WILD THINGS


                                 by

                           Stephen Peters



                             rewrite by

                              Kem Nunn










     MANDALAY ENTERTAINMENT                           January 21, 1997
     1202 West Washington Blvd.
     Culver City, CA 90232









     FADE IN:

     MAIN TITLE SEQUENCE -- BLACK

     INTERCUT -- QUICK FLASH-FORWARDS

     INSIDE A STEAMY SHOWER -- A wet naked woman and man wrapped
     around each other in ecstasy -- legs, arms, hair, mouths.

     BLACK -- MORE TITLES -- then

     Moonlight reflects on a vehicle's shiny surface.  FISTS THUD into
     flesh.  O.S. -- a man slams of the hood, rebounds away.

     BLACK -- MORE TITLES -- then

     LOVERS -- caught in FREEZE-FRAMES of green neon -- off, on, off,
     on -- like a strobe's instant-images -- of gasping, tough sex.

     BLACK -- MORE TITLES -- then

     ON A GLEAMING POOL DECK of black-and-white tile -- two women in
     soaked, clinging clothes -- fight -- hands squeeze a throat.

     BLACK -- MORE TITLES -- then

     A SCREAM -- a sickening hollow THWACK -- an arc of blood, two
     teeth fall on dark stone.

     BLACK -- MORE TITLES -- then

     GUNSHOTS -- Blood sprays across the glass of a picture frame --
     obscures the photo inside.

     BLACK -- MORE TITLES -- then

     THE SURFACE OF A SPARKLING SEA -- a distant emerald island.  A
     40-foot sloop APPEARS -- shapes on deck -- we are about to SEE --

     BLACK -- MORE TITLES -- then

     SHARKS -- underwater -- rip something into a bloody cloud.

     END MAIN TITLES.

                                                 FADE TO:

     EXT. BLUE BAY SCHOOL - DAY

     A place of money and privilege.  White coral buildings surround
     an open yard.  Tile roofs rise among banyan trees and banana
     palms, shimmering before a blue blaze of sky.

     Beyond the yard is the school's playing field and beyond that the
     waters of Biscayne Bay, dappled in sunlight where the sloops of
     the school's sailing class bob at their moorings.

     For a moment all is quiet.  Then, faintly, the HUM of many
     VOICES, rising and falling, LAUGHTER.

     The CAMERA PANS to the open windows of a building somewhat larger
     than the others.  The SOUNDS grow louder.

     INT. BLUE BAY AUDITORIUM - DAY

     A hundred high school kids sit before a raised, hardwood stage.
     The students are not unlike the campus, radiant, well-tended -- a
     veritable sea of adolescent sexuality -- bronze boys who seem to
     have just come from the boats or tennis courts -- girls in tight
     shorts riding high up shapely thighs, as...

     SAM LOMBARDO strolls out onto the stage.  The man is thirtyish,
     drop-dead handsome.  Dressed not that differently from the kids,
     in an Izod polo shirt, khakis and boat shoes.

     His entrance has an effect upon the audience, particularly upon
     the girls.

     KAREN and JANELLE, 16, pretty blondes, whisper then giggle.

     NICOLE, a dark-eyed beauty, 17 but going on 25, watches Sam's
     walk, then turns to the girl at her side...

     KELLY VAN RYAN, 17, a fully-developed knockout.

                                  NICOLE
                  When we graduate the only thing I'm
                  going to miss is...
                         (with a nod to the stage)
                  Know what I mean?

     Kelly's eyes are locked on Sam.  Nicole has to nudge her.

                                  NICOLE (CONT'D)
                  Kelly?

                                  KELLY
                         (still staring)
                  Oh yeah.

     Sam is at the podium.  He looks out across the audience.  There
     are a couple of flirtatious whistles, laughter.  Sam smiles,
     silencing them with a wave of his hand.

                                  SAM
                  We've come to the halfway point in my
                  senior seminars...

     Cheers, applause.  Sam waits for the kids to settle.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  Come on.  Beats study hall, doesn't it?

                                  JIMMY (O.S.)
                  No!

     Boos as we FIND...

     JIMMY LEACH, 18, grumge look, long hair.  He sits with a clique
     of white trashy types, or at least what passes for such at Blue
     Bay School.  Jimmy appears a bit more genuine, as does...

     SUZlE TOLLER, a boyish brunette, seated nearby, but with just
     enough space between her and everyone else to mark her as a
     loner.  She studies Sam Lombardo with a dark, sullen stare.

                                  SAM
                  Thank you, Jimmy.

                                  JIMMY
                  Hey, man, at least in study hail I could
                  meditate.

                                  KIRK (O.S.)
                  He means masturbate...

     This remark is greeted by a chorus of laughter as we FIND...

     KIRK, one of the golden boys, seated with Kelly and Nicole.

                                  SAM
                  Something Kirk with which I'm sure you
                  have hands-on experience.

     Loud laughter.  Sam quiets them again, then turns to the
     blackboard, where he begins to write, in big letters -- S-E-X.
     The kids start to cheer.

     Sam writes another word -- C-R-I-M-E-S.

     The cheering fades into silence.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  We've all heard the words, date rape,
                  sexual harassment.  We've talked about
                  some of these things in this room.
                         (beat)
                  Our speakers today head up the Blue Bay
                  Police Sex Crimes Unit -- Detectives Ray
                  Duquette and Gloria Perez.
                         (beat)
                  They're here to give you what we hope
                  will be a fresh perspective on these
                  subjects, and to answer any questions
                  you night have.

     Sam turns to the wings, his hand out to welcome the visitors...

     RAY DUQUETTE, mid-thirties, with the lanky build of a light
     heavyweight, walks out onto the stage.  He's dressed in a dark
     suit, dark hair combed straight back above steel-rimmed glasses.

     GLORIA PEREZ walks at his side.  She's a good six inches shorter
     than Ray, with a sweet face.  Attractive but no stunner.

     About five kids applaud.  Ray takes the podium.

                                  RAY
                  Thank you for having us.  We'll each
                  talk for ten or fifteen minutes, then
                  open it up to your questions...

     IN THE AUDIENCE

     Suzie Toller suddenly gets to her feet.  As she passes behind
     Jimmy, we HEAR her VOICE, beneath her breath.

                                  SUZIE
                  I'm not going to listen to this
                  jack-off.

     She marches down the aisle and bangs out the rear door..

     Ray pauses, a dark look on his face, then goes on...

                                  RAY
                  Let's begin with a question.  What is a
                  sex crime?

     A moment.

                                  JIMMY
                  Not getting any.

     This draws a few laughs from the kids, a couple of thin smiles
     from Sam and Gloria.  And none at all from Ray Duquette.

     EXT. AUDITORIUM - DAY

     The kids change classes.  Sam, Ray and Gloria CROSS the grass.
     The kids swarm past.  A pair of girls flash by.

                                  CAROLE
                  Have a nice weekend, Mr. Lombardo.

                                  SAM

                  Hey, Carole, you too.  And be good.

                                  CAROLE
                         (beneath a pouty look)
                  I hate to be good.

     The three adults ENTER an old wooden building.

     INT. BUILDING - DAY

                                  SAM
                  This is one of the original buildings.
                  We have the offices here now.

     The walls are paneled in wood, decorated with framed photographs.
     Gloria stops before one of the photos.

     ANGLE ON PHOTOGRAPH

     An old black-and-white, with that sepia caste harkening back to
     another age.

     A handsome young man of perhaps 14 stands at the helm of a boat
     under sail.  His hair is swept back, his eyes fixed upon an
     unseen horizon.  There is something in this boy's pose, in the
     line of his jaw, in the clarity of his gaze, as if what he has
     fixed upon is the future itself.

                                  GLORIA
                  Anybody in particular?

     When no one answers, she turns to find Sam at her side.  He
     stares at the picture, then looks at Gloria.

                                  SAM
                  Sam Lombardo.  The first.  Class of
                  'Forty-Two
                         (beat)
                  My father.

     Gloria does a slow double-take, looking from Sam to the photo and
     back again.

                                  VOICE (0.S.)
                  Can't seem to get rid of the Lombardos
                  around here.

     Sam and the detectives turn as a professorial-looking guy in a
     baggy brown suit (ART MADDOX) arrives on the scene.

                                  SAM
                  Art.  Say hello to Detectives Perez and
                  Duquette.
                         (to the cops)
                  Art Maddox. A fellow guidance counselor.

     Art and the detectives shake hands.

                                  ART
                  So, did you set 'em all straight on the
                  ugly facts of life?

                                  SAM
                  I have the feeling, they got it down
                  already.  They're a step ahead of us,
                  Artie.

     Gloria seems to find this amusing.  Ray stands at her side, looks
     at Sam.  Sam feels it, makes eye contact with Ray -- a beat -- at
     which point, Ray puts a hand on Gloria's back.

                                  RAY
                  I've got that two o'clock in town.

                                  GLORIA
                         (nodding)
                  Back to the land of grownups.

     The detectives shake hands once more with San and Art.

                                  SAM
                         (to Gloria)
                  If old pictures interest you, come back
                  some time, there's quite a collection
                  down in the pagoda.  I'll see you get a
                  proper tour.

                                  GLORIA
                         (smiling)
                  I'd like that.

     Ray opens a door for her.  The detectives pass through it.

     Art claps Sam on the shoulder, then walks off down the hallway.
     Sam remains near the doors, watching as...

     ANGLE ON THE DRIVE LEADING TO THE SCHOOL

     Ray and Gloria walk past half a dozen expensive cars -- Range
     Rovers, Beamers and Mercedes, to a plain, white Ford Taurus,
     which they get into and drive away.

     EXT. BLUE BAY SCHOOL - LATER

     Cheerleaders perform a sensual dance on the porch of a wooden
     pagoda.  A rugby team runs drills on the grass, as out on the
     bay, six tiny racing sloops tack toward the docks.

     ANGLE ON DOCKS

     As the sloops enter the narrow channel between the slips one
     student from each boat jumps onto the dock where he or she sets
     about tying off the boat.

     Sam is on one of the boats.  Jimmy Leach is at the rudder.

                                  SAM
                         (loud enough to be heard
                          by his class)
                  Okay, you guys.  Good work.  Now coil
                  those dock lines and I'll see you all on
                  Monday.

     He watches his class clamber up the docks.  His eye falls upon
     the pagoda, the dancing cheerleaders -- Kelly Van Ryan in
     work-out tights -- bare arms reaching for the sky.

     EXT. SCHOOL DOCKS - SAM & JIMMY - LATER

     hosing down boats, stowing sails.  They look up as...
     A HUGE POWER BOAT glides past.  The docks rock in its wake.

                                  JIMMY
                  All right.  I could party on that.

     Sam just laughs at him.

                                  SAM
                  That's about all it's good for.
                         (beat)
                  That's the one to have.

     He points to a beautiful triple-masted schooner headed out of the
     bay, under sail.

                                  SAM
                  The Windward Passage.  I crewed on that
                  one summer.
                         (beat)
                  Long time ago.

     He pulls his eyes from the boat, sets about coiling a line.

                                  JIMMY
                  You know, I want to thank you for
                  getting me into this class...  No way was
                  my old man going to spring for the
                  fees...

                                  SAM
                  Hey, you're working for it.
                         (beneath a laugh)
                  Least you're supposed to be.

     He tosses Jimmy the coiled line.  Jimmy's caught off-guard, but
     catches it at the last second, then shares the laugh with Sam.

                                  VOICE (O.S.)
                  Can I play too?  Or is it just for boys?

     Sam and Jimmy turn to find Kelly Van Ryan at the far end of the
     dock.  She's fresh from cheerleader practice, in a white blouse
     knotted at the bottom to REVEAL a flat, tanned stomach; open at
     the top to REVEAL the swelling of her breasts.  She favors Sam
     with a coy smile.

                                  KELLY
                  So who's washing your car this weekend,
                  Mr. Lombardo?
                         (off Sam's blank look)
                  The senior car wash, remember?
                         (beat)
                  Tamara's making a schedule.  She said
                  you bought a coupon but you're not on
                  anybody's list.

     Sam smiles, remembering.

                                  SAM
                  Well, you know.  Figured I'd buy a
                  Washing ticket, support the effort.
                  That old Jeep of mine's kind of a waste
                  of time, don't you think?

     Sam places the coiled hose on top of a locker then starts up the
     dock, Jimmy at his side.  Kelly falls in with then.

                                  KELLY
                  Not at all.  How about if Nicole and I
                  do it?  We're working as a team.

     Sam just looks at her.  She looks back -- big, pleading eyes.

                                  SAM
                  Okay, try me on Sunday.  I'm going out
                  to the Everglades on Saturday.  You guys
                  can wash the mud off.

                                  KELLY
                  Deal.
                         (beat)
                  You know, I just looked out front.  My
                  ride wasn't there.  You suppose you
                  could give me one?

     Sam doesn't answer right away.  He looks toward the school.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                  You wouldn't want me to walk, would you?
                  I mean like, something bad might happen.

     Sam hesitates, momentarily at a loss, then turns to Jimmy, who
     seems to regard Kelly with something akin to physical pain.

                                  SAM
                  What about you, Jimbo, you need a ride?

                                  JIMMY
                         (still looking at Kelly)
                  What?

                                  SAM
                  A ride.  You want one?

                                 JIMMY
                  Yeah.  But I got my bike.

     EXT. BLUE BAY SCHOOL - DAY

     Sam's Jeep rolls out of the drive, Jimmy's bike in back, meaning
     that Jimmy and Kelly are squeezed into the passenger seat, which
     is fine with Jimmy.  Kelly's thigh is pressed against his.  His
     arm pushes against her breast.  Kelly is not so happy.

     As they near the school's entrance, they come upon a beat-to-shit
     VW bug -- stalled at a stop sign.

     A John Deere tractor mower sits nearby.  A groundsman -- a tall
     black guy with a shaved head, waits at the wheel of the bug as...

     Suzie Toller -- in black platform shoes, a T-shirt and cutoff
     jeans, leans over the engine, fiddling with the car's linkage.

     Sam pulls up next to the bug and stops.

                                  SAM
                  We got room for one more, Suzie.  You
                  need a ride?

     Kelly rolls her eyes as Suzie turns to look at them.

                                  KELLY
                  Jesus.  Where'd she get those shoes?
                  Whores-4-Less?

     Suzie's eyes go cold.  She signals the groundsman, who turns the
     key.  The CAR SPLUTTERS to life.  Suzie flashes a smile, then
     sticks out her tongue -- which has been pierced by a silver stud.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                  That's cute.

     Suzie gives her the finger.  Sam makes eye contact with Suzie,
     offers a sad smile, while putting the Jeep in gear.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                         (to Suzie)
                  I hope you swallow it.

     Jimmy turns, waving to Suzie as the Jeep pulls away.

     EXT. UPSCALE NEIGHBORHOOD - DAY

     Magnificent old mansions occupy five-acre bay-front parcels amid
     lush, tropical settings.

     Sam's Jeep stops before a pair of gates with the words "VAN RYAN"
     woven into their wrought-iron design.  Beyond the gates a long
     drive leads toward a huge stone house.  Kelly jumps out, punches
     in a code.  The gates swing open.

                                  KELLY
                  Don't forget the car wash.

                                  SAM
                  I won't.

     SANDRA VAN RYAN, Kelly's mom, big, sexy, aggressive, a young 42
     in a string bikini, comes out from the side of the house.  When
     she sees the Jeep, she starts down the drive.

     Kelly waves to Sam, then walks up the drive.  When she sees her
     mother coming toward her, her face hardens.

                                  SANDRA
                  Is that Sam Lombardo?

                                  KELLY
                         (sarcastic)
                  Hi, Mon.

                                  SANDRA
                  Sam!  Hi!

     Sam has already hung a U.

     Sandra comes through the gate and up to the Jeep.

     Jimmy is checking her out.  All eyes.

                                  SANDRA (CONT'D)
                         (to Sam; as if Jimmy
                          wasn't even there)
                  What?  You're going to drive off without
                  even saying hi?

                                  SAM
                  Hi, Sandy.

                                  SANDRA
                  Why don't you come in, have a drink?

                                  SAM
                  Can't.  Got a passenger.

     Sandra looks down her nose at Jimmy.

                                  SANDRA
                  He can wait.

     Sam glances past her, to Kelly, who stands languidly at the front
     of the house, watching.

                                  SAM
                  I can't, Sandy.  I've got to run.

                                  SANDRA
                  I'll bet.
                         (then, softening)
                  Look, Sam.  Why don't you come by this
                  weekend.  We'll take the boat out...

                                  SAM
                         (cutting her off)
                  Sorry, Sandy.  I've got plans.

                                  SANDRA
                  What?  Running over alligators with that
                  silly swamp jalopy when you could be
                  sailing a real boat...

                                  SAM
                  Swamp's where it's at, Sandy.  Gives you
                  a look into the muck we all crawled out
                  of.  You ought to try it some time.

     Sandra gives him a hard stare, then marches off toward the house.

     CLOSE ON KELLY

     still at the door, a cold smile on her face.

                                                 FADE TO:

     EXT. SUBURBAN CUL-DE-SAC - DAY

     Neat little stucco houses -- some not so neat -- simmer in
     tropical heat.

     A BMW Z-3 Roadster stops at the head of the cul-de-sac.  Nicole
     is driving.  Kelly sits beside her.

                                  NICOLE
                  This is it?

     Kelly looks at a pad of paper, nods.

                                  KELLY
                  Four-thirty-seven.

     They pass a couple of teenagers playing basketball in a driveway,
     a guy mowing his yard.

                                  NICOLE
                  Nice.

                                  KELLY
                  What do you want, he's a teacher for
                  Christ's sake.
                         (beat)
                  It's here.  Pull over.

     Nicole does, before one of the not-so-neat houses.  Sam's muddy
     Jeep Wrangler is parked in the drive.  Behind that is a red
     Mercedes convertible.

     INT. SAM'S HOUSE - BEDROOM - SAME

     Sam and BARBARA, 28, a lean, beautiful country-clubber roll on
     the bed.  Barbara is dressed for tennis.  Sam wears a baggy pair
     of khaki shorts.  Barbara struggles to escape.  Sam grabs a leg,
     kisses the back of her knee.

     He pushes up the little white skirt, kissing her between her
     thighs.

                                  BARBARA
                         (getting just a little
                          breathless)
                  Sam, come on... I'm gonna be late for my
                  game...

     Sam keeps at it.  She's starting to weaken.

                                  BARBARA (CONT'D)
                  Not that I'm going to be much good after
                  last night...

                                  SAM
                  Eat a power bar.

     Barbara starts to giggle.  He's just about got her when...

     The DOORBELL RINGS.  Sam lets go.  Barbara sighs.

     INT. LIVING ROOM - SAME

     Sam goes to the front door, opens it, to find...

     Kelly and Nicole, holding plastic pails full of rags.  The girls
     are dressed in Blue Bay High T-shirts, cropped to REVEAL flat
     tummies, shorts and running shoes.

                                  GIRLS
                  Hi, Mr. Lombardo.

     Sam looks over the girls -- a small, exasperated smile.

                                  KELLY
                  Look, he forgot.  I knew it.

                                  SAM
                  No I didn't.  Check out the Jeep.  It's
                  nice and dirty for you.
                         (beat)
                  But you might want to wait a minute.
                  The Mercedes is leaving.

                                  NICOLE
                  You mean that isn't yours too?

     The girls giggle.  Sam smiles.

                                  KELLY
                  Where's the hose?  We can set up.

                                  SAM
                  In back of the garage.

     As they walk away, he is joined by Barbara.  She watches the
     girls with an appraising eye.

                                  BARBARA
                  Is that Sandra Van Ryan's kid?

                                  SAM
                  Kelly.

                                  BARBARA
                  She's going to wash your Jeep?

                                  SAM
                  Senior class fund-raising gig.  I told
                  'em they could hose down the Jeep.
                         (off Barbara's look)
                  Hey, come on.  It's for a good cause.

     Barbara laughs at him.

                                  BARBARA
                  Sam the philanthropist.
                         (a beat)
                  Tomorrow, right?

     Sam nods.  Another kiss.

     EXT. SAM'S DRIVEWAY - SAME

     As Barbara goes to her car she sees the girls coming from behind
     the garage.  She looks at Sam, standing in his doorway, watching
     the girls.  When he sees Barbara looking at him, he shrugs, then
     waves.

     EXT. FRONT DOOR - SAM'S HOUSE - LATER

     Kelly and Nicole, looking very much like the finalists in a wet
     T-shirt derby, ring the bell.

     Sam answers.  He looks them over.  A couple of houses down he can
     see the guy with the mower, dumping grass into a can, watching
     the girls, then turning to walk back to his house.

                                  SAM
                  So, where you off to now?

