Cold Case s06e08 Episode Script
Triple Threat
* Il n'a jamais, jamais connu de loi * PHILADELPHIA AUGUST 15, 1989 * Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime * * Si je t'aime, prends garde à toi * * Si te ne m'aimes pas * * Si tu ne m'aimes pas, je t'aime * * Si je t'aime, si je t'aime * * Prends garde à toi.
* Bravo! Bravo! FATHER ? IT'S TIME.
DON'T LOOK BACK.
- Where is she? - Isn't she coming back for an encore? EXCUSE ME MAY WE TROUBLE YOU FOR ASSISTANCE? Speakenzee Englishsky? Oh Eh I'm sorry.
Um For my family, please.
We ask for your kind help.
MAY I HELP YOU, SIR? YOU SPEAK RUSSIAN? Well, only a little.
MY GRANDPA TAUGHT ME.
You a Russky too, Vera? Go get 'em, rook.
THANK GOD .
.
I DON'T KNOW IF OUR CHAPERONES FOLLOWED US WHAT IS THE PROTOCOL? Whoa, sir.
I ain't fluent.
I got curses and toasts, that's all.
Papa, please.
We surrender our passports.
we want to defect to United States.
The United States.
You speak English big time.
I learned by watching American television on the black market.
Don't tell my father.
You, uh, coming from the prom? Uh a concert.
This dress belonged to my mother.
NADIA, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? We'll, uh, call the State Department and get someone down here to meet you.
Discuss political asylum.
You know, if you do this, there's no going back.
Yeah.
Welcome to the United States, little man.
I am sorry.
He only knows police in Russia, where they can't be trusted.
Things are different here.
You call me, any time.
I'll help you out.
And, uh, for your, uh, collection.
Philadelphia.
Our new home.
KOSLOV, N.
DEC '89 I haven't responded to a fight on the highway since I was in uniform.
Call came in from the district, someone asking for me by name.
I'll turn that face into scrap metal! I'll kill you first! Your kind of crowd, Nick.
Who's the guy? Do I know you? Yeah, you said I could call anytime.
I'm Dimitri.
Yeah, Koslov.
I remember.
What's going on? This scum has my sister's bag.
This bag ain't even mine, man! So where'd you get it, tough guy? Cousin Beamer.
Just denied parole.
His mama's giving away his stuff.
Son of a bitch.
Know whose it is? Nadia Koslov.
Who's she? I was in the Ninth District the night the family defected.
Four months later, I was at her funeral.
COLD CASE 608 ʱ¼äÖá:ÎÒ°®Ê¨ÐÄСs NadiKoslov, Skull fracture, severe bruising, manner of death undetermined.
Multiple blunt-force trauma with cardiac arrest, consistent with other wilding victims that night.
Serious crime wave in the subways, fall of '89.
Packs of kids surrounding their victims, commuters mostly.
I'm 22 years old; I just aced my firearms training; and my ma's begging me not to take the Broad Street line.
Well, your mom wasn't wrong.
The assailants got her bag, but they left her jean jacket, sneakers AND HER EMPTY CASSETTE TAPE.
She made some kind of mix tape THE DAY she died.
She was gonna be a big opera star, but she loved pop culture.
Toughest funeral I ever went to.
I promised the Koslovs that things would be different here, but they were worse.
The cousin of the punk we picked up in Center City.
Arrested on agg assault charges three months after Nadia's murder.
Known ties with the crew who was out wilding the night Nadia died.
Lab found residue on her bag.
This clown's DNA shows up, we got a slam-dunk.
What was it about Nadia Koslov's bag caught your eye? You like the patches, the places your sorry ass will never see, huh, Beamer? I ain't Beamer no more.
I found my Lord and Savior.
I go by Michael now.
Tell me what happened that night, I'll start using your grownup name.
It wasn't me who killed her, man.
No? Then how'd you get her bag? When I found her, she was already half-dead.
* I got a letter from the government * * The other day, I opened and read it * * It said they were suckers * PHONE * They wanted me for their army or whatever * * Picture givin' a damn, I said never * * Here is a land that never gave a damn * * About a brother like me and myself * * Because they never did * Oh, man.
Zo Zo Say what? Zol toi * that I'm a black man * * And I could never be a veteran * * On the strength, the situation's unreal * * I got a raw deal * * So I'm looking for the steel * * I'm goin' for that steel * Seeing that girl die like that, all alone messed me up real good, man.
Nothing else to do but pray.
What's that you heard her say? "Zula Toy.
" Is that Russian or something? I don't know.
But it's stuck in my head to this day.
You see anyone else in the subway? I only heard the girl falling and footsteps.
What kind of footsteps? The running kind.
A bunch of Air Jordans up the stairs two at a time? Up the stairs, but they was like clickety-clack, know what I'm sayin'? Hard-soled shoes? Yeah.
How many? One person, that's all.
You're saying it wasn't a wilding thing? As God is my witness.
And I ain't got no reason to lie.
Clickety-clack.
"Zula Toy"? Come on, Yakov Smirnoff.
Tell me you know what it means.
No clue.
Like I told you, curses and toasts.
But I know someone who might.
You say you cannot convict man who killed my daughter.
Now you say you can? What I'm saying, Leo, is that we've got a new lead: Nadia's dying words.
"Zula Toy.
" That mean anything to you? I have no idea why Nadia say this.
Sounds like zolotoi.
It means "gold," "golden one.
" Come on, Pop.
They're trying to help.
They cannot bring back Nadia.
We have witness testimony.
Whoever killed Nadia didn't steal anything.
So why? Drian who kill her? She knows this person? What do you remember about the night Nadia died? Pop was driving his usual night shift.
I was upstairs with the babysitter.
Anyone come to mind, had a problem with Nadia? Of course.
You have been to durdom? The insane asylum-- that's what he called her high school.
Regis High School of the Performing Arts.
Nadia was a voice major.
I thought it was a good school.
Pop hated the place.
A lot different than the conservatory back in St.
Petersburg.
At Regis there is no study.
Only craziness.
You say it is someone she knows.
It is someone there.
