Cold Case s01e07 Episode Script

~~ Does he love me ~~ ~~ I wanna know ~~ ~~ How can I tell if he loves me so? ~~ ~~ Is it in his eyes? ~~ ~~ Oh, no, you'll be deceived ~~ He could be a pro ball player.
He wants to be a lawyer.
I'll bet he wants to be a ball player.
If you're gonna marry him it'll be better if he's a lawyer.
Why? Then he won't be on the road.
All those baseball hussies? Who said anything about getting married? It never crossed your mind? He keeps saying he has something that he wants to talk to me about.
He sounds real nervous.
He's such a little boy Hey, baby, how about a date? ~~ Seems like the other day ~~ ~~ My baby went away ~~ ~~ He went away across the sea ~~ ~~ He said that we were through ~~ Hey, college boy.
Did you see, uh, Callison choke in the ninth inning last night? He didn't choke.
The ump robbed him.
The last pitch was low and inside.
~~ Oh, no ~~ ~~ Oh, no, no, no, no ~~ ~~ Remember ~~ ~~ Walking in the sand.
~~ These degenerates.
You're not you're not like the rest of them.
'Cause I play baseball? Are you sure you're a fag? Are you sure you're Italian? ~~ What ever happened to ~~ Gin? Yeah.
~~ The gal that I once knew ~~ ~~ What will I do with it now ~~ ~~ Remember ~~ God bless us nelly queens! This domestic call came in every Friday night same damn couple.
We're finally shut'em down with the Blind Policeman routine.
Blind Policeman? Yeah.
We go to their door with a white stick and glasses, start taking down their report.
Tell'em it's an equal opportunity program.
Grope their faces.
They're so thrown off they don't call for weeks.
You ever do Blind Policeman in your patrol days? Gets'em every time.
The, um The lady from Milwaukee is here.
She called twice yesterday for directions.
And she's an hour early.
Mrs.
Holtz? I know I'm early.
I can wait.
No, no, it's fine.
I'm Detective Rush.
This is Detective Valens.
Is it true Milwaukee smells like beer? I've lived there too long to know.
I haven't been here for a while.
What brings you now? My son was murdered here in 1964.
He was a student.
A robbery? They said it was, at first, and then they said something else What? They said he'd been at a gay bar.
My husband and I told them that was wrong, that Danny had a girlfriend.
The world has changed so much.
What was your son's name? Daniel Holtz.
Please, have a seat.
You didn't know your son was gay? I didn't wanna know.
And now, much too late, I realize that kept me from really knowing him.
Cops back then talk about other leads? They mostly talked about my husband and I being "nice people.
" I have a heart condition.
Triple bypass.
I'm running on fumes.
If there's one thing I want to settle before I go I think the police swept this under the rug.
And my husband and I helped them do it.
We didn't push.
We'll pull his case.
COLD CASE 1x07 A Time To Hate I don't see a box.
Holtz with a "Z".
I know.
There's no box.
Tough to live with, huh? She must have told the assigned detective to lay off.
A civilian tells you to lay off, you do it? No.
I go harder.
They got jumbled up a lot? It's getting better.
People are learning the alphabet.
Except Vera.
Not every case is a box job.
If there isn't enough to fill a box Here it is.
Living in a group home.
Skimpy, huh? Doesn't say High Priority.
Body was found in the alley behind a bar.
In Queen Village.
It's perfect.
This case gonna make you uneasy there, Scotty? Nope.
Okay.
'64? That's back when patrol cars were red.
Mm.
Random street murder.
Assigned detectives are both dead.
A gay bashing outside a bar that don't exist anymore.
Any you have three civilian interviews.
Sounds like a winner, huh? We got a shot.
Joined the patron saints of lost causes? Ain't lost if I'm looking for it.
Whoo, got him to drink the Kool-Aid? So where you two gonna start? Crime scene.
Queen Village.
That cracks him up.
Take Jeffries.
Maybe he remembers the bar.
Someone saw what happened.
Someone always does that.
So we'll fine'em.
Knock on doors.
Ask neighborhood people.
Someone'll remember our guy.
Another optimist.
The Hush Room was over there.
