Without a Trace S2E15 - English Transcript

For almost a year and a half, the north and south have been killing each other by the thousands. Brother against brother, sister against sister. The country was torn apart by bloodshed and misunderstanding. But what were they fighting for? Land? The idea of staying together? It seemed hopeless and pointless, and then, on November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln went to Gettysburg to give the Gettysburg Address, which forever changed the conflict, because he gave everyone an idea what the fighting was about. It was about slavery and freedom and the rights of every man, woman and child. And that is the day that changed America. That was excellent, Brandi. Well researched and well presented. Thank you, Mr. Carr. Yeah, her mom probably wrote the whole thing for her. At least her mom doesn't work at the checkout counter at the A&P. Okay, next up is Darren. Uh, Mr. Carr? Yes? Can I go to the bathroom, please? Sure, Eric. And don't forget to grab the hall pass. Okay. Hey, Eric. Hey, Mr. Roscoe. See you seventh period? Uh, yeah, see you. What happened here? Well, there was a struggle. The mirror got smashed. Kid got lifted. He's 12 years old. His name's Eric Miller. Looks like he resisted, He grabbed on to the wall as he was being carried away. Unless that's the kidnapper's blood. Well, forensics is fast-tracking the analysis so Tough job to pull off in the middle of a school day. Actually, there's two exits off that hallway. They both spill directly into the teacher's parking lot. Hall pass? It's been a while since you seen one of those, huh? So, who found this mess? One of the students, ten minutes after Eric excused himself from history class. Pretty small window of opportunity. Whoever did this was waiting for their chance. Did you see anyone else in the bathroom? No. No. How 'bout on the way out? Was there anyone headed in? No. In the halls? No. Mr. Carr, was anything out of the ordinary going on? Anything bothering him today? Not that I noticed, no. Does he have any problems with anyone in the class? No. I mean, you know how kids are. They give it to each other a bit, but nothing serious. He's a really sweet kid. Good student? Mostly "C"s, but-but he tries really hard. Did he seem scared about anything this morning? No. It's hard to tell sometimes with these kids Okay, thank you. What did Mr. Roscoe have to say for himself? Well, he didn't see anything out of the ordinary. He said Eric seemed fine, and he'd see him in English class later. What was he doing in the students' bathroom? Well, he says the janitor was cleaning the teachers' bathroom at the time. All right, check that and his alibi afterwards. We're doing background checks on all the teachers, too. Okay. These are the fingerprints of all the school staff. Have forensics run them against the prints found in the bathroom. Okay. What about the parents? Father works as a sporting goods manager in Port Jeff, and the mother works as a paralegal in the city. - Not good candidates for ransom. - No. Apparently, the boy stopped by the school psychologist's office this morning. He wanted to talk. What'd the psychologist say? She's out with the flu, but I'm told he was pretty upset she wasn't there. Maybe he knew something was going to happen to him. Maybe. Do you think it was someone at the school? A teacher? Well, we're still in the preliminary stage of our investigation, so we have to consider every possibility. It may not be obvious, but on a gut level, is there anyone at the school -- a teacher, personnel -- that makes you feel nervous or uncomfortable? No. What about outside the school -- little league, markets? Don't you think I would've told you already. Don't you think I would've protected him if I did think that? I'm sorry. It's fine. Was there any conflict with any other kids at school? No. Nothing serious. Any unusual behavior from Eric? Has he been withdrawn, moody? He's very moody. When we try to get him to talk about things, he either clams up or he bites our heads off. Do you think he's involved with drugs? No. Is there any indication that he was under duress or afraid of something? No. There was something yesterday. And what was that? I was going to take him to get a new computer. He was supposed to be home right after school. He walked in the door at six and had no explanation. Eric? Where have you been? Uh nowhere. What do you mean, nowhere? We've been calling all over looking for you. I was with Darren. We called Darren's. He said he didn't know where you were. Did you forget we made a plan? Oh, I'm sorry. You realize I took off work early to take you for a new computer that