Cold Case 8-15: KEEN-say

[valrush]

Nicolette Larson: “Lotta Love”

 
“I dragged Rosie back down the stairs and did my best to blend us into the crowd of guests in the back of the living room. ‘Mama is going to bust your skull if she finds out you were up there!’ I whispered.

“’Whatever,’ Rosita said.

“’Whatever—‘

“’In case you haven’t noticed, Cecilia, this night has been a mess. I just wanted to be alone for awhile,’ Rosita told me.

“’Yes, I just saw some of your alone time! And no, I didn’t have a chance to notice anything! Would you like to know where I have been?’ I asked. Rosie said nothing. ‘I’ve been stuck in the kitchen washing dishes! At first, I didn’t even mind that; I thought I was just helping with the party! But do you know what Mrs. Aldren did?’ Again Rosie just stood there silent. I dropped down to my knees and pulled a $20 bill out of my shoe. ‘She tipped me, and then ran off with some bull about having to make an urgent phone call!’

“’She paid you for your work; I don’t see the problem with that,’ Rosita replied.

“’Of course not, you’ve been too busy walking around all night in your fancy dress, your fancy tiara, and playing with your new fancy music machine! Wake up!’ I demanded as I dropped the doll on the floor. ‘This party has gone to your head! We are nothing but trabajadores to those people! They are never going to think of us as equals, Rosie! You are not one of them, and you being with Richie Rich is never going to happen!’

“’I know what this is!’ Rosita replied as she threw up her hands. ‘Trust me, there is nothing to be jealous of! Nothing has gone to my head; it turns out that a quinceañera doesn’t change you that much!’

“’That’s not how I see it! You think I’m jealous! Do me a favor, until you come back down to Earth, don’t speak to me again!’ I shouted.

“I picked up the doll and walked away. I remember because I saw Jeffrey having an argument of his own with that party crasher from earlier. ‘I heard you, Jocelyn! ‘They all end up in jail’?’

“’Jeffrey, I was just trying—‘

“’You crossed a line tonight, Jocelyn! We’re done!’ and then he ran off in the opposite direction.”

[valrush]

“That was the last conversation I ever had with my sister. I was twelve years old, and it took me a long time to get over that. It’s also why I didn’t make a big deal about my quinceañera; it brought up too many memories,” Cecilia added.

“So where did Rosita go after you told her off?” asked Scotty.

“Back upstairs apparently. I didn’t see her again until after she fell. I didn’t see Richie Rich again for that matter either,” Cecilia informed.

“But you did see Jocelyn?” Lilly asked.

Cecilia nodded. “Seeing the blonde b*tch get embarrassed in public made me feel a little better, but it wound up little consolation in the end.”

[valrush]

“Nick Vera is bringing in Jocelyn Aldren now,” said Scotty to Kat Miller as he hung up his phone. “So are you taking Chris Lassing to First Thursdays again tomorrow night?”

“Maybe,” Miller replied.

“How long have you been with him now, three, four months?” asked Scotty.

“I guess. Why the sudden interest in my personal life?” asked Miller.

“Well, it’s weird. I just can’t picture you with an Internal Affairs cop,” insisted Scotty.

Stillman approached Scotty’s desk. “Scotty, can I see you in my office for two minutes?”

Scotty stood up slowly and followed John through the glass door of his office. “I’m supposed to meet Lilly in observation soon, boss. What’s going on?”

“Something has been eating at me lately, and I think you are the only one I can trust with it. You may have noticed that my punctuality has been somewhat suspect lately,” Stillman explained.

“It’s been discussed,” said Scotty timidly.

“Well, there is a reason for it. Do you remember Carla Guest?” asked Stillman.

“The sister from the Brandon Lake case,” Scotty added.

“We stayed in touch afterwards, and I found out that she was a widow. Long story short, she sold her house in Chicago and moved here. Among other things, I’ve been helping her move these past few weeks,” Stillman explained.

“That’s your big secret, you met someone?” asked Scotty.

“She’s not just some stranger, Scotty. Technically, she was a witness; she gave us evidence that lead to a conviction. It’s a bit of an ethical gray area; I’d hate for anything to get misconstrued,” Stillman responded.

“Maybe if it was still an open case, but the dust settled on that case months ago. I think you are worrying over nothing,” insisted Scotty.

“Be that as it may, I would appreciate it if you kept this between us for now,” Stillman suggested.

“Have it your way,” said Scotty as he turned to leave the office.

