Cold Case s06e02 Episode Script

Dad It's too much.
Well, it's yours, baby.
They have public transportation in Philadelphia, you know.
Now you won't have to use it.
Dad, you've got to stop worrying about me.
I'm gonna be fine.
Your degree, your brains you could do anything you want.
Law school, politics, Wall Street But Dad this is what I want.
Laura McKinney? I'm Margaret Trudlow.
You're late.
Sorry.
Got a little lost.
We have an unexpected change in faculty.
One of our US History teachers, Mr.
Hack, had an incident.
"Incident"? Run-in with some seniors last year.
Nothing for you to worry about, but you'll cover his class this year.
I'm supposed to teach English.
I'm not familiar with US History.
Neither are the students.
No problem.
Ready for the challenge.
That's the Ivy League spirit.
This is yours.
My classroom's next door if you have any issues, but I'm sure you won't.
Any advice? Show no fear.
Hi, class.
My name's Miss McKinney.
Can you turn that down, please? Excuse me.
Settle down, guys.
Can you please take your seat? Hey! Stop it! Stop it! Someone helping you? They told me to wait for one of those detectives.
One sec.
Uh they look pretty busy.
Why don't you talk to me? Darnell Brent.
I'm Detective Rush.
Think I have evidence on Laura McKinney's murder.
She was my teacher at Reeves High, got shot outside the school in 1991.
They said it was a carjacking gone wrong.
You know different? Just got my teaching credential.
Started at Reeves last week.
Coincidence? She's the reason I'm doing it.
Always challenged us to make a difference.
Figured it was about time I tried.
What'd you find, Darnell? So I'm there this weekend, getting my classroom ready.
Found this old, sturdy desk in storage they used to have when I was a student.
I was going through the drawers, and I find these.
They're her keys, including her car keys.
Miss McKinney wouldn't have left the classroom without them, never mind the building.
People forget their keys all the time.
I've worked at the school two days.
First thing you learn, don't go anywhere without your keys.
The school's locked down? Especially at night.
Can't get from one door to the other without them.
Miss McKinney would've known that.
She wasn't going to her car.
So if she wasn't headed to her car, where was she going? I don't know.
I've got to say, Darnell, not a lot to go on.
Look, I know you're busy.
But I can't let this sit.
After everything Miss McKinney did for me Sounds like she was a special teacher.
Yeah the best.
I owe her.
It was Valens, right? He still hot over that pudding pop thing last month? I'm no snitch.
You're either with me or you're against me.
Consider me warned.
Laura McKinney, Killed in front of the school, Last to see was Margaret Trudlow, another teacher, hours earlier.
She was in Teach for America.
A cousin of mine did that.
It's like the Peace Corps.
Grads spend a couple of years in the worst public schools.
It takes guts doing that.
Or a loose screw.
Sometimes those are the best teachers.
Always that one you remember, right? Shot once in the back with a .
22.
Doer left the shell casing.
Not to mention the car.
She's found just steps from her vehicle, but no keys.
Witnesses? We got a Mrs.
Harris.
Lived across from the school.
Sees a black man fleeing the scene.
Reeves High School security guard was closer.
Carlton Rawls eyeballs the doer standing over Laura's body and chases him off.
Our hero, almost.
But neither witness saw the doer pull the trigger.
Let alone the gun.
Victim's father coming in? Taking the train from New York.
He still blames himself for getting her the car.
If I'd had a kid go teach at that school, I'd a given 'em a .
38.
'91 was a record year for homicides.
Original detectives were overworked.
Witness testimony, placement of the body, they focused on the robbery angle.
Leaving out the personal.
Maybe connected to the school.
Great, thank you.
Second eyewitness, old Mrs.
Harris.
Says she'd love to meet, talk about what she saw.
Only not today, her dog's getting groomed.
And tomorrow's book club.
Ah, playing hard to get.
Lives in Camden.
Figured I'd swing by, pay her a visit.
Anybody up for a drive? Taking that as a "no.
" Heading down to Ballistics about the murder weapon.
IBIS database didn't exist in '91.
Could be useful now.
