Petticoat Junction 2.0

Hey there, crime kids. TGIF. It's time once again to take a trip to the dark side, where your most violent fantasies become sins of the flesh, right here, where the hardboiled action is non-stop, at the coolest crime joint in cyberspace ... at That Killing Feeling.

In Chapter 7 of RIDGEWAY, Cate drives half-way across the country in her car with her dog and arrives at her new home on top of a mountain in Eureka Springs, Arkansas, completely exhausted.


INT. CATE’S CAR - MOVING - MID-AFTERNOON
Cate drives, sleepy from the heat.
Bobby leans out the window,
ears flapping in the breeze,
tongue hanging out.

She takes a drink from her water bottle.
Pops in a fresh stick of gum.
Lights another smoke.
Continues to listen to her book on tape.

FRIDAY FOSTER (V.O.)
(electronic)
Kelsey rabbit-punched him in the throat.
He doubled over in pain, gasping for air,
clutching his ruined windpipe.

EXT. AMERICA’S BEST VALUE MOTEL - EARLY EVENING
Beyond shitty. Cate’s car sits
in the almost empty parking lot.
CARS and TRUCKS FLY BY on the highway.

Welcome to Winslow, Arizona.
In the middle of nowhere.
What the fuck were The Eagles thinking?

INT. AMERICA’S BEST VALUE MOTEL - ROOM - CONTINUOUS
Wood panelling. Ripped, stained carpet.
But it’s cheap. And you can smoke. And have a dog.

There’s even a vintage Mr. Coffee.
Be it ever so humble,
there’s no place like dive.

Cate sits on the bed cross-legged working her laptop.
On the night table is a beer, a bottle, her mini-bong,
a pack of smokes and a tiny glass ashtray.

IN MONTAGE:
Cate on the highway, listening to books on tape.
Sipping water. Chewing gum. Chain smoking.

Bobby in his seat,
tongue hanging out in the heat.
Clock reads 9:00.

A sign reads ENTERING NEW MEXICO.
Miles and miles of nothing as far
as the eye can see. Flyover state, indeed.

Another America’s Best Value Motel.
Cate drags her bags into the room.
SUPER reads MORIARTY, POP. 1,910.

Morning. Cate trudges to the
complimentary breakfast in the lobby.

Tiny, crusty mini-donuts.
Weak orange juice.
Scary-looking bacon.

She loads a plate,
heads back to her room.

Back on the highway.
Pulls into a Navive American
gas station/gift shop/rest area.

Walks Bobby in the scrub brush outside.
A FERAL DOG in a pickup truck BARKS at them.

Driving again. Brain turning to mush.
A sign reads WELCOME TO TEXAS -- then another --
$2000 FINE FOR LITTERING. Cate LAUGHS.
WINGS a cassette out the window.

CATE
DON’T MESS WITH TEXAS.

Yet another America’s Best Value Motel.
Super reads AMARILLO, TEXAS.

Cate drags her bags out to her car.
Beyond exhausted.

Cate eats outside at a McDonald’s
at a picnic table with Bobby.

No one else around, since
it’s as hot as a furnace.

Sign reads YUKON, POP. 24,128.
And yes, folks, there it is -- wait for it --
another America’s Best Value Motel.

Welcome to Oklahoma, where the wind
comes sweeping down the stains.

INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT
Much smaller than the room we saw before.
And shittier. No coffee machine.
Big, old TV on with the sound off.

Cate sits on the bed.
Fires up her laptop.
Does a shot of bourbon.

Chases it with a sip from her longneck.
Then a hit from her mini-bong.
She tries to connect to the internet.

CATE
What the fuck?

She reaches over.
Picks up the phone.
Dials the front desk.

CATE (CONT’D)
Yeah, hi. This is room two-thirty-four --
(listens)
The internet connection’s not --
(listens)
Too many people are --
(surly)
Thanks.

She SLAMS the phone down.
Closes the laptop.

Does another shot.
Grabs the remote.
Turns the sound up.

ANNOUNCER (V.O.)
(electronic)
Come on down to Norm Hurley Auto
on Garth Brooks Boulevard --
we got prices that can’t be beat.

PUSH IN ON Cate’s face.
Wishing she wasn’t there.

EXT. CATE’S CAR - MOVING - EARLY AFTERNOON
A two-lane highway lined with fast food joints.
It’s a wonderful day in the neighborhood. Not.

The power-punk of The Jam’s THICK AS THIEVES
snap, crackle and POPS on the car stereo.

Cate drives, looks beyond exhausted.
Riding on fumes.

The expanse of salt, sugar and fat ends,
and suddenly the road plunges into
gorgeous, green countryside.

A SIGN
Displays an arrow that twists
and turns like a Gordian knot.
Speed limit fifteen miles per hour. Yikes.

IN THE CAR
The road takes a sharp right
going down a steep hill.
Cate slows, turns the wheel carefully.

AERIAL POV
The car goes up, down and around the mountain --
followed by a line of cars close behind it.

EXT. MOUNTAIN ROAD - DAY
Cate pulls into a rickety gas station/general store.
An OLD MAN wearing overalls sits on the porch
in a ratty old chair fingering a smart phone.
Petticoat Junction 2.0.

The cars behind Cate HONK as they drive by.
She gets out.

Takes Bobby onto a patch of grass to pee.
Pulls out her cell.

CATE
Hey, it’s me. I’m almost there.
(listens)
I’m at this old gas station.
Had to let Bobby out, stretch my legs,
let all the cars behind me pass.

INTERCUT WITH:

INT. KAYLA’S APARTMENT - KITCHEN - DAY
Kayla sits at the kitchen table
surrounded by all four cats on
the floor, counters, the table.
Lights a smoke. Excited.

KAYLA
You’re early.

CATE
I’m the early bird, baby.

KAYLA
And I’m your worm-hole.

CATE
I can’t wait to see you.

KAYLA
That makes five of us.

EXT. KAYLA’S HOUSE - DAY
Kayla stands in the tiny front yard on her cell.

KAYLA
It’s an orange house with yellow
and red trim on the corner. Can’t miss it.

Cate’s car comes down the street.
Parks in the drive.

Gets out with Bobby.
Kayla RUSHES over. They hug.

KAYLA (CONT’D)
I can’t believe you’re here.

CATE
I can’t believe I made it.
(beat)
I can’t tell you how much I need a shower --