[EXT. MASSACHUSETTS COAST – DAY]
(A two lane road snakes along a rocky coastline. The crash of the assaulting surf overpowering. We may see oyster boats docked in the background. Bruce's PT Cruiser winds up along the coast. We hear the strains of Rock N' Roll as it drives by…)
[INT. PT CRUISER - DAY (TRAVELING)]
(Bruce and Johnny in their classic driving pose; Bruce's eyes on the road, Johnny's staring out the side window. Music, circa the '70s'-'80s, plays on the speakers. Bruce is trying to get into it, but it's just not working.)
BRUCE: Alright, fifty mile marks. Time for my music.
JOHNNY: We listened to "The Outcasts" all the way down to Boston, now you'll have to suffer on the way back.
BRUCE: First of all, it's just "Outkast." No "the", no plural-
JOHNNY: And no more. Please. Pull out one of my other Cds if you don't like this one…
(Bruce reaches into a CD case glances at dated albums including AC/DC's "Highway to Hell"…)
BRUCE: Ancient history. I'm trying to bring you up to speed on the music of today.
JOHNNY: Bruce, you didn't know me before the coma. I was never "up to speed"… was part of my charm.
BRUCE: Yeah, but you're so far behind now it's like you're going in reverse. You gotta get with the new, y'know? With the now.
JOHNNY: The new, huh? (Off Bruce's nod) The now?
(Johnny reaches behind his seat and pulls out a series of X-rays of his skull, including a 3-D Cat-Scan rendering of his head. Bruce sees where he's going and sighs.)
JOHNNY: May I present the latest technology, utilized by the top doctors at the most cutting edge labs… this is not your father's Cat-Scan…
BRUCE: Alright, enough…
JOHNNY: Yet all the king's doctors, with all the latest toys, still can't find what's wrong with me.
BRUCE: That's because there is nothing wrong.
(Bruce's tone signals that they've been through this before. Silence hangs as Johnny rolls the sentiment around in his mind, trying to decide how to feel about it. He smirks.)
JOHNNY: Besides my taste in music.
BRUCE: Besides that. I'm hungry. You hungry?
[EXT. ROAD – CONTINUOUS]
(The PT Cruiser zips by the camera, which whips to reveal a sign: WELCOME TO HOBBS LANDING, POP. 2,735. Underneath is the universal sign for food - the fork and knife.)
[OMITTED]
[EXT. HOBBS LANDING – DAY]
(The PT Cruiser enters the picturesque town center, which is lined with old-fashioned brick and wood buildings. A flag pole stands in the square, Old Glory at half mast. (The ocean might be visible in the background; this is a remote oyster village.) The town square is awfully empty and quiet for mid-day. Bruce parks across the street from a diner.)
[INT. DINER – DAY]
(Eight Locals are having lunch. 2 couples at tables, 3 old men at another and a hefty man (Bert) at the counter. All eyes go to Johnny and Bruce as they enter. Johnny and Bruce hesitate a moment as some conversations pause briefly to consider the strangers. They head for the counter, feeling eyes on them. There's something unwelcoming about this town. Johnny and Bruce take seats, place orders with the waitress (Linda) whose face we cannot see.)
BRUCE: Hey, hi ya doin'? (No answer) Uh, could I get a cup of chowder and half a turkey sandwich?
(The Waitress jots it down. Johnny, distracted, looks up.)
JOHNNY: Cheeseburger and just a glass of water, please…
(His voice trails off as he turns to look over his shoulder.)
BRUCE (O.S.): Yeah, water for me too, please.
(Johnny meets the glances of the locals. Most of them turn away from his look. The old men don't. Johnny turns back as the Waitress sets down two glasses of water. As Johnny raises the glass to his lips, we ramp into his face as a vision strikes…)
[EXT. FOREST - DAY (VISION)]
(Johnny stands among an angry mob during the roar of the crowd. He looks around him, at the screaming faces, some of whom we recognize - the waitress (Linda), the hefty man (Bert) at the counter. Johnny looks to the focus of their fury, only to see – Himself, tied to e tree, a makeshift pyre of branches and leaves at his feet. Johnny sputters as Gasoline is splashed on his face. . Someone near him cracks open an emergency flare, then tosses it onto the pyre, igniting it in a howling fire. )
[INT. DINER – RESUME]
(Johnny nearly chokes on his water as he swallows it. Ashen-faced, he calls out to the departing Waitress.)
JOHNNY: Excuse me…
(She turns, and we recognize her as one of the screaming faces of the Mob. Right now, her face is passive. Johnny's voice almost cracks as he fights to maintain a polite smile.)
JOHNNY: Can we get this to go?
(Bruce looks at Johnny, confused, as we…)
END OF TEASER
ACT ONE
[EXT. HOBBS LANDING – DAY]
(Johnny exits the diner, foam take-out container clutched under his arm. Bruce follows.)
BRUCE: What is it?
JOHNNY: Tell you in a few miles.
(Across the street, a Sheriff’s cruiser is now parked next to the PT. A uniformed officer, Deputy Nancy Simmons, is taking down the license plate number. Bruce hurries up.)
BRUCE: Oh, no. Is this a red zone?
JOHNNY: We were just leaving.
(Deputy Simmons, mid-thirties, no make-up, hair pulled back into a disciplined bun, sizes up Bruce, then Johnny.)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: You fellas have identification?
(Behind them, a couple of the locals have stepped out of the diner to watch. They reach for their drivers' licenses and, as the dialogue continues, hand them to her… Up ahead, trucks from a caravan are parking along the curb, Townsfolk disembarking. Three or four to a truck. They look tired as they begin to greet people walking out of stores to talk to them… they glance over at Johnny and Bruce with curiosity…)
BRUCE: Is there a problem, officer?
(She glances at the names on the licenses…)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: (correcting) Deputy. Simmons. (Looking up) Guess you haven't heard, huh…
(Johnny and Bruce react, heard what? Take note of the caravan people…)
DEPUTY SIMMONS (CONT'D): We had a double homicide last night. Mother and her eight year old daughter out in the woods.
BRUCE: (reacts) Oh, man…
DEPUTY SIMMONS: Second daughter is still missing. Thirteen years old. This town's been walking the woods all night. We're hoping she's still alive.
(Bruce makes the most natural assumption based on everything he knows about Johnny Smith…)
BRUCE: Well, if she is… (Turns to Johnny) John, maybe you could…
(But he stops as he sees Johnny's discomfort… Bruce has no idea what's going on… it's an awkward moment and the deputy picks up on it…)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: Could what…?
(And there's really no escape now…)
BRUCE: (still confused by Johnny's reaction) My friend has helped the police up in Maine now and then…
DEPUTY SIMMONS: Helped how…?
JOHNNY: I guess you'd call me a psychic.
(Deputy Simmons studies Johnny long and hard.)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: A psychic. Like with supernatural powers?
JOHNNY: No, I just sense things sometimes.
(And the crowd is getting curious and Simmons glances at them and doesn't want to continue this outside… she smiles pleasantly…)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: Look, we… we sure could use any help we can get, psychic or otherwise. Why don't you come on inside and we can talk about it?
(Johnny glances at the people from the caravan... it's not that he wouldn't help under any other circumstance... but here he hesitates and off that hesitation, the deputy reacts…)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: Unless you… (‘Have something more important')
JOHNNY: No. No. That's fine.
