" Already checked Corridor 2." "Nothing there." " Anything at all?" " Where is he?" " Find him!" "Come on, go!" "Let's go!" "Well, I guess Mama won't be kissing Santa Claus this year." "Just tell me what you saw." "Hey, I'm just an elf." "I do what I'm told." "You know?" ""Be jolly"?" "Besides, I haven't seen the big guy since the party last night." " Oh, yeah?" " When are you gonna shovel him out?" "Soon enough." "The meat wagon just got here." " Don't you mean the "meat sleigh"?" " Ho, ho, ho." " Hey." " Evenin'." "Okay." "Got a live one." " A live one?" " It's a joke." "Snowblowers must have buried him." "Is that..." "Santa Claus?" "Yeah." "The red hat's a dead giveaway." " Anybody got a shovel?" " No." "But I've got the gift wrap." "Thanks, Gus." "Dr. Drake?" "Thesejust came in from the mayor's office." " Same gift as last year?" " Smells like it." "Oh, well." "'Tis the season, Fugimora." "Pass 'em out." "We'll see who survives this year." "Yes, ma'am." " Uh, so, how's the new guy doin'?" " A lot better than Santa." " Drinking on the job?" " Actually, this was from the scene." "Dr. Jarod Marley?" "Meet Dr. Lisabeth Drake, our chief coroner." " Hello." " Hi." "You finished with St. Nick?" "Yes, I am." "Detective Guerra." "Gee, right on time." " Now, can we do this?" " Victim is not Kriss Kringle... as we first suspected, but a Theodore Hargrove... 58, stockbroker, played Santa at one hell of a Christmas party downtown." " Go ahead, Doctor." " He died of a combination of factors, mainly a heart attack." "Kim, I thought we were going with exposure." "Well, that was my first instinct, but further examination revealed the truth." "Heart attack makes sense." "Folks at the office party said St. Nick was doin'..." " one hell of a lambada that night." " I don't know who "Lambada" is... but, yes, lividity was affected by the cold." "But the blood distribution in the leg muscles would suggest he was doing strenuous acts." " What about time of death?" " No way." "We can't pull that off in this weather." "Actually, that's where this came in." "The eggnog was hard when we found it, but it wasn't completely frozen through." "Mainly because Mr. Hargrove had quite a bit of brandy in it." " Oh, there's a shocker." " The milk had time to curdle." "So I compared the bacteria levels in the cup... with that of the sample that fell on the snow... and I deduced that Mr. Hargrove succumbed to his heart attack... somewhere between 1:45 and 2:00 a.m." "My guess would be 1:48-ish." "I ask for an autopsy, he gives me an eggnog." "Yep?" "Okay." "Dr. Drake?" "The delegation from the mayor's office is here." "Damn!" "They're early." "We're done here." " Career anxiety?" " Oh, you haven't met the mayor." "But, hey, he gives killer Christmas presents..." "And I mean... killer." "No, not again!" " Is this for me?" " Geez, Jarod, don't tell me... you never got a Christmas present before." "Not in a very long time." "Thank you." "A pastry with candied cherries." "It's fruitcake." "A cake with fruit baked right in." "Thank you." "This has to be delicious." "Records Department, please call the third floor." " Should we tell him?" " Let him discover it." "Yeah." "Mmm!" "Jarod has been moved to his room." "As always, I begin my Christmas hiatus tomorrow." "I'll be in Mount Pleasant at the usual number." "It is the Christmas season." "But the Tower deems it best to insulateJarod... from the trappings of popular culture." "Jarod, I'll be gone for the week... and I wanted to say good-bye." "Why do you go away every year when it turns cold outside?" "Business, Jarod." "That's all." "If you can keep a secret, I brought you a little something." "A gift." "A gift?" " This is snow." " Yes." "Remember." " Tell no one I gave this to you." " Take me outside, Sydney." " To see the real snow." " I can't, Jarod." " But I want to see it for myself." " Enjoy this snow." "And I will see you again soon." "Okay?" " I got you!" " Aah!" "Let's get out of here!" "Two kids found her buried in the snow a couple hours ago." "Now, that's criminal." "Vagrant." "After you thaw her, check for needle marks." "My prelim is overdose." " I wonder who she is." " We'll never know." "L.G.L. Bag her and tag her." "And next time, please..." "don't make me wait." " "L.G.L."