Cold Case 8-7: Care Givers

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

5

“I guess you weren’t kidding when you said you weren’t Mother of the Year material, Mrs. Logan,” insisted Scotty in the interview room.

“This is beyond belief! You still think I know what happened to my son!” Colleen shouted.

“Lady, your own daughter is in the other room giving you up!” Scotty replied.

“Nora? What could she have given you?” Colleen demanded.

“She told us how you went to the hospital on the night of Quinn’s surgery, and that you and Mitchell rang the bell for the next round,” Lilly replied.

“Of course, another personal highlight of mine,” insisted Colleen.

“I’ll just bet. I’ll bet Mitchell pissed you off that night, didn’t he? So much so that you found T. J.’s car in the lot, stole his hedge clippers and waited for him to come out!” said Scotty.

“You were losing him. No matter how hard you fought he just kept going back to Quinn. So maybe you figured if you couldn’t have him anymore, then neither could she,” insisted Lilly.

“That’s not true! I went home after that argument!” yelled Colleen.

“Where you lived alone at the time. Not much of an alibi,” insisted Lilly.

“Well, it’s the truth. Mitchell’s words stayed with me after that fight. I went home to think about what he said for awhile,” Colleen responded.

Scotty threw down a picture of the ring box in front of her. “Do you recognize that?”

“That’s the ring that they found on the body. I still have it actually,” informed Colleen.

“Did you know he was planning to propose?” asked Lilly.

Colleen shook her head. “Every time I think I’ve moved on.”

“What happened, Colleen?” asked Lilly.

“I went to see Mitchell … that day. When I showed up at Nora’s place, that’s when I first saw the ring box,” Colleen explained.

“And you had another argument?” added Scotty.

“No, just the opposite! After our words at the hospital…” Colleen stopped to catch her breath. “I went there to tell him I was done fighting; I went there to let him go…”

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

Madonna
“I’ll Remember”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkMnqdmytz4

“I knocked on the door to my daughter’s apartment and Mitchell answered. I could tell he was on his way out because he was wearing the white coat I got him for his birthday three years earlier. He seemed surprised that it was me. ‘Mom. If you’re here for Nora—‘

“’I’m actually here for you,’ I said.

“’Alright, I’m sorry for the fight. It was a stressful night, I was tired, and to top it all off I have finals next week,” he added.

“’Actually, I’m here to—‘ That’s when I noticed the velvet box in his hand. ‘Is that what I think it is?’

“’It’s an engagement ring; I moved my money around and bought it a couple of weeks ago. Quinn just came home today; I’m actually on my way to see her now. And before you try to talk me out of this—‘

“’Mitch, I’m not here to fight. I actually came here to apologize to you,’ I said.

“’You?’

“’What you said at the hospital may have been blunt, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t true. I never realized how much I’ve relied on you these past few years. You have done a good job taking care of me and I do appreciate it,’ I admitted.

“’Well, thank you. I appreciate you telling me that,’ said Mitchell.

“’I can’t fault for wanting to move on; who knows I might even be able to do it myself some day. So if Quinn is what you want, I won’t stand in your way anymore.’ I told him. ‘But I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t tell you this is not an easy path you’re taking. You’re still young, marriage is tough at any age, and a girl like Quinn is going to have a lot of issues.’

“’That’s why I’m doing this. I want Quinn to know I’m never going to give up on her,’ said Mitchell.

“’That’s another thing; don’t be surprised if she says no. Given everything that’s happened to her she might not be ready for an engagement right now,’ I added.

“’That’s a chance I’ll have to take.’ Mitch insisted.

“’You’re mind is made up it seems. Then I’ll wish you the best of luck,’ I told him. He actually hugged me before he left. I wasn’t expecting that.”

“It’s funny, after all these years I’ve never seen the actual ring. I didn’t even think to open the box after Mitchell passed, and every time I’ve looked at it since has just reminded me of how much we fought toward the end,” Colleen explained.

Lilly pushed her hair back. “You swear you never touched that ring. Well, there’s one way to verify your story; bring the ring in and have us print you.”

Colleen and Harry came back later that day with the ring. They stared across Lilly’s desk directly at her. “It shouldn’t be too much longer,” said a nervous Lilly.

A few minutes later Vera and Stillman came up to Lilly’s desk. “The test results are back on the ring. Do you want the good news, the bad news, or the screwy news?” asked Vera.

“Somehow, I think screwy will cover all three,” Lilly added.

“Apparently the cops back in 1995 only tested the box, and when they only found Mitchell’s prints on it everyone jumped on the suicide theory,” Vera explained.

“What do you mean they only tested the box?” asked Mr. Logan.

“They never tested the ring. We found a print on the stone setting for the engagement ring; the good news is that it does not match the prints for Colleen,” Stillman explained.

