Jennifer 8 Page #6

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19:
INT. DUTY ROOM/CORRIDOR/ADMIN. POLICE STATION. NIGHT.

A reel to reel tape recorder the size of a refrigerator domin-

ates the room. A black board details day/night/weekend shifts.

T.V. security monitors. A rack of night-sticks. And of course

paperwork. VENABLES crouches over a desk filling something in.

BERLIN:

Would you drop these off for me?

Sure he will and six rolls of film are handed across. "Are you

winning, Sir?" BERLIN smiles and VENABLES follows him out into

the corridor. A couple of Coppers on their way in. One big and

morose looking called BISLEY. The other we've already met. Tay-

lor is a tall balding guy with hazy reddish hair "How you doin?"

BERLIN responds a happy "O.K." with eyes returning to VENABLES.

You know something strange about

that hand? I think it was frozen?

VENABLES:

Frozen?

BERLIN:

Yeah. What does that mean to you?

Apparently little. They arrive in the big room. It's deserted.

C'mon, Venables, you're a policeman.

And policemen always have an answer?

VENABLES:

Well, Sir ..

BERLIN:

Well, what?

VENABLES:

Well, we had a very bad murder

here, coupla years ago. Not act-

ually in our county, but south

of here. Girl with no head, no

hands. You didn't read about it?

(He didn't)

It was big sh*t. They had forty,

fifty detective working it. Nev-

er identified her. Never found

the head, never found the hands ..

A vacuum cleaner starts somewhere but BERLIN isn't hearing it.

So it could be that some crazy's

stored her hand in a freezer, and

only now decided to get rid of it?

BERLIN:

Where do I find the file on that?

VENABLES:

In there if we got anything? I

believe the code was "Jennifer."

BERLIN is already looking. A last question as VENABLES leaves.

Was it really frozen, Sergeant?

BERLIN:

No. Been dead two weeks.

20:
INT. CRIME LAB. POLICE STATION. DAWN.

The atrophied Hand is emersed in some kind of fluid. Index and

second fingers bound with wire just below the upper joint. BER-

LIN reaches for steel pliers. His face remains in close-up for

a nasty "snap" as he cuts a finger off. He's filling a syringe

with the same fluid when ROSS walks in. "Jesus, you still here?"

BERLIN:

What time is it?

ROSS:

Seven thirty-five .. Here,

"Town Gets Top Cop." I was

gonna pin it to your wall.

A newspaper featuring a small photograph and article on Berlin.

Holding the Finger he carefully inserts a hypodermic needle un-

der the wire. Gently shoots in fluid to inflate the finger pad.

BERLIN:

Why so coy about the word "frozen"?

ROSS:

Because, don't get into it ...

BERLIN:

There's nothing in the files?

ROSS:

Watch my lips .. Don't get into it ..

The Finger pad is sufficiently restored to try and get a print.

It wasn't our case, wasn't our coun-

ty, and got nothing to do with that.

21:
INT. CRIME LAB. POLICE STATION. DAY.

A slide projector does its stuff on a sheet of card pinned to

the door. Close-up of the Hand and off screen voice of BERLIN.

"Notice anything weird about it?" The answer from ROSS is "No."

A pen moves into frame and BERLIN points to marks on the Hand.

BERLIN:

Look - 1 - 2 - 3/4 - 5 - 6 - 7 ..

The machine shunts up another slide. Now the back of the Hand.

I count eleven scars on this hand,

and four that might be? .. Now I

count em on my hand? Five. I'm 42

years old. This girl's about 18?

How come she's got so many scars?

He walks out of the projection beam and neon light flutters on.

So tell me about "Jennifer?"

Reaches for a pack of cigarettes and perches on a nearby stool.

You know I'm gonna find out.

BERLIN counts out cigarettes. And destroys them in an ashtray.

ROSS:

It's an "unsolved." They spent 500

thousand dollars & bought emselves

a dead end - You might wanna check

it with Taylor, he worked the case.

BERLIN:

I already did. What's his problem?

ROSS reaches for the paper & thumb-tacks it to the wall "That."

ROSS:

He thinks you stole his promotion.

(Re cigarettes)

What exactly you doin there, John?

BERLIN:

It's a method for quitting smoking.

A Zippo opens (sports L.A.P.D. insignia) and BERLIN lights up.

He takes a punishing hit and exhales a lungful across the lab.

ROSS:

That's an interesting method?

Must help beat the withdrawal?

Back on his feet BERLIN is about to begin more work on the Hand.

BERLIN:

It's a technique I read about.

If you smoke 60 a day, you buy

three packs, throw one cigar-

ette away, and smoke 59. Day 2,

you throw 2 away and smoke 58 ..

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