Insomnia Page #11

He grows suddenly pale. Pulls the Cherokee off to the side.

EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS

Will jumps out of the Cherokee, leaving the door open. Runs

down an ALLEY behind a row of shops.

INT. ALLEY - CONTINUOUS

A couple industrial trash bins. Will leans his hand against

the wall and vomits. Hovers for a moment, saliva dripping

from his mouth. Braces himself. Heaves again. Hears a

BUZZING behind him. Turns.

A DEAD DOG lying next to a dumpster. FLIES buzzing around

its head. Teeth bared. Eyes wide open.

Like it's watching him.

INT. PIONEER LODGE - LATER

Will walks up to reception. No one there. Just wants his

key. Rings the bell. In the back room, he hears a RADIO.

RADIO:

...earlier this evening after an aborted

attempt to apprehend a suspect. He was

forty-five...

It clicks off abruptly. Rachel appears in the doorway.

Takes in the blood on Will's shirt.

RACHEL:

I'm sorry about your partner.

Will looks at her. She walks over to the desk.

RACHEL (cont'd)

It's been on the radio for the last two

hours. Nothing but that. Like when they

found Kay Connell's body.

(sympathetic smile)

We're not used to this sort of thing up

here.

She reaches for his key.

RACHEL (cont'd)

He was standing right there just a couple

of days ago. Your partner. Exactly

where you are now.

(beat)

I hope I was nice to him.

Will takes his key.

WILL:

You were nice to him. He liked you.

He smiles faintly, turns to go. Just then the phone RINGS.

RACHEL:

(answering)

Pioneer Lodge?...

(listens)

Hold on a second. He's right here.

Will stops. Turns. Rachel holds up the phone. Covering the

mouthpiece.

RACHEL (cont'd)

John Warfield. He's called a couple of

times.

Will's stomach drops. That's the last phone call in the

world he wants to take. Rachel reads his face.

RACHEL (cont'd)

Want me to lie?

Will shakes his head. Steps back and takes the phone.

Clears his throat.

WILL:

(into phone)

Dormer.

PAUSE. A bemused VOICE on the other end.

WARFIELD'S VOICE

Detective Dormer. I've been trying to

reach you. I was very sorry to hear

about your partner, Detective Eckhart.

It must have been a terrible shock, what

happened this morning.

Will. Not giving this a**hole an inch. Rachel, trying not

to listen.

WILL:

(into phone)

That's not exactly how I'd put it.

WARFIELD'S VOICE (cont'd)

No, no. I suppose not. But I look

forward to reading the report. Very

sad. Very sad. Funny...

WILL:

(into phone)

What do you mean, "Funny?"

WARFIELD'S VOICE

Oh, nothing. Just that I felt Detective

Eckhart and I, Hap and I, were starting

to make a real connection before you

left. I sensed that he was ready to get

some things off his chest. Did you

sense anything like that, Detective? I

mean, as his partner?...

Will, squeezing the phone cord with his bloody fist.

WARFIELD'S VOICE (cont'd)

...You were his partner for, what, about

ten years?...

Will turns from Rachel. Eyes burning. Voice steady.

WILL:

(into phone)

You know why everyone hates you,

Warfield? It's not your questions, it's

not your press conferences, it's not even

your cheap suits; everyone hates you

'cause day after day you suck the marrow

out of real cops when you never had the

balls to become one yourself. Well I got

to tell you, it's a shame you're not up

here with me because I'd love to show you

right now just what a real cop is capable

of. You just remember that when you're

sitting at your bullshit desk reading

your bullshit report on my dead partner!

SLAM! He hangs up the phone. Runs his hand through his

hair. Turns back to Rachel.

WILL (cont'd)

Next time. Go ahead and lie.

EXT. ROCKY BEACH - OUTSIDE NIGHTMUTE - MORNING

Fog everywhere. Dense. White. Suffocating.

We're running through it. Clambering over rocks. Hearing

the sound of our own BREATHING. Our own HEARTBEAT.

Adrenaline pumping. An animal tracking its prey...

SUDDENLY a DARK FIGURE

flashes past. Just inches away. Playing with us. Taunting

us. We whip round with our weapon and...

INT. WILL'S ROOM - LATE NIGHT

BANG! Will bolts upright in bed. A film of sweat over his

body. Breathing hard. The sound that woke him: the window

shade FLAPPING open. LIGHT floods the room.

Will gets up. Goes over to the shade and pulls it down. It

lurches up halfway. He tugs it down again. It slaps all the

way open. Will yanks it down so hard it rips off the window.

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