Dark City Page #3

BUMSTEAD:

(to mortician)

Gesundheit!

The mortician looks confused but she smiles politely.

Bumstead is already moving off quickly. He obviously has a lot on

his mind.

WIDER ANGLE - Bumstead stops before a man with a moustache

standing at the end of the corridor. Older and taller than

Bumstead, he is dressed identically to the inspector. This is his

superior:
CHIEF-INSPECTOR MARCUS STROMBOLI.

BUMSTEAD:

(Cont.)

Good evening, sir.

STROMBOLI:

You're late.

BUMSTEAD:

Really?

(looks at watch)

Actually, according to my watch,

I'm...

STROMBOLI:

Why have you got that thing on your

face?

BUMSTEAD:

Germs, sir. This place is full of

them.

STROMBOLI:

(even)

Mm-hm.

Stromboli waves dismissively.

STROMBOLI:

(Cont.)

Fine. This way.

He leads Bumstead into a tiled room containing several COVERED

BODIES. The two men are greeted by a CORONER and a very thin

forensics man named EUGENE CAPEK.

CORONER:

Gentlemen. Running ahead of

schedule tonight?

Stromboli looks annoyed, glances briefly at Bumstead.

CORONER:

(Cont.)

Make yourselves at home.

Stromboli then ignores the coroner and, after a quick nod to Capek,

walks along the row of corpses. Bumstead follows.

ANGLE MOVES WITH STROMBOLI - as he silently throws back covers to

reveal horribly mutilated BODIES.

STROMBOLI:

We know very little about him. He

likes to cut them. Always the same

type of blade. A match in each

case...

He removes the sheet froma YOUNG WOMAN. Capek takes particular

interest in this corpse.

STROMBOLI:

(Cont.)

The latest. Pretty.

(looks at her face)

He made incisions in her jugulars

and strung her up by her ankles.

CAPEK:

To drain the blood.

STROMBOLI:

Yes. Then he dumped her in the

canal.

STROMBOLI shakes his head, turns away from the body, looks at

Bumstead.

IN THE B.G. - Capek and the coroner are talking quietly to each

other, we cannot hear what is said.

STROMBOLI:

(Cont.)

Capek here, is the new chief of

Forensics. You'll be seeing a lot

of each other.

Bumstead and Capek shake hands.

BUMSTEAD:

What about Kowolski, sir? Isnít it

his case?

STROMBOLI:

Kowolski's had some kind of a

breakdown or some damn thing

BUMSTEAD:

I didn't know that.

STROMBOLI:

I thought it best he take a long

rest. The case is your

responsibility now.

(less business-like)

And howís your mother?

BUMSTEAD:

She's... progressing, thankyou.

She...

STROMBOLI (cuts in)

Very good. Give her my regards,

will you.

(turns to Capek)

All yours Doctor.

Capek nods slowly, and turns to start examining the woman.

STROMBOLI:

(Cont.)

Letís go, Bumstead. So much to do

and so little time.

EXT. BUILDING - NIGHT

A large faded BILLBOARD on a building facade: an advertisement

featuring a smiling woman clutching a product called, "LUMP-O" - a

cereal box.

ANGLE MOVES IN STEADILY, rises upwards, CLOSER on the womanís face,

ENTERS a hole at the centre of her PAINTED IRIS.

INT. STAIR-WELL

A raftered room on the other side of the billboard. CAMERA TILTS TO

a convoluted staircase - at the base, the SHADOW OF A MAN runs.

MOVING ANGLE on running feet - TILT UP TO REVEAL WALKER.

A DEAD-END. Walker stops, looks up. Heís breathing hard. He

starts to shake.

ABOVE, the walls stretch away into darkness. An OPENING way up

there - he can see stars.

A RUSHING NOISE in the distance. Wind starts to kick up trash.

Walker reaches into his coat pocket and removes what appears to be

a collection of newspaper clippings. A WALLET-SIZE TATTERED

PHOTOGRAPH is folded amongst these: a woman's face. He holds the

photo up. There's handwriting on the back:

...LOVE YOU FOREVER - EMMA...

Then he looks through the clippings. He starts to shuffle

frantically from one clipping to the next.

His LEGS SLIP from under him and he falls to the ground. He holds

his head like itís going to explode. A whimper sounds deep in his

throat. His body is trembling violently.

PUSH IN TIGHT - the clippings on the ground. Several front-page

headlines. As the wind picks up and carries off each subsequent

clipping we catch glimpses of the headlines: MAN-HUNT CONTINUES

FOR SERIAL KILLER! KILLER STRIKES AGAIN! POLICE SAY: KILLER ON

THE RUN!

Walker looks up - terrified. The RUSHING NOISE O.S. again.

INT. CORRIDOR - NIGHT

TIGHT ON a flaking door. A hand ENTERS FRAME and pushes the buzzer.

The door opens almost immediately - an OLD WOMAN looks out.

OLD WOMAN:

Yes?

SCHREBER O.S.

My name is Schreber - Doctor

Daniel Schreber. I'm here to see

Mrs. Walker.

WOMAN'S VOICE O.S.

Who's there, Mother?

The old woman turns into the room.

OLD WOMAN:

It's a Doctor Daniels...

REVEAL DOCTOR SCHREBER - he wears thick glasses, in his late

fifties. He's breathing heavily like he's been running.

Rate this script:3.0 / 2 votes