Corner of Sodom and Gomorrah.
Is that what the cops called it? It's what the residents called it.
Nice, huh? Now.
Neighborhood's changed? Night and day.
All the neighbors are long gone.
Yuppies pushed'em out.
If it was so crappy how come this Penn kid came all the way down here? If you were in gay '64, this was the only game in town.
If you wanted to socialize, this was the only place.
So why was Danny in this alley? Got chased.
Or ambushed.
Or lucky.
How would he have gotten back to campus in '64.
Subway.
The other direction from the Hush Room.
Maybe he found a friend who lived thataway? Caller saw the body "splayed and protruding in the alley" Who called it in? Anonymous.
Boy, you got nada.
We got a neighbor who saw nothing, a bartender who knew nothing and a drag queen called Tinkerbell.
Plus a note tossed in that Tinkerbell had a lead on who liked to kick queer ass in the neighborhood.
Let me guess.
No follow-up, right? Tinkerbell could have been been a good ID, though.
Like a gang moniker.
That's how we find the thugs now.
You wanna look for Tinkerbell? In Never-Never Land? Or drag bars.
You sure that's the best job for me? Definitely.
We should check the old arrest books at the District Station House.
Figure out who the area bullies were.
I'll go to the district house with you, you troll the bars with me.
Sure.
I ain't scared.
So what violations are we looking for? There wasn't a code for hate crimes.
Certainly weren't calling it "gay bashing".
So.
male-on-male assaults? Assault, drunk and disorderly, disturbing the peace, the whole constellation.
South Philly thugs.
I probably got relatives in this book.
The Hush Room was managed We'll go and see him.
Our boss, Lieutenant Stillman.
Yes, I remember.
Mrs.
Holtz.
Thank you for looking at this case again, so much time later.
Well, no case is too old to open again.
I never asked before.
Does it say in there how exactly Danny died? Blunt force trauma.
Beaten? Uh, with a round, wooden implement.
Baseball bat, maybe.
Oh, that would be too awful.
There wasn't much Danny loved more than baseball.
He was on the Penn team.
He must have been a decent player.
Shortstop.
In your original interview, Helen, you mention Danny's fiancee.
Well, girlfriend.
He said "his girlfriend", at least.
The fiancee part maybe was my wishful thinking.
What about other friends? Danny had a lot of friends.
Anyone that could have been a romantic interest? Looking back? You think he'll be there? We are early.
I don't know, but my feet are killing me.
The Liberty Bell isn't that fascinating.
Oh, I hear him.
Danny, it's us.
Honey, are you there? Okay, Mom, uh, just a second.
This is a friend from the Law School.
We were just studying.
I thought you guys weren't coming back till later.
I'm late.
I've gotta go.
So nice to meet you.
Did you guys have a good time? We had a great time.
Your mother loved it.
What time are we meeting Deborah? I don't even know that boy's name.
I know so little about his life.
Would Deborah know? Maybe.
Last I heard of her, she was applying to med school.
You remember her last name? I could get it.
She wrote us an awfully nice note when Danny died.
If you find that boy or whoever was important to Danny will you let him know I'm here.
Sure.
You, uh, still wanna go to the scene, ma'am? I do but I'm feeling too tired now.
Maybe tomorrow.
I'll walk you out.
Hey.
Queen Village bullies and thugs, circa 1964.
We extrapolated.
Thanks.
You boys have fun tonight.
We wanna talk to you about the Hush Room, Anthony.
Why you asking about ancient history? That's the business we're in.
Ralphie, finish this, huh? Everyone in the place don't need to know I worked in a queer bar.
Yeah, okay.
My uncle owned it.
What can I say? I wasn't his favorite nephew.
I got the booby prize job.
You remember this kid, Danny? Yeah, I liked him.
He was a baseball nut.
That was the year the Phillies choked on the pennant race.
They were eight and a half games ahead, and then they blew ten straight in a row.
So I had something to talk with him about.
Any idea who killed him? Everybody hated those people.
How about a drag queen called Tinkerbell? You friendly with her? They were all Tinkerbells to me.
You remember the night Danny died? Yeah, 'cause of the raid.
What about it? Cops was raiding us all the time.