Gun's out there 17 years, Nick.
Any luck, it was used in another crime.
"Luck"? You know what I mean.
Nick.
They got ties, three for ten bucks on the corner over there.
You might want to take a look.
I wouldn't let her take the subway.
"It's too dangerous," I said.
We're looking at the possibility this wasn't about Laura's car.
She ever mention any personal problems? I talked to her on the phone at least twice a week.
Far as I could tell, her life was work and home.
No guys in the picture? Not that I knew of.
That job completely consumed her.
She stay late, - after school? - All the time.
She believed in the program.
You didn't? Well, they sent her out full of big ideas.
How she'd make her mark.
Didn't tell her that no one else was on board.
This place is a disaster area.
Dad We've got reservations in half an hour.
Did you forget? I know it's bad here.
I'm going to paint my classroom next.
Plant some flowers in the spring.
Give it a sense of hope.
You okay, baby? These kids, they can barely read, let alone write.
I can't control them.
They won't even listen to me.
- You're doing your best.
- Look at me.
No matter how much extra effort I put in, I still can't get through.
Hey, listen, when I started out, working legal aid in Newark, I stunk at my job.
I couldn't win a case.
One day an older lawyer pulled me aside.
Told me, "Forget about the facts.
" "Just tell the jury a story.
" "A story.
" Isn't that what history's all about? Come on, look.
Don't kill yourself.
A job shouldn't do this to you.
This is more than a job to me, Dad.
I made a commitment.
I'm gonna see it through.
That was Laura.
Determined to make a difference.
I don't know if she even got the chance.
I think she did, Mr.
McKinney.
It was one of her students who brought these in.
Remembered her all this time.
The teachers she worked with She ever mention any of them? I don't think they went out of their way to welcome her.
Why's that? Laura did the same job for less money.
Guess they perceived the program as a threat.
Any teachers give Laura a particularly hard time? A woman with a class next door, Margaret.
Supposed to be her mentor.
Sounded more like a menace.
How you doing, Carla? I got a cold one needs running through IBIS ASAP.
- Two weeks.
- It's kind of important.
Aren't they all? I hear you.
I'm talking special circumstances.
The victim was a teacher, you know what I mean? Remember your favorite teacher? Imagine if she got killed.
I hated my teachers.
Look, we need to expedite this.
Any other forms to fill out? No other forms, no exceptions.
Fresh jobs get priority.
Take a number.
Come back in two weeks.
Okay? Okay.
Only thing I remember from that night is I left at 5:00 p.
m.
sharp, and Laura was still in her classroom, as usual.
Here's your list of students.
I highlighted the troubled ones.
A lot of names.
Only the best and brightest.
Perk of the public school system.
Well, uh, how'd you get along with Laura? Miss McKinney was nice enough.
Here every night till 10:00, grading papers, doing lesson plans.
That's a good teacher.
I didn't say that.
Try sitting up straight.
Way we heard it, you had it in for Laura from day one.
How would you like it if some kid straight out of school came in to the police department thinking they had all the answers? She thought this was some kind of mission.
But she didn't have the training or the requisite skills.
Such as? She couldn't even control her classroom.
It's sink or swim, and Laura was drowning.
Sounded like World War III.
I come in.
Everybody's up out of their seats, and she's just standing there, helpless.
Come on, Margaret.
She's not that bad.
She won't make it till Christmas.
I was hoping to talk to you about these textbooks.
What about them? There aren't enough of them.
I went to the principal; he said I couldn't order new materials until Christmas break.
What's the joke? If you last that long, you can ask Santa for the extra books.
Teaching's about more than a winning smile.
She wasn't cut out for it.
The guy who stuck up for Laura-- - he liked her£¿ - Kenny Yates.
He didn't have to share a wall with her.
He still teach here? Left for greener pastures.
Parochial school.
Less money, more respect.
This is a dangerous place, huh? Always carry pepper spray? Need some kind of protection if you're gonna last as long as I have.
Laura didn't have her keys the night she was killed.
- Figures.
- What happens, situation like that? Late at night, no one else around.