Stillman called him back. “I just shared a secret with you, Scotty. Feel free to do the same with me any time.”

“If I have any worth sharing, you’ll be the first to know,” said Scotty as he left.

[valrush]

Nick Vera and Kat Miller circled Jocelyn Aldren in the interview room. “We heard you stayed longer at Rosita’s party than you told us; it was long enough for you to have a very public break-up with Jeffrey. What I don’t know is how you managed to get him back,” Vera explained.

“You have nothing on me,” insisted Jocelyn.

“We have a witness statement saying that Jeffrey dumped your ass after you made some pretty nasty comments about Rosita’s friends,” Miller added.

“That argument was right before Rosita fell, and by your own words you got jealous when you saw them dancing together. You see, the only way that I can figure that you got Jeffrey back was that you followed Rosita up the stairs and took it upon yourself to remove the source of the jealousy,” insisted Vera.

“I already told you I was a spoiled, jealous b*tch back then, but I did not kill her,” insisted Jocelyn.

“You were there when Rosita’s friends were arrested. You probably saw Jeffrey follow her upstairs to check on her. I’ll bet that ate you alive,” insisted Miller.

“It’s not so much that you were losing him; it’s who you were losing him to, a maid’s daughter, a ‘worker’,” Vera added.

“Jeffrey married me,” insisted Jocelyn.

“After you took away his other option. How does it feel waking up every morning knowing that you’re someone’s second choice?” asked Miller.

“That’s not true! We found each other again after we left Chestnut Hill! I’m older now and I understand what Rosita was for him!” Jocelyn shouted.

“So you did know about Jeffrey’s crush on Rosita?” asked Miller.

Jocelyn shrugged. “He still thinks that I didn’t notice, but I could see it when they were dancing together that night. But I’m older now, and I understand what Rosita really was for him.”

“And what was that?” asked Miller.

“An escape from the craziness of Chestnut Hill. I don’t think he was running toward Rosita so much as trying to run away from Aldren family drama,” Jocelyn informed.

“What kind of drama are we talking about?” asked Vera.

Jocelyn froze. “Nothing, forget I said anything.”

“You brought it up, Jocelyn,” Miller replied.

Jocelyn frantically waved her hands in the air. “Well, I shouldn’t have! Jeffrey, … he’ll kill me if I tell you!”

“The state will kill you if you don’t! Do you understand we are about to pin a murder charge on you? It’s back in 1979 when you were less understanding about Jeffrey and Rosita that matters here!” Vera shouted. “What aren’t you telling us?”

Jocelyn put her head down on the table. “You’re looking at the wrong branch of the Aldren family tree. I didn’t tell you the whole story before because I was trying to keep Jeffrey’s secret—“

“You keep bringing up Jeffrey. What’s that about?” asked Miller.

“Well, it’s not what you think. His family has some skeletons in the closet; Rosita’s friends stumbled onto one of them that night,” Jocelyn explained.

“The cocaine, it was Jeffrey’s?” asked Vera.

Jocelyn shook her head. “His mother’s.”

“Audrey was the cokehead,” Miller added.

“I believe the term is ‘functioning junkie’. Given what I know about cocaine I don’t know how she managed it, but she had this weird rule about not using before 5:00 PM. She stuck to it that rule, but it didn’t change the fact that by 5:10 she was higher than the moon,” Jocelyn informed. “I thought I could win Jeffrey back that night by helping his family protect his secret, so I came up with a plan…”

[valrush]

Hall and Oates: “Rich Girl”

 
“I knew where Mr. Aldren’s office was, so I started looking for him there. The heavy oak door was closed, so I knocked on it. ‘Mr. Aldren?’

“He opened the door. ‘Jocelyn, I thought you left. What is it? I’m very busy trying to get some reports done in the midst of all this chaos.’

“I couldn’t just outright say that I knew about Mrs. Aldren and the drugs, so I tried to downplay it like I had no idea. ‘Well, I’m not sure, but I think there is some illegal stuff going on out there. I saw a couple of that Mexican girl’s friends with this huge bag of … I don’t know, some kind of white powder. It could be nothing for all I know, but they were doing a lot of sniffing.’.”

“That’s when Richard went back to his desk and began dialing a number on his red, table model rotary phone. ‘Officer Meyers. please … … Gus, it’s Richard. I’m going to need some assistance again tonight. … I’ll make it worth your time—‘

“’If it helps, I can describe the couple I saw. It’s no big deal; they all wind up in jail eventually, right?’ I told him.

