- —四川最大高校综合门户网
COPYCAT Third draft by Frank Pierson Participating writers: Ann Biderman Jay Presson Allen INT. LECTURE HALL BERKELEY - DAY The hall is full. On the stage, DR. HELEN HUDSON is speaking. HELEN is a forensic psychologist. Behind her is a projected diagram: PREDISPOSITION, DISSOCIAT
INT. LECTURE HALL BERKELEY - DAY The hall is full. On the stage, DR. HELEN HUDSON is speaking. HELEN is a forensic psychologist. Behind her is a projected diagram: PREDISPOSITION, DISSOCIATION, TRAUMA, FANTASY, VIOLENT FANTASY, FACILITATORS, MURDER, and TRAUMA-REINFORCEMENT which she can point to with a laser pointing device. We see her from a considerable distance... the back of the balcony. Her voice is crisp and assured. HELEN Our society creates these socially and psychically disenfranchised men, and their revenge on society is terrible. They are hard to catch. They are "the nice guy next door," their employers -- if they work at all -- find them quiet and uncomplaining. Early abuse and rejection have taught them passivity. Only in their violent fantasies do they feel alive. What they seek in their frenzied assaults on their victims is relief from passivity. For these men, ten minutes relief is worth far more than the life of another human being. Torture, the pain they inflict, the screams of the victim, are all part of the ritual that gives them a brief respite from their own psychic pain. And then the depression, the forgetting, the feeling of sadness and despair begins the cycle all over again. Like addicts seeking their drug, Albert DeSalvo, Bianchi and Buono, Berkowitz, Dahmer, Bundy -- they seek out their next victim. During the second half of this speech, the eye of the camera has moved slowly forward until it settles just behind the balcony railing. CLOSEUP: HELEN HELEN The cycle is endless until they are caught. And they are caught by chance -- they run a red light, and a body is in the trunk. A leaking pipe brings a plumber to a basement where they is the smell of death. Her eyes have come to rest on the spot of the camera eye in the balcony... Her voice chokes off. She stares. HELEN'S POV: Sitting in the front row of the balcony, a YOUNG RED-HEADED MAN (DARYLL LEE CULLUM) leans forward, resting his tattooed arms on the railing. He smiles intimately at HELEN. HELEN cuts her eyes to the left. She sees: Backstage, an overweight COP in plain clothes. Instantly alert to HELEN'S alarm, he jumps up, comes within an inch of exposing his presence to the audience. A SECOND COP, in the wings on the other side of the stage, also springs to attention. FIRST COP'S eyes follow HELEN'S... Their POV: THE BALCONY - YOUNG RED-HEADED MAN is no longer there. HELEN Can she believe her eyes? Resumes: HELEN At any time, right now, as you listen, the FBI estimates there are 30 to 35 serial killers stalking their victims. The serial killer is a plaque that must be addressed not only by the law, but by science. Florida spent eight million dollars to execute Ted Bundy. It would have been better spent building a forensic penal facility devoted to research. Once again her eyes fix on the balcony to reassure herself that the smiling man is not there... HELEN Confined for life, without parole, and subjected to scientific study, these men's lives might finally, in some small measure, educate and thereby protect society. Thank you. Applause as Helen warily checks for the TWO COPS. They are carefully casing the crowd. CUT TO: LATER: The crowd is breaking up. FIRST COP walks HELEN to the ladies' room. People reach to shake Helen's hand; she copes as well as she can with her fear. THEY LEAVE THE STAGE THROUGH A DOOR OPENING TO A CORRIDOR LEADING BACK TO DRESSING ROOMS AND A LADIES' ROOM... CUT TO: INT. LADIES' ROOM - DAY THE COP, clearly embarrassed, pokes his head in and looks around. Under one stall he sees a woman's HIGH HEELS. He hastily ducks back into HALL and signals an okay to Helen. Before the door behind her closes, we see the COP prepare to stand guard outside. HELEN walks past the stall with the high heels to a stall several doors down. CLOSE UP HIGH HEELS: And a tattoo that the cop missed seeing on one of the ankles. The shoes are kicked off. The feet disappear from view as HELEN, a few stalls away, methodically places toilet paper around the seat before raising her skirt. A faint noise makes her freeze. Her hand reaches for the door. She is just able to unlock it, but no more, before a NOISE COMES DOWN FROM THE NEXT STALL. Like a lariat it falls over HELEN'S head and is violently yanked tight. She kicks at the stall door. CORRIDOR: COP, leaning against outside door smoking, hears the clang of metal as the stall door bangs open. He reacts... INT. LADIES ROOM - CONTINUED The RED-HEADED MAN is struggling to secure the rope around a hook inside his own stall. KNOCKING (o.s.) COP (o.s.) Doctor Hudson? Are you okay in there? The MAN lets slip a little slack. HELEN'S fingers, thrusting between the rope and her neck, get just enough air for HELEN to let out a strangled little scream. CORRIDOR: COP, not certain what to do about the ambiguous sounds from inside. Women stands nearby, inhibiting him for a split second from going in the Ladies' Room door. Now there is more SOUND from inside... INT. LADIES ROOM - CONTINUOUS COP steps into the room, gun down. Over the COP'S shoulder we see HELEN hanging in open booth, her hand fluttering at her throat. She has one slippery shoeless foot on the toilet seat. COP takes a couple of steps forward. Behind COP'S back we see a broom closet door opening. HELEN'S POV: CLOSE UP: The COP, taken from behind. In a second, his throat is slit. In a gush of blood, he falls, his gun still in his hand. RED-HEADED MAN standing over the fallen COP, smiling at HELEN. COP'S BODY IS TWITCHING, JERKING. The violent contractions in his fingers cause the gun to go off... ONE... TWO SHOTS, the sound reverberating against the tile walls. STAGE AREA The audience and SECOND COP react to the gunshots. HELEN, her eyes bulging, struggling against the rope. SLAM CUT: INT. HELEN'S APT - SAN FRANCISCO - NIGHT As HELEN, in bed, bolts up from the nightmare, her hands try desperately to pull the dream rope from her neck. She is now pale, her hair is dirty, there are deep circles under her eyes. This is a woman in the throes of a breakdown. HELEN Andy! Andy! She races through this LOFT APARTMENT (THE WALLS ARE EIGHT FEET UNDER A TWELVE-FOOT CEILING) to study opening off a hall. She looks in, gasping for breathing... INT. STUDY - CONTINUOUS The room is neat -- nobody there. (We will later see that it is used on and off by her computer, Andy.) HELEN whimpers in frustration; she is alone. SHE TALKS TO HERSELF as she turns back and moves past a LIVING ROOM, where she turns on lights and the TV flicks on, (COURT TV.) The sound comes up, loud... She moves on... trying to calm herself with the sound of her own voice... HELEN It is October twelfth, 1994 in the city of San Francisco, California, U.S.A., the strongest, richest, most stable and happiest country in the world. That is the sole place of life in the universe. Under God. CLOSE: XANAX BOTTLE. Two pills are shaken out into a palm, others scattering from the nervous haste... CLOSE: HELEN Watching herself in BATHROOM mirror as she tosses down the pills, gulps water. She regards her haggard reflection with a certain detachment... HELEN Good God. What happened to you? She barks a rueful laugh... we are seeing a woman will herself from near-hysteria to relative calm... CUT TO: HALL As she exits the bathroom. And moves into her OFFICE. She pours herself a brandy and stands before two computers. Of the side-by-side computer screens, one is blank. The other shows a chess setup. Flashing on the bottom of the screen comes a command. CHESSMASTER 'It's almost seven. Make a goddam move.' She studies the chess set-up for a moment, then makes a move. She has not even hit the Keyboard of the other computer before CHESSMASTER sends another message. CHESSMASTER 'Lousy move. Not really into this game, Helen. Let's drop it. I've got a feeling about you. Let's meet. Like a date.' HELEN types the following to CHESSMASTER. HELEN 'I'm a terrible date. I'd mess up your life.' CHESSMASTER 'Another romantic dream gone all to hell.' HELEN 'Maybe it's better to just dream on; avoid the disappointments of life. Come on, move.' She pushes a button on the remote, and we see the window curtains open. BRIGHT SUNLIGHT STREAMS IN! We see that the T-shirt HELEN wears says "Shrinks 'R' Us." She crosses to the window with her glass of cognac, looks out. VIEW: A sweeping view of the bay, and across to Marin County. The morning sun is dispelling the last of the night's fog. HELEN opens window, puts a hand outside, trying to feel the air, the freedom. Feeling quite restored from the dream horror of the night... O.S., THE PHONE RINGS. HELEN. A FRISSON. CLOSE: PHONE Her hand comes into FRAME and picks up the handset and carries CAMERA TO CLOSEUP HELEN. HELEN (carefully) Yes? (listens) You son-of-a-bitch! Son of a bitch... Stiff with fear and rage, she slams down phone. HELEN You filthy... son of a bitch! On the computer screen behind her the Chessmaster makes his move: the computer speaks in its tiny computer voice: COMPUTER (filter) You Queen is in check. Protect your Queen. OVER CREDITS: HOME MOVIE of a young woman dressed in a seat suit. It is morning, and she is jogging on a park path. Her hair is in a long braid. She is sweating, breathing heavily, clearly near the end of a satisfactory run. THE FILM REVERSES, THE FILM STARTS UP AGAIN IN EXTREMELY SLOW MOTION. WE ARE NOW AWARE THERE IS ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW AT WORK HERE. NOW THE FRAME FREEZES AT A POINT WHERE IT MAKES THE JOGGER'S OPEN-MOUTHED DEEP BREATHING LOOK LIKE A SCREAM! END TITLE AND CREDITS: INT. RIFLE RANGE - DAY MUZZLE OF SEMI AUTOMATIC PISTOL BLASTS NINE SHOTS ALMOST DIRECTLY INTO CAMERA. A BEAT OF SILENCE... THE TARGET: it is a silhouette of a man's head and torso; centered in the right side of the upper