Lone Star Page #18

Moonlight kicks off the surface of the water. We hear

SPLASHING, the frightened VOICE of a young woman--

YOUNG MERCEDES (O.S.)

Donde esta? Estoy perdido-- [Where

are you? I'm lost--]

ELADIO (O.S., DISTANT)

Aqui! [Here!]

The girl flounders into the shot, wet and scared.

Young Mercedes, a teenager not unlike ANSELMA is wading thigh-

deep in the Rio, lost, scared--

YOUNG MERCEDES:

No puedo ver la orilla! [I can't

see the bank!]

ELADIO (O.S.)

Aqui! Venga por aqui! [Over

here! Come this way!]

Mercedes struggles toward the voice and suddenly a young man

becomes visible, standing in the water, holding his band out

for her, ELADIO--

YOUNG MERCEDES:

Vi a Rosaria arastrado para el

corriente-- [I saw Rosaria taken

away by the current--]

ELADIO:

No te molestas. Tenemos a ella.

[Don't worry. We've got her.]

He takes her arm, pulls her toward the far shore--

ELADIO:

Como se llama? [What's your name?]

YOUNG MERCEDES:

Mercedes Gonzales Ruiz.

ELADIO:

(Smiles)

Me llama Eladio Cruz--Bienvenido

a Tejas. [Welcome to Texas.]

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. MERCEDES' HOUSE -- MERCEDES

Mercedes is lost in thought as she recalls. She steps into

the light by the carport. Enrique and Nestor are propping

Anselma's leg up on pillows in the back of Mercedes' old

station wagon--

MERCEDES:

Rapidamente! Everybody in the

world is going to see!

ENRIQUE:

Donde vamos? [Where are we going?]

MERCEDES:

A casa de Porfirio Zayas. He

used to be a doctor on the other

side. Gunshot wounds, fixing

babies-if you can pay he can handle

it.

ENRIQUE:

Senora, anything it costs, I can

work--

MERCEDES:

Don't worry about it. He owes me

some favors.

Enrique turns to ANSELMA still frightened in the rear of The

station wagon--

ENRIQUE:

Seas tranquila, mija,

(Nods to Mercedes)

Estamos en las manos de Senora

Cruz. [Just relax, honey. We're

in the hands of Senora Cruz.]

Mercedes starts the car--

MERCEDES:

In English, Enrique. In English--

INT. DEL'S HOUSE -- DINING ROOM

Del steps in. Chet sits at the table, drawing a cartoon in

panels. Del looks over his shoulder for a moment--

CARTOON:

A tank rolling over barbed wire, cannon and machine gun

blasting away--

DEL (O.S.)

Homework?

DEL AND CHET:

CHET:

I finished that. I'm just messing

around.

DEL:

Tanks, huh?

CHET:

You got to be in the Army, you

might as well have something slick

to drive.

DEL:

So you're going into the Army?

Chet looks at him, not in a good mood, then goes back to his

drawing--

CHET:

That's the general plan, isn't

it?

Del watches for a long moment, thinking--

DEL:

(Softly)

That's up to you.

Chet looks at his father again. All this is news to him--

DEL:

The Army isn't for everybody.

Chet can't quite believe he is hearing this. Del crosses to

the refrigerator--

DEL:

Not that I don't think you'd be

good at it, but--you know--I

wouldn't be disappointed if you

decided to do something else with

your life.

CHET:

You wouldn't?

DEL:

No.

Chet nods, begins to play again, considering the

possibilities. Del is making an effort and he doesn't have

much practice--

DEL:

How's your room shaping up?

CHET:

Fine. I'm pretty much moved in.

DEL:

Good.

An awkward silence--

CHET:

(Tentative)

Are we going to ever see your

father?

DEL:

My father.

CHET:

Yeah. He lives here, right?

DEL:

He does.

Del pulls some food out, watching Chet as he draws--

DEL:

Maybe we'll clean that thing out

back up, have a barbecue next

weekend. We could invite him and

his wife over.

