At a sleepover, a group of young girls are camping out in the living room, playing "Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board," until they are told to go to sleep by the host's mother. Unable to fall asleep, two of the girls go outside in the backyard to catch fireflies. They both roam into the high-grassy areas beyond the yard, only to discover a young man, no older than 35, dead. They start to scream.
The sleepover party.
That morning, Jim Longworth and Carlos Sanchez examine the body, trying to determine the cause of death. Carlos finds that the victim has no cell phone or wallet on him and that there is one bullet entry wound under his chin. They both determine that it wasn't suicide and the victim definitely wasn't killed at the crime scene, since they can see flattened grass where the victim was dragged. Longworth turns around and notices Callie Cargill and his boss, Colleen Manus, walking towards the body. He gets up and walks over to them, wondering if they're there because he's in trouble. Manus introduces the guys to the team's new forensic nurse, Callie. Carlos is happy for Callie but Jim is less than excited.
Carlos leads Callie towards the body while Longworth, concerned and slightly confused, questions why Callie is there and admits he is not happy about the situation. Manus turns to Longworth saying that Callie is there to fill the gap between victim and law enforcement. Manus asks if Longworth can remain professional about the situation. She gives him a warning and he eventually agrees to remain as professional as he can.
Carlos and Callie kneel over the body, examining it. Callie points out a small tattoo of a swallow on the victim's hand and mentions that it could be a sign that he was in the Navy. Carlos, amused that Callie is already helping in the investigation, is clearly glad she's a part of the team. Longworth walks over and, in his usual fashion, makes a witty comment about the "gap" that's now being bridged between law enforcement and victims because of forensic nurses. Carlos senses the tension, or rather "the gap" between Longworth and Callie, and quickly gets out of there before he's caught in the middle of anything.
Callie tells Longworth that she "gets it" and that if he all of a sudden showed up at her job, it would be weird for her, too.
At the office, Longworth confirms Callie's suspicion about the victim being in the Navy. The victim, Doug Preston, was a Navy recruiter who was visiting recruiting centers in both Georgia and Florida.
Jim and Callie look over a case file.
Longworth and Callie walk into Jim's office where both of them are surprised to find Detective Samantha "Sam" Harper already there, leaving Longworth a note to get him up to speed on the Kevin Fowler case. Longworth, attempting to limit Callie and Sam's interaction, tries to hurry Sam out, but she doesn't leave before she reminds him of their dinner plans the following night. Manus walks in and hands Longworth the name and location of Doug's ex-wife, and asks him if it would be OK if Callie could shadow him during the investigation. Longworth, again not entirely pleased with the news, agrees.Longworth and Callie arrive at Valerie Preston's house. Valerie, a tall beautiful blonde, lounges in the backyard in a bikini, sipping on margaritas. Longworth informs her that her ex-husband has been murdered. Valerie, only slightly bothered by this news, takes a sip of her drink and walks over to her makeshift bar in the yard. Longworth, standing behind her, examines a single male sandal in the grass, trying to get an indication of its size. Valerie tells Longworth and Callie that she hasn't seen her husband for over three months and that, as a recruiter, he got a lot of hate mail sent to the house. While Valerie's in the house retrieving the letters, Callie criticizes Longworth's detective techniques.
Callie and Longworth stand outside of a small house, holding the hate mail. Frank Morgan answers the door and admits to writing the letters. He invites them inside where his living room is decorated with pictures of his son, Ben Morgan, as a child and in his Navy uniform. He explains to Callie and Longworth that Doug hounded his son every day about joining the Navy until he finally enlisted. A year later, in Afghanistan, Ben was killed. He admits to them both that he hates Doug for it and would kill him with his bare hands, but that wouldn't bring his son back.
Carlos, Callie, Daniel, and Longworth stand over Doug's body. Jim suggests Doug may have been killed with his own service-issued firearm (Valerie said he always carried it on him) and Carlos says that might be the case. Carlos puts the time of death at around 11 p.m. the night before. Daniel tells the team that while they haven't found Doug's cell phone yet, phone records indicate that the last call he received was from a pay phone at around 9:30 p.m. the night he was killed. Carlos brings out Doug's jeans to show Longworth and the rest of the team an orange-brown stain, which Callie determines is pureed carrots. The group speculates as to why Doug would have pureed carrots on his pants and Callie suggests it might be baby food. When Longworth is doubtful of Callie's theory that Valerie had given birth, Callie says that women who have given birth have an eyelid shaped flap form over the top of their belly buttons, and that she definitely noticed it on Valerie, who had been wearing a bikini, after all.
Back at Valerie's house, Longworth and Callie ask Valerie why she never told them about her baby and they notice that the baby isn't even there. Valerie, now enjoying her fifth margarita, tells them that the baby is with babysitter Grace Ortiz. Valerie starts to lose her balance. Callie realizes something is wrong, and she and Longworth catch Valerie just as she passes out.
