Psycho Page #3

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He starts quickly away when it looks like Cassidy is going

to come and pull him bodily into the office. When the men

are gone and the door is closed, Caroline picks up a bundle,

smiles at it.

CAROLINE:

He was flirting with you. I guess he

noticed my wedding ring.

Mary has put one bundle into a large envelope and takes the

other from Caroline. When the bills are away, she puts the

filled envelope in her handbag, notices the remaining deed

copies on her desk, picks them up, goes to the private office

door, knocks, starts to open door as:

LOWERY (O.S.)

Come in.

INT. LOWERY'S PRIVATE OFFICE - (DAY)

Mary opens door, looks in. Cassidy is drinking from a large

tumbler, winks at her without pausing in his drinking. Mary

remains on threshold a moment, then crosses to the desk,

talking as she goes.

MARY:

The copies. Mr. Lowery, if you don't

mind, I'd like to go right on home

after the bank. I have a slight...

CASSIDY:

You go right home! Me and your boss

are going out to get ourselves a

little drinkin' done!

(to Lowery)

Right?

LOWERY:

(to Mary)

Of course. You feeling ill?

MARY:

A headache.

CASSIDY:

You need a week-end in Las Vegas...

playground of the world!

MARY:

I'm going to spend this week-end in

bed.

(starts out)

CASSIDY:

(to Lowery)

Only playground that beats Las Vegas!

Mary goes back out into the outer office, closes door.

INT. OUTER OFFICE - (DAY)

Mary goes to her desk, takes the handbag, checks to make

sure the money-filled envelope is tucked well down into it.

During this:

CAROLINE:

Aren't you going to take the pills?

(as Mary shakes her

head)

They'll knock that headache out.

MARY:

I don't need pills... just sleep.

She goes to the door.

DISSOLVE:

INT. MARY'S BEDROOM - (DAY)

A double bed in the foreground. We just see the far side as

the CAMERA SHOOTS across. Mary enters the scene, clad only

in her slip. Perhaps she is about to get into bed. Behind

her is an open closet, but too dark inside for us to see any

contents. As Mary turns to the closet the CAMERA LOWERS to

show a close view of the $40,000 in the envelope on our side

of the bed.

Mary takes a dress from the closet and starts to put it on

as the CAMERA RETREATS to reveal a packed but not yet closed

suitcase also on the bed. Mary zips up her dress and then

brings some final garments from the closet.

She comes around to the suitcase and puts them on the top.

Mary works with haste and in tension, as if acting on an

impulse which might vanish as quickly as it came.

The suitcase filled now, she checks around the room, then

takes her handbag to the bed, puts in the money-filled

envelope, and then slams the suitcase shut. Then filled she

looks at her small bedroom desk, goes to it, removes a small

file-envelope from one of the drawers. It is one of those

brown envelopes in which one keeps important papers and

policies and certificates. She checks its contents briefly,

puts it on the bed, opens another desk drawer, takes out her

bank book, tosses it on the bed. Then she packs both the

file-envelope and the bank book, into her handbag, takes one

quick last look around the room, picks up the handbag and

the suitcase and goes out of the room.

CUT TO:

EXT. MARY'S GARAGE - (DAY)

A two-car garage. One car is gone. Mary's car is parked in

the driveway. The CAMERA is low enough so that we can easily

read the Arizona number plate in the foreground.

Mary comes out of house, starts for the trunk, intending to

put the suitcase in, changes her mind, places the suitcase

and her handbag on the front seat, gets in, starts the car,

begins to back out of driveway.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. MAIN STREET IN MIDTOWN PHOENIX - (DAY)

We are close on Mary's car, shooting in at her troubled,

guilty face. She seems to be driving with that excess care

of one who does not wish to be stopped for a minor traffic

irregularity. She stops for a red light at a main

intersection.

FROM MARY'S VIEWPOINT - (DAY)

We see Lowery and Cassidy crossing the street, passing right

in front of Mary's car.

MARY'S CAR - (DAY)

Mary freezes.

EXT. MAIN STREET IN MIDTOWN PHOENIX - (DAY)

Cassidy, glancing into car, sees Mary, lets out a cheery

exclamation, elbows Lowery. Lowery turns, sees Mary, smiles

pleasantly, pulls Cassidy on.

MARY'S CAR - (DAY)

Mary watches the entire exchange with a look of stony horror

on her face.

EXT. MAIN STREET IN MIDTOWN PHOENIX - (DAY)

Now we look closely at Lowery. As he reaches the curb, a

small confusion brightens his face. He remembers that Mary

intended to "spend the weekend in bed." He considers,

curiously, turns, looks back at her, a slight frown on his

face.

MARY'S CAR - (DAY)

Mary sees the pause and the look.

EXT. MAIN STREET IN MIDTOWN PHOENIX - (DAY)

For a moment it even looks as if Lowery might be meaning to

cross back to the car.

MARY'S CAR - (DAY)

Mary's tension is unbearable. And at that moment we hear the

shrill shriek of the traffic cop's whistle.

Mary zooms the car away.

DISSOLVE TO:

EXT. HIGHWAY - (DAY)

Mary in car, driving, safely away from town. Her look is

less tense now, and more purposeful. After a moment, she

checks the fuel gauge, frowns, looks along highway for a gas

station.

FAST DISSOLVE TO:

MARY'S CAR - (DAY)

Approaching and leaving city limits.

MARY - (DAY)

Looks at gas gauge.

C.U. GAS GAUGE - (DAY)

EXT. A GAS STATION - (DAY)

We see Mary's car drive in, come to a stop. There are no

other cars about, this being a gas station off the main

highway, and the attendant is obviously in the shack. Mary

looks worried about having to make this stop, keeps her face

turned away from the shack, not wishing it to be seen.

No one comes and for a moment Mary considers driving on, as

if the emptiness of the station were a warning, an omen that

she should listen to. But the gas registers almost empty.

She has to blow her horn.

A YOUNG MAN comes out of the shack, starts toward her car.

At that moment, we HEAR the RINGING of the TELEPHONE in the

shack. The Attendant walks a few steps further, toward Mary's

car, then decides to go back and answer the phone. The phone's

insistent ringing unnerves Mary.

She starts her car, zooms off.

We see the Attendant, phone in hand, in the doorway of shack.

He looks after the departing car with little or no expression.

CAR:

The car grows smaller as it races up the road. The sun is

setting. There is something vaguely ominous about the

darkening sky into which the car seems to be disappearing.

DISSOLVE TO:

MARY IN CAR - (NIGHT)

The oncoming headlights hurt Mary's eyes. She is getting

sleepy and her vision is blurring. Her eyes close,

involuntarily, snap open again. She stretches than wide, as

if forcing them to stay open. The oncoming lights seem to

glare to a point beyond endurance. She murmurs "Sam - Sam."

LONG LAP DISSOLVE:

EXT. ROAD SHOULDER - (DAWN)

We see Mary's car, dim in the early dawn, tilted on the soft

shoulder of the road, looking somehow sad and pathetic, like

a child's thrown-away toy. And from this angle it would appear

that the car is empty.

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