Insomnia
by
H. Seitz
5.2.00
FADE IN:
On credit sequence...
AN ARM
stretched out. Long, alabaster white. Beautiful. A WASH
CLOTH enters frame. Starts washing the arm with long, tender
strokes. 
A TUMBLE OF HAIR
thick and auburn. Being gently washed.
FINGERNAILS
being clipped with a shiny nail clipper. Short. Uniform.
Tidy.
EYEBROWS
brown with a touch of gold. A BRUSH comes into view.
Brushes against the eyebrow hair, then back again. Against.
Then back again.
PANTY-HOSE
pulled gingerly off a long leg. Folded neatly. The wash
cloth begins between the toes. Warm, soapy water.
HAIR
now dry. The HAND appears with a comb. Pulls down through
the thick tresses.
It is only now that we see the hand is wearing a SURGICAL
GLOVE.
The gloved hand holds up the comb and pulls stray hairs from
it. Places them in a big, clear, plastic bag. In the bag we
see the panty-hose, a folded flower dress, the nail
clippings.
Goes back to combing. Comes across a knot and yanks the comb
through. The HEAD rolls over to us. Her face is bruised,
her eyes blank. She is lying on the floor.
Dead.
End of credit sequence.
INT. BUSH PLANE - THE KILBUCK MOUNTAINS, ALASKA - DAY
The loud THRUM of a bush plane. We CLOSE ON a small, cloudy
window. Through it we see an endless expanse of pine trees.
HAP (O.S.)
Jesus. Just look at all that.
PULL BACK to reveal HAP ECKHART and WILL DORMER sitting side
by side. Hap's at the window. Greying moustache, a little
pudgy, wearing a brown suit. Holding a folded over Seattle
Times.
HAP (cont'd)
I thought we had a population problem.
Everyone should just move up here.
(taps window)
Just look at it, Will.
Will's eyes remain on the file on his lap.
WILL
I don't need to look at it.
Will Dormer. Tall, handsome, expensively tailored suit.
Snakeskin cowboy boots. There's both a magnetism and a
distance to him. An intense mixture. Hap glances at him.
HAP
Nothing wrong with smelling the roses.
Will looks up. We see the trace of a thick, ropy SCAR by his
Adam's apple. There's tension between him and Hap, just
below the surface. He taps the file.
WILL
Tell that to her, partner.
ANGLE ON THE FILE
a stack of 8x10 PHOTOGRAPHS. Of the dead girl. Her eyes
puffed up from bruises. The whites bloody. Contusions along
her breasts and shoulders.
PILOT (O.S.)
Detective?
The PILOT's looking back at Will. Wearing a leather red
baron hat.
PILOT (cont'd)
Better check your belts. We'll be
landing in about fifteen minutes.
Will nods. The plane lurches. The file falls to the floor
and the photographs scatter. The pilot catches a glimpse of
them. Looks at Will.
EXT. BUSH PLANE - CONTINUOUS
The small yellow plane veers left. Clears a mountain top and
gives view to the spectacular Alaskan coastline. The green
of the Bering sea, the blanket of pine trees, the jagged rock
of the beaches. Enormous.
EXT. LANDING STRIP - OUTSIDE NIGHTMUTE - DAY
A SIGN swinging in the wind: Nightmute, Alaska. Halibut
Fishing Capital of the World!
PULL BACK to reveal it hanging from the eave of a small,
corrugated building. The "airport." Nothing else for miles
around.
A mud-splattered Jeep Cherokee pulls up next to it. Brakes
SCREECHING. A YOUNG WOMAN hops out. About 23. Petite with
short, brown hair.
Peers up at the sky. Brightens at the sight of the BUSH
PLANE coming in for landing. Smooths down her down vest.
Making sure the GOLD SHIELD on her belt's visible. Nervous.
Excited.
OLD MAN (O.S.)
Eleanor?
ELLIE BURR turns. Shields her eyes from the sun. An OLD MAN
hosing down the side of the building.
ELLIE
Hey, Mr. Angstrom!
MR. ANGSTROM
What're you doing here?
Ellie puffs up.
ELLIE
Police business.
MR. ANGSTROM
Police business?
The old man screws up his face, confused.
MR. ANGSTROM (cont'd)
Didn't you used to baby-sit for us?
ELLIE
I don't babysit any more, Mr. Angstrom.
Just made detective three weeks ago.
A CAT jumps down off the roof. Angstrom sprays it.
MR. ANGSTROM
Boy, Charlie must be short-handed down at
the station.
Ellie, used to not being taken seriously. Turns back to THE
ROAR of the bush plane as it taxis down the strip. Coming to
a stop. She hurries over as the door swings open and...
WILL DORMER steps down. Slipping on his sunglasses.
Scanning the nothingness around him. Spots the swinging
sign.
WILL
"Halibut fishing capital of the world."
Hap, right behind him. Rubs his neck.
HAP
This ought to be interesting.
ELLIE
(over the engine)
Detective Dormer!
They look down. Ellie reaches up and takes Will's bag. Then
his hand. Shakes it vigorously.
ELLIE (cont'd)
It's a huge honor to meet you! Ellie
Burr. I'm here to take you to the
station!
Will motions to Hap.
WILL
My partner...
ELLIE
Detective Eckhart! I know! Welcome to
Nightmute!
She leads them away from the plane. Takes Will's briefcase.
ELLIE
I just want to say how incredible it is
to have you working with us, Detective
Dormer. I've followed all your cases.
Theodore Dineli, Frank and Casey
Prud'homme, the Port Angeles shootings...
Opens the back of the Jeep. Puts the bags inside.
ELLIE (cont'd)
...And especially the Leland Street
Murders. That was my case study at the
Academy.
The Pilot walks by. Taps her on the shoulder.
PILOT
Tell your dad the game's gonna start late
this week, Ellie.
ELLIE
Sure thing, Spence.
She looks back at Will. Can't help but focus in on his scar.
Touches her own smooth neck. In awe.
ELLIE (cont'd)
That's where Ronald Langley cut you in
the basement of his father's house on 325
Leland, isn't it?
Will smiles, taken aback by this girl's exuberance.
WILL
You did your homework, Officer.
ELLIE
Actually...
She throws a quick glance at Angstrom. Out of ear-shot.
ELLIE
I just made detective three weeks ago.
EXT. NIGHTMUTE POLICE DEPARTMENT - DAY
The Cherokee parked next to a police car outside a plain, one-
storey building. The Nightmute Police Department. A totem
pole stands out front.
CHIEF NYBACK (O.S.)
Will Dormer!
INT. CHIEF CHARLES NYBACK'S OFFICE - CONTINUOUS
Nightmute Police Chief CHARLES NYBACK gets up from behind his
desk with a big smile. Ruddy, red hair sprinkled with grey,
Nyback wears a faded army sweater over his uniform.
CHIEF NYBACK
I'll be damned!
Limps from behind his desk and gives Will a shake and a slap
on the back.
WILL
(warmly)
How you doing, Charlie?
Nyback shakes Hap's hand. A reunion.
HAP
Hey, Charlie.
CHIEF NYBACK
Christ. I haven't seen you boys since...
WILL
Just after Leland Street.
CHIEF NYBACK
What's that, then?
HAP
Eight years.
WILL
Seven years.
CHIEF NYBACK
Seven years? Where does it all go? That
was some amazing time, though, wasn't it?
Looks at Will. Down at his boots.
CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)
You haven't changed a bit, Will.
Will. Looks at Nyback's gut.
WILL
You have, Chief.
They LAUGH. Eyes twinkling.
CHIEF NYBACK
I knew that was coming. I deserve it.
He starts back over to his desk. Notices Ellie still
standing by the door. Points to Will.
CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)
Pay attention to this man, Ellie. He'll
teach you how to be a great cop.
Ellie straightens. Smiles. Looks over at Will.
ELLIE
Yes, sir.
CHIEF NYBACK
That's all, for now.
Ellie, realises they want to be alone.
ELLIE
Oh. Right. Okay.
Backs out. Quietly closing the door behind her. Will
unbuttons his jacket. Takes a seat.
WILL
Nice kid.
CHIEF NYBACK
(sits with a SIGH)
Got a love affair with police work.
Drives me crazy with it.
Will surveys the fishing poles leaning against the gun rack.
WILL
Keeping you busy up here, Charlie?
Hap picks up a cheap trophy. Reads the base.
HAP
"2nd prize Great Kodiak Salmon Catch."
CHIEF NYBACK
I told you seven years ago this was a
stepping stone to retirement.
Nyback nods to Hap's Seattle Times. The headline: "Deeper
Investigation into Special Branch"...
CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)
Looks like it's a good time for you to
get up here, too. With all the bad
business going on down at Special Branch.
Will and Hap share a look. No more joking. Hap folds over
the paper.
CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)
Just five bad apples so far?
WILL
So far.
CHIEF NYBACK
What's the D.A. got them on?
WILL
Four unwarranted shootings, witness
intimidation, and cocaine theft.
Nyback winces.
CHIEF NYBACK
How about you? How you faring?
HAP
They're all over us, Charlie.
WILL
They're all over everybody.
HAP
I.A.'s calling themselves the "Corruption
Task Force." Can you believe that?
Trying to root out any mistakes or
"oversights" any other Detectives may
have made over the years. They're
turning it into a witch hunt. Something
on the news about it practically every
night.
Nyback pulls a stack of messages from his desk.
CHIEF NYBACK
Got a bunch of messages here from some
guy named Warfield.
Hap tosses a glance over at Will.
WILL
That's I.A.'s pit bull.
CHIEF NYBACK
Wants me to keep him posted on all your
movements up here.
Nyback turns and ceremoniously drops the messages into the
trash.
CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)
I'm just glad Buck could spare you a
couple of weeks. Take you out of the
frenzy. I gotta tell you, though, I sure
don't miss big city police work. Not
that I was ever a great detective. But
up here there's no Bureaucracy. No
Public Relations. No blurred lines.
Just good guys and bad guys. Simple.
A cloud passes over his face.
CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)
Except for this.
Holds up a file. The name written on the lip: KAY CONNELL.
INT. HALLWAY - MINUTES LATER
Nyback leads Will and Hap down a hallway. Crooked plaques
and black-and-white pictures line the walls.
CHIEF NYBACK
Couldn't get a thing from the body. Not
a trace. Town's never dealt with
anything like this before.
