Cold Case s05e18 Episode Script
Ghost of My Child
* So take these words * * And sing out loud * * 'Cause everyone * Max! Max! * Is forgiven now * Ma'am, ma'am, stay back.
Go on the other side of the street.
My baby's in there! My son! Where is he? Oh, my God! He's just a little baby! What floor? Hey, we got a kid in there! Radio Mcllroy.
Ma'am, what floor? The fourth floor! Mcllroy! Mcllroy, fourth floor * And it's someplace simple where we could live * * Something only you can give * * And that's faith and trust * * And peace while we're alive * No, no * Andhe one poor child who saved this world * My baby! No! * If we all just stopped * * And said a prayer for them.
* Oh, my God, my baby! My baby Max! Central Detectives picked this lady up a few hours ago.
Said she went nuts in Rittenhouse Square.
Scared the pants off some dudes feeding the birds.
Ex-junkie.
She still using? Don't know.
Sure acting that way.
Screaming she knows something about a job from '05.
Oh, boy.
This should be a waste of time.
Lot of people you give the benefit of the doubt, but not addicts, huh? I was raised by one.
Got no illusions left.
Heads up.
Trouble's coming.
Hey, ladies.
Tombs are the place to be today, huh? I got a stimulating conversation to look forward to, few cells down.
Priscilla Chapin.
Oh, smackhead zombie.
I know her.
You know all the screw-ups, Saccardo.
Hey, they make me feel good about myself.
Got hauled in for disorderly conduct this morning.
Says she's got a tip.
Yeah, waste of your time.
That's what I said.
You're making a mistake! I need to get out of here! This is Morning, Priscilla.
Detectives Miller and Rush.
I got to get out of here.
You've got to help me.
You've got to get me out of here.
Yeah? 'Cause, uh, we heard you had information on a homicide, but if you got an appointment It's about my son.
Says here that the apartment you were living in in 2005 burned to the ground with your eight-month-old son in it.
Ruled accidental death.
Not a murder.
I saw him this morning in the park.
You saw your son? Yeah.
Max was on the playground.
I know it was him.
I- I ran over to him, but th he was gone in the crowd.
You using again, Priscilla? No.
No.
I I'm clean.
When I got pregnant, I did 90 meetings in 90 days.
I haven't used since.
So how's it make sense, your son being in the park today? It's not what they thought it was.
That fire Well, they blamed it on you.
Left the gas stove on in your apartment.
It was cold.
The heat didn't work.
Sometimes I put the stove on.
You left your baby alone that night to "grab some cigarettes at the bodega.
" Came back, fire had taken everything.
Just some cigarettes, huh? Should've prosecuted you for negligent homicide, Priscilla.
I didn't turn the gas on.
Not that night.
So who did? I don't know.
Somebody else.
When you figure it out, holler at us.
I'm out.
Please, you got to believe me.
I saw my son.
His name is Max.
He has sandy hair and he has a birthmark on his right arm! It was him in the park! We'll take a look.
Any truth to what you're saying, we'll find it.
What do you got from Rittenhouse Square that points to Priscilla Chapin's son? I tracked down only two kids there this morning, eight and ten.
Too old.
Coroner's report tells it all, though.
"Blast threw Max Chapin out of his crib, "fractured his bones.
Blaze got everything but the skeleton.
" Gas fire? February 12, 2005.
Time PFD got it under control, burned to the ground.
All the tenants got out except the baby.
Mom told the police she left him alone for ten minutes.
A neighbor had the baby monitor.
That's her babysitting solution? This Priscilla has possession charges.
'01, '02 and '04.
A teenage runaway.
Avoided juvie by doing rehab.
Baby's father in the picture? Mom said he was AWOL, never even met the kid.
No one listed on the birth certificate.
Louie! Didn't have to dress up for us.
If not for you, then who, Rush? Me, clearly.
What's your take on the Baker Street fire, Louie? Well, right here's the source of the gas leak.
The kitchen.
Neighbors said Priscilla Chapin had a habit of leaving the gas stove on.
Hinky thing? I'm seeing alligator patterns in that room right over here.
The baby's room.
Yup.
What do you mean "alligator"? On the walls, if fire burns really hot or burns it for a long time, it does it, but But if the fire started in the kitchen, that's where you should see them.
Right.
So the fire marshal had it wrong in '05.
sn't an accident? Look, the gas came from the stove.
It caused the blast, you know? But there was a fire burning in that kid's room before the explosion.
So how's that happen? An eight-month-old doesn't play with matches.
Have a talk with the firefighter who found the baby; see what he remembers from that bedroom.
McILROY: You're saying the fire started in the baby's room? That's one theory.
Depends on what you saw.
You remember a candle, incense? Anything might've sparked a fire in that room? Anything incendiary wasn't eaten up by then, I- I wod've reported it, but, uh Right.
I'm sorry, guys.
It's a tough memory to shake, seeing a kid die like that.
Yeah, my daughter had just been born, so, uh Know you did the best you could.
Heading in there, I, I I didn't know what I'd find.
I've seen places junkies let their kids sleep on the floor.
There's trash everywhere.
Not this kid.
This one was loved.
There was glass on the floor? From the window.
It was broken.
If it got broke the blast, it should've blown out onto the fire escape.
Well, it was inside the apartment, for sure.
I almost cut myself getting that kid out.
The window wasn't broken in the blast.
Someone busted into that room, started that fire.
And this just became a homicide.
Owner of 252 Baker got $925,000 in insurance money when the place burned down.
That neighborhood? Couldn't have gotten that on the market if he wallpapered in gold.
Victor Martinez.
He's got two condos in Mt.
Airy, and a high-rise downtown.
So 252 Baker's the eyesore.
Makes motive.
Licenses and Inspections sent these over a couple minutes ago.
Code violations filed against the landlord by the tenant in 4F.
That Priscilla? Yep.