                                  KELLY
                  Aren't  you forgetting something?
                          (off Sam's look)
                  Your coupon.  We gotta have it.

                                  SAM
                  Jeez, that thing... Can't you...

                                  KELLY
                         (smiling)
                  Rules are rules, Mr. Lombardo.

     Nicole laughs.

                                  SAM
                  All right.  I'll have to look for it.

                                  KELLY
                         (as he starts to go)
                  Mr. Lombardo.
                         (as he stops)
                  We're running kind of late.  How about
                  if Nicole goes on to the Mansons?  You
                  could give me a ride when you find the
                  ticket.

     Sam looks at her, as does Nicole.

                                  SAM
                  Give me a minute.

     He hurries from the room.  Kelly turns to Nicole, giving her the
     eye, pointing toward the drive.

                                  NICOLE
                         (mouthing the words)
                  Are you sure?

     Kelly nods, a mischievous smile on her face.

     INT. SAM'S BEDROOM - SAME

     Sam is rummaging through drawers.  He stops when he hears the
     SOUND of a CAR.  He goes to the window in time to see Nicole's
     BMW headed down his street.

     INT. SAM'S LIVING ROOM - SAME

     Sam ENTERS the room to find Kelly just inside the doorway, where
     the water from her wet clothing has formed little pools on the
     linoleum.

     Sam looks at the water.  He looks at Kelly.  She moves a step
     closer, allowing the door to SWING shut behind her.

     EXT. SAM'S NEIGHBORHOOD

     A long, slow, Antonioni PAN -- time passes -- the cul-de-sac --
     the sparkling lawns -- the kids with the basketball -- a jogger
     passing by...

                                                 DISSOLVE TO:

     EXT. SAM'S PORCH - LATER

     The front door.  The door opens.  Kelly comes out, fast, slamming
     the door behind her.  She walks down the drive.

     There are tears on her face.  As she hits the street, she begins
     to run.

     The man with the mower is now seated on his parch, drinking beer.
     He watches as the girl runs by.

     The teenagers are still playing hoops.  They stop as Kelly jogs
     past, sobbing.  They watch as she hits the end of the cul-de-sac
     and DISAPPEARS around a corner.

     EXT. THE EVERGLADES - DAY

     Sam, perched in the pilot's seat of a beat-to-shit old air boat,
     rips through the Florida swamp land.

     He glides across channels of water, then turns into the tall
     grass which whips at the hull of his boat.  Bits and pieces of
     debris fly through the air.  Sam smiles, swinging the boat
     through a series of wide, sliding turns.

     Suddenly he spots something.  He throttles down gliding into a
     shallow pool where... A HUGE ALLIGATOR, aware it has been found
     out, whips about, stirring up mud, then scuttling OUT OF SIGHT

                                  SAM
                  Sly old fucker.  How you got so big,
                  wasn't it?

     Sam sits for a moment in the silence.  He pulls a pair of
     binoculars from beneath his seat and looks through them.

     ANGLE ON HORIZON

     All we SEE is a shabby collection of whitewashed buildings
     shimmering in the last long light of afternoon.

     Sam watches for some time.  At last he lowers the binoculars,
     revs up his engine and leaves.

     ANGLE ON SAM'S BOAT

     as it moves away, as SEEN from water level where...

     The old gator has risen once more -- just the eyes -- a cold
     primordial intelligence, gazing out, unblinking across the murky
     waters of the swamp.

     EXT. SAM'S HOUSE - NIGHT

     Sam's Wrangler pulls in next to Barbara's Mercedes.  The Jeep is
     muddy once more.  So is Sam.  He gets out.

     INT. SAM'S HOUSE - SAME

     Sam ENTERS.  The house is dark.

                                   SAM
                  Barbara?

     Nothing.  Me CROSSES the living room and starts down the hallway,
     where a faint light issues from beneath the bedroom door.

     INT. BEDROOM - SAME

     Sam opens the door.  He hears the SOUND of RUNNING WATER.  He
     walks across the room and into the bathroom.

     INT. BATHROOM - SAME

     Clouded mirrors, a shower stall full of. steam.  Behind the glass
     door we SEE an indistinct shape, moving about in the hot water.
     Sam opens the shower door.  The steam clears to REVEAL Barbara's
     gorgeous athletic body.

                                  BARBARA
                  It's hot in here, just the way you like
                  it.

     She grabs his shirt, pulling him into the shower's flow.  They
     kiss.  She pulls his shirt open, loosens his pants.  His clothes
     fall away.  Sam pushes her up against the tile wall, hard.  She
     holds to his shoulders, nails sinking into his flesh, wrapping
     her legs around his hips as...

     The water, dark with swamp mud, spirals down the drain.

     EXT. VAN RYAN ESTATE - NIGHT

     Kelly Van Ryan sits on the dock, looking back toward the huge
     stone house, where...

     A YELLOW LIGHT burns in one of the upstairs windows.

     Kelly has a shotgun laid across her knees.  Slowly, she raises
     the gun, pointing at the yellow window.

     She holds it there for some time, then, softly, to herself...

                                  KELLY
                  Bang...

     INT. MASTER BEDROOM - VAN RYAN ESTATE - NEXT DAY

     Sunlight streams through open windows, mingling with loud sighs
     of pleasure... Sandra Van Ryan on top of FRANKIE CONDO, a big,
     buffed-out Cuban.  They're making love on the bed.  She throws
     her head back -- an explosion of hair -- gasps -- an orgasm is
     near, as...

     A cordless PHONE RINGS on the night table.  They try to ignore
     it.  No dice.  Sandra groans, finally pulling away.

                                  SANDRA
                  Goddamnit!
                         (she answers)
                  Hello.

                                  COMPUTER VOICE (V.O.)
                  Hello, this is the attendance office at
                  Blue Bay School.  Your son or daughter
                  is absent today, Monday...

                                  SANDRA
                  Jesus H. Christ!

     She hangs up hard.  Sits on the edge of the bed.

                                  FRANKIE
                  What?

     Sandra waves him off.  She pulls on a T-shirt, then grabs up the
     phone once more, punching in a number.

     INT. SAM'S OFFICE - BLUE BAY SCHOOL - DAY

     Desk, files, a terrarium full of swamp lizards, above which a
     photo of the Windward Passage decorates the wall.  There's a
     Waterford bowl on the desk -- etched with "Sam Lombardo -- Blue
     Bay Educator of the Year."

     Sam is working on the computer.  The PHONE RINGS.  He answers.

                                  SAM
                  Counseling.

     XNTERCUT - SANDRA/SAM PHONE CONVERSATION

     Sandra seated on the bed, one long leg tucked beneath her.

                                  SANDRA
                  Sam, Sandy Van Ryan.

     Frankie's eyes go cold when he hears the word "Sam."

     In his office, Sam pushes himself away from the computer,
     stiffening noticeably.

                                  SAM
                  Sandy... What's up?

                                  SANDRA
                  Listen, Kelly skipped school.  Have you
                  talked to her?

                                  SAM
                  No.

                                  SANDRA
                  Shit. Here we go again.

                                  SAM
                  Didn't you see her this morning?

                                  SANDRA
                  To tell you the truth, I haven't seen
                  her since Friday.

     BOOM -- A SHOTGUN BLASTS outside Sandra's window.  She jumps.
     BOOM, BOOM -- more BLASTS.  She jumps up to look outside.

     SANDRA'S POV - KELLY

     stands at the edge of the bay, launching skeet then blasting them
     high above the water.

     BACK TO SCENE

                                  SANDRA (CONT'D)
                  Never mind.  I found her.
                         (a long beat)
                  Listen, Sam.  It was good seeing you the
                  other day.
                         (beat)
                  I haven't found anyone else can handle
                  the Jonathan like you can.

     She glances at Frankie -- who has heard enough.  He gives her a
     long hard look, then rolls from the bed to walk from the room.

     Sam remains silent, watching the lizards with their blank,
     unblinking eyes.

                                  SANDRA (CONT'D)
                  Look.  I know you're seeing Barbara
                  Baxter.  So what?

                                  SAM
                  So maybe I'm a one-woman man.

     Sandra laughs.

                                  SANDRA
                  Right.
                         (beat)
                  You really think you're gonna get one of
                  these Blue Bay women to marry you?

     Sandra pauses to laugh once more.

                                  SANDRA (CONT'D)
                  Grab a clue, Sam.  You're a hired hand
                  around here.  Enjoy it while it lasts.

                                  SAM
                  Goodbye, Sandra.

     Sam puts down the phone, looks at it -- a long moment as -- the
     barest hint of a smile plays upon his face.

     Sandra slams down her phone.  She looks to the bay, to the sleek
     racing sloop floating beyond the private dock.

                                  SANDRA
                  The nerve of some people.

     EXT. VAN RYAN ESTATE - DAY

     The SHOTGUN BLASTS away.  Kelly pauses to reload.  She catches
     sight of...

     Sandra, approaching from the main house.

                                  SANDRA
                  You seem to find guns therapeutic.
                  Maybe I oughta try it.

     Kelly lets the gun's barrel drift over Sandra, then turns to walk
     away.  She moves toward the guest house.  A used-brick cottage
     tucked among the gnarled branches and roots of a huge banyan
     tree.  Sandra follows.

                                  SANDRA (CONT'D)
                  Let me guess, some boy didn't call and
                  screwed up the weekend.  So you're
                  taking the day off.

     Kelly looks toward the main house, in time to see...

     Frankie walk from the bedroom and dive into the pool.

                                  KELLY
                  Which one of your "bodyguards" is that?

                                  SANDRA
                  Whichever one I want.

     Kelly turns away, starts for the guest house once more.

     INT. GUEST HOUSE - DAY

     PAN to REVEAL room -- the gun case, the animal trophies, the
     photos -- One of a stately old gentleman in an elaborate wicker
     chair, a cane at his side, a bowler on his knee.  Others of Kelly
     and a handsome middle-aged man in safari gear, posing with their
     rifles above slain wildebeests and bison.

     Sandra and Kelly ENTER.  Kelly puts down the shotgun, turns,
     tears in her eyes.

                                  SANDRA
                  Okay, what's the matter?

                                  KELLY
                  You notice my new jumper?

     Kelly does a three-sixty, like a model on a runway.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                  My friends buy me clothes, so I don't
                  look like trash.

                                  SANDRA
                  I would hardly say you look like trash.

                                  KELLY
                  No thanks to you.

     She sits on the bed.  Sandra moves to stand over her, angry now.

                                  SANDRA
                  Come off of it.
                         (a beat)
                  You run with all these little trust fund
                  brats... They think money grows on
                  trees.  It doesn't.  Believe me.  And a
                  lot of your little friends are gonna
                  learn that one the hard way.
                         (beat)
                  I'm trying to spare you that.

     Kelly goes to one shoulder on the bed, sobbing now.  Her mother
     continues to stand over her, suddenly more perplexed than angry.

                                  SANDRA (CONT'D)
                  Kelly.  What is it?

                                  KELLY
                  I miss Dad.

                                  SANDRA
                  Jesus.
                         (a long beat)
                  Well, I do too, sometimes...

                                  KELLY
                  No you don't.

                                  SANDRA
                  He didn't have to kill himself, Kelly.
                  He could have gone out and gotten a job.
                  Christ, he could've found another rich
                  woman... He never had a problem tucking
                  my friends when we were married.

     She pauses as Kelly cries all the harder.

                                  SANDRA (CONT'D)
                  I don't know why he did it.  I really
                  don't...

     Her voice trails away, as meanwhile Kelly has drawn herself up
     into a fetal position on the bed.  The sobbing has stopped but
     her shoulders continue to shake.  Sandra sits on the edge of the
     bed, reaches over to rub Kelly's back.

                                  SANDRA (CONT'D)
                  Can I get you anything?

     Kelly shakes her head, no.

     Her mother looks at her, clearly at a loss.  At last she stands.
     She is headed out of the room when Kelly says something, but the
     words are indistinct, as her fists are pressed against her mouth.

                                  SANDRA
                  What, honey?  I can't hear you.

     There is a long beat as Kelly collects herself.  She stares at
     the wall, her eyes filled with tears, but when she speaks she
     enunciates each word.

                                  KELLY
                  I said.  I was raped.

     Sandra looks as if she has been struck.

                                  SANDRA
                  What?

                                  KELLY
                  I was raped.
                         (a long beat)
                  By Sam Lombardo.

     Sandra moves over to the bed, sits once more.

                                  SANDRA
                  He... Sam Lombardo?

                                  KELLY
                  Yes.  God, Mom...

     Kelly begins to cry.  Sandra pulls her upright, cradling her in
     her arms, eyes on fire.

     EXT. BLUE BAY POLICE STATION - DAY

     An old Spanish-style building sits before a neat square of grass.

                                  SANDRA (V.O.)
                  My daughter does not get raped in Blue
                  Bay!

     INT. STATION HOUSE - INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

     Sandra slams a fist on the conference table.

     Kelly is seated between her mother and her mother's attorney, TOM
     BAXTER.  Baxter sports an Italian suit and a lethal Alexander
     Haig look.

     Seated across from these three are Ray, Gloria and BRYCE HUNTER,
     the local D.A.

     Silence follows Sandra's outburst.  Baxter reaches to squeeze
     Sandra's shoulder.  Kelly puts her face in her hands.

                                  RAY
                         (in a quiet voice)
                  You're saying that Kelly was raped by
                  Sam Lombardo.

                                  SANDRA
                  That's right.

     Ray and Gloria exchange looks.  Gloria in particular looks
     slightly stunned.

                                  GLORIA
                  The guidance counselor at Blue Bay?

                                  SANDRA
                         (sarcastically)
                  The guidance counselor at Blue Bay.

                                  GLORIA
                  We understand your feelings, Ms. Van
                  Ryan.  But please, we'd like some time
                  with Kelly.  We'd like to take her
                  statement alone.

     Baxter nods, yes.  Sandra looks at Kelly.

                                  SANDRA
                  Are you okay for this?

     Kelly nods.

                                  SANDRA (CONT'D)
                  The man must be insane to think he can
                  do this to me...

     Tom Baxter takes her by the arm as Ray CROSSES the room to open
     the door.  Bryce Hunter walks out with then.

     Gloria takes a seat closer to Kelly.  When she speaks, she is
     very calm and quiet.

                                  GLORIA
                  How are you, Kelly? Would you like to
                  take a break for a minute?

                                  KELLY
                         (shaking her head)
                  I just want to get it over with.  My
                  mom's making me do this. I just want to
                  forget it.

                                  GLORIA
                  I know you do.

     She waits as Ray sets up a camera on a tripod.

                                  GLORIA (CCNT'D)
                  We'd like to videotape the statement if
                  that's all right with you.

     Kelly shrugs.

                                  GLORIA (CONT'D)
                  I know this is not pleasant, Kelly.  But
                  these are serious charges and we need to
                  know everything that happened between
                  you and Mr. Lombardo.
                         (beat)
                  Are you ready?

     Kelly nods.

     CLOSE ON VIDEO MONITOR - KELLY'S STATEMENT

                                  KELLY
                  He started rubbing my shoulders.  Said
                  must be sore after washing cars.  I...
                  let him  I mean he's a nice guy.
                         (beat)
                  I don't know... It was so fast.  I
                  closed my eyes.  I remember his hands
                  moved to my breasts.  I mean just for a
                  second it was nice... I forgot whore I
                  was.  I mean he's so gorgeous...

     PULL BACK to REVEAL...

     INT. STATION HOUSE - DAY

     Ray, Gloria and Bryce Hunter stand at one end of the long
     conference table, watching the playback of Kelly's tape.

     BACK TO VIDEOTAPE

                                  KELLY
                  The next thing... his hand was in my
                  shorts... you know, from behind.  His
                  fingers... his fingers...

                                  GLORIA (O.S.)
                  Take your time.

                                  KELLY
                  They were in me.  Both places... you
                  know.

                                  GLORIA (O.S.)
                  I understand.

                                  KELLY
                  He said something like, "Do you want it
                  dirty7" or something.
                         (beat)
                  I tried to turn away, but he pushed me
                  to the floor.

                                  GLORIA (O.S.)
                  Was there penetration?  Did he put
                  himself inside you?

                                  KELLY
                  Yes.  I said stop.  I screamed.  I mean
                  that's how it sounded in my head.  He
                  hurt me...

                                  GLORIA (O.S.)
                         (as Kelly breaks into
                          tears)
                  That's okay, Kelly.  You're doing fine.
                         (beat)
                  But I have to ask you something here.
                  When you say it hurt.  Was this the
                  first time a man was inside you?

                                  KELLY
                  No.  I've done it a couple of times, I
                  mean with guys I dated.  But this
                  hurt... like, he was built... you
                  know...

                                  GLORIA (O.S.)
                  He was large?


     Kelly nods, starts to break down again, then holds it off.

                                  GLORIA (O.S., CONT'D)
                  Did you try to fight him?

                                  KELLY
                  I... he had my wrists pinned behind me.
                  I remember my hands were cold.'

                                  GLORIA (O.S.)
                  Then what?

                                  KELLY
                  He kept saying, "Let it happen, let it
                  happen."  Then he just stopped.

                                  GLORIA (O.S.)
                  You mean he withdrew...

                                  KELLY
                  Not at first.  He was still inside but
                  he wasn't moving or anything...  He said
                  we had this secret.  And that now he'd
                  be able to help me... because we were
                  close... Something like that.  I don't
                  know.  It's hard to remember, exactly.

                                  GLORIA (O.S.)
                  Try, Kelly.

                                  KELLY
                  I know one thing he said.  It was
                  when... when he took himself out and was
                  standing up.
                         (beat)
                  He said, "Don't worry, I didn't come."
                  I can't forget that.  He said, "No
                  little girl can ever make me come."

     The tape is paused -- FREEZES on Kelly's face ON SCREEN.

     BACK TO RAY, GLORIA & HUNTER

                                  HUNTER
                  "No little girl can ever make me come."
                  Jesus.  Too bad.  We might have some
                  physical evidence.

     Ray and Gloria stare at the screen.

                                  GLORIA
                  I don't know.  It feels wrong.

     Ray and Hunter look at her.

                                  HUNTER
                  Why?

                                  GLORIA
                  I think she's acting.  I think she set
                  it up to be alone with him because she
                  wanted him to come on to her.
                         (beat)
                  I think maybe she's upset that he
                  didn't...

                                  RAY
                  Or maybe she thought that was what she
                  wanted and she got a little more than
                  she bargained for...

                                  HUNTER
                  The line I get on this guy, is that he's
                  done half the women in Blue Bay.

                                  GLORIA
                  That doesn't make him a child rapist.
                         (beat)
                  There's something else.  This girl's had
                  some problems.  Wrecked a couple of her
                  mom's cars.  Ran away...

                                  HUNTER
                  Where's this coming from?

                                  GLORIA
                  I worked Juvenile in Dade County for
                  three years.  We had a missing persons
                  on Kelly Van Ryan for two weeks... Maybe
                  a year ago... The family kept it out of
                  the papers.

                                  RAY
                  That would make it about the time of her
                  old man's suicide.  You don't think that
                  could explain some erratic behavior?

                                  GLORIA
                  All I'm saying is, I think we should go
                  slow here.

     Hunter puts his hands together, thinking.  He looks from Ray to
     Gloria, than back to Ray.

                                  HUNTER
                  I want a full-scale investigation.

                                  GLORIA
                  You know what that will mean for
                  Lombardo.

                                  HUNTER
                  I don't care.  You heard that girl's
                  statement.  I think he's dirty.  Get me
                  a case.

     Gloria and Ray watch as Hunter gets up and leaves the room.

                                  GLORIA
                  Well you were a big help.  You know
                  what's going to happen if we go
                  full-bore on this.

     Ray looks at the screen.

                                  RAY
                  It's our job, Gloria.

                                  GLORIA
                  Hunter's making it our job because
                  Sandra Van Ryan's got a bug up his ass.
                  You know that as well as I do.
                         (beat)
                  We're gonna trash this guy's life and I
                  keep asking myself if it's really
                  necessary.

     Ray thinks this over.  He continues to study the screen.

     CLOSE ON SCREEN - KELLY'S FACE

                                  RAY (0.S.)
                  Yeah, well, maybe you're wrong about
                  him.  Maybe he's got it coming.

     BEGIN MONTAGE - INVESTIGATION

     EXT. CUL-DE-SAC - DAY

     Ray takes notes, talks with neighbors, kids, lawn mower man.

     EXT. BLUE BAY SCHOOL - DRIVEWAY - DAY

     Gloria talks with students -- Jimmy, Nicole, others.

     INT. SAM'S OFFICE - DAY

     Sam sits at his desk, toying with a pencil.  He watches students
     pass -- no smiles, no waves, an occasional dark look.

     Through the press of students Sam sees Art at the door of his
     office.  The two men look at one another.  At which point...

     Gloria, followed by Ray, steps INTO SCENE.  The detectives shake
     hands with Art.  As Art turns to close the door, Sam falls within
     his line of vision.  Art looks away.  The door swings shut.

     EXT. BLUE BAY SCHOOL DOCKS - LATER

     The sky has begun to color.  Art Maddox stands on the grass at
     the end of the channel separating the slips, watching as...

     A lone sailboat tacks toward the school.

     ANGLE ON BOAT - SAM & JIMMY

     Sam drops his sail, leaving himself just enough momentum to
     cruise expertly into the little channel then into the slip.

     Art watches as Jimmy jumps from the boat, ties it off.

                                  SAM
                  That's good, Jimbo.  I'll see you on
                  Monday.

     Jimmy hesitates, he wants to say something.  Sam waves him off.
     Jimmy gives Art a hard look and heads for the grass.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                         (to Art, nodding after
                          Jimmy)
                  What's left of my sailing class.

     Art studies the dock between his feet.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  Talk to me Artie.

                                  ART
                  Kelly Van Ryan...

                                  SAM
                  ... is accusing me of rape.  Jimmy told
                  me.  Apparently I'm the last to know...

                                  ART
                  Sam... I...
                         (a long beat)
                  Sandra Van Ryan's been on the horn with
                  every member of the school board all day
                  long.  She's pushing for suspension...

                                  SAM
                  This is insane.

     Art shakes his head.

                                  ART
                  All I can tell you Sam, is hang in
                  there.  They clear you of this mess, you
                  get reinstated, with back pay...

                                  SAM
                  That's great.  I'll just tell my
                  creditors I'm not a rapist.  No
                  problem... Shit.
                         (beat)
                  I can't believe the board's going to act
                  without even hearing my side of it.

                                  ART
                  The Van Ryan family created Blue Bay.
                  They built the school... Sandra Van Ryan
                  calls up the board and says kiss my ass,
                  they say, left, right, or in the middle.
                         (beat)
                  You're gonna need some help on this one,
                  Sam.  You're gonna need a lawyer, and
                  he'd better be a good one.

     EXT. STRIP MALL - DAY

     Typical of its kind -- a Blockbuster Video, a 7-Eleven, half a
     dozen small businesses, one of which, sandwiched between a donut
     shop and the Mongolian Beef Bowl, bears the sign:  "KEN BOWDEN --
     ATTORNEY AT LAW."

     INT. WAITING ROOM - DAY

     Sam sits in a cramped waiting room, leafing through a magazine.

     An attractive young SECRETARY sits a few feet away, behind her
     desk.  Her PHONE RINGS.  She picks it up, then turns to Sam,
     favoring him with a flirtatious smile.

                                  SECRETARY
                  Mr. Bowden will see you now.

     INT. OFFICE - DAY

     Ken Bowden, a slightly oily-looking young man in a nice suit and
     a large, padded neck brace, rises to shake Sam's hand.

                                  KEN
                  Sam, hey, it's been a while.
                         (beat)
                  Looked for you at the ten year reunion.
                  You missed out.  Three days at the
                  Disneyworld Hotel... Partied ourselves
                  silly.

     Sam nods.

                                  KEN (CONT'D)
                  Couple of your old flames were there.
                  You remember Jill, with the knockers.

     Ken holds his hands out in front of his chest.

                                  KEN (CONT'D)
                  Blew up like the Goodyear blimp.

     Sam forces a smile.

                                  KEN (CONT'D)
                  But check this...

                                  SAM
                         (interrupting)
                  Ken.  I'm in some trouble.  I need an
                  attorney and you're the only one I know.
                  So I figured I'd start here.

     Ken stops, puts on a serious face.

                                  KEN
                  Well, I'm glad you did.  And I'm sorry.
                         (folding his hands before
                          him)
                  Why don't you tell me about it.

     Sam looks at him.  He starts to speak, then checks himself.

                                  SAM
                  What did you do to your neck?

     Ken puts a hand to his throat, as if aware of the brace for the
     first time.

                                  KEN
                  Oh this... chiropractor did a number on
                  me.

     He takes the brace off, tossing it on his desk.

                                  KEN (CONT'D)
                  I don't really have to wear the thing
                  all the time.
                         (beat)
                 A guy from the insurance was here.

     Ken smiles.  Sam looks slightly ill.

                                  KEN (CONT'D)
                  Go ahead, Sam.  Shoot.  Let's see what
                  we've got here.

     EXT. A BLUE HAY RESTAURANT - NIGHT

     Trendy nouveau.  A valet parks Sam's Jeep.

     INT. RESTAURLNT - SAME

     Sam walks across a tiled entry.  He looks tired, but smiles at
     the maitre d'.

                                  SAM
                  Georgie, hey.  I'm meeting Barbara.  She
                  here yet?

     GEORGE looks stiff, maybe a little nervous.  Sam picks up on it.
     He scans the room...

     ANGLE ON ROOM

     Dimly-lit, crowded, but we PICK OUT Barbara, stunning in a
     delicate white sun dress, tanned arms resting upon a table.

     Sam starts toward her.  George reaches out to touch his arm.

                                  GEORGE
                  Mr. Lombardo.

     Sam ignores him, threading his way among the people at a lavish
     bar, then stopping short as he sees who Barbara is with -- her
     father, Tom Baxter.

     Tom Baxter sees Sam, gets to his feet.

                                  BAXTER
                  This is not appropriate Lombardo.

     Sam steps to one side, makes eye contact with Barbara.

     Barbara has tears in her eyes.  She looks at Sam, then shakes her
     head, looking away.

                                  SAM
                  Barbara...

                                  BAZTER
                  You're finished in Blue Bay, Lombardo.
                  You've been scratching at the door long
                  enough...
                         (as Sam faces him)
                  I ever see you around my daughter,
                  you're going to be finished, period.

     The two men square off, but already we can SEE Georgie, trailed
     by a pair of beefy characters in blue blazers making their way
     across the room.

     Sam sees them too.  He takes a final look at Barbara.  When she
     refuses to meet his eye, he pushes past Baxter, through the crowd
     and out of the restaurant.

     EXT. AN EVERGLADES ROADHOUSE - NIGHT

     Red neon identifies it as Jim's Recovery Room.  A handful of
     trucks sit in a dirt parking lot, Sam's Jeep among them.

     INT. ROADHOUSE - NIGHT

     The air is thick with smoke.  Locals shoot pool.  The walls are
     decorated with dusty fishing nets and inflated blowfish.

     An aging BARMAID -- good-looking -- once, runs a rag around a
     pitcher, looks down the bar, smiles, finding...

     Sam, alone, awaiting service.

                                  BARMAID
                  Sam, honey... Haven't seen you in a
                  while.  How's life treatin' you?
                         (off Sam's look)
                  That bad, huh?  Well, you came to the
                  right place.

     EXT. ROADHOUSE - LATER

     Sam walks outside.  He stands in the red glow of neon light,
     looking toward the road... On the opposite side of which...

     ... sits a sorry little collection of whitewashed stucco
     bungalows, identified by a green neon sign as the Glades Motel.

     Beyond the motel are the Everglades, a great expanse of darkness.

     Sam stares at the motel.  At last he gets in his Jeep.  As he
     EXITS the lot, a second pair of headlights flashes on.

     EXT. EVERGLADES - NIGHT

     A deserted two-lane road cuts through the swamp.  Trees bearded
     with moss appear as ghostly shapes in the lights of Sam's Jeep.

     INT./EXT. SAM'S JEEP - MOVING - SAME

     San drives -- a tired face.  Soft MUSIC on the RADIO.

     Something APPEARS in the road, caught for a moment in the
     headlights.  Sam swerves, whirls his head around, sees...

     A GATOR sliding of the shoulder and into the murky water.

     Sam lets out some air, relaxing a bit, then catches sight of
     something else -- Headlights finding reflection in his rearview
     mirror, coming fast.  Sam watches as the lights get closer.  He
     looks back to the road -- an approaching curve...

     Sam is into the curve when the lights catch him.  A black Range
     Rover moves out to pass, then turns suddenly into Sam's lane,
     cutting him off.

     It happens quickly.  Sam swerves to avoid hitting the larger car,
     but the road affords little margin for error.

     The JEEP slides across a narrow shoulder, then plummets down a
     steep embankment, CRASHING through cattails, rolling over to SLAM
     BACK DOWN on its tires in a swampy gulch.

     Sam slumps back from the steering wheel.  Somewhere over his head
     he can see headlights shining into the trees.

     He hears a CAR DOOR SLAM, the SOUNDS of someone scrambling down
     the embankment.

     Sam tries to get out of his seat harness.  Someone is
     approaching, splashing through the muck.  Suddenly a hand reaches
     through the broken driver's window, helping him.

                                  MAN'S VOICE
                  Are you all right?

     The hands get him loose.  Sam stumbles from the car.

                                  SAM
                  Yeah, I'm okay.

     He looks up to find -- Frankie Condo, looming over him.

                                  FRANKIE
                  That's too bad.

     He grabs Sam, pulling him OUT OF FRAME.  What we are left with is
     the SOUND of FISTS THUDDING INTO FLESH -- then Sam, hitting the
     hood of his Jeep, slumping down into the muck.

     Frankie is breathing hard.  We HEAR him SLOGGING back up the
     embankment.  We HEAR a DOOR SLAM, the RANGE ROVER driving away,
     leaving only darkness, and the EERIE SOUNDS of the swamp.

     EXT. THE STRIP MALL - DAY

     Dazzling light.  Sam's smashed-up Jeep is parked before Ken
     Bowden's office, next door to the Mongolian Beef Bowl.

     INT. BEEF BOWL - SAME

     Sam and Ken eye one another over a green plastic table -- Ken
     with his neck brace, Sam with a bruised face.

                                  KEN
                  I figured, you know, it would be darker
                  in here.

     He moves a hand to his face.

                                  SAM
                  Good thinking.

                                  KEN
                  You can tie whoever did it to Sandra Van
                  Ryan...

                                  SAM
                  Forget it.

                                  KEN
                  Lady has some deep pockets.  That's all
                  I'm saying.

                                  SAM
                  I know how deep her pockets are, Ken.  I
                  thought I might be able to save my
                  fucking house with an equity loan.
                  Guess who's on the board of directors at
                  the bank?

     He pauses to look at Ken Bowden.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  Can't you take that stupid thing off?

                                  KEN
                  Not in here.  Chiropractor comes in here
                  for lunch sometimes.

     San sighs, slumps back in his plastic seat.

                                  KEN (CONT'D)
                  You're not in bad shape, really.  I know
                  you think you are, but you're not.  Let
                  me tell you why.
                         (beat)
                  Sandra Van Ryan.

                                  SAM
                  What's that supposed to mean?

                                  KEN
                  For you to be getting this kind of heat,
                  for what they have on you... It doesn't
                  add up.  Sandra Van Ryan's got 'em
                  running scared.
                         (beat)
                  And I'll tell you something else, you
                  rush, you get careless.

     Ken reaches into his briefcase.  He pulls out some papers, tosses
     them on the table.  Sam picks one up, starts to read.

                                  SAM
                  Nellie Gail Ranch...

                                  KEN
                  Sound nice?  It's a fucking drug rehab
                  farm.  It's where Kelly Van Ryan went
                  when her morn fished her out of the
                  swamp.
                         (beat)
                  Meanwhile, you get educator of the year
                  I mean there's no way they can put
                  this thing in front of a jury.
                         (beat)
                  Shit, they haven't even taken your
                  statement yet.  Reason?  They're still
                  shoveling dirt and my guess is, they're
                  coming up empty.  Now tell me I'm right.

                                  SAM
                  There's nothing for them to get.

                                  KEN
                  Good.  So what we're going to do is
                  march right to Hunter's doorstep.  We're
                  going to insist they take a statement.
                  We're going to tell them to charge your
                  ass or get off your back.
                         (beat)
                  They're walking a fine line here.
                  Defamation of character, malicious
                  prosecution...

                                  SAM
                  I just want my life back...

                                  KEN
                  Fair enough.  Let's go make a statement.

     INT. POLICE INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

     Everyone's looking a little tired, with the possible exception of
     Ray.  At this moment he sits back in his chair, staring at Sam.

                                  RAY
                  Why don't you tell us one more time, how
                  Kelly came to be with you, alone in your
                  house.

                                  SAM
                         (with growing impatience)
                  Story's the same, Detective...

     Ken pats him on the arm.  When Sam speaks again, it is in a
     calmer voice, calm but tired.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  I had to go look for this coupon.

                                  RAY
                  The one you bought at school.

                                  SAM
                         (nodding)
                  Like I said, I hadn't really expected to
                  use it.
                         (beat)
                  Anyway, I'm going through a drawer.  I
                  hear a car.  I look out the window.  I
                  see Nicole driving away.  I leave my
                  room, and there's Kelly.

                                  RAY
                  In cutoffs, a wet T-shirt.

                                  SAM
                  Yes.

                                  RAY
                  And she wanted to talk.

                                  SAM
                  Yes.

                                  RAY
                  But you can't tell us what she wanted to
                  talk about.

                                  SAM
                  I could, but it's confidential.  Look,
                  the point is, we didn't talk.  I told
                  her this was not an appropriate time or
                  place.

                                  RAY
                  And she began to cry.  And you put an
                  arm around her.

                                  SAM
                  Yes.  Mainly to turn her toward the
                  door.  I told her we would talk on
                  Monday, in the office.

                                  GLORIA
                  And when you turned her toward the door,
                  where did you expect her to go, without
                  a car?

                                  SAM
                  Again.  I think we covered this.  I told
                  her I was going to call a cab.

                                  RAY
                  But she ran away.

                                  SAM
                  That's right.

                                  GLORIA
                  Did you call anyone?  Did you call her
                  house to see if she got home?  Did you
                  call the Masons?

                                  SAM
                  No.

                                  GLORIA
                  Weren't you a little worried about
                  her...?

                                  SAM
                  There's a strip mall not half a mile
                  from my house.  There's phones there.  I
                  cruised the place, but I didn't see her.
                  I figured she was probably there but
                  that she was angry and didn't want to be
                  found.  I don't know... Maybe I should
                  have called.  But it's not like Kelly
                  can't take care of herself.  I figured
                  we'd just take it up on Monday, in the
                  office.

     There is a moment of silence in the room.

                                  RAY
                  But you do admit to touching her, to
                  putting your arm around her.  Isn't that
                  against the rules?

                                  SAM
                  It is and I don't.  Ordinarily...
                         (beat)
                  But, I mean... there's this kid standing
                  in front of you crying...

                                  RAY
                  With a thirty-five inch bustline in a
                  wet T-shirt with no bra...

     He is cut short as Sam shoves his chair back from the table.

                                  SAM
                  Fuck you.  This is bullshit.  I'm outta
                  here.

                                  RAY
                  Sit down, Lombardo.

     Sam and Ray stare at one another.  Ken puts a hand on his
     client's arm.

                                  KEN
                  All right, all right... Enough.

     Ken stands up.  He walks to the two-way mirror set in one wall,
     rapping on the glass with his knuckles.

                                  KEN (CONT'D)
                  We came down here to make a statement.
                  We've made it.
                         (beat)
                  If you're going to charge my client, do
                  it now.

     INT. OPPOSITE SIDE MIRROR ROOM - HUNTER

     stares at Ken's face, about a foot away.  Ken of course can't see
     him.  Hunter gives him the finger.

     INT. INTERVIEW ROOM - KEN

     stares into the mirror, waiting.

                                  KEN
                  I didn't think so.
                         (to Sam)
                  Let's go.

     Ken opens the door.  Sam turns back to Ray and Gloria.

                                  SAM
                  I've spent the last ten years of my life
                  working with kids.  I love what I do,
                  and I think I'm good at it.
                         (beat)
                  These kids trust me, and there is no
                  way.  No way in hell I would ever betray
                  that trust.

     As Ken and Sam leave, Ray and Gloria are joined by Bryce Hunter.

                                  HUNTER
                  Nice speech.  Either of you buying?

     Ray shrugs.

                                  RAY
                  Not that stuff about her running away,
                  him trying to find her.  That's
                  bullshit.

                                  HUNTER
                  What about witnesses?

                                  RAY
                  We've got three.  Guy mowing his yard,
                  couple of kids playing hoops.

                                  HUNTER
                  And what do they say?

                                  GLORIA
                  Same as him.  They saw her come.  They
                  saw her go.  They saw him follow.

                                  RAY
                  Still doesn't explain why he couldn't
                  catch up with her.  I mean how long does
                  it take to put on a shirt?

     At which point, a COP APPEARS in the doorway.

                                  COP
                  Phone, Bryce.  It's Sandra Van Ryan.

                                  HUNTER
                  Christ Almighty.  That woman's calling
                  me six times a day.

     He starts away, then stops.

                                  HUNTER (CONT'D)
                  I think you're onto something, Ray.
                  Stay with it.

     Hunter bangs out of the room.  Gloria slumps in a chair, tired,
     disgusted.

                                  GLORIA
                  We failed to mention the mower guy's a
                  drunk, that he was after more beer and
                  never really saw Kelly go into the
                  house, so he can't say how long she was
                  in there.  Same with the kids.  They saw
                  her running down the street, but that's
                  it.
                         (beat)
                  With no physical evidence, what do we
                  have?  Her word against his.

                                  RAY
                  You're telling me you believe the guy?

                                  GLORIA
                  All I'm saying is, we let Sandra Van
                  Ryan push us too hard, we're going to
                  wind up looking stupid.

     Ray is paged by his BEEPER.  He pulls it off his belt, looks at
     the number.

                                  RAY
                  I'd better return this.

     Ray leaves.  Gloria pulls a cigarette from her purse and lights
     up, rests her head back in the chair, blowing smoke at the
     ceiling.

     INT. INTERVIEW ROOM - LATER

     Gloria is grinding out the butt as Ray walks back in.  There is
     something in the way he carries himself, some sense of urgency.

                                  RAY
                         (off Gloria's look)
                  Seen any good gator wrestling lately?

     EXT./INT. DETECTIVES' CAR - MOVING - DAY

     Ray and Gloria drive through the Everglades, past marshlands
     punctuated by thick stands of melaluca trees.

                                  GLORIA
                  They say it was old man Van Ryan planted
                  the melalucas to dry up the swamp.

     Ray nods.

                                  GLORIA (CONT'D)
                  You can go up to one of those trees and
                  peel the bark.  You know what you get?
                  More bark.  And more bark.  There's no
                  core.  Tree's not good tar anything but
                  sucking up water.  And now they can't
                  get rid of them.  They've tried poisons.
                  Nothing works.  They don't die.

                                  RAY
                  Yeah, well, Van Ryan got his.  I don't
                  imagine he gives a shit now.

     Gloria just looks at him.  Ray stares into the dusty light of an
     approaching sunset.  At last he slows, turning off the highway
     and onto a narrow dirt road.

     A sign pokes out from the tall grass -- "SMILIN' JACK'S FISH
     CAMP."

     The Taurus bounces along the washboard road.

                                  GLORIA
                  You're sure we're not lost?

     They are driving now at the edge of a canal.

                                  RAY
                  You remember that little girl walked out
                  of our talk at Blue Bay?

                                  GLORIA
                  The skinny brunette.

                                  RAY
                  This is where she lives.  She wants to
                  talk.
                         (beat)
                  Beats the shit out of me why she would
                  call me at all.  I busted her once for
                  possession.  she wound up doing about
                  six months at Camp Nine.

                                  GLORIA
                  You mean Camp Sixty-Nine.

     Ray gives her a look.  Gloria shrugs.

                                  GLORIA (CONT'D)
                  That's what they called it when I was in
                  Juvenile.  It's a pretty dismal place.

                                  RAY
                  It's a shithole.  But she was dirty,
                  what was I gonna do?

     They pass a sagging chain-link fence, entering a quarter-mile run
     of shabby trailers and cheap shacks.

     The squalor of the buildings is seat in contrast to the beauty of
     the Glades where the waters have gone to the color of polished
     brass beneath an immense, darkening sky.

     Ray parks before a ramshackle building covered in vines and
     peeling paint.  A sign reads:  "NIGHT CRAWLERS $1 A BUCKET."  The
     jawbones of numerous gators hang beneath the eaves.

     As they get out of the car, something catches Gloria's eye --
     along the bank of the canal...

     ANGLE ON BANK

     where a tall man (WALTER) with long white hair and tattooed arms
     kneels inside a pen, slapping a huge gator on its snout.  The
     reptile lifts its upper body, hissing, opening its jaws.

     Walter takes a stick from his hip pocket, passing it through the
     gator's mouth.  The jaws snap shut, incredibly fast, with a
     hollow snapping sound.

     Gloria jumps instinctively, then watches, aghast, as Walter slaps
     the creature once more.  This time moving round to the front of
     the gator, sticking halt his arm inside its mouth.

                                  VOICE (0.5.)
                  He's just showin' off for you now.

     Gloria starts, then turns to find a woman (RUBY) has walked up
     beside her.  The woman is in her sixties.  She's dressed in
     polyester.  Her hair is piled on top of her head -- too dark to
     be anything but a dye job.  A cigarette bobs from her lips.

     Before Gloria can respond, Ray steps up behind than.

                                  RAY
                  Evening Ruby.
                         (beat)
                  I see you still got Walter.  I was sort
                  of hoping something had eaten him by
                  now.

                                  RUBY
                         (a long beat)
                  Can I help you with something?

     Ray and the old lady look at each other.

                                  RAY
                  Suzie called.  You know where we can
                  find her?

     Ruby looks toward the store.

                                  RUBY
                  You know the way.

     She watches as the detectives CROSS the road, then calls to them
     as they start up the steps.

                                  RUBY (CONT'D)
                  You won't shoot her will you?  I don't
                  believe she's armed.

     Gloria turns, surprised.  Ray gives the woman a long, cold stare,
     then opens the door for Gloria.

     INT. CAMP STORE - SAME

     It's dark inside.  The main light source is a tiny, beat-up
     black-and-white TV.

     Two elderly women in colored bouffant hairdos sit on a ratty old
     couch watching reruns of "Family Feud."  They look up as Ray and
     Gloria ENTER then EXIT through a door in the back.

     INT. SUZIE'S ROOM - SAME

     Black walls.  Cheap bookshelves, filled to overflowing.  A wire
     strung with dismembered doll parts runs the length of the room.

     Suzie is propped on a ratty futon, an open book on her stomach,
     her thin, white arms crossed behind her head.

                                  SUZIE
                  Jesus.  It took you long enough.  What
                  if somebody was trying to strangle me?
                  Or fuck me in the ass, even?
                         (beat)
                  I mean, you guys are Sex Crimes.

     Ray manages a thin smile.

                                  RAY
                  Meet my partner, Gloria Perez.

                                  SUZIE
                  I did.  At Blue Balls.

                                  GLORIA
                  Seems to me you left early, before we
                  could meet.  But hi, Suzie.

     Gloria puts out a hand.  Suzie looks at it, puts out a hand of
     her own.

     As the women shake, Gloria looks at the book on Suzie's stomach,
     turning her head as if to read the title.

                                  SUZIE
                  It's Celine.  He's okay.  He had a
                  pretty good line on what cheap fucks
                  people are.

                                  RAY
                  So Suzie, you called us, remember?

     Suzie takes a cigarette from a pack at her side, lights up, blows
     smoke at the ceiling.

                                  SUZIE
                  Did they arrest Mr. Lombardo?

     Ray and Gloria exchange looks.

                                  RAY
                  No.

                                  SUZIE
                  Will they?

                                  RAY
                  It doesn't look like it.

                                  SUZIE
                  Then he'll be back at Blue Balls?

     Ray shrugs.

                                  GLORIA
                  That bothers you?

                                  SUZIE
                         (a long beat)
                  Yeah, maybe, a little.

                                  GLORIA
                  Why is that?

     Suzie lets out her breath.  She rests her head against the wall.

                                  GLORIA (CONT'D)
                  You can talk to us, Suzie.  That's why
                  we're here...

     INT. POLICE INTERVIEW ROOM - DAY

     Suzie, Gloria and Hunter sit at the conference table.  Ray
     operates the video cam.

                                  GLORIA
                  Okay, Suzie.  We want you to tell us
                  about the day Mr. Lombardo gave you and
                  Jimmy a ride.

       Suzie stares at the three cops around her, then at the camera.

                                  SUZIE
                  You didn't tell me you were gonna put me
                  on the fucking news.

                                  GLORIA
                  We need to tape the interview, Suzie.
                  No one will see it but us.
                         (beat)
                  Now when was this, that Mr. Lombardo
                  gave you the ride?

     Suzie stares at the camera.  She's lost the cockiness she had on
     her own turf.  She looks small, white and frail in the sterile
     room, surrounded by the detectives.

                                  SUZIE
                  About a year ago.

                                  GLORIA
                  He dropped Jimmy off first?

                                  SUZIE
                  Yeah.

                                  GLORIA
                  And when he arrived at your house, was
                  anyone there?

                                  SUZIE
                  No.

                                  GLORIA
                  So you were alone.

                                  SUZIE
                  Yes.

                                  GLORIA
                  Did he come in with you?

                                  SUZIE
                  I guess.

                                  HUNTER
                  You guess?  Did he or didn't he?

                                  SUZIE
                  Yeah... okay... he did

                                  HUNTER
                  And then what... he touched you?  Did
                  you maybe flirt a little...

                                  SUZIE
                  I wanna go home now.

     Gloria glares at Hunter, shakes her head.

                                  GLORIA
                  Suzie, look, I know you feel bad.  I
                  know it's harder to talk here than in
                  your room, but we need to get it on
                  tape.
                         (beat)
                  Just tell us what you told us before.
                  Tell us the truth.

     Suzie huddles in her skinny arms, studying the detectives.

                                  SUZIE
                  I didn't say a thing to him.  He just
                  put his arm around me.  Told me I was
                  pretty... I could be really pretty, he
                  said.

   Another moment -- she looks at Ray, then at Hunter.

                                  HUNTER
                  What did you do then?

                                  SUZIE
                         (a long beat)
                  Shit, what difference does it make...
                  Nobody's gonna believe me anyway...

                                  HUNTER
                  Suzie!  Did this man rape you?

                                  SUZIE
                  Okay!  He did.  He pushed me to the
                  floor and he did it to me.  Now, can I
                  go home?

     She stands up.

                                  GLORIA
                  At that point were you able to fight him
                  off?

                                  SUZIE
                  No.  He stopped by himself.  Okay?
                  That's all.  Let me go.

     Gloria gets to her feet as well; she tries to put an arm around
     Suzie.  The girl jumps back as if she has been shocked.

                                  SUZIE (CONT'D)
                  Don't touch me.

     Gloria's hands fall to her sides.

     Suzie heads for the door.


     The detectives exchange looks.
         
     At which point, Suzie stops, turns to face the room.

                                  SUZIE (CONT'D)
                  He did say something.

                                  GLORIA
                  What was that?

                                  SUZIE
                  He said, "No little bitch can ever make
                  me come."

     THE SLIDING BAR DOOR

     of a jail SLAMS shut on Sam Lombardo.  He turns to...

     TWO menacing PRISONERS.

                                  PRISONER
                  So you're the new chicken licker.

                                                 CUT TO:

     COURT TV IMAGE

     The graphic -- "Prime Time Justice" -- then the anchor --
     CYNTHIA.

                                  CYNTHIA (TV)
                  Today from Superior Court in Miami,
                  Florida -- Dade County versus Samuel J.
                  Lonbardo.

     PULL BACK to REVEAL...

     INT. ART'S OFFICE, BLUE BAY HIGH - DAY

     Art, students, faculty members huddle around the TV.

                                  CYNTHIA (TV, CONT'D)
                  The Lonbardo rape case has galvanized
                  the upscale town of Blue Bay...

     EXT. COURTHOUSE - DAY

     Video crews surround a limo as Sandra and Kelly EMERGE.

                                  CYNTHIA (V.0., CONT'D)
                  ... with its tabloid appeal -- Sandra
                  Van Ryan -- jet-set real estate
                  heiress...

     Tom Baxter and Barbara jostle up the steps.

                                  CYNTHIA (V.0., CONT'D)
                  The powerful Blue Bay elite...

     Suzie, in the company of Ruby and Walter, pushes past the video
     crews.

                                  CYNTHIA (V.0., CONT'D)
                  ... the girl from the wrong side of the
                  tracks...

     INT. COURTROOM - DAY

     Bryce Hunter confers with his team.

     Ken in his neck brace, ENTERS with Sam and a bailiff.  Sam wears
     a suit.  Re's clean-shaven, recovered from the car wreck and
     beating.  Still, there is a weariness about him we have not seen
     before.  He makes eye contact with Sandra -- a cold stare.

                                  CYNTHIA (V.0., CONT'D)
                  In the end, the prosecution's case will
                  come down to...

     INT. COURTROOM - DAY

     Hunter in front of the jury.

                                  HUNTER
                  ... what happened to Kelly Lanier Van
                  Ryan and Susan Marie Toller that will
                  forever change the lives of these two
                  young women?  What happened in those
                  fifteen minutes alone with Samuel
                  Lombardo?

     CLOSE ON SAM

     The dark, seductive eyes.

     INT. COURTHOUSE - WITNESS WAITING ROOM - DAY

     Suzie, nervous, paces the floor, stops, lights a cigarette.

     The other witnesses sit in chairs along the wail -- the lawn
     mower man, cul-de-sac kids, Barbara, Nicole, as...

     IN THE COURTROOM

     Kelly Van Ryan sits in the witness box, dabbing her eyes with a
     handkerchief while Bryce Hunter stands before her.  The room is
     silent, the spectators riveted on the scene.

                                  HUNTER
                  Do you need more time?

     Kelly shakes her head, no.

                                  HUNTER (CONT'D)
                  I know this is hard, Kelly, but I have
                  just one more question and even though
                  its something we've been over, I want us
                  all to be very clear about it.
                         (a long beat)
                  When you made the decision to stay at
                  Mr. Lombardo's house, after he had
                  offered you a ride.  When you saw that
                  he intended to have sex with you, what
                  were your exact words?  What did you
                  say?

                                  KELLY
                  I told him, no.  I said stop, Mr.
                  Lombardo, please... I screamed for him
                  to stop...

                                  HUNTER
                  And did he?

     Kelly looks defiantly at the courtroom.

                                  KELLY
                  No.  He raped me on the floor of his
                  shitty house.

                                                 CUT TO:

     WITNESS WAITING ROOM - SAME - SUZIE

     still pacing, as Ray and Gloria ENTER the room.

     Suzie shoots them a nervous glance, drops her cigarette, bends to
     pick it up, burns her fingers, drops it again.  She curses
     beneath her breath, wrapping her fingers about her shoulders.

     Ray and Gloria watch her, exchange glances.  Gloria picks up
     Suzie's cigarette for her, puts it out in an ashtray.

                                  GLORIA
                  You've got nothing to be scared of,
                  Suzie, just take a deep breath.

     INT. COURTROOM - LATER

     PANNING the spectators, we SEE Sandra, Baxter, Ray, Gloria.

     Hunter is on the witness stand.

     Suzie is in the box.  She looks pale, even more nervous.

                                  SUZIE
                  He pushed into me... I couldn't stop
                  him... it hurt.

                                  HUNTER
                  I'm sorry... you said it hurt?  Why?

                                  SUZIE
                  Because... it was the biggest I've ever
                  seen.  And I've seen a lot on their way
                  through Jack's Fish Camp.

     Chuckling in the courtroom.  The JUDGE glares, silencing it.

                                  HUNTER
                  Ms. Toller, did Samuel Lombardo rape you
                  in your family's home on the 23rd of
                  April last year?

     Suzie glances at Sam, hesitates.

                                  HUNTER (CONT'D)
                  Ms. Toller?

                                  SUZIE
                  I said he did.

                                  HUNTER
                  Ms. Toller.  I'm asking you now, under
                  oath, did Samuel Lonbardo rape you?

     Suzie looks around, as if for help.  The spectators stir.
     Ray rubs his eyes.  Gloria's are closed.

                                  SUZIE
                  This wasn't my idea.

                                  HUNTER
                  I'm sorry?

     Suzie looks at Sam once more.

                                  SUZIE
                  Look.  I just don't want to get into any
                  more trouble...

     Tom Baxter rises to his feet.  The Judge raises a hand, motioning
     him to sit back down.

                                 JUDGE
                         (to Baxter)
                  The Court would like to hear what Miss
                  Toller has to say.
                         (to Suzie)
                  Miss Toller.

                                 SUZIE
                  Mr. Lombardo didn't rape me.  He didn't
                  rape Kelly either.  He didn't do
                  anything.

     QUICK CUTS

     Hunter slumps back against the prosecution table.

     Sandra's hand covers her mouth.  Baxter mumbles a curse.

     Sam hangs his head in relief.  Ken grins above his neck brace.

     COURTROOM LOBBY

     The press corps scrambles for cameras.

     BLUE BAY HIGS

     Teachers, students, Art, Jimmy -- crammed around the TV.

                                  JIMMY
                  I don't believe it...

     IN THE COURTROOM

     Bryce Hunter and Tom Baxter are both on their feet, trying to
     make themselves heard above the din.

                                  HUNTER
                  Your Honor... I must object...

                                  JUDGE
                         (hammering for order)
                  I think I made it plain that the Court
                  intends to near Miss Toller's story.

     The Judge turns a cold eye on Suzie.

                                  SUZIE
                  I'm sorry.

                                  JUDGE
                  Sorry?  Just how far did you intend to
                  let this go?

                                  SUZIE
                  I don't know.  I just wanted to hurt Mr.
                  Lombardo.

     Sam looks up, confused.

                                  SUZIE (CONT'D)
                  He was my friend at first.  Then I got
                  busted... he didn't even stick up for
                  me.  I had to go away to that hellhole.
                  It's like, you're his favorite, then who
                  cares?  You wanna know something?  When
                  Kelly said we should do this, I thought
                  cool, all these big shots screwing me
                  over, like that cop, Duquette.  Now
                  they're gonna get screwed.

                                  HUNTER
                  Your Honor... Please...

                                  JUDGE
                  Any more interruptions Mr. Hunter, and
                  the Court will hold you in contempt.
                         (to Suzie)
                  What you are telling me, Ms. Toller, is
                  that Kelly Van Ryan is responsible for
                  conceiving this entire charade...

                                  SUZIE
                  Kelly's pissed at Mr. Lombardo, too.
                  She's in love with him.  I mean her
                  whole fantasy is him since her old man
                  died.  Then she found out that Mr.
                  Lombardo was doing her mom.  I mean that
                  was it...

     Gasps in the court as --

     Kelly BURSTS from the witness waiting room, trailed by a bailiff.

                                  KELLY
                  You stupid little bitch...

     She grabs the first thing she can get her hands on -- a glass of
     water from one of the tables and hurls it toward the witness
     stand before the bailiff can pin her arms against her sides.

     INT. COURTHOUSE LOBBY - LATER

     A mob scene.  Video crews are herded to one side by bailiffs as
     Sandra and Baxter, with Kelly in tow, move toward a side door.

     Sam and Ken round a corner, followed by Ray and Gloria who walk
     on either side of Suzie.

     Kelly sees them.  She makes a run at Suzie.  For a moment the
     girls shove and kick but Ray and Gloria are between them in a
     hurry, pulling then apart as Baxter arrives to take charge of
     Kelly, pulling her toward the door.

     Ruby and Walter arrive now too.  Suzie runs to them and they lead
     her through the crowd, Walter pushing people aside with his long,
     tattooed arms.

     Gloria heaves a sigh.  Ray pushes a hand through his hair, then
     turns to find Sam looking at him.  Most of the press have run off
     to follow the girls -- looking for more action.  It is a quiet
     moment.  The two men lock eyes.

                                  SAM
                  I've found that adolescents make the
                  best liars.  They're old enough to be
                  good at it, but you want like hell to
                  believe them, because they're still
                  children.

     Ray just looks at him -- a hard stare.

     EXT./INT. KEN'S T-BIRD - DAY

     top down, speeds on a highway, banana palms on one side, the blue
     Atlantic on the other.

     Wind buffets Ken and Sam -- who has a dazed look.

                                  KEN
                         (hyped)
                  Come on, let loose!

                                  SAM
                  I was just thinking about where I'm
                  gonna stay.  I lost the house.  It's
                  like waking up from a goddamn nightmare.

                                  KEN
                  You'll get over it. We've got a
                  knockdown, airtight, motherfucker of a
                  lawsuit against Sandra Van Ryan.

                                  SAM
                  Just like that?

                                  KEN
                  Just like that?  These people ruined
                  your life, bro.

     Ken pauses to thump the wheel with the butt of his hand.

                                  KEN (CONT'D)
                  I told you they were going overboard and
                  they did... They'll settle.  Believe me.
                  They'll be begging to settle...

     At which point Ken spots something up ahead.  His smile broadens.
     He swerves into the other lane, tooting his horn, waving, as...

     The T-bird draws even with a sleek black limo.

                                  SAM
                  You don't think you're overdoing it?

     He pulls off his neck brace, dangles it in front of Sam's face,
     then tosses it out the window.

     INT. LIMO - MOVING - SAME

     Tom Baxter watches as the T-bird rockets off into the distance, a
     white piece of foam rubber bouncing across the road in its wake.

     A console TV is on -- news of the courthouse chaos.

     Sandra is next to Baxter.  Kelly is on the opposite bench seat.

                                  SANDRA
                  I hope you're going to nail his scrotum
                  to the nearest wall.

                                  BAXTER
                  That might have been a possibility, if
                  little miss not-so-bright here hadn't
                  started throwing things.

                                  KELLY
                  Fuck off.

   Sandra lunges to slap Kelly.  Baxter stops it in midair.

                                  BAXTER
                  See what I mean...

                                  SANDRA
                  You're going to let them get away with
                  this... this shit?  On the word of one
                  little white trash bitch...

                                  BAXTER
                  You like seeing your name in the papers?

     Sandra glares at him.

                                  BAXTER (CONT'D)
                  Leave town, Sandy.  Go to your place in
                  St. Barts.  Let things cool down.

     Sandra concentrates on the TV.

                                  BAXTER (CONT'D)
                  They'll try for twenty million.  The
                  cheaper the lawyer, the higher the
                  demand.

                                  SANDRA
                  You've got to be kidding.

                                  HAXTER
                  The man's life has been destroyed.
                  There will always be doubters, no matter
                  what happened in court.

                                  SANDRA
                  I'm not paying any idiot twenty million
                  dollars.

                                  BAXTER
                  I said that's what they'd ask for.

     Sandra stares from the window.  At last she turns to Kelly.
         
                                  SANDRA
                  I hope you're happy.

     Kelly seems to give this a moment's thought, then, smiling.

                                  KELLY
                  Ecstatic.

     EXT. EVERGLADES - DAY

     Sam cruises slowly across the water in his junked-out air boat.
     He kills the engine, allowing the craft to glide to a stop.

     He's close to where he found the big gator -- the same shabby
     collection of whitewashed buildings we now RECOGNIZE as the
     Glades Motel, shimmers in the distance.

     Sam leans back, enjoying the silence.  He reaches into a cooler,
     takes out a beer, opens it, takes a drink, then pulls something
     else from the cooler --

     -- a bundle of white butcher's paper.  Sam opens the paper, takes
     out raw meat -- something disgusting to look at -- big red turkey
     necks, maybe, which he tosses into the water.

     ANGLE ON WATER

     as the meat drifts down -- then, a sudden boiling, as -- quick as
     the strike of a snake -- the huge gator EMERGES, jaws wide, to
     snap up the morsel before slipping beneath the surface once mare.

                                                 DISSOLVE TO:

     INT. LAW OFFICE - DAY

     Ken's Secretary opens the inner office door for Baxter.
     Ken rises from a desk to greet him.

                                  KEN
                  Tom Baxter.  Good to see you again.

                                  BAXTER
                  Let's cut the crap.  What does your
                  client want?

                                  KEN
                  Besides an apology?

                                  BAXTER
                  Unless you're planning on leaving Blue
                  Bay, there's gonna be other cases, other
                  days... You might want to keep that in
                  mind.

                                  KEN
                  Okay Tom.  My client wants your client
                  to saddle up... so we can ride her ass
                  all the way to the bank.

     EXT. BLUE BAY SCHOOL - DAY

     A hot morning in June.  Shadows angle across the campus.

     Students line up at the old wooden pagoda, picking up caps and
     gowns.  A few turn, surprised to see...

     SAM LOMBARDO cross the parking lot, ENTERS a building.

     INT. ART'S OFFICE - ART

     working at his desk.  Sam's terrarium is behind him, his
     "Educator of the Year" Waterford bowl, a storage box of files.

     Art looks up at a KNOCK on the DOOR.  Sam walks into the room.
     It is a slightly awkward moment.

                                  SAM
                  Lizards don't seem to miss me.

     The two men smile, breaking the tension.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  How you doing, Artie?

                                  ART
                  I... You know... I...

     Sam waves him off.

                                  SAM
                  Take care of my lizards, Art.

     Art stands up.  The two men shake hands.

     OUTSIDE GUIDANCE OFFICE

     Sam comes out, then stops suddenly.

     Kelly waits for him.  Kirk and Nicole are with her.  A long
     moment.

                                  SAM
                  Kelly...

                                  KELLY
                  Drop dead... You know where my mom is
                  trying to get the money to pay you off?
                  She's trying to break my trust.  How do
                  you like that?  I can't touch it until
                  she's dead and she won't give me a dime
                  and now she's trying to break it to pay
                  you...

                                  SAM
                  Look, Kelly... I'm sorry... I know what
                  you've been through... I should've seen
                  something like this coning.

     Art APPEARS in the door behind Sam.  Kelly cones closer.

                                  KELLY
                  Why don't you start fucking her again.
                  You can spend it together.

     Kirk tries to take Kelly's arm.  She jerks away, swings at Sam.

     He ducks, dropping the Waterford BOWL, which SHATTERS upon the
     floor.

     Kirk bear-hugs Kelly.  She throws a notebook at Sam.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                  I hate you!

     She starts crying.  Kirk and Nicole drag her away as a crowd
     gathers.

     Sam, shaken, kneels over the broken crystal.  Art bends to help
     him pick up the pieces.

                                  SAM
                  You see.  I couldn't stay, even if I
                  wanted to.

     EXT. STRIP MALL - NIGHT

     Sam's Jeep is parked next to the T-bird and Jaguar.

     INT. KEN'S OFFICE - SAME

     Baxter, Ken, Sandra, Frankie stand watching, as Sam signs papers.
     At last Sam looks up, faces Sandra -- not a happy moment.

     Sandra gives him a long, hard stare, then walks from the room.
     Frankie prepares to follow her, then stops, looks at Sam.

                                  FRANKIE
                  I'll be seeing you.

     Sam just looks at him.  The big man leaves.  Baxter closes his
     briefcase.

                                  KEN
                  So long, Tom.  Come by sometime.  We'll
                  have lunch at the Beef Bowl.

     Baxter stops, gives him a cold look, then a surprising smile.

                                  BAXTER
                  I don't think you're gonna be eating at
                  the Beef Bowl anymore, kid.

     He EXITS.  Ken goes apeshit -- whoops, dances around the desk,
     drops into his chair, holds up the documents.

     Sam watches, smiling, finally.

                                  SAM
                  Thanks Ken, you did okay.

     Both men stand, they shake hands.  Ken claps him on the arm.

                                  KEN
                         (no clowning now)
                  Look, I know there's a part of you
                  wishes none of this had happened.  But
                  it did.  Now take the money and get out
                  of here.  Find a happy place.

                                                 DISSOLVE TO:

     EXT. EVERGLADES - NIGHT

     Moonlit fog -- the vast swamp.

     EXT. GLADES MOTEL - NIGHT

     It's late.  A neon palm tree flashes across an empty lot as...

     Sam's Jeep pulls in out of the night, parks before its bungalow.
     Sam gets out, lifts his storage box of files from the rear.

     INT. BUNGALOW - NIGHT

     The neon's green light slashes across the dark walls through old
     Venetian blinds.

     Sam ENTERS, puts the file box on the floor.  Arches a sore back.

     He reaches for a bedside lamp, stops, listens, decides it's
     nothing, reaches again for the lamp, stops again, listening...

     BZZZZZ -- the high-pitched WHINE of a MOSQUITO.  Then more -- a
     flurry of BZZZZZZZZS

     Sam frowns, sees...

     A cloud of mosquitoes circling him.

     He checks the front windows -- closed.  He goes around the bed.
     The slightly ajar bathroom door with full-length mirror comes up
     on his right.  Ahead is a rear window -- wide open.

     Sam stops fast.
         
     Thinks.  Lets out a breath.

                                  SAM
                  Damn maid.

     He steps to the window.  He looks down --

     Muddy footprints.

     Sam freezes.  He whirls around --

     A sudden green FACE APPEARS in the big mirror -- like a nightmare
     image -- lit by the neon flash, then DISAPPEARS.

     Sam jumps back.

                                  SAM
                  Ahhhh!

     The neon green face flashes again in the mirror -- DISAPPEARS.
     Now the bathroom door slowly opens all the way.

     Sam backs up, hits the wall.

     Kelly Van Ryan steps out of the bathroom, a long object held at
     her side, wrapped in a towel.

                                  SAM
                  Jesus Christ, what are you doing?

                                  KELLY
                  So you got my mom's money.

     Sam tries to breathe, manages a nod.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                  How much?

     Kelly prods him with the concealed object.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                  How much?

                                  SAM
                  About six and a half million dollars.

     Kelly raises the abject covered by the towel, aims it at Sam.

                                  KELLY
                  Your turn to pay.

     A moment -- then she yanks the towel away to REVEAL --

     --  a two-foot-long novelty penis with giant balls.  Her hand
     grips the acrylic scrotum like the butt of a gun.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                  King Dong!  That's you, Sam!

     She screams with joy, vaults into his arms, wraps those perfect
     thighs around him.  The dildo goes flying.  They fall on the bed.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                  It worked!  We screwed the bitch!

     She's all over him now -- tongue kisses.

                                  KELLY CCONT'D)
                  It worked just like you said it would.

     He kisses her, finally gets her to sit, straddling him.

                                  SAM
                  God, you scared the shit out of me.  You
                  must be crazy coming here.

                                  KELLY
                  Of course I'm crazy.  Ask my mom.

     She kisses him again, more passionately now.  He gets into it,
     tears her blouse open, putting his tongue to her breasts.

     A SHADOW moves on the wall, looming above them.  Sam sees it, his
     eyes widen.  He tries to sit up, as...

     BANG! -- an EXPLOSION.  Sam jumps, knocks Kelly to his side.

     A champagne cork hits the ceiling.

     Suzie Toller stands over the bed with a foaming champagne bottle.

                                  SUZIE
                  How much is about six and a half million
                  divided by three?

                                  SAM
                  Jesus.  Two million one hundred
                  thirty-three thousand three hundred
                  thirty-three and change.

     Kelly screams in joy again.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  Now calm down.  Both of you.

     The girls put on mock serious expressions.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  From now on, if we're seen together,
                  it's got to be accidental.  I thought
                  that was understood...

                                  KELLY
                  Hey, come on... We've got to have at
                  least one victory party.

     Kelly grabs the champagne, takes a long gulp, pours some on her
     breasts as she straddles Sam once more, inviting him to lick them
     clean.

                                  SAM
                  Kelly, for christ's sake...

     She has begun to move like a lap dancer, inviting him to take her
     breasts in his mouth, putting a hand to his crotch...

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  The only way we're gonna blow this now,
                  is if we do it ourselves...

                                  KELLY
                         (her hand in his crotch)
                  Do it to ourselves?

                                  SAM
                         (weakening)
                  We have to stick with the plan.

                                  KELLY
                  Stick?

     Sam gives up, lays back as Kelly undoes his pants, then moves to
     get him inside her.

     Suzie watches.  She takes another drink, then tosses the bottle,
     pulling off her top, REVEALING her small, white breasts, a couple
     of tattoos, a pierced nipple.  She slips behind Kelly, fondling
     Kelly's breasts as Sam arches beneath them both -- all of them
     totally into it now, losing themselves in the sex...

                                                 FADE TO:

     INT. DETECTIVZS' ROOM, BLUE BAY POLICE STATION - NIGHT

     The room is dark and empty, with the exception of a single desk
     lamp, by which halo we find...

     Ray Duquette, in an aloha shirt, waiting as his computer's
     printer finishes a job, as suddenly...

     ... a new light rushes into the room.  Ray turns to find Gloria
     standing in the doorway.  He stops as his printer finishes the
     job.  He pulls out the paper, looks at it, smiles.  Gloria walks
     to his desk.

                                  RAY
                  You saw the news today?

                                  GLORIA
                  Lombardo's settlement?

     Ray nods.

                                  GLORIA (CONT'D)
                  Yeah, well, I told you they were gonna
                  make us look stupid.

     Ray gives her a long look.  Gloria waits a moment, shrugs.

                                  RAY
                  Hey, don't back away from it, you were
                  right.  We did look stupid.
                         (beat)
                  What you were wrong about, is who made
                  us look that way.

     Gloria just looks at him, puzzled.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  Think back, before the suit was filed,
                  before the trial.  Lombardo had an
                  affair with Sandra, right?
                         (Gloria nods)
                  So why not tell us about the affair?  I
                  mean it could be a hell of a motive for
                  Kelly to fabricate her charge in the
                  first place.

                                  GLORIA
                  Maybe Lombardo's attorney was saving the
                  affair for the trial.

                                  RAY
                  I thought of that.  Then I said, come
                  on, you're Lombardo.  Your reputation is
                  getting trashed.  You want to stop the
                  bleeding.  You don't want to sit in jail
                  for three months.  Unless...

                                  GLORIA
                  Unless what?

                                  RAY
                  Unless you're setting up Sandra Van Ryan
                  for the big payday.

     It is quiet in the office, save for the soft BUZZ of Ray's
     COMPUTER.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  They chumped us, Gloria, right from the
                  start.

                                  GLORIA
                  Why?  You ask me, Lombardo had it pretty
                  good already, nice job in a beautiful
                  setting, popular, an active social life.
                         (beat)
                  He's gonna put this all on the line for
                  some dicey play like what you're
                  describing...

                                  RAY
                         (interrupting)
                  The job looks okay to us.  But look at
                  it from his point of view.  The man's
                  surrounded by wealth and privilege.  But
                  for him... it's just a reminder of what
                  should have been his.

     Gloria gives this a moment's thought.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  Your old man graduates from Blue Bay
                  School, you're not supposed to wind up
                  there.  Board of Directors maybe, but
                  not in the lousy guidance office.  Now.
                  Point number two.
                         (he taps at the printout
                          on his desk)
                  I've run a financial on Lombardo.  Guy
                  was eyeball-deep in debt before this all
                  happened -- trying to keep up with
                  pricey trim like Barbara Baxter.

     He passes the printout to Gloria.  She looks at it, thinking.

                                  GLORIA
                  So what about the girls?  Suzie's poor,
                  but why would Kelly have to steal from
                  her own mother?  Surely her father...

                                  RAY
                         (interrupting)
                  Her father didn't leave her squat.  The
                  kid's got money in trust from her
                  grandfather, but she can't touch that
                  till her mother dies and Sandra seems to
                  have the idea that Kelly ought to learn
                  the value of a buck.

     Gloria looks over Lombardo's financial once more, tosses it on
     the desk, then studies Ray -- long beat.

                                  GLORIA
                  This one's got you working overtime,
                  hasn't it?

                                  RAY
                  I flat don't like the guy, Glory.  He's
                  dirty.  And I'll tell you something
                  else.  You want to know how old man
                  Lombardo lost his money?
                         (beat)
                  He was fucked out of it by old man Van
                  Ryan, on a little item known as the Salt
                  Creek Land Deal.
                         (beat)
                  It was after the war.  Van Ryan set up a
                  corporation to develop swamp land, got
                  investors like Lombardo to put up money,
                  then turned around and got the state to
                  declare the area an ecological preserve,
                  on the sly, of course, but everyone knew
                  it was him.  The freeway went to the
                  coast, right where Van Ryan wanted it.

                                  GLORIA
                  Eliminate the competition.

                                  RAY
                  You got it.  The rich got richer.  While
                  the saps like Lombardo went belly-up in
                  the swamp.

     Gloria looks at him a long moment.

                                  GLORIA
                  Where'd you come up with this stuff,
                  anyway?

                                  RAY
                         (a long beat; then
                          beneath a smile)
                  I net a guy in a bar.

     EXT. A BANK, BLUE BAY - DAY

     Sam walks down the steps, gets into his Jeep, and drives away.

     Across the street -- the white Taurus -- Ray and Gloria watch.

     EXT. YACHT BROKERAGE - DAY

     Sam comes out, rounds a corner and is gone.

     Ray Duquette steps INTO FRAME, turns into the brokerage.  The
     door swings shut behind him.

     INT. SWIMMING POOL, BLUE BAY SCHOOL - DAY

     Girls in tank suits finish laps, towel off.  As the girls begin
     to walk toward the lockers, they encounter...

     Ray Duquette, threading his way among the girls, his eye on...

     Kelly, alone on the deck, still dripping -- a Botticelli vision.

                                  RAY (O.S.)
                  Nice stroke.

     Kelly, startled, turns to find Ray walking toward her across the
     deck.  She snatches a towel from one of the racing platforms and
     begins to dry herself, wrapping the towel around her.

                                 KELLY
                  Is there some reason why you're here?

                                 RAY
                  Curiosity, I guess.

                                 KELLY
                  About what?  How to improve your breast
                  stroke?

     Ray gives her a cold smile.

                                 RAY
                  Actually, I was curious about how you
                  see things working out, for you, Sam and
                  Suzie.

     This appears to give her pause, a moment of hesitation.

                                  KELLY
                  Excuse me?

                                  RAY
                  You all gonna go down to the Caribbean
                  together?

     Kelly looks around the pool area.  A number of girls are watching
     from a corner of the deck, but no one is close enough to hear.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  The thing about it is, threesomes so
                  rarely work out.

                                  KELLY
                  You're out of your mind.

                                  RAY
                  I've been a cop for a while, Kelly.
                         (beat)
                  It's hard enough for one person to keep
                  a secret, let alone three.  And then
                  there's the love angle.  I mean do you
                  and Sam really want that little
                  pill-head around, now that you have the
                  money?

     Kelly starts to walk away.  Ray cuts her off.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  Am I right, did Sam sell you on the idea
                  right up front, of whacking Suzie?
                  That's murder, Kelly.

                                  KELLY
                  Police -- God -- get a life.

     She moves around him and walks calmly away.

                                  RAY
                         (loud enough to make
                          himself heard)
                  You're good.  But you don't think that
                  little ditz Suzie's gonna hold together,
                  do you?

     Kelly continues to walk, her face giving nothing away, as Ray's
     WORDS ECHO over the pool.

     EXT. BLUE BAY SCHOOL PARKING LOT - LONG SHOT - LATER

     Only a few cars left -- one of them Suzie's old VW bug, at the
     side of which Kelly and Suzie engage in heated conversation.

     CLOSER - SUZIE

     paces around Kelly.

                                  SUZIE
                  You don't know Duquette.  I'm the one he
                  busted... He's a fucker, man... He'll
                  fuck us both over...

     Kelly tries to take her by the arm.  Suzie jerks away.

                                  SUZIE (CONT'D)
                  I'm not going back to that prison.
                  That's what it was... a fucking hell
                  hole...

     Kelly looks around the lot.  She takes Suzie by the arm once
     more, this time more firmly, pulling Suzie to her.

                                  KELLY
                  Will you calm down.  Duquette's gonna
                  come to you just like he did to me.
                  You're gonna have to be ready for him.

                                  SUZIE
                  Yeah, but he can't push you around like
                  he can me.  You've got family and
                  they've got clout.  With we it's
                  different... with me...

                                  KELLY
                         (circling her with her
                          arm)
                  Yeah, I've got family and they've got
                  clout and now you have me.  Right?  And
                  Sam.  Believe me, Suzie, this dickhead's
                  not going to send you anywhere.  He's
                  gonna try and rattle your cage, and
                  that's it.  Stay strong and he can't do
                  shit.

                                  SUZIE
                         (a long beat)
                  Man, I wanna smoke a joint.

     PULL BACK to REVEAL -- in the distance -- the white Ford Taurus
     at the side of the road leading to the school.

     The car is pulled just far enough off the road to be mostly
     hidden among pampas grass and oleander, but angled in such a way
     as to afford a view of the two girls now hugging in the lot.

     EXT. SMILIN' JACK'S FISH CAMP - NIGHT

     Suzie wanders along the canal, smoking a joint.  At her back a
     few faint lights flicker here and there in the windows of
     trailers.  She walks down to the little dock, sits on a rail,
     takes another hit.

                                  VOICE (0.S.)
                  'Evening, Suzie.  How was school today?

     Suzie freezes, holds back her exhale, looking around...

     A shadow stirs in one of the skiffs tied to the dock.  A man
     stands, walks up the couple of wooden stairs.  The light from a
     trailer across the road glances off steel-rimmed glasses as Ray
     Duquette steps onto the dock.

     Suzie gags on the smoke in her lungs, coughs.  She squeezes the
     lit roach into her palm, then tosses it into the canal.

                                  RAY
                  You ought to watch it with that shit,
                  Suzie.  You get busted again, you go
                  back in a two-tine loser.

                                  SUZIE
                  You got something against cigarettes?

     Ray just laughs at her.

                                  RAY
                  Yeah, they're bad for your health.
                         (beat)
                  I'm tryin' to look out for you...

                                  SUZIE
                  That's cop bullshit.

                                  RAY
                  Well, you're half right.  Best thing you
                  could do for yourself right now would be
                  to talk to me.

                                  SUZIE
                  About what?

                                  RAY
                  Every triangle I've ever seen never
                  lasts.  Somebody's got to go.

                                  SUZIE
                  Is this supposed to mean something to
                  me?  What triangle?

                                  RAY
                  You, Kelly, Sam.

                                  SUZIE
                  I don't have to listen to this.  And you
                  can't shove me around.  I have friends
                  now...

     She catches herself, falters.

     Ray laughs once more.

                                  RAY
                  Is that what you think?  You have
                  friends?  Is that what they told you?

                                  SUZIE
                  I don't mean who you're thinking.  I
                  have other friends...

                                  RAY
                  Suzie, Suzie... This is me, Ray, you're
                  talking to.  We both know you don't have
                  shit, never have had shit, never will
                  have shit...

     He takes a sheet of paper from his coat.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  Here, Suzie.  I want you :o look this
                  over.  Know what it is?
                         (as Suzie takes it)
                  Sam deposited his check, transferred the
                  funds to an offshore bank, a numbered
                  account.  Not even the cops can find out
                  whose names are on it.  Think one of
                  them's yours?

     Suzie looks over the paper.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  He also put a down on some island
                  property, and a lease-to-buy on a
                  forty-foot sailboat.  You're into
                  sailing, aren't you, Suzie?

     Suzie thrusts the paper back at Ray.

                                  SUZIE
                  Get away from me.

                                  RAY
                  Don't you see what this means?  You
                  really think Sam and Kelly are gonna
                  give you a third of the money?  You, the
                  pill-head with the rap sheet?

                                  SUZIE
                  Shut up.

     Ray smiles at her.  He moves up close.

                                  RAY
                  You know, I don't think I ever told you
                  I was sorry about your little friend...
                  What was his name?

     Suzie tries to back away.  She bumps against the rail.  Ray
     reaches out, takes her hand in both of his.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  Come on, Suzie, help me out here.  You
                  know his name.

     Suzie looks scared, in a way she hasn't before.  When she speaks
     her voice is scarcely above a whisper.

                                  SUZIE
                  Davy.

                                  RAY
                         (nodding, a scary smile)
                  That's right.  That was his name.

     The smile fades, as if he's thinking about something, still
     holding her hand, rubbing it with his fingers.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  Sometimes I wonder if you're really as
                  dumb as you pretend to be.

     He looks into Suzie's eyes, slowly opening her hand to REVEAL the
     burn mark on her palm.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  But you know what?  I'd be keeping a
                  clear mind right now if I were you.
                         (beat)
                  I'd hate to see you come to a bad end.
                  Like Davy did.

     He holds her hand a moment longer, then drops it.  He goes back
     down he steps to the little skiff.  An outboard MOTOR STARTS in
     the night.

     INT. SUZIE'S ROOM - NIGHT

     Suzie cones in fast, grabs the phone, punches out a number.

                                  SAM (V.0.)
                         (answering machine)
                  This is Sam.  I'm not in right now...

     EXT./INT. RAY'S PICKUP - NIGHT

     parked behind some cottonwoods in a small launch area where the
     highway crosses both the canal and the road to the fish camp.

     The skiff has been shoved into the bed.  Ray sits at the wheel.
     He removes his glasses, wipes his face with a handkerchief, then
     starts at the uneven 50UNDS of a tired ENGINE, looks up to see...

     HEADLIGHTS

     Suzie's VW bouncing along the dirt road, turning onto the
     highway.

     RAY'S TRUCK - RAY

     watching, then starting his truck and pulling out onto the
     highway, following the tiny red lights of Suzie's bug.

     SXT. VAN RYAN ESTATE - MAIN GATE - NIGHT

     Suzie's VW idles.  She leans out the window, talks to the
     intercom, the gate opens.  The VW ENTERS.  The gate closes.

     Ray's pickup drives past.  He drives to a big lot where one of
     the mansions has been torn down.  He drives up onto the dirt,
     keeps going, right down to the water's edge where he pulls his
     little skiff out of the back once more.

     He walks back to the truck, pulls off his sport coat, hangs a
     Hi-8 video camera over his shoulder and wades out into the calm
     waters of the bay, pushing the skiff, then climbing in.