“’Gus, I’m putting you on with a witness,’ said Richard before handing me the phone.”

[valrush]

“I’m not proud of what I did now, but back then I was. After the arrest went down, I bragged to Jeffrey about what I did, and it almost cost me everything,” Jocelyn added.

“Gus Meyers was dirty? Did you know that the Aldrens had a cop on their payroll?” asked Vera.

Jocelyn shook her head. “It was all rumors until that night. That’s how the game is played in Chestnut Hill; nobody knows about anybody doing anything. It’s all about status and keeping up appearances. Now you know why we left. I thought I had lost everything that night, but I ran into Jeffrey a few years later at school. We found our second chance without the Chestnut Hill cloud hanging over us.

“But as far as what happened to that girl, I don’t know what happened with her except for this. I can’t account for Mrs. Aldren’s whereabouts after that arrest, and she was supposed to be chaperoning the party that night.”

Stillman and Darius were observing on the other side of the two way mirror in observation. Stillman began flipping through a file in front of him. “What are you looking for?” asked Darius.

He came to the page in question. “This is Roberto Trejo’s witness statement from that night. Look who signed off on the report.”

“’Gus Meyers’. So Rosie gets angry at Richard for ruining her party. He pushes her over the balcony and gets his cop friend to make it all disappear,” insisted Andrew.

“Or Audrey starts going through withdrawal and blames Rosie for costing her a fix,” John added. “Either way, I think it is about to start raining for the Aldren family.”

[valrush]

5

Scotty and Lilly were about to enter one of the holding rooms the next day. “We’re doing First Thursdays tonight,” insisted Scotty.

“You decided just like that,” Lilly responded.

“Well, I had some help from Stillman,” Scotty added.

“Stillman?” Lilly asked.

“He called me into his office yesterday to tell me something. I won’t go into details except to say that he gave me this speech about how I should share a secret with him,” Scotty informed.

“Well, that’s definitely weird. How much do you think he knows?” asked Lilly.

“I don’t know that he knows anything, but I think he suspects. That’s why I think we should do First Thursdays with everyone else instead of just the two of us. I don’t want to risk tipping him off,” insisted Scotty.

Lilly backed up. “I suppose for right now that is probably smart. But right now we have Audrey Aldren on ice. They’re waiting for us.”

The pair walked into the holding room where Audrey was seated at a metal table under the lights. “Have you ever been to Vermont, Mrs. Aldren?” asked Scotty.

“You brought me in here to ask me that,” Audrey said surprised.

“There’s no point in stalling, Audrey. We already know the answer,” said Lilly as she opened a file she was holding to a series of financial records. “This is your husband’s bank history. It seems that on August 20, 1979 he gave made a withdrawal for $20,000 and wired the money to some place called Maple Leaf Treatment Centers in Vermont.”

“Here’s where I have a bit of an unfair advantage, Mrs. Aldren. I used to be a narcotics officer,” Scotty explained. “I still have friends in that unit, and I have it on good authority that Maple Leaf Treatment Centers is where the good people of Chestnut Hill get sent when they’ve blown all their money on … well, in your case, blow.”

“I don’t have anything to tell you. You’re wasting your time,” Audrey insisted.

“Are we?” asked Lilly.

[valrush]

“We know who the cocaine belonged to Richard,” insisted Stillman. He and Darius leaned across the table from Richard Aldren in the other holding room.

“We also know that two days after Rosie was killed you had your wife dragged off to rehab,” Andrew added.

“That doesn’t prove anything,” insisted Richard.

“But we looked back even farther than that,” Andrew insisted as he flipped back through the file on the table. “Do you mind explaining to me what all these cash withdrawals from your accounts in the mid 1970s were about?”

“It starts out as $3,000, then it escalates to $5,000, then $7,000. By mid 1979 you were up to $10,000 a week,” Stillman informed.

[valrush]

“He wasn’t your husband anymore; he was your enabler,” insisted Lilly.

Audrey shook her head. “It’s true, I had a problem at one point, but I haven’t touched that stuff in years. You’re a little late for drug charges.”

“You didn’t touch the stuff that night either; you couldn’t without being noticed. So you tried to hide your stash,” Scotty explained.

“You didn’t count on one of Rosita’s friends finding it. I’m guessing you also didn’t count on someone reporting this to the police and them confiscating it,” Lilly added.

