Four Cats, No Waiting

Happy Friday, 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 8 of RIDGEWAY, Kayla gives Cate a walking tour of Eureka Springs, taking in the sights up and down the mountain in the quaint Victorian village, but the idyll turns nasty when Cate meets Kayla's bitchy coworker ...


INT. CATE’S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - DAY
A large, sunny room with tons of original cabinets.
Big double sink. Old-school stove. Giant fridge.

Big wooden table against the window
with Kayla’s computer in one corner.

The cats stare at Bobby
drinking from his bowl of water.

KAYLA
(points)
That’s Mona Lisa -- Henry --
Mingus -- and Ernie.

CATE
Four cats, no waiting.
(beat)
And they’re okay about Bobby?

KAYLA
I told them he was coming.

CATE
Bobby’s totally chill with cats.

KAYLA
I have to go to the store
to get my paycheck.
Wanna come with?
Show you around a bit
if you’re not too tired?

CATE
Yeah. That’d be great.
(sees something)
Oh, shit.

KAYLA
What’s wrong?

ANGLE ON:
A DOG TURD on the hardwood floor.

CATE
Bobby took a shit.
(grimaces)
Sorry --

EXT. PROSPECT STREET - DAY
Old and cracked, with an amazing
view looking down the mountain.

And the mountains across
the way in the distance.

Kayla, Cate and Bobby
stroll down the street,
taking in the sights,
Cate overwhelmed by all the beauty.

CATE
Steven Wright was asked in an
interview why he lived in upstate
New York instead of the city,
and he said ‘my body reacts well to nature.’
(smiles)
My body’s reacting well to nature.

A TROLLEY goes chugging by.

KAYLA
That’s the trolley.

Cate watches it go down the street.
Shakes her head.

A MODEL T FORD drives by.
The OLD MAN (60’s) behind the wheel waves.
Another comes by. The DRIVER (50’s) also waves.

KAYLA
It’s Model T weekend.
In the summer, every weekend has a theme.

CATE
Does everybody wave at you?

KAYLA
Yeah. And they also say ‘hi.’

CATE
Nice change from the ‘fuck you’ in LA.

They make a turn.
Start walking down a
very steep, narrow road.
Pass by a series of
tiny Victorian cottages.

CATE
When’s lesbian weekend?

KAYLA
Oh, that’s year-round.
(beat)
Actually, we have three
diversity weekends a year.

CATE
You mean gay pride?

KAYLA
Yeah. Echo’s very progressive --
but it’s still Arkansas.

They continue down the steep hill.

CATE
I’d pay good money to see
drag queens in heels
navigate these hills.

EXT. MAIN STREET - DAY
Kayla, Cate and Bobby walk down the narrow,
picturesque main drag lined with shops.

It’s like out of a movie, with a breathtaking
view of the mountains above the storefronts.

CATE
This is amazing.
A SCRUFFY TROUBADOUR (20’s) wearing hippie threads
and a stovepipe hat carrying a guitar walks by. Nods.

SCRUFFY TROUBADOUR
Hi.

KAYLA
(to Cate)
Told ya.

INT. DREAMLAND - DAY
Kayla and Cate stand
in the middle of the store.
Vivi sits at a work table sifting
through a tray of jewelry parts.

Clumsily trying to assemble
a cheap plastic necklace.

CATE
(looks at the paintings)
Love the colors.

KAYLA
Cate, this is Vivi.
I told you about her.

CATE
Oh, yeah. Hey. Nice to meet you.

KAYLA
Be right back.

She heads off to the back office.

VIVI
(weird grin)
I suck at this.
(beat)
But I guess Kayla told you that.

CATE
Yes, she did.
(beat)
Kidding. I’m kidding.

Kayla returns.

KAYLA
Ready to go?

CATE
Yeah.
(to Vivi)
Nice meeting you.

VIVI
You, too.

They head toward the door.
Vivi watches them go.

VIVI
Bitch.