A Murder of Crows Page #6

Althea?

Professor...

Thank god.

Are you all right?

I'm fine. He didn't hurt me.

He just walked right out.

Who? Lawson Russell.

Who?

Lawson Russell.

The author of that novel,

a murder of crows.

The one who knocked

off all those lawyers.

You haven't read about this guy?

Yes, I've read about him.

I just thought that you were mistaken.

No, no. It was him, all right.

I looked him right in his face.

Well, what in the world

would he want here?

Well, that's what we want to know.

I'm detective dubose,

New Orleans police department,

homicide.

How do you do?

Tell you the truth, professor,

I'm as confused as a nun

on a honeymoon.

May I show you something?

Over here...

Apparently, he broke the window

on the back door there.

Let himself in, he was upstairs

when the housekeeper came home.

How strange.

Yeah, ain't it?

Well, you know these serial killers,

totally unpredictable.

You may just want to check around

and see if anything's missing.

Yes, sir. I'll make it

a point to do that.

Hey, professor?

Yeah?

You never met Lawson Russell before?

No. Thank god.

Know anybody who knows him?

I don't think so.

So I guess you never read his book,

murder of crows?

No, sir.

Well...

Maybe he was just

hiding out here for a while.

Yes, quite possibly.

Professor?

Your housekeeper, Mrs. delroy,

she says you teach

over at the university.

Yes, I do.

That wouldn't be law, would it?

No, I teach theater.

Acting?

Yes, among other things.

That your family?

Agent Manning, FBI. Who's in charge here?

Detective dubose.

Christ.

Here they come, the thorns in my ass.

Are you dubose?

No, I'm the f***ing easter bunny.

Nice suit, Ace.

Aristotle said, "all that we do is done"

with an eye towards something else."

To understand a deed,

look to the motive.

Jeffrey lowell was the first

of the 5 lawyers murdered.

I reasoned that if there

was any personal connection

between the victims and the killer,

it would be with the first murder.

The messiest of the 5, the most violent.

I had to go back nearly 3 years

before I found it.

Jeffrey lowell represented

a banker from Baton Rouge

charged with hit-and-run driving.

A woman and her daughter

were killed in the accident.

The victims' names were

Jean and Trudy corvus.

Lowell had the case thrown out of court

on a technicality.

The investigating officer failed to,

as the court put it,

"properly advise

the banker of his rights."

The banker walked,

and a serial killer was born.

There he is!

Not a good start for your career.

Busting everything!

I'll take that firearm,

please. Thank you.

I'm very glad that you could come here

and talk to me.

Why don't you just come on in here

and stay for a spell?

OK. Sit on down.

What, you're not gonna give me

any of that courtroom arrogance?

Not gonna smile for me?

Well...

I got to tell you, I'm impressed.

You have given me quite a day,

Mr. Russell.

But then again, you've always been

kind of unpredictable, haven't you?

Like that evening in your study

when you called judge banning,

withdrew yourself from the parks case.

I'll tell you, you know, that threw me.

That threw me.

It impressed me so much

that I decided not to kill you.

So I was always on your hit list.

Yeah. Well, you see,

I decided to test you in the way

god tested job.

The book.

Yes, sir.

I loved the faust thing,

by the way. Very clever.

Thank you.

You know...

Quite a piece of work.

I can see why you felt

compelled to share it.

Yes, it was a story

that needed to be told.

Sorry about your family, though.

I'm sure that was hard.

You have no idea how it felt...

Watching that man go free

after he killed them.

You see, I could tell from his eyes

that he was remorseful

for what he'd done.

But his lawyer... His lawyer smiled...

And patted him on the back.

I'll tell you something, Lawson.

Something turned in me then.

I felt a rage inside of

me, and I swear to god,

I tried to put it out of my mind.

I tried to turn the other cheek.

"Vengeance is mine, saith the lord."

But I couldn't wait for it.

You see, he wasn't practicing law!

He was hiding behind it!

He was using it as a hammer

to protect the privileged in our society!

See, he was like you, Lawson.

See, you weren't interested in justice,

you just wanted to win

'cause it fed your pathetic little ego!

And it fed your pocketbook.

For a little bit of money,

you gave away your goddamn integrity!

For a little bit of money,

you frustrated justice.

Well, I'm here to tell you,

for all the people that you destroyed,

I want a little goddamn justice,

and I want it right now!

Stand up. Stand up.

Come on. Move away.

Come on. It's a shame

I'm gonna have to kill you

for violating my home.

You sold your soul to the devil,

Mr. Lawson Russell.

And the devil has come to collect.

May god have mercy on your soul.

Put the gun down, professor.

Put it down.

I will kill him.

It's your carpet.

Come on, now. It's over.

Put it down.

Drop it.

And step back. Come on. Step back.

Thanks.

Yeah, don't mention it.

Officer needs assistance.

1741 coliseum.

You may recall, Mr. Russell,

that, this is the favorite part

of my job.

Unh!

No!

You're insane.

No.

No.

I didn't kill him.

You killed him.

And he killed you.

With that gun.

Oof!

Oof!

Look at me!

It was then that I realized

I was holding the gun that killed dubose.

My gun, my fingerprints.

It was me the cops were looking for.

My name was on the book.

It's your word against mine, isn't it?

Isn't it?

Yeah. That's right.

A teacher and a Deacon in the church

versus a lawyer?

And a disbarred lawyer at that.

Man. I think you're

in a world of trouble.

I'd run if I were you.

He was right.

I was going down for this,

and there was no doubt about it.

Corvus was going to go free.

I am not innocent.

But you are guilty.

Now, here's what we're gonna do.

OK.

All the publicity sent the book

through the roof.

The royalties made me a millionaire.

Has the jury reached a verdict?

We have, your honor.

Elizabeth found me one of the best

criminal defense

attorneys in the country.

But, unfortunately,

my old pal, judge banning,

drew the case.

Defendant will rise.

Bailiff will read the verdict.

Whatever the jury's decision,

I was prepared to accept it.

"We, the jury, find the defendant.

"Lawson Russell...

Not guilty."

I'll say it again,

it's an immutable fact of life.

The strong will always tread on the weak.

But every once in a while,

we get a little bit of justice.

And that's all we can hope for.

trimark pictures

institute. Www.Ncicap.Org...

hoo hoo hoo

yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

I never was a believer

until you came and showed me the way

just like the rays of light

that turn each night

into day

and all the doubts

I could not live without

they all drown

in the depth of your love

you fell down

on my desert one day

like a rain from above

I put my faith in you

lay it down for you

and only you

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes