Cold Case s05e10 Episode Script

Justice

"Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.
" These words of Martin Luther King Jr.
hold special import today, as our own lives begin; as we go forth, past these ivory towers, into a city and a world rife with poverty, with war, and with injustice.
Be brave, be fearless and most importantly, be compassionate.
Congratulations, Class of 1982 we are officially graduated.
Ms.
Rush Lily Ms.
Rush Lily Lily, Lily We're losing her.
Another late night? Too many margarita Gin kills me.
Gin? You mean tequila.
I don't make 'em, I just drink 'em.
Trouble sleeping, huh? No, not at all.
You're here early.
Anything to get out of PPD.
Jeffries biting everyone's head off? I won't even step foot into Stillman's office.
When's the boss back? Two more weeks.
Counting the days.
And minutes.
So, what's up? Kid buried here-- a Mike Delaney.
College type, shot back in '82.
Someone vandalized his grave.
The 25th anniversary of his death coming up.
University's doing some kind of memorial service for him? Big man on campus, back in the day.
College police, homicide-- both turned the place inside out.
Got nothing-- no suspects, no motives.
Hmm-- straight-A student, varsity jock president of the local "Meals On Wheels" chapter Making the rest of us look like lazy-ass good-for-nothings.
Had a reputation as a womanizer.
A real Casanova.
Every girl on campus wanted him, every guy wanted to be him.
But who'd want to kill him? Maybe her.
original theory ??? University's in the middle of one of Philly's poorest hoods.
Lots of tension between the students and the locals.
Well, no one heard the altercation, gunfire.
??? Graduation night, everyone's loaded.
Security guard found Mike's body the next morning, middle of the quad.
There was a nine-millimeter recovered three blocks from the crime scene matched our victim's ballistics.
No prints.
The serial number was filled off, making it untraceable.
No National Ballistics Database back then.
Might be able to sniff it out now.
Let's run it.
Sure, Boss.
We're also looking into the cemetery surveillance footage from this morning-- maybe our tagger got caught on tape.
The trajectory of the bullet indicates the doer was anywhere from five-two to five-four.
Well, if the doer's a vigilante rape victim, height could point to a woman.
Might've found our tagger.
Police report filed back in '82 at West Detectives.
Alleged rape naming Michael Delaney as the doer.
- Who's the victim? - Name's left blank.
The assigned officer was a Maggie Lafferty.
"Locked and Loaded" Lafferty.
Instructor at the Academy range.
Was a real ball-buster.
Want us to have a talk? Do you really need me to tell you what to do? Just checking Boss.
Don't call me Boss.
I'm out of here at 5:00 today, so no dilly-dallying.
You a 5:00 p.
m.
man now? That Toni's doing? Ah, figured I'd set a good example for Andre.
Sit-down family dinners.
What? Know what I'm getting you for Christmas-- tickets to the ballet.
Ballet?! Yep.
The Nutcracker.
Is that the pit bull? Maggie Lafferty? Philly P.
D.
Would've never guessed, cheap suit and all.
You worked Sex Crimes at West in '82, right, Maggie? On the line, too.
So what? You handle this job? I remember the kid, sure.
Said a Michael Delaney raped her? Yep.
Nothing I could do.
I thought you were Sex Crimes.
A joke, back in the day.
I had a desk, a phone, that's it.
Nobody cared.
Not that you'd remember.
You, maybe.
So you sent her away.
Nice.
My lieutenant said rape victims were gals that just regretted it the next morning.
My hands were tied.
Real door prize, your lieutenant.
Men-- can't live with 'em, can't kill 'em off.
Drop the battle axe.
Talk about the girl.
Name was, uh Tess Tessie something or other.
Scholarship kid from Kensington, working a job in the school cafeteria, raising her kid brother, parents dead.
How'd she run into Delaney? Knew the ass-clown from school.
Real charmer, that guy.
Gave her a paper rose before he tore her up.
