Lost Highway Page #13

WARDEN:

What is this, Rogoff?

DR. ROGOFF

I don't know yet.

Dr. Rogoff begins to draw blood from the man's arm. He takes

several vials. The man watches the blood coming out of his

arm, but doesn't seem to understand where he is or what is

happening to him.

WARDEN:

Who is this man?

DR. ROGOFF

He's just been fingerprinted, and

I'll run these blood tests right

away. We'll find out soon enough.

Dr. Rogoff opens the man's mouth and peers in with a pencil

light.

WARDEN:

He's not Madison?

DR. ROGOFF

(slowly, deliberately)

Not even close.

Dr. Rogoff stands up, puts the light in his breast pocket.

DR. ROGOFF

I examined Madison last night,

Marshall. He had a headache.

WARDEN:

A headache?

DR. ROGOFF

I did a routine once-over, and gave

him a sleeping pill. I've never seen

this man before. Neither have the

guards. I don't think he's in the

system.

The Warden moves closer to the man - he looks closely at

him.

WARDEN:

Where the hell did you come from,

mister?

CLOSE UP OF THE MAN - he's staring straight up.

CUT TO:

INT. PRISON - WARDEN'S OFFICE - DAY

Present are the Warden, Captain Henderson and TWO other PRISON

OFFICIALS. The Warden is looking at a computer next to his

desk.

WARDEN:

Well, gentlemen, we know who the

stranger is. His name is Peter Raymond

Dayton. He's twenty-four years old.

His birthday is April 21st. He was

born and raised right here. He lives

with his parents, William and Claire

Dayton at 814 Garland Avenue. Pete

Dayton was arrested five years ago

for auto theft, for which he was put

on probation for one year. That was

his first and only offense. No record

since then.

Warden Clements looks up, takes a deep breath and stares at

the men in front of him.

WARDEN:

How about Madison? Have we had even

a hint of his whereabouts?

CAPTAIN HENDERSON

Nothing, Marsh. Vanished. There's an

APB out on him. His photo's been

faxed nationwide.

PRISON OFFICIAL #1

I had a call from the governor's

office about this.

WARDEN:

How the hell does she know?

PRISON OFFICIAL #1

There's press outside right now.

WARDEN:

How the hell...

CAPTAIN HENDERSON

One of the guards must have leaked

it.

WARDEN:

What's the word on the street?

PRISON OFFICIAL #2

Only that Madison has apparently

escaped. Nothing about the other

guy.

WARDEN:

Good, let's keep it that way. Keep a

lid on Dayton. Nothing gets out about

him.

CUT TO:

INT. PRISON - DEATH ROW - DAY

Johnny Mack walks down the row and enters Fred's cell.

CUT TO:

INT. PRISON - FRED'S CELL - DAY

Johnny Mack looks around, up and down the walls, half peers

under the cot, then - checking first to see no other guard

is watching him - he looks inside the toilet bowl, then gets

down on his knees and really looks under the cot. He gets up

and sits down on the bed. He rubs a hand over his face. Johnny

Mack is clearly perplexed.

CUT TO:

INT. PRISON - MEDIA ROOM - DAY

A press conference is being held. Present are REPORTERS, TV

cameras, et al. The Warden and Captain Henderson represent

the prison.

WARDEN:

I have a statement to read... Fred

Madison, an inmate being held on

death row has, apparently... has

escaped. An all-points bulletin has

been issued to authorities not only

statewide, but nationwide. We are

confident that he will be apprehended

very soon. No further details are

available at this time. Thank you

very much.

REPORTER:

Warden, nobody's ever escaped from

death row before. How did he get

out?

The Warden and Captain Henderson leave the room without

answering.

CUT TO:

INT. PRISON - LONG CORRIDOR - DAY

Pete's parents, BILL and CLAIRE DAYTON, escorted by a PRISON

GUARD, are approaching the Warden's office. It is a long

walk along the corridor and the camera examines them in detail

as they get closer and closer to the office. The Daytons are

a middle-aged, San Fernando Valley couple. Bill Dayton is

wearing a sport shirt with the short-sleeves rolled up. His

skin is leathery, tanned and his thinning hair is slicked

back in a duck-tail. He's working-class, ex-biker. Claire

Dayton was obviously a good looking "chick" who's gone to

seed from too much sun, cigarettes and booze. She retains

the remnants of a good figure, but it's going fast. Claire

is wearing sunglasses.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes