Back to Millennium transcripts - Back to TVTDB.com homepage

Millennium Transcripts

Millennium

1X01: Pilot

Written by Chris Carter

Directed by David Nutter

US Airdate: 4 October 25, 1996

[Transcribed by Maria Vitale]

[Edited by Libby]

Downtown Seattle
February 2, 1996

[Daytime. Outside, it is raining. A man with a ball cap is seen walking through an alley toward the Ruby Tip, a peep show.]

[Inside, a girl is leaving work, walking down a narrow corridor with private booths on either side and various customers exiting or entering the booths. At one end of the corridor is the man with the cap. In his hand is a stack of quarters. The girl walks past him and enters the dressing room. He looks up as she passes by.]

GIRL:

[There's an attendant by the door, Sammy.]

SAMMY:

[She opens the door to leave. As she does, another girl, Tuesday, enters to begin her shift.]

TUESDAY:

SAMMY:

[Finishing her shift, another girl, Calamity, wearing black panties and adjusting a skimpy black bra enters the dressing room and heads for a pay phone to call her daughter's sitter.]

[Tuesday begins changing her clothes to go to work.]

TUESDAY:

CALAMITY:

[She dials the number and waits.]

CALAMITY [sighs]:

TUESDAY:

CALAMITY:

[Tuesday goes to work. She's wearing a red bra and panties. She enters a small room where several other girls are already dancing before small windows where men have paid quarters for timed sessions where they can watch the girls dance and strip. The windows before them close with a shutter when the session is over.]

[She begins dancing, gyrating to the music that's piped into the room. The music is White Zombie's 'More Human Than Human' (from the Astro-Creep: 2000 CD). It continues very loud throughout.]

{Music: "Yeah. I am the Astro-Creep, a demolition style hell American freak. Yeah, I am the crawling dead - a phantom in a box, shadow in your head. "}

[Behind one of the windows is the man with the cap. She dances before him and sees that he's holding up a small piece of paper with writing on it.]

{Music: "Yeah, Into a psychic war, I tear myself apart and I eat it some more. Yeah, Scratch off the broken skin - tear into my heart, let me do it again. Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah."}

[She moves closer to the window, crouches down and begins removing her bra as the shutter comes down.]

[Back in the dressing room, the boss comes to give Calamity some news. She has already changed into her clothes to go home. The music is muffled in the dressing room.]

{Music: "Yeah. More human than human. More human than human."}

SAMMY:

CALAMITY:

SAMMY:

[She considers the money and accepts. She returns to the room, dressed again in the skimpy outfit and dances for the man, known as The Frenchman. She dances for him, tries to fulfill his fantasies. The music is Nine Inch Nails' 'Piggy' (from The Downward Spiral CD). It continues throughout.]

{Music: "Hey, pig, yeah, you."}

CALAMITY:

{Music: "Hey pig piggy pig pig pig... "}

[The Frenchman shuts his eyes hard, then opens them again. His "fantasies" begin.]

CALAMITY:

{Music: " ...all of my fears came true."}

FRENCHMAN:

[He sees the wall behind the girl begin to bleed from the ceiling down to the floor.]

CALAMITY:

FRENCHMAN:

CALAMITY:

FRENCHMAN:

[He sees blood drip down the girl's forehead. The blood begins to pour down the walls.]

FRENCHMAN:

CALAMITY:

FRENCHMAN:

[He sees the room drenched in blood.]

FRENCHMAN:

[He see fire behind the girl, surrounding her, engulfing her.]

CALAMITY [whispers]:

{Music: "Nothing can stop me now."}

[He shuts his eyes once more and as he opens them tears run down his cheeks.]

[fade to black]

[main titles]

[Seattle, Washington. It is a beautiful sunny day. Frank Black drives his family to their new home. His wife Catherine and their daughter Jordan are by his side in his red Jeep Cherokee. Catherine has her eyes covered with her hands, her daughter sits on her lap. Frank looks over to his wife.]

FRANK:

JORDAN:

CATHERINE:

[Frank turns into the driveway just past a moving van with their furniture. The car still has Maryland plates: 424580M.]

[Frank undoes Jordan's seat belt. She turns to her father to see if she can tell her mother to open her eyes and look at their new home. He gestures for her to not give away his secret, then nods for the surprise to finally be shared with his wife.]