“Are you happy now? My wife did not kill her son, and you’ve been harassing us for nothing! You will be hearing from my lawyer…”

“There’s something she should know!” yelled Stillman. “The print didn’t match the prints we have on file for Mitchell either. Someone else touched that ring.”

Vera shook his head. “I’ll be damned; the blind girl bluffed us.”

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

“Well Quinn, I could tell them to put you in the dark, but I don’t think that would phase you,” said Vera as he sat across from Quinn in the interview room.

“I’m getting married in a few days, and I’m still putting the wedding together. Why am I here?” she asked.

“Because you lied to us.”

“Like hell I did.”

“Quinn, we know you were with Mitchell the night he died. We know he proposed to you,” Vera replied.

Quinn’s voice cracked. “He did not!”

“We have the ring! It has a print on it that I can only assume belongs to the old girlfriend!” Vera added.

Quinn’s voice cracked again. “Take all the prints you want; I never touched that ring!” The room fell silent for a minute. “This is partially paralyzed; it only bends about half way. Even with my good hand I can’t exactly move at light speed. Do you really think I killed him?”

“When you put it that way, I guess not. Yet I still don’t think you’re telling me the whole story,” Vera insisted.

“Please, like you would really understand my story!” insisted Quinn.

Vera stood up and reached into his coat pocket to pull out the blindfold. “Probably not, but I’ve been trying to,” Vera walked to Quinn’s left side and put on the blindfold. He took her hand and touched it to his face. “This is an old sock that I’ve been using as a blindfold. I’ve been trying to experience what you must deal with everyday. I won’t lie; I’ve tripped over my own shoes more times than I can count But I have adjusted to some of it; for one my other senses have gotten stronger. Like right now, I can hear your voice getting caught in your throat, I can hear your heart beating a mile a minute through your chest, and I can sense the elevated smell of sweat in the air—all signs of somebody with something to hide. If you truly loved Mitchell, you need to do him justice now. What happened?”

Quinn shook her head. “What happened was I was young and sick, and when more stuff starts going wrong you start doing math in your head: I was born with paralysis, 18 years later I went blind, and I figured by 36 I’d probably be dead. At the time I didn’t figure anyone could love a girl that was falling apart, and I also knew that Mitchell would never break up with me. So when my father told me Mitchell had just pulled up; I told him to send him away. Then I heard … shouting. I couldn’t make it all out, but it was something like ‘he doesn’t care you stupid bastard!’.”

“Something about that doesn’t add up. Are you sure you remember that right?” asked Vera.

Just then there was a knock on the door. It was Jeffries with a piece of paper in his hand. “Vera, there’s something you need to … see.”

Vera removed the blindfold and followed Jeffries into the hall. “What is it?”

“I finally heard back from Burglary Division. This is the theft report for December 7, 1995.”

Vera took the document and looked it over. “Are you sure this is all of it?”

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

It was Kat Miller and Will Jeffries’ turn in the interview room now. “You really had some bad luck in December 1995 didn’t you, T. J.?” asked Miller. “First your sister goes blind, then the robbery, and then your friend dies.”

“It wasn’t exactly a merry Christmas for any of us that year, but what exactly is your point?” T. J. asked.

“I’m just saying it must have been tough: broke college student, working your way through school, and taking care of your sick sister almost singlehanded with your father out of the house so much,” Miller replied.

“Well, my father worked a lot,” said T. J.

“Yeah, but to not even show up at the hospital after Quinn’s surgery? To me that just sounds cold; almost like he didn’t care,” insisted Miller.

“Yeah, that was frustrating. But I’m struggling on my own now too, and now I understand his exhaustion. I couldn’t even imagine having a sick kid on top of it all,” added T. J.

“Well, you’re more forgiving than me,” Miller responded.

“What does any of this have to do with Mitchell?” asked T. J.

“He’s right, Kat,” said Jeffries. “Let’s talk about that robbery. What exactly was taken?”

“All my landscaping stuff: my water cans, my shovels, and like I said my hedge clippers,” T. J. informed.

“It seems like odd stuff for someone to steal,” insisted Jeffries.

“Well, those tools get expensive,” said T. J.

“Must not be that expensive if you never bothered to report the theft,” said Jeffries. He opened a file and showed T. J. a piece of paper. “That’s a record of all burglaries reported on December 7, 1995. None of what you said is in here. You never filed a theft report, Terrance.”

“Why bother? I knew I wasn’t getting that stuff back,” insisted T. J.

“Your car was on your dad’s insurance policy; you have to have some insurance to drive in this state. Why not file a report just to get some money back?” asked Jeffries.

