Diagnosis Murder (1993–2001): Season 3, Episode 2 - Witness to Murder - full transcript

A forest ranger finds little Blair at night in a home-trailer on protected, rarely patrolled land, holding the gun that killed her father Daryl Worrell. She's in traumatic shock, probably abused, but was she just witness or killer? Mark takes her home to spoil her and win her confidence in safety. When Jesse and Amanda check out the Worrell home-trailer, a dashing-off car nearly runs them over, licensed to Daryl's regular visitor McPherson. X-rays confirm Blair was abused and a confidence-building one of teddy reveals he holds the key to a storage place, full of equipment for falsifying credit cards, staked-out by Steve's team, McPherson gets killed resisting arrest. Blair draws a childish picture of the killer with three stars, a battered Jane Doe may be her mother. Norman identifies on robot-portrait the same young man who nearly ran over equally well details-memorizing Jesse has repeatedly been snooping in Community General, his 'landlord' knows him as Ben...

Wait a minute.

Didn't you take
the wrong suitcase?

Isn't that one yours?

I can certainly know
my own suitcase.

Why are you always worrying?

Ah, here you are, sir.

Our first victim.

Hello?

U.S. Forest Service.

Anybody in there?

Hello?



If we left your bag with
all those Madison papers...

Okay, Julie, if it'll make
you any happier, I'll look.

May I see your ticket?

Oh, I've got them
right here, Julie.

Excuse me, please. Of course.

Must've slipped or something.

You certainly did, and
she wasn't that sensational.

Julie, I was really
falling for you.

Oh, yes, of course you were.

157.

DISPATCHER: Go ahead.

You'd better get an ambulance

and some uniforms up
to Stephen's Canyon.

What's the problem, 157?



I got a body.

All right, on the way.

Oh, let's see, white shirt.

We've got this guy ID'd

as a Darrel Worrall.

Does that mean anything?

Nothing.

And you had no idea
anybody was living up there?

Well, it's protected land.

We don't even go up those roads

except maybe
once or twice a year.

Hey, where're ya going? E.R.

I thought I could
help. What do ya got?

A shotgun wound to the head.

Accidental? Self-inflicted?

Justifiable? What?

Slow down. Slow down.

He was DOA.

Oh.

Are you all right?

Well, if I'm not, I'm
in the right place.

Okay. Who's the kid?

Uh, they think that that's
the victim's daughter.

They found her holding
a 12-gauge shotgun.

What, a murder weapon?

I don't know yet,
and I won't know

until I touch bases
with the coroner.

Let me know what
you find out, will you?

All right.

See ya.

Hi.

She hasn't said a
word since I found her.

Is that right?

Aphasia?

Yeah, could be.

Why don't you take her

in the examining room, huh?

Okay. Hi, there.

My name is Jesse.

You don't have to
be afraid of Jesse.

He's a nice guy.

Oh, no, not again. What?

Oh, we have a problem with that.

Would you do me a favor
and keep an eye on him

and pick up any candy bars

that fall out of his ear?

Thanks.

It's okay.

Go right in here, okay?

What do you think?

She's obviously
in traumatic shock.

Mm-hmm.

By what she saw
or... what she did?

Hmm.

I'll run some tests.

Yeah, yeah, I think I will, too.

And leave her with
me a little while.

I think maybe I...

What happened?

Well, we don't want
to be examined.

Oh.

She's probably scared.

Wouldn't you be in this room?

Look at all this
scary stuff in here.

I'd be scared myself.

All this crazy-looking
equipment.

You know, I know one
thing that's not scary.

This right here isn't scary.

Looks like a pair of earphones,

doesn't it?

You know what it's for?

For listening to
the music inside.

I'll show you.

Oh!

Cold.

Now...

Yep.

You want to try it?

Okay.

Put it in your ears.

Okay.

Now hold that right there.

Listen.

Hear it?

Can I hear?

Okay, climb up here
so I can reach you.

All right.

We're going to listen
to your inside music.

Oh, my God.

Hmm.

It's all right, honey.

Nobody's going to
ever hurt you again.

I'm sorry, young man.

It seems the receptionist
stepped away from her post.

Need some help?

Um, I was looking for maternity.

Oh, no wonder you're nervous.

You're only off by
a couple of floors.

Maternity is on the third floor.

Oh.

Thanks.

Sure.

Well, it's all part of the job,

comes with it.

But thank you for your help.

All right.

Morning.