They turn a corner and stop at a door. Will glances up:
MOOSE ANTLERS hanging over it.
CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)
I've briefed everybody about your coming.
They know to follow your lead.
Nyback opens the door onto...
INT. BULLPEN - NIGHTMUTE PD - CONTINUOUS
...the bullpen of Nightmute PD. Wooden desks, a couple
computers, a jumbled corkboard, an impressive gun cabinet. A
RADIO's playing.
Three MEN look over. A young uniformed cop and two guys with
heavy facial hair, Timberland boots, and flannel shirts. One
of them's part Inuit. Ellie sits in the back. Reaches over
to turn off the radio.
Will and Hap stand in the doorway. Sticking out like sore
thumbs in their suits. Nyback jerks his thumb towards them.
CHIEF NYBACK
This is Detective Dormer and his partner
Detective Eckhart. On loan from Buck
Lundgard, Seattle Robbery and Homicide
Special Branch. They'll be helping with
the Connell case.
The Inuit, FRED DUGGAR, snorts. Takes his feet of the desk.
FRED
Helping?
CHIEF NYBACK
(ignoring him)
Anything they need to see, you show them;
anywhere they want to go, you take them.
(nods to Fred)
This is Detective Fred Duggar. He's been
leading the investigation up to now.
Will puts out his hand.
WILL
Detective...
Fred tugs at his dark handlebar moustache. Stands.
FRED
Suppose you want to see the body.
EXT. NIGHTMUTE POLICE DEPARTMENT - DAY
Fred steps out of the station, pulls on a baseball cap.
FRED
We can walk from here.
He heads off across the parking lot. Will and Hap exchange a
glance.
WILL
Guess that's what they call Alaskan
hospitality.
ELLIE (O.S.)
Don't worry about him...
They turn. Ellie's come up behind them. Looks over at the
hunched figure to Fred.
ELLIE (cont'd)
He's just mad 'cause you're taking over.
Fred stops up ahead. Sees her. Annoyed.
FRED
Ellie! Go type something!
INT. NIGHTMUTE MORGUE - LATER
CLOSE ON a faucet. A bead of water, quivering at the mouth.
Falls with a BLIP!
CORONER (O.S.)
Did a fundascopic examination and found
papilledema and petechiae of the retina.
PULL BACK to reveal Will, Hap, and the COUNTY CORONER
standing by a stainless steel table. The naked body of KAY
CONNELL is laid out before them. Fred hangs back.
The coroner tugs at her surgical gloves. She's in her late
seventies.
CORONER (cont'd)
Clear cause of death was herniation of
the brain stem due to intracerebral
hemorrhage.
HAP
Beaten to death.
CORONER
Beaten to death.
Will points to the bruises on the body's shoulders and
breasts.
WILL
What about these contusions?
CORONER
Superficial.
WILL
Any signs of rape?
CORONER
None.
The coroner starts to cover the body with a sheet.
CORONER (cont'd)
She was a nice girl. Played flute with
my granddaughter.
Will stays her hand.
WILL
Wait.
He pulls the sheet back down. Studying the body of Kay
Connell. Starts walking slowly around the table. In his
element. The faucet drips. Drips. Drips.
He bends down to smell her hair.
WILL (cont'd)
He washed her hair.
Takes a handful and lets it fall from his fingers.
WILL (cont'd)
Combed it.
Continues around the table. Picks up one of her hands.
Examines her fingers, her nails.
WILL (cont'd)
Cleaned under her fingernails. Clipped
them.
Continues down around her feet. Checks between her first and
second toes.
WILL (cont'd)
Toes, too.
(to Fred)
You found nothing on the body?
FRED
No.
WILL
No fibers, skin flakes, hairs...
FRED
Like I said, no. We know about those
things up here.
Will stands there. Looking down at the body. Slim. Young.
Beautiful. Skin like marble.
WILL
He knew exactly what we'd be looking for.
Made sure to cover up all his tracks.
HAP
Even the best make mistakes.
Will looks up and locks eyes with his partner.
INT. PIONEER LODGE - NIGHTMUTE - NIGHT
Will and Hap enter the lobby of the Pioneer Lodge. Big stone
fireplace and heavy ceiling beams. MOOSE ANTLERS mounted
above reception. They put their bags down by the desk. Look
around.
RACHEL (O.S.)
Lower forty-eight.
They turn. RACHEL CLEMENT stands in a doorway behind the
desk. Dunking a teabag into a mug. Long dark hair and
intelligent eyes.
HAP
Lower forty-eight?
RACHEL
You're not from here. I can tell by your
walk.
HAP
Oh? And how's that?
RACHEL
Unsure.
Hap smiles at her. Will checks his watch.
WILL
Detectives Will Dormer and Hap Eckhart.
There should be a reservation for us.
Rachel looks at him. Goes to a small file box on the desk.
RACHEL
(to Hap)
Your friend's all business.
WILL
I'm always all business.
He glances out the window. It's as bright as day.
WILL (cont'd)
Is it really 9:30?
RACHEL
(nods)
Alaskan summers. Hope you're an easy
sleeper. It'll be like this all night.
She hands them two cards.
RACHEL (cont'd)
Sign here.
INT. WILL'S ROOM - NIGHT
Will's taken off his jacket and is unpacking. The room is
sparse and creaky. Bed dips in the middle. He hangs a
jacket in the armoire then returns to his suitcase. Pulls
out his SMITH AND WESSON 45.
Lays it on the bedside table. Takes out a shoulder holster.
A back holster. A handful of shells. Lays them on the
table. Then a small SMITH AND WESSON 39/13 9MM. Checks the
magazine.
There's a KNOCK on the adjoining door.
HAP (O.S.)
Me.
Will SLAPS the magazine back.
WILL
Come on in.
Hap opens the door. A glimpse into his room: family PICTURES
on his bedside table - a WOMAN and three teenage GIRLS.
HAP
See you have the same decor as my room.
He walks over to the big window. It overlooks the harbor.
Big, snow-capped mountains in the distance. One lone TUGBOAT
in the harbor towing a freighter.
HAP (cont'd)
Same view, too.
(looks out)
I've been watching that tugboat for the
last half hour. So small, pulling all
that weight.
(beat)
We have to talk, Will.
Will reaches into his suitcase. Pulls out a shirt.
WILL
What do you want to talk about?
HAP
You know what about.
Will throws him a look.
WILL
We'll talk when we get back to Seattle.
HAP
When's that, a week? Two weeks?...
(heads over to him)
We have to figure out a plan of action
now.
WILL
You know my plan of action.
HAP
To do nothing.
WILL
That's right.
HAP
Dammit, Will. Warfield had me locked up
in his office again for five hours
yesterday. Five hours. Asking all kinds
of questions...
WILL
He's asking everybody questions.
HAP
But he's zeroing in on me. On us.
Everyone's talking about it.
WILL
He's just rattling your cage.
HAP
Well, I gotta tell you. With a wife,
three kids, and a pension plan in the
balance, it's rattling hard.
WILL
We say nothing. It goes away. Simple as
that.
Will goes back to his suitcase. Hap follows. A thin film of
sweat on his upper lip.
HAP
(lowers voice)
Look. We've tampered with evidence.
We've pushed witnesses. We've planted
shit. And they're sniffing around like
dogs. Especially on the Dobbs case...
Will flares up. Struck a nerve. Turns to his partner.
WILL
Weston Dobbs killed an eight year-old boy
and left him hanging in the basement like
a piece of meat. You remember that?
HAP
You know I remember that.
WILL
One word to I.A. and he walks.
HAP
Maybe not. We could talk to Buck...
WILL
No way.
HAP
Cut some kind of a deal. I heard that's
what Flynn's doing...
WILL
Mike Flynn's a dirty cop, Hap! We are
nothing like Mike Flynn. We did what we
needed to do to make sure that son-of-
bitch Dobbs paid for what he did. And
every bastard like him. We say one word
about it and every case we ever brought
in is going to blow wide open and they'll
all walk. Every last one. And I am not
going to let that happen. No deals. No
compromises. No discussions.
He grabs a hanger.
HAP
Goddammit, Will. You grab on to
something and you don't let it go.
He takes out a handkerchief. Wipes his brow.
HAP
I don't know if it's because you think
it's the right thing to do or because
your pride won't let you do anything
else. I can't tell any more.
(steps back)
But I can tell you one thing. I'm
getting too old for this cowboy cop
stuff. Breaking the rules. Cleaning up
messes. We're a dying breed, Will.
You're a dying breed. I.A., the D.A.,
all those reporters - they don't care
what you did at Leland Street seven years
ago. They don't care that you've made
this your life. They don't care about
getting the bad guy...
Will turns on his partner, eyes burning.
WILL
I care.
The partners, lock eyes. Years of working together. A
thousand things unsaid. Hap reaches for the door.
HAP (cont'd)
They're watching us, Will. Like it or
not. They're watching us.
INT. WILL'S ROOM - NIGHT
Will's asleep. Kay Connell's folder open on his chest. It's
dark in his room, quiet. Suddenly the shade on his window
quivers and SNAPS up, flooding the room with light.
Will's eyes pop open. He rolls over to look at the clock:
3:15. Squinting, he gets up and walks over to the window.
We can see the rest of his scar. Runs down deep across his
sternum.
He yanks the shade back down. It bucks, then settles.
Satisfied, Will returns to bed. Plumps the pillow, pulls the
blanket up around him. Closes his eyes.
The shade lurches halfway. Then SNAPS back up. Light pours
in. Will's eyes open.
WILL
You got to be kidding me.
EXT. STREET - NIGHTMUTE - DAY
Will jogs along in a Sonics sweatshirt, a ring of sweat
around his collar. He looks out over the harbor. Fishing
boats coming in with their early morning haul. More halibut.
He checks his watch. Slows to a walk. Looks up and sees...
Ellie Burr standing on the front steps of the Pioneer Lodge.
Smiles. Holds up some car keys.
ELLIE
Fred wants us to meet him at the
Connell's.
INT./EXT. JEEP CHEROKEE - DAY
Ellie driving. A hula-girl, swinging from the rear-view
mirror. Will in the passenger seat. Wearing a crisp suit.
Ellie hands him a take-out bag.
ELLIE
Brought you a bear claw. Just in case
you were hungry.
Will takes the bag. Looks inside. Yikes.
ELLIE (cont'd)
Local delicacy.
WILL
Think I'll pass.
He puts the bag on the dash. Looks out the window.
Nightmute's main street. A line of shops. Undistinguished
Town Hall. Elementary school up on a hill. Sign out front:
Sign-ups for Midnight Little League!
WILL (cont'd)
What kind of calls you get around here?
ELLIE
Oh. You know. Small-time stuff.
Nothing like what you must get. Mostly
drinking-related problems. Domestic
abuse. Barroom fights. Stuff like that.
She shifts down. Takes a steep turn.
ELLIE (cont'd)
In the summer months it's pretty quiet.
That's when there's work out on the
boats. The rest of the year, though...
They pass a MAN walking along the road. Gnarled walking
stick. Ellie calls out the window.
ELLIE (cont'd)
Hey, there, Joe!
JOE waves. They pass.
ELLIE (cont'd)
That's Joe Willy. Took his family
hostage in November. That was the most
exciting thing that happened last year.
I wasn't there, though.
(grinds gear)
Chief barely lets me handle anything
above a misdemeanor.
Will looks over at her. Smiles.
WILL
Don't give misdemeanors a bad rap.
ELLIE
But they're so boring. All small stuff.
WILL
It's all about the small stuff. Small
lies. Small mistakes. Small oversights.
People give themselves away in a traffic
violation just as much as they do in a
murder case. It's human nature.
He looks over. Ellie's listening intently.
WILL (cont'd)
Aren't you going to write that down?
Ellie, searching her pockets for something to write with...
ELLIE
Let me just...
Stops. Looks over. Realises Will's teasing her.
EXT. CONNELL HOUSE - DAY
A small ranch house. Aluminum siding. FLOWERS piled up by
the front door. TEDDY BEARS. RIBBONS. Left by well-wishers.
MRS. CONNELL (O.S.)
I haven't tidied up, since Fred told me
not to touch anything.
INT. HALLWAY - CONNELL HOUSE - CONTINUOUS
MRS. CONNELL, a big woman with a thick grey braid down her
back, opens the door to her daughter's room. Looks at Will.
MRS. CONNELL
I don't believe in keeping a child's room
like a shrine.
Will heads into the room. Hap follows. A palpable
uneasiness between them. Fred and Ellie stand in the
doorway. Mrs. Connell turns to go.
INT. KAY CONNELL'S ROOM - CONTINUOUS
A small bedroom. Pink shag carpeting and clouds painted on
the ceiling. Pictures cut from magazines pasted on the
walls. A stack of tapes and a boom box in the corner.
Will stands in the middle of the room. Taking it in.
WILL
Typical seventeen year-old.
(beat)
She went to a party Friday night?
ELLIE
Down at a local dive the kids like to
hang out in.
Fred throws Ellie a look. "Kids?" She's practically a kid
herself. Will opens the top drawer of the bureau. Roots
beneath the panties.
WILL
No diary.
On top of the bureau, a stack of photos. A couple torn up.
Kay Connell and a GIRL with white-blonde hair. Laughing.
FRED
She left the party early. Friends said
she had a fight with her boyfriend and
stormed out.
WILL
What time was that?
FRED
Around twelve-thirty.
Hap picks up a bear on Kay's bed. A bell JINGLES when he
shakes it. Will crosses to a closet in the corner.
WILL
Who was the last one to see her alive?
FRED
Randy Stetz. Her boyfriend. We've
questioned him, searched his place.
Didn't find anything.
Will pulls a dress out of the closet. Small, black, elegant.
The tag's been cut out. He pulls out another, then another.
Feels the fabric.
WILL
These are designer. Expensive.
(looks up)
Could Randy Stetz afford these?
Fred and Ellie exchange a look.
ELLIE
He fixes boat engines.
Will looks around. Cheap wallpaper, torn window screens.
WILL
Well her mother didn't buy them for her.
HAP
What are we thinking?
Will reaches over to a heart-shaped box on the bedside table.
Pulls out a pretty gold necklace. Holds it up.
WILL
Kay Connell had an admirer.
He hands the dresses to Ellie. Heads out of the room.
WILL (cont'd)
I want to talk to the boyfriend.
INT. INTERROGATION ROOM - DAY
CLOSE ON a hand squeezing a shoulder. Hard.
WILL
You don't seem all that sad.
The shoulder jerks away. PULL BACK to reveal RANDY STETZ
sitting at a wooden table in an interrogation room. Longish
blond hair, wearing a Metallica t-shirt, trying like hell to
grow a moustache.
RANDY
I haven't had a chance! You fuckers been
all over my back since Monday!
He takes out a cigarette. It's bent. He lights it. Hap
sits opposite.
HAP
You know smoking stunts your growth.
Randy throws him a look.
RANDY
Yeah, okay, fat-ass.
HAP
(smiles at Will)
More Alaskan hospitality.
Will goes over to a coffee machine. Pours a cup.
WILL
Did you love her?
RANDY
Huh?
WILL
Kay Connell. Did you love her?
Randy flicks his ash. Shrugs.
RANDY
Sure. She was nice.
Will turns with his coffee.
WILL
"She was nice." Wow. That makes me all
soft inside. Ever occur to you she
didn't love you back?
RANDY
Huh?
WILL
You heard me that time.
RANDY
She loved me. She wanted to see me every
night.
WILL
But she was seeing someone else on the
side.
Randy glares.
RANDY
I don't know what you're fucking talking
about.
WILL
Friday night, at the party - what'd you
fight about?
RANDY
Stuff.
WILL
What kind of stuff?
RANDY
Just stuff. I don't fucking remember.
WILL
The other guy?
RANDY
I told you I don't remember.
WILL
After that she left the party to go to
him.
RANDY
How should I know?...
WILL
Ran like hell to go to him...
RANDY
Fuck you, man! - I'm sick of all your
fucking cop questions...
Will suddenly hurls his coffee cup and grabs Randy up by the
collar. Nose to nose.
WILL
Now you listen to me, you little shit.
This fuck-the-world-Metallica-t-shirt
crap may work with your mamma, but it
doesn't work with me. You got mad at
your girlfriend because she was seeing
someone else. You want to be the last
person who saw her alive or are you going
to tell me who that is?
Randy's lip curls. Red-faced.
RANDY
I don't know.
WILL
You don't know.
RANDY
She didn't tell me.
Disgusted, Will shoves Randy back into his seat.
INT. HALLWAY - MINUTES LATER
Will walking out of the interrogation room. Ellie joins him.
ELLIE
He's a little surly, isn't he?
Will smooths back his hair. Checks his tie.
WILL
Just a little.
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out the gold necklace
from Kay's room. Hands it to her.
WILL
I want you to check this out, Ellie.
ELLIE
We already did.
WILL
Do it again.
ELLIE
But there wasn't any...
Will stops. Ellie stops. Will puts a hand on her shoulder.
WILL
The small things - remember? The second
you're about to dismiss something - look
at it again.
Ellie smiles, teasing.
ELLIE
You want me to write that down?
Will, has to smile. She's quick. Looks down the hall. A
bearded GUY on crutches. Ellie follows his gaze.
WILL
Who's that?
ELLIE
The bartender at Darrow's. He was there
Friday night.
WILL
Good. He's up next.
Will heads over to him. Ellie watches his neck. Her hand
closing over the necklace.
INT. RESTAURANT - PIONEER LODGE - NIGHT
The Pioneer Lodge restaurant. Small, dark wood, a RADIO
playing something between Bluegrass and Folk. Some rough-
looking GUYS at the bar. Throwing looks over at...
Will and Hap, sitting at a table. Studying faded menus.
WILL
(reading)
Halibut Calabrese. Halibut Olympia.
Halibut Cajun Style. Halibut fish and
chips...
He puts down his menu. Reaches for his drink.
WILL (cont'd)
Can't wait to see what's for dessert.
HAP
At least there's variety.
Will drains his drink. Locks eyes with a big GUY over at the
bar. Beer froth on his moustache.
WILL
Looks like the natives are restless.
HAP
Will?
Will looks back at his partner. Hap's fidgeting with the end
of his tie.
HAP (cont'd)
I think, I think I'm gonna talk to Buck
when we get back to Seattle.
A cold flash down Will's spine.
HAP
I wish I could stick it out like you. I
just, with Trish and the kids...
WILL
Don't do this, Hap...
Hap avoids his eyes.
HAP
I'm thinking I could get off with
probation. Keep half my pension. That's
all I want.
WILL
(hisses)
Goddammit, Hap. Think about what you're
doing...
HAP
You don't have to be involved, Will.
WILL
You tell Buck and I'm involved whether I
like it or not...
RACHEL (O.S.)
Ready to order?
The men look up, interrupted. Rachel is standing by the
table with a pad. Hap tries to recover with a big smile.
HAP
Hey - you do everything around here?
RACHEL
Just about.
Will stands abruptly. Eyes on Hap. Trying not to explode.
WILL
I'll just have another Scotch in my room.
(turns to Rachel)
If you don't mind.
Just then, his cell phone RINGS.
INT. BULLPEN - NIGHTMUTE PD - NIGHT
Will bursts into the bullpen. Hap behind.
WILL
Where is it?
Ellie, Fred, and a couple other GUYS huddled around a desk.
ELLIE
Over here.
Will and Hap head over to them. One of the younger guys,
FARRELL, intimidated by Will's presence. Tucks his shirt
into his dirty jeans.
They part to reveal a BLUE KNAPSACK laying on the desk. Mud
spots all over it. An embroidered daisy. Will examines it.
WILL
We're sure it's hers?
FRED
Has her books in it.
HAP
What about prints?
Ellie shakes her head, unfortunately not. Will reaches into
the bag. Pulls out two text books.
WILL
Biology and Algebra.
He shoves the books towards one of the guys.
WILL (cont'd)
Find out who she studied with.
He continues through the bag. Pulls out a little plastic bag
with "Hello Kittys" all over it. Dumps out the contents.
WILL (cont'd)
Make-up.
Looks up at Fred.
WILL (cont'd)
Find out where she bought it.
Fred looks at him. Not happy with make-up duty. Will pulls
out a hair brush. Hands it to Ellie.
WILL (cont'd)
Lab.
Next, a couple worn paperbacks.
WILL (cont'd)
(reading titles)
Otherwise Engaged, Murder at Sunset.
He looks up at the group.
WILL (cont'd)
Who here reads this kind of crap?
Farrell straightens.
FARRELL
I read that kind of crap.
Will tosses them to him.
WILL
Read them. Tell me anything that strikes
you.
Down to the bottom of the bag. A Ziploc with a half-eaten
sandwich and an apple core. Will hands them to Ellie.
WILL (cont'd)
Lab.
Upends the knapsack. Scraps, paper clips, gum wrappers.
WILL (cont'd)
That's it.
Fred reaches for the knapsack.
FRED
I'll stick it in the evidence locker...
WILL
No.
Will takes it, walks slowly over to the window. Thinking.
Twists the knapsack in his hands and looks out at the
TOTEM POLE standing tall outside. A black RAVEN alights on
top of it. Pecks at the air. Turns. Seems to look right at
Will.
WILL (cont'd)
We put it back where we found it.
Will turns to them.
WILL (cont'd)
You said it was a fishing cabin.
FARRELL
Uh, right. About two miles outside of
town.
ELLIE
On the beach.
Fred tightens his jaw.
FRED
Why are we taking it back?
Will ignores the question. Walks back towards them.
WILL
This murder was in the papers, right?
ELLIE
Yeah. All over.
WILL
Call all of them from here to Anchorage.
Tell them we now know that Kay Connell
left the party with a dark blue knapsack,
but we haven't recovered it yet.
(checks watch)
We can get it in by the morning editions.
He hands the bag to Farrell.
WILL (cont'd)
Fill this with random books. Make it
look heavy.
Will pulls out a handkerchief. Wipes the mud off his hands.
Taking his time. Finally turns to Fred.
WILL (cont'd)
It'll eat this guy alive if he thinks he
overlooked a detail.
EXT. ROCKY BEACH - OUTSIDE NIGHTMUTE - MORNING
POV through BINOCULARS
A WOODEN CABIN comes into focus. Right by the water. Hasn't
been used in years. Weathered, slate roof. Algae growing up
the sides.
HAP (O.S.)
Nice. Lighter than I remembered.
WILL lowers his binoculars. He's standing on the black rocky
beach. It's damp, slick, and cold. A fog's rolling in.
Hap and Farrell are sitting behind a cluster of rocks. A
couple paper bags and a megaphone. They're comparing guns.
FARRELL
Glock 40. All plastic save the barrel
and firing pin. Never rusts. What do
you carry down in Seattle?
Hap reaches into his holster. Pulls out a...
HAP
Smith and Wesson 45.
FARRELL
Excellent!
Fred Duggar's standing on the other side of them. He's got a
pair of binoculars, too. They're staking out the cabin.
Been there a while.
ELLIE (O.S.)
Brought some coffee...
Ellie appears with a thermos. Crouching down. Fred turns,
annoyed.
FRED
What are you doing here?
WILL
(answering for her)
I told her to come.
Fred shoots Will a look. Down at his cowboy boots. Will
gives him a smile.
ELLIE
Anything yet?
WILL FRED
Nothing. Nothing.
Fred goes back to scanning, pissed.
FARRELL
Maybe this guy doesn't read the papers.
HAP
Or goes straight to the Sports Section.
Hap and Farrell chuckle. Hap unscrews the thermos. A cloud
of steam.
HAP (cont'd)
Who gets first dibs?
(looks up at Will)
Will?
Will looks down at his partner. Holding out the thermos like
a weird kind of truce. Will turns away, rejecting it. A
swath of thick fog unfolds over the black rocks as...
Fred tenses.
FRED
(looking through binoculars)
I see someone!
Hap and Farrell scramble to their feet. Will whips up his
binoculars.
POV THROUGH WILL'S BINOCULARS - a FIGURE making its way to
the cabin. Furtive.
WILL (O.S.)
That's him.
Will lowers the binoculars. Snaps his fingers at the men.
WILL (cont'd)
Fan out.
Fred, Farrell and Hap. Start spreading out. Ellie steps
up. Will looks back at her. Too dangerous.
WILL (cont'd)
Stay here, Ellie.
ELLIE
But...
Will puts up his hand. She stops short. He plunges ahead.
Hap. Will. Farrell. Fred. Fanning out. Silent. Keeping
eye-contact. Will points to Farrell. Wants the megaphone.
Farrell, balancing on a rock, holds it out. Accidentally
keys it. The feedback SQUAWKS. Fuck.
FRED
He's bolting!
POV THROUGH WILL'S BINOCULARS - the FIGURE, looking around,
running towards the cabin. Leaping from rock to rock.
WILL reaches for his Smith and Wesson.
WILL
Go! Go! Go!
The men jump into action. Race down towards the cabin.
Fred and Farrell, nimble over the wet rocks. Will and Hap,
harder going. Grab onto jagged edges, slip down small
crevices. Rocks sticking out every which way. The fog,
thick and white...
THE FIGURE disappears into the cabin.
FRED AND FARRELL leap up onto a tall boulder and jump down.
Run over to the door of the cabin, guns at the ready...
WILL rounds the boulder, Hap panting behind him. Joins Fred
and Farrell at the door.
Will levels his Smith and Wesson at the door, and with a nod
to Fred as he KICKS it in...
INT. FISHING CABIN - CONTINUOUS
...the door CRACKS and swings in. The men rush inside.
WILL
Police!
They look around: Nothing. A few old nets, a wooden table
rotted through. No knapsack.
In the corner, a TRAP DOOR, left open. Will races over.
Looks down into the darkness.
WILL (cont'd)
Goddammit!
Turns and points to Farrell.
WILL (cont'd)
You! Head back up to base...
(to Fred)
You! Go right and follow along the
water...
(to Hap)
Hap! You go left...
The men nod.
WILL (cont'd)
Go!
They rush out the door and split directions. Will crouches
down by the trap door and...
INT. TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS
...drops down into a dark, dank TUNNEL. Water dripping.
FOOTFALLS echoing. Will cocks his head. Left or right?
Starts sprinting down towards the lighter end of the tunnel,
his own footsteps bouncing against the tunnel walls. He
rounds a curve. Sound recedes...
EXT. TUNNEL - CONTINUOUS
...He exits the tunnel onto the rocky beach. Stops short.
FOG
has enveloped everything - obscuring all vision, dulling all
sound. Like a strange dream. Eerie.
Will blinks against the thick whiteness. Strains to hear any
sound, anything. There's only the distant LAPPING of the
water.
He tightens his grip on his gun and plunges into the fog.
Quick, careful steps. Stumbles over a rock. Waves his gun
in defense. Eyes wide open like a blind man...
SUDDENLY
a GUNSHOT. Off to the right. Will whips his head around.
EXT. UP ON THE BEACH - CONTINUOUS
Ellie, alone, jumps at the sound. Reaches for her weapon...
EXT. DOWN THE BEACH - CONTINUOUS
Will heads towards the sound. Reaching out for approaching
rocks. Scrambles over a small bank and finds...
FARRELL rolled up into a fetal position on the ground.
Clutching his thigh. Blood seeping through his fingers. He
looks up.
FARRELL
Sorry about...
WILL
Where is he?
Farrell can't answer that.
WILL (cont'd)
(impatient)
Where'd the shot come from?
Farrell lifts his bloody hand. Points off towards the water.
FARRELL
Over there.
Will disappears back into the fog, leaving Farrell behind.
Clambers back down towards the water, pausing every few
seconds to listen, to adjust. Heart POUNDING. Blood
pumping. Like an animal tracking its prey. Leaps up onto a
plateau of rocks when...
SUDDENLY
a DARK FIGURE
flashes past him. The killer! Inches away. Will wheels
around...
WILL
Freeze!
CRACK! Squeezes off a shot. Misses! Can't believe it.
Goes for another... Nothing! Jammed! The figure,
disappearing. Will tosses his Smith and Wesson, reaches
behind his back and whips out his SMITH 39/13...
EXT. UP ON THE BEACH - CONTINUOUS
Ellie, weapon drawn, making her way down the rocks. A HAND
suddenly grabs her arm.
VOICE (O.S.)
Dammit, Ellie!...
Fred emerges from the fog.
FRED (cont'd)
Put that thing away! Farrell's down!...
CRACK! as another shot rips through the air. Fred and Ellie
freeze.
EXT. DOWN BY THE WATER - MINUTES LATER
Fred and Ellie, skittering down the rocks. Getting closer to
the water. Hear a voice ring out...
VOICE (O.S.)
Hap!
The fog starts to dissipate. They reach the water to see...
WILL DORMER
kneeling beside the body of his partner. Lying in the water.
Shot in the stomach. Blood dribbling from his mouth. Will
grabs him up by the collar.
WILL
Hap!
Starts shaking the limp body. Teeth clenched.
WILL (cont'd)
Hap!
Hap's head, rolls back. Mouth agape. Face white...
Will, rips off his tie. Presses it to the gaping wound...
trying to stop the bleeding...warm blood, pumping into the
water...
Ellie watches. Horrified. Fred races over to the body.
Feels for Hap's pulse.
FRED
Dormer...
Will, shaking Hap again. Jaw set. Eyes intense. Veins
popping up along his temples. Fred catches his shoulder.
FRED (cont'd)
Dormer! He's gone.
Will looks up at Fred. His face contorts.
Suddenly leaps to his feet. Grabs a rock and hurls it
savagely into the thick fog.
INT. CHIEF CHARLES NYBACK'S OFFICE - NIGHT
Chief Nyback sits in his chair. Fingers interlaced. A
somber expression on his face.
CHIEF NYBACK
And then you lost him.
Will sits opposite him. Wet, dishevelled, dirty. Hap's
blood smeared all over his shirt. Staring off into space.
WILL
And then I lost him. In the fog.
CHIEF NYBACK
About how long 'til you heard the
suspect's second shot?
Will, hesitates.
WILL
Twenty, thirty seconds. I followed the
sound down to the water. That's where...
He blinks. Looks down. Swallows.
WILL (cont'd)
That's where I found Hap.
Nyback sighs, shakes his head. Reaches down to his bottom
drawer and pulls out a bottle of bourbon and a glass.
CHIEF NYBACK
I think you need a glass of this.
He goes to unscrew the bottle, but Will shakes his head.
Stands. Paces. Rakes his hand through his hair.
Turns suddenly and swipes his arm across Nyback's desk.
Everything CRASHES to the floor.
WILL
(yells)
Why didn't I know about that goddamn
tunnel, Charlie?
Nyback looks up at him. Calm.
CHIEF NYBACK
There's a bunch of those tunnels out
there, Will. From bunkers over sixty
years old. I don't even know half of
them myself, and I grew up here.
Will clenches his fists.
WILL
I had him, Charlie. Right in front of
me. Not two feet. I could smell the son-
of-a-bitch. Playing with me. And I
missed the shot. He was right there and
I missed the shot! Then my goddamned gun
jammed...
Nyback gets up. Limps over to his old friend.
CHIEF NYBACK
Will, you can't blame yourself.
WILL
I had him!
CHIEF NYBACK
It's only gonna make you crazy.
Just then there's a soft KNOCK on the door. The men look
over. Ellie sticks her head in. Speaks in a tone that
belies that a man has recently died.
ELLIE
You wanted to see me?
Will turns his back to her. Nyback heads over.
CHIEF NYBACK
Right, Ellie.
Ellie flicks a look at the pile on the floor. At Will's
back.
CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)
I want you to take care of the
investigation into Detective Eckhart's
shooting.
Ellie looks at him. Confused. Lowers her voice.
ELLIE
But what about the Connell case? I'm on
the Connell case.
Nyback puts a hand on her shoulder.
CHIEF NYBACK
We need paperwork, Ellie. You know that.
Just write up a quick report.
Ellie's shoulders droop. Thought she was playing with the
big boys. Just then Will turns abruptly and grabs his coat.
WILL
I'm going to check on the roadblocks...
Nyback catches his arm.
CHIEF NYBACK
You're no good right now, Will. Go back
to the Lodge. Try to get some rest.
Will looks at him. Know's he's right.
EXT. ROAD - NIGHTMUTE - DAY
CLOSE ON a SQUEALING tire, ripping around a curve...
INT./EXT. SILVER JEEP CHEROKEE - CONTINUOUS
Will driving. Speeding. Scenery whipping past the window.
His hands, tight around the steering wheel. The hula-girl,
dancing beneath the rear view mirror, a smile plastered to
her face.
He grows suddenly pale. Pulls the Cherokee off to the side.
EXT. STREET - CONTINUOUS
Will jumps out of the Cherokee, leaving the door open. Runs
down an ALLEY behind a row of shops.
INT. ALLEY - CONTINUOUS
A couple industrial trash bins. Will leans his hand against
the wall and vomits. Hovers for a moment, saliva dripping
from his mouth. Braces himself. Heaves again. Hears a
BUZZING behind him. Turns.
A DEAD DOG lying next to a dumpster. FLIES buzzing around
its head. Teeth bared. Eyes wide open.
Like it's watching him.
INT. PIONEER LODGE - LATER
Will walks up to reception. No one there. Just wants his
key. Rings the bell. In the back room, he hears a RADIO.
RADIO
...earlier this evening after an aborted
attempt to apprehend a suspect. He was
forty-five...
It clicks off abruptly. Rachel appears in the doorway.
Takes in the blood on Will's shirt.
RACHEL
I'm sorry about your partner.
Will looks at her. She walks over to the desk.
RACHEL (cont'd)
It's been on the radio for the last two
hours. Nothing but that. Like when they
found Kay Connell's body.
(sympathetic smile)
We're not used to this sort of thing up
here.
She reaches for his key.
RACHEL (cont'd)
He was standing right there just a couple
of days ago. Your partner. Exactly
where you are now.
(beat)
I hope I was nice to him.
Will takes his key.
WILL
You were nice to him. He liked you.
He smiles faintly, turns to go. Just then the phone RINGS.
RACHEL
(answering)
Pioneer Lodge?...
(listens)
Hold on a second. He's right here.
Will stops. Turns. Rachel holds up the phone. Covering the
mouthpiece.
RACHEL (cont'd)
John Warfield. He's called a couple of
times.
Will's stomach drops. That's the last phone call in the
world he wants to take. Rachel reads his face.
RACHEL (cont'd)
Want me to lie?
Will shakes his head. Steps back and takes the phone.
Clears his throat.
WILL
(into phone)
Dormer.
PAUSE. A bemused VOICE on the other end.
WARFIELD'S VOICE
Detective Dormer. I've been trying to
reach you. I was very sorry to hear
about your partner, Detective Eckhart.
It must have been a terrible shock, what
happened this morning.
Will. Not giving this asshole an inch. Rachel, trying not
to listen.
WILL
(into phone)
That's not exactly how I'd put it.
WARFIELD'S VOICE (cont'd)
No, no. I suppose not. But I look
forward to reading the report. Very
sad. Very sad. Funny...
WILL
(into phone)
What do you mean, "Funny?"
WARFIELD'S VOICE
Oh, nothing. Just that I felt Detective
Eckhart and I, Hap and I, were starting
to make a real connection before you
left. I sensed that he was ready to get
some things off his chest. Did you
sense anything like that, Detective? I
mean, as his partner?...
Will, squeezing the phone cord with his bloody fist.
WARFIELD'S VOICE (cont'd)
...You were his partner for, what, about
ten years?...
Will turns from Rachel. Eyes burning. Voice steady.
WILL
(into phone)
You know why everyone hates you,
Warfield? It's not your questions, it's
not your press conferences, it's not even
your cheap suits; everyone hates you
'cause day after day you suck the marrow
out of real cops when you never had the
balls to become one yourself. Well I got
to tell you, it's a shame you're not up
here with me because I'd love to show you
right now just what a real cop is capable
of. You just remember that when you're
sitting at your bullshit desk reading
your bullshit report on my dead partner!
SLAM! He hangs up the phone. Runs his hand through his
hair. Turns back to Rachel.
WILL (cont'd)
Next time. Go ahead and lie.
EXT. ROCKY BEACH - OUTSIDE NIGHTMUTE - MORNING
Fog everywhere. Dense. White. Suffocating.
We're running through it. Clambering over rocks. Hearing
the sound of our own BREATHING. Our own HEARTBEAT.
Adrenaline pumping. An animal tracking its prey...
SUDDENLY a DARK FIGURE
flashes past. Just inches away. Playing with us. Taunting
us. We whip round with our weapon and...
INT. WILL'S ROOM - LATE NIGHT
BANG! Will bolts upright in bed. A film of sweat over his
body. Breathing hard. The sound that woke him: the window
shade FLAPPING open. LIGHT floods the room.
Will gets up. Goes over to the shade and pulls it down. It
lurches up halfway. He tugs it down again. It slaps all the
way open. Will yanks it down so hard it rips off the window.
WILL
Goddammit!
He gets tangled in it.
WILL (cont'd)
Goddamned...thing!
Pulls it off and flings it in the corner.
INT. WILL'S ROOM - 4:22 A.M.
The digital clock flips to a new minute: 4:23. Will,
pacing. Scratching at his stubble. Unable to sleep. Keeps
stepping on a SQUEAKY floorboard.
Slows near the ADJOINING DOOR that leads into Hap's room.
Hovers. Lightly pushes the door open. Sees...
THE PICTURES on the bedside table. A WOMAN and three teenage
GIRLS. Hap's family.
INT. BATHROOM - 5:18 A.M.
Water gushing out of the faucet. Will's WATCH sitting on the
sink's edge. 5:18.
Will reaches up into the open medicine cabinet for a bottle
of aspirin. Shakes out a couple. Cups his hand under the
water and knocks the pills back.
Closes the medicine cabinet and CRIES out...
HAP'S REFLECTION
looming behind him.
HAP
They're watching us, Will...
Will whirls around...
WILL
Hap!
...nothing. No one's there.
EXT. MAINSTREET - NIGHTMUTE - MORNING
CLOSE ON running shoes, POUNDING the tarmac. PULL BACK to
reveal Will running down Nightmute's main street. Eyes
bloodshot.
A COUPLE NATIVE ALASKANS walking into a hardware store. Stop
talking and glance over at him.
A YOUNG MOTHER in her husband's work shirt. Lifts her small
KIDS into the cab of a 4x4. Watches him pass.
AN OLDER MAN fixing the broken "E" on his store front. Turns
at the sound of Will's footfall.
Everyone edgy. Cautious. A murderer amongst them.
Will continues on. Looking straight ahead. Wipes the sweat
from his neck. Slows to a stop just outside the...
LOCAL CONVENIENCE STORE
A blown-up picture of KAY CONNELL in the window. Below, a
painted sign: We miss you, Kay.
A stack of newspapers by the front door. The "Nightmute
Ledger." The headline: Seattle Cop Killed by Suspect.
Will picks one up. Stares down at it. Rain starts to dot
the paper.
CHIEF NYBACK (O.S.)
...We're going to bring down a couple of
guys from Ridgemount, but I want us to
step up the investigation here...
INT. BULLPEN - NIGHTMUTE PD - CONTINUOUS
Rain hammering against the windows. Chief Nyback addresses
the bullpen. Everyone's there except Farrell.
CHIEF NYBACK
...Nightmute hasn't lost an officer in
thirty-seven years, and even though
Detective Eckhart wasn't from here, he
was as good as one of us on this case. I
had the honor of working with him down in
Seattle for a number of years. He was a
fine detective and an even better man.
Will stands nearby, watching the rain hit the windows. His
suit pants are slightly wrinkled. Nyback nods towards Fred.
CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)
Fred, you'll be working with Detective
Dormer directly from now on.
Fred, stroking his moustache, nods. Nyback turns to Will.
CHIEF NYBACK (cont'd)
Will? Anything you'd like to add?
Will looks up. Everyone's eyes turn to him. He shakes his
head.
CHIEF NYBACK
Okay. Then let's get to it.
Feet shuffling. Chairs scraping the floor as people get up.
A sense of determination in the air. Will grabs his coat.
ELLIE (O.S.)
Detective Dormer?
He turns. Ellie is beside him, holding a map.
ELLIE (cont'd)
I'm sorry to bother you, but I was asked
to write the report on...
(lowers eyes)
...you know what I was asked to write the
report on...
(looks back up)
...Could you, just to be accurate, for
the report, could you just point out
where you were when you saw Detective
Eckhart yesterday?
She holds out the map. It's of the small stretch of
coastline. Red circles marking various points.
Will looks down at her. Takes the map. Turns it around.
WILL
It's good to be accurate, Ellie. You're
doing your job.
He looks down at the map. Ellie watching his face.
ELLIE
I'm so sorry about what happened. I know
you did everything you could...
Will points to a spot. Cutting her off.