Valerie sits inside the interrogation room as Manus tells Callie and Longworth that she called Grace, the sitter, who told her that the last time Valerie's baby, Cody, was with her was over six weeks ago when she quit because Valerie started behaving erratically.
Longworth walks into the interrogation room and starts questioning Valerie. He knows either Doug or a new man was at her house because he saw the men's sandal in her backyard. Under the pressure, she finally admits that Cody is with Bradley, her 24-year-old boyfriend. She tells Longworth that Doug never wanted anything to do with Cody or her, for that matter. She continues that while she loves Cody so much, sometimes she needs a break. Longworth tells her that she will need to stay at the station while he goes to talk to Bradley.
Longworth and Callie approach Bradley Anderson outside of a small apartment complex. Longworth quickly flashes his badge and starts to ask questions. Bradley tells them that he did watch Cody when Valerie was out of town, but dropped him off at her place once she returned home. Longworth gets a call from Daniel who tells him that Doug checked into a motel using an alias and paid in cash the night he was murdered.
At the motel, Longworth questions the manager about Cody and whether he or any of his employees saw Doug with a young boy. The manager stops a maid walking by the room and she tells them that Doug was in fact with a little boy. A younger looking male, around 23 or 24, dropped him off.
Bradley sits, terrified, in the interrogation room, apologizing for lying to Longworth earlier that day. He tells Longworth that he did drop off Cody at the motel, only because he figured Doug should take care of his son when he's in town and that Valerie could use a longer break. He admits that he made a mistake. He says that he had even forgotten to give Doug Cody's "bankie," a little blue blanket that the baby couldn't sleep without. But when Bradley went back to the motel to get Cody, Doug had already checked out.
Outside of the interrogation room, Manus hands Longworth a file, detailing Ben Morgan's death. According to the records, he died alone, without any back-up. This gives Frank more of a motive to kill Doug.
Longworth and Callie arrive back at Frank's house, but they're too late; his Winnebago, which was parked in the driveway, is gone and so is he. Longworth gets a call from Daniel and finds out that Doug's abandoned car has been found. He asks Daniel to put out a bolo (be on the lookout) on the missing car.
Callie and Longworth approach Doug's car, which Carlos and Daniel are examining. Carlos concludes this is where the murder took place. Callie jumps into the back seat and finds a car seat. She says there was definitely a baby in there recently, there is still spit up in the safety-lock reservoir that hasn't evaporated yet. Longworth finds a wad of cash and a passport in the front seat. That shows robbery wasn't a motive. Outside of the car, Daniel holds a walkie-talkie, possibly military-issued, that he found. There is still no sign of Cody.
At the office, Callie confronts a disoriented Valerie, who keeps asking where her son is. Callie finally tells her that he's missing and that Bradley had taken Cody to see Doug since she was overwhelmed. Valerie loses it, collapsing onto the ground and crying hysterically. Callie tries to console her, telling her everyone in the state looking for him.
Longworth, Manus, and Daniel watch grocery store surveillance footage of Doug with Cody, putting groceries into the back seat of his SUV. Manus says that in the footage they spot an angry Frank, who approaches Doug and yells at him. Longworth sends Daniel to work on a search warrant for Frank's house just as Manus gets word that the sheriff's office found Frank's RV parked outside of the Highlands Hammock State Park and that they were bringing Frank in for questioning.
Frank, now down at the station, swears he wasn't running from the law and has nothing to do with Doug's murder. Frank admits that he saw Doug in the parking lot and that he was surprised when Doug apologized to him for recruiting his son. Doug told Frank that as a father, he understood his anguish. Doug also said he was taking a leave from his job so that he could reassess his life. Longworth doesn't believe that a simple apology stopped all of the anger Frank had towards Doug. Before leaving the room he lets Frank know that if they find any evidence linking him to Doug or Cody's murder, he's going away for life.
Jim questions Frank.
Carlos and Callie stand in the lab where Carlos has determined, from the mucus and spit up they found in the baby car seat, that Cody is sick. Though they are not sure if it's bacterial or viral, Callie says that if it's bacterial and left untreated, Cody could go into sepsis. Longworth approaches them and asks whether Valerie has provided them with any other information as to where Cody is or if she confessed to murdering Doug. Callie says she's ordered some tests because she thinks Valerie might be suffering from postpartum depression.
Daniel approaches Longworth and Callie with the walkie-talkie he found in Doug's car, saying he was able to rewire it and make it work. After Callie questions whether there was another walkie-talkie found in the car (since they usually come in a pair) Longworth realizes that perhaps the device was being used as a baby monitor. It could be the key to finding Cody.
Longworth and Callie walk around the crime scene, walkie-talkies in hand, trying to listen for Cody on the other end. Callie starts to get worried about the baby's well-being, since he is alone and without water and medication to treat his infection. He chances aren't good. Just then, they hear a baby gurgling through the walkie-talkie.