Said the heat wasn't working in the dead of winter.
"Unsanitary conditions.
" That can bring a hefty fine.
Or worse, guy gets sued by the city.
Loses those condos.
That fire could've killed two birds with one stone for you, Victor.
Get some cash from that rat trap.
Finished off your pain in the ass tenant, Priscilla Chapin.
Excuse me? What about me being a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and a Catholic, makes you think that I would take the life of a child? That part was, uh unfortunate.
But you're a businessman, Victor.
And that neighborhood, wasn't getting any better.
For your information, I had an interested buyer, and I would've made more than the insurance.
That's real concrete.
You want the truth? Yeah, Priscilla Chapin's the reason my property got burnt to a crisp.
By leaving the stove on? I'm talking about her lifestyle, man.
Tried to go clean for the baby.
Once that bed is made you know.
Tough to leave the addict life behind.
So she start using again? She was white-knuckling it.
Trying to turn her life around.
Some people didn't want to get left behind.
Please stop crying.
It's time to go to sleep now, baby.
There, that's better? You love the dryer, don't you? Please, please, please, I'm so tired.
Honey, shh People said you were dead.
Priscilla But I knew you was laying low.
Look, man I, uh, I had a baby, Franklin.
So? I'm going to get a job.
A part-time job, and I will pay you back.
Don't got to pay me back like that, girl.
I'm, I'm clean.
I'm a mom now.
Then I need cash.
Three days.
And if you fail to uphold our business agreement, then I might have to get creative.
He's cute.
It's okay, Max.
We're going to be okay.
It's nice of you to intervene there, Vic.
Are you nuts? You know who that guy is? Franklin Palmer.
Big-time crack and heroin dealer.
He's a real humanitarian.
You didn't hear this all from me, all right? Oh, relax.
He's in prison now.
Yeah, for torching the house of one of his enemies.
You threatened Priscilla Chapin to give you your money back or else.
Week later, her apartment building goes up in flames.
You realize her kid died in that fire? I do.
Sometimes God plucks the most beautiful flowers.
You wouldn't be gettin' sarcastic about a kid dyin', would ya? No, man.
Look, I don't take severe measures with that kinda repeat customer.
Priscilla was clean.
She wasn't coming back to you.
So maybe you took away the thing she loved.
Smack is what she loved, dawg.
H is a pleasure like you c't f fd in this world.
Give that up for a crying baby and a fast food job? No contest.
Saying Priscilla fell off the wagon? Sayin' whole point of usin' is to escape reality.
And that girl's reality was bleak.
* I'm not in love with the modern world * * I was a torch driving the savages back to the trees * * Modern world has more ways * Have you seen Ellis? What're you doing here, Chantelle? I'm working.
He ain't been around.
I don't know, I think maybe he left me.
He's no good, Chantelle.
He can't stay with anyone longer than two weeks anyway.
Look, I gotta get back to work I'm thinkin' maybe it's 'cause of you.
'Cause I know you been calling about that baby.
You better stay away from him! He needs to own up to his responsibilities He don't want you or your kid.
He probably ain't even the father, he don't owe you squat! He is the father and he will help us.
You know what? You see him around? You tell him I'm going to the cops if he doesn't own up.
Stay away from him! I'll kill you, bitch! Hey! Get out! Get out! I'll break Out of this store! Priscilla, that's it.
No.
You, too.
ease.
Please.
Matt, I I need this job! It was only a matter of time before she came callin', except I got locked up a few days later.
Who was the crackhead? Man, I don't know, man.
You know, all them fiends be the same.
Got me.
And the baby's daddy? Ellis? Do I look like 411, dawg? I don't know, skinny white boy.
Be surprised if he's still kickin' it.
Short shelf life, these types.
Especially with Franklin here pushing 'em off.
Why haven't you found Max? I don't understand.
We need to talk about Max's father.
Ellis.
Ellis? Why? 'Cause back in the day you told his girl you were gonna rat him out, get his ass tossed in jail if he didn't pay up.
Ellis was broke, okay? We were in love with dope, not each other.
He never even met Max.
You need to find my son.
He's out there.
There was no four-year-old boy at that park.
Yes, there was.
Is there a reason you're protecting Ellis? Maybe he came back, hurt your kid? That first night in the hospital, when Max was born, they, uh, they put him in this little plastic thing next to me.
And he started to cry in the middle of the night.
He was all swaddled up.
And I took it all off of him, all those layers and I put him right here on my heart, skin to skin.
And I felt him start to breathe like me.
It's the first time I ever felt like I had something to give.
I would never allow anyone to hurt him.
You called? Uh, Ellis Smith.
Know him? Of him, yeah.
Guy'd sell his mama for a fix.
Oh, where can I find him? He's a user nomad.
I hear his sister pays for him to go into the Maloney-Smith Center every once in a while, make a half-assed attempt to get clean.
Real winners you hang with, Saccardo.
Hey, you know, you find Ellis, keep him for me.
I got a Mexican trafficking thing I want to conversate with him about, a'ight? A'ight.
What? Why're you workin' this job? How make the big bucks.
You got a thing for kid jobs? Or addicts? Or is it the combo platter- kids with addict moms? Just doing my job, Saccardo.
That's it.
I saw Ellis here at the clinic around Thanksgiving maybe? Not since then, no.
Well, he ever mention anything about his son? The one who died.
Ellis is an addict.
He doesn't have a lot of lucid moments, especially of, I's say, accountability.
What about the baby's mother? Oh, she came by here once, to visit him with the baby.
Priscilla was here? Mmm.
On hands and knees.
Like Ellis was any kind of help.
She make any threats about going to the cops? Not that I know of.
You know Ellis pretty well.
I mean, rehab gets intimate.
Well, yes, it can.
When they're honest.
He seem like the type who'd hurt his kid? Hurt him? You mean set that fire? I know that for addicts, serving their addiction is more important than anything.
