Cold Case s06e23 Episode Script

*** I just want you to know,I'm not going to let you down.
Kate Butler-- parents reported her missing three years ago.
Pennsylvania Military Institute.
I knew the cadets hated her.
Rhianna? That's what they called Ryan after Kate smoked him.
Look,it wasn't the students that Kate Butler had to worry about.
Cadet Gardner here will show you to Moe.
He's my operations officer.
Look,I'd be lying to you to say that ere wasn't resentment among some of the cadets.
- Lawrence! - Yes,Major.
Come on,Scotty.
Pick up.
and does not depict any actual person or event ("Once" by Pearl Jam playing) *I admit it What's to say?* *I'll relive it Without pain Backstreet lover on the side of the road* *I got a bomb in my temple that is gonna explode* *I got a 16-gauge buried under my clothes I play Once upon a time* *I could control myself Ooh,once upon a time I cold lose myself Yeah,yeah,yeah* *Oh,try and mimic What's insane I am in it Where do I stand?* Presents Season 6 Episode 23 And what day is it? Saturday.
Any blurred vision,nausea? No.
No signs of hypothermia,but you took a pretty good shot to the head.
Might have a concussion.
Going to need to run a couple of tests-- CT scan,for one-- - and we'll follow that up with - How long is that going to take? The tech will be down in a couple of minutes to bring you upstairs if they're not too backed up.
Either way,you're going to need to take it easy for a while,Detective, and Hey,where you going,Lil? The doc released you already? Oh,uh,did all the tests and came back fine.
They haven't even dredged your squad car out of Neshaminy Creek yet.
Did CSU find anything at the scene? Skid marks from the vehicle that ran you off the road.
Will,Nick and Kat are searching PMI's campus for a car with body damage.
Lil! It was Cadet Lawrence Gardner,boss.
He he wrote that sword hate mail,attacked Kate Butler in the shower.
- He wanted her gone.
- Whoa,slow down,Lil.
No,m fine.
I'm telling you.
We know where Lawrence is now? Scotty went to PMI thi morning to pick him up.
He wasn't in his room,anywhere on campus.
We have broadcasts all over the region looking for him now.
Got to be the same guy that ran me off the road.
Now,let me drive you home.
At least get a change of clothes.
Got everything I need in my locker.
Hey,guys.
Lil.
- Hey,how you doing? - I'm fine.
You'd do anything to get out of that bucket of bolts,wouldn't you? What do you got? Picked up Lawrence's files when I was up there.
Reason he's still a senior: he took six months off two weeks after Kate disappeared.
Mom said he had mono.
The oldest excuse in the book.
What about Keith Henderson,uh,black cadet who said he was on tours? Yeah,checked the tours and confinements lists.
Kid was on it.
The swipe card says he never left campus.
Doesn't add up.
Barracks sign-out log says he left the dorm same time Kate did.
That's 'cause the log was copied.
Found it last night in the diner.
November 15,'05,the night Kate disappeared.
Check this one out: November 1.
Names,signatures,times.
Everything's the same.
Same damn sign-out log.
Only the date's be changed.
Made it look like Kate didn't come back.
The truth is,she never even left.
So,who doctored these logs? Lilly.
Today's not the day.
Only place I know where to find you.
You get the letter I sent? You can't fix everything with a damned letter,Dad.
You at least read it? Lilly? Your turn,pook.
I know.
Lilly I have to go do some things.
It means that I I may have to be gone a while.
Where are you going? Don't know yet.
With Mommy? No,no,I don't I don't think so.
Probably not.
Who's going to sleep by her? Well,sometimes mommies and daddies,they don't they don't sleep by each other.
Which way can I move my knight? Uh L-move,twand one.
But if you take my pawn,I'll take your knight with my rook.
Or you could do that.
You really are a smart kid.
Lilly.
What's the matter? - Are you okay? - I got to get back.
Celeste.
My wife's name.
Been married 22 years.
We have a daughter,Maggie,and a son,Finn.
They want to meet you.
Lil.
John Stillman.
Paul Cooper.
I,uh,didn't meano interrupt.
You're not.
