[Scene: ME's Office. Crypt. Jordan and Nigel are there.]

JORDAN: Rossi, check. And Kelso, check.

NIGEL: Okay, here a check, there a check, and done.

(Nigel rushes out of the room. Jordan follows.)

JORDAN: So who is she?

NIGEL: Who's who?

JORDAN: The one putting that skip in your step.

(Bug walks up to them.)

BUG: Hey. Anyone up for a little all you can eat at the Beef and Brew?

JORDAN: Ooh, sounds good to me. Nige?

NIGEL: Sorry, can't. Rain check?

BUG: Ahh, first it was the faint waft of cologne over your usual iodine scrub scent...

JORDAN: And now he has another rain check.

NIGEL: Look, guys, can we just...

JORDAN: The question is why the big secret? You're always the first to kiss and tell.

BUG: This person must be special.

JORDAN: Or maybe he's back with that dancer?

NIGEL: I can assure you I'm not back with Velvet.

JORDAN: Uh-huh. You are with someone.

NIGEL: You wonder why she's a secret.

[Scene: Outside an Apartment. Nigel is standing in the hallway with a bunch of flowers. A woman opens the door.]

NIGEL: Sorry, I'm late.

SARAH: You're worth waiting for.

(He hands her the flowers. A little girl runs up to him.)

MADDIE: Nigel!

NIGEL: Hey.

MADDIE: I made you cupcakes.

NIGEL: You made me cupcakes? I love cupcakes.

[Time lapse. Nigel, Sarah, Maddie, and their friend, Beth, are at the table. Nigel is showing Maddie a card trick.]

NIGEL: Come on, Maddie. Now watch the queen. I'm gonna make it disappear. Ready? One, two, three. It's gone.

(Maddie is amazed. Sarah and Beth clap.)

BETH: Do you have any single brothers, Nigel?

SARAH: Or maybe a handsome friend at the morgue we could introduce to her?

BETH: Oh, wait, wait, wait. No, no, no. No guys from the morgue.

SARAH: Oh, so it's okay for me and not you?

BETH: No offense, Nigel, but I could never marry anyone in your line of work.

MADDIE: You're gonna marry Nigel, mummy?

SARAH: Oh, uh, mummy's not remarrying anytime soon, baby.

BETH: Uh, more rum punch, anyone?

NIGEL: No, no, please. (She pours into his glass anyway.) I'm already seeing stars.

SARAH: Okay, bedtime, pumpkin. Go put on your PJs.

(Maddie hugs Nigel.)

MADDIE: Night.

NIGEL: Night.

BETH: Okay, I've seen enough. He can stay. Sarah deserves a good guy.

SARAH: Goodnight, Beth.

[Time lapse. Beth has left. Nigel and Sarah kiss and she goes to see Maddie. Nigel goes into the main bedroom and lays

down.]

[Time lapse. Nigel and Sarah are asleep. Nigel suddenly wakes up and goes into the bathroom to wash his face. He goes into

Maddie's room and she's gone. The window's open and written on the wall in blood is "No cops we will call".]

NIGEL: Sarah! Sarah!

SARAH: What?

(She runs in.)

NIGEL: Sarah!

SARAH: Oh my god. Maddie? Ma-Maddie? Maddie! Maddie!

OPENING CREDITS

[Scene: ME's Office. Forensic Laboratory. Nigel is frantically filling a bag with stuff. Jordan and Bug walk in.]

BUG: Oh, would you look at this?

JORDAN: Let me get my camera. Boy, Nigel beats us to work in the morning.

BUG: And the morning after a big date no less?

JORDAN: Oh, right. Trouble in paradise? (He looks at them.) What is it?

[Time lapse.]

JORDAN: Calm down, Nige. Shouldn't you just call the police?

NIGEL: No, no police. They put it in blood on the wall for god's sakes. No cops.

BUG: Is your girlfriend wealthy? I mean, how much are they asking for?

NIGEL: They haven't yet, no. It's her ex-husband that's worth a fortune.

JORDAN: Where's he?

NIGEL: Sarah's tried reaching him. He's flying in from Europe supposedly.

JORDAN: Supposedly?

NIGEL: Yeah. They have a nasty custody battle. Apparently he's not a very nice man.

BUG: Could he have taken her?