?" " Little girl lost." "No witness, no I.D." "Her family must be worried sick, wondering where she is." "That's the tragic part." "She's probably a runaway." "We get them all the time." "Nothin'to go on, so she becomes a case number." "Like all the rest." " Are you okay?" " No." "Fascinating, hmm?" "Only one twin is wired, but they both feel the shock." "I don't even wanna know." " Cleanup crew just came in from Cleveland." " Any luck?" "Jarod's last life in a box." "You're the shrink." "Maybe you can figure out their meaning." "Jarod's trying to tell me something." "Makes a great greeting card." "But face facts, Syd." "At this rate, your boy won't be home for the holidays." "Maybe not, but he'll contact me." "He has to." " Well, it is Christmas." " I worry about him." " Out there this time of year." " Relax." "He's probably holed up in Whoville, experiencing the Grinch for the first time." "Would you like some?" "It's called fruitcake." "Fruitcake?" "I'm not that homeless." "What, are you writing a book?" "Um, no, not exactly." "You miss him, don't you?" " Who?" " George." "Christmas George." " You knew George?" " I feel like I did." "George was all the family I had." "Well, he was all the family a lot of people had." " The children at the shelter miss him." " Yeah." "Foster kids, runaways..." "They knew the real George." "Oh, everybody thought he was a bum... because he didn't have a home, and panhandled to get by." "But he took all that money, and one day a year... he made sure they had presents and a special meal." "Every Christmas Eve he'd dress as Santa... and read to those kids all night long." "That's why they called him Christmas George." "Yeah." "When George was alive... they all had family for at least one day." "Christmas doesn't count for squat without family, son." "No." "I'm beginning to realize that." "Oh, there you are, Jarod." "I just wanted to thank you for all the work you've done this season." "Without Christmas George, it hasn't been the same." "Oh, I'm happy to help." "For a happy man, you look perplexed." "Well, the truth is, I am." " Have you read this?" " "The Night Before Christmas'"?" " It's a classic!" " It's very good, but I'm a little confused about something." "Now, if Santa Claus were to deliver a present to every child on Earth... he'd have to visit 830 homes a second." "Which would mean his reindeer would have to travel about 700 miles per second... and he'd have 1/1000th of a second to park the sleigh... to crawl down the chimney, to pass out the presents and to eat cookies and milk." "And for a middle-aged, overweight man, that's quite a feat." "Santa works in mysterious ways." "But it's so fantastical." "Why would anybody believe it?" "It's Christmas, Jarod." "Anything's possible." "Oh." "Angel, they're getting ready to string some popcorn." "Don't you want to help?" "Don't you want to talk to Santa?" " He's not Santa." " Is something wrong?" "Is Christmas George coming back?" "No." "No, he isn't." "Why not?" "Christmas George died." "Do you know what that means?" "We won't ever see him again." "Well, that's true, and then again, it isn't." "Could I ask you something?" "Why did you like Christmas George?" "Well, he was nice." "And he made sure the kids always had... something under the tree on Christmas." "So what you're saying is that he had a spirit, a feeling, that made you feel good." "Well, as long as you have that feeling, Christmas George is gonna be right here." "So every time it's Christmas, I can think about George, and he'll be here?" "Every time." " Can I help?" " Sure." "Come on." "Geez, Jarod." "You've run 137 tests." "Any luck on the L.G.L.?" " That's not her name." " I didn't mean anything." "She should have a real name." "Her family should know." "Especially at this time of the year." "You're not gonna give up, are you?" "And we've got more Christmas hits coming your way, so... snuggle up by the fire with that special someone... and enjoy the holiday season." " What?" " It's me." "I'm having a holiday gathering at the club." "It wouldn't be the same without my favorite girl." " I'll be there." " Very well." "Christmas Eve at 7:00." " European associates will attend." "Be prompt." " Of course, Daddy." "Merry Christ..." " Gunshot wound to the gill?" " Not a patient." " Lunch." " Aren't you a little young for poison fish?" " Puffer fish is only poison before it's prepared." " Kim." " Fugu toxin is 500 times stronger than cyanide." " Yeah, yeah, yeah." "But when it's done right, all you get are tingly toes and a great