CHET:

Cool.

Chet flips the page of his sketchbook--

CHET:

He makes his own sauce.

EXT. PARKING LOT, BIG O'S -- NIGHT

The neon's off, but there are a couple cars in the lot and a

light within. Sam pulls into the lot, steps out, approaches

the door--

INT. CLUB

The door opens. The place is empty now except for Otis,

standing behind the bar, deep in conversation with Hollis,

sitting on a stool. Both swivel to look around guiltily as

they hear Sam step in--

REVERSE:

Sam walks in slowly, crossing the floor to bring us back to

the two men--

SAM:

Fellas.

HOLLIS:

Hey, Sam.

SAM:

Open late.

OTIS:

I'm not open. We were just

talking.

SAM:

Hollis probably told you we found

Charley Wade.

OTIS:

Yeah. How about that? People

start digging holes in this county,

there's no telling what'll come

up.

He sits a few stools away from Hollis--

SAM:

You two saw it, didn't you? You

two saw it when Buddy killed him.

Hollis and 0tis look at each other--

SAM:

Imonna find out one way or the

other.

HOLLIS:

Your father had the finest sense

of justice of any man I ever met--

SAM:

Yeah, and my mother was a saint.

For fifteen years the whole damn

town knew he had another woman on

the side. Stole ten thousand

dollars to set her up in business.

But hell, what's that? You got a

problem? Buddy'll fix it. Facing

some time in jail? Buddy'll knock

half of it off--if you do what he

says, when he says. You got some

business that's not exactly legal?

Talk to Buddy--

HOLLIS:

Buddy Deeds--

SAM:

Buddy Deeds was a murderer.

He looks at the two older men for a long moment--

SAM:

That night in the cafe--he didn't

stay long after you left, did he,

Hollis? Maybe he decided he'd

gone too far with Wade, maybe he

figured he better not wait for

the Sheriff to get behind him.

So he stepped out to see if he

could catch up--and you were here

at the club that night, weren't

you, O?

Otis sighs, begins to speak softly--

OTIS:

I was here.

CU OTIS:

He turns to look toward the door as he reminisces, and we

PAN away with his gaze--

OTIS (O.S.)

I'd been running a game on the

side after hourscraps, draw poker

on the weekends. Roderick didn't

know about it. More important,

Charley Wade didn't know about

it, 'cause I didn't want to cut

him in. I suppose I'd been

drinking some, and I was pretty

full of myself in those days--but

hell, I just didn't expect the

man so early--

Sheriff Wade and Young Hollis step in the door and we are

back in 1957.

BLUES HARMONICA FADES UP, wailing from the jukebox.

They stop and look at the place--

THEIR POV -- CLUB

MUSIC CONTINUES. The club is empty, dark. A LIGHT shines

from the back room

INT. BACK ROOM

MUSIC CONTINUES. Smoke fills the air and Young Otis sits

back laughing, a large pile of money on the table in front

of him. The other four BLACK MEN at the table aren't doing

so well. One by one they all look up past the camera to the

door--

CU OTIS:

MUSIC CONTINUES. Young Otis doesn't see at first, engaged

in dealing the cards. Finally, he senses the presence, looks

up--

WADE AND HOLLIS -- YOUNG O'S POV

MUSIC CONTINUES. Wade stands over the table in the f.g.,

Young Hollis hanging back in the doorway. Wade is smiling

his cold smile, cursing--

CU YOUNG OTIS:

MUSIC CONTINUES. Trying to look unimpressed --

EXTREME CU WADE'S EYES

Cold and unblinking. MUSIC CONTINUES--

EXTREME CU WADE'S MOUTH

Twisted in a snarl as he curses. MUSIC CONTINUES--

MEN, TABLE

MUSIC CONTINUES. We shoot past Wade's body as the other men

step away from the table, grab their hats, and hurry out the

side door. Young Otis is left sitting at the table. Wade

starts walking toward him--

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