51.
AN I.A. MAN
There's no smoking in this building.
NICK
(after a beat)
What are you gonna do -- charge me
with smoking?
It is the exact line that Catherine used. A long beat.
LT. WALKER
I'll ask you once, Nick -- for the
record: Did you kill him?
NICK
No.
They look at him a beat.
NICK
(continuing)
Come on -- I'm going to storm into
his office in front of everybody in
the afternoon and then that night
I'm going to kill him? I'd have to
be really dumb to do that.
AN I.A. MAN
Going after him before gets you off
the hook for killing him: that's
your alibi.
LT. WALKER
Like writing a book about killing a
guy gets you off the hook for
killing him.
AN I.A. MAN
(to Walker)
I don't understand. What are you
talking about? What book?
LT. WALKER
(to Nick)
Private joke.
NICK
I don't think it's funny.
GUS
(grins)
Well, hell, son, it's got a certain
ring to it, I'll say that.
INT. POLICE DEPARTMENT - NIGHT
He is by the elevators with Gus and Lt. Andrews. He spotsBeth
going for the stairway.
☆☆52.
NICK
(to Lt. Andrews)
I'll get my stuff tomorrow.
INT. THE STAIRWAY
NICK
Beth.
She stops. He catches up to her. They walk down theflights together.
They speak quietly.
NICK
(continuing)
Thank you.
She looks at him, smiles. They keep walking down the steps.
BETH
It's the least I could do...
considering I got you into this
mess with those reports.
NICK
(smiles)
No. I mean it, thank you.
She looks at him, smiles.
BETH
How do you know Catherine Tramell
saw my reports?
NICK
She knows stuff about me that only
you know.
BETH
(after a beat)
She must really be something.
(she smiles)
From a clinical point of view.
NICK
What was she like in school?
BETH
I hardly knew her. She gave me the
creeps, though. I don't know why.
EXT. THE BUILDING - NIGHT
They get outside. Beth kisses him quickly, softly on thecheek.
53.
BETH
Get some rest. Promise?
He nods. She starts walking toward her car.
NICK
Beth. I didn't mean what I said.
About --
BETH
(smiles)
Yes you did. I'm a big girl. I
can handle it.
She goes to her car.
INT. THE DETECTIVE BUREAU - NEXT DAY
He is cleaning his desk out, putting things into a duffelbag.
Only Andrews is in the room. We see Lt. Walkersitting in his glass-enclosed
office.
He closes the duffel bag, looks at the place a long beat.Andrews
is watching him. He goes up to Andrews
ANDREWS
(after a beat)
Take care, you hear?
NICK
(after a beat)
Did you find out about her parents?
ANDREWS
You're on leave, man.
(a beat)
You're on psycho leave. I'm
talking to a possible whacko here.
NICK
You know I'm whacko, Sam, what'd
you find?
A beat, and Andrews opens the file.
ANDREWS
The boat blew. There was a leak in
the gas line. There were two
previous repairs. There was a five-
mil policy on both of 'em. A real
heavy investigation. Zilch. Goose-
egg. It was an accident.
NICK
(after a beat)
Thanks.
54.
He sees Lt. Walker looking at him. He goes into Walker'soffice.
LT. WALKER
I.A.'s going to talk to you more
about Nilsen. They're handling the
investigation, we're not. Stay in
touch with Dr. Gardner, it'll help
on the evaluation.
NICK
(after a beat)
She killed him.
LT. WALKER
Beth? Now you've got Beth killing
people?
NICK
Catherine Tramell. It's part of
her game.
LT. WALKER
First you've got her buying your
file. Now you've got her killing
Nilsen. Forget her, willya? Go
someplace. Sit in the sun. Get
away from this goddamn fog. Get
her out of your system.
NICK
You don't but it, do you? She knew
nobody would but it.
(he smiles)
She knew I'd say she did it. And
she knew nobody would buy it.
Lt. Walker looks at him a long beat.
LT. WALKER
She's screwing with your head,
Nick. Pretty soon you're gonna
look in the mirror and think you're
seeing her.
EXT. HIS APARTMENT
It is in the Marina District; on a street like Cervantes.He gets
out of his old Porsche; he sees her black Ferrarithere. She is
sitting on the front stoop. She wears anIndian jacket, jeans and
a T-shirt. He goes up to her.She looks at him a beat.
CATHERINE
I heard about what happened. What
good's a shooter without his gun?
55.
She smiles.
NICK
(a beat)
How exactly did you hear?
CATHERINE
(after a beat)
I have attorneys. They have
friends. I have friends. Money
buys you a lot of attorneys and
friends.
NICK
(after a beat)
I don't know about that: I don't
have any money: I don't have any
attorneys: Gus is my only real
friend.
CATHERINE
(smiles)
I wasn't talking about real
friends. Why doesn't Gus like me.
NICK
(after a beat)
I like you.
CATHERINE
Do you?
NICK
(smiles)
Yeah. Would you like to come up
and have a drink?
She looks at him a beat.
