THE RURAL JUROR Written by Sketch-Tron 6000 (sketchtron6000@gmail.

com) Based on, "The Rural Juror" A novel by Kevin Grisham

ACT ONE EXT. EDGE OF DARTMOUTH CAMPUS - NIGHT A red brick path leads up to a small pond, just off the side of a limestone building. Man-made or not, its a beautiful scene. CONSTANCE JUSTICE (V.O.) Years later, I still think about her. There are times at night, when I see the moonlight reflect off the water... A young woman walks up to the edge of the pond and takes a seat. She adjusts her skirt and then begins to drag her fingers through the murky waters. She doesnt see the man in the background. Its an older man, not much larger than her. He stands on the path for a moment before crouching down and pulling up a single, red brick. He moves the brick from hand to hand as he approaches her, his hands now covered in grime. And blood, too. (After he smashes the brick into her head, of course.) He continues to pass the brick, hand to hand, as the womans body slumps into the pond. SMASH CUT TO: EXT. WOODED AREA - DAY A light rain falls over the area, as thunder rumbles in the distance. Regardless of the weather, the heavy thicket of oak trees prevents most light from making its way to the ground. The sound of rustling branches breaks through the ambient noise. Something is making its way through the woods. A grunt is heard. The sound of approaching footsteps becomes audible. It's possibly human. Two-legged, at least. Thunder rumbles again. Heavy branches are swatted away to reveal the mystery creature: A MAILMAN. Mid 30s. He's wearing the standard uniform, and thankfully he's got a nice pair of legs to show off. But he looks upset. He continues to make his way through the forest, while clutching his satchel close to his body. Lucky for him, it looks fairly light.

2. Finally, he finds a path. By the looks of it, this path is definitely the road not taken. But still, he soldiers on. As he makes his way, the forest begins to clear up. Even the weather seems to be improving. It's just a light drizzle at this point. He stops for a moment of rest, and that's when he sees it: EXT. CABIN IN THE WOODS - DAY MAILMAN 10 Forest Lane. It's a modest looking cabin. It's small and secluded, but not necessarily the sort of cabin you stumble across in horror movies. The mailman makes his way to the front porch. He opens his satchel, and we can see there's only one piece of mail left inside. MAILMAN (CONTD) Last delivery. He sighs and then slips the envelope through the mail slot in the door. We follow the envelope through the slot, in seemingly slow motion. It gracefully twirls through the air before landing on the floor, face up. In big, bold red letters, it reads: NORMAN BLURDER. JURY SUMMONS FADE TO BLACK. SUPERIMPOSE: THE RURAL JUROR SUPERIMPOSE: A FEW MONTHS LATER INT. COURTROOM - DAY Eight jurors sit together in a courtroom. They all have the same stern look on their faces. Six share the same conservative style of clothing. One woman sits in a long white gown, her hair in buns. Now we focus in on the juror in the back corner, NORMAN BLURDER, mid 30s. His clothes are pretty shabby, but you can tell he at least made an effort for today. His concentration is broken when he hears the soft voice of...

3. CONSTANCE JUSTICE. A blonde in her early 40s (think a young Jenny McCarthy), CJ is the lead prosecutor. She's not from around here, but rather she's a big gun brought in from the big city. She approaches the witness stand. CJ You say you were there from the very beginning. So tell us the story of Irma's untimely demise. The witness, MARNIE CROWN pauses for a moment. She's young. College aged. She looks down at her lap, brushes a lock of her dark brown hair behind her ear, and sharply inhales. MARNIE It all started last fall... INT. CHANCELLOR'S HOME - NIGHT A cocktail party is in full swing. The amount of wool and tweed ensembles let us know we're probably in an academic setting. The lighting is dim, most likely as a favor to the many older women in attendance. Off in the corner are a handful of students. Each trying to dress for the occasion, but failing due to budgetary restrictions. Among them is IRMA LUHRMAN-MERMAN, 22. Her dowdy name doesn't match her appearance. She's quite the young beauty. It's hard to see, however, through the nerds that surround her. A particularly stodgy man, Chancellor BART ERLENMEYER, 60s, clinks a fork against a champagne flute, signaling the beginning of a speech. ERLENMEYER When I was first introduced to Roy, excuse me, Royce, I was told he was the most promising medical professional in North America. (pauses for effect) He was the one who told me! Not a single laugh. A cough emerges from the crowd. ERLENMEYER (CONTD) I just knew that I needed him on my staff. And imagine how lucky we were to snatch him up and put him on tenure track. He walks into the crowd and spots ROYCE "ROY" JURNER, mid 30s.

4. Lanky and somewhat handsome, he fits the bill of your typical doctor. Erlenmeyer places his arm over Royce's shoulder. ERLENMEYER (CONTD) Of course, once he secured his place here, he stopped working so hard to impress! Again, no laughs. Royce looks extremely uncomfortable. Is it the bad jokes, or the close, personal contact with Erlenmeyer? ERLENMEYER (CONTD) Imagine my surprise when I heard he was ready to publish again. Imagine my greater surprise when I heard he was publishing something good! Before the crowd has a chance to once again react negatively, a woman, ESTHER HUDSON, early 50s, interjects. Shes thin, and was probably more attractive in her younger days. The years of stressful academia have worn her down. HUDSON Enough fun for now. It's about time we wind down this night. Punctuating her sentence is the sound of a thunder clap. A hard rain begins to hit the old windowpanes of the home. INT. UNIVERSITY LIBRARY - NIGHT The sound of the coming storm is somewhat dampened in this dark, dank library basement. Sitting at a corner desk is Irma, now surrounded by a stack of books. Shes still dressed up from the event earlier in the evening. A fratty-looking bro, TOBIAS HOOKS, 21, walks up to her and drops a stack of journals on the desk. TOBIAS Anything else I can get for you? IRMA (without looking up) Uhhh. I think I'm good for now. She glances to the new stack at her side, running her finger down the spines. IRMA (CONTD) Yeah. Yup. I've got everything. Thanks.

5. Tobias rolls his eyes and walks off. This study date isn't going at all as he planned. As his footsteps begin to echo in the distance, Irma closes all the books on the desk and begins to leaf through the new stack. She starts off at the top, with the NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE. Royces name is on the cover. As her eyes make their way down the page, a frown begins to form on her face. IRMA (CONTD) That's... odd. She reaches for the laptop in her bag. She pulls up a Word document. As she scrolls down, the title page reveals it's a paper of hers. IRMA (CONTD) (reading from her paper) After six months, patients showed few signs of (reading from the journal) their original symptoms. Within twelve months, the entire control group (reading from her paper) showed no... reactions... Irma places the journal down and closes her laptop. She sighs out in disbelief. IRMA (CONTD) It must be a mistake. She then smacks herself on the forehead, as if she's had a sudden realization. She picks up the journal and begins scanning through it, determined to reading it all as quicklky as possible. With each turn of the page, the look on her face grows dimmer. She once again sets down the journal. IRMA (CONTD) Not one brief mention of Irma Luhrman-Merman. INT. COURTROOM - DAY CJ Were you there that night? At the party? Did you see Irma and Tobias at the library?

6. Marnie hesitates for a moment, carefully weighing out the consequences of her next sentence. MARNIE No, I wasn't there at either particular moment. I wasn't made aware of the situation until later that night. (pause) I wouldn't see Irma until much later in the evening. After her encounter with Dr. Jurner. CJ So are we to understand that Irma typically recounted the events of her day to you? MARNIE With stunning accuracy. EXT. DARTMOUTH CAMPUS - NIGHT Irma skulks about outside an old limestone building, the library off in the distance. She takes careful note of the windows. Row after row of closed curtains and dark rooms, except for one brightly-lit window on the bottom right. She creeps up closer and spots Royce at his desk, hard at work. Doing his own research? Stealing from other unsuspecting students? Who can tell? Her foot catches on a hole in the ground and she falls flat on her face, making quite the disturbance. From the window, it's obvious that Royce has spotted her. Or at least, he's spotted someone outside his office. The lights quickly flick off. It's fairly dark without the artificial light illuminating the area, which hampers Irma's attempt to gather herself and her things. She reaches around her, looking for belongings. Her left arm juts out, and she grabs hold of a foot. ROYCE It's not safe for a young woman to be out alone on campus this late at night. Royce is now standing directly besides the crouching Irma. He's still dressed in the same formal outfit from the party. Irma raises herself to him.

7. IRMA I was looking for you, actually. And now that we've met, would you mind escorting me to my car, while we talk? It shouldn't take long. ROYCE Naturally. What kind of man would I be, letting you wander about campus by yourself? With her belongings in tow, the duo make their way toward the nearby campus road. Irma takes a deep breath and says: IRMA I know what you did. Without another word, Royce does an about face and heads back toward the campus building. As he makes his way away from Irma, he notices shes hastening her pace. IRMA (CONTD) (yelling) You know very well what that means! He relents and allows Irma to catch up to him. There are now a few more students hanging about, and he doesn't want to create a scene. IRMA (CONTD) Are you actually going to make me say it out loud? (she pauses) You stole my work. My research. I saw, line for line, the work from my thesis that I've spent months putting together. Royce's face is surprisingly calm considering the accusation. He looks away as he begins to speak. ROYCE You're being awfully presumptuous. Having been under my tutelage for the past four years, you've obviously picked up on my style. My research methods. (beat) You should be thankful I didn't fail you when you turned in your thesis, rife with my earlier work. But thankfully I'm well aware that beginners often quote from the masters.

8. Irma huffs at his arrogance. She stammers a bit, before giving up on saying anything at all. As she storms off into the distance, the expression on Royce's face turns to fear. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - ADMIN OFFICE - DAY It's a very dated-looking office. Bookshelves line the walls, and the desk is covered in composition notebooks. Behind it sits BRUCE MALCOLM, late 60s, medical department chairman. In the chairs facing him sit Hudson and Royce. Dour faces all around. MARNIE (V.O.) As I understand it, it wasn't too hard for Irma to overhear their conversation from the lobby. HUDSON The girl has a very serious accusation, Royce. Is there any truth behind it? Royce opens his mouth but is quickly cut off by Malcom. MALCOLM I've scoured over both papers, and (pauses) there's far too much similar material to ignore. Royce interjects before Malcom can continue. ROYCE Like I told her last night, she must have borrowed from me. At first, I simply thought she borrowed ideas from my earlier work. But if you're finding complete duplications, well (he stammers) she must have found a way to steal from me. Malcolm and Hudson share a distrustful glance. HUDSON But what about the dates, Royce? The general timeline? Bruce was telling me-

9. ROYCE Well I have no idea what he's on about. Malcolm rolls his eyes. MALCOLM The timelines, Royce. The fact that her work was published weeks before you even put pen to paper. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - ADMIN OFFICE - DAY Same place as before, but a bit later. Royce is gone, but Hudson and Malcolm remain. MALCOLM Do you have any idea what to do with this situation? HUDSON I've never seen it from this side. Normally we'd meet to discuss plagiarism by a student, not from a student's work. (pauses) Usually it ends up with the student's expulsion. A knock at the door. It not much older than the on Irma as she's guided leaves without saying a opens to reveal GAIL, a receptionist, woman she's escorting: Irma. All eyes to an empty seat. The receptionist word.

No one speaks for a moment, when HUDSON leans toward Irma to break the tension. HUDSON (CONTD) I don't believe we've met. Esther Hudson, Vice Chancellor. IRMA Oh, of course. It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm... HUDSON Irma Luhrman-Merman. Of course. I invited you here this afternoon. MALCOLM (jumping in) To discuss...

10. HUDSON To discuss your work. And Dr. Jurner's work. IRMA ...and their similarities? HUDSON Yes, of course. There's a pause in the conversation. No one is sure of the next step to take. Irma is the first to gather the confidence to proceed. IRMA I spent countless hours compiling my work for Dr. Jurner's class. When I submitted my paper last year, I didn't think much of it. I just filed a copy away into my portfolio. MALCOM Until you saw your work published in the journal? IRMA Yes. I was confused at first. Then I thought maybe he co-published without me knowing. As sort of a surprise? She stops to now appreciate the humor in that possibility. IRMA (CONTD) But you won't find my name mentioned once in that journal. But you will find my work - word for word at times - throughout every page. HUDSON We know. We looked through both papers. We understand that there's an incredible amount of duplications. A look of relief washes over Irma's face. Finally something is starting to make sense. Someone understands what is happening. HUDSON (CONTD) And it's unfortunate to discover, to say the least.

11. MALCOLM Most unfortunate. Irma doesn't trust the look Hudson and Malcolm share. IRMA Unfortunate... for Dr. Jurner? HUDSON In a sense, yes. You can't imagine my disappointment to find out that a member of my staff has passed off stolen work as his own. But... MALCOLM

HUDSON But it is what it is. The question now is, how do we move past this? IRMA Well, I was thinking-She's quickly cut off by Malcolm. MALCOLM No, dear. That wasn't a question for you to answer. INT. COURTROOM - DAY MARNIE There's almost no need to say she was taken aback by the situation unfolding. DANIEL COOPER Objection, your honor! I tried to give Ms. Justice some leeway, but Ive had just about enough. Why are we hearing testimony from a woman who wasn't even there? DANIEL COOPER, late 30s, sits back down. The opposing council is dressed in a sharp suit. He's a bit younger than CJ, and probably a bit more prepared too. JUDGE ABERNATHY, early 70s, leans forward in his seat. JUDGE ABERNATHY (to CJ) Is there a better witness to deliver this testimony?

12. CJ stammers for a moment. She's caught off guard. Why did he oppose now, in the middle of the testimony? CJ The prosecution is having difficulty getting reliable information from either Dr. Malcolm or Vice Chancellor Hudson. (pauses) It seems in their advanced ages, their memories are beginning to fade. They've both provided wildly varying accounts of the meeting in question. And let's be honest, I doubt there's anyone in this courtroom who could trust either of them further than they can throw them. COOPER Your honor! Judge Abernathy takes a moment, and then sighs. Even though it's not right, being a native of the area, he has to agree with CJ's assessment of the academic duo. JUDGE ABERNATHY Let the witness continue. Cooper slinks back in his chair. He's in utter disbelief. He looks back into the gallery. Finds Hudson in the crowd and shoots her a dirty look. She isn't phased. She must be used to it by now. INT. IRMA'S APARTMENT Marnie and Irma are seated together on a couch. (Finally, a first person account!) She sits quietly as Irma relays the ordeal she's found herself in. MARNIE Just let it go? That's all they had to say? That's all their going to do? IRMA Well, not exactly. In not so many terms, they explained that my remaining time at Dartmouth will be as "comfortable as possible."

13. MARNIE What does that even mean? Are they going to jerk you off every night? INT. COURTROOM - DAY COOPER Your honor! JUDGE ABERNATHY (sternly) Miss, please. Mind yourself. MARNIE I apologize for my former crudeness. She takes a calculated pause and allows her voice to crack when she says: MARNIE (CONTD) I would have been more demure had I known it was one of our final encounters... INT. IRMA'S APARTMENT IRMA It's just going to become this massive cover-up. Jurner will just go about his daily life. And so will I. MARNIE It's disturbing how calculated it all sounds. Like they've done it before. IRMA Or at least practiced their delivery before I came. Marnie extends her arm over Irma's shoulders. MARNIE I'm so sorry you have to be going through this. Is there anything I can do to help?

14. IRMA I appreciate the offer. And the sympathy. But you're just as powerless as me. INT. HOTEL ROOM Most of the jurors have gathered together in a single hotel room. Some are seated on the bed. The woman in the long, white robe is off in the corner, reading an outdated Playgirl magazine. NORMAN What do y'all think? (Is this sort of discussion allowed? Does it really matter?) JUROR 1 She paints a pretty grim picture, but I wonder just how much painting the lawyer is doing herself? JUROR 2 What does that even mean? JUROR 3 I think what he's trying to say is, it's a compelling storyline, but it's likely that CJ is guiding witness testimony to fit the version of events she likes best. Yes. That. JUROR 1

NORMAN I just can't trust anyone in this whole matter. (pause) Liars. The whole lot of them. The rest of the jurors in the room nod their heads in agreement. The woman in the corner, LIZ, decides to abandon her magazine and join in on the conversation. LIZ You know we're not even getting the whole story, right? She gains the attention of everyone else in the room. They make room for her on the bed, and she's motioned over.

15. LIZ (CONTD) You might not think a lot of time has passed since that girl disappeared-JUROR 2 Since that girl was murdered. LIZ Yes, murdered. But it was certainly enough time for a lot to be bungled in the case. There's a lot they're not telling us, because they can't. Judge threw it out. Shoddy police work, or something like that. JUROR 4 (looking around the room) Are we really going to believe her? The rest of the jury pool take note of Liz. They look her up and down, sizing her up. She's still in the white gown, but her buns are becoming loose. NORMAN Let's not be too quick to judge. Let's hear the lady out. Thank you. LIZ

INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - ADMIN OFFICE - DAY LIZ (V.O.) My cousin, Gail. She's a receptionist at the medical school. She was there when it all started, and she was the eyes and ears in that office. It's the same setup we saw before, but it's completely empty. No one behind the desk. No Irma sitting nervously in an overstuffed chair. LIZ (V.O.) She pretty much heard the whole murder being planned out. END OF ACT ONE

16. ACT TWO INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - ADMIN OFFICE - DAY Hudson and Malcolm enter in a huff. From the doorway, we can see Gail the receptionist, dutifully sitting at her desk. HUDSON He really stepped in it, didnt he? She clears a space on Malcolms desk and takes a seat. MALCOLM And what if others find out? (pause) Im not talking about the guaranteed PR nightmare it would create. I mean, what sort of standard have we created for this institution? HUDSON Cheat. Make a name for yourself. And if you get caught, well help sweep everything under the rug. She smiles coyly. MALCOLM And we wonder why we drop every year in the rankings. He pulls a file from his desk. He pushes Hudson off to make room to lay out the documents. MALCOLM (CONTD) Shes known for her... independent streak. Im very concerned this isnt close to being over. I was talking about her to Seaver-Hudson shoots him dagger eyes. MALCOLM (CONTD) I didnt tell him about this. I told him she put her name in for a scholarship, and I wanted his input. Hudson relaxes, slightly.

17. MALCOLM (CONTD) Apparently shes the type to challenge every grade. Always the first to raise her hand in class. A classic type A personality. HUDSON Well then shell appreciate the break were giving her. INT. LECTURE HALL - DAY Irma sits in a desk in a large lecture hall. She does not have a happy look on her face. With more empty chairs than students, it looks like it must be late in the semester. The professor doesnt seem to mind the scarcity of students, however. Just as he finishes rattling off a complicated theorem, a MALE STUDENT sitting behind Irma reaches up and taps her on the shoulder. MALE STUDENT (whispering) Hey. Is that right? He points to the professors work on the whiteboard. Irma shrugs her shoulders. Confused by her newfound bad attitude, the male student leans back in his chair. PROFESSOR Wait a second. Thats not right at all. The professor takes an eraser to what he just finished writing. PROFESSOR (CONTD) (chuckling) Im surprised no one caught that. Guess no one did the reading for today... Irma slams her book closed. She stuffs her belonging into her bag and storms out of the room. MALE STUDENT I knew I was right.

18. INT. UNIVERSITY LIBRARY - DAY Students shuffle in and out of the stacks. No one is talking, as it should be. But slowly, a murmur emerges. It grows louder and more distinct, and eventually turns into a full blown, one-sided conversation. MALE VOICE (O.S.) No, it cant be done. (pause) Because Im missing a lot of the original research... It was misfiled by a grad student. (pause) I just dont see the issue here. A student walks into the cramped aisle to discover Royce talking on his cell phone. The student shoots him a dirty look for violating library rules. Royce shoots him an equally dirty look for interrupting what appears to be a very important phone call. Royces stare wins out, and the student exits the aisle. ROYCE Just tell them Id discuss any issues over the phone. Or (pause) A student? Here at be happy to with my work in person, even. Dartmouth?

He pulls the phone from his ear and stuffs it in his coat pocket. EXT. DARTMOUTH LIBRARY - DAY Royce steps out of the library and starts making his way toward the quad. Incidentally, its the very quad Irma is storming across, after exiting her last class. The two dont bump directly into each other, but their paths do cross. Irma gives an icy glare. Royces anger once again turns into a nervous, shifty look. He alters his path to avoid coming into direct contact with her. She stops, and her eyes follow Royce until hes just a dot in the distance, far across the quad. Her stalking is interrupted by yet another tap on the shoulder.

19. TOBIAS Irma? Whatre you looking at? He places his chin on her shoulder and tries to find what has captured her attention. She takes two steps back from him. And now his rebuffed display of physical closeness has created a visibly awkward moment. TOBIAS (CONTD) Am I interrupting something important? Again, he looks off into the distance, but now hes just trying to avoid eye contact with Irma. IRMA Nothing, nothing. I was just lost in thought... standing in the middle of campus. She walks off, without saying anything else. Tobias is left there, standing alone. Dumbfounded. INT. HOTEL BAR - EVENING CJ sits alone in a fairly empty bar. News coverage of the case plays on the TV in the corner. It looks like shes been nursing her drink for some time. A SHORT MAN, one of the few in the bar with her, walks up to her. But hes immediately rebuffed. Seats to her left and right are taken by case files. She notices him standing there. She waves him off. SHORT MAN Another time, I guess. He walks off, defeated. CJs attention goes back to her drink, when she chuckle. It came from down the bar. He probably but to her, hes just Man NO. 2. She pushes her side so she can focused on the stained document hears a has a name, drink to the beneath it.

Her focused is interrupted by the sound of falling papers. She looks to her left to discover her files are now all over the floor. Man NO. 2 is standing smugly beside her. He chuckles again.

20. MAN NO. 2

Ha. Oops.

He takes the now vacant seat. With him in such close proximity, CJ can make out some of his details more clearly than before. Hes not just Man NO. 2 anymore. No, now hes Man in an annoyingly slim fit dress shirt. The kind you only see on store mannequins. CJ gives him another look, up and down. CJ Stand up. Turn around. MAN NO. 2 (as he stands up)

Why?

