Director: David Koepp
Written by:
Stephen King (novel), David Koepp (screenplay)
With: Johnny
Depp, John Torturro, Charles Dutton, Timothy Hutton, Maria
Bello, Len Cariou
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Scene 1 : Setting : The Motel :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Ted Milner, Amy Rainey, Motel
Manager.
Mort’s Voice : [Windshield wipers move
across car window] Turn around. [Windshield wipers] Turn around.
[Makes a face and puts on his glasses] Turn the car around and
get the hell out of here. [Placed a hand on steering wheel]
Right now. [Shifts into reverse, turns around and backs the car
up. Turns the car to the left angrily. Stops] Don’t go back.
[Shifts] Do not go back there. [Turns around. Shifts again and
backs up] [Gets out of car, goes into motel lobby, grabs a key
off the rack]
Motel Manager : [Puts on bathrobe, sees missing
key] Hey. [Mort gets into car] Hey! [Mort drives further, stops
abruptly, gets out of car. Unlocks and goes into a room] [Amy
and Ted cower in their bed]
Mort : Ahhhh! [Grabs head and
walks away]
Motel Manager : [Runs in] What the hell is going
on in here?
Scene 2 : Setting : The Cabin :
Characters : Mort Rainey, John Shooter, Chico.
[Shot pulls out of motel and fades into a
scan of Tashmore lake]
COLOMBIA PICTURES PRESENTS
A PARIAH
PRODUCTION
JOHNNY DEPP
SECRET WINDOW [Fades to
red]
[Closes in on cabin]
JOHN TURTURRO
MARIA
BELLO
TIMOTHY HUTTON
CHARLES S. DUTTON
LEN
CARIOU
CASTING BY JOHN PAPSIDERA, CSA PAT MCCORKLE,
CSA
COSTUME DESIGNER ODETTE GADOURY
MUSIC BY PHILLIP
GLASS
EDITED BY JILL SAVITT, A.C.E.
[Enters cabin through
secret window]
PRODUCTION DESIGNER HOWARD
CUMMINGS
DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY FRED MURPHY, ASC
[Moves
toward desk]
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER EZRA SWERDLOW
PRODUCTION
BY GAVIN POLONE
[Passes by computer monitor]
BASED UPON
THE NOVELLA “SECRET WINDOW, SECRET GARDEN” BY STEPHEN
KING
[Shot of mirror with Mort sleeping on the couch in the
reflection]
[Goes into mirror]
SCREENPLAY BY DAVID
KOEPP
DIRECTED BY DAVID KOEPP
[Mort sleeps on the couch, clock
ticks]
SIX MONTHS LATER
Snores [Lifts his hand] [Someone
twists the knob of the front door] [Mort is awakened, looks
toward the door, puts on his glasses and gets up]
knock knock knock knock knock [Mort opens
the door]
Shooter : You stole my story. [Mort looks
at a loss for words] Well?
Mort : I’m sorry.. do I.. I don’t believe
I know you.
Shooter : I know that. That doesn’t
matter. I know you, Mr. Rainey. That’s what matters. You stole
my story.
Mort : [Shakes head] You’re mistaken. [He
sees the manuscript] I don’t read manuscripts.
Shooter : [Holds up manuscript] You read
this one already. You stole it.
Mort : I can assure you that I—
Shooter : I know you can. I know that. I
don’t want to be assured.
Mort : If you want to talk to someone
about some grievance you feel you may have, you can call my
literary agent in New York.
Shooter : This is between you, and me.
[The dogs circles Shooter’s legs and whimpers] We don’t need any
outsiders, Mr. Rainey. It is strictly between you and me.
Shooter : Alright. Look, Mr. Who ever you
are, I don’t like being accused of plagiarism, if that is in
fact what you are accusing me of. Chico, inside! [Dog looks up
at Shooter]
Shooter : I don’t blame you for not
liking it, but you did it. You stole my story.
Mort : You’re going to have to leave. I
have nothing more to say. [Closes door]
Shooter : [Holds door back with curled
manuscript] Yeah, I’ll go. We’ll talk more later. [Hands script
to Mort]
Mort : [laughs] I’m not taking that.
Shooter : It won’t do you any good to
play games with me, Mr. Rainey. This has got to be settled.
Mort : So far as I’m concerned, it is.
[Closes and locks door] [Looks through window, then at dog] [He
hears noises coming from outside] [He sees Shooter go to his car
and take his hat off. Mort looks a bit scared] [The car pulls
out, Mort tries to see the license plates] [He opens the door,
and sees the manuscript under a rock, looks up, then back to it]
[Takes rock off, picks up manuscript] Sowing Season. John
Shooter. [Goes back into the house] Never heard of you, pal.
Never heard of your story. [Dumps it into the trash] [Washes
hands, walks into living room air drying them] Now, [Lies down
on couch] where was I? Oh. Oh. [Dog looks off to the side, then
lies down in its bed]
Scene 3 : Setting : The Study :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Chico.
[Shot of Tashmore lake]
Vacuum noise
[Mort sits pensively at his computer, playing with his face]
[Shot of computer] [Shot of clock] [Mort looks at the dog, stops
playing with his face]
Mort : I’m open to suggestions. [The dog
looks sad] [Mort continues to play with his face] [He stands up
and looks over the railing, sees Mrs. Garvey vacuuming]
[Mort looks at the dog] If you don’t go
and bite her, I’ll kill her. [The dog turns away] [Mort sits
down] [Plays with face, then rubs hands together]
Mort : [Shot on computer screen] Four
days after George had confirmed to his own satisfaction that his
wife was cheating on him, he confro—This is just.. bad writing.
[Plays with slinky] Just bad writing.
Mort’s Voice : So, you know what to do?
[Mort stops playing with the slinky] Just do it. [Puts slinky
down, goes forward and highlights text with the mouse] No
[Presses delete] bad writing.
Mort : [Smiles, leans back and turns to
dog] I think that solves it. Dog whimpers [Dog turns around in
its chair]
Scene 4 : Setting : The Kitchen :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Mrs. Garvey.
[Mort walks down the stairs eating
something] [Walks into the kitchen and brushes his hands off on
his bathrobe] [Opens fridge and pulls out a mountain dew] [Is
shocked at seeing the manuscript on the table] [He walks
forwards and examines it]
Mrs. Garvey : [Comes down the stairs and
into the kitchen] Oh, I found one of your stories in trash, Mr.
Rainey. I thought you might want it so I put it on the table.
[While rummaging through a cupboard]
Mort : Yeah. I see that, Mrs. Garvey.
[Pretends to shoot her] [He sits at the table and looks at the
manuscript]
Mort’s Voice : Todd Downey thought that a
woman who would steal your love when your love was really all
you had was not much of a woman. He, therefore, decided to kill
her. He would bury her in the deep corner formed where the house
and the barn came together at an extreme angle. He would bury
her where his wife kept her garden. The garden that she loved
more than she loved him.
Mort : [Jumps up, knocking the mountain
dew over] Oh Shit! Aw, Sh—Mrs. Garvey : [Comes to the kitchen]
Oh, thank god. From the sound of you I didn’t know what to
think. Here. [She throws the manuscript into his hands] Here,
let me get this. That’s my job.
Mort : I’m terribly sorry, Mrs. Garvey. I
really am.
Mrs. Garvey : I’ll take care of this, Mr.
Rainey. Go on back to work. [Cleans up]
Mort : I didn’t write this.
Mrs. Garvey : [Looks up] Oh. I thought
you did. [Resumes cleaning]
Mort : No, it’s not mine. Look. It says
John Shooter right there [Pointing] John Shooter. It’s not
me.
Mrs. Garvey : [Looks up] Oh, I thought it
was one of those um.. whatchamacallums.. Pseudonames or.. or
nyms.
Mort : No, no. I never used one. I never
used one.
Mrs. Garvey : Well, I can’t imagine why
you would. I mean, hiding behind some made-up name. [Bends
down]
Mort : No, no. [Bends down] Mrs. Garvey,
what I’m trying to tell you is that someone else wrote this
story.
[Mrs. Garvey : [Looks up] Oh, okie dokie
then. [Walks away] [Mort is left alone]
Scene 5 : Setting : The Study :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Mrs. Garvey, Chico.
[Mort searches his bookshelf for
something] [Picks out “Everybody Drops the Dime”] [Places it on
the table] [Sits down and pushes back hair] [He opens the book
to the contents page, traces down to “Secret Window”] [Flips to
“Secret Window”]
Mort’s Voice : A woman who would steal
your love when your love was all you had wasn’t much of a woman.
That at least was Tommy Haverlock’s opinion. He decided to kill
her. [Mort adjusts his glasses] He even knew the place he would
bury her. The exact place. The little patch of garden she kept
in the extreme angle formed where the old and new parts of the
house came together. He’d bury her in the garden she loved more
than she loved him. [Mort looks off to the side]
Amy : Why don’t you come to the flea
market with me. It’ll be fun. [Flashback fades in] We’ve got to
get rid of some of this stuff. Look at this, it’s awful. [She
places a teacup on a ledge] [Grabs a chest of drawers and pushes
it away] No wonder they left it. [She completely moves it over]
Oh my god, look. There’s a window! [She bends down and looks out
of it] It’s a secret window. [She opens it, revealing a garden
below] Oh, this is perfect. I’m gonna put my garden right there.
[She turns back] It’s a secret window and it’ll look down on a
secret garden. [The flashback disappears]
Mort : [Turns away] Huh [He looks back at
the stories and continues his examination] [He flips through the
pages of the stories] Shit. [Shots of the two stories go by] [He
closes the stories, rubs his face and breathes in] [He searches
through his desk drawer, finds old Doritos. He closes that one
and opens another] [After some rummaging, he turns up a pack of
L&M cigarettes] [He glances towards the stairway, sees no
one, smiles at the dog, then plops one into his mouth] [He turns
back the dog] I didn’t steal it. [The dog stares] What? [The dog
looks down]
Mrs. Garvey : [From downstairs] Mr.
Rainey!
Mort : [Smoking] Mmm? [He lowers the
cigarette so it is out of view]
Mrs. Garvey : I’m all done. [Comes up
stairs]
Mort : Really? [Smoke puffs out of his
mouth] So soon? [Nods] I’ll see you next time.
Mrs. Garvey : Mr. Rainey… There’s
something I want to say.
Mort : Oh, no.
Mrs. Garvey : Some women don’t know a
good thing when they got it.
Mort : [Nods] Mm.
Mrs. Garvey : Some women don’t know that
they got the whole world and it’s right in front of their
nose.
Mort : [Quietly] Mmhmm.. [Nodding]
Mrs. Garvey : There. That’s it. [Begins
to descend stairs, then stops] Not another word from me. [Mort
watches her go down bitterly, then resumes smoking] Mr.
