L.A. Confidential Page #12

EXT. COUNTY MORGUE - DAY

Exley pulls up. Bud looks to him. Really curious now.

INT. COUNTY MORGUE - HALLWAY - DAY

Exley and Bud walk. An orderly wheels a covered corpse

toward them from the other end of the hall. Bud's

spooked. The orderly wheels the body in to the

examination room.

As Bud and Exley pass, the CORONER pulls back the sheet,

is surprised at the sight of a woman who we don't quite

see.

CORONER:

Call me crazy, but for a second I

thought it was Rita Hayworth.

MORGUE MEAT LOCKER

Exley and Bud walk past a wall of drawers to where a

coroner's assistant waits.

EXLEY:

We need you to I.D. the body.

There's no next of kin and you

knew him best. So tell me...

The assistant pulls open drawer 12. A naked man.

A tag on his toe and half his face blown off.

EXLEY:

Is that Dick Stensland?

Stunned, Bud stares at what's left of his old partner.

BUD:

Yeah, that's Stens.

EXLEY:

Hell of a way to avoid a prison

sentence.

Bud's torn between wanting to smash Exley and finding out

why Stensland is dead. He squeezes out the words.

BUD:

What happened?

EXLEY:

Someone held up a coffee shop,

panicked and killed six people.

Then, from the hall...

WOMAN (O.S.)

Not my baby! Not my little girl!

INT. COUNTY MORGUE - EXAMINATION ROOM - DAY

HILDA LEFFERTS, 50, enters with the coroner to ID the

body of her daughter, Susan.

There's stray buckshot in the upper chest and shoulders,

but a sheet hides the real damage. It's the girl Bud saw

outside Hollywood Liquor. Without the black eyes, she

does look like Rita hayworth.

As Bud and Exley appear, Mrs. Lefferts looks confused.

CORONER:

Is this your daughter, Mrs.

Lefferts?

MRS. LEFFERTS

I -- I don't know.

EXLEY:

We know this is difficult. Just

take your time and look again.

Exley doesn't realize, but Bud recognizes the deceased.

MRS. LEFFERTS

It seems like my Susan, but...

EXLEY:

When was the last time you saw

her, Mrs. Lefferts?

MRS. LEFFERTS

At Christmas. We had fought. I

didn't like her boyfriend. I --

she has a birthmark on her hip.

The Coroner lifts the sheet. Mrs. Lefferts gasps.

MRS. LEFFERTS

It's her. My baby. Dear God...

As Mrs. Lefferts swoons, Bud and Exley both hold her up.

INT. LAPD HEADQUARTERS - BRIEFING ROOM - DAY

The room buzzes, jammed to the rafters with every

detective standing ready. The Chief waits as Dudley

Smith takes the mike, holds up an L.A. Times headline.

DUDLEY:

'Nite Owl Massacre.' Hyperbole

aside, this is a heinous crime

that requires a swift resolution.

The public will demand it and this

department will provide it. Six

victims. One of them, one of our

own -- Dick Stensland.

(as the cops react)

As it happens, he was a Nite Owl

regular. In the wrong place at

the wrong time.

Bud White listens, not too sure. Stensland said he had

something big going on...

DUDLEY:

Robbery looks like the motive. We

have rubber glove prints on the

register and preliminary forensics

strongly lean toward a trio of

gunmen. We do have one hot lead,

so listen well. Three Negro

youths were seen last night

discharging shotguns in the air at

Griffith Park.

A park ranger I.D.ed them as

driving a 1948 to 1950 Mercury

Coupe, purple in color. An hour

ago, a canvassing crew found a

news vendor who saw a purple Merc

Coupe parked across from the Nite

Owl around 3:
00 A.M.

The room goes loud, a big rumbling. Dudley holds up a

list.

DUDLEY:

The D.M.V. worked all night to get

us a registration list on '48 to

'50 purple Mercs. There are 142

registered to Negroes in L.A.

County. Fifty two-man teams will

shake three names apiece. Hot

suspects you'll bring here.

Interrogation rooms have been set

up. They'll be run by Lieutenant

Edmund Exley. Hollywood Squad.

Catcalls. Boos. The Chief steps to the mike.

CHIEF:

Enough on that. Gentlemen, just

go out and get them. Use all

necessary force. The people of

Los Angeles demand it.

The men exchange knowing looks. The real message: kill

them clean. Exley doesn't approve. As the men hurry

out...

EXLEY:

He might as well have put a bounty

on them.

INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY

Detectives pairing up and moving out. Scanning his three

name list, Bud joins his PARTNER for the day.

BUD:

Can you take them? I got

I got something I gotta do.

PARTNER:

Christ, I don't know. What if one

of these names...

BUD:

What I gotta do is for Stensland.

My partner.

The guy looks at him a beat, nods. As Bud heads off...

EXLEY:

watches everyone go. Wishes he could be part of the

action. He spots Jack talking to his REDNECK partner for

for the day.

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