buzz." "Christmas dinner around here." "My fugu's a tradition." "The boys in the morgue love it." "And it goes great with cranberries." "I'll stick with fruitcake." "And relax." "My uncle was a master fugu chef in Tokyo." " Was?" " He's retired." "Oh, good." "Well, I'm glad to hear that." " Uh, would you help me with this?" " Man, did you spill a whole mug?" "Well, actually, I spilled a whole pot." " I'll get you a duplicate." " Oh, no, no, no." "That's okay." "Just show me where the old files are." "It should take a few seconds... to start working." "Yes, I've already dispatched the ambulance." "Ma'am..." "Ma'am.!" "No." "An overflowing toilet is not a 911 call." "Ma'am." "Would you please hang up and call a plumber?" "Okay." "You need to... induce vomiting." "Yes." "Uh, no, your finger will be fine." " Yes." " It's not working." "It's not working." "Your son is going to be fine, Mr. Hodges, if you just listen carefully." " Okay." " Now, remember, clear the airway..." " and tilt his head back." " Right." "Tilt his head back." " Now back to the breathing." " Okay." " Okay." " Now, continue the up and down motion on his chest." " Okay." "Five-count?" " Yes." "Oh, my God." "He's breathing.!" " My son is breathing.!" " That's fantastic, Mr. Hodges." "They're here!" "The ambulance just got here." "You see?" "That wasn't so difficult." " Merry Christmas." " Thank you so much." "Thank you." " 911 Operator." " Hello." "My name's Harry." "I'm calling from the corner of Lawson and Hill." "My friend..." "Oh, God, my friend George is..." " Tell me what the problem is, sir." " They ran George down." "You gotta get somebody down here." "Lawson and Hill." "Right in front of the children's shelter." " Hurry." "You gotta hurry." " I'm calling it in, sir." " Is anyone else hurt?" " No, they just hit him, and they left." "I didn't see no car." " This is where it happened?" " Where I found him." "They just left George there to die." " "They"?" " I don't know." "Crash woke me up." "I didn't see it." "I'm sorry." "I never left his side." "Never." "Not until the coroner showed up." "The coroner?" "Not the police?" "Better directions, I guess." "You know, he held my hand, and..." "And we got to say good-bye." "You mean, he didn't die instantly?" "Ah, hell no." "He was a fighter." "Coroner tried to save him." "Gave George a shot and everything, but..." "Didn't help." "I never knew coroners carried doctor bags." "Neither did I." "She did what she could, I guess." "But by the time the cops got here..." " she told them George had passed." " She?" " Was she alone?" " Yep." " And she had red hair." " Uh, yeah." "How'd you know?" "Any available assistance to the I. V. Unit." "Why haven't you shipped the L.G.L.?" "We need slab space for the holidays." " I found stress fractures in her legs." " Forget about it." "We've done our due diligence." " Finish up the paperwork and send her along." " I understand." "By the way, new guy works Christmas Eve." "Don't worry about it." "Last year was so slow, we broke out a bottle of Christmas cheer." "Too bad I won't be here with you to share a toast." "Well, you never know, Doctor." "Christmas has its way of bringing people together." "OurJane Doe's real name is Gabrielle." "Gabrielle Ryan." "She's from Nashton." "She would have been 18 next month." "How'd you do this?" "Lower tibial fractures to the medial malleoli." " Media who?" " Bad ankles." "From compression impacts." "That, and she had callous patterns on her hands like this." "Parallel bars were her specialty." "Will you tell her family right away?" "Count on it." "Hey." "Good work, Jarod." "See you around." "Face it, Sydney." "It's almost Christmas." "He's not going to call." "I see you're clearing out for your usual holiday hiatus... so, here." "A Christmas present?" "From you?" "Don't go hanging mistletoe." "See you after the first." "And a merry Christmas to you too, Miss Parker." " Kim." " Hey." "Hi." "I was going over last year's duty roster... and I see that you were working on Christmas Eve." "I was the rookie last year." "That means that this year, you get to wait up for Santa." "I don't mind working the holiday." "The truth is, I've never really had Christmas Eve off." "I wanted to ask you about the autopsies that were performed that night." " Shoot." " According to the files, there were only two." "A homeless hit-and-run victim named Christmas George... and