I got to go.
We found the car that ran you off the road.
It's on the PMI campus.
Passenger-side mirror is busted.
Dent,front right side.
Paint transfer from another car.
CSU tech took a sample.
Looks like yours.
Said the treads looked good for the skid marks at the scene.
Is it the car that hit you? All I saw were the headlights.
Glad you're okay.
Thanks.
PMI staffer said it's a campus car.
Tow squad's on its way.
Belongs to the school? We just got to find out who had access and where the keys are.
Time to shut this campus down.
Trap a rat in his hole.
DEFCON One in effect,Detectives.
Front gate is closed.
Every door with a handle or hinge,locked down.
Who are the campus cars for? We make them available to administrators who may need them.
What about students? - Only senior aides.
- Lawrence Gardner.
He a senior aide? Assaulting and killing Kate Butler,running a cop off the road.
- Those are some serious accusations you're making.
- Suburban with the damage.
Was Lawrence using it? He was picking up a football recruit at the airport yesterday.
Still has the keys.
Lawrence have access to the barracks sign-out logs in '05? Lawrence's always done his best to serve the school.
Just answer the question.
He was Echo Company clerk.
Why did Lawrence take a six-month leave of absence,December '05? Wasn't mono,was it,Moe? Fatigue.
"Fatigue.
" You saying the kid had some kind of breakdown? Looking back a few days before she disappeared,it all starts to make sense.
("Alive" by Pearl Jam playing) Fight till you drop.
You go down,you die.
Someone will take care of your girl.
Understood? Sir,yes,sir! Now,which one of you chuckleheads thinks he can take Cadet Lawrence,best pugil stick in Echo Company? No one wants to man up? I'd like a shot,sir.
Cadet Butler you a man? No,sir.
But I'd like a shot,sir.
Think you're special,Butler? Is that how you see yourself,special as a snowflake? Sir,I'm no snowflake,sir.
Step up,Maxipad.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
Lawrence,take no prisoners.
Yes,sir.
Hit him,Kate-- that's right.
Come on!Come on,Lawrence.
Don't let a girl kick your ass.
Come on,Lawrence-- don't let her get you.
Knock that bitch down! Get her!Get her!Get her! Get up,Kate-- come on! Take her down,Lawrence.
Don't you ever come near me again.
Girl was tougher than I thought.
Saying she was out for revenge? Didn't know about the assault at the time.
Well,Lawrence didn't walk out the front gate.
He's got to be holed up somewhere on campus.
There's only one room in the barracks with a lock.
Where's the key to Kate's room? Police-- open up.
Scotty.
Get him down.
Forget it-- he's gone.
Key to the room.
And keys to the Suburban.
Son of a bitch.
Look at the rope.
Standard slipknot.
It's on the right side.
How did he tie it himself? Lawrence was left-handed.
Knot should be on the other side.
Rope's up under the chin.
Like he was lifted up.
Did it himself,it would've dug into his Adam's apple.
Marks on the back of the neck.
This kid didn't kill himself.
Someone did it for him.
Lilly? You all right? Number three.
You sure? Yes.
It was him.
Number three,John.
You're a brave girl,Lilly Rush.
Who are you? John Stillman.
Detective Stillman's the one who caught the man that hurt you.
My mother said it was too late.
Long as you ask the right questions,never too late.
Lil? Sure you're okay? - Tired,that's all.
- I asked around.
Lawrence spent his share of time in the chapel.
Religious type.
Explains all that biblical hate mail.
Hiding her nakedness from the sight of God.
Going to talk to the chapln.
See if he confided in him about anything.
Campus lockdown came a little too late.
Coroner thinks Lawrence might've been killed some time last night.
Get back to your duties.
All hail the commandant.
Detective Rush.
I've just informed Cadet Gardner's family.
Second homicide in four years.
You got a PR disaster on your hands.
I was told this was a suicide.
Lawrence was dead before he was hung.
Someone must've found out we were looking at him.
- This happened last night? - That mean something you? Hank Butler came to see me.
He had been drinking.
You son of a bitch.
My daughter's gone.
Kate is gone.
- Hank,sit down.
- You were in charge,Lou.
I tried talking to her,but she was her father's daughter.
She kept her own counsel.
Talk to her about what? A racking.
May have gone too far.
Why didn't you call me? You said no special treatment.
What happened? Couple of weeks before she disappeared,I think she may have been assaulted.
I want the name of every cadre in Echo Company.
Now.
Hank and I were knobs together.
We graduated the same year.
And you gave him those names? He would've found out anyway.
Lawrence Gardner on that list? What time did he leave your office? Little after midnight.
I assumed he went straight home,but now Forgot this last time you were here.
I heard about a guy,lost his PMI ring at boot camp.
Ten year anniversary,his wife had a replacement made to the exact specs.
Cadet number inside,and whole nine.
- Charlotte told you about that? - You used to love that school.
- It's hard to remember.
- How about last night? - Remember that,Hank? - Yeah,I do.
Had a date with a bottle.
Was a terrible date.
Just what I wanted.
The date go down at PMI? Sallyport guard saw your car leaving campus at 3:00 a.
m.
About the time Cadet Lawrence Gardner was killed.
Eye for an eye,Hank? I didn't hurt anyone.
You find that son of a bitch before we did? I know what I said.
But I saw the chapel.
- The chapel,Hank? - Yeah.
And I asked God's forgiveness for what happened last time I was there.
("Nothingman" by Pearl Jam playing) Attention to orders.
As First Sergeant,Echo Company,I'd like to present the PMI Distinction Medal to a fourth class cadet who has shown outstanding merit.
Cadet Butler,front and center.
Sir.
Cadet Butler,you have displayed outstanding qualities in both academics and physical training.
Thank you,sir.
Do you have anything to say? Yes,I do,sir.
Stand at ease.
"What we obtain too cheap,we esteem too lightly.
" 'Tis dearness only that gives everything its value.
" I didn't understand why First Sergeant Addison was quoting Thomas Paine ting e**** **an Rolution like he was, but we're still fighting.
Fighting for the strength to keep at it,fighting for the respect of our company, and for the pride of our families.
I hope to earn them all someday.
Echo Company,atten-hut! I remember the first d she was born.
Those tiny little hands,they had such a tight grip,like she'd never let go.
Three hours is long time to spend in a chapel.
Sure you didn't go anywhere else that night,Hank? I didn't go looking for those cadets.
I left the list that Murillo gave me on his secretary's desk.
Going to be checking with her on that.
Was the last chance I had to tell her how proud I was.
And I walked away.
Got the Bucks County Coroner's report on Cadet Lawrence Gardner.
Cause of death,manual strangulation.
And no scrapings under his nails,no bruises or cuts.
Kid didn't put up a fight.
Or it happened so fast,he didn't have time to wake up.
Chaplain said Lawrence helped out with the services.
He was running a spiritual retreat the night Kate was killed.
Off campus the whole weekend.
So,he couldn't have killed her.
Well,find out who else had access tthat Suburban.
Ifawrence wasn't dring it,I wa to know who was CSU found something in Kate's quarters where Lawrce's dy was found.
A letter to Kate.
Found it rolled up inside the metal bar in her closet.
"Tee good reasons "we should be together.
one:" They'll never find out.
" "Two: None couldove you as much as Io.
Three: can't live thout you.
" - J.
F.
A.
" - J.
F.
A.
- James Addison? - James Frederick Addison.
Commandant asked him to keepn eye on Kate.
Gives a whole new meaning to "shine detail.
" Kate decides to call it off.
But he won't let her go.
Puts her in a footlocker instead.
Got Romeo in the box.
You ready? Be right there.
Son!Congratulations! Your mother and I are so proud of you.
Hey,Lil,you coming or what? You see my dad come by here a few minutes ago? No.
No.
Is everything all right? Yeah.
Yeah.
Just trying to tie up some loose ends,Lieutenant.
What you told us about Kate being attacked in the showers.
- I told you everything I ow.
- Right,on shine detail.
She ever mention being romantically involved with another cadet? No.
She wasn't.
Well,you seem pretty sure about that.