More than their own life.
Or the life of their child.
Max is really sick, Ellis.
I swiped baby aspirin, 'cause I lost my job.
But it's not working.
I need to take him to a doctor.
Why do you want to lay it all on me, Priscilla? Look at where I'm at.
You think this is easy for me? I'm trying everything I can to stay clean.
Everything.
You're the only one I can ask for help.
I never said I wanted a kid.
Well, here he is.
Look at him.
He's the most amazing thing in the whole world.
* You'll knock on my door and up we'll go * He's got snot all over his face.
Ellis.
Visiting hour's over, okay? Call you.
I can't- It's stuck.
It's a cute onesie.
Made it yourself? Yeah.
Keeps me busy at night.
Making stuff for him.
He likes flowers.
Tough times.
The nights.
They don't tell you how hard it's going to be.
You know? I just I just wish someone had told me.
She was in a bad way, poor girl.
Not a lot of resources for someone trying to stay sober while raising an infant.
No money, no babysitter, nothin'.
I've got a four-year-old.
And the limits of your sanity are pushed.
But I've got a great husband, and a job.
Priscilla was all alone.
Single mother at the end of her rope, no one left to turn to.
So why'd she lie about going to Ellis if she wasn't protecting him? 'Cause maybe it wasn't him she was protecting.
Had the coroner take a second look at the autopsy photos of Max.
Anything new? Bone fractures from the blast, baby got tossed around.
But some of 'em are showing calcification.
Healing.
Meaning those fractures are old.
We'd know more if we had a body, but looks like Max was being abused.
Seems like Priscilla couldn't make a go of it.
Abusing the kid, goes too far one night.
Sets the fire to cover it up.
Should've held her from day one.
Now Priscilla's in the wind.
Work says it's been two days.
She's probably under a bridge somewhere.
Back with Ellis? More like guilt creeping up.
Hmm.
She just bought this.
Doesn't add up.
All this.
The abuse.
Seems like - she loved that kid.
- Loves her drugs more.
Kids always lose out.
But we know Priscilla wasn't using anymore.
Not back then, at least.
She left him that night, though.
All alone.
They think you're too young to notice, to care.
You won't remember.
You do.
The postmark's from last week.
Who's Priscilla know on the Main Line? Hmm.
Look at that.
That's the same address.
Whoever that is, they've been sendin' her checks she don't cash.
I wish we could tell you where our daughter is, but we've been out of contact with her for almost four years.
Because of her drug problem? We sent her to an excellent detox program when she was a senior in high school.
She relapsed, we tried again.
She ran away.
I have to ask you a delicate question, Mr.
and Mrs.
Chapin.
Do you think Priscilla was capable of hurting her child? Max? - You want to say no, but - No! I'm sorry we couldn't be more helpful.
I can show you out.
Thanks for your time.
You send her money, Julie.
I know.
No way any mom can shut out her child completely.
We need to find Priscilla.
She never cashes those checks.
Sometimes she takes my calls.
Sometimes.
Do you know where she is? I wouldn't know.
She doesn't trust me.
And I don't blame her.
We turned her away, you see.
Right before the fire.
I'd like to borrow some money to, uh, take him to a good doctor, to help us move into a clean, safe apartment, and, uh, I understand you probably feel weird about that.
And I I wouldn't ask if it was just for me.
There is no realistic long-term plan for you and this child.
But Max is the only reason why I'm not using.
He saved my life.
There are people who can give this child what he needs.
We can help you find them.
What? No.
I love him.
He he loves me, you know.
Maybe that's not good enough.
His parents are drug addicts.
He may not be what you want in a son.
Have you ever thought of that? But Max is perfect.
He is gonna be better than all of us.
I'm not giving up my son.
- What about the money? - You can keep it.
She protected her child, like I never did mine.
What do you know about the baby's father? Could she be with him now? When she was a teenager, I used to see him with her, those times I'd drive around all the places where she used drugs.
If you could tell us where those places were The 17th Street underpass was the main one.
If you find Priscilla, please tell her she can come home.
No strings attached this time.
Happy hunting.
Home, sweet home.
- Hey, how you doing, buddy? Seen this guy? - Elvis ??? No? - You seen this dude? - no? You seen this guy? He's over there? Thanks, man.
Rush.
All you gotta do is answer my question.
And quit denting my car.
- Ellis! - Hey, Saccardo.
- I don't know where she is! - We need him conscious.
Hey, you missed a spot.
Talk about Priscilla.
I told him! I don't know where she is.
I haven't seen her in years.
She was gonna rat you out, Ellis.
So you torched her place, to shut her up.
- That's crazy.
- Where were you, night of the fire? I was with Priscilla.
The night your kid burned up, you two were hanging out together? I didn't know she left the kid by itself.
Would you have really cared? That what you two lovebirds were doing that night, getting high? I found her.
She was in a bad way, you know, jonesin' hard.
I'm not the guy that's gonna help you make the right choice.
Hey.
Hi.
Now, why you wanna walk when you can jump into a warm car? Come on, Pris, it's freezing out there.
Are you high? I love this stuff.
The moment I tried it, I knew nothing else could compete.
Maybe my parents are right.
Maybe Max would be better off with somebody else.
Somebody better than me.
It's just so hard to hold on.
Then let go.
HeHe I can fix you up.
Right now.
Just like old times.
Priscilla? Priscilla was strong, you know? She just walked away.
So that's five minutes you're alibied.
My sister had me picked up for jacking her ride.
- Spent a night in jail.
- Yeah, we'll check that.
Any idea where Priscilla might be hiding out? The flower mart, maybe.
Near the port.
Hey, she didn't hurt him.
She loved that kid.
Left it all behind for him.
Tough choice.
Toughest there is- you just wouldn't know.
Done with this piece of crap? Let's go.
That was Nick.
Coroner took a look at the exhumed body.
Yeah? Says something ain't right.