NIGEL: That would've been my guess if not for all the blood.

JORDAN: What about your girlfriend?

NIGEL: What about my girlfriend?

JORDAN: Well, you say custody battle. My assumption is one parent or the other.

NIGEL: Yeah, well, if you'd seen Maddie's room, you wouldn't say that. You wouldn't assume any damn thing.

(They walk into the Crypt.)

JORDAN: Nigel, I'm sorry, I didn't mean...

NIGEL: I know, Jordan, I know. But you're wrong. And if one wrong move jeopardises this little girl, I'll never forgive

myself.

BUG: All the more reason to talk to Woody about...

NIGEL: No. No police. I told you. Now please, no one has to know. Not Woody, not Dr. Macy, no one. Can I trust you?

JORDAN: You can trust me. I'm going with you.

NIGEL: What?

JORDAN: You're right. I have to see for myself. If it's as bad as you say it is, you're gonna need some help. Hey, Bug,

can you cover for us?

NIGEL: Bug, please.

(They walk in the elevator.)

BUG: Look, fine. But I still think you should...

NIGEL: Don't. And don't tell anyone.

[Cut to Trace Evidence. There's a body of an elderly man laying on a gurney. Lily walks in and puts some boxes on the

table. The elderly man wakes and sits up. Lily gasps and hurries out to the corridor.]

LILY: Oh my god. Oh my god. Oh my god. (She rushes down the corridor and bumps into Garret.) A body in Trace. A man, he's

alive! (They run into Trace and the man is gone.) He was right here. I-I-I swear. He was on this table.

(Garret picks up the file on the gurney.)

GARRET: John Doe found d*ad in an alley behind the Lomax Theater.

[Cut to the Corridor. The man is walking naked through the corridor. Garret and Lily run in. Lily covers her eyes. Bug

runs in with a coat.]

BUG: Someone lose a naked man? (He covers the man with the coat.) It's okay, it's okay.

[Scene: Sarah's Apartment. Sarah is sitting on the couch. Jordan and Nigel walk in.]

NIGEL: Sarah? (He goes to her.) Sarah, are you okay?

SARAH: Nigel.

NIGEL: Did they call?

SARAH: No, not yet. I... Oh my god. Who's she? They said no cops.

NIGEL: She's not a cop. This is Dr. Cavanaugh.

JORDAN: Jordan. I'm so sorry...

SARAH: But we agreed not to tell anyone, Nigel. You said it. Not until we know more.

NIGEL: Right. Jordan will help us know more.

JORDAN: The more we learn from the crime scene, Sarah, the better our chances of getting Maddie back. With or without the

police.

SARAH: This can't be happening, I mean, am I losing my mind? Why won't they call? They said they'd call.

(Nigel hugs her.)

JORDAN: Can I see her room?

(They walk into Maddie's room.)

NIGEL: They took her out of the window. There's a footprint out there I'll be casting later, and some blood on the sill.

JORDAN: Okay, I'll start getting samples.

NIGEL You didn't touch anything, did you?

SARAH: You said not to. I listened to you. I didn't call anyone, tell anyone.

NIGEL: Sarah.

(She walks away.)

JORDAN: Nigel, go and be with her. I got this.

[Scene: ME's Office. The elderly man is getting checked out by a paramedic. Garret and Bug are watching near by. Lily's on the phone.]

GARRET: You hear stories about this.

BUG: Well, it could've been worse. He could've woken up while we were splitting his ribs.

LILY: (on phone) Okay, thanks. (She hangs up.) Nothing. No ID when they found him. They thought he was homeless.

GARRET: It was cold last night. Probably figured he just crawled into the alley and died.

BUG: You see, this is why I still write my name in my underwear.

GARRET: Where are Jordan and Nigel? They're not gonna believe this.

BUG: Um, they are, they're on a call. Excuse me, I just remembered I have to...

(He walks away.)

LILY: I went through his clothes. I found these.

(She hands Garret a letter.)

GARRET: "To my dearest darling." Signed Doris. June 1978.

LILY: Yeah, it's a love letter. It's beautiful, it's really intimate. Whoever Doris is she was really in love with him.

GARRET: Well, how do we know he's dearest darling? Maybe he just found it?

LILY: Don't be such a cynic.

PARAMEDIC: Well, for a guy who was d*ad an hour ago, he's in pretty good shape.

