Without a Trace (2002–2009): Season 2, Episode 23 - Lost and Found - full transcript

- Morning.
- Morning.

- Yankees got their ass kicked last night.
- So I heard.

You all right, Jack? Look a little flushed.

My wife was...

offered a really good job in Chicago,
and she took it.

So she's moving there.

And I've decided to go with her.

So I've put in for a transfer.

- When do you leave?
- Two weeks.

- Will you be doing Missing Persons?
- No. Domestic Security.

Good for you, Jack.



We're happy for you,
if that's what you want.

It is.

There's no word on my successor yet...

but as soon as I hear anything,
I'll let you know.

Sam. Martin.

There's a girl in reception,
says she needs our services.

- Why don't you go see what it's about?
- Sure. Excuse me.

- Hi.
- Hi.

Special Agent Fitzgerald.
This is Special Agent Spade.

What can we do for you?

I was on the Internet last night,
and I put my name in a search...

and I found this.

That's me.

I was kidnapped 13 years ago.



Do you know who kidnapped you?

No, I don't know. I don't remember.
That's why I'm here.

I really wanna know who I am
and what happened. Can you help me?

Our girl says she was adopted...

three months after
Serene Andrews was kidnapped.

This is a photo
from when she was first adopted.

- Adoptive parents?
- Yes.

- What did they say?
- They don't even know she's here.

For all Serene knows...

they're the ones
that could have kidnapped her.

- It's hard to tell if this is the same girl.
- Yeah, I know.

I ran those photos through
the facial-recognition software.

The results were inconclusive.

And the girl
has no recollection of being taken?

She was 3 years old.

She's downstairs with Dr. Harris.
She's gonna try and hypnotize her.

Well. Here's what Newark sent over
from the old case.

Serene Andrews was grabbed
from a foster care home in Camden...

March 18, 1991.

The foster parents were inside the house,
the child was playing out back...

nobody saw the grab.

How did she end up in foster care
in the first place?

Her biological mother, Lauren Andrews...

was a crack addict in the Camden projects.

She was doing a stint
in a state rehab facility...

when her daughter was lifted
from the foster home.

- No father?
- None listed.

What about the original agent
that worked on the case?

He retired in '97, died last year.

- So we're starting from scratch.
- Not really. We got the girl.

Maybe we got the girl.

Put everything out of your mind
and just breathe.

Now I want you to think about
when you were 3 years old.

Whatever you can remember,
whatever you see.

Just let go.

I'm in the hallway.

- Where is the hallway?
- I don't know.

I'm walking, I think.

And there are other voices now.

Whose voices?

Other kids' voices. They're really loud.

I'm walking down the hall,
and they're bumping into me...

and they're running around
and yelling really loud.

- I'm sorry. I lost it.
- That's okay.

You're doing great.

Serene, that place
you were just remembering.

Is that the place you were taken from?

I have no idea. It's all really fuzzy.

- I don't wanna do this anymore.
- Okay.

That's okay.

Let's just talk, okay?

What did your parents tell you
about your adoption?

I can't remember the first time
that they talked to me about that.

Well, it doesn't have to be the first time.

Just whatever comes to mind.

I can remember asking my mom about it
when I was about 8.

- Mom?
- Yes, sweetheart?

Tell me about my adoption.

- What do you wanna know?
- How did you get me?

Well, I couldn't get pregnant...

but your father and I
really wanted to have a child...

so we went to
what's called an adoption agency...

and the man at the agency showed us
many, many children.

But we had one look at you,
that beautiful face of yours...

that beautiful smile, and we knew.

We knew you were meant to be with us...

and that we were meant
to be your parents.

What about my real parents?

They didn't want me?

Your biological parents loved you
very much.

But they were too young
to take care of you...

and they knew that you would
have a better life with us.

Do you ever wish you had a real child?

You are our real child.

And I don't wish for a second
that anything happened any other way.

- Okay?
- Okay.

- Mom? Will you lay down with me?
- Sure.

I used to do that with her.

I guess it...

used to make me feel safe, you know?

- Mrs. Barnes?
- Yes?

Special Agent Jack Malone with the FBI.

I'm here to talk to you
about your daughter.

- Did something happen to her?
- No. She's fine.

- She's in our offices downtown.
- Your offices? Why?

Would you mind
if we continued this conversation inside?

Foster parents?

- Nobody ever told us about foster parents.
- This is preposterous.

Like I told you,
this Serene Andrews may be...

an entirely different girl
than the girl you adopted...

in which case
this will be over very quickly.

