01x01 - Pilot

[bunniefuu]

[Scene: Venice Beach, California. JORDAN sits on a chair in a circle with other people for anger management]

THERAPIST So, Jordan, what brings you to our anger management workshop today?

JORDAN: Well, I was remanded here by my place of employment. I kicked my boss in the cojones. He kind of found that to be a problem. See, I had this guy's brain in my hand when my boss asked me another one of his patronizing questions, and... Oh, speaking of, I prefer Dr. Cavanaugh. Thanks. Like I said, I had this guy's brain in my hand, so I couldn't very well punch him, right? [JORDAN stops when she takes notice of the serious faces in the room] I'm a medical examiner for the County Coroner's office. I cut up dead people for a living. It's a great way to manage your anger, man. I see.

THERAPIST: And just what exactly are you angry at, Dr. Cavanaugh?

JORDAN: You mean besides inane questions? Oh, I don't know. The designated hitter always ticked me off. Then, of course, there's all the crap I see in my line of work. People k*lled by drunk drivers, psychos who m*rder innocent people for no reason. Injustice. Yeah, that pisses me off pretty good. Or how about a ten-year-old girl who has to hear from her fourth-grade teacher at recess that her mom was m*rder*d? Her dad left alone to raise her without a mom, without a wife, on a cop's salary. Does that work for you? [Jordan’s phone rings] Oh, sh**t. What? Oh. Really? Boston? No, actually, yeah. It just so happens that I'm available. Okay. Yeah, I can be there in the morning. Thanks. Bye.

[Scene: JORDAN, carrying two suitcases, is walking and a man bumps into one of her suitcases causing it to open. The man keeps walking as Jordan bends down to pick up her clothes]

JORDAN: Never mind. Great. Yeah, thanks for the help.

ANNOUNCER: Your attention, please. This is the final boarding call for flight to Boston's Logan Airport. Final boarding call to Boston's Logan Airport.

[JORDAN looks up and then back down at her clothes. She picks up her other suitcases and steps over the clothes on the ground, walking away.]

[Scene: Boston, Massachusetts. JORDAN is in the bathroom of Logan Airport. She puts on her makeup and while looking at her reflection.]

JORDAN: Look, I know I had my problems here in the past. Wow. Wow. My old job back? How flattering. Okay. How long are you gonna hold this against me for? Well, that's my final offer. Take it or leave it. Please, I really need this job. Please.

[Scene: JORDAN steps out of a taxi and looks across the street at the Field Medical Examiners building]

[Scene: JORDAN stands in the hall of the building when a man walks toward her.]

GARRET: Hello, Jordan.

JORDAN: Garret.

GARRET: It's nice to see you still dress for success.

JORDAN: Wanted to make a good first impression.

GARRET: You didn't five years ago. Why should now be any different?

JORDAN: Gloria?

GLORIA: Mamasita. How you doing, baby? What you doing here?

JORDAN: Oh, I'll let you know when I find out.

GARRET: [ hands Gloria a folder] Gloria.

JORDAN: We'll talk later.

GLORIA: Uh-huh.

GARRET: Things have changed since you left, Jordan. Budget cuts, layoffs. It seems the death industry isn't economy-proof after all.

[Scene: GARRET and JORDAN walk into a lab]

JORDAN: Whatever happened to Yakura?

GARRET: Oh. Yeah, you didn't hear? She outmaneuvered me for the job, thereby ensuring my slow death in the middle rung of this place forever. Is everything okay between you two?

JORDAN: Yakura? Oh, yeah. Sure, fine. How about you?

GARRET: No.

[A man pops up and hits his head]

JORDAN: Bug? Hey, man, how you doing?

BUG: Jordan?

GARRET: Did you lose something, Bug?

BUG: My larvae. A thousand of them. Amazonian butterflies. They were in two cases this big.

GARRET: Gee, I'm so sorry. Wish I could help.

[GARRET and JORDAN walk out of the lab through another door and into the hall]

JORDAN: Obviously, some things haven't changed.

GARRET: We might have to start writing his name in his underwear. Seen this morning's paper yet? Jonathan Mulroy k*lled himself.

JORDAN: Really?

GARRET: Yeah.

KELLY: Dr. Cavanaugh. This is so cool.

Jordan: Kelly, why are you still here? What happened to the circus?

Garret: [Walks in between them and hands Kelly a folder] Kelly. This place is going to hell and it's about to get crazier.

[GARRET and JORDAN continue walking]

JORDAN: Mulroy k*lled himself? Wow, I think I voted for him.

GARRET: Well, good. You can tell him yourself. He should be here any minute, along with half of City Hall, the D.A. S, the press. Just what we need. You smell something funny?

JORDAN: Garret, it's a morgue. It's supposed to smell bad.

GARRET: Thank you. Yes, that's the problem in a nutshell.

[Scene: GARRET sits at his desk in his office drinking Pepto Bismol while JORDAN sits across from him.

JORDAN: You seem a little stressed.

GARRET: You have no idea. My nerves are sh*t. I've got an ulcer, high blood pressure, insomnia, constipation.

JORDAN: I get the picture.

GARRET: It's just... I got talked into making a speech tomorrow for career day at Bunker Hill Community College. I've been a nervous wreck about it all week.
JORDAN: Oh, you'll do fine. Wow, with your winning personality and...

GARRET: Yeah. Five jobs in four years, that's impressive.

