Shallow Grave Page #9

INT. LOFT. NIGHT

David stands motionless in the dark, exactly as before.

INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT

Andy has heard the single thud. He strains to hear anything else

but does not. Slowly he backs away to the door of the living

room, keeping the crowbar trained on Alex as he does so. He looks

back and up towards the trapdoor.

INT. LOFT. NIGHT

Once again a small pool of light emanates from the open trapdoor.

Andy emerges into the front of this, crowbar in hand, peering

into the darkness. Carefully he stands up and moves out of the

light and steps across the beams. His foot strikes something and

he looks down. Tim's body lies spread-eagled beneath him. He

looks up. To one side of him is the brass light switch. Andy

lifts his arm, reaches towards it and switches it on. Sparks pour

out for a moment and then the light comes on for a fraction of a

second, long enough for Andy to see David's face is only

centimetres from his own.

INT. HALL. NIGHT

Alex and Juliet are bound together as before. There is a loud

thud from the ceiling, following by a few heavy steps. Then

Andy's body falls headfirst through the trapdoor, straight down

to the floor below, landing awkwardly and coming to rest with his

head hanging back, looking towards Alex and Juliet. Andy takes

one agonal breath and dies. Blood trickles from the side of his

mouth.

Tim's body lands on Andy.

David drops himself from the hatch to the floor.

David takes a large knife from a wooden block.

Back in the hall he kneels, holding the knife, beside Tim.

Noticing something at the top of tim's neck, he uses the knife to

lift away Tim's T-shirt. A tattoo covers Tim's neck. David looks

at it, then stands up.

He walks through to the living room, where Alex and Juliet, still

bound, watch him approach. He looks at them for a moment, then

extends the knife and cuts the cord in one place.

EXT. FOREST. NIGHT

In a scene similar to the dismemberment of Hugo, we see David's

shoulders as he saws back and forth at something unseen. He stops

and reaches out for the hammer, picks it up and raises it above

his head.

EXT. ROAD. DAWN

The van is silhouetted against a rising sun.

INT. BACK OF THE VAN. DAWN

The tools and the yellow sack slide about in the back of the van.

INT. VAN. DAWN

David is driving. Alex and Juliet are huddled silently away from

him. David seems quite at ease.

A thick bunch of keys dangles from the ignition. Juliet observes

them.

INT. LOFT. DAY

David sits still in the darkness.

INT. NEWSPAPER OFFICE. DAY

Alex sits at his desk fidgeting, about to write something but

unable to start. On the screen of his word processor is a page

mock-up with the headline CATS EAT PENSIONER'. As the telephone

on his desk rings, he is startled, then reaches out, slowly lifts

it fractionally and replaces it.

INT. TRAVEL AGENT'S. DAY

Hunched over a VDU, the Salesman is offering Juliet a range of

flights.

SALESMAN:

October 15th, direct flight, London Heathrow to Rio de Janeiro,

British Airways, you are looking at seven hundred and sixty-five

pounds. Seven six five.

JULIET:

That sounds fine.

SALESMAN:

Air Portugal, on the other hand, via Lisbon, same day, five

hundred and sixty-five. Five six five. It's up to you. Catering

important?

JULIET:

What?

SALESMAN:

Air France. Glasgow. Direct, but then you're looking at the wrong

end of nine hundred and twelve pounds. That's nine one two. It's

up to you.

JULIET:

Yes, the first one's fine. Heathrow direct.

SALESMAN:

It's up to you. Air Patagonia. New outfit: via Caracas and Bogot

. No catering. Four hundred and eleven pounds. Four one one. Good

value, but refueling at Bogot is variable.

JULIET:

The first one was fine.

SALESMAN:

Well, it's up to you. Seven six five. How will you be paying?

INT. HALL. NIGHT

The hall is empty but we can hear David's footsteps on the beams

above.

INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT

Alex sits watching The Wicker Man on televison. He can hear the

footsteps above. He turns the sound up on the television so that

he cannot hear them, but he keeps looking up at the ceiling, as

though he expects to hear them or see somwthing.

Eventually he turns the sound back down and, after a moment's

silence, the footsteps start again, back and forth, then stop.

Alex looks up.

Without warning there is the sound of an electric drill.

The blade of the drill appears through the ceiling and is then

withdrawn. Alex is shocked. Other drill holes appear.

INT. VARIOUS CEILINGS. NIGHT

Holes are drilled in the ceilings.

INT. LOFT. NIGHT

Rods of light penetrate up from the holes, interrupting but not

obliterating the darknes. David sits back, pleased with his work.

INT. JULIET'S ROOM. NIGHT

Juliet sits at her desk. Alex stands in the doorway. He is about

to speak. Juliet raises a finger to her lips. They both look at

the ceiling.

EXT. GARDEN AT FRONT OF THE FLAT. NIGHT

Establishing shot of Alex and Juliet in garden.

INT. HALL. NIGHT

The trapdoor is open.

INT. ALEX'S ROOM. NIGHT

David is searching through Alex's desk, looking through letters

and folders, then shoving them back into drawers.

EXT. GARDEN AT THE FRONT OF THE FLAT. NIGHT

ALEX:

No, definitely not. And that's that. I refuse to discuss it

further.

JULIET:

It's the only way.

ALEX:

I refuse.

JULIET:

You're frightened.

ALEX:

No, I'm not frightened. A little terrified maybe. Did you see

what happened to the last two who tried that? They went up alive

and they came down dead -- the difference, I mean, alive dead

dead alive, that sort of thing. It wasn't difficult to spot. He

killed them both: he cut them up.

INT. JULIET'S ROOM. NIGHT

David is now searching through Juliet's desk. He picks up a large

brown envelope and looks into it. Beneath it is the airline

ticket envelope.

The doorbell rings.

INT. THROUGH THE SPYHOLE. NIGHT

McCall and Mitchell stand outside the door.

INT. HALL. NIGHT

David opens the door. McCall smiles.

MCCALL:

Good evening. I'm Detective Inspector McCall and this is DC

Mitchell. I wonder if we could ask you some questions.

DAVID:

What about?

MCCALL:

It's about the burglary.

DAVID:

Burglary?

MCCALL:

Downstairs.

DAVID:

Of course.

MCCALL:

Can we come in?

INT. LIVING ROOM. NIGHT

David sits on the sofa while the two policemen sit on armchairs

several feet apart.

DAVID:

So I just heard her cries for help and all that, and when I went

downstairs there were already those other people there, so I just

stood around really, waiting -- you know how people do -- and

then when your colleagues arrived I came back upstairs. And

that's about all, I think. I didn't actually see anything useful,

I don't think.

MCCALL:

did you hear anything before he cries?

DAVID:

No, not that I recall, I was asleep.

MCCALL:

Have you seen anything or anyone suspicious around here in the

last few days?

DAVID:

No, nothing, sorry.

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