So, we paid them off to tip us as to when they were coming.
What did you do with the information? I had a red light behind the bar.
If people were dancing and the red light started, they knew to hurry up and get into boy-girl couples before the cops got there.
Only that night there was no warning.
How come? I don't know.
Maybe my uncle was late with the payoff.
Cops ever do any damage? Sure.
Those kind of raids was open season on them fags.
There's nothing on the books about a police raid.
You're surprised? This raid happened the night of a murder.
That's pretty significant.
Yeah, well, things were different back then, Scott.
The department isn't squeaky-clean.
There's a lot that's ugly in our past.
So, now we got two secret worlds to break into gays and the history of the department.
You know about Russo's Raiders? Heard stories.
Captain John Russo had an elite squad.
They took care of businesses payoffs, raids.
Probably gay bashing, too.
Nice.
So, how do we find out what cops were on this raid? Not from the records, Lil.
That stuff was off the books.
How do we find out if Danny was beaten with a nightstick, and not a bat? We should stop calling them drag queens.
How come? I think the last guy was offended.
I thought they call themselves drag queens.
Don't mean we can.
Is it a slur? I don't think it is.
How about cross-dresser? That's not offensive, right? No, it's neutral.
All right, let's go with that one this time.
Hey, how's it going? Super.
We're, uh, looking for an older gentlemen a cross-dresser who goes by the name of Tinkerbell.
Don't know him.
You got any old-timers that hang out here? There's an older crowd in the rooms upstairs.
What rooms? The conversation rooms.
Hell, we're not vice.
We don't care about your rooms.
We're looking for a witness.
Go on up.
Just watch your body language if you don't wanna get groped.
Danny's mom said you two dated in college.
Mmm.
I found about Danny the hard way.
I caught him and Hank kissing.
Damn you.
Damn you.
I'm sorry.
Everything's a big lie.
You're just a liar, using me? No.
I love you.
Nothing has to change.
What do you mean? I mean, I do love you.
I love you.
But, not the way you're supposed to.
Tell me.
Not as much.
As much as what? As I love him.
Did you kill him? I mean, that would solve our case.
No, we became friends.
Oh.
Gotta run.
Uh, can we walk with you? Do you know how to deliver a baby? I can learn anything.
You know, I always wondered if it was just a random street thing.
Something really bad was happening in his life.
Like what? I think Danny was being blackmailed.
He needed a chunk of money, and obviously he hadn't gotten a girl in trouble, as we used to say.
But then I think, why would anyone blackmail Danny? He didn't have a cent.
He borrowed toothpaste.
Oops, last warning.
Um, did you know his boyfriend? Hank? Mmm.
Ambitious, "Master of the Universe" type.
Law student.
What's Hank's last name? Hank oh What's the screwdriver? Phillips? Hank Phillips.
I don't know what became of him.
Danny didn't deserve what happened to him.
And even though I'm the one who got her heart broken Danny wasn't cruel.
The world was.
The story is Tinkerbell had a nipple ring.
Way ahead of his time with that.
Anyway, in one of his many ass kickings, a guy took a knife and tried to slice that ring right off.
But there's a happy ending.
Tink got the nipple reconstructed for free at the VA hospital.
A doc there wrote it up as a combat wound she got fighting in Korea.
So, Tinkerbell was in the Army? You know this doc's name? Or Tinkerbell's? But that old queen sure got beaten up a lot.
Someone at the VA may know her real name.
Thanks for your time.
Thanks for this.
What do you got? A question I need answered.
Quietly.
The case is from 1964.
We need to know about a weapon.
Oh, no problem.
Oh, this is Shelly.
She's gonna do that research for us.
On the QT? Mum's the word.
Thanks.
Vera should be finding true love right about now.
Back in '64, Tinkerbell came forward voluntarily.
Wanted to talk about being assaulted.
Tinkerbell's not a joke.
So far she's our most promising lead.
I got another one from the law school alumni office.
You found Hank? Oh, yeah.
Still lives in Philly.
Henry Phillips.
That Henry Phillips? Your Honor.
Detective Rush, Homicide.
I'm here on a personal matter.
A personal matter of yours? Of yours.