Now, I need to know as much as possible
about your daughter's biological parents.

We don't know anything.
It was a closed adoption.

According to Serene,
you tell stories about them.

When she asked, we told her what
we thought would make her feel good...

but we never knew anything for real.

Other than that she was healthy
when we adopted her...

and that we fell in love with her
the moment we laid eyes on her.

It was the best day of our lives.

Just out of curiosity...

with so many adoption agencies
in New York...

why did you choose one in New Jersey?

It's so competitive at the ones in the city.

We found that
we weren't getting enough attention.

A friend of ours
recommended Lindeman-Hall.

We thought we'd give them a try.
They were great.

We wanna see Serene.

Unfortunately,
that's not possible right now.

What are you talking about? Why not?

Because I doubt
that either one of you can tell me...

where you were March 18, 1991.

You think that we kidnapped Serene?
Is that what she thinks?

She doesn't know what to think.
That's why she came to us.

Yeah. She goes to you.

She goes to you, and not to us.

Serene's always had difficulty
trusting people.

Even us.

When we first brought her home,
it took her almost a year...

before she'd let us hug her.

According to Social Services...

there were 14 foster kids
living in this house...

when Serene Andrews was lifted.

If it is the same girl,
she's probably better off...

living as Serene Barnes
on Madison Avenue.

I'd say.

- Tim Hendrix?
- Yeah.

Special Agent Johnson with the FBI.

- This is Special Agent Fitzgerald.
- Yes?

We're here about Serene Andrews.

- What about her?
- We think we may have found her.

Alive?

We think that might be her.

She was only with us a couple of months.
It's been so long.

I'm sorry.

We know this is difficult,
but maybe you could tell us something...

about what happened that day.

It was March, I think, but warm.

Because all the kids
were playing around out here.

With so many of them,
it's hard to make everybody feel happy.

We tried. We really tried, but Serene...

Come on, Serene.

Don't you wanna play
with everybody else?

Everyone come on in for lunch. Let's go.
Come on. Let's move.

Serene never came in.

By the time we noticed, she was gone.

It couldn't have been more than
15 minutes she was out there by herself.

According to the police report...

the neighbors saw
a white four-door sedan...

parked in the alley that day.

I'm the one who told the cops that.

But I don't know anything more.

Do you recognize either of those people?

Johnson.

No.

Thanks for your time, Mr. Hendrix.

Okay, thanks.

We found the Barnes' adoption agency.
It's in Morristown.

- Jack wants us to go check it out.
- Okay, let's go.

Here we go. Serene Barnes.

Adopted June 14, 1991...

by Fran and Adam Barnes,
New York, New York.

May we see the file, please?

Thanks.

Birth certificate.

Serene Caldwell,
born in Bradford, Pennsylvania...

to mother Theresa Caldwell.

Do you remember anything
about this Theresa Caldwell?

You know, the thing about this job...

for every happy moment
where the new family gets a child...

there's an unhappy moment where
someone gives that same child away.

I guess there's a yin and yang to it, but...

The happy moments all kind of
blur together for me at this point...

but the unhappy ones...

you tend to remember those.

Say goodbye to Mommy now, all right?
It's all right, honey.

It's okay.
You're gonna have a new mommy soon.

A better mommy, okay? I promise.

- She's really going to a good home?
- A great home. Trust me.

I tell you,
you never get used to that part of the job.

You did all the background checks?
Hospital records, everything?

Absolutely. Always.
What's this all about, anyway?

Well, I think it's probably
just a misunderstanding.

We'll get this back to you
as soon as it's cleared up.

- Be my guest.
- Thanks.

Well, our girl Serene should be relieved,
assuming this all checks out.

If this all checks out, there's still
a Serene Andrews out there somewhere.

We ought to be looking for her.

I don't know. Something's not right.
That memory she had...

She remembers a place
where there were a lot of children.

That could be anywhere.

And sometimes with hypnosis...

people give you
what they think you wanna hear.

Right.

- Or what they wanna believe, right?
- Yeah.

You know, if this is true, it's good news.
She was never kidnapped.

She was legally adopted.
This should make her happy.

I don't wanna tell her just yet. Not until
we've done our due diligence. I just...

I think she's been
on enough of a roller coaster, you know?

I think that's smart. And very sensitive.

Don't be all proud, okay?

I was smart and sensitive
before our sessions.

- Samantha.
- Yeah?

- I heard about Jack leaving.
- Yeah.

If you wanna talk about it...

I'm fine, Lisa. Thank you.

I haven't had much luck
with Lauren Andrews.