chest, near the shoulder, is a small red circle. Still SMOKING, THE HOLES FROM THE BULLETS are scattered all over the chest, and none in the circle. M.J. (V.O.) My third grade teacher at the convent shot better than that. THE SHOOTER, RUBEN GOETZ, AND PARTNER M.J. RUBEN Yeah, but she had divine guidance. We now take in the shooter, RUBEN, and his companion M.J. HALLORAN. M.J. is a small, deceptively vulnerable looking young woman. She is neat, buttoned down, crisp. M.J. appears to be about twenty-five. She is, in fact, thirty-four and a homicide inspector with the rank of sergeant. She is usually dressed in slacks and a loose sweater or an oversize jacket that helps make her appear even smaller and younger than she is. RUBEN GOETZ is also in homicide, about twenty-six and junior in authority to M.J. RUBEN is good-looking, good-humored and laid back. He has a cellular phone attached to his belt. M.J. PULLS THE LINE THAT DOLLIES THE TARGET BACK TO THEM, AND RUBEN REPLACES IT WITH ANOTHER AS THEY TALK. M.J. I'd feel a whole lot safer with Sister Loretta for my backup. Look at this guy: you shredded him! RUBEN Well, he's dead, he can't hurt me now. The target is rigged; they pull the line that dollies it back to shooting position. M.J. It's sloppy shooting. It's in character, Ruben, but unnecessary. And bad for your career. RUBEN LETS OFF THREE QUICK SHOTS: they cluster nearer the circle. M.J. looks at him in surprise. RUBEN I've been practicing. Now can I kiss your tummy? M.J. hides her smile as she prepares her weapon for her turn. M.J. Perp's holding a hostage, the shoulder on his gun hand is gonna be exposed. SOUND: A CELLULAR PHONE (ON RUBENS' BELT). M.J. holds her fire. M.J. Answer it. RUBEN I'm sure she thinks it is. Aren't you at least interested in which one it is? She's lost her concentration lowered the gun; now as he answers, she raises her gun and aims... RUBEN (into phone) I'm here, where are you?... Heeeeyyy! What a surprise! No. On duty, have to call you back... You, too, you too. My God, you made my day. He hits the "end" button... M.J. You hit the brachial nerve... SHE FIRES! The shots make a perfect heart around the circle, inside his looser pattern. ONE FINAL SHOT STRIKES EXACTLY IN THE MIDDLE! M.J. You're good enough you'll never have to kill anyone. I joined the cops to save lives, not waste them. RUBEN You know, M.J., when I watch you shoot, I realize I've got a little problem with my stance... could you just move over here and critique my legs? He slaps his thigh where he indicates the trouble might be. She is unloading her weapon... M.J. The problem is between your legs. You told your shrink about that? She is unloading and cleaning up. Ruben doing the same... RUBEN I tell my shrink about you, Sergeant. I tell him you're the top cop of my dreams. Ruben has been gathering up his box of doughnuts, from which he has nibbled during the preceding... he drops them, picks one up off the floor and sticks it in his mouth... M.J. (putting away her gear) Don't take that mess in the car. They're on the move; as they go away from us... RUBEN He's in love with you already... CUT TO: EXT. CRIME SCENE - DAY They pull up in front of an apartment building in the Pacific Heights section. Patrol cars flank the street, the thick yellow ticker tape "POLICE CRIME SCENE DO NOT CROSS" is already up. M.J. double parks beside a blue-and-white. A couple of cars from the media are already there. SUSAN SCHIFFER a bulldog of a woman, and her camera crew, waylay M.J. and Ruben as they cross the sidewalk... M.J. Oh, Christ, the Mouth is already here. She is, with a cameraman with a haircut and smile that speak of a life of orthodontics and dreams of TV anchorship. RUBEN Hey. And there's the Haircut right behind. If she stops short he's gonna be there feet up her ass... SUSAN (on camera) Inspector, can you... M.J. I just got here myself, Susan. SUSAN ...confirm this third murder adds up to a pattern? Do we have a serial killer on the loose in the city? M.J. I just got here. Talk to you later... M.J. (as they escape behind the barrier tape) What the hell does she want to do, scare everybody to death? RUBEN That's her job... Jesus, Quinn is here already. QUINN, a splenetic Irishman, a politician, Chief of Homicide stands at the top of the steps leading to the front door. As they climb up toward him... QUINN I been waiting... I have to do everything myself. Photo, crime tech, the Coroner are already inside. The Landlady calls it in; tenant is not answering when called, she sticks her head in, sees the body, uses the deceased's telephone to call 911. Otherwise nothing disturbed. It's all yours, kid. I'll take care of the Mouth and the Haircut. M.J. and Ruben enter... INT. APARTMENT HOUSE - HALL - DAY Four uniformed cops stand in the hall securing the premises; at the back one cop stands by a stunned and tearful woman chain-smoking (the Landlady). M.J. (to cop) That the Landlady? (to Ruben) You wanna talk to her, Ruben? (back to cops) Who was first on the scene? Mike answers her question by answering to Ruben! MIKE I was. M.J. (forcefully) I'm over here? What's your name, Officer? MIKE Michael Johnson. M.J. You touch anything, Mike? Pick up anything? Use the doorknob? I don't want to find your prints on anything later and you tell me you forgot to tell me. MIKE No. I didn't. She glances at him, at the SLIGHTLY OLD INFLECTION ON THE "I DIDN'T." But moves on, as Ruben goes to the Landlady... INT. BATHROOM - DAY The same YOUNG WOMAN we saw jogging, is now dead. Hair still in a long braid. She wears only a blouse, open and pushed back. She is on her back in the bathtub, with one leg dangling over the side of the tub. The effect is slightly posed, but casual, relaxed. Bending over her is DOC, the Coroner, WITHDRAWING A HUGE MEAT THERMOMETER FROM HER SIDE. M.J. APPEARS IN THE BACK OF THE SHOT taking in the scene. Foreground, Doc reads the thermometer. The photographer is finishing up his shots. The room is crowded. Two Coroner's men wait in the doorway, a stretcher standing on end between them; M.J. has to pass between them to come down to the body. THROUGHOUT WE FOCUS ON M.J.'S FACE; HER REACTION TO THE SCENE, RATHER THAN DWELLING ON THE SCENE ITSELF. ON M.J.: DOC (V.O.) Liver and rigor are telling me about eight hours. I'm gonna take her out now if it's alright. M.J. I'm seeing ligature marks on her neck here, petechial hemorrhages in her eyes. Strangled. DOC You got it. Same as the other two. THE TELEPHONE RINGS. COP (V.O.) Tell whoever she can't come to the phone, she's all tied up. Nobody laughs... M.J. That's real old material, get a new writer... She picks up the phone after the second ring, holding it in tissue someone hands her... M.J. Hello? PHONE VOICE (extremely cheerful) Hello! This is Geena Martinez, how are you this morning? M.J. What is this about, Ms Martinez? PHONE VOICE I'm conducting a telephone survey to determine whether you're satisfied with your insurance on your personal valuables... M.J. gently hangs up the phone. She has been looking at the Dead Woman... They pick up where they left off. DOC He used something soft, like a stocking or a bathrobe tie. M.J. Anybody find it? No answer as the Coroner's men crowd in beside M.J. to begin lifting the body out of the tub. M.J. takes one last look into the dead woman's eyes... M.J. Cover her up, please. INT. HALLWAY - DAY Ruben still talking to the Landlady and taking notes. M.J. approaches Mike... takes him aside... M.J. Mike. Why don't you tell me what's bothering you? Mike is acutely uncomfortable. M.J. Whatever it is, I'm gonna find out and sooner is a hell of lot better than later. MIKE Well, there's something missing in there. There was something around her neck when I came in there, but it's gone now. M.J. Who came in after you? MIKE Lieutenant Quinn. She seems relieved. Brightly: M.J. Well, it's all right, then, Mike. Thanks. EXT. CRIME SCENE - DAY In the door, M.J. appears, looking out thoughtfully over the scene; Ruben appears behind her. The photographer is coming out... M.J. (to Photographer) Get me good faces on the crowd here. Get a couple of harness bulls to grab anybody who starts to run... PHOTOGRAPHER Don't tell your Grandmother how to suck eggs. I only been doing this work since your junior prom, darling... But M.J. is already on to other things. CUT TO: INT. HELEN'S OUTSIDE HALLWAY - DAY CLOSE ON A FOLDED NEWSPAPER THAT LIES ON THE FLOOR FIVE OR FIX FEET FROM THE DOOR TO HELEN'S APARTMENT. HOLD DOOR IN B.G. The door opens and Helen looks out, wasted from cognac and Xanax. She looks for the newspaper and sees it with a look of despair. HELEN'S POV The newspaper lies there, out of reach. HELEN As she stretches out her foot toward the paper, can't reach it. POV. As she moves out into the hall her agoraphobia manifests itself: DISTORTED VISION THAT MAKES THE HALL STRETCH AND THE WALLS TAKE ON EXAGGERATED PERSPECTIVE; SICKENING -- VERTIGO! The newspaper seems further away. HELEN She drops to her knees and tries to lean out further into the hall... POV. The floor seems to melt and roll in waves toward her. The newspaper melts like a Dali watch. HELEN sweats. She lies flat on her stomach and crawls toward the newspaper... and with a supreme effort grabs it and squirms back inside. INT. APARTMENT - DAY As she slams the door shut on the hall, and sits gasping for breath. After a moment she can bring herself to look at the newspaper... INSERT: POLICE BAFFLED IN DEATHS OF THE WOMEN HELEN (V.O.) Damn fools! CUT TO: INT. QUINN'S OFFICE - DAY QUINN is watching a portable TV screen with profound distrust. Onscreen is SUSAN SCHIFFER. SUSAN ... continues to stonewall the public. Now... There is a knock, but before QUINN can respond, M.J. enters. M.J. You messed with the scene. QUINN Shut up. He and M.J. both listen to SUSAN. SUSAN ... third Bay Area woman has been strangled, but the police continue to deny that this is the work of one killer. Lt. Thomas Quinn declares that the murders will be treated as unrelated crimes, unless new evidence... M.J. TURNS