JORDAN:

CATHERINE:

[He picks up Jordan from her lap and places her on his. As Catherine gets out of the car, Jordan gives her father a playful lick on the tip of his nose.]

CATHERINE:

JORDAN:

FRANK:

CATHERINE:

[She picks up her daughter and hugs her.]

[The movers have begun taking things into the house. Frank carries a box filled with books when Catherine calls to him from upstairs.]

CATHERINE:

[He climbs the stairs to join her.]

FRANK:

[She goes to him, embraces and kisses him.]

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

[They stand in front of a window on the second floor, holding each other.]

 

[Later on, as the empty moving van leaves and Frank goes to pick up his newspaper off the front lawn, he meets his new next-door neighbor.]

MAN:

FRANK:

[They shake hands.]

JACK:

FRANK:

JACK:

FRANK [laughs]:

JACK:

FRANK:

JACK:

FRANK:

JACK:

[Frank turns and walks back toward his home.]

JACK:

[He gives Frank a thumbs-up gesture and heads toward his own home as does Frank.]

[On his steps, Frank removes the newspaper from its plastic bag and glances at the front page. He stops on a news story about the girl from the peep show. He is disturbed by the story. The headline reads: "Mother Found Murdered in Home - 5-year-old Daughter Hid from Slayer". There's a rumble of thunder.]

Seattle Public Safety Building

[Outside, it is raining. Inside, Frank steps off an elevator and walks toward Lt. Bob Bletcher's office.]

[Just outside the glass-paneled door, he stands listening, and watching the detectives and his old friend talk inside the office. The name painted on the door is: 'Lt. Robert Bletcher, Homicide.']

BLETCHER:

DET. KAMM:

BLETCHER:

KAMM:

[Frank opens the door and then knocks. Bletcher looks up, then tosses down on the desk the file he'd been holding.]

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER [chuckles]:

[They shake hands.]

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

[Bletcher laughs, then turns to the detectives.]

BLETCHER:

DET. GIEBELHOUSE:

FRANK [nods]:

GIEBELHOUSE:

FRANK:

GIEBELHOUSE:

FRANK [to Bletcher]:

BLETCHER:

[They go for a walk and talk around the squad room.]

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

 

[Bletcher does take him down to the morgue. There they are joined by the pathologist, Curt Massey, who shows them the woman's body.]

MASSEY:

[With a glove in his hand, he reaches over to pull the zipper back so that he can reveal the woman's body but Frank prevents him from doing so by placing his hand over the pathologist's.]

[Being near the body triggers a series of brief visions for Frank.]

[The first: He hears her screaming and someone attacking her.]

[The second: Silence but he sees her lying on the floor, covered with blood.]

FRANK:

PATHOLOGIST:

FRANK:

[The pathologist looks to Bletcher who nods consent to release the information.]

[Frank sees this next vision as the Massey describes her position.]

MASSEY:

[The third: Silence. She is lying on the bed but this time he also sees the killer's hands as he places her arms crossed over her chest. The bedroom is in disarray, blood on the bed cover and on her neck.]

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

[The fourth: Silence. The dead girl again, on the floor, her clothes undisturbed, blood on her neck.]

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

MASSEY:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

[Frank just stares at him.]

BLETCHER:

[Frank doesn't say a word but just walks away.]

MASSEY:

BLETCHER:

[He follows after Frank. Frank opens the door to the stairs as Bletcher catches up with him.]

BLETCHER:

[They both beginning climbing up the stairs.]

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

[He turns and leaves.]

 

[The Ruby Tip peep show. The same room as before where the girls are dancing for their customers in the booths.]

[Frank arrives, his jacket is soaked from the rain. Walks down the narrow corridor where a man is mopping the floor.]

[Outside one of the private booths is a Polaroid of a girl. Handwritten at the bottom of the photo is: 'Tuesday.' Frank enters the booth. A blonde girl seen earlier, Tuesday, is wearing skimpy red lingerie and pulls back a curtain as music begins. The music is Portishead's 'Roads' (from the Dummy CD). It continues throughout. ]

TUESDAY:

FRANK:

[Tuesday begins dancing.]

TUESDAY:

[Frank holds up to the glass the newspaper clipping of the dead girl.]