After the kidnapping in '91...

she finished up her rehab
and she moved to Virginia.

After that, nothing.
Her trail dead-ends in '95.

- Name change?
- Nothing on record.

I'm checking in with old co-workers,
friends, but...

Martin and Viv didn't have much luck
with Social Services.

The filing system is from the Stone Age.

What happened with that woman
that gave up our girl for adoption?

We found her in East Brunswick.
Theresa Caldwell. She's coming in.

Jack, I have to say,
I hate to see you leave.

I'd take you with me if I thought
I could drag you away from New York.

Not a chance. This is my city.

Mine, too.

What did you find out?

We don't have all the facts yet...

but we do know
that your parents did not kidnap you.

They wanted you pretty badly,
but not badly enough to do that.

That's good to know.

They're on their way in.
They really wanna talk to you.

Okay? Let's go.

How awful for her.

Finding something like that
on the Internet and then thinking it's her.

Well, I guess when you're adopted,
you always wonder where you come from.

It took a lot of courage
for her to come in here.

Giving up Serene was...

It's the hardest decision
that I've ever made.

I'm sure.

Miss Caldwell, I can't tell from the records
who the natural father is.

- He's dead.
- I'm sorry.

- When did he die?
- About a year after she was born.

That's part of the reason
why I had to give her away.

- What was his name?
- Steve Rogers.

We never married.

That's why
his name isn't on the birth certificate.

- How did he die?
- Car accident.

In Morristown?

- Trenton.
- 1989?

Tell me about your decision
to give Serene up for adoption.

Like I said, it was very difficult.

I would never say that I regret having her.

I mean, I would never say that.

Yes, but what was the catalyst
for making that decision?

- Why are you doing this to me?
- What am I doing?

Making me talk about all this.

Miss Caldwell,
there is a very vulnerable young woman...

waiting down the hall to meet you.

Trust me when I tell you...

she's gonna ask you exactly
the same questions I'm asking you.

I just want you to be prepared.

- She's here now?
- Two doors down.

Look, I don't think that I'm gonna be able
to handle meeting her, okay?

It was a closed adoption.
It's my right to privacy.

Yes. Serene Caldwell.

We believe she was born
at your hospital...

January 22, 1988.

I know that was a long time ago.

Before computers, yes, I get that.

Look, if you can just have someone
check the old file room...

and get back to me, that would be great.

I appreciate it. Thank you.

Okay. I just got a little bingo
on Lauren Andrews.

Her new name is Lauren Dardis.

She lives in Yonkers, she's married,
and she's got two kids.

- She cleaned herself up.
- Yes, she did.

- You're not mad at me?
- Of course not.

We're just worried about you, honey.
That's all.

Serene.

- I need to show you something.
- Sure.

Do you know this woman?

Who is this? Is this my mother?
Is she here?

We don't know anything for sure yet.

I just need you
to look at the picture, focus...

and tell me if you remember her, okay?

- I know her.
- You do?

Yeah.

- I know her, but I...
- But what?

She doesn't think Theresa is her mother.

No, neither do I. Dates don't match.

Miss Caldwell.

I'm sorry,
but I just can't wait here anymore.

I just have a few more questions
I'd like to ask you.

Maybe I could just come in another time,
or you could call me or something...

but right now,
there's someplace I have to be.

All right.

Excuse me, you have a hair.

Thank you. Thanks.

- Wanna put a tail on her?
- Yeah.

And get a sample of Serene's hair.
We're gonna do a DNA test.

- Lauren Dardis?
- Yes.

Formerly Lauren Andrews
of Camden, New Jersey.

- Yes.
- I'm Danny Taylor. I'm with the FBI.

Do you recognize this girl?

This is my daughter.

- Are you sure?
- She's my daughter. Of course I'm sure.

Where is she?

When they came to tell me
at the rehab center...

that someone took Serene...

I was doing good. I was clean.

They told me when they put me there...

that that's the only way
that I would ever get her back.

And there I was, clean, finally.

But she was gone.

You have no idea
who might have taken her?

No.

How about her father?

I told the police at the time,
I don't even know who her father is.

That's what my life was like back then.

That's why they took her from me.

- Are you okay, Mom? Mom?
- Shut up.

- Are you okay?
- Shut up.

- Are you okay?
- Shut up! I can't hear.

Miss Andrews.
We got a call from your neighbor.

You know, my husband.
He knows about my past. The drugs.

And everything else.
But I never told him about Serene.

Now, maybe you can.

Same girl.
Now, that makes things simpler.

Yeah, thank you. Much simpler.