GARRET: So who is he?

PARAMEDIC: He doesn't know.

GARRET: Meaning what?

PARAMEDIC: Meaning he has no idea who he is.

(She walks away.)

[Time lapse. Garret, Lily and the man are sitting down.]

GARRET: Do you know where you are?

MAN: Paramedic told me this is a morgue. Does that mean I'm d*ad?

LILY: No. No, of course not. I can promise you that.

GARRET: Why don't you tell us what you do know?

MAN: I woke up on a bus. Maybe four days ago. It's all I can remember.

GARRET: What happened to you in the alley?

MAN: I was so cold and I hadn't been sleeping well lately, so I stole some sleeping aids from the drug store. I guess I

took too many.

(Lily hands him a pair of glasses.)

LILY: We found these with your belongings. You do wear glasses, don't you?

MAN: I guess so. (He puts them on.) I can see better. Thanks.

LILY: And this.

(She hands him the letter.)

MAN: I really have to leave now. (He stands up.) May I have my clothes, please.

LILY: Wait, where are you going?

MAN: I have to find Doris.

LILY: Do you know who she is?

MAN: No. I know that I love her, I can feel that. And if I find Doris, then maybe I'll know who I am.

LILY: No, you're not going to go anywhere until we find out who you are. You're gonna be safe here.

GARRET: I'm sorry, can I see you for a moment?

LILY: Excuse us. One second. You can take a seat.

(They walk outside.)

GARRET: What are you doing? He can't stay here.

LILY: Well, you can't shove him out into the cold. We have to find out who he is, we have to reunite him with Doris.

GARRET: Doris? That letter is twenty-seven years old. For all we know Doris is d*ad.

LILY: Do you not have one romantic bone in your body?

GARRET: I'm gonna call social services, they're gonna...

LILY: Hold onto him for forty-eight hours and then they'll dump him in the street. No, Garret, he's staying here until we

find out who he is. It's the right thing to do.

[Scene: Sarah's Apartment. Maddie's Room. Jordan and Nigel are there. Jordan is taking photos of the blood on the curtains.]

JORDAN: What time did you say you found the girl missing?

NIGEL: About five this morning. (Sarah walks in.) Why? What is it?

JORDAN: The blood. The way it's clotted. Like it's been here a lot longer than just a few hours.

NIGEL: It could just be the conditions. Room temperature, wall temperature.

JORDAN: Could be. Or it could be...

SARAH: Could she be d*ad? I mean, with all that blood.

NIGEL: Sarah, listen to me. She's not d*ad.

JORDAN: There isn't enough blood for that.

(The phone rings. They go into the living room.)

NIGEL: Deep breath.

(Sarah answers it.)

SARAH: Hello? Oh, hi, Beth.

JORDAN: Beth?

NIGEL: Friend.

SARAH: Can I call you back? (Jordan leaves the room.) I can't talk right now. Uh, yes, he's still here. Okay, bye.

(She hangs up. There's a knock on the door.)

VOICE: Sarah!

SARAH: That's Phillip.

PHILLIP: Sarah!

(Sarah opens the door.)

SARAH: Why didn't you call?

PHILLIP: Because I didn't have to. Who is this?

NIGEL: I'm Nigel Townsend.

SARAH: He's a friend.

PHILLIP: A friend? Was he here? Were you here? Were you near my daughter?

NIGEL: Hey, now, hold on a second.

SARAH: Wait a minute. You mean you already know?

PHILLIP: Of course I know. What do you think. (Jordan walks in.) Hey! Who the hell are you? What are you doing here?

JORDAN: I'm Jordan Cavanaugh. Medical Examiner for the city of Boston.

(He walks into Maddie's room.)

PHILLIP: Oh, good god.

SARAH: But how, Phillip? How did you know?

PHILLIP: Bastards have my private number. I slept on the flight and I checked voicemail as soon as we touched ground. One

was my sister telling me you called and then, then came this.

(He plays the message on his phone.)

VOICE: We have your daughter. One million to set her free. Failure will cost her life. Calling the police will cost her

life. One million dollars before the next call.

NIGEL: We'll get her back.

[Scene: Sarah's Apartment. Maddie's Room. Phillip's on the phone.]

PHILLIP: Never mind what the money's for. Just have it ready for me when I get there.