My tax dollars paying for this circus? Can hardly hear myself think.
My high school, we were lucky to get a field trip to the dump.
Hey, hey.
Hey.
Clickety-clack.
Detectives? I'm Elliot Glick.
Right this way.
Bear with me.
Office hours will start in a few.
Cute haircut, Jules.
Back at you, Elliot.
Nadia's death was a tragedy.
She'd only been in the country four months.
You knew her? Not really.
I was the head of the drama department, and she was a voice major, so, you know, we didn't interact much.
You remember any students or faculty she might have called Zolotoi? No, that doesn't ring a bell.
We'll need the attendance and disciplinary records from that year.
- Nadia's files, yearbook, too.
- Anything you want.
See you have an all-girl fan club outside.
Nadia a member when she was a student? I told you we didn't interact much.
What about the night she died? I was at home with my wife.
We were divorced 15 years ago, but she'll remember.
We were we were devastated when we got the call.
Better luck second time around? The third time's a charm.
We'll need a list of her teachers.
Well, she only had one: Phoebe Curtis.
FORMER STUDENT OF MINE.
One teacher? How's that happen? Phoebe taught an advanced workshop.
Only eight students were accepted, and Nadia was one of them.
I understand you were Nadia Koslov's teacher at Regis.
She was in my improv workshop.
I was an alumna, too.
Artist-in-residence.
Class of '77.
Voice major, right? I'm a much better trophy wife than I ever was a singer.
Who else was in your workshop? A couple of kids from each of the departments.
They collaborated in class, and then completed a final project.
This final project Nadia work with anyone in particular? Oh, no, it was solo performance.
They had to improvise on the city streets, and then submit a recording of it for their final grade.
Like, on a cassette tape? Or a videotape, something like that.
You still have Nadia's? She died before completing the course work.
I never got to hear it.
When was the last time you saw her? In my class, the day before she died.
Did Nadia ever have any nicknames for you? Not that I know of.
But I'm sure there was some of that behind my back.
I had a reputation for being demanding.
Any of her classmates have any problems with her? Nadia was a world-class soprano.
They were all jealous.
What they didn't realize is that she was struggling just as hard as they were.
* Il n'a jamais * HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS * Jamais connu de loi * * Si tu ne m'aimes * Nadia.
* Pas je t'aime * Nadia, I'm sorry.
* Si je * Nadia.
I'm gonna have to ask you to stop.
I did something wrong? I asked you to prepare a piece that expresses who you are.
It is my signature aria.
I perform it in concert.
Nadia, I want to hear your voice, your soul, not your technique.
But my father says I'm not talking about your father.
I'm talking about you, Nadia.
Who are you? Not what you think.
What you feel.
I don't know.
Okay.
Well, have a seat until you figure it out.
Cyrus, get up there and open up a vein.
Ow! Nadia, what's the problem? Black roses.
I must have an admirer.
Maybe I was too hard on her.
You know, those kids were tough enough on themselves.
And each other.
That girl at the door Chelsea.
Chelsea Cutler.
She had just lost her spot in my workshop.
To Nadia.
Yes.
What's with the black roses? They were Chelsea's thing.
She doodled them everywhere.
Had a black rose tattoo, the whole nine.
After Nadia died, you give her spot to anyone? Well, since it was available, I gave it to Chelsea.
Boss.
What do you got, Kat? Lab ID'd the substance on Nadia's bag.
- Methyl salicylate.
- What is it? It's a compound found in aspirin and muscle rubs.
This case, in something called oil of wintergreen.
Oil of wintergreen? - Saying she ingested it? - Yep.
Found trace amounts in her blood samples.
- Lab never tested it back in the day - 'Cause they thought it was a wilding incident.
Trace amounts enough to cause a fatal overdose? Not usually, but Nadia had asthma.
People like her aspirin compounds can be highly toxic.
Would have happened almost immediately.
Caused the cardiac arrest.
That's what the ME said.
And get this.
Oil of wintergreen's a coagulant.
Bruises would have gotten worse after she died.
Making it look like she had been beaten.
Nothing random about this crime, boss.
Nadia was poisoned.
Oil of wintergreen's toxic? What, like, death by breath mint? In its concentrated form.
You know, little brown glass dropper bottle.
Where did she get the stuff? No poisoning Web sites in '89.
Well, any health food store.
Lucky for me, not many around back then.
What the hell is it used for? Flavoring in candy, fragrance in muscle rubs and lip balms and, uh, beekeeping.
Beekeeping? "An essential oil for promoting healthy swarms.
" So, after tap class, Chelsea Cutler's tending her bees.
I'm working on it, okay? Don't hate and why do you keep saying "she"? - Could have been a guy, you know? - Come on.
You know how the ladies love to poison.
Better watch what you drink.
Sorry.
I needed some joe.
No problem.
Got her waiting.
So got any tattoos, Chelsea? Tattoos? I thought you wanted to ask me about Nadia Koslov.
Like answers better than questions around here.
Uh, yes, one.
A black rose.
Black roses.
That your thing back in '89? Oh, God.
What I did to Nadia with the roses.
You think it was me? Took careful planning getting those things in her bag, - no one seeing.
- Cunning and preparation: two key ingredients in homicidal poisoning.
Poisoning? I thought it was a bunch of guys in the subway.
It's a real personal way of killing someone.
You remember who got Nadia's spot in Phoebe's workshop after she died? Please, I did not kill her.
Nadia was stealing your spotlight; you stole it back.
I was angry, and what I did was totally stupid, but once she got into that workshop, - she had much bigger problems than me.
- OH YEAH? How is that? Kids in that class were the best of the best.
They got whatever they wanted.
And somebody wanted Nadia.
* Make my day * * Pump up the jam * * Pump it up while your feet are stompin' * * And the jam is pumpin' * * Look at here the crowd is jumpin', pump it up * Career concept: ditch the ethnic last name.
Move over, Madonna; hello, Nadia.
* Find out if you're too bad * * Nadia, oh, what can I say? * * If you weren't so uptight, you might make my day * Whoo! * Cyrus, baby, if ego was a crime * * You'd be chillin' on death row * * Doin' time, doin' time.
