Cold Squad (1998) s06e04 Episode Script

Live Fast Die Young

[ door opens .]
Hey, guys.
Christine.
I thought your coursework was finished.
20 more hours, then I get to say goodbye to all this.
You'll miss us when you're gone.
I won't miss the drycleaning bills.
Remember you said I'd get used to the formaldehyde? Nuh-uh.
Good weekend? Oh, it was great.
I went down to Seattle for an advanced hematology course.
How about you? Tell me, do you ever think about squeezing a little life in around the edges of all this work and study? I've had plenty of life.
Work is better.
You'll have all the work you can handle for the next 30 years.
I'd give life another look.
You want to get started? John Doe, so far.
Pretty nasty.
Cops think it's another street racing casualty.
Yeah, I know.
Christine? [ coughing .]
What is it? He's my brother.
♫ Cold Squad 6x04 ♫ Live Fast Die Young Hey I didn't know you smoked.
I don't.
Did you get in touch with your folks yet? My mom.
Left messages for my dad, for what it's worth.
So what is it? You know, this isn't the type of information we usually share with family members.
Tell me.
He had massive internal injuries.
Multiple organ failure followed quickly by lung collapse, and He felt no pain, Christine, I can guarantee you that.
What are you talking about? He'd taken ketamine hydrochloride that night.
That's an animal tranquilizer.
Vitamin K.
It's incredibly dangerous.
The drug shuts down the chemical messengers in the brain that carry sensory input.
Aaron didn't even feel the car hit him.
That's impossible.
No, the primary efficacy of the drug That's impossible because Aaron didn't do drugs.
Christine I don't care what you found he didn't do drugs.
Like you don't smoke? Lucy had just started smiling then.
10 weeks old.
Some babies smile before then, but it's usually gas.
This was a real smile, you know? She's a beautiful little girl.
Thank you.
The autopsy concluded it was SIDS, Mr.
Cranston crib death.
There's nothing here that indicates infanticide.
I know, but it's pretty easy to suffocate a baby, Sergeant, and that's what my wife did.
If that's true, why did you wait three years to come forward? I couldn't face it before and then when I heard Meg was pregnant again, I just couldn't That's no reason for me to open this up as a murder case, Mr.
Cranston.
Meg was severely depressed when she gave birth to Lucy, and everyone I've talked to says she'll be depressed this time too.
She's going to give birth in a couple of weeks.
I can't let this happen again.
Your wife's remarried? Year and a half ago.
If you could just talk to these people.
The first one's our doctor, and that's the agency for our former nanny, Livia.
They'll tell you what Meg was like.
Yeah, we'll see what we can do.
I appreciate it.
Hey, we check into it.
If we're wrong, we're just doing our jobs.
If we're right, we stop a possible murder.
Doesn't get better than that.
Absolutely.
Asking a mom if she killed her baby what could be better? What's going on with my brother's file? Hello to you too.
Accident investigations has got it.
I know that, but what do they know? They just got started, and there isn't a lot to go on.
Apparently, the driver cleaned up the impact scene.
What do you mean? Well, usually the car gets a little messed up, and Look, uh I know this is a really rough time, but I don't think this is the way to handle what happened.
Oh, you've handled your brother's murder recently? I didn't realize you were an expert.
I know it may seem like a murder, but it's not.
Aaron was doped up on vitamin K.
He doesn't do that, And then he gets hit by a car.
I mean, what do you think happened? So you think somebody made him take drugs and then ran him over? Maybe it's not as dumb as you make it sound.
I mean, where he was hit, it's completely deserted.
Why is he crossing the street there in the middle of the night? 'cause he's buying drugs? No.
Christine, as I remember it, you and your brother didn't spend a whole lot of time together.
Are you sure you knew what he was into before he died? Who's the investigator? Don McInnes.
He any good? Yeah, he's good.
Tell him it's a murder.
I'll let him know what you think.
You still coming to the funeral? Of course I am.
Meg's was an easy pregnancy.
The delivery as well.
She had all the usual anxieties of most first time moms.
[ door closes .]
It wasn't anything out of the ordinary.
What about depression? Most first-time moms experience some degree of postpartum depression.
Meg's was a mild case.