JORDAN: Oh, you know me. Short attention span.

GARRET: Uh-huh. Commendation from Chicago P.D. "Solved five murders. Exemplary skills." "Very passionate about her work." "Excellent diagnostician. " So?

JORDAN: I know I had my problems here in the past.

GARRET: Yeah.

JORDAN: No, really. I just completed an anger management class.

GARRET: Well, that's good.

JORDAN: Come on, Garret. Are you giving me my job back or not?

GARRET: Yeah, I am. But like I said, we've been squeezed pretty hard around here lately, so this is the best I can do.

[GARRET writes JORDAN’s pay on a sticky note before handing it to her.]

JORDAN: Is this a joke? No, you brought me all the way back here for this? I could get more on the street selling my kidneys!

GARRET: Just one second. Hold it. Hold it.

JORDAN: How can I...

GARRET: I want to read this off. Listen. One second. I'm gonna read you some comments that I failed to mention.

JORDAN: Oh, please do.

GARRET: Listen and learn. "Insubordination. " "Obsessive desire to solve crimes. "[JORDAN laughs] You think that's funny, Nancy Drew? "Inability to perform duties without causing bodily harm to co-workers. " Come on, Jordan.

JORDAN: No, if you knew the story...

GARRET: Quiet! Listen to me. Jordan! The truth is no one else wants you, Jordan. I'm sorry. But you want my advice? You take this offer, stay under the radar, do your job and let the cops do theirs. And for God's sake, would it k*ll you to put on a business suit?

JORDAN: Aw, what the hell? I never cared about money anyway.

GARRET: Good.

KELLY: [Walks into the office and drops a folder on GARRET’s desk] They found a Jane Doe in the alley behind the bus depot. Possible OD.

GARRET: Thanks. [KELLY walks out and he turns his attention toward JORDAN] So when can you start?

JORDAN: How about now?

[Scene: Logan Street Alley. Cops are scattered throughout the crime scene. A crime scene photographer takes pictures of Jane Doe. JORDAN walks into the Alley and over to the Jane Doe.]

JORDAN: Hey, Joe.

JOE: Hey, darling.

COLLINS:[walking toward JORDAN and the Jane Doe] Can I help you?

JORDAN: Yeah, I'm Dr. Cavanaugh, the M.E. Assigned to this case.

COLLINS: Ah, right. I remember you from a few years ago, right? Yeah, how could I forget?

JORDAN: Sorry I can't say the same about you. You must be Detective Lang.

COLLINS: No, Detective Collins, Homicide.

JORDAN: Any idea who the decedent is?

COLLINS: Nothing so far. We found this next to the body. [COLLINS shows JORDANS an evidence bag] Couple rocks, some crystal meth, PCP. Working girls like to come down here to score. Looks to me like she got a little too happy, sat down, d*ed.

JORDAN: Well, I'll take a liver temp.

COLLINS: Cavanaugh, huh? I knew your old man. Oh, don't worry. I was one of his friends. What they did to him, letting him go like that, it's a real shame.

JORDAN: Yeah, well.

COLLINS: It happens sometimes. Cop gets obsessed with a case, can't let go.

JORDAN: She wasn't a case, she was my mother.

COLLINS: Oh, I'm sorry. You know, I was just... How's he doing?

JORDAN: Oh, okay, I guess. A little lonely. I'm sure he'd much rather still be on the job.

COLLINS: Well, say hello to him for me, all right?

JORDAN: Yeah, sure. I'll do that.

[Scene: Morgue. Jane Doe lays on the slab as Nigel takes pictures of her, WILLIAM checks her things, and JORDAN speaks into a recorder for the Initial Examination]

JORDAN: Subject is a Jane Doe, seventeen to twenty years. Five-foot six, hundred and thirty pounds. [JORDAN hears a thud] What's that?

WILLIAM: [picks up a small white rectangular box and hands it to JORDAN: It fell out of her jacket.

JORDAN: Thanks.

NIGEL: What is it?

JORDAN: [opens the box and takes out a rosary] A rosary. She was Catholic.

NIGEL: No bruises, no stretch marks. I don't know, most of your hookers look like they've been rode hard and put up wet. Not this girl.

JORDAN: William, could you please get me a r*pe kit?

WILLIAM: You got it.

[Scene: JORDAN, WILLIAM, and a cop were escorting Jane Doe on a table to trace evidence.]

JORDAN: Just a second. [JORDAN opens the door to Trace Evidence and a few people are surrounding a corpse on a slab] Gloria. [GLORIA steps out of the room and over to JORDAN] I need to get into Trace Evidence.

GLORIA: Good luck. We've got Mulroy in here. D.A.'s making Yakura go over everything in triplicate.

JORDAN: I thought it was a su1c1de.

GLORIA: I know. I thought so. Everyone's real nervous about it for some reason.

JORDAN: Well, why'd Mulroy do it?

GLORIA: k*ll himself? I don't know. Money, politics, a woman? He'd been in the press a lot lately.

JORDAN: So how much longer?

GLORIA: A couple of hours. Go see your dad, get settled in. Lady, what's the rush?

JORDAN: There's no rush. It's just this case I'm working on. Teenage prost*tute.

GLORIA: Yeah.

JORDAN: Took a really weird turn on me.

GLORIA: How?

JORDAN: Well, I just did a pelvic exam on her. She's still a virgin.

