Devil in a Blue Dress Page #8

42.

42 CONTINUED:
42

TERAN:

Oh, you know who I am?

EASY:

I read the papers. You're runnin'

for mayor.

TERAN:

(correcting)

I am the next mayor, Mr. Rawlins...

And luckily for you, a friend of

the Negro... When I arrived at the

station I knew right off that you

were being improperly detained as

is Coretta's boyfriend, Dupree

Brouchard. It's this sort of thing

that my administration will not

tolerate, Mr. Rawlins. Absolutely

will not...

He sits back in his seat self righteously and offers a nod

of assurance and awaits Easy's gratitude... Then after a

moment...

TERAN:

(continuing)

Yes... Coretta answered phones for

a while in my campaign office on

103rd and Western. In fact my

people got her a job in the phone

company. So when I heard what had

happened I got out of bed

immediately, personally because of

my concern... Was anyone there with

you Mr. Rawlins besides Mr. Dupree

Brouchard?... Any... other friends

of Coretta's?

EASY:

No, sir...

TERAN:

No young lady perhaps?

EASY:

Nobody...

TERAN:

Of course not, Mr. Rawlins. And

why should you tell a man whom

you've only just met. But, believe

me, Mr. Rawlins. You can trust me.

43.

42 CONTINUED:
(2) 42

EASY:

(shrugging)

There was no one else.

Teran's face sags with disappointment and then...

TERAN:

Well don't worry, Mr. Rawlins... I

won't tolerate your being

harassed... You or any of my

constituency -- I was a city

councilman in the Watts area for

two terms with a large contingent

of colored -- I value all of my

supporters equally... humble though

they may be -- where can we drop

you, Mr. Rawlins?

EASY:

You can let me out here.

TERAN:

Are you sure, Mr. Rawlins? This

must be quite out of your way.

It's okay.

EASY:

The little boy stares up at Easy through big, dark almond-

shaped eyes in the silence that follows. And then, Teran

picks up the ivory horn that hangs next to his head.

TERAN:

Norman, pull the car over.

43 EXT. WAREHOUSE AREA - NIGHT 43

The limousine stops and Easy pushes the door open and gets

out.

TERAN:

Mr. Rawlins, may I offer you cab

fare?

Teran's stubby fingers hold out crumpled bills.

No thanks.

EASY:

Easy closes the door and watches the long Cadillac glide

away.

44.

43 CONTINUED:
43

EASY (V.O.)

There had been nights during the

war that I still had trouble

claiming as part of my life...

Insane nights I wasn't sure ever

really happened. And here I was

again... Had I really just gotten

out of a rich man's car who was

runnin' for mayor?.. Running

against the man I was supposed to

be working for... Was he really

lookin' for the same woman I was

trying to find? My ear was killin'

me and the buses had stopped

running. And I was feeling sick...

Sick from wondering if I had really

hard that Coretta was dead.

44 INT. EASY'S HOUSE - BEDROOM 44

The room is a mess; trousers strewn here, shirt and shoes

over there. And from the corners are haunting, ghostly

whispers.

CORETTA'S VOICE

You be sorry if you go...

(heavy breathing)

I can't give up that much love,

daddy, not the way things is.

A PINT OF BOURBON, 3/4 full, sits atop the cherry wood

nightstand. Another empty bottle lies next to it on its

side, in front of a water glass with 1/2 inch of liquor at

the bottom.

EASY'S HEAD rests on a pillow on the bed behind it,

sweating, tossing and turning as the ghost gets louder.

CORETTA'S VOICE

Oh yeah, daddy. You hittin' my

spot... Oh yeah... oh yeah...

The voice of the ghost is reaching closer for his ear.

CORETTA'S VOICE

Oh, that's just too good, Easy.

daddy... oh yeah...

Oh

The voice is right up in his face.

CORETTA'S VOICE

Oh, baby. Oh, daddy, yeah... Oh

yeah!! Oh Yea-a-h!!

45.

44 CONTINUED:
44

SCREAM. He jerks up, awake, and the phone is RINGING. It

jingles a couple more times and Easy almost knocks the

receiver out of its cradle reaching for it.

EASY:

Huh?

VOICE:

(a woman's)

Hello? Is this Mr. Rawlins?

EASY:

Who is this?

VOICE:

Daphne... Daphne Monet...

He sits straight up.

DAPHNE:

You're looking for me.

A pause on the line.

DAPHNE:

I think you should come and talk to

me, Mr. Rawlins... alone.

EASY:

Look, it's late--

DAPHNE:

Mr. Rawlins, Coretta has been

killed...

Another pause.

DAPHNE:

And if you don't want any trouble

from the police then you'll come...

And you won't tell anyone that

you're coming.

EASY:

Now wait a minute, Daphne. I don't

know nothin' about all this

stuff...

DAPHNE:

I'm at the Sunridge Motel on 112th

and Grand, Room 102.

46.

44 CONTINUED:
(2) 44

Easy holds his hands up, helplessly -- "what do you want

from me?" -- but no one can see and she has hung up the

phone.

45 EXT. SUNRIDGE MOTEL - NIGHT 45

It's a Spanish-style set of rooms with tile roofs set around

a square parking lot.

Easy's car pulls into the alley behind it.

He gets out and scans the area looking down from a rise at

the back entrance to the parking lot. And then walks down.

46 OMIT 46

47 EXT. SUNRIDGE MOTEL - ROOM 102 - NIGHT 47

Before Easy can knock, he hears:

Mr. Rawlins?

DAPHNE (O.S.)

Yeah.

EASY:

The door opens and she's standing there, more beautiful than

the photograph. They take each other in for a moment before

she steps back from the door.

DAPHNE:

Please come in.

48 INT. MOTEL ROOM 48

It's a regular drab, cheap motel that she has given a warmer

touch with colorful scarves draped over the two lamps.

DAPHNE:

Would you like a drink?

She indicates a pint of scotch on the dresser with an empty

glass and one that she's been drinking from.

No, thanks.

EASY:

She indicates the chair.

DAPHNE:

Please sit down.

She's wearing a blue dress that's plain, cutting just below

her knee with a ceramic pin just over her left breast.

47.

48 CONTINUED:
48

DAPHNE:

What happened to you? Have you

been fighting?

Easy stubs out his cigarette in an ashtray and sits down.

EASY:

Why don't you just tell me what you

want?

She sits down too, her calm but brittle exterior betrayed at

the hands. She stops wringing them when she sees that he

notices and takes a drink -- more medicine than pleasure.

DAPHNE:

I should be asking you that

question. Why have you been asking

about me?

EASY:

I heard about you. Fellas at

John's said you were something to

see.

DAPHNE:

So...? You've found me.

EASY:

Uh... yeah... Guess I have. But

you got a boyfriend I don't want no

part of... Frank Green.

She lights a cigarette.

DAPHNE:

You can stop pretending, Mr.

Rawlins. I know someone hired you

to look for me. In fact I had to

pay Coretta not to tell you where I

was... you know how Coretta is...

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