She wouldn't risk violating the non-fraternization policy.
Would you? I don't know what you mean.
Found this love letter in her room.
It's your handwriting,Don Juan.
You didn't just watch out for Cadet Butler.
You took advantage of her.
Senior cadet is a position of power.
She couldn't get rid of you if she wanted to.
- She wasn't getting rid of me.
- You knew about the assault,that Lawrence was unstable.
Told us about the barracks sign-out log,the list of guards with sabers.
You knew Lawrence would look good for her murder.
You string him up,case closed,right,we all go home? Beautiful job.
You just put the knot on the wrong damn side.
I don't get it.
I thought Lawrence killed himself.
Lawrence didn't kill himself,James.
Just like Ka didn't run away.
Give us three good reasons we shouldn't lock your lying ass up.
All right,so I liked her.
And when she didn't like you back? What did you do then,James? I wrote her that letter.
She doesn't give you the answe you're looking for.
Try and convince her otherwise,she says no No!She felt the same way.
I know she did.
("Given to Fly" by Pearl Jam playing) Cadet Butler? There's a million good reasons we should be together,James.
But I can't.
Not until after Recognition Day.
What's gonna change then? Won't be a knob anymore.
They won't treat you any different,Kate.
Trust me.
The hell with them.
I'm not doing this for them.
You're doing it 'cause of your old man.
Growing up, my dad talked about this place like the Earth revolved around it.
But now,I'm doing it for me.
And the harder they push,the rder I fight back.
That's the way you want to go about it,it's gonna be a long four years.
- I won that medal legit.
- Lots of guys won medals,Kate.
Just 'cause you can hack it doesn't mean they'll accept you.
I can't make them like me.
They think you're some tight-ass grinder,a barracks rat.
You never go out,you never even let them get to know you.
You don't think I want that? I've never been invited.
I'm inviting you now.
You said it yourself.
They hate me.
Well,then,let them see the other side of you.
The side that I see.
Don't just prove to them that you can hack it.
Prove to them that you belong.
I thought she was gonna come out that night and meet me.
That maybe things could change for Kate at e school.
But she never showed up? I didn't blame her.
I mean,the guys were tough.
But no barracks rat ever makes it through PMI.
- Barracks rat? - Guys who hole up in the dorms all weekend.
Too stressful a place.
You you got to blow off some steam.
There's no way you can make it through that school without friends.
Excuse me.
You all right? Freezing.
- Who turned off the heat? - Cutbacks.
Dropped the thermostat.
Do me favor.
Check the sign-out logs for all of Kate's knob year.
Find the barracks rats,cadets who never left on the weekends.
Ma'am? Yowanted to see me,Lieutenant? I see you made the pinch on that carjacking,Rush.
Yes,Lieutenant.
Had a lucky day.
You create your luck by hard work.
Well,if I was paying more attention,I might have caught the guy before he got out onto the highway.
You did well on the detective's test,too.
Looks like you'll make it next week.
Thank you,sir.
Figure I'll probably end up in East.
I have a few guys set to retire next couple of years.
I could use somebody with your instincts and determination.
Homicide? You interested? Of course,sir.
Well,learn your job at East,do it right.
I'll keep an eye out,and we'll talk when the time comes.
I'll be ready,sir.
Good,because you'll be the first female homicide detective in the Philly Police Department.
You're gonna need a thick skin.
I can handle myself.
I knew that a long time ago.
There was a letter sitting on my desk.
You see it? Nope.
But I did check out the barrack's sign-out log from '05.
- All of them? - Hup two.
There's only one cadet who never left the barracks on a weekend his entire knob year.
Ryan Stewart.
Never even went home for the holidays.
You should check out his transcript.
Those marks-- it's a wonder they let him stay at the school at all.
Rhianna had a lot of issues.
You know,being soft,dull and friendless is no way to go through college.
Cadet Ryan Stewart,Philly PD.
Go away! There's something blocking it.
Open the door,you little pissant.
- Just leave me alone! - Relax,Ryan.
Just want to talk.
No.
There's nothing to talk about.
I can't take this anymore.
Take what anymore? What you did to Kate? Look,I'm sick of lying.
