FADE
IN:
INT.
THOMAS HOME -- LIVING ROOM -- SATURDAY MORNING
The
room has been completely redecorated. The hardwood floor is now covered with a
thick wall-to-wall carpet. The new furniture is pale and somewhat spartan.
WILMA emerges from the kitchen carrying a glass of milk. She walks across the
room to where GALE is seated on the new sofa. In a chair near him sits CASEY.
CASEYAnd when we got the floor done, it didn’t really match the rest of the room. I mean, it looked pretty bad, even to me. So we decided to do the rest of the room, kind of lighten it up.GALEI see.WILMA(hands Gale the milk)There you are, Agent Gale.
She
sits.
GALEThank you very much, ma’am. In consideration for your grieving process, Mr. Thomas, Mrs. Thomas, I have delayed as long as possible discussing with you the details of your daughter’s life. We have gathered sufficient evidence to enable us to build a case if we have an actual suspect, and therefore, I need to know some of the specifics of Megan’s personal relationships.CASEYWe understand.GALEDid Megan have a boyfriend?WILMANo. No, she didn’t. The last boy she dated was Jeff Andrus. They broke up about four months ago. He dumped her for another girl.GALEAre you aware if she knew any young men in the neighborhood or was intimate with anyone in his early twenties?WILMAShe didn’t have a boyfriend.CASEYShe didn’t hang out with older guys.GALEI ask because the evidence leads us to conclude that Megan knew her attacker and allowed him into the house.WILMAMegan had so many friends, boys and girls. She was very sociable. It always broke her heart to hurt someone’s feelings. I can’t imagine anyone would want to hurt her.GALEUnfortunately, it is often the case that the identity of the perpetrators of such crimes comes as a shock to everyone involved.WILMAShe was so kind to everyone. How could someone take advantage of her and be so... horrible--
Wilma
breaks down crying.
CASEY(crosses to her)Aw, jeez. Honey, come on, now. Hey, come on.
Gale
is patient and looks over at portraits of Megan and Bradley on the wall.
CU -- Bradley’s portrait.
CUT
TO:
EXT.
NEIGHBORHOOD STREET -- MORNING
BRADLEY
and JEAN are jogging.
BRADLEYHow was your night out?JEANIt had its ups and downs. Nicholas was very nice, but Penny seemed kind of upset about something. She left suddenly, so I think she might have been sick. I met a guy named James. Something sort of odd about him.BRADLEYJames Clapsaddle?JEANI think that was his name, yes.BRADLEYListen, Jean, you just stay away from that guy. He’s bad news. That’s fair warning, and I’m serious.JEANWhy?BRADLEYJust steer clear of him, for your own good.JEANWell, he seemed harmless enough. And frankly, I’m glad of the chance to meet people and not be stuck in the house every night.BRADLEYLook, I understand. And I really appreciate you coming and helping out. It’s taken a lot of the load off Mom.JEANI’m glad to be of help.ALBERT (O.S.)Bradley!
ALBERT
is across the street, jogging in the opposite direction. He crosses over to
Bradley and Jean.
ALBERTGood morning, Bradley.BRADLEYHey, Mr. Collins. This is my cousin I was telling you about. Jean Bellew.ALBERT(stares at Jean)Incredible. I mean, the resemblance to your sister, Bradley. It’s remarkable.JEANEverybody seems to say so.ALBERT(vaguely disturbed)It’s like Megan never went away. Like she’s right here.
Jean
gives Bradley an uncomfortable look.
CUT
TO:
EXT.
SHERIFF STATION -- MORNING
CUT
TO:
INT.
SHERIFF STATION -- LOBBY -- MORNING
GALE
enters, but all is quiet. He looks at Abigail’s desk, but it is empty. Gale
looks around.
CUT
TO:
INT.
SHERIFF STATION -- CONFERENCE ROOM -- MORNING
GALE
enters, but no one is there.
CUT
TO:
INT.
SHERIFF STATION -- SHERIFF’S OFFICE -- MORNING
GALE
enters. No one is there.
GALEBob...?
The
phone in the lobby rings.
CUT
TO:
INT.
SHERIFF STATION -- LOBBY -- MORNING
GALE
comes out of Sheriff’s office. LYNDON rushes down the hall with an empty coffee
pot and snatches up the phone.