{Music: "Ooh, can't anybody see... "}

FRANK:

[She stops dancing, folds her arms and becomes more self-conscious.]

{Music: "We've got a war to fight... "}

TUESDAY:

[Frank takes down the clipping.]

FRANK:

{Music: "Love will find a way... "}

TUESDAY:

FRANK:

{Music: "Regardless of what they say... "}

TUESDAY:

FRANK:

{Music: "How can it feel this wrong?"}

[Music continues throughout.]

TUESDAY:

FRANK:

TUESDAY:

FRANK:

TUESDAY:

[This triggers another vision for Frank. He sees the dead girl as the killer did, surrounded by flames.]

FRANK:

[He starts to leave.]

TUESDAY:

[Frank stops and returns to the window.]

TUESDAY:

FRANK:

TUESDAY:

FRANK:

TUESDAY [shaking her head]:

FRANK:

[She silently nods toward the camera's location in the booth.]

TUESDAY:

[The camera's red light can be seen from the rear as Frank looks directly at it from his POV.]

 

[Night. It is a cruising area for gay men to meet and solicit sex. The Frenchman is driving through the area.]

[Then he can be seen walking through a wooded area, again frequented by gay men.]

[The Frenchman envisions that the men all have their eyes and mouths sewn shut, yet he hears whispering, mumbling. He begins breathing heavily. He finally leaves the area and goes back to his car.]

[He places his head on the steering wheel when a young man approaches the car. He knocks on the window, then walks around the front of the car to get into the passenger seat. As he does, The Frenchman starts the engine and they drive off together.]

[He later pulls up under a traffic bridge. He opens the passenger side door and drags the young man's body out toward the rear of the car. He drops him down on the ground. Blood can be seen on the man's chest. He opens the trunk and stuffs the man's body inside it. Then with a bloody hand, shuts the trunk.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

[The Black residence. Outside, bright sunny day. Children can seen riding their bikes. Inside, Frank and Catherine's bedroom. Jordan is reading the newspaper with her father, whispering so as to not wake her mother who is sleeping next to them. They're looking to buy a new pet, a dog.]

JORDAN:

FRANK:

[He squishes the tip of nose down and lets out a grunt to try and mimic the dog for Jordan, as Catherine, who has been pretending to be asleep, smiles but tries to hold back a laugh.]

JORDAN:

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

CATHERINE [laughs]:

[Catherine pokes jabs at Frank's face while Jordan grabs his lips and playfully squeezes them. The phone rings. Frank answers it. Catherine and Jordan begin playing with each other.]

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

[Catherine becomes distracted, listening to Frank's phone conversation.]

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

 

[A wooded area. Dozens of officers are there. Some are surveying the area, others photographing the crime scene, still others are just trying to keep the area clear of curiosity seekers. Lots of radio chatter in the background.]

SURVEYOR:

1st OFFICER [into radio]:

DETECTIVE:

[An officer tries to prevent Frank, who has just driven up in his Jeep, from entering the area.]

2nd OFFICER:

BLETCHER:

[He and Frank walk down a slope.]

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

[A charred hand is the only thing visible. The rest of the body has been covered with black plastic by the police.]

BLETCHER:

GIEBELHOUSE [to Frank]:

FRANK:

[He begins walking around the area, then looks further down the hill. He has three brief visions of the dead man screaming, ablaze in flames, moving slowly through the thinly wooded area below.]

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

[He begins walking further down the hill, toward the spot he 'saw' the man on fire.]

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

 

[The wooded area near the river. A massive search is underway, including several ground teams and a helicopter.]

CHOPPER PILOT:

RADIO:

[The chopper flies over the area. Several officers can be seen walking along the riverbanks and surrounding areas.]

BLETCHER [into radio]:

[Off in the distance a detective shouts at the others.]

DETECTIVE:

[Several officers clear away dried leaves to reveal what they've found. Frank, Bletcher and the others run over to see.]

1st OFFICER:

2nd OFFICER:

1st OFFICER:

[As they wipe away the rest of the leaves, they see that they've discovered a coffin. On the lid is carved the word: 'PESTE.' Before they can open the lid: ]

FRANK [sighs]:

[They open the coffin and see that it is indeed empty. There are bloody scratch marks on the inside of the lid. A puddle of blood can be seen at one end. Frank turns and looks at Bletcher before walking away from the area.]

