The Sweet Hereafter Page #2

NICOLE assesses SAM. Sensing his sincerity, she throws her

arms around him in a gesture of unabashed excitement.

NICOLE:

I'm so happy, Daddy.

CUT TO:

EXT. BIDE-A-WILE MOTEL -- DUSK

MITCHELL STEPHEN'S car pulls into the parking lot of this

run-down roadside motel. In the fading light, a magnificent

mountain range is seen in the background.

CUT TO:

INT. BIDE-A-WILE MOTEL -- EVENING

MITCHELL enters the reception area, and rings a bell on the

desk. After a few moments RISA WALKER appears. She is an

exhausted looking woman in her mid-thirties, once attractive

but very run-down. RISA stares at MITCHELL'S soaked

clothes.

MITCHELL:

Hello.

RISA:

Is it raining outside?

MITCHELL:

No, I...had an accident.

Pause. RISA stares at MITCHELL, her expression somewhere

else.

MITCHELL (CONT'D)

Do you have a room?

RISA:

Will you be spending more than a

night?

MITCHELL:

Hard to say. I might have...some

business here.

A voice is heard from the darkness beyond the desk.

WENDELL:

Are you a reporter?

MITCHELL:

No.

WENDELL WALKER, RISA'S husband, appears from the darkness.

WENDELL:

You here about the accident?

MITCHELL stares at WENDELL'S haunted eyes, then looks back

at RISA. He immediately knows their story.

MITCHELL:

Yes. I'm a lawyer. I realize this

is an awful time, but it's important

that we talk.

CUT TO:

EXT. FAIRGROUND -- DAY

A group of men are setting up the ferris wheel for the

country fair. SAM and NICOLE walk into the shot, eating ice

cream cones. SAM waves at someone he recognizes in the

distance.

SAM:

Let's sit down.

NICOLE nods, her mind elsewhere.

CUT TO:

EXT. FAIRGROUND -- DAY

SAM and NICOLE are sitting at an outside table, finishing

their cones.

A school bus pulls up into the fairground. NICOLE watches

as young children spill out of the bus and gather outside.

NICOLE smiles at this scene. SAM notices, turns around to

see the children, then turns back to NICOLE.

SAM:

What's so funny?

NICOLE:

Just the way Dolores gets so excited

about bringing the kids to check out

the animals. It's like the biggest

thing in her life.

ANGLE ON:

DOLORES DRISCOLL, a warm and cheery woman in her forties,

leading the young children into the large exhibition barn on

the fair site.

DOLORES:

Alright, kids. I want you all to

listen to me. Rule number one No

one is allowed to stick their

fingers into the cages. I don't

care how cute some of these animals

may be, the fact is they don't like

being here, no matter how many

ribbons some of them have won...

CUT TO:

INT. BIDE-A-WILE MOTEL -- EVENING

MITCHELL STEPHENS is having a meeting with WENDELL and RISA

WALKER in their livingroom behind the reception area.

MITCHELL has a pad of paper and is taking notes.

WENDELL:

Kyle Lambston's a drunk. Nobody

likes him. He's a nasty piece of

work.

MITCHELL:

In what way?

WENDELL:

Been drinking since high school.

F***ed himself up. Used to be smart

enough.

MITCHELL:

Any criminal record?

WENDELL:

Probably half a dozen traffic

convictions. Drunk driving. Lost

his licence. That's why he don't

work no more.

WENDELL:

Can't get off that shitty dump they

live on. What little money comes in

goes to booze.

MITCHELL:

How does the family survive?

WENDELL:

Don't know. Food banks, welfare,

church charity. They scrape by.

MITCHELL looks at RISA, who has remained silent.

MITCHELL:

What about Doreen?

RISA:

She...she was a friend of mine.

MITCHELL:

When?

RISA:

At school. She fell for Kyle just

before we graduated. Got pregnant,

and...went to live in a trailer up

on a woodlot Kyle's dad used to own.