LYNDONSheriff station. Deputy Pfi-- Sheriff station. No, there’s no one here by that name. No, you have the wrong number. The sheriff station. No, no Klaus. I’m sorry, you have the wrong-- Okay.
Lyndon
hangs up.
GALEDeputy, what’s going on?LYNDONI’m sorry, Agent Gale, but today is Abigail’s day off, but the substitute called in sick this morning, so I had to call the back-up sub, but she’s also a nurse’s aide and she’s working today at the hospital, so she said she’d have her sister come out and fill in, only she isn’t here yet.GALEI see. And the Sheriff?LYNDONSheriff Armstrong hasn’t come in.GALEI see.
Gale
quints.
CUT
TO:
INT.
TWINSBURG LIBRARY -- MORNING
PENNY
enters with some books. She takes them to the circulation desk. The ELDERLY
LIBRARIANS are working the desk.
1ST LIBRARIANGood morning, dear. May I help you?PENNYGood morning.
Penny
slides the books toward the librarians.
2ND LIBRARIANGood morning.PENNYGood morning.1ST LIBRARIANDo you have your library card, dear?PENNYI’m sorry?2ND LIBRARIANYou can’t check out books without your library card.PENNYI’m returning them.2ND LIBRARIANWhat did she say?1ST LIBRARIANShe’s returning them.2ND LIBRARIANYou don’t need a card to return books.1ST LIBRARIANI know. Only to check them out.2ND LIBRARIANYou only need your library card to check books out, dear.PENNYYes, I’d like to return these. And please make sure you register it, because I received an overdue notice for books I had already returned.1ST LIBRARIANAre these overdue?PENNYNo. It happened last month.2ND LIBRARIANWell, you should have said something before now.PENNYI did. We got it straightened out last month. Now I am returning these books. They are not overdue. Here they are.
Penny
pats the books as she pushes them toward the librarians. Then she turns around
to leave, spotting JAMES sitting alone at a table, reading a book. Penny walks
over to James.
1ST LIBRARIANSome people.2ND LIBRARIANThe least little thing.
NEW
ANGLE
Penny
approaches James.
PENNYJames? Hi.JAMESOh, hi, Penny.PENNYHow are you?JAMESOh, uh, fine. I’m fine. My parents are out of town for the day, so I’m just sort of hanging around. You know, reading.PENNYYes, what is that?JAMESJust a book. It’s...PENNY(takes the book from him)Let me see. Salem witch trials?JAMESYeah, I like history.PENNYHistory’s cool. You’re so smart, James. School’s easy for you, isn’t it?JAMESWell, I don’t know...PENNYSo many guys are really dumb. A girl likes a man she can talk to.JAMESReally? Yeah, I guess.PENNYJames, do you like me?JAMESWell, sure, um...PENNYWhy don’t we go out sometime? Just you and me, and have some fun, you know?JAMESUh, sure. Yeah, that would be, um, great.PENNYHow about tonight?JAMESTonight. Well, uh, yeah, why not? Okay, Penny.PENNYGood.
NEW
ANGLE
The
elderly librarians are watching from the circulation desk, out of earshot.
1ST LIBRARIANIsn’t that sweet?2ND LIBRARIANYoung love.
They
giggle.
CUT
TO:
INT.
ROSEMARY’S PASTRY SHOP -- MORNING
Close
up of a cake being frosted at the counter by ROSEMARY. Pull back to reveal KENT
sitting at one of the tables eating a doughnut. No one else is in the shop.
ROSEMARYSo, what did you and James get up to last night?KENTNot much. How was your date?ROSEMARYOh, it was terrific. Oregon is such a neat guy. I’ve never met anyone like him. There was some of the most beautiful turquoise jewelry there. And some of the costumes were incredible. Oregon promised to help me design one to wear myself. That’ll be fun. We’re going back up there tonight. The event goes all weekend.KENTGreat.ROSEMARYYou know, Kent, I am so glad that you came to your senses. That Janet was just no good for you. It couldn’t have worked, she was just using you for heaven knows what. I can’t believe her. What a sleaze she is. You think you know somebody... I mean, you really think you know somebody, but people change.KENT(ominously)Yeah... they sure do.