* You are so busted.
Who knew? She totally gets it.
A dance? * Make my, make my, make, make my day * * Yo, pump up the jam * * Pump it up, pump it up * * Yo, pump it, pump up the jam, pump it * They were attached at the hip after that.
Never saw one without the other.
They still dating when Nadia died? Hot and heavy.
Probably wouldn't have thought twice till I saw him on a gay bar crawl a couple years ago.
Gay? You just said he was dating a girl.
Exactly.
The guy was a mess.
DEAR PROFESSOR VRONKSY: I AM A HOMICIDE DETECTIVE WORKING TO SOLVE THE 1989 MURDER OF NADIA KOSLOV.
Couldn't sleep, either? Yeah.
What do you got? Pepperoni.
The books.
Opera for Dummies.
I thought my life was complicated.
Plots in these things talk about twists and turns.
Anything with Zolotoi? I looked for Zolotoi, Golden One, Gold got nothing.
Except how many of them have poisonings.
Popular way to go in opera.
How about you? Looking in Regis directories, Russian fables.
Even e-mailed a professor at the St.
Petersburg Conservatory.
Shot in the dark.
Shot in the dark's better than nothing.
Zolotoi.
Yep, Zolotoi.
ZOLOTOI "THE GOLDEN ONE" You and Nadia close back at Regis? Absolutely.
I wanted to write musicals for her.
I was the songwriter; she was the voice.
Thinking more on the romantic tip.
Oh.
Yeah, we fooled around a few times.
I guess you could say I was an equal opportunity crush.
Bisexual.
- Right.
- Yeah, it wasn't until college that I chose my major, so to speak.
You sound like a confused guy, Cyrus.
Getting close to Nadia even though you were on a different bus.
Maybe it was because she was an outsider.
We just sort of found each other.
- You two have any pet names? - No.
But we certainly did adore each other.
I haven't set foot back in the subway since she was u know.
Ever hear her use the word "Zolotoi"? - The Golden One? - No, she only spoke Russian with her family.
With me, she shared the things that she couldn't bring home.
Like what? Her dreams.
Where you headed, Miss Thing? I'm going to talk to Nikki about my final project.
Share.
Now.
Well, the other day, singing with you in the subway No, you're going to laugh.
Never.
I know it sounds stupid, but that was my voice.
You know, like Phoebe said, I was feeling, not thinking.
I want to be the singer in a band.
A star is born! Yeah, just don't tell my father.
He thinks I'm preparing an opera.
Your father's, like, in the KGB.
Only way I'm talking to him is if there's a gun to my head.
And Nikki's going to be your backup dancer? Well, I want her help me with choreography.
I mean, if I stand there in my ball gown for another minute like this She's probably not the greatest choice, Nadia.
Why not? She's the best.
But she's so not a team player.
Stop gawking at me.
And get your pet Commie - out of here.
- Nikki, what are you doing? Warming up for three hours on toe shoes.
What does it look like? An overdose.
But you're good.
You're great.
- You don't need this stuff.
- What I need is for you to get the hell out here! I'm gonna go get some help.
You're gonna be all right Bitch, if you get anyone, I swear to God you'll wish you hadn't.
Nadia consider herself warned? I don't think so.
That same week, Regis instituted a zero-tolerance drug policy and Nikki was expelled.
Well, how'd the prima ballerina take it? If she had a heart, it would've been broken.
You were in Phoebe Curtis's workshop? Sure was.
The best of the best.
Couldn't find you in the yearbook.
What happened between then and graduation? Regis wasn't preparing me for the realities of the biz.
So I quit.
You "quit," huh? So what's this? - Looks like "Papers of Expulsion"? - Yours.
Nadia rats you out for drugs, and you end up here.
So where were you, night she died? Truth this time.
I was too short for a professional corps de ballet.
Everyone tried to tell me.
But I wouldn't listen.
I punished myself instead.
Nothing an addict likes better - than someone else to blame it on.
- Trust me.
My hatred was directed inward.
They had already kicked me out when Nadia found me in my dressing room.
We check with the school, they gonna confirm that story? I could care less what the Regis faculty say about me.
Those losers couldn't do, teach, or keep their hands to themselves.
Think of the most painful experience of your life.
Boil it down to one name.
And when you're ready, say it out loud.
Shout it, if you have to.
But it's so hard to choose.
I have to go.
You're holding onto something, Nadia.
You've got to let it go.
"Holding on"? I left my entire life behind.
I have nothing left to hold onto.
Except the hurt.
It's come right along with you.
Running away is not the same thing as letting go.
I'm trying.
I've seen brilliant performers self-destruct.
If you need my help I'll be there for you.
Day or night.
Okay.
Elliot Glick took a special interest in Nadia? Like a heat-seeking missile.
What was in that - little, brown bottle of his? - I don't know.
Aromatherapy stuff? What'd it smell like? Minty.
Said you and Nadia "didn't interact much.
" Want to revise that statement? No.
- Been divorced twice already.
- Well, I don't see what my marital history has to do with Nadia Koslov.
Family court records on their way.
Might give us some insight to the cause of all those breakups.
Anything you want to tell beforehand? I have nothing to hide.
Delivery invoice from Heart Mart, your old neighborhood health food store.
Read the highlighted part.
"Oil of wintergreen.
" - You know that it was toxic? - I was careful with it.
I used it for MEditating.
Witnesses saw you applying it to minors, including Nadia.
Getting handsy with her afterwards.
I was teaching The Method.
I was helping my students gain an emotional investment in their work.
I gave my soul to those kids.
You were making a pass.
And when she rejected you, you made her pay.
I didn't kill Nadia.
But I didn't protect her, either.
Nadia.
Are you all right? Katya.
- Excuse me? - Katya.
The name I would've said if I had courage.
Your mother.
Come here.
My father didn't let me go to her funeral.
He didn't even let me cry for her.
She was a big deal soprano, so instead of mourning, we practiced.
I'm sorry.
Before we left, I wanted to put roses on her grave.
But now I never can.
She would be so proud of you.
I just wish she could hear what I sound like.