CATHERINE
I didn't think you'd ask me.
He looks at her a beat.
NICK
(smiles)
I'm not that easy to figure.
They start walking inside. She walks ahead of him. Hewatches
her. She turns suddenly.
CATHERINE
You're not easy to figure. I'm
just very good at figuring.
56.
NICK
(after a beat)
Don't get too cocky.
CATHERINE
Why not?
NICK
You can make a mistake.
CATHERINE
(smiles)
Not me.
And she turns, heads inside; he follows her.
INT. HIS APARTMENT - DAY
They walk in. She looks at the bareness of the place.
CATHERINE
You should put some warmth into it.
You don't want it to reflect on
your personality.
She turns, smiles at him. He looks at the bottle of JackDaniel's;
there's not much left.
NICK
Jack Daniel's okay? It's gonna
have to be.
CATHERINE
Fine.
NICK
Ice?
CATHERINE
(smiles)
Please.
There is a palpable tension between them.
He takes the ice out, opens a drawer, takes out an icepick.
CATHERINE
(continuing)
Let me do that. You like to watch
me doing it, don't you?
She smiles; a beat and he hands her the icepick. She takesit,
starts to us the icepick, her back to him. He lights acigarette.
57.
CATHERINE
(continuing)
Can I have a cigarette, please? I
told you you'd start smoking again.
He watches her working on the ice.
CATHERINE
(continuing)
Light it for me, will you?
He does, steps to her. She parts her lips -- he puts it onher
lip, watches it. Their eyes are on each other.
CATHERINE
(continuing)
Thank you.
She works on the ice again, opens the cabinets for glasses.
NICK
What did you pay Nilsen?
CATHERINE
(doesn't look at
him)
Isn't he the policeman that you
shot, Shooter?
She makes the drinks.
NICK
What if I as you not to call me
Shooter?
CATHERINE
What if I call you Nicky?
NICK
(after a beat)
My wife used to call me that.
CATHERINE
(smiles)
I know, Nicky, but I like it.
She hands him his drink, holds hers.
CATHERINE
(continuing)
Cheers. My friends call me
Catherine.
NICK
What did Bobby Vasquez used to call
you?
58.
CATHERINE
Bitch mostly, but he meant it
affectionately. You don't have any
coke, do you? I love coke and Jack
Daniel's.
NICK
(after a beat)
There's Pepsi in the fridge.
CATHERINE
(smiles)
It's not the same thing, is it?
They look at each other a long beat, their eyes veryinvolved.
NICK
(quietly)
Where's it going? What do you want
from me?
Their faces are close together.
CATHERINE
Say -- "What do you want from me,
Catherine?"
NICK
(after a beat,
quietly)
What do you want from me, Catherine?
A beat, and she suddenly turns away.
CATHERINE
(brightly)
I brought you something.
She goes to her purse, takes a paperback book out of it.We see
it -- The First Time, by Catherine Smith. He looksat it.
CATHERINE
(continuing; smiles)
Aren't you going to thank me?
NICK
What's it about?
CATHERINE
A boy kills his parents. They have
a plane. He makes it look like an
accident.
59.
He stares at her. A long beat, then --
NICK
Why does he do it?
CATHERINE
To see if he can get away with it.
They look at each other a beat.
NICK
When did you write it?
CATHERINE
(after a beat)
You mean did I write it before my
parents died?
NICK
Yes.
CATHERINE
No. I wrote it years afterwards.
He watches her; she has turned away from him -- and thenshe turns
back to him in a different mood.
CATHERINE
(continuing; smiles)
You're not going to stop following
me around now just because you're
on leave -- are you?
NICK
(after a beat)
No.
CATHERINE
Good. I'd miss you.
(a beat)
You can get into trouble, though.
You're not really a cop anymore.
NICK
I'll risk it.
CATHERINE
Why take the risk?
NICK
To see if I can get away with it.
She looks at him: she smiles.
NICK
(continuing)
How's your new book?
☆☆60.
CATHERINE
I'm getting deeper and deeper into
my character.
They look at each other a long beat.
CATHERINE
(continuing)
Thanks for the drink.
He nods, say nothing as she goes to the door --
CATHERINE
(continuing)
I'm leaving the house around
midnight. In case you're going to
follow me.
(a beat)
I'm going down to Johnny's club.
NICK
(after a beat)
I'll meet you there.
She looks at him a long beat; and she's gone.
INT. THE STAIRWAY
As she is going down the stairs, Gus Moran is coming up.He does
a real double-take as he goes by her.
CATHERINE
(smiles)
Hi, Gus.
He looks at him a long beat, and he goes upstairs, intoNick's
apartment.
INT. NICK'S APARTMENT
Nick stands at the window, watching her outside. A longbeat,
and he looks at Gus.
GUS
(after a beat)
Forgive me for askin', son, and I
don't mean to belabor the obvious,
but why is it that you've got your
head so far up your own ass?
NICK
(after a beat)
She want to play? Fine. I can
play.
GUS
(after a beat)
Everybody that she plays with dies.
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