotiator,
so let's negotiate.

Do you know where
they keep the children?

Yeah.

You better tell me
where it is.

You want us
to wake up the boy?

I'll do it.

Mama?

Hi, baby.

It's not Christmas.
What are you doing here?

We're gonna go with daddy
on a little trip, ok?

Let's get your shoes.

Come on. Move, move.
Let's go.

[Sirens]

[Indistinct]

Go, go, go!

Go inside.

We are in position.

Unit one has suspect
in custody.

Where's Malcolm Ford?

[Speaking Lithuanian]

Clear.

My God, how many
do they have here?

Secure the kids.

Mommy!

Cindi.

Come on, baby,
talk to me.

Cindi, it's Derek.

Cindi, wait!
Stop!

He's gotten you
to believe in a lie.

The company is not real.

I know. Derek,
step aside.

Let's go home.

Ok?

Hi.

Malcolm Ford,

you're under arrest

for kidnapping,

child endangerment,

and the murder
of John Hitchens.

So, um...

Can you tell me
that secret now?

Anthony.

Come here.

This is your Uncle.

He's come a long way
to meet you.

How you doing, Anthony?

My name's Derek.

You ready?

♪ Be still and know ♪

♪ that I'm with you ♪

♪ be still and know
that I am here ♪

♪ be still and know ♪

♪ that I'm with you ♪

♪ be still, be still,
and know ♪

I am so sorry.

♪ When darkness comes
the words I said ♪

♪ be still, be still,
and know ♪

♪ when you go through
the valley ♪

♪ the shadow falls down
in front of you ♪

♪ if morning never
comes to be ♪

♪ be still, be still, be still ♪

♪ if you forget
the way to go ♪

♪ lose where you came from ♪

♪ know I'm standing
beside you ♪

♪ be still and know I am ♪

There's my hero.

♪ Be still and know
that I'm with you ♪

♪ be still and know I am ♪

== sync, corrected by elderman ==