 

[Seattle. It is pouring with rain. Frank is driving Bletcher back to town in his Jeep.]

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

[Frank pulls the car over to the curb. Bletcher opens the door and steps out into the rain.]

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

[Bletcher laughs. He shuts the door and Frank continues his drive home.]

 

[By the time he finally arrives home, it is night. The rain has stopped and Frank begins to walks toward his front door when he hears someone call out to him from behind.]

MAN:

[He walks over to meet the man who has been sitting in his car, waiting for him to come home.]

MAN:

[He hands Frank an envelope.]

WATTS:

FRANK:

WATTS:

[Catherine calls out to Frank.]

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

[She looks at him and then shuts the door.]

WATTS:

FRANK:

WATTS:

FRANK [shaking his head]:

WATTS:

FRANK:

WATTS:

FRANK:

WATTS:

FRANK:

WATTS:

[Frank nods and Watts heads back toward his car.]

 

[Up in their bedroom, Frank enters quietly as Catherine lies in bed, still awake, waiting for him to return.]

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

CATHERINE:

[He sits on the bed next to her. She sits up.]

FRANK:

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

CATHERINE:

[He looks at her intensely.]

FRANK:

[She kisses him on the forehead.]

 

[Later on, Frank goes down to his basement office. He looks at the contents of the envelope Peter Watts has brought him. There is a micro-cassette audio tape, several Polaroids and a sheet of paper. Frank also has a copy of the video tape from the private session the dead girl had for The Frenchman.]

[Frank watches the video tape. The music in the background is 'Piggy,' by Nine Inch Nails. The tape shows The Frenchman in the booth, watching the girl dance. He is speaking but his words are inaudible thanks to the pulsating rhythms of the music.]

{Music: "Hey pig piggy pig pig pig. All of my fears... "}

[Frank rewinds the tape, in an effort to write down what was said by The Frenchman.]

{Music: "... pig, pig. All of my fears came true."}

[Frank begins writing some words down: ]

BLOOD ___________ TIDE

[Rewinds the tape.]

{Music: "... pig, pig... "}

{Frenchman: (whispering) "I want to see you dance... "}

[Frank writes: ]

BLOOD RIMMED TIDE

{Music: "All of my... "}

[More whispering by The Frenchman, as segments of the tape keep repeating because Frank is trying to make out the words.]

{Music: "All of my fears came true."}

[Frank writes: ]

BLOOD DIMMED TIDE
WHERE THE AIR AND
MONEY OF INNOCENCE
... CEREMONY
IS DOWN (strike out)

{Music: "Black and blue and broken bones you left me here. "}

[Frank writes: ]

... OF INNOCENCE
... DROWNED

[Frank looks up at a board where he has pinned the Polaroids of the murder victim. He looks at the black-and-blue bruises on the girl's body.]

{Music: "My little piggy needed something new."}

[And at the needle mark on her thigh. Music continues.]

[Frank then looks at the Polaroids taken of the empty coffin the police found in the woods near the river.]

{Music: "Nothing can stop me now 'cause I don't care any more."}

[Frank looks at two photos of the coffin lid with the word: 'PESTE' carved into it.]

{Music: "Nothing can stop me now 'cause I don't care any more."}

[The lyric keeps repeats twice as Frank puts the photos into his scanner, then stops, picks up that day's newspaper, still in its plastic delivery bag.]

{Music: "Nothing can stop me now 'cause I just don't... "}

[Removing it from the plastic and unfolding it, one of the headlines reads: "Police Move to Clean Up Cruising in Park". Frank looks closely at the accompanying photo. There are several police detectives standing under an overpass. A word is written above their heads on the overpass: 'PESTE.']

{Music: "Hey pig, nothing's turning... "}

 

[Night. Frank drives to the same area as in the newspaper photo and finds the overpass with the graffiti. It is written in yellow paint.]

[A number of gay men are cruising the park. Frank walks along the path. A couple of young men turn to look at him as he continues walking.]

[He then has the same visions which The Frenchman did: he sees each man before him with their eyes and mouths sewn shut. He hears muffled voices whispering. As another couple of men walk near Frank, he sees their eyes and mouths the same as before. They turn to stare at him and then the vision ends. They appear normal again as they pass by him.]

