Cold Case 8-12: No Laughing Matter

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Adele: “Hiding My Heart”

 
“Eddie and I awoke and ran down the stairs when we heard the endless ringing of the doorbell. I opened the door and saw Al. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ I asked.

“’I want to see her, Penny. Where is Jessica?’ Al replied.

“’It’s 11:00 PM, Al! Where the hell do you think she is?’ I yelled back.

“Then Eddie, that’s when you came down the stairs to check out the noise. ‘What’s going on down … You! Unless you have a big-ass check to give my sister, get out!

“’Well, she’s my daughter too! I’m not leaving until I see her!’ Al replied.

“’Did anyone ever tell you that you have the worst timing in the world?’ asked Eddie.

“’Why now, Al? You’ve barely seen her since she was two! She only knows you as this guy who sent her a birthday card last year! You haven’t earned the right to call her your daughter!’ I told him.

“’Yeah, didn’t my sister’s lawsuit make it perfectly clear? You will see her when you start paying for her!’ Eddie insisted.

“Then I heard a voice from the stairs. It was Jessica; she must have heard the noise. ‘Mama, who’s he?’

“’What does that tell you?’ I asked.

“’It’s nobody, Jess. It’s the worst traveling salesman in history. You can go back to sleep,’ Eddie told her.

“’Then who is she?’ Jessica asked.

“That’s when I noticed the dark-haired girl getting out of a red Ford pick-up truck that was parked next to Al’s beat-up blue Honda. He turned around to face her with a surprised expression and said, ‘So you came, and now you know.’ Eddie walked Jessica back up the steps, and I closed the door on Al.”

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“From that day forward we just referred to him as ‘the salesman’,” Penny added.

“I do remember her now. I don’t know the girl’s name, but I recognized her from my visit to Al’s place,” Eddie explained.

Lilly turned to Scotty. “It looks like we just found a big hole in Cyndi’s story.”

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Lilly and Scotty had Cyndi Watson in holding early the next morning. “I told you everything. Why am I here?”

“You wouldn’t be here if that was true,” insisted Scotty.

“You see, we found out who Penny was,” Lilly explained. “She was Eddie’s sister. Apparently, Albert had a daughter with her by the name of Jessica, and according to her you knew about it because you followed him all the way to Phoenixville that night.”

“Finding out that the guy you loved had a whole second life must have made you pretty angry,” Scotty added.

Cyndi sighed. “Fine, I followed him, but it was more like a past.”

“It was a past he didn’t tell you about. That might make me want to see someone suffer a little,” said Lilly.

“I didn’t start that fire, but I did have it out with Al,” Cyndi began. “I should have just dumped him at the bar when he said a third girl’s name, but I guess curiosity got the better of me…”

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Adele: “Take It All”

 
“Al and I walked a few blocks away from that Penny’s house before we started talking. ‘So, which one was she?’ I asked.

“’The girl you saw me arguing with was Penny McCrae. She was an old girlfriend from about five years ago; Eddie is her older brother,’ Al explained.

“’And Jessica is—‘

“’Her daughter … my daughter,’ Al explained. ‘She got pregnant very early in the relationship. We tried to make it work for awhile, but in the end it just didn’t.’

“I took a step backward. I was still in shock from what I was hearing. ‘You told me you didn’t want kids.’

“’I don’t want a kid with you because I already have one. And in case you missed it, I’ve pretty much blown it with her. I don’t make that much; I can barely handle myself let alone them. I won’t risk making that mistake again,’ Al explained.

“’Is that why you wanted to win that contest, for them?’ I asked.

“Al nodded. I said nothing in response right away; I just stood there staring at him until he spoke up. ‘I don’t blame you for hating me, but please do something. Say anything!’

“’What can I say, Al? You have a kid with another girl! We’ve been together for a year and I’m just now finding this out! That’s a pretty big secret to keep!’ I shouted. ‘How do I know I can still trust you? How do I know that her crazy brother won’t come knocking again?’

“’I want to say that he won’t, but history isn’t exactly on my side. Maybe we should just call it off. Who have I been kidding? I can’t handle anyone else right now,’ Al insisted. I remember just being so stunned by that. I didn’t even notice when he started heading back to his car.”