Terrance shook his head. “Fine, you got me. There was no break-in. I was an idiot and forgot to lock my car doors. I didn’t report it, because quite frankly it was embarrassing.”

“Here’s the thing. Changing your story like that makes me wonder what else you’re keeping from us,” said Jeffries. “I think there was no theft. We know Mitchell came to your house that night. I think he came there to break up with her,”

“No, you’ve got that backwards. Mitch loved my sister.”

“Maybe he did, but losing her sight changed all that!” said Jeffries.

“No, you’re wrong about him!”

“You found out your friend was about to break your sister’s heart, so you got pissed and stabbed him with the clippers!” Jeffries shouted.

“Mitch didn’t come to my house to break up with her! If anything he was more determined to stay with her than ever! He was going to ask her to marry him that night; I saw the damn ring!” T. J. shouted pounding a fist on the table.

“I thought you didn’t know about Mitchell’s plan. That’s what you told the other detectives,” said Miller. T. J. froze; it looked like he was about to swallow his tongue. Miller pulled a photograph of the ring from the file. “Whoever killed your friend left a print on this ring. There’s one way to clear yourself; let us print you.”

T. J.’s head fell to the table. “You don’t need to do that; I touched the ring. Look, could you just tell Quinn… I never meant to hurt him. I just wanted him to get out of my way.”

“What happened, T. J.?” asked Miller.

“It was poetic really. Mitch took care of his mother, he took care of Quinn, he protected everyone but himself…”

Cold Case Soundtrack: “8:03 AM” www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbAGfuOoaHQ

“I was in the yard trimming some branches when I heard Mitchell’s car pull up in the driveway. He rang the doorbell and my father answered. ‘I’m here for Quinn,’ he said.

“’Quinn just came home today. She’s not really up for anything right now,’ my father answered.

“’Look, I understand if she’s not up for going out right now, but if I could just stay…’

“’Quinn is not really up for visitors right now,’ my father interrupted.

“’I won’t stay long. I just… need to see her…’

“’Mitchell, try to understand this. She’s not the same girl anymore. Quinn needs rest and time to adjust to this,’ my dad explained.

“By this point I’m boiling. How could have known what she needed when he wasn’t even there when it happened. ‘Will you let him in for five minutes? Like you’re the expert on what Quinn needs anyway!’

“My dad stepped around Mitchell and yelled back, ‘What the hell does that mean, Terrance!’

“’It means where the hell were you when all this went down! I can’t even remember how many times I left messages trying to reach you and still you never showed! I get that you work a lot and that’s why I’m home with Quinn most of the time with Quinn, but you didn’t even come to the hospital for your own daughter! Mitchell did! He was there the whole night with her and he did it again the next day! So if you ask me he should be allowed to see her because he obviously cares more than you do!’

“’SHUT UP!’ he yelled.

“’Yeah T. J., what are you doing?’ asked Mitch.

“But my father didn’t hear him. He just kept yelling. ‘You think you know it all! There’s a reason I work so much! We need money! We got something in the mail from Jefferson Hospital today, and it sure as hell wasn’t a thank you note! It was a bill; $25,000 for a two night stay! Even with insurance I’m still on the hook for $5,000! If I can’t pay for what Quinn needs what happens then? … Yeah, silence! Talk about a few more things you know nothing about!’ Then he stormed back into the house.

“Looking back I get it, but at the time I just couldn’t let it drop. I went for the door, but Mitch blocked me. ‘Get out of my way!’

“’T. J., just take a breath. You’re saying things you don’t even mean.’

“’No, I’m on your side here! You were there and he wasn’t! He doesn’t care!’ I yelled.

“’He cares, it’s his daughter! Look at least put the clippers down!’ he said.

“Clippers? What clippers? I couldn’t even register what he was saying I was so angry. ‘No, get out of my way! He doesn’t care!’ Then I put my hands out to push him aside, and that’s when I realized what clippers he meant; they were the ones sticking out of his chest. I swear I completely forgot they were even in my hand. Mitchell fell back against the side of the house bleeding from his chest. ‘You stupid bastard!’ I cried out. I’m not even sure if I was yelling at him or myself.

“Then I heard a voice. It was Mitchell gasping for breath. ‘Q-uinn.’

“I just ran to him without thinking. ‘Quinn’s not here. It’s T. J.’

“He reached into one of his pockets and pulled out this box. ‘Quinn… will… you… maaaahhhhhh…’ And then all his strength was gone. The box fell to the ground popping open and the ring fell on to the grass.

“I stepped around the body and bent down to pick up the ring, but I had some trouble getting a grip on it with my gloves so I took the gloves off. I turned the sparkling object in my hand a few times before dropping it in the box. ‘You’re not dead. I need you. Quinn needs you. You can’t be dead.’