[Scene: JORDAN gets out of a taxi with her suitcases and stands outside in front of a house. JORDAN walks into the house and places her suitcases on the ground before walking into the living room. She finds her father asleep in his chair before going over to the mantel and picks up a picture of her and her mother, after a moment JORDAN puts it down. JORDAN opens a small wooden box next to it and takes out a rosary. She looks at it intensively before turning around to her sleeping father. JORDAN walks over and kisses him on the head.

MAX: [with his eyes still closed uses his hand to mimic a handgun and points it at JORDAN] Bang. [MAX opens his eyes] What are you doing here?

JORDAN: I'm back. I got my old job back.

MAX: Ho-ho! No kidding?

[MAX stands up from his chair and hugs JORDAN]

JORDAN: Yeah.

MAX: Ho-ho! That's great. That's great.

JORDAN: I thought I'd crash here for a while until I find a place of my own.

MAX: Sure, sure. What happened to LA? Oh, Jordan. Geez, you cannot go through life poking everybody but God in the eye.

JORDAN: You did.

MAX: Yeah. Look where it got me. Come on.

[MAX and JORDAN sat down in chairs next to each other]

JORDAN: Well, the place looks good.

MAN ON TV: We're gonna go live now to City Hall for an update...

JORDAN: Wow, it's so clean. ...

MAN ON TV: on the death of Councilman Mulroy.

WOMAN ON TV: Friends and colleagues are shocked and surprised at the apparent su1c1de of Councilman...

MAX: [gestures to the TV] You hear about this?

JORDAN: Yeah, they're doing the autopsy right now. ..

WOMAN ON TV: Jonathan Mulroy. He was found dead in his office by a custodian after casting the swing vote that approved the controversial Back Bay Development Project.

MAX: It makes no sense. I've known Mulroy since he was a judge. He's been all over the papers lately in this big fight with Donald Ballard.

JORDAN: Ballard, the real estate guy?

MAX: The holdout vote on a two-hundred and fifty million dollar city contract to Ballard. Next minute, he changes his vote, goes back to his office, and hangs himself with his own belt.

WOMAN ON TV: ...he is survived by a wife and two small children. Reporting live from City Hall...

MAX: Ballard. I'd follow that lead in a heartbeat. If I was...

MAN ON TV: Now let's get a check of your Accu-Weather forecast.

JORDAN: Listen, I've been reading about this new DNA test they've been doing in Denver, and they've had a lot of success with blood samples as old as fifty years. Now, this could be the break that we're...

MAX: I'm not interested anymore, Jordan.

JORDAN: What are you talking about?

MAX: There's this book. You gotta read it. Evelyn gave it to me.

JORDAN: Evelyn?

MAX: Yeah, well, it changed my life. See, it talks about the five stages of grieving. There's denial, anger, bargaining, depression until you finally get to acceptance. That's what I'm trying to tell you. I've accepted it.

JORDAN: What do you mean you've accepted it? She was m*rder*d.

MAX: You never cried, Jordan.

JORDAN: What?

MAX: You never cried when she d*ed. You're still stuck in the anger part. See? Now, that there, that explains an awful lot.

JORDAN: I am not angry, damn it! And who the hell is Evelyn?

EVELYN:[walks into the living room] Is somebody calling me?

MAX: I've been meaning to call you about it. So this here is Jordan, my daughter.

EVELYN: Oh, my goodness. I've heard so much about you. Oh…[JORDAN stand, then she and EVELYN hug] Well, here, sit, sit, sit, sit. [EVELYN sits on the arm of MAX”s chair while JORDAN stands]Wow. So... Well, you're gonna stay a while, right?

[Scene: Trace Evidence Room. Jane Doe lays on the table as JORDAN prepares to examine her]

GLORIA: Uh-huh. I know that look, mama. Don't go caring about her. She's just a body.

JORDAN: And every body tells a story. Now, what's yours?

GLORIA: There's some kind of powder on her hair. I'll run an analysis.

JORDAN: [opens Jane Doe’s mouth] Look at this. There's a hair wedged in next to her bicuspid. [GLORIA keeps the mouth open while JORDAN grabs a camera before taking a picture of it. JORDAN then looks at it under a microscope] It's wool.

GLORIA: In her mouth? [JORDAN steps aside and lets GLORIA take a look]

JORDAN: Except for that strand there.

GLORIA: What is that, an eyelash?

JORDAN: No, arm hair. Forearm, actually. Except, it's not hers. Wrong color. She bit someone, through a wool sweater, probably right before she d*ed.

GLORIA: How do you know that?

JORDAN: If you've got a hair in your mouth, you feel it. You take it out. Judging by how far it was wedged up there, it probably left a hell of a mark.

GLORIA: I thought you said she OD'd?

JORDAN: We won't know until the tox screen comes back in the morning. Unless.

[Scene: GARRET is in his office and talking on the phone]

GARRET: Because I can't think of three words to describe my mother. Look, it's just a headstone. What do you usually put on 'em? Uh, fine, fine. I'll work on it and I'll get back to you.

[GARRET hangs up the phone. JORDAN knocks on the door before walking into the office]

JORDAN: Garret, how long will it take to requisition a gallon of cyanoacrylate? [JORDAN touches the dog puppet on GARRET’s desk]

GARRET: Don't, don't, don't, don't. I can get it by tomorrow afternoon. Why?

