Untraceable Page #8

Marsh, anxious, watches him drive off.

EXT. RUN-DOWN HOME -- DAY

TWO UNIFORMED COPS stand outside, near a broken, rusty fence,

as Box hurries up.

BOX:

Who’s got the warrant?

OFFICER #1

(handing it over)

You do.

Box heads up the path to the house.

.

INT. RUN-DOWN HOME -- MOMENTS LATER -- DAY.

Knickknacks, doilies, and dust. Box enters. At the end of

the hall in the frilly kitchen, he sees TWO OFFICERS talking

to SOMEONE who blocks the basement door. We don’t have a

clear view.

INT. RUN-DOWN HOME KITCHEN -- MOMENTS LATER -- DAY.

Box enters, glances around the kitchen, taking it in, then

his eyes rest on ARTHUR JAMES ELMER, 30, skinny, brainy,

wearing khakis and a stained T-shirt.

ELMER:

You’re Box?

BOX:

That’s right.

39.

ELMER:

Unusual name.

BOX:

Wasn’t up to me.

ELMER:

You really think I baked that guy?

BOX:

Maybe.

ELMER:

I’m flattered. I found it highly

entertaining. Especially at the

end. The way the viewership

increased geometrically. Like some

sort of epidemic. You know, AIDS

took twenty years to reach a

million hits. Killwithme did it in

less than two hours. You know what

they oughta do? Sell ad space.

Box stares, then slaps the warrant onto his chest. An

officer moves Elmer away from his door. The other officer

lays his hand on his weapon and leads the way downstairs.

INT. ELMER’S BASEMENT APARTMENT -- CONTINUOUS -- SAME.

Box walks down creaking wooden steps past a swinging light

bulb into a dim, dirty basement apartment.

Every inch of the walls and ceilings is covered with a photo

collage of YOUNG MALE MODELS, cut from magazines, every inch

covered in heavy shellack.

.

Box walks over to a large work table, covered with garbage,

and bearing a massive amount of computer equipment. A big

monitor shows the killwithme screen -- black.

Box spots a bucket next to the chair. Picks it up. When the

odor of urine hits him, he turns his head. The officer

points to a bank of monitors-

OFFICER:

Guy’s got enemies.

Box looks. The monitors show live web cam images of

different views from around the house-

BOX:

No, he just thinks he does.

40.

Elmer is led into the room by the other Officer. Box sees

stacks of DVD's everywhere, all bearing handwritten labels.

BOX (cont’d)

You like movies, huh?

ELMER:

Who doesn’t?

BOX:

Me. You burn your own, huh?

Box pops a DVD in a player and hits play.

BOX (cont'd)

That’s illegal.

Elmer smirks. Box hits pause, freezing the FBI WARNING about

illegal copying. He throws Elmer a dead-serious glance.

BOX (cont’d)

You can’t say we didn’t warn you.

INT. MARSH’S WORK STATION -- LATER -- DAY.

Marsh walks quickly down the hall, checking a message on her

Treo. She senses something and looks over. Griffin walks at

her side, beaming.

MARSH:

What’re you doing here?

GRIFFIN:

Guess who Brooks asked to join the

task force?

Marsh smiles at the happy surprise.

INT. TASK FORCE MEETING ROOM -- LATER -- DAY.

Seated in the room are a DOZEN MEN and a COUPLE OF WOMEN:

representing the County Sheriff, the FBI, and the Baltimore

and D.C. police departments.

BROOKS:

Since we’ve got a few new members,

let’s talk a minute to introduce

ourselves.

CLOSE ON MARSH, as the introductions quickly proceed. She

hears a vibration. Checks her Treo. An e-mail from Annie.

She opens it. Annie writes: “Hi, Momy. Grandma is helping

me wthi the cpmter. I love you.”

41.

Marsh starts to write back. Griffin gives her a gentle jab

with his elbow. She looks at him, doesn’t understand. His

eyes bulge. She realizes that it’s her turn.

MARSH:

Sorry. Jennifer Marsh. I’m a

supervisor here.

GRIFFIN:

Griffin Dowd. I work here, too.

In Innocent Images. Which is just

a poetic way of saying internet

kiddie porn. Serial homicide’ll be

a nice break.

The last few people introduce themselves and Wynn takes over

again--

BROOKS:

Before we discuss a game plan, you

should know that we do have a

suspect. A search warrant has been

issued for an Arthur James--

.

MARSH:

Elmer’s not our guy.

All eyes turn to Marsh. Brooks smiles--

BROOKS:

Ms. Marsh hasn’t left her desk all

day, and yet somehow she feels the

confidence to declare-

MARSH:

Friday, starting at 1 p.m., Elmer

was logged on to a chat room for

twelve consecutive hours. At the

time Miller disappeared, Elmer was

busy trying to arrange a private

chat with the first tenor of the

Gay Men’s Chorus of Greater Tacoma.

Brooks frowns, then notices Box standing at the open door.

BROOKS:

You hear that, John?

BOX:

She’s right. He’s not our guy.

(beat)

But it still felt good arresting

him.

42.

A few chuckles. Box falls into a seat next to Marsh.

EXT. MARSH’S BACKYARD -- EVENING.

The family is visible in the kitchen window, eating dinner.

INT. MARSH KITCHEN -- SAME -- EVENING.

The family eats.

MARSH:

How was day camp, honey? Did you

have fun?

ANNIE:

Beebee made me cry.

MARSH:

She did? How?

ANNIE:

She called me “pooper-scooper.”

She says Bridget made it up...and

Bridget says Ashley did, but Ashley

says Beebee did, and I believe her.

MARSH:

Does it really matter? Who said it

first?

Annie nods emphatically. This triggers an idea in Marsh.

She reflects for a few beats.

MARSH (cont’d)

Would you excuse me for a second?

ANNIE:

Okay, but only one.

Marsh gets up and leaves the room.

ANNIE (cont’d)

One-one thousand.

(crying out)

Mommy, come back!

She blows her whistle. Stella bursts out laughing.

INT. MARSH’S BEDROOM -- MOMENTS LATER -- EVENING.

As she turns on her computer, Marsh hits her speed dial. The

phone rings. Griffin picks up-

43.

GRIFFIN (O.S.)

(from the phone)

Hello!

MARSH:

I caught you.

INTERCUT WITH:

INT. GRIFFIN’S BATHROOM -- SAME -- EVENING.

Having just finished shaving, Griffin slaps on after-shave.

GRIFFIN:

Barely. I’ve got a big date

tonight.

MARSH:

Big special or big overweight?

GRIFFIN:

I don’t know. She’s from match.com.

A legal secretary.

MARSH:

Listen, I just had a thought. Maybe

we moved on too fast. What was the

name of that college kid our guy used

to promote his site?

GRIFFIN:

Oh, you mean...ummm....Kincaid?

No, Kinross. Andrew. What about

him?

MARSH:

There are 1.3 billion internet users

in the world. Why did our guy choose

him? Maybe they knew each other.

Maybe there’s a connection. What do

you think?

GRIFFIN:

I guess it’s worth looking into.

MARSH:

(starting to type)

And there goes my holiday weekend.

GRIFFIN:

Like you had anything planned.

.

44.

MARSH:

I did. I was gonna crash your

date, just to see the look of

horror on her face when you split

the check.

GRIFFIN:

Know what you are? A playa hata.

MARSH:

(with a laugh)

See you Monday.

(beat)

Oh, and later tonight? When your

date ends early? Would you mind

taking a closer look at Miller? He

piloted corporate executives.

Anyone from high tech or telecom?

Members of Congress? See if you

can track down a customer list.

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