Not in Russia, now.
Well, she can.
Go ahead.
LET HER HEAR WHAT YOU SING.
* And I see your true colors * * Shining through * * See your true colors * * That's why I love you * * To let them show * I stop by.
You not at opera.
- They say you quit.
- Mr.
Koslov Papa! Papa! - Hold on! - Why are you not working? I am! In here, with this podunkum, singing this khrenovyi Amerikansky pop? My final project is due tonight, and I will do it the way that I want.
There is more to life than opera.
Opera is our life.
I am not her, Papa.
This crap school, it ruins us.
"Us"? There is no us! Just your dreams being shoved down my throat.
A parent should encourage his child's independence.
But Leo took Nadia's growth as a personal betrayal.
He chased her down the hall.
That was the last time I saw her.
Hey, Nick, I've got something.
A dean from St.
Petersburg Conservatory got back to us.
- Yeah? - Back in Russia, Leo Koslov was a vocal coach to some big careers, including his wife's.
- Katya.
- She gave him a nickname and it stuck, at least in opera circles.
Zolotoi.
The Golden One.
Nadia was saying a name with her last breath.
And it was her father's.
Open a bottle of vodka, can't leave the table till it's done.
Russian tradition? Grandpops, on my ma's side.
My Deyda.
Left Russia and came to this country alone.
He was 14.
Wish I could ask him more questions.
Listen to more of his stories.
TO THE WISDOM OF OUR ELDERS.
TO YOUR GRANDFATHER OF BLESSED MEMORY.
Never knew about your career in the old country, Leo.
Now I do.
With her dying breath, Nadia said your name.
The glory days of your family, your career, your marriage.
Zolotoi.
Why did you lie to me? I thought I could leave the past behind.
Hamlet.
Romeo and Juliet.
Lacrazy Borga.
Lucrezia Borgia.
The great operas.
Stories all had death by poisoning.
Is that how you punished Nadia for dishonoring you? I am one who is punished by fate.
You knew she had asthma.
You knew it would be quick.
Did that take the sting out of what you were doing? You think I did not suffer enough? Nadia made a tape the day she died.
Empty case found at the crime scene.
You have it, Leo? Nadia had asked me to grieve for all we had lost.
The last time I saw her, she showed me the joy that is possible on the other side of grief.
* It's a long day * * Living in Reseda * * There's a freeway * * RUNNING through their yard * * And I'm a bad girl * * 'Cause I don't even miss him * * Hey, I'm a bad girl * * For breaking his heart * * And I'm free * * Free fallin' * * Now I'm free fallin' * * Free fallin' * * Free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * Hey, I'm free * * And I'm free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * Free fallin' * * Now I'm free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * Va', pensiero, sull'ali dorate * * Va', ti posa sui clivi, sui colli * * O veo lezza note pide molli * * Free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * L'au dolci del suo lo natal * * O mio Patria, s bella perduta * * O remembranza s cara e fatal * * And I'm free * * Free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * Now I'm free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * Now I'm free fallin', now I'm free fallin', now * You know "Va Pensiero?" From an opera by Verdi.
It's a famous song about freedom and also of homesickness.
The tape-- it was her final project for the class that I cursed.
She knew you loved her.
But I never got a chance to tell her that.
Elliot Glick's divorce records were a goldmine.
Glick's exes had a lot to say about his extracurricular activities.
He have a history with his students? Phoebe Curtis.
Major player in his second divorce.
Ten years on and off.
Cornered his second wife in a parking garage with a crowbar.
And that was just her opening act.
Would have been threatened by Nadia once Glick had his eyes on her.
Well, Glick brought oil of wintergreen to Phoebe's apartment for that acting thing.
Date on the cassette case is the day Nadia died.
Missing tape was her final project.
She might have gone to Phoebe's house to hand it in personally.
Phoebe lived two blocks from the subway where Nadia was found.
Get her down here.
Want you to think of the most painful experience in your life, boil it down to a name, and say it out loud.
I'm sorry.
I don't understand.
Too hard to say Elliot Glick's name? Elliot and I were friends.
Such good friends you decided to harass his wife.
Only thing you forgot was the antifreeze and boiling bunny.
What made you so mad, Phoebe? You think he was forgetting about you? He wasn't forgetting about me.
I was his muse.
Sure, when you still had potential.
But you start acting up And he creates the artist-in-residence position to keep you close, work a little damage control.
I was a great teacher.
I inspired those kids.
Till Elliot found his new muse, Nadia Koslov.
Then you pull out the oil of wintergreen, and start making your plans.
Went back to your old apartment, Pheebs.
Stuff's all over the place.
Seeped through the linoleum floors.
You're right.
I had a plan.
But it wasn't to kill Nadia.
PLEASE FORGIVE ME.
Elliot? I wanted to kill myself.
That was my plan.
But you're sitting right here.
'Cause it wasn't about Elliot anymore.
Not once you heard that tape.
Nadia had found her voice.
She was the real deal.
Elliot knew that.
So did you.
That kind of talent Made you realize that you never had it.
That hurt.
Even more than him not loving me.
Until I got the idea that if Nadia was gone Your problems would be, too.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
* O remembranza s cara e fatal * * And I'm free * Phoebe, are you okay? It's It's beautiful.
You're the one who taught me HOW to feel.
I felt my mother in my heart, and I sang for her.
Elliot says running away is not the same thing as letting go.
Maybe that's why you're sad.
I made this for myself.
It's, uh, good for your throat.
You take it.
You're the real singer in this room.
Go ahead.
Thank you.
Come on.
Let's get you to the train.
* You with the sad eyes * * Don't be discouraged * * Oh, I realize * * It's hard to take courage * * In a world full of people, you can lose sight of it all * * And the darkness inside you make you feel so small * * But I see your true colors shining through * * I see your true colors * * And that's why I love you * * So don't be afraid to let them show * * Your true colors * * True colors are beautiful like a rainbow * * Show me a smile then * * Don't be unhappy * * Can't remember when I * * Last saw you laughing * * If this world makes you crazy * * And you've taken all you can bear * * You call me up because you know I'll be there * * And I'll see your true colors * * And that's why I love you * * So don't be afraid to let them show * * Your true colors * * True colors are beautiful like a rainbow.