Manus stands with the search and rescue team, telling them that the walkie-talkies have all been tuned into the same frequency as the one that's near Cody. The devices have a span of about 15 miles to search, Manus emphasizes that everyone should search carefully. The team rolls out and Manus and Carlos approach Longworth, who realizes there's a squeaky noise in the background of Cody's gurgles. They hypothesize that it might be a baby toy and take it as a positive sign that perhaps he still has the strength to squeeze it. Longworth asks Manus if there are any updates on Bradley. She tells him that he has been calling the station every half hour asking about Cody. Longworth tells Manus and Carlos that Callie is at the hospital, running tests on Valerie. Carlos says that extreme depression sufferers are capable of suicide, homicide, and infanticide. Manus reminds the team that Cody is still alive and their main objective is to find him. Longworth says that Daniel discovered Valerie visited a bar on her way home from her work trip so that the two of them are going to go and talk to the bartender.
At the hospital, Callie sits with a shaken Valerie, who is still not all there. Valerie confesses that she's been severely depressed and, at times, doesn't know how to handle it. Callie suggests that Valerie has been medicating with drugs and alcohol. Valerie admits to alcohol (which she doesn't even like) but emphasizes she does not do drugs. Callie, sympathizing, tells her that it's OK and that the good news is that the police know Cody is still alive since they can hear him on the walkie-talkies, but that they still need help with the case. She asks Valerie if she may have any idea as to where Cody may be. But, again, Valerie loses it, hysterically asking if Cody has his "fuzzy" blanket because he can't fall asleep without it.
Daniel and Longworth arrive at the bar where Valerie was the night of Doug's death. The bartender tells them that Valerie seemed drunk, raving about no-good ex-husband. The bartender said it was the first time he had to throw someone out of the bar for having a fight with someone who wasn't even there. She left around 9 p.m., two hours before Doug was killed.
Longworth, now at the hospital, tells Callie that he has a witness and solid evidence that Valerie had motive to kill her husband. Callie, who witnessed Valerie's breakdown, is adamant that Valerie is not capable of committing the crime. Longworth tells her that even if Callie likes Valerie, it doesn't mean she isn't guilty.
Longworth steps into Valerie's hospital room and finds her curled up in a ball in the corner, crying. She admits to killing Doug and begs to get her baby back. She just wants it all to be over.
A slightly calmer Valerie sits in her hospital bed, sticking to her murder confession. Longworth and Callie question her about Cody's whereabouts but she doesn't know where he is. Callie tries something new and asks about the memories she can recall with Doug. Valerie begins to tell them about the night they conceived Cody on a friend's boat named "My Escape," but before she can go into any more detail, Longworth stops her. Something doesn't seem right to him. He finally stops her and says that he understands that she may feel like a bad mother, but confessing to a murder she didn't commit won't help them find Cody. Valerie finally admits that she did not kill Doug.
Longworth, in the car with Callie, gets a call from Manus who tells them that they found several short blond hairs at the murder scene. And they still haven't found Cody. They can no longer hear Cody's gurgling, but the squeaking they heard in the background is still there. Longworth realizes something. Perhaps Valerie's cognitive awareness gave them a clue. What if the squeaking doesn't belong to a baby toy, but a buoy rubbing up against a dock at a marina?
Longworth and Callie arrive at a nearby dock, frantically looking at each boat. Finally, Longworth spots one labeled "My Escape" and Callie rushes inside where she finds Cody, still alive, but burning up with fever. Next to Cody is a night table with the note "Get bankie. Sawgrass Preserve 11:00."
Jim and Callie run down the docks looking for the boat that Cody may be on.
Longworth walks with Bradley through the hospital halls, with Cody's "bankie" in hand. Bradley, still showing concern, is shocked when Longworth realizes the truth. Bradley was the one who still had Cody's "bankie," which Valerie actually refers to as "fuzzy." Bradley is the only one who actually refers to the blanket as "bankie." Longworth says that he knows that Bradley called Doug from a pay phone at the big box store and told him Cody couldn't sleep without his "bankie" and to meet him so that he could drop it off. When Doug arrived without Cody, Bradley realizes he couldn't undo his mistake. Bradley confesses that he and Bradley scuffled and that the gun went off. He apologizes saying he was just trying to help Valerie, but it's too late. He's dragged off in cuffs.
At the hospital, Valeria is reunited with Cody, and Cody with his "fuzzy." Callie tells Valerie that Cody is going to be OK. Valerie thanks Callie, telling her how much she appreciates her help with finding Cody and getting someone to diagnose her postpartum depression because she thought she was going insane. Walking outside, Longworth teases Callie that she doesn't make a bad cop. Callie tells Longworth to wash up and get ready for his date with Sam. He insists it isn't a date, just a casual dinner. Callie smiles and walks towards her car as she tells him to be careful. He looks at her, and insists that he's no longer into Sam as Callie slams her door shut.
References[]
http://www.aetv.com/the-glades/episode-breakdowns/lost-and-found/