Kyle started spending more and more

time at the Spread Eagle...

MITCHELL:

That's the local bar?

RISA:

(nodding)

...coming home drunk and I guess

feeling trapped by his life and

blaming her for that...and...

RISA hesitates.

WENDELL:

Taking it out on her.

MITCHELL stops taking notes, and looks at the WALKERS.

MITCHELL:

He beat her?

RISA nods. MITCHELL crosses the LAMBSTONS off of his list.

He looks up at RISA and WENDELL.

MITCHELL (CONT'D)

You see, to do this right, to

actually have a chance at winning -

of getting some money to compensate

you for the loss of your boy - we

need folks like you. Sensitive,

loving parents. People with no

criminal background or history of

trouble in town. Do you understand?

The WALKERS nod.

MITCHELL (CONT'D)

Now, of all these parents you've

told me about whose kids were

killed, who would you consider to be

good upstanding neighbors?

RISA stares hard at MITCHELL.

RISA:

What do you mean?

MITCHELL:

People who will help our cause.

Pause.

RISA:

Well, there's the Hamiltons. Joe

and Shelly Hamilton.

WENDELL:

(caustically)

Yeah, right.

Beat. MITCHELL looks at WENDELL, waiting for an

explanation.

WENDELL (CONT'D)

I mean, everyone knows Joey steals

antiques from summer cottages.

Resells them to dealers in the city.

He's been doing that for years.

MITCHELL regards WENDELL with a slight smile of admiration.

MITCHELL:

That's great, Wendell. That's the

sort of thing I need to know. So it

doesn't come back to haunt our case

later on.

RISA:

There's the Prescots...

WENDELL:

That sonofabitch owes thousands to

the bank and half the businesses in

town. He's about to lose his house

and car.

RISA:

But Charlene...

WENDELL:

Charlene's over at the Spread Eagle

every other night. Sleeps with

whatever she can get her hands on.

She'll go down for a pat on the head

and a fistful of peanuts.

MITCHELL is taking notes.

WENDELL (CONT'D)

Don't even think of the Bilodeaus or

the Atwaters. They're all inbred.

RISA:

The Ottos.

Pause. MITCHELL waits. No response from WENDELL.

MITCHELL:

Tell me about the Ottos.

RISA:

Wanda and Hartley. They lost Bear.

He was their adopted son. A

beautiful boy. Indian.

MITCHELL:

Indian?

RISA:

Yes.

MITCHELL:

That's good. Judges like adopted

Indian boys. Tell me more about the

Ottos.

As RISA talks, MITCHELL takes notes.

RISA:

They're smart. Been to college.

They moved here from the city about

a dozen years ago.

MITCHELL:

What do they do?

RISA:

Crafts.

MITCHELL:

Crafts?

RISA:

Wanda does these photographic

things. That's one of her pictures

on the wall.

WENDELL:

Yeah, well, they probably smoke

weed.

RISA:

You don't know that.

MITCHELL:

Have they ever been busted?

RISA:

No.

WENDELL:

You don't know is what you mean.

MITCHELL regards the tension between RISA and WENDELL as he

continues to make notes.

MITCHELL'S cell phone rings. He answers it.

MITCHELL:

Yes, I'll accept the charges.

MITCHELL stands up.

MITCHELL (CONT'D)

Do you mind if I step outside for a

moment? It's a private call.

The WALKERS nod as MITCHELL moves outside.

CUT TO:

EXT. BIDE-A-WILE MOTEL -- DUSK

MITCHELL speaks into his cellular phone.

MITCHELL:

Zoe...Zoe, where are you?

CUT TO:

INT. AIRPLANE. FIRST CLASS CABIN -- DAY

A newscaster is giving a report on the television screen of

a first class airplane cabin. The image is silent.

This scene takes place two years after the accident.

MITCHELL STEPHENS is playing with his headset, which doesn't

seem to be working. He summons a STEWARDESS over.

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