CJ Turn around. I want to see all the pins and clips needed to make your shirt fit that closely to your body. He smirks and then spins around for her. MAN NO. 2 No fancy camera work here. Just-CJ A very fit mannequin. He takes his seat again. Hes loving this. Normally its not this easy. He extends his leg to trap a stray paper under his foot. He drags it toward them. MAN NO. 2 Whats this? Whats captured your attention for the past two hours? CJ Youve been watching me here for two hours? MAN NO. 2 Among other things. When I got here, I was talking my friend off the proverbial ledge. Oh? CJ

21. MAN NO. 2 Hes an aspiring pro-skater. The next Tony Hawk. But he just found out hes going blind. Dancer in the Dark-style. CJ That sounds horrib... ly made up. You need a better writer. MAN NO. 2 Okay. Okay. He stands up and begins to walk off. CJs face displays a sudden flash of disappointment. She ran off another one. But then he stops. MAN NO. 2 (CONTD) What was that? What? CJ

MAN NO. 2 That look on your face. That sudden flash of disappointment. That look when you realized you couldnt have me. He walks up close to her. Too close, almost. He leans in. CJ looks bewildered. Shes completely out of her element. MAN NO. 2 (CONTD) Heres chance number two. Lets get out of here. INT. IRMAS APARTMENT - EVENING Irma has draped herself over a couch. It doesnt look like a comfortable position, but it doesnt look like shes interested in moving. Marnie enters the room. MARNIE Youve been in here all day. I have to get you out of here. Marnie walks over to Irma and gently tugs at her blouse. Nothing.

22. EXT. IRMAS APARTMENT BUILDING Marnie exits the building. It looks like a beautiful day out. She takes a few steps, stops, and then turns to look behind her. Irma exits the building. She takes a step out the door and stops. She reaches for the umbrella in her bag and opens it. Crack. Boom. The skies open up and it begins to pour over the duo. Marnie heads back inside, and Irma takes off down the street. INT. HOTEL ROOM JUROR 2 Wait. How do you know all this? LIZ Well, I dont exactly. Im just trying to set the scene. It was really rainy that time of year. (pause) But if youre insistent on just knowing the facts... At this point, Liz has decided to keep her psychic capabilities under wraps. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - CONFERENCE ROOM Royce, Hudson, and Malcolm sit at a large round table. For once, everyone looks fairly happy. Giddy, almost. HUDSON The chancellor asked why were not doing more to lock you in at Dartmouth. Why we havent done more to keep you pleased. MALCOLM (to Royce) You can understand why wed be hesitant to do so. By the look on Royces face, he cant understand. Hudson rolls her eyes.

23. HUDSON Your... shenanigans arent as discrete as wed have liked them to be. Some of you colleagues have grown upset. ROYCE Oh nonsense! No one is the wiser. I mean, I thought we had an issue when the journal editor called me up, but it turns out their tipster was Irma. MALCOLM And you took care of it? ROYCE As far as hes concerned, shes just another disgruntled, failing student. Theyre not interested in the issue any longer. MALCOLM (to Hudson) So how are staffers finding out? HUDSON Well, I can only assume you have a leaky office. All three look at the door. Its only partially closed. The sound of footsteps making their way across a creaky wooden floor can be heard. MALCOLM Thank you, Gail! We wont need anything further! HUDSON Take care of that, would you? Its starting to become a pain: the chancellor telling me one thing, and then the faculty telling me another. She turns her chair toward Royce. HUDSON (CONTD) As much as Id like to try, I cant both promote and fire you at the same time. A smug look creeps across Royces face.

24. ROYCE Especially now that Im the preeminent surgeon-scholar in New England. NewsWeek says so. HUDSON Yes, of course. And according to the doctor down the hall, youre also New Englands preeminent asshole. A giggle is heard from the other side of the door. Malcom gets up from his chair and peeks through the doorway. MALCOLM Thank you, Gail! He slams the door shut. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - RECEPTION AREA Gail sits at her desk, obviously rattled. She reaches for the desk phone and hesitates. She puts the receiver back down and pulls a cell phone out of her purse. She begins to text: GAIL - TEXT L. You there? LIZ - TEXT Of course. Ive been expecting your text. GAIL - TEXT How could I forget about your mind reading skills? LIZ - TEXT Im used to being unappreciated. Whats the matter? GAIL - TEXT Dont you mean...? LIZ - TEXT Well, of course I know whats the matter. I just want to have the conversation normally, for your sake. Your comfort. GAIL - TEXT :) Things are getting weird around here. Lots of secret meetings. Urgent meetings. Tense meetings.

25. LIZ - TEXT Should I come over? Get a reading of the energy? GAIL - TEXT No. No. I should be fine. I was just wondering... LIZ - TEXT Dont worry. Im on it. GAIL - TEXT Youre the best! INT. HOTEL ROOM - NIGHT Liz has everyone hooked on her every word. All attention is on her. No one is focused on the news coverage on the television. JUROR 3 What did she want? What did you do for her? JUROR 2 Isnt it obvious? Juror 3 shoots Juror 2 a dirty look. JUROR 3 Its hard enough to follow every detailed nuance of a story in court. Cut me some slack. He turns back to Liz. So? JUROR 3 (CONTD)

LIZ I just let her know Id put out feelers for any job openings in the area. She wanted out at Dartmouth. (pause) If only Irma had that good sense. The same look of sadness spreads across every face in the room. Norman pulls a paper out of his shabby-looking briefcase. Its one of those tabloid-style rags you find in supermarket checkout aisles. Irmas face is on the cover. Most of the bottom half of the page is taken up by the large headline: HER SECRET LIFE.

26. A few others scoff when they see the tabloid on Normans life. NORMAN You guys dont take much stock in what the press is saying? Juror 2 lets out a huff. Hes the most visibly annoyed. He loudly clears his throat. JUROR 2 Let me tell you all a little something about journalists. LIZ Because you used to be one? Hes taken aback, slightly. JUROR 2 Yes, I used to be one. Good guess. (pause) But I got out of the business a while back. Ten years or so. You wanna know why? He looks around the room. He has their attention, but not by much. JUROR 2 (CONTD) Its because journalists are the worst people in the world. Have you ever noticed how theyre always portrayed as slimly bugs on TV and in movies? He lets out a chuckle. JUROR 2 (CONTD) Its not because of some Hollywood bias. Its just the honest to goodness truth. Theyre awful people with no concern for their fellow man, just the bottom line. Splashy headlines that bring in the green. He grabs the tabloid from Normans lap. JUROR 2 (CONTD) Now, Im not about to go on some sort of Network-style rant against the media. (MORE)

27. JUROR 2 (CONTD) But just know everything you read in the papers, see on TV, even hear on the radio. Its all designed to draw you in. It doesnt matter how much the truth is stretched. How irrelevant it actually is. JUROR 3 And in the end, its that poor girl whos suffering. They dont care whether or not her killer is brought to justice. JUROR 2 Because in the end, everyone will have to sort through the stories and wonder which parts are true and which parts are lies. The room is quiet. Theyre all contemplating the heavy responsibility on their shoulders. The silence is broken by Liz. LIZ She tried to back out of it all. Not too long after she made her deal with the devil, she tried to back out. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - ADMIN OFFICE - DAY Malcolm is seated behind his desk, with Gail at his side, taking notes. They both hear the outside door being opened. He gives her a glance, and she dutifully exits the office, just as Irma walks in. MALCOLM Oh. I was expecting someone else. IRMA (glancing at her watch) Do you have another appointment for now? MALCOLM Yes, but Im guessing hell have to wait. Please, have a seat. Irma sits down in one of the large, overstuffed chairs. She crosses her legs and notices that her skirt caught on a loose tack on the chair. She leans in to asses the damage.

28. IRMA Damn it. The whole hemline is going to go to shit. Her face goes slightly pink. She just remembered where she was. MALCOLM Dont worry about it. The language, or the skirt. He pulls something from a desk drawer and places it in front of him. A checkbook. He slides it forward and looks away. MALCOLM (CONTD) A nice skirt goes for what, fifty, sixty bucks these days? She pushes the checkbook back toward him. IRMA Please, stop trying to pay me off. My parents already told me about the random, mid-semester scholarship I was just awarded. MALCOLM I bet they were pretty happy to get their tuition check back in the mail. IRMA Yeah, but I wasnt too happy about having to lie to my parents. You all are just making this worse. I need you all to stop. MALCOLM I dont want to sound cliche, but were all in too deep now. Theres no getting off this ride. In the end, I think youll appreciate the benefits that come with cooperating. Irma is besides herself. She doesnt know what to think. She fiddles with snag in her hemline. Pulling at a thread until it breaks. MALCOLM (CONTD) Uh. I bet my secretary out there has a sewing kit somewhere in her desk. (MORE)

29. MALCOLM (CONTD) I bet she could fix that right up for you before you go back out. IRMA Dont you get it? This skirt is a metaphor for my life. It hit a snag. A loose end got pulled to much, and now its all coming undone. Its ruined. Malcolm snorts. He tries to cover it up, but Irma can tell how lightly hes taking this. IRMA (CONTD) Im glad you find some amusement in the situation. But this is my life! She exits the office, with her hemline now visibly sagging around her knees. As he watches her leave, its not quite clear if hes looking at the damaged skit, or perhaps paying more attention to whats underneath the skirt. He then reaches for his phone. MALCOLM Gail!? Get me Hudson on the line, would you!? He taps his fingers on his desk. GAIL (O.S.) Shes holding on line one, sir! He picks up the phone and takes a deep breath. MALCOLM Esther? I just had an... interesting visit from our favorite problem child. (pause) I think were going to have to try to handle this situation a bit differently. Things arent working out as planned. END OF ACT TWO

30. ACT THREE EXT. CAFE PATIO - EVENING Tobias and Irma sit outside a small cafe. It looks like theyre nearing the end of dinner. This date seems to be going well. TOBIAS This date seems to be going well, doesnt it? Irma laughs at the statement. Shes not sure of how he meant for that to come across. IRMA Usually I dont discuss that sort of thing until a few hours after the date. With my roommate, usually over a glass of something alcoholic. A WAITER walks by and begins to clear the plates off their table. WAITER Can I get you two anything else? Coffee? Would you care to see the dessert menu? Tobias looks at Irma. His face seems to ask, Wanna stay here a bit more? She shakes her head at him. Shes very clearly saying, No. TOBIAS I guess well just be needing the check, please. INT. TOBIAS APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - EVENING Oh. It looks like Tobias has managed to get Irma back to his place. Nicely done, Toby! His place isnt exactly what youd think when imagining what the typical college bro lives like. Its just a tad nicer. Theyre both sitting on his couch. The green slip-on cover sags in some places. But at least its stain free. IRMA Wheres your roommate? Jake, right?

31. TOBIAS Yeah, yeah. Jake is out for the night. IRMA How convenient. Her tone suggests she thinks Tobias planned for his roommate to be gone for the night. TOBIAS No, its not like that at all. (laughs nervously) Hes got a big econ test tomorrow. Hes been camped out at the library all week. She decides to give him the benefit of the doubt. IRMA I guess that sounds true. I think my roommate, Marnie, mentioned having an econ test herself. Tobais is sure not to waste this brief moment of her trust. He slides just a tad closer to her on the couch. She turns slightly more toward him. Smooth. IRMA (CONTD)

He smirks and extends his arm around her. TOBIAS Ive got all the right moves (pause) on DVD. Personally, I think its some of Tom Cruises best work. Wanna watch? Irma doesnt say anything. He studies her face, trying to figure out how shes going to react. After seemingly forever, she opens her mouth: IRMA How often have you practiced that line? TOBIAS Practiced? Baby, youve got me all wrong? Irma begins to laugh. Shes not quite sure if hes laying it on so thick as a joke or not.

32. IRMA It might be better to reference the One Republic single. Its more topical. She then slides closer to him. His moves are working, much to boths surprise. Score! Just as theyre getting cozy, she puts her hand up between them, as a signal she wants to stop. Hes taken slightly aback. TOBIAS Whats wrong? IRMA Maybe we should move to your bedroom? I cant help but feel kind of cheap here on your couch. She picks at the couchs slip cover. TOBIAS Oh, yeah. Sure! He jumps and takes her hand, leading them into his bedroom. INT. TOBIAS APARTMENT - BEDROOM - EVENING Its obviously a bit later, as theyre both missing some of the clothing they were wearing earlier. Shes snuggled close to him, as they both lie on the bed. Hes gently stroking her hair. TOBIAS Would you say were laying on the bed, or lying on the bed? Irma gives him an odd look. What an odd question. IRMA Im... Im not sure. I think its lying, but I cant say for certain. He shrugs it off. TOBIAS Doesnt matter in the long run. IRMA Youre an odd duck. He drags himself off the bed and starts to fish around the room for his clothes. By the looks of it, they were ripped off without a care.

33. He tosses Irma her clothes as he comes across them on the floor. As he starts to put on his shirt, he says: TOBIAS Do you need a ride back to your place, or are you okay walking back? Irma looks bewildered. Maybe she didnt hear him right over the muffling of his shirt over his head. Excuse me? IRMA

With his shirt now on (but not much else) he repeats himself. TOBIAS Are you good walking back to your place, or do you need a ride from me? Now Irma gets what is happening. She steps out of bed and begins to collect her clothing. IRMA I should be fine on my own. Thanks. INT. COURTROOM - DAY The jurors are back in their box, mostly with disapproving looks on their faces. CJ is standing before the judge. And Tobias is in on the witness stand. Hes looking rough. Torn up. CJ You threw her out of your apartment at two in the morning? TOBIAS It wasnt like that. I didnt mean it like that. (he starts to choke up) Had I known what was going to happen that night, I would have driven her home. Kept her at my place. I would have never let her go. I would have never let that moment end. CJ But you did let her go off on her own that night. (MORE)

34. CJ (CONT'D) And that was the last night you ever saw Irma, correct? TOBIAS It was the last time I would ever see her alive. He begins to sob. CJ Thank you. No further questions, your honor. The BAILIFF escorts the inconsolable Tobias out of the courtroom. CJ (CONTD) Next Id like to call RANDOLPH MERTZ, forensics expert, to the stand. A portly fellow, in his late 60s, walks up to the witness stand. He looks tired. Tired of life. Tired of the gruesome scenes he deals with, day after day. CJ (CONTD) Would you tell us a bit about yourself, Mr. Mertz? He clears his throat. RANDOLPH Ive been a forensics expert for about 40 years now. Im typically based in New York, but the local brass around here thought it would be best to bring me in, considering the violent nature of the crime. CJ turns toward the jury. CJ And what a gruesome crime indeed. Based on the evidence you collected, can you give us your best estimation of what occurred on the fateful night Irma was murdered?

35. EXT. DARTMOUTH CAMPUS - LATE NIGHT Its a dark night. A few slivers of moonlight make their way past the cloudy sky, illuminating the centuries-old limestone buildings of campus. RANDOLPH (V.O.) Heres how I think it all went down. Irma enters the frame. She looks like shes still annoyed from her earlier interaction with Tobias. IRMA Boys. Dumb. She tugs at her sweater. Its a little obvious that she got dressed in a hurry. Her clothes look a little askew. She tries her best to adjust things. She tugs at her sweater again. Hurrumph! IRMA (CONTD)

She comes to a quick stop and throws down her bag. She peels off her sweater and then works to properly tuck in her blouse. As she dons her sweater once more, the sound of snapping twigs is heard. Just as the cashmere obstructs her view. IRMA (CONTD) (through her sweater) Hello? She gets the sweater off her face. Bushes rustle in the distance. IRMA (CONTD) Whos out there? She stands in the dark silence for a moment. Its interrupted by a lone ring from her pocket. Shes slightly startled. She fishes the phone out and reads the message: TOBIAS - TEXT I thought youd never leave. :P Her fears are now the furthest thing from her mind. As is the annoyance she felt just a moment ago. A smile starts to emerge on her face, and she transfers that emotion to her phone. :) IRMA - TEXT

36. She looks at the screen. Its not finished sending. Come on! IRMA

She shakes her phone vigorously. Looks at the screen again and lets out a groan. As she begins to shake it again, it flies out of her hand. She follows it as it appears to fly in slow motion. Straight into the brick pathway. It shatters. Pieces go everywhere. RANDOLPH (V.O.) If only she knew shed be meeting a similar fate that night. Irma throws her hands up and looks up to the sky. IRMA Life! Why!? She starts up her walk again, this time at a slower pace. She comes across a fork in the path, and stops to ponder. (Yes, another Robert Frost reference.) She heads left. Slowly before, she leaves the of the pond. She takes her skirt. Her fingers the pond comes into view. Just as brick pathway and goes up to the edge a seat, making sure to neatly adjust begin to skim the murky waters.

And then the camera zooms out. A MAN isnt too far off from Irma. Only his back is visible. He slowly approaches Irma, walking on the grass, probably to keep quiet. As he gets closer, he walks toward the brick path. He crouches down and picks up a loose, red brick. He moves it from one hand to another, as he gets within striking distance. He raises the hand with the brick back, and swings it forward. The cracking sound Irmas skull makes is sickening. As his arm pulls back, Irmas body slumps forward into the pond. Blood drips from the brick, onto his hand and down his arm. Red droplets appear on his white dress shirt. RANDOLPH (V.O.) Id say given the depth of the wound, the killer was motivated by rage. Whoever did that must have hated that poor girl.

37. INT. COURTROOM - DAY CJ But it wasnt the blow that killed her, was it? RANDOLPH No maam, it wasnt. Although it was plenty severe, there was a good amount of pond water found in her lungs. (pause) She drowned in that pond. CJ But that wasnt her final resting place, was it? CJ walks toward the jury box and hands a hanky to one of the jurors who seems to be overcome with emotion. Randolph isnt looking so hot, either. EXT. DARTMOUTH CAMPUS - LATE NIGHT Same scene we just left a moment ago. RANDOLPH (V.O.) No maam, it wasnt. She was moved. The mans back is still all we can see. He passes the bloodied brick from hand to hand. His shoulders rise and fall with each breath. Its obvious the pace is quickening. Hes quickly getting nervous, realizing what hes just done. He drops the brick and reaches into his pocket, grabbing his cell phone. The phone rings. A woman answers. Hello? FEMALE VOICE

MAN I need your help. EXT. DARTMOUTH CAMPUS - A LITTLE LATER Theres now a slight fog over the scene. Perhaps a way of showing that Randolphs not too sure about the details? The man and an unidentified WOMAN are standing knee-deep in the pond. They bend over, submerging their hand in the water. As they straighten out, Irmas body emerges from its watery grave.

38. The two (or three, technically) make their way toward the closest building. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - MAIN HALL - LATE NIGHT A fairly standard academic building entrance. All the focus is on Irmas body. The duos heads arent visible. Where to? Follow me. MAN WOMAN

They start heading right, leaving a gross trail of pond water and blood. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - OFFICE - LATE NIGHT Irmas body is laying on a desk. The contents of said desk are now scattered across the floor. MAN So what now? The woman heads toward a filing cabinet. She reaches for the black medical bag perched on top of it. WOMAN Finish what you started. She places the bag on the desk, right next to Irmas head. With our first good look at her face since her murder, we see a frozen look of terror. The man reaches into the bag and pulls out a sharp medical instrument. Focus in once again on Irmas face. New blood splatters across her cheek as we hear a feeble grown come from the man. Oh, god. MAN

INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - OFFICE - A LITTLE LATER The woman is gone. And apparently, so is Irma. The man stands alone by his empty desk. Blood stains are everywhere. He starts to put away his instruments when he spots her bookbag among the discarded contents of his desk on the floor.

39. He picks it up by the strap and a notebook falls out. He picks it up and begins to leaf through it. He starts to chuckle. MAN Irma, you brilliant, brilliant girl. Too smart for your own good. INT. COURTROOM CJ Lets revisit some of your earlier statements. When you said you found pond water in her lungs...? Randolph hesitates for a moment. It looks like he might not make it through his testimony. RANDOLPH It took the police a while to track down all her parts, scattered around campus. But when they finally found her lungs and delivered them to me, I found traces of the pond water from the pond on the edge of campus. CJ sees how badly hes handling this. She walks up to the witness stand and leans against it. CJ Its terrible, I know. One last question that I have to ask. You mentioned that this could only be done by someone who was filled with rage? RANDOLPH When her head was discovered and sent to me for examination-A juror loses his lunch. (And he knows his lunch box is safe back at the hotel, if you know what I mean.) Hes quickly escorted out of the courtroom by the bailiff. RANDOLPH (CONTD) The impact wound was of significant depth. The attacker wasnt hesitant at all to drive that brick into her skull.

40. CJ Thank you, Mr. Mertz. No further questions. INT. COURTROOM - DAY - A LITTLE LATER A fairly young man, CRAIG ANDERS, is now on the witness stand. He looks fairly nervous. His eyes keep shifting. CJ You were on duty that night. Is that correct, Mr. Anders? ANDERS Yes, Ms. Justice. I had been a part of the campus security force for about a month at that point. CJ And would you tell the court what you told me earlier? About the directions you were given the following morning? Mr. Anders stays silent. Its apparent now that his shifty eyes are due to his uncertainty of actions. Hes not sure what to say. CJ (CONTD) Mr. Anders? Could you please answer the question? ANDERS When I was giving my debriefing report to the head of security, I was told to add a 1048. 1048? CJ

ANDERS Suspicious person on campus. I was told that I saw a suspicious looking male on campus, right around 2 a.m. CJ Right around the time of Irmas murder?

41. ANDERS From what I can gather, yes. I was told I saw a man who looked like he was homeless. Or possibly a shabbily dressed student. (pause) It was midterms week, ha ha. No one reacts well to his attempt at a joke. ANDERS (CONTD) (sheepishly) Sorry. CJ is slightly annoyed at this display of humor. Hes breaking the somber mood shes working so hard to create in the courtroom. CJ Thank you. No further questions. As he exits, she turns toward the jury box. CJ (CONTD) The head of security, who according to the administrative flow chart, reports directly to the ViceChancellor, instructed the only guard on duty that night to lie. (pause) Ideally, Mr. Anders was supposed to be a key witness in the defenses theory of the mysterious, murderous vagabond. Or the jealous, dangerous boyfriend. She motions toward Tobias, now in the courtroom audience. Hes Brooks Brotherd out. Looks like he couldnt hurt a fly. CJ (CONTD) But the defense wasnt counting on Mr. Anders to find his conscience and come clean. There was no one else with Irma that night, other than Dr. Royce Jurner. INT. HOTEL ROOM - EVENING The jury pool is looking rough. JUROR 2 So? Tell us what else were missing?

42. Liz looks apprehensive. At this point, shes starting to wonder if shes doing more harm than good. But, she relents. LIZ My cousin got there a bit early that morning, for some odd, yet fortunate reason. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - ADMIN OFFICE - MORNING Gail is straightening up Malcolms office, when she notices a commotion outside. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING HALLWAY- CONTINUOUS A CLEANING CREW of three men is making their way through the building. Gail looks puzzled. GAIL Didnt you guys already come this morning? The LEADER of the pack stops and speaks up. LEADER It seems things were a bit messier this morning than usual. Were doing round two. Shouldnt be more than an hour, and then well be out of you hair, miss. All concerns float from Gails mind as she blushes. She hasnt thought of herself as a miss for some time now. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - ADMIN OFFICE - CONTINUOUS As she walks back into the office, she notice Malcolm slipped in without her noticing. GAIL Oh! Good morning sir. I didnt see you come in. I was distracted by the-MALCOLM Yes, yes. I heard they would probably need to do another passover of the place. Pipe burst in the basement. Or leaky AC unit on the third floor. Something like that.

43. Hudson storms into the room. She has a crazed look about her. Both her and Malcolm look at Gail, who realizes its her cue to exit. As she leaves, she doesnt close the door completely. HUDSON Dont give me that look, Bruce. What would you have done if you got that call at two in the morning? He sighs and takes a seat. He doesnt know what to say, so he shrugs his shoulders. HUDSON (CONTD) I came up with the best plan I could, given the circumstances. (hesitates) I wiped the blood off that mans hands. Literally! She pulls a hanky from her coat pocket and tosses it onto the desk. Malcolm looks at the soiled silk with disdain. He barely touches it when he moves it into his trash can. Hudson follows up the hanky with pulling a brick out of her purse and slamming it on the desk. Malcolm jumps in his chair. HUDSON (CONTD) And what about this? MALCOLM I take it thats the-HUDSON Thats the brick. Malcolm pulls a pen from the cup on his desk and moves in to become eye level with the brick. He points to a corner of the brick with the pen. MALCOLM Brain matter. He sighs and leans back in his chair. MALCOLM (CONTD) She was such a smart girl. What a waste. HUDSON She wasnt that smart. Couldnt avoid getting murdered.

44. Hudson turns back toward the door. HUDSON (CONTD) I take it the cleaning crew has specific instructions? MALCOLM Dont worry about it. Should I worry about the body? HUDSON In terms of worrying about it being discovered? No. In terms of worrying about what we-- he did to it... As she trails off, she looks down at her shoes. She can barely stand to look him in the face as she thinks about what she ordered Royce to do just a few hours earlier. HUDSON (CONTD) We waded in that pond, dragging the water with our bare hands until we found the body. And then, like we were carrying a rug, we brought it to his office. MALCOLM Stop. Please, stop. HUDSON Dont think you can be any less a part of this. Were all in this. Deep. INT. HOTEL BAR - EVENING Same bar as before. Norman is the only customer here tonight, but the bartender isnt paying him much attention. Suffice it to say, Norman doesnt look like a big tipper. Just as he considers heading in for the night, someone takes the seat besides him. A woman. CJ. CJ Hello there. NORMAN Oh. Hello Ms. Justice. CJ feigns surprise.

45. CJ Do we know each other? She moves in closer to examine her face, as if shes trying her best to recognize him. CJ (CONTD) I suppose you look a little familiar? NORMAN Norman Blurder, the juror. For the Irma Lerhman-Merman murder case? Excuse me? CJ

NORMAN Blurder the juror, for the LerhmanMerman murder? She throws her hands up like shes had a sudden realization. CJ Oh! Of course! Norman! He starts to get up from his spot at the bar. NORMAN With that cleared up, I suppose I should take off. Wouldnt want to be spotted together. She places her hand on his, in an effort to stop him from leaving. CJ It doesnt look like theres anyone here to spot us together. He stops. Hes not sure what to make of this. He doesnt spend a lot of time around women. Around anyone. Is she flirting with him? He sits back down. NORMAN I suppose youre right about that. CJ Great. So why dont you tell me what the other jurors are thinking about the case so far? She laughs. Norman isnt sure what to think.

46. NORMAN Youre joking, right? CJ Well I dont know. What do you think? NORMAN I think we both could get in a lot of trouble for this conversation. She leans in close to Norman. Playfully grabs his shirt collar. CJ Norman, Im a lawyer. Let me tell you a little something about right and wrong. (pause) Its only wrong if you get caught. He backs away. NORMAN Maam, please. CJ Oh Norman, dont be such a prude. I heard all about your lonely, secluded life during voir dire. You need something. (she looks down at his crotch) I need something. Lets help each other out? NORMAN Youre saying you need my help with the case? You want me to sway the other jurors? CJ You dont have to be so blunt about it. But, yes. He extends his hand and places it under her chin. He brings her face right up close to his. NORMAN You dont need to do this. Youre better than this. And... And what? CJ

47. NORMAN Believe it or not, but this isnt the most unethical turn in this trial. Weve been getting some inside information. Stuff were not supposed to know. CJ Hmm. That is a fairly unexpected turn in the case. Im not sure what to do next. NORMAN Thats reassuring to hear. CJ takes a moment. She reaches for Normans watered-down drink and takes a swig. CJ Have you heard about the bookbag? Norman is conflicted. Hes tired of all the underhanded, sneaky dealing of the case so far. But got-dangit hes interested. Bookbag? NORMAN

CJ In court, youll never hear about Irmas bookbag from that night. For all you know, that night it was resting peacefully back at her apartment. But she carried a bookbag with her that night. EXT. DARTMOUTH CAMPUS - EVENING Irma is standing on the walkway on campus. Her cellphone beeps. She reaches into a burgundy bookbag at her side. She pulls out the phone and reads the text message. EXT. DARTMOUTH CAMPUS - POND - EVENING Irma sits down by the edge of the pond. She pull the strap of her bookbag over her head. She then begins to adjust her skirt.

48. INT. HOTEL BAR - EVENING NORMAN Wait. What exactly are you getting at? Im not seeing the significance. CJ I suppose the bookbag itself isnt that important. Rather, its what was inside the bookbag that really matters. Inside? NORMAN

INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - OFFICE - EVENING Were back at the place where Irmas body was dismembered. A man stands alone by his empty desk. Blood stains are still everywhere. Once again, the man notices and picks up the burgundy bookbag. The notebook falls out, and he begins to leaf through it. What earlier was described as a chuckle, now sounds more like a deranged laugh. MAN Irma, you brilliant, brilliant girl. Too smart for your own good. He walks behind the desk and takes a seat. For the first time, we can see the mans face. Its Royce. (Shocking, I know.) He places the notebook on the blood-stained desk. Hes careful not to smudge the pages. The maniacal grin on his face grows wider and wider with each turn of the page. INT. HOTEL BAR - EVENING CJ Do you want to hear more? NORMAN Im not sure. You be the judge of that. He laughs at his corny joke. She doesnt.

49. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - OFFICE - EVENING Royce pulls a new composition book from his desk drawer and begins to transcribe the contents of Irmas work. The woman from before enters. She turns around and reveals herself to be Hudson. HUDSON What are you doing? We dont have much time left. Royce isnt phased. Hudson begins to work around him, trying her best to remove all the major evidence. HUDSON (CONTD) My god, youve really lost it. Dont get to thinking that youll have a place here for much longer. He stops writing and looks up for the first time since shes entered. ROYCE I wouldnt be so sure about that. I have some fascinating new work to publish. It would be a shame for Dartmouth to lose me. END OF ACT THREE

50. ACT FOUR INT. HOTEL ROOM - MORNING Its not the same hotel room weve been seeing up until this point, but its definitely a room in the same building. Its looking quite lived-in. Taking a look around, there are a pair of heels by the door. An inside out blazer hung over the back of a chair, its Ricos tag visible. And on the seat are a pair of mens underwear? Briefs, and one black dress sock. A rustling noise comes from the bed. CJ is tossing in her sleep. Shes in the center of the bed and appears to be alone. A toilet flush is heard. The sound of bare feet hitting linoleum. The door opens to reveal... Cooper, the defense attorney. (That explains the briefs. He must wear them to make legal jokes with his sexual partners. Too bad we missed out on that scene.) He walks over to the window and opens the curtains, illuminating the dim room. He doesnt seem to care that hes naked. He takes a deep breath and stretches his arms over his head. He moves his hands to his hips and begins to stretch his back. Its then that he notices CJ is still in bed. He walks over to her. He stares at her for a moment and then extends his hand to stroke her blonde hair. After a night in bed, the effects of her hair straightener have worn off. Its a bit curly now. COOPER So beautiful. He glances over to the clock on the night stand. He squints. He cant see the time. He picks it up and brings it to eyelevel. Its 6:13. He starts to put it back, but stops himself halfway. He doesnt do anything for a moment. He then begins to pass the clock from one hand to the other. Its not much larger than a brick. He doesnt have much of an expression on his face. A blank slate. What could he be thinking?

51. He finally sets the clock back down and heads toward his briefs on the chair. INT. HOTEL ROOM - LATER The suns just a bit brighter now. A phone rings, stirring a still-sleeping CJ. She reaches out to the hotel phone on the night stand. Hello? CJ

The phone continues to ring. CJ looks confused. Hello? CJ (CONTD)

A look of clarity comes over her face. She drops the receiver and reaches back toward the night stand. She picks up her cell phone. CJ (CONTD) Hello? (pause) Mom? CJ sits up in bed. With her free hand she places the landline back in its proper place. CJ (CONTD) Yes, you did wake me up. Its (she pulls the phone from her ear to check the time) Eight in the morning. (pause) Still in New Hampshire. Arent you watching the news? The frustration on her face, coupled with her bed-head is not a good look on her. CJ (CONTD) Yes, mom, Im very tired. (pause) I went to bed late! (pause) Mother! Why would you even say that to your own daughter? I was up late working on the case.

52. She eyes a brown leather wallet sitting on the television. Its not hers. CJ (CONTD) I have to go now. I have to put a guilty man behind bars. Have a great day, Verna. As she hangs up, a look of relief washes over her face. She gets up, puts on a robe, and then heads across the room to grab the wallet. She takes it to the side desk where she spills out its entire contents. A good amount of cash, drivers license, and a condom fall out. She picks up the ID. CJ (CONTD) Hes not 64. 62, tops. She tosses it back onto the pile as she hears the door open. It once again opens to reveal Cooper. CJ (CONTD) How did you get a key to my room? COOPER I swiped it from your night stand before I left. Just in case. His disarming smirk does the trick. CJ I guess youre back for your wallet? She looks down, realizing shes been caught red-handed. He walks over to her. He picks up his empty wallet and starts filling it back up. Sorry. CJ (CONTD)

COOPER Its alright to be curious. Its why we became lawyers. He stops short of putting the condom back inside. With it placed between two fingers, he holds it up to CJs face. He raises an eyebrow. She pushes his hand away.

