LITTLE SWEETHEART Oyster Blues plays. Serene view of short pilings in the water along Bob Sikes Channel, St. George Island. NELSON ENTERTAINMENT presents An ANTHONY SIMMONS Film Flocks of sea birds are flying over the shore. JOHN HURT KAREN YOUNG A bucket of seawater is being hoisted from a docked boat. Thelma walks by, underneath the hoist. As she walks by she watches it being dumped into a bin, supervised by a man. LITTLE SWEETHEART Also Starring JOHN McMARTIN BARBARA BOSSON Thelma, bored, watches Little Billy load ice into a truck at the Happy Pelican. Little Billy performs a quick mime act of pulling something out of his mouth and throwing it to Thelma, who in turn unenthusiastically pretends to catch it. LITTLE BILLY How you doin'? GUY BOYD Introducing CASSIE BARASCH ELLIE RAAB and JAMIE WATERSTON Robert Burger is renting a creme-colored Buick from an Isuzu dealer next to some railroad tracks. The notice in the car's passenger side window reads AS IS NO WARRANTY, NO WARRANTY. Dorothea tears the notice down from inside the car as Robert starts the car and the rental employee shuts Dorothea's door, and they leave as a train passes by. with JACK GILPIN ANN McDONOUGH ROSE PARRAH CLAUDE BROOKS GARY BASARABA Thelma is immersed in a rock video on TV at the counter of The Happy Pelican "I Was Born to Cry" . The barkeeper picks up a remote control and turns off the TV. BARKEEPER (waving her away) Off. Outta here. THELMA Oh, come on, I was watching. BARKEEPER When age you watch. Paying customers only. Waves Thelma away. Thelma glares at him and backs away quietly. WOMAN IN BAR (entering) Almost forgettin'. It's the Lord's time. (Turns on the TV, blasting the rock video again.) Shoot. That's devil music. Little girls shouldn't be watchin' that. BARKEEPER Go home. Thelma backs out of the restaurant, glaring at the barkeeper, and gently bumping into a lady seated at a table. TV ...life and death matter with them. They were driven to their knees, they acknowledged their sins, and they confessed. And they said Moses, we've sinned against God." Thelma is buying a pink, single scoop ice cream on a cone from Mr. Manny at the downtown store. Based upon the Novel The Naughty Girls by ARTHUR WISE Thelma pauses to stare at a Polaroid camera advertisement in the shop window, which reads Put yourself in the picture. Next to the camera are a number of colored wigs. Scene of a coastal city. Casting by MEG SIMON and FRAN CUMIN CSA Robert Burger is buying a USA Today from a machine outside a store where two deputies are leaving. Robert watches them go by, then walks in. DEPUTY (to the store clerk) We'll see you later. When Robert gets inside he gives a cautious look over his shoulder at them, but the deputies didn't recognize him. Designer GERRY SCOTT Dorothea is sitting on a round cement ring on the beach. Editor JOHN STOTHART Director of Photography JOHN HOOPER Thelma is peeking in the exposed corner of a window of a boat shed where her brother Richard is with Miss Marissa, who is stroking his face and begins taking his shirt off. Music by LAURENCE JUBER Screenplay by ANTHONY SIMMONS Thelma takes her paper bag of groceries and leaves the window where she was spying, and goes into her house. Aerial view of Robert's car driving along an undeveloped coastline. Producer LOUIS MARKS Directed by ANTHONY SIMMONS Richard is looking at some prints in his boat shed darkroom. Thelma knocks on the door. RICHARD Go away! THELMA Let me in! I'll tell if you don't let me in! RICHARD What have you got to tell about? THELMA About Miss Ma-rissa! RICHARD What about Miss Marissa? Thelma licks her dark popsicle but says nothing. Richard opens the door. RICHARD What about Miss Marissa? THELMA Here's your popsicle. Mommy sent it. THELMA (comes inside, stands) I saw you. RICHARD When? THELMA The other morning. Two days ago. RICHARD Where? THELMA I can't remember. Richard angrily throws his popsicle in the sink, grabs Thelma's shoulders to stare her in the face. THELMA In your room. RICHARD So? She cleans the house for us. She's gotta be in there sometimes. THELMA She didn't have any clothes on. RICHARD Of course she did. THELMA (shaking head) She didn't. RICHARD I was taking photographs. I'm gonna to be a photographic artist, there's nothing wrong with that. (Thelma is playing with his enlarger Stop that! THELMA (playing with enlarger slides on the counter) I saw you this morning, but you didn't have any lights on. You can't take photographs in the dark without any lights on. RICHARD Put that down. THELMA I can take pictures. Can I see the prints? RICHARD (turning around, emphatically) No. THELMA Has mommy seen the prints? She doesn't like Marissa! RICHARD You wouldn't tell her. You wouldn't dare. Thelma sits down and gives Robert an "Oh yeah?" look. Richard relents and brings the prints over to Thelma. RICHARD Are your hands clean? Thelma nods, Richard hands the prints to Thelma. RICHARD Something terrible's gonna happen to you someday because you can't shut up about anything. THELMA (thumbing through the prints) I don't think she's pretty at all. She's too fat. She oughta be on a diet. RICHARD (scowling in disbelief) No she shouldn't. THELMA (looking at a print of Miss Marissa with one arm raised) She's hairy. At least mommy shaves hers off. RICHARD If you say anything... to anybody... THELMA I wouldn't if we were friends. And friends always loan friends money. RICHARD (reluctantly handing Thelma a dollar bill) Go buy yourself a Coke. THELMA (tapping the dollar bill assertively) Two Cokes. RICHARD Four Cokes, bitch. Hope your teeth rot! Thelma is at home watching news on the TV. The word "CRIME" is displayed on the screen, then "Saturday." Mrs. Davies is working in the kitchen nearby. TV Investigators still have no identity, cause of death or other clues about what may have happened. Sheriff's investigators say the missing parts, including the torso, head, hands and feet are crucial in identifying the... MRS DAVIES Why are you watching that? TV ...that were discovered early Saturday... MRS DAVIES That's not for children. THELMA Then why do they put it on? TV ...to remove the limbs... MRS DAVIES They put it on because it's the news. Find something more suitable for children. TV ...began draining the pond... Thelma switches off the TV, and comes to sit at the counter. THELMA I don't want a party. MRS DAVIES No party? Why not? Uncle David's coming. He's got a great big present for you. Don't you want a present? THELMA Not from Uncle David. MRS DAVIES (shaking head in disbelief) Darling, why not? THELMA Because he's not my daddy. MRS DAVIES Of course he's not daddy. The shrimps are so fresh. We're very lucky. You know, your daddy used to love to buy them right off the boats. Thelma, Uncle David has been very kind to mommy. And... she doesn't know what she would have done without him. MRS DAVIES Honey, daddy is dead. And he's not gonna come back to us. You really have to get used to that. Please? Thelma pulls the green curtain aside from an upper floor window, sees Uncle David arriving and hugging her mother as he greets her. A station wagon is driving down a dirt road, pulls up to a rental house. It is a vacationing family moving in with a girl Elizabeth that is Thelma's age. Thelma, bored and wearing a blue dress, walks up and sits on two wooden posts, watching them unload their car, whose license plate ends in ...08 FEV. MR HARRISON No you just get your basket honey, I'll get the big bag. Come on upstairs. . . MRS HARRISON Just let daddy get that bag. Come on, let's go. MR HARRISON It's hot. Elizabeth pulls a luggage bag from the front of the station wagon and walks to the back of the station wagon. MRS HARRISON You OK? ELIZABETH Yup. Elizabeth pulls her hat out of the back of the station wagon, gives Thelma a curious glance but says nothing, walks back up to the house. Her father Mr. Harrison comes out next. MR HARRISON (to Thelma) Hi there! THELMA Hi. MR HARRISON What's your name? THELMA Thelma. MR HARRISON Where you from? THELMA (pointing behind her) Over there. MR HARRISON Oh great! Neighbors! I like that. I'm Harry. Harry Harrison. (Stands with hands on hips, looking at her.) Honey, looks like we got ourselves a new pal. This is Elizabeth. That's Thelma. (Gestures at Thelma.) Why don't you take her upstairs and give her a Coke? That's if... somebody remembered to turn the ice box on. Come on, the sun is shining, you're gonna be buddies. Elizabeth, with her arms folded, says nothing, picks up one satchel from the ground, pulls another from the rear of the station wagon. Thelma looks down, thumps her feet flat on the ground, then reluctantly follows. ELIZABETH (carrying luggage into her bedroom) What's it like here? THELMA Pfff... ELIZABETH That bad, huh? ELIZABETH (talking into an unconnected microphone) This is station WLIZ. With me, Liz Harrison speaking. All the way from one till three. Be happy now! ELIZABETH (sitting on the bed) You can show me around? THELMA I'm nine tomorrow. ELIZABETH I'm nine now. THELMA I'm having a party. ELIZABETH Am I invited? THELMA (after a pause) If you want. The girls are watching the Three Stooges movie "Dizzy Pilots" that is showing on the TV in The Happy Pelican. Elizabeth is holding the remote control and wearing heart- shaped sunglasses. TV Don't saw the wings, you saw the garage. I see the garage, but I don't saw the garage. You are more you're into King's English. TV You saw one side and Larry will saw the other. Oh, I see, I saw! Woah! Not like that. Like this! Woah! The barkeeper grabs the remote from Elizabeth's hand. ELIZABETH I was watching! BARKEEPER You ain't payin'. THELMA She was waiting. She wants a Coke. ELIZABETH Could I charge it? I lost my money. BARKEEPER