you asked for? Yeah, I know. It doesn't seem very considerate, does it? No. So, where were you? I was at the arcade. Is that how you got your brand-new shirt so filthy? I played football at lunch today. Well, go upstairs and change and get ready for dinner. Okay. I'm sorry. I don't know. We figured it was just Eric being a kid. Have you washed that shirt yet? No, it's in the laundry room. Would you mind getting it for me? Sure. Thank you. I understand that, your son sees the school psychologist. Yeah, it's Karen's idea. I'm not necessarily a fan of making him more self-conscious. Why do you think your wife wants your son to see the psychologist? He's very bright, but he gets mostly "C"s, and, uh we always have felt that he's underachieved. Plus, the moods. Has it helped? I don't know. we-we even took him to an outside specialist, somebody the school recommended. The specialist meets with him for an hour and a half, then starts talking about this syndrome and that syndrome and he wants to put him on ritalin. Karen wanted to do it, and I said no. Half the kids in that school are popping some kind of pills and I don't want to I don't want him to think there's something wrong with him, you know? I can't find the shirt, uh I'm going to check upstairs. Thanks. Walter? So what if he gets "C"s? I just want him back. Have you seen this kid? I'm told he hangs out here quite a bit. Yeah, sure. He comes in here all the time. Did you happen to see him yesterday? I don't think so. Have you seen him at all recently? Maybe a couple days ago. Anything out of the ordinary? No. You ever see any adults hanging around with him? What's this all about? We believe he was kidnapped this morning. You been here all day today? Since 8:00 this morning. Why? I'm going to need to see your surveillance tapes as far back as they go. Faculty bathroom was being cleaned this morning, and Roscoe's alibi checks out. Three teachers saw him in the lounge at 9:15. Martin says that Eric wasn't at the arcade yesterday, in which case he lied to his parents. - Anything from the psychologist yet? - She's on her way in. I want to go and talk to some of his friends. Maybe somebody knows where he was yesterday afternoon. Eric's afraid of a lot of things, like most of these kids, but he never talked about anyone harming him physically. Are there any men in his life, teachers, coaches, who have an unusually close relationship with him? I haven't seen any evidence to suggest that Eric's been abused, although he certainly has a very deep feeling of inferiority. I'm a loser. Why do you say that, Eric? Because it's true. You see. I don't see you as a loser. No. You see how it is. Every day at lunch, I sit with Darren and Ivan, and we're the losers. Billy and Nat and those guys, they're the cool ones. And who decides who's cool and who's not? I don't know. That's just the way it is. Have you always thought that you were a loser? No. I can't remember. So, you don't know when it started? No. Well, maybe fifth grade. Well, what happened in fifth grade? I didn't get invited birthday party. And that's when you knew? Yeah, I guess. So now, if you were invited to a good party, would that mean you weren't a loser anymore? No. Why not? I don't know. It seems like it's pretty hard to get out of being a loser once you're in it. Do you talk to your parents about this? Why not? They just want to put me on drugs. - Eric, that's not true - I heard them arguing about it, okay? That's all they ever do, is argue about me. Eric, they're Look, I don't want to talk about this anymore, okay? Is there a problem at home? No. It's always easy to jump to the parents, but there's no evidence of that. And you recommend that he see an outside specialist? I didn't think he needed it, necessarily, but his mother was very concerned about him. Are you concerned about him? It's a tough age for all these kids. They're all struggling to find their place. One of the things these kids all have in common, even the popular ones, is they don't want their parents to know where they are in the social order, which leaves them feeling very alone. Right. - I know who did it. - You do? If I tell you, you have to promise not to say it was me who told. Sure, Darren, of course. It was Billy Hopkins and those guys. Is this Billy someone in your class? No, no. He's in the eighth grade. He's always picking on us, especially Eric. Picking on you how? I don't know. Talking trash on the bus, in the locker room. Did you see Billy at school today? Well, I don't think he's here. He could have been waiting for Eric in the bathroom or something. All right, hold on a minute. Has Billy ever been violent towards Eric? I