Blood Simple Page #9

He turns and gazes out the window.

VISSER:

...In Russia they make only fifty

cents a day.

He falls silent again, still staring out the window

In the closeness of the car Marty is starting to sweat.

MARTY:

(hoarsely)

...There's a big--

VISSER:

(abruptly)

I want you to go fishing.

MARTY:

...What?

VISSER:

Go down to Corpus for a few days.

Get yourself noticed. I'll give you

a call when it's done... You just

find a way to cover that money.

Marty is slumped in his seat, not responding to the fact

that Visser has just ended the conversation.

Finally he rouses himself and gets out of the car, leaving

Visser staring at the door he has left open behind him.

After a moment we hear Marty's footsteps approaching again,

and he leans back into the open door with an afterthought.

MARTY:

I'll take care of the money, you

just make sure those bodies aren't

found... There's a...

These words are difficult to say.

MARTY:

...If you want, there's a big

incinerator behind my place...

The two men look at each other. Marty leaves. After a moment,

Visser leans over to grab the handle of the still open door.

VISSER:

(under his breath)

Sweet Jesus, you are disgusting.

The door slams.

INT. EMPTY APARTMENT NIGHT

The apartment is dark. We are looking across a shadowy floor

towards a large window, through which cold blue street light

shines. Through the window we can see the facade of the

building across the street; we are three or four floors up.

We can hear the animated, accented voice of an Hispanic woman

approaching the apartment from the hallway behind us.

LANDLADY (O.S.)

--big windows, paneleen and

everytheen. So you want, like your

own place? Like a Town House?

A crack of light shoots across the floor as we hear the

apartment door open behind us. A figure enters frame. As it

crosses into the shaft of light we see that it is Abby. She

moves across the dark apartment, in silhouette against the

window.

LANDLADY (O.S.)

No one will bother you here, sweetie--

An overhead light is switched on and the room is bathed in

light. Several feet from Abby, an old man in a dirty

undershirt is asleep on a cot. Abby starts.

The old man grumbles, slowly sits up, squints.

With the light, the window behind Abby has become a mirror

of the entire room, in which we now see the matronly Landlady

standing by the wall switch.

The Landlady roars at the old man in Spanish. The man glowers

at her. The Landlady looks back at Abby.

LANDLADY:

(cheerful again)

I show you around.

We follow Abby as she accompanies the landlady back into the

short hallway-entrance foyer. Abby glances back at the old

man.

ABBY:

Are you sure this is... Are you sure

this apartment is vacant?... Mrs.

Esteves?

The Landlady laughs cheerfully.

LANDLADY:

Oh yes...

She gestures to a kitchen alcove on the left.

LANDLADY:

...That's the kitchen...

She turns and throws a few more barbs in Spanish back toward

the old man, then opens a door on the right side of the foyer

and enters the bathroom.

LANDLADY:

...This is the bathroom...

She flushes the toilet.

LANDLADY:

...The toilet works and everytheen...

She bustles out of the bathroom and takes the two short steps

back into the main room. She gestures expansively.

LANDLADY:

...And here we are back in the liveen

room.

She gives one vigorous stomp.

LANDLADY:

...Good floors. Gas heat.

She points.

LANDLADY:

...That's Mr. Garcia.

The old man is now sitting on the edge of the bed, smoking a

cigarette, looking for a place to put the ash. The Landlady

snaps at him again in Spanish, and is again cheerful as she

turns back to address Abby.

LANDLADY:

...I was just esplaineen to him that

he moved out of here yesterday...

She walks to the apartment door.

LANDLADY:

...You look around. Don't mind Mr.

Garcia; he use do be my brother-in-

law.

She walks out and shuts the door.

The room is quiet.

CLOSE SHOT ABBY:

Staring at the door. She looks at Mr. Garcia, looks nervously

around the apartment. She looks back at Mr. Garcia.

CLOSE SHOT MR. GARCIA

Staring vacantly at Abby. He blows a stream of smoke across

the room. The ash falls off his cigarette.

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