Who's your friend? ELIZABETH Elizabeth. BARKEEPER You got any plastic? (Elizabeth shakes her head.) BARKEEPER Benji? BARKEEPER Hundred dollar bill? (Elizabeth shakes her head.) BARKEEPER Then why don't you take your butt on outta here? Fresh air's free. The neon sign at the bar reads Coors BEER and the hanging Tiffany lamp reads BUSCH. Robert Burger and Dorothea are sitting at a table by the window, waiting for their food. BARKEEPER (serving Robert and Dorothea) There you go. A dozen on the half. Best in the Gulf. Two hours ago them oysters were swimmin' at the bottom of the ocean. ELIZABETH (still sitting at the bar) Oysters don't swim! BARKEEPER Mine do. Now if there's anything else y'all need, just give me a shout. ROBERT Oh yeah, hang on a second. "Sandcastle". Would you know where that is? BARKEEPER Uh, that's a rental, right? Didn't the real estate agent give you no map? ROBERT He just gave us this. BARKEEPER That's on The Plantation, right? What you do, you go down here, about half a mile, past them boats. And you zig-zag, and-- you'll find it. Just... ask them girls. Dorothea looks over at the girls with faint disgust, then Robert looks at them. The girls are still sitting at the bar, staring at the couple. Both girls get up from the bar and move closer to Robert and Dorothea. Elizabeth sits at a table, Thelma stands behind a table. ROBERT Hi! THELMA Hi. (Sits down.) ROBERT Two hours ago, these little fellas were swimming along at the bottom of the sea. ELIZABETH (grinning and shaking her head) Oysters don't swim! ROBERT One thing's for sure. They didn't swim fast enough or they wouldn't have been caught! THELMA (leaning head on arm) They're loaded with cholesterol. Make you have a heart attack. ROBERT Mmm! Really? And where'd you get that information? THELMA My daddy. ROBERT Goes jogging every day, does he? ELIZABETH He's dead. She told me. DOROTHEA Oh, Jesus. ROBERT Sorry. Big mouth. Talk too much. I am sorry. How old are you? THELMA Almost ten. ELIZABETH (slapping her sunglasses) Liar! She said she'd be nine tomorrow! THELMA Nine tomorrow, then ten. ELIZABETH She's going to have a party. THELMA You can come. ROBERT Why, if we're around, that'd be terrific. (Dorothea is beginning to get impatient.) I'll bet you get lots of presents. Tell me, what would be your favorite if you had the whole world to choose from? THELMA A camera. ROBERT (laughing) A camera! THELMA You're English. ROBERT Got it in one. ELIZABETH Do you know the queen? ROBERT Well, I haven't seen her for a long time. I've been working over here in your country-- DOROTHEA (bangs her glass of wine down impatiently) Robert! (Pauses.) Uh, don't you think we ought to find out where we're going? ROBERT Well, are you two going to show us where Sandcastle is? The girls pause for a moment, Thelma nods, quickly followed by Elizabeth nodding. ROBERT Alright! We'll be friends then. Little Billy is wheeling a hand truck of ice out of a truck in the parking lot of the Happy Pelican. Signs in the background say HAPPY PELICAN RESTAURANT, HAPPY PELICAN FAMILY RESTAURANT, ICE. LITTLE BILLY Hey! How y'all doin'? What's happenin'? Billy performs a quick mime act of drinking and leaning against an invisible object. BARKEEPER Hey, Little Billy! Can't wait all day! ROBERT This way. He's pretty good. THELMA It's easy. (Performs the same mime act as Little Billy.) ROBERT You're a hard lady to satisfy, kid. THELMA (halts as she's about to enter car) I'm not a kid, I'm Thelma. ROBERT OK, Thelma. Robert is driving down the road with Dorothea and the girls. ELIZABETH We saw it on the Soul Train. THELMA So did I. ROBERT Do you kids watch TV all the time? THELMA I'm studying. ROBERT Ah yes, photography, right? (Scenes of boats in harbor.) THELMA Yup. ELIZABETH I'm studying, too. I'm gonna be a TV star. DOROTHEA Oh, really? Me, too. THELMA There are the oyster boats. ELIZABETH They catch oysters. THELMA The bigger boats are the shrimpers. ELIZABETH They catch shrimp. (Robert chuckles.) THELMA They're only supposed to go out for a day. But sometimes they stay out longer. ROBERT Yeah? Why's that? THELMA 'Cause they're liars. So they can jack up the price. My mom says they cheat. DOROTHEA I'm sure your mother wouldn't say that. THELMA She can say whatever she likes. Dorothea glances at Thelma, isn't sure what to think, and looks at Robert. DOROTHEA We turn left here. THELMA No we don't. DOROTHEA (tensely) It's what's on the map. THELMA Well then the map's wrong. DOROTHEA (irritated) Well thank you. ROBERT OK, kid, you're the pilot. THELMA You said you were gonna call me Thelma, not kid. ROBERT (with a forced grin) Thelma. They drive along a bay, then up in front of a beach rental house. Robert gets out and briefly surveys it alone, followed by Dorothea, who pulls of her sunglasses as she stands. ROBERT So, this is Sandcastle! You got the keys? DOROTHEA The agent gave 'em to you. ROBERT Uh uh. Dorothea looks in her purse and finds the keys, rolls her head and eyes upwards, feeling foolish. She stares at Thelma, who is staring at her while shading her eyes from the sun, and Dorothea puts her sunglasses on angrily. Robert begins to unload the trunk of his Buick as Elizabeth walks to the back of the car to talk with him. ELIZABETH Are you on vacation, too? ROBERT Well, kind of. Just ambling on down south to see my wife's mother. We thought we'd--sneak a few days to ourselves. ELIZABETH How far did you come? ROBERT (slinging black case over his shoulder) Oh, far enough, kid. ELIZABETH My name is Elizabeth. ROBERT Yes, I know. Sorry. (Picks up bags from ground.) ROBERT Look, if you two want to wait 'til I've got the luggage upstairs, I'll give you a lift home. ELIZABETH No. Thank you. ROBERT OK. Well, thanks again. (Bending close to Thelma.) You have a good birthday. The girls leave. Dorothea is getting settled inside Sandcastle, opens the blinds on the glass door, walks slowly into the living room, inspecting it. While carrying luggage up the wooden stairway, Robert notices the girls aren't leaving very quickly, and pauses on the stair to watch them. The girls are paused, staring back at him, but then the girls continue on the walkway to the beach. The girls pause on the wooden walkway leading to the beach in order to take their shoes off. ELIZABETH Station LIZ. And this is me, Liz Harrison speaking. He's nice! THELMA He's a flake. ELIZABETH He bought you a Coke. THELMA And they're not married. ELIZABETH How do you know? THELMA She hasn't got a wedding ring. ELIZABETH She has lots of rings. THELMA A wedding ring is gold and you wear it on a special finger. (Bangs her shoe on the stairway to remove the sand.) She's his mistress. ELIZABETH What's that? THELMA Someone you do it with when it's not right. ELIZABETH Stu-pid. The girls walk onto the beach. Two evening scenes around the bay near Thelma's house. The sky is dark blue, frogs are croaking, and there are some bird chirps. Thelma slides open a window and the girls sneak out of the house over to Sandcastle to spy on Robert and Dorothea.) ELIZABETH (running down the steps) Come on! Go for it! ELIZABETH Come on! THELMA Coming! ELIZABETH (pausing on walkway leading to Sandcastle) What if we get caught? THELMA We won't! THELMA (creeping under the wooden walkway) Shhh! THELMA (ascending wooden stairway) Shhh! The girls creep up to the first glass door on the patio, are almost seen as Dorothea, wrapped in a towel, closes the blinds to that door. Thelma grasps her heart at nearly getting caught. THELMA Hhh! Come on! But keep down! The girls sneak up to the next sliding glass door where the blinds haven't been drawn. They move back behind some patio furniture. Robert appears, the girls duck behind the patio furniture. ELIZABETH My knee is broken. THELMA Crawl backwards! Elizabeth accidentally bumps her elbow against a wooden lawn chair. ELIZABETH Ow! Robert hears something from inside, looks up. THELMA Come on! ELIZABETH They'll catch us! Robert comes outside but is too late to see made the noise. Thelma is having her birthday party on the patio of her house. A dark-haired lady in a white blouse and blue slacks brings Thelma's pink birthday cake out of the house, Richard lingers behind in the doorway. Everyone applauds, including Thelma. UNCLE DAVID Thank you, thank you, friends, I just want to say how happy Judith and I are to see you here. And of course, Thelma, our little birthday lady. Of course, speaking for myself, I don't look forward to birthdays anymore. But, when you're nine years old and as pretty as Thelma, well... On this special day and with great affection, we toast the birthday girl for her near perfection Thelma! ALL (singing) Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Thelma, (Thelma sees Robert Burger coming up to the house.) Happy birthday to you. (Yay! Yay!) A boy wearing a Nike T-shirt gives a wolf whistle. Elizabeth wanders to the edge of the balcony to watch Robert coming up. Thelma holds a finger to her mouth, nervously. UNCLE DAVID All in one breath, now. (Thelma blows out all the candles.) ALL Yay! UNCLE DAVID Did you make a wish? (Don't tell us what it was.) Then happy days, let's cut the cake. Elizabeth here will help you pass it around. ROBERT ...disturb... ELIZABETH Oh wow. I'm scared. THELMA (cutting a piece of cake.) Don't have to be. ELIZABETH Why? THELMA Because it's my birthday, and not yours. (Walks off.) THELMA Hi, Robert. My birthday cake. ROBERT (shaking his head) Thank you. THELMA Is that a present? ROBERT Could be. ROBERT You're a couple little nasties, aren't you? Sneak up on a guy in the middle of the night and then when he caught you, you run away. THELMA We didn't think you knew. ROBERT With your footprints all over the place? I'd be pretty dumb not to. THELMA We came to see you. (Sits down, holding her piece of birthday cake.) ROBERT Yes, I gathered that. THELMA When we got there, you were talking to Dorothea. ROBERT Oh, and you didn't want to interrupt! Tell me, what was I saying? (Sits down next to Thelma.) THELMA We couldn't hear. She's not your wife, is she? ROBERT (after a brief pause) I thought you said you couldn't hear anything. THELMA & ELIZABETH We couldn't. ROBERT (motioning the girls to follow) Come on. Come on. (Robert takes the girls underneath the wooden stairway, puts his arm around Elizabeth's shoulder and whispers to the girls confidentially.) ROBERT Now, I'm only going to tell you this once. I lied to you. ROBERT Now that's not very friendly, I agree. But She's not my wife. She's my partner. ELIZABETH Like Cagney and Lacey? ROBERT Mmm. Kind of. ELIZABETH A spy? ROBERT Uh--No, I'm a reporter. And I'm onto a very big story. ROBERT Now, these men--and they talk in a foreign language, so you can guess who they are--are trying to steal the secrets for a new bomb. Now, they don't know that I'm onto them. And if they did... kwuch! (Draws his finger across his throat like a knife cutting.) So, I've got to trust you, as friends of mine. As silent partners. Not a word to anybody, not your moms, not your daddies, nobody! Now, just as long as we understand each other. OK? (Both girls nod.) ROBERT OK. Well, no gentleman comes to visit a young lady on her birthday without bringing a present. So... (He hands Thelma the package.) I hope it's what you wanted. Have fun! And uh, thank your mother for the invitation. She's a lovely lady but unfortunately I can't stay, duty calls. Hmm? Now remember Shh shh shh! Robert slides away. ELIZABETH I feel aw-ful. THELMA He shouldn't have told us they were married when they're not. (Wipes her nose.) ELIZABETH He said they're spies. We'll know who they are. THELMA (halts, grimaces at Elizabeth for her naivete) You're stupid. ELIZABETH No I'm not, you are. What is it? THELMA (unwrapping the present) Don't you know? Thelma unwraps the package to find a pink instamatic camera in a package with a roll of 100 speed film included. The camera name Pastels on the package is partially seen underneath the camera. ELIZABETH Wow! THELMA It's a bribe. So we won't tell. Dorothea walks outside, towel around her head, and sits in a lawn chair on the porch of Sandcastle, not noticing that Thelma is sitting at the edge of the porch. The radio is going in the background. RADIO Sunday morning outside your... sunny skies, 75 degrees... THELMA Hello, Dorothea? DOROTHEA Oh--uh-- It's you. Robert! THELMA I wanna say thank you for the camera. It's magic! DOROTHEA Great. I'm glad you like it. ROBERT Yes, babe? Well! If it isn't the little lady ten-next-birthday! THELMA You do look funny, all that soap on your face. ROBERT Well, that's the price you have to pay if young ladies come to visit gentlemen at this time in the morning. THELMA My daddy used an electric. ROBERT Well there you go, you see. Some of us have to use good old-fashioned soap and water. (Sits down next to Dorothea.) ROBERT Now you're here, do you want a Coke? THELMA I came to say thank you for the camera. ROBERT It's alright, you snap away, show your friends when you're back at school. THELMA It's a boarding school. I don't have any friends. ROBERT Oh I can't believe that. THELMA They don't like me at school. ROBERT Really? Why do you suppose that is? THELMA I guess I'm just too clever. They don't like clever people. (Holds camera up to her face.) Can I take your picture? DOROTHEA (slamming her magazine down in alarm, then covering her face with it) No! Robert! ROBERT (jumping up in alarm) No no no no! Not like this, with soap all over my face? What would the fans say? THELMA I didn't mean to upset you, Robert. ROBERT Of course not. We're friends, aren't we? THELMA I was hoping you'd show me how to use the camera. ROBERT It's got instructions. You read the instructions. What time is it? (Looks at his watch.) Hey, what am I doing hanging around? I've got to get down to the bank. Now you shoo shoo shoo Miss Thelma. And you, Miss Dotty. We've got to get into the fast lane! Now you have a nice day! Robert runs inside, Dorothea begins to go inside but Thelma has just sit down on the wooden lawn chair, so Dorothea stops to confront her. DOROTHEA Why don't you go? THELMA I just came to say thank you. DOROTHEA Well you said it. Goodbye. THELMA I just wanted to take Robert's picture. DOROTHEA Robert's got enough pictures. Taken by me. So long, kid. THELMA Thelma! DOROTHEA Thelma. THELMA Bye, Robert! ROBERT (from inside the house) Bye! Thelma slowly walks off their porch, swinging her pink camera idly. DOROTHEA (drying her hair with a towel) You see that brat? She's jealous! ROBERT Of us? Don't be ridiculous. DOROTHEA Why weren't you shaving in the bathroom? ROBERT Once a slob, always a slob. So. What do you want to do? DOROTHEA Move. Go someplace else. ROBERT There is no place else. We can't move on every time you get spooked. Hell, we could've chosen a worse place. The ocean, the beach. You, me. Nothing to do except waste our time nicely, until the systems have worked their way through. Come on. (Dorothea fidgets with her hair, unconvinced.) When they find out, then the bank will charge the insurance company. And the insurance company... I don't think they're so short of money that they're going to worry about me and you. DOROTHEA And your wife? (Looks at Robert.) ROBERT With the house? Life insurance? The car? You've got to be kidding! She's going to think that you got the bad end of the bargain! DOROTHEA (smiles, begins to cheer up) If I were Thelma's age, I'd be jealous, too. DOROTHEA Make your bed for me. (Walks off.) The girls are walking in the water along the beach, carrying their shoes, towels slung over their shoulders, wearing hats, and Thelma is carrying her purse. ELIZABETH My daddy told me to drag your toes. It scares away stingrays. My daddy wants to live here all the time. Like you do. THELMA We don't live here. We don't live anywhere. ELIZABETH You have to live somewhere. THELMA Why? ELIZABETH 'Cause you have to pay taxes. THELMA Only if you're stupid. ELIZABETH My daddy does. THELMA My daddy doesn't. He doesn't do anything. The girls are on a wooden pavilion at the beach, setting their things down. ELIZABETH If we went to the same school, you could have me as your best friend. Pulls some snacks from a baggie and eats them. THELMA (drinking a lemonade) I guess so. Suddenly Thelma stops drinking and listens to something. ELIZABETH What is it? THELMA Shh! Thelma goes to the edge of the pavilion to see where the voices are coming from, moving carefully so as not to be seen, then stands watching, hiding behind the wooden posts. The voices are coming from Robert and Dorothea, who are walking down to the beach together in the distance, chuckling and giggling. ELIZABETH (naively) Where are they going? Thelma rushes back to her belongings, snatches them up and runs off to follow the couple. Elizabeth follows. ELIZABETH Maybe something's happening! The girls pause, crouched next to a rock. Robert and Dorothea go over the top of a dune. The girls come running up. Robert takes off his shorts, has swim trunks underneath. Take Back the Night. Robert is lying on top of Dorothea, kissing her. Scene of her exposed underwear. ELIZABETH Gosh! Wish we had your camera. Thelma grins, pulls her camera from her purse and begins taking pictures of Robert and Dorothea making love. Elizabeth says nothing, looks up and smiles, rests her chin on her hand. When done, Robert rolls on his side and fans himself with his shirt, followed by Dorothea wiping the sweat off her forehead. The girls are walking into some dunes from the beach, after watching Robert and Dorothea make love on the beach. ELIZABETH Have you seen it before? I mean people really doing it? (Pause.) I have. Sometimes. At night on cable. When they're not home. ELIZABETH But not like that. Not with everybody watching. THELMA I know about it properly from school. ELIZABETH But isn't she awful with all those awful sounds? And Robert... (Thelma tosses her bottle aside.) Don't do that, it's a waste, you could've got a dime on that. THELMA I'll say I lost it. I don't like him doing that with her. ELIZABETH I would never do it. Not with everybody watching. I bet even the fisherman could see her. She's aw-ful. ELIZABETH & THELMA Fla-ky! (Giggle together.) Richard is in his darkroom, examining a gangproof of Thelma's pictures with a rectangular magnifying glass. He places a negative into an enlarger slide and slides it into the top of an enlarger. Thelma is outside the boat shed, angry at Richard for not giving her the pictures she had him develop. Richard is standing in a motorboat holding an envelope with the prints. THELMA I only took some pictures! There's nothing wicked about taking pictures! If it was wicked, they shouldn't have been doing it! I want them! RICHARD Only if you promise not to tell anyone that I developed and printed them. You promise? THELMA They're mine. RICHARD If you say anything... about anything... to anyone... I'll say you're lying again. I'll say I didn't do it and I've never even seen them. THELMA I'll say I did it. I'll say-- RICHARD Don't be stupid. You can't do them. You don't know anything about photography. THELMA I do. RICHARD Yeah. And mice can paint pictures. (Hands Thelma the envelope) Here. You can clean the boat shed. (Hands Thelma a mop.) And you might need this in case your eyes pop out. (Hands Thelma a bucket.) THELMA Very funny. (Richard leaves, Thelma opens the envelope on the wooden railing, looks at the prints, and her eyes nearly pop