(Bruce knows it's not fine but doesn't know why and it's all very uncomfortable as the deputy leads these two across the street to the station house… past the Townsfolk from the search party, who have formed an unintentional roadblock of bodies across the street. Most talking, but some looking down this way.)
[INT. SHERIFF'S STATION - INTERROGATION ROOM – CONTINUOUS]
(As they enter… mid-conversation…)
BRUCE: You should check with the Sheriff of Penobscot County… Walt Bannerman… he can tell you all about Johnny… he helped catch a serial killer…
DEPUTY SIMMONS: Serial killer. With your psychic powers. No kidding. (Beat, considering Johnny) Look, if you'll just have a seat, I'm gonna bring in some of the evidence in this case… who knows - you might pick up some psychic vibration or whatever you call it… can't hurt to try right?
JOHNNY: (beat, what else can he say?) Okay, sure.
(She leaves. Bruce immediately turns to Johnny…)
BRUCE: You want to tell me what's going on?
(But Johnny looks at the mirror, moves over and touches it and as he does…)
[THE OBSERVATION ROOM]
(Finding, in the observation room, Sheriff James Danforth, 50s, tired eyes, forehead creased with worry lines… and we know Johnny knows he's in there and so he can't be open with Bruce.)
JOHNNY: (speaker) Nothing. You're right. I should help if I can.
(Danforth frowns… moves out to…)
[INT. BULLPEN – CONTINUOUS]
(Finding Simmons already sitting in front of a computer console… scrolling an internet story written by Dana Bright about the Dodd strangler case and Johnny Smith… Danforth moves behind her… looks over her shoulder…
SHERIFF DANFORTH: People here are scared out of their skins; the last thing they need to hear is we're soliciting a psychic for "help" in our investigation.
DEPUTY SIMMONS: Jim, I don't believe he's got mental powers!
(Danforth is confused. Simmons pauses her scrolling…)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: (reading) Four women. Ages eighteen to thirty-one.
DEPUTY SIMMONS (CONT'D): (off Danforth's look) Serial killer up in Maine. This Smith fellow led the Sheriff straight to the suspect, a deputy named Dodd. But Dodd never confessed. Killed himself before they could question him.
SHERIFF DANFORTH: Where are you going with this?
DEPUTY SIMMONS: What are the chances this "psychic" is in Hobbs Landing the day after Mary Reed and her daughter are killed? What if he led the Bangor Sheriff to arrest someone else to cover his own tracks… then he decides he's not finished and shows up here to "help" us out…?
(Danforth places a gentle arm on her shoulder…)
SHERIFF DANFORTH: I want you to stop; I want you to get some rest.
(Simmons rises, headstrong.)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: We have a crime scene with ritual satanic elements. Here's a guy who claims to have supernatural powers and he's been jumpy since the first moment he saw me… I think we'd be foolish not to hear what he's gonna say.
(Sheriff Danforth sighs, gives the okay.)
[INT. INTERROGATION ROOM – DAY]
(Close on evidence that Simmons brought it: a Dagger with S-Curved Blade, blood caked. A small gong, a hack-saw, a Ken doll ("Business suit Ken").)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: Three women were in the woods, apparently coming home late from a day long hike.
DEPUTY SIMMONS (CONT'D): Mary Reed, Susan Reed, and Cathy Reed. We found Mary and Susan, but Cathy is still missing.
(Simmons removes a Muddy sneaker from the first evidence bag, sets it in front of Johnny.)
DEPUTY SIMMONS (CONT'D): This is her shoe.
(Johnny reaches out and picks it up… Bruce watches, waits… Nothing. He turns the sneaker over.)
[ANGLE - IN THE OBS ROOM – DANFORTH]
(Danforth watches… And we'll intercut as we…)
[RESUME]
(Johnny focuses on the Mud-encrusted grooves along the sole, runs his finger along them. We push in to the grooves as suddenly…)
[EXT. FOREST - NIGHT (VISION)]
(Pull out of a matching footprint in the mud. We tilt up to see a Girl running away from us. Finding Johnny there in the forest, sitting at the interrogation table, the sneaker in his hands)
JOHNNY: She runs a lot. JV girl's track.
[INT. SHERIFF STATION - INTERROGATION OFFICE – RESUME]
(Sheriff Danforth reacts to the accurate information, his arms unfolding. Deputy Simmons just nods.)
JOHNNY: Running through the trees. Terrified.
(He puts the sneaker down, shaking his head clear.)
JOHNNY: I can't see where she is.
(Deputy Simmons only reply is to remove the hacksaw from its bag, and place it in front of Johnny. He stares at it, apprehensive. They stare back. He reaches for it…)
[EXT. FOREST - NIGHT (VISION) - JOHNNY'S POV - THE HACKSAW CUTTING BRANCHES OF A TREE]
(Hand holding it not visible. The branches arranged as a pentagram. Near-by is a tree stump.)
[INT. SHERIFF STATION - INTERROGATION OFFICE – RESUME]
JOHNNY: (still in vision) Baphomet…
DEPUTY SIMMONS: Come again?
JOHNNY: (shaking clear) This was used to cut down the branches, they were shaped into a pentagram… before the killing.
(Danforth straightens in surprise in the observation room… Simmons slides the dagger across the table. The blade is S-curved, a wave of steel. Dried blood caked on the tip. Johnny touches the hilt with a tentative finger. Then two. Starts to get a feeling…)
JOHNNY: One.
DEPUTY SIMMONS: One?
JOHNNY: This was the murder weapon… but in only one of the murders…
(The Deputy and Sheriff respectively react to his insight. Johnny's grip on the knife adjusts. His fingers interlace, like we've seen him do in visions, except now they tighten over the hilt of the dagger. Then he begins to whisper to himself.)
JOHNNY: Micama. Goho Pe-iad. Zodir comeselahe azodien biabe os-lon-dohe…
(Holy shit. Sheriff Danforth takes a step back. Deputy Simmons' hand casually slips off the table to rest on her holster, thumb gently hooking under the snap. Bruce's eyes narrow with concern… Johnny slowly raises the dagger above his head in a double grip, eyes shut tight. Mouthing the language (Enochian).
JOHNNY: Micama! Yehusozod noari…
(Sheriff Danforth's jaw slacks open.)
JOHNNY (O.S.): Baphomet!
(Johnny suddenly stabs downward with the dagger.)
[OMITTED]
[CLOSE ON JOHNNY'S EYES]
(As they snap open and his face is speckled with blood, he gasps :)
JOHNNY: No! Susan!
(Johnny jolts back from the table, hands recoil to his face, to wipe away the blood that, of course, is not there.)
JOHNNY: My god. Oh my god.
(Bruce moves to Johnny…)
BRUCE: That's enough. John, it's okay, you're okay…
(The Deputy has stepped up and out of her chair, hand still on her sidearm (Still in its holster). The dagger sticks straight up from the table, vibrations from the impact ebbing away.)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: The killer...?
(Johnny shakes his head, can't I-D the killer…)
JOHNNY: All I can tell you… it was a sacrifice. A ritual sacrifice.