There's no record
of a Serene Caldwell being born...

at Bradford County Hospital in 1988.

The birth certificate is a fraud.
Let's go see Mr. "Yin Yang."

It's not like those birth certificates
have bar codes on them.

Pretty easy to duplicate.

But when somebody comes to you,
ready to give away their kid...

you don't call the hospital
to double-check...

- make sure it's actually their kid?
- Of course we do.

That was 13 years ago.

You know how many assistants
we've had since then?

I'm sure, at the time,
I had somebody check it out.

So how did Theresa Caldwell find you?

I don't know. You think I remember?

Do you remember
if you ever had contact with her...

- before or after the adoption?
- No.

Then you won't mind if we have a look
at your old phone records.

Not as long as you've got a subpoena.

My poor girl.

I just hope whatever she learns out of this,
It frees her in some way.

I mean, she was looking for herself
on the Internet...

because there was something
she needed to know.

- Excuse me, Mrs. Barnes.
- Yes.

I've just been speaking with a woman...

who claims to be
Serene's biological mother.

She says that Serene has a birthmark...

just below her right shoulder,
shaped like a thimble. Is that true?

That's right. She does.

She's here. She'd like to see Serene.

Serene should be in any minute.

I don't know what I'm gonna tell her.

I mean, about who I am.
I mean, about who I was.

Just tell her the truth.
It's all she wants to hear.

Yeah, I guess so. After all this time.

I'll just leave you two alone.

Okay. Come on, sit.

Aren't you gonna miss this?

You're not gonna have moments like this
working Domestic Security in Chicago.

Yeah, I'm gonna miss it.

I'll check
on Theresa Caldwell's phone records.

We left two surveillance units
outside the adoption agency.

I'm gonna finish that background
on Porter.

I spoke with Van Doren.

I recommended
that you take over the unit.

That wasn't my main concern,
but thank you.

She supports it.

It's just a question of
getting through the bureaucracy.

Is this what you really want?

It's the right thing.

If you have something to ask me, Martin,
go ahead.

Am I the only one who didn't know?

Vivian knows. I'm not sure about Danny.

We tried to be discreet.

- Well, that's good.
- It was over two years ago, Martin.

- It was before you got here.
- Yeah.

Well, I guess old feelings die hard.

They don't die.

They just fade.
And then you feel bad that they faded.

Because you wonder
what they meant when you had them.

Well, I guess if they didn't fade...

there wouldn't be room for new ones.

No, I guess there wouldn't.

- Agent Spade?
- What's the matter?

My mother, Lauren. That woman.

She says she wants me
to come live with her.

She says that I'm her daughter,
and I should be with her.

She can do that? She can take her?

Technically,
Lauren Andrews never lost custody.

I don't get it.
You said she was living in a crack house...

that the state took her away
because she was unfit in the first place.

It was a temporary injunction,
pending her recovery.

- She recovered.
- So what?

She can walk out of here
with our daughter?

Is that what you're telling me?

Look. The results from the DNA test
come in tomorrow, okay?

Until then,
you have temporary custody of Serene.

In the meantime,
I suggest you contact your attorney.

Now, if you'll excuse me.

We got Theresa Caldwell.

You rented
a white Buick four-door sedan...

on March 18, 1991. Is that correct?

That was 13 years ago.

That was the same day
that Serene Andrews was kidnapped.

Well, actually...

I remember I was having
a lot of car trouble around that time.

You didn't even own a car at the time.

In fact, that was the first time that year
that you even rented a car.

It's just a coincidence.

Is that the same coincidence...

that the neighbors saw
the same car parked in an alley...

behind Serene's foster home
on the same day?

We checked the hospital records.
The birth certificate is phony.

Steve Rogers,
the man you alleged to be her father...

died a year before she was born.

We ran DNA tests.
Yours against hers. Guess what?

No match. You are not the mother.

It wasn't my idea, okay?

Then whose idea was it? Michael Kraus?

- Michael?
- Yes.

He's listed as the second driver
on this car-rental agreement.

Oh, God.

Who is he?
Does he work for the adoption agent?

- No.
- Do you?

We weren't working for anybody, okay?

We just wanted her.

Hey, Serene.

Sweetheart? Hi, darling.

Now just come on.
I'm gonna give you a better life.

I swear, I am gonna give you a better life.

Michael is not a kidnapper.
He's my brother, okay?

- I did this for him.
- And why is he so invested in Serene?

Serene is his daughter.

The last time I spoke to you...

you said you didn't know
who the father was.

I don't.

Apparently someone named Michael Kraus
thinks he's the father.