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“But in the end, I just let him go. I realized I was never going to get what I wanted from him,” insisted Cyndi.

“So he drops the break-up bomb, and you don’t even try to go after him?” Scotty asked.

“He didn’t get away cleanly. I went back to Al’s apartment that night to get all the stuff I gave him. I was paying for it after all,” Cyndi informed. “Talk to Sam if you don’t believe me. I called him at the bar and told him to come home and set his stuff aside so I didn’t take anything of his by mistake. I didn’t want to screw him over; he was innocent in all of this,”

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5

Lilly and Scotty went back to Sam’s apartment. “We told you we would be back if we thought you were holding back, Sam,” Lilly informed.

“What else is there to tell? I gave you Cyndi Watson,” insisted Sam.

“And Cyndi Watson gave us you,” Scotty replied.

“How the hell is that possible?” asked Sam.

“Al and Cyndi split up that night. She told us how she called you and told you to come back to your apartment to separate out your stuff from his,” Lilly explained.

Sam’s head shot up. “Wait, what did she tell you?”

“Before you try to explain it away, we confirmed it with Verizon. Cyndi made a cell phone call to you at 12:50 AM March 8, 2009. The 911 call regarding the fire came in at 1:15 AM,” Scotty added.

“We know where Al went that night. We found out who Jessica was too; she was Al’s daughter. Cyndi found out when she followed him to Phoenixville,” Lilly informed.

“Then why are you wasting your damn time on me? Go talk to her!” Sam shouted.

“Because Al’s body was found in the bar not the apartment!” Scotty replied.

“Cyndi practically supported Al, and she was about to take back everything she had given him! That meant that, as Al’s roommate, you were going to lose by association!” Lilly shouted. Then she turned to Scotty and then back to Sam. “I can’t even imagine the rage that must have been boiling inside you at that point; being forced to pay for something that wasn’t even your fault!”

“Where the hell would I get kerosene on that short of notice?” asked Sam.

“When we went back to the crime scene I must have counted five hardware stores in a one block radius of the bar!” Scotty insisted.

Sam threw up his hands. “Look, part of your story is true. Cyndi called me and told me everything. Al came back to the bar, and we had it out.”

“About Cyndi?” asked Lilly.

“No, about Jessica. What you have to understand that I have a sister. She’s three years younger than me, and when she was sixteen she started seeing this guy who I swear was solely intended to drive my family crazy. Long story short the idiot knocked her up, left her, and never paid any child support,” Sam explained. “I felt like such a moron when I found out. Al got some paperwork in the mail from the Philadelphia courthouse. I asked him about it, and the lying bastard just told me he got a speeding ticket.”

“You didn’t know Penny McCrae was suing for child support?” asked Lilly.

“Not until that night!” Sam insisted.

“That must have brought up some painful memories. But that still sounds like motive to me, and as it stands you are still the last person to see Al alive that night!” Scotty added.

“I didn’t start that fire! I swear! We argued, but that’s it…”

[valrush]

Cold Case Soundtrack: “Saving Sammy”

“The bar was empty when Al entered. That’s when I got a call on my phone. ‘Hello. … Cyndi, I’m still on shift here … Yeah, actually he just showed up. … … What!? … Wait, you’re serious? … This is all news to me. … … Alright, I’m on my way! Please don’t do anything crazy until I get there!’ I ended the call and glared back at Al. ‘What the hell did you do tonight?’

“’I guess you just heard that I broke things off with Cyndi,’ Al explained.

“’Yeah, and I heard a few other things too! She told me who Eddie McCrae is! She also told me who Jessica McCrae is, and that you haven’t exactly been there for her!’ I shouted.

“Al stood up from the bar stool where he was seated. ‘Okay, Sam, I get—‘

“No, you don’t get to speak right now! You have a kid that you don’t support! Cyndi said something about a lawsuit! Is that what that thing from the courthouse was about?’ I asked. Al didn’t speak; he just stood there with this dopey look on his face. ‘You know about what’s gone on in my family! You know how I feel about this crap! I can’t believe I’ve been helping you out all of this time! You buy all of these girl shows on DVD and pass yourself off as this deep, sensitive guy, but at the end of the day you’re nothing but a bum!’