I prescribed Xanax and she never took it.
Why not? She wanted to continue to breast feed.
You know breast is best.
[ chuckles .]
Uh, but if she was depressed wouldn't it have been better for her to take the drugs? Meg felt she had a lot to gain from continuing to breast feed.
In terms of bonding with the baby.
Oh, really? Was there a problem in that department? Do you think Meg killed her baby, is that what this is about? You tell me.
Well, Meg is an older mom.
So Lucy would be more at risk for SIDS death.
- But.
- But.
What? Crib death is a bit of a medical mystery.
As a cause of death, it's a very educated guess.
So you're saying, she could have done it.
No.
I can't see that.
Meg clearly loved her baby.
And she didn't lack for care or support.
[ heavy metal plays on radio .]
I just don't see how we prove something like this.
Same way we prove any murder.
Somebody talks.
[ cellphone ringing .]
Harper.
Oh, really, they say why? Untenable? Okay, well, see if you can find a new number for her.
Yeah, thanks.
The former nanny, Livia? Apparently, she's no longer with the agency.
You're the police? It's about time.
So send somebody else.
Oh, this looks good.
Gee, Michael, the police are right here.
Should I ask them if you can skip house arrest and come to the opening? Great.
Now, send another reporter, okay? Thank you.
I'm so glad you' here.
I've got dinner guests arriving in four hours, and the kids next door just won't stop with their music.
If you could just, go over there and We're detectives, Mrs.
Duffy.
Great.
You should really be able to do something about it, then.
Well, we can talk to them on our way out, maybe, but we're here to talk to you about Lucy.
Neil has accused me of killing Lucy? He said you were very depressed at the time.
How dare he? How dare he? Oh, my God.
Oh my God The coroner's report said that Lucy died from SIDS, and there's no definitive proof for such a conclusion, so it means we have to investigate.
My baby died.
Do you have any idea what that is like? Do you? Oh, my God.
That son of a bitch Neil He's only doing this to get back at me.
He can't stand that I'm pregnant again and that i've got a new life while he's got no life.
That's what this is about, you know he's got nothing.
He said that I killed my baby? [ crying .]
That was pretty wild.
It's hormonal.
Trust me, I've seen it twice, real close up.
So what do you think? I don't know.
She sure landed on her feet fast after all her sorrows.
Maybe it's a jealous ex-husband making trouble.
What, he's looking for a slice of his ex-wife's pie? Well, right now, I'd believe that before Mrs.
Duffy in the nursery with a pillow.
Yeah, could be.
Harper, we can call a uniform.
What, are you guys always this chivalrous with pregnant women? It's hormonal.
Hey, fellas! What I'm saying is he smoked some dope, but you know what I mean, he didn't do drugs.
Things change.
Yeah, he went from marijuana to the hard stuff.
Sometimes you're such a typical cop.
Good old mom.
I give you odds she's here to sponge money off my father, which he probably would have sponged off me.
You seen your father? He's a professional no-show.
What do you think? He could at least show up to bury his own kid.
Well, he probably knew you'd be doing a bang-up job, mom.
Oh, shut up, Christine.
I didn't kill Aaron.
Was Aaron still hanging out with those guys? He didn't need those losers anymore.
Look at them.
Comic store potheads.
So who was he hanging with, then? Bunch of rich kids.
Really nice.
Well, they didn't make it to his funeral, so how nice could they be? Well, I never really met them.
I just saw them the one time, but you could tell they were just a better class of people, You know? Where'd you see them? We're at your brother's funeral here.
Avery's Bridge.
Out in Richmond? Doug.
Hi.
Your aunt's having a thing after the funeral.
Yeah, I know.
If you see your father I don't.
[ car engines revving .]
Welcome to speed central.
No kidding.
Don't recognize you.
Well, you had a first time too, right? Snarky.
I like it.
Hey, Jackie.
Any noise? Guess not.
Maybe she has it on vibrate.
He's so fierce.
[ rings .]
Here we go.
It's Jackie.
Yeah.
Okay.
Sure.
Flying Saucer in Langley is the finish line.
Hey, I just got here.
Gotta go.
Sorry.
Try and get a ride.