You go to the security guard.
Always on post at the front entrance.
Back in '91, it's a Carlton Rawls? He was our last line of defense.
Thanks for meeting us, Carlton.
No sweat.
Working security across town.
They're cool with me being here, being first responder and all.
Walk us through what you remember.
I was at my post, just inside here.
Shot rang out, I'm through the door.
She was right here on the street.
Number one male standing over her.
He figured he was taking her car.
He thought different when he saw me rushing him.
He busted ass the other way.
A compelling story, Carlton.
What? That's what happened.
See, Carlton, we got the other witness, saw the suspect running past her apartment window that way.
That means the suspect would've been running toward you, not away.
Right? You weren't at your post.
Where were you? - I'm telling you, I - No, see, you're lying.
You keep it up, we're gonna start thinking bad things.
I was in the parking lot.
- My car.
- Sleeping one off? I smell the whiskey on your breath.
You see the gun, Carlton? Suspect's face? Hey, you see anything? Guy running away down the block.
Look, I had my eye out, even from the car.
Every door in the school was padlocked from the inside except for two.
Which ones? The one to the parking lot-- which is where I was and where Laura should've come if she was going to her car.
She didn't have her keys, Carlton.
Say she wasn't going to her car.
She still would've come out through the parking lot.
And I'd have been there.
Why? What's this other door? Back alley where the garbage goes.
Told her time and time again not to use this door.
Locks automatically when you go out.
Figure she was in trouble inside.
You weren't at your post.
Probably she was looking for you.
Don't know why she didn't listen.
Knew it was bad out here.
??? Understand you looked out for Laura.
She was a kid out of her element.
Came to me for advice.
You two close? Work buddies.
Sorry.
Nasty habit.
Can't think straight without it.
Quit recent? Yeah, five years ago.
Off again, on again, kind of thing.
You know, Margaret Trudlow said that Laura was having difficulty with her students.
Left her to fend for herself.
Laura did the best she could.
How'd the students feel about Laura's best? This school was a glorified detention facility.
It was endearing how naive she was about the kids' potential.
Textbook's outdated.
We don't have enough of them.
The copies that we do have are falling apart.
No wonder the kids don't care.
Welcome to Reeves.
Look, at least now you have control of your students.
Getting them to sit down and be quiet isn't teaching.
You've taught here ten years.
How do you do it? Simple.
Concentrate on the students who do care, if you could find one.
Just forget the rest.
Forget them? What? What are you doing? Take your seats.
Textbooks out.
Now toss them on the floor.
Come on.
We don't have all day.
Great.
Darnell, will you pass these out for me? One to each student.
History is not just something from the past.
It's a story, happening every day.
Each of you will pick a story out of the paper.
We'll read it and discuss what it means to us, and to the rest of the world.
We get to keep these? Yes.
What's the problem? Bitch thinks she can buy us for 35 cents.
Out, Renaldo.
Now.
No matter how hard you try, there's gonna be the bad apples.
Got any names? Too many to remember.
Reason I got out.
Bad for the health.
Nothing changes if nothing changes.
Been chasing our witness Mrs.
Harris all over Camden.
Neighbor says she plays bingo, but won't say where without a faxed request on police letterhead.
Damn! When you do get her, have her look through old Reeves High yearbooks.
You got a suspect? Finally.
Kid in Laura's class named Renaldo Ramos.
Got expelled a few weeks after her murder for stealing from the teachers' lounge.
Rap sheet's an inch thick.
You locate him? Not yet.
Brought in the mother to fill in the blanks.
Course it'd help if we had some information on the murder weapon.
Not my fault.
Lab rat Carla's gumming up the works.
Thinking maybe the boss can call in.
Chain of command's fine for other cops, but civilians don't respect rank.
You got a better idea? Two words: baked goods.
I'm saying Renaldo ain't been around.
You told me.
- No address, no phone.
- He's a grown man.
He don't share nothing with me.
Well, we got some questions for him.
About that teacher; this one already told me.
School says you filed a "discrimination" complaint against her.
Woman had it out for my boy.
Keeping him after school for detention.
