Stinking To High Heaven

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 31 of THE INVISIBLE GIRL, homicide detective Hart Klavan and rookie cop Lane Diamond discover Lonny's father's dead body and grill him about Bettie's whereabouts ...


INT. LONNY’S LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Frank’s body lies on the floor.
Arms up in the air at a
forty-five degree angle.

Lonny stares. About to lose it.

BETTIE (V.O.)
C’mon. You take the legs --

LONNY
I -- can’t.
(beat)
That’s my DAD.

BETTIE (V.O.)
Not ANYMORE he’s not.
Right now he’s a dead, bloated
mass of flesh that pretty soon
is going to start
stinking to high heaven.

LONNY
I know, but -- but --

BETTIE (V.O.)
But WHAT?
You want somebody to FIND him?

LONNY
No, of course not. It’s just --

The doorbell RINGS.
He WHIPS his head toward the front door.

LONNY
Who could that be at THIS hour?

Lonny’s dad’s arms DROP.
We hear Bettie’s footsteps
go to the front door. Then silence.
The footsteps come back to Lonny.

BETTIE (V.O.)
It’s the fucking COPS.
I TOLD you we needed to MOVE him.

LONNY
What are we gonna do NOW?

The doorbell RINGS again.

BETTIE (V.O.)
I don’t know about you,
but I’m getting the hell OUTTA here.

LONNY
But you can’t just -- leave.

BETTIE (V.O.)
Just WATCH me.
(giggles)
Oh, yeah -- that’s right. You CAN’T.
(beat)
See you in the FUNNY PAPERS.

We see her footsteps in the carpet
RACE back toward the kitchen.

Then hear them SLAP on the linoleum.
A door SLAMS.

The doorbell RINGS again.

LONNY
Shit.

OUTSIDE
Hart and Lane look at each other.

HART
I heard voices.

LANE
So did I.

Hart BANGS on the door with his fist.

HART
Lonny Schmerzler.
This is THE POLICE.
OPEN THE DOOR. NOW.

The door opens. Lonny appears.
White as a ghost.

LONNY
Please. You gotta help me.
I didn’t do it.

LANE
Do what?

LONNY
It’s -- my father.
H-he -- had a heart attack.

LANE
We know Bettie’s here, Lonny.

HART
Please stand aside, son.

Lonny nods. Turns around.
Leads them into the house.

INT. LONNY’S HOUSE - LIVING ROOM - NIGHT
Hart, Lane and Lonny
stand near the body.
Starting at it.

HART
Do you know what caused it?

LONNY
He saw Bettie, and --

HART
Wait. How could he see her?

LONNY
She was eating ice cream
and got it all over her face.

LANE
(looks at the scanner)
SHIT. The reading stopped. She’s GONE.

HART
Where did she go, Lonny?

LONNY
I don’t know.
She saw it was you at the door --
and she, she ran away.

HART
Do you realize how much trouble
you’re in, young man?

LONNY
Yes, sir.

LANE
Let’s go sit on the couch.
I want to hear the whole story,
from the beginning.

He sits.
Looks like he’s about to cry.

Lane sits down next to him.
Takes out her notebook.
Gives him a hopeful smile.

Hart takes out his cell phone.
Moves away. Dials a number.

LANE
So --

LONNY
(sighs)
I was in class a couple days ago,
and I got a text message from Bettie
saying she needed my help --