We can help.
Come on,Ryan.
We can help you.
Nobody's gonna help me.
Look,I can't go to jail.
Nobody's gonna bail me out.
Bad shape.
Bad shape.
Gun! You come any closer,I swear to God,I'm gonna shoot.
You don't have to worry about that.
I'm gonna blow your brains out for you.
Get your ass on the ground! It was me.
I did it I'm sorry.
All right,you ready? Talk about that night.
It was just me in the barracks.
That Saturday night?November 15,2005? Every Saturday night.
You know,it was just me.
Kate was there,too? The only other cadet around.
And even with all the crap that she took,she was a girl.
And they still liked her better than me.
("Release" by Pearl Jam playing) Ryan?What are you doing here? Oh,it's it's calculus.
This new chapter is killing me.
- I heard you were a great tutor,so I - I haven't even looked at it yet.
Oh,I just figured you'd probably be holed up studying,too,so You're not going out? No.
What's new?I guess we have that in common,huh? Why don't you take my notes? Okay,cool.
So,what are you? What's up?Are you just?Are you just going to bed? Look,Ryan,I got to get ready.
Where you going? Meeting some of the guys.
You're kidding.
Who? Echo Company? They-They invited you out? - You should come,too.
- No.
I get it.
They'd,uh they'd ther just hang out with a chick than me.
- Come on,Ryan.
- Oh,no,no.
Oh,you mean,Rhianna,right? Worthless tub of goo? Don't say that.
You got to show them you can hang with them.
No.
You probably just think that I'll wash out anyway,right? Is that what?That's what you think,right? No.
I didn't say that.
No.
You-You think that.
Right? They all think it.
You-you know that the guys above us-- they all say that they're the last true class of PMI because of you.
- Not 'cause of me.
- You have ruined everything.
Graduating from here used to mean something.
- Ryan,just take the notes.
- No,I don't want the notes.
Damn it,Ryan.
And I just kept waiting for her to stand up but she didn't.
How did you get rid of the body? What? You were a freshman.
You didn't have a car.
So how did you get rid of the body? Somebody helped him.
Lawrence? Kid doesn't have it in him to pull off a premeditated murder.
And why confess to one murder,but not two? The Suburban from PMI that hit you was ticketed five times in the past four years.
On the way to Roxborough.
Same driver used the car every time.
Army.
Rangers,right?Got to be a tough son of a bitch to wear that beret.
Came back to PMI in '87 as a PT instructor.
You're an institution.
Part of the long blue line.
Fourth generation sir.
Been looking over Ryan Stewart's transcript.
Uh,academic probation twice.
Poor to failing marks in PT.
Ma'am? The kid was a-a non-hacker.
Hardly PMI material.
Hindsight is always 20/20.
Yeah,but you promoted that chucklehead.
Got your sigture on his evaluations.
"Cadet Stewart shows promise.
" You saying I gave him a pass,Detective? That what it snds like to you? Took another look at those campus car records.
Every Sunday morning,it was you who checked out one of those cars.
I take my mother to mass on Sundays.
A diligent son.
Well,it turns out you're a creature of habit.
You got three speeding tickets-- two on the 76,and another on Ridge Avenue.
Same car.
I like to be on time.
See,Ridge Ave off 76 goes right through Roxborough.
And the cemetery where Kate Butler's body was buried.
Now you're saying I had something to do with Cadet Butler's murder? Told you,Lawrence drove that car.
Lawrence was just the clerk who knew too much.
Knew about the doctored sign-out logs from the barracks.
Lawrence Gardner was unstable.
What you wanted us to think when you stuffed the car keys in his pocket.
Teach you that in hand-to-hand combat training-- how to kill a man in his sleep,string him up? Pretty fanciful.
Yeah.
Same way you panicked when my partner got too close.
Ran her off the road in that same car.
What happened between Cadets Stewart and Butler was tragic and shameful, but if you're looking to spread the blame,I suggest you start with the courts.
The courts killed Kate Butler? Do you know how many congressmen have graduated from PMI? Twelve.
Six senators,eight four-star generals.