Rainey.
Mort : Hm..? [He hides the cigarette]
Mrs. Garvey : Can I make you something to
eat?
Mort : No. I ate. Well.. earlier. I’m
going to eat later. And I’ll make it myself.
Mrs. Garvey : You’re a good man, Mr.
Rainey. [Nodding]
Mort : You too, Mrs. Garvey. [He watches
her go down again] [He frowns, and continues to smoke]
Scene 6 : Setting : The Living Room :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Amy Rainey, Ted Milner.
Mort : [Coming down the stairs and
shooing away smoke] It’s my personal business, Mrs. Garvey.
Thank you very much. My personal business. [Sees couch] Oh! My
pillows now. [He throws the pillows off the couch, and lies
down] Her sticky weird fingers on my privacy.
Sighs I didn’t steal that story. [Closes
eyes] [Turns to face forward] I don’t think.. [Shot of clock]
[Mort drifts off to sleep] [The door of the house shakes] [Mort
drifts still] [Shooter walks in]
Phone rings [Mort blocks away the sun]
Wha—? Mm.. [He sits up wearily and searches for the phone]
Phone rings [He stand up and brings the phone to the couch]
[Lies down and answers] Hello?
Amy : [On phone] Hello Mort. Mort groans
[In person] Are you alright?
Mort : Yeah, I’m alright. Why wouldn’t I
be alright?
Amy : [On phone] I don’t know. [In
person] You’re up there all alone. Anything can happen and
nobody would know.
Mort : [On phone] I’d know.
Amy : [On phone] Right. sighs Hey, hey.
How’s my little baby puppy? Did Chico ever get those cataracts
removed?
Mort : Scowls Why did you call, Amy? What
do you want?
Amy : I had one of those feelings I get.
[Grabs wine and glasses] I know you think they’re stupid, and
you don’t believe them but I believe them and um, [On phone]
[Mort scowls and strangles the phone] I was making a sandwich
and I had this sensation that you might not be okay. [Mort turns
on the couch] I held off as long as possible, [Sets down the
wine and glasses into a bag] um but then I couldn’t anymore so
here I am.
Mort : Well, I don’t know what to tell
you except I’m fine.
Amy : Nothing weird happened or anything?
[She walks off]
Mort : [He hesitates] Do you remember
Secret Window?
Amy : [On phone] What?
Mort : My story. You know, the one where
the… [scratches face] the woman has the garden [On phone] And
then the guy has the uh.. shovel?
Amy : [Walks] Not one of my
favorites..
Mort : That’s good to know.
Amy : [Laughs] Well, it was kind of
hostile, don’t you think?
Mort : [Sits up and grabs the phone] Gee,
I miss your constructive criticism, I really do.
Amy : [Wipes lips in a mirror] What about
the story, Mort?
Mort : [Goes to the kitchen] Oh, I was
just wondering whether you think it’s possible that I might have
been influenced by anybody or anything at that time?
Amy : [Fixes hair] Other than Jack
Daniels?
Mort : [Returns to couch, drops phone on
table ding] I know that part, Amy, hence the question. [Sits
down, wipes top of mountain dew can]
Amy : [On phone] I don’t know. Yu got
kinda weird on that one. You’d write it mostly at night. I
think. [Mort blows on can] [Amy turns away from the mirror] What
do you mean influenced anyway?
Mort : [On phone] I don’t know.
Amy : [On phone] Like by another
story?
Mort : Look, forget it.
Amy : Mort. [Sits on bed] You swore the
one time was the only time.
Mort : [On phone] Forget it. Please,
please. Just forget it. Come on. How’s Ted?
Amy : Sighs He’s fine.
Mort : I was thinking that he and I
should get together sometime, have a drink because you know,
we’ve been to a lot of the same places.
Amy : You know what? I gotta go.
Mort : So do I.
Amy : [Lies back on the bed] Okay.
Mort : Is he there?
Amy : [On phone] No. [In person] We’re
not together.
Mort : [Is amazed] Wow. Well.. I’d be
lying if I said I wasn’t on the verge of doing Snoopy dances.
Heh.
Amy : No, Mort. [Sits back up] sighs What
I meant was, we’re not together at the moment. [On phone] He’s
coming over later. He hardly ever comes here, I usually go to
his house.
Mort : [Smiles] There’s a useful detail.
Thanks for that. [Lies back down]
Amy : [Looks out window, sees Ted’s car
pulling in] Don’t ask, then. It was working just fine that
way.
Mort : [On phone] I think you should have
him over the house more. [In person] Such a nice house, I like
it, I mean I love it. That’s why I bought it.
Amy : [Ted approaches the house] Goodbye,
Mort.
Mort : Goodbye, Amy. [Both hang up] [Sits
up, with head in hands] Oh, shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Stupid.
Stupid. Stupid.
Scene 7 : Setting : Outside :
Characters : Mort Rainey, John Shooter, Tom Greenleaf.
[Mort walks down the muddy path outside,
holding a walking stick] [He slaps a mosquito on his neck] [He
stops at the clearing, seeing Shooter’s car]
Shooter : You read it?
Mort : I did.
Shooter : I imagine it rang a bell,
didn’t it?
Mort : Oh, it certainly did. [Approaches
Shooter] When did you write it?
Shooter : I thought you’d ask that. [Sits
on his car]
Mort : Well, sure. That’s the whole point
isn’t it? When two writers show up with the same story, it’s all
about who wrote the words first. Wouldn’t you say that’s
true?
Shooter : I suppose I would. I
suppose that’s why I came all the way up here from Mississippi.
[Mort stops, sticks the walking stick in the ground leaning on
it, and turns to the road]
Honk honk honk [Mort waves, Shooter
salutes with his hand] I wrote it seven years ago. 1997. How’d
you get it? [Mort smiles] It’s what I really want to know. [He
goes up to Mort] How in the hell did a big money-scribblin’
asshole like you get down to a little shitsplat town in
Mississippi and steal my goddamn story?
Mort : Drop it. [Walks away]
Shooter : Drop it? Drop it? What in the
hell do you mean, Drop it?
Mort : [Comes back] You said you wrote
your story in 1997? i wrote mine in late ‘94. It was published
for the first time in June ‘95 in a magazine. Nice try, Mr.
Shooter, but I beat ya by two years. So if anybody’s got a bitch
about plagiarism, it’s me. [Turns away]
Shooter : You lie! [Pins him against the
car]
Mort : [Throws him off] No I don’t!
Shooter : Prove it!
Mort : I don’t have to prove a thing to
you. Go look for yourself. Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine June
1995.
Shooter : And how am I supposed to find
that?
Mort : That’s not my problem.
Shooter : Am I supposed to drive down to
your house in Riverdale New York and ask your wife Amy for it?
[Mort looks shocked] [Shooter smiles] I read it on your book
jacket.
Mort : [Gulps] That’s not my house,
that’s hers.
Shooter : What the hell does that
mean?
Mort : What do you think it means, you
ignorant hick? I’m in the middle of a divorce!
D-I-V-O-R-C-E—di-vorce.
Shooter : You strike me as the kind of
guy who’s on the lookout for a head he can knock off with a
shovel. But what you don’t understand is if we do start to
fight, it’s not going to end until one or the other of us is
dead. [Goes to the car] [Mort is nervous] Hold your water. I’m
just gettin’ m’smokes. [He offers one to Mort]
Mort : I don’t smoke.
Shooter : I’ll give you three days. You
call your ex and get her to send you the magazine with your
story in it, if there is such a magazine, and I’ll be back.
[Slips a cigarette into his mouth and lights it]
Mort : If I show it to you, will you go
back to wherever you came from and leave me alone?
Shooter : [Puffs smoke] [Nods] Three
days. [He returns to his car]
Mort : Always a pleasure to meet a
reader.
Scene 8 : Setting : The Living Room :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Chico.
[Shot of table with a sandwich with a
bite taken out of it, Doritos, an open jar of Jif, an almost
empty glass of milk] [The clock ticks] [Mort sits at the table,
the dog on the floor] [The faucet leaks] [Mort looks down, then
up] [The dog licks its lips] [Mort picks up the sandwich
sadly]
Mort : [Sighs] I don’t wanna call her.
[Gets on floor, holds the sandwich out to the dog] [Lies down
next to dog] I wanna go to sleep, I wanna take a nap. Huh?
[The dog eats the sandwich] Okay. No nap.
I give her a call about the magazine.. I go write some crap for
a couple of hours.. [The dog isn’t paying attention] And then I
get to take a nap.
A dog barks from outside [Chico looks
away]
Right? Chico?
[The dog gets up and leaves, heading
to the doggy door]
[Mort turns his head to the dog]
ChicoOoOoO don’t be discouraAaAaAaged! [The dog walks out]
Alright, go ahead and be discouraged, ya
blind [Gets up] bastard. See if I care! [Unplugs the phone line]
[Heads to the couch] And returned [Sits down] to the couch.
Sighs[Takes of watch] In shame. Degradation. [Puts watch on
table] [Takes off glasses and puts them on the table] [Takes off
shoes] [Lies down] SighsSloth. Sloth.
[The clock ticks] [The shot pulls away
into darkness] [Mort tosses and turns on the couch] [He turns to
the edge, and sees he’s hanging over a waterfall] [He falls off,
flustered] [He pushes back his hair and groans] [Picks up watch,
then puts on glasses, then pushes back hair again] [Puts down
watch and breathes in] [He gets up and goes over to the sink,
fills a glass of water] [He places it up to his mouth to drink,
but notices that his back door is open, and there’s something
white on the wall blowing in the wind] [Is curious, goes up
closer to get a better look, places the glass on the counter]
[He opens the door, and flips the light switch, but the light
doesn’t turn on] [He scowls, and goes in to get a flashlight]
[Turns the flashlight on, and examines the light, noticing that
there is broken glass on the floor] [He moves the flashlight
around and looks elsewhere, then walks over to the garbage bin]
[He moves the beam across trees, and his car]
[Goes down the stairs, and over to the
wall and finds a note attached to the wall HAve 3 days i am Not
JokiNg NO POLICE”]
[Mort turns to the garbage bin and sees a
white blanket over something] [He focuses the flashlight on it,
then turns away] [He turns back and approaches, then pulls off
the blanket]
[The dog with a screwdriver through its
head is under the blanket]
[Mort falls away] Oh! Uh. Ho.. uh.. [He
looks at the dead dog, moves his flashlight all around him,
breathing heavily]
Shooter! I’ll get you for this! You hear
me? I’ll get you for this!
[Mort returns to the house and locks all
windows and doors] [He walks forward and looks around the house]
[The sun is coming up, and he buries the dog int he ground with
a shovel] [He sticks the shovel in the ground]
Scene 9 : Setting : The Sheriff’s
Department : Characters : Mort Rainey, Dave Newsome,
Secretary.
