8:03 AM is the 14th case of the fourth season of the series and is the 83rd overall.
Description[]
On the fifth anniversary of the shooting death of 15-year-old Skill Jones in North Philly, Miller, who was the first person on the scene, notices another victim's box next to Skill's: 14-year-old Madison Reed had been shot and killed at the exact same minute on the exact same day in Chestnut Hill. Seeing a possible connection, the squad reopens both cases. Meanwhile, Vera pays a heavy price when his long working hours interfere with his relationship with Toni.
Synopsis[]
2002 Skill Jones and Madison Reed are outside their schools. Madison hopes her friend Michael Ellis will ask her to the Valentine's dance. Skill recites some kind of poetry in class. Shots ring out at 8:03 A.M. Both Skill and Madison are dead. Kat Miller runs up to Skill and he dies in her arms. Both cases went cold.
Present Rush, Valens, Jeffries and Vera walk along a Philadelphia sidewalk. Jeffries says Assistant District Attorney Alexandra Thomas called him. Vera says she's hot and Scotty replies, "If you like that type." Vera is also the number one laughingstock after he mentions Toni Halstead and bringing her to the ballet. Miller, meanwhile, is at storage. Rush visits her to see what's up.
The two women talk about the murders of Skill and Madison. This day is the fifth anniversary of their deaths; they were both shot outside their schools on the same day at 8:03 am. Are they connected, the detectives wonder? But Skill went to a public school in a poor neighborhood in North Philadelphia while Madison went to a Tony private school in Chestnut Hill.
They talk to Lt. John Stillman about the cases. Madison was shot with a .357 and was last seen with Michael. Stillman and Miller are both curious about the murders being linked. She decides to visit Toomey Nelson, a crackhead and former informant from those days. There with Vera, Toomey flashes off a necklace called the "dream catcher". He says that Skill was one of the only people who gave him respect. Toomey recalls a night where Skill and another drug dealer torture Champ, a fellow drug dealer who moved in on their territory. Skill is forced to take Champ's ear off, which he does. It was only a few weeks before Skill's murder, after New Year's Eve.
Rush and Scotty talk with Michael. Michael tells them that weeks before Madison was shot, he came over to her house saying his mom can't come over for book club because she "had another engagement". Madison knows the neighbors are unwilling to associate with her family due to their difficult financial situation since her dad left weeks before. Madison is depressed about her father's abandonment, wondering if she was at fault as Michael tries to comfort her. Madison's purse falls over, and vials and needles spill out. She urges Michael not to say anything, which he agrees to. Her mother, Shirley Reed, arrives and greets Michael. The drugs might connect Madison to Skill's murder.
Vera talks with Toni and reminds her of the "life of a cop". The ballet tickets are expired and Vera promises that he won't miss it again, the same thing he said last week. They talk about Andre and how Skill is not that much older. The talk eventually leads to Vera being dumped.
Rush suggests that meth might have kept Madison up during nights and Skill might be her dealer. Then the name Gibby Hanes comes up. He was arrested for drug charges and was a schoolmate of Madison's. Maybe Gibby was connected to Skill. Then Shirley comes in angry because they think Madison might have been a druggie.
Miller and Jeffries decide to talk with Skill's grandfather, Moses. He says that Skill's parents both were gone because of drugs. Moses recalls the night where Champ's ear was cut off by a player. Skill's clothes and hands had blood on them. Skill admits he wants out of the gang and to find peace. The gun is not the answer; it never was and never will be. Skill's gun was also a 357 Glock.
Rush and Valens talk to Gibby. He dealt some meth at his school and pot from his sock drawer. Gibby claims he was cool because he wasn't a jock but still had something. He also admits he dealt drugs just so he could get laid. He stopped after almost blowing up his mother's stove. Gibby says he brought Madison to North Philly for money and sex, also so she could get some drugs. Madison found her mother after Shirley had been there for two days.
Rush and Stillman talk to Shirley, who is now clean. They show her Skill's photo. He was one of her dealers. Shirley mentions being at rehab where she and Madison talk. The rehab clinic cannot admit Shirley because the center is full. The clinic worker can only give Madison a number to call. Shirley says she went out that night and got high, which continued until her daughter died.
Miller and Vera visit Skill's school. Vera admits Toni dumped him. They talk with Skill's teacher, Ms. Boyd. She recalls an incident where she assigned Skill to read out loud but he couldn't, making the other kids laugh at him. Then Michael calls Skill.
Jeffries and Stillman talk to Michael. He explains he needed Skill's help in order to find Madison. Michael says Skill wouldn't help at first but they soon found Madison in a drug den, where she was looking for her mom. She also took some drugs while there. Skill and Madison talk and she offers him her dreamcatcher necklace as they go home. The same necklace Toomey had. Michael says Skill planned to sell the gun to Gibby.
Miller interrogates Toomey while Scotty and Lilly interrogate Gibby. They all eventually get Toomey and Gibby to confess. In 2002, Toomey shows Skill his brand new gun which he found in a dumpster. Skill says that he doesn't want to end up like Toomey. Toomey then shoots and kills Skill. Gibby shows his gun to Madison but she plans to stop his drug dealing business and calls him a loser for thinking his customers actually like him. Gibby then shoots and kills Madison.
Gibby and Toomey look at each other as they're arrested. Shirley is at rehab and "sees" Madison. Moses "sees" Skill at the school studying. Michael stares at school before heading inside. Vera sits at his desk, sad about Toni, but Scotty offers him a beer and they have a toast. In the case room, Kat and Rush are putting the case boxes away. Kat "sees" Madison and Skill together, giving her grateful smiles.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
- Kathryn Morris as Lilly Rush
- Danny Pino as Scotty Valens
- John Finn as John Stillman
- Jeremy Ratchford as Nick Vera
- Thom Barry as Will Jeffries
- Tracie Thoms as Kat Miller
Guest Cast[]
- Ernie Hudson as Moses Jones
- Jeremiah Birkett as Toomey Nelson
- Lucinda Jenney as Shirley Reed
- Alexa Nikolas as Madison Reed
- Tristan Wilds as Skill Jones
- Jodi Carlisle as Miss Boyd
- Graham Hamilton as Gibby Hanes
And[]
- Sonja Sohn as Toni Halstead
Co-Starring[]
- Melody Butiu as Clinic Worker
- Rickey T. Chaney as Champ
- Thomas Kasp as Michael Ellis (2002)
- Jordan Potter as Michael Ellis (2007)
- Christian Redd as Dealer #1
Notes[]
- Coinciding with the titled time (8:03 AM), it was easily referred as the 83rd episode of the series.
Music[]
All songs are performed by U2
- Beautiful Day
- Window In The Skies
- Stuck In A Moment You Can't Get Out Of
- Running To Stand Still
- Bad
- Sometimes You Can't Make It On Your Own
- MLK
- Closing Song: With Or Without You
| Season 4 Episodes |
| Rampage | The War at Home | Sandhogs | Baby Blues | Saving Sammy | Static | The Key | Fireflies | Lonely Hearts | Forever Blue | The Red and the Blue | Knuckle Up | Blackout | 8:03 AM | Blood on the Tracks | The Good-Bye Room | Shuffle, Ball Change | A Dollar, A Dream | Offender | Stand Up and Holler | Torn | Cargo | The Good Death | Stalker |