(Off Johnny, rubbing the skin over his eye…)
[INT. SHERIFF STATION - OBSERVATION ROOM]
(Danforth has seen enough. He exits with a purpose..)
[OMITTED]
[INT. DOUG MARTIN'S OFFICE – DAY]
(Doug Martin dressed in a simple blue dress shirt and tie, leans back in his chair. He regards the Sheriff with a thoughtful look.)
MARTIN: You think he did it?
SHERIFF DANFORTH: He knows things… things we haven't released yet. Some things I didn't even know…
MARTIN: What about his friend?
SHERIFF DANFORTH: (shrugs, mind working) I need time. Time to tie them to real evidence. Find me something to hold Smith on. Parking ticket.
SHERIFF DANFORTH (CONT'D): Broken tail light. Anything. If you can do that, I'll impound the Cruiser - the other one won't be going anywhere.
(Martin turns in his chair to confront the shelves stacked with law books. The thoughtful look returns.)
MARTIN: I'll come up with something. Even if it won't stick, it will buy you a couple days.
SHERIFF DANFORTH: Just find it quick. He'll get suspicious soon.
MARTIN: Of course he will. He's "psychic."
(Martin runs his finger across the book bindings…)
[OMITTED]
[INT. SHERIFF STATION - INTERROGATION OFFICE]
(Close on the Ken doll. Moving to find Bruce, on his feet, stretching, picking it up, studying it…)
BRUCE: This was found at the murder scene?
DEPUTY SIMMONS: (acknowledging) Must have been Susan's.
(Bruce glances at Johnny who reaches out for the doll… as he touches it… push to a close-up of the doll to…)
[A JOHNNY FLASH - THE FACE OF TOM REED]
(The father of the murdered girl.)
[RESUME JOHNNY]
(He puts the doll down.)
JOHNNY: Where was their father when all of this?
DEPUTY SIMMONS: At a church meeting.
BRUCE: Without his family?
JOHNNY: They were going through a divorce.
(Simmons reacts to Johnny's insight…)
BRUCE: (raises an eyebrow, to Simmons) A divorce. And you're sure he was in that church?
DEPUTY SIMMONS: With over a hundred witnesses.
(Bruce moves back toward his seat, putting his hand on Johnny's chair as he passes… and when he does…)
[CAMERA SWINGS 180 DEGREES TO FACE JOHNNY, WHO IS NOW DRESSED IN A HEAVY RED FLANNEL JACKET AND RED WORK PANTS.]
(Johnny looks up at Bruce, taken aback. Bruce's face is heavily bruised around his eye, his lip is split and bleeding, and there is a gash on his forehead.)
BRUCE: What's wrong, man?
[JOHNNY, EVERYTHING BACK TO NORMAL]
JOHNNY: We really have to be on our way.
(Bruce reacts, confused…)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: Mr. Smith, we're not done here.
(Johnny moves to exit and Bruce heads through the door and down the hall. Simmons follows.)
[INT. BULLPEN – CONTINUOUS]
JOHNNY: I'm sorry. I've told you everything I can. If you need to get in touch with me…
(They're almost to the front door when it opens from the outside. Sheriff Danforth steps in, filling the doorway. Bruce and Johnny stop in their tracks. Doug Martin follows the Sheriff in, sliding a blazer over his dress shirt as he does.)
SHERIFF DANFORTH: I'm afraid I can't let you leave Hobbs Landing, Mr. Smith. Nancy, place him under arrest.
BRUCE: Arrest? For what?
MARTIN: Local ordinance number sixty-five. (Beat) The practice of witchcraft.
(Bruce reacts. Johnny absorbs the charge, the vision of burning at the stake now making terrifying sense. As Deputy Simmons steps up behind him…)
END OF ACT ONE
ACT TWO
[INT. PENOBSCOT COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE – DAY]
(Roscoe picks up the phone on the second ring.)
ROSCOE: Penobscot County Sheriff's office, Deputy…
JOHNNY (O.S.): Roscoe, it's Johnny Smith. Is Walt there?
ROSCOE: Boss-man's camping with the wife and kid. Thought you knew that.
[INT. HOBBS LANDING SHERIFF HQ – CONTINUOUS]
(As Johnny remembers…)
JOHNNY: I did, I just… (‘Forgot' implied) Did they take their cell phones?
ROSCOE: Yeah but they just don't work up in the mountains. He calls in every night. Say, by the way, got a call from some place in Massachusetts asking about you… (Searching his desk) … where is it, I have it here someplace…
JOHNNY: Hobbs Landing.
ROSCOE: That's it. You in some kind of trouble?
JOHNNY: I've been charged with witchcraft.
(Roscoe takes a beat… then starts to laugh…)
ROSCOE: Damn, they finally caught you, did they…?
JOHNNY: I'm a suspect in a double homicide.
(Johnny looks up at the surrounding faces: Desk Officer, Deputy Simmons, Sheriff Danforth, Doug Martin. Bruce stands behind them, shaking his head. Roscoe stops laughing.)
JOHNNY (CONT'D): I need Walt to vouch for me.
ROSCOE: I'll… I'll try to track him down… but I'm not sure where…
JOHNNY: (interrupting) Roscoe… I don't have a lot of time.
(He hangs up… Deputy Simmons steps forward and presses her finger onto the phone hook as Johnny starts to dial another number.)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: One phone call.
(Johnny looks at Bruce, who is running his hands through his dreads, trying to squeeze the stress out.)
JOHNNY: (mind working, to Bruce) Call Purdy. But call him from out of town.
(The deputy takes him toward the cellblock…)
BRUCE: No way, I'm leaving you here.
JOHNNY: (calling back, reemphasizing) I mean it, Bruce. Out of town!
(Johnny's gone. Bruce studies him, knows Johnny's warning him… but how can he abandon his friend… turning to Danforth…)
BRUCE: This is crazy. We were in Boston all weekend. Johnny was seeing doctors about his brain… (Realizing how that sounds)… which is fine, his brain I mean… but we just drove into town today!
SHERIFF DANFORTH: I'll need the keys to your Cruiser. We'll be impounding it during the investigation.
(Bruce shakes his head, hands Danforth the keys.)
BRUCE: You're making a big mistake.
SHERIFF DANFORTH: You'll be making one if you try to leave.
MARTIN: There'll be a hearing in a few hours. If I were you, I'd stick around to testify for your friend.
(Martin nods to the Sheriff and exits through the front door. The Sheriff walks into the bullpen. Bruce is left alone.)
[INT. DINER – DAY]
(A group of locals including the waitress, Linda, the hefty man, Bert, and tall, wiry Eddie Wolcott… react to the news…)
BERT: (reacting) Witchcraft?!
EDDIE WOLCOTT: It's the best they could do for now.
BERT: But I mean are they serious - they really think he's a witch?
LINDA: Guys are 'warlocks', aren't they?
EDDIE WOLCOTT: Doug Martin says he can prove it in a court of law.
LINDA: Hey, look there's the other one…
(Out the window of Bruce coming out of the sheriff's station, dialing his cell phone…)
BERT: What's with the guy's hair anyway?
LINDA: They're called dreadlocks.
EDDIE WOLCOTT: Dreadlocks, warlocks. Fellow travelers if you ask me.