Max Chapin was eight months old.
He would've had teeth.
Teeth survive fire same as bone.
But there are none on the jawbone.
Some kids get theirs late.
Yeah, but there's this Okay? Soft spot, top of the head.
Closes up from the time they're born till they're two.
This skull here, centimeters.
That's too big for an eight-month-old like Max.
Well, what's it normal-sized for? A four-month-old.
So this is not Max Chapin.
It was another kid who died in that fire.
Well, if this kid ain't Max, who is he? And where's Priscilla's son? You're not getting Ellis Smith.
We're not done with him.
Did I say anything? The fire was just a diversion.
Whoever set it wanted Max.
And had access to an infant.
One who wouldn't be missed.
So who knew Priscilla would be out of the apartment that night? The ex, Ellis.
But he was in lockup, right? Pretty elaborate plan, kidnapping a baby.
Had to know Mom would be gone.
Think I might have our Baby John Doe.
Dropped off at St.
Paul's ER February 11, '05.
Severe contusions and internal bleeding.
There's your abuse.
Died the next day.
And this baby went missing from the hospital? Brought down to the morgue, then vanished, day of Priscilla's fire.
Who had access to the morgue? About 250 people.
All the employees.
County hospital, crap security.
Will, you and Kat go to St.
Paul's.
Find out who admitted Baby John Doe, who was on shift in NICU, and the morgue.
Lil, track down Priscilla, try the flower mart.
There's a crack den few doors down from 252 Baker.
Desperate souls if you're lookin' at who might've taken a kid.
You two talk to Priscilla together.
I thought about not leaving him that night.
It was so cold.
I closed the window really tight, and I said, "I'll be right back.
" I should have gone home.
He probably cried for me.
Why didn't I hear him? Because you left.
Why? You were right.
They shoulda put me away.
Why'd you leave him? What does it matter? Oh, it matters.
'Cause I gotta know why a mother would leave a child all alone like that.
You wouldn't understand.
It's like when you're a kid, right? And you run out in front of your parents into the street.
That's what it's like when you first start using.
Free.
You're flying, man.
You And you hear him calling out for you, but you don't care, do you? No.
Next thing you know, you you don't know how to get home no more.
You were finding your way home.
All by yourself.
'Cause you stayed clean that night, didn't you? Yes.
I did.
For your son.
I know.
It's terrible.
I left him.
But I just thought if I could make it through the night, then Max and I would have another day together.
Why here, Priscilla? It was right after he was born, when the heat first went out.
This was the first place I felt hope.
It's okay, Max.
It's okay.
Hi.
Please.
* The itsy bitsy spider ran up the water spout * * Down came the rain * I can't do this.
* life I've been waiting * * Hot heels anticipating * * Another love I found * * Not to let it down * * Ah * Here we are.
We're okay.
Okay? * Ah * I promise.
I'll always keep you warm, Max.
And happy and loved.
I promise I'll never leave you, baby.
* Ah * I promise.
I promised him.
Why did I break so many promises? Priscilla? we think your son might be alive.
Who knew that you came here to the mart at night? Ellis.
Ellis knew.
- Who else? - I don't know, I I told that rehab counselor.
The one at Maloney-Smith Center? Lois Rabinski? I told her it was the only way I stayed clean.
She seemed like she understood.
What about my son? What about my baby? We'll find him.
Where is he, Lois? Where's Max? Who's Max? You can't just come in here.
Max Chapin is the child you two kidnapped in 2005.
I'm calling our lawyer.
You took that little baby's body from St.
Paul's Hospital where you work, Doc.
Set that fire to cover your tracks.
This is crazy.
Those are outrageous lies.
This is our son.
Our son.
His name is Isaac.
His mother named him Max.
And she wants him back.
Oh, yeah Priscilla's alive.
You thought she O.
D.
'd.
She went so deep down the rabbit hole that she wouldn't care about Max.
- But she does.
- She's clean.
Been clean four and a half years.
She misses him so much.
Her little boy.
Who are you talking about? My wife is Isaac's mother.
- Tom - Please, Lois.
We can do this here, or we can let the DNA test do the talking.
She was just like so many others I'd seen.
Who don't care.
Who can't do it.
Sweetheart, why are you doing this? The day I met that woman Priscilla.
I had just found out I had to have another D & C.
Another miscarriage.
I wanted a baby so badly.
It wasn't fair.
We had so much to give.
So much love.
That woman couldn't take care of him.
Just like that other one abandoned at the hospital, beaten to death, probably by crackhead parents.
That would've been Max.
We were saving his life.
That's what you tell yourself, huh? But you knew the truth.
You saw his room.
It was like walking into a room filled with a rainbow, wasn't it? No.
That room was tiny.
It was dirty.
And then he came home to us.
Our baby.
Let's see what we have here.
He wasn't yours.
He never was.
You must've known that.
How did you live with yourself? I told myself to forget.
I had to.
Small, so prec * This time, this place * * Misused mistakes * * Too long, too late * * Who was I to make you wait? * * Just one chance, just one breath * * Just in case there's just one left * * 'Cause you know, you know * * You know * * I love you * * I loved you all along * * And I miss you * * Been far away for far too long * * I keep dreaming * * You'll be with me and you'll never go * * Stop breathing * * If I don't see you anymore * * I love you * * I loved you all along * * And I miss you * * Been far away for far too long * * I keep dreaming * * You'll be with me and you'll never go * * Stop breathing * * If I don't see you anymore * * So far away * * Far away for far too long * * So far away * * Far away for far too long * * But you know, you know * * You know * * I wanted * * I wanted you to stay * * 'Cause I needed * * I need to hear you say * * That I love you * * I love you * * I've loved you all along * * I forgive you * * For being away for far too long * * So keep breathing * * 'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore * * Believe it * * Hold on to me and never let me go * * Keep breathing * * 'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore * * Keep breathing * * Hold on to me and never let me go * * Keep breathing * * Hold on to me and never let me go.
*
Go on the other side of the street.
My baby's in there! My son! Where is he? Oh, my God! He's just a little baby! What floor? Hey, we got a kid in there! Radio Mcllroy.
Ma'am, what floor? The fourth floor! Mcllroy! Mcllroy, fourth floor * And it's someplace simple where we could live * * Something only you can give * * And that's faith and trust * * And peace while we're alive * No, no * Andhe one poor child who saved this world * My baby! No! * If we all just stopped * * And said a prayer for them.
* Oh, my God, my baby! My baby Max! Central Detectives picked this lady up a few hours ago.
Said she went nuts in Rittenhouse Square.
Scared the pants off some dudes feeding the birds.
Ex-junkie.
She still using? Don't know.
Sure acting that way.
Screaming she knows something about a job from '05.
Oh, boy.
This should be a waste of time.
Lot of people you give the benefit of the doubt, but not addicts, huh? I was raised by one.
Got no illusions left.
Heads up.
Trouble's coming.
Hey, ladies.
Tombs are the place to be today, huh? I got a stimulating conversation to look forward to, few cells down.
Priscilla Chapin.
Oh, smackhead zombie.
I know her.
You know all the screw-ups, Saccardo.
Hey, they make me feel good about myself.
Got hauled in for disorderly conduct this morning.
Says she's got a tip.
Yeah, waste of your time.
That's what I said.
You're making a mistake! I need to get out of here! This is Morning, Priscilla.
Detectives Miller and Rush.
I got to get out of here.
You've got to help me.
You've got to get me out of here.
Yeah? 'Cause, uh, we heard you had information on a homicide, but if you got an appointment It's about my son.
Says here that the apartment you were living in in 2005 burned to the ground with your eight-month-old son in it.
Ruled accidental death.
Not a murder.
I saw him this morning in the park.
You saw your son? Yeah.
Max was on the playground.
I know it was him.
I- I ran over to him, but th he was gone in the crowd.
You using again, Priscilla? No.
No.
I I'm clean.
When I got pregnant, I did 90 meetings in 90 days.
I haven't used since.
So how's it make sense, your son being in the park today? It's not what they thought it was.
That fire Well, they blamed it on you.
Left the gas stove on in your apartment.
It was cold.
The heat didn't work.
Sometimes I put the stove on.
You left your baby alone that night to "grab some cigarettes at the bodega.
" Came back, fire had taken everything.
Just some cigarettes, huh? Should've prosecuted you for negligent homicide, Priscilla.
I didn't turn the gas on.
Not that night.
So who did? I don't know.
Somebody else.
When you figure it out, holler at us.
I'm out.
Please, you got to believe me.
I saw my son.
His name is Max.
He has sandy hair and he has a birthmark on his right arm! It was him in the park! We'll take a look.
Any truth to what you're saying, we'll find it.
What do you got from Rittenhouse Square that points to Priscilla Chapin's son? I tracked down only two kids there this morning, eight and ten.
Too old.
Coroner's report tells it all, though.
"Blast threw Max Chapin out of his crib, "fractured his bones.
Blaze got everything but the skeleton.
" Gas fire? February 12, 2005.
Time PFD got it under control, burned to the ground.
All the tenants got out except the baby.
Mom told the police she left him alone for ten minutes.
A neighbor had the baby monitor.
That's her babysitting solution? This Priscilla has possession charges.
'01, '02 and '04.
A teenage runaway.
Avoided juvie by doing rehab.
Baby's father in the picture? Mom said he was AWOL, never even met the kid.
No one listed on the birth certificate.
Louie! Didn't have to dress up for us.
If not for you, then who, Rush? Me, clearly.
What's your take on the Baker Street fire, Louie? Well, right here's the source of the gas leak.
The kitchen.
Neighbors said Priscilla Chapin had a habit of leaving the gas stove on.
Hinky thing? I'm seeing alligator patterns in that room right over here.
The baby's room.
Yup.
What do you mean "alligator"? On the walls, if fire burns really hot or burns it for a long time, it does it, but But if the fire started in the kitchen, that's where you should see them.
Right.
So the fire marshal had it wrong in '05.
sn't an accident? Look, the gas came from the stove.
It caused the blast, you know? But there was a fire burning in that kid's room before the explosion.
So how's that happen? An eight-month-old doesn't play with matches.
Have a talk with the firefighter who found the baby; see what he remembers from that bedroom.
McILROY: You're saying the fire started in the baby's room? That's one theory.
Depends on what you saw.
You remember a candle, incense? Anything might've sparked a fire in that room? Anything incendiary wasn't eaten up by then, I- I wod've reported it, but, uh Right.
I'm sorry, guys.
It's a tough memory to shake, seeing a kid die like that.
Yeah, my daughter had just been born, so, uh Know you did the best you could.
Heading in there, I, I I didn't know what I'd find.
I've seen places junkies let their kids sleep on the floor.
There's trash everywhere.
Not this kid.
This one was loved.
There was glass on the floor? From the window.
It was broken.
If it got broke the blast, it should've blown out onto the fire escape.
Well, it was inside the apartment, for sure.
I almost cut myself getting that kid out.
The window wasn't broken in the blast.
Someone busted into that room, started that fire.
And this just became a homicide.
Owner of 252 Baker got $925,000 in insurance money when the place burned down.
That neighborhood? Couldn't have gotten that on the market if he wallpapered in gold.
Victor Martinez.
He's got two condos in Mt.
Airy, and a high-rise downtown.
So 252 Baker's the eyesore.
Makes motive.
Licenses and Inspections sent these over a couple minutes ago.
Code violations filed against the landlord by the tenant in 4F.
That Priscilla? Yep.
Said the heat wasn't working in the dead of winter.
"Unsanitary conditions.
" That can bring a hefty fine.
Or worse, guy gets sued by the city.
Loses those condos.
That fire could've killed two birds with one stone for you, Victor.
Get some cash from that rat trap.
Finished off your pain in the ass tenant, Priscilla Chapin.
Excuse me? What about me being a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and a Catholic, makes you think that I would take the life of a child? That part was, uh unfortunate.
But you're a businessman, Victor.
And that neighborhood, wasn't getting any better.
For your information, I had an interested buyer, and I would've made more than the insurance.
That's real concrete.
You want the truth? Yeah, Priscilla Chapin's the reason my property got burnt to a crisp.
By leaving the stove on? I'm talking about her lifestyle, man.
Tried to go clean for the baby.
Once that bed is made you know.
Tough to leave the addict life behind.
So she start using again? She was white-knuckling it.
Trying to turn her life around.
Some people didn't want to get left behind.
Please stop crying.
It's time to go to sleep now, baby.
There, that's better? You love the dryer, don't you? Please, please, please, I'm so tired.
Honey, shh People said you were dead.
Priscilla But I knew you was laying low.
Look, man I, uh, I had a baby, Franklin.
So? I'm going to get a job.
A part-time job, and I will pay you back.
Don't got to pay me back like that, girl.
I'm, I'm clean.
I'm a mom now.
Then I need cash.
Three days.
And if you fail to uphold our business agreement, then I might have to get creative.
He's cute.
It's okay, Max.
We're going to be okay.
It's nice of you to intervene there, Vic.
Are you nuts? You know who that guy is? Franklin Palmer.
Big-time crack and heroin dealer.
He's a real humanitarian.
You didn't hear this all from me, all right? Oh, relax.
He's in prison now.
Yeah, for torching the house of one of his enemies.
You threatened Priscilla Chapin to give you your money back or else.
Week later, her apartment building goes up in flames.
You realize her kid died in that fire? I do.
Sometimes God plucks the most beautiful flowers.
You wouldn't be gettin' sarcastic about a kid dyin', would ya? No, man.
Look, I don't take severe measures with that kinda repeat customer.
Priscilla was clean.
She wasn't coming back to you.
So maybe you took away the thing she loved.
Smack is what she loved, dawg.
H is a pleasure like you c't f fd in this world.
Give that up for a crying baby and a fast food job? No contest.
Saying Priscilla fell off the wagon? Sayin' whole point of usin' is to escape reality.
And that girl's reality was bleak.
* I'm not in love with the modern world * * I was a torch driving the savages back to the trees * * Modern world has more ways * Have you seen Ellis? What're you doing here, Chantelle? I'm working.
He ain't been around.
I don't know, I think maybe he left me.
He's no good, Chantelle.
He can't stay with anyone longer than two weeks anyway.
Look, I gotta get back to work I'm thinkin' maybe it's 'cause of you.
'Cause I know you been calling about that baby.
You better stay away from him! He needs to own up to his responsibilities He don't want you or your kid.
He probably ain't even the father, he don't owe you squat! He is the father and he will help us.
You know what? You see him around? You tell him I'm going to the cops if he doesn't own up.
Stay away from him! I'll kill you, bitch! Hey! Get out! Get out! I'll break Out of this store! Priscilla, that's it.
No.
You, too.
ease.
Please.
Matt, I I need this job! It was only a matter of time before she came callin', except I got locked up a few days later.
Who was the crackhead? Man, I don't know, man.
You know, all them fiends be the same.
Got me.
And the baby's daddy? Ellis? Do I look like 411, dawg? I don't know, skinny white boy.
Be surprised if he's still kickin' it.
Short shelf life, these types.
Especially with Franklin here pushing 'em off.
Why haven't you found Max? I don't understand.
We need to talk about Max's father.
Ellis.
Ellis? Why? 'Cause back in the day you told his girl you were gonna rat him out, get his ass tossed in jail if he didn't pay up.
Ellis was broke, okay? We were in love with dope, not each other.
He never even met Max.
You need to find my son.
He's out there.
There was no four-year-old boy at that park.
Yes, there was.
Is there a reason you're protecting Ellis? Maybe he came back, hurt your kid? That first night in the hospital, when Max was born, they, uh, they put him in this little plastic thing next to me.
And he started to cry in the middle of the night.
He was all swaddled up.
And I took it all off of him, all those layers and I put him right here on my heart, skin to skin.
And I felt him start to breathe like me.
It's the first time I ever felt like I had something to give.
I would never allow anyone to hurt him.
You called? Uh, Ellis Smith.
Know him? Of him, yeah.
Guy'd sell his mama for a fix.
Oh, where can I find him? He's a user nomad.
I hear his sister pays for him to go into the Maloney-Smith Center every once in a while, make a half-assed attempt to get clean.
Real winners you hang with, Saccardo.
Hey, you know, you find Ellis, keep him for me.
I got a Mexican trafficking thing I want to conversate with him about, a'ight? A'ight.
What? Why're you workin' this job? How make the big bucks.
You got a thing for kid jobs? Or addicts? Or is it the combo platter- kids with addict moms? Just doing my job, Saccardo.
That's it.
I saw Ellis here at the clinic around Thanksgiving maybe? Not since then, no.
Well, he ever mention anything about his son? The one who died.
Ellis is an addict.
He doesn't have a lot of lucid moments, especially of, I's say, accountability.
What about the baby's mother? Oh, she came by here once, to visit him with the baby.
Priscilla was here? Mmm.
On hands and knees.
Like Ellis was any kind of help.
She make any threats about going to the cops? Not that I know of.
You know Ellis pretty well.
I mean, rehab gets intimate.
Well, yes, it can.
When they're honest.
He seem like the type who'd hurt his kid? Hurt him? You mean set that fire? I know that for addicts, serving their addiction is more important than anything.
More than their own life.
Or the life of their child.
Max is really sick, Ellis.
I swiped baby aspirin, 'cause I lost my job.
