The Cell Page #4

Catherine reaches. MOCKEY-LOCK ERUPTS FROM WITHIN THE TREE

TRUNK! SNARLING! Catherine retreats, silently screaming.

INT. CATHERINE'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - DAWN

IN HER OWN BED, Catherine's eyes are open. In sharp contrast

to a typical reaction to a nightmare, she remains calm. No

sweaty face, no gasp, no reaction at all, really. She might

as well have been dreaming of puppy dogs. Wide awake, her

eyes return their gaze to the ceiling.

CATHERINE:

Go. To. Sleep.

INT. STARGHER HOUSE - BASEMENT - NIGHT

CHAINS attached to bizarre HOOKS dangle from the ceiling.

Admiring Anne's body, Stargher links the hooks to the rings

in his back. He presses a remote unit and up in the rafters,

a series of GEARS click into motion. The sound is torturous

as the mechanical hoist LIFTS Stargher off the ground,

pulling at the rings, strips of flesh rising. Stargher

grimaces, but clearly he wants the pain, needs it. As the

hoist clicks into another gear, it carries Stargher over the

table until his body is perfectly positioned above Anne's.

In the flickering weird light of the television screen,

Stargher resembles something from the twisted imagination of

William Blake - a levitating demon ready to debauch an

innocent angel. With his free hand, he touches himself,

chains clinking and swaying.

EXT. RIVER BANK - DAY

A railroad bridge and highway span an almost-bone-dry creek

bed. Gathered beneath the overpass are the POLICE, CORONER,

CRIMINIALISTS, AND A LOCAL FBI. A SEDAN travels down a

service road and stops nearby. TWO MEN exit, identify

themselves as FBI and move to the crime scene.

Special Agent GORDON RAMSEY is well-groomed, prides himself

on professionalism, and follows the Bureau party line.

Special Agent PETER NOVAK is rough around the edges,

introspective, and intense. A loner who marches to the tune

of a peculiar drummer, he's unconventionally handsome with

probing eyes. He moves slowly, observing the scene - the

world, for that matter - from a unique perspective.

As Ramsey finds the FBI's local liaison - AGENT COLE - Novak

oblivious to the people around him, touches dirt, smells the

air, and examines road, river, bridge and sky.

RAMSEY:

Who found her?

Cole nods at a visibly shaken WORKMAN seated in a patrol car.

COLE:

Surveyor for the railroad... 'Bout six

this morning.

Novak sees a FEMALE BODY wrapped in plastic and bound by

wire. Supervising the examination of the woman is FBI

PATHOLOGIST DR. THEODORE "TEDDY" LEE, a polite, dapper

southern gentleman.

NOVAK:

Thanks for waiting, Teddy.

Teddy gives Novak a friendly, respectful salute - "My

pleasure." Novak dons gloves, nods to an FBI PHOTOGRAPHER

and assists Teddy Lee in snipping wire and peeling back thick

clear plastic. As the photographer reacts to a strong smell,

Teddy comments.

TEDDY LEE:

Bleach.

As the man snaps pictures, Ramsey and Cole join them. Sadly,

Novak recognizes the face.

NOVAK:

Anne Marie Vicksey.

We recognize her, too.

COLE:

She the one from Santa Cruz?

NOVAK:

Just graduated law school. Single mom.

Had a two-year-old daughter.

He and Teddy expose the bleached flesh of her torso, neither

man surprised. Coldly thorough, Novak finds another of the

killer's tell-tale signs.

NOVAK (CONT'D)

(instructing the photographer)

The semen on her legs and abdomen.

FLASH! Photos are taken.

TEDDY LEE:

Someone looking after her little girl?

NOVAK:

Grandparents. Live over in Davis.

Novak looks into the dead white eyes of Anne Vicksey, trying

to imagine the horrors she beheld. He moves to the creek and

sees only a few inches of water. His eyes move from the drop

site to the highway above.

TEDDY LEE:

The poor thing.

FLASH! We're up there now, ON THE OVERPASS, with the

photographer and Novak, examining TIRE TRACKS in the soft

shoulder. Novak peers over the edge at the crime scene,

steps back, and focuses on the highway - imagining the

killer's truck as it disappeared into the night.

EXT. OFFICE PLAZA - DAY

A PRETTY YOUNG WOMAN, JULIA HICKSON, shares lunch with her

fiancee, JOHN TRACY. They talk, laugh and kiss, not a care

in the world.

INT. PICK-UP TRUCK - ACROSS THE STREET - DAY

As TALK RADIO plays, Carl Stargher watches them, specifically

Julia, his eyes never off her for too long as his hands work

on something banal but unseen.

TALK RADIO HOST:

...complaining about government

subsidies for farmers...

The voice on the radio becomes DISTORTED as we hear it

through Stargher's ears...

TALK RADIO HOST (CONT'D)

...but without subsidies, families will

starve, and I'm nodd

exagggeerrrrr....ayding. Iff id werrrr

up tooooo meeeee.....

The host's voice fades into a guttural, monstrous groan.

TALK RADIO HOST (CONT'D)

Meeeee gawwwwwdd Caaaarrrrlll. Mee god

cum...

(returning to normal)

Meeeee....wwuuuuuddunnnnttttt... be

spending billions on other countries

when we've got problems right here.

He opens his eyes and watches John kiss Julia goodbye as she

returns to work. Stargher looks down and we see what he's

been working on - A TOY DOLL. Female. Stripped of its

clothes, a single metal ring stuck through its plastic neck.

INT. COFFEE SHOP - DAY

His lunch finished, Ramsey is on a cell-phone talking to his

wife. Chain-drinking coffee, Novak scrutinizes photos of the

tire tracks.

RAMSEY:

Well, honey, what's worse? Doing it

yourself or asking your mother for help?

(gets his answer)

Can it wait 'til I get back/

(listens, answers)

I have no idea, Jeannie.

Novak checks his watch and the street. Clearly waiting for

someone or something.

RAMSEY (CONT'D)

Well all right. Good luck with the

Monster. I love you too. Bye-bye.

Ramsey snaps shut the cell-phone.

RAMSEY (CONT'D)

We call Jeannie's mother "The Monster"

because, well... she just is.

Novak is oblivious, pouring over tire-related info.

RAMSEY (CONT'D)

I know you could care less about my

personal life, Peter, but I do

appreciate the occasional, "How's your

wife, Gordon?"

He waits. Novak obliges:

NOVAK:

How is she?

RAMSEY:

Pregnant. Thanks for asking.

Novak is distracted by Teddy Lee entering the diner.

NOVAK:

Here he is.

RAMSEY:

Damn, man, I give up. Your partner

tells you his wife's gonna have a baby,

and all you care about is a coroner's

report!

Ramsey assesses the exhausted, lonely, intense man sitting

across from him.

RAMSEY (CONT'D)

I feel for those girls too, Pete. And

their families. But it's just a job.

Someday it'll be over. And then what'll

you have?

Much to Novak's appreciation, Teddy Lee's arrival provides an

escape from answering the question.

TEDDY LEE:

Hot off the presses.

He gives them copies of the AUTOPSY REPORT and FORENSIC

ANALYSIS of Anne Marie Vicksey. The WAITRESS sees Teddy,

approaches, and offers a menu.

TEDDY LEE (CONT'D)

(doesn't need it)

Chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes,

garden salad with Thousand Island

dressing and an iced-tea. Thank you

darlin'.

She nods and moves to the kitchen. Novak and Ramsey flip

through the documents.

Rate this script:0.0 / 0 votes