Good night.

I've been out at
that trailer all night.

I can barely keep my eyes open.

Find anything interesting?

Well, Worrall wasn't
hanging out there alone.

We found a closet full of
women's clothes and makeup.

The mother?

Or the girlfriend.

Whoever she is,
considering the fact

she disappeared,
she's a suspect.

Oh, and I found this
on the refrigerator.

So that's her name... Blair.

It's a start.

She's finally asleep.

She?

Blair.

She's here?!

Shh!

That's her name?

Oh, it's so pretty.

Dad, you can't just take
her out of the hospital.

I know. Shh.

Child Services is going
to be crawling all over you.

All right. Can we go outside?

Yeah. Come on.

Steve, that child's been abused,

emotionally and physically.

Well, I know that.

And you know that
she can probably tell you

everything that happened
in that trailer last night.

But she has to feel
comfortable first.

Steve, she won't say anything

inside of a sterile
hospital room.

She needs to feel
safe and secure.

What am I supposed to
say to the welfare people?

Well, I was thinking
maybe I could be granted

protective custody through
the police department.

Ah, the police department.

Meaning me. Uh-huh.

Dad,

I don't know if I
can pull that off.

Oh, sure you can.

Dad, it's not that easy.

You can try.

Look, I'm just a lieutenant.

But you've got a lot
of friends down there.

All right.

I'll give it a try. Thanks.

Thank you.

But, Dad?

Anything that little girl knows,

I want to know. You will.

Believe me, I promise.

And thanks, Steve.

Well, now what?

Now we make Blair

as safe as we can
make her feel, that's all.

You sure it's okay
to be out here?

Yeah, I've been waiting all day

for Steve to release
the crime scene.

It's absolutely
fine. I'm sure of it.

I just meant are you
sure it's okay as in

there might still be
a murderer out here.

Why did you have to say that?

What do you mean,
you didn't think of that?

Well, there have been police

crawling the
premises all day long.

I highly doubt
that the murderer's

going to come back now.

Well, all right.

It's just, uh...

you know, a lot of
murderers return

to the scene of the
crime. Would you stop it?!

I'm just saying they return.

Well, stop it. They return.

It's a known fact.

Okay.

You ready?

I guess I'm ready. Fine.

Let's go. All right.

Okay. Let's go.

Okay, now, I just want to get

a few of Blair's things
and then we'll go.

Okay, I'll just turn
on the generator.

Fine. Fine.

I'm sure everything
will be fine.

Just do it!

Any idiot can do this.

On.

That means nothing.

It's like a lawn mower.

Jesse? Is that you?

Jesse?

Jesse?

Jesse!

Jesse! Amanda!

Well, I guess
somebody came back.

Mark, I'm absolutely fine.

Listen, you've got
to start being careful

when you dive for cover,

you're diving for two now.

That's what I told her.

You're the one who
jumped on top of me!

What else was I supposed to do?

Right. Right. You
did the right thing.

Thank you. You're welcome.

I'll get it. Hello?

I'll get it. I'll get it. What?

Yeah? Hi, Steve.

Oh, you did?

Good!

No, I think I'd better
stay here with Blair.

Let me know what you find out.

Okay. Bye.

What?

Steve managed to trace

that license plate
number you got.

They're tracking it down now.

You got a license plate?

I'm pregnant, not blind.

Now there's some sunshine.

Good morning, precious.

How are you doing?

Look, why don't you
guys, uh, leave us alone

a little while? AMANDA: We
have to get to work anyway.

Okay. But those pancakes smell

so good. Oh, Jesse...
We're out of here.

Can't I just get a pancake?

No, Jesse, we've
really got to go.

Bye, Mark.

Well, don't just stand there.

Grab a fork and sit
down; have a feast.

Come on.

Teddy Bear.

I think he's as happy to see you

as you are to see him.

Okay, breakfast.

Okay, sit down.

Breakfast coming up.

This guy McPherson tried to
run someone down last night.

When was the last
time you saw him?

Comes and goes at
the strangest hours.

Not that I'm watching, mind you.

I'm not a busybody or nothing.

McPherson, open up! Police!

He ain't home.

I could have told you that.

Went out this
morning about 7:30.

Not that I'm keeping
track or anything.

You got a key?

You got a warrant?

You never can be too careful.

Told you he wasn't home.

I know it probably don't
look like much to you.

Kitchen's clear.

Bedroom, too.

What are you boys looking for?