Had the nerve to bring me in tell me Renaldo's got problems.
Like with attitude? Some kind of learning disability.
Wanted him to take all this testing.
Where's the discrimination? Ten years in the school system, no one ever say boo about my kid.
All of a sudden, there's disabilities.
'Cause Laura was trying to help.
I'm not heartless,you know.
Woman didn't deserve to die.
Just should've minded her own business.
Mind letting Renaldo know we'd like to talk to him? - I told you he ain't been around.
- Several times.
Just in case.
You buying this? Renaldo not being around? Me neither.
Fresh scones.
Assorted flavors.
A little "thank you" for all your hard work.
Looking to kill me? I have celiac disease.
I'm allergic to wheat.
Uh, Carla, I'm trying to play ball here.
I need that ballistics report.
I'm begging you.
What's it gonna take? I like musicals.
Thanks for coming back in, Darnell.
Wondering if you remember a kid from school, - Renaldo Ramos? - Renaldo Ramos.
Haven't heard that name in a while.
He's in jail, right? In and out.
You ever hear about him bringing a gun to school? You think he killed Miss McKinney? We know he had problems with her.
The other teachers had given up on him.
Miss McKinney tried to take him on as a sort of project, but he made it hard.
You ever hear him threaten her? No, but it wouldn't surprise me.
He was already half a thug,even then.
You're late, Renaldo.
Go inside.
Take out your workbook.
- I'll be in there soon.
- Forgot it.
Again? How is that possible? No workbook, no pen, no paper.
- I mean, what do you even keep in here? - Give that back.
I am trying to work with you, but I can't - What is this? Drugs? - That's not mine.
What's up? Renaldo giving you a hard time? It's fine.
I got it covered.
- When did this happen? - I don't know.
A few weeks before Miss McKinney died? Never thought to mention it? At Reeves, stuff like that was the rule, not the exception.
Miss McKinney said she had it under control.
Renaldo must have loved growing up here.
From:Saccardo Nice Mug!!! - That from Saccardo? - Yeah.
What's up with those boots of his? What do you mean? Sayin'.
He's in Narcotics.
It's their thing.
I was in Narcotics.
Never wore Timberlands.
Pay dirt, five o'clock.
Renaldo Ramos? What happened?! What you do to him?! What did you do to my boy?! - Hey Look.
- He's fine, Ma.
??? Hell of a sheet, Renaldo.
Assault, robbery,auto theft.
Even back at Reeves High.
Stealing from the teachers' lounge.
That wasn't me.
Prison, parole,prison again.
Maybe crime isn't your thing.
Yeah, like those drugs,Renaldo.
The ones Laura McKinney found in your backpack.
You and Miss McKinney didn't get along.
Always singling you out.
Oh, I get it.
Had this one teacher, Sister Beatrice.
Chew gum in class.
Thwap! Instant retribution.
That how Miss McKinney was, tough on you, Renaldo? She was cool.
How's that? Could have narc'd me out.
Just kicked me back to the rejects class.
That's because you threatened her? Let her know what would happen if you turned her in? I was dying to get out of school, but that lady just wouldn't let go.
Getting on your case, bringing your moms down on you.
No, man.
She was different from other teachers.
Like she expected something.
In a good way.
Kind of made school okay.
What is it? What do you think it is? Stupid.
You could go back to the bus,Renaldo.
Is that what you want? It's just an empty lot, Miss.
That's what it is now, but not always.
They brought slaves here.
Auctioned on this very spot, only a mile from where the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Hey, wake up! Okay, this is important.
We're not talking books.
We're talking living, breathing history.
Something that matters.
We live in one of the most historic cities in the country.
Everywhere you go, the past lives.
You just got to find it.
This is your assignment.
I want you to go back to your neighborhood and find something of historical significance.
No matter how small, and write about it.
Get to know where you're from.
And then you can decide where you're going.
Now that's a touching story.
I'm sure it made you turn over a new leaf, graduate with honors.
Don't think I could have? Where were you the night Laura was killed? At work, flipping burgers.
Answered pretty quick.
Gonna hold up when we check? What's it matter? Huh? You already made up your mind about me.
Set us straight.
You should be looking at the teacher's pet.
That Darnell Brent.
For real.
You should have seen the way that kid was looking at her.
Left her little stuffed animals.
Gifts, right? Put 'em there anonymous.
Real romantic.
We're supposed to believe you 'cause Couldn't even graduate high school.
I don't give a damn.
Can I go? We'll get you a toothbrush.
You're gonna be here a while.
Little confused here, Darnell.
You're the one who brought this case in.
Figured you wanted it closed.
Of course I do.
You and Miss McKinney--pretty tight? But it was more than teacher-student.
What do you mean? You had feelings for her, right? Leaving all those stuffed animals for her on the sly.
Staying after school, just you and her.
Maybe Messages get mixed.
Wasn't that much older.
Happens to the best of us.
I was 15.
Thought I was in love.
That's terrific, Darnell.
Now this is a thesis statement.
Do you see the difference? Darnell, what are you doing? She told me not to worry about it, but She made sure we were never alone in the same room again.
- Must have been humiliating.
- Yeah.
But I'm a teacher now, and I understand her dilemma.
You want to get close to your students.
- But not too close.
- Yeah.
This is kidnapping, you know.
Sorry you seit that way, ma'am.
Luring me out of my own church on bingo day? - Should be ashamed,young man.
- Yes, ma'am.
Why don't you step into the kitchen? I'll be with you in a moment, show you some pictures.
The old rope-a-dope? Told her I saw someone hit her car in the church parking lot.
- She comes out - You persuade her to take a ride.
Detective Jeffries? Would it kill you to offer me some refreshment? Ballistics report on the 22 that killed Laura McKinney.
This cost me big.
Two tickets to Wicked and dinner.
I need you to appreciate that.
You're my hero.
Murder weapon has a sordid history.
Recovered by police seven years ago,liquor store robbery.
Well, suspect in possession said he found the gun.
Alibi'd out for the murder.
I traced the serial number.
The original owner was a cab driver, Nigerian guy.
- Kid happened to go to Reeves High.
- In '91.
Kid gets bullied.
Takes Pop's gun to school.
Confiscated by a security guard.
Guess who.
I've met some low-IQ jackasses in my career, but you take the prize.
How stupid you got to be.
Take a gun off a kid, not turn it in? Or was tre a reason? Between you and me,I heard Laura was a knockout.
You have a thing for her? - It wasn't like that.
- Even some students wanted a piece, but you think, an authority figure like myself--I got a shot.
And after some liquid courage, you make a move.
- She turns you down.
- No way.
We got you at the crime scene, Carlton.
Got you with the gun.
You're done.
- Already typed up my report.
- I liked those teachers.
Looked after 'em the best I could.
That's why I kept the gun.
Someone needed it.
Why'd she need it, Carlton? I didn't ask.
She was a good woman.
If she said she needed the gun,she needed it.
I was just trying to help.
That's my job.
It's time to find a different line of work.
Don't bother standing.
What are you doing? Well, seeing if you're packing.
Or are the new security guards more accommodating than Carlton? You have some kind of grudge against Laura? Younger, prettier, better at her job.
That gun had nothing to do with Laura.
Then what was it for,Margaret? Protection.
After 20 years in this war zone,I got attacked.
Former students.
I could never feel safe again.
So you went to Carlton? I never felt comfortable having that gun.
Then one day,my purse was stolen from the teachers' lounge.
And this happened before Laura was killed? So, why didn't you report it? Didn't want to get Carlton into trouble.
He's a good man.
A close friend at the time.
You meet Will's girlfriend yet? No, but I heard her all the way down the hall.
- Delightful woman.
- He get anything from her? Hope so, or he's about to pitch an old lady out the window.
Back in '91, you said you saw a black man running from the scene.
This isn't a black man.
Son, you don't think I know the difference? I said a dark-skinned man came running past my window.
This is the one I saw.
Renaldo Ramos.
Look at you, Renaldo.
home, no kind of job.
Acting like you got it figured out.
You say so.