an 80-year-old woman named Edwina Morris." " Do you remember them?" " I remember the Morris woman." "Dead ringer for Grandma Walton." "Only fat." "But I really wasn't involved in the hit-and-run." "I thought you were the only one on duty that night." "I was, until Drake came in with the hit-and-run." "She did that autopsy." "The chief coroner came in on Christmas Eve... to perform an autopsy on a homeless man?" "With karma like hers, she's probably not that popular on the party circuit... if you know what I'm sayin'." "The other body." "Edwina Morris." " Was she a psych patient?" " No." "Just a very large grandmother of six... who died of natural causes." " Why?" " According to the toxicology report... there were traces of phenotripticol in her blood." " Phenotripticol?" " Yes." "Isn't that used to subdue patients during psychotic episodes?" "And in stronger doses, it induces a state of paralysis... where the patient is conscious, but rendered immobile." " Dead." "But not dead." " Oh, my God." "Please don't tell me that I performed an autopsy on someone who was alive..." " and conscious!" " No." "No." " You didn't." " Well, this couldn't have happened." "Someone must have messed up the toxicology reports." "Or switched them." "On purpose." " You're Miss Parker, aren't you?" " I didn't know anyone was here." " Please don't tell anyone I was here." " No, wait." "Why did you come?" "My mom lets me see the rabbits when no one's here." "I want one, but my father won't let me have pets at home." "We've been studying them." "There are three sets of twins." "Now watch." "They've never been together before." "But somehow, the ones that are genetically identical just seem to find each other." "Like something inside them draws them together." "See?" "They're soft." " Excuse me." "Can you sp..." " Not my neighborhood." "Oh, my God." "Didn't you see me?" "Jarod!" "I'm okay." "I'm okay." "It was just a... a little scratch." " Are you okay?" " I'm fine." "Come on." "I" " I can help you out with that." "You certainly come prepared." "Our patients may be dead, but we're still doctors, right?" " I suppose." " I always keep it on hand." "You never know when somebody might need one of us." "You never know." "Why, Jarod." "I thought they'd taken you back to your room." " What are those, Sydney?" " They're another project I'm working on." "Your car is ready to take you..." " to the Mount Pleasant Home." " Yes." "Thank you." "Tell them to wait." "You will come back, won't you, Sydney?" "I always come back, Jarod." "Don't I?" "Your car is ready to take you to the Mount Pleasant Home." "Yes, thank you." "...take you to the Mount Pleasant Home." "Your car is ready to take you to the Mount Pleasant Home." "I'll be right there." "Last Minute Gifts?" "I need a last minute gift." "Dr. Fugimora?" "Well, I hate to be the bearer ofbad tidings... but you're going to need to come to work today." "Something terrible has happened." "I'll explain everything when you get there." "Don't you love Christmas?" " It's so Christmasy." " Jarod, I thought you were working today." "I am." "But I wanted to give you a little something." " For me?" " Mm-hmm." "Open it." "Fruitcake." "This actually smells good." "I was so impressed with the mayor's gift, I tried baking one myself... and I want you to be the first to taste it." " Mmm?" " Oh, no thank you." "Mmm." "Mmm!" "It's actually good." "So, um, are you gonna see your family for the holidays?" "I don't think that's going to be possible this year." "Are you okay?" "I... feel a little..." "My God!" "Dr. Drake?" "Let me help you." "My stomach!" "My God!" " What was in that cake?" " I went to great pains making that cake." " It couldn't have possibly been the..." " What?" " Uh-oh." " What?" "Well, Fugimora has been teaching me how to prepare puffer fish." "And I was practicing when I was making the fruitcake." "And some of it might have accidentally slipped into the batter." " Puffer fish?" " I'm afraid so." "You idiot!" "You poisoned me!" "I'm sorry." " Call 911." " Okay." "Uh..." " I can't." " Jarod, what are you doing?" " I can't call 911." " Are you crazy?" "No, but I am thorough." "If I call 911, they'd be able to help you." "But they could hurt me." " What?" " They would come out, they would see that you were sick... and they would realize that I accidentally poisoned you." "And that could cost me my career." "You can't do