When's the last time
you saw McPherson?

I told you, about
7:30 this morning.

Was he alone?

As far as I could tell.

You have any idea where he went?

Didn't ask. None of my business.

What about visitors?
Did he have many?

Anybody in particular?

Not that you keep
track or anything.

There was one fella.

He came by a couple of times.

Mean-looking guy.

Is this him?

Yep.

Darrel Worrall.

Now, don't that beat all?

What's that?

Who would've thought

a guy like McPherson
would appreciate art.

What are you talking about?

This picture's not part

of the original furnishings.

Not that I mind
when a tenant tries

to elevate his surroundings
with a little culture, you know?

Let's take a look.

What are those?

Credit card receipts.

What are they
doing behind there?

Well, since they're
not in his name,

I'd say he was hiding them.

You want to tag those? Yeah.

When McPherson comes
back, be sure and call me, okay?

The minute he shows
up... Boom... I'm dialing.

I hope you got an
appetite, because we've got

pancakes!

There we are! Enjoy.

What? Not enough for you?

Okay. This one is gone.

There we are.

A big breakfast for a...

Was that too much for you?

I got an idea.

Watch this.

A couple of these.

Okay, chocolate chips.

There you are, my lady.

A perfect pancake teddy bear.

You notice a resemblance?

Go on.

Blair, you know you
don't have to be afraid.

You saw something
terrible, didn't you?

And you were scared.

You hid in the closest
place there is to hide.

Right there.

You know I won't let
anything happen to you.

You're safe.

When you're ready
to tell me, you'll tell me.

Okay?

Good.

Here we are.

Look like fun?

I think so, too.

Your carriage, my lady.

And here is the
X-ray machine room.

Nothing to worry about.

See, this is like a
big camera, Blair.

And it's going to take
pictures of your insides.

That's right!

Hey, I've got an idea.

Why don't we let

Teddy do it first,
see how he likes it?

Come on, Teddy.
This won't hurt him.

Come here, Teddy.
You do it first.

Come on, Teddy, we're going

to take a picture
of your stuffings.

All right.

Come back here and we'll watch
him through this little window.

Okay, Teddy, take a
deep breath and hold it.

Okay. That's all there is.

See? Now it's
going to be your turn.

Nothing to it, is there?

Come here, Teddy.

Okay. Get up there.

Teddy and I will watch
you through the window.

There you go.

Just lay your head back.

Okay.

Good morning.

Maternity downstairs.

Now, Blair, you and
Teddy stay nearby here.

We're going to look
at your pictures now.

Okay, what do we got?

Well, this hairline
fracture here, this is recent.

Oh, yeah.

Yeah, and there's one
on the lower left tibia,

a healed callous formation
there on the femur.

So there's another
fracture there

that shows previous trauma.

I would say that your
diagnosis of physical abuse

was right on.

I'll tell you, Jesse, it's
just beyond understanding.

We have this.

Oh, that's Teddy.

Wait.

Well, well, well, well,
will you look at that?

Young man, are you
still looking for maternity?

I'm Norman Briggs. Why
don't you come with me?

Hey! Come here, young man!

Someone call security!

Stop him!

Hey!

Security to the nurses station.

Security to the
nurses station, please.

I knew there was something

hinky about that young
man the minute I saw him.

Hinky? Hinky?

Hinky, as in odd,
strange. Hinky.

Well, your Mr. Hinky
made a clean break.

We checked every
square inch of this hospital.

Well, he was definitely
going after that little girl.

Where is she now?

Your father took
her to the beach.

Well, I'm already
doing a song and dance

with the welfare people.

I think it's time
to provide some

protective custody
and put a man out there.

Sounds like a good idea.

How's she doing, anyway?

As well as can be expected.

What about this key?

"CS 55."

It sounds like a storage locker.

Really? What do
you suppose is in it?

Well, when I find out

which public storage locker
number 55 we're looking for,

I'll let you know, Norman.

Sloan here.

Right.

He did?

Good. I'll get right on it.

Thanks.

They ran Worrall's drivers
license through the DMV.

He's got a wife...

Teresa.

The mysterious
woman in the trailer.

It'd be my guess.

You know, maybe I should
check the other hospitals in town.

If Blair was abused, there's...

You're right.

Who's to say Worrall
didn't go after his wife, too?

You know, it wouldn't hurt
to check the morgues, too.

Fine.

Let me know what you find out.

It looks like we've got
our pigeon in the cage.