You're lucky you didn't hit my car, asswipe.
I just got it out of the shop.
Hey, can I catch a lift? Get out of my way.
It wasn't hard to figure out where it had disappeared to.
How are you doing? Did homicide get this? Do they know about the vertical markings in a circular pattern on my brothers body.
They know.
Red paint flecks, so they should be checking out body shops.
Point of impact at a lower than average range what does that mean? It means that the car was riding low.
"estimated speed of impact, 160 to 180 kilometers an hour.
" He was dead on impact, Christine.
I'm beginning to think that your suffering is greater than his was.
I think there was a second where he saw that car coming and knew what it meant, and I think he suffered an eternity in that second.
Your ex-wife seems fine, Mr.
Cranston.
I mean, granted, she's a little upset about the accusations, but otherwise fine.
So why now, Neil? What's really behind this? I think she could hurt that baby.
I can't live with that.
That's what you can't live with.
That's right.
Maybe what you can't live with is all the ways that you've failed.
You've failed as a father your baby died.
You've failed in marriage you're divorced failed in life, pretty much.
Your business went under a couple months ago, isn't that right? Do you mind telling me exactly what it is you're living on? What're you coming after me for? Meg's business seems to be thriving.
Her new husband's making a whack of dough.
She seems very satisfied.
That's got to hurt a little.
God, lady What? Do you have something to say? Meg was a zombie with our baby.
Nobody else saw that.
She could put it on when she had to, but the minute it was just the three of us, She deflated.
It was like air going out of a balloon.
She had nothing.
I kept waiting for her to get better, to feel what I did, you know? And what did you feel? I loved Lucy.
My whole life was better because she existed.
She was just so depressed, she couldn't feel anything for anyone.
You lying little prick! Is this the revenge you promised? Because it's not going to work.
I never said anything like that.
You never said you'd get me for leaving? Never made any kind of threat at all, huh? Ask him.
What was your exact word, Neil? Revenge, or was it vengeance? I said I'd get back at you.
Uh-huh, and now you have.
Congratulations.
You'll hear from my lawyer.
Come see me after she makes her statement.
Be a whole lot easier to believe me if she lived in a trailer, wouldn't it? I thought Vince would be here.
Vince the prince? Why bother? Oh, hot car.
What happened before, he needed the body work? Racing accident, and he doesn't like to talk about it.
Oh, that's rough.
When did that happen? So, Jackie, who's your friend? Chris.
What's she want? She wants to speak for herself.
So speak.
Wow, you're a lot braver when your little escort's not around.
Maybe you're the one who's braver.
So you going to get in the car, or what? Wow, chivalry lives.
So what's your story? Well, life was getting a little boring, then you came along.
Seriously, You're not the kind of girl that comes around here.
Maybe I am.
What's your story? I'm just a simple country boy with a taste for fast cars and fast cars.
Who told you where to find us? Oh, come on, you guys are famous.
Didn't you read that story in Vancouver Magazine? That guy who rode with me didn't even mention my car.
Maybe he didn't know how colourful you were.
Just as long as I'm colourful enough for you.
I think you need to slow down.
What was that you were saying about slowing down? That was cute, Real cute.
How fast can you go? That's it? Miles, not kilometers.
What're you waiting for? Night.
A destination.
Ah, little miss wants-a-ride.
How's the ride? What do you want, Vince? You want to go one on one, or what? I can wait.
Oh, I get it.
You've got to do it in the dark.
You afraid of the light, honey? Who's holding? Why not her? Put that someplace safe now, sweetie.
Annacis Island Industrial Park.
Yeah, I'll see you there.
Yeah.
You ready? Oh, no, I'm not going.
Oh, so you're just a tourist? Yeah, thanks.
So I found out the definition of "untenable.
" What's that? That's when the parents walk in to find the nanny whaling on their firstborn.
Yikes.
Nanny with a temper.
Exactly.
Nanny with no forwarding address, either.
Do we know where she was the night baby Lucy died? She put the baby down for that fateful nap.
"put her down.
" I can't believe parents say that.
Well, they do, and maybe she took it a little too literally.
You like the nanny over the mommy? I like the father being wrong.
You know, I like a world where parents don't kill their kids.
