Green River KIiller Page #4

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They follow GRADDON down the corridor, leaving TOM behind.

INT. THE BUNKER, GARY’S ROOM (2003) - DAY

MULLINAX is showing GARY his new living space, as his GUARDS

unshackle him. A small room with no windows, bare, off-white,

concrete walls. Mattress, chair, wall outlets taped over,

door taken off its hinges. A video camera attached to the

ceiling records his every move.

MULLINAX:

It’s not the Hilton, but I’ve seen

worse. Hell, I’ve stayed in worse.

The interviews will start in a

little while, Gary, so go ahead and

make yourself at home.

GARY:

(upbeat)

Okay.

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

TOM joins DOYON watching from the end of the room, as

MULLINAX leaves GARY standing framed in the doorless doorway,

and a DESK is placed in front of it. Even though this is all

that stops GARY from leaving, the four tooled-up SWAT GUARDS

on duty at all times suggest he’s not going anywhere.

TOM:

Well, this isn’t weird at all.

DOYON:

All serial killers end up living

with the guys who’ve spent twenty

years chasing them. Perfectly

normal.

INT. THE BUNKER, GARY’S ROOM (2003) - DAY

GARY sits on the edge of his make-shift bed. On GARY’s face,

thinking, remembering.

19.

JUDITH (O.S.)

(panicked)

Why is it taking so long, Gary? Are

you sure this is all a mistake?

INT. KING COUNTY JAIL, SEATTLE (2002) - DAY

The previous year. JUDITH on one side of a glass partition,

GARY in his jail uniform on the other. They speak via a

telephone hookup. JUDITH has her palm against the glass.

JUDITH:

I hate this. It’s like you’re in a

zoo. Won’t you put your hand on the

glass?

GARY:

We need to get a divorce, honey.

JUDITH drops her hand.

JUDITH:

Oh.

GARY:

It’s what the detective said. I

have to make sure you’re protected.

This hangs over them both. GARY looks at the small microphone

near the glass.

GARY (CONT'D)

Judith, I didn’t do what they’re

saying, but... but I do have a

problem. With prostitutes. Dating

them, I mean. I’m not proud of it.

JUDITH:

I don’t understand. You said you

were done with all that.

GARY:

I’m not a bad person, honey. I’m

not. This is so hard. I never

thought it was possible for me to

have what you’ve given me.

JUDITH:

(shakes her head, in

tears)

Gary, that man was on the TV again,

saying he’s going to get you the

death penalty. Is that true?

(MORE)

20.

JUDITH (CONT'D)

Can they do that? Don’t let them,

Gary. Don’t let them kill you.

Please. I don’t know what I’d do.

Really I don’t. Please...

On GARY, as he watches JUDITH sob, uncontrollably.

SHERIFF REICHERT (O.S.)

He wants to make a deal.

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

TOM, DOYON, MULLINAX and the rest of the Task Force are

sitting around the large table, some standing.

SHERIFF REICHERT

Full confession in exchange for

dropping the death penalty.

MULLINAX:

He’s owning up to the seven bodies

the DNA ties him to?

SHERIFF REICHERT

No. He says he’ll confess to them

all. Forty-eight counts of murder.

The room reacts excitedly to this.

GRADDON:

And that’s not all. His defence

team are saying in exchange for

life imprisonment, Ridgway will

take us to bodies we haven’t found

yet. More victims.

TOM:

How many more?

SHERIFF REICHERT

Maybe dozens...

DOYON:

Jesus...

MULLINAX:

This is great!

Everyone is very enthusiastic about this.

SHERIFF REICHERT

Yes... Yes, it is. But... we have

one fairly major obstacle.

21.

INT. KING COUNTY COURTHOUSE, SEATTLE (2001) - DAY

Standing at a microphone-covered podium, the imposing figure

of NORM MALENG is holding a post-arrest press conference.

MALENG:

(forcefully)

As the Prosecutor for King County,

let me make one thing very clear -

in the case of Gary Ridgway this

office will not plea bargain with

the death penalty.

INT. KING COUNTY PROSECUTOR’S OFFICE (2003) - DAY

A Task Force delegation of REICHERT, GRADDON, TOM, MULLINAX,

PETERS, MATTSEN and DOYON, sit across from MALENG’S trusted

advisors, MARK LARSON and DAN SATTERBERG.

SATTERBERG:

If the Prosecutor were to take this

deal, you do realize he could never

justify giving the death penalty

ever again.

LARSON:

If Ridgway doesn’t deserve it, then

who does?

GRADDON:

I can see that..

SATTERBERG:

A lot of people fond of the Death

Penalty round here. As an elected

official, it could prove costly for

him.

SHERIFF REICHERT

Well, this case has cost King

County taxpayers a huge amount

already. A trial this size, nearly

fifty murders, that’s millions more

of voter’s tax dollars.

SATTERBERG:

He says when it comes to deciding

the death penalty, the budget’s not

a factor, just the crime. The money

doesn’t matter.

SHERIFF REICHERT

The money always matters.

22.

They don’t show it, but this has landed.

LARSON:

The mission of this office is

justice. And justice must be seen

to be done.

MULLINAX:

It’s not just about justice for

Ridgway though, is it? What about

his victims? And their families?

PETERS:

Sure, we have enough to see him die

for the seven the DNA proves he

killed, but that would leave more

than forty, maybe a lot more, we’d

never be sure about. Don’t those

families deserve to know what

happened to their daughters, their

sisters... mothers?

DOYON:

And the ones we haven’t found yet?

They’ve spent twenty years some of

them, not knowing where their

daughters are, if they’re still

alive or not.

MATTSEN:

Those young women deserve to have

the world know what happened to

them.

SHERIFF REICHERT

We could give them some peace,

maybe. A proper burial. Don’t they

deserve that? After twenty years?

LARSON and SATTERBERG take all this in, poker-faced.

TOM:

I don’t think any of us would say

he deserves to live. We just want

him to give us answers more than we

want to see him dead. If what

Ridgway claims is true, we have an

unprecedented opportunity here - to

get inside the head of the most

prolific serial killer in American

history. I know this deal will

cause you all kinds of problems,

but imagine what we could learn.

(MORE)

23.

TOM (CONT'D)

It might even stop another Ridgway

from ever happening again. If we

could do that, then maybe all the

suffering, all the lives wasted,

everything this has cost, maybe it

could all mean something. That

would be justice.

INT. THE BUNKER MAIN ROOM (2003) - DAY

Back to the day of GARY’s arrival. From his workspace, TOM is

watching GARY in his make-shift cell at the other end of the

room. A few DETECTIVES stand nearby, watching also.

DETECTIVE 1

I can’t believe I have to look at

this sick f*** every day at work

now.

NOONEY:

He has an IQ of what?

CHANG:

Like eighty-two, or something...

NOONEY:

Eighty-two. I’ve had dogs with

higher IQ’s. He’s practically a

retard.

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