53. COOPER (CONTD) Alright then. He reaches into his pocket and retrieves the hotel keycard. COOPER (CONTD) Guess I wont be needing this anymore. He places it inside the pocket of her robe, and heads toward the door. CJ Ill see you in court. He stops, chuckles, and turns around. COOPER I think thats the first time that line has been said in a friendly manner. He exits. CJ sits down at the desk and lets out a sigh. Pretty impossible to tell what shes thinking. She reaches into the robe pocket for the keycard. She notices something feels off. She pulls her hand out and looks down at whats in her palm. Its the keycard, and a wad of cash. INT. HOTEL BAR - NOON Two 30-something journalists sit together at the bar - a man, JONATHAN and a woman, FRAN. A gin and tonic and a Long Island ice tea sit in front of them. Theyre both staring intently at his watch. JONATHAN Aaaand its noon! They both take a swig of their respective drinks. As Fran puts down her Long Island, a look of shame washes over her face. Jonathan notices. JONATHAN (CONTD) Weve been hard at work for weeks now. It would be wrong not to start drinking as soon as possible.

54. FRAN I suppose youre right. Cant ever completely shake Catholic guilt, though. He dips his fingers in his drink and flicks them on Frans face. JONATHAN Peace be with you. She laughs. FRAN That means absolutely nothing. But thanks for trying. She pulls out a reporters notebook from her bag, and Jonathan groans when he sees her do this. FRAN (CONTD) The brass isnt covering our swanky digs for nothing. Court starts in three hours. He takes a look around the place and then rolls his eyes. JONATHAN I know the papers not doing too well, but you think they could afford something a little nicer than this. FRAN Dont complain. You know Justice is staying here too. Well, supposedly. JONATHAN Oh really? Big shot lawyer like that staying in a place like this? Im shocked. A few more patrons make their way inside the bar. FRAN Looks like were not the only ones with this idea. Jonathan glances over to the now-occupied table to his left. Theyre already in deep discussion. JONATHAN Thats juror five, no? And eight?

55. She looks over. Its pretty obvious that shes staring. The table notices and starts to speak more quietly. FRAN Possibly. I dont recognize the other two, though. He shrugs it off and makes a grab for her notebook. He starts to flip through it. JONATHAN I dont know how you read this chicken scratch of yours. Their conversation is interrupted by a loud pop. Everyones attention is now at the bar. BARKEEP Sorry. It always does that. The BARKEEP, an older fellow, points to a very old-looking television. Its possibly as old as him. Slowly a picture comes into focus. Its the 12 oclock news show. The barkeep turns up the volume. Jonathan mimics along as the young, FEMALE REPORTER introduces herself on the screen. JONATHAN What a joke! Can you believe what passes for broadcast journalism in this town? The barkeep obviously takes offense to this statement. He glances at the notebook on the bar, with the EVENING SUN logo clearly displayed. BARKEEP They do a better job than some news outlets I know-JONATHAN Listen, bud. Were all (motions to him, Fran, and the TV) trying our best here. Sure, some a little more than others. But you wouldnt believe the stuff we cant report on. All the legal tightropes we have to walk. You try to make a comprehensible story out of this mess.

56. BARKEEP Oh yeah? Like what? Jonathan hesitates and weighs his options. He then takes a swig from his drink, in a sort of screw it fashion. INT. HANOVER POLICE STATION - DAY Well... JONATHAN (V.O.)

Typical police station. Officers sitting at desks. Some shady looking characters cuffed to chairs. And two frat boys, standing alone, looking lost and scared. One just happens to be Tobias, and the other, his friend KEITH. Hes kind of chunky. KEITH (to Tobias) Lets get out of here. Let someone else deal with it. Tobias looks annoyed at this statement. TOBIAS I havent heard from her all weekend. Somethings wrong. KEITH So have her mom deal with it. Her roommate. Anyone else but the guy who shes been on three dates with. Before he has a chance to respond, an officer walks up to the pair. Its officer TRACY BURTON, late 40s, a bit gruff looking. TRACY Tobias Hooks? TOBIAS Thats me. (motioning to Keith) This is Keith. TRACY Right. Come with me. He leads the duo to a small side office. Barely enough room for the three to sit comfortably.

57. INT. HANOVER POLICE STATION - OFFICE - DAY TRACY Tell me what brings you here. TOBIAS A girl Ive been dating is missing. Since...? TRACY

TOBIAS I last saw her on Friday. Well, early Saturday morning, to be specific. And we texted briefly after that. Its been radio silence since then. INT. TOBIAS APARTMENT - BEDROOM - MORNING (Holy flashback within a flashback, Batman!) Tobias is making his way out of bed, having just woken up. He checks the time on his phone and sees the conversation he had with Irma last night. He smiles and then punches in another message on his phone. TOBIAS - TEXT Morning. ;) Sleep well? He sits on the edge of his bed, waiting for a response. A response that doesnt come. He shrugs it off, tosses the phone back on the bed and walks out of the room. INT. GROCERY STORE - THE NEXT DAY Tobias is wandering the aisles of what looks like a Trader Joes Hes toting a basket full of microwavable food. He suddenly drops the basket and reaches for his shirt pocket, retrieving his phone. He looks at the screen. KEITH - TEXT Get butter. Tobias couldnt look more disappointed. K. TOBIAS - TEXT

58. He starts to put the phone back, but stops. He pulls up his conversation with Irma and starts to text another message to her. TOBIAS - TEXT (CONTD) Hey beautiful. Whats up? He puts the phone away and goes back to shopping. INT. TOBIAS APARTMENT - LIVING ROOM - THE NEXT DAY Tobias is lounging on his sofa, laptop on his lap. A look at his screen reveals hes reading through various Thought Catalog articles, all along the same vein of Hes Just Not That Into You. He reaches for his cellphone. He stares at it, pondering his next move. It has to be expertly calculated. Heyyyyy. TOBIAS - TEXT

He smiles, confident with this message. His phone immediately buzzes, but alas, its another fakeout. KEITH - TEXT Get off the couch. Put on pants. Well be up in a second. Tobias slouches back on the sofa. He looks down at himself and his surroundings. Hes not wearing pants. Hes not wearing a shirt. Theres a half-eaten bag of Doritos by his side. And before he has a chance to fix any of that, the door opens, revealing Keith and his lady friend, MISSY COLLINS. Shes very much out of his league, to say the least. They both look surprised to find Tobias in such a state. KEITH Missy, this is my roommate Tobias. Tobias, this is Missy. My date tonight. She smiles. Tobias musters up the strength to nod his head, barely acknowledging her presence. MISSY Not to pry, but is he alright?

59. KEITH

Hes fine.

TOBIAS Hes not fine. Tobias doesnt even make eye contact when making this statement. Hes still gloomily reading Thought Catalog. KEITH Hes just-TOBIAS Mourning the loss of the love of my life. MISSY Oh my god! What happened? She rushes to his side, joining him on the couch. Keith begrudgingly follows, taking the only empty spot left beside Tobias. KEITH Dont worry. Hes being melodramatic. Missy looks a bit relieved. MISSY No ones dead? KEITH A girl hes been on three dates with isnt texting him back. TOBIAS At 22 years of age and eight years of dating experience, I thought I had it all figured out. I honestly thought things were going great. I mean, if anything, she was way more into me than I was into her. And now? Nothing. Havent heard from her in days. Keith rolls his eyes. But Missy MISSY Oh, sweetie. That sounds awful. She places a comforting arm around Tobias. Missy then realizes shes hugging a half naked man. She retracts her arm.

60. MISSY (CONTD) Sometimes things just dont work out. For whatever reason. TOBIAS Thats the thing, though! Im willing to accept that I was wrong, that were not a great couple. But I just want to know why. I want some closure, and shes not giving it to me. KEITH Alright, Ill give you that. Even though I abhor the silent treatment as a breakup method, as its a cowardly move, (he looks over to Missy, obviously trying to score good-guy points) I say its only acceptable after two dates. Maximum. After three dates, you at least deserve the better off as friends, speech. TOBIAS Doesnt she understand that Im a human being? I deserve to be acknowledged. MISSY Obviously she realized shes not good enough for you. She didnt want to put you through the heartache of discovering that for yourself. (pause) Just look at you, Im sure you can find someone new in no time. Keith notices Missy looking over the half-naked Tobias. Shes perhaps paying a little too much attention. KEITH Okay. Alright, thats enough here. INT. HANOVER POLICE STATION - OFFICE - DAY TRACY Okay. Alright, I think Ive heard enough. Ill start looking into it.

61. Tracy looks at the door, signaling the end of the meeting. Tobias and Keith exit. A beat later, a FEMALE OFFICER pops her head inside. FEMALE OFFICER What did Tag and Skip want? Someone steal their yacht? Tracy laughs. TRACY Nothing important, I think. Itll all be cleared up with a couple of phone calls. INT. IRMAS APARTMENT BUILDING - HALLWAY - DAY Tracy stands outside the door to Irmas apartment. Hes on his cell phone. TRACY Yeah, Im at the girls place now. I checked around a bit and it turned out no ones heard from her in days. Wasnt just a case of a stalker boyfriend. He hangs up and then crouches down. He lifts up the welcome mat and finds a spare key. Tracy sighs. TRACY (CONTD) She was just asking for it. He unlocks the door and enters. INT. IRMAS APARTMENT - DAY He takes a look around. Nothing seems too off. Sweaters draped over the couch. A few coffee mugs on the coffee table. He walks across the living room to her bedroom door. He opens it, to reveal her bedroom door is actually a Murphy bed. The falling bed takes him by surprise. TRACY Fucking shit. He lifts the bed back into its place in the wall.

62. He walks back over to the couch and takes a seat, only to immediately stand back up. Upon further examination, it appears he sat on a sweater covering up a laptop. He sits back down, with the laptop now sitting in front of him on the coffee table. He opens it up and begins poking around. TRACY (CONTD) Nerd. Nothing but homework and research papers. He closes the laptop. INT. HANOVER POLICE STATION - OFFICE - DAY Tracy is back in his tiny office, toiling away on paperwork. The same female officer from before pops her head in once more. FEMALE OFFICER Chief wants you. Now. A male head pops in the doorway above the womans. Its police chief R. WAINWRIGHT. Late 30s, younger looking than youd expect for someone in his position. He still has an idealistic twinkle in his eye. WAINWRIGHT Couldnt wait. The woman leaves as Wainwright takes a seat inside. So? TRACY

WAINWRIGHT Got a break in your case, Tracy. A womans foot was found on Dartmouths campus. Some drunk kid was splashing around in a pond when he found it. TRACY Jesus, a foot? WAINWRIGHT Should know if its hers fairly soon. But Im willing to bet your missing person case just turned into a murder investigation. Nice break, kid.