Me too, pollyanna.
So you think the mother did it? Well, she's a bit of a control freak.
I can imagine a baby not working too well with that.
You do get to have a life, you know, McCormick.
It's not just "baby, baby, baby" all the time.
Her doctor said she was fine.
When I interviewed her, she seemed pretty together, so what have we got? We've got a jealous ex-husband who admits that he wanted to get her.
Which is exactly why I believe him.
He could've denied it, it was a private conversation, but he copped to it, He knew how it would make him look.
Well, it would make him look like an honest guy.
Look, Meg Duffy's about to drop any day now.
I think we back off of her and focus on the nanny.
You're the ones who've been harassing Meg? I'm her husband.
She came in of her own free will Mr.
Duffy, it's a legitimate investigation.
Is that what you call it, your little home invasion? She's in a hospital bed going into premature labour now because of you two.
Then perhaps you should be with her.
Stay the hell away from my wife.
I'm warning you, If anything happens to her or the baby You could have killed somebody.
So you didn't like it.
I thought I was going to have a heart attack.
So you did like it.
No n2! You juiced.
We said no juice.
Hey man, I'm the best driver.
Bull shit, you used the tanks.
No, he didn't.
Hey, I'm not talking to you.
Hey, what? All right, all right, okay.
This isn't over.
This isn't over.
You know, it's okay.
They've don't have anything on us.
It's bad enough you got picked up, but what the hell do you think you're doing getting into a car with one of those idiots? Do you know how many of them have killed themselves this year? Do you? Aaron was mixed up with them.
I think they had Six of those knuckleheads have killed themselves this year thinking city streets are their own private raceway.
You're not listening to me.
I think they had something to do with Aaron's murder.
How? What have you got? There's this one guy, Vince, and he's got a real temper, and he drives a red car, and they found red paint chips on Aaron's body.
You have to let accidents handle this.
You don't even think McInnes is any good.
There's nothing wrong with McInnes.
You're not crying, are you? No.
[ cell door opening .]
Afternoon, Mrs.
Duffy, Congratulations.
How are you and the baby doing? We're still alive, if that's what you mean.
This is for you.
We wanted to talk to about your former nanny, Livia.
Apparently, she was let go from her last position for hitting a child.
Did you ever have any problems with her? So you're still treating Lucy's death as a murder.
No, more like a suspicious death.
We're just trying to rule out some possibilities here.
Little boy Russell.
Emmet thinks it's after his favorite uncle.
He forgets how much I liked Gladiator.
[ laughing .]
I never caught Livia doing anything untoward with Lucy, but I don't think she was invested in caring for the baby, either.
How do you mean? She just wasn't motivated.
Why be a nanny if you're not interested in children? Okay.
All right, thanks for your time.
Congratulations.
Thanks.
Oh, and thanks for the present, Sergeant Harper.
Yeah.
Yeah, thanks for the present, Sergeant Harper.
Let's find Livia.
Oh, my God, it's the ex-con.
Was it exciting? Did you become anyone's bitch? Try the other way around.
Hey, do you think Vince could hook me up with some K? Vince? I guess.
All right, Noah got his ride back.
Whoo! Why bother with Vince when you've got Noah? He can take care of all your needs.
He's only got E.
E for everything.
Whatever you want, he's got.
Noah, it looks great.
Yeah, it's nice.
Okay, it's beautiful.
Can't even see where that idiot hit you.
I should check out your shop.
Yeah, my uncle does beautiful work.
Yeah, what happened to the air intake horn? I wanted the extra headlights, so my uncle hid the intake behind the bumper, but check this out.
Oh.
Shit.
It runs 18 pounds now.
When did Noah have an accident? God, it was the worst.
He left his car out on the street overnight, He comes out the next morning, and someone had taken a baseball bat to it.
People are such assholes.
Was it always yellow? No, it used to be red.
Really lush.
You know, my bug needs a little work.
Yeah? Yeah.
I could hook you up with my uncle's shop.
That was quite the whack you gave the little McFadden boy.
You do remember him, right? Last time you ever worked as a nanny? The boy was a brat.
He bit me one too many times.
I slapped him.
This culture is ridiculous when it comes to its children.