CUT
TO:
INT.
STEAKHOUSE -- SATURDAY AFTERNOON
GALE
is seated in a booth at the back of the restaurant, sipping a glass of water.
The MANAGER and the WAITER approach.
MANAGERAgent Gale, this is John, one of the waiters. He’s the one who can help you.GALEThank you. John, sit down, please.
The
waiter sits across from Gale.
MANAGERIs there anything I can get you, sir? A nice hot cup of coffee, perhaps?GALENo, thank you.
Gale
turns to the waiter. The manager stands in place, smiling. Gale looks back at
him.
GALEThank you.
The
manager nods, still smiling, but stays put.
GALE(smiling)Leave us alone, please.
The
manager acknowledges and moves away, smiling constantly. Gale turns back to the
waiter.
GALEAll right, John. You were working the night of Friday, January 30th, is that correct?WAITERYes, sir.
Gale
produces a photo of Megan.
GALEMegan Thomas, the girl murdered one week ago, had dinner here that night. Do you remember her being here?WAITERYes, I do. She was here with a young guy I didn’t recognize.GALEYes, James Clapsaddle. Did anything out of the ordinary occur?WAITERBoy, I’ll say. They had some kind of argument. Not loud or anything, but she stood up and walked out on him. She was pretty upset. They were making a real scene, you know. You remember that kind of thing.GALEDo you have any idea what the argument was about?WAITERWell, not really. But it sure looked like a lovers’ quarrel to me.GALEI see. Thank you.
Gale
squints.
EXT.
WOODS -- AFTERNOON
Long
pan across the woods.
CUT
TO:
EXT.
SHERIFF’S HOME -- AFTERNOON
A
rustic log house on the edge of the woods, with Sheriff’s cruiser parked in the
driveway. Gale’s car pulls into the driveway and GALE gets out. He takes the
mail out of the mailbox by the road and walks up to the front door of the
house. A gunshot rings out and Gale throws himself to the ground. Then he gets
up and walks around to the back of the house. He finds SHERIFF, unshaven and
sloppily dressed, shooting a rifle at beer bottles at the end of the yard.
Sheriff fires another shot, causing a beer bottle standing on a piece of
firewood to explode. Gale walks up to Sheriff.
GALEI brought your mail.SHERIFFAgent Gale, I’d really like to be alone.GALEThe woman at the station last night.SHERIFFYvonne Temple. Old friend. Alan Cartwright’s ex-wife.
Sheriff
shoots another bottle.
GALEYou love her.SHERIFFWe grew up together. Best friends. And as we got older, we got closer, and finally fell in love. We were together for one summer, then Cartwright stole her away. They got married, Duane was born. It all happened so fast. But somehow, we managed to stay friends. We just knew each other too well. And I could see in her eyes that she kept thinking she’d made a mistake. But we couldn’t go back, though I kept hoping. Eventually, they got divorced, but Yvonne said she needed to leave Twinsburg, to find herself. That was seven years ago, and I hadn’t seen her since... until last night.GALEBob, I know that the human heart often takes us down roads we do not wish to travel, and in the tug and sway of emotion, we may find ourselves lost in utter darkness. But, as men of the law, you and I have a duty to resist the temptation to plumb the depths of our sorrow, for the people we have sworn to protect are counting on us not to falter. Even now, a man is at large who has brought the pestilence of drugs to the citizens of your town, and even the children are among his victims. And they are counting on you to bring him to justice. Twinsburg needs you, Bob. And so do I.
Sheriff
takes aim again, pauses, then lowers the gun. Gale puts his hand on Sheriff’s
shoulder.
CUT
TO:
EXT.
SHERIFF STATION -- AFTERNOON
CUT
TO:
INT.
SHERIFF STATION -- LOBBY -- AFTERNOON
GALE
and SHERIFF, now cleaned up, enter. LYNDON is on the phone, still holding the
empty coffee pot.
LYNDONNo, there’s no Klaus here. What number-- This is the sheriff station. What number are you calling?SHERIFFI don’t even want to know.
CUT
TO:
INT.
JAIL -- AFTERNOON
DUANE
is sitting in his cell. GALE and SHERIFF approach. Sheriff unlocks the cell
door and opens it.