SARAH: I can't believer your bank pulls so much together so quickly.

PHILLIP: Plenty of questions for me down the road. What are you people doing, anyway?

NIGEL: If whoever took Maddie left something behind, I'll find it. And them.

SARAH: Nigel's a forensic criminolist.

PHILLIP: Yeah, who just happened to be sharing your bed while my daughter is being kidnapped in the next room.

NIGEL: Now, sir, I can assure you...

PHILLIP: Assure me what? That you just slept right through this. Did you? How well do you even know this man, Sarah? How

do we know he's not in on it?

NIGEL: Would I be doing this if I were?

PHILLIP: Yeah, if you were clever enough.

JORDAN: With all do respect, Mr. Sovall, but I could be asking you the same questions.

PHILLIP: What? Are you accusing me?

JORDAN: Not necessarily. But you do own several businesses, don't you?

PHILLIP: What does that matter?

NIGEL: You must have enemies. Every business man does. Rivals, competitors.

JORDAN: Disgruntled employees, recent layoffs.

PHILLIP: Enough. This isn't personal. This is about the money, plain and simple.

SARAH: How can you be so sure?

PHILLIP: Because I am. I knew Maddie would never be safe with you and this never would've happened if I had custody.

JORDAN: Look, we can all waste time passing blame around or we can do what it takes to get Maddie back. Not both.

NIGEL: So whatever we decide to do, we better do it now. Before that next phone call comes.

[Scene: ME's Office. Conference Room. Lily and the man are there. Garret is standing outside. Detective Seely walks up to

him.]

MATT: Hey, I don't get it. That guy was laying right there in the alley. He was d*ad.

GARRET: Well, now he's undead.

MATT: You're not gonna tell me he's craving human flesh now, are you?

GARRET: Besides from amnesia, he's fine. Doesn't know his name or how he got here. No prints at RMV, no military service.

I was hoping you might help.

MATT: Can't you say we tell him his name's Ernie and send him on his way?

GARRET: I was thinking more along the lines of checking missing persons, cross reference his description. You know the

drill.

MATT: Unfortunately I do.

GARRET: Hey, I got talked into this myself.

MATT: Oh, yeah? By who? Ah, of course. Here we are again.

[Cut to inside the Conference Room.]

LILY: Okay, next I'd like you to count backwards for me from one hundred in multiples of seven. Like 100, 93... so on.

MAN: Okay. Let's see. 100, 93, 86, 79, 72, 65...

LILY: Okay. Wow, okay. Well, there doesn't seem to be any problem with brain function. All right, let's try a sense memory

exercise. Of the letter. The part where you two are underneath the boardwalk. Are you blushing?

MAN: I don't know why. I can't remember any of it.

LILY: Well, forget about the specifics. I guess you already have. Why don't you just tell me how you felt. Can you go

there? Can you see her face?

MAN: No. I sense something. Maybe it's because I've read the letter so many times, but it feels real. It's all I have.

LILY: We're gonna find her.

[Scene: Sarah's Apartment. Living Room. Jordan, Nigel and Sarah are there.]

NIGEL: You know, Phillip had a point. How on earth did we sleep through all this?

SARAH: You'd think we had heard something.

JORDAN: What time did you go to bed?

NIGEL: About ten.

SARAH: And me about twenty minutes after. I tucked Maddie in, we talked for a little. She couldn't get over your card

trick. How you made the queen reappear.

NIGEL: Just some cheap sleights of hand.

SARAH: But what you're doing here, it's not that, is it? It'll bring her back won't it? Make Maddie reappear. (The phone

rings. Sarah answers it.) Hello? No, Beth, I'm fine. Well, how should I sound?

(Phillip walks in carrying two suitcases.)

PHILLIP: Is that them?

SARAH: Uh, Beth, I've gotta go, I'm sorry.

(She hangs up.)

PHILLIP: If Beth knows, the whole world knows.

SARAH: She doesn't. I know better.

NIGEL: Did you have any problems?

PHILLIP: I've got the money, don't I? Though I'm pretty sure I was being watched.

NIGEL: Watched?

PHILLIP: Followed. He had a baseball cap. He'd be there, I'd turn, he'd be gone. (Phillip's phone rings.) Hello? Yes. Yes,

I have the money.