JORDAN: I'm gonna try to pull a fingerprint off my Jane Doe.

GARRET: You had the simplest assignment on the books. It was a sign-out.

JORDAN: I know, and I had every intention of staying under the radar until I found petechial hemorrhages in her eyes. The cause of death wasn't an overdose, Garret. It was suffocation. She was m*rder*d.

GARRET: It's great to have you back, Jordan.

[Scene: COLLINS walks in the hall of the Boston P.D. Homicide Division while reading a newspaper when JORDAN walks up to him.

JORDAN: You were wrong.

COLLINS: Oh, man, that is a hell of a way to start a conversation. You sound like my ex-wife.

JORDAN: Our Jane Doe, someone smothered her. I think with a garbage bag.

COLLINS: Oh, wait. Did you find any trace evidence?

JORDAN: We found residue from a talc used inside garbage bags on her face and head. Other than that, she was clean. Except I think she bit the perp on the arm. Probably left a hell of a bruise.

COLLINS: Yeah, but what about the dr*gs we found?

JORDAN: I'll know more after the autopsy this afternoon. But first I'm gonna try to find a print of the perp's on her body. Oh, yeah. We found this rosary in her pocket. [JORDAN hands him the rosary in an evidence bag] There's a bin number on the clasp. It might not mean anything.

COLLINS: Well, we'll open a file. Great.

JORDAN: Thanks. I gotta get back to work.

[scene: BUG is in an office with two desks and filled with boxes looking through a filing cabinet. JORDAN enters the office and walks up behind BUG.]

JORDAN: Good morning, Bug.

BUG:[ he turns to JORDAN] Huh? What's so good about it?

[JORDAN walks over to a desk and TREY enters the office]

TREY: So you're the new guy. I used to be the new guy. Tremain Sanders. Call me Trey.

JORDAN: Well, I'm Jordan Cavanaugh, and you can call me whatever you want.

TREY: I'm doing a one-year fellowship. I've got four months left.

JORDAN: Well, I'll make sure we don't get to know each other too well.

TREY: That's not gonna be easy. We're cellmates. This is my desk.

BUG: Look, there's ten dollars in it for anyone who finds my larvae. They are about to hatch. So please, don't make me beg.

JORDAN: Sure, Bug. We'll take a memo on that. [BUG leaves the office] From what I hear about you, at least I won't be the only one getting yelled at by Yakura around here.

JORDAN: Well, don't believe everything you hear. You know, that used to be her desk there.

TREY: Yakura was in here?

JORDAN: Yeah, we shared an office.

TREY: Well, she certainly traded up. What happened to you?

JORDAN: Let's just say she was a little more of a team player than I was.

TREY: You know, we should probably go out and grab dinner sometime, get to know each other better.

JORDAN: Well, you mean sharing a ten by ten office space isn't enough closeness for you?

TREY: Good point.

[Scene: GARRET holds the dog puppet in front of a mirror with his hand in it to control the mouth as he speaks]

GARRET: I'm here today to talk to you about a career in the exciting field of medical examination. Now, one might ask what are the skills needed for this dynamic profession? I'm glad you asked that. For one thing, it helps to be a people person. [GARRET turns the puppet to face him] You suck.

[Scene: JORDAN is in the Trace Evidence room with GLORIA dusting the legs of Jane Doe’s body for a fingerprint. COLLINS opens the door as he knocks on it.]

JORDAN: Oh, hey. Grab a mask and a face shield.

[COLLINS closes the door and goes to find a mask and a face shield]

GLORIA: Oh, hey.

JORDAN: If you like tall, cute guys. Well, you know me. I always did have a thing for cops.

[COLLINS enters the room with a mask and a face shield]

COLLINS: Anything?

JORDAN: No, not yet. You know how hard it is to lift a print off human skin. Even harder to get a viable one. What about you?

COLLINS: I came up empty. Canvassed the whole neighborhood. It's like she landed from Mars.

JORDAN: What about the rosary?

COLLINS: We traced the bin number back to the distributor. It's purchased from a shop on Clemens Street. But get this, that store went out of business nine years ago.

JORDAN: So why was it still in the box?

COLLINS: I don't know.

JORDAN: You know what? The encounter wasn't sexual. She trusted him. I don't think we're gonna find a print down here. Can I take this up to her face?

GLORIA: Yeah.

[GLORIA hands JORDAN the UV light fingerprint duster]

JORDAN: Thanks. There it is.

COLLINS: How do we know it's not one of her own?

JORDAN: Well, we don't, not yet.

[Scene: JORDAN and COLLINS are in the computer room watching KELLY analyze the fringer that was lifted off of Jane Doe’s face]

KELLY: Well, it's definitely not one of hers. Points are all different. But you got yourself a thumb here. Pretty good one, too.

JORDAN: I got a hunch he's a local. Let's narrow the search down to Massachusetts DMV.

KELLy: Yes, ma'am.

JORDAN: And how are you doing with our Jane Doe?

KELLY: Still no ID. No criminal record, no m*llitary, no DMV.

JORDAN: How about running her photo through the missing persons database?

KELLY: Dude, I'm already there.

JORDAN: Sweet.

[JORDAN walks over to a computer with Jane Doe’s picture being compared to thousands of missing persons’ photos in the database. COLLINS walks up to JORDAN and stands next to her]

COLLINS: This could take a while. You want to grab a cup of coffee?