     EXT. VAN RYAN ESTATE, REAR OF MAIN HOUSE - NIGHT

     Suzie follows Kelly past the pool, which is all lit~up, and on
     toward the jacuzzi.  The whole deck is tiled in black-and-white.

     Kelly's in a bikini -- the killer body.  Suzie, the contrast --
     pale, skinny, boyish, in a T-shirt and cutoff jeans.  They
     argue -- we CANNOT HEAR.

     EXT. THE BAY - SAME

     Ray has arrived near the docks.  He has killed his engine,
     maneuvering here with a single oar.  He ties the skiff off behind
     the Jonathan, then climbs to the dock, moving around the guest
     house and coming close to the pool.  He takes a position behind
     the cabanas, readies his camera.

     EXT. POOL AREA - SAME

     Kelly and Suzie continue their argument in front of the jacuzzi.

                                  KELLY
                  I can't believe you called Sam.  What's
                  the matter with you?

                                  SUZIE
                  I'm scared, that's what.  I'm scared
                  there's no one to trust.

                                  KELLY
                  You can trust me.

     A cordless PHONE RINGS on the patio chair.  Kelly and Suzie are
     startled by it.  Kelly answers.

     INT. SAM'S BUNGALOW - NIGHT

     The bedside lamp is on.  Sam is on the phone.

                                  SAM
                  Kelly.  Is Suzie there?

                                  KELLY (V.O.)
                  Yes.

                                  SAM
                  Shit.  I was afraid of that.  She left
                  this garbled message on my machine.
                         (beat)
                  Can you calm her down?

                                  KELLY (V.0.)
                  Why can't you come...

                                  SAM
                  No!  Christ.  Listen, Kelly, I'm
                  counting on you.  You calm her down.
                  I mean do whatever you have to, whatever
                  it takes...

                                  KELLY (V.O.)
                  You know what it takes.

                                  SAM
                  Then do it.  I need you on this Kelly.
                  Do it tonight.  We'll figure something
                  out... Okay?

     EXT. JACUZZI - NIGHT

     Kelly glances across the steamy water at Suzie.

                                  KELLY
                  Yeah, right.  Can you at least talk to
                  her, on the phone?

     NT. SAM'S BUNGALOW - SAME

     Sam lies on his bed, waits for Suzie's voice on the line.

                                  SUZIE (V.O.)
                  Sam...

                                  SAM
                  Put Kelly on too.

     EXT. JACUZZI - SAME

     The girls stand cheek-to-cheek, the phone between them.

                                  KELLY
                  I'm here.

     INT. SAM'S BUNGALOW - SAME

                                  SAM
                  Okay.  I want you to hear this too.
                  We've got to be cool.  All of us.
                  People think I'm rich, for Christ's
                  sake.   I'm doing what rich guys do.
                         (beat)
                  I'm spending my money.  It's more
                  suspicious if I sit around doing
                  nothing.  Now don't let this cop fuck
                  with your minds.

     EXT. CABANAS - NIGHT

     Ray tapes the scene.

     The girls still hold the phone.

                                  SUZIE
                  But I..

                                  SAM (V.0.)
                  Shut up.  Don't fall apart.  The only
                  people who can blow this is us.
                  Remember?

                                  KELLY
                  Right.

     Suzie says nothing.  Kelly nudges her.

                                  SUZIE
                  Yeah, right.

                                  SAM (V.0.)
                  Good.  Just keep telling yourselves
                  that, the only people who can fuck this
                  up is us.

     The line goes dead.  Kelly hangs up.  Suzie stares into the
     jacuzzi.

                                  SUZIE
                  You're gonna fuck me over, aren't you?

                                  KELLY
                  Oh, for Christ's sake.

                                  SUZIE
                  You are.

                                  KELLY
                  Are you retarded, or just brain dead
                  from whiffin' fumes out there in the
                  swamp...

     Suzie's face goes hard.

                                  SUZIE
                  That's what I am to you, isn't it?
                  Swamp trash.  It's what I am to
                  everybody, just like my mom...

     Kelly tries to put an arm around her.  Suzie slaps her -- a
     mistake -- Kelly's bigger, faster.  She slaps the side of Suzie's
     head, then grabs her legs, dumping her on the tile deck.

     ON RAY

     focusing the camera.

     Suzie tries to kick Kelly.

     Something changes in Kelly, a scary, calm rage.

                                  KELLY
                  Stupid bitch.

     She very methodically grabs Suzie's hair, dragging her into the
     jacuzzi, holding her under the hot water.

     Suzie thrashes, breaks free, gags, arches out of the water, the
     wet T-shirt clinging to her small breasts.

     Kelly is on her again, slaps her, puts her hands to Suzie's
     throat -- violently sexual in her wet bikini.

     Kelly slams Suzie back onto the black-and-white tile, gets on top
     of her, knees between Suzie's legs, her hands on her throat.

     Suzie's skinny shape writhes underneath Kelly on the gleaming
     tile.  She gasps for air.  Kelly finally lets go, but remains on
     her knees between Suzie's legs, breathing hard.  A moment.  Kelly
     touches Suzie's face.

                                  KELLY
                  Why do you make me hurt you?  It's like
                  you want it or something.

     Suzie sobs, takes Kelly's hand.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                  God, you are scared, aren't you?

     Suzie runs her lips over Kelly's fingers, then pushes her T-shirt
     up, pushing Kelly's hand onto her breast.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                  And this is going to make you feel
                  better, make you trust me...

     Suzie nods, tearing her T-shirt, getting both of Kelly's hands
     onto her breasts, then pushing at Kelly's wrists, getting her to
     pull at her nipples, hard... Kelly obliges...

     Suzie cries out in pain.  Kelly's hands move down to pull off
     Suzie's bottoms...

     ON RAY

     still at it with the video, his face impassive, watching.

     As Kelly pulls Suzie back into the jacuzzi, as the girls' hands
     slide round the curves of each other's hips, pulling themselves
     to each other, as the layers of steam rise to envelope them...

                                                 CUT TO:

     VIDEOTAPE

     Kelly and Suzie making love in the jacuzzi.

     PULL BACK to REVEAL --

     INT. POLICE ROOM - DAY

     Gloria, Ray, Hunter watch the tape.  Hunter's seen enough.  He
     slams the stop/tape.

                                  HUNTER
                  Are you crazy, Ray?

                                  RAY
                  You heard Kelly say "Sam."  That was
                  Lombardo on the phone.  And you saw the
                  girls...

                                  HUNTER
                  Ray.  The conversation on this tape is
                  totally unintelligible.
                         (beat)
                  What we have here, is you on the Van
                  Ryan property, without a proper warrant,
                  shooting a porn flick...

                                  RAY
                  I don't believe I'm hearing this.  A
                  month ago you were pulling these two
                  apart at the courthouse.
                         (beat)
                  They were acting.  They were all acting,
                  from the beginning.  And we bought it,
                  hook, line and sinker... And now they're
                  home free with six million of Sandra Van
                  Ryan's money.

                                  GLORIA
                  Which she might have saved, if she
                  hadn't set out to destroy the man's
                  life.

                                  RAY
                         (turning now on Gloria)
                  What?  You wouldn't go after some guy
                  you thought raped your daughter?
                         (beat)
                  Cone on.  She bought the same story we
                  did...

     Ray stops as Hunter brings the palm of his hand down on the table
     a loud SLAP.

                                  HUNTER
                  Listen, both of you.  You're not on a
                  case.  There is no fucking case.
                         (beat)
                  I've had it up to here with Sandra Van
                  Ryan.  Ray, you keep mucking around like
                  this and you are going to have her suing
                  us for invasion of privacy.  Get out of
                  these people's lives.
                         (beat)
                  Am I getting through on this?

     Ray walks to the door, jerks it open --

     INT. CORRIDOR - DAY

     Sam, angry, sits in the corridor with a uniformed officer.

     Hunter sees Sam, rolls his eyes.

                                  HUNTER
                  Oh, Ray... no...

                                  RAY
                  You think this is just about money,
                  about us looking foolish?  Question him.
                  You're gonna find a stone cold
                  manipulative psychopath.  And those
                  girls are going to wind up dead...

     Sam lunges at Ray.  The officer and Hunter restrain him.  Gloria
     looks on, taken aback by Ray's accusations, Sam's response.

                                  HUNTER
                  Mr. Lombardo, please.  I'm sorry about
                  this.

                                  SAM
                  Give this idiot something to do.  Let
                  him look into the Kennedy assassination.

     Ray flares, grabs Sam, shoves him against the wall, before they
     can be separated once again.

                                  SAM (CCNT'D)
                         (to Hunter)
                  Next time this guy drags me down here,
                  I'll sue you.  You're goddamn lucky I
                  didn't sue you the first time!

     Sam storms from the room, followed by Hunter.  Ray stares after
     them, finally he turns, looks at Gloria, collecting himself.

                                  RAY
                  Guess I kind of lost it there.

                                  GLORIA
                  You could say that.

                                  RAY
                  Were you ever in a situation where you
                  could see a thing coming and you didn't
                  do what you could to stop it?

     Gloria studies Ray, clearly concerned.

                                  GLORIA
                  We all have...

                                  RAY
                  I mean something bad, Gloria, something
                  bad you saw coning, and you didn't do
                  anything, and then it happened.
                         (off Gloria's silence)
                  I did that once.  I don't want to do it
                  again.

     EXT. MALL ENTRANCE - LATE AFTERNOON

     Sam EXXTS a building, a large package of wrapped goods beneath
     his arm.  He looks toward the parking lot where --

     Barbara Baxter stands beside the red Mercedes.  She tips a valet
     then starts toward the mall.  She sees San.  Their eyes meet.  A
     moment of hesitation, as neither is quite sure what to say.

                                  SAM
                  You look pretty.

                                  BARBARA
                  Thanks.

     Sam smiles.  She points to the stuff beneath his arm.

                                  BARBARA (CONT'D)
                  Quite a shopping spree...

     She's kidding, then seems to consider how Sam might take it.

                                  BARBARA (CONT'D)
                  I didn't mean...

     Sam laughs it off.

                                  SAM
                  Hey, I've got it, I may as well spend
                  it, right?  I've always wanted to live
                  where I could dive for my dinner.

                                  BARBARA
                  And where might that be?

                                  SAM
                  I was thinking, Antigua, maybe.

                                  BARBARA
                  I love Antigua.
                         (beat)
                  Maybe I'll come visit you.

                                  SAM
                  I'd like that.

     A moment, she touches his face.  Sam raises a hand to cover hers,
     as...

     ... in b.g., a BLACK RANGE ROVER -- just the roof VISIBLE above
     the tops of the other cars, cruises the lot.

     INT. RANGE ROVER - KELLY VAN RYAN

     seated at the wheel, parks, stares toward the mall entrance.

     ANGLE ON ENTRANCE - KELLY'S POV

     Sam and Barbara stand in the orange light, hand-in-hand.  Barbara
     leans forward, kisses Sam on the lips.

     CLOSE ON KELLY

     lost in thought, when she is startled by a sudden CACOPHONY of
     ENGINE NOISE.  She turns to find...

     Suzie's BUG, SPLUTTERING and BELCHING smoke, parks next to her.

     Suzie opens the door of the Rover, jumps in.  She's wearing a
     black ball cap, armed with a huge straw bag.  As she settles in
     the seat, she lets out a long breath.

     Kelly makes a face, fans the air.

                                  KELLY
                  Jesus.  What are you drinking?

     Suzie laughs, pulls a bottle of Mad Dog 20/20 from the bag.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                         (looking at the bottle)
                  Anybody ever tell you that stuff will
                  rot your brain?

                                  SUZIE
                  What brain?

     Suzie takes a big drink.  Kelly shakes her head, looks back
     toward the entrance.

     ANGLE ON ENTRANCE - KELLY'S POV

     empty.  Sam and Barbara are gone.

     Kelly continues to stare.

                                  SUZIE
                  What are you looking at?

                                  KELLY
                         (starting the car)
                  Nothing.

     EXT. THE BEACH - NIGHT

     The Atlantic rolls before a long stretch of empty sand as the
     last red light drains from the sky.

     The Range Rover comes down onto the sand, parks.

     INT./EXT. RANGE ROVER - SAME

     Kelly turns off the engine.  Suzie tokes on a joint, swills the
     MD 20/20.  She gazes upon the sea, eyes at half-mast.

                                  SUZIE
                  I thought we were goin' to a movie.

                                  KELLY
                  I think we just need to get wasted.

     Suzie shrugs, gets out.  Kelly gets out with her.  Suzie
     staggers.  Kelly circles her with an arm, looks nervously around,
     begins leading her down the beach.

                                  SUZIE
                  I wanna live at the beach someday.

                                  KELLY
                  Shit.

     She stops walking.  Suzie takes a few more steps then turns to
     look at her.

                                  KELLY (CONT'D)
                  I left the keys.  I'll get 'em.

     Suzie plops down on the sand, drinks from the bottle.  She
     watches Kelly fading into the darkness, mumbles something beneath
     her breath, then lies on her back.

     SUZIE'S POV - THE NIGHT SKY

     The SOUND of CRASHING WAVES.  She rolls to one side, looking down
     the beach

     Murky blackness.

     She tries to focus, sits up.

                                  SUZIE
                  Kelly?

     She stands -- wobbly -- peers down the beach.

     A shape EMERGES in the blackness, moving toward her.

                                  SUZIE (CONT'D)
                  Kelly?

     The shape gets closer and closer, until...

     Sam Lombardo steps up to loom over Suzie.

     She takes a step back.

     Sam puts a hand on her shoulder.  He carries something in his
     other hand -- hard to see on the dark beach.

                                  SAM
                  Suzie, it's okay.  It's me.

     Suzie steadies herself.  A face APPEARS behind Sam -- Kelly.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  I was worried about you, Suzie.  I
                  decided we should all get together, one
                  more time, before we split up.

                                  SUZIE
                  Are you mad at me?

                                  SAM
                  No, no.  Look, I probably should have
                  told you a little more, about the part I
                  intended to play.
                         (beat)
                  We'll go through it all again tonight.

     Sam takes the bottle from Suzie, looks at it.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  This is a celebration Suzie, not a
                  suicide pact.

     He lifts the object in his other hand -- a champagne battle.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  We'll chill out first, have a drink,
                  watch the stars.

     Suzie nods.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  Kelly, there's a beach blanket in the
                  Jeep.  Could you get it for us?

     Kelly nods, starts back, looks once over her shoulder as...

     Sam leads Suzie toward a huge rock formation.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  Let me tell you about this boat I picked
                  out for us...

     They move OUT OF SIGHT.  Kelly continues to walk, back along the
     sand toward the cars.

     INSERT - A SCREAM

     A sickening hollow THWACK -- an arc of blood and two teeth fall
     silently on dark stone.

     Kelly begins to run, stumbling through the sand to Sam's Jeep,
     where she pulls a big roll of clear plastic from behind the
     seats.  She stuffs it under her arm, then runs back along the
     beach.  As she runs, she can hear them -- more THWACKS, MOANS --
     it seems like forever

     Sam APPŁARS before her on the sand.  The champagne bottle swings
     loosely at the end of one arm.  it looks shiny now, dripping with
     Suzie's blood.

     Kelly goes to him.  She looks at the bottle, then throws herself
     against him -- a hard kiss.

                                  SAM
                  I'm sorry, Kelly.  I'm sorry it had to
                  happen like this.  She was losing it...

                                  KELLY
                         (breathless)
                  There was no way.  That cop would've
                  gotten her to tell him... everything.
                  She was weak and dumb...

     She kisses him again, her hands moving over his body.  Sam takes
     a step back, looks into Kelly's face -- the parted lips, sultry
     eyes -- as if seeing her for the first time -- a long beat -- at
     which point he turns, heaving the champagne bottle as far as he
     can into the black waves.

     EXT. RANGE ROVER ON THE SAUD - LATER

     Rear hatch open -- overhead light on.

     Sam and Kelly drag Suzie's body -- wrapped in the plastic -- to
     the rear hatch.  As they heft her inside, the light catches --

     SUZIE'S FACE

     A mask of blood.

     Kelly turns away in disgust.  She goes to the passenger side
     door, gets in.

     Sam gets in behind the wheel.  For a moment the two of them just
     sit there, in the darkness, with the SOUND of the SEA, and their
     own BREATHING.  Sam looks at Kelly.

     She is focused on the dark Atlantic.

                                  SAM
                  Are you okay?

     Kelly turns to him -- an anxious face.

                                  KELLY
                         (a long beat)
                  My mom would kill me if she knew I took
                  the Rover.

     EXT. EVERGLADES - NIGHT

     Kelly waits by the Rover, swatting mosquitoes.

     SLOSHING SOUNDS -- a shape approaches in the dark -- Sam in
     waders, muddy, tired, carrying a shovel.

     EXT. GALLERIA PARKING LOT - NIGHT

     Almost empty of cars.  The Range Rover cruises past Suzie's VW,
     circles, comes back.  Sam jumps out, pulls on latex gloves, gets
     into the VW and backs it out.

     EXT. BUS TERMINAL (MIAMI) - DAY

     Almost dawn.  A long parking lot fronts the terminal.  Suzie's VW
     arrives, parks, Sam gets out.  He goes to the waiting Range
     Rover, gets in and drives away.

     EXT. FRONT GATE - VAN RYAN ESTATE - DAY

     A THIN STREAM OF MUDDY WATER

     flows beneath the gate, down the drive, toward the street.

     A HAND touches the water.

     PULL BACK to REVEAL the hand as that of Ray Duquette.

     EXT. VAN RYAN DRIVEWAY - SAME

     Ray kneels, fingers wriggling in the water, then straightens,
     looking toward the house where...

     On the other side of the gate, Kelly, in a tube-top and tight
     shorts, washes mud from the Range Rover.  She looks up, sees...

     Ray, drying his hand on a handkerchief, walking up the drive,
     arriving at the wrought-iron gates.

                                  RAY
                  Been four-wheelin'?

     Kelly freezes -- not so cool this time.

                                  KELLY
                  Get off my property.

                                  RAY
                  I'm not on your property!

     He grabs the wrought-iron gate -- rattles it -- harder and
     harder.

     Kelly backs away, frightened.

     EXT. SMILIN' JACK'S FISH CAMP - DAY

     Gloria and Ray stand in front of the ramshackle wooden building,
     talking to Ruby.  Walter sits nearby, sharpening a knife.

                                  RAY
                  You say she didn't come back last night.

                                  RUBY
                  She's been sayin' she was going to go to
                  L.A.  But I don't know.  I mean all her
                  clothes are still here.  An' she's
                  missin' her graduation.
                         (a long beat)
                  She should graduate.  She's a smart
                  girl...

     Ray nods.  He makes a note in his pad.

                                  RAY
                  May have been she just partied too
                  much... But we'll look into it.  We find
                  something, you'll be the first to know.

     Ray turns and walks to the car.  Gloria follows.

     INT. CAR - SAME

     Ray sits for a moment behind the wheel.

                                  RAY
                  It's starting, Gloria.  This is how it
                  begins...

                                  GLORIA
                  Ray.  We don't know anything yet.  She
                  could be anywhere...

     Ray silences her with a look.

                                  RAY
                  I'm gonna take you back to the office.
                  Will you put out a call on Suzie's car
                  for me?

                                  GLORIA
                  You have someplace to be?

     Ray starts the car, doesn't answer.

                                  GLORIA (CONT'D)
                  If you want company...

                                  RAY
                  Just check out the car.

     Gloria nods.  She looks toward the camp store where the old lady
     can still be SEEN standing on the porch, beneath the jawbones.

     EXT. BLUE BAY SCHOOL - DAY

     Caps and gowns -- kids and parents on the lawn -- taking photos.

     Kelly poses with Sandra.  Tom Baxter aims the camera.

                                  BAXTER
                  Smile.

     Kelly and Sandra force miserable smiles.  CLICK.

                                  BAXTER (CONT'D)
                  That's one for the scrapbook.

     Baxter moves away, greets Nicole and her parents.

     Kelly puts some room between her and Sandra.

                                  KELLY
                  You didn't have to fly back -- from --
                  wherever, for me...

                                  SANDRA
                  I'm here to congratulate my friends and
                  their children.  I'm leaving again
                  tonight.

                                  KELLY
                  Don't bother.  I'm taking a trip.

                                  SANDRA
                  Where, the mall?

                                  KELLY
                  A friend of mine bought a boat.

     Sandra shakes her head, walks off.

     Kelly turns away, freezes, as she catches sight of --

     Ray talking with Jimmy.

     EXT. THE BEACH - DAY

     Ray and Jimmy walk along the sand, moving in the direction of the
     big rocks.  Jimmy wears sagger shorts, a surfer T-shirt.  Ray
     wears a suit.  He carries the coat over his shoulder.

                                  JIMMY
                  It's those rocks, up there.

                                  RAY
                  You and Suzie used to come out here
                  together?

                                  JIMMY
                  Yeah, sometimes.  Lots of the kids hang
                  out here.
                         (beat)
                  You really think something bad happened
                  to Suzie?

                                  RAY
                         (ignoring the question)
                  Lombardo ever come out here?

     Jimmy looks at him, surprised, sees that Ray is serious.  Still,
     the idea generates a laugh.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  I say something funny?

                                  JIMMY
                  No.  But I mean... just the idea that
                  Mr. Lombardo would...

                                  RAY
                  Way I hear it, he was pretty tight with
                  the kids, one of the guys...

                                  JIMMY
                  Yeah, but...

     He breaks off as Ray kneels over a big flat rock.  Ray brushes
     away some sand, drapes the sport coat over his arm, taking
     tweezers and latex gloves from the pockets.

     Jimmy moves closer, curious, seeing what Ray sees.

     CLOSE ON GLOVED HANDS

     as tweezers pick up two teeth from a crevice in the stone.

     Ray straightens, holding the teeth in the palm of his hand.

     Jimmy stares at the teeth.

     Ray takes a couple of bills from his pocket, hands them to Jimmy.

                                  RAY
                  I'm going to be staying here, Jimmy.
                  You can catch a bus up there at the lot,
                  okay?

     Jimmy looks a little sick, but he takes the money.  He starts
     toward the lot.

     Ray watches for a moment.  Then calls out to him.

                                  RAY
                  People aren't always what they appear to
                  be, kid.  Remember it.

     Jimmy looks at him, trying to make sense of what Ray is saying,
     clearly disturbed by the implications.  But he asks no more
     questions.  He turns, trudging alone back through the sand.

                                                 DISSOLVE TO:

     EXT. OCEAN COVE - LATER

     THE TEETH go into a plastic bag.

     PULL BACK TO REVEAL

     Black-and-whites, county cars -- police tape across the site.

     Ray, Gloria and Hunter watch as DAVE MERRITT, a forensic expert
     bags the teeth.  He passes the bag to Ray, then bends to the
     rocks where he begins to take a blood sample.

                                  RAY
                  Lonbardo and Kelly killed her here.

     Hunter and Gloria exchange a look.

                                  GLORIA
                  Two kids could've gotten into a fight,
                  lost a couple of teeth.

                                  RAY
                  Those are Suzie Toller's teeth.

                                  GLORIA
                  Where's the body?

                                  RAY
                  The swamp, most likely... Lombardo's a
                  swamp rat, knows the body will never be
                  found there.  But he's made a mistake.

     He holds up the evidence bag containing the teeth.

                                  GLORIA
                  Her grandmother said she'd been
                  threatening to run away.  And I found
                  the car at the Miami bus terminal.

                                  RAY
                  You don't think Sam could've put it
                  there?

                                  HUNTER
                  Dust it for prints.  My guess is, if
                  anybody murdered Suzie it was probably
                  that little sociopath Kelly Van Ryan.

     Ray shakes his head; he turns to Dave, still working.

                                  RAY
                  How soon can we get something?

                                  DAVE
                  We can get blood type right away.
                  Dental records will take longer.  You
                  want DNA, that can take weeks.

     Ray nods, looks out to sea.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  Poor dumb Suzie, she never had a chance.

                                  GLORIA
                  We don't know that, Ray...

     Ray turns to her -- an intense look.

                                  RAY
                  Kelly's next, Gloria.

                                  HUNTER
                         (ice cold)
                  Get off this Ray, now.
                         (beat)
                  If there is any evidence here, it's for
                  Homicide.
                         (turning to Dave)
                  You get an ID, you call me.

     Dave nods.  Hunter stalks off toward his car.  Ray turns to
     Gloria.

                                  RAY
                  Will you do me one favor?

                                  GLORIA
                  Ray, you heard him...

                                  RAY
                  What if I'm right, Gloria?  What if I'm
                  right and Hunter's wrong?
                         (beat)
                  What do you do if you see a bad thing
                  coming?

     Gloria looks toward the highway, trying to decide.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  Stick with me on this Gloria.  I need
                  you...

                                  GLORIA
                  And if the teeth aren't Suzie's?  You'll
                  give this up?

                                  RAY
                  If I'm wrong about those teeth -- it's a
                  promise.

     EXT. GLADES MOTEL - SUNSET

     Sam's Jeep -- a "FOR SALE" sign in the window -- sits in the lot.

     Across the road -- Gloria sits in the white Taurus.

     EXT. VAN RYAN ESTATE, MAIN GATE - SUNSET

     Ray sits in his truck, picks up his cellular, punches in a
     number.

                                  DAVE (V.O.)
                         (speaker)
                  Merritt, Forensics.

                                  RAY
                  The teeth doin' any talkin'?

                                  DAVE (V.0.)
                  Ray.  Stop calling.  I told you the
                  dental records will take time...

                                  RAY
                  What about the blood?

                                  DAVE (V.0.)
                         (a beat)
                  Could be hers.  Types match.  Could be a
                  lot of other people's too...

                                  RAY
                         (cutting him off)
                  Second you get something on those teeth,
                  I want it

     Ray hangs up without waiting for a reply.  He turns to the Van
     Ryan house, an orange light slanting across its facade.

     EXT. GLADES MOTEL - NIGHT

     Gloria waits in her car.  She looks toward the motel.

     Sam's Jeep is parked before one of the bungalows.  There is a
     light on in the room.  We can SEE inside.

     Gloria sighs, picks up a pair of binoculars and trains them on
     the room.

     ANGLE ON ROOM - GLORIA'S POV

     Suitcases and boxes are stacked everywhere.  Sam, bare-chested,
     in khaki slacks, moves about the room.

     CLOSE ON GLORIA

     watching Sam, as...

     IN THE ROOM

     The PHONE has begun to RING.  Sam looks at it until it stops,
     then picks it up and dials a number.  Kelly answers.

                                  KELLY (V.O.)
                  Hello?

                                  SAM
                  Hello.

                                  KELLY (V.O.)
                  God, I've been calling you.

     INTERCUT - KELLY/SAM PHONE CONVERSATION

     Kelly is in the guest house, pacing in front of the gun case.

                                  KELLY
                  I'm really serious.  That cop, he keeps
                  watching me.

                                  SAM
                  Duquette.  Forget him...

                                  KELLY
                  I can't help it.  He gives me the
                  creeps... I mean why was Suzie so scared
                  of him?  She's not that way.  I think he
                  did something...

                                  SAM
                  Yeah, he got her busted for
                  possession...

                                  KELLY
                  I don't know... I think it was something
                  else... Suzie says the bust was
                  bullshit...

                                  SAM
                  And you believe her?

                                  KELLY
                         (a long beat -- a sigh)
                  I don't know.
                         (beat)
                  I want to see you...

                                  SAM
                  Kelly... Relax.  Take one of your mom's
                  valium or something.  In another week
                  you get on the plane.  It's over.  We're
                  rich.

                                  KELLY
                  But what if they find out... God, they'd
                  put you in the gas chamber...

     Sam is about to respond, then looks out the window, sees...

     ACROSS THE STREET, the white Taurus.

                                  SAM
                  So if they're tapping your phone, we're
                  dead.  Stay in the guest house.  Skip
                  the graduation parties.  You'll never
                  see Duquette.  Okay?  I love you.

                                  KELLY
                         (beat)
                  Okay.  I love you too.

     INT. TAURUS - SAME - GLORIA

     sees the light go out in Sam's room, lowers her binoculars, sits
     for a moment, then begins to write something on a pad.

     She's still at it when something KNOCKS at a FENDER.  She looks
     up, startled, to find...

     Sam in the street, still shirtless, his arms and shoulders
     back-lit by the neon light of the Glades Motel.

                                  SAM
                  Isn't that against the law, peeking into
                  windows?

                                  GLORIA
                         (a long beat)
                  Suzie Toller is missing.

     Sam lets out his breath, shakes his head.

                                  SAM
                  How long?

                                  GLORIA
                  She didn't cone home last night.  We
                  found her car at the bus terminal, but
                  nothing to suggest she bought a ticket.

                                  SAM
                  Maybe she used another name.

                                  GLORIA
                  Ray thinks she was murdered.

     Sam shakes his head once more.

                                  SAM
                  I don't know what to say...

                                  GLORIA
                  You could tell me where you were last
                  night.

     Sam stares at her.

                                  SAM
                  Goddannit... I don't have to...

     He stops himself, calms down.

                                  SAM
                  Come here.  I want you to see something.

     Gloria hesitates, looks up at Sam, then puts down the phone and
     opens her door.

     INT. GLADES MOTEL - SAME

     Sam and Gloria walk among the boxes and suitcases.

                                  GLORIA
                  Looks like goodbye.

     Sam nods.  He goes to one of his cardboard filing boxes, pulls
     out a file, hands it to Gloria.  As she takes it, he goes to the
     closet, takes a shirt from a hanger.

                                  SAM
                  Kelly's file.  Read it.  You're going to
                  find an angry, sexually confused girl
                  who's made threats on her mother's life
                  and a female lover she'd never identify.

                                  GLORIA
                  Suzie?

     Sam shrugs.

                                  SAM
                  You're telling me Ray thinks Suzie was
                  killed.  I don't have to ask you who he
                  thinks did it, do I?
                         (beat)
                  All I'm saying is, read that, you'll
                  have a new perspective on things.

     Gloria sits on the bed, the file in her hand.  She watches as Sam
     pulls on the shirt.

                                  GLORIA
                  Why didn't you tell us about this before
                  the trial?

     Sam holds her eyes.

                                  SAM
                  Then -- I still had ethical standards to
                  protect.  They meant a lot to me.  Now,
                  I don't care.  And no amount of money
                  can buy that back.

     Sam is interrupted by the HONKING of a HORN.  He looks outside.

     ANGLE ON LOT - SAM'S POV

     A taxi waits in the glow of the green neon.

     Sam looks down on Gloria, seated on his bed, her skirt short
     enough to REVEAL shapely legs.  For a moment the two hold one
     another's eyes.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  My ride.  If you're not planning on
                  arresting me, that is.

     INT. RAY'S TRUCK - NIGHT - LATER

     The PHONE RINGS.  Ray picks it up.

                                  RAY
                  Ray.  What's happening?

     INTERCUT - RAY/GLORIA PHONE CONVERSATION

     She's still in Sam's room, the file spread across the bed.

                                  GLORIA
                  I'm tired, Ray.  I'm going home.

                                  RAY
                  Where's Lombardo?

                                  GLORIA
                  He's leaving the country.  And I don't
                  give a shit.

                                  RAY
                  The blood type on the rocks matches
                  Suzie's.

                                  GLORIA
                  It's Homicide's job now, Ray, let 'em do
                  it.  I'll tell you something else,
                  there's more to this story than you
                  know, Ray... If Suzie is dead, I think
                  Hunter may be on the right track...

     Ray clicks off his phone.

                                  GLORIA (CONT'D)
                  Ray?
                         (nothing but dial tone)
                  Shit.  Ray.

     EXT. VAN RYAN ESTATE, FRONT GATE - NIGHT

     Ray gets out of his car, presses the intercom.

                                  SANDRA (V.O.)
                         (intercom)
                  Who is it?

                                  RAY
                         (into intercom)
                  Detective Duquette, Ms. Van Ryan.  Let
                  me in.  Now.

     EXT. POOL & JACUZZI - NIGHT

     Ray CROSSES the deck, Sandra at his heels.

                                  RAY
                  Where is she?

                                  SANDRA
                  Where she lives.  In the guest house.
                  Now will you tell me what this is about?

                                  RAY
                  I'm placing your daughter under arrest.

                                  SANDRA
                  You can't...

                                  RAY
                         (turning, cutting her
                          off)
                  Suzie Toller is dead.  You don't want
                  Kelly to be next, then take my advice.
                  Stay out of my way.

     INT. GUEST HOUSE - SAME

     A cap and gown lay strewn on the sofa.

     Kelly wears jeans and a bra.  She looks up to see Ray moving
     across the tile.  Her eyes go wide, then move to the gun case.

     EXT. GUEST HOUSE - SAME

     Sandra stands near the jacuzzi, not exactly sure what to do,
     watching as...

     ANGLE ON GUEST HOUSE - SANDRA'S POV

     Ray knocks at the French door.  It swings open.  He steps inside.

     A long moment, then VOI?ES, the SOUND of things being knocked
     about, BREAKING GLASS.

     Sandra starts toward the house then stops at the SOUND of a
     single GUNSHOT.

     A SECOND GUNSHOT follows, then a THIRD.

     The guest house door opens.  Ray stumbles out, his shoulder
     bloody, a .357 in his hand.

                                                 FADE TO:

     VIDEOTAPE - RAY'S STATEMENT

     We SEE him from the waist up -- a white T-shirt, his shoulder
     bandaged, his arm in a sling.  There are red scratch marks on his
     face.  His eyes look blankly into the camera.

                                  RAY
                  I fucked up.  I lost control of the
                  situation, the one thing they train you
                  for... God, what did I do?

                                  HUNTER (0.S.)
                  Just tell us what happened.

                                  RAY
                  I told Kelly Van Ryan she was under
                  arrest for conspiracy and murder.  I did
                  her rights.

     INTERCUT --

     EXT. CARIBBEAN BEACH RESORT - LONG SHOT - DAY

     Perfect crescent of sand.  A man in white shorts reclines in a
     beach chair, beneath a gaily-colored umbrella, sipping a drink.

     VIDEOTAPE - RAY

                                  RAY
                  Kelly went crazy, started screaming.  I
                  grabbed her, put her on the floor.

     EXT. BEACH RESORT - CLOSER SHOT - DAY

     Sam, in white shorts, looking good, watches a beautiful island
     girl in a thong bikini frolic in the surf.

     She seems to sense Sam watching, turns toward the beach.  Her
     eyes meet Sam's.  She breaks into a beautiful smile.

     VIDEOTAPE - RAY

                                  HUNTER (O.S.)
                  She bit you?

                                  RAY
                  Bit, scratched.  But I had her pinned.
                  She calmed down.  I was going to cuff
                  her... She said she thought she was
                  going to be sick.  She asked to use the
                  bathroom.

     EXT. BEACH RESORT - DAY

     Sam and the island girl sit at an outdoor table.  The girl wears
     a short, terry cloth robe, Sam the white shorts and a flowered
     shirt.  They sip drinks.  Their eyes meet.  Their fingers touch.

     VIDEOTAPE - RAY

                                  RAY
                  I told her I was coming with her.  She
                  nodded, like she understood.  We stood
                  up together.

                                  HUNTER (O.S.)
                  You didn't cuff her?

                                  RAY
                  She looked shaky, but lucid.  I thought,
                  I would just go with her, stand at the
                  door...
                         (shaking his head)
                  I think I looked away.  A split second.
                  Then, bingo.  Just like that.  She puts
                  a knee into my groin.
                         (beat)
                  There was this coffee table between us
                  and the wall.  She got one foot on that
                  thing and launched herself at the gun
                  case.  Thing had a glass door.  I could
                  hear it breaking.
                         (beat)
                  I didn't go down, but she slowed me up,
                  just enough.  Before I could get to her,
                  she'd turned on me with this small
                  caliber handgun.  I yelled at her to put
                  it down.  She got off a shot.  I took it
                  in the shoulder.  I... I had no choice.
                  I returned fire.  Two rounds, I think.
                  In the chest.

     INT. POLICE ROOM - SAME

     A moment of silence, save for the BUZZING of the MACHINE.  A
     number of plainclothes police, Hunter and Gloria among them,
     watch the tape.

                                   RAY
                  I went there to protect her...

     He hangs his head, then looks up, his eyes focusing.

                                   RAY (CONT'D)
                  The teeth, were they...

                                   HUNTER (0.S.)
                  Suzie Toller's.  And that's the only
                  thing saving your sorry ass.

     EXT. BOAT HARBOR (CARIBBEAN ISLAND) - DAY

     Brilliant sun on turquoise water.  A few boats anchored in a
     lagoon.  A quiet place.

     Heading out -- a forty-foot sloop, Sam at the helm.

     INT. HEARING ROOM - DAY

     Gloria, Baxter, a tearful Sandra, sit in seats, watch as --

     Ray stands before a panel, A SUIT, A CHIEF in uniform, Hunter.

     Ray wears a suit, his hair neatly trimmed.  His arm is no longer
     in a sling, but one of his hands is still bandaged.

                                  CHIEF
                  Detective Duquette; our investigation
                  concludes that this was a good shooting.
                  But that's irrelevant.  You were not
                  assigned to this case -- whatever you
                  imagined this case to be.  And now two
                  young women are dead.  You are
                  terminated with forfeiture of pension
                  and benefits.

     Ray looks at the floor.

     Hunter coughs.  His hands rest on a file -- we SEE the video
     cassette inside -- labeled "TOLLER/VAN RYAN -- CONFIDENTIAL."

                                  HUNTER
                  Suzie Toller's teeth and blood were
                  found near the area known as Stoner
                  Rocks.  Suzie's blood was found in the
                  Van Ryan Range Rover.  This, in
                  conjunction with evidence obtained by
                  Detectives Duquette and Perez has led
                  this office to the conclusion that Susan
                  Marie Toller was murdered by Kelly
                  Lanier Van Ryan...

     Sandra chokes back a sob.  She gets to her feet, to be led from
     the room by Tom Baxter.

     Gloria Perez watches, a sad look in her eye, then turns to look
     at Ray.  His back is to her -- the broad shoulders, expensive
     suit.  His hands are clasped behind his back.

                                                 DISSOLVE TO:

     EXT. BLUE BAY CEMETERY - KELLY'S FUNERAL - DAY

     Gloria stands among a considerable number of mourners.  She is
     just back from Sandra and Tom Baxter, who, in turn, are just back
     from the open grave.

     As Gloria watches, Sandra looks off to the side, where something
     catches her eye.  Gloria sees her start, then follows her gaze.

     ANGLE ON CEMETERY - GLORIA'S POV

     On a rise some fifty yards from the Van Ryan plot, two people
     stand near an old oak -- Ruby and Walter.

     When Gloria looks back at Sandra, it seems to her as if the woman
     has slumped against Tom Baxter, who now stares at the two people
     on the rise as if, by doing so with sufficient intensity, he
     might make them disappear.

     Gloria turns to the grave site, her eye lingers on the open
     grave, then moves to the huge marker which dominates the Van Ryan
     family plot and, in fact, the entire scene.

     ANGLE CN MARKER

     The angel Gabriel, trumpet in hand, carved in relief upon a huge
     obelisk of black marble.  Beneath the angel is a carved scroll
     and upon it the words:

     "I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE," and below that:  "WILLIAM
     TECUMSEH VAN RYAN.  MAY HE REST IN PEACE."

                                                 DISSOLVE TO:

     EXT. A BEACH - NIGHT

     Sam Lombardo walks along a moonlit lagoon, headed toward a lone
     bungalow.

     The bungalow is simple, picturesque -- whitewashed walls, a
     thatched roof.  A patio opens onto the beach.

     EXT. PATIO - SAME

     As Sam steps in off the sand, he sees something and stops short.

     Wet spots lead toward the bungalow.

     Sam listens.  Everything is quiet.

     INT. BUNGALOW - SAME

     Sam ENTERS in a room lit only by the blue light of a large
     aquarium.  He listens once more, hears it -- RUNNING WATER.

     He moves down a short hallway, observes the light which spills
     from beneath a bedroom door.  He pushes it open, goes inside.

     INT. BEDROOM - SAME

     He CROSSES the room.

     The bathroom door is ajar, the room leaking steam.

     INT. BATHROOM - SAME

     Sam steps inside, looks at the shower stall -- an indistinct
     shape moves there in the steam.

     San watches, then jerks open the shower door.  The steam
     clears -- REVEALING a tall, athletic body, and now the face --

     Ray Duquette, grinning at Sam out of the swirling steam.

                                  RAY
                  Buy you a drink?

     San takes a step back.

                                  SAM
                  Jesus.  I wasn't expecting you 'til
                  tomorrow.

     Ray turns off the water, steps out of the stall, wrapping himself
     in a towel.  There's a fresh, raised scar across one shoulder and
     Ray winces a little as he tucks the towel about his waist.  He
     looks at himself in the mirror, touching the scar.

                                  RAY
                  Nice girlfriend you had there.

     Sam just looks at him.

                                  SAM
                  Yeah, well, you fixed that.
                         (beat)
                  What the hell happened, anyway?

                                  RAY
                  The bitch shot me, is what happened.

     Sam shakes his head, walks back into the bedroom.  Ray follows.

                                  RAY (CCNT'D)
                  Hey, what did you want me to do, die?

                                  SAM
                  Well, shit, you're the cop, they don't
                  teach you to disarm people, shoot them
                  in the leg or something?  You weren't
                  supposed to kill her for Christ's sake.

     Now Ray just looks at Sam, his eyes narrowing.

                                  RAY
                  Did you become squeamish about these
                  things before or after you bludgeoned
                  little Suzie Toller to death with a wine
                  bottle?
                         (off Sam's silence)
                  Jesus, man.
                  It couldn't have worked out better.
                  They're convinced Kelly whacked Suzie.
                  I can't talk 'em out of it.
                         (beat)
                  We should be celebrating.  This thing
                  worked out just like you said, only
                  better.

                                  SAM
                  Kelly was supposed to be framed, not
                  killed.
                         (beat)
                  What I'm telling you is, I don't like
                  surprises.

     Ray walks to a dresser where a bottle of champagne sits in a
     bucket of ice.  He opens the bottle, fills two glasses.  He hands
     one of the glasses to Sam.

                                  RAY
                  Every cloud has a silver lining,
                  partner.  Here's to no loose ends.

     He raises his glass in a toast.

     Sam looks at it, then raises his glass as well.  Ray smiles.  Sam
     doesn't.

                                  SAM
                  Here's to no more surprises.

     Ray shrugs.  The two men's eyes meet.  They touch glasses and
     drink.

     EXT. SMALL BOAT HARBOR (ISLAND) - DAY

     Sam and Ray work on the deck of Sam's sloop, stowing gear,
     loading supplies.

     The boat's mast shines in the sunlight before a brilliant sky.
     Palms sway.  The men work in silence.

     EXT. SMILIN' JACK'S FISH CAMP - DAY

     Gloria drives up in the white Taurus.  She parks before the
     ramshackle old building and the gator pen.

     Walter is in the pen.  Ruby stands just outside of it.  She looks
     toward the road as Gloria gets out, then back to the pen.

     Gloria comes down the bank to stand beside Ruby.  She's just in
     time to see the huge old reptile raise itself, hissing, on its
     front legs, jaws sprung wide.  The women watch as Walter sticks
     his arm into the gator's mouth.

                                  RUBY
                  Gator can't see what's in front of it
                  for shit.  They see out the sides.
                         (beat)
                  That one don't even know Walter's arm's
                  in his mouth.

                                  GLORIA
                  What if something distracts it and it
                  snaps anyway?

                                  RUBY
                  Then I guess Walter can kiss that arm of
                  his goodbye.
                         (loud enough for Walter
                          to hear)
                  He don't use it for no good deeds
                  anyway.

     Walter looks at the ladies, picks up the stick and sweeps it
     between the gaping jaws, which snap in its wake.

                                  RUBY (CONT'D)
                  You come all the way out here to watch
                  Walter?

                                  GLORIA
                  I was wondering if I could ask you a few
                  questions.

                                  RUBY
                  About Suzie?

                                  GLORIA
                  Actually, I was wondering if I might ask
                  you about Ray Duquette.

                                  RUBY
                         (a long beat)
                  He used to come around here.  He had a
                  thing going with one of the girls over
                  at the Glades.

     Ruby nods toward the motel, a bitter smile on her face.

                                  RUBY (CONT'D)
                  Got sort of hung up on her, from what
                  hear.

                                  GLORIA
                  She still work there?

                                  RUBY
                  No.  Not after that night.
                         (a long beat)
                  I don't know what happened.  Maybe he
                  caught her with some john...
                  All I know is, the next morning the girl
                  was gone and there was a dead boy...
                  Indian kid named Davy.  Used to live
                  down the road there in a wrecked car.
                  Him and Suzie were at the Glades that
                  night.
                         (beat)
                  It was right after that, Ray got Suzie
                  busted and sent her away.  That's what
                  there is to say about Ray Duquette.

                                  GLORIA
                  Was there ever any kind of
                  investigation...

     Ruby cuts her off with a short laugh.

                                  RUBY
                  Duquette always claimed the kid was
                  dusted, came after him with a knife.
                  But it was Jack's Fish Camp... This
                  could be the moon for all most people
                  care.
                         (a long beat)
                  Wasn't supposed to be like that though.
                  This place was supposed to be something
                  once.  There were going to be roads and
                  houses.  There was going to be a town.
                  They were going to call it Salt Creek.

     EXT. OCEAN - DAY

     From the surface of the sea -- the emerald island in the
     distance.  The bow of the sloop comes INTO FRAME.

     On board -- Sam stands in the cockpit, at the helm.  Ray lounges
     on the deck.  The boat sails easily before the wind.

                                  SAM
                  Ray... you see that winch by your head?
                  Take a couple of turns on it for me,
                  she's luffing.

     Ray cranes his neck to look at the winch.

                                  RAY
                  You mean this thing?

                                  SAM
                  Yes, we call it a winch.
                         (pointing at pieces of
                          the rigging)
                  And these are shrouds, and these are
                  stays.

                                  RAY
                  I thought this was supposed to be a
                  vacation.  Why didn't you buy a nice big
                  power boat?

                                  SAM
                  Come on, man.  I'll make a sailor out of
                  you yet.

                                  RAY
                  Yeah, or get me drowned.

     Ray kneels.  He begins to tighten the winch.

     Sam watches him for a moment, then reaches around behind his back
     to unhook the short line which holds the boom.

     The mainsail catches wind, swinging the boom in a wide arc,
     directly at Ray.

     Ray looks up, sees it coming just in time to catch it on his arm.

     The blow is enough to send him sprawling through the lifelines,
     where he just manages to grab one of the nylon cords.

     Sam ducks as the boon continues to swing erratically above the
     deck, watching as Ray hauls himself on board.

     The boat no longer driven by the wind, bobs up and down on a
     small ground swell.

     The two men face each other.

                                  SAM
                  Jesus, man... You okay?

                                  RAY
                  That how you planned it?  You take cut
                  Suzie, get me to hang it on Kelly, then
                  dump me in the ocean...

                                  SAM
                  Come off it, man... It was an accident.

     Ray nods, then reaches down, pulls off the winch handle and
     starts with it toward Sam.

     Sam looks around.  He jerks open a storage compartment.  A
     diver's weight belt tumbles out.  Sam grabs it, swings it over
     his head in circles, letting the weight pick up momentum,
     preparing to throw.

     Ray crouches, still brandishing the winch handle.  The boom
     sweeps the deck.

     Sam throws the belt.

     Ray grabs a shroud, dances out of the way, then steadies himself,
     a mean grin spreading across his face.

     There's no tine for Sam to look for anything else.

     Ray moves quickly across the deck -- a menacing sight -- tall,
     well-muscled, the handle gleaming in his hand.

     Sam pulls himself out of the cockpit.  Ray jumps in.  But that's
     as far as he gets.

     WHOOSH -- A spear pierces Ray's thigh.  He screams, goes down,
     the handle skittering across the deck.

     Ray follows it with his eyes, reaching out, then freezing as he
     sees something else.  He draws in his hand as if bitten.

                                  RAY
                  You... You're...

     He scuttles backward, pulling himself onto the deck, clutching at
     his leg which squirts blood as if an artery has been severed.
     But his eyes never leave the hatchway leading belowdecks.

                                  RAY (CONT'D)
                  You're dead... for godsake...

     The boat heels over.  The spear in Ray's thigh bangs against the
     edge of the cockpit.  He grimaces in pain as...

     Suzie Toller steps up from belowdecks.  She's wearing a bikini
     and showing a nice tan.  She's carrying Sam's new spear gun, a
     fresh spear at the ready.

                                  SUZIE
                  Rumors of my demise have been greatly
                  exaggerated.
                         (to Sam)
                  Nice move.  Good thing I was here to
                  save your incompetent ass.

     Sam secures the boom.  Ray stares at Suzie, his face twisted with
     some combination of pain, rage and fear.

                                  RAY
                  You... I should've killed you myself.
                  should never have left it up to him...

                                  SUZIE
                  Shoulda, coulda, woulda...
                         (to Sam)
                  Get him in the water.

     San starts for Ray.

                                  RAY
                  Sam, for Christ's sake...

     Sam's feet slide in the bloody smear.  He stops.

     Ray clings to a safety line.

                                  SAM
                  I can't.

     WHOOSH -- A second spear penetrates Ray's shoulder.  He loses his
     grip.  The boat heels over, dumping Ray into the water.

     Suzie puts down her spear gun.  She goes to a storage locker,
     takes out a bait bucket.  She steps up on the deck.

     Ray is floating not far from the boat, the water going red around
     him.  He calls out...

                                  RAY
                  Sam, for godsake.

                                  SUZIE
                  Hey, Ray.  Guess whose name is on the
                  numbered bank account besides yours and
                  Sam's?

     She raises the bucket, heaves bloody chum into the water.

                                  SUZIE (CONT'D)
                  I like these joint survivorship
                  accounts.  Something unfortunate happens
                  to one of the signatories, the others
                  don't have to worry.  Are you worrying,
                  Ray?

     She heaves more chum -- a big red slurp across Ray's face.

     Ray gasps, goes under, thrashing around in the red slick.

                                  SUZIE (CONT'D)
                  Men, use 'em abuse 'em lose 'em.

     INSERT - SHARKS

     from underwater, in a frenzy, rip a human body into a bloody
     cloud.

     EXT. SAILBOAT - LATER

     Suzie cones up from below with a champagne bottle and glasses,
     already filled.

                                  SUZIE
                  Feeling better?

     Sam gazes out to sea.

                                  SAM
                  That was about as grim as it gets.

                                  SUZIE
                  The guy was history when he killed
                  Kelly.  You knew that.

                                  SAM
                  But then you knew what he was like all
                  along... Maybe his killing Kelly was a
                  thing you had counted on...

                                  SUZIE
                  But then it is better this way, don't
                  you think?  No loose ends.

     Sam just looks at her.

                                  SUZIE (CONT'D)
                  What?

                                  SAM
                  That was the same thing Ray said.

     Suzie smiles -- showing the big gap where her two front teeth
     used to be.

                                  SUZIE
                  Poor Ray.
                         (a beat)
                  Come on Sam, we did it.  We put the
                  screws to the Van Ryans.  We won.

     She hands a glass to Sam, takes the other.  He puts it to his
     lips, suddenly hesitates, thinks, sniffs the glass.

     A moment.  Suzie shakes her head.

                                  SUZIE (CONT'D)
                  Talk about paranoid.  Now are you gonna
                  teach me to sail this big old boat or
                  not?

     Sam downs his drink.

                                  SAM
                  Okay.  Grab that winch there.

     Suzie gives him a pouty look.

                                  SAM (CONT'D)
                  What's wrong?

                                  SUZIE
                  Fuck the winch.  I wanna drive.

     Sam sighs.

                                  SAM
                  Okay.  Come here and take the helm.
                  I'll get the winch.

     Suzie gives him her best, gap-toothed smile, then comes forward
     to take the gleaming chrome wheel, as Sam scrambles up on deck,
     kneeling where Ray had kneeled before him to set the jib.

     Suzie watches -- a long beat, then, slowly reaches behind her,
     unhooking the line which holds the boom...

     ANGLE ON BOOM

     sweeping the deck -- coming right at us, blotting out the sky.

     EXT. SMILING JACK'S - SUZIE'S ROOM - DAY

     Gloria sits on Suzie's bed, books spread out around her.  Ruby
     stands beside her.

                                  RUBY
                  You asked if Suzie knew about the Salt
                  Creek land deal?  Girl read every book
                  she could find on it, the Van Ryans too.

     Ruby takes a photo album from among the books, opens it, tosses a
     photograph on the bed.  It is one we have seen before.

     ANGLE ON PHOTO

     A stately old gentleman in a three-piece suit.  White hair, a
     white handlebar mustache.  A derby on his knee, a walking stick
     at his side.  He stares out at the world from a high-backed
     wicker chair, flanked by potted palms and two small terriers.

     Across the bottom of the picture is the name -- "WILLIAM TECUMSEH
     VAN RYAN."  And beside that, in another hand -- "Dear old Dad."

                                  RUBY
                  Wasn't enough Van Ryan had to destroy
                  the people who invested here.  He got to
                  be old, he and his rich cronies would
                  come down here, hunt and whore, act like
                  assholes.  One trip he showed up with
                  this young girl he'd picked up
                  somewhere, gotten her pregnant then
                  dumped her in the swamp.
                         (indicating the photo)
                  That came with her.

                                  GLORIA
                  And the child...

                                  RUBY
                  She had it, before she drank herself to
                  death.  Wasn't exactly a love child...

                                  GLORIA
                  Suzie.
                         (beat)
                  Then you're not her grandmother...

                                  RUBY
                  Raised her like she was, but no,
                  Walter's my only child.
                         (beat)
                  He was a good boy, till the army took
                  him.

     Gloria looks once more at the old photograph.

                                  GLORIA
                  So Suzie and Sandra Van Ryan were half-
                  sisters.

                                  RUBY
                  And the other girl, Kelly.  Suzie's
                  niece.

     Gloria stands, a little weary.  Ruby walks her from the room.

                                  GLORIA
                  Thank you for talking to me, Ruby.  I am
                  sorry about Suzie, she...

     They have gotten to the main room and Gloria stops short,
     noticing for the first time that the beat-up old black-and-white
     TV has been replaced by a high-tech, giant-screen television.

                                  RUBY
                  You okay?

                                  GLORIA
                  I'm fine.  Nice TV.

     The old lady nods, walks her outside.

     EXT. SMILIN' JACK'S FISH CAMP - DAY

     The dusty road, the little dock, the gator pen.

                                  RUBY
                  There's an old saying from the
                  Everglades -- virtue may be missed but
                  sin can't hide.
                         (a long beat)
                  Folks pay in the end.

     Gloria nods.  She is distracted by a movement in the gator pen.

     CLOSE ON PEN

     For a moment there is nothing more than a few ripples across the
     surface of the pond which lies inside the pen, then, slowly, the
     GATOR'S EYES -- cold, reptilian, unblinking, rising up to gaze
     across the oily waters.

                                                 HARD CUT TO:

     BLACK.  CREDITS...

     for about ten seconds, enough to fool the audience, then...

     INTERCUT - LIKE OUTTAKES...

     ... PIECES OF SCENES WE COULDN'T SEE, or SCENES WE DIDN'T SEE AT
     ALL, in reverse chronological order.

     INT. GUEST HOUSE - NIGHT

     Kelly is frantically trying to unlock the gun case as Ray comes
     through the French doors.  She can't get it done.  He's there in
     an instant.

     She screams, backs away, then watches as Ray stops, wraps a hanky
     around his hand and breaks the glass.

     He takes out a small caliber handgun, checks the clip, aims the
     gun at his own shoulder and fires.

     BLACK -- MORE CREDITS -- then

     EXT. EVERGLADES - DAY

     A Jeep and a truck parked in the mud.  Sam and Ray meet under
     heavy, moss-draped cypress.  Sam hands Ray a plastic bag -- the
     teeth.

                                  SAM
                  You know the place I'm talking about --
                  the big rocks?

     BLACK -- MORE CREDITS -- then

     EXT. BEACH - NIGHT

     SAM & SUZIE

     behind the big rocks.  He's got vise-grip pliers jammed in her
     mouth.  Suzie moans, for real.  He loosens his grip.

                                  SUZIE
                  You've got the pressure too tight.
                  You'll crush the fucking evidence.

     Sam takes a breath, prepares to try again.  Suzie pops a couple
     of pills with gulps of wine.  Sam goes to it once more.

     BLACK -- MORE CREDITS -- then

     INT. SAM'S HOUSE - DAY

     Kelly and Sam on the floor, naked.  He's on her from the rear.
     It's getting wild.  He suddenly stops, rolls to the floor.

                                  SAM
                  We gotta stop.  I'm gonna come.

     Kelly laughs, straddles him.

                                  KELLY
                  That never seemed to worry you at the
                  Glades.

                                  SAM
                  That's not your line.

                                  KELLY
                  Say you love me.

                                  SAM
                         (a beat)
                  I love you.  Now give me the line.

                                  KELLY
                         (a whiny voice)
                  No little girl can ever make me come.

     BLACK -- MORE CREDITS -- then

     EXT. THE GLADES MOTEL - NIGHT

     Suzie's VW is parked across the street, in the shadows of tall
     trees.  She and Sam sit inside, watching as...

     Ray Duquette EXITS a bungalow, a sport coat over his arm.  He
     heads for Jim's Recovery Room.  In another moment, a young hooker
     in a leather miniskirt walks out of the same bungalow.

                                  SUZIE
                  Seems to like some of the same places
                  you do.  Funny you never met.

                                  SAM
                  Yeah, real funny.  You're wrong about
                  this, I could get busted on the spot.

                                  SUZIE
                  Trust me, the guy's dirty.  He'll like
                  it.  Especially the part about offing
                  me.
                         (beat)
                  Now get out of here.  Go make yourself a
                  new friend.

     INT. JIM'S RECOVERY ROOM - NIGHT

     Ray is at the bar.  Sam sits down next to him.  A moment of
     silence, the twang of a country JUKE BOX -- then...

                                  SAM
                  Buy you a drink?

     BLACK -- MORE CREDITS -- then

     ZNT. SAM'S OFFICE - BLUE BAY SCHOOL

     Suzie Toller framed in the doorway.  She walks in.

                                  SUZIE
                  You like bein' a caddy for rich kids'
                  problems?

     Sam just looks at her.

                                  SUZIE (CONT'D)
                  I've seen you out there in your old air
                  boat, thinking about what might have
                  been, old man Van Ryan hadn't fucked you
                  out of it.
                         (beat)
                  What if I told you I had a way we could
                  get a big piece of it back?

                                  SAM
                  We?

                                  SUZIE
                  Well, I'd need the famous Lombardo
                  charm, not that you'd have to do
                  anything you haven't done already.

     She takes an envelope from her notebook, tosses it in front of
     Sam.  Pictures slide onto his desk -- Sam and Kelly -- in various
     poses of coked-out debauchery at the Glades Motel.

                                  SAM
                         (white-faced)
                  How...

                                  SUZIE
                  Walter.  He's been aimin' that Brownie
                  through knotholes for years.  I saw
                  these, I knew he'd finally struck gold.
                         (beat)
                  I can't decide which came out better,
                  that little straw Kelly's got up her
                  nose, or that vibrator you've got up her
                  ass.  What do you think, Mr. Lombardo?

                                  SAM
                         (a long beat)
                  I think there's some things you do, you
                  don't want to see yourself doing them.

     BLACK -- MORE CREDITS -- then

     INT. JIM'S RECOVERY ROOM - DAY

     Sam lounges in a booth.  He looks hot, bored.  He stirs a drink.
     Kelly walks in out of the light.  She is looking a little strung
     out, a big straw bag slung over one shoulder, but oh, so sexy in
     skimpy cutoffs and cowboy boots -- long legs flashing as she
     nears Sam's booth.  Sam looks up, as...

                                  KELLY
                  I'm running away.

                                  SAM
                         (a beat)
                  You think that's wise?

                                  KELLY
                         (sitting next to him)
                  Um-huh.  And guess what else?
                         (reaching into her bag)
                  I have toys.

     She takes out a snail bag of white powder, taps out a line on the
     table top.

     Sam looks at it.  He looks at Kelly.  He's had a few drinks.

                                  SAM
                         (a long beat)
                  Well, Z guess one taste wouldn't hurt.

     END CREDITS.

     The seal comes up.  It's over.  They head for the lobby -- but --

     EXT. SMILIN' JACK'S FISH CAMP - LATE AFTERNOON

     Gloria stands beneath the jawbones, looking toward the channel as
     the shadows lengthen across the dirt road.

     ANGLE ON CHANNEL

     Walter hangs a "FOR SALE" sign on a small, shabby sloop.

     Gloria CROSSES the road.

                                  GLORIA
                  Selling your boat?

     Walter shoots her a look.

                                  WALTER
                  This was Suzie's boat.  Guess she won't
                  be needin' it.

                                  GLORIA
                  I wouldn't have guessed Suzie was a
                  sailor.

     Walter finishes with the sign.

                                  WALTER
                  Old lady had her tested once.  They said
                  her IQ was way up there, round two
                  hundred or some such shit.
                         (beat)
                  That girl could do just about anything,
                  she put her mind to it.

     Gloria has nothing to say.  She stares at the little sloop
     bobbing in the muddy water of the swamp.

     EXT. THE CARIBBEAN - WIDE ANGLE - SEA LEVEL - DAY

     A head bobs among the groundswells.

     CLOSE - SAM LOMBARDO

     sucking wind through a smashed face, struggling to stay afloat,
     as...

     ... in the distance, the sloop races toward a far horizon.

     ANGLE ON SLOOP - HELICOPTER SHOT

     Suzie, at the helm, looking good, face to the wind.


                                END

                              (really)