So this Tessie comes in And boy, was she a wreck.
Don't you think it'd be wise to leave your kid brother home? I told Jimmy I got robbed, that's why we're here.
He's scared to stay home alone.
So you, uh, knew your attacker? We went out two nights ago.
So you dated this guy? We didn't date.
We went out.
Once.
And, uh, where'd the rape occur? In in my apartment.
He dropped me off after dinner; he said he had to use the bathroom, Any witnesses to what transpired? My brother was asleep in the next room.
Maybe I should've screamed, woke him up, so he could've witnessed it.
Look, you want to press charges, I can do that.
But this is how it's gonna play out.
How much did you have to drink? What were you wearing? Why'd you bring him home? I already told you.
Do you bring guys up to your place a lot? Are you sexually promiscuous? Get the picture? And after that, he'll still walk.
I've seen it time and again.
What if he comes back? What am I supposed to do? If he breaks in, you can report it.
Otherwise, lock your doors.
Right.
I'm sorry; I really am.
Just give me a second.
When he was done, you know what he said? "You're prettier when you smile.
" I'm sorry.
Yeah me, too.
Didn't even have a name for date rape back then.
Rape shield laws are supposed to protect victims from being crucified on the stand.
Game was different if you knew your attacker.
No one saw 'em as real victims.
So Mike rapes this girl, gets off scot-free.
That's justice.
That was the law.
Tessie Bartram.
Philly Homicide.
Homicide?! Where were you this morning? Here.
Home.
Getting ready for work.
Why? Got anyone to verify that? No.
I live alone.
What is this about? Does the name Mike Delaney ring any bells? Of course.
He went to my school.
The grave was vandalized this morning.
- Know anything about that? - Absolutely not.
Well, we know what he did to you.
Look, I'm late for an appointment.
No one believed you, so you pretended it never happened.
But it did.
I don't know what you're talking about.
I think you do.
- What do you want from me? - The truth.
late to the party.
Understandable, you wanting revenge.
So, in other words, did I kill that bastard? Did you? Graduation day I was home with my brother, so, no.
You didn't go to your own graduation? I dropped out after it happened and I never set foot on that damn campus again.
You grew up in Kensington.
Must've felt lucky to be at that school.
I felt even luckier when "the" Mike Delaney liked me.
Hey! Hi.
Here's the deal: I'm just gonna say it, so don't think I'm a dope or whatever.
Okay Every night, I see you sitting here, not messing around like the rest of us, or killing time till the bars open, and I'm thinking this girl's different.
- Special.
- Yeah, right.
Just hear me out, okay? Because every night, I'm like: "Go over there right now, say the perfect thing" But I know whatever it is, she'll just think it's some dumb pick-up in a library.
Not yet, I don't.
You think I should give it a shot? Go for it.
I'm gonna do it then.
Okay? You ready? Here it comes.
Would you have dinner with me? I bought his crap, hook, line and sinker.
You were young, he was good.
I had nightmares about it for months afterward.
I would wake up terrified thinking he was in my room.
Thought I was going crazy.
Must have been awful.
And that's why you dropped out? I got a job and I put my brother through college.
At least one of us graduated.
If that's it, can I go? Yeah.
If you find who killed him give 'em a medal.
Guys like Delaney make it hell for the rest of us.
Your point? My point is, sometimes women say no when they don't mean it 'cause if they didn't, they'd be thought of, you know Hos? Digging that ditch deeper.
I would never call a woman a ho.
All I'm saying is what's a guy to do, back off at the first no? Human race would go extinct.
No means no.
How many ways you need that spelled out? The name of the game is pursuit.
You run, I chase.
You ain't chasing me anywhere.
We follow up on Tess' alibi or what? It checked out.
Doesn't mean the brother isn't lying.
'Cause "no" means "yes.
" Enough, both of you.
I think I found something-- Mike's yearbook.
Mike gave Tessie a rose when they met, we know that.