“I don’t know what happened to that girl,” insisted Audrey.

“Cocaine addiction makes people do crazy things; you were jonesing something fierce that night! That’s what this all boils down to, doesn’t it? You went after her because she cost you your fix!” Scotty shouted.

“What happened to that girl was a tragic accident, but I had nothing to do with it!” Audrey replied.

“Too many things are pointing at you for us to believe this was just an accident!” Lilly informed. She turned to one of the reports in the file. “Do you recognize the name on this report?”

“’Roberto Trejo’, Rosita’s father,” Audrey responded.

“A grieving father who never got the answers he deserved, but I’m not talking about him! I’m talking about him!” Lilly said pointing. “Gus Meyers, an officer in the narcotics unit, and, from what we hear, a close personal friend of your husband!”

[valrush]

“Jocelyn already told us about him, Richard. So before you try any of your dirty tricks, let me just say that you can’t afford me,” insisted Stillman.

“Nice try, my son is far too intelligent to let something like that happen,” Richard informed.

“Your son moved away 30 years ago and never looked back,” Andrew informed. “From what we hear neither one of them hardly talks to you anymore. It took some time, but she did tell us how she gave you the idea to frame Rosita’s friends for the possession.”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Richard replied.

“Once again, your bank history betrays you,” Andrew explained flipping through the paperwork. “You made two pretty significant withdrawals that night. The first was for $10,000 at about 10:20 PM right before the arrest went down. The second was for $15,000 at just after midnight on the following day.”

“What could you possibly need $15,000 in cash for that early on a Sunday?” asked Stillman. “You know, the two that got arrested blamed Rosita for ratting them out! I’m thinking Rosita tried to come to you for help clearing both their names and hers! You couldn’t risk your family secrets getting out, but she just wouldn’t let it go! You had to shut her up!”

“I don’t know what happened to that girl. If that’s what you think, then maybe I should just stop talking,” Richard responded.

Miller and Vera sat in observation. “Now he’s stonewalling too,” said Miller.

“They both know each other’s secrets, and they’re both afraid of the other one pulling the trigger,” said Vera. Then he pointed at the windows. “Pull them out.”

“What are you thinking?” asked Miller.

“I’m thinking it’s been awhile since I’ve had some fun,” Vera insisted.

[valrush]

Richard jumped out of his skin when the door to the interview room that was now empty crashed open. “Get up!” yelled Vera.

“What?”

“Did I stutter? On your feet, moneybags!” Vera yelled. He pushed the table against the wall and kicked the chair out from under Richard forcing him upward. Then Vera slapped a pair of handcuffs on him. “Your wife gave you up! You are under arrest for the murder of Rosita Trejo!”

“That’s not possible!” insisted Richard.

“You have the right to remain silent; anything you say and do can be used against you in a court of law!—“

“I didn’t kill that girl! I don’t know what the hell you are trying to pull here, but you can’t make spouses testify against each other!” Richard shouted.

“Who says we ‘made’ her do anything? She’s over in the next room singing like Streisand! Keeping secrets is exhausting work; she just couldn’t do it anymore!” Vera insisted. “She told us about her drug history, she told us about the bribes, and she told us that she saw you push Rosita off of that balcony when she figured out that you set up her friends!”

“She’s lying, I never touched that girl! That never happened!” Richard yelled.

“You don’t think she would sell you out! You’re talking to another member of the failed marriage club!” Vera informed.

“I wonder why! Besides, we’ve been together for almost fifty years!” Richard replied.

“Maybe, but I saw it when they brought you in! Trust me, I know what a marriage looks like when it stops being about love! But divorce was off the table for both of you! She would have robbed you blind, and her past would have most definitely ended up as the headline on the society pages!” Vera explained. “There was no way out, until now! She set it up perfectly! You go to prison, and she gets everything!”

“I didn’t kill that girl, I swear! I don’t know how she fell; I didn’t find out about it until after it happened…”

[valrush]

Cold Case Soundtrack: “Bad Night”

“I walked out to the rear of the mansion where I saw her grief-stricken family hovering over a corpse. Cops in the area were attempting to push them back and section off the area. Gus Meyers was among them, and I motioned to him. ‘It looks like the owner is about ready to give a statement,’ he said.

“I walked Gus back to the front of the house where we joined Audrey and Jeffrey. ‘Obviously, this will require an increase in our usual rate, but can you make this go away?’