“’Sam, I understand why you’re angry—‘

“’Me? Cyndi is hopping mad! She is on her way to our apartment right now to collect everything she gave you! She’s going to clean us out, Al! Do you understand that?’ I yelled.

“’Okay, let me help with that! I’ll go with you! I’ll cool Cyndi off—‘

“’Do you really think that you being there is going to help the situation? We are not going anywhere! You are going to cover the rest of my shift and lock up the bar while I clean up your mess! You of all people should know where the keys are!’ I yelled as I charged through the front door of the bar.”

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“That is the last time I saw him alive,” Sam added.

“If this is true, why not just tell us this in the first place?” asked Lilly.

“Do you remember when I said that I felt like I got him killed? That’s why. He was there because I left him there,” Sam replied.

“You regret your actions,” Scotty said.

“Mostly for his kid. Al’s gone and he had no immediate family; that girl won’t get squat from him now. The saddest part is that I didn’t have to leave,” Sam explained.

“What do you mean? Cyndi was actually calm when she showed up,” Scotty asked.

“I mean she never showed up! I set aside all of my stuff, I waited for her all night, and she never showed! She didn’t until two days later!” Sam explained.

Lilly and Scotty walked into the hall. “That’s not exactly what she told us,” said Lilly.

“It’s still his word against hers. How do we prove it?” asked Scotty.

Lilly gave it some thought. “The new guy used to work in burglary, right? Maybe he can help us.”

[valrush]

Andrew Darius handed Scotty some documents back at the station. “You’re lucky that one of my contacts who owe me a favor was still awake at this hour,” insisted Andrew.

“Well, we appreciate this, Andrew,” Lilly responded examining the pages.

“You two have been really secretive lately. Can you just tell me what this is for?” Andrew asked.

Scotty shook his head. “Let’s just say we’re trying to help an innocent man.” Then he and Lilly headed for holding.

[valrush]

“Is there a reason why I am still here?” asked Cyndi.

“We were just wondering if you could clear something else up for us. It seems the McCrae’s reported a burglary shortly after your visit to their home. We were just wondering if you saw anyone suspicious in the area that night,” Lilly told her.

Cyndi shook her head. “No, I was too focused on the fact that I just got dumped by a loser. I didn’t see anyone else.”

“Damn. I guess they’ll just have to hope that their witness is reliable,” insisted Scotty.

Cyndi flushed. “A witness from Phoenixville?”

“Word must have gotten that we were investigating the McCraes because the cops asked us to look into the burglary,” Scotty replied.

“They didn’t have much to go on apart from one witness statement. Apparently some guy out walking his dog late one night heard a noise from a few blocks away that sounded like glass breaking, and he watched and waited to see what the trouble was,” Lilly explained. “He didn’t get a good look at the burglar, but he did manage to get a pretty good look at the vehicle he saw flying down Pawlings Rd. shortly after that. He says it was a red pick-up with a Ford logo on it. He even managed to pick off the last three numbers of the license plate as the truck sped away, 834.”

“Well, like I said, I didn’t see anything,” insisted Cyndi.

“So it’s just a coincidence that the last three digits on the license plate of the red Ford pick-up registered to you are 834. Why do you keep lying to us, Cyndi?” Scotty asked.

“I’m not lying,” Cyndi said.

“You already lied to us twice!” Scotty shouted. “You lied to us about following Al that night, and you lied to us about going to Al’s apartment later! We talked to Sam! He told us that you didn’t show up at that apartment until two days after the fact!”

Cyndi shook her head again. “I was going to go that night, but I cooled down and decided to wait a few days.”

“But that’s not what you told us. You told us that you went to the apartment that very night,” insisted Lilly.

“Besides, that plate match was enough to get a warrant for your financial records,” Scotty said as he opened a file on the metal table. “I’m sure you recognize this eight-page masterpiece; it’s your VISA bill. But I will skip to the end. It seems your last charge was at a ‘Jacob’s All Night Hardware’ in Phoenixville on March 7, 2009.”

