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INT. STAIRWELL - TRINITY CATHEDRAL
A dusty staircase leading up to the roof. Mitch sees an old
desk stuffed into the narrow space and scoots it up, placing
it in front of the door.
He starts up the stairs after Claudia.
INT. SANCTUARY - TRINITY CATHEDRAL
The Cops converge on the door with Kemper right behind. They
try the door, but can't get it open.
COP
He blocked it!
KEMPER
Well, break it down!
Wes grabs Kemper's arm and turns Kemper around to face him.
WES
Just let Mitch handle this. If you go up
there it can only end badly.
KEMPER
Don't you tell me what to do! Your job
is done here. Go home and I'll send you
a goddamn commendation.
WES
You take that commendation and you shove
it up your ass. If you fuck this up,
you're going down. I'll see to it.
The Cops start breaking through the door.
INT. ANOTHER PART OF THE STAIRWELL
Mitch continues to run up the staircase. He looks down
briefly and balks at how high up he is. He finally reaches
the top and opens the door.
EXT. ROOF - TRINITY CATHEDRAL - NIGHT
Mitch runs out into the cold night air. An enormous bell
rests in its awning nearby. Mitch searches for Claudia.
MITCH
Claudia! Claudia, where are you?
CLAUDIA (O.S.)
Go away! Leave me alone!
Mitch spots her on the far end of the roof. She is looking
over the edge, tears streaming from her cheeks.
MITCH
Claudia, I'm trying to help.
CLAUDIA
Shut up! You lied to me! You set me up!
MITCH
This was not my idea. I want to help
you.
CLAUDIA
Just leave me alone!
MITCH
There are cops coming up those stairs
right now. I am your only chance.
Please!
CLAUDIA
I trusted you...
MITCH
You still can. I can keep them away from
you.
CLAUDIA
No. You'll hand me over.
MITCH
No, I won't.
Kemper and his men come through the door and spot them. They
run over, guns drawn. Mitch is standing in between Kemper
and Claudia.
KEMPER
Mitch, get out of the way!
MITCH
Walter, stop it. You don't know what
you're doing.
KEMPER
I know goddamn well what I'm doing. Now
shut up and get out of the fuckin' way!
MITCH
I can't do that.
While Kemper and Mitch have been talking, Claudia has climbed
up on the ledge and is looking over side. Mitch turns back
to her and his eyes go wide with horror.
MITCH (cont'd)
Claudia no!
CLAUDIA
I....have...to....
She is bawling hysterically, looking over the edge,
contemplating her fate.
MITCH
No you don't! I can help you! PLEASE!
CLAUDIA
I'd rather die on my own terms.
MITCH
They won't hurt you.
KEMPER
Miss, step away from the ledge and come
down with your hands up!
MITCH
KEMPER SHUT THE FUCK UP!!!
KEMPER
She's not gonna do anything. She's
playing you Mitch.
CLAUDIA
I can't take this anymore...
MITCH
Claudia no!
Instinctively, he moves closer to her.
CLAUDIA
DON'T COME NEAR ME!!
Mitch stops and holds his hands up in surrender.
MITCH
I'm stopping. Claudia, don't do this.
Please let me help you.
KEMPER
Claudia, if you don't come down from
there right now, I will come and get you
myself.
CLAUDIA
NO! YOU STAY BACK!!
KEMPER
Fuck this.
He starts walking towards her rapidly. Mitch tries to stops
him, but Kemper pushes him aside.
MITCH
Kemper, NO!!
Before Kemper can reach her, Claudia jumps off the roof and
out of sight. Mitch rushes to the edge.
He sees Claudia flying through the air, gracefully. Her
dress flows in the wind giving her an angelic look.
Mitch closes his eyes and hears the sickening THUD.
Tears of sadness and anger fill his eyes. He looks over the
edge and grimaces when he sees Claudia's crumpled lifeless
body.
Kemper walks away from the edge shaking his head.
KEMPER
Crazy bitch did it.
Mitch rushes him. He tackles Kemper and flips him over to
face him.
MITCH
You sonofabitch!! You fuckin'
sonofabitch!!
He punches Kemper hard and keeps doing it until Wes pulls him
off. Mitch collapses and Wes holds him.
MITCH (cont'd)
She was just a kid...Jesus, she was just
a child....
Kemper slowly sits up, bloodied and beaten. He nurses his
busted lip.
The sound of sirens converging on the scene can be heard.
INT. LIVING ROOM - MITCH'S HOUSE
Mitch is sitting on the couch, being held by Laura.
MITCH
It's not right.
LAURA
I know.
MITCH
I could have helped her.
LAURA
Yes you could've. But it's not your fault
she died.
MITCH
I still feel like shit.
There is a knock at the door. Wes comes in and sees them on
the couch.
WES
I'm sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt.
LAURA
You didn't. Come on in.
Wes sits down on the opposite couch.
WES
I thought you might wanna know what we
found in Claudia's room.
MITCH
What?
WES
A lot of items from the different murder
scenes. The toupee from the first
one...things like that. We never did
find the murder weapon though.
MITCH
You couldn't find the knife?
WES
She coulda dumped it somewhere. Also,
the escort that came to Josh's room? She
was hired over the phone and cash was
sent.
LAURA
It's all so horrible.
WES
I know. She's got no family. We
checked. I don't know how they're gonna
do the funeral.
MITCH
I'm paying for it.
LAURA
What?
MITCH
It's the least I can do. I owe her that.
WES
They released Brian this morning.
MITCH
How's he taking it?
WES
As well as can be expected I guess.
MITCH
I hope he's okay.
INT. MITCH'S OFFICE - DAY
Mitch is sitting at his desk, trying to grade papers, but his
mind keeps wandering.
Janice walks in with a stack of papers. She sets them on the
desk.
JANICE
Here's some more papers for you.
MITCH
I hate the end of the semester.
She laughs but gets a serious expression.
JANICE
Ummm....
MITCH
Yes? Just say it.
JANICE
I just wanted to tell you I think you
tried to do a good thing with Claudia.
MITCH
How do you know about that?
JANICE
You can't keep something like that quiet
around here.
MITCH
I see your point.
JANICE
I feel terrible for her. I can't imagine
the terror of having a force like that
controlling me.
Mitch suddenly perks up.
MITCH
Really?
JANICE
Yeah, it must be awful.
MITCH
It all comes down to control, doesn't it?
JANICE
I'm sorry?
MITCH
Janice, could you excuse me for a moment?
I have to make a call.
JANICE
Uh, okay.
She walks out looking bewildered.
Mitch picks up the phone and dials quickly. He waits
impatiently for an answer.
MITCH
(into phone)
Coroner's office please.
INT. LECTURE HALL - COLLEGE
Mitch walks in distracted. The class is waiting for him.
MITCH
Hello everybody. I know this is a hard
day. I'll be back in a minute, and we'll
talk about it. But first, uh, Brian?
Could I talk to you out in the hallway
for a moment?
Brian nods and gets up, a little unsure. He follows Mitch
out of the classroom.
INT. HALLWAY - OUTSIDE LECTURE HALL
Mitch stops Brian a little ways down the hall and looks him
over carefully.
MITCH
It's a tough thing to lose a loved one.
BRIAN
I know.
MITCH
I know you really cared for Claudia. She
was a great girl.
BRIAN
Yeah.
MITCH
You had no idea she was coming to me for
help, did you?
BRIAN
No, I didn't.
MITCH
We arrested you on a gut feeling, and I'm
sorry for that.
BRIAN
Hey, it's all right. We all make
mistakes.
MITCH
We didn't make a mistake.
BRIAN
What?
MITCH
You fit my profile perfectly, but I
couldn't put the pieces together.
BRIAN
What are you talking about?
MITCH
In my profile, I said that the killer
didn't kill for any kind of sexual
gratification, and I was right.
BRIAN
Sexual....what?
MITCH
It was all about control. Controlling
the escorts, controlling the men....and
controlling Claudia.
BRIAN
You're not making any sense.
MITCH
You had chloroform in your room. None of
the victims had any trace of chloroform
in their systems. I checked the autopsy
reports myself.
BRIAN
What does that have to do with anything?
MITCH
I had the coroner do an autopsy on
Claudia this morning.
This shakes Brian a little. His tone becomes more panicked.
BRIAN
You what?
MITCH
She had chloroform in her system. That
surprise you?
No answer from Brian, but his eyes are growing more hateful.
MITCH (cont'd)
That's why she was always sleeping late,
and why she was nauseous all the time.
You used the chloroform to knock her out,
and then you went out and committed the
murders. You used her own dark fantasy
against her. You put evidence in her
room, and played with her mind. With
what you pulled, I might've been fooled.
BRIAN
You're stepping onto dangerous ground.
MITCH
But you fucked up with Josh. You did
that out of revenge. The escort was just
a decoy. The rest of the murders were
nothing. You have no score to settle.
You kill because you like it. When did
you find that out? Five? Ten?
BRIAN
You think you know so much about me.
MITCH
I do! You're all the same. Mad at the
world but you don't know why. But why
Claudia? She was just an innocent girl
who loved you.
BRIAN
I was helping her deal with her past.