I've reopened the Daniel Holtz case.
You and he were both at Penn in 1964.
You remember him? He was murdered.
I understand you were close friends.
I'm not sure I can get into this.
I have no interest in prying into your personal life.
I'm just trying to solve a homicide.
We're looking into the theory it was a hate crime.
A gay bashing.
Who brought that theory to the table? His mother.
I don't remember him well enough to help you.
Well, take my card in case something jogs your memory.
Like the fact that you cared about him.
I don't talk publicly about these things.
I understand.
I'd like to help you.
But I need assurances It's between you and me.
No notes.
What do you wanna know? Was Danny being blackmailed? No.
His friend Deborah said he needed money all of a sudden.
He wasn't being blackmailed.
I was.
By who? The management at a certain bar.
The Hush Room.
I went to that rat hole with Danny twice, and almost had my life ruined.
They were running an extortion scam out of there.
And a young law student was a good target.
You couldn't be a lawyer if you were gay back then.
Moral turpitude.
So, why was Danny trying to get money if you were the one blackmailed? He felt responsible.
He was responsible.
I didn't mind being behind closed doors, but Danny wanted to be out, on a scene.
That make you angry? You think I killed him? In a disgusting alley as a career move? Not my best theory.
You know who really hated Danny? His teammates on the baseball team.
Hey, these yours? I know this place.
You do? Yeah.
Do you go there? I may have, yeah.
Faggot.
From that day on, they made things really bad for him.
Beaned him on purpose.
Wouldn't sit with him on the bus.
He ended up quitting.
But, in these days, there was no such thing as a gay athlete, not at Penn or anywhere else.
Thank you for talking to me.
I need it to stay confidential.
There's one person I'd like to tell about our conversation.
Danny's Mom's in town.
She'd like to hear from you.
I hear you're running a dice game out of your warehouse, Anthony.
Dice game.
What? Yeah.
I heard Bingo, dogfights.
Oh, all kinds of things to write you up on.
Come on, you guys what do you want with me? Tell us about the extortion scam.
Extortion? Why would we do that? You tell us.
We was printing money, selling watered-down drinks to the queers, and it'd be bad for business.
Talk about bad for business how much, uh, you charge for the dice game? Ah, come on.
Okay.
My moron cousin hid a camera, tried to hit up a couple of guys, looked like they had something to lose.
My uncle almost ripped his throat out when he found out.
For the reasons I cited above.
Bad for business.
My uncle shut him down.
End of story.
Believe me, my cousin was way too small-time to plan a murder.
The raid that night I need a name.
They taped over their name tags.
You usually got warning.
Who gave it to you? The bagman for the District Captain.
The guy who picked up the payoff envelopes? Contributions to the police Athletic Foundation.
His name.
He was a rookie.
Nelson.
Was Officer Nelson at the bar the night Danny was killed? He was always there.
That's very helpful, Anthony.
No.
This is not a put-on.
He went by the name Tinkerbell.
A Korean War vet.
His chest area got in a little accident with a knife.
in the '60s.
So we track them all down.
Yeah, yeah.
A cross-dresser.
Had a nipple ring.
The Penn baseball team? Yeah? They were in Ithaca, New York the weekend of your murder.
An away game.
The entire lineup.
You look that up? I happen to have every sports record known to man.
Memorized.
We have so many other suspects, it's sad.
Blackmail ring, rogue cops, neighborhood thugs No shortage of people who had it in for a gay kid.
I got the results you asked for.
He's okay.
Oh, thanks.
I called in a favor at the FBI lab.
We used a pig's head to simulate the bruise and wound pattern for the weapon, and then compared that to the victim photographs.
And? And that kid was not killed with a nighstick.
Well, that's a relief.
Thanks.
Thank the pig.
What's your guess about the weapon? My money's on the classic baseball bat.
Thanks.
I found Tinkerbell.
Real name George Polk.
Mr.
Polk? George Polk? Detective Rush, Philadelphia Police.
Go away.
I'm here about the 1964 murder of Daniel Holtz outside the Hush Room.
You wanted to give a statement to police.
I'm here to take it.
It took you a while to get back to me.
Yes, it did.