[A shot of Tashmore lake]
Dave :
Chico? He killed Chico?
Mort : Yeah. Last night, around 9. I was
asleep. [They walk towards the building] Look, he left this
[Holds out the note]
Dave : [Takes the note] You have 3 days,
I’m not joking. No police. Hahaha. Anytime somebody sits down
and writes “No police” That’s just about exactly the time that a
fella should get himself over to the police. [He opens the door]
[Mort goes in, then Dave]
Mort : Yeah, yeah. Well, that’s what I
figured. [They walk to Dave’s desk] So what I’ve got is a
detailed description of him, I’ve got a detailed [He turns to
Dave] description of his ca—
Dave : Type a little harder. You have to
get through the carbon [He points to the secretary’s papers]
Mort : [Dave walks to behind his desk]
[Mort is shocked at the rudeness] You know what, [He points] I
didn’t get the license plate number, but I’m sure they were
Mississippi tags. [Dave puts his glasses on and sits down] I
think that it started with an A.. ‘cause that’s what I see in my
mind.
Dave : [Picks up needlepoint]
Needlepoint! Can you believe it? Doc says it’s good for the
arthritis. [Does some needlepoint]
Mort : Yeah.. [Glances at secretary]
[Sits down] Anyway, anything you can find out about this guy I
would really appreciate—Dave : I must cut quite an intimidating
law enforcement figure, huh [Laughs]
Mort : [Is nervous] I-I’d like to know
what I’m dealing with here, because maybe he’s got a violent
history.. uh… maybe you find him, you could talk to him. I think
that would probably be better.
Dave : So, you got yourself a member of
the crazy folks tribe?
Mort : Yeah.. I mean, they pop up every
once in awhile, I suppose that’s just the price of selling a few
books.
Secretary : [On phone] Ha ha ha ha haa!
[Mort looks at her, annoyed] Sorry..
Mort : [Smiles, then looks away] [He
grabs something from his coat pocket] Here’s the uh.. [He looks
back at the secretary confusedly] The description.
Dave : Killing an animal is not like
killing a man. I’m not even sure that it’s a crime, come to
think of.
Mort : Come on, it’s gotta be. What about
animal cruelty? What about destruction of private property? What
about—
Dave : Yeah, yeah, yeah.. Maybe. Okay.
First thing I’m gonna need [Puts down needlepoint and picks up a
pen], is a description. [Looks up at Mort] [Mort looks
shocked]
Scene 10 : Setting : Ken’s Office :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Ken Karsch, Secretary.
[Shot of New York buildings through a
window]
Ken : Tell me the truth. Did you steal
it? [A siren goes]
Mort: [Turns away from the window in
shock] What!? No!
Ken : Kind of an amazing coincidence,
don’t you think? [Mort listens] The stories being so much
alike?
Mort : Well, obviously the guy copied it
from me. Would you like to choose a side before we continue?
Ken : I’m on your side, but I still need
to know the truth. Which kind of situation is this? Is he a
regular wacko, like you’ve had before in which case I can help?
Or is this something you should be talking to your lawyer
about?
Mort : [Shakes head] No, no. This guy is
just simply out of his mind. I think that’s all it is. [Sits
down]
Ken : Fine. [Spreads hands] Okay. What do
you want me to do?
Mort : I want you to help me in the same
way that.. [Ken’s secretary comes in bringing some food and
places it on the desk] [Mort is distracted, stares at the
secretary] In the.. same way that you.. did before.
Ken : He wasn’t this crazy. [Reaches to
food] That guy was just an obsessed reader who couldn’t tell
real life from the crap that you make up for a living. No
offense. [Mort smiles] Now, this Shooter guy. He threatened your
life?
Mort : He put a screwdriver through my
dog.
Ken : [Eating] Well, he did break a law,
but it doesn’t seem to be an important law in Tashmore Lake. The
sheriff… must be a cat person. [Smiles]
Mort : [Comes forward] Yeah, well I don’t
exactly feel safe with a 70 year old arthritic sheriff watching
my back. Are you gonna help me, or not?
Ken : Uh.. Let’s see. [Looks at plan
book] I got a…. corporate loyalty thing I gotta be back for by
Friday, but I can give you a couple of days.
Mort : [Nods] Okay. [Breathes in] My
story came out a couple years… [Ken presses Mort’s side of the
chess timer] [Mort looks annoyed] before.. he says he wrote his.
So I’ve got a copy of the original up at Amy’s house. I was just
gonna stop by on my way upstate and pick it up.
Ken : Amy’s house?
Mort : Yeah. [Nods] Amy and I split up
about 6 months ago.
Ken : I’m sorry.
Mort : [Nods] Yeah. Me too.
Ken : Amicable?
Mort : Not remotely.
Ken : What happened? Did you finally nail
one of your groupies at a book signing? The Omaha Barnes &
Noble? Hehehe. [Mort presses Ken’s side of the chess timer]
[Nods] That was a dick thing to say, you know? Rotten
profession. I apologize. [Presses Mort’s side of the timer
again] You were saying?
Mort : I was saying… That if it’s just
proof that this guy Shooter wants, fine. I show him the
magazine, but I think that maybe you should be with me when I
show it to him.
Ken : No shit, I’m gonna be with you. You
remember my rate?
Mort : Yeah. An obscene fortune,
right?
Ken : Look, you’ll see a black cadillac
in the driveway tonight when you get home. Don’t freak out, it’s
me. Keeping an eye on things.
Mort : Okay. [Gets up]
Ken : Get a good night’s sleep. You don’t
look too hot. [Mort Leaves]
Scene 11 : Setting : Outside Amy’s
House : Characters : Mort Rainey, Amy Rainey, Ted Milner.
[Mort drives on the highway to Amy’s
house] [He gets into the neighborhood and slows down] [He stops
across from the house and pulls into someone’s driveway] [Amy
and Ted emerge from the house, talking, Ted pointing at things]
[Mort regards from the reflection in the car mirror] [Amy and
Ted stop by their car, and kiss]
Mort’s Voice : This is not..my beautiful
house. [Amy and Ted get into the car] This is not.. my beautiful
wife. [The car drives off] ... Anymore. [Camera focuses out of
the picture and we see the mirror, “Objects in mirror are closer
than they appear”] [Mort is sad, and plays with his face]
Scene 12 : Setting : The Cabin :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Ken Karsch.
[The moon is out. Mort pulls into his
driveway, and spot’s Ken’s black cadillac] [He stops the car,
looks around and sees Ken’s head against the window] [He turns
the car off and gets out] [He walks towards the car slowly and
carefully] [He bends down and sees Ken’s head on the steering
wheel] [He approaches, his reflection in the window, and taps on
the glass] [Ken’s head lifts]
Mort : [Jumps] Oh! [He turns away] [Ken
opens the car door and gets out] [They both laugh] [Mort pushes
back his hair and smiles] You scared the shit out of me!
Ken : Hey, hey. I’m sorry about that.
This last week must’ve finally caught up with me.
Mort : That’s very reassuring.
Thanks.
Ken : Hey, relax Hemingway. I was only
out for ten minutes, swear to god.
Mort : Hm..
Ken : Already checked the place,
everything is fine. Just waiting for you to get back to let you
know.
Mort : [Breathes out] [Looks off to the
side] You think you’d be sticking around.. tonight or..
Ken : No [Smiles] Not unless you want me
to.
Mort : No. [Looks away] No. No, I’m sure
it’s fine. In.. [Nudges to house] In there.
Ken : Nope. [Descends stairs] Heh. No
monsters up here.
Mort : Did you check under my bed?
Ken : Even in your toy chest. [Mort comes
out, holding a paddle] I’ll be back in the morning, start asking
around town. [Sees the paddle] What the hell you gonna do with
that, sailor. Huh? [Takes the paddle away and goes to put it
back] Find out who else saw your nut-job.
Mort : Tom Greenleaf. [Points]
Ken : Huh?
Mort : [Flashback of Tom honking honk
honk honk] Tom Greenleaf passed by when I was talking to Shooter
on Lake Drive and waived at us, so he must’ve got a good look at
him.
Ken : [Walks into the next room] Hmm..
Tom Greenleaf. How do I get ahold of him?
Mort : Bowie’s store. Breakfast every
morning, 9 am.
Ken : Okay, I got it. Don’t worry. [Comes
back in] Once I find out where this Shooter’s staying, I’ll stop
in for a little freak-me-out chat. Use the word “We” a lot.
[Gestures with his hands, Mort nodding at each line] We know
what you’re doing. We want it to stop. We’re watching you. Trust
me, he’ll hit the road so hard, it’ll hit back. [Walks off]
Mort : [Stands there] Yeah. [Ken opens
front door and steps out] [Mort follows] Hey, you know what. Are
you staying in town tonight?
Ken : Yeah, some motel out by route
9. Uh.. Irv’s lakesider, I think it’s called. You know the
place?
Mort : [Flashback of Mort backing up
towards motel] [Nods] Yeah, I know, yeah I know the place.
Ken : Okay. good night. [Ken walks off]
[Mort shuts the door and locks it]
Scene 13 : Setting : The Cabin :
Characters : Mort Rainey.
[Mort stands in the cabin, drumming on
his thighs] [Ken gets into his car] [Mort walks over to the
window, hands behind his back] [Mort bends down and looks out
the window] [He takes the string of the shade] [Something moves
in the house] [Mort turns around rapidly, and looks up at the
railing]
Mort : Hello? [Ken’s car pulls out] [Mort
scans the upper floor] [He sees Ken’s car leave] Shit. [He walks
forward, then stops. He picks up a fire poker from the holder]
[He goes up the stairs slowly] [Mort looks around the upper
floor, but sees nothing] [He turns and cautiously opens up a
door with the fire poker] [He turns on the light, and looks
around, but sees nothing]
[He approaches another door, and begins
opening it with the fire poker] [He hears something suddenly and
jumps and turns to the bathroom] [He gulps, and moves closer]
[He sees a figure in the mirror and becomes scared]
Mort: I know you’re in there, shithead!
If you don’t come out by the time.. I count to five…. I gonna
come in swingin’ [He looks at the figure] [Wipes his sweaty
hands on his pants] One, two…. [He runs into the bathroom]
Mort: Ahhhhhh! Smash [He attacks the
mirror] [Turns on the light, and looks at his victim] I killed a
mirror.
Squeak [He turns to the shower and begins
attacking again] Hu.. uh!