OFF THE TV, FACES QUINN... M.J. You messed with the evidence. QUINN I tagged the goddamned stocking. It ain't lost. We're sequestering that evidence. That's the trap some son of a bitch is going to fall into... M.J. Am I in charge of this thing? Or not. QUINN I said you were... NH Then I decided what evidence we choose to sequester. QUINN (a beat here) Okay. What do you want to sequester? M.J. The stocking around the neck. A long moment of looking at each other. Then... QUINN You didn't say serial killer and I didn't say serial killer. M.J. Right. QUINN (not satisfied she really means it) This is the anniversary of the summer of love and your city fathers have declared a Festival of Love. The Mayor and Chamber of Commerce don't want TV announcing killers on the loose. M.J. Right. And she starts to go... QUINN We're gonna have a bunch of clapped out old hippies blissing on the Grateful Dead! Sleeping in the park, smoking dope and sticking tulips up their ass. M.J. (exiting) Good. CUT TO: INT. SQUAD ROOM - DAY This large room is very busy, many officers at work. Known sexual offenders have been rounded up. False confessors add to the crowd. Detectives who are not dealing with these people are making and taking calls. At this desk, a tall intense looking Detective, NICCOLETTI, interrogates a false confessor, a man who looks like a businessman... NIKKO Harvey, I don't want you in here no more, making false statements... CONFESSOR They are not false. We pay for city government like this, you don't even care about the truth?! I killed her in the bathtub. NIKKO Why? CONFESSOR Because she was dirty, a dirty girl! NIKKO How? How did you do it, Harvey? HARVEY With a knife? NIKKO Good guess, but not good enough. Get the fuck outta here... He has stood as M.J. passes coming from Quinn's office. He falls into stride with her through the crowded scene... He is sweaty and sniffs his armpits as a matter of general hygiene checkup... NIKKO What am I wasting my time with this shit for? M.J. Because it's your job, that's all. NIKKO Not what I meant; why me? M.J. (cutting) Maybe it's something you did in this life, Nikko... It has the flavor of a spoiled intimacy, an unfinished argument... He pantomimes she got him with a poison dart. NIKKO Got me. That really hurt! You... Ruben joins them; Nikko stifles and turns away... M.J. (to Ruben) Get Mercer to run the medical, dental, legal bills, laundry and dry cleaning receipts, extermin- ators, mailmen, grocery and drugstore deliveries, handymen, plumbers... RUBEN It's mostly done, they got nobody in common, the three of them... No mutual friends -- the Landlady says nobody was ever there, she never saw her with anybody. They are approaching PACHULSKI'S desk. PACHULSKI is on phone. Pachulski is looking at M.J., grinning... PACHULSKI (into phone) Yes, ma'am, I know. You can't talk her right now... because she's busy, she's all tied up. (sotto to M.J.) Deep Throat's back. He hits the speaker phone... FEMALE PHONE VOICE This is the third one. You've got a serial killer here. When are you going to start warning people? PACHULSKI (whispering) Fourteen calls from this broad. And she ain't stupid. M.J. signals for GIGI to trace the call. Takes the phone, switches off the speaker... M.J. Who is this? INT. HELEN'S OFFICE - DAY HELEN on phone HELEN Who is this? M.J. Inspector Halloran, Homicide. I'm in charge here. PACHULSKI (amused) Ask her about the moon bike. M.J. I'm really interested in your ideas. The moon bike. What is that? HELEN What is wrong with you people? The first two, I thought he might be on a lunar cycle because they were 28 days apart, but obviously not. This new one is only two weeks. Pachulski is delighted at the joke he's played on M.J., M.J. not so much... Gigi signals they're getting it. HELEN (cont'd) You want to joke about moonbikes?! M.J. No, ma'am. This is no joke. And neither is tying up telephone lines to police with crank calls while people in trouble are trying to get through for help. HELEN You're calling me a crank? M.J. Do you have any evidence to report, ma'am? Do you know any of the victims... HELEN I think this is number three... M.J. (over her) That's an opinion, not evidence... Gigi hands her a slip of paper... M.J. reads it... glares at Pachulski who is still laughing. M.J. knows the name on the slip of paper... M.J. (covers the phone) Helen Hudson. Get Ruben back here? As she turns back to the phone... CUT TO: INT. HELEN'S LIVING ROOM - DAY HELEN, now wearing slippers and shorts with the same T-shirts she slept in, is standing behind the living room curtains looking down at the street. She hears a code knock, then a key turns in the lock. She moves to greet ANDY her assistant and friend. ANDY is laden down with groceries and mail. HELEN immediately reaches a hand up to touch his face... HELEN Where were you? Don't tell me. It's just under seventy, right? The sun is strong but the air is dry and fresh... ANDY Would you please get your hands off my face, Tallulah? What happened to the newspaper? He withdraws a popsicle from the bag, offers it to her. When she rejects it, he takes it for himself. HELEN I got it myself... I couldn't wait. ANDY Well! Aren't we the daring one? What's morbid and ghastly enough in the news to make Doctor Helen set foot outside her door? The antenna is gone off her car again. I had no music, all the way to the market. Let me find a garage for it? They're in the kitchen area; Andy unpacking stuff... expensive goodies... HELEN I've told you: I can't afford to garage it. ANDY Are you kidding? You buy enough gourmet junk every week... most of which rots... to garage a fleet of stretch limos. HELEN I had the dream again. (beat) And I got another call. This time he spoke. He said "You and me, you and me." ANDY A little heavy breathing is what most of us yearn for. Forget it. HELEN He whispered, but it was him! I know it was him! Andy now stops to address this seriously... ANDY He can't phone you unless the warden gets an okay from you. Did you give him an approval? HELEN Andy? When a three-year-old says there's a monster under the bed, you don't say 'forget it'. You look under the bad. (beat) I'm three years old. Call the prison. Her fear is so palpable, she is so nakedly vulnerable it breaks his heart. He puts his arms around her. HELEN Oh God. I'm really crazy. ANDY When was the last time you washed your hair? HELEN (shaky, but trying) Monsieur Andy, disapproves of my coiffure? ANDY Monsieur Andy can smell your coiffure. And guess what else? He pats her thighs... she walks to the window as he talks... ANDY Cellulite. What do you say I blindfold you and take you to the gym. Aerobics with housewives... HELEN AT WINDOW HELEN Andy? Andy has heard this tone before: panic attack alert. ANDY Here we go again. ANGLE AT WINDOW TO INCLUDE THEIR POV OF STREET In a parked car a man is reading a newspaper that hides his face. Behind him is parked a slightly beat up red Saab. HELEN You parked right behind him. The one I noticed earlier. I didn't say anything, I thought he'd leave. Just take a look. ANDY Oh my God! Help! HE'S READING A NEWSPAPER! HELEN But earlier, he was staring up here. Please, Andy. ANDY Okay. You win. 'Dirty Harry' coming up. ANDY leaves the apartment. EXT. FRONT DOOR OF HELEN'S BUILDING - DAY The heavy old industrial door is pushed slightly open, ANDY peers out, sees: ANDY crosses behind the car and then sneaks back, coming up to Driver's side window, surprising the Driver. THE NEWSPAPER DROPS: IT'S RUBEN. ANDY Excuse me, but would you mind explaining why you're watching the lady upstairs? RUBEN None of your fucking business. Usurping RUBEN'S aggressive attitude, ANDY leans his face close to RUBEN'S window. ANDY Listen, asshole, I've got a gun... RUBEN grabs ANDY by the collar and yanks his head inside the car. With the other hand he pulls his gun and pushes it up ANDY'S nose. RUBEN I hate this... ANDY Only kidding! RUBEN pushes the 'up' button on the window, capturing ANDY'S head in a deadlock. Then he opens the door, gets out, slams door, forcing the squawking ANDY into a helpless frisk position. We HEAR HELEN scream, (O.S.). Ignoring this, RUBEN begins to frisk ANDY. M.J. APPROACHING IN HER OWN CAR, SEES THE ACTION, BRAKES FAST AND GETS OUT. HELEN at window, shouting. HELEN I'm calling the police! CUT TO: INT. HELEN'S LIVING ROOM - DAY Andy enters, followed by Ruben and M.J., who holds up her badge to Helen. M.J. Investigators Halloran and Goetz. I apologize for Goetz, he's a firehouse dog. ANDY (trying to defuse) I'm okay. I really kind of enjoyed it. Uncomfortable silence for a beat as they try to take in what's happening, who's who and what's what. Helen is confused, fighting back fear... M.J. (trying to communicate here) Ring the gong, he goes. Poor impulse control. HELEN Is he out? M.J. Who? HELEN (to Andy) If he's not out, why are they here? M.J. Because of your phone calls. HELEN What calls? I haven't made any calls. ANDY (to distract) Are you staying long? Shall I shut the door? Make your coffee? Make the beds? M.J. (to Helen) You talked to me. Do you remember? The two women measure each other, Helen struggling to control herself. A beat. HELEN You were the one that talked about moonbikes and called me a crank? Oh God, I am! (to Andy) Make them some coffee. (to M.J.) Halloran, is it? Investigator Goetz? I had a crank call myself-- he said... (a moment of real fear) I thought it might be Daryll Lee Cullum. I thought he might be out of prison. RUBEN Daryll Lee Cullum? I don't think so. If he's escaped we'd have the National Guard, cops'd be crawling through sewers. You'd have a guard on your front door. M.J. (looking around) I want to tell you it's a great honor to meet you and talk to you. HELEN You don't admire me. No police admire me. I got one of you killed. Why don't you say right out what you're here for? M.J. You called us, Doctor Hudson. HELEN Yes, I did. Poor impulse control. The accounts of the firs two murders made it so clear they were the work of the same man, but you kept announcing