SARAH: Let me hear them.

(He puts it on speaker phone.)

VOICE: The drop will be made in one hour. Someone will be waiting for you behind the warehouse in Newton on Tager.

SARAH: Where's Maddie? Put Maddie on the phone.

VOICE: Your daughter's alive. Miss the drop and she won't be.

PHILLIP: You harm one hair on that girl's head and I'll come after you.

VOICE: Temper, Mr. Sovall. You've just cost yourself an invitation. Sarah, that wife of yours, she seems smart. One hour.

JORDAN: Whoever it is, he knows both of you.

NIGEL: Let's go. I'll drive the car.

PHILLIP: Like hell you will.

SARAH: I can drive myself.

PHILLIP: Not with my money you won't.

(Sarah and Phillip leave.)

JORDAN: I'll get this stuff back to the lab. What are you waiting for? Go on.

NIGEL: Thank you, Jordan.

JORDAN: Nigel? Be careful.

[Scene: Behind the Warehouse. Sarah and Phillip pull up in the car.]

PHILLIP: I'll be just around the corner. Be careful.

SARAH: Okay.

(Sarah gets out of the car. Nigel watches her from near by. She walks down an alley and he follows closely behind. A man

wearing a baseball cap walks out of the shadows and follows Sarah. Nigel rushes up to the man and grabs him from behind.

The guy throws Nigel on the ground and points his g*n. It's Woody.)

WOODY: Freeze!

NIGEL: Woody?

WOODY: Nigel, you should've called me.

SARAH: Nigel? What are you... (A car starts near by and drives off.) Oh my god. I missed the drop. You made me miss the

drop.

[Scene: ME's Office. Trace Evidence. Garret and the man are there. The man is laying on a gurney. Garret is doing a live

autopsy on him.]

MAN: I appreciate this, I really do. Lily, she's been so nice to me. I mean, really kind.

GARRET: Yeah, she's great.

MAN: Are you two...

GARRET: Lily? No. We're just as you say, colleagues.

MAN: Sorry. I thought I noticed... Are you married?

GARRET: Was.

MAN: What's that like?

GARRET: It wasn't all bad. I try not to remember.

MAN: That's where I got you b*at. You don't have to have memories to know what it feels like to be in love. You remember

the feeling, don't you?

GARRET: I used to think I did.

MAN: I think it's what keeps me going, knowing that it's out there, she's out there.

GARRET: There's calluses. From some repetitious use holding a tool of some kind. Any idea what caused that? There's charcoal

under your nails.

MAN: Is that what that is?

GARRET: Yeah. I think we're gone here. You can get on up.

(The man sits up. He sees a picture pinned to a board.)

MAN: That superior vena cave is too big.

GARRET: Excuse me?

MAN: No, whoever drew that made it larger than the arch of the aorta.

GARRET: Did they?

MAN: Yeah. It should be smaller and to the left.

[Cut to the corridor. Lily is there. Garret walks up to her.]

GARRET: Lily. I think he's a doctor.

LILY: What?

GARRET: John Doe. He knew specific details about an autopsy report and just answered five anatomy questions only a doctor

would know.

LILY: So if we cross reference our missing persons search with his description...

GARRET: How many missing doctors can there be?

LILY: I'll get Seely back here.

[Scene: Police Station. Room. Nigel, Woody, Sarah and Phillip are there.]

PHILLIP: So help me. If you have cost my daughter her life, I will k*ll you.

WOODY: Mr. Sovall...

PHILLIP: And bring this department to its knees if you're not thrown off the force.

SARAH: They said no cops, Nigel.

WOODY: Nigel didn't call me.

NIGEL: I thought I could trust Bug.

SARAH: I thought I could trust you.

(The phone rings.)

WOODY: All right, just stay calm, keep talking.

(He pushes the button on the phone.)

VOICE: We don't like games.

PHILLIP: Give us another chance.

SARAH: Please don't hurt my baby.

VOICE: No promises. And no more police.

PHILLIP: It won't happen again. I swear.

VOICE: And yet there you are, Mr. Sovall. At the police station.

(They look at each other.)

PHILLIP: Look, what do you want from us?

VOICE: Turn off the speaker and hand the phone to your wife.

(Woody hands the phone to Sarah.)