(Panning to find someone else eating a grilled cheese sandwich, looking outside at Bruce. It's a man in a red flannel jacket and red work pants, as seen in Johnny's bloody Bruce vision.)
[OMITTED]
[INT. PURDY'S OFFICE – DAY]
(Purdy is on the cell phone with Bruce… Purdy's lawyer, Mike Kennedy, observes with concern…)
PURDY: Yes. Yes, thank you, Bruce. Tell Johnny to sit tight, and not to worry. I'll be there in an hour, and this will all be cleared up. See you soon.
(Purdy hangs up. He murmurs to himself, quick dials his office…)
PURDY: Johnny, Johnny, Johnny. (To phone) Helen, get the Governor of Massachusetts on the line, please.
PURDY (CONT'D): And call Gerald, have him get our helicopter ready. (Clicks off, to Kennedy) Who should we retain? Jamey Turner?
KENNEDY: I wouldn't send any of our lawyers. I wouldn't get near this thing.
(Purdy's momentum slows. Gets Kennedy's meaning.)
PURDY: Helping to clear an innocent man of murder is hardly controversial.
KENNEDY: No, but "witchcraft" is the kind of word a spin doctor dreams about. I don't think we should take risks with your reputation, particularly in light of our new political alliances… the campaigns are just around the corner…
PURDY: The boy is in trouble. And he came to me for help.
HELEN (O.S.): Reverend, I can connect you to the Governor now…
PURDY: (hesitates) Hold on…
KENNEDY: I'm only suggesting we keep a close eye on this for awhile… See how it plays out… it may go away all on its own.
(Purdy sinks down into his chair, and for the briefest moment he seems to scowl at himself. Then…)
PURDY: Put him through.
(His face does a one-eighty and lights up.)
PURDY: Angus! Just called to see if we were still on this Saturday. (Listens, laughs) We'll just increase your handicap.
(Kennedy nods his approval. Purdy turns away in his chair.)
[INT. INTERROGATION OFFICE - DAY (FORMERLY SCENE 30)]
(Close on Gabriel Barnes, smartly dressed, All-American good looks)
GABE: (pro forma) The court has informed me you don't have an attorney, and they need to take you before the judge to set bail…
JOHNNY: (dry) What are the bail parameters for witchcraft around here?
GABE: I'm assuming you'll want someone of your own choosing to represent you. If you ask the judge for a change of counsel…
JOHNNY: (evenly, mind working) I don't have time for a change of counsel, Mr. Barnes.
GABE: (blinks) I'm sorry to tell you but I don't believe this is going to be resolved quickly. (Beat, taking out a legal pad) Very well… let me ask you a few things. Are you a witch, Mr. Smith?
JOHNNY: No. And I didn't kill anyone in case you were wondering.
GABE: Do you have an alibi?
JOHNNY: (grim, shakes his head) We checked out of our hotel in Boston early Sunday.
JOHNNY (CONT'D): We've been driving the coast since then. Lovely state you have here. (Dry) A lot of interesting history.
(Gabe gets Johnny's meaning…)
GABE: You understand this witchcraft charge is just a tactic to hold you while they search for evidence. If they can't find any…
JOHNNY: It won't matter…
GABE: Of course, it will… they'll have to release you.
(Johnny studies this very conservative young man…)
JOHNNY: Mr. Barnes, in a very short time, a group of your neighbors are going to burn me at the stake as a witch.
(A long, long even look from Gabe. He almost smiles with horror.)
GABE: I beg your pardon?
JOHNNY: I'm not a witch, Mr. Barnes. But I do see things that no one else can see. I know what's going to happen to me here. And right now, you're my only hope to prevent it.
GABE: This isn't a dumb fish town, Mr. Smith. People who live here are warm, intelligent human beings. More afraid than I've ever seen them, yes. But we are not the kind of people who would ever, ever do such a thing.
JOHNNY: I'd say 'I'll prove it to you' but I'd rather not.
(Off Gabe's reaction…)
[EXT. HOBBS LANDING – DAY]
(A sheriff' vehicle pulls around a corner into the town square, revealing a large crowd assembled in the square, like you might find on the 4th of July. This is the bulk force of the manhunt assembled to find Cathy Reed. The sheriff car turns on its lights and gives a WHOOP! A path is cleared for it, people looking in the windows. In the front seat: Sheriff Danforth and Deputy Simmons. In the back: Gabriel Barnes and Johnny Smith. Johnny looks out at the locals, as they look in. Meeting their now accusatory stares. Gabe notices this, too, thinks about what Johnny said. Johnny suddenly spots the man wearing a red flannel jacket and red work pants, right from his "Bloody Bruce" vision. The man is sitting on the trunk of an Olds '88, as are two others. Their clothes show that they have been trekking through the woods; muddy boots, leaves on coats. The car stops in front of the county courthouse. Johnny gets out, igniting murmurs from the crowd. And then…)
EDDIE WOLCOTT: Where is Cathy?
(Eddie is tall and wiry. His voice is clear and loud. A few random shouts compliment his outburst. Then, a patch of the crowd falls quiet and parts to let the distraught father, Tom Reed, step forward. He stares at Johnny with a blank expression. A hand or two reaches out to rub Tom's shoulder for comfort. Johnny's eyes meet Tom's for a beat, and then he is ushered into the courthouse. The last face he sees is Bruce's… and Johnny reacts with dismay… but Bruce just shrugs and says with a look that he couldn't leave… overlapping from next scene…)
MARTIN (V.O.): Your Honor, the people of Hobbs Landing charge the defendant with violation of local ordinance 65…
[INT. COURTHOUSE – DAY]
(Judge Donald Wilson, a grandfatherly face, listens curiously, struggles to place the ordinance, he prides himself on knowing most of them. Locals have filled the only seats available in the back. Tom Reed is among them. Bruce sits behind Johnny.)
MARTIN: …The practicing of Witchcraft. We request that he be held pending trial.
(A confused murmur ripples through the crowd. Judge Wilson adjusts his hearing aid, leans forward.)
JUDGE WILSON: Excuse me, Doug. I missed that, thought you said witchcraft.
(Gabe quickly stands.)
GABE: Your Honor, the defense moves to dismiss this charge as preposterous. The prosecution of witchcraft as a criminal charge was dismissed over two hundred years ago…
JUDGE WILSON: Counsel approaches the bench. Both of you. Now.
(ON Martin, Gabe, Judge Wilson. Their rapport is familiar.)
JUDGE WILSON: Boys, I was hoping to go fishing today.
GABE: The Sheriff and Prosecutor have clearly trumped up a bogus charge to unlawfully detain this man. It's a violation of his civil rights… (Right to Martin) And frankly I think it mocks this court.
(Wilson looks at Doug Martin, who remains very calm.)
MARTIN: I won't lie. The accused is the leading suspect in the Reed murders, and the Sheriff needs time to gather evidence. But the outcome of this hearing will be evidence in its own right.
(Judge Wilson wrinkles his nose, confused. So is Gabe.)
MARTIN: The Reed Murders involve elements of Satanism. A conviction on witchcraft will be a key element in the prosecution of that case. (Turns to Gabe) And the charge is not bogus, because I intend to prove it.
(Judge Wilson thinks about it.)
JUDGE WILSON: I'm willing to see where this goes, but if I don't like it, we're all going home.
(They break.)
