BILL (STARTLED)
What do you mean, alone?
KATIE
Jerry’s in Burlington! It’s Dawn! Something’s happened to Dawn!
CONNIE comes into the kitchen, worried.
CONNIE
Mom? Is Aunt Dawn okay?
BILL
So far as we know, she’s fine. Take it easy, doll. Bad to buy trouble before you know it’s on sale.
KATIE punches numbers and listens. SOUND: The DAH-DAH-DAH of a busy signal. KATIE
hangs up. BILL looks a question at her with raised eyebrows.
KATIE
Busy.
BILL
Katie, are you sure —
KATIE
She’s the only one left — it had to be her. Bill, I’m scared. Will you drive me out there?
BILL takes the phone from her.
BILL
What’s her number?
KATIE
555-6169.
BILL dials. Gets a busy. Hangs up and punches 0.
OPERATOR (filter)
Operator.
BILL
I’m trying to reach my sister-in-law, operator. The line is busy. I suspect there may be a problem. Can you break into the call,
please?
INT. THE DOOR TO THE TV ROOM
All three kids are standing there, silent and worried.
INT. THE PHONE NOOK, WITH BILL AND KATIE
OPERATOR (filter)
What is your name, sir?
BILL
William Weiderman. My number is —
OPERATOR (filter)
Not the William Weiderman that wrote Spider Doom?!
BILL
Yes, that was mine. If —
OPERATOR (filter)
Oh my God, I just loved that book! I love all your books! I —
BILL
I’m delighted you do. But right now my wife is very worried about her sister. If it’s possible for you to —
OPERATOR (filter)
Yes, I can do that. Please give me your number, Mr. Weiderman, for the records. (She GIGGLES.) I promise not to give it out.
BILL
It’s 555-4408.
OPERATOR (filter)
And the call number?
BILL (looks at KATIE)
Uh . . .
KATIE
555-6169.
BILL
555-6169.
OPERATOR (filter)
Just a moment, Mr. Weiderman . . . Night of the Beast was also great, by the way. Hold on.
SOUND: TELEPHONIC CLICKS AND CLACKS.
KATIE
Is she —
BILL
Yes. Just . . .
There’s one final CLICK.
OPERATOR (filter)
I’m sorry, Mr. Weiderman, but that line is not busy. It’s off the hook. I wonder if I sent you my copy of Spider Doom —
BILL hangs up the phone.
KATIE
Why did you hang up?
BILL
She can’t break in. Phone’s not busy. It’s off the hook.
They stare at each other bleakly.
EXT. A LOW-SLUNG SPORTS CAR PASSES THE CAMERA
NIGHT
INT. THE CAR, WITH KATIE AND BILL
KATIE’S scared. BILL, at the wheel, doesn’t look exactly calm.
KATIE
Hey, Bill — tell me she’s all right.
BILL
She’s all right.
KATIE
Now tell me what you really think.
BILL
Jeff snuck up behind me tonight and put the old booga-booga on me. He was disappointed as hell when I didn’t jump. I told him I was case-hardened. (Pause) I lied.
KATIE
Why did Jerry have to move out there when he’s gone half the
time? Just her and that little tiny baby? Why?
BILL
Shh, Kate. We’re almost there.
KATIE
Go faster.
EXT. THE CAR
He does. That car is smokin.
INT. THE WEIDERMAN TV ROOM
The tube’s still on and the kids are still there, but the horsing around has stopped.
CONNIE
Dennis, do you think Aunt Dawn’s okay?
DENNIS (thinks she’s dead, decapitated by a maniac)
Yeah. Sure she is.
INT. THE PHONE, POV FROM THE TV ROOM
Just sitting there on the wall in the phone nook, lights dark, looking like a snake ready to strike.
FADE OUT
ACT II
EXT. AN ISOLATED FARMHOUSE
A long driveway leads up to it. There’s one light on in the living room. Car lights sweep up the driveway. The WEIDERMAN car pulls up close to the garage and stops.
INT. THE CAR, WITH BILL AND KATIE
KATIE
I’m scared.
BILL bends down, reaches under his seat, and brings out a pistol.
BILL (solemnly)
Booga-booga.
KATIE (total surprise)
How long have you had that?
BILL
Since last year. I didn’t want to scare you or the kids. I’ve got a licence to carry. Come on.
BILL AND KATIE
They get out. KATIE stands by the front of the car while BILL
goes to the garage and peers in.
BILL
Her car’s here.
THE CAMERA TRACKS WITH THEM to the front door. Now we can hear the TV, PLAYING
LOUD. BILL pushes the doorbell. We hear it inside. They wait. KATIE pushes it. Still no answer. She pushes it again and doesn’t take her finger off. BILL looks down at: EXT. THE LOCK, BILL’S POV
Big scratches on it.
EXT. BILL AND KATIE
BILL (low)
The lock’s been tampered with.
KATIE looks, and whimpers. BILL tries the door. It opens. The TV is louder.
BILL
Stay behind me. Be ready to run if something happens. God, I wish I’d left you home, Kate.
He starts in. KATIE comes after him, terrified, near tears.
INT. DAWN AND JERRY’S LIVING ROOM
From this angle we see only a small section of the room. The TV is much louder. BILL enters the room, gun up. He looks to the right . . . and suddenly all the tension goes out of him. He lowers the gun.
KATIE (draws up beside him)
Bill . . . what . . .
He points.
THE LIVING ROOM, WIDE, BILL AND KATIE’S POV
The place looks like a cyclone hit it . . . but it wasn’t robbery and murder that caused this mess; only a healthy eighteen-month-old baby. After a strenuous day of trashing the living room, Baby got tired and Mommy got tired and they fell asleep on the couch together. The baby is in DAWN’S lap. There is a pair of Walkman earphones on her head. There are toys — tough plastic Sesame Street and PlaySkool stuff, for the most part — scattered hell to breakfast. The baby has also pulled most of the books out of the bookcase. Had a good munch on one of them, too, by the look. BILL goes over and picks it up. It is Ghost Kiss.
BILL
I’ve had people say they just eat my books up, but this is
ridiculous.
He’s amused. KATIE isn’t. She walks over to her sister, ready to be mad . . . but she sees how really exhausted DAWN looks and softens.
INT. DAWN AND THE BABY, KATIE’S POV
Fast asleep and breathing easily, like a Raphael painting of Madonna and Child. THE CAMERA PANS DOWN TO: the Walkman. We can hear the faint strains of Huey Lewis and the News.
THE CAMERA PANS A BIT FURTHER TO a Princess telephone on the table by the chair. It’s off the cradle. Not much; just enough to break the connection and scare people to death.
INT. KATIE
She sighs, bends down, and replaces the phone. Then she pushes the STOP button on the Walkman.
INT. DAWN, BILL, AND KATIE
DAWN wakes up when the music stops. Looks at BILL and KATIE, puzzled.
DAWN (fuzzed out)
Well . . . hi.
She realizes she’s got the Walkman phones on and removes them.
BILL
Hi, Dawn.
DAWN (still half asleep)
Shoulda called, guys. Place is a mess.
She smiles. She’s radiant when she smiles.
KATIE
We tried. The operator told Bill the phone was off the hook. I thought something was wrong. How can you sleep with that music blasting?
DAWN
It’s restful.
(Sees the gnawed book BILL’S holding) Oh my God, Bill, I’m
sorry! Justin’s teething and —
BILL
There are critics who’d say he picked just the right thing to teethe on. I don’t want to scare you, beautiful, but somebody’s been at your front door lock with a screwdriver or something. Whoever it was forced it.
DAWN
Gosh, no! That was Jerry, last week. I locked us out by mistake and he didn’t have his key and the spare wasn’t over the door like it’s supposed to be. He was mad because he had to take a whiz real bad and so he took the screwdriver to it. It didn’t work, either —
that’s one tough lock. (Pause) By the time I found my key he’d already gone in the bushes.
BILL
If it wasn’t forced, how come I could just open the door and walk in?
DAWN (guiltily)
Well . . . sometimes I forget to lock it.
KATIE
You didn’t call me tonight, Dawn?
DAWN
Gee, no! I didn’t call anyone! I was too busy chasing Justin around!
He kept wanting to eat the fabric softener! Then he got sleepy and I sat down here and thought I’d listen to some tunes while I waited for your movie to come on, Bill, and I fell asleep —
At the mention of the movie BILL starts visibly and looks at the book. Then he glances at his watch.
BILL
I promised to tape it for Jeff. Come on, Katie, we’ve got time to get back.
KATIE
Just a second.
She picks up the phone and dials.
DAWN
Gee, Bill, do you think Jeffie’s old enough to watch something like that?