Well, better ridiculous than violent.
It's not such a great character trait in a nanny.
At home, I translate academic textbooks in four languages.
Here, it's McDonald's or I'm a nanny.
What about Lucy Cranston? Was she a brat? Don't be absurd.
She was an infant.
All she did was eat and sleep.
You with her the day she died? I left at 6:00.
You put the baby to bed.
She was awake when her father arrived.
Meg wasn't home yet.
What is it you want? Well, maybe this wasn't a crib death.
What do you think of that? Well, they weren't happy people.
How not happy were they? She wasn't interested in the baby.
Depressed, you know.
He did his best, but there were two businesses to run.
Okay.
Any injuries to the baby that you noticed? Not cuts and bruises, but sometimes, I would arrive and there would be a note on the door, "had to go.
Baby inside.
" I'd find Lucy lying in a shitty diaper in the crib, crying with hunger.
Who left the note? The mother.
So the doctor says no, the nanny says maybe, and the wife says the husband's out for payback.
Well, that business with leaving the baby in the crib was pretty damning, if you ask me.
Well, my wife went upstairs one afternoon, Robin's, like, two and something.
She opens the door to the nursery, and Robin has smeared shit all over the place.
I mean It's on the bed, it's on the walls, It's in the curtains, In her hair, It's even in her mouth, so Sharon shuts the door, stands there for 30 minutes, Robin's crying blue bloody murder, the whole time.
But that's what she had to do to get through it.
All right.
I mean there was shit everywhere Uh, well Wanda took up smoking.
And now whenever she couldn't handle it, she'd just leave the baby in the crib, let her scream, whatever, while she went out and smoked two cigarettes.
Always had to be two.
One's never enough, huh? Sometimes two wasn't either.
So what, I don't know anything? Is that what you're telling me? You know you don't have a case, so just let it go.
Working kind of late.
Hmm? Yeah, I guess.
You didn't tell anyone about me crying, did you? Considering the circumstances, I think you get to cry.
Well, it was unprofessional.
I'm here to let you know that Aaron's file is on my desk now.
Then I have a lead for you.
It's a body shop.
There's a car that went in for some work, that I think might have something to do with Aaron's death.
You should look for the air-intake horn.
I'll check it out.
But you have to promise me, no more pretend-a-cop, okay? I swear, Nicco.
And thanks.
I didn't realize you academics kept such late hours.
Late night lecture followed by a late night dinner You were on the way home.
Well, I really appreciate it.
Have a seat.
So, I know that you've got this book coming out on infanticide On women who kill, period.
I mean, infanticide's a couple of chapters.
Big chapters.
I'm investigating a suspected infanticide, but it's difficult to make a case.
It's not the usual kind of murder we look into.
Well, a mom who kills her kids is a different kind of killer, that's for sure.
Is this a prom-queen baby-in-the-dumpster sort of thing? No.
No.
UhShe's older, she's running her own business.
she's remarried, and she's just had another baby.
She had another? I had my tubes tied when I was released from prison.
You you killed your baby? He was eight months old.
How? I mean why? I drowned him in the tub.
Very popular choice.
And why, because the voices in my head told me my baby was evil.
Nothing a little xanax wouldn't have cured, but nobody thought of that, including me.
This woman you're investigating, has she ever been diagnosed with depression? Apparently.
Nobody followed through with it.
She didn't take the drugs.
Is anybody keeping an eye her? Well, not me, not anymore.
I haven't got a case.
Tell me, did this first baby die of SIDS? Yeah.
Yeah, pretty convenient disease, SIDS.
If I'd been less insane, I would have thought of that.
There is a test that might help you out.
If you've got blood from the baby, you can test for a metabolic disorder that's a contributing factor to SIDS.
It's just too bad that it happened so long ago.
Can this test be done with dried blood? As far as I know.
Why? Because we do have a grave.
[ telephone dialing .]
Hi.
It's chris.
Yeah, I had a great time.
Oh, you got the K from Vince? Anything come up? Maybe later.
Yeah, it's kind of hard to talk right now.
Yeah, I guess I could.
No, no, no, no.
Everything's fine.
Uh-huh.
Okay.
Let's meet early, okay? Okay.