Decided to get dressed up? Yes, I did.
You know, in my day, I was beaten up by every cop and fag basher in South Philly.
Hmm.
Cops beat you up for no reason? The reason, young man, was hatred.
And career advancement.
Now, Captain Russo loved his fag-bashing.
We can only speculate why.
These are mug shots from the early '60s.
Arrests out of the Third District.
Is there a magnifier? Yes.
Thank you.
These are old eyes, you know, they need help.
Can I ask you something? Please.
Why did you flaunt the way you were if you knew people were gonna attack you for it? You're a homicide detective? He's new.
With what you see people do, you get upset 'bout how a man dresses, and who he loves? I ain't upset.
I'm just wondering, if you're getting beaten up 'cause you dress like a woman, and you don't wanna get beat up, why not stop dressing like a woman? 'Cause I was never a practical girl.
Oh, he's one of them.
One of who? The local monster.
I remember his eyebrows.
He was the ringleader.
What do you remember him doing? I remember him hitting me and kicking me and throwing things.
You're sure about him? I'm sure.
His mother would egg him on from the window of their little slum.
And his name is Brian.
Timmy O'Brien.
Lived around the corner from the Hush Room.
Uh-huh.
Fourth floor window, right? Apartment 419.
If the local thugs did in that poor boy, this one was a part of it.
Thank you, Mr.
Polk.
That Danny was a good one.
Lot of spunk.
But heartbroken because the Phillies did something with a pennant.
They blew the pennant race in '64.
That was it.
That boy was thrown off of the baseball team.
And he was always trying to organize a game at the bar.
I was going to be a cheerleader.
I get the vapors just thinking about it.
Whoa.
You, uh, Timmy O'Brien? Yeah.
What's it about? Just, uh, following up a dog call from a long time ago.
All right.
You recognize this individual? Maybe.
Ever get on her case? Her? Word is, you took care of business with the local drag queens.
I didn't ask them to come to my neighborhood, start parading around on the streets.
I hear you.
But I never hurt nobody.
I'm just carrying out a duty here.
So, uh, what did you do to these fine citizens? Kid stuff.
You know, harassing them, like.
Throwing stuff.
Bottles, sticks? Chinese takeout.
How's that work? Well, when we had some leftovers, see a couple of fags on our street, we'd dump the food on them.
What's that, assault with a deadly egg roll? Did you ever see this kid? Nah.
'Cause he was a local fag.
I don't recognize him.
Okay.
I ain't proud of all that stuff.
I wouldn't want my kids to know I did it.
It was just pranks.
Have a good day.
Your Honor.
Thanks for letting me know.
Yeah, I wanted to meet her.
The hotel said she was brought here last night.
Mm.
How's she doing? Have you gone in? No.
I was nervous.
A grown man, and I'm scared to meet his mom.
So I'll go with you.
Helen, this is Hank.
You're the boy who ran out of the room.
I guess so.
Hank.
Any progress? We've got at least one person of interest.
Who's that? Local thug in the neighborhood.
Told a story about throwing Chinese leftovers at gay men out on the street.
You talked to that man? Yeah.
You wanted to know about Danny.
In many ways, Danny was a man of his time.
He lied about his life to some people.
To you.
In other ways, Danny was ahead of his time.
How? He didn't hate himself.
Somehow, he knew he had a right to exist.
You haven't told them, have you? My parents? You crazy? No way, huh? If they even suspected I was rooting for the Phillies against the Braves, I'd be dead to them.
I could never go home again.
Hey, guys ladies.
How's it goin'? Here's a little Chinese for you.
I hear faggots like Chinese food.
Hey! Forget it.
No, I wanna see their faces.
Officer Come on, Danny.
Officer.
Danny was brave.
I wasn't.
What happened after the Chinese food? I went home, uh Danny came over later, and we fought.
He stormed out obviously went to the Hush Room, and and I never saw him again.
Do you know the name of the officer he spoke to? I have the paperwork.
Danny threw it at me that night, called me a coward.
You kept it? Anything I had of his, I kept.
You loved him.
Yes.
I'm glad.
Officer Paul Nelson took the report.
Nelson same name Anthony gave us.
In '64, he was a rookie in the Third District.
