Fatal Instinct Page #3

Ned steps back into the kitchen with his briefcase.

NED:

No thanks.

Ned sees Frank sitting at the kitchen table, hair messed up,

coveralls hastily pulled on inside-out. Frank is reading a

copy of INSURANCE DIGEST magazine. A headline on the cover

touts an article: "LIFE INSURANCE FOR YOUR CAT!... Cover All

Nine Lives For The Price of One!" Ned's smile fades.

LANA:

Frank here was just grabbing a little

before going back to work on my car.

He steps over to the table... gives Frank a cool stare.

NED:

How long you been working on Lana's

Mercedes, Frank?

FRANK:

(shrugs)

Oh... I don't know... six, seven

weeks.

NED:

And ya still haven't found the

problem?

FRANK:

(a leering smile)

Think I got my finger on it though.

Ned turns to Lana.

NED:

I know what he's doing, Lana. I wasn't

born yesterday. He's not fixing your

car. He's SCREWING you!

Lana tenses up at this. Frank freezes. He figures they've

been busted. He sits there, holding the magazine, not moving

a muscle... as Ned turns on him.

NED:

YOU are screwing my wife! I can see

what your game is, Frank. You open

up her hood, poke around in there...

squirt some lubrication in... play

around with all her parts... then

take an old used piston and stick it

in... then pull it out... in, out,

in, out! Every day! There's no end

to it. You just keep coming and

COMING!... and the bill just gets

bigger and BIGGER!

Lana braces herself against the sink, breathless... turned

on by Ned's description. Ned goes to her, sympathetic.

NED:

But you don't see it, do you, Lana?

You're too good... too pure. You

can't see the evil in people like

him.

(turns to Frank)

Well, you're not getting away with

it, pal. I'm pulling the plug! You're

fired!

LANA:

(breathless)

Ned... don't you have to be somewhere?

NED:

(checks his watch)

Oh... yeah. Thanks, honey. I'm late

for court.

He goes to kiss her mouth and she turns her cheek to him. He

looks at her lovingly... touches her face tenderly.

NED:

You are so naive.

He picks up his briefcase, gives Frank a nasty look, then

exits thru the back door.

Lana and Frank stare at each other lustfully, really hot

now! Frank sweeps the dishes off the table with his arm.

Lana leaps into his arms, wrapping her legs around his waist.

He lays her down on the kitchen table, standing over her.

Suddenly, Ned opens the back door, glaring right at Frank...

not even noticing Lana on the table.

NED:

Finish your coffee... then GET OUT!

He slams the door. A beat. Lana and Frank begin to devour

each other with passionate kisses. Another beat. The front

doorbell RINGS once... then again.

FRANK:

Who's that?

LANA:

Just the postman. He always rings

twice.

OMIT:

Sequence omitted from original script.

INT. NED'S LAW OFFICE - DAY

Richly appointed with stately oak, walls lined with law books.

As in all "Noir" thrillers, venetian blinds cast dramatic

slashes of light and ceiling fans turn lazily in every room.

Ned hurries in, rummaging through the files on his desk.

LAURA, a strikingly lovely brunette, enters from the outer

office, files in hand. She is Ned's astute, dedicated, self-

sacrificing "girl-friday" and legal secretary. She keeps his

life from spinning crazily apart. She absolutely adores him.

NED:

Laura... do you know where...?

LAURA:

(hands him file)

Right here. The judge decided to

skip arraignment and take Milo direct

to trial. You're six minutes late,

but don't sweat it. You got Judge

Allen. He's always eleven minutes

late.

She picks up a lawbook, flips it open to a dog-eared page.

LAURA:

I suggest you try Lemming versus

Florida, 1956... where the guy jumped

in the water and everybody followed.

NED:

(thinks about it)

Yeah. Good idea.

He smiles gratefully... drops the file into his briefcase.

Ned heads for the office washroom. Laura darts ahead of him

into the washroom and turns the water on.

Ned steps in... splashes some water on his face. Laura grabs

a towel from the rack where three small towels hang neatly...

hands it to Ned. He dries his face, looking at her with

genuine fondness and gratitude.

NED:

I don't know what I'd do without

you?

She glances toward the toilet, notices it hasn't been flushed.

She FLUSHES it, lowers the seat.

LAURA:

Really?

She sits down on the toilet seat, watching him adoringly as

he shaves with an electric razor.

NED:

Laura, how long have you worked for

me?

LAURA:

Two years, seven months, twenty-three

days, nineteen hours...

(checks her watch)

...six minutes and fifty-two seconds.

(softly, to herself)

...fifty-three... fifty-four... fifty-

five... fifty-six...

NED:

And when was the last time I gave

you a raise?

Laura neatly folds the end of the toilet paper into a point.

LAURA:

Never. But that's okay. I don't need

a raise. In fact... I was thinking

of giving you a rebate on my salary.

He clicks off the razor, turns to look at her for a long

moment, considering this, then...

NED:

Naw. That's okay. You keep it.

He gives her a manly pat on the shoulder then casually tosses

the towel onto the rack, where it hangs sloppily askew...

right next to her face. He exits.

Laura stares at the towel with a tortured expression. The

CAMERA PUSHES IN to her face as we see...

INT. ULTRA-MODERN BEACH HOUSE - DAY

Scrawled on a steamed-up bathroom mirror - FLASHBACK - CAPE

COD - THREE YEARS EARLIER. A hand wipes the mirror off,

revealing Laura... younger, longer hair, with a nasty black

eye.

LAURA'S HUSBAND appears behind her, glaring insanely. He

looks toward the towel rack.

There are three towels... with HIS - HIS - HIS embossed along

the bottom edge. One towel hangs longer than the others.

LAURA'S HUSBAND

Did we forget something?

She meekly lines up all the towels.

LAURA'S HUSBAND

Did we forget something?

She meekly lines up all the towels.

INT. BEACH HOUSE KITCHEN - DAY

Laura's Husband pulls the cupboard open. All the cans and

boxes are neatly stacked in straight lines. All except one.

She straightens it... trembling with fear.

EXT. DECK OF BEACH HOUSE - DAY

He pulls her outside, nodding toward a line of tall PINE

trees behind the house. They are all straight and even...

except one, whose tall branches tower conspicuously above

the rest.

He holds up a chainsaw, nodding toward the trees. Shaking

and tearful... she backs into the house.

END FLASHBACK:

BACK TO LAURA:

SCREAMING out in terror! Ned rushes in, shaking her.

NED:

Laura. Laura! What is it?

LAURA:

(coming out of it)

I'm okay, I'm okay. I just get a

bit... claustrophobic... in the

bathroom.

NED:

Maybe we should try some prune juice.

He gives her shoulder a consoling squeeze, then exits. She

shakily straightens the towels and regains her composure.

Ned opens a wardrobe closet in his office. He walks along,

looking at thirty exactly identical blue suits, hanging

neatly. Laura follows behind him. He stops and stares,

indecisive.

LAURA:

Wear the blue one.

INT. COURTROOM - DAY

Ned turns dramatically to face the jury.

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