Secret Window
Scene 19 : Setting : Outside The Insurance Agency : Characters : Mort Rainey, Ted Milner.
Ted Look, I’ve about had enough of your bullshit.
Mort [Stops and goes up to Ted] You’re a dick!
Ted Do you feel better?
Mort [Continues walking] Yes, I do.
Ted Yeah, look, marriages end. I’m sorry but I didn’t end yours. You know, it was done by the time I got there.
Mort [Turns to Ted] Really? You must’ve thought her wedding ring was a little bit strange?
Ted Oh, man! I- Listen. I apologized to you months ago. Now look, I know that you don’t want me in your life. Guess what? I don’t want you in mine either. But until this little divorce thing’s done, not much we can do about it. But I’ll tell you something. [Moves closer to Mort] I will not let you upset Amy anymore than you already have. So why don’t we just wrap this little thing up, alright. And get out of eachother’s lives—? Zoom [A bus brushes by, freaking out Mort] [He cowers] Are we.. uh.. gettin’ the message I’m sendin’?
Mort Where are we from, Teddy?
Ted Tennessee.. Morty.. [He sips from his cup and walks off]
Mort I was gonna say Mississippi.
Ted [Turns around] No. Long way from there. Little place called Shooter’s Bay. [Mort looks shocked] [Ted walks off] [Mort thinks]
Scene 20 : Setting : Mort’s Cabin : Characters : Mort Rainey, Ken Karsch.
[Mort drives up his driveway at night] [He looks around, but doesn’t see Ken’s car]
Mort C’mon, Karsch. $500 a day. Where are you when I need you? [He looks around and scowls, then drives the car further up the driveway. He stops and gets out] Phone rings [Mort runs up to the front door, and groans. He hurries to open the door] [He finally opens it, and places his key on the key-hook on the wall] Phone rings [He grabs the phone] What fresh Hell. [He picks up the receiver] Yeah?
Ken [On phone] Where you been all day?
Mort Ha, I might ask you the same question. [He goes into the bathroom and drops the phone on the floor ding ]
Ken [On Phone] Relax. You’re fine. I checked the cabin an hour ago.
Mort Yeah? [He unzips his fly] Well he showed up about an hour after you left last night.
Ken [On phone] Oh, really? [Mort pushes back his hair and pisses] Then he had a busy night. [Shot scans into Ken’s motel room. Ken is lying on the bed in his boxers] [In person] My office called me about your Riverdale house. I’m sorry.
Mort [On phone] Well, the worst part is, I hadn’t had a chance to get the magazine out. The one with the story he says I stole. That’s gone up in smoke now.
Ken Well, you still wanna go through with it? Meeting him? Showing him the magazine?
Mort Hell yes! [Zips up his fly] [Flushes the toilet] I’ve had a shitty year. [Bends down and picks up the phone] I want it settled. Now. Everything. [Mort walks]
Ken [On phone] Good. ‘Cause I called your agent when I heard about the house. [In person] I figured he got a copy of the magazine. He sent the original by UPS. Overnight today. You can pick it up tomorrow after 3.
Mort [Smiles] I knew there was a reason that I hired you. [Closes front door and locks it]
Ken [On phone] There’s something else. [In person] I caught up with your Tom Greenleaf today. The guy who drove past you and Shooter on the lake road? [On phone] Well, [Mort sits on the couch] here’s a weird one. [Mort breathes out and puts crosses his feet on the coffee table] First he says he did go down to the Lake Drive on Tuesday and he saw you, like you said. But then he gets nervous and says, no no no. Come to think of it I didn’t. Didn’t see anybody. Wasn’t even on Lake Drive on Tuesday.
Mort Yeah, well… Tom’s old. Maybe it just slipped his mind.
Ken [Walks around] Don’t be naive. He was scared shitless. Someone got to him. [He grabs puts something into a glass of water]
Mort Come on, wait. [He laughs] Why would Shooter care if Tom Greenleaf knows he’s here?
Ken [On phone] Well, it depends.
Mort On what?
Ken [He sits down] On what he plans to do to you. I’m revising my opinion, Mort. I don’t think Shooter’s just some nut. [On phone] [Mort listens carefully] We need to consider the possibility that he was hired to do this. [Mort switches his feet] Someone with a grudge against you hires a tough guy to rattle you. Scare you to death. But, [In person] he hires the wrong guy. [He picks up a glass] Things get out of control. They go further than they’re supposed to. Dead dogs. Burnt down houses. Now they can’t call them off.
Mort [His eyes open wide, he takes his feet off of the coffee table and bolts upright] Ted.
Ken [On phone] Who?
Mort [Pushes back hair] Ted. Amy’s Ted. [Moves his fingers] The Ted that Amy left me for… Maybe that’s why the guy calls himself Shooter. Ted wants me to know it’s him. He’s trying to intimidate me. He’s trying to…uh.. send me a message.
Ken Why? What does he want?
Mort [On phone] I don’t know.
Ken [On phone] Did you piss him off?
[Flashback to Ted yelling at Mort in the motel bed]
Ted Get the fuck out!
Mort I might have..
Ken [On phone] Okay. Here’s what we do. [In person] What proof do you have that Shooter was there… [On phone] Other than the manuscript. [Mort rolls up his sleeve] Physical evidence, I’m talking about.
Mort [He looks down at his arm] Bruises. [On phone] I got bruises on my arms from where he grabbed me.
Ken Alright. [He gets up and places Mort on speakerphone] You and me are going to go see Greenleaf together.
Mort [On phone] Alright.