they were unrelated. You'll never catch him that way. M.J. regards her for a moment... M.J. (to Andy) Sugar and cream for Goetz; I take mine black. (beat) You're absolutely correct. The politicians don't want panic headlines spoiling the Festival of Love. HELEN Well, let's thank God you and Inspector Goetz are on the case, then. M.J. Would you want to work with us on this? HELEN Oh, my God, no! I'm a clinical hysteric, with panic syndrome, and anxiety neurosis, agoraphobic, I'm afraid of everything, real and imaginary. I never leave this apartment now. Nobody ever comes here. I just wanted to get your attention. I write and I used to lecture on these crimes, but... I'm not competent. M.J. I think you are. I really admire everything you've done; it would be an honor to work with you, and we need all the help we can get, especially yours. HELEN Inspector Halloran, that is so much bullshit, you don't like or admire me, but the beautiful part is I don't give a fuck. That's the upside of having a breakdown. M.J. Well, it's a hell of an apartment you got here. I'm living one step away from the projects, myself, but I get to go to work every day, wading in blood and guts. I guess the books you wrote about these sons of bitches paid off pretty good. HELEN Will you go. Andy, make them go. M.J. You can't go out lecturing? Tough shit. Women are dying. Where can I lay this stuff out? She dumps files of photos, etc., out on Helen's cocktail table. HELEN I don't want this. What are they? RUBEN You called us, Doctor, if you don't want to look at them here, how about downtown. I'll drive you down... She pushes the pictures off onto the floor, tries to get up to leave the room. M.J. and Ruben are both appalled at the force of what is happening: an all-out panic attack... Andy races t o the kitchen; Ruben tries to help but Helen fights him off viciously, gasping for air... Andy races back in with a PLASTIC BAG HE PULLS OVER HELEN'S HEAD AND FACE... She hyperventilates into the bag... THE PLASTIC BAG BALLOONS OUT AND BACK IN HELEN'S FACE until she faints. Andy deals with it like an everyday event, treating her very gently... ANDY (to Ruben) Now look what you did. RUBEN What did I do? ANDY You threatened to drive her downtown. She has agoraphobia. RUBEN Fear of what... ANDY Open space. She hasn't been out of this apartment in three years. I didn't used to think it was real... He's making her comfortable. M.J. We'll get the paramedics... ANDY Oh, God, uniforms, more stress. Let her sleep. It's a self-limiting: she hyperventilates till she passes out, then her breathing goes back to normal, and she wakes up singing like a lark. (rocking the unconscious Helen) We know, don't we, Princess? (to them) Give her a couple of hours. I know about this. M.J. starts to gather up the pictures and files. She is angry and disgusted. M.J. Tell her we're sorry we bothered her. ANDY Hey, no. Leave those here. If you really want her help. I mean if you really do, leave them. Let her see them. I'll see they're safe... M.J. takes in the scene; the now soundly sleeping Helen; Andy sitting over her protectively, the files and photos strewn around. Makes a decision... M.J. Tell her to ask for me... She's handing Andy her card... CUT TO: EXT. HELEN'S APARTMENT HOUSE - DAY M.J. AND RUBEN come out in the street... CAMERA IN A HIGH ANGLE LOOKING DOWN ON THEM... M.J. Snotty neurotic bitch... RUBEN (amused) Classy madonna. M.J. Sure. She likes you, Rube. She likes the way you move. She sure as hell isn't in love with me. RUBEN You came in there with this attitude... M.J. (over him) Order Chinese for us and meet me the library? Anything but beef. She jumps in her car, still steaming, leaving Ruben to move to his car. AS HE MOVES CAMERA FOLLOWS, BECOMING A WIDER ANGLE TO INCLUDE FACADE OF HELEN'S APARTMENT. We can SEE ANDY, SITTING WHERE WE LEFT HIM, HOLDING HELEN IN HIS ARMS. SHE SLEEPS PEACEFULLY. DISTANTLY WE HEAR THE PHONE RING. ANDY SHOWS IMPATIENCE, THEN CAREFULLY DISENGAGES FROM HELEN SO AS NOT TO DISTURB HER SLEEP. HE MOVES ACROSS THE ROOM UNTIL HE IS OUT OF FRAME. THE SHOT HOLDS ON HELEN FOR A BEAT. PHONE RINGS. THEN THE CAMERA PANS LEFT (OUR FIRST CLUE THIS IS ANOTHER POINT OF VIEW) ACROSS TO A SECOND WINDOW WHERE IT CATCHES ANDY MOVING UNTIL WE AGAIN DISAPPEARS BEHIND THE BUILDING WALL AND THE CAMERA PANS SMOOTHLY TO THE THIRD WINDOW, WHERE ANDY ENTERS. WE SEE HIM PICK UP THE PHONE AND SPEAK INTO IT. HE SEEMS IMPATIENT. THEN CAMERA PANS DOWN TO A CELLULAR PHONE, F.G. AND FOCUS RACKS TO E.C.U. AS A FINGER PUSHES THE "END" BUTTON. CLOSE: ANDY Putting down the phone. Irritated... ANDY Shit... CUT TO: INT. POLICE LIBRARY - DAY CLOSE: AN ATTORNEY IN COURT ATTORNEY ... it was your feeling after careful evaluation that he was a sexual sadist who satisfied at least four out of ten criteria in the DMS III? SHOW M.J. and Ruben watching videotapes, and eating Chinese takeout. HELEN is being interrogated by the ATTORNEY for Daryll Lee Cullum. Helen sure of herself to the point of arrogance, which is her undoing... HELEN Yes. Without question. ATTORNEY Without question? He only scored 40 percent, four out of ten criteria? Couldn't another expert say he flunked the sexual sadist test? What curve are you marking on, Doctor? HELEN The test criteria are only part of what we look at in evaluating subjects. ATTORNEY Only part. What else? What did you think of his claim that he tied this girl to the tree and set fire to her because Joan of Arc told him to do it. HELEN He was lying. ATTORNEY 'Lying. He was lying.' I asked you what you thought, not what he did. HELEN I thought he was lying. ATTORNEY You said, first, he was lying. How do you know that, Doctor? HELEN Because people who are suffering from aural hallucinations hear voices in both ears. Daryll Lee told me that Joan of Arc always appeared beside him on his left side and spoke softly in his left ear. Murmur of subdued laughter in court. HELEN (emboldened) He took pains to hide his actions because he knew they were morally wrong. He was not acting on mad impulse. He was sane and acting out a pattern he carefully followed every time. ATTORNEY (playing causal) What pattern was that? HELEN The same as the first time... She catches herself. The D.A. has leapt to his feet, but now tries to sit down as though nothing was happening, but Helen, the Attorney and the D.A. all are clearly disturbed by the line this questioning is taking. ATTORNEY The first what? (as she hesitates) Your Honor, she's got this far, I think she should finish. I don't think this jury should be left wondering where the rest of her statement would lead. JUDGE I agree, Doctor. HELEN The first two murders. ATTORNEY What first two murders. We don't know about them here, do we? HELEN (giving up) He told me he had done two others just like it. ATTORNEY When was that? HELEN When he was seventeen. ATTORNEY And you believed him when he told you he had done that. HELEN Yes. I believed him. The D.A. is rushing to the bench to argue with the Judge. JUDGE (V.O.) Yes, I'll accept a call for a mistrial. Evidence of that other crime when the defendant was a juvenile is inadmissible and never should have been heard by this jury... FREEZE FRAMES. NOW WE SEE M.J. AND RUBEN LOOKING AT HELEN on the TV screen, THINKING... THE DOOR OPENS AND QUINN ENTERS. QUINN There was no sperm. M.J. The same as the firs two. Definitely a serial. QUINN (seeing HELEN on video) What are you looking at that for? Helen Hudson. Work the clues. M.J. What clues? I'm going to work Helen Hudson. QUINN Would you step outside, Sergeant? M.J. leaves a cautiously silent RUBEN. Once the door shuts, he turns tape back to 'play.' EXT. OUTSIDE DOOR TO LIBRARY - DAY QUINN I'm telling you. Don't you ever address me publicly in that tone. You'll work what and who I tell you to work. M.J. Anybody in this department ever worked a serial killer case? She's the expert. I need help. QUINN How about I put Nikko on it? M.J. That's always your privilege, sir. QUINN snorts, starts on his way, then turns back. QUINN Sergeant? M.J. Yessir. QUINN You ever reflect how this big explosion in dead women coincides with the flowering of women's lib? M.J. Yessir. I have reflected on that, sir. Which explains my gushing deference to you, sir. QUINN is somehow cheered by this little exchange. QUINN Nikko's looking better by the minute, Inspector. He stomps off. CUT TO: INT. HELEN'S LIVING ROOM - DAY HELEN on couch, ANDY is massaging her neck. HELEN Oh, God. I must have looked horrible. ANDY No, dear. You're at your best with a bag in front of your face. HELEN I want to die. ANDY I wouldn't. He'll be back. If you want him. The cute brutal type with handcuffs. Very sexy. HELEN grins, and ANDY starts to tickle her, she laughs. ANDY You thought he was cute too, didn't you? Admit... admit... HELEN now laughing a little too hard. Suddenly the laughter changes to tears. ANDY What? What'd I do? HELEN Reminded me that I used to be attractive. That men used to want me... ANDY You slut! No sexy young cop for you unless you shampoo your hair. She clings desperately to him. He rocks her as he would a small child. ANDY When are you going to call them? HELEN (big beat) About what? ANDY PRODUCES THE FILE M.J. LEFT WITH HIM. Helen looks at it. Andy watches her... HELEN I can't, Andy. ANDY Then, why don't you just die. I'm going. They'll find your body years later, the old recluse lady, she ate cat food, ten years of the New York Times, unread, piled on top of the unread mail, the TV still on. Make up your mind. Live or die. (beat) I'll get coffee. He exits. After a moment fighting her fears, Helen reaches for the file. She opens it and looks at the first picture. THE PHONE RINGS. She freezes... Panic hangs in the air... Andy answers the phone in the kitchen... ANDY (O.S.) Yes? Inspector Halloran, she's going through the material now. (beat) She'll call you... No, she'll be alright, I'll sleep over on the couch in case. But now, I told you, singing like a lark. Hangs up. After a moment Helen bends to her work... CUT TO: INT. POLICE LIBRARY - NIGHT M.J. scanning microfilm newspaper & magazine clips. 'COOL KILLER CULLUM' CONS COPS IN ESCAPE FROM CUSTODY Slew police bodyguard in attack on expert witness M.J. hears NIKKO entering, looks up, gives him a half-smile, returns her attention to the microfilm. NIKKO Working late. (no response) You're a damn fool. M.J. (preoccupied) Oh, I know. "ANOTHER ATTACK!" "HUDSON VICTIM OF BLOODY ATTACK. BODYGUARD SLAIN!" NIKKO You're almost ten years older than he is. M.J. turns off the microfilm. The last headline is retained on screen: "ESCAPE KILLER CLAIMS NEW VICTIM" NIKKO It's none of my business anymore... M.J. You got that right, Nikko, it's none of your business. NIKKO You're shitting ion your career. You outrank hi... M.J. looks at him at last with wry amusement: he's jealous of Ruben? M.J. Well, you outranked me, Nikko. NIKKO Yeah. And you used that. Used me M.J. Don't put yourself down like that. I never used you. I worked my way up like a marine grunt! NIKKO Yeah, you did that too. You earned what you got; don't shit on it, that's all I'm saying. M.J. (maddeningly) God, you're cute when you're mad. The door opens and RUBEN enters, instantly takes in the scene: M.J. sitting in front of a stalled machine, NIKKO, looming over her. After an awkward beat, NIKKO heads for the door. Ignoring RUBEN, he barks at M.J. NIKKO Think about it. RUBEN regards M.J., who busies herself examining the other tapes. RUBEN What's wrong with him? M.J. He's just mad he let me keep the espresso machine. We heard from Doctor Hudson? RUBEN Nada. Lemme make the call. M.J. Honest to God, Ruben! RUBEN I like women like that! M.J. Tell it to your shrink. CUT TO: EXT. SAN FRANCISCO RESIDENTIAL AREA - LATE DAY IN THE UNMISTAKABLE STYLE OF THE CAMERA EYE WE HAVE SEEN SHOOTING HELEN'S PLACE, IN THE PARK, ETC.: A YOUNG RED-HEADED WOMAN, wearing shorts and an open-necked shirt, kneels on the grass, weeding a lush flowerbed. The CAMERA SWISHHPANS TO the back door of the house as a man comes out balancing a tray with drinks. The woman gives the man a dazzling smile, removes her gardening glove and takes a glass. Her husband bends down, gives her a little kiss. She beams. FREEZE FRAME. CUT TO: INT. HELEN'S LIVING ROOM - LATE DAY CLOSE UP: early crime scene photos. WE SEE FOR THE FIRST TIME THE FIRST TWO MURDER VICTIMS, SO WE SEE THE PATTERN HELEN DESCRIBES AND ANALYZES. HELEN (V.O.) The way he's posed the bodies... he's flaunting his power to do whatever he wants to her. This man... He probably seems perfectly normal. These murders are organized and planned. WE ARE NOW SEEING THE ROOM: M.J. AND RUBEN, HELEN AT A TABLE IN HER OFFICE LAYING OUT THE PICTURES. Helen picks out one picture from the rest... HELEN Except for this one. You put that one in to test me. M.J. nods, pleased with HELEN> INSERT: THE PICTURE. The victim's body is covered with bruises. But, unlike the others, her face has been covered. HELEN (V.O.) Is it an ongoing case? BACK TO SCENE... M.J. (nods) For months... last October. HELEN It was a lover or a husband. Someone close. Somebody who knew her and cared about her. M.J. (glancing at Ruben) How do you know that? HELEN He felt remorse. He covered her. HELEN arranges and rearranges photos like tarot cards. HELEN The bodies have been carefully arranged... different positions, but somehow the same. The positions are brutal... yet quite... artful. It's like... a signature. He's proud of his accomplishments. There are early Picassos and late Picassos, but you always recognize the hand. He wants us to recognize his hand. I've seen this hand before... what are you hiding? M.J. (taken aback) Nothing. HELEN Where are the stockings he strangled them with? M.J. How did you know they were stockings? HELEN (sarcastic) I sent Andy out on murder missions. For God's sake -- it's the Boston Strangler, Alber deSalvo. He used their own stockings to strangle them. Tied in a bow-knot. She gets down a file from her bookcase and flops it open to pictures of deSalvo's victims: they are identical... HELEN Somebody is imitating his m.o. Look for a plumber or carpenter or handyman; that's how deSalvo got in the door and caught them off guard. RUBEN The Boston Strangler, when was that...? HELEN In the sixties. He's dead -- stabbed to death in prison. M.J. Why imitate a dead serial killer? HELEN If you knew why, you might know where to look for him. I don't envy you this; he's not done -- he's going to do them faster and faster to keep the adrenaline rush. Now, I've done what you asked me. M.J. Work with me. ANDY (O.S.) It's good for you. They are startled by his appearance! A little unsettling. ANDY It's good medicine. RUBEN A little homeopathic cure for the willies. HELEN (exhausted) None of you know anything about it. Now go. And Andy, if you persist in playing doctor, leave, with them. ANDY I'm the only friend you've got, darling, and I don't intend to stop doing what I think is good for us. HELEN Get out! All of you! Andy helps M.J. and Ruben scoop up the files... RUBEN You said you don't give a fuck and that's the beauty of a breakdown? This doesn't look like not giving a fuck, you know that? M.J. Let's get out of here... INT. HALL - CONTINUOUS As they leave, Andy is still at the door... HELEN (V.O.) (small voice) Andy! Please. Don't you go! INT. QUINN'S OFFICE - NIGHT QUINN Aw, Jesus. The Mouth gets a load of this and we got major headlines around the world. deSalvo redux. The matter, you think they don't teach Latin in Catholic schools? M.J. Don't swear at me because we got problems. I'm just giving you the news. I went to a Catholic school; I'll tell you what they teach. On the knuckles they teach. QUINN Who've I got to beat up except the messenger? Does this give us anything to go on? M.J. I'm checking out anybody who lives like DeSalvo. Records of arrests for rape, especially by a man wearing green. Checking out psychiatric hospitals for his personality profile. Cross check- ing names from arrests for sexual offenses, public fondling. If they've got a German wife. We can keep cops working on this kind of junk for years, and this guy's going to hit again, soon. QUINN (morose) I know. Get out here. M.J. So. Do we tell the media and hope for somebody to come forward with information? QUINN Or for some new nutcase to copycat the copycat. RUBEN What I love, the big fight, some girl, she drops the quarter on her boyfriend so the bastard spends the night in custody, just to teach him a lesson. We'll get a shitload of those. QUINN Another country heard from. (deciding) No. We're keeping it quiet, don't give the bastard the attention he's maybe begging for. CUT TO: INT. HELEN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT HELEN sits at side-by-side computers. The chess game is again in progress. HELEN makes a move. Pleased with herself, she smiles, types, "I'm creaming you." Suddenly over HELEN'S shoulder, the other screen becomes active, we see 'Message for Helen Hudson.' Engrossed in her own chess game, she does not notice the screen until, tense from sitting too long, with waiting for CHESSMASTER'S move, HELEN begins to stretch her neck and toll her head. Now, out of the corner of her eye, she sees the other screen. Quickly, she clicks on this, and the screen prints out 'A GAME FOR DR. HUDSON PLEASE RUN THIS "TOMORROW.AVI" FILE ON YOUR PLAYER.' HELEN TYPES 'WIN' AND WINDOWS SCREEN COMES UP. WITH THE MOUSE SHE CLICKS ON THE AVI PLAYER ICON, TYPES IN "TOMORROW.AVI" AND HITS ENTER. A PICTURE APPEARS: IT IS THE FACE OF THE WOMAN IN THE BATHTUB. IT CHANGES AFTER A TENTH OF A SECOND MORPHING THROUGH A COLLAGE OF IMAGES OF TWO WOMEN. A hand emerges from a breast of the other. Two heads. One, properly on its own neck, the other emerging from between two legs. Hands, feet, breasts, hair of two bodies mixed mischievously into one FINAL IMAGE OF A SECOND WOMAN ALIVE AND SMILING ECSTATICALLY AT THE CAMERA. Both women wear their hair in long braids. INTERCUT WITH HELEN: APPALLED. CUT TO: ANDY LIES WITH TV ON, NAKED, GIVING HIMSELF A PEDICURE. HE HAS EARPHONES TO MUFFLE THE TV SOUND. From the dark spaces of the loft there ECHOES A SCREAM OF SHEER TERROR FROM HELEN! After a beat from he realizes, tears off the earphones and bolts into the darkness... CUT TO: EXT. HELEN'S APARTMENT HOUSE - NIGHT POLICE CARS DRAW UP IN FRONT, DOUBLE PARKING. M.J. and Ruben jump out and walk, fast, toward the building... (Shot from same high angle -- the secret watcher's POV -- from which we saw M.J. and Ruben leave after their first visit.) INT. HELEN'S HALLWAY AS HER DOOR IS OPENED, by Andy. Ruben and M.J. enter... ANDY She's in the office... INT. HELEN'S OFFICE The computer glow, the unfinished chess game still up, and the RED-HEADED WOMAN'S joyful face on the other. HELEN SITS IN A CHAIR WITH HER BACK TO THE SCREEN, ROCKING BACK AND FORTH, suppressing her fear by sheer will. M.J. and Ruben enter with Andy... they look at the face on the computer screen... (this is the only light in the room). HELEN That's the face of the next one he'll kill. She hasn't looked at them or the computer... SHE ROCKS... M.J. How do you know that? HELEN (can't look at it) Look at the bottom of the screen. You see the icon with the arrow pointing left? Click on that... twice. RUBEN (FROM A MISSPENT YOUTH IN VIDEO ARCADES) expertly maneuvers the mouse and clicks on the icon as instructed. NOW THE ANIMATED COLLAGE PLAYS BACKWARD! IN TENTH OF A SECOND STEPS WE SEE THE IMAGE OF THE RED-HEADED WOMAN MERGE BACKWARD THROUGH THE DISTORTED IMAGES AND BECOME THE DEAD WOMAN IN THE BATHTUB. M.J. AND RUBEN REACTING, LIGHTED BY THE GLOW FROM THE SCREEN. M.J. How did you do that? HELEN That computer's wired into INTERNET. RUBEN He's hacked into her Internet address. He's a hacker. HELEN (rocking, rocking) He can get into my computer any time he likes! This is exactly the kind of thing I didn't want to have happen. M.J. Can you make a copy we can show on our computers? HELEN It's too big a file to copy to a disk. RUBEN You got a tape backup, yeah, here lemme copy it on