[A THICK LAW BOOK]
(As Martin reads from it…)
MARTIN: Local ordinance number 65 defines witchcraft as "the practice of and belief in supernatural abilities, including the divination of future and past events, the sickening or corrupting of others through incantations, spells or motions of the hand or eye. A communion with the Devil."
(He then walks a handful of print-outs up to Judge Wilson.)
MARTIN: These are newspaper reports from Bangor, Maine. Chronicling Mr. Smith's supernatural abilities…
GABE: (interrupting) Your honor, my client does not deny that he's a psychic. We've all heard about psychics. We see them on TV…
MARTIN: (repeating for emphasis) "…Supernatural abilities, including the divination of future and past events…" That's what the ordinance says. That's what Mr. Smith does according to these reports. (Moving on) I also present as evidence items, found in the car Mr. Smith was traveling in, which have a decidedly supernatural slant. (Showing books) "The Paranormal Abilities of the Human Mind." "Psycho kinesis and you." X-Rays of a human skull. (Holds up Johnny's X-Rays) Not the most common item to keep in one's car.
(A rumbling from the crowd. Bruce looks around, surprised at their reaction. Johnny whispers something to Gabe.)
MARTIN: And a CD of the heavy metal band AC/DC, notorious for their Satanic lyrics. This album includes the songs, "Highway to Hell" and "Hell's Bells."
GABE: (standing) The X-Rays are of Mr. Smith himself, and were taken at the Boston Medical Center yesterday. None of these personal items substantiate the claim that my client engages in witchcraft. (Beat) And if you're going to arrest everyone who listens to AC/DC, you'll have to arrest a few other folks in this courtroom starting with me.
GABE (CONT'D): By the way, may I correct my learned colleague that AC/DC is considered classic rock, not heavy metal.
(He sits, Johnny looks at him, "Do you?" Gabe nods.)
[OMITTED]
[EXT. HOBB'S LANDING - A CAR (FORMERLY PART OF SCENE 41)]
(With Maine license plates, pulling to a stop behind the virtual barricade of townie cars clogging the square. Dana Bright steps out, takes in the gathering, surprised to see such a hubbub. She shakes her head.)
DANA: Johnny Smith. You had to go and piss off Mayberry.
(She heads to the courthouse, shaking her head.)
[INT. COURTHOUSE – DAY]
(Dana edges through the doors, eyeing the packed room, and feeling the looks of xenophobic locals. She spots Bruce on the stand…)
MARTIN: So you admit to being a witness to Mr. Smith's… powers. Would you say it's accurate to say he 'divined future and past events?'
BRUCE: I don't think he 'divined' anything.
MARTIN: Really. How do you think he does it?
BRUCE: Medical science can't explain that; I sure can't.
MARTIN: So you can't categorically dismiss non-scientific explanations can you? For example, spiritual explanations.
BRUCE: I certainly don't believe they come from the devil if that's what you're getting at.
MARTIN: But you have no alternative explanation to offer. Science has no alternative explanation to offer. You said so yourself.
(Bruce pauses, thinking. He looks at Johnny, smiles.)
BRUCE: I've never said this out loud before, but I think what Johnny has is a very new human ability.
MARTIN: Or a very old one.
GABE: Objection. Leading.
JUDGE WILSON: Sustained. Watch it, Doug.
(As the questions continue, Johnny looks back at the crowd… sees Dana, who grins hello… he raises an eyebrow… whispers something to Gabe, who glances back at Dana…)
MARTIN: One last question, Mr. Lewis. What do the doctors at your hospital call the region of Mr. Smith's brain that gives him these supernatural powers?
BRUCE: (hesitates, avoiding the question) I'm not a doctor…
MARTIN: But you must have heard them… I called up there today and it came up during the conversation… what do they call it…
BRUCE: The Dead Zone.
MARTIN: The Dead Zone. Interesting. Thank-you, sir.
(He sits. Gabe stands to cross-examine Bruce.)
GABE: Mr. Lewis, the ordinance requires "the sickening or corrupting of others…" Have you ever seen Mr. Smith corrupt anyone or make someone sick?
BRUCE: Never.
GABE: Has he ever, to your knowledge, boiled an eye of newt, or wing of bat, in a large cauldron?
BRUCE: Not to my knowledge, no.
(Johnny smiles, gaining confidence.)
GABE: No further questions. (Beat) May we have a short recess, your honor?
JUDGE WILSON: Back in fifteen.
(Johnny and Dana's eyes connect once more…)
[INT. COURT RECORDS ROOM – DAY]
(Dana, Johnny, Bruce and Gabe entering…)
DANA: (to Bruce) Gene Purdy called me after you called him…
BRUCE: Called you? Where's he?
DANA: (not trying to sell it) Something urgent came up. Truth is he's home, making sure his hands don't get dirty. (Dry) He asked me to keep him well informed and to express his deep concern for your well being.
BRUCE: Great. We call for the cavalry and he sends a press release.
DANA: They can't seriously expect this witchcraft charge to hold up in court…
JOHNNY: It doesn't have to hold up in court. People hear what the prosecution is saying… they know Satanism was involved in the murders…
DANA: (understands) And it begins to take on a life of its own.
JOHNNY: Life… and death.
JOHNNY (CONT'D): (beat) Unless we can find something to change the equation.
BRUCE: I still think the girls' father had something to do with this…
GABE: He's got an iron-clad alibi…
BRUCE: I know but…
JOHNNY: There was a doll of a man found at the murder site… when I touched it I got a vision of the father… there's something about him I can't put my finger on…
DANA: Maybe my finger will have better luck.
BRUCE: (to Dana) You and I should talk to…
JOHNNY: (interrupting) No. I want your word you're going to get out of here.
BRUCE: I'll get out of here when you…
JOHNNY: Dammit. There's nothing more you can do here but get into trouble. Serious trouble. I can't concentrate while you're here, okay? I need you gone.
(Bruce's jaw tightens… he doesn't like this at all, besides…)
BRUCE: They impounded the Cruiser.
JOHNNY: (to Dana) You have a car?
DANA: Sebring convertible. Parked across the street.
JOHNNY: (to Bruce) Take it.
(She holds out the keys.)
BRUCE: Man, I…
JOHNNY: Take it.
(Johnny nods to Bruce, I need you to do this. This goes against every grain in his body…but he takes the keys…)
BRUCE: You take care of yourself. (Johnny acknowledges) I'll see ya back home.
(Bruce exits. Johnny takes a deep breath - that was hard to do.)
JOHNNY: (to Gabe) I want to take the stand.
GABE: They haven't proven anything. I don't think the judge…
JOHNNY: I don't need to convince the judge. I need to convince the people of this town that they don't have to be afraid of me…I want them to hear my voice, see me as a human being… (Beat) I may not get another chance.
(Gabe studies him…)
[EXT. HOBBS LANDING – DAY]
(The assembled crowd stares at Bruce as he moves across the street to Dana's car, gets in and starts the engine… As he drives away, pan to find the Man in Red leaning against his Olds '88... he looks to some buddies and the four of them get into the car… as the Man In Red starts the engine…)
END OF ACT TWO
ACT THREE
[EXT. COURTHOUSE - DAY (FORMERLY PORTIONS OF SCENE 43)]
(Dana spots Tom Reed, smoking a cigarette near a candlelit shrine to Mary and Susan, replete with photos. Town-Folk are holding a vigil for Cathy Reed… she approaches him…)
DANA: Mr. Reed, Dana Bright. I'm a reporter from the Bangor Daily News. I wonder if I can ask you a few questions about your family.
TOM REED: I have nothing to say.
(He stamps on his cigarette… goes back inside the courthouse… Dana frowns… Moving to find Sheriff Danforth scanning the crowd, worry lines deepening. He reaches into his car, whoops the siren, then keys his loud speaker.)
SHERIFF DANFORTH (LOUD SPEAKER): People, I need you to clear the street.
EDDIE WOLCOTT: We got a right to assemble, Jim!
SHERIFF DANFORTH: You got a right to be slapped with Disturbing the Peace, Eddie. You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here.
(They break up but not really… moving away from the steps… but still milling… Wolcott and other more headstrong folks move into the diner… Dana goes back inside…)
[OMITTED]
[INT. COURTROOM - DAY (PORTIONS FORMERLY FROM SCENE 37)]
(As Dana follows Tom Reed in and sits…)
JOHNNY: (mid-answer) … believe me, there are times I wish I didn't have this psychic ability… but I have tried my best to use it in positive ways, to help people… I wouldn't know how to begin to use it in a harmful manner.
GABE: Thank-you.
(Martin rises…)
MARTIN: Mr. Smith, I have the report from your interview with Deputy Nancy Simmons. Says here that by touching key pieces of evidence, you were able to "see" the crime scene in great detail.
(Johnny's eyes sweep the crowd, lock onto Deputy Simmons, who holds his look, unrepentant.)
MARTIN (CONT'D): At one point, you held a ritual dagger, the kind used in Satanic ritual, and began to speak words in a "strange language." (Waits for crowd to absorb this, murmur) What language did you speak?
JOHNNY: I don't know.
MARTIN: What did you see?
GABE: That is not relevant to these proceedings.
MARTIN: I'm trying to establish supernatural powers, your honor.
JUDGE WILSON: I'll allow it. Answer the question, Mr. Smith.
JOHNNY: I saw the murder of Susan Reed.
MARTIN: And when you saw this murder, who did you see holding the knife?
GABE: Objection…
JUDGE WILSON: Overruled.
JOHNNY: You have to understand how these visions work…
MARTIN: In your vision, who was holding the knife, Mr. Smith?
JOHNNY: I was.
(Pandemonium in the courtroom. The judge pounds the gavel for order…)
MARTIN: Is it possible that your vision was accurate? That you killed Susan Reed? Perhaps blocked it from memory?
GABE: Objection.
JUDGE WILSON: Sustained.
(A man stands up in the crowd, Eddie Wolcott.)
EDDIE WOLCOTT: What have you done with Cathy?
(Johnny winces at the assault. Wilson bangs on his gavel.)
JUDGE WILSON: George, get him out of here!
(George, the bailiff, moves to grab Eddie, who puts up little resistance as he is ushered through the back doors. Judge Wilson addresses the court, furious.)
JUDGE WILSON: One more outburst like that, from anyone, and I will clear this court.
(Gabe stands up, trying to stop this.)
GABE: Your Honor, it's described in the newspaper articles how Mr. Smith's psychic visions often place him in the roles of other people during events he sees… this line of questioning is deliberately inflammatory…
JUDGE WILSON: Perhaps you should fast forward to your point, Doug.
MARTIN: (advancing on Johnny) My point, your Honor, is simple: either Mr. Smith possesses attributes which match the definition of witchcraft in ordinance sixty-five - "supernatural abilities including the divination of future and past events", or he lied to the investigators, and was present at the scene of the murders.
(It's as if an electric current was sent through the assembly. Judge Wilson has to bang his gavel hard…)
[EXT. ROAD - DAY (FORMERLY SCENE 46)]
(Bruce drives Dana's car past the "Welcome to Hobbs Landing" sign. As soon as he passes it, he exhales a sigh of relief. Drives for two more beats. Then suddenly grits his teeth and slams the brakes, skidding to a halt. He sits in the road, then guns a U-turn and heads back to town. Loyalty, doubt, guilt, or a little of all three. Rounding the corner up ahead is the Olds '88. It swerves into the oncoming lane. Bruce tenses, swerves into the other lane. The olds matches him, forcing a game of chicken. Bruce swerves back, the olds calls. Bruce wrenches the wheel left to avoid a head-on, and barrels off road, then stopping. The Olds smokes to a halt. Sits there, idling. Bruce gets out of the Sebring, royally pissed.)
BRUCE: Oh, man, this wasn't even my car!
(He looks up at the Olds, as four men hop out. Bruce freezes when he sees the Man in Red approaching. The four shadows of the men stretch out over the pavement, encroaching on Bruce's feet. Bruce freezes, realizes too late, that he's in trouble…)
BRUCE: Look, why don't we just calm down and…
(One of the men sucker-punches him. But then, Bruce moves lightning-fast, and we realize we've never really seen Bruce move before. He blocks the fist, traps the arm, and then throws down a hundred and seventy three pounds of asshole. Then the other three pounce. Bruce holds his own for a few rounds, but then takes a bad crack to the temple and gut at the same time. He stumbles down, and we cut way… Way back to view the beating from a distance, framed by the giant coastal pine trees. Twilight is falling.)
[OMITTED]
[INT. COURTROOM – DAY]
(Martin has crossed back to his desk and holds aloft a hair clip like it's the fucking sword in the stone.)
MARTIN: Your honor, this is a piece of evidence recovered from the crime scene. A hair clip belonging to Cathy Reed, which was not touched by Mr. Smith during his interview. (To Johnny) I'd like you to touch it now.
GABE: I'm not going to allow my client to…
MARTIN: I'm giving him the chance, in the eyes of this court, to demonstrate his abilities are what he claims them to be. Otherwise, we have no choice but to believe that he is a murderer.
(Gabe leans as far over his desk as he's allowed.)
GABE: (to Johnny) You don't have to do this…
(Johnny looks at Gabe, Martin, the Crowd. It's the witch's dilemma: if you float, they hang you. If you drown, you're innocent. The room falls silent as Johnny reaches out and takes the hair clip from Martin, who makes a show of stepping back. Johnny looks down at the hair clip (note: it has a pearl imbedded in it) and suddenly the camera begins to sway into a canted angle. He looks up to see…)
[INT. TILTING KITCHENETTE - VISION (FORMERLY SCENE 38)]
(Cathy Reed, sitting at an undersized table in an undersized booth, her eyes unfocused, haunted. Slowly, the room begins to slightly tilt the other way. We hear the echoing moan of wood stretching.)
[OMITTED]
[INT. COURTHOUSE - (RESUME)]
JOHNNY: She's alive.
(Half the Locals in the room stand straight up in their seats, and order is lost as shouting erupts. Martin steps, vindicated, impressed with himself. Gabe slowly sits back down. Judge Wilson bangs his gavel over and over and over. And the waitress, Linda, eyes are watering as she stands up and blurts out, almost choking on a sob…)
LINDA: Just tell us what you've done with her, you freak!
(Bang! Judge Wilson doesn't lose a second.)
JUDGE WILSON: Clear the court! Bailiff, see everyone out!