Smash [Through the broken glass, he sees
a mouse scamper through the tub] And my shower door.. [He slides
open the busted door, and looks down at the mouse and sighs]
[Throws down the poker and grabs a nearby towel] [Takes the
mouse up in the towel]
Crash [Part of the broken cabinet falls,
scaring him] [He walks past it, and heads downstairs] [He
pauses, and goes over to the desk] [He picks up the tattered
packet of L&M’s and holds them for a moment, then replaces
them on the desk] [He continues downstairs, then stops and comes
back upstairs.
He grabs the L&M’s and places one in
his mouth and leaves] I don’t care. I’m just gonna smoke. I’m
just gonna totally smoke. I’ll finish these, go to the store and
get a brand new pack, smoke the shit out of that one. [He walks
outside, takes the cigarette in his hand] [Bends down, and
releases the mouse from the towel into the wild] [He strikes a
match on the ground, and lights the cigarette back in his
mouth]
Scene 14 : Setting : Outside :
Characters : Mort Rainey, John Shooter.
Shooter : Thought you didn’t smoke.
Mort : [Throws away the match] I took it
up recently for my health.
Shooter : How are you, Mr. Rainey?
Mort : Oh, I’m just… Peachy, Mr. Shooter.
How are you?
Shooter : Well, It sounded like you
pitched a fit or something in there. [He bends down next to
Mort] I don’t think you’re really all that well. Stealing from
another man, that don’t seem to have ever bothered you none.
Being caught up on, though. [They both stand up] Or maybe it’s
just that successful writers like you throw tantrums when things
don’t go the way they expect. Why didn’t you get that magazine?
You were down there at her house today, weren’t you?
Mort : If I get this story, and I show it
to you, will you then kindly disappear?
Shooter : There isn’t any.. Magazine with
that story in it, Mr. Rainey. You and me, we know that.
Mort : Okay, then. [He leans against the
shovel standing in the ground] What can we do [He places his
hand on the handle] to make you feel better? [Shooter moves
around, and Mort backs away from the shovel]
Shooter : I want you to fix it.
Mort : What would you like me to fix?
Shooter : My ending. The one you wrecked.
I can’t decide what’s worse. [Shooter rubs his hand on the top
of the shovel handle] Stealing my story, or ruining the ending.
Mine was perfect.
Mort : I don’t think I even read your
whole story.
Shooter : Oh, I’ll bet you did. I know I
can do it, Todd Downey said, helping himself to another ear of
corn from the steaming bowl. I’m sure that in time her death
will be a mystery. Even to me. That’s how the story ends,
pilgrim. It’s the only ending. You’re going to write it for me
and get it published and it’s going to have my name on it.
Mort : I’d be more than happy to write
your ending, Mr. Shooter.
Shooter : [Smiles and turns away] So,
that wife of yours coming out of the house. [Grins] She’s
purty.
Mort : My wife? Why don’t we just
leave her out of this?
Shooter : [Turns to Mort] Would, if I
could. But I’m starting to think you ain’t going to leave me
that option. [Mort becomes upset, and picks up the shovel. He
tries to hit Shooter with it, but Shooter grabs it with one
hand] Grrrr! [He pins Mort against the wall with the shovel to
his throat] You want to wake up from one of your stupid naps and
find Amy nailed to your garbage bin? Or turn on the radio some
morning and hear she came off second best in a match with a
chainsaw you keep out in the shed? [Mort chokes] [Shooter
releases him and he falls to the ground, clutching his throat
and gagging] Do ye? [Mort chokes] You can’t get away with it.
[Shooter walks away] I know what you did and I ain’t quittin’.
Until right gets put right. [Mort catches his breath on the
ground and leans backwards against a tree]
Scene 15 : Setting : The Living Room
: Characters : Mort Rainey, Amy Rainey.
[Mort lies in his bed, staring out. Then
he turns and thinks for some moments] [He grabs his glasses and
heads downstairs] [Shot of Tashmore Lake]
[Mort sits on the couch scarfing Doritos]
[He looks at the phone, then to the wall and realizes that it’s
been unplugged] [He gets up and plugs the phone back in] [He
goes to sit back down]
Phone rings [He pauses and looks at it in
awe] [He puts his Dorito back in the bag and picks up the
receiver]
Mort : Is that you, John Wayne?
Amy : [On phone] Mort? [Mort looks up]
Are you there? Mort?!
Mort : [Shuts his eyes] Yes, Amy, I’m
here! Just lower your voice a little. What is it?
Amy : [On phone] Where have you been? I
have been trying to get ahold of you all night and this
morning.
Mort : I was asleep.
Amy : [On phone] Oh, great. So you
unplugged the phone!?
Mort : How may I assist you, Amy?
Amy : [On phone] Oh god.. Mort.. [Mort
shoo’s a fly]
Mort : [Grabs some Doritos and eats them]
What happened, what?
Amy : [On phone] Someone burned down our
house, that’s what happened, okay?
Mort : [Stops chewing] What?
Amy : [On phone] Someone burned down our
house!
Scene 16 : Setting : The Site :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Amy Rainey, Ted Milner, Fire Chief
Wickersham, Steven Bradley.
[A Shot of the site, firemen moving
around, chatter of police radios in the background] [Mort walks
forward, and lays his eyes upon what used to be his house]
[Flashback fades in]
Amy : [Comes out of the house] Bye,
babe.
Mort : [Comes out of the house] Pardon
me, miss. I noticed that you, uh left 100$ on the dresser.
Amy : Shut up!
Mort : Well, surely the escort service
told you that I was 3.
Amy : Shhhh! Please! [She runs off]
Mort : Mm.. Some guys are less. Some guys
are a hundred if you like that kind of thing. Some guys are even
less than that. But I’m 3. I happen to be 3. There’s something
on your mouth just there.
[Amy gets in her car] Bye.
[The
flashback fades out]
[Mort walks closer] [Amy and Ted appear,
Amy spots Mort]
Amy : Mort! [She runs up, then walks]
[She wraps herself up in her sweater] [When Mort sees her, he
flashbacks to her making out with Ted in the motel] [He looks
away from her sadly]
Amy: Hi [She hugs him]
Mort : Hi. I’m really sorry about all
this, Amy.
Amy : So am I.
Ted : [Takes off his sunglasses] Me
too.
Mort : Thank you, Ted. [He turns away and
makes a face]
Wickersham : Mr. and Mrs. Rainey!
Mort, Amy, Ted : No, Yes, Yes.
Wickersham : You the owners?
Amy : Yes.. we..ar.. we.. were the
owners. [Comes forward]
Wickersham : [Mort looks down sadly] Were
the owners? What do you mean? [Mort looks at Ted angrily] [They
both go forward to Wickersham] You don’t own it anymore?
Mort : Were Mr. and Mrs. Rainey. Are the
owners.
Bradley : I’m Steven Bradley, I’m a
detective with Riverdale P.D.
Ted : [Shakes his hand] How do you do?
Ted Milner.
Bradley : [Pointing to Wickersham] This
is Fire Chief Wickersham.
Ted : Chief [Holds out his hand]
Wickersham : Hi. [Shakes his hand]
Bradley : We won’t take long, the
insurance investigator needs to see you in the city at 3.
Wickersham : [Holds out a burnt champagne
bottle on a tweezers] You are definitely the victims of arson.
The fire was started by an incendiary device made.. uh.. with a
champagne bottle and a couple of quarts of plain old
gasoline.
Mort : Well that really works then,
eh?
Bradley : So, first question. Enemies.
You got any? [Mort looks down sadly once more]
Amy : No. No one.
Ted : No, no. Not a soul.
Mort : [Turns to Ted, annoyed] Bother you
if I answer one or two of these, Ted? [Raises hands] [He makes
his way over to Bradley] Yeah. [He turns and looks back at Amy
then back to Bradley] I have an enemy.
Scene 17 : Setting : The Insurance
Agency : Characters : Mort Rainey, Amy Rainey, Ted Milner, Fran
Evans, Fran’s Assistant.
[The shot is from outside the agency’s
window. Then it pulls in]
Fran : [Makes he way to the table] I’m
sorry I wasn’t there to meet you this morning. I spent most of
last night poking around the site with a… flashlight and a
Polaroid. [She places some papers on the table] Oops. [Sits
down] Broke one of my own rules. [Pushes her chair in] I don’t
like to call it the site. It wasn’t a site.. it was.. a house.
Your house and I’m very sorry for your loss.
Mort : Thank you very much.. [Picks up
papers and finds her name] ..Mrs. Evans.
Fran : [Smiles] It still says Mrs… Fran
is fine. These meetings are hard.
[Amy lowers her sweater] [Mort looks down
at her] People in your situation are already upset and quite
often they take [Amy drinks a glass of water] the presence of an
investigator as an accusation that they’ve torched their own
property.
[Mort looks at her, then away, then back]
And in this case you have certainly given us a plausible [Amy
puts her sweater up again] suspect who we’ll investigate
aggressively along with the [Mort looks away, plays with his
face] police. But, in the meantime, that’s a list of your
claimed insurable property. You look it over, then you sign an
affidavit swearing that the listed items still belong to you and
that they were still in the house when the fire occurred. I’m
told there was a separation of residence recently? So that last
bit might be particularly important.
Mort : We’re going through a divorce.
It’s not final yet.
Amy : Well, the settlement agreements are
done. Everything’s negotiated. [Ted sighs, boredly] We’re just
waiting for it to be signed. By um.. both parties.
Mort : I moved out six months ago and
just.. hadn’t gotten around to hauling all the stuff out
yet.
Fran : Been down that road. [Shakes head]
Sucks.. [Ted is bored] These things just have to follow their
natural course. It’ll wrap up when everybody’s ready for that to
happen.
Mort : [Chugs his glass of water] That’s
been my feeling. [Plays with his face]
Fran : In the meantime, [gestures to
list] Do the best you can with the list.
Amy : Thanks. [She looks down at the
list] [Mort looks down at the list] [Ted is bored, he tries to
glance over Amy’s shoulder to see the list] [Amy sees that he
can’t see, looks at Mort, and nudges the list to Ted’s
direction] [Ted leans in close and clears his throat] [Mort
looks up at Ted, annoyed. Then nudges the list back to his
direction] [Amy looks angry]
Mort : I’m sorry. Excuse me. Do you
actually intend to rubberneck?
Ted : I hardly think my concern could be
construed as rubbernecking.
Mort : Amy. He’s rubbernecking.
Amy : Okay.
Mort : I’m not going to freak out about
this, but I mean.. this is our stuff.
Ted : What the hell’s the point, man?
Mort : It’s our stuff!
Ted : I’m just trying to help out here. I
don’t understand why it is so important.
Amy : No, no. Alright! Alright!
Mort : This our stuff!
Amy : [Turns to Ted] No, no. He’s right.
He’s right, Ted.
Fran : He is right, Mr. Milner. The law
says that you have no right to be looking at the list of items
at all. We wink at something like this if nobody minds, but..