*
* Bravo! Bravo! FATHER ? IT'S TIME.
DON'T LOOK BACK.
- Where is she? - Isn't she coming back for an encore? EXCUSE ME MAY WE TROUBLE YOU FOR ASSISTANCE? Speakenzee Englishsky? Oh Eh I'm sorry.
Um For my family, please.
We ask for your kind help.
MAY I HELP YOU, SIR? YOU SPEAK RUSSIAN? Well, only a little.
MY GRANDPA TAUGHT ME.
You a Russky too, Vera? Go get 'em, rook.
THANK GOD .
.
I DON'T KNOW IF OUR CHAPERONES FOLLOWED US WHAT IS THE PROTOCOL? Whoa, sir.
I ain't fluent.
I got curses and toasts, that's all.
Papa, please.
We surrender our passports.
we want to defect to United States.
The United States.
You speak English big time.
I learned by watching American television on the black market.
Don't tell my father.
You, uh, coming from the prom? Uh a concert.
This dress belonged to my mother.
NADIA, WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? We'll, uh, call the State Department and get someone down here to meet you.
Discuss political asylum.
You know, if you do this, there's no going back.
Yeah.
Welcome to the United States, little man.
I am sorry.
He only knows police in Russia, where they can't be trusted.
Things are different here.
You call me, any time.
I'll help you out.
And, uh, for your, uh, collection.
Philadelphia.
Our new home.
KOSLOV, N.
DEC '89 I haven't responded to a fight on the highway since I was in uniform.
Call came in from the district, someone asking for me by name.
I'll turn that face into scrap metal! I'll kill you first! Your kind of crowd, Nick.
Who's the guy? Do I know you? Yeah, you said I could call anytime.
I'm Dimitri.
Yeah, Koslov.
I remember.
What's going on? This scum has my sister's bag.
This bag ain't even mine, man! So where'd you get it, tough guy? Cousin Beamer.
Just denied parole.
His mama's giving away his stuff.
Son of a bitch.
Know whose it is? Nadia Koslov.
Who's she? I was in the Ninth District the night the family defected.
Four months later, I was at her funeral.
COLD CASE 608 ʱ¼äÖá:ÎÒ°®Ê¨ÐÄСs NadiKoslov, Skull fracture, severe bruising, manner of death undetermined.
Multiple blunt-force trauma with cardiac arrest, consistent with other wilding victims that night.
Serious crime wave in the subways, fall of '89.
Packs of kids surrounding their victims, commuters mostly.
I'm 22 years old; I just aced my firearms training; and my ma's begging me not to take the Broad Street line.
Well, your mom wasn't wrong.
The assailants got her bag, but they left her jean jacket, sneakers AND HER EMPTY CASSETTE TAPE.
She made some kind of mix tape THE DAY she died.
She was gonna be a big opera star, but she loved pop culture.
Toughest funeral I ever went to.
I promised the Koslovs that things would be different here, but they were worse.
The cousin of the punk we picked up in Center City.
Arrested on agg assault charges three months after Nadia's murder.
Known ties with the crew who was out wilding the night Nadia died.
Lab found residue on her bag.
This clown's DNA shows up, we got a slam-dunk.
What was it about Nadia Koslov's bag caught your eye? You like the patches, the places your sorry ass will never see, huh, Beamer? I ain't Beamer no more.
I found my Lord and Savior.
I go by Michael now.
Tell me what happened that night, I'll start using your grownup name.
It wasn't me who killed her, man.
No? Then how'd you get her bag? When I found her, she was already half-dead.
* I got a letter from the government * * The other day, I opened and read it * * It said they were suckers * PHONE * They wanted me for their army or whatever * * Picture givin' a damn, I said never * * Here is a land that never gave a damn * * About a brother like me and myself * * Because they never did * Oh, man.
Zo Zo Say what? Zol toi * that I'm a black man * * And I could never be a veteran * * On the strength, the situation's unreal * * I got a raw deal * * So I'm looking for the steel * * I'm goin' for that steel * Seeing that girl die like that, all alone messed me up real good, man.
Nothing else to do but pray.
What's that you heard her say? "Zula Toy.
" Is that Russian or something? I don't know.
But it's stuck in my head to this day.
You see anyone else in the subway? I only heard the girl falling and footsteps.
What kind of footsteps? The running kind.
A bunch of Air Jordans up the stairs two at a time? Up the stairs, but they was like clickety-clack, know what I'm sayin'? Hard-soled shoes? Yeah.
How many? One person, that's all.
You're saying it wasn't a wilding thing? As God is my witness.
And I ain't got no reason to lie.
Clickety-clack.
"Zula Toy"? Come on, Yakov Smirnoff.
Tell me you know what it means.
No clue.
Like I told you, curses and toasts.
But I know someone who might.
You say you cannot convict man who killed my daughter.
Now you say you can? What I'm saying, Leo, is that we've got a new lead: Nadia's dying words.
"Zula Toy.
" That mean anything to you? I have no idea why Nadia say this.
Sounds like zolotoi.
It means "gold," "golden one.
" Come on, Pop.
They're trying to help.
They cannot bring back Nadia.
We have witness testimony.
Whoever killed Nadia didn't steal anything.
So why? Drian who kill her? She knows this person? What do you remember about the night Nadia died? Pop was driving his usual night shift.
I was upstairs with the babysitter.
Anyone come to mind, had a problem with Nadia? Of course.
You have been to durdom? The insane asylum-- that's what he called her high school.
Regis High School of the Performing Arts.
Nadia was a voice major.
I thought it was a good school.
Pop hated the place.
A lot different than the conservatory back in St.
Petersburg.
At Regis there is no study.
Only craziness.
You say it is someone she knows.
It is someone there.
My tax dollars paying for this circus? Can hardly hear myself think.
My high school, we were lucky to get a field trip to the dump.
Hey, hey.
Hey.
Clickety-clack.
Detectives? I'm Elliot Glick.
Right this way.
Bear with me.