SHERIFFDuane, come with us.
CUT
TO:
INT.
SHERIFF STATION -- LOBBY -- AFTERNOON
GALE,
SHERIFF, and DUANE enter. LYNDON takes the coffee pot and goes down the hall.
SHERIFFAll right, Duane. Go home and call the number Patrick gave you. When you get in touch with him, tell him you’ve been released and you need to see him tomorrow. When you’ve arranged the meeting, call me with the details. If for some reason you can’t get in touch with him, let me know right away. Now, have you got that?DUANEYeah. But listen, Sheriff, Patrick’s nobody to screw around with. You’re gonna have to promise me some kind of protection after I blow the whistle on him.GALEDon’t you worry about that, Duane. It will all be taken care of.DUANEOkay, G-Man.SHERIFFAll right, Duane, you’re free to go.
Duane
turns and exits. Gale and Sheriff exchange glances.
CUT
TO:
EXT.
NEIGHBORHOOD STREET -- AFTERNOON
DUANE
walks along, glad to be out of jail. A car pulls into the driveway in front of
him and stops, blocking the sidewalk. YVONNE gets out.
YVONNEDuane, I called at the station and they said you’d just been released.DUANEYeah.YVONNEWell, I can give you a ride home.DUANENo, thanks.YVONNEDuane, I know things haven’t gone well for us, but we really do need to talk. I want to.
Duane
looks around, then down at the ground.
DUANEYeah, all right.
Yvonne
holds out her hands to him, but Duane walks around her and gets into the car.
Yvonne is sad.
CUT
TO:
INT.
SHERIFF STATION -- SHERIFF’S OFFICE -- SATURDAY EVENING
The
office is dimly lit. SHERIFF sits at his desk, staring ahead blankly, feeling
depressed. He remembers something, opens his desk drawer, and takes out a faded
old fishing bobber. He looks at it, lost in memories, as GALE enters.
GALEAny word from Duane?SHERIFFNot yet.
Gale
sits down across from Sheriff.
GALEBob, I made an unexpected discovery last night.SHERIFFWhat was that?GALEI was making my customary end-of-the-day recording when I suddenly ran out of tape. I was surprised, because there should have been another few minutes of tape left. However, I sometimes set it on voice-activation at night, in case my subconscious should cause me to say something important in my sleep. But in this case, it caught what someone else had said. The Astronaut.SHERIFFYou have him on tape?GALEYes.SHERIFFWhat did he say?GALE“Deep within the maple trees, the brown turtle knows the passage.” I haven’t yet figured out its meaning.SHERIFFThere’s a George Brownturtle who comes to town every now and then. He’s an expert on Native American myths and legends, especially from the local tribes. In fact...
Sheriff
looks through the papers on his desk until he finds a flyer.
SHERIFFYeah, he’s supposed to be up at the Maple Lodge this weekend for a Wild West convention.GALEMaple Lodge. Brownturtle. Yes, the “passage” may be some clue in the Native American legends, perhaps a reference to the Electrical Man. I’m going to go up there and see if I can find him.SHERIFFGood idea. I’ll wait here for Duane’s call.GALEOkay.
Gale
gets up and goes to the door.
GALEYou’re going to be all right?SHERIFFYeah.
Gale
gives him a thumbs up and exits.
CUT
TO:
EXT.
PENNY’S HOME -- EVENING
NICHOLAS
rides his ten-speed bicycle up the driveway and leans it against the house. He
goes to the front door and rings the doorbell. After a moment, MARY GARDNER,
Penny’s mother, answers the door.
MARYNicholas!NICHOLASHi, Mrs. Gardner.MARYI’m afraid Penny’s not here.NICHOLASShe’s not?MARYNo. She went out a little while ago with another boy.NICHOLASWho?MARYI can tell her you stopped by. Good night, Nicholas.
Mary
closes the door. Nicholas just stands there, stunned.
CUT
TO:
EXT.
MAPLE LODGE -- EVENING
CUT
TO:
INT.
MAPLE LODGE -- EVENING
ROSEMARY,
OREGON, DAN, DON, and numerous other people dressed in ordinary, biker, and
western outfits are socializing and having a good time. Then ALAN enters,
wearing a suit and tie. He looks around a moment, then walks across the crowded
room and goes up onto the stage.