Bye.
So what's going on? Did you find blood on the air intake or what? Did I hear right? You dug up Lucy Cranston? The father requested another autopsy, yeah.
Oh, geez, Ali, Did he reach this decision all on his own? Look, I had to, all right? There are new testing methods to look for metabolic disorders in newborns.
So you and her husband decided to dig up her baby in order to prove that it wasn't infanticide.
So now it's a tragedy that's gone ghoulish.
The baby's blood showed positive for medium chain acyl-coa dehydro whatever, some kind of deficiency.
It's a factor in SIDS deaths.
You dug up the baby.
I need to be sure.
You know, I don't have the wealth of experience that you do when it comes to what's normal and what isn't.
What's that supposed to mean? It means that I can't solve this case based on what you and Pawlachuck remember about how bad it was for your wives.
I need some kind of proof, one way or the other.
Now I feel like I can put this to bed.
All right? All right.
I want to apologize.
Sometimes my job It wasn't personal.
I did what I had to do, but I am very sorry.
You did what you had to do.
I guess I can see that.
I brought this, to say congratulations, you know.
I've got him.
He's really sweet.
Thank you.
When Emmet gets home, he can put a picture in it.
You mean he's back at work already? Yes.
He's acting a little strange around the baby.
Strange how? Like there's something wrong with Russell.
There's nothing wrong with him though.
You don't think there is, do you? Me? No.
[ chuckles .]
I mean, I don't have a lot of experience, but he seems that he looks perfect to me.
How about you? Oh, I'm fine.
I mean, it must be a lot of work.
You sure you have enough help? We're fine, we're absolutely fine.
Thank you for coming.
I have this number.
Her name is Yvonne Michaels, and she said for you to give her a call if you felt like you needed some help We're fine.
Thank you.
I tell you where to get your car fixed, and the day after, there's a bunch of cops in my uncle's backyard, hauling stuff away, treating him like a criminal.
I guess a lot of body shop owners run pretty suspicious operations.
You sound a lot like a cop, you know that? Well, I guess I hang around too many of them.
So this job at the morgue, is that for real? I work in a forensics lab for the police department.
Is that all? I'm Aaron's sister.
Aaron Wren.
He used to hang out with you guys? He was killed in a hit and run? Maybe you remember him? Well, I guess you're not a real criminal, because otherwise, you would have done a better job with the evidence.
My brother's blood was all over that intake thing they found at your uncle's place.
So are you gonna have some cop friend arrest me? Is that your big revenge plan? I want to know why my brother died, Noah.
Why? It wasn't an accident.
Aaron was riding with me when I hit somebody.
Okay, it was an accident, right, but he just kept hammering at me for a whole week, "hey, Noah, what we did was wrong.
"we've got to tell the police.
"we've got to call them.
He was going to turn me in, Chris.
But that woman, she shouldn't have been there, it was 4:00 in the morning.
He must have thought you were the shit.
A year older than him, Driving a car like this, any girl you wanted I'm sorry about Aaron.
Maybe if we both weren't blasted, things would have turned out differently.
Aaron didn't do drugs.
Sure he did.
Maybe I shouldn't have been, though, at least not when I was driving.
Get out of the way.
Get out of the way! Hey, Chrissie What are you doing here? I came to see if you were okay.
I've been better.
You know, your mother didn't even call me, about the funeral.
I called you, dad.
I left about 10 messages.
They said he was all hopped up on some kind of drug, Chrissie.
Like he brought it on himself.
It wasn't like that, dad.
He was clean.
I knew it.
My poor son My poor Aaron.
I should have been there for him.
You forgive me, don't you, Chrissie? I'll do better with you, Chrissie.
I'll be there for you, Chrissie.
I promise.
It's okay, dad.
I know you will.
[ indistinct police radio chatter .]
Mr.
Duffy? Mr.
Duffy? Mr.
Duffy? She said she was taking him for a walk.
She said she'd be right back.
Emmet, don't don't do that.
Emmet, look at me.
Look at me.
She said it was the baby blues, that's all, everybody gets them, They're only supposed to last a couple of weeks She loves him I know she does.
It's not like a real depression, is it? It's not Is it, sergeant? Come on.