SARAH: Can I talk to her, please. No, please. Yes, I know where that is. I understand, I won't. Okay. Please don't hurt

her. I promise.

PHILLIP: Where did they say?

SARAH: I can't tell you, they'll k*ll her.

PHILLIP: Sarah.

SARAH: I can't, I won't. They'll k*ll her. Don't you understand?

WOODY: We can't take that risk, Mrs. Sovall.

SARAH: I'm not his wife, detective. I'm Maddie's mother and I won't let them or any of you hurt her chances again.

PHILLIP: Can you put a tail on her?

WOODY: Yeah, I can tail her.

SARAH: Still you can't trust me? Even with Maddie's life at stake?

PHILLIP: Stop, just stop. Do you hear yourself? Don't do this, not now.

SARAH: I never wanted your money before.

PHILLIP: And it's not about the money. It's you, Sarah. They could just as easily hurt you.

NIGEL: We have no choice but to trust that they won't. She has to go alone. I'll get back to the lab. Do whatever I can.

[Scene: ME's Office. Forensic Laboratory.  Jordan and Nigel are there.]

JORDAN: I came up with a phantom hair. Not belonging to you, Sarah, Maddie or Phillip.

NIGEL: DNA results?

JORDAN: Working on it. So how you doing?

NIGEL: I'm scrambling to pick up his voice, hopefully. If we adjust the altermodulations, strip away some of the layers of

distortion.

JORDAN: You may get close but not enough for a solid ID. (The DNA results show up on the computer.) And the winner is Beth

Silas. Resident nurse at St. Joe's.

NIGEL: Oh, right, Beth.

JORDAN: Friend.

NIGEL: Yeah, Maddie's godmother. She's quite a character but no way a suspect.

JORDAN: I'm just saying...

(Bug walks in.)

BUG: You're back.

NIGEL: You stay away from me.

BUG: Look, Nigel, you were making a mistake. I only did what I would expect you would do for me.

NIGEL: What, s*ab me in the back?

JORDAN: Nigel, don't.

NIGEL: You betrayed me, Bug. Just like I betrayed Sarah.

BUG: Nigel, if there's anything I can do.

NIGEL: You've done enough. (Nigel's phone rings.) Yeah, Woody.

WOODY: Nige, meet us lake out water boathouse C. Sarah made a successful drop and that's where they said she'd find the

girl.

[Cut to the Conference Room. The man is there drawing. Garret and Lily are watching him from the corridor.]

GARRET: The only missing doctors were a woman from Arizona and a thirty-one year old from St. Paul. He can't stay here any

longer.

LILY: What do you think'll happen to him if he never remembers?

GARRET: I guess he'll start over. Clean slate. We have to tell him, Lily.

[Time lapse. Conference Room.]

MAN: It's okay. Really. I appreciate your trying.

LILY: I got you some clothes. I hope they fit.

GARRET: Listen, I'd like to help.

(He gives him some money.)

MAN: No, no, I couldn't.

GARRET: No, I insist.  You're gonna need it.

(Matt walks in.)

MATT: All right, hold the phone everybody.

LILY: Why? Did you find something out?

MATT: Did I ever. Turns out there was a m*rder two nights ago in the apartment three stories above the alley where we

found him.

GARRET: So you think he did it?

MATT: I don't know. But maybe he knows who did. Let's just see if we can't jog your memory down at the station.

MAN: Thank you. Both of you for everything. I appreciate it so much.

(Lily looks at his drawings.)

LILY: You're an artist.

GARRET: No. He's an illustrator.

MATT: Great. You can draw me a picture of where you were the other night.

GARRET: Wait a minute. Can you draw an adrenal vein?

MAN: I think so.

GARRET: I know how to figure out who you are.

[Scene: Boathouse. Police have arrived. Nigel rushes up to an officer.]

NIGEL: Where is she? Is she okay?

OFFICER: In there.

(He runs towards the boathouse.)

NIGEL: Phillip. What happened? (Woody and Sarah walk out.) Sarah?

(They hug.)

WOODY: It's bad, Nige. It's bad.

(Sarah runs off.)

NIGEL: Sar...

WOODY: There's nothing you can do. There's nothing you can do. Nigel, Nigel, Nigel. (Nigel runs into the boathouse. He

sees blood on the floor leading to the water.) Emergency services is gonna drag the lake first thing in the morning.

NIGEL: Why? Why, Woody?

[Scene: ME's Office. Forensic Laboratory. Nigel and Bug are there. Jordan walks in.]

JORDAN: That was Woody. They still haven't recovered her body. He also wants you to give a statement at the precinct later.

The sooner we can clear you the better.

BUG: Wait. Nigel's a suspect?

JORDAN: The father's pushing hard in every direction, apparently.

NIGEL: Woody should just arrest me now.

BUG: Nigel, you did nothing wrong.

NIGEL: Yeah, but I did nothing right.

[Scene: Police Station. Interview Room. Matt and the man are there.]

MAN: I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about.

(Garret walks in.)

MATT: We're not quite through here, Macy.

GARRET: There are only a handful of anatomy illustrators in America. Even fewer in a missing persons report. Your name is

Carl Meissner. You live on East Collins Road in Hope Valley, Rhode Island. It's about forty-five minutes from here. You've

been married twenty-seven years.

CARL: To Doris?

GARRET: Yeah. Lily's tracking her down right now.

MATT: None of which changes his current situation. So I'm afraid Mr. Meissner and I still have some unfinished business.

(Garret leaves the room. Lily walks down the corridor.)

LILY: Hey.

GARRET: Did you find her?

LILY: Uh, she doesn't wanna see him. Ever.

GARRET: Well, did she say why?

LILY: She was relieved that he was okay and then she said something about too much water under the bridge and then she hung up on me. I just don't believe that the same woman that wrote these words... It just doesn't seem right.

GARRET: Okay, come with me.

[Scene: Doris' House. Doris is out the front potting some plants. Garret and Lily walk up to her.]

LILY: Excuse me, Mrs. Meissner?

DORIS: Yeah?

LILY: I spoke to you on the phone earlier about your husband.

DORIS: And I thought I made myself clear.

GARRET: Can I ask why you didn't report him missing?

DORIS: Our marriage was no bed of roses. He walked out before, he always came back.

GARRET: We believe this time Carl suffered some sort of trauma.

DORIS: What kind of trauma?

LILY: We think it might be amnesia.

GARRET: Look, I don't know what went wrong between you two but at least tell us what happened to him. Was it something he

did?

DORIS: No, he didn't do anything. Don't get me wrong, Carl is no picnic. At least he didn't have an affair with my best

friend. He came home last Friday and found me with his friend Doug. The look on his face. And he just ran off before I

could explain to him that it didn't mean anything. It was just a terrible mistake. Give him my best, will you?

LILY: That's it? Give him my best?

DORIS: He deserves better than me.

(Lily pulls out the letter.)

LILY: You wrote this the year that you were married. It was the only thing Carl had on him. (She hands it to Doris.) The

only thing he knows is that he is still in love with this woman.

DORIS: Clearly that's not who I am anymore.

GARRET: That's who he remembers.

DORIS: After what I did to him?

LILY: There may be a chance he'll never remember.

DORIS: What are you saying?

[Scene: ME's Office. Forensic Laboratory. Jordan and Nigel are there. Bug walks in.]

BUG: You were right about the blood not clotting properly. It was the little girl's, all right, but it wasn't fresh.

NIGEL: What do you mean it wasn't fresh?

BUG: Just that. Traces of the preservative formaldehyde suggests it could've been drawn days or even weeks ago.

NIGEL: How's that possible?

JORDAN: Nigel, did you take a look at your tox results?

NIGEL: Why would I bother? I know what I've been up to.

JORDAN: Well, you've got unusually high levels of codeine in your system. Prescription codeine ingested within I'd say the

last 46 hours.

NIGEL: Not by me.

BUG: Then how'd it get there?

NIGEL: The punch.

JORDAN: Wait, what?

BUG: Someone got punched?

NIGEL: No, rum punch. We were drinking it. It was a special concoction of Beth's.

BUG: Beth the nurse?

JORDAN: Was she drinking it too?

NIGEL: Of course she was, she was...

JORDAN: Nigel, there's no codeine in her system. Are you sure she was drinking it?

NIGEL: No, I'm not.

BUG: I'll call Woody.

(Bug walks away.)

NIGEL: What about Sarah?

JORDAN: You didn't check her results? Nigel. Did she drink the punch?

