8mm Page #7

Welles smiles. Mrs. Mathews takes out a cigarette. Welles

lights her, joins her in smoking, refers to his clipboard.

WELLES:

So, she didn't leave a note? She

never gave any indication where she

might go, before she left?

MRS MATHEWS:

No.

WELLES:

She just seemed... depressed... ?

MRS MATHEWS:

She didn't seem herself. For months

there never was any way to get her

to talk about it. One night we went

to bed... the next morning she was

gone. She took some clothes.

WELLES:

What was she running from?

MRS MATHEWS:

I don't know.

WELLES:

If there's anything you feel

uncomfortable talking about, tell

me, but I have to ask. Your

husband... he committed suicide?

MRS MATHEWS:

Yes.

WELLES:

September 4th, 1993. About a year

after Mary disappeared.

MRS MATHEWS:

We were divorced by then. Things

fell apart... he was living with a

friend...

WELLES:

Why do you think he did it?

MRS MATHEWS:

It got to be too much for him.

WELLES:

You have to forgive me, but in these

circumstances... with your

daughter...

(pause)

Were there any indications of... any

sort of abuse?

MRS MATHEWS:

There wasn't anything like that.

The police and the FBI people asked,

but there wasn't anything happened

like that, never. My husband... his

heart broke when Mary left...

WELLES:

I didn't mean to...

MRS MATHEWS:

You try going through what we did.

Bob couldn't take it, that's all.

Christ, there's times when it still

seems like I can't either.

WELLES:

I had to ask. I apologize.

MRS MATHEWS:

No one knows what it's like. You

can't even imagine how much it hurts.

Welles is miserable. A few CUSTOMERS walk past, looking at

Mrs. Mathews. She tries not to notice then noticing.

MRS MATHEWS:

People remember me from the news.

(pause)

Can you drive me back now?

WELLES:

Of course.

INT. MATHEWS HOUSE, MARY'S ROOM -- DAY

Mrs. Mathews enters. Welles follows.

This was the girl's room, exactly as she left it -- POSTERS

of ACTORS on the wall, many STUFFED ANIMALS on the pink

sheets of the carefully made bed. Perfectly preserved.

MRS MATHEWS:

This is her room.

Welles looks around, uncomfortable.

Shelves have PICTURES of MARY with female friends, a

collection of CERAMIC FIGURINES of CLOWNS and ANIMALS.

MRS MATHEWS:

The police made a wreck of it, but

I put it back exactly how it was.

Just how she likes it.

Welles takes a few steps into the room, looks down at a DESK

where there are SIX brightly wrapped GIFTS.

MRS MATHEWS:

Those are for her birthday. One for

every year she's missed. They'll be

waiting for her when she comes back.

Welles is nearly overwhelmed by sadness, struggling to hide

it. He backs to the door, looks at his watch...

WELLES:

I... I shouldn't take anymore of

your time. Maybe we can finish

tomorrow. I'll call tomorrow...

MRS MATHEWS:

Okay.

EXT. MATHEWS HOUSE -- DAY

Welles escapes to his car, climbing in. He starts it up...

IN THE CAR:

Welles drives, tears welling up in his eyes. He has to pull

over and park, wiping his tears, fighting for composure.

INT. WELLES' ROOM -- NIGHT

Welles has unpacked. He's on the bed, on his CELLULAR...

WELLES:

(into phone)

You should be able to take a shower

and still have hot water left, honey.

(listens)

Call him back and tell him I said

so. The goddamn thing's still under

warranty.

(listens)

I'm okay. It's hard here. It's

hard.

(listens)

I've got a lead I have to follow

through. To be honest, I don't

think I'm going to get very far.

I miss you. I love you.

INT. MATHEWS HOUSE, KITCHEN -- MORNING

Welles sits at the kitchen table. Mrs. Mathews makes

coffee. The home's decor is cheap and flowery.

MRS MATHEWS:

We weren't religious. We never

forced religion down her throat,

like I've seen some parents do to

their kids. We never made her go to

church. But, after Mary was gone,

that's when I got religious.

Mrs. Mathews brings two cups of coffee, sits.

MRS MATHEWS:

Doesn't make much sense, does it?

When everything's happy, when life's

fine and you have every reason to

believe there's a God, you don't

bother. Then, something horrible

happens... that's when you start

praying all the time. That's when

you start going to church.

WELLES:

We're all like that.

MRS MATHEWS:

Are you religious?

WELLES:

No.

MRS MATHEWS:

You should be.

Mrs. Mathews drinks coffee, stares into the cup.

WELLES:

I've got what I need for my report.

There is... there is one thing that

bothers me though.

MRS MATHEWS:

What?

WELLES:

It's not really my place, but it's

not easy for me to set aside the

private detective part of me either.

See, I know a little about missing

persons. When kids run, they almost

always leave a note. It's guilt.

They want to say goodbye.

MRS MATHEWS:

There wasn't one. The police looked.

WELLES:

Do you think the police did a good

job?

MRS MATHEWS:

I don't know. I think so.

WELLES:

It is possible... and I know this

isn't something you want to hear.

Your daughter may have tried to hide

a note where she thought you would

eventually find it, but where she

knew your husband would never find

it. She might have wanted to tell

you something...

MRS MATHEWS:

No. You don't have any reason to

think that...

WELLES:

If the police focused their search

in her room, her belongings, well

that'd be only natural, but they may

have been looking in the wrong place.

Mrs. Mathews is getting upset.

MRS MATHEWS:

How... how can you say that to me...?

WELLES:

Will you let me look?

MRS MATHEWS:

My husband never laid a hand on her.

She would have told me... she would

have told me...

WELLES:

You're probably right, and I

probably won't find anything.

I don't have a right to ask this,

and you can kick me out of your

house if you want, but this is my

profession and there's a part of me

that can't let it go. Police are

just as human as you or I. They

could have missed something. They

probably didn't.

(pause)

Wouldn't you rather know?

Mrs. Mathews thinks about it, tortured, shakes her head sadly.

MRS MATHEWS:

Go ahead and look if you want. I

don't care what you do.

Mrs. Mathews gets up and walks out of the room.

INT. MATHEWS HOUSE -- SEARCH MONTAGE -- DAY

-In MRS. MATHEWS' BEDROOM, Welles looks through DRESSER

drawers, methodically, replacing everything as it was...

searches hat boxes and shoe boxes in a CLOSET... takes

BOOKS off SHELVES, fanning the pages, shaking them out...

-In a BATHROOM, Welles examines the contents of a MEDICINE

CABINET, examining old prescription bottles... opens

CABINETS under the sink...

-In the LIVING ROOM, Mrs. Mathews sits slumped in a chair,

staring at a soap opera on TELEVISION, a BOTTLE of scotch

on TV tray beside her, drink in hand.

-In the KITCHEN, Welles stands on a chair, searches high

CABINETS... looks through low CABINETS, on his knees, pulls

out pots and pans... fans the pages of COOK BOOKS...

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