tape... M.J. Why would he send this to Helen Hudson... HELEN It's a game they like to play. Berkowitz -- "Son of Sam" -- hung around the crime scene, talking to the cops. This one's probably watching you, laughing at you. RUBEN Let me get a little action started here. M.J. nods to him to get along... He calls on his cellular phone while simultaneously working the computer... M.J. I'm going to put a guard on your door. HELEN One officer already got killed trying to protect me. Please, just take it all away. Leave me alone. M.J. He won't. RUBEN Look at this... THE COMPUTER SCREEN HAS A LEGEND ON IT: NOW YOU SEE ME... As they watch, it is replaced by: NOW YOU DON'T... AND THEN IT FADES TO BLACK... Helen goes to the machine and maneuvers with mouse and keyboard. HELEN It's gone. The file's not here. (to Ruben) What did you do? RUBEN I just started it copying to tape, but the tape never ran. It just did that... HELEN (respect) He's brilliant. This one is brilliant. M.J. We'll show that to... HELEN Show what? It's gone. He wrote a self destruct virus into the code, so it would only play until we try to copy it. Then it erased itself. Gone... (beat) Do you remember what you saw? CUT TO: INT. POLICE HQ CORRIDOR - DAY M.J., RUBEN, QUINN, MAYBE OTHERS OF HIS STAFF STRIDE PURPOSEFULLY DOWN THE CORRIDOR, CAMERA MOVING WITH THEM... For a moment we won't know who Quinn is talking about... QUINN He's on the phone calling me like an insurance salesman soliciting my business, for Christ's sake. I didn't tell him the three most over-rated things in life are young pussy, regular exercise and the F.B.I. M.J. Oh, maaaaan?! QUINN What? I talk like a cop, this is the way I talk. I can't believe this guy. Saks. He's a Deputy Assistant Director of the F.B.I. "Let me help you!" M.J. We could use a little help. QUINN With the F.B.I. there's no such thing as a little help. They bury you with help. Explain to me about this virus, no don't tell me about the virus. Thing is, you saw it, the pictures. They pass through a door into a ROOM where the homicide team sit waiting... M.J. goes right into a briefing... M.J. We saw it. The unknown target is kneeling, she's gardening. Red hair, high cheekbones, mid- thirties, height I don't know, she's not overweight, she's zofting... She's in front of a house that looks like... CUT TO: EXT. MARINA HOUSE - LATE DAY As she is speaking, her description becomes V.O. as we SEE police cars and an ambulance drawn up IN FRONT OF THE HOUSE SHE IS DESCRIBING... M.J. (V.O.) ... the Marina area, there was earthquake damage repair on the house it looked like, a little garden. The light was late afternoon. Say about cocktail hour. He was bringing out drinks, margaritas by the look. So we got a house facing west, on the east side of the street. Full sun, so there's no high trees or buildings, residential both sides. SUSAN SCHIFFER and her crew arrive, leaping out of their van with their equipment, a makeup woman ADJUSTING SUSAN'S MAKEUP AND HAIR RIGHT THERE IN THE STREET... CUT TO: INT. MARINA HOUSE - DAY M.J. and Ruben, Quinn, etc., trying to calm and/or question the HUSBAND, who is in shock. He is the man we saw bringing drinks. HUSBAND Stupid goddam s-stupid p-poker game! Always have to s-stay until Phil makes a c...comeback. Am I stuttering? The husband's voice follows QUINN and others as another COP leads them toward the back of house. DOOR TO BEDROOM. QUINN AND RUBEN have stopped just inside door. M.J. forced to peer around them. M.J.'S POV: On the bed, the RED-HEADED WOMAN'S body is propped up against the headboard, her knees up, her head fallen onto a shoulder: her pajama top has been ripped open and pushed up. Knotted around her neck is a pink scarf tied in a huge bow under her chin. On her feet, secured between her toes, is a commercial flyer advertising the Festival of Love. It is brightly printed with red hearts. It has been hand-lettered: HELL IN THE FESTIVAL OF LOVE CUT TO: EXT. FESTIVAL OF LOVE IN GOLDEN STATE PARK - NIGHT CAMCORDER capturing the audience of a ROCK CONCERT in full blast, in GOLDEN GATE PARK. The audience, mostly young, some in 70's costume, sit and loll around on blankets. Most seem to have some variety of refreshment... liquid or rolled. The CAMERA records the unsteady progress of a lovely YOUNG GIRL, weaving her way through the blankets and the bodies. She suddenly becomes aware of the camera being aimed at her. She stops, strikes a comically seductive pose and gives a big, gorgeous smile. FREEZE FRAME. CUT TO: INT. HELEN'S APARTMENT - NIGHT ANDY answers the door. M.J. and Ruben... ANDY She just got to sleep. Do you have to tell her about it now? M.J. Tell her about what? ANDY (mock admiration) Gaahhd! What a cop! You busted me! (real) The new one, in the Marina. (to their reaction) She has a police radio scanner. It's always on. She turns it off, and then she has to turn it on again. She's obsessed. She can't not listen to it, but she can't listen to it, so she makes me listen to it. HELEN APPEARS IN WHATEVER SHE SLEEPS IN. HELEN I am not going to look at any more pictures. They're like a disease. They get into my head. I can't get them out. M.J. I don't look at pictures. I look at the real thing. I don't feel infected. HELEN Maybe that's why you can't catch him. I know what she looks like -- the red-headed woman in my computer. M.J. I just came from her... here's what you haven't seen. M.J. takes out a picture of the dead RED-HEADED WOMAN. Her manner is that of cop with a witness. M.J. (cont'd) A forgery of the Mary Sullivan murder scene, he's done it perfect. Except for the sign. HELEN (looking at photo) She probably let him in the door without a thought. Where are their mothers?! Where are the mothers that are supposed to teach them to be wary and to tough and not afraid to fight? M.J. Look at the sign. 'Hell'? In the Festival of Love? You make any sense in that? HELEN stares at the picture. M.J. (cont'd) For 'Hell', read 'Helen'. He's talking to you. HELEN It's anybody connected to author- ity. They write, they even knock on your door. They're fans. It thrills them to flirt with getting caught. M.J. Nobody knows you have anything to do with this case; nothing has been on TV or the news... Why would he want to get in your computer? HELEN Because I'm his damned pin-up girl! His, all of them! They know me. They're in prisons with libraries, they collect clippings, I'm their worthy opponent. You keep my name out of this. RUBEN Absolutely. M.J. My promise. Andy, who has ducked out, now reappears, dressed for a date. ANDY The moon is up, my night to howl. Will you be okay? HELEN Oh, God, I forget. Yes. Yes. You go. Poor thing, you ought to get out. ANDY (to M.J.) Look out for her. She's tougher than you think. He goes... HELEN I know 'Halloran.' What's the rest of it? RUBEN MaryJane. We call her M.J. HELEN MaryJane. You think that logic and police procedure, order and science and method will hold back the horrors of a world gone mad and the sickness of the night. I did once. But you know how he'll get caught? He'll have an accident, or some cop will get lucky. You can't catch him by being intelligent and working hard. Or the worst: there are dozens of women slaughtered in the most horrible way, month after month. The news stories grow more grotesque and bizarre and in the city people lock their doors and windows, and hurry home before dark. And then, one day, there are no more. What happened? Did he just stop? Get tired and disgusted and decide not to kill any more? Did he kill himself? Did he die in an auto accident? Or a fight. Or get sick and die? It's like the murderer walked off the edge of the earth. And you never know. But you keep asking yourself -- when you read about a new murder -- is he back? M.J. stands. She has noted Ruben's reaction to Helen's story. There is an edge of sarcasm in her voice... M.J. That's amazing. A whole new book, thought up in a minute. Very good. (beat) All I know how t do is get up, take a shower, and go to work. Hope, if he does another I'll nail the son of bitch, and they'll spell my name right in the newspaper. Where is Andy going? HELEN He's going home. He slept over because I was a little anxious... M.J. I want a guard on you. I'm worried about leaving you alone. RUBEN (to M.J.) We're through for the night, aren't we? You go on. Get some sleep. I'll stay until we can get a man out here and maybe catch a cab home. HELEN That would be much appreciated. Thanks. M.J. (to Helen) Somewhere down the line we're doing to find a connection between him and you. I want you to worry that idea like a loose tooth. Three voices chime self-conscious 'Good-nights.' CUT TO: EXT. HELEN'S BUILDING - NIGHT THE SILENT WATCHER'S POV through the eye of the CAMCORDER, we catch M.J. exit HELEN'S building. She stops momentarily on the sidewalk to look up at Helen's window... The drapes swing open. RUBEN CAN BE SEEN DOING SOMETHING AT THE WINDOWS... The Camcorder zooms to a close-up of M.J. She gets into her car and speeds off. INT. HELEN'S BEDROOM - CONTINUOUS Ruben is checking the windows... RUBEN You ought to get some decent locks on these. A six-year-old could get in here. Much less a motivated man. At the phrase 'motivated man', HELEN looks at him boldly in the eye. HELEN You and MaryJane aren't lovers. RUBEN Not yet. HELEN laughs. So does RUBEN. Her boldness, her laughter, attracts him. His honesty attracts HELEN. He feels the heat. HELEN Are you always so bold? RUBEN No. I'm shy and I'm selective. His grin says he'd select her anytime... RUBEN The problem for me is... you're in the witness category. (beat -- Jack Nicholson) Know what I mean? HELEN Well. Another time, then. (beat) I'll be all right. He's not going to attack me; what I' m rally afraid of is all in my own head, Ruben. They smile ruefully at one another, and without further conversation, leave the bedroom. CUT TO: INT. HELEN'S FRONT DOOR - NIGHT RUBEN is outside the door. HELEN just inside. RUBEN They'll have a guard here tomorrow. I know you have the idea, but it'll make me feel a lot