JORDAN: Sure.

COLLINS: Okay.

[Scene: JORDAN and COLLINS walk down the street each with a cup of coffee in their hand after leaving the coffee shop]

COLLINS: You know, the way you found that print back there, you think like a cop. Did your father teach you that?

JORDAN: When I was a kid, at night after I'd gone to bed...

COLLINS: Uh-huh…

JORDAN: my dad would sit at the kitchen table with a glass of Scotch and he'd lay out all the evidence from a case he'd been working on and just stare at it. Now, I would get out of bed and spy on him. And he always knew I was there. And one night, he asked me over, and he says, "Okay, who do you want to be, the victim or the k*ller?" And that's how it started. It was like our very own game of Clue, except it was never Colonel Mustard in the drawing-room with a Kn*fe.

COLLINS: Geez, that's kind of a heavy thing to lay on a kid, isn't it?

JORDAN: Well, I guess after everything we'd been through together, it just seemed kind of natural, you know?

COLLINS: So, I was wondering, do you, you know, you ever date outside of your...

JORDAN: Species?

COLLINS: Yeah.

[JORDAN’S cell phone rings, alerting her she just received a text message, and she reads it]

JORDAN: They found a match.

[Scene: JORDAN and COLLINS walk into the computer room and walk toward KELLY, sitting in front of a computer]

KELLY: Looks like you've got yourself a winner here.

JORDAN: It's Councilman Mulroy.

[Scene: JORDAN and COLLINS walk down the hall]

JORDAN: He had some kind of encounter with her.

COLLINS: But not sexual.

JORDAN: Or at least not consummated yet. Either way, she wound up dead.

COLLINS: Yeah, and so he kills himself.

JORDAN: Exactly.

COLLINS: It's circumstantial at best.

JORDAN: Not if he's got a bite mark on his arm, it isn't.[JORDAN and COLLINS enter the morgue and walk toward the security guard] Charlie, which drawer is Mulroy in?

CHARLIE: Sorry, he's gone already.

JORDAN: Define "gone. "

CHARLIE: They came and took him away. The wake's today. They're burying him.

[JORDAN and COLLINS walk out of the morgue and into the hallway]

COLLINS: So what now?

JORDAN: There's only one other way to find out.

COLLINS: Oh, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait, wait, wait. Listen, no, no. No way.

[Scene: JORDAN and COLLINS walk into the wake of Mulroy which is being held in City Hall]

COLLINS: Look, there are proper channels we can go through for this. We'll get a search warrant.

JORDAN: Look at this place. I'm surprised the whole city isn't shut down by now. The mayor, the D.A., city council... Even Donald Ballard showed up.

COLLINS: Mmm?

JORDAN: The one in the three-thousand dollar suit. Now, he would be a prime suspect if Mulroy's death was ruled anything but a su1c1de.

COLLINS: Hey, I will not be a part of this.

JORDAN: No one asked you to be.

[JORDAN walks over to the casket before crossing herself and kneeling on the bench next to the casket. She unbuttons the cuff of Mulroy’s shirt before rolling up his sleeve to see if there is a bite mark from the Jane Doe, but there was none on the right before doing the same on the left. Again, no bite mark. A man with glasses walks up to JORDAN]

MAN WITH GLASSES: What do you think you're doing?

JORDAN: [Stands up and acts sad] I wanted to see if he was wearing the ring I gave him for our anniversary.

MAN WITH GLASSES: You're not Mrs. Mulroy.

JORDAN: No.

[JORDAN begins to sob and hugs the man for comfort]

MAN WITH GLASSES: Oh. Oh.

JORDAN: [ends the hug] Thank you.

MAN WITH GLASSES: You're welcome.

[JORDAN turns away and wipes the tears from her eyes as she walks toward COLLINS]

JORDAN: He didn't k*ll her.

[JORDAN and COLLINS walk up the stairs and out of city hall]

[Scene: JORDAN stands next to KELLY and they look at the missing persons match of Jane Doe on the computer]

KELLY: Clarice Jenner from Roanoke, Virginia. She was seventeen.

JORDAN: Contact her next of kin. Get them up here as soon as possible.

KELLY: Okay.

JORDAN: Oh, you know what, could you do me a favor? Run a background check on someone for me. Donald Ballard.

KELLY: The Donald Ballard?

JORDAN: Just get anything you can on him. Criminal records, indictments. Send it over to my office.

KELLY: Yeah, will do.

[JORDAN walks out of the computer room]

[Scene: GARRET fixes his tie in front of the mirror in his office. He turns around to the puppet on his desk]

GARRET: What are you looking at?

[Scene: GARRET stands at a podium in the auditorium of the Bunker Hill Community College in front of the students in attendance.]

GARRET: I'm here today... [stammering] I'm sorry, I'm a little bit nervous. I'm here today to speak to you about a career in the exciting field of medical examination. So, what is... As a medi... I'm sorry. Listen, you don't want to do what I do for a living. I'm the last guy in the world you should be taking career advice from. Do you want to hear something? I actually have a puppet on my desk. My shrink gave him to me. I'm supposed to use him to say all the things that I'm too chicken to say myself, so maybe he's the guy that should be here talking to you instead of me. You want my career advice? Because here it is. Don't follow in your father's footsteps. Don't follow in anybody's footsteps. Don't become a doctor just because your mother wants you to become a doctor or because your father never once said he loved you in your whole lousy life. I don't care. Take that and do something noble. Go be an artist. Be a poet. Do you understand the courage it takes to become a poet? Find something beautiful in life, even if it's just for a moment. Something that tells you, you're alive. That it's gonna be okay. Anybody have any questions about that? Don't forget what I said.