mean, beyond just talking trash? That's what I'm trying to tell you. Last week he got us in that same bathroom. So Brandi was over at your house yesterday? Yeah. Well, did you talk to her? No, she just goes up to my sister's room, and they hang out up there. Man, she is so hot. Who's hot? Your mama? I said who's hot, shrimpy? Your mama? No. Your mama. Oh, really? Time for a swirling. Hey! No. Stop On your knees. You like water, huh? You like water? Stop! You like that, huh? He's drowning! - You want a little bit more? - No! - Want a little bit more, huh, punk? - No! Let him go! There you go, tough guy. Throw him in there. Better tell your friend to watch his mouth. There's a lot more where that came from. Why didn't you tell anybody about this? 'Cause it only makes it worse. Worse how? Last year, Richie Arwell told one of his teachers that he was having his lunch money taken away by Manny Revis and his friends. They called Manny's parents and everything, and then everybody got on Richie for being a snitch. Nobody would eat with him at lunch. It was like nobody even talked to him for the rest of the year. He ended up dropping out of school or moving or something. I can't believe how much time these kids waste talking to each other on the computer. What do you got there, Eric's e-mails? Uh, e-mails, instant messages. Mind you, this is just one week's worth. Anything interesting? Well, apparently, he hates this kid Billy, but looks up to him at the same time. It's weird how that works, isn't it? Yeah. So what about, uh, web sites, chat rooms -- anything pop? Nothing so far. I'll tell you, when I was this age, my parents never had to worry about me being exposed to these predators on the internet. I was too busy playing football in my neighbor's yard. Yeah. When I was his age, I was, uh, just trying to stay out of jail. - I mean, football would have been nice, but - Hey! here we go. There's Eric. Whoa. Okay, when's this from, yesterday? No, he wasn't there yesterday. This is the day before. - Oh. Is this Billy? - No, it's someone else. Why's this poor kid have so many enemies? We want you to watch this and see if you recognize the boy. Okay. This boy here. That's Frank Potter, Lisa's brother. Who's Lisa Potter? A girl in our English class. Do you know what school Frank goes to? Um, I think FJK. Thank you, Darren. You can go back to your class now. I'll walk you back, okay, Darren? Okay. Bye. Thank you, Mrs. Johnson. Okay. Bye, Darren. Thank you. This is Billy Hopkins. He's the kid who gave Eric the swirlie. The cops found him at home watching tv and drinking a beer. Where were his parents? His dad split town a couple of years ago; his mom's been at work all day. She left the house at 7:00 A. M. , and Billy was still there. He's got no alibi. What about his little buddies? In class from 9:00 to 9:30. I don't think he takes Eric without his backup. Well, maybe he and this frank kid did it together. Maybe. I'm going to talk to tough guy in there and his mommy. All right. Mrs. Hopkins? Mom. It's okay, Billy. He just wants to ask you a few questions, then I'll take you home. I heard you weren't feeling well today. I'm fine. Good. I guess you heard what happened to Eric Miller? Yeah. Any ideas about who may have taken him? Nah. I heard you liked to smack him around sometimes. I heard that you beat him up in the same bathroom last week. That wasn't anything. That wasn't anything? He almost drowned. Who told you that? Darren? No, your friends who were with you. You know Frank Potter? Lisa Potter's brother. Right. Apparently, he likes to slap Eric around, too. Okay. I didn't know that. I was told that you had a special surprise for Eric today. They told you that? Yeah, they told me that. They told me they didn't want to be involved in it. So I figured maybe you and Potter got together. It's not true, mom. I swear, it's not true. Listen, I went to school, okay? I get it. We used to beat the crap out of each other. It's part of growing up. Now if you're just pulling some kind of prank on Eric Miller, I'm not going to send you to prison. But if you look me in the eye, and you lie to me, I'm going to take you downstairs to the lockup and give you a glimpse into your future that you're never going to forget, you understand? I swear, I don't know where he is. - Do you recognize this boy here? - No. You've seen this guy? His name's Frank Potter. Viv, I've got him. He's coming your way. Okay. Where you going, Frank? What are you ? What are you looking for me for? I don't have anything to do with what happened to Eric. What did happen to Eric? I don't know. I heard he got kidnapped from school or something. That's right. You had a big