Those courts ordered us to change the way we do things here.
Now here we are.
Stuck installing women's latrines and tampon dispensers.
There are over 60 women's colleges in this country.
Do you see any men banging down the doors trying to get in? The value of a separate education is that it is separate! Sound bitter,Moe.
Because of this catastrophic experiment,an army of lawyers and press stand ready to shut down the institution I love, the one thing I share with my father and his before him.
Excuse me if I forgot to shed a tear for Hank Butler's daughter.
That why you buried her? Think I'll take one of those lawyers now.
Long night.
Can't piece it together.
The story.
What you always told me.
Ask the right questions till the story makes sense.
So what's the right question? You remember the honor code,Ryan? "A cadet shall not lie,cheat,or steal, nor tolerate those who do.
" He.
What? "Nor shall he tolerate those who do.
" That's right,by and for men,the way it's always been,the way Moe wants it to stay.
See,Moe believed in me.
Still worried he'll think less of you? That you're not a man if you don't take the rap? Not PMI material? The school has a tradition.
It has a code.
That's what he'd have you believe.
But if the honor code is the backbone of PMI why did he ask you to lie? Lawrence Gardner didn't kill himself,did he? No,he didn't,Ryan.
I went to tell him what I did wrong.
I didn't know what else to do.
("Immortality" by Pearl Jam playing) You'd better have a hell of a good reason for bothering me on a Saturday night,boy.
I hurt her,sir.
Get in here.
Get a hold of yourself,cadet.
Who did you hurt? Cadet Butler,sir.
I hit her and she didn't get up.
Where is she? In her room.
She's not breathing,sir.
What do you mean she's not breathing? I didn't mean it,sir.
Who else knows? Came straight to you,sir.
You want to graduate from this institution,don't you,son? More than anything,sir.
Be a PMI man just like your father? - Sir,yes,sir.
- Good.
Go get a footlocker out of storage.
This did not happen,not on this campus.
Do y understand me,son?! Loud and clear,sir.
As you were.
Sir,yes,sir.
Got you,Moe.
That so? You sent Ryan for that footlocker,made Cadet Butler's body disappear,and you framed Lawrence for the job.
What,now you going to tell me that kid is really dead? I just I just know he didn't do it.
That's all that matters.
Stories.
You're just telling yourself stories.
Even tried to take out a cop.
- You?- Busier than a one-legged man in an ass-kicking competition,Moe.
You can only keep the flood back for so long,Detective.
The flood? Pretty soon it's going to pull you down for good.
You put that girl in a box! I put you there,too,sweetheart.
No.
No,I got out.
I got you! Not from where I'm sitting.
What the hell is going on?! Long as you ask the right questions,never too late.
It's okay,Lil.
It's going to be okay.
We're going to get this guy,all right,we'll get him.
EMT said she kept going on about the barracks sign-out log.
Just located the car that ran her off the road.
On campus.
Dear Lilly,there are two sides to every story,neither of which I think you'll find satisfactory.
Suffice it to say,there is no way I could have stayed with your mother and survived.
In that sense,you're already stronger than me.
("Black" by Pearl Jam playing) I was a lousy father.
When I got sober enough to figure out how much I missed, it was too late to undo the damage.
* Sheets of empty canvas Untouched sheets * Much to my regret, I'll always be the dad who bought you a bike, but never taught you how to ride it.
* Spread out before me As her body once did * There were a few moments I tried to reconnect along the way.
But you were on your own path by then,your own woman.
And you turned out great,kid.
***** * Now the air I tasted and breathed Has taken a turn Ooh,* * and all I Taughher was Everything* I've missed so much of your life.
For that,I am sorry.
Not only to you,but for depriving myself for all those times you needed a father, somebody to protect you.
* And now my bitter hands Cradle broken glass * When you showed up that day at the park all these years later, my heart about mped out of my chest.
I thought maybe you came to judge me till I realized I'm the only parent you got left.
Like it or not,you only get one father.
* Gone bad Turned my worldo black Tattooed all I see * * All that I am All I'll be* Just know,if there's ever another moment in your life when you need me,I'll be there.