[Frank recovers from the visions and looks up to see a man in a ball cap walking in his direction. The man stops, looks at Frank. Frank knows that he is The Frenchman. The man realizing that Frank knows who he is, turns and starts to run through the woods. Frank gives chase.]

[The Frenchman shoves a young man out of his way, throwing him to the ground. He continues to run with Frank pursuing him. There are lights in the distance. The Frenchman is running in that direction. Frank follows.]

[Frank loses him for a moment, then hearing a car horn, realizes he's at an onramp to a bridge and runs up toward it.]

[The Frenchman can be seen running between the lanes of traffic as Frank jumps over the barrier onto the bridge. Frank runs after him. A car swerves to miss The Frenchman as he runs around the front of the car. The car now blocks a lane completely and two other cars collide because of the obstruction. The Frenchman climbs over another car that has swerved before him, blocking his path. All the while Frank tries to catch up with the man.]

[Cars horns beep as many of the motorists begin shouting at one another. None of this slows down Frank nor The Frenchman who continues to climb over cars in his way.]

[The Frenchman moves off to the left side of the overpass and as Frank tries to run across lanes, a car has to slam on the brakes in order to avoid hitting him. Frank loses his footing just inches from the stopped car. Stands and walks slowly trying to see where The Frenchman has gone but he's lost him.]

[Traffic is a mess. Cars are blocking all lanes. Horns are blaring. Many motorists are outside of their vehicles. Frank rushes through the throng to look for The Frenchman but he can't find him anywhere.]

MOTORIST:

[Frank runs toward the motorist.]

FRANK:

[The man points to a spot on the bridge.]

MOTORIST:

[Frank runs toward the area, jumping over the pedestrian barrier and walks to the side of the bridge. He looks out over the water below but can see nothing except for the wake left behind by a passing boat.]

[As he walks away, the camera pans down to where The Frenchman is hiding, hanging onto some cables below the bridge. He looks down at another passing boat below him.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

[The police station. Frank gives a briefing to the assembled detectives assigned to the case, at least a couple of dozen men and at least one woman. Behind him is a chalkboard and a TV set with a VCR set up to play the video tape from The Ruby Tip peep show. There is a freeze-frame of The Frenchman on the TV monitor.]

FRANK:

[Frank presses the play button.]

{Frenchman: "I want to see you dance on the blood-dimmed tide. The ceremony of innocence is drowned."}

BLETCHER:

[Frank pauses the tape again.]

FRANK:

[Frank again presses the play button.]

{Frenchman: "This is the second death. The abominable and the fornicators. This is the second death."}

GIEBELHOUSE:

KAMM:

{Frenchman: "You'll have your part in the lake. The great plague in the maritime city. You'll have your part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone."}

[Frank stops the tape.]

FRANK:

GIEBELHOUSE:

BLETCHER:

[On a chalkboard is written:
THE GREAT PLAGUE IN THE MARITIME CITY WILL NOT STOP UNTIL DEATH IS AVENGED BY THE BLOOD OF A JUST MAN TAKEN AND CONDEMNED FOR NO CRIME THE GREAT LADY IS OUTRAGED BY THE PRETENSE]

FRANK:

GIEBELHOUSE:

FRANK:

[Frank turns toward the chalkboard, picks up a yellow chalk and writes the word 'PESTE' above the word 'PLAGUE.']

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

KAMM:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

GIEBELHOUSE:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

GIEBELHOUSE:

FRANK:

GIEBELHOUSE:

FRANK:

GIEBELHOUSE:

KAMM:

[Frank looks from Kamm to Bletcher.]

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

GIEBELHOUSE:

FRANK:

GIEBELHOUSE [to Bletcher]:

[Several of the detectives turn to look at Bletcher, waiting for him to reach a decision.]

BLETCHER:

[Frank has been looking at Bletcher along with the detectives. Once he made his decision, Frank turns and removes the tape from the VCR. He walks through the room, hands Bletcher the tape.]

FRANK:

[Frank leaves.]

 

[Frank drives his Jeep through the garage heading for the exit when he's stopped by Bletcher, who stands in front of his car in the pouring rain.]