Police! Freeze!

Don't shoot! Get your hands
up and come on out of there.

Steve!

Jesse, what are you doing here?

Oh, man. I, uh...

I made a duplicate of the key
and I started to look around,

and, uh, I guess I got
here before you guys, huh?

Yeah, you got here before us.

Well, I swear to God

I was going to call
you, you know?

And I didn't touch anything.

I wanted to preserve
the scene, you know?

Preserve it.

And, uh, I was just going

to look through some
boxes just like you and...

bust this case wide open.

Ah. Well, that explains it.

What?

Explains what?

We found carbons at
McPherson's apartment.

He was using them

to make phony credit cards.

So McPherson and
Worrall were involved

in a credit card scam.

But how do you
figure the murder?

I mean, what?

McPherson figured the
profits would be better

without a partner?

Well, why don't we ask him?

You think he's going to show.

He was obviously going
after Blair to get this.

He's either going to go after
her or get in here the hard way.

I'm betting he shows up here.

So we got a stakeout.

Jesse, don't
even think about it.

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

There you go.

How do I look?

Oh, Blair, that's you.

Very good.

Okay, this is my house.

Now you draw yours.

Hmm.

Good. Good.

The trailer.

Okay.

See?

That's Steve and that's me.

An amazing resemblance

if I do say so myself.

Now why don't you
draw your family?

Is this your mom and dad?

Who, uh, who is that, Blair?

Is that someone bad?

Honey, is that the
person you saw that night?

Is it?

Honey, don't worry now.

Nobody's going to
ever hurt you again.

It's all right.

Is this her? She's
our only Jane Doe.

But I'm afraid she's not going
to be able to tell you much.

Do you know who found her?

A couple of kids.

Where?

Says here the 1200 block

of Primrose.

Well, it could be her.

Although there is a resemblance

to Blair, I don't know.

Did she have any
personal effects with her?

Mm-hmm.

Thanks.

Huh. "Teresa and Darrel...

9/7/75."

This has got to be her.

How's she doing?

The B.P. is back up.

The swelling's down.

I would say her
prognosis is good.

I know a certain little girl

who'll be very happy
to get this news.

Thanks, Julia.

We've got a fox in the henhouse.

Stand by.

Don't do anything
stupid, McPherson.

Put your hands behind your head.

Cuff him.

So Worrall gets the plastic

and you get the
numbers. Nice little scam.

He's running for the boulevard!

Hold it!

You know what I can't
figure out about all this...

What Teresa was doing
on Primrose Avenue

so far away from the trailer.

Maybe that's where
Worrall dumped her.

She wasn't dumped.

The police report said she was
beaten where she was found.

Okay, so she was running,

and Worrall caught up with her.

She was running?

Yeah. And Worrall
caught up with her.

And...

What if she wasn't running away

but to someone
or someplace else?

Yeah, but who? Or where?

I'll get it.

How is she? Almost down.

I'm going to try some
cookies and milk.

Hello.

Dr. Sloan's residence.

Hi, Steve.

He did?

Yes, he's right here.

They think they've
got McPherson.

He's in the morgue.

Mm-hmm.

That's not the same guy.

Well, Jesse, with the swelling

and the lacerations.

Uh-uh, I'm telling you,

that's not the same guy
that was chasing Blair.

Then that means that somebody
is still out there and Amanda's...

Dad, I released the
officer at your house.

Jesse, call Amanda and
tell her what's going on.

Right.

Blair?

Blair, honey, it's Amanda.

Yeah. Yeah, that's right.

We're doing the
sketch right now.

Well, as soon as I
get it, you'll have it.

Right.

How's it coming, Tim?

Uh-uh. Sorry.

That's all wrong.

See, his um, nose was bigger

and it was um... like hooked.

Hooked nose.

And the eyes...

they were sad... very sad.

Who the hell is
that? No, no, no, no.

I'll tell you what
he looked like.

It was a face I'll never forget.

He had the eyes
of a caged animal.

Darting,

probing,

and they were a deep blue.

Or were they brown?

And he had long hair...

Long brownish hair.

You got a face yet?

At this point, all we
have is brownish hair.

How are you doing?

You've been staring at
these pictures for hours.

I know.

Blair was trying to
tell me something

and I can't figure
out what it is yet.

You think it's a family member?

Possibly.

Could be someone the
father knows, neighbor,

boyfriend of the
mother, I don't know.