63. Tracy takes obvious offense to being called Kid by someone younger than him. But he doesnt have a lot of time to deal with that. INT. HANOVER POLICE STATION - SOME TIME LATER His office is looking even smaller now that its crowded with boxes and boxes of case files and newspapers covered with Irmas photo and story. Its hard to even find his desk under all the mess. Tracy knows desk, it to starts rummaging through the mess, searching for who what. Just as a large pile takes a nosedive off his he comes across an envelope marked URGENT. He opens reveal: LETTER Look at the school. Look at the medical school staff. Youll find your answers. -G He grabs the ripped envelope and looks for a return address. None. He bursts out of the office. TRACY Where did this come from? Hes met with blank stares from the police station lobby. He darts back into his office and grabs his coat from behind the door. And just as quickly, hes out of the building. INT. MEDICAL BUILDING - ADMIN OFFICE - DAY Tracy talks with a very nervous looking Gail. They dont appear to be on the same page. GAIL No one just bursts in and gets to speak with the dean of the medical school. Mr. Malcolm is a very busy man. Now, as Ive said many times already, if you share your availability with me, Id be happy to schedule an appointment for you two to speak. No sooner than she finishes speaking does Malcolm enter the room. Tracy wastes no time getting started. He pushes Malcolm down onto a chair. Gail hightails it out of the scene.

64. TRACY Why would someone tell me to look at you in regards to the murder of Irma Lerhman-Merman? Ir- Irma? MALCOLM

TRACY Dont play dumb. It doesnt suit a man of your stature. Now tell me why Irmas friends say she was spending more time than ever in your office? Tracy puts his hands on the back of the chair and rolls Malcolm hard into the wall. Malcolm looks terrified. TRACY (CONTD) You one of those old-school professors who thinks its alright to sleep with their students? And then let me guess, you wanted to end it, and she didnt, so you ended her life? Is that it? MALCOLM Ive never heard a more ridiculous story before in my life! Tracy backs off. Malcolm starts to regain his composure. TRACY I will get to the bottom of this. Prepare to have your life turned upside down. He exits. Malcolm immediately reaches for the cell phone in his jacket pocket. He dials and waits. MALCOLM I need to see you. Now. INT. HOTEL BAR - AFTERNOON Its much later in the day. In the time it took Jonathan to tell that story, the place has become crowded. Surely many overheard Jonathan. Plus factor in the number of drinks he consumed during the process, and how much louder he gets when drunk.

65. JONATHAN Did you pick up on all the mistakes in that story? The unwarranted searches? Shoddily done interviews? Harassing witnesses? He picks up his glass, only to discover its now empty. He gives the barkeep a look. BARKEEP No. I think youve had enough. FRAN I think youre right. She pulls Jonathans face up closely to hers. FRAN (CONTD) You look and smell very drunk. She glances down at her watch. FRAN (CONTD) We dont have very long to get you sobered up before court. Listen, you stay down here. Im going to run up and get you mouthwash and eye-drops. (to the barkeep) Get him a cup of coffee, would you? She collects her things and exits the bar. Her chair is empty for no longer than a beat when a man, BROCK, late 20s, swoops in and takes it. BROCK Quite the story youve been telling. What happened next? Jonathan looks this stranger over. Hes not sure what to make of him. JONATHAN More bungled policing, mostly. Whats it to you? BROCK I just take a natural interest in this sort of thing. Id love to hear more, if youve got the time? Jonathan picks up the coffee cup placed in front of him by the barkeep. He takes a sip.

66. JONATHAN Times not something I have a lot of. Well, unless Im wasting it here at this bar. But given the buzzkill attitude of this barkeep, Im not sure how likely I am to return. Brock pulls his stool closer to Jonathans. He places his hand on Jonathans, pulling the mug closer to him. With his free hand he pours the contents of his glass into the cup. Jonathan raises his eyebrow. JONATHAN (CONTD) What did you just pour in? BROCK Does it matter? He takes a drink. By the look on his face, its not the best mix. But its a look he quickly shrugs off. Guess not. JONATHAN

He takes a few more gulps to finish off his coffee. He sets down the cup and then puts a hand on Brocks shoulder. JONATHAN (CONTD) Listen, bud. Thanks for the drink. (pause) Now, Im not sure what your underlying motivation is, but its not going to work out for you. Whatever it is you want. Maybe another time, another place, another world. But I have to be off now. Jonathan stands up, only to face-plant. Ow. JONATHAN (CONTD)

EXT. COURTHOUSE - AFTERNOON Its an odd scene, with all the major players standing outside a stately-looking courthouse. Each in various little clusters, standing in the bright sunlight.

67. In an oddly close display, Hudson and Malcolm are sharing a cigarette. Both look like they desperately need it. Hudson eyes Royce off in the distance, handcuffed to an officer. Near the entry is CJ, Cooper and Judge Abernathy. CJ and Cooper are talking, but its difficult to tell, because CJ is trying her hardest not to make eye contact with him. Judge Abernathy is oblivious to the sexual tension. (To be cliche, you could cut it with a knife.) Fran isnt too far off, looking put-together and ready for court. A little lower down, Jonathan is crouching. He has a pair of aviators on and is staring down at the ground. He doesnt even notice Brock walking up, WSPE cameraman in tow. All the jurors are huddled together, self secluding themselves from the rest. Not much discussion is taking place, especially in such close proximity to both the judge and the press. Liz is casually flipping through what looks like a very steamy issue of Playgirl. And then theres Tobias. Poor, poor Tobias. Hes not sure where to go, so hes standing off by himself. Hes kind of close to Tracy and Wainwright, maybe to give the illusion that hes not totally by himself. Regardless, he does not look well. His breathing is erratic. His eyes are shifty. And just like that, he charges toward Tracy. He knocks him over and the two have a bit of a struggle on the ground. As the each stand up, it becomes obvious that something transferred between the two during the scuffle: Tobias is wielding Tracys gun. He points it toward CJ, Cooper and Judge Abernathy. Cooper instantly places himself in front of CJ. JUDGE ABERNATHY Calm down now, son. He swings it around to the jurors. They all scatter, except for Liz, whos still flipping through her magazine. LIZ I knew this was going to happen. Saw it coming a mile away. During the shuffle, Wainwright moves behind a pillar of the courthouse, trying to quickly devise a plan. And then Tobias swings it toward the journalists. He fires the gun.

68. BANG! A few screams. A bit more shuffling around. Everyones trying to gauge the safest place to be. As the commotion dies down, its apparent he only shot the camera. TOBIAS Am I the only one who sees how awfully this trial is going? I can say without a shadow of a doubt that this man (he swings the gun over to Royce) Is going to get off scot-free. JUDGE ABERNATHY Put the gun down, and lets rationally discuss this like men. You dont need to do this. This is a big mistake that you can avoid making. CJ is clutching onto Coopers back. Fear in her eyes. Cooper looks over his shoulder at her. COOPER I told you you were doing a shitty job in court. CJ If you werent my human shield right now, Id slap you across the face. Wouldnt even bother turning my rings around first. Tobias swings again around to face the duo. TOBIAS No more talking! He walks in closer to CJ and Cooper. He uses the gun to drive a wedge in between the two. He sticks it right into her gut. TOBIAS (CONTD) Really, I shouldnt have to be scaring all these nice people. Youre the one who cant manage to convince anyone that a man with blood on his hands killed Irma. (pause) Sweet, innocent Irma. He pushes it in further and she gasps.

69. CJ Please, dont. Think of what Judge Abernathy said. Dont make things worse. Just take a moment and think things through. TOBIAS Im done thinking! WAINWRIGHT (O.S.) Why dont you reconsider that statement? Wainwright is back out in the open, gun drawn and pointed right at Tobias. Its a standoff, but not quite of the Mexican variety. TOBIAS You going to shoot me? Take a moment to consider the physics of this situation, son. Another shot is fired. BANG! More screams. Everyone runs. END OF ACT FOUR

70. ACT FIVE INT. COURTROOM - MORNING SUPERIMPOSE: A short while later. The courtroom is empty. No witness on the stand. No stern looking judge. A serene moment. The door creaks open. In walks Judge Abernathy. He walks to the bench, his footsteps echoing in the empty courtroom. Slowly, but surely, the room becomes populated. CJ and Cooper walk in together, laughing at a joke one of them just made. He playfully taps her on the back. EXT. COURTHOUSE - AFTERNOON Cooper is holding CJs limp body in his arms. No gun-shot wounds are visible. It appears shes just fainted from the shock. INT. COURTROOM - MORNING Both Cooper and CJ take their seats at their respective opposite ends of the courtroom. JUDGE ABERNATHY Are we ready to begin? He looks over to the jurors box. Norman stands up. NORMAN The jury is ready, your honor. EXT. COURTHOUSE - AFTERNOON We see Liz being caught off guard by Norman as he tackles her to the ground. Her Playgirl goes flying off as Norman struggles to keep her safe and out of harms way. The other jurors appear to be okay, too. INT. COURTROOM - MORNING Judge Abernathy smiles. He look back at the rows furthest away from him.

71. JUDGE ABERNATHY And how about those in the back, all settled in? The back row. The row filled with journalists, notably Jonathan, Fran, and Brock. Fran holds up her pen and notepad to signal shes ready to start reporting. EXT. COURTHOUSE - AFTERNOON Having just been fired at moments earlier, the three journalists wince in fear at the sound of another gunshot. But after they check over themselves and each other, relief washes over them as they realize theyre okay. Unharmed. Unshot. INT. COURTROOM - MORNING Great. JUDGE ABERNATHY

He looks over to his right, where hes flanked by officer Wainwright. JUDGE ABERNATHY (CONTD) Interim-bailiff Wainwright, how are things on your end? EXT. COURTHOUSE - AFTERNOON The gunshot rings out. CJ falls over, only to be suavely caught by Cooper. A gun clatters to the ground. Its Tobias. Wainwright is holding steady. The smoke from his recently fired gun dissolving into nothingness. Theres not one ounce of fear, hesitation, or nervousness in his eyes. Its just stone cold confidence. As Tobias doubles over onto the ground, Wainwright finally lowers his weapon.

72. INT. COURTROOM - MORNING WAINWRIGHT A-okay, chief. All witnesses are present and accounted for. Were ready to start when you are. JUDGE ABERNATHY Excellent. (clears throat) I gathered you all here because I wanted to address everyone one last time before the jury entered deliberation. (pause) I just wanted to say... Music begins to swell, drowning out whatever it is Judge Abernathy saying. JUDGE ABERNATHY (CONTD) ...personal freedoms... But whatever hes saying sure must be moving. JUDGE ABERNATHY (CONTD) ...the American way... Women begin to weep. Men pull handkerchiefs out of their pockets and dab the corners of their eyes. JUDGE ABERNATHY (CONTD) ...justice... It sure is a shame we cant hear what brilliant prose that Judge Abernathy has managed to conjure for this moment. A damn shame. JUDGE ABERNATHY (CONTD) ...integrity of the spirit... The music fades out. JUDGE ABERNATHY (CONTD) And now, Ive said my peace. Thank you for listening to an old man drone on for a bit. He looks over at the jury box. JUDGE ABERNATHY (CONTD) You may begin deliberation.

