Psycho Page #19

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When Sam has finished he closes book, hands it back to Norman.

Norman does not take it, starts out from behind counter.

NORMAN:

I'll get your bags.

SAM:

Haven't any.

NORMAN:

(after a stare)

I'll show you the cabin.

As he starts for the door, Sam laughs. Norman stops, turns,

looks at him.

SAM:

First time I've seen it happen.

(to Lila)

Check in any place in this country

without bags, and you have to pay in

advance.

Sam smiles as if at a funny remark, takes a bill out of his

pocket.

NORMAN:

Ten dollars...

Norman returns to Sam, takes the extended bill, is about to

start out again.

SAM:

That receipt...?

Norman goes reluctantly behind counter, lays down the key to

cabin twelve, takes a receipt book out of the drawer under

counter, starts to write. Lila steps up to the desk, picks

up the key, quickly, starts out.

LILA:

I'll start ahead.

Norman looks up, gazes her as she goes out door.

EXT. THE MOTEL - (DAY)

Lila comes along the porch, pauses before cabin one, tries

the door. It opens. She closes it quickly as she hears Sam

and Norman coming out of the motel office, continues on down

the porch.

SAM:

(To Norman, who is

following)

Don't bother yourself... we'll find

it.

He goes on down the porch, doesn't even glance at cabin one,

walks quickly and catches up to Lila just as she reaches

cabin twelve. CAMERA REMAINS with Norman, who is standing by

the office door, looking after Sam and Lila, his face alert

and no longer impassive. He waits a moment, after they have

closed their cabin door, then crosses to the pickup truck.

CAMERA MOVES with him. He studies the truck, then leans in

through the driver's window, twists the registration card

around, reads it.

It gives the correct name and address of Sam Loomis.

Norman comes back out of the window, glances once more toward

cabin twelve, then at the old house. His suspicions are

confirmed, and now there is the relaxation of relief in his

face. He takes on a purposeful air, turns, strides up the

path, up onto the porch of the house, opens the door, goes

in.

INT. CABIN TWELVE - (DAY)

Lila is at the cabin's rear window, looking out, straining

for a glimpse of the old house, which cannot be seen from

the window of this cabin.

She turns, frustrated, anxious. Sam is standing at the foot

of the bed, staring at the smooth coverlet, his brow creased

in a sadness.

LILA:

We should have asked for Cabin One...

The one Mary was in.

SAM:

I'm glad we didn't.

He pulls his eyes from the bed, crosses to the desk, sits

wearily, lights a cigarette. Lila watches him for a moment,

feels a real compassion, goes to the bed, sits on its edge,

turns again and looks at Sam's back.

LILA:

We have to go into that cabin and

search it, Sam... no matter what

we're afraid of finding and no matter

how much it may hurt.

SAM:

I know.

(A pause)

Do you think if something happened,

it happened there?

LILA:

(A pause, then:
)

Sam, if you owned a useless business

like this motel... one you probably

couldn't even sell... what would

you need to get away, to start a new

business, somewhere else?

(As Sam studies her)

Forty thousand dollars?

SAM:

How could we prove...

(An almost hopeless

laugh)

Well, if he opens a new motel on the

new highway... say, a year from now...

LILA:

There must be some proof that exists

right now! Something that proves he

got that money away from Mary...

Some way!

SAM:

What makes you sound so certain?

LILA:

Arbogast! Sam, he liked me... or

felt sorry for me... and he was

starting to feel the same about you.

I heard it when he called... in his

voice, a caring. He wouldn't have

gone anywhere or done anything without

telling us. Unless he was stopped.

And he was stopped, so he must have

found out something!

Sam considers a moment, nods agreement, rises.

SAM:

We'll start with Cabin One.

He goes to the door, opens it slightly, looks out, then,

back to Lila:

SAM:

If he sees us... we're just taking

the air.

Lila goes to the door. He holds it open and she goes out.

EXT. THE MOTEL - (DAY)

Sam closes the door, joins Lila, takes her hand.

Together they walk along the porch in the direction of Cabin

One. CAMERA FOLLOWS. They pause before the door of Cabin

One. Sam motions Lila to wait, to hold still, then goes on

to the office, opens the door, calls in:

SAM:

Bates?

He waits, there is no response. He goes in and in a moment

comes back out, closes the door, goes to Lila.

She has already opened the door of Cabin One and has started

to enter.

INT. CABIN ONE - (DAY)

The blinds are closed and the room is almost night-dark.

Sam comes in after Lila, closes the door behind him.

For a moment they just gaze at the room, as if willing it to

tell them some satisfactory story.

Neither speaks. Then, in dark silence, they begin to search,

going methodically and thoroughly through all drawers, the

closet, the desk, searching under the bed and in dark corners,

not knowing what they expect to find and yet expecting to

find some thing. Lila opens the bathroom door, looks in. The

windowless room is very dark. She switches on the light,

goes in. Sam moves toward the bathroom, is about to follow

her in when he notices which room it is and automatically

catches himself up, backs out.

SAM:

Sorry.

LILA:

Hospital clean.

SAM:

What?

LILA:

The bathroom. Look at how clean it

is. The one in our cabin is clean...

but this is clean!

Sam goes in, glances around, nods. Lila goes through the

medicine cabinet, finds nothing but a glass and two tiny

tabs of soap. Sam leans against the door-jamb, looks at the

tub, the shower pipe above it. He continues to stare, more

interested suddenly, as if bothered by some off-key evidence

he can't put his finger on. Then he looks at the shower

curtain rod.

And realizes there is no shower curtain. He frowns, is about

to say something when Lila, who has been momentarily out of

shot, interrupts.

Sam turns, CAMERA TURNS, and we see Lila is standing above

the toilet bowl, a tiny piece of wet paper stuck to the tip

of her right index finger.

SAM:

What is it?

LILA:

It didn't get washed down. It's

figuring... the kind you tear up and

get rid of.

(Extending her finger

toward Sam)

Some figure has been added to or

subtracted from... forty thousand.

Sam lifts the piece of paper off her finger, studies it,

takes out his wallet, presses the wet scrap to his driver's

license shield, puts it back in the wallet and puts the wallet

away.

LILA:

That's proof Mary was here! It would

be too wild a coincidence for somebody

else to...

SAM:

(Reminding)

Bates never denied Mary was here.

LILA:

(Reminded)

Yes.

(A thought)

But maybe this proves that Bates

found out about the money.

SAM:

Do we simply ask him where he's hidden

it?

LILA:

Sam, that old woman, whoever she is.

I think she told Arbogast something!

And I want her to tell us the same

thing!

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