You were there the night Miss McKinney was killed.
You were fed up with the way she treated you.
You stole Margaret's bag with the gun in it, waited for her,then pop! - I was at my job.
- There was no job.
I didn't do nothing.
We got the old lady clocking you from her window.
Got 30 witnesses saying you bragged on all the things you stole from the teachers' lounge.
It's over.
You're just too dull to know it.
I couldn't have her mad.
So, you went at her.
No.
She came to me.
Yo.
What you doing here, miss? This ain't a good neighborhood.
I wanted to see where the fire was.
What you mean? Well, it says six tenants lost their homes to a fire right here in this building ten years ago.
Long time.
One man made sure they were all relocated.
Took care of them.
Roberto Jimenez.
It's pretty amazing.
I know your handwriting,Renaldo.
It's the assignment I gave on the field trip.
He was my grandfather.
It's good.
Renaldo.
Like you said, history's happening everywhere.
Like you coming to Reeves, making a difference.
You want back in my class? You need to use your voice.
If you want in, I have to hear you say it.
Yeah.
That's what I want.
Okay.
But I need you to come clean about the drugs.
But, miss,those weren't my drugs.
- Renaldo - I swear to you.
They say I steal, I don't.
They say I deal drugs, I don't.
Everyone's always saying I'm bad.
I stopped trying to prove them wrong.
There's always someone else to blame for your crap life, your dumb mistakes.
You said tell the truth.
I told you.
Drugs didn't belong to me.
Then, who, Renaldo, another student? A teacher.
It's got to be hard leaving that school like you did.
Fatigue, right? Well, the place was impossible.
I had to get out.
But you and I both know it wasn't fatigue.
"Nothing changes if nothing changes.
" I can spot another addict a mile away.
Yeah, I I had a problem.
Almost lost my job over it.
It can be rough.
Yeah, still is.
"Day at a time," right? How bad a habit? A gram? Two? It gets expensive on a teacher's salary.
I kept it together.
- Yeah? - Yeah.
Yeah, me, too.
Until one day I I woke up and saw the mess I made.
The thing is,then we get better, and we got to take responsibility.
Hey, we're, uh We're only as sick as our secrets.
Like taking Margaret's bag from the faculty lounge.
You did that, but the worst part, Kenny, And I know you feel this The worst part is using Renaldo to score for you.
You told Laura all about it, Kenny making you score for him? Should have never got her involved.
All these years, why didn't you say something? You kidding? Take a look.
Who's gonna believe a thug like me? I want to believe you, Renaldo.
I want to be like Laura,see something different than just a thug, but you gotta be straight with me.
I told you everything.
Still haven't told me why you were at the crime scene.
It's my fault she's dead.
Why, 'cause something happened? She went back to the school.
To confront Kenny? I followed.
Waited outside.
Just wanted to make sure she was okay.
Laura knew about you and Renaldo.
Everything was on the line.
If she turned you in, your life would be ruined.
She just didn't get it, this is a disease.
I just wanted her to listen.
You were there that night.
I I needed some time to get my thoughts together,but she wouldn't let up.
You need to resign.
You can do it with dignity.
I I won't say a word.
But it has to be done or I'll turn you in.
How long were you sitting in your classroom coming up with that speech? Laura I know this is bad.
It's a problem.
But I'm addressing it.
Address it someplace else, not around these kids.
See, I'm ahead of you on that.
I already have my eye on a treatment facility.
This this is done tonight.
- I promise.
- Renaldo is trying so hard to do things right.
- You are killing him.
- Damn it.
Just let me speak.
Will you wipe that smug look off your face? I used to be like you.
I used to feel so good about teaching.
I believed in the students.
This place beats the hell out of you.
You'll see.
In five years, you'll be me.
Laura, stop! Get back here.
I worked there for ten years, and this kid who did she think she was? I was a good teacher.
So was Laura.
How she was special.
Made me want to graduate.
Would have been the firstin my family.
She went there to defend me, and I let her down.
I couldn't help.
You can now.
Tell me what you saw.
Hey.
Do it for her.
Miss? Miss?