“But he was gone, and when I realized that I guess survival instinct kicked in or something. I dragged his body to his car, dumped him in the trunk, found the car keys in his pants pocket, and drove away. I can’t deny my guilt in this anymore, but I swear… I never meant to kill him.”

Counting Crows
“A Long December”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrsSbjcKCBg

At the station John Stillman and Nick Vera loaded Mitchell’s file box onto the shelf and marked it CLOSED.

At the Logan house Lilly and Scotty were explaining the final moments leading up to Mitchell’s death. When Lilly explained that she believed that T. J. never intended to hurt Mitchell; Colleen asked what would happen to him.

Quinn was hearing the same explanation at the chapel from Kat Miller and Will Jeffries. As officers they had to charge him. They explained that they would make a case to the D. A., but it was his decision as to charge him with murder or manslaughter.

A preacher motioned for everyone to come inside; it was almost time for the ceremony. But they still had some time, so Jeffries pulled Nora Davis aside and asked her a few questions.

Inside the church Quinn stood at the altar between her father Alfred and her new husband. As the man turned to face Quinn, Nora saw past him to the ghost of her brother as he faded from sight.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=hHd7937I7SQ

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

Audio PowerPoint slides now available.

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

So, it seems demand for these audio presentations is not exactly skyrocketing. Let me state here once and for all that I do not charge for these presentations. I make no money off of the Cold Case Virtual Season 8; I never intended to make money off of this. This is just a passion that I have had for several years because I thought the show deserved a better ending. Even if I wanted to make money off of this, I would most likely face serious copyright claims due to the amount of music and background audio that I use.

The audio presentations consist of my slightly adlibed narrations of the five acts of each episode. Flashback sequences also play featured music just like in the show or I use selections from the Cold Case Soundtrack. I also treat listeners to a brief commentary after each episode. I suppose I could just post those After the Show segments here as messages, but I just thought the audio component would be a nice addition.

I thought about learning how to post these presentations on YouTube, but, once again, copyright laws.

[IAlsoLoveRaymond]

AFTER THE SHOW

Truth time, this was a tough one to look back on. First, I think you need to know something about me that will explain some of these characters along with some characters going forward. I am what they call legally blind; I have been this way since suffering a lack of oxygen practically at birth. Legal blindness means that a person can see but not as well as someone with full sight. Legal blindness can take many forms; in my case it takes the form of tunnel vision and extreme nearsightedness where I also rely on magnification software and magnifying glasses for reading. This episode came out of a time in my life when I was out of work and filled some of my days by going to lunches and support groups sponsored by my local blind association. That is also how I met the girl that Quinn Jennings is based on.

So you might be wondering where truth deviates from fiction. This episode is based on a time of a lot of highs and lows in my life. I had lost my father to a lung condition much like Mitchell Davis in the story and I saw what grief did to my mother. For a long time after that, i had hoped that she could find a way to move on and find someone else. About a year after that I met the girl that Quinn Jennings is based on who had also lost a parent years ago and was in fact completely blind as a result of being born with the same condition. Congenital hydrocephalus is a legitimate medical condition where excess fluid builds up in the skull and can put pressure on the brain. The condition can be managed by surgically inserting a plastic shunt and tubing into the body to drain the fluid out of the skull.

So Quinn Jennings was true and Mitchell Davis losing his father was true. The racial incident in the school student union was not true; the base girl was also Afro-American, but that never happened. The fights that Mitchell Davis had with his mother were partly true; they were not based on the Quinn Jennings girl but rather another girl who we fought over. The scene where Mitchell's sister catches him with Quinn is not true; I would have to have a sister for that to have happened. The way Quinn lost her sight is true. Mitchell buying an engagement ring is not true. It will be the biggest could've/would've/should've question in my life. The Quinn Jennings girl and I were together for nearly 8 years, but I never had the guts to buy a ring. The one thing I knew a condition like hers required was money, and at the time I was on disability and going through lengthy periods of unemployment and underemployment. Then, when things started to look better for me, they got worse for her. She had another bad fall that, combined with the "rehab" she received, severely limited her mobility; it got to the point where she could barely move around the downstairs floor of her sister's apartment and they had her drugged to the point where she could barely speak a lot of the time. The last time I tried to speak with her, her phone was disconnected, so I can't even say for sure where she is now.

Regarding my book-end songs, I chose The Rembrandts's "I'll Be There for You" because, much like Mitchell Davis, I was full of hope at the beginning and I too learned what "I'll Be There for You" really entails. Let's just say I now get why my mother has not remarried; they say you only really fall in love once. I went with Counting Crows's "A Long December" at the end because it wound up being a long December for the Jennings family. Everything went down hill for Quinn that December, and the family was still dealing with the consequences of that.