“Let me guess. You were on your way home after just getting dumped and you suddenly remembered that you needed a wrench,” Lilly added.

“Prove that I didn’t,” Cyndi responded.

“I love when they say that,” Scotty said turning to the last page in the file. “I’ll say this for ‘Jacob’s’; it’s no ‘Home Depot’, but they keep very thorough books particularly when it comes to delinquent payments. This is a copy of a receipt sent to us from the store. It seems that a one-gallon tank of kerosene and a box of matches were charged to your credit card at exactly 11:38 PM on March 7, 2009.”

“The 911 call about the fire came in at 1:15 AM. Based on what we know; I would say that’s enough time for you to bust the McCraes’ window and make it back to the bar right before that fire started,” Lilly explained. “You were right. You’re going to be paying for that VISA bill for a long time.”

“I don’t care what you think! I didn’t start that fire, and I certainly didn’t steal any stupid picture!” Cyndi insisted.

“How do you know a picture was stolen?” asked Scotty.

Cyndi threw up her hands. “You just told me!”

“We told you about a burglary, but we never mentioned what was taken. The only person who would know that is the thief!” Scotty replied.

“The way I see it; the only way you avoid a lethal injection is if you confess now,” Lilly insisted.

Cyndi froze and stared back at them. “Do either of you have any idea what it is like to be used? Do you know what it’s like to give and give and give to someone, and they give you nothing? Even after everything that went down; he still couldn’t give me anything! He called it off; I didn’t even get the satisfaction of dumping his sorry ass!”

“You had to reclaim your pride; you wanted closure,” insisted Scotty.

“You wanted revenge,” Lilly added.

“It didn’t start out that way at first,” Cyndi explained. “But something snapped inside me when I saw him at the bar, and I wanted to watch him squirm..” 

[valrush]

Cold Case Soundtrack: “Saving Sammy”

“I went back to the McCrae house later that night. They had all gone back to sleep so I looked through a window. The curtains were closed but not very heavy so I could still see a deep black end table next to the window. There was a picture on it of that Penny and Al’s daughter; the daughter that he didn’t want to have with me. I took a rock, threw it at the window, and stole the picture.

“I kept driving until I was back in Philly and about two blocks away from the bar. The place was deserted except for Sam until Al entered. That’s when I made the call. ‘Hello Sam? … Is Al there? … I just thought you would like to know we broke up tonight! He has a daughter! … It’s true; I saw them tonight! … Yeah, do you remember that guy Eddie! He’s the brother of the girl’s mother! Apparently she’s suing him too! … I’m telling you this because I’m on my way to the apartment to take back everything that’s mine, and you might want to protect what’s yours! …’

“I turned the phone off. I saw Sam and Al arguing through the front window of the bar right up until Sam left in a huff.

“My original plan was just that I intended to take some of Al’s stuff outside and burn them while he watched. But then I saw him behind the bar. He had a bottle of Cuervo in one hand and he placed a shot glass on the counter and started pouring. With everything that was happening, he still found time to steal a drink from his friend’s work! I remember whispering to myself, ‘You’re a user through and through.’

“That’s when I saw two garbage cans under a streetlight near the bar. They looked like they were full. I put the truck in park and walked up to the streetlight. I placed the heavy garbage cans in front of the side exit.

“Then I went back to the truck and retrieved the kerosene and matches. Al’s back was turned to the window so he didn’t see me right away. I splashed the front door and the front of the building with the kerosene and stepped back off of the curb.

“Al finally turned around as I pulled the picture from my purse. ‘What the hell is that smell? … Cyndi! Where did you get that?’

“I struck a match and lit the picture on fire. Then I threw the picture at the door and quickly ran across the street. The picture slipped under the door, and the entire front quickly went up in flames.

“I watched Al struggle futilely against the side exit. He coughed and gasped for air shouting, ’DAMN IT … CYNDI! … LET ME … OUT YOU … YOU … PSYCHO b*tch! … CYNDI!’ I turned back to my truck. I got what I wanted; he knew it was me.”

[valrush]

Adele: “Set Fire To the Rain”

 
Cyndi Watson was led through the station in handcuffs. The charge would be first degree murder and they would push for a life sentence.

