The Boulevard Of Broken Necks

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 9 of LEGS, private eye Carrie Love checks out The Cheetah Lounge for clues about the disappearance of her client's stripper daughter, and meets Jonna James, exotic dancer deluxe ...


EXT. THE CHEETAH LOUNGE - NIGHT
Not quite the witching hour on the Sunset Strip.
But still plenty of pneumatic young things
strutting their stuff on the Boulevard of Broken Necks.

Glitzy storefront with a neon sign beckons invitingly.
A bored-looking BOUNCER sits on a stool
watching the flesh parade.

An off-duty STRIPPER comes outside.
Lights a smoke.

CARRIE (V.O.)
The ‘Gentleman’s club’
is an interesting phenomenon.

INT. THE CHEETAH LOUNGE - NIGHT
Dark and plush. Tons of lights, mirrors.
All chrome and black leather.

A handful of PATRONS watch a busty gal
do her thing on the pole
to some hair metal ballad.

CARRIE (V.O.)
Men will pay hard-earned cash
to go to a place where
they can see naked women.
Where they can look, but not touch.
It’s the ultimate tease.
A gentle torture.
Erotic pleasure --
with no release.
No climax.
No -- closure.
(beat)
Kinda like going to a restaurant
and not being able to eat.
Or going to a whorehouse
and not being able to --
(beat)
Never mind.
You get the idea.

AT THE BAR
Sits Carrie, talking with the owner, (50’s),
the very definition of ‘oily.’

OWNER
Why should I tell you anything?
You smell like COP --

Meet COR CIRAC, French Canadian ex-pat.
Short, skinny.

Salt and pepper stubble.
Rat-like beady eyes glistening in the dark.

Receding hairline combed over
and Donald Trumped.

CARRIE
I told you.
I’m a private investigator.
Her father hired me to find her.
Call him if you don’t believe me.

COR
Maybe she doesn’t want to be found.
Ever thought of that?

CARRIE
And maybe something BAD happened to her.
Her father’s worried sick --

Cor picks up his glass.

COR
I don’t know where she went.
She just no longer come here.
(slides off his stool)
Now, if you’ll excuse me,
I have business to take care of --

He walks away toward the back office.

FEMALE VOICE (O.C.)
Did I hear you say
you were looking for Dina?

Carrie, turns --

Sees a GORGEOUS STRIPPER (29)
seated on the other side of her.

Meet JONNA JAMES.
Six-feet of ripe, curved flesh
barely poured into a gauzy babydoll.
Temptation be thy name.

CARRIE
Yeah.
Do you know where she went?

JONNA
I might --

CARRIE
Buy you a drink?

JONNA
I don’t drink.

CARRIE
Club soda?

JONNA
Nah.
Carbonation makes my tummy stick out.
(beat)
Who’s asking?

CARRIE
(gives her a card)
Carrie Love, PI.

JONNA
(reads it, looks her over)
You ever -- dance?

CARRIE
Sure.
(beat)
Just not in public --

JONNA
Who’s looking for her?

CARRIE
Her father.

JONNA
That’s what I was afraid of.

CARRIE
I don’t understand --

JONNA
That’s WHO she’s hiding from.

CARRIE
But why?

JONNA
Not here.
Come with me.
Outside.

EXT. THE CHEETAH LOUNGE - BACK ALLEY - NIGHT
Jonna and Carrie sit on the back stoop.
Jonna lights a cigarette.

Takes a big hit.
Looks at Carrie.

JONNA
You sure you wanna hear this?
It’s not pretty.

CARRIE
Seen it all, babe.
Used to be a cop.

JONNA
(searches Carrie’s face)
You seem cool --
(beat)
Okay.
(sighs)
Her father has sex tapes
of the two of them,
and he’s threatening
to post them online
if she doesn’t come back home.

CARRIE
But if he has sex tapes,
why is she hiding?

JONNA
Uh -- she got tired
of being raped by him?

CARRIE
Holy SHIT.
(mutters to herself)
Figures.
My first client -- asshole.
(to Jonna)
Do you know where she is?

JONNA
Are you kidding?
You’re working for who
she’s hiding from.

CARRIE
Not anymore I’m not.
Fucking pervert --
(beat)
God-DAMMIT.
My retainer --

JONNA
He already gave you money?

CARRIE
Yeah.
(beat)
FUCK --

JONNA
Fuck ‘em.
Keep it.
Maybe Dina will hire you
to stop HIM.

CARRIE
Not a bad idea --
(beat)
So where is she?

JONNA
At home.
She’s my roommate.

CARRIE
The plot thickens --

JONNA
Tell you what.
I did the early shift
and get off soon.
Why don’t you wait at the bar,
and we’ll go there together.
Sound like a plan?

CARRIE
Sure.
(beat)
How do you know
you can trust me?

PUSH IN ON Jonna’s face.
Narrows her eyes.

JONNA
Gut feeling.
(beat)
And you have nice eyes --