There are more roses, more girls.
There must be ten women there.
Could be other victims or maybe women he was zeroing in on.
Saying we got a serial rapist? Saying we got a new pool of targets.
And any one of them could have killed him.
Are these the other women from Mike's yearbook? Yeah.
Picked 'em all up at the library.
Same BS with the paper rose.
One of the girls we couldn't bring in-- Shaina McNulty.
She lawyer up? Nah, she put a bullet in her head a few months before Mike was killed.
She was 18.
Rush and Miller are doing the interviews.
Figured female cops should talk to them.
Meanwhile, us jerk male cops got the security footage from the cemetery.
Only visitor yesterday morning, only one who could have vandalized Mike's grave.
Can't make heads or tails.
I'll show it to the groundskeeper.
The girls' yearbook photos, too.
Might jog his memory.
So why do we even care about this job? The guy got what was coming to him, in my book-- community service murder.
Damn right.
'Cause we're murder cops.
Go do your jobs.
Mike didn't rape me.
That's ridiculous.
You dated him, though.
Once.
We had nothing in common.
We went our separate ways.
End of story.
Did you have sex with him? That's really none of your business.
Did you say no? Well, that's what you're supposed to say, right? Can't be too easy.
Is that what you think, you were easy? I'd had too much to drink.
So it's your fault what he did? Maybe it was.
Maybe I shouldn't have brought him up to my room.
I think I had too much wine.
Me, too.
Um, I'm still a virgin, Mike.
Me, too.
Seriously, I, I don't want to.
What are you doing?! What'd you think was gonna happen?! No no Please don't! No! Please! I was sending mixed signals, I guess.
No, you were pretty damn clear.
What does it matter now? Did you kill him, Melinda? I wasn't raped, okay? I wasn't some victim.
In college, I was on top of the world.
Head of my sorority, dating And then you met Mike.
After two dates, I was planning our wedding in my head.
Pathetic, huh? You liked him.
He said I was different, special.
Right.
You ever tell anyone what he did? The morning after it happened, I tried to tell my best friend.
Oh, my God.
You guys totally did it.
I don't want to talk about it.
Tore this off you.
Mike's a total animal.
Give it back, Lisa.
Come on! What's wrong, Kar? He raped me.
What? We were kissing, and then he changed.
Come on, Kar.
A guy like Mike doesn't need to rape anyone.
I mean, you wanted to do it with him, right? Yeah right.
Let's just hope he calls.
I just always wondered why he did it.
I liked him, you know? He didn't have to force me.
Where were you the night he was shot? Oh, please, I didn't kill him.
I didn't even press charges.
- Why not? - I was the party girl, okay? I knew what everybody would say.
I didn't want to be raped all over again.
A lot of anger keeping your secret bottled up.
Anger? You wouldn't know the half of it.
A guy like Mike deserved what he got.
Damn right he did.
Maybe you got even.
I wanted to, believe me.
Saw him on campus everywhere weeks after.
Always with that damn smile.
Hey, pretty lady.
Screw you.
Get away from me.
I know.
You're mad I haven't called.
You son of a bitch.
You know damn well what happened! I said no! But you didn't mean it did you? Hey! I told the dean and he promised to look into it.
Next thing you know, Mike's giving a valedictorian speech.
Hmm.
And you knew he'd never pay.
The 25th anniversary of his death-- boo-hoo.
You were the one who wrote "rapist" on his grave, weren't you, Regie? I got pregnant after.
I took care of it on my own.
Never told a soul.
So, yeah, I did.
Fine me.
The world had to know what he did to you to the others.
Others? How many were there? Did you kill him, Regie? No, but I'm glad somebody stopped him since you people never did.
Can I come in? What the hell you want? The rape victim who offed herself, Shaina McNulty? Found something.
Turns out she used her dad's nine-mill to do the deed.
Same make and model that killed Mike.
So maybe dad found out about the rape? Figured that's why his little girl killed herself.