WILL
I was here.
Hands her back the map. Smiles. Just then Fred walks up.
FRED
Dormer. Still no sign of the bullet that
went through Farrell.
WILL
I'm going to the hospital to talk to him
now.
(looks at his watch)
You get the search party together. No
fewer than thirty people. I'll meet you
in exactly twenty-five minutes. Don't
waste any time.
He pulls on his coat and heads for the door. Fred watches
him leave. Sticks a toothpick in his mouth.
FRED
Partner or no partner. That guy's a
prick.
ELLIE
He has to be a prick, Fred. He's a great
detective.
INT. HOSPITAL ROOM - ST. FRANCIS HOSPITAL - DAY
CLOSE ON the cover of one of the paperbacks, Otherwise
Engaged by Walter Byrd.
PULL BACK to reveal Farrell lying in a hospital bed in
striped pajamas, reading it. A tear runs down his cheek as
he turns the page.
A SNICKERS BAR is tossed onto his lap. He looks up. Face
brightens.
FARRELL
Detective Dormer!
Will stands by his bed. Farrell puts down the book. Picks
up the Snickers.
FARRELL (cont'd)
You don't seem like the bring-an-
underling-who's-in-the-hospital-a-
Snickers-bar kind of guy.
WILL
I'm not.
He pulls up a chair. Nods to the paperback.
WILL (cont'd)
How's the book?
Farrell bites into the candy bar.
FARRELL
Oh, a real tear-jerker. Brody, the good
guy, just got shot.
He stops chewing. Realises the association. Swallows
uncomfortably.
FARRELL (cont'd)
Oh. I'm sorry. About Hap. Detective
Eckhart.
WILL
Thanks.
FARRELL
I wish I'd had the chance to get to know
him better. Take him fishing or
something.
WILL
He would have liked that.
FARRELL
We just gotta catch the bastard, right?
WILL
That's why I'm here. I need to know
exactly what you saw yesterday, Farrell.
FARRELL
What I saw?
WILL
Anything. It's important.
Farrell takes another bite of the Snickers. Like a little
boy. Furrows his brow, trying to remember.
FARRELL
Pretty much nothing. That fog was so
thick. The bullet seemed to come out of
nowhere. I don't even remember seeing
any shapes. Then I saw you. But only
when you came up close. Then you
disappeared again.
(shrugs)
I guess I heard more than I saw.
Will sighs, rubs his eyes.
FARRELL (cont'd)
Sorry.
WILL
No. No. Don't be sorry. It's not your
fault.
Just then a NURSE comes in with a Dixie cup. Pretty,
freckled face. Not much older than Kay Connell.
NURSE
Time for your meds.
Farrell smiles at her, winks at Will.
FARRELL
Lonnie and I went to high school
together.
Lonnie gives him the cup.
LONNIE
Just take the pills, Farrell.
WILL
How's the leg?
FARRELL
Oh, you know. Don't feel that much.
Bullet went right through.
WILL
Right. Got lost in the rocks.
FARRELL
We'll get the other one, though.
Will looks up. Farrell pops the rest of the Snickers in his
mouth.
FARRELL (cont'd)
After the autopsy.
INT. HALLWAY - HOSPITAL - LATER
Will walks down the hallway. Light pouring in from a set of
high windows. He looks tired. Set-upon.
POV of SOMEONE
WATCHING HIM. From a doorway. Not close, not far. A HAND
comes into view. Small. Bruised knuckles. Holds on to the
door jamb. Watches as...
Will suddenly stops. Skin prickling at the back of his neck.
Turns and looks around.
A MAN in a wheelchair.
A LITTLE GIRL tugging at her hospital gown.
A couple of NURSES laughing at check-in.
An empty doorway.
Nothing.
EXT. ROCKY BEACH - OUTSIDE NIGHTMUTE - MORNING
Back at the beach. We see nothing but fog. A VOICE comes
through.
ELLIE (O.S.)
...and it was at this point that Detective
Dormer headed towards the noise...
Ellie emerges from the fog. Carrying the map and talking
into a small tape recorder. She's climbing over the rocks,
wearing a windbreaker a couple sizes too big.
A UNIFORMED OFFICER follows, carrying a camera. She turns to
him.
ELLIE (cont'd)
Remember, Kepp, shoot everything...
(back to the tape recorder)
...wherein he discovered the wounded
Detective Farrell Brooks, having been
shot in the vastus externus of the upper
left thigh...
She climbs over the same bank Will Dormer climbed two
evenings before. Finds...
ANOTHER UNIFORMED OFFICER, hanging out and smoking.
ELLIE (cont'd)
Francis!
He looks up. Pimples on his chin.
FRANCIS
What?
ELLIE
You're supposed to be Farrell. Shot in
the thigh and writhing in pain.
FRANCIS
C'mon, Ellie. What's it matter?
ELLIE
Accuracy. That's what.
(points to the ground)
Now get down.
Francis looks up at her. Flicks his cigarette away and gets
down amongst the rocks. Holds his thigh like he was shot.
FRANCIS
Ow.
CLICK! Kepp takes the picture.
EXT. DOWN BY THE WATER - MINUTES LATER
Ellie sloshes through the water. Ankles getting cold.
Cheeks pink. But it doesn't matter. She's investigating.
ELLIE
(into tape recorder)
...shortly after hearing the second shot,
Detective Dormer continued through the
water until he spotted the body, lying
approximately fifteen feet away.
She stops. Looks at the map. At the spot Will pointed out.
Looks back up. Fog. Clicks off the recorder. Calls out.
ELLIE (cont'd)
You there, Rich?
A VOICE calls back. Someone pretending to be Hap.
VOICE (O.S.)
Yeah. And I'm freezing my nads off!
Ellie furrows her brow. Just then...
FRANCIS appears. Slips on a rock but catches his fall.
FRANCIS
Ellie! Think I found something!
EXT. ROAD NEAR BEACH - DAY
CLOSE ON a row of FEET. Mostly boots. Some more beat-up
than others. Inching forward along a road.
WILL (O.S.)
...Anything catches your eye, you put it
in a bag. Anything looks strange, you
put it in a bag...
PULL BACK to reveal a long line of PEOPLE stretched out
across the road about a mile up the beach. Some old, some
young. Linking arms and moving forward. Looking down. The
SEARCH PARTY.
Will, walking up and down behind the line. Talking through a
megaphone.
WILL (cont'd)
...Anything he may have dropped, moved,
kicked, or stepped on, you put in a bag.
Cigarette butts, gum wrappers, paper
clips, coins, buttons - nine times out of
ten a suspect leaves something behind...
VOICE (O.S.)
Detective?
Will turns. A couple burly GUYS with some BLOODHOUNDS.
BURLY GUY #1
Where do you want us?
Will points over to the woods on the other side of the road.
WILL
The woods. One group heading south, the
other heading north.
Nods to Fred who's standing nearby. He hands the guys two
radios.
FRED
Make sure they're set to channel 6...
Just then two young OFFICERS pull up in a squad car. Young
and apple-cheeked. The first one holding a piece of paper.
OFFICER #1
We did the interviews with all the nearby
houses like you asked.
WILL
Anything?
OFFICER #1
(shakes his head)
Here's a list of who we talked to.
Hands the list to Will. He glances it.
WILL
Alright. Go back and set up some follow-
ups for this afternoon.
The Officers nod, put the car in reverse. Fred saunters
over. Nods towards the searchers.
FRED
You don't think they should start further
back?
Will shakes his head.
WILL
He had to have exited here. Over those
boulders. I saw him move, he's nimble.
Would have taken the hardest way out.
Fred shrugs, skeptical. Just then, his cell phone BLEATS.
He reaches for it.
FRED
(into phone)
Duggar...
Will looks back at the search team. Slow. Meticulous.
FRED (cont'd)
(into phone)
Where was it?
A local WOMAN. At the end of the line. Glances over her
shoulder. Looks at Will. Smiles. You'll help us catch him.
FRED (cont'd)
(into phone)
Okay.
(slaps phone closed)
That was Ellie.
Will turns back to him.
FRED (cont'd)
They found Farrell's bullet. Says it
looks like a 357. After the autopsy Rich
can drive 'em both to the lab in
Anchorage. Have a murder weapon by
morning.
Fred crosses his arms. Sarcastic.
FRED (cont'd)
That is, if it's alright with you.
EXT. PIONEER LODGE - NIGHTMUTE - NIGHT
Thunder RUMBLING.
INT. PIONEER LODGE - NIGHTMUTE - NIGHT
Rachel winding an old grandfather clock with a key. Looks
about a hundred years old.
Will enters the lobby. Soaked through. Carrying an armload
of wet files. Rachel turns, sees him. Reaches over to an
umbrella stand. Hands him an umbrella.
RACHEL
Here. It's on the house.
Will takes it. Preoccupied.
WILL
Thanks.
He starts up the stairs. Notices Rachel straining to return
the key to the top of the clock. Backtracks to help her.
She gets it without his help.
RACHEL
I got it.
(smiles)
Don't know why I bother. It's been
broken for two years.
WILL
Habit.
Rachel looks at him. Can't figure this guy out. Remembers
something.
RACHEL (cont'd)
Oh. A man came by to see you earlier.
Said he was your new partner.
A TINGLE skips down Will's spine. He looks at her.
WILL
Fred Duggar?
RACHEL
No. He didn't say what his name was.
Only that you were expecting him.
WILL
I'm not expecting anyone.
RACHEL
That's not what he thinks.
WILL
What did he look like?
Rachel thinks for a second. Leaning against the clock.
RACHEL
Short. Dark hair. Not that memorable.
Will nods, rubs his forehead. Suddenly has a pounding
headache. Turns for the stairs. Hesitates.
WILL
I need to borrow something.
INT. WILL'S ROOM - NIGHT
CLOSE ON a nail. One THWACK of a hammer and it bites into
the wall. PULL BACK to reveal Will nailing the corner of a
blanket to one side of the window. An ad hoc curtain.
He finishes that side. Starts to stretch the blanket across
the window. Hesitates. Looks outside. To the left. To the
right. To see if anybody's out there. If anybody's
watching. Sees instead...
A LONE TUGBOAT chugging across the harbor. Pulling a huge
freighter. Will squeezes his eyes shut. Opens them again.
Pulls the blanket fully across the window.
INT. WILL'S ROOM - 1:05 A.M.
The FILES spread across the floor. Their edges buckled from
the rain. Dozens of pictures of Kay Connell. School
records. Private letters. Health files. Coroner's report.
Will. Pacing. Back and forth. Thinking. Over that same
SQUEAKY floorboard. The clock reads: 1:05.
INT. WILL'S ROOM - 2:20 A.M.
Will lying in bed. On top of the blanket. Wide awake.
Staring at the ADJOINING DOOR. Into Hap's room.
EXT. PIONEER LODGE - NIGHTMUTE - LATE NIGHT
Will, in a sweatshirt and coat, heads down the front steps of
the Pioneer Lodge. Jams his hands in his pockets. The walk
of an insomniac.
EXT. MAINSTREET - NIGHTMUTE - LATE NIGHT
Will walking down main street. In the middle of the road.
The dead of night. No cars. The sky a blinding white.
Hears some rowdy NOISE coming from a corner bar, beer lights
flickering. A WOMAN rides by on a bicycle. Birds SINGING.
Not day. Not night. Stuck somewhere in between. Like a
dream.
Turns down a side street. Passing more stores. Guns and
Ammo. Patty's Hair and Nails. General Store. Comes upon
THE ALLEY
where he vomited the day before. Stops. Sees the DEAD DOG,
still down at the end. Half obscured by the dumpster.
Will wavers, pale. Suddenly...
A HOMELESS MAN emerges from the shadows. Big. Wild-eyed.
Awakened from his sleep. Will, quickly backtracks to the
sidewalk. Spooked.
JUST THEN the CRACK! of bat hitting ball. He turns. In the
distance. Nightmute Elementary School.
EXT. NIGHTMUTE ELEMENTARY - LATE NIGHT
A Little League game in full swing. The uniforms, a little
faded. The diamond, a little unkempt. A smattering of
SPECTATORS. Mostly dads with six-packs.
Will wanders over to the fence. Spots Ellie sitting alone on
the bottom bleacher.
CUT TO:
POV OF SOMEONE
WATCHING HIM. From afar. The SOUNDS of the game, delayed a
few seconds. Watches as Will crosses to the bleachers...
CUT BACK TO:
...and sits down next to Ellie. She turns, surprised.
ELLIE (cont'd)
Detective Dormer! What are you doing
here?
(looks at watch)
It's two-thirty in the morning.
Shouldn't you be asleep?
Will glances out at the game.
WILL
I could say the same thing about you.
ELLIE
Oh. We always have play-offs in the
middle of the night. It's the best time.
WILL
Who's playing?
ELLIE
The Puffins and the Hawks. We're in
extra innings. The Hawks have a really
good line-up this year.
She sips on a take-out coke. Looks back at the game. A
plump, redheaded GIRL comes up to bat. Blows a bubble.
ELLIE
That's my sister.
Will looks over just in time to see the girl swing and miss
by a mile. Ellie cups her hands around her mouth.
ELLIE (cont'd)
(calling out)
That's okay, Lib!
(to Will)
Usually she's better.
WILL
She your only sibling?
ELLIE
(nods)
Twelve years younger.
Libby takes another swing. Connects with the ball. Drops
the bat and runs to first. Ellie gives a sharp WHISTLE.
ELLIE (cont'd)
What about you? You have any siblings?
WILL
No.
(rubs his eyes)
Well. I had a brother. He died when I
was eleven.
Ellie, sits up...
ELLIE
Oh, I shouldn't have...
WILL
It's okay. Happened a long time ago. He
was killed in a fire. In New Mexico.
ELLIE
That must have been awful for you.
Will leans back. Stretching his legs. Remembering.
WILL
Not really.
(slight smile)
I remember I was more embarrassed that he
had died. Embarrassed that it made me
different. So I didn't tell the other kids
at school what had happened. They'd ask
me where he was, where he'd gone. And I'd
make up stories. He was visiting an aunt up
north, he'd broken his leg, he was in a
Swiss boarding school. Stuff like that.
(shakes his head)
Nice kid, huh? Just kept making up more
and more lies...
Suddenly, he stops talking. Slowly sits up. Sensing
something. Ellie, noticing the shift.
ELLIE
You okay?
The row of DADS behind them. Jump up and start CHEERING.
CUT TO:
POV OF THE PERSON
WATCHING WILL. Sees him sit up. Look around. That same
prickle at the back of his neck. A KID slides home just as...
CUT BACK TO:
...Will stands. Trying to shake the feeling.
WILL
I'm going back to the Lodge, Ellie.
Still need to go through some of Kay
Connell's school records.
ELLIE
(unsure)
Okay.
He turns to go, scanning the area. Ellie calls after him.
ELLIE (cont'd)
Try to get some sleep!
EXT. NIGHTMUTE MORGUE - EARLY MORNING
The Nightmute morgue. Next morning. A SQUAD CAR pulls up.
Francis gets out, whistling. Starts for the morgue's
entrance.
INT./EXT. JEEP CHEROKEE - EARLY MORNING
Will in the Cherokee. Dark circles under his eyes. Suit
jacket wrinkled. Pulls in next to Francis' squad car.
WILL
(calls out window)
Officer!...
Francis turns.
WILL
I'll pick it up. You head back to the
station.
INT. HALLWAY - NIGHTMUTE MORGUE - EARLY MORNING
Will walking down a hallway. Fluorescent lights.
Cinderblock walls. On his cell phone.
WILL
(into phone)
Duggar - I'm at the coroner's now. I'll
be back in about twenty minutes...
Stops at an open doorway in time to see
THE CORONER pull a sheet over the cold, blue body of Hap
Eckhart.
Will's heart lurches. He grabs on to the door jamb. Wasn't
ready for that. The coroner looks up.
CORONER
Detective. Thought you were sending one
of your lackeys.
Will clears his throat. Closes his cell phone.
WILL
I thought it was better if I came. Under
the circumstances.
The coroner nods. Goes to wash her hands.
CORONER
It's different when you know them, isn't
it?
(nods to clipboard)
Just sign over there and she's all yours.
Shrugs off her lab coat. She's wearing a blue dress. Looks
like a piano teacher. Heads into an adjoining office.
Will. Alone. Steps into the room. The smell of
formaldehyde. Bloody instruments on a stainless steel tray.
Walks towards the clipboard, eyes flicking over to the shape
under the sheet when...
SUDDENLY Hap's HAND drops down. Thick fingers. Wedding
band.
Will jumps...
CORONER (O.S.)
Your partner didn't suffer much...
The coroner re-emerges from the office with a manila
envelope. Hap Eckhart written on it in black pen.
CORONER (cont'd)
Maybe for a minute or two.
Will rubs his face. Tries to focus on the clipboard. The
coroner holds out the envelope. Smiles.
CORONER (cont'd)
Just enough time to reflect.
WILL
Thanks, Doc.
He takes the envelope. The coroner peers up at him.
CORONER
You're looking a little green, Detective.
INT. BULLPEN - NIGHTMUTE PD - DAY
Fred Duggar, dialing the phone at his cluttered desk.
WILL (O.S.)
So where's the other bullets?
He looks up. Will standing before him, holding the manila
envelope.
INT. STORAGE ROOM - NIGHTMUTE PD - DAY
CLOSE on a key slipping into a padlock. Opens with a CLICK!
PULL BACK to reveal Fred and Will in a small storage room.
Standing in front of an army-green LOCKER. The evidence
locker. Room's stuffed with old files and boxes. MOOSE
ANTLERS hanging over a small window. Will glances up.
WILL
What's with all the moose antlers around
here?
Fred throws a look over his shoulder. Opens the locker.
FRED
Lots of moose.
INSIDE THE LOCKER - another manila envelope. The name on
this one: Farrell Brooks.
Fred reaches back for the other envelope. Will, hesitant to
give it to him. Feeling the bump of the bullet in the bottom
corner. Hands it over. Wipes his brow.
WILL
When's Rich coming?
Fred slides it in beside Farrell's. Closes the locker door.
FRED
I'll call him now.
WILL
First I need a copy of the key.
Fred turns, a twinkle in his eye.
FRED
This isn't Seattle, Detective. We don't
have copies.
(holds up key)
This is the only one.
Will looks at him. At the key. Plucks it from his hand.
Just then Nyback's SECRETARY appears in the doorway.
SECRETARY
Detective Dormer? Telephone.
INT. BULLPEN - NIGHTMUTE PD - DAY
The secretary hands Will the phone. Pulls something from
under the desk. A beat-up BOX. Will's name on it.
SECRETARY
This came for you earlier.
Will glances at it. Takes the phone. Rubs his eyes.
WILL
(into phone)
Dormer.
Nothing. Someone's there but they're not saying anything.
Will, too tired for this shit...
WILL (cont'd)
Goddammit, Warfield, if you're gonna
check up on me every...
Then...the VOICE. A MAN's voice. Not John Warfield's.
This voice is medium-ranged. Higher. Nose sounds stuffed.
MAN'S VOICE
I bet you haven't been getting much
sleep.
Will straightens. Something weird.
WILL
(into phone)
What?
A little TITTER on the other end.
MAN'S VOICE
You lower-48s. You think the white
nights are kind of neat. Then you can't
sleep for days. I've seen it happen
about a million times. But you can't
sleep for a different reason.
WILL
(into phone)
Who is this?
A PAUSE. Will loosens his tie.
WILL
(into phone)
I said, who is this?
The voice. Dropping to a WHISPER.
MAN'S VOICE
I saw what really happened, Will...
Will, furrows his brow.
MAN'S VOICE
I saw you kill your partner. With your
back-up weapon. Out there on the beach.
I saw you shoot him dead...
CLOSE ON
Will Dormer's face.
As all the blood drains from it.
As all SOUND
fades around him.
As his heart
begins to POUND against his chest.
He falters, reaching out for the desk. To steady himself.
As if the floor's just dropped out beneath him. Eyes,
darting around the bullpen...
WILL
(sotto, into phone)
Now you listen to me...
MAN'S VOICE
Don't worry. I won't tell anyone. Oh,
and I saw you take my gun. My uncle's
old 357. I dropped it in the rocks.
But you can go ahead and keep that.
CHIEF NYBACK, exits his office. Looks at Will and smiles.
MAN'S VOICE (cont'd)
...I mean...
(beat)
...Now that we're partners.
CLICK. The line goes dead.
Will, throat constricted. Listening to the DIAL TONE.