Making the wrongs right.
MITCH
BULLSHIT!! You're not that noble. You
killed, and you blamed it on her because
you couldn't stand the thought of her
leaving you.
BRIAN
Shut up.
MITCH
You figured that if she were scared
enough, that she wouldn't leave your
side. Because you're the one that's
really scared.
BRIAN
SHUT THE FUCK UP!! Don't try to council
me Doctor. I don't want to end up
splattered on a sidewalk somewhere.
MITCH
She wouldn't have needed my help if you
hadn't fucked with her head. Admit it
Brian. You killed the one woman who
loved you.
BRIAN
STOP TALKING!!
MITCH
Where's the murder weapon Brian? Police
couldn't find it and I know you didn't
get rid of it. You like using it too
much. The police will be here any
second. If you hand over the knife, I'll
do what I can to help you. I can help
you change your life around.
BRIAN
Go fuck yourself.
Mitch takes a step forward. With a quick motion, Brian
sucker punches him, sending him sprawling on the floor.
Brian takes off running down the hall.
Mitch picks himself up, and wipes blood away from his lip and
runs after him.
EXT. COURTYARD - COLLEGE - DAY
Mitch bursts out of the door of the main building just in
time to see Brian disappear inside the theater, still under
construction.
He bolts across the courtyard towards it. Laura is walking
down the sidewalk and hurriedly blocks his path.
LAURA
What's going on?
MITCH
Stay out here! When the police come,
send them to the theater!
LAURA
But Mitch-
MITCH
JUST DO IT!
He continues running towards the theater, leaving Laura in
state of confusion.
INT. THEATER LOBBY - UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Mitch enters the dark entry way. Flaps of plastic cover the
high windows, and blow in the wind, sending occasional
streaks of dim light inside.
He moves silently past the tools and debris on the ground.
He stops momentarily, listening for any sound.
Three entrances are ahead of him on the far left, center, and
far right. After a moment of thought, he enters the right
entrance.
INT. THEATER - UNDER CONSTRUCTION
Mitch strains his eyes to see in the dark. The stage at the
front is dark and forboding. Scaffolding is raised near it
reaching almost all the way up to the high ceiling.
The three sections of seats are all in stages of
construction. Some rows are still missing.
He slowly moves down the right aisle, looking down each row.
CLOSE - BRIAN'S HANDS
Brian moves aside a plank from the floor with stealth and
reaches into a dark hole. He emerges with a wicked looking
hunting knife.
His shadow quietly moves away.
Mitch continues his search, trying not to make any noise.
Suddenly a soft CLANGING of something metal falling on the
floor perks his attention up.
He creeps towards the origin of the sound, still squinting in
the dim light. He stops near the scaffolding and strains to
listen.
He doesn't see the shadow rising behind him. Brian raises
the knife.
A gust of wind blows through, raising the plastic flaps.
With the light coming in, Mitch sees Brian's reflection in
the scaffolding bars.
He jerks to the side as Brian comes down with the knife, but
the blade slices him across the arm. He grunts in pain and
turns to face his attacker.
Brian brings the knife back up, but Mitch moves under
scaffolding, taking refuge behind the bars. They square off.
BRIAN
I'm gonna gut you like a fish.
MITCH
It doesn't have to end this way.
BRIAN
Yes it does.
He jabs the knife between the bars, and Mitch dodges him.
MITCH
You're a smart kid. Why this?
BRIAN
Like you said, I like it.
He reaches around the scaffolding and comes through, slicing
into Mitch's shoulder. Blood flows freely from the wound.
Mitch tries to run up the aisle, but Brian blocks his path.
Seeing no other way out, Mitch starts scaling the
scaffolding.
Brian eagerly goes after him.
Mitch reaches the top and is surprised to see that Brian has
gotten up at the same time. They circle each other on the
platform.
Brian slices at him, and Mitch moves out of the way. The
knife comes down again, but Mitch catches his arm and slams
it down the scaffolding bars.
With a painful yell, Brian releases his grip on the knife and
it clatters noisily on the floor.
Mitch punches Brian hard across the cheek sending him back to
the end of the platform. The bars catch him and he remains
standing.
Enraged he runs forward and pushes Mitch to the other edge of
the platform. He wraps his hand around Mitch's throat and
begins squeezing. Mitch chokes and struggles to breathe.
Mitch slams his fists into Brian's stomach, but it barely
fazes him. Mitch falls to his knees, almost to the point of
passing out. In a last ditch effort he grabs Brian by the
balls and puts his own squeeze on.
Brian howls in pain and releases Mitch from his grip. He
punches Mitch in the face and stumbles back holding his groin
in agony.