“’This is more than our usual arrangement, Richard. This isn’t just some bag of powder; this is a body. I’ve already taken a witness statement—‘

“’Your witness is the grieving father who doesn’t know what he saw. It shouldn’t be too hard to discredit it,’ I responded. ‘I’ve been good to you over the years, haven’t I? Make this disappear, and make the charges against her friends disappear too. The fewer times our address appears on the news, the better.’

“’Dad, what are you doing?’ Jeffrey asked.

“I walked up to my family. ‘This was an accident, right? Do you want to screw us all, including yourself, over an accident? Son, I know this is difficult, but you need to learn something tonight. The Aldren name needs to stand for strength and stability, not gossip. Rash decisions in times like these can have dire consequences.’ Then I turned to my wife. ‘Speaking of screwing us all, do you realize that you may have done that tonight? Pack a bag, you’re going on vacation soon.’.”

[valrush]

Vera slowed his breathing. “Jeffrey brought Rosita to your attention.’

“He said he saw them fighting, and that she went over the edge. Judge me all you want; I protected my own that night. What the hell would you have done in my situation?” asked Richard.

“If it was really an accident, I would have called an ambulance instead of my lackey in the police department. As it is , you’re looking at bribery, evidence tampering, and about 32 years worth of obstruction of justice. Get comfortable in those handcuffs Mr. Aldren,” Vera replied as he dragged Richard out of the room.

[valrush]

“Well, it looks like we got a confession from your husband,” said Scotty to Audrey in interrogation.

Audrey stood up from the table. “So, I’m free to go.”

Scotty blocked the entrance to the door. “Not quite. He confessed to the bribery and the corruption. The only thing he didn’t confess to, pushing Rosita off of that balcony.”

“No, he had a very different story in mind for that. He said someone brought this whole ugly incident to his attention—“

“I did it!” Audrey yelled suddenly. “I killed the girl! She came to me in a fit over her friends getting arrested! We had a fight! She wouldn’t stop screaming in my face! I was not about to be disrespected in my own house, so I pushed her off the balcony! You don’t have to investigate further! I killed her!”

Scotty took a step forward. “Why would we investigate further? You were all about denial before. Now your husband mentions some witness, and suddenly you’re ready to do time—“

“My husband really is a bastard! I can’t believe he told you that!” yelled Audrey.

There was a sudden knock at the door as Stillman poked his head inside. “Scotty, we have something!”

Scotty walked out into the hall. “I was about to get a damn confession in there! This better be important!”

“The forensic techs just finished Audrey’s cell phone history! She sent this text message right before we picked her up!” Stillman explained.

He handed Scotty a piece of paper and Scotty read it. “She’s still covering things up.” He reentered the interrogation room and slammed the paper down on the table. “Why did you call your son?”

“What?” asked Audrey.

“Every text message has a time stamp! You sent this message to a number registered to your son right before we brought you in for questioning: ‘GET OUT OF TOWN, NOW’ with about ten exclamation points! That’s a hell of a lot of emphasis for one message! So what are you not telling us?” Scotty demanded.

“Does it matter, you already have my confession? It’s my fault! That night would not have happened if it wasn’t for me! It’s my problem at the heart of this!” insisted Audrey. “Lock me up!”

[valrush]

Vera and Miller approached Jeffrey’s home in a squad car. Jeffrey was about to place a red suitcase into his black SUV. “Drop the suitcase, Mr. Aldren!” Vera shouted.

“Detectives—“

“It’s over, Jeffrey!” Miller insisted. “The lies, the cover-ups, it’s all on the record! Your family confessed!”

Jeffrey dropped the suitcase. “What did they tell you?”

“Basically, they told how they’ve been protecting you alt this time,” Miller informed.

“Hell, your mother was willing to confess for you until we found this text message sent from her to you. I’m guessing you recognize, and that we’ll find a digital copy of it on your phone,” said Vera showing him the printed message. “Why do you need to leave town, Jeffrey? Why does your mother still blame herself so much for Rosita’s murder that she is willing to do time for you?”

“You’re father told us a different story about you coming to him and saying how you witnessed your mother pushing Rosita off of that balcony. Was she even in the room that night?” asked Miller.

“You’re damn right she was in the room! So if she’s willing to take responsibility for this, let her! That accident wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for her!” insisted Jeffrey.

“Your family likes to use that word ‘accident’ a lot to describe cold blooded murder!” Vera replied.