Office hours will start in a few.
Cute haircut, Jules.
Back at you, Elliot.
Nadia's death was a tragedy.
She'd only been in the country four months.
You knew her? Not really.
I was the head of the drama department, and she was a voice major, so, you know, we didn't interact much.
You remember any students or faculty she might have called Zolotoi? No, that doesn't ring a bell.
We'll need the attendance and disciplinary records from that year.
- Nadia's files, yearbook, too.
- Anything you want.
See you have an all-girl fan club outside.
Nadia a member when she was a student? I told you we didn't interact much.
What about the night she died? I was at home with my wife.
We were divorced 15 years ago, but she'll remember.
We were we were devastated when we got the call.
Better luck second time around? The third time's a charm.
We'll need a list of her teachers.
Well, she only had one: Phoebe Curtis.
FORMER STUDENT OF MINE.
One teacher? How's that happen? Phoebe taught an advanced workshop.
Only eight students were accepted, and Nadia was one of them.
I understand you were Nadia Koslov's teacher at Regis.
She was in my improv workshop.
I was an alumna, too.
Artist-in-residence.
Class of '77.
Voice major, right? I'm a much better trophy wife than I ever was a singer.
Who else was in your workshop? A couple of kids from each of the departments.
They collaborated in class, and then completed a final project.
This final project Nadia work with anyone in particular? Oh, no, it was solo performance.
They had to improvise on the city streets, and then submit a recording of it for their final grade.
Like, on a cassette tape? Or a videotape, something like that.
You still have Nadia's? She died before completing the course work.
I never got to hear it.
When was the last time you saw her? In my class, the day before she died.
Did Nadia ever have any nicknames for you? Not that I know of.
But I'm sure there was some of that behind my back.
I had a reputation for being demanding.
Any of her classmates have any problems with her? Nadia was a world-class soprano.
They were all jealous.
What they didn't realize is that she was struggling just as hard as they were.
* Il n'a jamais * HIGH SCHOOL FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS * Jamais connu de loi * * Si tu ne m'aimes * Nadia.
* Pas je t'aime * Nadia, I'm sorry.
* Si je * Nadia.
I'm gonna have to ask you to stop.
I did something wrong? I asked you to prepare a piece that expresses who you are.
It is my signature aria.
I perform it in concert.
Nadia, I want to hear your voice, your soul, not your technique.
But my father says I'm not talking about your father.
I'm talking about you, Nadia.
Who are you? Not what you think.
What you feel.
I don't know.
Okay.
Well, have a seat until you figure it out.
Cyrus, get up there and open up a vein.
Ow! Nadia, what's the problem? Black roses.
I must have an admirer.
Maybe I was too hard on her.
You know, those kids were tough enough on themselves.
And each other.
That girl at the door Chelsea.
Chelsea Cutler.
She had just lost her spot in my workshop.
To Nadia.
Yes.
What's with the black roses? They were Chelsea's thing.
She doodled them everywhere.
Had a black rose tattoo, the whole nine.
After Nadia died, you give her spot to anyone? Well, since it was available, I gave it to Chelsea.
Boss.
What do you got, Kat? Lab ID'd the substance on Nadia's bag.
- Methyl salicylate.
- What is it? It's a compound found in aspirin and muscle rubs.
This case, in something called oil of wintergreen.
Oil of wintergreen? - Saying she ingested it? - Yep.
Found trace amounts in her blood samples.
- Lab never tested it back in the day - 'Cause they thought it was a wilding incident.
Trace amounts enough to cause a fatal overdose? Not usually, but Nadia had asthma.
People like her aspirin compounds can be highly toxic.
Would have happened almost immediately.
Caused the cardiac arrest.
That's what the ME said.
And get this.
Oil of wintergreen's a coagulant.
Bruises would have gotten worse after she died.
Making it look like she had been beaten.
Nothing random about this crime, boss.
Nadia was poisoned.
Oil of wintergreen's toxic? What, like, death by breath mint? In its concentrated form.
You know, little brown glass dropper bottle.
Where did she get the stuff? No poisoning Web sites in '89.
Well, any health food store.
Lucky for me, not many around back then.
What the hell is it used for? Flavoring in candy, fragrance in muscle rubs and lip balms and, uh, beekeeping.
Beekeeping? "An essential oil for promoting healthy swarms.
" So, after tap class, Chelsea Cutler's tending her bees.
I'm working on it, okay? Don't hate and why do you keep saying "she"? - Could have been a guy, you know? - Come on.
You know how the ladies love to poison.
Better watch what you drink.
Sorry.
I needed some joe.
No problem.
Got her waiting.
So got any tattoos, Chelsea? Tattoos? I thought you wanted to ask me about Nadia Koslov.
Like answers better than questions around here.
Uh, yes, one.
A black rose.
Black roses.
That your thing back in '89? Oh, God.
What I did to Nadia with the roses.
You think it was me? Took careful planning getting those things in her bag, - no one seeing.
- Cunning and preparation: two key ingredients in homicidal poisoning.
Poisoning? I thought it was a bunch of guys in the subway.
It's a real personal way of killing someone.
You remember who got Nadia's spot in Phoebe's workshop after she died? Please, I did not kill her.
Nadia was stealing your spotlight; you stole it back.
I was angry, and what I did was totally stupid, but once she got into that workshop, - she had much bigger problems than me.
- OH YEAH? How is that? Kids in that class were the best of the best.
They got whatever they wanted.
And somebody wanted Nadia.
* Make my day * * Pump up the jam * * Pump it up while your feet are stompin' * * And the jam is pumpin' * * Look at here the crowd is jumpin', pump it up * Career concept: ditch the ethnic last name.
Move over, Madonna; hello, Nadia.
* Find out if you're too bad * * Nadia, oh, what can I say? * * If you weren't so uptight, you might make my day * Whoo! * Cyrus, baby, if ego was a crime * * You'd be chillin' on death row * * Doin' time, doin' time.
* You are so busted.
Who knew? She totally gets it.
A dance? * Make my, make my, make, make my day * * Yo, pump up the jam * * Pump it up, pump it up * * Yo, pump it, pump up the jam, pump it * They were attached at the hip after that.