Well, keep trying.

That's him.

That's him. This is him?

That's him. That's him.

That's him.

You sure that's what
he looks like? Absolutely.

Who could ever forget

a face like that?
Yeah. That's him.

Great.

Good work, Tim.

I'll fax this out right now.

You know, it's amazing the
details you recall. Oh, yeah, I know.

Hey, any luck?

It's in here.

Why is it every time

she draws this guy,
she draws him at night?

That's it! It's not night!

Look at that!

There's a sun there.

Stars in this one.

Rainbow.

And stars.

Amanda, get a phone book.

Right.

Let's see...

Okay, we've got
a page full here.

Star Auto. Yeah.

Star Book.

Star Cleaners.

Star Restaurant.

No, wait a minute. Three stars.

- Try three stars, see?
- Yeah, I get it.

Three stars.

Three stars.

Okay, uh, Three Star Cafe.

Uh... Three Star
Motel on Primrose.

Three Star Body Work. Wait!

That one.

Where did they
find Teresa Worrall?

The 1200 block on Primrose.

Three Star Motel.

That's great. You know, how many

of these foot massagers
do we have left now?

Let's see. The
count stands at...

Oh! We have 350 left!

Really? That's great.

Wait. we are coming
up to a price reduction.

You the manager here?

$17.95 a night.

No drugs, no alcohol, no pets.

We're looking for a young
man, long brown hair.

We rent rooms, pal. That's all.

Very simple operation...

Hey! I need a foot
massager. You mind?

Well, I'll make
sure you get one.

Now, why don't you
answer the question?

What was the question?

We're looking for this guy.

He may be with a little
girl about seven years old.

In case you haven't noticed,
this ain't a Holiday Inn.

We don't get too much of
the family vacation crowd.

We'll be sure and tell that to
the County Health Department

when they come out
and inspect the place

tomorrow.

Look, I know nothing
about a little girl.

You might find that
kid in bungalow six.

At the end of our east wing.

You got a name on him?

For $18 a night?

I think it was Ben something.

Thanks.

Hello! TV?

Police! Open up!

It's all clear, Dad. Come on in.

Well, somebody's
been living here awhile.

Question is, is he coming back?

Isn't that funny?

What's that?

It seems he's calling hospitals.

Looking for Teresa, trying
to finish what he started.

Well, he's not down to
her yet at Saint Victor's.

That's the bottom of the list.

So, all we do is stake
out Saint Victor's and wait.

Saint Victor's Hospital.

Please hold.

I think we got him.

Give him what he wants.

Yes, we have a Mrs. Worrall.

Teresa Worrall.

Certainly. She's in room 622.

Um... visiting hours
end at 7:00 p.m.

Thank you for calling.

All right. Let's move.

Freeze!

You heard her!

Freeze!

Ben.

That's your name, isn't it?

Let the little girl go.

Let her come to me.

She can't talk.

You probably know that.

She's no danger to you.

Ben, don't do anything foolish.

There are 20 officers

inside and outside
of this hospital, Ben.

You can't escape. The longer

you hold that knife,

the more the chance there
is of somebody getting hurt.

He just went out

through the north window!

He's headed for
the roof! Let's go!

Blair!

Freeze now!

You can't make that jump,
Ben! It's at least 20 feet!

Don't try it!

If you run, I'll shoot.

Don't make me do this, Ben.

Benny, no!

Drop the knife! Drop it! Wait.

I just came to say
good-bye to my mom.

Mom called that night.

Said Dad was out of control.

She was afraid.

She said she was
going to bring Blair to me.

She never showed up.

So... I went out to the trailer.

He was drunk when I got there.

And he told me how he
had, um... followed her.

How he had "fixed" her...

once and for all.

I knew I couldn't talk to him,

so I grabbed Blair to go.

That's when he came at me.

I hit him.

And he, uh...

he grabbed the gun.

Honey, I'm so sorry.

I didn't mean to kill him.

I looked for you.

I was scared, Benny. I ran.

The gun...

I was just trying
to keep him away.

It... it went off.

It just went off.

I have to go away again, Blair.

Not for long.

I think you got a pretty good
case for self-defense, Ben.

Let's go.

It's going to be okay.

I brought your mom
to Community General

so I could personally
keep an eye on her.

And you can come and
visit anytime you want to.

You're going to be
fine, too, you know.

I know.

Oh!

That's about the nicest thing

that's happened to
me in a very long time.

Me, too.