(The assembly groans its disapproval. Overlapping cries of "come on!"/"I didn't say anything!"/"Not fair..." George the Bailiff tries to herd people out, Deputy Simmons assists. Dana forces her way against the throng toward Johnny, who gets up from the stand, passing Gabe. His eyes connect a beat with Tom Reed as Reed leaves the courtroom… Urgent: Johnny hurries to the railing where Dana moves to him…)
JOHNNY: (to Dana) A boat. She's on a boat.
(She acknowledges as she moves outside. As Johnny stands before them, stunned by his own revelation, and the town's reaction to it, we…)
END OF ACT THREE
ACT FOUR
[EXT. COURTHOUSE – DAY]
(As the assemblage pours out of the courthouse… and once again the courthouse steps are filled with people… Danforth moves out of his office to see what the commotion is…)
DEPUTY SIMMONS: The judge just tossed everybody out…
SHERIFF DANFORTH: (to Deputy Simmons) I'm beginning to be sorry we ever started this…
(Dana moves to him…)
DANA: Sheriff, I'm a reporter from Johnny Smith's home town. He just told me he thinks the missing girl may be on a boat. Have you searched the harbor?
SHERIFF DANFORTH: (shakes his head) We've been looking in the woods all day.
DEPUTY SIMMONS: This sounds an awful lot like a confession to me…
DANA: (sharp, to Simmons) You just don't get it, do you? (To Danforth) I've seen more of Johnny Smith's powers than anyone in this town… Call it witchcraft or anything else you want to… but I'd sure as hell start searching boats if I were you…
(The Sheriff doesn't need a lot of prompting…)
SHERIFF DANFORTH: (to the deputy) You hold down the fort here…
(Dana follows the sheriff.)
[INT. DINER]
(Crowded with town-folk who were chased away by the Sheriff earlier, including Eddie Wolcott, Bert and others. Linda bursts in, all heads turn…)
LINDA: She's alive! He just admitted it on the stand…
(Follow the excitement through the group as it rolls through them like a wave. Eddie and Bert exchange a look…)
[OMITTED]
[EXT. COURTHOUSE – DAY]
(A tight group of ten men, led by Eddie Wolcott, marches across the square. A more nebulous contingent of Locals follows their lead. They walk right up to Deputy Simmons, who is standing in front of the court doors.)
EDDIE WOLCOTT: We want to have a word with John Smith.
DEPUTY SIMMONS: Go home, Eddie. All of you.
EDDIE WOLCOTT: Nancy, you brought him in, he lied to your face, and you had him arrested. You did the right thing then, you'll do it now.
(Nancy about to open her mouth, when someone shouts…)
BERT: He knows where Cathy is!
(Multiple cries of agreement rise up. Deputy Simmons is scared. What's worse, she agrees with them.)
EDDIE WOLCOTT: We just want to talk to the man.
(Off Nancy Simmons, a thousand eyes on her…)
[INT. COURTHOUSE – DAY]
JUDGE WILSON: …And while Mr. Smith possesses an uncanny knowledge of recent events in this town, he has not appeared to use these powers for personal gain or to harm others, so therefore he's broken no enforceable law…
(The court doors burst open, and the mob swarms in, heading for Johnny. No cries of hatred, no roar of madness. Just the horrible shuffling of fifty plus feet on hardwood.)
JUDGE WILSON: Get out of here… all of you… Bailiff!
(But the bailiff is overwhelmed… Gabe stands up…)
GABE: Eddie, Linda… stop this now… this isn't the way you do things… not in our town…
(Johnny waits for them to swarm past Gabe and over to him. Hands grabbing, mess of arms, blacking out the frame.)
[EXT. COURTHOUSE – DAY]
(Johnny is dragged out of the courthouse… Eddie Wolcott in the lead… And during the sequence as hands grab at him…)
[JOHNNY FLASHES]
(… He’s tied to a tree, a makeshift pyre of branches and leaves at his feet… Gasoline is splashed on his face. Someone near him cracks open an emergency flare… All these are intercut with the crowd action… Those gathered in the square look up. Some cheer. Some stand numb. Some quickly depart, wanting no part of this. Eddie pulls Johnny's head back, to see the crowd -- the flare is tossed it onto the pyre, igniting it in a howling fire.)
[RESUME]
(Much Walla… cries of "murderer", "tell us where she is"…)
EDDIE WOLCOTT: Now, what "psychic motivation" do you need to say where Cathy is?
(Johnny looks at the man. There's no reasoning with this one, with any of them. He needs to know where she is.)
JOHNNY: (shaken) I need to go to the crime scene.
EDDIE WOLCOTT: Yeah. Figured you would. Isn't that what they say - you always return to the scene of the crime…
(Eddie drags him toward his car. The mob follows, now with a rising yell. A couple of kids run up alongside the adults, almost leaping with excitement. Tom Reed enters frame, looking at the Mob, panic creeping into his shell-shocked eyes…)
[EXT. HOBBS LANDING HARBOR - DOCK #1 – DAY]
(All kinds of boats here… Danforth gives directions to some harbor security guys… as well as his own deputy…)
SHERIFF DANFORTH: …we don't know if anyone else is in there with her or if she's alive or dead… but if she's alive I don't want anyone doing anything stupid to get this little girl killed - do I make myself clear?
(They acknowledge… move off…)
DANA: Does Tom Reed have a boat?
SHERIFF DANFORTH: He has an alibi.
DANA: Does he have a boat?
SHERIFF DANFORTH: No. But… (Thinking)
DANA: What?
SHERIFF DANFORTH: He used to look after the Vandenheim yacht over at dock five when the family's not here on vacation.
DANA: Are they here now?
SHERIFF DANFORTH: No.
[INT. OLDS '88 – DAY]
(Man in Red sits in, closes the door, listening to his cell. Cronies in the back - some bruised.)
EXCITED VOICE (PHONE): We got the guy. We took him! We're bringing him out to the crime scene, he's gonna confess! You better get over here…
(Man in Red puts it in gear…)
[EXT. ROAD – CONTINUOUS]
(Angle on the trunk as the Olds '88 takes off, passing the empty Sebring on the side of the road.)
[EXT. FOREST – DAY]
(Moving with the mob to the head of the pack, where Johnny is prodded along. Voice by voice dies to a solemn quiet as they all reach the yellow tape that cordons off the crime scene. The pentagram, made of branches, is still there (minus one branch), bracketing the tree stump. The tape pleads "DO NOT CROSS" but no one listens, although people stop short of the pentagram, divert around it so they can still see, forming a circle in the process. A circle of people enclosing Johnny, the pentagram, the tree stump. Johnny looks around at them. Not all have been to this place. Some are so scared, they shudder. Others look on him with open hatred. Tom Reed, looking at the scene with mute anticipation, as if he knows something terrible is going to happen which he cannot stop, but he cannot look away. Johnny knows that look. He's wearing it now. Wolcott pushes him and Johnny is thrown to the ground… as he touches the earth…)
[A JOHNNY FLASH - NIGHT - SAME LOCATION - SUSAN'S WRISTS BEING BOUND]
(We never see her…)
SUSAN'S VOICE: Mommy…?
[RESUME DAY]
EDDIE WOLCOTT: Well?