out.) The girls are sitting in a car, laying out the pictures. ELIZABETH What're you gonna do with them? ELIZABETH I think we should give them to the papers. And have them print it. Then everybody'll know. Then they'll be sorry. THELMA I think they should pay us a lot of money not to tell. ELIZABETH You're not gonna stand there and tell them, are you? I'd melt in pieces! THELMA We could send them one. Put it in their mailbox. Then they'd know. I Was Born to Cry is playing again on TV. Next to the TV is a pink flamingo. The girls are in a bedroom, cutting out newspapers to make an anonymous note. Thelma is in a blue nightgown, kneeling at her bed, cutting. Their blackmail note reads: leEVE ONE Hundred dollars in DOLLAR bills in A eNvelOPE IN YOUR Car BY The FAR Ma CY. Newspapers are scattered all over the chair and floor; some portions of titles seen are "Tallahassee...," "Nation...," etc.) THELMA And we could write them a note. Saying they have to pay us. With words cut out of a newspaper. I've seen kidnappers do it. ELIZABETH How we gonna get the money? THELMA They could leave it somewhere. And we could get it when they've gone. Robert reaches into his mailbox outside Sandcastle, finds an unusual envelope on top of the usual mail, opens it while at the mailbox and sees the pictures it contains. The mailbox is black and is labeled with the rental house name - Sandcastle, BOX 316, BOX 316. He comes inside, where Dorothea is preparing food in the kitchen. DOROTHEA Hi hon. ROBERT Hi. ROBERT How's the coffee? DOROTHEA Hot! And pancakes. (Mixing pancake batter.) Anything? ROBERT Oh, circulars. Send a coupon, win a prize. ROBERT I was wondering... whether to drive in and speed up the arrangements... about the cash. DOROTHEA Alone? ROBERT Yeah. Well, there's... two of us together, there's always a risk. DOROTHEA (walking over to him, stirring the batter) Honey, I'm not your wife... What is it? ROBERT (hesitates, stands and walks to the counter) Here. Better have a look. Robert tosses the envelope down on the counter next to Dorothea. Dorothea opens it, sees the pictures, her mouth drops, she holds her head in disbelief. ROBERT Read it. Read it! DOROTHEA Leave one hundred dollars in dollar bills in an envelope in your car by the-- farmacy--they can't spell! ROBERT Not very greedy, either. A hundred dollars! DOROTHEA Agree today. Do not watch or else. What are you going to do? Robert, what are you going to do? ROBERT Hey, don't get hysterical. I need to think. DOROTHEA Well, what's to think about? It's that little brat. Oh! (Sits and clutches her head.) And you had to give her a camera. ROBERT Uh. Now you're being ridiculous. DOROTHEA (angrily) Me? You were the one who had to give her a camera! ROBERT (shouting) It's a holiday town. Everyone's got cameras! DOROTHEA And you gave her one. ROBERT (shouting) Yes, to get her off her backs! DOROTHEA (standing, angrily) Why didn't you tell her just to get lost? Afraid she might stop loving you? ROBERT Dotty, Dotty, Dotty! She's nine years old! DOROTHEA And little kids of nine don't think like that. Ah, no! Kids of nine are holy, innocent, little lambs! ROBERT Shut up! Either say something helpful, or don't say it! They're professional blowups done by an expert, not by a kid of nine! The girls are at home watching an action movie on TV. In the show, a big rig is being fired upon by several officers with rifles. Elizabeth is impatient, stands up and sits closer to Thelma. ELIZABETH How do you know they're not out? THELMA Because they wouldn't leave their windows open. ELIZABETH Then how do you know he's read it? THELMA Because I saw him on the veranda earlier. And I could tell he'd read it. ELIZABETH I expect they don't care. (Sits on arm on couch, blocking Thelma's view of the TV.) THELMA I was watching! ELIZABETH You're always watching. He probably tore it up. THELMA (pushing Elizabeth out of her way) He wasn't even pretending then. Elizabeth clumsily drops into a chair. TV You son of a bitch! ELIZABETH I doubt he'll leave us the money. At least he just won't leave it and go away. He'll see us! THELMA Stay at home, then. ELIZABETH No. I'm gonna come. Robert is driving alone down the Plantation road, sees the girls hitchhiking along side of the road, honks twice, stops, rolls down the power window on the passenger side to talk to them. The girls run up. ROBERT What're you two up to? ELIZABETH We're going shopping! ROBERT What for? ELIZABETH Just to look. ROBERT Better get in the back. The girls get in the car, Robert begins driving. ROBERT Well, don't you get bored, just looking? You don't mind the heat? ELIZABETH I like it! Robert opens the glove compartment while driving. The girls look at each other knowingly, then surreptitiously lean forward to watch as he pulls out the envelope that contains the money, then jump back when he slams it shut, look at each other. Robert arrives in town, pulls into a parking space, FURNITURE store sign is in background. They get out and the girls pause on the passenger side of the car. ROBERT Well, you kids want a Coke? THELMA No thank you, Robert. ELIZABETH We're going shopping! ROBERT Well, suit yourself. THELMA Thanks for the ride. ELIZABETH (holding up her finger) Yes, thank you. Elizabeth turns around to look at Thelma, and the girls leave. Robert sits down at a table in a restaurant that overlooks the street. The girls are walking alongside a building wall that says Lanier Pharmacy , with "Lanier" underlined and preceded by an illustration of a soda. ELIZABETH What's he going in there for? THELMA So he can watch. He's gotta wait 'til three. ELIZABETH What're you going to do about it? THELMA Wait 'til three! RADIO Well, it's opening day... Keepin' you company from three to five. I'm outta here into that gorgeous sunshine. Robert is taking in the scenes of everyday life as the radio plays. A man behind a trash truck is throwing a trash bag into the back, where a blue-and-white sign behind the truck says USED CARS. Little Billy is spinning around doing mime acts in front of business with a hanging sign that says MARIE'S LAUNDRYLAND while a small white boy rolls on the ground near him. RADIO Stay tuned. And stay cool. Robert looks up and sees Elizabeth standing quietly in the doorway of the restaurant, looking at Robert. ROBERT Hi. ELIZABETH I've lost Thelma, Robert. She's my friend. Can I sit down? It's really hot. ROBERT Yes, but one side or another. You're a better door than a window. I'm looking for something. Sit down! No, not there, over there. WAITRESS Would you like more scotch? ROBERT Uh, no-- eh-- a Coke for the lady. ELIZABETH (hugs Robert, blocking his view) Wow! Coke! Thanks! ROBERT For gosh sake, cut it out. Sit down! ELIZABETH (pulling on the curtain, blocking Robert's view) Everything's closed. Then I lost her. Have you seen her, Robert? Thelma. She's my friend. ROBERT No, I haven't seen her. Would you leave the curtain alone? ELIZABETH Of course. The waitress comes, and blocks his view of the window. He leans forward anxiously to try to see past the females. WAITRESS There you go. ROBERT Excuse me. ELIZABETH (picking up the bill) I've gotta pay. ROBERT No, I'll pay. Elizabeth "accidentally" spills the Coke into Robert's lap. ROBERT Woah! Jesus! ELIZABETH (clutching her fingers to her mouth) I'm sorry, Robert. ROBERT Na, it's alright. It'll dry. (Thelma comes running up.) I guess it's the heat. Here's your friend. THELMA I was over there. I shouted but you didn't hear! ROBERT What? THELMA That man! He--he was looking in your car! Little Billy is walking towards the restaurant near Robert's car. ROBERT Bloody right! Robert runs outside after Little Billy. ROBERT Hey! Hey! (Little Billy turns around to see who's shouting at him.) Yes, you! Stop! Cut it out! THELMA & ELIZABETH Yeah! (They slap each others' hands.) In the background is a Chevron station sign, and also a sign indicating highway 98. Robert chases Little Billy and corners him just as Little Billy is about to climb over a wooden fence. ROBERT Hey! Hey! This is the guy? THELMA No, Robert! LITTLE BILLY Hey man, what'd I do? ROBERT You ran! LITTLE BILLY Well, so did you, man! ROBERT Sorry. Would you-- (Hands Little Billy some money.) Please, buy yourself a drink. LITTLE BILLY Naw, man, you drink it yourself, you need it more than me. Little Billy leaves. Robert walks up to Thelma and holds her by the waist with both hands to look into her face. Elizabeth comes around the corner one way while Little Billy leaves. ROBERT (to Thelma) You saw him. What was he like? THELMA Thin. ROBERT Uh huh. And he went to the car and then what? THELMA He bent down. He closed the door, and I shouted for you. ROBERT And he ran? THELMA Was it important? ROBERT Yes, it could be! (Robert runs off, leaving the girls alone.) THELMA You got it? Elizabeth pulls up the front of her dress, where the envelope is protruding from the top of her panties. The girls strut off proudly. The girls are sitting at the counter of a store in downtown Apalachicola, and the waitress hands them two strawberry malts with a cherry on top. Both are wearing ridiculous colored-hair wigs. ELIZABETH Whatcha gonna do with yours? THELMA Buy something. ELIZABETH What? THELMA A present. A radio. Like Little Billy's. Then I can play my tapes. ELIZABETH I'm going to invest mine. I'll ask my daddy. THELMA You can't. You can't tell anybody. ELIZABETH If I spent it, then we'll have to give them the negatives back. That's what you're supposed to do. They pay and you spend and you're supposed to give it back. THELMA I don't care what you're supposed to do. You're supposed to do what you wanna do. Robert slowly pulls a single white envelope from his Sandcastle mail box. He comes rushing