[She looks at Mort who looks angry] it looks like Mr. Rainey
does.
Mort : [Nods] Yes, Mr. Rainey minds a
lot.
Ted : [Looks around] Uhh.. Would it help
matters if I um.. took um.. a walk around the block?
Amy : Yes. Thanks.
Ted : Sure. [He kisses Amy on the
forehead] [He gets up and goes to the door]
Mort : [Stops playing with his face and
looks up] Aw, heck Ted. Live a little. Make it two. [Ted pauses,
then goes out the door] Rubbernecker.. [Amy gives him a sharp
look] [Fran’s assistant clears his throat and hands them the
list]
Scene 18 : Setting : The Lobby Of The
Insurance Agency : Characters : Mort Rainey, Amy Rainey, Ted
Milner, Guy.
[Mort and Amy ride in the elevator down
to the lobby. The’s a dude at the back of the elevator who’s
chewing gum and listening to music through headphones quite
loudly. Mort and Amy feel uncomfortable together. Mort looks up
at the ceiling]
ding [The elevator doors open. The dude
from behind pushes his way out] [Mort looks pissed] [Mort and
Amy walk out]
Amy : Mort. [Mort puts his tuque on]
Wait. Mort I have to ask you something. [They walk towards the
exit]
Mort : What?
Amy : This guy, Shooter. His story. I
mean, is this a situation [Mort adjusts his glasses] like the
other time? [Mort scowls] I’m sorry. I wouldn’t bring it up. But
it did happen once before.
Mort : [They stop in front of the door]
Look, that was the only time I’ve ever even done anything
remotely like that. I paid the guy everything he wanted. Never
happened before, or since.
Amy : Okay.
Mort : Okay.
Amy : Okay.
Mort : [Turns to leave, then stops]
Amy?
Amy : [Turns around, and walks back to
him] What?
Mort : You and me and the lawyers. We’re
the only ones that know about that, right?
Amy : Right.
Mort : Because you haven’t said anything
to Ted, certainly not?
Amy : No.
Mort : Have you said something to
Ted?
Amy : C’mon!
Ted : [Comes through the door holding two
cups of coffee. He smiles] Well, do I have timing or what?
[Hands one of the cups to Amy]
Mort : Yes you do. I’m real sorry you had
to miss that. I know how much you like my things.
Amy : [To herself] Aw, Jesus.
Ted : You and me are going to have a
little talk. [To Amy] Be back in ten minutes. [He opens the
door]
Mort : [To Amy] I’m in trouble. [He and
Ted go out the door] [Amy sits on a bench and sighs]
Scene 19 : Setting : Outside The
Insurance Agency : Characters : Mort Rainey, Ted Milner.
Ted : Look, I’ve about had enough of your
bullshit.
Mort : [Stops and goes up to Ted] You’re
a dick!
Ted : Do you feel better?
Mort : [Continues walking] Yes, I do.
Ted : Yeah, look, marriages end. I’m
sorry but I didn’t end yours. You know, it was done by the time
I got there.
Mort : [Turns to Ted] Really? You must’ve
thought her wedding ring was a little bit strange?
Ted : Oh, man! I- Listen. I apologized to
you months ago. Now look, I know that you don’t want me in your
life. Guess what? I don’t want you in mine either. But until
this little divorce thing’s done, not much we can do about it.
But I’ll tell you something. [Moves closer to Mort] I will not
let you upset Amy anymore than you already have. So why don’t we
just wrap this little thing up, alright. And get out of
eachother’s lives—? Zoom [A bus brushes by, freaking out Mort]
[He cowers] Are we.. uh.. gettin’ the message I’m sendin’?
Mort : Where are we from, Teddy?
Ted : Tennessee.. Morty.. [He sips from
his cup and walks off]
Mort : I was gonna say Mississippi.
Ted : [Turns around] No. Long way from
there. Little place called Shooter’s Bay. [Mort looks shocked]
[Ted walks off] [Mort thinks]
Scene 20 : Setting : Mort’s Cabin :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Ken Karsch.
[Mort drives up his driveway at night]
[He looks around, but doesn’t see Ken’s car]
Mort : C’mon, Karsch. $500 a day. Where
are you when I need you? [He looks around and scowls, then
drives the car further up the driveway. He stops and gets out]
Phone rings [Mort runs up to the front
door, and groans. He hurries to open the door] [He finally opens
it, and places his key on the key-hook on the wall]
Phone
rings [He grabs the phone] What fresh Hell. [He picks up the
receiver] Mort: Yeah?
Ken : [On phone] Where you been all
day?
Mort : Ha, I might ask you the same
question. [He goes into the bathroom and drops the phone on the
floor ding]
Ken : [On Phone] Relax. You’re fine. I
checked the cabin an hour ago.
Mort : Yeah? [He unzips his fly] Well he
showed up about an hour after you left last night.
Ken : [On phone] Oh, really? [Mort pushes
back his hair and pisses] Then he had a busy night. [Shot scans
into Ken’s motel room. Ken is lying on the bed in his boxers]
[In person] My office called me about your Riverdale house. I’m
sorry.
Mort : [On phone] Well, the worst part
is, I hadn’t had a chance to get the magazine out. The one with
the story he says I stole. That’s gone up in smoke now.
Ken : Well, you still wanna go through
with it? Meeting him? Showing him the magazine?
Mort : Hell yes! [Zips up his fly]
[Flushes the toilet] I’ve had a shitty year. [Bends down and
picks up the phone] I want it settled. Now. Everything. [Mort
walks]
Ken : [On phone] Good. ‘Cause I called
your agent when I heard about the house. [In person] I figured
he got a copy of the magazine. He sent the original by UPS.
Overnight today. You can pick it up tomorrow after 3.
Mort : [Smiles] I knew there was a reason
that I hired you. [Closes front door and locks it]
Ken : [On phone] There’s something else.
[In person] I caught up with your Tom Greenleaf today. The guy
who drove past you and Shooter on the lake road? [On phone]
Well, [Mort sits on the couch] here’s a weird one. [Mort
breathes out and puts crosses his feet on the coffee table]
First he says he did go down to the Lake Drive on Tuesday and he
saw you, like you said. But then he gets nervous and says, no no
no. Come to think of it I didn’t. Didn’t see anybody. Wasn’t
even on Lake Drive on Tuesday.
Mort : Yeah, well… Tom’s old. Maybe it
just slipped his mind.
Ken : [Walks around] Don’t be naive. He
was scared shitless. Someone got to him. [He grabs puts
something into a glass of water]
Mort : Come on, wait. [He laughs] Why
would Shooter care if Tom Greenleaf knows he’s here?
Ken : [On phone] Well, it depends.
Mort : On what?
Ken : [He sits down] On what he plans to
do to you. I’m revising my opinion, Mort. I don’t think
Shooter’s just some nut. [On phone] [Mort listens carefully] We
need to consider the possibility that he was hired to do this.
[Mort switches his feet] Someone with a grudge against you hires
a tough guy to rattle you. Scare you to death. But, [In person]
he hires the wrong guy. [He picks up a glass] Things get out of
control. They go further than they’re supposed to. Dead dogs.
Burnt down houses. Now they can’t call them off.
Mort : [His eyes open wide, he takes his
feet off of the coffee table and bolts upright] Ted.
Ken : [On phone] Who?
Mort : [Pushes back hair] Ted. Amy’s Ted.
[Moves his fingers] The Ted that Amy left me for… Maybe that’s
why the guy calls himself Shooter. Ted wants me to know it’s
him. He’s trying to intimidate me. He’s trying to…uh.. send me a
message.
Ken : Why? What does he want?
Mort : [On phone] I don’t know.
Ken : [On phone] Did you piss him
off?
[Flashback to Ted yelling at Mort in the motel bed]
Ted : Get the fuck out!
Mort : I might have..
Ken : [On phone] Okay. Here’s what we do.
[In person] What proof do you have that Shooter was there… [On
phone] Other than the manuscript. [Mort rolls up his sleeve]
Physical evidence, I’m talking about.
Mort : [He looks down at his arm]
Bruises. [On phone] I got bruises on my arms from where he
grabbed me.
Ken : Alright. [He gets up and places
Mort on speakerphone] You and me are going to go see Greenleaf
together.
Mort : [On phone] Alright.
Ken : [He picks up a gun from his
suitcase and checks it] Bring the manuscript. Bring your
bruises. [He walks] I’m gonna push the guy hard. Make it so that
it’s impossible for him to lie. If he’ll tell the po-lice he was
threatened too, [He places the gun on the nightstand] then we’ve
got something.
Mort : Bowie’s store? Breakfast?
Ken : 9 am sharp. [He picks up the
receiver and takes Mort off of speakerphone]
Mort : [On phone] Alright. I’ll see you
there.
Ken : And bring your six-gun, pilgrim.
[He hangs up] [Mort takes the receiver away from his ear, looks
at it suspiciously then replaces it] [He gulps]
Scene 21 : Setting : Mort’s Cabin :
Characters : Mort Rainey.
[Mort lies in his bed, sadly
thinking]
Mort : It is a good ending. [He places
his hands behind his neck and thinks for another moment] [Then
he sits up. He flexes his jaw] [He scowls] Oh, Shit. [He gets
out of bed and puts on his bathrobe]
[Light pours through the Secret Window as
the shot moves closer and closer to it] [The clock ticks] [Mort
is sleeping on the couch. He stirs, then stretches] [He wakes up
and glances at his watch] Shit! [He gets up from the couch] [He
looks around, and spots his jacket on the floor]
[As he puts it on, he notices that his
car keys are missing from the key rack on the wall. He looks at
it suspiciously, then pats himself down. But he returns no key
from his search] [He puts on his tuque] [Opens the front door,
to reveal Shooter’s hat lying on the porch] [He looks around
trying to spot Shooter, but doesn’t find him]
Beep beep beep beep… [The driver’s door
of his car is wide open and the car is beeping away] [He looks
around again, then walks over to the car] [He approaches slowly,
then sits in the car, being careful to touch nothing] [He
quickly shuts off the motor] [Looks around the car, then spots
some cigarette butts in the ashtray]
[He eyes them carefully, then picks one
up] [Studies it] Pall Mall. [He replaces it] Cracker bastard.
[He goes back into the house, opens up a garbage bag and gathers
the hat inside] [He puts the bag with the hat on the passenger
seat in the car, starts it up and closes the door]
Scene 22 : Setting : Bowie’s Store :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Greta Bowie, Busboy.