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

[Frank drives off towards his home.]

 

[He pulls up in front of his house, runs toward the door through the rain and finds that the front door has been left open. Fearing the worst, he enters, calling out for his wife.]

FRANK:

[No response.]

[He runs up to his daughter's bedroom, pushes open the door and finds no one there. Becoming more frightened, he again calls out.]

FRANK:

[No one is home. Frantic, he runs outside and is met by his neighbor, Jack Meredith.]

JACK:

FRANK:

JACK:

FRANK:

JACK:

 

[At the hospital, Frank hurries over to a nurse to ask about his child. Catherine sees him as he arrives.]

FRANK:

[Catherine heads toward him. The nurse searches a list.]

NURSE:

[Frank looks up and sees Catherine and walks over to meet her. Together they walk down the hall to Jordan's room.]

FRANK:

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

CATHERINE:

[They finally arrive at her room.]

CATHERINE:

[A nurse is attending Jordan, fixing her blanket, wiping the perspiration from her forehead. Frank stands near the bed and looks at his daughter.]

FRANK:

CATHERINE:

[Frank continues to look at Jordan, very concerned.]

FRANK:

 

[Later that night, Frank and Catherine both are asleep in Jordan's room when a nurse comes in to take some blood from Jordan.]

[Frank wakes to see the nurse place a syringe into Jordan's IV line and draw out blood. He then begins to stare at the syringe, making an important connection in the case.]

[Catherine wakes to find Frank staring at Jordan and becomes concerned.]

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

[He looks at her, not knowing what he should do. He waits for her to make the decision for him.]

CATHERINE:

[He leaves.]

[fade to black]

[polaroid fade up]

[It is very late at night and it has stopped raining. Another search is underway in the same woods as before.]

RADIO:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

[Frank keeps searching, keeps moving forward even when he gets to the river's edge.]

[He enters the water.]

BLETCHER:

[Continues without responding.]

1st DETECTIVE:

2nd DETECTIVE:

BLETCHER:

[Frank does not respond but continues toward the other side.]

BLETCHER:

[Bletcher removes his overcoat and hands it to Giebelhouse.]

BLETCHER:

[He begins wading through the water after Frank. The other detectives remain on shore but they all turn their flashlights in Frank's direction.]

BLETCHER:

[On the other side of the embankment, Frank and Bletcher continue to search for more coffins and buried bodies. Bletcher steps on something that sounds hollow.]

BLETCHER:

[Frank runs over to join him and together they wipe off the leaves which cover the coffin. From inside they can hear a muffled cry.]

BLETCHER:

[Frantically they hurry to try and remove the lid. Wiping away the last of the leaves they find another message carved into the lid: 'LA GRANDE DAME.']

BLETCHER:

[There are more muffled screams from within the coffin as they find that the coffin lid is screwed on.]

BLETCHER:

[They try to pull it open by its air holes but cannot. They begin unscrewing the lid but soon lose patience with that and finally tear open the lid.]

[Inside they find a man, his eyes and mouth have been sewn shut. His wrists also appear to be sewn. He continues to cry, trying to scream, desperately.]

BLETCHER [to the detectives]:

[The other detectives begin running across the water to join them.]

[Frank and Bletcher help the man out of the coffin. He is still crying, screaming. Frank holds the man in his arms, trying to comfort him. He has removed his leather jacket and placed it over the man's shoulders.]

[Bletcher looks inside of the coffin and notices a plastic bag. Lifting it, he sees that it is the severed head of the first victim, Calamity. Across her forehead is carved the word: 'MYSTERY.']

[The man is crying uncontrollably in Frank's arms.]

FRANK [to Bletcher]:

BLETCHER [to the detectives]:

[The detectives move out, searching while Frank continues to hold the man who finally begins to calm down.]

 

[The police station, Bletcher's office. Bletcher is on the phone.]

BLETCHER:

[Giebelhouse brings Frank a cup of coffee.]

FRANK:

GIEBELHOUSE:

[Bletcher gets off the phone.]

BLETCHER:

GIEBELHOUSE:

[Giebelhouse leaves.]

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

[He hands him his phone.]

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

[Frank dials the number but it's busy.]

BLETCHER:

[Frank hangs up the phone and sits on the edge of the desk.]