into Sandcastle where Dorothea, wrapped in a towel, has just gotten out of the shower. ROBERT We've got them! The negatives! Can you believe for a lousy hundred bucks we've got them? We've won! (Pulls Dorothea on top of him on the bed.) DOROTHEA (incredulously) No! ROBERT Oh yes yes yes yes yes! What would we do without the negateeves? And I look at these negatives and I say to myself (Italian accent) Eh, what a sexy Capone! DOROTHEA Mon don. Robert hugs Dorothea happily and rolls on top of her, and she giggles ecstatically. Through the window we see Thelma standing, waiting atop the wooden walkway, leaning against the railing, looking at Sandcastle. Robert and Dorothea drive off. Thelma and Elizabeth are watching them leave from below Sandcastle. When they're gone, Thelma tries sliding open their glass door, while holding her camera in one hand, but it's locked and she makes an ugly face. Elizabeth comes up behind her and presses her face, nose, and hands against the window, causing a distorted appearance. Thelma walks clockwise completely around the house, ending with the east-side window, backtracks to previous window, the last one on right of the north-side face, removes the loose screen from the bathroom window, slides the unlocked window open, pulls up a stump section of telephone pole. Elizabeth comes around the corner of the house, leans on the corner while watching Thelma. Thelma climbs in, throwing her hat on top of the toilet as soon as her head is inside. Elizabeth follows. THELMA Come on! ELIZABETH (climbing into window) I am! Thelma takes off her white hat while at Dorothea's dresser and mirror. ELIZABETH Good gosh! She hasn't even made the bed! Thelma is watching Elizabeth while reaching dramatically for Dorothea's sunglasses sitting below the mirror. THELMA (as Elizabeth puts on Dorothea's slip) You can't wear that. ELIZABETH Yes I can. (Elizabeth pulls off her hat and sunglasses with the same hand.) Fashion! THELMA It's backwards. ELIZABETH It's supposed to be that way, stupid. Elizabeth struggles with the oversized slip over her clothes. Thelma puts on Dorothea's lipstick in the mirror. Elizabeth opens the closet door, sits down to take off her shoes. ELIZABETH (pulling off her shoes) Besides, you can't wear them. They'll find your fingerprints. THELMA No, they won't. Elizabeth puts on Dorothea's white shoes. Elizabeth stands up and sticks her tongue out at Thelma, which Thelma notices. Thelma puts on Dorothea's orange scarf, admires herself in the mirror, then goes through the kitchen where Elizabeth is stroking the side of Robert's briefcase that is lying on the counter. Thelma begins going through the drawers in the living room next to the refrigerator. ELIZABETH Neat. Whatcha lookin' for? THELMA To see if they're gangsters. ELIZABETH (glibly) If they were, they'd kill us. Then it would be our fault. Thelma is tossing things on the carpet that were stowed under the TV.) If you do that, they're gonna be real mad. Elizabeth takes a swig from the liquor bottle sitting on the coffee table. ELIZABETH Gosh! What do they drink that stuff for? Elizabeth opens the black case that Thelma has tossed on the carpet, finds a newspaper inside, opens it up, gasps. ELIZABETH It's Robert and Dorothea! They've stolen money. Lots of it! THELMA Where? ELIZABETH From the bank. THELMA (reading) Robert Burger mysteriously abducted a travel aid traveling with him. THELMA It says no one knows who they are. The newspaper article title reads Bank Scam, Millions lost, manager sought. Thelma quickly stands up and takes five flash photographs of the article with her new camera. ELIZABETH Whadja do that for? THELMA Evidence. (Puts the newspaper back into the case, and back under the TV.) And so they won't know we've seen it. ELIZABETH I think we should tell the sheriff. I mean, we ought to. THELMA Uh uh. ELIZABETH Why not? THELMA (pulling Robert's briefcase off the counter) 'Cause they'll take the reward. And cheat us. ELIZABETH How much? THELMA A lot. Thelma sets Robert's briefcase down on the coffee table, opens it, finds a revolver inside. THELMA (pulling out the revolver) I told you. ELIZABETH Is it loaded? Thelma slides open a box of Remington cartridges while holding it sideways, causing the cartridges spill out. ELIZABETH Hooh! Thelma takes a handful of cartridges, drops them onto a green-and-white striped handkerchief lying inside the briefcase, folds it and takes the handkerchief with cartridges inside. ELIZABETH You're not gonna keep it, are you? It's dangerous. THELMA (closing the briefcase) Only if you don't know how to use it. ELIZABETH Well, you don't know how to use it. Stands up, holding the gun and pocketing the handkerchief of bullets in the front of her pants. THELMA Sure I do. You just point it at someone and pull the trigger. Easy. ELIZABETH You couldn't really kill anybody. THELMA Well I could. ELIZABETH (grimacing in disgust) Just point it at someone? And pull the trigger? And see all their bloody guts and stuff? THELMA If you hated somebody, or wanted something. ELIZABETH I think you're-- THELMA (whirls around, points revolver at Elizabeth) Why not? ELIZABETH Stop it, deputy. Stop it! Stop it! THELMA Why? ELIZABETH 'Cause you're scaring me. THELMA Anyway, you shouldn't be scared, only babies are scared. ELIZABETH (slapping Thelma with a pillow from the couch) You'd be scared, too. THELMA (slapping Elizabeth back with another pillow) You'd be scared of Robert... of his money. ELIZABETH You'd be scared of PeeWee, and you got a gun. THELMA You wouldn't tell him. ELIZABETH I might. THELMA Would you? (Suddenly points gun at Elizabeth.) ELIZABETH It's not loaded. THELMA How do you know? ELIZABETH Alright. I promise. I won't tell. I promise! I don't like you. Friends shouldn't scare other friends. THELMA Other friends shouldn't make them. There is a noise at the door. THELMA They're coming back! The girls run into the bedroom, Thelma flops for a moment on the bed. ELIZABETH What'll we do? THELMA Hide! ELIZABETH (hurriedly taking off Dorothea's slip) Where? THELMA There! THELMA Your glasses! Elizabeth is already under the bed and her arm reaches up and her hand frantically searches for the glasses, grabs them, pulls them back under the bed. ELIZABETH Ugh! ROBERT Je-sus! Dotty! Come here! Didn't I tell you to close the windows? What is the point of locking all the doors when the bloody windows are wide open? Didn't I tell you to do that? DOROTHEA Well, don't holler at me! ROBERT It's a blockbuster with a big smile. DOROTHEA You don't know that. ROBERT I don't need to know! Look at the window! What a bloody invitation! DOROTHEA You can't just save him? (The girls are looking at Robert's feet.) ROBERT Well, whoever he is, he's gone. What's more he knows we can't go to the police. DOROTHEA Well, well, well what? ROBERT Take a look around, see what he's taken. DOROTHEA (looks through her jewelry box) It's all here. ROBERT What the hell has he taken? The girls watch Dorothea's feet leave the room. ELIZABETH (whispering) Let's go, please. Elizabeth begins to crawl out, Thelma grabs her and pulls her back. ELIZABETH (CONT'D) Suffocating. I can't breathe. I can't help it. I'll scream. THELMA (whispering) If you scream, (points gun at Elizabeth's' head) I'll shoot you. ROBERT (looking into his briefcase) The gun. Have you seen it? The ammunition. DOROTHEA Uh! (Pours herself a drink.) ROBERT He didn't touch the bonds. Apparently didn't know what they were. DOROTHEA The newspaper with the pictures! (Rushes over to the TV.) ROBERT What, you've still got that? Get rid of it! Burn it! ROBERT (leafs through the bonds) I say we start moving the bonds now. I said now, don't start clearing up! This time I'll close the bloody window. The girls are alarmed as Robert's feet go by. Robert closes the window, then leaves the room. The girls hear a door close in the background. The girls crawl out from under the bed, Thelma opens the window and watches Bob's car leave, wipes the lipstick from her lips. THELMA They're going, come on. ELIZABETH (putting on shoes) I want to. Hate you! Thelma is on the patio, ready to leave, paused at the top of the wooden walkway, looking at the gun. She pockets it in her front pocket. ELIZABETH (bumps here nose while climbing out window) Ouch! I hate you. You're not my friend! Thelma is in bed, intently watching a violent show on TV, which is turned up loudly. In the show a man smashes a car window with a rock to get at the lady inside. Thelma handles her gun, tucks it under the covers. MRS DAVIES (from the other room) Isn't it time to turn that off and get some sleep? Darling? Mrs. Davies comes into Thelma's room, pauses at the doorway, sees Thelma apparently asleep, turns off the TV and leaves. When Thelma's alone, Thelma cuddles Robert's revolver. It's early morning, and there's a beautiful sunrise over the bay by Thelma's house. Crickets are chirping. Thelma is sitting in a lawn chair on Elizabeth's patio, waiting for Elizabeth. Elizabeth is standing inside, not wanting to go out to meet Thelma. MRS HARRISON Come on, honey, she's waitin' for you. Honey? For me? THELMA Richie's finished with your pictures. ELIZABETH You're not my friend. THELMA Yes I am. 