[Scene: JORDAN stands in front of CLARICE’S body laying on the storage rack]

JORDAN: I'm gonna find out who did this to you.

[Scene: JORDAN and MAX sit at the table with everything from the case laid out and two glasses of whiskey]

JORDAN: So, that's all I've got.

MAX: Not much.

JORDAN: I know. She and Mulroy were connected somehow, but how? So, who do you want to be? Victim or k*ller?

MAX: Oh, we haven't done that in a long time, Jordan.

JORDAN: I'll be the victim.

MAX: I'll be Mulroy.

JORDAN: All right. [JORDAN is taken back to the alley when it’s dark] It's early evening. It's just gotten dark. I'm in the alley. It's cold out, freezing, but I don't feel it. I don't feel anything. It's the barbiturates.

MAX: No, you're not in the alley. You're with me. Someplace safe and warm. My car. [JORDAN and MAX are now in a car just outside the alley] You're not afraid of me, because you don't realize yet that I'm gonna k*ll you.

JORDAN: I trust you.

MAX: Yes. I touch your face.

JORDAN: Why?

MAX: Maybe you're my mistress.

JORDAN: But I'm still a virgin.

MAX: Maybe not for long. But you reject me. I can't stand that. If I can't have you then no one will.

JORDAN: But you don't m*rder me yourself. You got someone else to k*ll me. How?

MAX: I'm a politician. People owe me favors.

JORDAN: But who?

MAX: I don't know.

JORDAN: Then k*ll me and we'll find out.

MAX: It's cold. [JORDAN walks down the alley] You don't see me.

JORDAN: Someone's in the shadows. Is it you?[A man comes out and att*cks JORDAN by strangling her] I try to resist. But you're too strong. And I fight you. But it's too late. [The man puts a trash bag over her face] I can't breathe. I'm scared. I don't want to die.

MAX: Jordan. Jordan! You okay?

JORDAN: There's too much missing. What's the connection between them? Until I figure out what she was doing with him...

MAX: You're sure there's nothing else?

JORDAN: The rosary. She had a rosary, but it was still in the box. It had never been used. It's just like the one that Mom gave me for my confirmation.

[JORDAN hands MAX her rosary from her pocket]
MAX: This wasn't from your mother. I bought it for you when you were born. It's an old Irish tradition. The father always gives his daughter a rosary for her confirmation.

JORDAN: Mulroy's an Irish name.

MAX: [hands the rosary back to JORDAN] That's it.

JORDAN: Mulroy was her father.

[Scene: the next day, CLARICE’S MOTHER was sitting across from COLLINS at his desk holding a picture of her deceased daughter. JORDAN was seated not far behind.]

CLARICE’S MOTHER: Mulroy. I didn't think I'd ever hear that name again. I tried to give her a good life. I raised her by myself, working two jobs. She was obsessed with finding out who her father was. I told her I would tell her someday. I should have said he was dead. Five days ago, she got a phone call. The man wouldn't say who he was and she wouldn't tell me, either. The next day she was gone.

COLLINS: And you think this was Mulroy?

CLARICE’S MOTHER: No, of course not. He wished she had never been born. I was twenty years old, all strung out, you know. I was arrested for possession. He was a judge then. He said he'd get me parole if I slept with him. So I did. Strange, isn't it? A love for a father is a powerful thing. Even when he don't want you.

[Scene: JORDAN and COLLINS walk out into the hall]

JORDAN: They found out about it somehow, contacted her, told her they knew who her father was.

COLLINS: Yeah, but who? Mulroy was a politician. He had lots of enemies. Could have been anyone.

JORDAN: Ballard.

COLLINS: Uh, no. Too easy. He and Mulroy had been at each other's throats in the press for two weeks. It's too public.

JORDAN: You think it's just coincidence that Mulroy changed his vote at the last minute, handing Ballard a two-hundred and fifty million dollar contract? Come on, he was blackmailed. They were gonna expose his illegitimate daughter.

COLLINS: Do you expect me to believe that Donald Ballard's walking around right now with a bite mark on his arm, that he actually k*lled her?

JORDAN: Not personally, no. But two-hundred and fifty million bucks buys a hell of a lot of cover.

COLLINS: Oh, so now it's a massive conspiracy, huh?

JORDAN: Mulroy grew himself a conscience and k*lled himself at the last minute. They never planned on that. Don't you see, that left them with a teenage girl out there who knew too much. They had no choice. They had to k*ll her.

COLLINS: Look, even if that were true, I don't know how you would even approach the D.A. With something like this. Ballard plays golf with the governor.

JORDAN: [begins walking away from COLLINS] Then maybe he just needs a little prodding.

COLLINS: Where are you going?

JORDAN: To see Ballard.

COLLINS: Whoa, whoa. [grabs JORDAN’s arm to stop her] And say what, that, "You're under arrest"? You are not a cop, Jordan, and you are gonna cost us this whole damn case. Now, why don't you just stick to your job and let me do mine? Do you understand?

JORDAN: Yeah.