[Mort walks up to the entrance of Bowie’s
Store, holding the garbage bag] [He tries to open the door, but
it will not budge. He tries the other door and it opens. It
slams behind him and everyone looks at him]
Mort : Sorry.. [He walks to the store’s
aisles] Ken? [He walks to a different aisle] Tom? [But no one
appears] [He goes up to the counter, sits at a stool, and throws
the garbage bag on the counter]
[The man sitting on his side gives Mort a
dirty look] [Mort puts the bag on the stool next to him] [He
looks around, and notices the busboy opening a box of Pall
Mall’s]
Busboy : [The boy sees Mort staring]
Would you like a pack? [His mouth full of food as he speaks]
Mort : [Is caught offguard] I don’t
smoke. [Greta comes with a pot of coffee and pours it] Did a guy
come in here looking for me around 9 o’clock?
Greta : [Looks up at him] Nope. [Shakes
her head]
Mort : Big guy.. kind of a New York cop
type?
Greta : [Looks up] No.. no. That doesn’t
ring a bell.
Mort : I overslept.
Greta : Well, maybe he did too. ‘Cause he
wasn’t here.
Mort : [Nods] Yeah..
Scene 23 : Setting : The Gas Station
: Characters : Mort Rainey, Ted Milner.
[Mort drives down a road] [He passes a
gas station and spots Ted at the pump] [He stops, thinks and
taps his finger on the seat, then decides to go back] [He backs
the car up into the gas station, stops] [Ted looks at Mort’s car
and replaces the gas pump into the holder] [mort gets out]
Mort : What are you doing here?
Ted : Matter of fact, I was-I was just on
my way over to your place.
Mort : Where’s your buddy?
Ted : Came alone.
Mort : Sure you did. [He advances, and
looks off to the side] [He breathes in and out] I know what
you’re up to.
Ted : Uh.. [He leans on his car] Look
Mort.. uh.. A lot of what’s going on right now is my fault..
Most of it, in fact.
Mort : What do you want?
Ted : I want you out of our life. [He
reaches into the car’s window] [He pulls out divorce papers]
Gotta sign your papers Mort. [He slaps them onto the back of the
car]
Mort : [He looks at the papers and nudges
them] My divorce papers?
Ted : Mmhmm.
Mort : Tell her to send them to my
lawyer.
Ted : Yeah. Well she did and, he said
that you won’t return his calls for weeks.
Mort : That’s what this is all about?
Gettin me to sign the settlement?
Ted : No, no. Just calm down.
Mort : Money! All about money.
Ted : No, it’s not about money. No. What
this is about.. is getting this thing done. ‘Cause I’m afraid if
we don’t, well, who knows where it might go and I think you know
what I’m talking about.
Mort : Well, Teddy. I think I do, but
here’s the problem : I don’t respond well to intimidation, makes
me feel.. [Shrugs shoulders] icky. You know.. [He pushes
Ted]
Ted : Whoa. Heh heh. [Mort advances
further] You know, I’m attempting to have a normal conversation,
here.
Mort : I buried my dog, Mister! [Ted
looks bewildered] This whole thing is out of your control now.
You know it, and I know it. You started this shit. I’m gonna
finish it. Now do me a favor, go back and tell that your filthy
little friend [He pushes Ted in the face with 3 fingers]
Ted : [Ted tries to punch Mort, but Mort
moves out of the way and Ted hits the closed window] Aghhh!
God!
Mort : [Looks at him and walks off]
Bummer, Ted. [Ted holds his arm]
Scene 24 : Setting : The Living Room
: Characters : Mort Rainey, John Shooter.
[Mort enters his cabin, shuts the door
and places his keys on the key rack on the wall] [He takes
Shooter’s hat out of the garbage bag and throws the hat on the
coffee table] [He walks, takes his tuque off and pushes back his
hair]
Phone rings [Mort stops in his tracks,
turns around, and stares at the phone which is covered by
Shooter’s hat]
Phone rings [He starts over]
Phone rings
[He sits on the couch and takes the hat off of the
phone]
Phone rings
Mort : Yeah.
Shooter : [On phone] Go to where we met,
the other day. Walk down the path a little way.
Mort : Why?
Shooter : [On phone] I’ll catch up with
you this afternoon. Anybody you call between now and then is
your responsibility. [He hangs up] [Mort places the receiver
back slowly, thinking]
Scene 25 : Setting : Outside :
Characters : Mort Rainey, John Shooter, Tom Greenleaf, Ken
Karsch.
[Mort runs down the path] [He stops dead
at the clearing, seeing Tom Greenleaf’s truck] [He walks
forward, breathing heavily. His pace slows as he gets closer. He
looks at the truck]
Mort : [Advances slowly and sees Tom]
Tom? Greenleaf?
[Comes up to the open window and sees Tom
Greenleaf with a screwdriver of Mort’s sticking out of his head]
[He coughs and gags] [He spots a bloody axe on the passenger’s
seat] [Blood is all over the truck] [He raises his head up and
looks through the rear window. He spots Ken with his throat
severed]
[Mort backs away from the track] [His
heart starts to beat quickly. He turns around and sees a
squirrel in a tree. The squirrel chatters. Mort waits for the
squirrel to continue up the tree, and his heart to slow down.
but it never happens] [Mort’s head begins spinning and he passes
out of the ground]
[After some hours, he wakes up] [He opens
his eyes, bolts upright and tries to see what time it is on his
watch, but his vision is blurry]
Shooter : Quarter past 2. [
Mort rushes to his feet, grabbing the
truck for support, and tries to run, but he falls down] You’ve
been out about 3 hours. Your leg’s sleepin’. you laid on the
damn thing. He gets up again, but falls down. He gets up and
hops away] Now I would’ve moved you, but I didn’t want to wake
you. Got tired of waitin’. Almost pinned a note on you. Decided
not to. [He cleans his fingers] You scare too easy. I wouldn’t
go too far if I were you. I hooked you to those 2 men in more
ways than you know.
[Mort limps further away from
Shooter]
Mort : You’re insane. I’m going to the
police.
Shooter : Who’s screwdriver you think is
in that fella’s head? [Mort stops] If you leave ‘em here and I
disappear, you gonna find yourself standing with your head in
the noose and your feet in crisco.
Mort : What do you want from me?
Shooter : [He walks towards Mort] Why, I
told you that already, Mr. Rainey. I want you to fix my story.
The one you stole. Or ain’t you ready to admit it yet.
Mort : I did not steal [He turns to
Shooter] your story.
Shooter : [Shooter stays where he is and
cleans his fingers] Oh, I expect you to let yourself [He spits
on his hand] go to Greenhaven for murder before you’ll admit it.
[He looks up at Mort]
Mort : I have the magazine you lunatic! I
have the magazine! I have the goddamn magazine!
Shooter : [He advances] You have this
so-called magazine right now?
Mort : On me, no. I was gonna go pick it
up at 3 o’clock.
Shooter : There can’t be any magazine!
Not with that story in it. That story is mine!
Mort : [He goes up to Shooter] What do
you want? You wanna kill me? Why don’t you just do it. Just kill
me.
Shooter : No sir! These others here [He
turns and points to the truck] were going to get in our way of
our business! [He turns back to Mort] I couldn’t have that! [He
looks at Mort] You bring me that story. If it exists. [He moves
around Mort] Your house in 2 hours. You got some heavy lifting
here first, I’d get to that if I were you. [He walks away] By
the way. If you talk [He turns around] to that Sheriff of yours
again, or if you don’t show up at four o’clock, I will burn your
life and every person in it like a cane field in a high
wind.
Mort : And when I show you the magazine
that has MY name on the contents page with MY story inside..
then what?
Shooter : Then I turn myself in. But I
take care of myself before a trial, Mr. Rainey. Because
if
things turn out that way, then I suppose I am crazy. And
that kind of crazy man, has no reason or excuse to live. [He
turns around] Listen. You [He points to Mort] got my hat. I want
it. One way or the other. [He walks off]
Scene 26 : Setting : Outside :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Tom Greenleaf, Ken Karsch.
[Mort approaches the truck. He looks
through the window disgustedly] [He pulls his sleeve over his
hand and opens the passenger door] [He looks at dead Tom and
Ken] [The door opens a bit further, causing the truck to shake]
[Mort sighs]
[He climbs onto the passenger seat, onto
the axe] [He pushes it onto the floor] [He goes up close to Tom
and looks at him. He breathes in deeply, then blows out the air]
[He places his hand up to the handle of the screwdriver, but
then chickens out] [He looks at the floor and grabs a piece of
wrapping] [His hand advances to the handle of the screwdriver]
[Ken’s body falls over]
Mort : [He jumps] Whoa! [He looks at Ken,
then proceeds with removing the screwdriver] [His wrapped hand
closes over the camera lens]
Squish[Mort starts the truck,
the parking break goes from P to D] [He slowly guides it down
the path] [The truck builds up speed and Mort is now jogging
with it]
[The truck hits a bump in the road and
sends Tom’s head into the horn Hoooonnnkk] [Mort is flustered by
it] Oh! [He pushes Tom’s head off of the horn, to see that his
hand is caught on the steering wheel by his watch] [Mort shakes
his hand, trying to free himself] [The car is just about to go
over the cliff]
[Mort furiously pulls his hand and
manages to get loose just in time before the truck crashes off
the cliff and into the water] [Mort catches his balance and
prevents himself from going over] [The truck hits the water and
sinks below] [Mort watches it disappear]
Scene 27 : Setting : The Living Room
: Characters : Mort Rainey, Amy Rainey, Ted Milner.
Phone rings [Mort walks through the front
door]
Phone rings [He grabs his keys off the key rack on the
wall] [He thinks for a moment whether or not he should answer
it] [He walks out of the house and closes the door]
Phone
rings [He walks back in and shuts the door]
Phone rings
[Mort picks up the receiver]
Mort : Hello?
Amy : [On Phone] Mort.
Mort : [He winces and pulls the receiver
away] Aww.. [He puts it back up] Yeah, hi.
Amy : [Amy is lying on the bed] I’ve been
so worried about you. Are you okay?
Mort: [Raises his
eyebrows] I’m okay, I’m okay, Amy. What?
Amy : [On Phone] Are you sure? [In
person] When I saw you yesterday you seemed [Sniffs] so
strained. I mean.. [She breathes in]
Mort : What?!!
Amy : [On Phone] Do you..um.. [In person]
Do you think things would’ve been different if.. we hadn’t lost
the baby?
Mort : [Scowls] Jesus Christ! I don’t..
Amy. I don’t know! [He walks around] Let me call you later. I-I
gotta go. I-I gotta be somewhere. [Amy cries] [On Phone] What?
What is it, Amy? [In person] Oh, just [Sits down] breathe.
Breathe! Take a breath! [Amy sobs] Where are you? You at
Ted’s?
Amy : [On Phone] Yeah.
Mort : How we feeling about old Ted,
these days?
Amy : [Turns over] I don’t know.. I love
him, I guess.