Ken [He picks up a gun from his suitcase and checks it] Bring the manuscript. Bring your bruises. [He walks] I’m gonna push the guy hard. Make it so that it’s impossible for him to lie. If he’ll tell the po-lice he was threatened too, [He places the gun on the nightstand] then we’ve got something.
Mort Bowie’s store? Breakfast?
Ken 9 am sharp. [He picks up the receiver and takes Mort off of speakerphone]
Mort [On phone] Alright. I’ll see you there.
Ken And bring your six-gun, pilgrim. [He hangs up] [Mort takes the receiver away from his ear, looks at it suspiciously then replaces it] [He gulps]
Scene 21 : Setting : Mort’s Cabin : Characters : Mort Rainey.
[Mort lies in his bed, sadly thinking]
Mort It is a good ending. [He places his hands behind his neck and thinks for another moment] [Then he sits up. He flexes his jaw] [He scowls] Oh, Shit. [He gets out of bed and puts on his bathrobe]
[Light pours through the Secret Window as the shot moves closer and closer to it] [The clock ticks] [Mort is sleeping on the couch. He stirs, then stretches] [He wakes up and glances at his watch] Shit! [He gets up from the couch] [He looks around, and spots his jacket on the floor] [As he puts it on, he notices that his car keys are missing from the key rack on the wall. He looks at it suspiciously, then pats himself down. But he returns no key from his search] [He puts on his tuque] [Opens the front door, to reveal Shooter’s hat lying on the porch] [He looks around trying to spot Shooter, but doesn’t find him] Beep beep beep beep… [The driver’s door of his car is wide open and the car is beeping away] [He looks around again, then walks over to the car] [He approaches slowly, then sits in the car, being careful to touch nothing] [He quickly shuts off the motor] [Looks around the car, then spots some cigarette butts in the ashtray] [He eyes them carefully, then picks one up] [Studies it] Pall Mall. [He replaces it] Cracker bastard. [He goes back into the house, opens up a garbage bag and gathers the hat inside] [He puts the bag with the hat on the passenger seat in the car, starts it up and closes the door]
Scene 22 : Setting : Bowie’s Store : Characters : Mort Rainey, Greta Bowie, Busboy.
[Mort walks up to the entrance of Bowie’s Store, holding the garbage bag] [He tries to open the door, but it will not budge. He tries the other door and it opens. It slams behind him and everyone looks at him]
Mort Sorry.. [He walks to the store’s aisles] Ken? [He walks to a different aisle] Tom? [But no one appears] [He goes up to the counter, sits at a stool, and throws the garbage bag on the counter]
[The man sitting on his side gives Mort a dirty look] [Mort puts the bag on the stool next to him] [He looks around, and notices the busboy opening a box of Pall Mall’s]
Busboy [The boy sees Mort staring] Would you like a pack? [His mouth full of food as he speaks]
Mort [Is caught offguard] I don’t smoke. [Greta comes with a pot of coffee and pours it] Did a guy come in here looking for me around 9 o’clock?
Greta [Looks up at him] Nope. [Shakes her head]
Mort Big guy.. kind of a New York cop type?
Greta [Looks up] No.. no. That doesn’t ring a bell.
Mort I overslept.
Greta Well, maybe he did too. ‘Cause he wasn’t here.
Mort [Nods] Yeah..
Scene 23 : Setting : The Gas Station : Characters : Mort Rainey, Ted Milner.
[Mort drives down a road] [He passes a gas station and spots Ted at the pump] [He stops, thinks and taps his finger on the seat, then decides to go back] [He backs the car up into the gas station, stops] [Ted looks at Mort’s car and replaces the gas pump into the holder] [mort gets out]
Mort What are you doing here?
Ted Matter of fact, I was-I was just on my way over to your place.
Mort Where’s your buddy?
Ted Came alone.
Mort Sure you did. [He advances, and looks off to the side] [He breathes in and out] I know what you’re up to.
Ted Uh.. [He leans on his car] Look Mort.. uh.. A lot of what’s going on right now is my fault.. Most of it, in fact.
Mort What do you want?
Ted I want you out of our life. [He reaches into the car’s window] [He pulls out divorce papers] Gotta sign your papers Mort. [He slaps them onto the back of the car]
Mort [He looks at the papers and nudges them] My divorce papers?
Ted Mmhmm.
Mort Tell her to send them to my lawyer.
Ted Yeah. Well she did and, he said that you won’t return his calls for weeks.
Mort That’s what this is all about? Gettin me to sign the settlement?
Ted No, no. Just calm down.
Mort Money! All about money.
Ted No, it’s not about money. No. What this is about.. is getting this thing done. ‘Cause I’m afraid if we don’t, well, who knows where it might go and I think you know what I’m talking about.
Mort Well, Teddy. I think I do, but here’s the problem : I don’t respond well to intimidation, makes me feel.. [Shrugs shoulders] icky. You know.. [He pushes Ted]
Ted Whoa. Heh heh. [Mort advances further] You know, I’m attempting to have a normal conversation, here.
Mort I buried my dog, Mister! [Ted looks bewildered] This whole thing is out of your control now. You know it, and I know it. You started this shit. I’m gonna finish it. Now do me a favor, go back and tell that your filthy little friend [He pushes Ted in the face with 3 fingers]
Ted [Ted tries to punch Mort, but Mort moves out of the way and Ted hits the closed window] Aghhh! God!
Mort [Looks at him and walks off] Bummer, Ted. [Ted holds his arm]
Scene 24 : Setting : The Living Room : Characters : Mort Rainey, John Shooter.