But it's not working.
I need to take him to a doctor.
Why do you want to lay it all on me, Priscilla? Look at where I'm at.
You think this is easy for me? I'm trying everything I can to stay clean.
Everything.
You're the only one I can ask for help.
I never said I wanted a kid.
Well, here he is.
Look at him.
He's the most amazing thing in the whole world.
* You'll knock on my door and up we'll go * He's got snot all over his face.
Ellis.
Visiting hour's over, okay? Call you.
I can't- It's stuck.
It's a cute onesie.
Made it yourself? Yeah.
Keeps me busy at night.
Making stuff for him.
He likes flowers.
Tough times.
The nights.
They don't tell you how hard it's going to be.
You know? I just I just wish someone had told me.
She was in a bad way, poor girl.
Not a lot of resources for someone trying to stay sober while raising an infant.
No money, no babysitter, nothin'.
I've got a four-year-old.
And the limits of your sanity are pushed.
But I've got a great husband, and a job.
Priscilla was all alone.
Single mother at the end of her rope, no one left to turn to.
So why'd she lie about going to Ellis if she wasn't protecting him? 'Cause maybe it wasn't him she was protecting.
Had the coroner take a second look at the autopsy photos of Max.
Anything new? Bone fractures from the blast, baby got tossed around.
But some of 'em are showing calcification.
Healing.
Meaning those fractures are old.
We'd know more if we had a body, but looks like Max was being abused.
Seems like Priscilla couldn't make a go of it.
Abusing the kid, goes too far one night.
Sets the fire to cover it up.
Should've held her from day one.
Now Priscilla's in the wind.
Work says it's been two days.
She's probably under a bridge somewhere.
Back with Ellis? More like guilt creeping up.
Hmm.
She just bought this.
Doesn't add up.
All this.
The abuse.
Seems like - she loved that kid.
- Loves her drugs more.
Kids always lose out.
But we know Priscilla wasn't using anymore.
Not back then, at least.
She left him that night, though.
All alone.
They think you're too young to notice, to care.
You won't remember.
You do.
The postmark's from last week.
Who's Priscilla know on the Main Line? Hmm.
Look at that.
That's the same address.
Whoever that is, they've been sendin' her checks she don't cash.
I wish we could tell you where our daughter is, but we've been out of contact with her for almost four years.
Because of her drug problem? We sent her to an excellent detox program when she was a senior in high school.
She relapsed, we tried again.
She ran away.
I have to ask you a delicate question, Mr.
and Mrs.
Chapin.
Do you think Priscilla was capable of hurting her child? Max? - You want to say no, but - No! I'm sorry we couldn't be more helpful.
I can show you out.
Thanks for your time.
You send her money, Julie.
I know.
No way any mom can shut out her child completely.
We need to find Priscilla.
She never cashes those checks.
Sometimes she takes my calls.
Sometimes.
Do you know where she is? I wouldn't know.
She doesn't trust me.
And I don't blame her.
We turned her away, you see.
Right before the fire.
I'd like to borrow some money to, uh, take him to a good doctor, to help us move into a clean, safe apartment, and, uh, I understand you probably feel weird about that.
And I I wouldn't ask if it was just for me.
There is no realistic long-term plan for you and this child.
But Max is the only reason why I'm not using.
He saved my life.
There are people who can give this child what he needs.
We can help you find them.
What? No.
I love him.
He he loves me, you know.
Maybe that's not good enough.
His parents are drug addicts.
He may not be what you want in a son.
Have you ever thought of that? But Max is perfect.
He is gonna be better than all of us.
I'm not giving up my son.
- What about the money? - You can keep it.
She protected her child, like I never did mine.
What do you know about the baby's father? Could she be with him now? When she was a teenager, I used to see him with her, those times I'd drive around all the places where she used drugs.
If you could tell us where those places were The 17th Street underpass was the main one.
If you find Priscilla, please tell her she can come home.
No strings attached this time.
Happy hunting.
Home, sweet home.
- Hey, how you doing, buddy? Seen this guy? - Elvis ??? No? - You seen this dude? - no? You seen this guy? He's over there? Thanks, man.
Rush.
All you gotta do is answer my question.
And quit denting my car.
- Ellis! - Hey, Saccardo.
- I don't know where she is! - We need him conscious.
Hey, you missed a spot.
Talk about Priscilla.
I told him! I don't know where she is.
I haven't seen her in years.
She was gonna rat you out, Ellis.
So you torched her place, to shut her up.
- That's crazy.
- Where were you, night of the fire? I was with Priscilla.
The night your kid burned up, you two were hanging out together? I didn't know she left the kid by itself.
Would you have really cared? That what you two lovebirds were doing that night, getting high? I found her.
She was in a bad way, you know, jonesin' hard.
I'm not the guy that's gonna help you make the right choice.
Hey.
Hi.
Now, why you wanna walk when you can jump into a warm car? Come on, Pris, it's freezing out there.
Are you high? I love this stuff.
The moment I tried it, I knew nothing else could compete.
Maybe my parents are right.
Maybe Max would be better off with somebody else.
Somebody better than me.
It's just so hard to hold on.
Then let go.
HeHe I can fix you up.
Right now.
Just like old times.
Priscilla? Priscilla was strong, you know? She just walked away.
So that's five minutes you're alibied.
My sister had me picked up for jacking her ride.
- Spent a night in jail.
- Yeah, we'll check that.
Any idea where Priscilla might be hiding out? The flower mart, maybe.
Near the port.
Hey, she didn't hurt him.
She loved that kid.
Left it all behind for him.
Tough choice.
Toughest there is- you just wouldn't know.
Done with this piece of crap? Let's go.
That was Nick.
Coroner took a look at the exhumed body.
Yeah? Says something ain't right.
Max Chapin was eight months old.
He would've had teeth.
Teeth survive fire same as bone.
But there are none on the jawbone.