Mort : [His heart breaks] Oh…. That’s
good.
Amy : [On Phone] i didn’t go with other
men, you know. I always wanted to tell you that. I didn’t go
with other men. Only Ted, and only the last few months after you
and me were already over.
Mort : Well. If we were already over
while we were still together, you might have mentioned it.
Because it was news to me.
Amy : That’s because you weren’t there
anymore! You were gone all the time!
Mort : I worked at home, Amy!
Amy : That’s not what I mean. [She sits
up] Even when you were with me, you were gone up in your head.
[On Phone] I don’t think that I looked in your eyes and actually
saw you looking back at me, I mean, really with me for the last
2 years.
Mort : You know what? You know what,
you’re right. You’re absolutely right. It’s all my fault.
Amy : [On Phone] No. [In person] I was a
chickenshit. [She wipes her nose with a Kleenex] Ted wanted us
to go and tell you together. He kept asking and I kept putting
it off. [On Phone] I’ll never forget that look on your face..
[Flashback to Mort screaming at Amy and Ted]
Ted : Get out! Get out!
Mort : You know what? I gotta go.
Amy : [On Phone] No Mort, wait. Can’t we
just—Mort : No! N.. I-I’ve gotta go!
Amy : Will you call me if you need me?
[Ted enters the room]
Mort : [On Phone] I doubt it.
Amy : [On Phone] Can I come up there?
Mort : Why on earth would you do that,
Amy?
Amy : [Breathes in] You still haven’t
signed the papers yet, Mort. [Mort lowers his head] [On Phone] I
know you don’t want to deal with it. I don’t wanna deal with it
either. [Mort laughs, and pushes back his hair] But, c’mon,
everything’s been negotiated. We don’t disagree on a thing. I
don’t understand why you won’t sign. Do you wanna just get it
over with?
Mort : [He shakes his head and smiles]
Unbelievable… You were worried about me and I believed you… What
an idiot..
Amy : [On Phone] I am worried! [On Phone]
You sound like you did six months ago and I think it’s my fault.
It’s my fault. And I wish I could take it back, but I can’t.
Mort : Well then, I guess you shouldn’t
have fucked him then! [He slams the receiver down]
[Amy jumps, and turns off her phone]
[Mort flexes his jaw, and walks out of the house, slamming the
door] [Amy grabs her jacket out of the closet and puts it
on]
Ted : [Looks up from his reading] You’re
not going up there!
Amy : I’m not going to dance around this
anymore. [She walks forward and adjusts her jacket] Once he
signs the papers it’ll be over. [She rummages through some
papers on a desk] We won’t have to have these horrible
conversations every other day.
Ted : Yeah, well. I’m going with you.
Amy : It’s just.. I really think I should
go alone, Ted. [Amy looks for something in the cabinet under the
sink] [Ted comes into the kitchen]
Ted : Well, that makes no sense..
Amy : Just the sight of you is going to
send him. [She grabs her bag, and steps forward, but is blocked
by Ted’s arm in the way] I was married to the guy for 10 years.
I know how to talk to him. All I want is for this be over. [She
looks at Ted, and pushes his arm out of the way] Excuse me. [She
walks off] I’ll be back around 7. [She opens the door and
leaves]
Ted : [Follows her to the door, and slams
his bad hand on a beam] Agghhhh! [He stumbles around]
Scene 28 : Setting : The Post Office :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Juliet Stoker, Dave Newsome, Ted
Milner.
[A UPS truck pulls away to reveal the
post office] [Mort gets out of his car, pulling on his face]
Dave : Hey! Mr. Rainey! I’d like to—Mort
: [He puts his finger up and continues to the post office] Yeah,
yeah, yeah. [He steps in]
Juliet : Hey! Mr. Rainey! [Mort flexes
his jaw and steps up to the desk] Mr. Rainey, are you
alright?
Mort : [He turns his sick expression into
a smile] I’m sorry, my throat just kinda double-clutched on me
there for a second.
Juliet : You’re very pale.
Mort : Yeah.. Thank you…. did the.. um..
UPS guy drop anything off for me?
Juliet : [Goes over to the back and picks
up a package] Just the one thing.
Mort : [Thinks she said something else
and looks shocked] Pardon me?
Juliet : [She places the package on the
counter] Just the one thing, I said.
Mort : [Takes the package and is
relieved] Oh, uh.. Thank you. [He turns away]
Juliet : Welcome. You know, post office
would have a cow if they know that we handled the UPS guy’s
stuff.
Mort : [Turns to her] I know that, and I
certainly appreciate it. [He turns away again]
Juliet : You won’t tell them, will
you?
Mort : [He turns and smiles at her] No
way. [He walks away]
Juliet : Good….. ‘Cause I saw what you
did.
Mort : [He looks turns around and looks
shocked] I’m sorry?
Juliet : I said they’d shoot me if you
did. [Mort looks slightly relieved] You ought to go home and lie
down, Mr. Rainey. You really don’t look well at all.
Mort : Yeah.. that’s.. that’s a good
idea. [He walks off]
Juliet : Ooh. cute. [Mort hurriedly goes
back to his car and gets in] [He is about to open the package,
when he sees Dave Newsome coming toward his car. He rushes to
start it up, but doesn’t make it in time]
Dave : [Leans into his window] Got a
minute?
Mort : Well.. no. I really don’t right
now. But.. uh… I’ll give you a call later.
Dave : [Nods] Okay. Sure. [He takes his
head out of Mort’s window]
Mort : [Mort backs out, then passes Dave
and slows down] [He points at Dave] I’m gonna call you on the
phone, okay? [He takes off]
Dave : [Watches him drive off] [Nods]
Okay.
[Back at Ted’s house, Ted sits down, playing with his
car keys in his hand. He thinks] [He sighs and gets up and
leaves the house]
Scene 29 : Setting : In Mort’s Car :
Characters : Mort Rainey.
[Mort pulls into his driveway] [He stops
the car and picks up the package lying on the passenger seat]
[He looks at it. It is partially open. He looks at it in fear
and touches on the tab] [He rips it open and pulls out the
magazine, throws the envelope on the passenger seat]
Mort : [He looks at the magazine] 1995.
[He flips to the contents page] Contents.. [He traces his finger
to Secret Window] 83. [He flips the pages quickly] 83. [He flips
some more, then stops] 81. [He turns the page] 82. [He looks to
the next page] 99. [He looks at the page numbers, flips back,
then forward] 99? [He turns the magazine on a slant and sees
that there are pages that are cut out of the spine] You cut it
out.. [He traces his finger down the spine] You son of a bitch.
[He looks at the open magazine] You….. cut it.. out of the
magazine..
Mort’s Voice : Wait a minute, how would
he do that?
Mort : I don’t know… But he did it.
Mort’s Voice : Think about it. [Mort
closes the magazine] How?
Mort : I don’t know. [He gets out of the
car]
Scene 30 : Setting : The Living Room
: Characters : Mort Rainey, Mort Rainey.
[Shooter’s hat sits on the coffee table]
[Mort enters the cabin, breathes out and sits on the couch]
[Looks down at the hat and swallows] [He picks up the hat, turns
it upside down, and looks at it]
[He suddenly puts in on his head] [Flexes
his jaw] [He stands up and walks slowly to the mirror] [He looks
at himself, adjusts the hat]
Mort : Why’d you put it on?
Mort : [Still touching the hat] I
dunno..
Mort : Maybe he wanted you to.
Mort : [He stops touching the hat] Why
would he want me to put his hat on?
Mort : Maybe he wants you to…
Mort : [He turns around] Maybe he wants
me to what?
Mort : [Moves his fingers around his
head] To get confused.
Mort : Oh, I’m already confused, pilgrim.
[He takes the hat off] Plenty confused. [He walks away] So don’t
talk to me about confusion.
Mort : Wait a minute, now [He takes off
his glasses and polishes them with his jacket] back up just a
sec. What about that?
Mort : [He turns away and takes off his
jacket] What about what? [He walks away]
Mort : Well, pilgrim, Shooter’s Bay, and
a half a dozen other details you’ve chosen to ignore. [He
appears, leaning on the couch]
Mort : [He puts on his bathrobe] You know
what? You’re nuts. [He walks away] I don’t need to listen to
this shit from you.
Mort : [Appears in front of him] Are all
these things coincidences? [He puts his glasses back on]
Mort : I’m wearing his bruises, aren’t I?
Aren’t I?
Mort : Are you?
Mort : Well… [He rolls up his sleeve to
reveal nothing] [He becomes confused] this doesn’t make any
sense.. [He walks away]
Mort : [Appears in front of him] Would
you like to hear something that does make sense? Call the
police. [Mort turns away, but Mort appears in front of him
holding the phone receiver] Call Dave Newsome, tell him to get
down here right this second and lock you up before you can do
any more damage.
Mort : I’m gonna get a knife and cut you
out of me.
Mort’s Voice : [Disappears] Before you
kill anyone else.
Mort : [He puts his head in his hands] I
didn’t kill anybody.. [Flashback to Mort yelling at Amy and Ted]
[Flashback to Mort entering the room, holding a gun]
Mort’s
Voice : You had a gun.
Mort : [Still holding his head] Wasn’t
loaded..
Mort : Really?
Mort : No no no..
Mort : [He walks to in front of Mort] You
almost killed them. You wanted to.
Mort : The gun was not loaded!
Mort : [Smiles] You still want to.
Mort : Shut up!
Mort : [He takes Mort’s hands] Listen to
me, because this is how it happens. This is happens to
people.
Mort : [He looks up at Mort] Shut up!
Mort : There is no John Shooter.
Mort : [Turns away and looks up] RAH!
RAH!
Mort : There never has been. You invented
him.
Mort : RAH! RAH!
Mort : Listen to me, [Mort looks like
he’s about to explode] not to him. Before it’s too late.
Mort : Leave me alone! [He picks up the
silex and hurls it at the wall] Huuu! Crash [The lamp falls off
the table]
Mort’s Voice : You are alone..
[ Mort
Advances to the dent in the wall] [The dent begins to crack the
wall, and the whole cabin splits down the middle] [Mort follows
the crack] [Mort looks down]
Mort’s Voice : You’re not
handling this.. What you’re doing is—Everything you’re doing is
wrong.
What does Todd Downey have to do with
it?.. Everything.. I’m starting to believe that Todd Downey was
right.. Everything that you’re doing is wrong. [He turns back to
the mirror]
Mort : What is happening to me?
Scene 31 : Setting : The Living Room :
Characters : Mort Rainey, John Shooter, Tom Greenleaf, Ken
Karsch.
Shooter’s Voice : Oh, I think you know. I
think you have a real good idea.
Mort : You don’t exist.
Shooter : [Descends the stairs] Me? I
exist Mr. Rainey. I exist, because.. you made me.