problem with him. Didn't you? No. Oh, come on, Frank. We saw the videotape. We know you got into it with Eric a couple days ago. He was hassling my sister. How? He called her a "dog". That's it? Well, I found her in her room crying, and she told me he called her a dog, and I told her I'd take care of it. Hey, buddy, can I talk to you a minute? Uh, I'm just starting this game. That's all right. Do you think it's funny harassing girls? What are you talking about? My sister you called her a "dog". You think that's cool? That's not cool, man. - I didn't mean to - Didn't mean to what? Be a total jerk-off? You even look at her funny, and I will come back and bash your face in. Got it? - I'm sorry. - I don't care about sorry. Just stay the hell away from her. Okay. That was it. I haven't seen him since. And now he's missing, and you're out of school in the middle of the day. No, man. I had school this morning. I just had the last two periods off, so I got out early and came here. Right. We'll see. Let's go man. When did this happen? On Monday. This Monday, three days ago? Do you want to tell me what happened? Do I have to? Yeah, you have to. It was right before English class. Hey, dawg. What's that? I say: "Hey, dawg". Hey. Are you a dawg? Come on. You don't know if you're a dog? Even a dog knows he's a dog. I don't know what you're talking about. I say, "hey dog" and you said, "hey". I guess that means you're a dog. Here you go, then. Sorry, I'm late. Open up your books to 312. Let's get started. He only did it to show off to Brandi. I guess he thought it would be funny to her. Did Mr. Roscoe see any of this? Don't think so. He didn't say anything. Did you say anything to Mr. Roscoe? No. Why not? Why would I? Hey. We just got forensics back on the blood from the bathroom. It was Eric Miller's. - That doesn't help us. - I know. I just got off the phone with the high school. Frank's story checks out. He was in all of his classes today, got out early just like he said. Well, maybe Lisa wasn't the only one Eric was giving a hard time. Even so, Eric doesn't sound like a violent kid. I mean, it's pretty petty stuff to inspire kidnapping. Incredible. Eric never said a word about anything that was going on. Not to his teachers, not to his parents, not to the child psychologist after school. No one. I think he was about to. What is that? It's a creative writing paper he was working on. He was supposed to hand it in next week. It's called "Doomsday". Oh, don't tell me he was planning on blowing up his school. No. Doomsday is what he calls the day he was born. Wow. That's a cry for help He's a really good writer. There are all these great images. The girl he's in love with? She rides a white horse and she wears a pink helmet. And he's his prince that-that drives a Ferrari and saves her when she's attacked in the forest. Who's attacking her? Hard to tell. I mean, he just calls them "wild beasts". But when he saves her, that's what redeems him. You guys got a sec? You might want to see this. All right. Go ahead and show it to them. This is off of Billy Hopkins' home computer. It was sent to him a couple hours ago from the school computer by Lisa Potter. Lisa. That's the girl that Eric called a "dog". Yeah. What do you know about this? I have no idea. Really? It was on your computer. Lisa Potter sent it to you. There was a written e-mail message. "Thought you might find this interesting. " Now, why would she think that? I don't know. Billy, enough is enough. You stop lying, and you tell her what she wants to know. I swear, mom, I saw the picture, but I didn't know what it was. Was there something going on between Eric and Lisa? I don't know. We know that he called her a 'dog'. We also know that she got this picture of him and she sent it around to everyone. Oh, wait. A couple of days ago in the locker room, he was asking these weird questions. - Hey, dawg, what's up? - Yeah. I heard you and Amy were getting busy underneath the bleachers last night. More under her skirt than under the bleachers. Know what I mean? That must have been sweet. What are you looking at? I heard that, you know, she gave you a hummer. Yeah, maybe. Cool. Yeah, I'll see you out there. Hey, uh, can I ask you something? Yeah, man, whatever. Well, if you like a girl "Like" a girl? I don't know. You want to get in her pants, or something Yeah? Well, what do you do? Look, man, you can't be such a wimp. Girls don't like. I'm not a wimp. Sure you are. Why you think we stick your head in the toilet? So I have to be tough? I don't know. Just act cool. Look, I got to go. Okay. Thanks. Th-that's why he called her a dog. He must like her. I don't know where I got