The Puppeteer (© Shelly Bennett)
Page 1 FADE IN: INT. CAR – EARLY EVENING – RAINING A YOUNG WOMAN, JAMIE, early twenties, is sitting in her car in front of an old,
single-story house. She glances out her window to see that there is a car
parked in the carport. She dials a number on her cell phone and waits. JAMIE (to herself) Come on. Pick up. Only the answering machine answers. ROBYN’S ANSWERING MACHINE (V.O.) Hey, it’s me. You know what to do. A worried look flashes across her face as she gets out of the car. EXT. ROBYN HAWKES’ HOUSE – EARLY EVENING – RAINING Standing at the edge of the front yard, Jamie glances about the property. JAMIE’S POV – There is an old, beat-up, car is in the driveway. There are no lights on
inside. Jamie walks across the wet grass to the front porch. EXT. ROBYN HAWKES’ FRONT PORCH – EARLY EVENING – RAINING Standing there completely drenched, she RINGS the doorbell. Nobody answers. After a
few moments, she RINGS again and still, no answer. She tries the door and is
surprised to find it unlocked. Jamie opens the door wide enough to peek inside. JAMIE Hello? Anybody home? There is only silence. Concerned for her friend, she disappears into the darkness beyond. INT. ROBYN’S HOUSE – EARLY EVENING The approaching night makes the inside of the house dark. Jamie quickly finds the
switch and turns on the entry light. JAMIE Robyn? It’s Jamie. Are you home? Jamie
stands in the entryway for a few moments taking in the sounds of the house.
The house is quiet, too quiet in fact. She disappears into the other room. (O.S.)
Jamie screams. EXT.
CRIME SCENE - ROBYN’S HOUSE – NIGHT – RAINING A MAN,
DETECTIVE MICHAEL STRYKER, late thirties, nicely dressed, is standing at his
car in front of a house marked with yellow police tape. He is busy surveying
the scene. STRYKER’S
POV – Rain is filling a birdbath in the front yard. NEIGHBORS and NEWS CREWS
are congregating just outside the tape barrier. Jamie is sitting on the front
porch, crying and completely traumatized. Lights from all the police cars FLASH,
making the whole scene distracting and somewhat disorienting. Not able
to procrastinate any longer, Stryker walks under the yellow tape barricade and
into the house. INT.
CRIME SCENE – ROBYN’S HOUSE – NIGHT Stryker
makes his way through the crowd of OFFICERS to find himself standing in the
family room, right in front of THE VICTIM, a nude female, ROBYN HAWKES,
mid-twenties, who is tethered to the ceiling like a puppet. Like all the other officers in the room, Stryker is sickened by the crime that lies
before him. EXT. PARK – EARLY THE NEXT MORNING – RAINING The park is lush and green from all the rain. We hear the sounds of a nearby STREAM and the RAIN HITTING the LANDSCAPE all around.
Normally, the park is crowded, but the rain has driven most of the people
inside. Just off the trail, a MAN, VINCE MORROW, late twenties, is patiently hiding in the
overgrown bushes. A camera with a telephoto lens hangs from his neck. He glances down the trail. (O.S.) The sound of approaching FOOTFALLS ON the WET PAVEMENT is loud in the nearly
deserted park. A smile forms across his face as he raises the camera to his eye. VINCE’S POV – Through the camera, FOCUS ON a raindrop hanging from a leaf. Slowly, the
leaf and raindrop fade as the background comes into focus. Far off, there is a
blur of movement through the trees. Soon, a WOMAN, AGENT REBECCA RILEY, early
thirties, dressed in a jogging suit, iPod, headphones and a hat, clears the
trees and is running toward Vince. There is a look of pure satisfaction on her
face. VINCE (O.S.) Well, hello there. (O.S.) We
hear the SHUTTER of Vince’s camera. VINCE (O.S.) Aren’t you a pretty one? INT. POLICE STATION – EARLY THE SAME MORNING All of the OFFICERS in the precinct are hard at work. Stryker is sitting alone at desk against the far wall. Completely lost in thought, he
is staring at his case taped to the wall in front of him, which includes notes
and photographs of the crime scene, photographs of the three victims, Lisa
Renner, Debbie Jenkins and Robyn Hawkes. [ Continue to page 2 ] |