Green River KIiller Page #16

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TOM:

Hey, Dave. Sorry, I guess it’s

Sergeant Dave now, right?

88.

REICHERT:

(smiles)

Just came from the ceremony.

REICHERT takes in the, now empty, room.

REICHERT (CONT’D)

They all came in here, one after

another. The ‘experts’. “Reichert’s

an idiot. We’ll find this guy, no

problem.” Well, they didn’t. Not

one of them. They didn’t beat me.

He picks up his boxes. TOM holds the doors open for him and

follows him out to the ELEVATOR. REICHERT gets in.

TOM:

Good luck, Dave.

As the doors close.

REICHERT:

Thanks.

The elevator starts to go up. As REICHERT starts to

disappear, he suddenly remembers.

REICHERT (CONT’D)

Hey, you too, Tom! Let’s keep in

touch...

He’s gone. As we slowly pull away from TOM, he becomes an

increasingly small and lonely figure in a very large

corridor.

INT. RIDGWAY HOUSE BATHROOM, SEA-TAC (1990) - NIGHT

GARY and JUDITH stand in the bathroom, naked. They each wash

their own genitals. Clearly, this is a regular routine.

INT. RIDGWAY HOUSE BEDROOM, SEA-TAC (1990) - NIGHT

GARY and JUDITH, in bed, having sex. JUDITH looking at GARY,

moved by his tenderness.

INT. KING COUNTY COURTHOUSE STORAGE WAREHOUSE (1990) - DAY

We move slowly forward through this vast storage area,

passing boxes and boxes of ‘Green River’ evidence, sitting on

huge shelving units. We move towards a large SEALED DOOR.

89.

As we get closer we see a sign above it, saying REFRIGERATION

UNIT. We pass through the small, partially frosted window.

Inside are various temperature-sensitive pieces of EVIDENCE.

We see some JARS containing SALIVA SAMPLES, etc. They have

NAMES of suspects on them. ”FOSTER”, “STEVENS”, “McLEAN”.

And, finally, partially hidden behind one of these, we can

just see a JAR containing a SALIVA SWAB, and on it the name -

“RIDGWAY, GARY LEON”.

PETERS (O.S.)

Tom?

EXT. ROADSIDE EMBANKMENT, NEAR KENT VALLEY (2003) - DAY

Older TOM is on his back, having slid almost halfway down the

steep embankment. PETERS’ voice comes over his radio.

PETERS (O.S.)

Tom? You okay?

TOM:

(grunts into radio)

I’m fine.

TOM starts climbing back up the embankment. Muddy and out of

breath, he angrily heads for the VAN.

INT. MINI-VAN, ROADSIDE EMBANKMENT, KENT VALLEY (2003) - DAY

TOM gets back into the VAN, breathing hard, sits with GARY.

TOM:

I’m a little frustrated Gary, I

don’t mind telling you.

GARY:

I tried to warn you. Maybe if you

didn’t smoke so much...

TOM:

Listen to me. We are zero for

twelve on these field trips, Gary.

No bodies, no evidence.

GARY:

No evidence. I know, it’s real

frustrating...

TOM:

You need to start coming up with

something we can use here.

(MORE)

90.

TOM (CONT'D)

If you blow any more smoke up my

ass, it’s going to start coming out

my ears, understand?

We see GRADDON watching this in the rear-view mirror.

INT. THE BUNKER, MEETING ROOM (2003) - DAY

TOM is with GRADDON and REICHERT. MATTSEN, MULLINAX and

PETERS there too.

TOM:

I’m not the only one who’s getting

frustrated, surely?

GRADDON:

I’m getting phone calls every day

reminding me we’re on a meter here.

They want to know what their money

is paying for. And so far we have

nothing to show for it. They’re

telling me there are parks and

kiddie pools being closed down as

we speak because of budget cuts,

and the last thing they want is to

carry on spending money they don’t

have, to keep a guy alive that the

people who vote for them would much

rather see dead anyway, and then

still have to pay millions for a

trial at the end of it. This deal

was supposed to avoid all that. And

we’re getting nowhere with it. So,

no, you’re not the only one who’s

frustrated, Tom.

TOM nods, keeps quiet.

GRADDON (CONT’D)

What is going on here? Why is this

happening? Anyone?

They all look uncomfortable.

MULLINAX:

It’s been a long time. A lot’s

changed.

MATTSEN:

He’s clearly got a few... mental

challenges.

91.

PETERS:

Maybe he’s remembered all he’s

going to.

TOM:

I think he, uh... I think he may be

lying to us.

SHERIFF REICHERT

Why the hell would he lie to us if

this is to keep himself alive?

TOM:

Because... well, maybe he isn’t the

Green River Killer, after all?

GRADDON:

Hold on...

TOM:

Yes, he killed some of them. But

all of them? I’m starting to have

doubts.

MULLINAX:

Or maybe he’s just been lying so

long, he doesn’t know how to tell

the truth any more.

GRADDON:

You’re saying he’s doing this just

to dodge the death penalty?

SHERIFF REICHERT

He knows we need proof. How could

he think that would ever work?

TOM:

Until he arrived here, he’d spent

eighteen months in a ten by eight

cell, twenty-three hours a day. If

I knew I was going to die anyway,

I’d maybe want to spend my last

summer out of there too.

GRADDON:

So what you’re telling us Tom, is

that we are currently engaged in a

plea deal that is possibly going to

end up bankrupting this county and

costing all our jobs, in order to

get information out of a man that

you now say maybe never had that

information in the first place.

(MORE)

92.

GRADDON (CONT'D)

And we all were the ones who told

the County Prosecutor that he

should do this. Have I got that

right?

TOM:

(eventually)

All I know for certain is, Gary is

holding out on us, and we don’t

know why. Now, I know that matters

to everyone here, but it matters a

very great deal to me. This has

been my whole career. This has been

my life. I, for one, do not want to

walk away from here without knowing

what really happened.

SHERIFF REICHERT

Well, Tom, looks like you might

have to, because this deal is

falling apart. If you guys can’t

get something out of him very soon

indeed, something concrete, that we

can show it’s worth continuing with

this, then they are going to shut

us down. And then, either Gary gets

executed for the seven we can tie

him to, or we may have messed up

our one chance to put that monster

on trial, and we will be crucified

for it.

EXT. REAR CAR-PARK, ‘THE BUNKER’ (2003) - EVENING

TOM stands smoking, alone in the parking lot, his head

spinning. He sees PROTHERO walk to his car. TOM heads over to

him.

TOM:

Be straight with me here. What the

f*** is going on with your guy?

PROTHERO:

Interesting approach. Direct...

TOM:

Mark, it’s in your interest that he

gives us something, too. And most

of all his. If he is who he says he

is.

PROTHERO takes a moment.

93.

PROTHERO:

Look, I’ve been talking to him

about this stuff for the last year

and a half. Believe me, I feel your

pain. You think you’ve got a hold

of him, then you realize there’s

nothing there. He’s spent his whole

life trying to work out how to look

normal, how to get people to like

him. He’s all outside, and no

inside.

TOM:

Or he’s just extremely good at

hiding it.

PROTHERO:

Maybe even from himself. You know

the thing he’s most scared of? Not

that he’ll be killed. It’s what

people will think of him. That he’s

some kind of monster.

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