Nocturnal Animals Page #12

Sage hands the phone to Susan, who stares at the black and

white image of the little girl in her crib. As she watches

she sees someone move behind the crib, and then for a quick

second she sees Ray look directly into the camera.

Susan gasps and drops the phone to the ground, shattering the

screen.

SUSAN:

Oh my god, I’m so sorry.

72.

SAGE:

Are you okay?

SUSAN:

I thought I saw someone.

SAGE:

Of course you saw someone. It’s

Willow. She’s asleep in her crib.

Sage bends down to the floor and picks up the phone. It is

still working and the little girl is sleeping peacefully in

her crib.

SUSAN:

I’m sorry about the screen.

SAGE:

It’s all right, the new ones come

out next week.

Susan is still shaken.

SAGE (CONT’D)

Shall we? Everyone is waiting in

the conference room.

62 INT. MUSEUM CONFERENCE ROOM. AFTERNOON -- MINUTES LATER. 62

We are viewing the scene from behind glass. A group of people

sit around a table. They are talking and looking over

financial statements. Susan stares into space. She sits at

the head of the table. She is deep in thought.

CLOSE-UP SHOTS OF TONY/EDWARD. WE CAN’T TELL WHICH. HE IS

LYING IN BED DISTRAUGHT. WE ARE INTIMATE WITH HIM AND CAN

ALMOST FEEL HIM BREATHE.

63 INT. MUSEUM CONFERENCE ROOM. AFTERNOON -- CONTINUOUS. 63

Our camera moves into the room.

SAGE:

Anyway, I think we have to cut her

loose. She’s not what she sold

herself as when we hired her.

73.

Another member of the group LINDA ADDISON, 50 speaks up. Her

breasts are oddly oversized and squeezed into a tiny top.

LINDA:

I disagree. I think we should keep

her for now.

SAGE:

Why?

LINDA:

Because she’s great. Because we all

like her. She just needs our

support. And a bit of time.

SAMANTHA VAN HELSING, 45, interrupts Linda. Her face fills

our screen. She is stretched and pulled to the extreme. Her

lips are swollen and her general appearance is close to that

of a burn victim.

SAMANTHA:

But it’s not working. We need to

fire her. There’s an awesome

candidate that we could steal from

the Hammer if we move fast.

Susan is all of a sudden alert.

SUSAN:

I agree with Linda. We hired her

and we need to support her.

The room is surprised by Susan’s response.

Susan looks at Samantha. She is taken a back and looks at her

almost as though she has never seen her before.

SUSAN (CONT’D)

New doctor?

Samantha glares at her.

SAMANTHA:

No. New haircut.

SAGE:

But Susan, you were the one who

brought this up last week. You

wanted to make a change.

74.

SUSAN:

Well, now I think we should keep

her.

She looks at Samantha’s swollen lips.

SUSAN (CONT’D)

Sometimes maybe it’s not a good

idea to change things quite so

much.

64 INT. MORROW RESIDENCE, LOS ANGELES. THAT EVENING. 64

Susan walks into the house. Dead silence. She places her bag

in the entry hall. She stares out at the lawn. It is dusk and

the city lights are just becoming visible through the mist.

The large plinth that held the Koons is now empty and the

lawn cleaned up. She walks through the living room which is

now immaculate but bare. Susan pours herself a drink. The

white Calder moves in the breeze from the air conditioner.

Susan is alone.

She walks to the window with her drink in her hand and stares

out across the lights of Los Angeles.

65 EXT. DESERTED ROAD, WEST TEXAS. AFTERNOON. 65

Bobby and Tony stand outside of Tony’s car on a dirt road.

Bobby is smoking a cigarette. He looks drawn and gaunt. His

eyes are bloodshot and his skin is grey.

TONY:

I don’t get it. Why are we here?

ANDES:

Sh*t.

Andes begins to cough, places his hand over his mouth and

then buckles over for a moment.

TONY:

Are you okay?

ANDES:

Yeah. I’m fine. Follow me.

75.

66 EXT. RAY’S MOBILE HOME. AFTERNOON -- CONTINUOUS. 66

The two men walk through the scruffy trees until they can see

a mobile home and an old wooden deck about a hundred feet

away. Ray is sitting on a toilet that has been installed

outside on the deck. There is a beer beside him. He is

shirtless, his pants are down around his ankles and he is on

a cordless phone smoking a cigarette.

ANDES:

His name is Ray Marcus and someone

named him as a frequent companion

of Lou Bates and Steve Adams.

Tony stares harder. Clearly agitated.

ANDES (CONT’D)

Part time electrician. Part time

plumber hence the clever toilet

facilities. Not a bad match to both

your description and the fella in

the holdup. No fingerprints but we

knew that before.

TONY:

I wonder why there aren’t any

finger prints.

ANDES:

His hands were probably on your

wife.

Tony winces.

ANDES (CONT’D)

His record is clean except for a

rape charge that was dropped. I got

out of the barman at a place called

“Line Camp Bar” that he lives here

with a girl called Leila and that

he keeps another place to pick up

women that she doesn’t know about.

Probably your murder trailer before

it got notorious. Does he look like

he could be the guy?

76.

TONY:

Yeah. That’s him.

ANDES:

Good. Let’s go talk to him.

Andes walks out of the brush.

ANDES (CONT’D)

Hey, Ray.

Ray looks at him.

RAY:

What the f*** man! Who the hell are

you. Get off my property.

Ray speaks into the phone and then hangs up.

RAY (CONT’D)

I’ll call you back.

ANDES:

I want to ask you some questions.

RAY:

F*** you. I’m occupied at the

moment.

Bobby Andes holds up a plastic case with a badge in the

window. His other hand is in his jacket.

Ray squints.

RAY (CONT’D)

What’s that?

ANDES:

A few questions, that’s all. We

need you to come with us.

RAY:

What for? I ain’t done nothin.

ANDES:

Didn’t say you did.

RAY:

Ask me here.

77.

ANDES:

Naw. We need you to take a little

drive with us. Finish what you’re

doin and let’s go.

RAY:

You mind turnin around?

ANDES:

Believe me I wish I could but I

just can’t do that.

Andes tosses Ray’s shirt to him from the back of a chair.

ANDES (CONT’D)

Come on. Get dressed.

67 INT. TONY’S CAR, WEST TEXAS. AFTERNOON -- MINUTES LATER. 67

Andes is in the back seat with Ray. Tony is in the driver’s

seat. Andes directs Tony where to drive.

RAY:

Hey, are you questioning me?

ANDES:

Why yes, that’s what we’re doing

ain’t it?

RAY:

You ain’t read me my rights.

ANDES:

You know your rights, Ray.

RAY:

You’re supposed to read ‘um to me.

ANDES:

I read you your rights, didn’t I

Tony?

Tony is stunned at being brought into the game of cat and

mouse.

RAY:

This ain’t legal man. I’m supposed

to have a lawyer.

78.

ANDES:

Calm down sunshine. This is just

informal questioning. That's all.

You’re helping me out. I haven’t

charged you with anything yet. If

you want a lawyer we’ll have to

take you in and charge you with

somethin.

Ray looks out the window.

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