'Cause we've been doing lots of stuff together. ELIZABETH No we haven't. (Sits down on the lawn chair on the patio.) THELMA Do your mom and dad know about what's going on? ELIZABETH How could they know unless somebody tells them? ELIZABETH You wouldn't. THELMA I'm not planning to. ELIZABETH I'd kill you. THELMA You wouldn't. You don't have a gun! ELIZABETH I'd get someone to do it for me. Somebody you couldn't see. Like a hit man. Stands up and walks to the patio screen. THELMA You don't know any. ELIZABETH Yes I do. I'm gonna tell them about you. I'm gonna give Bob his money back. And say I'm sorry. Then he'll say it's just 'cause she's a silly girl. Never mind, as long as I learned my lesson. In fact, I'm going to tell them everything. THELMA About you? Or about me, too? ELIZABETH They'll know I didn't do it all by myself. THELMA You could just say it was somebody. ELIZABETH They'd know it was you even if I didn't say anything. THELMA (standing) OK. I think we should both go. We could take them these new pictures, too. After supper. (Pushes open screen door.) We'll both go. (Stops and turns around, shakes her fist in frustration.) But mom doesn't want me out late. ELIZABETH Well, we could go tomorrow. Instead of going swimming. THELMA (Nods.) OK. Robert and Dorothea are on their patio, looking at an 8x10" print of the photograph that Thelma took of their newspaper headlines. ROBERT Now we know for certain that he knows. Not any kind of relief. DOROTHEA What does he say? ROBERT Not a thing. No note. Doesn't say anything. Dorothea goes inside, bends down over the coffee table and pours herself a drink. Robert comes in after her. ROBERT Hey. Hey...! DOROTHEA What does he want? ROBERT That's what he wants. He wants you to have hysterics, and for me to eat my heart out. DOROTHEA Why? Why why why why--? (Dorothea is shouting hysterically.) ROBERT Hey, hey, come on, come on. Hey, hey. (Dorothea is sobbing on Robert's shoulder.) Come on, come on, it's alright, it's alright, come on, yeah, yeah. Take a shower. Alright? Talk about this later. DOROTHEA Robert. Let's not stop. If we're going to have a fight, let's have it. I've tried. Honest to God, I've tried. ROBERT Me, too. But you were there, and you heard it yourself. Three more days. Turns his head, and his attention is attracted to the open bathroom window. DOROTHEA Robert... ROBERT Hey, hang on a second... I locked that window. Did you open it? Dorothea shakes her head. ROBERT That means someone was hiding in here. Got out the same way that they came in. (View of the open bathroom window.) They must have been as thin as a match. All of a sudden I think I know who it is. The girls are walking across the dunes to return the pictures to Robert. A seagull is wheeling close by, over and behind them. ELIZABETH You got the pictures? THELMA In my purse. ELIZABETH How about your sunglasses? THELMA In my purse. ELIZABETH Do you keep everything in your purse? ELIZABETH Do you really think we should tell him? Peewee Herman would. Then we could be friends again. Like Little House on the Prairie. When the girl's father comes back and they forgive him. I don't really wanna tell Robert. Wish we hadn't done it in the first place. THELMA They started it. They shouldn't have done what they did. ELIZABETH Can I see the pictures? Please? (Thelma walks on, ignoring her.) I wanna see the pictures again. For the last time. Thelma walks up to the top of a dune and sits down, Elizabeth snatches the pictures from her and walks off to look at them. THELMA You're going to tell them everything. Aren't you? (Reaches into her purse for her sunglasses.) ELIZABETH Yes, but I don't want to. THELMA Why are you going to if you don't want to? (Blows sand off her sunglasses.) ELIZABETH 'Cause I have to. THELMA We don't have to. ELIZABETH But I want to. That's what we said. (Puts the pictures in her dress pocket.) THELMA (reaching back towards Elizabeth) I want the pictures. They're mine. ELIZABETH If I'm gonna tell, I'll have to show them. THELMA Yes, I guess so. (Reaches in her purse.) ELIZABETH Think they'll be up yet? THELMA They might be. ELIZABETH (as Thelma secretly pulls gun from purse) Alright! This is station WLIZ. Let's do it! THELMA (stands, points the gun at Elizabeth) No! I'm not gonna to tell them! ELIZABETH But you said. THELMA (pointing revolver at Elizabeth) I was never going to tell them. But you said you were going to tell them about me. ELIZABETH Stop joking around, Thelma. Put the gun down. Please? We're friends. THELMA No we're not! You said so. ELIZABETH I didn't mean it. I won't tell. Don't shoot me, it might hurt. Please? Please? THELMA (advancing) It's your fault. For making me. Thelma cocks gun, shoots Elizabeth, Elizabeth rolls down the dune. Thelma runs to the top of the dune, looking down at Elizabeth, shoots a second time, bullet kicks up empty sand. Elizabeth picks herself off the ground and runs off, nearly tripping on her purse, Thelma pursues. Elizabeth climbs onto, then over a wooden walkway with Thelma right behind. They pass some pine trees, Elizabeth leans against one for a moment. Elizabeth makes it to the gulf beach just east of the pilings, falls and crawls for a bit, Thelma comes running up along the pilings in the field. Thelma crouches a moment. Thelma slowly advances, pointing the gun at Elizabeth while Elizabeth slowly backs away. They pass through a shallow tidal pool in the sand, then reach the ocean. ELIZABETH (backing away from gun) Unh! Oh, God! (Thelma shoots Elizabeth, Elizabeth falls into the water, Thelma shoots again, Elizabeth disappears into the water with some of her blue clothes floating off, Thelma shoots again. A fishing boat is passing by and from its deck the shots can be faintly heard in the distance as the men are talking. One of the crew with a red bandana, white T- shirt, and tan shorts looks briefly in the distance before going in the cabin. Thelma is pulling milk out of the refrigerator. MRS DAVIES I didn't hear you come in. Have you seen Richard? Mister Burger was over looking for him. THELMA What for? MRS DAVIES I didn't ask. It's none of my business. And I don't think it's any of yours. (Thelma puts the milk carton back into the refrigerator.) You really got that shirt very dirty. (Thelma glances down at the right sleeve.) I want you to take it off. Don't be late. THELMA (alone, leaning against the refrigerator) This is station WLIZ. And this is me. ROBERT Yes, Thelma, what is it? THELMA (sweetly) My mom wanted me to tell you that she hasn't seen Richard. When I see him, do you want me to tell him to come and see you? ROBERT Yeah. Tell him to come running. THELMA (innocently) Aren't you and him friends anymore? ROBERT Just tell him to come. THELMA Is Elizabeth here? She said she was coming here to see you. ROBERT Well she didn't. Now look, I'm very busy. THELMA I think she's lost. ROBERT She'll turn up. Just tell your brother. Mr. and Mrs. Harrison are sitting on the couch at the Davies house, and Mrs. Davies walks up. Mr. Harrison is clutching his hat in his hands. MRS DAVIES Richard's gone off, too. It never occurs to them that they might be upsetting people. MRS HARRISON At least he's nearly an adult. She's a child of nine. MR HARRISON But we don't know that anything's happened yet. I'm sure there's some perfectly reasonable explanation. Mr. Harrison looks at Thelma, who is standing in front of a window, he gets up and sits in another seat closer to Thelma, to question her. He's wearing ridiculous-looking shades on his eyeglasses, flipped up. MR HARRISON Now, you were playing together. Didn't she say where she was going? THELMA She said she was going to see Robert. MR HARRISON Did she say what she was going to see him for? Could she have gone somewhere with him, for a ride? MR HARRISON Did she say "Goodbye," or "I'll see you later."? MR HARRISON Can you remember exactly where you were, when she left? Can you show me? Would you mind? You might just--spark something off. MRS DAVIES Oh no, of course not, Thelma will help you. MR HARRISON Uh, do you think my wife could--stay with you, just for a while, 'til we get back? She's a bit--distraught. MRS HARRISON Not unreasonably. (Mr. Harrison looks grim.) Mr. Harrison and Thelma are at Robert's door. ROBERT What did she want to see me for? Do you know? Thelma pauses, shakes her head. ROBERT How long's she been gone? MR HARRISON (flips up his shades) Just this morning. ROBERT So--what're you going to do now? MR HARRISON Wait another hour and then call in the police. Not much else I can do. I have no idea where to look. She could be anywhere. ROBERT Yes, I suppose so. Robert hurries into the bedroom, where Dorothea is standing, leaning drunkenly against the glass door, drink in her hand. The ocean is reflected in the glass door. ROBERT Get dressed! DOROTHEA Is that the boy? What did he say? ROBERT (pulling clothes rapidly from the closet) Look, just move it. We're getting out. They're bringing the police! Get your clothes on! Robert rushes out of her bedroom, Dorothea sits down and takes another drink. ROBERT (from the other room) Are you moving? Dorothea nods, takes off her black blouse, sits topless, in a drunken stupor, takes another drink. Robert rushes in. ROBERT Oh, Jesus, Dotty! (Dorothea giggles.) ROBERT Oh, come on. Come on. We've not time. No time. (Forces Dorothea to her feet.) Come on, come on baby, let's go. (Escorts her to the bathroom shower.) Come on, sweetheart. (She starts to fall.) Oh no you don't! Come on! Come on. ROBERT Are you going to get ready? DOROTHEA Yeah. ROBERT In five minutes? DOROTHEA What? ROBERT I love you. (Dorothea giggles drunkenly, but suddenly Robert turns on the cold water on her, causing her to yell.) DOROTHEA Agh! Agh! Robert closes the shower door on her, as she gets accustomed to the cold water. Dorothea is out of the shower, sitting, combing her wet hair with a blue brush, puts on her sunglasses, rubs her face, Robert comes in. ROBERT (drying Dorothea's hair with a towel) Why did I think that screwing you would sweeten my life? DOROTHEA Because it did, didn't it? DOROTHEA (pushes the towel aside) Say again. Say you love me. ROBERT I love you. (They kiss.) DOROTHEA You're not mad at me? ROBERT No, I'm not mad at you. Just mad. We're both mad. (Dorothea giggles and they kiss again.) Robert and Dorothea's car is coming down the causeway out of St. George Island, Mr. Harrison and his station wagon are on the side of the road, Mr. Harrison signals for them to stop, and Robert pulls over. A police siren is heard, and a police car arrives and pulls over. MR HARRISON Could you--hold on--just a minute, please? ROBERT My lady's not very well. I'm just going to see the doctor. MR HARRISON The sheriff wants to... have a word with all of us. Little Billy is sitting in a police car, Robert looks over at Dorothea, the sheriff hurries up to the driver's side of Robert's car, wearing sunglasses. ROBERT We're just on our way to see the doc. SHERIFF What doctor's that? ROBERT Well, we thought we'd check it out. Blue Cross, or whatever. SHERIFF There's a child missin', sir. I appreciate your predicament. But the sooner we can ask some questions, the sooner we're gonna get some answers, and everybody's gonna be happy. ROBERT Well, certainly, if there's a child missing. SHERIFF That's what we're gonna find out. So if you'll just turn your vee-hickle around, my deputy there'll back up and give you some room. I do appreciate it. ROBERT Thank you. Robert turns his car around. Little Billy is sitting in a police car, in custody, watching Robert turn his car around. The police radio is going. Robert drives back up the causeway. Richard arrives home to find a police car outside his house, police radio going, and a deputy waiting aside the police car. The deputy looks up as Robert passes by. Inside, the sheriff is standing in the living room while Mrs. Davies sits nearby in a chair in the corner. The sheriff begins to question Richard. BOOKMARK SHERIFF We're makin' inquiries about a little girl. RICHARD Thelma? SHERIFF Elizabeth. Harris. Have you seen her today? RICHARD No, I've been out all day. SHERIFF Where? RICHARD Walking. SHERIFF All day? Didn't you find it a mite hot? RICHARD Yeah, I guess so. Yeah, it--it was hot, I was sweating. SHERIFF Well who'd you see on this walk? RICHARD No one. SHERIFF (sarcastic and intrusive) No one? Seems to me, if a person goes out walkin' all day, he sees someone. Like Elizabeth? RICHARD No, I--I already told you. I haven't seen Elizabeth, all day. SHERIFF But you saw sometime. Now who was it? RICHARD (looks down) I can't tell you. MRS DAVIES Richard! We're all very worried about Elizabeth. Help the sheriff. SHERIFF Please. Do you know you're the only one who can't account for himself all day? MRS DAVIES (angrily) Richard, tell him! RICHARD (stands, turns angrily) OK! You wanna know who it was? I was with Marissa. OK? MRS DAVIES Who? RICHARD (rolling his head in exasperation) She used to work for us. Now she works for someone else. I went to see her because she said... she was having my baby. MRS DAVIES (standing in astonishment) That's ridiculous! SHERIFF Please, ma'am. I'm just tryin' to find out where he was all day. MRS DAVIES Yes, but you see he doesn't understand that by lying-- RICHARD Lying? I'm not lying! If you weren't so blind, so involved with yourself and your Uncle David this, your Uncle David that... Thelma knew. I thought everybody knew. MRS DAVIES About a baby? RICHARD No, that was just a way of--shutting it down--of finishing with me. MRS DAVIES Richard...! RICHARD (turning defensively) Anyway, it wasn't true. SHERIFF Can she back up your story? RICHARD Yes. If you mean can she tell you I was with her, yes. Mrs. Davies' face twitches in anger at him, then she stalks off. The sheriff silently watches her leave SHERIFF OK. You tell me where I can find 'er, and--that'll be that. The sheriff gets in his car and drives off, siren going, and is being watched by Thelma from behind the wooden stairs of the house, who is wearing a white hat. Inside, Mrs. Davies is fluffing the pillows on the couch and sees Richard come in the room and sit on the couch MRS DAVIES Mister Burger called. He said he wanted to talk to you. RICHARD What about? MRS DAVIES I don't know. He didn't say. RICHARD Well then it can't be that important, can it? MRS DAVIES (sits down) Richard, I've called Uncle David and asked him to come back. I can't manage by myself any more. RICHARD You could've asked me. (Stands up and leaves.) Thelma watches from the window as Uncle David arrives. Uncle David pulls a dark overnight bag from the trunk and is wearing a dark blue tie and light blue shirt, coat slung over one shoulder THELMA Hi Uncle David. UNCLE DAVID Hey! Thelma! How's my girl? THELMA Great! MRS DAVIES Honey, Uncle David wants to talk to you. UNCLE DAVID See, hon. Something serious might have happened to Elizabeth, and your mother and I would never forgive ourselves if... (Long pause as he chooses his words.) Nearly everybody in this whole world is kind and good just as you see them. But some people are not so good. So we don't want you to go anywhere by yourself until Elizabeth's been found. OK? THELMA (shrugging) Yes, Uncle David. Suppose they never find her? UNCLE DAVID Well, the police always find people. Maybe not always right away. OK, now, you promise me. MRS DAVIES Promise Uncle David. THELMA OK, Uncle David. I promise. (Bites her lip.) MRS DAVIES Good! Dorothea is sitting at the bar in Sandcastle, twists the cap off a liquor bottle and pours herself another drink ROBERT You need that? DOROTHEA You going to leave me? ROBERT I'm getting ready to go. DOROTHEA Without me? ROBERT (stands up, puts his arm around her) Babe, why are you doing this to us? I got us into this, I'll get us out of it. DOROTHEA (head against his shoulder) You can't. They're looking for the car. ROBERT We'll walk. DOROTHEA You can't leave without the pictures. You can't get them tonight. ROBERT Jesus, Dotty. It took us one year and fifteen days to progress... and get away from the crap. Just because some silly little kid goes missing, I'm not going to let ourselves get trapped in it. (Walks to the glass door to look out.) DOROTHEA If you're thinking of leaving without me... hmph! (Takes a drink from her glass.) Robert turns around from the glass door, shakes the car keys, puts them on the table, stands with one arm on his hip ROBERT Go to bed, Dotty. (Robert pauses, leaves the room.) An officer is running along the bay shore with a leashed police dog. Two officers with leashed police dogs are scouting along the tops of some dunes among pine trees, and they start down the dune. Four other officers are climbing over a wooden walkway in the woods, one with a police dog, all with sticks. A police helicopter is heard Richard is at Robert's door ROBERT Better come in. Sit down. D'you want a drink? RICHARD Uh, Scotch. ROBERT No Scotch. RICHARD Do you have any rye? ROBERT Rye. Now sit down. Robert mixes drinks at the counter, Richard sits on the couch, Robert looks at Richard sitting expressionless, Robert hands Richard a drink, sits down, they both take a sip, Robert puts down his own drink, yanks at his trousers to lean forward ROBERT Now, you little shit. I want those photographs back. If you open your mouth I'll make sure that you never open it again. (He twists Richard's wrist.) RICHARD You're hurting. ROBERT Yes, and if I wanted to I could break your wrist. RICHARD Please, I don't know what you're talking about, sir. ROBERT You broke in here. RICHARD I've never been here before. ROBERT Don't lie! (Robert releases Richard's wrist, shoves him back into the couch.) Right. Let's see if we can refresh your memory. Robert goes to the bookshelf, pulls out a photograph that was slid between two books, one of the love-making pictures that Thelma took. Some of the books on the shelf are To the End of the Night, Alla Awakes ROBERT You've seen this before? ROBERT Where? Where!? RICHARD Somebody gave it to me. ROBERT Yes. People bring you film and you process it. Who? RICHARD I don't know. (Robert twists Richard's wrist.) RICHARD My sister! Ow! (Robert, shocked, lets go of Richard's wrist.) ROBERT Your sister... RICHARD (gaining more nerve) Yes. (Robert stands, walks off slowly, dumbfounded.) You gave her the camera for her birthday. She got me to show her how to use it. She gave me some other pictures, too, of you and-- your-- Look, I didn't know until I developed them. I didn't know she'd taken pictures like that. ROBERT (incredulous) She's a nine-year-old kid. Nine-year-old kids'r not into blackmail. RICHARD Thelma is. She always blackmails me. ROBERT What a little sweetheart! Who taught her all this? RICHARD Hhh. Some people are just born that way? ROBERT Oh, no. No. (Shakes his head.) People are not born that way. RICHARD When my father died, it upset me. But not Thelma. She just... sat around... Just the same as always, just watching TV, all day long. ROBERT (returns to the couch, sits) Why didn't you tell your mother? RICHARD She's like Thelma. She doesn't listen. ROBERT (slow and incredulous) Thelma. Dotty said it all. It's so simple. RICHARD What about the story in the papers? ROBERT Oh, it's just the press. Look, I want those pictures. Can you get them for me? (Richard shakes his head.) ROBERT Well, do you think you could persuade Thelma to come here? Richard thinks, is reluctant, doesn't answer ROBERT Look, I didn't hurt the other kid. I don't know anything about her. I just want those pictures, and to give her a damn good frightening. RICHARD I'll try. Thelma is at home, watching a SWAT team show on TV in the kitchen with Uncle David. Both are seated at the counter TV In the worst case, a team member could get wounded and killed entering the structure. We require the smallest man on our team to be able to get the largest man on our team out... Richard enters the kitchen UNCLE DAVID Harrison