- Michael?
- Kraus.

He and his sister are the ones
that took Serene.

But that's impossible.
He was in jail at the time.

No, he got out three weeks earlier
on good behavior.

Oh, my God.

I had no idea.

- Was he your boyfriend?
- Yes.

At the time that Serene was born?

Yes, but I told him then
I wasn't even sure if she was his.

He wound up in jail
six months after she was born.

I never heard from him again.

I guess he did a little soul-searching
while he was in jail...

and decided he wanted
to get his daughter back.

Son of a bitch.

Have you talked to him? Where is he?

Look, I wanna make one thing clear here.

None of this should come down
on Theresa.

I made her do everything.

Well, that's gonna be
up to the prosecution, Mr. Kraus.

Now, would you mind telling us
how this whole thing went down?

When I got out in '91, the first thing I did
was go looking for Lauren and Serene.

I went over to her apartment.
It was boarded up...

and the super said
they dragged her off to some rehab...

and they put Serene in a foster home.

Nobody would tell me where she was.

So I did some looking around,
and I found this...

adoption broker.

Anyway, he tells me there's no way in hell
that I'm gonna get custody...

even if they did
one of those paternity tests.

He says I'm not gonna get custody
'cause I'm a felon.

Even though the mother's a junkie.

So, what? This broker,
he offers to dig around for you?

Yeah, he had some connection downtown
with some social service.

Anyway, he finds Serene,
and he tells me where she is.

I go down there, and the place is a dump.

They had kids running around
all over the place...

and she's sitting there all alone.

No one's taking care of her.

I mean, she looked so unhappy.

And I said to myself, '"There's no way
my girl is gonna live this life. '"

I go back to the broker, and he tells me
if I can get my hands on her...

that he'd get me the papers I needed.

- Forged birth certificate.
- Right.

Tells me it'll cost me $5,000.

But he does it all the time,
there'll be no problem.

So we took her.

So you go through all of this to get her,
and then you give her up? Why?

Couple of months go by, and he calls me.
He tells me he wants his money.

I tell him I don't have it. I'm broke.

He tells me, if I don't pay him,
he's gonna go to the cops.

Then he tells me...

that he'll give me $5,000 for Serene.

That he found a family
that would take her.

They live in Manhattan,
on Madison Avenue.

- She ain't gonna do better than that.
- Okay.

But after all we went through to get her,
are you sure you wanna do this?

Theresa, it's not about me.

It's about what's best for her.

They look like nice people.

I didn't have a choice.
If I didn't do what he said, he'd rat me out.

And then what?

She winds up at some lousy foster home...

or with Lauren,
smoking crack in some ghetto.

Did you ever deal with anybody else
from that adoption agency?

No. Just him.

Look. This guy was a real scumbag,
all right?

I mean, selling and trading kids?
I mean, it's sick.

What if that family he showed me...

was in on the scam?

I mean, what if she didn't wind up
with a good family?

She did end up with those people.

And as far as we can tell,
they're wonderful parents.

What do you mean? You saw her?

She's a great kid.

- So she's in the right place.
- Yeah.

She is in the right place.

- Here he is.
- My God. He's beautiful.

I can't believe you got this done so fast.
You're a miracle-worker.

I just know my business.

FBI. Charles Porter, you are under arrest
for accessory to kidnapping...

child endangerment and extortion.

I have to take the baby
until we can sort this out.

But wait. What's going on here?

- This is our baby.
- This may not be your baby.

- You'll have to come with us.
- This is a mistake.

It's okay.

Mrs. Dardis has something
she'd like to discuss with you.

I've thought about it...

and I've decided that
this is where you belong.

And it's not because I don't want you.

It's because these are your parents now.

And I don't wanna
get in the way of your happiness.

My lawyer will have
the adoption papers drawn up...

to make it official.

I would like to see you sometimes,
though, you know?

Maybe on the weekends
or whenever it feels right for you.

Yeah. That sounds good.

- Lf it's all right with you.
- Of course.

Okay, so...

I'm gonna go.

Lauren.

- You talked to her?
- I may have said something.

Thank you.

You take care, Serene.

I was just talking to Dr. Harris.

- About what?
- About you.

About us, I should say.

- I'm afraid to ask.
- Don't be. It's...

What we had, it was good.

It was what we both needed at the time.

Yeah, I guess it was.

- In another life, maybe?
- Maybe.

Yeah.

I really hope that you and Marie
will be happy in Chicago.

I'm sorry if I ever hurt you.

Me, too.

I better keep doing this,
or else I'm gonna lose my nerve.