Never saw one without the other.
They still dating when Nadia died? Hot and heavy.
Probably wouldn't have thought twice till I saw him on a gay bar crawl a couple years ago.
Gay? You just said he was dating a girl.
Exactly.
The guy was a mess.
DEAR PROFESSOR VRONKSY: I AM A HOMICIDE DETECTIVE WORKING TO SOLVE THE 1989 MURDER OF NADIA KOSLOV.
Couldn't sleep, either? Yeah.
What do you got? Pepperoni.
The books.
Opera for Dummies.
I thought my life was complicated.
Plots in these things talk about twists and turns.
Anything with Zolotoi? I looked for Zolotoi, Golden One, Gold got nothing.
Except how many of them have poisonings.
Popular way to go in opera.
How about you? Looking in Regis directories, Russian fables.
Even e-mailed a professor at the St.
Petersburg Conservatory.
Shot in the dark.
Shot in the dark's better than nothing.
Zolotoi.
Yep, Zolotoi.
ZOLOTOI "THE GOLDEN ONE" You and Nadia close back at Regis? Absolutely.
I wanted to write musicals for her.
I was the songwriter; she was the voice.
Thinking more on the romantic tip.
Oh.
Yeah, we fooled around a few times.
I guess you could say I was an equal opportunity crush.
Bisexual.
- Right.
- Yeah, it wasn't until college that I chose my major, so to speak.
You sound like a confused guy, Cyrus.
Getting close to Nadia even though you were on a different bus.
Maybe it was because she was an outsider.
We just sort of found each other.
- You two have any pet names? - No.
But we certainly did adore each other.
I haven't set foot back in the subway since she was u know.
Ever hear her use the word "Zolotoi"? - The Golden One? - No, she only spoke Russian with her family.
With me, she shared the things that she couldn't bring home.
Like what? Her dreams.
Where you headed, Miss Thing? I'm going to talk to Nikki about my final project.
Share.
Now.
Well, the other day, singing with you in the subway No, you're going to laugh.
Never.
I know it sounds stupid, but that was my voice.
You know, like Phoebe said, I was feeling, not thinking.
I want to be the singer in a band.
A star is born! Yeah, just don't tell my father.
He thinks I'm preparing an opera.
Your father's, like, in the KGB.
Only way I'm talking to him is if there's a gun to my head.
And Nikki's going to be your backup dancer? Well, I want her help me with choreography.
I mean, if I stand there in my ball gown for another minute like this She's probably not the greatest choice, Nadia.
Why not? She's the best.
But she's so not a team player.
Stop gawking at me.
And get your pet Commie - out of here.
- Nikki, what are you doing? Warming up for three hours on toe shoes.
What does it look like? An overdose.
But you're good.
You're great.
- You don't need this stuff.
- What I need is for you to get the hell out here! I'm gonna go get some help.
You're gonna be all right Bitch, if you get anyone, I swear to God you'll wish you hadn't.
Nadia consider herself warned? I don't think so.
That same week, Regis instituted a zero-tolerance drug policy and Nikki was expelled.
Well, how'd the prima ballerina take it? If she had a heart, it would've been broken.
You were in Phoebe Curtis's workshop? Sure was.
The best of the best.
Couldn't find you in the yearbook.
What happened between then and graduation? Regis wasn't preparing me for the realities of the biz.
So I quit.
You "quit," huh? So what's this? - Looks like "Papers of Expulsion"? - Yours.
Nadia rats you out for drugs, and you end up here.
So where were you, night she died? Truth this time.
I was too short for a professional corps de ballet.
Everyone tried to tell me.
But I wouldn't listen.
I punished myself instead.
Nothing an addict likes better - than someone else to blame it on.
- Trust me.
My hatred was directed inward.
They had already kicked me out when Nadia found me in my dressing room.
We check with the school, they gonna confirm that story? I could care less what the Regis faculty say about me.
Those losers couldn't do, teach, or keep their hands to themselves.
Think of the most painful experience of your life.
Boil it down to one name.
And when you're ready, say it out loud.
Shout it, if you have to.
But it's so hard to choose.
I have to go.
You're holding onto something, Nadia.
You've got to let it go.
"Holding on"? I left my entire life behind.
I have nothing left to hold onto.
Except the hurt.
It's come right along with you.
Running away is not the same thing as letting go.
I'm trying.
I've seen brilliant performers self-destruct.
If you need my help I'll be there for you.
Day or night.
Okay.
Elliot Glick took a special interest in Nadia? Like a heat-seeking missile.
What was in that - little, brown bottle of his? - I don't know.
Aromatherapy stuff? What'd it smell like? Minty.
Said you and Nadia "didn't interact much.
" Want to revise that statement? No.
- Been divorced twice already.
- Well, I don't see what my marital history has to do with Nadia Koslov.
Family court records on their way.
Might give us some insight to the cause of all those breakups.
Anything you want to tell beforehand? I have nothing to hide.
Delivery invoice from Heart Mart, your old neighborhood health food store.
Read the highlighted part.
"Oil of wintergreen.
" - You know that it was toxic? - I was careful with it.
I used it for MEditating.
Witnesses saw you applying it to minors, including Nadia.
Getting handsy with her afterwards.
I was teaching The Method.
I was helping my students gain an emotional investment in their work.
I gave my soul to those kids.
You were making a pass.
And when she rejected you, you made her pay.
I didn't kill Nadia.
But I didn't protect her, either.
Nadia.
Are you all right? Katya.
- Excuse me? - Katya.
The name I would've said if I had courage.
Your mother.
Come here.
My father didn't let me go to her funeral.
He didn't even let me cry for her.
She was a big deal soprano, so instead of mourning, we practiced.
I'm sorry.
Before we left, I wanted to put roses on her grave.
But now I never can.
She would be so proud of you.
I just wish she could hear what I sound like.
Not in Russia, now.
Well, she can.
Go ahead.
LET HER HEAR WHAT YOU SING.
* And I see your true colors * * Shining through * * See your true colors * * That's why I love you * * To let them show * I stop by.