Smiles back at Nyback. Turns. Slowly hangs up the phone.
White as a sheet. Trying to act normal. Trying to act calm.
SOUND returning to the bullpen, like nothing's different.
Looks over at
THE BOX
sitting on the edge of the secretary's desk. He reaches for
it. Carefully, rips the packing tape. Bends back a flap.
Inside, some dark blue material. An embroidered daisy.
Kay Connell's knapsack.
EXT. NIGHTMUTE POLICE DEPARTMENT - DAY
Will, heading for the Cherokee. Clutching the box. Face
pale, pace quick. Everything's different now.
ELLIE (O.S.)
Detective Dormer!
He closes his eyes. Now is not the time. Reaches the
Cherokee. Yanks open the driver's side door. Ellie catches
up with him. Out of breath.
ELLIE
You look like you're in a hurry. I just
wanted to ask you about these pictures.
She smiles, holds up some PHOTOGRAPHS. They're of the BEACH.
The ones Kepp took. Almost all fog.
ELLIE (cont'd)
I know they're not great quality, but
this is where you said you were when you
first saw Detective Eckhart, right?
Will. Barely glancing at them. Tosses the box into the car.
WILL
Right.
Gets in and closes the door. Puts his hand over the box.
Ellie comes up to the window.
ELLIE
But here's the thing. I retraced your
exact steps according to your statement.
You couldn't have seen Detective Eckhart
from there. I mean, not in that fog.
WILL
Then change it.
ELLIE
How much closer would you say you were?
WILL
I don't remember.
ELLIE
Five feet? Seven feet?
Will, about to seriously lose his shit. Looks at Ellie.
Eyes dark, distant.
WILL
Listen, Ellie. I don't have time for
this shit. Five feet, seven feet, twenty
feet. Put down whatever you want in your
report, alright?
He turns the ignition. Pulls out with a SQUEAL. Ellie
steps back, watching him drive away. More curious than
stung.
EXT. OUTSIDE NIGHTMUTE - DAY
The Cherokee. Parked off-road. A remote spot by the water.
The driver's side door, left open. The PING-PING-PING of the
interior BELL.
EXT. BREAKFRONT - DAY
Will Dormer, walking along a breakfront. Aimless. One foot
in front of the other. Staring out at nothing. The endless
sea. Waves CRASHING. Wind HOWLING. Seagulls SCREECHING.
Everything. Closing in on him...
He stumbles over a rock. Grabs his head in his hands.
Stunned. Guilty. Ashamed. Fucked.
He saw it. He saw it!
A WAVE, explodes nearby. Drenching him in sea spray.
Will turns, raking his hand across his face. Blinking. Eyes
stinging. Trying to focus. Trying to think this through...
Hears a dog BARKING in the distance.
Shakes his head. Looks at his watch.
Got to deal with the problem at hand.
INT. WILL'S ROOM - PIONEER LODGE - DAY
Will, bursts into his room at the Lodge. The shoulders of
his coat still wet with sea spray. Crosses to the area of
the floor where Kay Connell's files are still spread out.
Starts pressing the floorboards with the toe of his boot.
Testing. Testing. Until...he finds the one that SQUEAKS.
Gets down on his knees. Hesitates. Then jams his fingers in
around the loose board. Starts pulling it up. Face
reddening. Knuckles whitening. Slips his hand into the gap.
Pulls out a muddy 357 RUGER.
The killer's gun.
Will, stares down at it.
INT. ALLEY - DAY
Will, standing at the mouth of the ALLEY. Just like the
night before. Steps inside. Cautious. Eyes darting.
Peering into the shadows for the HOMELESS MAN...
Not there. Coast's clear. Heads for the dumpster at the end
of the alley. Shoves it aside. Looks down at...
The DEAD DOG. Rancid. Rotting. Will gags. Holds a
handkerchief to his face. Waving away the flies.
Then. Pulls the 357 Ruger from his pocket. Shrugs his coat
off and wraps it around his hand and the gun. Looks away.
Fires a muffled SHOT into the dog's side. The body kicks.
Crouches down. Feels along the dog's ribs for the bullet's
point of entry. Finds it. Pulls out a PENKNIFE and extends
one of the blades. Cuts into the gash, fingers probing deep
for the lodged bullet. He finds it. Pulls it out.
Looks back at the dog. Takes a deep breath. Wipes his brow.
A little smear of the dog's blood left on his forehead.
Turns and pulls a bottle of RUBBING ALCOHOL from his pocket.
Douses the bullet. Cleaning it. Glancing at his watch.
Running out of time...
EXT. NIGHTMUTE POLICE DEPARTMENT - DAY
The rear of the Nightmute PD building. Will, looking around,
heads briskly for the back door...
INT. HALLWAY - NIGHTMUTE PD - DAY
...steps into the HALLWAY leading towards the bullpen. Hears
VOICES. Nearby. Ducks back. Waiting for them to fade.
Safe. Heads down towards the STORAGE ROOM. Glancing briefly
at the PICTURES hanging on the wall. Of old time POLICE
OFFICERS. Striking brave poses...
INT. STORAGE ROOM - NIGHTMUTE PD - DAY
The storage room. Hot. Stifling. The moose antlers LOOMING
over his shoulder. Will pulls the evidence locker key from
his pocket. Unlocks the padlock. Swings the door open.
Pulls the Hap Eckhart envelope out. Throwing a look over his
shoulder. Opens it. Shakes out the bullet that was lodged
in Hap's spine. Then fishes a plastic bag from his pocket.
The bullet he shot into the dead dog. Drops that into the
envelope and reseals it. Hands shaking.
Something. Catches the corner of his eye. He turns.
HIS REFLECTION in the locker mirror. The blood smear still
on his forehead.
FRED (O.S.)
Dormer...
Will jumps. Quickly wipes the smear off and turns. Fred
Duggar standing behind him. RICH by his side. Will clears
his throat, shoves Hap's envelope into Fred's hand. Then
Farrell's. Angry.
WILL
These should have gone out two hours ago.
SLAMS the locker door and brushes past him. Fred and Rich
exchange a glance.
EXT. CEMETERY - NIGHTMUTE - DAY
CLOSE ON a YOUNG GIRL's face. Dark hair held up in two
barrettes, wind tousling the curls. Reading from a piece of
paper.
YOUNG GIRL
...And that's how I think Kay would want
us to remember her...
PULL BACK to reveal Kay Connell's funeral. PEOPLE standing
by the grave, most of them HIGH SCHOOLERS. The sky's a
brilliant blue. Red fireweeds blanket the hillside.
YOUNG GIRL (cont'd)
...Swimming, reading, hiking through the
Kebaughs...
FRED, ELLIE AND WILL
stand off to the side. Dressed in black. Fred looks like
he's never worn a tie before. Ellie holds a potted plant. A
gift for the bereaved.
YOUNG GIRL (cont'd)
...playing her flute, meeting at Darrow's
after school...
Will. Eyes bloodshot. Not really listening. Not really
paying attention. A thousand miles away. Tugs at his
collar. Feels tight.
YOUNG GIRL
...And always, always with a smile on her
face.
The young girl looks up. Folds the paper closed. People
SNIFFLE. Mrs. Connell, reaches out to squeeze her arm.
Some CHILDREN. Start circulating with plastic buckets.
Filled with white carnations. Handing them out.
VOICE (O.S.)
Want one?
Will, startled, looks down. A LITTLE GIRL stands before him.
Curly hair. Glasses. Holding up a bucket. He shakes his
head. Looks back up at
THE MOURNERS lining up to place the carnations on Kay's
casket.
AN OLD MAN with a brass-tipped cane. Two GIRLS, look like
sisters, holding each other up. A MAN with a thick red
beard. A LITTLE BOY, about five, clutching a FLUTE tied with
a pink ribbon...
Will, looks away. Then. At the end of the line. Something
catches his eye.
RANDY STETZ
in tight jeans and a down vest. In front of him stands a
GIRL with white-blonde hair.
From the torn pictures in Kay Connell's room.
Will, straightens at the sight of her.
Sees Randy surreptitiously caress her ass.
EXT. CEMETERY - LATER
The service is over. People are heading back to their cars.
Fred yanks off his tie. Looks at Ellie.
FRED
We should go say hello to Mrs. Connell.
He starts off. Ellie, looks back at Will.
WILL
You go ahead. I'll be there in a second.
Ellie nods. Catches up to Fred. Will turns his attention
back to RANDY AND THE GIRL. Over at the far end of the
cemetery. Standing next to Randy's motorcycle.
EXT. AT THE EDGE OF THE FOREST - MINUTES LATER
Randy gets on his bike, strapping his helmet on. The girl's
about to get on behind him.
WILL (O.S.)
Why don't I give her a ride?
They look over. WILL walking towards them. The wind
whipping his jacket. His tie. Randy makes a face.
RANDY
Thought I smelled something.
WILL
Good to see you, too, Randy.
Will arrives at the bike. The girl, TANYA FRANCKE, looks at
him curiously. Her long white-blonde hair, her skin almost
translucent. Something sexy about her. Has the carnation
stuck in the buttonhole of her jean jacket.
TANYA
Who're you?
EXT. GRAVESITE - CONTINUOUS
Fred shakes Mrs. Connell's hand. Ellie waits. Looks over
and sees
WILL standing with Tanya and Randy.
Shifts the plant in her hands.
EXT. AT THE EDGE OF THE FOREST - CONTINUOUS
Will shows the gold shield on his belt.
RANDY
Fuckin' cop.
Randy kick starts the bike. It dies. He kicks it again.
Calls out over his shoulder.
RANDY
You coming or not?
INT. CHEROKEE - FOREST - DAY
Sunlight dappling through tall fir trees. Will drives.
Tanya sitting next to him. Her black skirt riding up.
Picking at the flaking polish on her nails.
TANYA
I never met anyone from Seattle before.
WILL
You're not missing much.
TANYA
What are you doing in this shit-hole
town?
Will, shifts. Looks over.
WILL
You were good friends with Kay Connell,
weren't you?
Tanya hesitates. Pulls a cigarette from her purse.
TANYA
I was her best friend.
WILL
Best friend?
TANYA
Since grade school.
WILL
That's a long time.
TANYA
We were like sisters. Knew everything
about each other.
WILL
Must be tough for you. What happened.
Tanya shrugs. Lights the cigarette. Takes a drag.
TANYA
Ev