Thursday, October 13, 2011

Where's Raymond Chandler When You Need Him?



Happy Thursday, crime slicksters. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where the girls are hot, the drinks are cold, and the hardboiled-pulp-noir action is non-stop, right here, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In Chapter 44 of WILSHIRE BOULEVARD, private eye Carrie Love is confronted by homicide detectives Bernie Keko and Aya Meier, and reaches an uneasy truce so they can team up to bring in murderous screenwriter Jenny Lane ...


INT. POOL HOUSE - NIGHT
Jenny is panting.
She wipes her forehead.
Opens the gun.

CLOSE ON
the chamber.
One bullet left.

CARRIE
raps on the rear window.
Hidden behind a curtain.

CARRIE
Jenny. Let me in.
Let’s talk about this.

JENNY
I have nothing to say to you!
Go away! You’re just like a guy!

CARRIE
I’ll take that as a compliment.

BERNIE AND AYA
appear.

Bernie aims his
service revolver at Carrie.

BERNIE
You’re under arrest.
Don’t move a muscle.

Carrie pulls out her Glock.
Points it at Bernie.

CARRIE
I didn’t kill anyone, Bernie.

BERNIE
Put down the piece, Carrie.
I don’t want to shoot you.

CARRIE
That makes two of us.
(looks at Aya)
Is this your new partner?

AYA
Aya Meir.
Nice to meet you.
Uh, given the circumstances --

CARRIE
Hey. You two just had sex --

BERNIE
Shut the fuck up
and drop it.
You’re under arrest.

CARRIE
You’ve got it all on tape, Bernie.
On the dictaphone.
Martune killed Slobotnik
in a fit of homophobic rage,
Nikki Yavo killed Roland Yavo
because he couldn’t deal
with her sex change,
and Jenny Lane bumped off
Roland Flender because
he stole her script,
and then framed me out of
some twisted obsession.
The 'alternative sexuality
triple crown,' if you will.

AYA
Where’s Raymond Chandler
when you need him?

CARRIE
Exactly.
(to Bernie)
This one’s a keeper --

BERNIE
(pulls out dictaphone)
And all of that
is on this tape?

CARRIE
Yeah. And after we bring her in,
I’ll go to the station,
answer all your questions
and drink that shitty coffee.

AYA
Put it down, Bernie.
Let’s be civilized.

BERNIE
(lowers his gun)
Alright, godammit.

CARRIE
(lowers hers)
You two cover the front.
I’m going in the back window,
and I’ll bring her out.

AYA
Can I ask you a question?

CARRIE
Shoot.

AYA
Have you always had such a
powerful sense of -- smell?

PUSH IN ON Carrie.
Eyes twinkling.

CARRIE
For certain things --

2 comments:

  1. Great showdown scene... taut and very well written. I love Carrie's recounting of the events... so much makes sense now. Really sad about Jenny... you 'played' this whole story very well, hun.... I never picked up on Jenny's obsession with Carrie... I was looking for something else.

    Oh, I loved that exchange... '...you two just had sex!' Woman's intuition? Nope... just a keen sense of smell... 'for certain things'... the uhh... scent is rather unmistakable! ;-)

    SMASHING READ! Really love this!

    xoxoxoxo <3 <3 <3

    ReplyDelete
  2. It was a VERY hard balancing act to pull off. Once I decided Jenny was the killer -- very late in the game -- I had to go back and fix stuff. Glad to know I succeeded.

    You know Carrie ...

    She's got a 'nose for sex.'


    xoxo

    ReplyDelete