Went looking for justice.
Dirty Harry style.
You owned a nine-millimeter Smith & Wesson back in '82, Mr.
McNulty.
Same kind of gun that killed Mike Delaney.
And my little girl.
Can't blame you for offing that bastard.
I would have, too.
No way he's getting away with it.
I didn't believe her.
Shaina told you what happened with Mike? And I told her that nice girls don't bring boys up to their rooms.
That's what I said.
Hard knowing the right thing to say.
Shaina shut down right before my eyes.
Stopped eating, holed up in that damn dorm room.
I thought it was a phase.
She'd grow out of it.
Then I got the call.
Where is Shaina? Shaina! Mr.
McNulty, sir, you can't go in there.
Where is she?! Why didn't anyone try and stop her? Why didn't you help my little girl? I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
If I had just believed her maybe Shaina would still be here.
Mr.
McNulty, you sure you saw that female cop in her dorm room? I never forgot her face.
Like she'd seen a ghost.
She had a book, one of Shaina's.
Her diary.
Can we take a look at it? I think they kept it, the cops.
Had to pack up her room and her stuff.
They didn't even clean up the blood.
We'll give you a minute, Mr.
McNulty.
Didn't stop Mike when she had the chance.
So maybe she takes the law into her own hands.
Don't call her Locked 'n Loaded Lafferty for nothing.
??? Turns out it matched a nine mil used in an '81 North Philly robbery.
Same year you were working Evidence.
Gun disappeared shortly after.
You gotta be kidding.
Yeah.
We're a barrel of laughs here.
Save the smartass remarks for the civilians.
'Cause you're a cop.
Right side of the law.
You want to take me in, girlfriend, go for it-- I'm calling my F.
O.
P.
lawyer.
So you found Shaina McNulty's diary.
Realized Mike raped her, too.
Your fault, that kid eating her gun-- you could have stopped him.
I went to the DA, right? Told him I had two vics and a serial rapist on my hands.
He said I had no witnesses, no evidence, no case.
So you took care of business.
Your own way.
Our job is to protect the victims.
Sometimes you gotta bend the rules.
More than bend the rules.
You went off the reservation, Lafferty.
Damn right I did.
Nothing was gonna stop that guy except a Smith and Wesson.
So you tracked him down.
Took him out.
No.
But I did what I had to do.
So I was thinking we'd treat ourselves to a flick tonight.
We got movie money, Tessie? Hey, don't worry about it, okay? You're 12, geez, think about girls or something.
Tessie? That, uh, robbery think we might have found your wallet.
Put the ice cream away, Jimmy, before it melts.
I'll wait for you, Tess.
Go up, already.
I'll be there in a minute, okay? Okay.
Been, uh, thinking about what you said.
Him coming back.
Got the right to defend yourself.
Yeah, I remember.
Lock my doors.
Other ways to do it.
Know what I mean? He comes at you, it's called imminent danger.
The DA'll never charge you.
You're telling me to kill him.
That would be, uh, unethical of me as a cop.
Just informing you of your rights is all.
Mail's piling up.
Might want to check your box.
You gave her the gun that killed Mike Delaney.
Get off the high and mighty, will you? System wasn't gonna protect victims like her, I had to.
By telling her how to commit a felony.
'82 was a long, long time ago.
My memory's kind of fuzzy.
Well, we'll subpoena you.
Put you on the stand.
You try to take that kid down, you'll get nothing from me.
Saying you're gonna lie in court? Saying I don't remember squat, so don't hold your breath, Goldilocks.
You want to question Tessie, I need to be present.
And you are? My brother.
Also my lawyer.
Fine.
Have a seat.
We know Sergeant Lafferty gave your client a gun.
Same one that was used in the murder of Mike Delaney.
And this witness is willing to testify to that? I didn't think so.
I know what it's like.
The nightmares.
Making you relive what happened, over and over.