ALANExcuse me. Can I have everyone’s attention? I have an announcement to make.ROSEMARYThat’s Alan Cartwright.
Dan
and Don boo loudly, and the other bikers join in, jeering Alan. He tries to
quiet them, but they persist. A TEENAGER brings Alan a microphone.
ALANI understand what you people are feeling here, but I ask that you hear me out. Just listen to what I have to say, please.
The
crowd quiets down.
ALANI know that there’s a good deal of resentment towards me, towards my company, and the actions we have taken concerning the Shadygrove development. But I have come to announce that I have called an immediate halt to the construction. I have decided to abandon all plans to develop the site and will instead finance a project to restore the campground, not only to its former state but to make it the best damn campground in the entire region, a place where we can all commune with nature at its most elemental.
The
audience gives him polite applause.
ALANAnd, as you may know, there are some partial structures at the site that will need to be removed. And as the saying goes, ladies and gentlemen, there’s no time like the present. So I wonder if anyone here would be interested in volunteering for a little late-night demolition duty...
The
bikers cheer and advance to the stage, where they take Alan up on their
shoulders and carry him around the room like a champion. They follow Alan out
the door, along with the rest of the crowd, all with great excitement.
CUT
TO:
EXT.
VALLEY -- SCENIC OVERLOOK -- EVENING
Pan
across the scene of rolling hills of trees stretching into the distance, with
lights twinkling among them, to NICHOLAS, sitting on the edge of a cliff, his
bicycle leaning up against a tree. Nicholas looks out at the darkening sky,
then hangs his head.
CUT
TO:
EXT.
CARTWRIGHT HOME -- SATURDAY NIGHT
CUT
TO:
INT.
CARTWRIGHT HOME -- DEN -- NIGHT
DUANE
is sitting at the desk, waiting for a phone call. The phone rings and he picks
it up immediately.
DUANEYeah? Hey, man.
INTERCUT -- DUANE in his father’s den and PATRICK in a dimly lit house as they talk on
the phone.
PATRICKI got your message.DUANEI’m out, man. Time to get back in business.PATRICKIt’s about time. You’re my main man in the schools, Duane. Sales have been hurting this week.DUANEListen, man, we gotta get together tomorrow. When I was inside, I caught wind of the cops putting together a sting.PATRICKHow close are they?DUANEI can’t talk about it now, man. Let’s get together tomorrow.
Duane
takes out a piece of paper and a pen.
DUANE(writes)Okay. Got it. I’ll be there, man. Later.
Duane
hangs up, then dials again.
CUT
TO:
INT.
SHERIFF STATION -- SHERIFF’S OFFICE -- NIGHT
SHERIFF
is sitting behind his desk. The phone rings and he answers it.
SHERIFFSheriff Armstrong. Duane, what have you got? Four o’clock tomorrow? Okay, good. Give me the address. 49371 Beaumont Lane... Wait a minute! That place belongs to the Box Lady!
CUT
TO:
EXT.
TWINSBURG HOSPITAL -- NIGHT
CUT
TO:
INT.
BOX LADY’S HOSPITAL ROOM -- NIGHT
The
BOX LADY is lying in bed, unconscious but stirring. A NURSE enters with
TERRENCE.
NURSEHere, Doctor. She’s been restless and mumbling.TERRENCEGood, I’m glad you let me know. I want--
Box
Lady suddenly opens her eyes and screams and starts to have a fit. She
struggles violently as Terrence and the nurse try to restrain and calm her.
CUT
TO:
INT.
HOSPITAL HALLWAYS -- NIGHT
Track
down the hallways as the Box Lady’s screams echo through the building. Pan over
to the door of another hospital room.
CUT
TO:
INT.
ELLIOTT’S HOSPITAL ROOM -- NIGHT
Close
up of ELLIOTT lying in bed, unconscious. He stirs and opens his eyes groggily.
A figure comes slowly into focus. It is NICHOLAS, who walks over from the
window and sits down next to the bed.
NICHOLASHey. Glad you’re back.
Elliott
grasps Nicholas’s hand and smiles weakly.
CUT
TO:
INT.