“No, it was an accident! I never wanted to hurt Rosie!” Jeffrey insisted.

“If that’s true, why didn’t you come clean back then?” asked Miller.

“I wanted to come clean back then, but my dad … he just got in my head and convinced me that I was doing the right thing by covering it up!” Jeffrey responded. He leaned back against the car and ran his hands over his face. “It’s so ironic; I used to get so mad at my family for all of the lying and the secrets. But I ran away, and I was about to go on the run again. I’ve been keeping secrets about my family for so long’ I’ve been keeping what happened to Rosie a secret for thirty-two years. … I’m no better than them.”

“Actually, I don’t think that’s true; you just called her ‘Rosie’,” insisted Vera.

“What?”

“The whole time your parents were being interviewed they kept referring to her as ‘that girl’; she was nothing to them but a relative of an employee. But you used her name; you saw her as more than that. Hell, you chose an entirely different life because of her,” Miller explained.

“I’ll tell you another way you’re different from your parents. They were the adults that night; you were just a scared kid. A judge will take that into consideration, but not if you run,” Vera informed.

“You said you wanted to come clean before. Well, here’s your chance,” Miller said.

Jeffrey sighed. “It was classic Aldren family drama that night; Rosie just got caught in the middle of it…”

[valrush]

Cold Case Soundtrack: “Sadie’s Blues”

“Jocelyn had just finished bragging to me about the plan she came up with to frame Rosita’s friends. I went looking for Rosie figuring she had a right to know. It was going to be the end of all the secrets then and there

“When I couldn’t find her downstairs I snuck upstairs. I started whispering for her. ‘Rosie? … Rosie! … You know what will happen if you are caught up here!’

“Then I heard a voice, but it wasn’t Rosie. It was my mother on the phone at the end of the hall. Initially afraid of getting caught myself, I ducked into a closet where I ended up overhearing everything. ‘I need another bag! … Well, some stuff happened at my house … I don’t care how much more it costs! You know I’m good for it! … I don’t care what you have to do; just get me more powder TONIGHT!’

“’Powder?’ said another voice suddenly. I don’t know where she came from, but suddenly there was Rosita. I could see her through the crack in the door.

“’Rosita, what the hell are you doing up here?’

“’Those drugs were yours?’

“’You’re party is downstairs, Rosita! You know the rules; you can’t be up here!’

“’You had Fredo and Marissa sent to jail, made me out to look like a rat, and you’re telling me about rules!’

“’Do I look like I had anything to do with that? I didn’t!’

“’Liar!’ Rosie ran down the hall with my mother chasing after her. That’s when I left the closet and followed them into my room.

“’You do not disrespect me in my house and run away!’ my mother yelled.

“’Disrespect? This was supposed to be my special night, and I just found out that you are the reason it was destroyed!’ Rosie shouted. Then she took a piece of paper from my nightstand; I recognized it as the ‘KEEN-say’ paper from earlier. ‘What does this say?’

“’Mom? What are you going to do?’ I asked.

“’Jeffrey? Have you two been up here together?’

“’Don’t change the subject; what is this word?’ Rosie asked as she shoved the paper into her face.

“’What does that have to do with anything?’

“’Rosie, please, you’re just making it worse!’ I tried to tell her. I had seen my mother in withdrawal before; I knew how crazy it made her.

“’What does it say?’

“’’Quincy’! What does it matter?’

“Rosie took a few steps backward closer to the window. ‘My sister was right. You don’t know our people at all; we’re not even people to you!’

“’What does that mean? Seriously, I want to know what the maid’s daughter has found to criticize about me!’

“’You may have taken this night from me, but there’s one thing you can’t take away! Him!’ Rosie yelled pointing at me.

“I stepped into the room with a warning, ‘Rosie, stop! You don’t know what you’re dealing with!’

“’We kissed tonight! It was my first kiss; not even you with all of your money can take that away from me!’

“’You came on to my son! You common piece of poor gutter trash! I let you take over my house with your Mexican birthday party, and this is how you repay me!’ my mother yelled. Rosie backed up closer to the window, and my mother charged at her. Then she grabbed hold of Rosie’s shoulders and pushed her up against the door that lead to the outside balcony. But the door wasn’t closed all the way, and soon my mother had her leaning against the edge of the balcony. ‘I will not be disrespected in my house by the maid’s daughter!’

“I ran toward the struggling pair shouting, ’Damn it, mom! I hate when you get like this! Let her GO!’ I inserted myself between the two of them and tried to push them apart.

