Klute Page #18

INT. SPANGLER'S (OUTER) OFFICE - DAY

Bree sits isolated on the waiting-room couch. She

may have been here for fifteen minutes -- or an

hour. She turns the pages of a magazine -- one

handed, without even lifting it from the coffee

table, with an absolute lack of interest, a

mechanical gesture.

We hear FOOTSTEPS approaching directly toward where

we are watching Bree sit.

LELA (O.S.)

Mrs. Daniel --

WIDER - TWO SHOT

Bree looks up in a kind of frozen terror, as the

Secretary smiles nicely -- lovingly down at her.

LELA:

-- I have to close up now. Leave

your name and number with his

message service, Mrs. Daniel, and

why don't you just go home and wait

until he --

BREE:

No.

LELA:

Well I have to close up now.

BREE:

Look -- could I use your phone?

LELA:

Yes indeed.

BREE:

Look. I almost killed my -- I

almost killed someone.

LELA:

(the same tone,

completely)

Well I'm certain Doctor Spangler

will want to talk with you; excuse

me.

Bree moves to the desk and telephone. But we move

with the Secretary as she moves into Spangler's

inner office and switches out the lights

(establishing TIME CHANGE: dusk now) and as we

hear, O.S., the sound of DIALING and BREE'S VOICE --

BREE (O.S.)

Is Mr. Faber there?

(beat)

Mr. Faber Senior.

INT. GARMENT BUILDING: FABER'S OFFICE: FABER - DAY

(NIGHT)

Mr. Faber's phone buzzes; he picks it up.

FABER:

Yes?

(then, glancing about)

Bree?

INT. SPANGLER (OUTER) OFFICE: BREE ON PHONE - DAY

(NIGHT)

BREE:

(haltingly)

-- I'm -- I just have to talk to

someone. I'm just a little way

across town --

FABER, ON PHONE (OFFICE)

FABER:

Yes - yes dear, yes -- maybe half

an hour, sure, yes.

He hangs up. An ancient stirring, a kind of

triumph. He glances about, then tightens his tie.

Then it comes to him, after all -- he takes note of

himself -- he leans forward against his desk and

rubs his forehead with old bony fingers. We CUT TO

-

INT. KLUTE'S APARTMENT - DAY (NIGHT)

KLUTE on phone.

KLUTE:

Trina, will you call me if you hear

from, her? Will you check other

people she might call? Yeah, if it

wasn't trouble I wouldn't ask vou.

He hangs up, immediately starts to dial again, then

pauses to check a list he's laid out by the

telephone. While he's doing this, his PHONE RINGS.

KLUTE (CONT'D)

Yeah?

(then)

Nothing yet, Trask; I'm going down

the list. I've tried Spangler's

office and Spangler's home; I just

get his message service. I'll keep--

(interrupted -- listens --

then -- grimly)

I may have steered Cable that way.

I told him Bree was dealing for me,

for Jane McKenna's book. Have you

found any --

He is interrupted again -- Trask wasting no words

on his end of things -- nods once --

KLUTE (CONT'D)

Yeah.

-- and depresses the receiver just long enough to

clear the connection, and starts dialing again --

We CUT TO --

INT. STAIRWAY OF GARMENT BUILDING - DAY (NIGHT)

Quitting time. As Bree enters from street level,

employees are coming down the stairs, pushing past

her. She continues up on until at one point -- one

more officious or more communicative than the

others informs her --

FOREMAN:

Lady, it's closing up there.

BREE:

What?

FOREMAN:

We're closing up, quitting time,

Fabers.

BREE:

(unsurely)

I have an appointment with Mr.

Faber.

FOREMAN:

Oh, yeah.

He lets her pass, glances after her like the

others, continues on his way.

INT. GARMENT BUILDING: FABER RECEPTION AREA - DAY

(NIGHT)

Bree arrives at the head of the stairs -- as still

others press past her on their way down -- and

comes more or less directly up against the thickset

RECEPTIONIST. She is packing her purse, preparing

to depart, looks somewhat challengingly at Bree --

who sees no way to avoid the issue.

BREE:

I have an appointment with Mr.

Faber.

RECEPTIONIST:

In there.

(turns, bawls)

Mr. Faber --

Bree goes on nervously in the direction indicated,

toward --

A CORNER OF OFFICES: NATHAN FABER

NATHAN stands bending over a bench with back to

camera, conferring with another man as Bree

approaches -- looking to us, as to her, exactly

like his father. We hear the Receptionist's VOICE

repeating --

RECEPTIONIST (CONT'D) (O.S.)

(CONT'D)

Mr. Faber --

As Bree nears him, he straightens and turns -- a

much younger man. Bree stops short, recognizing the

error.

NATHAN:

Yes?

BREE:

I'm sorry -- Mr. Faber Senior.

NATHAN:

(calmly)

My father went home about fifteen

minutes ago; he wasn't feeling too

good.

She has already started away. He calls after her

evenly --

NATHAN (CONT'D)

Can I help you?

She looks back quickly, smiles nervously --

BREE:

It wasn't important.

But we hold on him for a moment as she continues

out of scene -- until he turns away to other

matters. Then --

RECEPTION AREA:
RECEPTIONIST, BREE

Bree returns toward Receptionist, awkwardly --

BREE:

Did Mr. Faber leave a message for

me or anything? Mr. Faber Senior?

Bree Daniel.

RECEPTIONIST:

Oh, I thought that was for

tomorrow.

The Receptionist riffles through a stack of

assorted envelopes -- hands one out to Bree -- and

promptly takes her way off. Out. Bree starts to

open the envelope then and there -- but OTHERS

continue to move past her. She seeks a more private

place.

ROWS OF GARMENTS

Bree shelters herself out of sight from everyone

else -- though we continue to hear INTERMITTENT

VOICES, O.S. and continue to maintain the sense of

other presences.

We see her open the envelope --

CLOSER:
BREE, ENVELOPE

She finds nothing inside but money -- bills

totaling fifty dollars. We see her looking for a

message, finding nothing. It comes to her slowly

that she's been paid off and avoided. She bites her

lips in pain. She pushes back out of hiding --

RECEPTIONIST AREA

-- back to the reception area again. (By now this

immediate scene has emptied, though we catch sight

of a figure or two at scene-start, moving through

the background, and continue to hear an occasional

NOISE or VOICE O.S.)

Bree looks about for someone -- then scouts for a

pencil, finds one in a desk (or bench) drawer,

starts to readdress the envelope (to direct it back

to Mr. Faber). Then she breaks off from that, takes

up a PHONE instead, dials -- waits -- then --

BREE:

Bree Daniel. Has he called in yet?

Well if he does, I'm at --

(reads phone)

-- two seven eight, three one

hundred, and I guess I can wait

here five minutes; then I'll try

from somewhere else.

(impatiently)

Just tell him Bree Daniel; he knows

who.

She hangs up, goes back to readdressing the

envelope. FOOTSTEPS are approaching in her

direction. She glances up apologetically.

BREE (CONT'D)

Mr. Faber, I just wanted to leave

this for your father, and I

wondered if you'd --

She pauses --

ANGLE PAST BREE TO CABLE

Cable hastens toward her along a lane of garments.

In this brief glimpse a ludicrous and terrifying

figure -- a noise, a gesticulation (actually the

gesture is arms out, palms downward, intended as a

quieting gesture; and the hissing noise is intended

as a shushing). Bree cries out, turns to run --

BREE (CONT'D)

Someone --

Rate this script:4.0 / 1 vote