better. She smiles, and RUBEN turns, walks away. She stays in the doorway watching his retreat. About ten feet away, he suddenly stops. RUBEN Hey! He turns around, she is still in the doorway. He reaches for his wallet, withdraws a card, holds it up to her. RUBEN The number for my cellular. RUBEN Don't hesitate. Anytime. Night or day. I mean that. He hods card out to her. HELEN, holding onto the door frame, doesn't move. RUBEN continues to extend his hand with the card in it. It is a charged moment. She is frozen in the doorway; RUBEN refuses to make a move towards her. HELEN summons all her nerve and lets go of the door frame, determined not to have any further mortification this night, she takes one shaky step out into the hallway to meet him. Then a second step and a third. Her hand touches the card, takes it. She turns her head to gauge the distance she must retreat. What she sees is that the door's Sureclose device has quietly and efficiently closed. The door is locked. Frantic, she turns back toward RUBEN. HER POV: RUBEN, now seems a vast distance away from her. He is just turning down the stairs and is gone... The hallway first narrows, squeezing her in, then expands. She is lost in the miles and miles of space between the two walls. HELEN Oh, God! Help me! RUBEN reappears, races toward her... RUBEN Tell me what to do! HELEN I'm falling! I'm going to fall! She starts to pass out, to sink to her knees, but RUBEN catches her, puts her up against the wall, handling her like a suspect. He puts one hand on the back of her neck, spreads her legs, gets her in frisk position. Somehow, this is comforting to her, but she is still in full-blown panic... HELEN ...falling... FALLING! He pressed his body up against hers, his weight anchoring her against the feeling of free-fall. RUBEN I'm right here. I won't let you fall. He still has a hand on the back of her neck. Suddenly, the proximity effects him, makes him want to kiss her neck. She begins to hyperventilate. HELEN Don't let go... I can't breathe... I'll die! RUBEN Shhh. It's okay. Just breathe. I'll fix it... RUBEN takes out his gun... RUBEN Put your hands over your ears. RUBEN shoots off the lock. Then he picks HELEN up and carries her back into her apartment. INT. HELEN'S LIVING ROOM - CONTINUOUS RUBEN enters and puts HELEN down on the couch, pulls a throw up over her. He sees her Xanax bottle on a table, hands it to her. She takes out three as he pours her some seltzer water, then watches her take the pills. After which he takes the bottle and pockets it. HELEN The lock... RUBEN I'll get a locksmith. HELEN Will you stay? Please? I'm afraid to sleep... I don't want...him...in my head... RUBEN pulls a big chair up beside the sofa. As her eyes close, RUBEN comforts her. TV features the antics of a nervous little prairie dog family. He looks back at HELEN. CLOSE UP HELEN: We hear a faint but impatient voice call: V.O. Peter... Peter... CROSS FADE TO: INT. BEDROOM (DALY CITY) - NIGHT Dim light. The room is unattractive, over-furnished but not comfortably. A WOMAN is sitting propped up in a double bed. She is in her mid-thirties, but drained and pale, she looks older. A chronic invalid. By her side is a NASTY LITTLE DOG, with ribbon bows in its fur. Near the bed is a TV and video, on which a movie's final credits are running. THE WOMAN IS IMPATIENTLY PUSHING AN INTERCOM BUTTON PETER enters. Younger than the woman, rather good-looking. Boyish and nondescript except for a patch of white skin near his hairline. AN OLD SCAR. He goes straight to TV and puts the tape on 'eject.' WOMAN Put in the Kevin Costner. PETER Why don't we save it for later? It's almost time for Letterman. WOMAN You know I don't like to watch talk shows by myself. Where're you? He inserts the video she wants and pushes 'play.' Then he approaches the bed, leans over his wife and gently pushes a lock of hair back from the forehead. She ignores him, staring at the screen. The NASTY LITTLE DOG BARES ITS TEETH AND SNAPS AT HIM. WOMAN See, now you've annoyed her. You know she doesn't like you to touch me. (to dog) Does she, widdle wee fing! Wuhve you so much! (to Peter) Did you feed her? PETER Yes, I fed her. If she says she's hungry, she's lying to you. Again. WOMAN She doesn't lie! You sure you fed her? PETER She lies all the time. Why would I say I fed her if I didn't? WOMAN That's what I don't know. Why would you lie? That's the problem... I can't understand why anyone would lie. He leaves. As he goes we can hear the Woman still talking to her dog over the TV soundtrack. WOMAN (cont'd) You wouldn't lie to Mummy, would you? Just to get Dad in trouble? Such a naughty widdle dog... HER VOICE FADES AWAY AS WE FOLLOW HIM down the stairs into a small, ill-lit and dreary living room, into a messy kitchen, then through a door leading to the basement. He locks the basement door behind him. THE BASEMENT is brightly lighted, full of high tech, gadgets and computers. As he approaches the bottom stair, we see a small TV/video set attached to a wall. On its screen, freeze-framed and silent, is a video of a PRETTY GIRL at an outdoor rock concert, smiling seductively. PETER puts on a WHITE LAB COAT and then reaches over something to turn the video back on. The CAMERA PANS DOWN to what he has leaned across. It is the YOUNG GIRL from the concert. She is strapped onto a table, her mouth taped shut. A plastic bag covers her head, but not tightly. She is semiconscious. She is being asphyxiated by slow degrees. PETER looks at her, gently pushes the bag up far enough to repeat the tender gesture with her damp hair that he made toward his wife. He whispers: PETER Didn't I promise I'd come right back? CUT TO: EXT. HILLSIDE - DAWN ALL NIGHT FESTIVAL REVELLERS dance across the skyline, of glorious misty green hills, hand in hand. The Camera moves down, across verdant meadows, until we arrive at the bottom of the nearest hill which slopes finally to a highway. A few festival up-all-night REVELERS, looking down at a new CRIME SCENE, where three blue-and-whites are parked, plus a number of unmarked cars. RUBEN ARRIVES IN A TAXI. As he moves past the ever-present SUSAN we THREAD THROUGH THE SCENE TO FIND M.J. M.J. takes one look at RUBEN'S stubble, his yesterday's slept-in clothes, and she turns away. Before RUBEN can catch up with her, NIKKO approaches. RUBEN Up all night with a sick friend. NIKKO'S face is tight with anger. NIKKO You dumb son of a bitch! You don't even know how to treat a woman. RUBEN Who? M.J.? Hey, Nikko, explain to me why she gave you the boot... He moves to M.J. who stands beside the dead BODY OF THE WOMAN WE LAST SAW STRAPPED TO A TABLE. The plastic bag is now tied tight around her neck. She has been posed beneath a sign that says "NO DUMPING". The usual technicians, photographers, Doc, the Coroner, etc. RUBEN Is Niccoletti assigned here? M.J. (angry about it) Quinn decided we should form a task force -- they're all one case, now. He wants all the senior detectives on it... (to Doc) She wasn't killed here. DOC Not likely. M.J. is kneeling, inspecting everything here; Ruben kneels beside her... to Ruben... M.J. Tell me what you see. He inspects the dead girl's fingernails. RUBEN She didn't fight back, no hair or skin under her fingernails. I'm not seeing any bruises or contusions... M.J. What about her arms? RUBEN Needle marks, fresh, here. look at this... Nikko appears, looming over her... NIKKO Probably so stoned she never knew what got her. Like Goetz's sick friend. Right Goetz? They ignore him. M.J. stands... RUBEN She's blue as hell. No marks on her neck. Asphyxiated? not the same -- no ligature marks. Outdoors... M.J. Look at her legs. RUBEN Spread out like she was sexually assaulted here. DOC After she was dead. RUBEN She was dragged up here from the road, you can see the tracks. She was already dead or unconscious. Let's get plaster casts on any -- all footprints. M.J. If this is just the dump site, where did he do the job? Where did he pick her up? NIKKO Doped up kids all over town. Park was full of them last night. Very easy pickin'. Goetz's type. Ruben hits him, Nikko reflexively throws a punch that grazes Ruben. Everybody stops in astonishment. M.J. steps between them. Ready to get physical herself; they settle... M.J. What the hell are you doing? The Mouth and the Haircut are right down there, thank God they didn't see that. Down below, Susan and the Haircut are interviewing Festival- of-Lovers. M.J. Niccoletti, they're on the wrong side of the tape, you want to push them back? Now. Nikko trots off to Susan and the Haircut. M.J. gestures for RUBEN, now on his feet and dabbing at a split lip, to follow her back to the cars. As they move more slowly down the hillside to their cars... M.J. Ruben, my God, I ought to put you on report. RUBEN You're right. I can't stand that bastard. Sorry. (getting back to work) This is something new. Not the same guy, that's for sure. M.J. Yeah, everything's different. But she seems unhappy... to techs standing by: M.J. Get the pictures, and casts of footprints. RUBEN Look at him, grandstanding... Nikko is talking to Susan Schiff... M.J. That's all we need... She strides toward them... M.J. Detective Niccoletti? SUSAN What's this about the Boston Strangler, M.J.? M.J. looks at Nikko. He should know better. She's also thinking: is this a good thing to have the media announce at this point -- or not? M.J. Hey, Susan -- I'm sorry, you're on the wrong side of the tape. We're still trying to find any footprints or tire marks and we don't want to chew up the ground, okay? I'll talk to you later. (to Nikko) You, too. She's got Susan outside the tape... SUSAN Inspector, will you confirm somebody is copying the Boston Strangler? This is the fourth, is that correct? M.J. We're going to review all the evidence carefully before making any statement... She is getting into her car; Ruben jumps in on the other side. Susan races for her silver Audi... M.J. Ruben, put the light on... From outside the car as they drive away we see Ruben's arm clap the magnetic flasher