In file storage, John Stillman removed everything from Albert Dent’s white file box and replaced it with the new documents. Then he placed the box back on the shelf.

At ‘Dick’s Sporting Goods’, Scotty explained the final moments leading up to Albert Dent’s death to Ken Prewitt.

Lilly took Sam to the door of Eddie and Penny McCrae’s home. Lilly explained to them what had happened the night of the fire. But Sam looked past the brother and sister to Jessica sprawled out on the living room floor. He handed Penny a personal check, and then sneered the ghost of Albert Dent who appeared in the far right corner of the room and then faded from view.

Jared Reese heard the loud alarm as the prison gates opened in Chester. He watched as two guards escorted his brother toward the exit. The brothers hugged briefly before getting into Jared’s car and driving away.

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Audio PowerPoint slides also available.

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AFTER THE SHOW

This episode accomplished two goals moving forward.  The first of which was that it served as the start of the consequences for Scotty in regard to his getting revenge on Jimmy Mota for attacking his mother.  The episode ultimately became about the fine line between what is deserved and what is excessive; how much revenge is too much? On the one hand, Al was a thief, a sponge, and a dead beat who barely even saw his kid.  On the other hand, he acknowledges his past mistakes, and does not want to repeat them again.  It is ultimately up to the reader to decide just how much of a bum this guy really was and just how much punishment he deserved.  I should also note that this was an episode written about revenge, but it was not a writer's revenge episode (that's coming).

The second goal that this episode accomplished was a personal goal for me.  I knew that one thing I wanted to do within the confines of Cold Case Virtual Season 8 was that I wanted to do a featured artist episode.  More specifically, I wanted to do a featured female artist episode because I could not remember the original series ever doing this.  They dedicated a number of episodes to single artists (Bruce Springsteen, John Melencamp, Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles ... ), and I know they did all female artist episodes before.  But I could not remember if they ever did an episode where they focused solely on one female artist.  If they did, it was an artist from an older case where I would be less familiar with the music (feel free to correct me on this as I just don't remember).

I then had to decide on which artist to use.  My first thought was to set a case in the 1980s and use Madonna, but I did not feel that she had any songs that would have worked at the end outside of "Live to Tell".  Since this was already used at the end of season 1 episode 4: Churchgoing People, and I have a rule about not matching beginning or ending songs, she was out.  I considered doing a Whitney Houston episode shortly after her death; I may still do this eventually, but I am still piecing together how that would look.  In the end, I chose a modern case with Adele as the featured artist; I figured that an artist who set so many records practically out of the gate like her would eventually have received a Cold Case featured artist episode anyway had the series continued.  It later occurred to me that this choice might be a bit of spoiler pointing to Cyndi as the killer, but I'll leave that up to the reader to decide.

The case itself was based in part on the one time in my life when I tried stand-up comedy.  I did an open-mic contest at a local comedy club that was connected to a bowling alley.  Do you know who goes to a comedy club that is part of a bowling alley? Bowlers: rowdy, beer-chugging, dirty-movie-obsessed bowlers.  It was way raunchier then I was prepared for, and I fell flat on my face.  I remember feeling very much like Mr. Prewitt in this episode; I don't mind swearing or dirty jokes, but I need it to serve a greater story.  If that is all you can do, I don't respect your material.  I seriously wish Showtime's "I'm Dying Up Here" had been around then; I would have been a lot more prepared.  Another positive to come out of that series is that it showed me that combining stand-up comedy with the bluesy styllings of Adele was not as far fetched as I had once thought.

Regarding my beginning and end songs, I started with Adele's "Painting Pictures" because this is effectively what a comic does, they paint with words.  This was a surprisingly hard song for me to find; it was one of the few times where I have had to venture outside of YouTube.  I chose Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" because it effectively spelled out how I wanted the end to look.  When I first heard the song, I was immediately flooded with countless memories of "Cheaters" footage where the jilted lover sets fire to the prized possessions of their scumbag other half.  It did not seem such a stretch that "rain" could refer to some type of chemical fire accelerent, and thus was born the premise of the episode.