[Flashback
to Mort at a flea market trying on the hat in a mirror, Amy
standing behind]
Mort : Check it out!
Shooter’s Voice : You thought me up.
Mort : [He goes up close to the mirror]
I’m a dairy farmer from Mississippi.
Shooter : [Comes down the stairs] Gave me
my name, told me everything you wanted me to do. [Flashback of
Mort lighting the champagne bottle, tossing it in the study,
walking off wearing the hat, and the whole house going up in
flames] [Mort thinks] I did them things.. so you wouldn’t have
to. [Flashback to Mort riding in Tom Greenleaf’s truck with
Ken]
Mort : [Points to the spot where Tom had
honked the other day] Right up there, Tom. We were standing
right there.
Tom : [Ken looks suspicious] Yeah, I know
Mort. I saw ya. I didn’t want to say it in front of him, but you
were alone. [Flashback in flashback to Tom honking at Mort who
is alone in the clearing honk honk honk]
Mort : I know, Tom. Look, just pull over
there for a second. I wanna show you something. [Shot moves down
to reveal that Mort is holding a screwdriver and an axe]
Shooter’s Voice : [Mort thinks some more,
a disgusted look on his face] You didn’t have the stomach to do
it yourself, but you knew I did. [Flashback to Mort stabbing Ken
with the axe in the throat and stabbing Tom in the head with the
screwdriver] Are we done yet? We got things all cleaned up
around here? [Shooter comes over]
Shooter : What’s the real reason I come
for?
Mort : Fix the story.
Shooter : That’s right.
Mort : Fix the ending. Gotta fix the
ending.
Shooter’s Voice : And how do you suppose
we ought ta do that? [Shooter places the hat to Mort’s
chest]
Scene 32 : Setting : The Living Room
: Characters : Mort Rainey, Amy Rainey, Ted Milner.
[A car approaches the house] [The shot
pulls through the mirror to a car stopping in the driveway. The
door opens and Amy comes out]
Amy : Mort? [She looks around and closes
the car door] [She walks, but something is on her shoe] [She
looks down, picks it up. It is a page from the magazine] [She
looks confused] [She hears a noise, looks down and sees pages
blowing away from Mort’s car] [She walks forward, to the front
door] [She lifts her hand to knock, hesitates, then knocks knock
knock knock She looks down knock knock knock]
[The door opens a bit, she opens it
up]
Amy : Mort? Are you there? I saw your car
outside. [She swallows and pushes the door open] Hello? [She
steps inside. The house has been totaled] [She looks around,
puts her bag down, and sighs] Mort? [She walks over to the
corner and looks around] Chico? [She walks away and looks up.
She sees the dent in the wall]
[She looks to the coffee table and sees a
bottle of Jack Daniels and a pack of Pall Mall’s] [She goes over
and nudges the bottle] That explains a lot.. [She walks over to
the window] What the hell?
Floorboards creak from above [She looks
all around the cabin] [She goes up the stairs, stepping on the
magazine] [She looks around the top floor] [Walks over to the
table, there is a doll that looks exactly like her, the
manuscript, the slinky, and some other papers]
[She picks up the manuscript] [“John
Shooter” She reads] [She notices something on the table.
“Shooter” 5 times in a row is carved into the wood] [She puts
the manuscript back down] [Her eyes go to the window, “Shooter”
is written in white. “Shooter” is carved into the coffee table.
“Shooter” is carved in the walls all around her]
Creak [The door opens, revealing Mort
wearing the hat]
Amy : [Jumps and Gasps] [“Shoot Her” is
carved around him on the walls]
[Amy covers her mouth and gasps] [Mort
raises his eyes to look at her. He looks very mysterious]
H-H-H-Hi. [Mort stares at her angrily]
[Amy comes closer]
Jesus, Mort. [She looks down at the front
door which is open] W-Where-Where did you get that old thing?
The attic?
Mort : [In a southern accent] It’s mine.
Wasn’t ever anybody else’s.
Amy : [Backs away a bit] [She breathes
out] M-Mort.. What’s wrong?
Mort : [Advances to her] You got you a
wrong number, missus. [He puts his hand on the back of her head
and takes out her ponytail] [She moves away from him, down the
stairs] Ain’t no Mort here. Mort’s dead. [He advances, and she
backs away down the stairs] He did a whole lot of squirmin’
around but in the end, he couldn’t lie to himself anymore. Let
alone, to me. Now, I never put a hand on him, Misses. I swear.
He took the cowards way out.
Amy : Why are you talking this way,
Mort?
Mort : It’s just the way I talk.
Amy : You’re scaring me..
Mort : It don’t matter. [He pulls out a
pair of scissors from behind his back] You won’t be scared
long.
Amy : [Gasps] [Mort grabs at her hair
with the scissor, pulling out a chunk of it] Ahhh! [She hits him
in the face] [He falls down, the hat coming off his head]
[Amy grabs her bag and runs out of the
house] [She drops the bag and gets into the car and locks the
door] [Mort slowly gets up, and puts the hat back on. The
scissors with the hair are in his hand] [Amy mumbles to herself
and tries to get the car going] [Mort puts the scissors down on
the porch and picks up the rock with 3 fingers] [Amy struggles
to get the car to go] [She looks up. Mort is walking to the car]
[The car is stalling and won’t go]
[Smash he breaks the window with the
rock] [He reaches in to get her] [She releases the parking brake
and the car backs up, Mort hanging in the window trying to pull
her out] [He pulls her through the window, the car hits a tree]
[She drops on the ground. He drags her by the back of the
jacket] Help! [He drags her through the front door]
Mort : I’m about done fussin’ with you.
[He drags her over to the table and grabs the screwdriver] [He
plunges it into her right ankle]
Amy : Ahhhhhhh! [She turns around and
kicks him in the face] [He falls down] [He gets up] [Amy gets up
and walks to the door, leaving a trail of blood on the floor]
[Mort kicks her out of the house] Ahh! [She lands on her head on
a rock] Agh! Huugh..
Mort : [Comes out of the house] I am so
sorry, Missus. But right is right, and fair is fair and
something.. has got to be done. [He takes a shovel] [Amy looks
up at him and struggles to breathe. Her face is all bloody and
dirty] [He walks over to her] By the way, I want you to know
that none of this was my idea, it was Mr. Rainey all along. [He
hovers over her]
Amy : [Grabs his pant leg] But you are..
Mort.. Rainey.
Mort : [Smiles, his lip is cut open and
there is blood on his face and in his mouth] I got a place for
ya.
Amy : You are.. Mort.. Rainey!
Mort : I got it all picked out.
Amy : ... You are Mort.. Rainey.. [She
breathes heavily] [Mort hears a noise and looks off to the side
and his smile fades] [He turns around] [Then back to Amy] [Her
grip slips from his pant leg] uhh.. Mort.. uhhh.. [He walks
away] Ohhh! [Mort leans on the side of the house with the
shovel] Mort..
Ted : Amy!? [Amy tries to lift her head]
Amy!? [He comes through the door] [Amy coughs] Amy!?
Amy : [Whispers] Ted. Teeeeeeddddd!
Nooohoho. [Ted pulls open the door]
[Bang Mort smashes him in the face with
the shovel. Ted’s body falls to the ground] Teeeddd! Ahhhh!
Ughh. [Amy sobs] [Mort looks over at her and smiles]
[Amy tries to lift herself, but can’t]
[Mort shovels Ted] Nooooooooo!
Mort : Uh! Uh! [He repeatedly shovels
Ted]
Amy : Nuuhhhh.. [She lies back down]
Uh..
Mort : [Comes towards Amy] I know I can
do it, Todd Downey said, helping himself to another ear of corn
from the steaming bowl. [He advances] [He looks down at her] I’m
sure that in time, [He puts the shovel down] her death will be a
mystery…. [A shot of the cabin] Even to me.
Scene 33 : Setting : Bowie’s Store :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Juliet Stoker, Greta Bowie.
[The shot pans over Tashmore
lake]
[Mort enter’s Bowie’s Store, all cleaned up]
Mort : Hi. [He walks and sees Juliet]
Hi!
Juliet : [Walks to the counter
uncomfortably and puts her stuff down] [She takes out some
money] I’m uh.. [She looks over at Mort] kinda late.. [She
smiles and gives Greta the money] [Greta does the checkout]
Mort : [Comes up behind Juliet] [He puts
his face next to hers] Hi.
Juliet : [She turns around nervously] Hi…
yeah…
Mort : [Points to his mouth] Braces..
Juliet : Yeah..
Mort : Getting a few things straightened
out. [Juliet nods] Hey, you know, I was kinda wondering if..
um.. sometime you might possibly be interested in—Juliet : I
don’t need a bag. [She grabs her stuff and leaves] [Mort watches
her go, then he places his stuff on the counter : Salt, Butter,
Napkins]
Scene 34 : Setting : The Cabin :
Characters : Mort Rainey, Dave Newsome.
[Dave pulls his car into Mort’s driveway]
[He gets out and goes to Mort’s front door] [The door is open.
He stands in the doorway]
Dave : Mr. Rainey? [He looks around] Your
front door is open. I’m coming in. [He steps inside] [He looks
to the side and sees a weight lifting thing] [He walks over to
the kitchen and sees piles of corn on the counter and corn
boiling on the stove] [He turns away] Mr. Rainey? Mort
Rainey!?
Mort : [Pops his head over the railing]
Oh, hi Dave. I didn’t hear you, come on up. [Dave walks up the
stairs] Glad you’re here. I could use the break. Working lunch..
I’m on a roll [Smiles]
Dave : [Nods] Yeah. Listen, both you and
I know what you did.
Mort : Oh..
Dave : Maybe we don’t have enough to put
you away right now, but eventually.. we’ll find those bodies,
we’ll tie you to them. [Mort looks away] And you’re going away.
[Mort picks up corn holders] In the meantime, I’d appreciate it
if you didn’t come into town anymore. [Mort brushes the holders
together] Makes people uncomfortable. You can do your shopping
in New London. [Mort rubs an ear of corn in some butter] Did you
hear what I said?
Mort : [Turns back and sighs] Sure. No
problem. [Dave nods and turns away] You know, the only thing
that matters.. is the ending. It’s the most important part of
the story, the ending. And this one… [He points to his story]
[He looks at Dave] ..is very good. This one’s perfect.
[Mort flexes his jaw and puts some
headphones on]
[The shot moves into the secret
window]
Mort’s Voice : I know I can do it, Todd
Downey said, helping himself to another ear of corn from the
steaming bowl. I’m sure that in time, every bit of her will be
gone, and her death will be a mystery. Even to me.
[The shot moves lower, then into the
earth] [Mort takes a bite of corn]
THE END