JAMES’S HOME -- NIGHT
The
house is dark, but rummaging noises can be heard as the shot tracks down the
hall and into James’s bedroom, which is being ransacked by JANET. She is
pulling out drawers, dumping them out, and searching through the contents. She
pulls the drawer out of the nightstand and dumps it out, but does not find what
she’s looking for. In frustration, she knocks the nightstand over. Duct-taped
to the underside is a small cassette tape. Janet seizes the cassette and looks
at it with a triumphant gleam in her eye.
JANETYou little bastard! Got you!
CUT
TO:
EXT.
MAPLE LODGE -- NIGHT
CUT
TO:
INT.
MAPLE LODGE -- NIGHT
GALE
enters the now-deserted main hall and looks around. There is a rustling in the
large red curtains across the stage. A spotlight comes on suddenly,
illuminating the center of the curtains. Gale walks up onto the stage and finds
where the two curtains meet. He turns and looks into the spotlight for a
second, then parts the curtains and steps through. On the other side of the
curtains, Gale finds BROWNTURTLE sitting in the middle of the floor with his
eyes closed.
BROWNTURTLEI’ve been waiting for you.GALEYou know who I am?BROWNTURTLEI knew you’d come.GALEI need your help.BROWNTURTLEMy people believe that the world was born when a great woman fell from the sky. The force of her landing was so great that she was divided into two halves, which became the day and the night. Throughout the year, each half would seek to dominate the other, and when night dominated, the snows fell upon the land, bringing hardship to the people. When day dominated, the sun shone warm and long, and food was plentiful. The people believed that the Dark Goddess was evil incarnate, as the Light Goddess was good. Each had her servants, and they ruled over the Earth from the spirit-realms. The servant of the Dark Goddess brought death in the guise of friendship to people throughout the ages. But it is prophesied that a great hero will come one day, led by the servants of the Light Goddess -- He Who Was Of The Moon and He Who Was Of The Lightning -- to destroy the servant of evil forever.GALEHow? I need to find the Electrical Man.BROWNTURTLEYou are on the right path. You have but to follow it. It will lead you to the End of the World, where you must use the root of good to destroy the root of evil. So says the prophecy.GALEIs that the “passage” I was to hear? The prophecy?BROWNTURTLEYou will learn these things in time. All in good time.
Gale
squints.
CUT
TO:
EXT.
WOODS -- NIGHT
The
half-moon is reflected in the water of the pit surrounded by mossy rocks. The
black-and-white CAT looks at its reflection, then turns to the camera and
hisses.
FADE
OUT
Special
Agent Martin Gale, 34. FBI agent.
Sheriff
Robert Armstrong, 36. Sheriff of Twinsburg.
Jean
Bellew, 19. Megan’s lookalike cousin.
Bradley
Thomas, 18. High school senior, Jean’s cousin.
Alan
Cartwright, 50. Real estate developer, mall owner.
Penny
Gardner, 17. High school senior.
Duane
Cartwright, 18. High school senior, Alan’s son.
Lyle
Terrence, 62. Local doctor.
Rosemary
Clapsaddle, 40. Owns pastry shop/catering service.
Nicholas
Grey, 17. High school senior.
Elliott
Grey, 42. Owns bike shop, uncle of Nicholas.
Kent
Clapsaddle, 16. High school sophomore, Rosemary’s son.
Janet
Flynn, 39. Twinsburg native returned from England.
James
Clapsaddle, 18. High school senior, Rosemary’s brother.
Lyndon
Pfiffer, 26. Deputy.
Albert
Collins, 48. Lawyer.
Patrick
Clapsaddle, 33. Brother of Rosemary.
Casey
Thomas, 41. Father of Bradley.
Wilma
Thomas, 40. Mother of Bradley.
Mary
Gardner, 45. Mother of Penny.
Box
Lady, 53. Local eccentric.
Yvonne
Temple, 36. Environmentalist, mother of Duane.
Oregon
Blackthorn, 35. Wild West enthusiast.
Dan
Barrett, 30. Motorcyclist, twin of Don.
Don
Barrett, 30. Motorcyclist, twin of Dan.
George
Brownturtle, 103. Native American mystic.
Elderly
Librarians
Restaurant
Manager
Waiter
Nurse
Teenager