Insomnia Page #3

Nyback pulls a stack of messages from his desk.

CHIEF NYBACK:

Got a bunch of messages here from some

guy named Warfield.

Hap tosses a glance over at Will.

WILL:

That's I.A.'s pit bull.

CHIEF NYBACK:

Wants me to keep him posted on all your

movements up here.

Nyback turns and ceremoniously drops the messages into the

trash.

CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)

I'm just glad Buck could spare you a

couple of weeks. Take you out of the

frenzy. I gotta tell you, though, I sure

don't miss big city police work. Not

that I was ever a great detective. But

up here there's no Bureaucracy. No

Public Relations. No blurred lines.

Just good guys and bad guys. Simple.

A cloud passes over his face.

CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)

Except for this.

Holds up a file. The name written on the lip: KAY CONNELL.

INT. HALLWAY - MINUTES LATER

Nyback leads Will and Hap down a hallway. Crooked plaques

and black-and-white pictures line the walls.

CHIEF NYBACK:

Couldn't get a thing from the body. Not

a trace. Town's never dealt with

anything like this before.

They turn a corner and stop at a door. Will glances up:

MOOSE ANTLERS hanging over it.

CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)

I've briefed everybody about your coming.

They know to follow your lead.

Nyback opens the door onto...

INT. BULLPEN - NIGHTMUTE PD - CONTINUOUS

...the bullpen of Nightmute PD. Wooden desks, a couple

computers, a jumbled corkboard, an impressive gun cabinet. A

RADIO's playing.

Three MEN look over. A young uniformed cop and two guys with

heavy facial hair, Timberland boots, and flannel shirts. One

of them's part Inuit. Ellie sits in the back. Reaches over

to turn off the radio.

Will and Hap stand in the doorway. Sticking out like sore

thumbs in their suits. Nyback jerks his thumb towards them.

CHIEF NYBACK:

This is Detective Dormer and his partner

Detective Eckhart. On loan from Buck

Lundgard, Seattle Robbery and Homicide

Special Branch. They'll be helping with

the Connell case.

The Inuit, FRED DUGGAR, snorts. Takes his feet of the desk.

FRED:

Helping?

CHIEF NYBACK:

(ignoring him)

Anything they need to see, you show them;

anywhere they want to go, you take them.

(nods to Fred)

This is Detective Fred Duggar. He's been

leading the investigation up to now.

Will puts out his hand.

WILL:

Detective...

Fred tugs at his dark handlebar moustache. Stands.

FRED:

Suppose you want to see the body.

EXT. NIGHTMUTE POLICE DEPARTMENT - DAY

Fred steps out of the station, pulls on a baseball cap.

FRED:

We can walk from here.

He heads off across the parking lot. Will and Hap exchange a

glance.

WILL:

Guess that's what they call Alaskan

hospitality.

ELLIE (O.S.)

Don't worry about him...

They turn. Ellie's come up behind them. Looks over at the

hunched figure to Fred.

ELLIE (cont'd)

He's just mad 'cause you're taking over.

Fred stops up ahead. Sees her. Annoyed.

FRED:

Ellie! Go type something!

INT. NIGHTMUTE MORGUE - LATER

CLOSE ON a faucet. A bead of water, quivering at the mouth.

Falls with a BLIP!

CORONER (O.S.)

Did a fundascopic examination and found

papilledema and petechiae of the retina.

PULL BACK to reveal Will, Hap, and the COUNTY CORONER

standing by a stainless steel table. The naked body of KAY

CONNELL is laid out before them. Fred hangs back.

The coroner tugs at her surgical gloves. She's in her late

seventies.

CORONER (cont'd)

Clear cause of death was herniation of

the brain stem due to intracerebral

hemorrhage.

HAP:

Beaten to death.

CORONER:

Beaten to death.

Will points to the bruises on the body's shoulders and

breasts.

WILL:

What about these contusions?

CORONER:

Superficial.

WILL:

Any signs of rape?

CORONER:

None.

The coroner starts to cover the body with a sheet.

CORONER (cont'd)

She was a nice girl. Played flute with

my granddaughter.

Will stays her hand.

WILL:

Wait.

He pulls the sheet back down. Studying the body of Kay

Connell. Starts walking slowly around the table. In his

element. The faucet drips. Drips. Drips.

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