73. Bailiff Wainwright leads the jurors single file out of the courtroom. Slowly it empties as others in the courtroom being to follow suit. INT. JURY DELIBERATION ROOM - AFTERNOON This small room is essentially a prison cell for the jurors. And judging by most of their faces, they obviously want to leave soon. JUROR 3 Four guilty votes. Four non-guilty votes. Exasperated looks all around. JUROR 2 Five votes later, and were still deadlocked. Has anyone even changed their votes since the first round? He looks around the room. Some sheepishly shake their heads. Some come straight out and say No. JUROR 3 Jesus Christ, people. NORMAN Maybe we should just give up. Tell the judge we cant come to an agreement. LIZ So theyll call it a mistrial and let it become some other groups problem? NORMAN I didnt mean it that way. It just doesnt seem like were making any progress. Now were just banging our heads against a wall. One juror, whos previously been fairly quiet, stands up. JUROR 4 I think we should examine our problem a bit more closely. Id say its safe to assume we all think Royce is guilty. (pause) But that comes from our personal opinions of the case. (MORE)

74. JUROR 4 (CONT'D) Sad to say, CJ didnt do too great of a job making her case. And what sort of statement would we be making if we circumvented the judicial process due to our personal feelings? The room goes silent as all the jurors weigh the gravity of what Juror 4 just said. The silence is broken by a knock at the door. It opens to reveal Wainwright. WAINWRIGHT Judge says you guys are free to go for the night. He expects you guys back here bright and early at 8 a.m., though, so I wouldnt recommend any stops to the hotel bar, if any of you had that in mind. INT. HOTEL BAR - EVENING Its late, and the bar is all but deserted. Save for Norman, sitting alone, nursing a beer. Hes staring intently at a cocktail napkin in front of him. Hes scribbled a pro and con list, but the specific points arent visible. His concentration is broken by the sound of approaching footsteps. He looks up and sees CJ coming his way. They make eye contact, and then CJ looks over at the barkeep. She jerks her head back, and the barkeep follows her nonverbal instruction to give the two some privacy. She takes the seat next to Norman. NORMAN Alright, Ms. Justice. Now that the jury is in deliberation, this looks especially bad. She stays silent. She looks at the door, and like clockwork, it opens to reveal Cooper. He walks over to the pair and takes the empty seat beside Norman. NORMAN (CONTD) Mr. Cooper! I assure you sir, nothing is happening here. Norman looks nervously over to CJ. Shes smiling. Cooper lets out a laugh.

75. CJ Dont worry, Norman. I asked Cooper to join us. COOPER Well, if I recall correctly, this meeting was my idea. CJ I suppose thats right. But regardless, thats all besides the point. True. COOPER

NORMAN What is the point of this, then? Cooper and CJ look at each other. Cooper makes a gesture with his hand, as if to say, Go ahead. CJ Cooper and I talked, and we both agreed that its not fair that the jury has to pass judgement without all the facts. COOPER Technicalities should never impede the judicial system. So were here to tell you everything. CJ And what you decide to do after we leave this bar, well, thats up to you and your God. Norman takes a moment to soak it all in. He puts his open hand up to his chest, feeling the metal cross under his wornout shirt. NORMAN Go ahead, then. CJ and Cooper share a smile. CJ A lot of this can be traced back to poor local police work. Illegal search and seizure, resulting in key evidence being thrown out.

76. NORMAN

Like?

COOPER The police had a warrant to search Royces home. But they searched his office too. And thats where they found Irmas bookbag. CJ Her bookbag, which contained research that would later appear in work published by Royce. He just couldnt help himself. COOPER But you didnt hear that from us. NORMAN What else havent I heard from you two? COOPER We havent talked much about her body, have we? CJ shakes her head. CJ True, some of that is just because of how gruesome it all is. But some of that is because Hudson wont talk. COOPER Royce says shes the one who ordered him to chop up her body and hide the parts around campus. While he did that, she dug a fake grave just off campus, to throw off the trail. Norman looks fairly confused at this point. NORMAN What do you mean? COOPER When the police found part of Irmas foot on campus, they started a search for a body. And they spent a lot of time, at that spot just off campus, where it looked like a six foot deep grave was dug.

77. CJ Obviously this heavily implicates Hudson. But we cant go after her until after Royce is convicted. COOPER Oh! And Gail! Gail! CJ

NORMAN The receptionist? CJ and Cooper look at each other, and then over at Norman. CJ You know Gail? NORMAN Shes the cousin of one of the jurors. COOPER Well what do you know! Cooper reaches out for Normans beer and takes a swig. The look on his face implies that its been sitting out for a while. CJ I suppose then, that you know what a key role Gail could have played in this case. NORMAN But she didnt, because... COOPER Because she was intimidated by the university. Cooper gets up and moves behind the bar. He starts making himself a drink. CJ She provided a lot of damning testimony during pre-trial proceedings. And then one day she recanted everything. Said she made everything up.

78. COOPER Judge ruled her an unfit witness. She couldnt say anything for either side during the trial. NORMAN Whyd she take it all back? Howd the university make her flip? Cooper tips his glass toward Norman. COOPER Excellent question. CJ Its one I asked myself. NORMAN And the answer is...? COOPER One we cant exactly answer at the moment. Norman looks upset. NORMAN I thought you guys were going to be open and honest here? CJ puts an arm around Norman. CJ Its not that we wont, its that we cant. We dont know the answer. COOPER Sadly, we cant tie up all the loose plot holes tonight. This isnt some television movie. Life just doesnt work that way. Norman looks disappointed. Oh. NORMAN

He turns to face Cooper square in the face. NORMAN (CONTD) I can get what CJs doing here. But Im still not sure about you, Mr. Cooper. Whats your motivation?

79. Cooper takes a drink. He takes a moment to gather his thoughts. COOPER Its like I said before, its not always about following the letter of the law. Its about doing whats right. CJ We dont care if what were doing here is technically wrong or illegal. We care about Irma. We care about justice. Cooper turns to CJ and gives her a loving look. COOPER I care about Justice. He walks out from behind the bar and joins CJ at her side. COOPER (CONTD) Weve told you a lot tonight, Norman. And now its up to you to decide what to do. CJ Make the right choice. She gets up and the two begin to make their way to the exit. But then, CJ stops and turns around to face Norman one last time. CJ (CONTD) I will never forget you, Norman Blurder, the rural juror. Everyone shares a hearty laugh. INT. HOTEL ROOM - LATE NIGHT Its dark. A clock on a bedside table says its not too long past 4 a.m. A restless figure in the bed tosses and turns before reaching out to turn on a lamp. Its Norman. He cant sleep. He looks stressed. After his eyes adjust to the brightness, he reaches out to the bedside table. He opens the drawer and pulls out a Bible. However, it doesnt look like your standard hotel Bible. This one is personalized. Norman brought this Bible from home.

80. He flips through the pages with certainty. He knows what passage hes looking for. He stops and reads as the silence fills the room. He mouths the passage hes reading. And just like that, he closes the Bible and puts it back in the bedside table. He turns off the lamp, lays his head down on the pillow and closes his eyes. Hes made his decision. INT. JURY DELIBERATION ROOM - MORNING The jurors file inside. The room was cleaned overnight, obviously. Gone are the fast food wrappers and balled up pieces of scrap paper. Theyre all silent as they take their seats around the table. Finally, someone decides to speak up: NORMAN Youll never believe the night I had. INT. COURTROOM - DAY Nervous faces all around, from the lawyers to the audience. Judge Abernathy looks over to the jury box. JUDGE ABERNATHY Youve reached a verdict? LIZ We have, your honor. The judge motions for Wainwright. He walks over to Liz, grabs the verdict, and walks it back to the judge, who reads it over. Abernathy smiles. JUDGE ABERNATHY What say you? Liz clears her throat. This is her big moment. LIZ In the matter of the State of New Hampshire versus Dr. Royce Jurner, we the jury, find the defendant... She looks over to Royce. Hes expressionless. Hes a monster.

81. LIZ (CONTD) Guilty of murder in the first degree. The courtroom erupts in cheers. Sighs of relief. JUDGE ABERNATHY Silence! Order in the court! (to Liz) Please continue. LIZ We recommend the defendant be sentenced to life in prison. Judge Abernathy looks over to Wainwright. JUDGE ABERNATHY Bailiff, please take the defendant back into custody. He looks back to Liz and gives her a quick wink. EXT. COURTHOUSE - DAY CJ exits the courthouse. She looks up at the sky, squints and then puts on her sunglasses. She gets about two steps away before the courthouse doors open again to reveal Cooper. COOPER Hey! Wait up! She stops. CJ Hello, there. COOPER Hey. Where are you headed off to so quickly? She laughs and removes her sunglasses. CJ The big city is calling. Ive had about all I could take here. Cooper smirks. COOPER Oh, I bet you could take more.

82. CJ

Oh really?

She looks a bit offended. COOPER What I mean is, the case is hardly over. Weve got the big fish, but there were still more involved in Irmas death. CJ That is true. I heard they caught Hudson trying to skip town. Cooper laughs at the thought of Hudson fleeing Dartmouths campus. COOPER So why dont you stick around? We could switch positions this time. She raises an eyebrow. COOPER (CONTD) I can be the prosecution. You can be the defense. She looks conflicted. CJ Id love to, but I have to move on. I recommend you do the same. She walks off, leaving Cooper standing there, looking rejected. EXT. DARTMOUTH CAMPUS - NIGHT Youd never know this campus was just rocked by a scandal of severe magnitude. The full moon illuminates a deserted campus. Moonbeams reflect off the limestone exterior of the historic looking buildings. The medical building can be seen, off in the distance. Tonight, there are no office lights still on. A strong breeze runs through the campus, rustling some tree branches. A few loose leaves float down over the nearby pathway.

83. And then, as if from out of nowhere, Irma appears. She begins to walk down the path. Perhaps its the moonlight, but she has a light about her. Almost glowing. And perhaps its just her light step, but the leaves dont crunch as she walks over them. She continues to walk down the fateful path. The same path that led her to her eventual doom. She stops when the pond comes into view. At that point, she heads off in its direction. And just like weve seen before, she takes a seat at the ponds edge. She adjusts her skirt, and then begins skimming her fingers in the murky waters. The water doesnt react. Her playful laugh echoes through the night sky. EXT. WOODED AREA - DAY The sun is shining. It must be spring time, as all the plant life in the forest is in full bloom. Birds chirping and you can hear the rustling of small woodland animals, making their way about the forest. Norman makes his way down a barely visible path. But it doesnt seem to hamper him, he knows exactly where hes headed. He seems to have a spring in his step. He whistles a simple tune, keeping in time with his feet. Thunder rolls in the distance, and a light rain begins to fall. A smile creeps across Normans face as the raindrops tickle his nose. He stops, mid path, and extends his hand out to catch a few raindrops. NORMAN How refreshing. He crouches down to actually stop and smell the roses. Well, not roses, but some sort of flower. They appear to be yellow daisies. Beautiful. NORMAN (CONTD)

He picks one out of the ground and affixes it to his lapel. He stands back up and resumes his walk. But then:

84. His off-beaten path slowly turns into a paved sidewalk. What once were large tree roots are now large cracks. The mighty oak and sequoia trees morph into mighty buildings, creating a towering skyline. A deer thats darting along side him turns into a blaring yellow taxicab. This once peaceful setting is now a hustling and bustling city center. Norman stops to take in his new surroundings. NORMAN (CONTD) My, what urban fervor! FADE OUT

END OF ACT FIVE