FRANK [sighs]:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

BLETCHER:

FRANK:

[Bletcher nods and finally leaves Frank alone in the office to make his call to Catherine. He picks up the phone, dials and gets a busy signal again. He stops the tone, holding down the receiver with his finger and the phone rings.]

FRANK:

MAN:

FRANK:

MAN:

FRANK:

MAN:

FRANK:

MAN:

[Frank hangs up the phone and searches through the empty police station for Bletcher.]

FRANK:

[He takes a service elevator down to the morgue. He finds someone at work there.]

FRANK:

MAN:

[Frank notices something odd about the man. He'd been walking around the lab nervously, trying not to look directly at Frank or to let him do the same. But now he sense something more.]

[He moves closer to the man who keeps his back to Frank.]

[It triggers some of the same visions he's had before. He hears her scream throughout. He sees: the dancer surrounded by flames; the girl being attacked by the killer with the kitchen knife; the girl's head in the plastic bag which they found in the coffin and the bloodied murder scene after the girl's death in her home.]

[Visions over, he continues to stare directly at the man, knowing him to be The Frenchman. The man finally turns around to face Frank and suddenly recognizes him from his chase earlier.]

[Grabbing a knife, he becomes aggressive towards Frank, as Frank moves backwards, away from the man. Between them lies a body on a stretcher.]

FRENCHMAN:

[Frank shoves the stretcher towards The Frenchman, trying to pin him.]

FRANK:

FRENCHMAN:

FRANK:

FRENCHMAN:

[He slashes at Frank with the knife and pushes the stretcher over on its side. It knocks Frank down onto the floor and he's trapped by the weight of the corpse on top of him.]

FRENCHMAN:

[He thrusts his knife at Frank who manages to pull up the corpse in front of him which absorbs the blow. As The Frenchman struggles to pull the knife out of the corpse, Frank finally frees himself of the weight and crawls backwards toward a column as The Frenchman advances on him.]

FRENCHMAN:

[A gun shot rings out just as The Frenchman raises his knife to stab Frank. He collapses to the ground, dropping his knife. Bletcher can be seen, gun in his out-stretched right hand, approaching. The Frenchman lies mortally wounded on the ground. With his dying breath, he says: ]

FRENCHMAN:

[The man exhales and dies. Bletcher finally lowers his gun.]

 

[The Black residence. Outside, Frank Black arrives home. Inside, Frank sneaks in, hiding behind the door frame.]

FRANK [whispering]:

CATHERINE:

[Frank still hides himself behind the door frame.]

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

CATHERINE:

[He finally enters the room. He has something hidden inside of his jacket. It's a puppy, for Jordan. Laughing, he shows it to Catherine.]

CATHERINE:

[Frank hands her the puppy.]

CATHERINE:

[Up in Jordan's bedroom, she is in bed, with her eyes shut tight, fingers crossed half-covering her eyes, trying to sneak a peek at the surprise.]

CATHERINE:

JORDAN:

[Frank places the whimpering puppy on Jordan's lap.]

JORDAN:

FRANK:

JORDAN:

FRANK:

[The puppy starts licking Jordan's face and climbing all over her.]

JORDAN:

[Downstairs, the mail has just been pushed through the mail slot and falls to the ground. Frank picks up the mail, removes the rubber band holding the bundle together and looks through it. Various bills, junk mail and finally a large yellow envelope, with no return address, as follows:

0404 **WS R004 CAR RT SORT
FRANK BLACK
1910 EZEKIEL DRIVE
SEATTLE, WA
98924]

[Frank tears open one end of the envelope, reaches inside feeling the contents with his fingertips as he hears Catherine come down the stairs. He freezes.]

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

[She opens door to leave.]

CATHERINE:

[He doesn't respond but just stares at her, a look of concern on his face. She notices that something is wrong.]

CATHERINE:

FRANK:

[He kisses her.]

FRANK:

[She smiles at him, turns and goes to her car. The car door can be heard opening and closing, then the car engine starting, as Frank removes the contents of the envelope. They are Polaroids of Catherine and Jordan in Catherine's blue mini-van. The last photo is of them in a supermarket parking lot. Directly behind them is a Seattle taxi cab. Frank turns and looks up and off into the distance.]

[fade to black]