“But in doing so I caught Rosie in the chin with my elbow. It bent her backwards. Her foot slipped, and the next thing I heard was a scream. ‘WOOOAH!—‘ before she slammed into the ground.

“I broke free from my mother shouting, ‘Rosie!’

“But Rosie wasn’t moving, and neither was I. I stood there paralyzed just staring back at her lifeless body. I guess that’s why I didn’t question it when my mother cooled down and said, ‘Get your father; he’ll know what to do.’

“So I just ran from the room. I still remember running down the stairs in a total panic saying, ‘This is bad. This is bad. This is bad,’ over and over again.”

[valrush]

Supertramp: “Take the Long Way Home”


Jocelyn looked on as Kat Miller placed Jeffrey Aldren in handcuffs. He would be charged with failure to report an accident, and they pushed to try him as a juvenile.

At the station, John Stillman lead Audrey past a cell that now contained Richard clinging to the bars to a cell of her own. They would also be charged with failure to report an accident and would face additional charges of bribery and evidence tampering.

Lilly Rush walked Rosita Trejo’s file box down to file storage. She placed the box back on one of the shelves and marked it ‘CLOSED’.

Scotty Valens met the Trejo family outside their home. As he explained the final moments that lead to Rosita’s death, Lucy ran past them dropping Little Rosie in the grass. Maria and Cecilia bent down to retrieved the doll, and that was when they both caught a glance at the ghost of Rosita Trejo before she faded from view.

Scotty met Lilly at the bar for First Thursdays later that night. They shook hands briefly as if there was nothing between them. Then Lilly joined Kat and her former partner, Chris Lassing, while Scotty joined John, Nick Vera, and Andrew Darius who were already seated at the bar throwing back shots of whiskey.

[valrush]

Audio PowerPoint slides also available.

[valrush]

AFTER THE SHOW

Of all the episodes that I had written, this is probably the one I replay the most.  I am surprisingly proud of this episode, and yet I can't even take full credit for it.  The name Rosita Trejo came from the very first original episode of the Cold Case Virtual Season 8.  Then the project disbanded without anything happening with this case.  With little detail to play off of, I felt I had to give this case some closure.

When I saw that I was approaching episode 15, I figured that this would be the perfect place to do just that.  I knew that the number 15 had some significance in Spanish culture, particularly with regard to the quinceanera.  The quinceanera is an elaborate celebration held on a girl's 15th birthday in Spanish culture; it is most comparable to the Sweet 16 in America or the Baht Mitzvah in Jewish culture.  From my research I can assure you that the ceremonies featured in this episode are real, but, as I have never actually witnessed a quinceanera, I don't know the actual specifics of ceremonies such as the changing of shoes or presentation of the final doll.  I also know that every country has their own variation on the quinceanera, so I am fully prepared for anyone of Spanish origin who comes across this episode to tell me everything I got wrong.

With little detail to play off of, I was left to develop my own case idea. I figured we were dealing with a wealthy family that could afford live-in maid service, and, when all else fails, what have politicians gotten away with? What is more dangerous then a wealthy family with secrets? In this day and age, I think we can all assume that all of the major families in our society (the Trumps, the Clintons, the Bushes, the Obamas) have a Chappaquiddick in their past--that being the lake in Massachusetts where Ted Kennedy crashed his car back in 1969.  Setting this case in the Aldren family mansion against the back drop of Rosita's quinceanera gave this the perfect feel for this family's Chappaquiddick.

I approached the music for this episode differently than most.  I figured any individual could have their own personal song requests at a party, so I was able to choose from a variety of music genres here.  Having Rosita choose modern music for her party as opposed to more traditional Latin music also seemed like a good source of mild conflict for the Trejo family.  Thus, choosing songs was actually easier for this episode; that is until I came to the end.  I have a rule about not matching beginning or ending songs from previous episodes, but I could not find a better song to go out on.  I wish I had a precedent for Cold Case using a beginning song in one episode as an end song in another, but I ultimately decided that this song violated no rule.  I chose to go out on Supertramp's "Take the Long Way Home" because of that line: "If your the joke of the neighborhood, why should you care if your feeling good".  The Aldren's would surely had been the gossip of the neighborhood once these secrets came out.  Parts of the song also seemed to mirror the strained marriage and Jeffrey's 32-year absence from his family.  Frankly, I think this song makes more sense as an end song as opposed to where it was originally used.