An investigation of the homicide of a male adult in Greenwich, Connecticut led Agt. Mulder to suspect the involvement of alien beings. The victim, Joel Simmons, was found by neighbors in his backyard.
The autopsy report noted that Simmons was missing seventy-five percent (four liters) of his blood, most likely as a result of a puncture wound to the jugular vein. The cause of death was determined to be hypovolemia. His daughter, who had only been away from her father for ten minutes when his body was discovered, claimed to have seen or heard nothing. Agt. Mulder briefed Agt. Scully on a history of cattle mutilations which included exsanguination of the bodies. On this basis, Agt. Mulder contended that unknown alien beings might be complicit in the death of Joel Simmons.
Agts. Mulder and Scully went to the Fairfield County Social Services Hostel in Greenwich to interview Teena Simmons. During the interview, the agents received notice that a similar homicide had taken place in Marin County, California. The agents flew to San Francisco immediately to investigate this homicide.
The case of the second victim, Doug Reardon, bore key similarities to the Joel Simmons case. The autopsy report in this case also noted hypovolemia and exsanguination via a puncture wound to the jugular vein. The estimated time of Reardon’s death on the West Coast exactly matched that of Joel Simmons, after taking into account time zone differences between the East and West coasts. Agt. Scully speculated that two serial killers were working in concert. However, Agt. Mulder pointed out that serial killers rarely work together, and that when they do, it is usually to participate in the same homicide.
As the agents went to the Reardon home to interview the wife of the victim, they learned that Teena Simmons had been kidnapped from the Social Service home the night before. An eight-year-old girl answered the door of the Reardon home who appeared to be Teena Simmons. The girl told the agents her name was Cindy Reardon, and that she had lived at the residence for her entire life. Questioning of the girl’s mother, Ellen Reardon, revealed that she and her husband had conceived their child through in vitro fertilization at the Luther Stapes Center in San Francisco.
Agt. Mulder initiated a stakeout of the Reardon residence to guard against the abduction of Cindy Reardon, while Agt. Scully drove to the Luther Stapes Center to interview Dr. M. Bennett on the fertilization of Ellen Reardon. Agt. Scully discovered information that the Simmons had also used the Stapes Center for in vitro fertilization before moving to Connecticut. Dr. Bennett revealed that the physician in charge of both cases was Dr. Sally Kendrick. Dr. Kendrick had subsequently been dismissed for unprofessional conduct after accusations of tampering with the genetic material of fertilized ova prior to implant. Dr. Kendrick was censured by the AMA, and had since disappeared. Dr. Bennett screened a video presentation by Dr. Kendrick, in which she explained the work of the clinic.
After being relieved of his stakeout duties by a member of the local Bureau office, Agt. Mulder returned to his motel. There, Agt. Scully played a copy of the Kendrick video for Agt. Mulder, who speculated that perhaps the killings were a vendetta by Sally Kendrick against the clinic that had terminated her employment. While viewing the video, Agt. Mulder received a communication from his confidential source, requesting an immediate meeting. Acceding to the request, Agt. Mulder held a clandestine meeting at which he was briefed on the Litchfield experiments, a government program since abandoned, wherein genetically controlled children were raised and monitored at a compound in Litchfield. The males were all named Adam, the females, Eve. Each was numbered to differentiate between the other. All were highly intelligent.
Through the intercession of the confidential source, Agts. Mulder and Scully were permitted to interview one of the genetically controlled offspring, known as Eve 6, at the Whiting Institute for the Criminally Insane.
Once inside the cell, Agt. Scully recognized the woman as Sally Kendrick, from the Stapes Clinic tape. During an interrogation by the agents, she revealed that there were only two others from Litchfield who remained alive: Eve 7 and Eve 8, both of whom had escaped many years earlier. The Litchfield children were prone to being suicidal, according to the woman. It was implied by Eve 6, that one of the other Eves, either 7 or 8, was Sally Kendrick. On the cell wall, among photos and drawings, the agents found a photograph of eight young girls, all identical to Teena Simmons and Cindy Reardon. Agt. Mulder theorized that Sally Kendrick must have used the Stapes Clinic to carry on the Litchfield experiment by cloning herself.
The agents resumed the surveillance of the Reardon home, and while doing so witnessed an attempt to abduct Cindy Reardon. Agt. Mulder went to the back of the house in pursuit of the perpetrator as Agt. Scully alerted Ellen Reardon. As Agt. Scully ascended the stairs, she was attacked and knocked unconscious by the perpetrator, who then fled the house through the back door, dragging Cindy Reardon with her. Confronted by Agt. Mulder, the kidnapper, identified as Sally Kendrick, put a pistol to the head of Cindy Reardon and threatened to shoot the child. Agt. Mulder was ordered to put down his pistol. Once he had complied, Kendrick fled the premises, after firing one round, which missed Agt. Mulder. An all-points bulletin was broadcast in an attempt to apprehend the kidnapper before she left the vicinity. The getaway car was located at San Francisco International Airport, where a search of flights was instituted by Agt. Scully. Agt. Mulder received information that a motel manager in Point Reyes had seen a woman matching Kendrick’s description at the location with a young girl. Agt. Scully was unconvinced of the veracity of the manager’s report. Agt. Mulder informed her that the little girl had instructed the manager to "use chlorine to eradicate the dinoflagellates in the swimming pool." This information convinced the agents that the motel most likely was the hideout being used by Kendrick.
Local uniformed officers staked out the motel. Shortly after the arrival of Agts. Mulder and Scully, the shattering of a window in the Kendrick bungalow alerted the officers. Entering the room, they discovered Sally Kendrick on the floor, dead, and the two young girls huddled together. The pair, Cindy and Teena, claimed that Kendrick and another woman had attempted to force them to drink poison, apparently digitalis, and that the other woman fled before the arrival of the police. Agts. Mulder and Scully took charge of the girls, in order to have them examined by a physician.
Agt. Mulder stopped at a rest stop in order for the girls to use the restroom, and bought them sodas. After returning to the car, Agt. Mulder realized he had left his keys in the cafe, and went back to retrieve them. In doing so, he discovered traces of digitalis on the table. Agt. Mulder assumed that the girls had possibly tainted the drinks with poison, and hurriedly returned to the car to prevent Agt. Scully from ingesting her own drink. At that time, both girls disappeared in the parking lot. A search for the girls was instituted by Agts. Mulder and Scully. The girls were finally discovered, hiding in the parking lot. They were handcuffed and taken into custody.
Both Teena and Cindy were placed in custody at the Whiting Institute. The case was closed.