[JORDAN walks away. COLLINS’ phone rings and he answers it]

COLLINS: Yeah? Oh, where? Hey, hey, hey. [JORDAN stops and turns to COLLINS] Yeah, I'll be right over. Jordan, got a suspect.

JORDAN: What?

COLLINS: Yeah, they got him in Mass General in the ER.

JORDAN: I'll meet you there.

COLLINS: All right.

[Scene: COLLINS and JORDAN walk down the hall of the ER]

COLLINS: He's a junkie who lives in a flophouse half a block from the crime scene. It was a routine stop by a couple of b*at cops. He ran. He hid under a house.

JORDAN: But how do we know it's him?

COLLINS: He confessed. He says he got her high, tried to get in her pants, and when she put up a fight, he k*lled her.

JORDAN: What about the bite mark?

COLLINS: Well, see for yourself. If there's one there, good luck finding it. [COLLINS and JORDAN look through the window and saw the suspect getting stitches by a doctor and a next to the suspect] Yeah, they sent in a K-9 unit to flush him out. Doctor says it's gonna take over a hundred stitches.

JORDAN: What about the m*rder w*apon?

COLLINS: Evidence bag. [a cop in the hall hand COLLINS an evidence bag with a trash bag in it] We're gonna send this down to the lab and see if they can pull some trace evidence off of it.

JORDAN: [takes the evidence bag and walks over to an x-ray illuminator] Make sure you look on the inside for eyeliner and lipstick. [JORDAN attaches the evidence bag to the illuminator and turns it on. The illuminator reveals a face imprinted in the bag] Actually, it's not gonna be necessary. Looks like you found your m*rder w*apon.

[Scene: GARRET sits at his desk in his office and looks at his resignation letter. He takes out his pen and it hovers just below ‘Sincerely. A butterfly flys into the office and lands on GARRET’s pen. GARRET looks at the butterfly for a moment before it flies off his pen. GARRET stands up and watches the butterfly as it flies near the door and as another flies down the hall. BUG rushes toward the butterflies and captures them with a butterfly net]

BUG: Excuse me.

[BUG then goes out of GARRET’s office and chases after the other butterflies that were at. GARRET laughs at BUG’s failed attempt to catch them with the net.]

[Scene: JORDAN looks at the rosary on her desk before picking up her desk phone and dialing a number. TREY walks into their office]

TREY: So, about that little dinner, we're supposed to have.

JORDAN: [puts the phone down] Yeah, uh, listen. I'm sure you're a really nice guy. I mean, you're very attractive and all. You probably graduated top 10%dials of your class?

TREY: Five, top five. Five.

JORDAN: The fact is I can't go out with anybody I work with. Believe me, nothing good ever comes of it.

TREY: Oh-ho, man. That's embarrassing. You thought I was asking you out?

JORDAN: Weren't you?

TREY: No. I just figured being low men on the totem pole, we could stick together, watch each other's back. That's all. Truth is you don't have anything to worry about with me.

JORDAN: Why is that?

TREY: Sorry, but I don't date white women.

[TREY leaves the office. JORDAN picks up the phone and dials a number. COLLINS is outside walking down a street and answered his phone]

COLLINS: Yeah, this is Collins.

JORDAN: Why'd he give her the rosary?

COLLINS: What?

JORDAN: Mulroy. He didn't love her, never acknowledged her. Why'd he give it to her?

JORDAN: Come on, Jordan. It's over. We've got our man.

JORDAN: I keep thinking something doesn't make sense.

COLLINS: There's never a happy ending to these things. There's just closure. I want to apologize...

KELLY: [knocks on the doorframe, gaining JORDAN’s attention] The Ballard file.

[JORDAN takes the file and KELLY leaves]

COLLINS: ...for those things that I said earlier. Why don't you let me make it up to you? Have a drink with me.

JORDAN: Sure.

COLLINS: Great. And I will meet you at the Tap Room at the Plaza at 9:30.

JORDAN: Okay.

COLLINS: Okay, I'll see you then.

[They both hung up. JORDAN sits down at her desk and opens the file. She goes through its contents before finding a newspaper clipping with a photo of Ballard and next to him is COLLINS]

[Scene: JORDAN and COLLINS sit across from each other at a restaurant that evening]

COLLINS: Is everything okay?

JORDAN: Why did you lead me to believe that you don't know Donald Ballard?

COLLINS: What are you talking about?

JORDAN: You worked for him. As a bodyguard. I saw a photograph.

COLLINS: What, are you checking me out?

JORDAN: You acted as though you'd never even seen the man before. Why wouldn't you at least mention that you worked for him?

COLLINS: Yeah, but I worked for the mayor, too. What, are you gonna arrest me for that? You know, half the guys on the force moonlight doing security details. Hell, I make thirty-eight grand a year. I barely met the guy. Is everyone a suspect to you?

JORDAN: Roll up your sleeves.

COLLINS: What?

JORDAN: I want to see your arms.

COLLINS: [rolls up a sleeve one at a time and shows her each arm one at a time] You're crazy, you know that? Hmm? You really are your father's daughter.

[COLLINS gets up from his seat and leaves. He rolls up his sleeves as he exits the restaurant. JORDAN runs out and catches up with him]

JORDAN: I'm sorry. Hey, I just saw you in the photo and I thought...

