The Verdict Page #28

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Galvin picks up the telephone. Looks down to telephone book

in front of him, open on desk.

ANGLE - P.O.V.

New York City telephone directory. Two columns of COSTELLO's.

Thirty of them crossed off. Galvin on the phone.

GALVIN (V.O.)

Hello, Mrs. Costello...

ANGLE - GALVIN ON THE PHONE

GALVIN:

Sorry to bother you so late.

Laura goes over to the couch, sits. Lights a cigarette.

GALVIN:

This is Mr. Goldberg in Accounting.

We have some money here for you...

This is the Mrs. Costello that used

to be a nurse?

(beat)

I'm sorry. I think we have our records

mixed up.

ANGLE:

Laura sitting on the couch. Tense.

Smoking.

GALVIN:

Are you related to Kathy Costello,

the R.N.?... I'm sorry...

We hear Mickey on his phone.

MICKEY (V.O.)

Hello, this is Dr. Dorchester in

Boston. This is an emergency. A nurse

left my employ...

ANGLE:

Laura on the couch. Galvin dialing

the phone. Mickey HALF SEEN in the

next room.

MICKEY:

...four years ago...

GALVIN:

Hello. This is Mr. Dorchester in

Records. We're looking for Kathy

Costello...

MICKEY:

(voice over; in the

other room, shouting)

I need a cigarette!

(resumes on-the-phone

tone)

She left my office four years ago,

we're looking for a chart...

(covers phone; again

shouts)

I need a cigarette...

Laura looks around the desk, picks up one then another pack,

crushes them, empty. She nods to herself, picks up her coat

off the couch in the anteroom, and starts down the hall.

Going through the door, she turns, looks back.

ANGLE - P.O.V.

Galvin in the inner office, on the phone.

GALVIN:

Thank you. I'll hold.

He looks up. Sees Laura, gives her a half-smile.

INT. GREASY SPOON - NIGHT

Near the cash register of an all-night diner in the business

district, the deserted streets outside. Laura -- standing

next to a wall phone, exhausted. She is handed a cardboard

tray with three coffees on it and two packs of Pall Malls

and some change by the Proprietor. She takes the change and

turns her head to look at the telephone.

INT. GALVIN'S OFFICE - NIGHT

Mickey asleep on the couch, coffee containers around him, an

ashtray full of butts. Beat. We hear a telephone being dialed.

ANGLE:

Galvin, exhausted, smoking, on the

telephone.

GALVIN:

Hello. This is Ross Williams. I'm

calling from California. I'm sorry.

I know it's late in the East, but

this is an emergency. May I please

speak to Kathy Costello?

(beat)

I'm sorry. My records must be

confused. This is the family of Kathy

Costello...? Please excuse it.

He hangs up. Reaches for a bottle of whiskey on his desk.

Pours a shot into a glass. Downs it. His attention is caught

by something across the room.

ANGLE - P.O.V.

Laura asleep on the couch, covered in Galvin's overcoat.

ANGLE:

Galvin looks gratefully at her. He

begins dialing the phone.

INT. GALVIN'S OFFICE - VESTIBULE - DAY

A small bundle of mail is pushed through the vertical slot

and falls to the floor.

ANGLE:

Interior office. Early morning. Galvin asleep with his head

on his desk. Mickey asleep in a chair. Laura asleep on the

couch, covered with Galvin's overcoat. Galvin wakes up,

startled by the sound of the mail dropping. He picks up the

phone mechanically. He realizes it is morning and he has

been asleep. He replaces phone. He surveys the office.

Dead, resigned. He closes the phone book. He reaches in a

pack of cigarettes on the desk. It is empty. He roots in the

ashtray for a long butt. This disgusts him. He rejects it.

Rubs his eyes. Gets up. Goes to the window, stares out. Looks

back at the scene in his office. It is over.

He stands by Laura and looks down at her, he looks at Mickey.

He has let them down. He goes to a cabinet under the lawbooks

and takes out a bottle of whiskey and a water glass. He walks

into the anteroom. Sighs, sits on the couch near the door.

Glances at the several letters that have just fallen through

the slot. He pours a half-tumbler full of whiskey, and drains

it. He refills the tumbler. He absently picks up the mail

and starts mechanically sorting through it. He stops at an

official-looking piece.

ANGLE - P.O.V.

The letter, return address MASSACHUSETTS BAR ASSOCIATION.

URGENT.

He lethargically opens the letter. On Bar Association

letterhead, it reads: "You are directed to appear on January

15th to show cause why you should not be disbarred. You are

permitted to be represented by counsel of your choice, and..."

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