Some kids get theirs late.
Yeah, but there's this Okay? Soft spot, top of the head.
Closes up from the time they're born till they're two.
This skull here, centimeters.
That's too big for an eight-month-old like Max.
Well, what's it normal-sized for? A four-month-old.
So this is not Max Chapin.
It was another kid who died in that fire.
Well, if this kid ain't Max, who is he? And where's Priscilla's son? You're not getting Ellis Smith.
We're not done with him.
Did I say anything? The fire was just a diversion.
Whoever set it wanted Max.
And had access to an infant.
One who wouldn't be missed.
So who knew Priscilla would be out of the apartment that night? The ex, Ellis.
But he was in lockup, right? Pretty elaborate plan, kidnapping a baby.
Had to know Mom would be gone.
Think I might have our Baby John Doe.
Dropped off at St.
Paul's ER February 11, '05.
Severe contusions and internal bleeding.
There's your abuse.
Died the next day.
And this baby went missing from the hospital? Brought down to the morgue, then vanished, day of Priscilla's fire.
Who had access to the morgue? About 250 people.
All the employees.
County hospital, crap security.
Will, you and Kat go to St.
Paul's.
Find out who admitted Baby John Doe, who was on shift in NICU, and the morgue.
Lil, track down Priscilla, try the flower mart.
There's a crack den few doors down from 252 Baker.
Desperate souls if you're lookin' at who might've taken a kid.
You two talk to Priscilla together.
I thought about not leaving him that night.
It was so cold.
I closed the window really tight, and I said, "I'll be right back.
" I should have gone home.
He probably cried for me.
Why didn't I hear him? Because you left.
Why? You were right.
They shoulda put me away.
Why'd you leave him? What does it matter? Oh, it matters.
'Cause I gotta know why a mother would leave a child all alone like that.
You wouldn't understand.
It's like when you're a kid, right? And you run out in front of your parents into the street.
That's what it's like when you first start using.
Free.
You're flying, man.
You And you hear him calling out for you, but you don't care, do you? No.
Next thing you know, you you don't know how to get home no more.
You were finding your way home.
All by yourself.
'Cause you stayed clean that night, didn't you? Yes.
I did.
For your son.
I know.
It's terrible.
I left him.
But I just thought if I could make it through the night, then Max and I would have another day together.
Why here, Priscilla? It was right after he was born, when the heat first went out.
This was the first place I felt hope.
It's okay, Max.
It's okay.
Hi.
Please.
* The itsy bitsy spider ran up the water spout * * Down came the rain * I can't do this.
* life I've been waiting * * Hot heels anticipating * * Another love I found * * Not to let it down * * Ah * Here we are.
We're okay.
Okay? * Ah * I promise.
I'll always keep you warm, Max.
And happy and loved.
I promise I'll never leave you, baby.
* Ah * I promise.
I promised him.
Why did I break so many promises? Priscilla? we think your son might be alive.
Who knew that you came here to the mart at night? Ellis.
Ellis knew.
- Who else? - I don't know, I I told that rehab counselor.
The one at Maloney-Smith Center? Lois Rabinski? I told her it was the only way I stayed clean.
She seemed like she understood.
What about my son? What about my baby? We'll find him.
Where is he, Lois? Where's Max? Who's Max? You can't just come in here.
Max Chapin is the child you two kidnapped in 2005.
I'm calling our lawyer.
You took that little baby's body from St.
Paul's Hospital where you work, Doc.
Set that fire to cover your tracks.
This is crazy.
Those are outrageous lies.
This is our son.
Our son.
His name is Isaac.
His mother named him Max.
And she wants him back.
Oh, yeah Priscilla's alive.
You thought she O.
D.
'd.
She went so deep down the rabbit hole that she wouldn't care about Max.
- But she does.
- She's clean.
Been clean four and a half years.
She misses him so much.
Her little boy.
Who are you talking about? My wife is Isaac's mother.
- Tom - Please, Lois.
We can do this here, or we can let the DNA test do the talking.
She was just like so many others I'd seen.
Who don't care.
Who can't do it.
Sweetheart, why are you doing this? The day I met that woman Priscilla.
I had just found out I had to have another D & C.
Another miscarriage.
I wanted a baby so badly.
It wasn't fair.
We had so much to give.
So much love.
That woman couldn't take care of him.
Just like that other one abandoned at the hospital, beaten to death, probably by crackhead parents.
That would've been Max.
We were saving his life.
That's what you tell yourself, huh? But you knew the truth.
You saw his room.
It was like walking into a room filled with a rainbow, wasn't it? No.
That room was tiny.
It was dirty.
And then he came home to us.
Our baby.
Let's see what we have here.
He wasn't yours.
He never was.
You must've known that.
How did you live with yourself? I told myself to forget.
I had to.
Small, so prec * This time, this place * * Misused mistakes * * Too long, too late * * Who was I to make you wait? * * Just one chance, just one breath * * Just in case there's just one left * * 'Cause you know, you know * * You know * * I love you * * I loved you all along * * And I miss you * * Been far away for far too long * * I keep dreaming * * You'll be with me and you'll never go * * Stop breathing * * If I don't see you anymore * * I love you * * I loved you all along * * And I miss you * * Been far away for far too long * * I keep dreaming * * You'll be with me and you'll never go * * Stop breathing * * If I don't see you anymore * * So far away * * Far away for far too long * * So far away * * Far away for far too long * * But you know, you know * * You know * * I wanted * * I wanted you to stay * * 'Cause I needed * * I need to hear you say * * That I love you * * I love you * * I've loved you all along * * I forgive you * * For being away for far too long * * So keep breathing * * 'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore * * Believe it * * Hold on to me and never let me go * * Keep breathing * * 'Cause I'm not leaving you anymore * * Keep breathing * * Hold on to me and never let me go * * Keep breathing * * Hold on to me and never let me go.
*