it. Come on, Lisa. I have two daughters of my own about your age, and I know when they're lying to me, and you are lying to me right now. Lisa, we know what he did must have hurt you, and you wanted to get him back, but you have got to tell us where this picture was taken and where he is. I don't know where it was taken. Somebody gave me the picture, and I sent it. Who gave it to you? - I can't say. - Why can't you say? Because if I tell, they'll all hate me. Who's going to hate you? The popular girls. So, one of the popular girls gave you this photo? Which popular girl gave you the photo? They told me to send it to the boys. Just tell me where the photo was taken. I don't know. They gave it to me. That's all I know. Listen to me, Lisa. If anything happens to Eric, if he gets killed or hurt, I'm going to hold you personally responsible. Now, in order for me to find him and help him, I need to know who gave you that picture, or where it was taken. This is not open for debate. It was Emily Levine. Emily Levine -- she gave it to me. That's Darren's twin sister. Sam, we got forensics back on Eric's shirt. They found horse manure and equine feed on it. Stable? Come on. There aren't any stables in Queens. Are there? Nothing. Every stall in this barn has a pipe just like the one. - This picture was taken here. - Yeah, well, he's not here. Come on. I don't know what Lisa is talking about. But I've never seen this picture before in my life. Well, why would she lie, Emily? - Because she's a loser. - Emily! Well, she is. That's right. She's a loser and you're one of the more popular girls. So why would she lie and say she gave you the picture when she knows it's only going to create a living hell for her with you and your friends. Now, wait a minute. My daughter doesn't behave that way with other girls. We taught her that, and we don't tolerate it. With all due respect, Mr. Levine, I try to teach my daughters a lot of things, but they still seem to do what they want, especially when I'm not there to watch them. Emily and Eric have known each other since second grade. Darren and Eric are best friends. If Emily knew anything about where Eric was, she would tell us. Wouldn't you? Of course. I think this is over. She said she doesn't know. "The beautiful girl with the pink helmet. " Do you know something about this photo? That picture was taken here. Whatever it is, you don't need to be afraid, but I want you to tell the truth. Was it taken this morning, Brandi? No. Yesterday. How do you know that? Because I was here when it was taken. It was Emily's idea, not mine. We just wanted to teach him a lesson. A lesson for what? For being mean to Lisa. Lisa? You and Lisa aren't even friends. Well, that doesn't sound right, does it? Eric was an easy target, and now you had a good excuse to have some fun. Right? He called her a 'dog'. It wasn't right. So this was revenge? Brandi, it's time you tell us exactly what happened, okay? All right. I told him to meet me here after school for a date. I said that I wanted to fool around, but that I was embarrassed. So I told him to take off his clothes and I'd come back in a minute. Uh, Brandi? I'm ready. I'll be right there. Okay, now I want to do something to you. Okay. I want to tie you up. Tie me up? Yeah, sure. Haven't you ever seen a ***? Uh, yeah. Then lie on the ground. Put your arms over your head. Ow. I'm sorry. Did that hurt? No, it's okay. Now try to get free. I can't. Okay, now we're going to have some fun. Girls! Look who's a dog now. Emily? Loser. Come on, girls. Let's have a little fun. Loser! Loser! Loser! Come on. Lisa took the picture, but I never thought that they would show it to anybody. I don't know why Emily told her to send it around. How long did the whole thing last? I don't know. Maybe an hour. Then we got bored. You got bored. So you untied him, and you let him go. Well, we untied him, but he didn't really move. We tried getting him up, but he just rolled over and wouldn't look at us. I was getting kind of worried, but it was getting dark, so we took off. Then I saw him this morning in class. He seemed okay. Oh, I'm sure he was perfect. Mrs. Case, I suggest you take your daughter home and you have a nice, long conversation with her. Believe me. We will. I still don't get these kids. They got everything good school, parents that love them nd then they do this to each other. Well, it's not a fun age. Yeah, right. I bet you were "The Queen Bee". Oddly enough, I was one of the geeks, not that that stopped me from picking on kids that were geekier than I was. Why? I mean, why do kids do that to each other? I don't know. Look, here's the thing. I know girls. Okay? What