8mm Page #4

AMY:

I understand.

WELLES:

Sometimes you can't know what I'm

doing. It's better that way.

AMY:

I know.

WELLES:

It's a missing persons case... a

long shot. I'll give it two months,

two months at most, then I'll be

back. We'll take a vacation.

AMY:

Why the gun?

WELLES:

I'm not gonna need it. I won't even

wear it. It's a precaution.

(cleaning gun)

Don't worry about me.

INT. WELLES' HOUSE, OFFICE -- NIGHT

Welles looks through one file cabinet. He pulls out a FILE.

It contains all sorts of POLICE ARTIST SKETCHES. Welles

finds one of a TEENAGE GIRL with dark hair, looks at it.

Welles positions the sketch on his COPY MACHINE, hits copy.

EXT. WELLES' HOUSE, DRIVEWAY -- MORNING

Welles loads BOXES and a SUITCASE into his car's back seat.

Welles puts the lock box in the car's trunk, in a hiding

place beside the spare tire. He places a brown BRIEFCASE on

top, covers them both with carpet. He closes the trunk.

EXT. PENNSYLVANIA TURNPIKE -- MORNING

Little traffic. Welles' Ford races down the highway.

EXT. CLEVELAND CITYSCAPE -- ESTABLISHING -- DAY

City skyline, overcast. Looks like rain.

TITLE:
Cleveland, Ohio

EXT. CLEVELAND STREETS -- DAY

Welles' car moves slowly in a not-so-great neighborhood.

Welles leans forward, peering through the windshield...

An APARTMENT BUILDING'S crooked SIGN lists "WEEKLY RATES."

INT. WELLES' ROOM, CLEVELAND -- DAY

Dingy room. Welles locks the door, puts the chain on. His

suitcase and boxes are on the bed. He begins unpacking,

taking a PHOTO ENLARGER from one box and an 8MM PROJECTOR.

INT. WELLES' ROOM, BATHROOM -- DAY

The developer's on the toilet. DEVELOPING PANS are on the

floor, developer bath, stop bath and fixing bath, with

BOTTLES of CHEMICALS and packages of PHOTO PAPER. Welles

uses tape and ALUMINUM FOIL to black-out a window.

INT. WELLES' ROOM -- DAY

Pizza box on the bedside table. Welles' suits hang in the

closet. Welles sits facing a small REEL TO REEL on a desk.

He wears white gloves, handles the 8MM FILM, careful to hold

it by the edges, holding it up to the light, squinting.

Welles puts in a magnifying EYEPIECE, leaning close...

WELLES' P.O.V. THROUGH MAGNIFYING LENS: studying the first

few inches of exposed film, coming upon TINY LETTERS printed

just below the sprocket holes: "SUPRAlux 544."

INT. WELLES' ROOM, BATHROOM -- DAY

RED BULB in the light socket. Welles threads the 8MM FILM

into his enlarger, still in white gloves.

He flicks the enlarger on, projecting a sideways IMAGE down

onto the enlarger's baseboard, FOCUSING... it's the girl

sitting on the bed, early in the snuff film.

Welles makes an adjustment to the enlarger's lens; framing

tighter on the girl's face, REFOCUSING.

INT. WELLES' ROOM -- NIGHT

Welles comes out of the makeshift darkroom, holding a PHOTO

of the girl. He props the photo up on a dresser, stands

looking at it. Sad girl, staring forward.

Welles goes to pick up his CELLULAR PHONE, dials.

WELLES:

(into phone)

Hello, honey, it's me.

(listens)

I'm fine, how are you?

Welles listens. He turns to look at the girl's photo.

FADE TO BLACK:

EXT. OFFICE BUILDING, MISSING PERSONS ARCHIVE -- DAY

Nondescript. "U.S. Resource Center for Missing Persons."

INT. MISSING PERSONS ARCHIVE, OFFICES -- DAY

Small. Cubicles. Employees work phones and computers.

BULLETIN BOARDS are covered in FAMILY PHOTOS, Polaroids and

familiar "HAVE YOU SEEN ME?" missing person/children POSTERS.

IN ONE CUBICLE, Welles opens his billfold, shows his

identification:
a laminated "LICENSED INVESTIGATOR,

Commonwealth of Pennsylvania", with WELLES' PHOTO...

The DIRECTOR of the center, a tired looking official in

bifocals, studies the card. Welles sits.

DIRECTOR:

What can I do for you, Mr. Welles?

WELLES:

Call me Tom.

DIRECTOR:

Alright, Tom.

WELLES:

What I'd like, very simply, is

access to your archive. And, now I

understand this isn't something you

normally do for private citizens...

DIRECTOR:

There are reasons for the way we do

things here.

WELLES:

Absolutely. Of course I'll abide by

whatever decision you make, but I'd

appreciate if you'll hear me out...

The director sits back in his chair.

WELLES:

Few days ago, I was contacted by a

couple living in Philadelphia, a

doctor and his wife. What happened

was they picked up a young girl

hitchhiking off 81, which heads into

Philadelphia, started up a

conversation with this girl, she

looked homeless, seemed about

eighteen maybe. They convinced her

to let them buy her a meal in the

city. Nice kid, mature, didn't have

much to say, but they got a sense

she's a runaway, so all through

dinner the doctor's working on her,

trying to convince her that at the

very least she should pick up a

telephone. Not surprisingly, she

ate her food, excused herself...

(snaps fingers)

That's the last they saw her. The

reason they came to me for help, the

reason I'm coming to you, is we had

a friend of mine in the department

work up a sketch...

(shows the POLICE ARTIST

SKETCH he photocopied)

They want to see if I can I.D. this

girl, somehow pass along a message

to let the parents know the kid's

alive, doing alright.

DIRECTOR:

Why not go to the N.C.I.C. or

N.C.M.E.C.?

WELLES:

I figured you share information.

DIRECTOR:

We do.

WELLES:

For whatever reasons I thought you

might be more receptive.

DIRECTOR:

Why don't they come to me?

WELLES:

This doctor and wife, they're nice

people, but they don't want to get

too involved. They're not trying to

have the parents come looking for

the girl either.

You and I both know sometimes, not

often, but sometimes there's real

reasons why a kid'll run.

Molestation, whatever. Besides

that, the girl's probably eighteen,

so she's legal.

DIRECTOR:

I'm not so sure about this.

WELLES:

They're putting themselves in place

of this kid's parents and thinking

they'd want to hear their girl's

okay, even if that's all they hear.

DIRECTOR:

I can give you my card, if your

clients want to call me...

Welles accepts a CARD, disappointed.

WELLES:

They were pretty clear they didn't

want this coming back on them.

DIRECTOR:

Well, that's all I can do. Sorry.

Welles looks at the director, stands, hangs his head.

WELLES:

Who knows... maybe she's already

given her parents a call, right?

Welles leaves.

EXT. OFFICE BUILDING, MISSING PERSONS ARCHIVE -- DAY

Welles comes out the front doors, pissed.

WELLES:

F***.

He tears the card in half and drops it as he heads for his

car. After a moment, the director comes out after him...

DIRECTOR:

Excuse me... Tom, hold on...

Welles looks back, walks back, glances down...

makes sure he stands on the torn card, hiding it underfoot.

DIRECTOR:

Listen, maybe I can help after all.

Why don't you come on back in...

we'll see what we can do.

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