[Scene: Sarah's Apartment. Nigel is standing in the hallway. Sarah opens the door.]

NIGEL: Can I come in, please?

SARAH: Nigel, I can't. I need to be alone for a while.

(He pushes his way in.)

NIGEL: Where is she?

SARAH: Who?

NIGEL: Well, let's start with Beth, shall we? I wanna get that recipe for the rum punch. Was it three hits of codeine or

four? 'Cause, woo-hoo, I had quite a kick.

SARAH: Nigel, what are you saying?

NIGEL: You never drank from your glass, Sarah. You and Beth, you both raised your glasses, but you never did drink, did

you?

SARAH: Of course we did.

NIGEL: Now where is she?

SARAH: Who, Nigel? Where is who? (Nigel walks down the hallway.) Nigel, don't. Don't!

(She grabs his arm.)

NIGEL: Get off me.

(He goes into Maddie's room. Beth and Maddie are there.)

MADDIE: Nigel.

NIGEL: Hey.

(He hugs her.)

MADDIE: Are you coming with us?

NIGEL: Where were you last night, Maddie?

MADDIE: At Beth's house. And now I'm going to New Zealand. It's supposed to be great. Have you ever been to New Zealand?

NIGEL: No, sweetheart, I haven't.

MADDIE: Can Nigel come, mum, please?

SARAH: Maybe, sweetie. Maybe. (Nigel goes outside. Sarah follows.) Nigel, I was going to call you, I swear. As soon as the

dust settled.

NIGEL: All this for custody?

SARAH: Phillip's evil, don't you see it?

NIGEL: Not especially.

SARAH: You don't know him. He wants Maddie all to himself. I can't let that happen.

NIGEL: So you find a boyfriend in forensics to support your lie? You draw Maddie's blood, you take hair from her brush.

All to convince me, so what, then I convince Phillip?

SARAH: No, it wasn't like that.

NIGEL: Leaving me not only to mourn Maddie, but to blame myself. I blamed myself! I'm being blamed by other people.

SARAH: Then come with us. We're so close, Nigel. We're home free. I was going to call you, I swear it.

NIGEL: Look, Sarah.

SARAH: No, you look! You don't understand. He was going to take away my baby. Take her, keep her, lock her away just like

he did me and never let her go. I can't let that happen. I can't. I won't.

NIGEL: All right, Sarah.

SARAH: Nigel, he's evil.

NIGEL: I know. I see that now.

SARAH: Please. Please come with us.

NIGEL: Just, just give me a minute, okay?

[Scene: Police Station. Interview Room. Carl is sitting there. Garret and Lily are watching from behind the mirror. Doris

walks in.]

DORIS: Hi.

CARL: Hello.

DORIS: I'm Doris. I'm your wife.

CARL: Now what happens?

DORIS: Maybe we could just talk. (She hands him the letter.) Belongs to you. Honey, you broke your glasses.

CARL: I guess I fell.

DORIS: Are you okay?

CARL: It's smudged.

DORIS: Let me see. (She takes the letter.) "In quiet moments without you, I still feel you next to me. Your touch, your

skin, soft comfort of your voice. How I know we'll be together forever. Your strong arms around me. I'm safe. Lovers,

friends, joined."

(She starts to cry and hugs him.)

CARL: Doris. Doris.

[Cut to outside. Nigel is there. Phillip walks up to him.]

PHILLIP: I suppose I owe you an apology.

NIGEL: No. No, you don't. Take care of Maddie.

(Maddie and a woman walk in.)

MADDIE: Daddy! Daddy!

(She runs over to him and he picks her up.)

PHILLIP: Baby.

MADDIE: I missed you.

PHILLIP: I missed you.

MADDIE: You know Nigel, daddy? Isn't he cool? Can we go colour?

PHILLIP: Yes, we can go colour. We can colour right over here.

(They go over to a desk. Near by, Woody brings in Sarah and Beth. Nigel goes into the corridor where Jordan and Bug are

waiting.)

JORDAN: Hey.

NIGEL: Hey.

BUG: So, uh, anyone up for a little all you can eat at the Beef and Brew?

JORDAN: Sounds good to me. Nige?

NIGEL: Sounds good.

(They head for the door.)
{"type": "series", "show": "Crossing Jordan", "episode": "04x20 - Forget Me Not"}