BRIAN (cont'd)
You son of a bitch!
Brian rushes him, but Mitch rears back and with a sharp CRACK
connects his fist to Brian's jaw.
Brian flies up, and with a scream of rage plummets over the
edge of the scaffolding.
He falls on the unfinished stage and breaks through the
flimsy boards, disappearing into the darkness.
Mitch sinks down on the platform, catching his breath. He
nurses the cut on his shoulder and sighs in pain. He closes
his eyes.
He opens them when the platform begins slightly shaking.
Puzzled he painfully gets to his feet. He looks over the
edge.
Brian is at the bottom, bloodied from his fall. He is
rocking the scaffolding, an evil look in his eyes.
The rocking becomes more violent, and Mitch is struggling to
hang on. With a final CREAK, the scaffolding gives way and
tips over.
The scaffolding falls across the center section of chairs.
At the last minute, Mitch jumps off, but lands against a row
of seats, breaking his arm. The scaffolding hits the chairs
sending up a big cloud of dust.
Mitch clears the dust from his eyes, and tries to move, but
is too beaten.
Brian picks up his knife from the floor and advances slowly
up the aisle.
BRIAN (cont'd)
I'm going to enjoy this.
MITCH
So you kill me. Then what? The police
are on their way.
BRIAN
You shrinks are all the same. I'm gonna
do the world a favor and cut your tongue
out first.
Brian is almost upon him. Suddenly the doors to the theater
burst open. Wes and a horde of cops are standing there. A
scowl crossed Brian's face.
WES
There he is!
The Cops advance, guns drawn.
COP
Put the knife down. Now!
BRIAN
Fuck you!
COP
I mean it! Do it now, or I will shoot
you!
BRIAN
So shoot me.
MITCH
He's for real!
The Cops keep their distance, but stand ready.
WES
Mitch?
MITCH
I'm all right! Keep your distance!
BRIAN
Still trying to protect me?
MITCH
It doesn't have to end this way. All it
takes is the will.
BRIAN
Fuck you. You can't change who I am.
You wanna see real willpower?
With great speed, Brain slices deeply across his own throat.
Blood spurts out of his neck. He falls to his knees and
shoots Mitch one more nasty look before falling to the ground
face first. A dark pool of blood spreads out from under him.
The Cops run up to him, kicking the knife away. Wes talks
into his radio.
WES
I need an ambulance here now!
He runs down to Mitch, who is laying there expressionless.
WES (cont'd)
Mitch. Are you all right?
MITCH
I think my arm's broken.
WES
We have an ambulance on the way.
Laura is at the entrance of the lobby, trying to get past all
the cops.
LAURA
Mitch!
Wes turns to the cops blocking her.
WES
Let her in.
They let her by and she runs down the aisle to Mitch. She
hugs him, tears streaming down her face. He winces in pain.
WES (cont'd)
His arm's broken.
Laura immediately lets go.
LAURA
Jesus, I'm sorry!
MITCH
It's all right.
She holds him around the neck. Cops swirl around them.
DISSOLVE TO:
INT. MITCH'S OFFICE - DAY
Mitch's wounds have been dressed. He is sitting with Laura
on the couch. Wes walks in.
WES
We just got a confirmation on the murder
weapon. Brian was the man. Your profile
was dead on.
MITCH
At least I know I haven't lost it.
WES
So what now?
MITCH
Semester's over. I take a vacation and
then I'm back.
WES
By the way, Kemper sends his apologies.
MITCH
He's probably already gone back. Gotta
secure those book deals.
WES
Random House. They called this morning.
MITCH
Huh. I turned 'em down a couple of days
ago.
WES
That's life I guess. You take care now.
Diner on Monday?
MITCH
You bet.
Wes walks out. Laura turns to him.
LAURA
Mitch....why did Brian kill himself?
MITCH
I don't know. I think he was right. You
just can't change people sometimes. I
never thought a person was born
evil...but I'm not so sure anymore.
DISSOLVE TO:
EXT. GRAVEYARD - DAY
It's raining again. Mitch and Laura are standing near the
Minister who is giving his eulogy. Some students are
gathered near as well.
Mitch takes a rose from his coat and places it gingerly on
the grave as the Minister finishes. As Mitch and Laura walk
away, the gravestone FILLS THE SCREEN. It reads:
CLAUDIA ENGLE BORN APRIL 2, 1977, DIED DECEMBER 11, 1998.
The inscription below it is now what FILLS THE SCREEN.
FOR A SHORT TIME....AN ANGEL WALKED AMONG US....
FADE OUT.
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Script created with Final Draft by Final Draft, Inc.