(Johnny blinks. Regains his composure best he can. Slowly reaches down, fingers trembling, touches the tree stump…)
[A JOHNNY FLASH - THE SAME WRIST – NIGHT]
SUSAN'S VOICE: Mommy…?
(Finding thin medical-type latex gloves unpeeling onto the hands of Mary Reed… moving to her eyes committed to the unspeakable act she's going to commit…)
MARY: Bring me Daddy.
(Finding Cathy… confused, worried…)
CATHY: What are you doing?
[JOHNNY – DAY]
JOHNNY: Just bring me Daddy, honey…
[THE KEN DOLL – NIGHT]
(As Cathy picks it up… brings it over… stay close on the doll…)
MARY: Put it on the altar where he can watch…
(Cathy places Ken standing on the altar…)
MARY: Micama. Goho Pe-iad…
[JOHNNY – DAY]
(Crawling on the ground… people watching in horror…)
JOHNNY: …Zodir come-selahe…
[THE KNIFE - HELD IN LATEX GLOVED HANDS]
(Raising it…)
MARY (O.S.): …Azodien biabe os-lon-dohe…
(Finding Cathy, the thirteen year old… screaming…)
CATHY: What are you doing? Nooo…!
SUSAN'S VOICE: Mommy?
[JOHNNY – DAY]
JOHNNY: Nooo…!
[THE KEN DOLL – NIGHT]
(On the altar… falls and tips over telling us Susan has just been murdered…)
MARY: Baphomet!
[JOHNNY – DAY]
(Gasping at the horror… his hand reaching out…)
[CATHY'S HAND - NIGHT - MATCHING SHOT - REACHING OUT]
(For a good sized rock which she picks up…)
[JOHNNY - CLOSE-UP... HIS HAND GOES TO HIS FACE…]
[MARY'S FACE FALLS INTO FRAME TO THE GROUND - SLOW MOTION - EYES OPEN IN DEATH - BLOOD SPLATTERED - AN UGLY BRUISE AT THE CENTER OF HER FACE… FINDING CATHY SOBBING…]
[EXT. HOBBS LANDING HARBOR - DOCK #5 – DAY]
(A door on a yacht is pried open with a crowbar and as it snaps open, we see the face of Cathy crying… as Danforth and Dana reacts… Dana takes her in her arms to comfort her… To see a car arriving in a hurry brakes hard to stop… it's Gabe… he jumps out and runs toward them…)
GABE: Sheriff…!
(Danforth reacts to the urgency in Gabe's voice…)
[EXT. FOREST – DAY]
(From behind the circle, Man in Red walks up, two of his cronies dragging Bruce, beaten just like in Johnny's vision. Bruce looks at Johnny, manages a painful shrug. Johnny, sweating, looks at Tom Reed, who looks back at him with horror. Johnny moves for him…)
JOHNNY: Did you know… did you know…?
TOM REED: Get him away from me…
JOHNNY: How unstable your wife was…
TOM REED: He's out of his mind now…
(Johnny grabs his arm…)
[A JOHNNY FLASH - EXT. VANDERHEIM YACHT - DOCK #5 – DAWN]
(Close on the door we saw crow-barred open… as Tom Reed ushers in his sobbing daughter and slams the door behind them.)
[RESUME JOHNNY]
JOHNNY: You've been hiding Cathy, haven't you… ever since she killed her mother…
(Reactions… Walla… outrage…)
LINDA: She killed her own mother…?
JOHNNY: (nods, exhausted) After her mother killed Susan… And that compounds the mob's outrage…
BERT: You expect us to believe that cock and bull…
(Eddie Wolcott enters the circle, fed up.)
EDDIE WOLCOTT: That's it.
(He hoists Johnny to his feet. Johnny offers no resistance.)
EDDIE WOLCOTT: Enough games. You're gonna tell us where she is, right now. Clark, get some rope.
[OMITTED]
[INT. SHERIFF DANFORTH'S PATROL CAR - MOVING – DAY]
(Danforth is on the CB, angry because he's not getting any response. Dana is in the back seat with Cathy.)
SHERIFF DANFORTH: Nancy… Deputy Simmons… dammit, pick up… answer me!
(Dana looks at the CB, worried.)
[EXT. FOREST - DAY - ON A WALKIE TALKIE]
(As Simmons finger switches off the power… moving from her… to -- Johnny is being fastened to the tree, just like in his vision. He looks around, sees the faces he saw before, now cheering, screaming. Gasoline splashes in his face, thrown by the Man in Red and Excited Guy. They lay it on the makeshift pyre of twigs and branches at his feet.
Eddie Wolcott steps forward, holding an emergency flare.)
EDDIE WOLCOTT: Here's how we do this. You tell us where the girl is, or we send you straight back to hell.
JOHNNY: (desperate, to Tom Reed) You can stop this.
(Eddie realizes he's being ignored. Tom looks at Johnny.)
EDDIE WOLCOTT: Hey!
(Eddie ignites the flare to get Johnny's attention.)
JOHNNY: You can tell them the truth.
TOM REED: Shut up!
(Tom Reed suddenly runs forward, a pitiful cry escapes his lips. He grabs the flare from Eddie's hand and rushes Johnny, to destroy the unbearable truth… A gunshot! The Mob startles, Tom Reed drops the flare, it lands dangerously close to the pyre. Sheriff Danforth steps into the clearing, firing his shotgun a second time. Gabe runs up and stomps out the flare. Eddie backs up, putting his hands in the air.)
SHERIFF DANFORTH: Everybody's under arrest, dammit! Everybody! Holy, Judas, mother of God. What have you you people done? What have you done…?
(He glowers at Deputy Simmons, now just one of the Mobs. She lowers her head in shame. Others look around, bewildered, like they just woke up. A few others rabbit off into the night in different directions. Then, out of the forest, Dana Bright walks Cathy Reed into the clearing. Johnny sees her, sags in relief. Cathy runs to Tom and into his arms.)
CATHY: I tried to stay quiet, Daddy, but they busted in…
(Tom just stands there, a weak man, letting his crying daughter hug his shell. The Mob, the hundred or so people from Hobbs landing who were about to burn a man alive, stand like silent statues. The only ones who move are Gabe, and Bruce, who move quickly to the tree to untie Johnny Smith.)
[EXT. HOBBS LANDING – DAY]
(The town that time forgot. A Norman Rockwell portrait. Except this one has no people. An empty square. Old Glory at half mast. Maybe they'll come out when they can explain what happened. Moving to find Johnny and Bruce and Dana at the PT Cruiser with Gabe…)
GABE: (to Dana) I'll see to it that your car is repaired...
DANA: No offense, but I'd just as soon not contribute to the economy of this town. My auto club and the Reverend Mr. Purdy is handling it.
(Gabe nods, he doesn't blame her… turns to Johnny…)
GABE: 'I'm sorry' doesn't begin to cover it.
JOHNNY: (thanking him) At least one man was willing to stand by me.
GABE: This town… my father grew up here… my father's father… we go all the way back to the American Revolution… this town has always been a place of ideals and principles… (Beat) I wish I knew when we lost that…
BRUCE: (knows the answer) Today.
(They get into the car and drive out of town… and as we pull back)
[OMITTED]
END OF ACT FOUR
THE END
