Nocturnal Animals Page #7

LOU:

You drive.

Tony gets into the dark green car. Lou sits next to him on

the passenger side. Tony starts the car as quickly as he can

and speeds off after the Mercedes.

He reaches an exit.

TONY:

Is this the exit?

LOU:

The exit for what?

TONY:

For Bailey?

LOU:

Keep going.

39.

The car bounces off of the pavement on to a dirt road. As

they round a corner they pass an old abandoned adobe church.

Tony slows the car.

LOU (CONT’D)

Keep going. Speed up.

They pass through a chain link gate onto an even less

traveled road.

TONY:

What the f*** are you doing to us?

LOU:

Here. Turn down here.

Tony stops the car.

TONY:

Look, f*** you. I’m not going down

that road!

LOU:

Listen mister. You wanna see your

wife and kid? Then turn down that

road.

Tony hangs his head.

LOU (CONT’D)

You gonna cry now?

Tony slowly raises his head, and steps on the gas. As their

car makes the turn the lights illuminate the brush for just

an instant. There is an old trailer off of the side of the

road. A dark colored car is parked in a turnout next to the

trailer, partially hidden behind a cluster of mesquite trees.

TONY:

But that’s my car we just passed!

LOU:

It ain’t your car man. Keep goin.

Tony continues to drive.

LOU (CONT’D)

I don’t think you need to worry

about your wife and kid. Like I say

you don’t need to worry about them.

40.

TONY:

What do you mean I don’t need to

worry about them? What the f***

does that mean?

LOU:

Calm down. He ain’t never killed

nobody yet. That’s all I mean. At

least as far as I know he ain’t.

TONY:

Killed! Why are you talking about

killing!

LOU:

I said he AIN’T killed nobody yet.

His voice is very quiet.

LOU (CONT’D)

If you’d listen to me you would

hear what I was saying.

They come to a clearing were the tracks disappear into the

grass. The site is littered with beer bottles and a few

shotgun cartridges. Tony comes to a stop.

LOU (CONT’D)

Well, looks like we run outta road.

They ain’t here. Wonder if I made a

mistake. It’s time for you to get

out now okay?

Before he knows it, Lou jumps out of the door, comes around

to Tony’s side of the car and flings the door open.

LOU (CONT’D)

GET OUT!

Lou grabs Tony by the arm, yanks hard and in one motion

throws him on the ground.

LOU (CONT’D)

You’ll get killed if you don’t

watch it.

He gets into the car, slams the door, jerks forward, and

starts back up the deserted road. Tony chases after the car

and bangs on the door as Lou kicks the dust up in Tony’s

face.

41.

Tony watches the red lights disappear. Except for the light

of the vast sky and the sound of coyotes in the distance the

night is completely black.

Tony sits down on the ground and starts to cry. He pounds his

fists into his legs.

26 EXT. DESERT, WEST TEXAS. NIGHT -- LATER. 26

Tony hears a faint but steady whooshing sound in the

distance, and then the far away cry of what could be the horn

of a large truck. The sounds come from the opposite direction

of the dirt road. Tony stands up, thinks and starts walking

in the direction of the sound.

As he does we see lights coming along down the dirt road. The

car stops at the clearing where Tony was kicked out. Two men

get out. Although it is not completely clear, the car looks

like Tony’s Mercedes.

Tony sees the beam of a flashlight and flattens himself

reflexively behind a large boulder and a clump of brush at

the edge of the arroyo.

RAY:

What did you f***in leave him out

here for?

LOU:

Hey mister! Your wife wants you!

Tony holds still.

RAY:

Get back in the f***in car.

LOU:

Mister? Your wife wants you.

Silence. Footsteps in the brush very close by.

LOU (CONT’D)

Mister! Ah Sh*t!

The men get back in the car and slam the doors. The lights of

the car illuminate the top of the grass and brush like a

movie stage. After a moment the car turns back down the dusty

road.

42.

Tony stays flat against the ground. Silence. The sounds of

the desert. In the distance the whooshing sound seems louder

than before.

Tony pulls himself up and starts walking towards the sound.

As Tony walks through the desert brush the sky begins to

lighten a bit to a deep violet.

Tony climbs down an arroyo and crawls under a barbed wire

fence. As he does he falls to the ground and twists his

ankle. The sky is beginning to turn a light pink.

27 EXT. HIGHWAY, WEST TEXAS. DAWN -- LATER. 27

Tony wanders along the highway signaling and waving his arms

to get someone to stop but no one does. He keeps walking and

puts his arm out as every car passes. Screaming at times for

cars to stop. Finally, on the side of the road, Tony sees a

small adobe house. He rushes up to the door and begins

banging on the door furiously. A woman in shorts answers. We

hear a baby crying in the background.

TONY:

May I use your phone?

28 INT. POLICE STATION, WEST TEXAS. LATER THAT MORNING 28

Tony sits in a glassed in room starring into space.

29 INT. MORROW RESIDENCE SUSAN’S BEDROOM. NIGHT. 29

Susan lies on her bed deep in thought. She is holding onto a

small gold cross around her neck. “Nocturnal Animals” lies

next to her.

30 INT. POLICE STATION, WEST TEXAS. MORNING -- CONTINUOUS. 30

LIEUTENANT GRAVES, heavy set, 60s, asks Tony questions.

43.

LIEUTENANT GRAVES

Mr. Hastings, there is no town near

here called “Bailey”.

TONY:

I was afraid of that.

Tony, bleary eyed, stares off in the distance.

LIEUTENANT GRAVES

There’s a motel across the street.

Have you got any money?

TONY:

I have credit cards.

LIEUTENANT GRAVES

It’s still early Mr. Hastings.

We’ll call if we get anything.

31 EXT. MOTEL, WEST TEXAS. DUSK. 31

The neon sign in front of the motel flicks on.

32 INT. MOTEL, WEST TEXAS. TONY’S ROOM - BATHROOM. NIGHT. 32

Tony is attempting to lie comfortably in the tiny tub of his

motel room. He is washing the blood and dirt off of his face.

The steam from the water rises. The light is a harsh glow.

The tub is dingy with green tiles and a plastic shower

curtain. He begins to cry softly.

33 INT. MORROW RESIDENCE - SUSAN’S BATHROOM. NIGHT. 33

Susan lies in her tub with her eyes open. Thinking. There is

only a dim light in the room coming from the open door.

34 INT. MORROW RESIDENCE - SUSAN’S BEDROOM. EARLY MORNING. 34

Susan lies on her bed motionless, staring at the ceiling. It

is another grey foggy LA day.

35 INT. MOTEL, WEST TEXAS. TONY’S ROOM. DAY. 35

Tony lies on the bed sprawled out with his shirt off. His

hair is wet. The air conditioner is on full blast.

44.

The phone rings.

TONY:

Hello.

LIEUTENANT GRAVES

This is Lieutenant Graves. They

found your car over in a washed out

arroyo at Topping.

TONY:

What about my wife and daughter?

LIEUTENANT GRAVES

Still no news. They weren’t in the

car.

Tony flinches.

LIEUTENANT GRAVES (CONT’D)

We’re turning this case over to

Lieutenant Andes. Can he pick you

up in a few minutes?

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