on the top of their unmarked car. M.J. switches it on... A CHASE ENSUES. SUSAN has a faster car, but M.J. is a better driver. Stomach dropping hills, trolley cars, the corkscrew turns of Lombard Street, all the familiar San Francisco chase scenes. M.J. Now listen up, Ruben. You never, never, never mess with somebody inside the case! RUBEN Excuse me? Excuse me?! What do you... M.J. You damn well better start working on that impulse control. A woman who is implicated in this case? Someone who's practically a piece of evidence? RUBEN It's against your rules that I try to help a witness who's scared shitless? Who's... M.J. The woman's unstable. You could wind up with a harassment charge. Anything. You're like some horny little teenager. M.J. takes another two-wheel corner. In the rear view mirror, M.J. watches SUSAN lose control of her car as she tries to make a tight turn, M.J. smiles in contempt. M.J. Anybody who's ever watched TV knows about that corner. Having lost SUSAN, M.J. slows down to a normal speed. M.J. Everybody could see you -- unshaved, same clothes from yesterday, reeking of sex. RUBEN'S eye-brows lift. She peels into the HQ parking lot and jumps out. M.J. (going away) Park the car. Call the lab. Get Doc to lean on the coroner for a really fast prelim on the sperm. RUBEN gets out of the car to cross to the driver's side... M.J. (O.S.) When you get it, call me. RUBEN look after her, a smile of delight on his face. RUBEN She loves me. CUT TO: INT. QUINN'S OFFICE - DAY QUINN, NICCOLETTI. QUINN I know; the kid hit you first. He already told me. NIKKO He's not treating her right... QUINN She left you, Nikko. She's not your responsibility. She takes very good care of herself. If she wants to romance the kid, it ain't your business. Your business is to snap out of it. NIKKO We were together six years, sir! QUINN Don't give me six years! You never divorced Patty, did you? So what'd you expect from M.J.? NIKKO She knows I'm Catholic! She never mentioned divorce! Not once! QUINN Then you shoulda known she wasn't buying. She was just long-term leasing' you. (beat) Ah, Nickie. Except for that rare twenty-second twitch, there ain't nothin' about sex I don't hate. But of course, I'm Irish. (beat) Plus I got real problems. I'm worried I might have to put you in over M.J. There's something going on here, the Commissioner is targeting her now, I can't leave a woman in that position. But the thing is, how can I move you in, if you go on acting like a teenage asshole? NIKKO I don't want the job. Don't do that to her. She's worked too damned hard for it. QUINN What's going down with the sting in Chinatown? That gonna be off your plate in a week or what? CUT TO: INT. TASK FORCE ROOM - DAY A ROOM IN THE BASEMENT OF THE POLICE HQ IS BEING SET UP TO HOUSE A NEW TASK FORCE, WITH CATERER'S TABLE FOR TEMP DESKS. Bulletin boards with notices and pictures; telephone techs are still installing phones, cops are learning unfamiliar computer menus, etc. M.J. IS EXAMINING HUGE BLOWUPS OF ONLOOKERS AT CRIME SCENES PINNED UP ON A WALL, WITH A MAGNIFYING LENS. QUINN (V.O.) Sergeant... She walks away BECKONS, BECKONS, COME ON, WALK AFTER ME! He walks out of a door and they stand on the steps... EXT. STEPS POLICE HQ - DAY A couple of Cops, maybe male and female, are smoking there. Quinn gives them a look that sends them scuttling inside, flipping their butts into the shrubbery. Quinn sighs and digs out a cigarette. The looks between them tell the story of his trying to give it up and not being able to, etc. QUINN So what have we got? M.J. It's not the same guy. It should be a self-solver. No bow around the neck, left and body outdoors, completely different. The others were housewives, secretaries, he talked his way inside, killed them in their own living room or bed- or bathroom. This one didn't have a husband or a boyfriend, no family, temp waitress, 3 arrests for misdemeanor dope offenses, DUI, asphyxiation probably from a plastic bag over her head. Sexually assaulted. The others weren't molested that way. We're waiting for the sperm tests... QUINN Christ. How old are you? You sure you want to be in this line of work? M.J. You're damn right I do. QUINN Okay, now what about your sidekick punching my favorite detective? What the hell is going on? You got no discipline in your operation. M.J. I'm sorry it had to come to your attention. I am dealing with it. She starts to go... QUINN Where you going? M.J. Helen Hudson... QUINN What the hell you need her for? M.J. Because I think I'm wrong. CUT TO: INT. HELEN'S APARTMENT - DAY CLOSE: XANAX BOTTLE. SHAKING HANDS DUMP OUT PILLS. FOUR. SIX. TWO, PUT BACK. ONE MORE, PUT BACK. HELEN: RAVAGED. WATCHING HERSELF IN MIRROR AS SHE GULPS THE REMAINING PILLS. DOOR BELL RINGS O.S. HELEN I'm not seeing anybody. We HEAR muffled voices -- ANDY and M.J. HELEN, as she realizes Andy is letting M.J. in, goes to the bathroom door and tries to slam and lock it: Andy beats her to it, blocking with his foot in the door. HELEN You're fired. ANDY I know. Do come and meet your guest. M.J. appears. Taking in Helen's condition -- due to a wild night with Ruben? Helen moves from the bathroom down the hall to her office, as... M.J. We've got another one. HELEN That's no surprise. M.J. But it's a different m.o. HELEN Then what do you need me for? M.J. She was killed somewhere else and dumped outdoors in an empty lot. Where it says "no dumping." Her legs pulled apart in a kind of sexual pose. It's all different but it seems so -- the same. Artificial and posed... Something's wrong with it. HELEN You're saying it's the same man, but he's changed his style? That doesn't happen. These men are robotic; the murder is like a ritual. The method itself is part of the pleasure... They've turned into the office. Something is wrong... M.J. Who turned off the Internet computer... HELEN I turned it off. It's like an open window he can climb right in... M.J. He comes in the window, we maybe grab him. Where's the on-switch? HELEN Have you got a warrant? Get the hell out o here! This is the only space I have left in the world! Why can't you leave me out of it? M.J. Helen -- the killer directly contacted you. His interest in you is intense. I'm worried about you. I don't want to lose you. I know this stirs up every monster under the bed, but this is the only direct contact we have with him. The only chance we have to trap him. (beat) So, you can turn Internet back on, or I do, and we put somebody here on a 24 hour shift and you can kick, scream and hyperventilate. HELEN That little Winona Ryder manner... you're more convincing as Clint Eastwood. M.J. Clint is putting a guard on you. But if you swear to leave the computer on, Winona will assign him to the hall outside. HELEN has to laugh. The laugh turns to a hacking cough. ANDY She's smoking again. Andy leaves. Helen sits, and with the care of someone handling a rattlesnake, turns the computer on. Meanwhile... THE PHONE RINGS. HELEN Hello?... Oh... (a beat) ...yes, she's right here. HELEN hangs the phone to M.J. The air is a little more charged... Helen goes back to the computer. HELEN Ruben. M.J. Hello, Ruben... (listens, nods) So that's that... HELEN Please thank Inspector Goetz for taking care of me last night. M.J. delivers the message straight-faced. M.J. Ruben, Dr. Hudson wants me to thank you for taking care of her last night. (hangs up) Lab report on the new one. At least two guys penetrated her. There were two kinds of sperm. The poor thing. What it must have been like. Helen has come alert... HELEN She was near a sign that said "No Dumping?" Two kinds of sperm -- the lab said one was a secretor and the other was not? M.J. mumbles a surprised yes. Helen is at computer. HELEN There were needle marks. But no drugs in her blood. M.J. So far nothing they test for comes up positive. Helen has a Window type screen: she clicks icons... HELEN Is that it? M.J. (stunned) That's exactly... I could have taken that same picture, this morning. A RATHER GRAINY PICTURE OF A DEAD GIRL SPREAD OUT IN A SUGGESTIVE POSE IN AN EMPTY FIELD. A SIGN RIGHT BY HER SAYS "NO DUMPING." HELEN He's switched from DeSalvo to the Hillside Strangler. The Strangler was two men, that's why there are two kinds of sperm. His idea of a joke, very witty our boy. M.J. That's not consistent... You said they never changed their style, they're robots... HELEN Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds. Tell them to test for the chemicals found in Windex. That's a product for cleaning with... M.J. I know Windex, for God's sake, I clean my own windows... HELEN It's what Bianchi and Buono injected into one of their victims. M.J. (sensing something appalling) Injected Windex! Why would he switch to a new m.o.? HELEN Ah, if you knew that, you'd be half way to nailing him. Serial killing is irrational and rigid and compulsive. This guy has a plan all thought out, flexible and complex. He's playing a game with us. Who will he imitate next? Maybe he's doing all the serial killers in history, the great innovators, the murderers' hall of fame. Just to prove he's better than all of them. They got caught; he didn't. M.J. He'll get caught. If he has a plan that'll be what trips him up... HELEN Who's going to catch him? You? (beat) And if you do, there'll be another one. And one after that. M.J. (gently, surprised) You're afraid of him. HELEN This one, yes. I was always curious about these twisted little souls, but this is the first one I've felt personally terrified of. He's something new and unheard of. I don't know what he wants. M.J. (beat) I'm giving you Clint outside. CUT TO: INT. PETER'S BEDROOM - NIGHT The room is empty, the messy unmade bed has covers thrown back. Nasty Little Dog is sprawled asleep on it. The TV is on: SUSAN SCHIFFER'S broadcast... Over SUSAN'S shoulder, big and bold, the legend: 'KOPYCAT KILLER?' SUSAN ...to mimic the M.O. of the Boston Strangler. The police here are rumored to be consulting Dr. Helen Hudson. O.S. A TOILET FLUSHES, and Peter's WIFE emerges wearing a nightgown.