He worked under the command of Captain John Russo.
A Russo's Raider.
He booked the city when he retired.
Lives out in Alden.
Works at the cop shop at the union hall.
Go pay him a visit.
Paul Nelson? Yes? Lilly Rush, Homicide.
Scotty Valens, same.
What can I do for you? You took a complaint of harassment from a Daniel Holtz in 1964.
Neighborhood boys threw food at them.
This kid was murdered the same night.
Yeah.
Wanna tell us what you know? I knew this day would come.
Let's meet tomorrow.
That kid Danny had moxie, coming to me with the noodles droppin' from his forehead.
I asked him if he was the shortstop on the Penn baseball team, 'cause I recognize him.
I went to some of them games.
You talked about baseball at a time like that? I was embarrassed.
Embarrassed because he was a fag and you had to talk to him? I thought the whole situation was embarrassing.
How old were you? Twenty-two.
I just started on the job.
I thought, I'm set.
Next thing you know, I'm John Russo's bagman.
That didn't sit right with you? Oh, I loved it at first.
It was like going behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz see how the whole thing works.
And the night of Danny's murder how'd it work then? I took the kid's report.
That's it.
Then they called a raid that night late and I saw him again.
~~ When you're young and so in love as we ~~ ~~ And bewildered by the world we see ~~ ~~ Why do people hurt us so? ~~ ~~ Only those in love would know ~~ ~~ What a town without pity can do~~ Next time I saw him, he was dead.
You know what, Nelson? That's the part I'm not buying.
I don't need to be talking to you.
But you are.
Why? You feel guilty about something? I'm telling you what I know.
Me and My partner chased a patron to the alley.
We saw the kid's body splayed and protruding from the alley.
"Splayed and protruding.
" That's what the caller said.
You made that anonymous call.
Don't do this to me.
Look we're all cops here.
It'll be handled right.
A cop didn't do this.
Forensics says it was a cop.
Weapon was a nightstick.
That's wrong.
It's what the lab says.
Absolutely wrong.
Which you know is true, because you were there.
- You saw what happened.
- I didn't see all of it.
You walked away? I didn't know He was going to die.
They were beating on him, and yeah We looked the other way.
Who were they? Some guys I knew in the neighborhood.
Names.
I don't know.
You can't not know.
It's what you're here for.
I wanna show you something.
That's my son and his partner.
He thinks his old man is a good guy.
Which one's your son? So do it for him.
Be a good guy.
Hi, Timmy.
Paul Nelson.
Your brother John's friend.
Yeah.
It's been, like ten years Since your dad's wake.
What are you doing here? He's here giving you up, Timmy.
You're goin' down for the murder of Daniel Holtz in 1964.
Paul Sorry.
Paul, you can't No, you You gotta tell'em what happened.
You gotta tell'em what you really saw.
It was self-defense.
You gonna lie or are you going to tell the truth? I'm gonna tell the truth, Timmy.
Where do you come from, sweetheart? You better start running.
Faggot.
Run, run, faggot.
Run, fancyboy Keep running.
Keep going.
What are you stopping for? What are you gonna do? Come here.
Queer.
Coward.
Come on.
~~ To everything, turn, turn, turn ~~ ~~ There is a season, turn, turn, turn ~~ ~~ And a time to every purpose under heaven ~~ ~~ A time to be born, a time to die ~~ ~~ A time to plant, a time to reap ~~ ~~ A time to kill, a time to heal ~~ ~~ A time to laugh, a time to weep ~~ ~~ To everything, turn, turn, turn ~~ ~~ There is a season, turn, turn, turn ~~ ~~ And a time to every purpose under heaven ~~ ~~ A time to build up, a time to break down ~~ ~~ A time to dance, a time to mourn ~~ ~~ A time to cast away stones ~~ ~~ A time to gather stones together ~~ ~~ To everything, turn, turn, turn ~~ ~~ There is a season, turn, turn, turn ~~ ~~ And a time to every purpose under heaven ~~ ~~ A time of love, a time of hate ~~ ~~ A time of war, a time of peace ~~ ~~ A time you may embrace ~~ ~~ A time to refrain from embracing~~