those girls did to Eric yesterday that was the Master Plan. No way they were coming back with something else today. I know it. Well, somebody attacked him in that bathroom, and we don't have a damn lead. all we know is that that kid was going through the worst 24 hours of his life Wait-Wait a second. That's it. What? That's it. That's it. What if no one attacked him in the bathroom? What, you think he broke the mirror himself? Think about this for a second. Okay? He's been picked on for months. He feels like the biggest loser in the world already, then this happens. Then he's got to go into that classroom, face those girls, look at them in the eyes while they laugh at him. Then, he walks into the bathroom and he looks at himself. If I was him, I'd want to break that mirror, too. Okay, okay, - but how about the bloody handprint? - Cuts his hand on the mirror, wipes it on the wall. Let's say you're right. It's getting dark. I mean, where the hell has he been? And more importantly, where is he now? Trying to figure out how to hurt somebody? Or himself. Darren, do you know what your sister and her friends did to Eric yesterday? No, what'd they do? So he didn't talk to you about it? Darren? You tell Mrs. Johnson right now. This is not a game. I saw him this afternoon after school. Where? When? I don't know, about three o'clock in the alley behind Gino's. I was walking home, and that's where I saw him. Eric? What are you doing here? Everybody thinks you were kidnapped. Like anyone cares. The police and FBI were at the school. Yeah, so? So you should go home. Why? I saw that picture of you. What was that? What are you talking about? The picture of you without your clothes on? You saw that? Yeah, it's all around the school. What? Somebody e-mailed it around. Eric, what's going on? Don't tell anyone where I am. - Don't tell anyone you saw me. - Eric! - Just don't tell anyone, okay? - Eric! - Just don't tell anyone! - Eric! So, he didn't tell you where he was going or what he was going to do? No, I swear. You lied to me. Yes. What did Eric say to you today? Nothing. He barely even looked at us. No, I'm sure he didn't. I never meant for it to get this bad. What did you think was going to happen? I don't know. Now, you're the one that made Lisa put those pictures out, right? Now, you're the one that made Lisa put those pictures out, right? I don't understand, Emily. How could you do this? I always thought you liked Eric. I think that's the point, Mrs. Levine. I think Eric liked Brandi more. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Do you have any idea where Eric might be right now? No. I can't believe he wouldn't tell us any of this. Why wouldn't he tell us? Well, he was probably very ashamed. Ashamed? He doesn't have to be ashamed with us. Mrs. Miller, I need to ask you guys a question. Does Eric have access to a gun? No. God, no. Do you think he's capable of hurting someone No, no. He's not that kind of kid. He wouldn't hurt anybody. How about himself? Hello? Eric? Eric. Eric? Eric, where are you? Honey, are you all right? Honey, whatever it is. Whatever happened doesn't matter. Please come home. Sweetheart, talk to me. Just just just talk to me. Eric! Eric! Just come home. Baby, just just-just come home. Eric? Eric? He's at a pay phone, Don't worry. I'm going to find him, okay? Hello? - Darren? - Eric, where are you? You didn't tell them you saw me, did you? Just keep him talking. Keep him on the phone. No, you told me not to say anything, so I didn't. I'm going to kill myself. No, no, no, Eric. Don't be stupid. Good-bye, Darren. He says he's going to kill himself. Eric! Eric! Eric! Eric! There's no sign of him, Jack. Just keep looking. Okay, if you wanted to show everyone how bad they'd been, where would you go, school? No, we have patrols there. Let's see, what about, um, you know, what's-her-name. The, um, the Potter girl? Lisa? I mean, she's the one who started it. She took the pictures. She sent it to everyone. Nope, Lisa lives on the other side of town. - Also, I don't think he's into her. I just - Then who? The "Queen Bee". Brandi Case. She's the one who broke his heart. I got it right here. She's at 126th. That's two blocks from the pay phone. You guys take the front door. Danny, come with me. We got you. You all right? We found the boy alive. Send the paramedics to the back of the house. Just breathe, breathe, breathe. Look into my eyes. Look into my eyes. Come on, breathe, come on. - Deep breaths, deep breaths. - Come on, Breathe with me. Just breathe deep breaths. Breathe deep. Come on. Oh, my sweet angel. Sweet angel. So sorry. I don't want to go back to that school. You don't have to. Okay? Okay?