Chinatown Page #17

(staring intently)

There's something black in the green

part of your eye.

EVELYN:

(not moving)

Oh that... It's a flaw in the iris...

GITTES:

... A flaw...

EVELYN:

(she almost shivers)

... Yes, sort of a birthmark...

92.

Gittes kisses her lightly, gradually rises until he's standing

holding her. She hesitates, then wraps her arms around him.

INT. MULWRAY BEDROOM - TELEPHONE

on a nightstand, city lights visible through the open window

behind it. It is RINGING. Evelyn's arm reaches INT0 SHOT.

SOUND of something hitting the headboard. Gittes moans.

VIEW SHIFTS TO INCLUDE

Gittes in bed, holding his head, which he's just hit. Evelyn

pauses in her reach to the phone. She turns to him, whispers,

"I'm sorry," kisses him on the head and lips. PHONE CONTINUES

TO RING. She picks it up.

EVELYN:

Hello...

(in Spanish now)

No, no, I'll come and help, just

keep watching her and don't do

anything until I get there...

'bye.

VIEW SHIFTS AGAIN TO INCLUDE

Gittes in bed, watching Evelyn next to him as she's talking

on the phone. She hangs up. She touches Gittes' cheek lightly.

EVELYN:

I have to go.

Gittes stares at her silently.

GITTES:

Where?

EVELYN:

-- Just -- I have to.

GITTES:

And I want to know where.

EVELYN:

(she starts out of

bed)

Please don't be angry... believe me,

it's got nothing to do with you -

GITTES:

(stopping her)

Where are you going?

EVELYN:

(near tears)

Please!... Trust me this much...

(MORE)

93.

EVELYN (CONT'D)

(she kisses him lightly)

I'll be back -- look, there is

something I should tell you. The

fishing club that old lady mentioned,

the pieces off the flag -

GITTES:

The Albacore Club.

EVELYN:

It has to do with my father.

GITTES:

I know.

EVELYN:

He owns it. You know?

GITTES:

I saw him.

EVELYN:

(sitting up straight)

You saw my fa -- father? When?

GITTES:

This morning.

EVELYN:

(panicked)

You didn't tell me.

GITTES:

There hasn't been a lot of time.

She leaps out of bed, throwing on a robe.

EVELYN:

What did he say?

(insistent)

What did he say ?

GITTES:

-- That you were jealous, and he was

worried about what you might do.

EVELYN:

Do? To who?

GITTES:

Mulwray's girlfriend, for one thing.

He wanted to know where she was.

Evelyn starts quickly for the bathroom, then comes back and

kneels by the side of the bed, takes Gittes' hand.

94.

EVELYN:

I want you to listen to me -- my

father is a very dangerous man.

You don't know how dangerous. You

don't know how crazy.

GITTES:

Give me an example.

EVELYN:

You may think you know what's going

on, but you don't.

GITTES:

That's what your father said -You're

telling me he's in back of

this whole thing?

EVELYN:

It's possible.

GITTES:

Including the death of your husband?

EVELYN:

It's possible -- please don't ask me

any more questions now. Just wait,

wait for me -- I'll be back.

I need you here.

She kisses him, rushes to the bathroom, shuts the door.

Gittes stares at it a moment. Then leaps out of bed, rummages

around, tosses on his trousers. He grabs his shoes, throws

them on. Then hurries out of the bedroom.

EXT. MULWRAY HOME - GITTES

running across the driveway to the garage. There are two

cars there -- Mulwray's Buick and Evelyn's Packard. Gittes

moves over to the Buick, opens the passenger's door.

INT. BUICK - GITTES

checks the ignition. No key is in it. He pulls a couple of

wires from under the dash -- starts to mess with them, seems

satisfied. Slides out across the seat, slams the door.

EXT. MULWRAY DRIVEWAY - NIGHT

Gittes hurries over to the Packard. He gets down on the

driveway, lying on his back, bracing himself. With the heel

of his shoe, he kicks at the right rear taillight of the

car. He shatters the red lens, gets up. He carefully pulls

the red lens off the taillight, exposing the white light

beneath it. He tosses the red lens into the shrubbery and

hurries back toward the house.

95.

ONE RED AND ONE WHITE TAILLIGHT - MOVING - NIGHT

Evelyn's car speeds along the curves on Sunset Boulevard,

the red and white lights coming IN AND OUT OF VIEW.

GITTES DRIVING - NIGHT

behind the wheel of Mulwray's car, keeping a healthy distance

from Evelyn in front of him. .

EVELYN'S PACKARD

pulls up before a small little bungalow-house. She gets out,

looks up and down the street. There is nothing.

She hurries on up the walkway to the front door.

DOWN THE STREET - GITTES IN BUICK

Idles the engine with the lights off. He brings the car a

few yards further down the street, parking it near Evelyn's.

Gittes gets out of the car and goes up the walkway. The

curtains are drawn except for one of the small windows on

the side of the house. He goes to it and looks, balancing on

the edge of the porch.

THROUGH THE WINDOW

Gittes sees Evelyn's Oriental servant rush through the living

room of the small house. In a moment he re-emerges back

through the living room carrying a tray with a glass and

pitcher on it.

GITTES:

around to the side of the house. He runs into shrubbery and

a short picket fence. He climbs over it, follows along the

stucco wall to a series of windows at the corner of the house.

These all have shades on them. He can hear someone crying in

the house. Someone else talking alternately firmly and

plaintively in Spanish. Here the windows have blinds. He

moves to one where the blind is not completely drawn -there's

an inch or so of space at the bottom.

THROUGH THE WINDOW

Gittes can see the servant again. Evelyn is pacing back and

forth in and out of his line of vision. After a moment someone

rises INTO SHOT -- obviously from lying on a bed. The figure

is just a few feet from Evelyn. Her tear-stained face comes

INTO VIEW. It is unmistakably the girl Gittes had last seen

with Hollis Mulwray.

Mulwray's girlfriend. She's looking up to Evelyn, speaking

in Spanish -- her words are not discernible but the tone is -bitter,

anguished. A newspaper is strewn about the room.

96.

Evelyn kneels. She insists that the girl swallow down some

pills. The girl reluctantly does.

GITTES:

continues to watch.

EXT. STREET - EVELYN - NIGHT

emerges from the house, goes to her car and gets in.

INT. CAR

Evelyn sees Gittes sitting in her car, staring coldly at

her.

GITTES:

Okay, give me the keys.

EVELYN:

(stunned, furious)

You bastard.

GITTES:

-- It's either that or you drive to

the police yourself..

EVELYN:

The police?

GITTES:

C'mon, Mrs. Mulwray -- you've got

your husband's girlfriend tied up in

there!

EVELYN:

She's not tied up!

GITTES:

You know what I mean. You're keeping

her there against her will.

EVELYN:

I am not!

GITTES:

Then let's go talk to her.

Gittes starts to get out of the car. Evelyn grabs his arm,

nearly screaming:

EVELYN:

No!

Her intensity actually rips Gittes' already partially torn

jacket. He looks at it and her. It seems to have a momentary

calming effect on both of them.

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