[JORDAN gets in front of him and they stop walking]

COLLINS: What, that I'm the k*ller? Huh? That's great. That is just great.

JORDAN: It's me. I get all worked up over things. I care way too much about my cases and it gets me into trouble. That's why my life is a disaster half the time. You know, I've got no editor in my brain. You know, and the worst part of it all is that I was really starting to like you.

[COLLINS slowly leans in toward JORDAN before the two began kissing]

[Scene: a door opens to a dark apartment with JORDAN’s back facing the darkness as she passionately kisses COLLINS. As they walk in, COLLINS turns on the light before closing the door. They remove each other’s jackets as they continue to kiss. They stop kissing and look at each other before COLLINS kisses JORDAN’s neck for a few seconds. JORDAN then kisses his wrist before looking up at him]

COLLINS: I'm sorry. Are we moving too fast?

JORDAN: No. No.

COLLINS: Okay.

JORDAN: I just need to... Do you have a bathroom?

[The two then laugh a little]

COLLINS: I do. It's over there.

JORDAN: Great.

[JORDAN walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind her. JORDAN opens the medicine cabinet and begins her search]

COLLINS: Want something to drink?

JORDAN: Yeah, uh, sure. Whatever you got.

[A moment later, JORDAN found concealer in the medicine cabinet and knew the truth. She puts it in her pocket, closes the cabinet, and opens the bathroom door revealing COLLINS on the other side. They look at each other for a moment before COLLINS hands her a glass]

COLLINS: Scotch all right?

JORDAN: Yeah. [She takes the glass and drinks the scotch]

[They continue kissing passionately. JORDAN and COLLINS plop down on the bed with JORDAN on top before they continued kissing]

COLLINS: Oh, yeah.

JORDAN: [she straddles COLLINS] I think this is where we left off.

COLLINS: Yeah?

JORDAN: [She removes and holds up COLLINS’ handcuffs in front of him] Oh. Oh, my gosh. What's this?

COLLINS: Oh, what have we here? Oh, I've been a bad boy.

JORDAN: Hmm, really?

[JORDAN puts his hands through the barred bed frame before handcuffing them]

COLLINS: I've been a very bad boy.

JORDAN: Oh, I'm sorry. Are we moving too fast?

COLLINS: Not at all.

[JORDAN goes in to kiss COLLINS but back away and does this repeatedly while rubbing COLLINS’ right arm with his wait shirt sleeve.]

COLLINS: Whoa, whoa, wait, wait a minute. What are you doing?

JORDAN: [gets off the bed and holds the concealer up] Everyone knows you never wear white when you use concealer.

[COLLINS looks up at his arm and sees the bitemark that CLARICE made]

COLLINS: You know, this goes a lot higher than Ballard. You don't want to piss these people off.

JORDAN: Why not? Because they're gonna k*ll me? Truth is I don't care if I die. That's my whole problem. It's what the shrinks told me when I was fifteen.

[JORDAN grabs the phone on the nightstand and starts dialing a number]

COLLINS: I won't serve a day.

JORDAN: You know, it's too bad for you. You'll never know what you missed.

[Scene: JORDAN walks down the hall of the empty medical examiner’s building. She slows down when sees a butterfly flying towards her. JORDAN tries to touch it but it flies past her. BUG comes around the corner she just came from and catches the butterfly.]

BUG: seven -hundred and twenty-five.

[BUG then leaves down the corner he just came from. JORDAN continues down the hall a little more before she walks up to GARRET, who is staring at the city out through a large window]

JORDAN: Hey, Garret?

GARRET: Hey.

JORDAN: I caught the m*rder*r.

GARRET: You did?

JORDAN: Yeah.

GARRET: Good for you.

JORDAN: But he was just the trigger man. This thing goes all the way to City Hall. I'm going after Ballard.

GARRET: No, you're not. If there's something there, let the police handle it.

JORDAN: But the...

GARRET: Jordan, I hired you back. I can fire you.

JORDAN: You'd do that?

GARRET: Jordan, let it go, please.

JORDAN: Look, Garret, are you okay?

GARRET: My mother d*ed three weeks ago. She had Alzheimer's.

JORDAN: I'm sorry. I... You know, I didn't…

GARRET: It's all right. I mean, we hadn't had a real conversation in five years, and I thought I'd already mourned her loss, you know, in my own way, but when she finally d*ed, I don't know, I just... Nothing makes any sense anymore. "Hold dear to your parents for it is a scary and confusing world without them. " That's Emily Dickinson. Listen, I needed to have you back here, Jordan. Don't ask me why. I don't even know. I don't even know myself. I'll see you in the morning, okay?

JORDAN: Yeah.

GARRET: Okay.

[GARRET turns and walks down the hall]

JORDAN: [in a strained voice] Good night, Garret.
[GARRET waves goodbye to JORDAN as he continues walking. JORDAN turns to the window and looks out at the city]

[Scene: JORDAN walks into her father’s home and finds him asleep in his chair with a book on his stomach in the living room. JORDAN smiles at him for a moment before she slowly creeps into the living room. She kisses him on the forehead before turning around and walking toward the mantel. As JORDAN looks at a framed picture of her and her mother, MAX opens his eyes and takes off his glasses while staying in the chair. MAX stands up from his chair and walks up behind a crying JORDAN. JORDAN turns around to her father before she hugs him. MAX soothes his daughter as she cries onto his chest]