Is that a question or a monologue? And until you tell someone what really happened, the nightmares won't stop.
Believe me, Tessie.
I know.
He used me like a toilet.
You don't have to talk to her.
And every time he smiled at me, I was right back on that kitchen floor, and his smell My client's done talking.
- No, no, we're not done here.
- Oh yeah, we are.
Yeah, you killed him, didn't you, Tessie? - Oh, I wanted to.
- Tessie, shut up.
Nightmares won't stop, till you tell me what you did.
Tell me.
We're done here.
Justifiable homicide, you ask me.
I hear that.
Loud and clear.
Moot point.
Struck out on this one.
Nice try, Lil.
Yeah.
Way to go, Lil.
It's not our jobs to decide which murders we like or don't like.
Nah, our job is to put away some kid for doing the right thing.
So we let every vigilante walk? That what you're saying? Saying, maybe let this one.
Well, I need to talk to her again.
Not gonna happen.
She's lawyered up.
What is it with you and this case? Why do you even care about that scumbag? It's not about him.
Then what? 'Cause I can't figure out why you're wasting our time.
There's got to be a way to talk to her, right, Boss? Go home, Lil.
All of you.
Please.
Quite a spread you got here, John.
Hey.
Wasn't expecting you.
hey.
So how's it going back at the ranch? Say we take her out, hit the high seas, come back next year.
That bad, huh? Well, chasing our tails on this one.
Doer's gonna walk.
Rush won't let it go.
Well, she's got good instincts, Will.
Let her follow them.
Sometimes being the boss means staying out of their way.
I'm done playing peacemaker.
I'm not cut out for it.
We need you back, John.
I got 31 years on the job, Will.
Maybe it's time to have a life.
Ah, sunstroke talking there.
I think I've lost my taste for it.
The politics, or the job? There a difference? Doing some reading? Shaina's diary.
A few months before she killed herself, this entry: "I know I'm not alone "in my pain.
"There are others who wrote on The Wall.
He won't get away with what he did.
" Shaina knew about the other girls? Sounds like it.
So what's this "wall" they wrote on? Place on campus where they could leave messages.
Well, we know he picked up his victims at the library.
Maybe there? No internet chat rooms back in '82.
A bulletin board maybe? Some place girls could communicate privately.
.
Like a bathroom stall? Old school chat room.
For men and women both.
Worth following up? Do it.
You coming, Will? Glad you asked.
I always wondered what you ladies had in here.
Everything you got.
Not quite.
Think they'd clean up this stuff, time to time.
Got it.
"MD.
" Michael Delaney.
"I told my dad and he said it was my fault.
" - Shaina.
- There's more.
Other girls.
"I told the Dean" and nothing happened.
"I told the cops" and nothing happened.
He raped me, too.
I told my roommate, and she said I asked for it.
Karin wrote that.
"He raped me too and I never told anyone" He raped me, too, and I never told anyone 'cause it was my fault.
They lied.
They knew about each other.
And they made a plan.
To kill him.
Got Karin and Melinda here, too.
One of them's gonna break.
You want to make a deal, now's the time.
I didn't kill Mike Delaney.
You did it together.
With Tessie, too.
We know that.
That is ridiculous.
Writing on the wall says different, Regie.
Remember now? I told you.
I wasn't raped.
Your handwriting gonna match the wall, Melinda? That was just stupid writing.
It didn't mean anything.
Sure it did.
Then Shaina killed herself.
You had to make him pay.
I never even met her.
"No matter how much I try, I just want it to end.
"I hope you won't be mad at me.
I'm just not as strong as you.
" Shaina's last entry in her diary.
It was dedicated to you.
"The women on The Wall.
" She was barely 18.
A kid.
It isn't fair what he did to her.
What he did to all of you.
So you made a plan together.
Waited on the quad till nightfall.
Please, stop this.
And then you saw him-- alone.
Coming from a party? Or maybe another girl's room? No one was going to stop him.