You not at opera.
- They say you quit.
- Mr.
Koslov Papa! Papa! - Hold on! - Why are you not working? I am! In here, with this podunkum, singing this khrenovyi Amerikansky pop? My final project is due tonight, and I will do it the way that I want.
There is more to life than opera.
Opera is our life.
I am not her, Papa.
This crap school, it ruins us.
"Us"? There is no us! Just your dreams being shoved down my throat.
A parent should encourage his child's independence.
But Leo took Nadia's growth as a personal betrayal.
He chased her down the hall.
That was the last time I saw her.
Hey, Nick, I've got something.
A dean from St.
Petersburg Conservatory got back to us.
- Yeah? - Back in Russia, Leo Koslov was a vocal coach to some big careers, including his wife's.
- Katya.
- She gave him a nickname and it stuck, at least in opera circles.
Zolotoi.
The Golden One.
Nadia was saying a name with her last breath.
And it was her father's.
Open a bottle of vodka, can't leave the table till it's done.
Russian tradition? Grandpops, on my ma's side.
My Deyda.
Left Russia and came to this country alone.
He was 14.
Wish I could ask him more questions.
Listen to more of his stories.
TO THE WISDOM OF OUR ELDERS.
TO YOUR GRANDFATHER OF BLESSED MEMORY.
Never knew about your career in the old country, Leo.
Now I do.
With her dying breath, Nadia said your name.
The glory days of your family, your career, your marriage.
Zolotoi.
Why did you lie to me? I thought I could leave the past behind.
Hamlet.
Romeo and Juliet.
Lacrazy Borga.
Lucrezia Borgia.
The great operas.
Stories all had death by poisoning.
Is that how you punished Nadia for dishonoring you? I am one who is punished by fate.
You knew she had asthma.
You knew it would be quick.
Did that take the sting out of what you were doing? You think I did not suffer enough? Nadia made a tape the day she died.
Empty case found at the crime scene.
You have it, Leo? Nadia had asked me to grieve for all we had lost.
The last time I saw her, she showed me the joy that is possible on the other side of grief.
* It's a long day * * Living in Reseda * * There's a freeway * * RUNNING through their yard * * And I'm a bad girl * * 'Cause I don't even miss him * * Hey, I'm a bad girl * * For breaking his heart * * And I'm free * * Free fallin' * * Now I'm free fallin' * * Free fallin' * * Free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * Hey, I'm free * * And I'm free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * Free fallin' * * Now I'm free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * Va', pensiero, sull'ali dorate * * Va', ti posa sui clivi, sui colli * * O veo lezza note pide molli * * Free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * L'au dolci del suo lo natal * * O mio Patria, s bella perduta * * O remembranza s cara e fatal * * And I'm free * * Free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * Now I'm free fallin', now I'm free fallin' * * Now I'm free fallin', now I'm free fallin', now * You know "Va Pensiero?" From an opera by Verdi.
It's a famous song about freedom and also of homesickness.
The tape-- it was her final project for the class that I cursed.
She knew you loved her.
But I never got a chance to tell her that.
Elliot Glick's divorce records were a goldmine.
Glick's exes had a lot to say about his extracurricular activities.
He have a history with his students? Phoebe Curtis.
Major player in his second divorce.
Ten years on and off.
Cornered his second wife in a parking garage with a crowbar.
And that was just her opening act.
Would have been threatened by Nadia once Glick had his eyes on her.
Well, Glick brought oil of wintergreen to Phoebe's apartment for that acting thing.
Date on the cassette case is the day Nadia died.
Missing tape was her final project.
She might have gone to Phoebe's house to hand it in personally.
Phoebe lived two blocks from the subway where Nadia was found.
Get her down here.
Want you to think of the most painful experience in your life, boil it down to a name, and say it out loud.
I'm sorry.
I don't understand.
Too hard to say Elliot Glick's name? Elliot and I were friends.
Such good friends you decided to harass his wife.
Only thing you forgot was the antifreeze and boiling bunny.
What made you so mad, Phoebe? You think he was forgetting about you? He wasn't forgetting about me.
I was his muse.
Sure, when you still had potential.
But you start acting up And he creates the artist-in-residence position to keep you close, work a little damage control.
I was a great teacher.
I inspired those kids.
Till Elliot found his new muse, Nadia Koslov.
Then you pull out the oil of wintergreen, and start making your plans.
Went back to your old apartment, Pheebs.
Stuff's all over the place.
Seeped through the linoleum floors.
You're right.
I had a plan.
But it wasn't to kill Nadia.
PLEASE FORGIVE ME.
Elliot? I wanted to kill myself.
That was my plan.
But you're sitting right here.
'Cause it wasn't about Elliot anymore.
Not once you heard that tape.
Nadia had found her voice.
She was the real deal.
Elliot knew that.
So did you.
That kind of talent Made you realize that you never had it.
That hurt.
Even more than him not loving me.
Until I got the idea that if Nadia was gone Your problems would be, too.
I'm sorry.
I'm so sorry.
* O remembranza s cara e fatal * * And I'm free * Phoebe, are you okay? It's It's beautiful.
You're the one who taught me HOW to feel.
I felt my mother in my heart, and I sang for her.
Elliot says running away is not the same thing as letting go.
Maybe that's why you're sad.
I made this for myself.
It's, uh, good for your throat.
You take it.
You're the real singer in this room.
Go ahead.
Thank you.
Come on.
Let's get you to the train.
* You with the sad eyes * * Don't be discouraged * * Oh, I realize * * It's hard to take courage * * In a world full of people, you can lose sight of it all * * And the darkness inside you make you feel so small * * But I see your true colors shining through * * I see your true colors * * And that's why I love you * * So don't be afraid to let them show * * Your true colors * * True colors are beautiful like a rainbow * * Show me a smile then * * Don't be unhappy * * Can't remember when I * * Last saw you laughing * * If this world makes you crazy * * And you've taken all you can bear * * You call me up because you know I'll be there * * And I'll see your true colors * * And that's why I love you * * So don't be afraid to let them show * * Your true colors * * True colors are beautiful like a rainbow.
*