this." "You can't do this." " Tell me what the problem is, sir." " They ran George down." "You gotta get somebody down here." "Lawson and Hill." "Right in front of the children's shelter." "Hurry." "You gotta hurry." " I'm calling it in, sir." "Is anyone else hurt?" " No." "They just hit him and left." "You're a coroner." "Your business is dead people." "Even when you're the one who kills them." "Right, Doctor?" "Did you have a little too much to drink at last year's Christmas party?" "Can you imagine how Christmas George must have felt when you hit him with your car... and left him in the snow?" "He went into the alley to recover, and you heard over your police scanner... that he was still alive." "You couldn't have that, could you?" "That could hurt your precious career." "So you went back to the scene, before the police got there." "Now, you didn't have anything in your bag that would actually kill him... but you did have something that would paralyze him." "He was conscious of everything that was happening to him... but he looked dead to the police." "He was just a homeless man." "You figured, no one would miss him, right?" "But like you always say, bag 'em and tag 'em." "No." "Don't do that." "I'm not really dead." "Well, if it makes you feel any better, I'm not really a coroner." "But everybody thinks I am." "So I'm just going to declare you dead." "And they can finish you off." "On the slab." "Just like you finished off George." "Merry Christmas." "Wow." "I never got to work on a boss before." "We'll start cutting on her after lunch." "Who wants puffer fish?" "The effects of the phenotripticol should wear off in a few hours." "She's gonna wake up with a wicked case of diarrhea from the fruitcake." " Merry Christmas, Jarod." " Merry Christmas." "Merry Christmas." "He said to give you this." "He who?" "Excuse me." "Dr. Marley?" " Yes?" " I'm Timothy." "Timothy Ryan." "Gabrielle's brother." "I just wanted to say..." "Well, this detective said you identified her." " Went the extra mile, he said." " I'm sorry that it took so long." "And I'm sorry that you had to find out at this time." "I'm not." "Imagine wondering a lifetime if someone you love is out there or not." "Thank you for saving my family that hell." "Thank you." "Hello." "Daddy, hello." "I was just getting ready..." "I understand." "No." "We'll do it next year." "Merry Christmas." "He's ready now." "You know, I admire you, Sydney." "For 30 years, he just lies there, and yet you've never missed a Christmas." "It's all I can do." "He's the only family I have." " What about your son?" " My son?" "Yes." "Jarod." "Jarod was here?" "He stayed just long enough to leave the gift." "I don't know what he said to him... but when he placed that in his hand, I swear I thought I saw your brother smile." ""'Twas the night before Christmas..." ""and all through the house, not a creature was stirring..." ""not even a mouse." ""The stockings were hung by the chimney with care..." ""in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there." ""The children were nestled all snug in their beds..." ""while visions of sugarplums danced in their heads." ""And Mama in her kerchief, and I in my cap..." ""hadjust settled down for a long winter's nap." ""When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter..." ""I sprang from my bed to see what was the matter." ""Away to the window I flew like a flash..." ""tore open the shutters and threw up the sash." ""When what to my wondering eye should appear..." ""but a miniature sleigh and eight tiny reindeer." ""With a little old driver, so lively and quick..." ""I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick." ""And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name:" ""Now, Dasher.!" "Now, Dancer.!" "Now, Prancer and Vixen.!" ""On, Comet.!" "On, Cupid.!" "On, Donder and Blitzen.!" "'" ""He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle..." ""and away they all flew like the down of a thistle." ""But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight..." ""Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."'" "Did you hear that?" " What?" " From the other room." " Could it be..." " Santa!" "Let's go in the other room.!" "Under the tree.!" "A present for me?" " I wonder who it's from?" " Let's see what you got." "What's it say?" ""Friends make Christmas special." "To Angel, Merry Christmas, From Christmas George.""