Except us.
He had that stupid smile on his face.
Always that damn smile.
But then he saw us.
And he knew.
It was payback time.
Say what you did to us.
- What is this? - You can't pretend it didn't happen-- what you did to all of us.
Why? Why'd you do it? I didn't do anything.
You raped us.
Right.
You're crazy.
Say it.
I don't have to listen to this.
Say it.
Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Say it.
Tessie, what are you doing? Huh? Say it, you son of a bitch.
Say what you did? Say it! He wet his pants.
That little piece of crap wet his own pants.
How does it feel, huh? - Kill him.
- Oh, my God, Tessie, don't.
- Please - Kill him, Tessie, now, do it.
Okay, okay, okay.
Okay, I did it.
Say it! I raped you.
Okay? I'm so sorry.
I'm sorry, please please don't shoot me.
Please I can't.
What? Kill him now, Tessie, do it! I won't do it.
- I won't become him.
- Let's go home.
Please, Tessie.
Let's go home.
Then we left him there.
We went back to my dorm room and stayed there until dawn.
And that's when we heard.
He was dead.
I was glad.
Thought it would make us better.
But it didn't.
You were together until the next morning? All of you? Even Tessie? No one left that room until we got the news.
Then why'd Tessie's brother lie? Said she was with him that night.
'Cause he was her alibi.
And she was his.
My client isn't saying another word.
This isn't about your client.
Trajectory of the bullet indicates the shooter was five-four, five-two, average sized female.
Or a 12-year-old boy.
Real protective, weren't you, Jimmy? Parents were dead Making you the man of the family.
You people are pathetic Tessie, don't talk to them.
Kids know more than we think.
Hear things, see things.
Bottle it all up inside.
But it's killing you.
He was just a kid.
This is ridiculous.
Tell them, Jimmy.
You were home, right? Right? Jimmy? I saw him.
Leave the apartment.
I saw everything.
Okay, I killed him.
I did it.
Arrest me.
He wasn't sorry.
On the quad.
I followed you that night.
I was supposed to protect you Jimmy, shut up! I am confessing, okay? I killed that animal.
No, you didn't.
Jimmy, don't do this.
I picked up the gun Stupid bitches whores Then what happened? I had to protect you, Tess.
Please don't do this to him.
He was just a little boy.
Don't do this to us, not again.
You picked up the gun because you were scared.
You thought you were in danger.
Imminent danger, didn't you, Jimmy? Is she doing what I think she's doing? Didn't you I'm not hearing it.
You? Tell them yes, Jimmy.
You picked up the gun because you thought you were in danger.
Jimmy, do it for me, please.
Just tell them the truth.
Tessie's little brother? Jimmy, right? She told me about you.
Come on, bud, give me the gun.
So what you're saying then is he came at you, right? Grown man coming at a 12-year-old boy, who knows what he'd do? Threat to your life.
Say yes, Jimmy.
Please.
I know what you did to her.
To Tessie.
You got it all wrong, buddy.
No, she said no.
They all say that.
But they don't mean it.
You'll see one day.
I was there.
I heard everything.
Between you and me, kid? Your sister was one hell of a lay Shut up! Then he moved in for you, right? Left you no choice.
You know the law.
You won't go away for defending yourself.
Because you had to shoot, didn't you, Jimmy? You're all I got left.
Tell them.
I couldn't let him hurt you ever again * You saw me standing by the wall * * Corner of a main street * * And the lights are flashing on your windowsill * * Take a chance * * Like all dreamers can't find another way * * You don't have to dream at all * * Just live a day * * Don't say a prayer for me now * * Save it till the morning after * * No, don't say a prayer for me now * * Save it till the morning after * * Save it till the morning after * * Save it till the morning after * * Save it till the morning after * * Do-do-do-do-do * * Do-do-do-do-do-do-do-do * * Save a prayer till the morning after * * Save a prayer till the morning after *
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