Nurse Betty Page #19

Charlie and Wesley drive across Kansas farm country.

CHARLIE:

So she gets rid of the a**hole and is set

for life in the same day.

WESLEY:

You think so? Joyce says she's timid.

CHARLIE:

Joyce was screwing Del.

WESLEY:

... among others.

CHARLIE:

I'd say that about torches her

credibility, wouldn't you?

WESLEY:

Yeah, well, if the wife's trying to sell

it she'll f*** up. She's an amateur,

just like Del was.

The CAR PHONE RINGS. Charlie answers.

61.

CHARLIE:

Maybe...

(into phone)

Yes?

SUE ANN (V.O.)

Is this Neighborly Life Insurance?

CHARLIE:

Sorry, you've got the wrong number.

He hangs up.

CHARLIE (CONT'D)

No, I see Betty as a Midwestern Stoic

type. Ice water in her veins. A clear

thinker. Probably a Swede or a Finn.

WESLEY:

A 'Finn?' What is a Finn?

CHARLIE:

You should read more. Listen to me. I

think this woman was waiting for a chance

to do this, and we gave it to her. She

kept to herself for years, living with a

pompous a**hole. Then she sees her

opportunity, and BOOM! - she leaves that

little mudpatch in the dust. These

heartlanders can't figure it out, 'cause

that's not their sweet little Betty.

Hah! We've been tracking her for, what,

three days and I already understand her

better'n most the people in that shitty

little burg.

Charlie pulls out the close-up photo and studies it.

CHARLIE (cont'd)

Betty, Betty, Betty...

WESLEY:

So what the f***'s a Finn?

CHARLIE:

Oh, for Chrissakes. It just means the

kind of person who can eat sh*t for a

long time without complaining, then cut

their momma's throat and go dancing the

same night.

WESLEY:

Like... us?

62.

CHARLIE:

No,... like a worthy adversary, Wesley.

Like a very worthy adversary.

76 OMIT 76

76A INT. ROY'S APARTMENT - DAY 76A

Roy approaches his fish tank cautiously. He leans down and

looks at the piranha as a TV commercial ends and "A Reason to

Love" comes on.

He then returns to his computer, struggling to find the right

words and to type them with only one hand. He types a

little, stares at the screen, then deletes an entire sentence

one character at a time, hammering on the 'Delete' key. He

glances up at the television as the words 'Chloe' and

'Lonnie' are repeated.

77 INT. POLICE STATION - BALLARD'S OFFICE - THE NEXT DAY 77

Roy and Sue Ann go straight to Ballard's office, where they

find him at his desk eating lunch out of tupperware

containers. He wears a napkin tucked into his shirt-top.

BALLARD:

What the hell do you want?... Hey, Sue

Ann, what's up?

ROY:

We think we know where Betty is.

BALLARD:

Ah, sh*t... Do I have to hear this now?

SUE ANN:

What's with the tupperware, Elden, did

Meredith run outta baggies?

BALLARD:

No reason to get a plate dirty.

ROY:

I see you're sticking to the diet Betty

put you on...

BALLARD:

Worry about your own goddamn lunch!

ROY:

(excited; to Sue Ann)

Tell him what you told me.

63.

SUE ANN:

Betty is a big, big fan of the soap

opera, "A Reason to Love." Look...

She tosses a copy of "Soap Opera Digest" on the desk. Ballard

ignores it and keeps eating.

BALLARD:

Why do I need to see this? Did he ask

you to...?

ROY:

Listen! I saw 'Chloe' and 'Lonnie' on

T.V. They're television characters.

SUE ANN:

Betty's in love with Dr. David Ravell,

from the show. What if she's out in Los

Angeles looking for him? The actor, I

mean...

BALLARD:

That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

ROY:

Yeah? Well, she called Sue Ann yesterday

from Arizona.

BALLARD:

She said she was in Arizona, did she?

ROY & SUE ANN

Yes!!

BALLARD:

You people are even more stupid than I

thought. The woman's on the run and

she's gonna just phone in her location?

SUE ANN:

Come on, Elden, she's not on the run.

Couldn't you at least call the Los

Angeles Police Department?

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