Happy Tuesday, 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 14 of WILSHIRE BOULEVARD, private eye Carrie Love arrives at Yavo/Flender films to question the employees about producer Harvey Flender's murder, and more than sparks fly when she meets comely production assistant Jenny Lane ...
INT. YAVO/FLENDER FILMS - FRONT OFFICE - DUSK
The harried-looking woman we saw earlier
furiously CLACK-CLACKS on her keyboard.
Meet JENNY LANE (32), stressed-out
business affairs worker bee.
Manning the hive.
CAMERA gets closer.
We see she’s actually quite fetching.
The kind that grows on you.
Imagine if she could get some rest.
The phone RINGS.
She PUNCHES a button.
JENNY
(into her headset)
Yavo/Flender Films --
(listens)
And you are -- ?
(listens)
One moment, please.
Jenny STABS another button.
CARRIE
walks into the room.
Rakish in that slightly tipsy way.
Jenny looks.
Does a double-take.
JENNY
(into the phone)
Lief Weinrib on three.
(to Carrie)
Hi.
CARRIE
Carrie Love, PI.
Mrs. Flender hired me.
(beat)
Nice to see you again.
She hands Jenny her business card.
JENNY
Oh. Wow.
CARRIE
I’d like to snoop around a bit,
ask a few questions.
JENNY
(reads the card)
Fast, cheap and out of control?
CARRIE
Marketing gimmick.
Criminals love it.
JENNY
I’m sorry, but Roland’s
not here right now.
CARRIE
I know.
I just bumped into him in a bar
down the street waving a gun.
Had to disarm him --
JENNY
Roland?
Down the street?
A, a g-gun?
CARRIE (V.O.)
We met once before when
I crashed their Christmas party.
We had a couple dozen shots,
hit it off, and did some
heavy petting by the copier.
The rest of the night
is kind of a blur.
But nice.
Jenny worried look melts.
She smiles shyly.
CARRIE (V.O.)
I could tell she’d
never been with another woman.
And that she wanted to.
Call it a sixth sense.
Intuition. Gaydar, if you will --
(beat)
She looked like she’d been
beaten down by the job. Life.
But there was still a spark.
(beat)
Flickering right at me.
Carrie leans on the desk.
Puts her hand on her hip.
Raising her jacket.
Revealing her Glock
in a shoulder holster.
JENNY
(eyes wide, sees the gun)
Who do you want to -- talk to first?
CARRIE (V.O.)
Showing the rod does it every time.
AN INSTANT MESSAGE
on her computer monitor starts FLASHING --
WHO IS THAT?!
JENNY’S
fingers FLY across the keyboard.
THE MESSAGE BOX
reads I’M ON A CONFERENCE CALL!
A nearby door
SLAMS SHUT with a BANG.
JENNY
I could go first.
Carrie’s eyes work their strange magic.
Jenny fidgets.
CARRIE
I think you and I should
go talk somewhere else.
Away from here.
I have a feeling you’re the only one
that’ll give me the straight scoop.
JENNY
Okay --
PUSH IN ON Jenny.
Faking nonchalance. Badly.
CARRIE (V.O.)
Complete bullshit, of course.
INT. CONFERENCE ROOM - MOMENTS LATER
Odd-Looking Sad-Face sits at the end
of the conference table across from Carrie.
Gripping Variety for dear life.
Meet FLEMING BOOR (49),
Harvey Flender’s assistant.
Paunchy. Bug eyes blinking.
Sparse hair trying for a Ceasar.
Approaching the final chapter
of a life of quiet desperation.
CARRIE
Tragic death. I’m sorry.
(writes some notes)
How long did you work for him?
FLEMING
Twelve years.
We’ve made seventy-nine movies together.
Nine minis. And two series.
(mutters, to himself)
And still no producer credit --
CARRIE
Impressive.
His wife told me that
he had a lot of enemies.
Do you know anyone who might have
wanted to do him harm?
FLEMING
Look in the Hollywood Creative Directory.
Start with the letter ‘A.’
CARRIE
(smiles)
His wife told me that
Harvey was rather -- frugal.
FLEMING
You can say THAT again.
CARRIE
So you know about his --
FLEMING
Of COURSE. He was a THIEF, a CROOK.
(raises a finger)
And now I am poised to take his place.
PUSH IN ON Fleming.
Quivering with quiet rage.
INT. YAVO/FLENDER FILMS - CORRIDOR - MOMENTS LATER
Carrie walks past a closed office door.
A hand-made sign reads LEGAL IS CLOSED.
Jenny appears.
Has her coat on.
Holds her bag.
JENNY
I’m sorry, but Betty left.
She gets here at 7:30.
Leaves at six sharp,
has to race home to her
unemployed, drunken husband.
CARRIE
(nods at the closed door)
What about Legal?
JENNY
That’s my boss, Modi.
He won’t talk to you.
He doesn’t talk to visitors.
CARRIE
I see.
I like a challenge.
I’ll ambush him another time.
JENNY
So where do you want to go?
PUSH IN ON Carrie.
The cat about to get the canary.
CARRIE
How do you feel about shellfish?
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