Nocturnal Animals Page #13

RAY:

Aw come on man, you don’t need to

take me in. I’m answering

questions, ain’t I?

ANDES:

Well I don’t know. Seems like I

don’t know no more about that

holdup than I knew before. Tell you

what. There’s somthin else I’d like

to ask you about. You recognize

this car?

RAY:

What car?

Andes bangs his fist against the headliner of the car.

ANDES:

This car. The one we’re in.

Tony takes a deep breath. Closes his eyes for a second.

RAY:

This car? Why should I recognize

this f***ing car?

ANDES:

It ain’t familiar to you? It don’t

remind you of nothin? Take you

back?

RAY:

No man. Why should it? It may be

taking me somewhere but damned if I

know where.

79.

ANDES:

You don’t remember driving it?

RAY:

What is this?

ANDES:

How about the driver?

Tony’s heart begins to pound.

RAY:

What?

ANDES:

The guy driving. My friend Tony

here. You remember him?

RAY:

I can’t see him. Make him turn

around.

ANDES:

Stop the car, Tony.

Tony slows and stops on the dusty road. He feels the heavy

thumping of his heart.

ANDES (CONT’D)

Turn around and look at this piece

of sh*t.

RAY:

Who is this guy?

ANDES:

You don’t remember him?

RAY:

Can’t say I do.

ANDES:

You remember him, Tony?

TONY:

Yes.

80.

ANDES:

Refresh his memory.

TONY:

Last summer on the Interstate.

Ray looks at him, staring. Waiting.

ANDES:

Tell him what you remember he did.

Tony looks directly at Ray.

TONY:

You killed my wife and my daughter.

His voice is trembling. Ray’s eyes enlarge.

RAY:

You’re crazy man. I never killed

nobody.

ANDES:

Tell him the whole thing.

TONY:

You and your buddies on the

Interstate. You forced us off the

road.

His voice is quivering and his eyes are filling with water.

ANDES:

Tell him who his buddies were.

TONY:

Lou and Turk.

ANDES:

Remember that Ray? Remember horsing

around on the Interstate?, Playing

chicken with other cars?

Ray’s voice is very soft.

RAY:

You’re crazy man. That’s crazy.

81.

TONY:

You made us stop and we had a flat

tire. Lou and Turk fixed it. Then

you and Turk got into my car with

my wife and daughter and forced me

into your car with Lou.

ANDES:

What then Tony?

TONY:

Lou took me out into the brush and

kicked me out. Then you came back

in my car. You called me and tried

to lure me into a trap. You went to

where Lou had left me.

ANDES:

What did you go back there for Ray?

RAY:

You’re f***ing crazy man.

ANDES:

Tell him what we found there Tony.

TONY:

You tell him.

ANDES:

Do I need to? Don’t you know Ray?

RAY:

You’re crazy man. I don’t know what

the hell you are talking about.

TONY:

The bodies of my wife and child,

which you took back there and

dumped.

A slight smile on Ray’s face. Almost imperceptible.

TONY (CONT’D)

You’re the one. I know you.

While this conversation has been going on, Andes has slipped

the gun out of his pocket and is holding it in his lap

pointing toward Ray.

82.

ANDES:

Whaddaya say Ray?

RAY:

You’re crazy man.

Andes points the gun at Ray.

RAY (CONT’D)

You’re making a big mistake man.

ANDES:

I don’t think so Ray. Put your arms

out slowly.

Andes slaps a pair of hand cuffs around Ray’s wrists.

RAY:

You ain’t got no right.

ANDES:

Speaking of rights, I want you to

know that I’m recording this

conversation.

He holds up a small recorder.

ANDES (CONT’D)

There. All clear?

RAY:

Great.

ANDES:

We’re going back to a place you may

remember. You can help by telling

me about it. If you don’t remember,

Tony does.

He looks towards Tony. Tony pulls back onto the dirt road.

RAY:

I’m sorry you lost your folks man,

it’s a shame. But I didn't have

nothing to do with it.

They pass the old adobe church. They drive until the trailer

is in sight just ahead. Tony stops the car in the turnout.

83.

RAY (CONT’D)

What’s this place?

TONY:

You know this place.

Ray looks at Tony with a deep long stare.

RAY:

Honest to God, I don’t.

Ray has a slight smile on his face as Tony turns and stares

at him.

ANDES:

Wanna get out Tony?

Andes opens his door.

ANDES (CONT’D)

Care to look inside Ray?

RAY:

What for?

ANDES:

Let’s just take a look.

They get out of the car. Tony lags behind.

68 INT. TRAILER, WEST TEXAS. AFTERNOON -- CONTINUOUS. 68

Bobby Andes kicks the door open and shoves Ray inside. The

walls are blank and weathered. There is a small stove and

fire tools by the door and a bed with metal bedposts and a

trash box full of old newspapers.

ANDES:

Raped them on the bed I presume.

RAY:

I never raped nobody.

ANDES:

Come on Ray, we got your record. We

know about that girl in Lubbock.

84.

RAY:

F*** that. The charges were dropped

man. I ain’t never raped nobody.

Tony stands in front of Ray next to the bed.

TONY:

I want to know Ray, the exact story

of what you did to them.

RAY:

You’ll have to ask somebody else

man.

TONY:

I want to know what they said. I

want to know what my wife said and

what my daughter said.

Tony stares at Ray in silence.

TONY (CONT’D)

I want to know how you killed them.

I want to know if they knew what

was happening to them. I want to

know if they hurt. I want to know

what they felt. Answer me, you

f***ing bastard!

Shot of Ray’s eyes, his teeth. A slight grin through the

fear. A condescension.

Tony pulls his arm back and before he knows it, with all his

might punches Ray in the face.

69

INT. MORROW RESIDENCE - LIVINGROOM. NIGHT. 69

Susan is startled away from the book by the sound of the fire

flaring up in the fireplace. She is lying on the sofa reading

and looks up and stares at the flames.

70

FLASHBACK - INT. EDWARD AND SUSAN’S APARTMENT, AUSTIN 199770

-- NIGHT.

A white brick fireplace holds a dying fire. Susan is lying on

a red velvet sofa reading loose printed pages. She is

concentrating.

85.

EDWARD:

Is it better?

Susan looks up slowly. She sighs.

SUSAN:

You’ll take this the wrong way but

I think that you need to stop

writing about yourself.

EDWARD:

But no one ever writes about

anything but themselves.

Edward looks down at the ground.

SUSAN:

I know. But I don’t know what else

to say. My mind started to wander

while I was reading which is not a

good thing.

Edward is clearly devastated.

EDWARD:

Maybe I need a break from it.

SUSAN:

Maybe you do.

EDWARD:

I don’t know what to do. Maybe I

don’t have a book in me.

SUSAN:

Get some space from it.

EDWARD:

Please don’t start that again. It

makes me feel like you don’t

believe in me.

SUSAN:

I didn’t say that.

EDWARD:

No, but your face says it. Your

little “sighs” say it. The way you

keep telling me that I should go

back to school says it.

86.

SUSAN:

I do think you should go back to

school. I think you need to be

realistic. I mean come on, you’re

really smart. A part time job in a

book store and writing a novel is a

romantic idea but is this really

our life? Is this what it’s going

to be? For how long?

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes