Original air date: October 4, 1999

Written by:Dave Alan Johnson

Directed by: Fred Keller

Jarod becomes an IRS auditor to expose an unscrupulous law firm and reunite a teenage boy with his father and mother.

Jarod’s Discoveries: Lotteries

Jarod’s Occupations: IRS Auditor

Jarod’s Aliases: Jarod Tally

Behind the scenes insights and the Creator’s Take

Official Synopsis

Jarod assists a boy whose father apparently committed suicide under mysterious circumstances.

Miss Parker and two sweepers escort a bloodied and battered Jarod into the Centre lobby.  Miss Parker tells her father that the hunt is now over, and she announces her intention to leave the Centre once and for all.  Suddenly, Miss Parker awakens from her dream.

Meanwhile, in Jacksonville, Florida, Rita Hartunian, the owner of a small convenience store, thanks Jarod for saving her business from the hands of an extortionist.  Shortly thereafter, a boy enters the store and “accidentally” dumps over a gumball machine.  As a distracted Jarod and Rita attend to the mess, the boy steals money from the cash register and runs out the front door.  Jarod gives chase.  He manages to cut off the boy as he attempts a getaway on his bicycle.  Jarod searches the boy’s backpack and finds a newspaper ad featuring a circled rail fare to Atlanta.  He also finds a man’s wallet, which holds a business card for Hoyt & Associates, along with a driver’s license for a man named Peter Hale.  It turns out that Peter is the boy’s father.  Jarod tells the boy, whose name is Dylan, that the next time he pickpockets his father’s wallet, he should make sure it contains cash.  A short time later, Jarod escorts the boy to a boat harbor where Peter lives.  As the pair appoach, Jarod spots Peter on deck.  Moments later, the boat explodes.

Police search through the debris, but are unable to find Peter’s body.  They do, however, find a suicide note posted on a bulletin board by the dock.  Jarod’s interest is piqued when he observes Detective Chandler receiving a pay-off from two men from Peter’s company.  Chandler tells the men, Edgar Hoyt and Craig Winston, that Peter has a son.  Moments later, the boy disappears.

Jarod finds Dylan at a pay phone.  The boy hangs up after attempting to contact his mother, who lives in London.  Jarod tells him that police believe the explosion was not an accident.  Unwilling to allow the boy to roam the streets by himself, Jarod arranges for Dylan to stay in a room above Rita’s store.  Dylan tells Jarod that a month earlier, he observed his father get into an argument with Winston.  During the exchange, Winston warned Peter not to cross the firm.  He then slapped Peter in the face and walked off.

Jarod infiltrates Hoyt & Associates by impersonating an I.R.S. agent.  His attempts to access Peter’s file using his laptop, however, meet a dead end.  Later, Jarod uses his computer to find the phone number of the woman with whom Peter was having an affair (an affair Dylan believed led to his parents’ separation).  But the search leads Jarod not to a lover, but to the F.B.I.  It turns out that Peter had been in secret communication with Agent Matthew Ashley at the Bureau.  But further investigating reveals that Ashley died in a car wreck five days earlier.  Impersonating a Department of Justice worker, Jarod infiltrates the Bureau offices where Ashley was employed.  Peter, it turns out, was working as an informant, collecting evidence implicating the firm in the death of a key witness who was to testify against one of their major clients.

When Jarod returns to Hoyt and Associates, he sneaks inside Winston’s empty office, which is filled with surveillance equipment and monitors.  Luckily, one of the hidden surveillance cameras captures an exchange between Hoyt and Winston in which they discuss a man named De Paz.  Jarod downloads De Paz’s file.  Meanwhile, Miss Parker announces her decision to leave the Centre.  Her father and Lyle are stunned by the announcement.  Later, Mr. Raines threatens to have her stopped if Mr. Parker does not intercede.

Jarod tells Dylan the truth about his father, who was helping the FBI build a case against Hoyt and Associates.  One of the firm’s clients, Vincent De Paz, had been facing trial for murder.  The firm had the eyewitness killed before the trial began.  Later, as Jarod walks down a street, he realizes he is being followed.  He manages to trick his pursuer, and comes up on him from behind.  That man turns out to be Peter Hale.  Jarod convinces Peter that he is trying to help him.  Peter then explains how he faked his own death after Ashley died in the mysterious car accident.  It was the only way for him to buy more time so he could flee the country with his son.

Meanwhile, Mr. Parker offers Thomas a blank check to end his relationship with his daughter.  When Thomas refuses, Mr. Parker and Lyle pay Thomas and Miss Parker a surprise visit.  Mr. Parker tells his daughter she may leave the Centre with his blessing if she so chooses.  Miss Parker cannot believe her ears.  She kisses her father on the cheek.  Afterward, Miss Parker discovers her gun on a table in the foyer of Thomas’ house (she had earlier turned in the weapon when she announced her resignation).  She places the weapon inside the top drawer of the table.

Jarod stops Dylan from carrying out a vendetta against Winston.  He then introduces him to his father.  Dylan is stunned.  Jarod then sets in motion a trap to expose Winston and his wrongdoing.  Winston receives an extortion letter from Peter, demanding money in exchange for his silence regarding the eyewitness’s death.  During the drive to the meeting, one of tires on Winston’s cars blows out (courtesy of Jarod).  Winston exits his car to phone for help.  As luck would have it, the breakdown occurred outside of Rita’s store.  Moments after Winston enters the store, two masked, armed gunman (Jarod and Peter) stage a robbery.  Rita is apparently killed during an exchange of gunfire.  One of the masked gunman informs Winston that there can be no witnesses.  Terrified, Winston tells them how they can get away with Rita’s murder… just as he had gotten away with the murder of an eyewitness and a federal agent.  Suddenly, Jarod, Peter and Rita expose their scam.  Jarod then hits a button on a TV remote… and reveals that he tape recorded Winston’s admission.  Later, Jarod watches as Peter reunites with his wife.