said they're bringing in dogs. THELMA No one's going to find her. They don't even know if she's lost. Do they? RICHARD I wanna see you. In my room. TV Our primary concern is really getting him out... THELMA (peeved) Excuse me, Uncle David. (She switches off the TV via remote.) UNCLE DAVID Keep an eye on her. The police don't want her going anywhere alone. Richard and Thelma are talking privately in Richard's bedroom. On his wall are road signs that say ONE WAY, KEEP ..., there is a white glider, and a Confederate flag RICHARD Mr. Burger wants to see you. THELMA I don't want to see him. RICHARD He wants the pictures that you took. THELMA I didn't take any pictures. Elizabeth took them. (She fidgets with a black-and-white photograph on the wall.) RICHARD You're lying. You lie about everything! THELMA I'm not lying! RICHARD Somebody ought to get rid of you. We'd all be a lot better off without you. THELMA (fidgeting with confederate flag) You just want mom to yourself. RICHARD Are you going to give him the pictures? THELMA I don't have them! RICHARD Then he'll have to go to the police. THELMA (turns around angrily) It's not my fault! I'm not a liar! RICHARD And I'll have to tell them everything that I know. This is my room. Get out. (Pushes her towards the door.) The sheriff and one deputy come over a dune to where a police dog is whining and digging, uncovers bloody, torn blue clothes that have been buried in sand among some sea oats. The deputy hands them to the sheriff, who examines them SHERIFF Oh, son of a bitch. Just keep searchin'. The door on the police car reads FRANKLIN COUNTY SHERIFF . The sheriff is leafing through the love-making pictures while questioning Robert in Sandcastle SHERIFF We found these... with the little girl's clothes. They're kind of-- intimate-- don't you think? How do you reckon she got 'em? RICHARD Thelma--the other girl--took them with the camera I gave her for her birthday. Her brother printed them. She was using them to blackmail me. SHERIFF A kid of nine? RICHARD Yeah, I didn't believe it either until her brother told me. Look, ask-- (Dorothea suddenly enters.) DOROTHEA Why have they come back? SHERIFF You wanna sit down, ma'am? ROBERT Sit down. (Dorothea quickly thumbs through the pictures lying on the table.) DOROTHEA Is that all? SHERIFF You expectin' something more? ROBERT No--that's uh-- We hadn't seen them all, just the ones she sent. SHERIFF (quietly, putting his face close to Robert's) That why you killed her? DOROTHEA Robert? ROBERT Elizabeth They found her clothes buried in the wood. DOROTHEA Jesus. ROBERT (turning excitedly to the sheriff) What about that black kid I saw in your car? SHERIFF Little Billy? That's a funny thing. (Stands.) Everytime somethin' goes wrong in this town, somebody blames Little Billy, and I've gotta pull him in, then let 'im go. Now you were tellin' me? ROBERT Well, it was--both the girls. They-- wanted a hundred dollars. And I was entreated to know, said the note. I paid them. SHERIFF You still got the note? ROBERT I burned it. SHERIFF (sighing) You got a gun? ROBERT Yes, a Charter Arms thirty-eight Police Special. SHERIFF Can I see it? ROBERT It was stolen. (The sheriff gives an exasperated look.) We were broken into, two days ago. SHERIFF You reported it? ROBERT Look, I know who stole it. Her brother told me. This morning he told me everything. SHERIFF (standing up from the bar stool) OK. You can kiss the lady goodbye. Dorothea is speechless, her mouth opens. On their wall is a trio of leaping dolphins in gold metal, and 2 hexagonal woven mats placed next to each other ROBERT Hey. Hey, it's... alright. It's alright. I'll--I'll be back. (Hugs her.) Richard will tell them everything. Just because we were photographed on the beach with our pants down hardly makes it a crime. SHERIFF Not in this state. DOROTHEA Then why are you taking him in? SHERIFF Homocide, ma'am. That Charter Arms thirty-eight Police Special. We found it this mornin', buried with these photographs, wrapped up in that little girl's clothes. There was a lot of blood around. ROBERT (standing up aggressively and rushing up to the sheriff) You stupid bastard! It was stolen! Sheriff knocks Robert in the side with his elbow, and shoves him over to the two waiting deputies, who escort him outside ROBERT Ah, unh! Ah, unh! Dorothea rushes up to the sheriff and starts slapping her arms at him. The sheriff holds her flailing arms as much as possible while talking to her SHERIFF I don't mind no man showin' off his tail, ma'am, not even in daylight. But I cannot buy a child. DOROTHEA She's lying! She's laughing at you! SHERIFF Now why would she do that, huh? Just to cause some trouble? (Shoves Dorothea to another waiting deputy.) DOROTHEA (struggling as deputy escorts her out) Agh! Agh! SHERIFF You're a mite perkier in the flesh than you are in these photographs. I reckon we'll just take you along. For now. Just in case. Thelma's mother brings Thelma into a room at their house to be questioned by the sheriff SHERIFF Alright, I just wanna ask you some questions. MRS DAVIES It's going to be alright, darling. Mommy's going to be right here. Thelma sits down SHERIFF OK. You know what we think happened to your friend? (Thelma nods.) SHERIFF I'm very sorry. Now, your friend Elizabeth, she had some photographs in an envelope. Do you know how she got them? THELMA I took them. SHERIFF Why? THELMA 'Cause we saw them near the beach. SHERIFF But why take photos? THELMA 'Cause she made me. She did. Elizabeth. SHERIFF How did she make you? THELMA She twisted my arm. Like this. (Stands and demonstrates gently on the sheriff.) She hurt me. SHERIFF What happened then? THELMA She stopped twisting my arm. (Sits back down.) SHERIFF After you got the photographs, then what? THELMA She sent one to Robert. She asked for money. SHERIFF And she collected the money? THELMA (nodding) We both did. She made me. She said she was going to hurt me. SHERIFF What did she do with the money? THELMA She kept it. SHERIFF All of it? (Thelma nods.) SHERIFF She didn't give you any of it? (Thelma shakes her head.) THELMA Except for ten dollars for the other pictures. SHERIFF (squinting) What other pictures? THELMA About Robert and Dorothea. Stealing. In the newspaper. (Mrs. Davies turns around confused to look at the deputy behind her.) But she said he wouldn't do the pictures unless we paid for the chemicals. SHERIFF Have you still got those other pictures? About them stealing? THELMA (shrugs) I expect Richie's got them. SHERIFF (nods) That's fine. Then we'll get 'em from him. A waiting deputy holds the sliding door open and Uncle David enters, and the deputy closes the sliding glass door behind him. The sheriff stands up, walks over to Uncle David, looks at him without a word, walks back to Thelma, sits down on the arm of the couch next to Thelma SHERIFF The last time you saw Elizabeth, where was she headed to? THELMA To Robert's. SHERIFF What for? THELMA To get more money. SHERIFF But you didn't go with her? THELMA I didn't want to. SHERIFF Well didn't she say that she'd twist your arm? THELMA (nods once) Yes. SHERIFF Well? THELMA I ran away. She didn't catch me. SHERIFF And that was the last time that you saw her? (Thelma nods.) SHERIFF (stands) You're a lucky girl. We could be lookin' for two bodies. We'll have you bring 'er down later to make a formal statement. (Leaves the house MRS DAVIES (stands, sits down next to Thelma) What pictures was the sheriff looking for? Thelma, I'm asking you. THELMA (walks up to Uncle David) You believe me, Uncle David. UNCLE DAVID Of course I do. Of course Uncle David believes you. MRS DAVIES You heard what the sheriff said. I mean it might have been-- UNCLE DAVID (holding Thelma's shoulders affectionately) It wasn't! THELMA Can I get some ice cream? MRS DAVIES No, no, not now. UNCLE DAVID Let her go. We all need a change. Get back to the city. Forget about all this. (Hands Thelma a few dollars.) THELMA Thank you, Uncle David. A deputy is talking on telephone in an orange telephone booth FIRST DEPUTY OK, bye. SECOND DEPUTY What's happening? FIRST DEPUTY We got a call in... SECOND DEPUTY Let's go, then. The deputy starts towards his police car, stops, becomes alarmed when he doesn't see Robert Burger inside, draws his gun and cautiously approaches the side of the car, opens the door carefully. Robert, ducked behind the seat, flings the car door open into the deputy, runs off SECOND DEPUTY Damn! The deputy in the other car jumps out to chase Robert. The deputy that was knocked over struggles to his feet. Dorothy giggles at Robert getting away. The two deputies run up to an brick building , see nothing, and stop FIRST DEPUTY See 'im? SECOND DEPUTY Where is the son-of-a-bitch? Thelma, in white hat, is buying an ice cream at the downtown store. Mr. Manny hands her the ice cream MR MANNY Hey, you all been makin' the news. Naw, you keep it. You be a good girl, now. Have a nice day. Thelma looks at the camera ad again, inside the store. Outside, a store sign in the background reads SINCE 1905 The sheriff is riding in the passenger seat of a police car and is talking on the police radio SHERIFF Bullshit. Just get off your butts and find him. The son-of-a-bitchin' bank clerk. SHERIFF You talkin' to me, I don't wanna know nothin'. You just get him back inside. FIRST DEPUTY You're laughin' now, lady, but he better show up or he gets his head blowed off. Thelma is walking in town, eating an ice cream, Robert is hiding in a church and sees her through the window, coming in his direction ROBERT Thelma! Thelma! (Thelma stops walking.) Come on, come quick, quickly. (Thelma enters the church.) It has to be quick, I haven't much time. (Seats Thelma in a pew, sits in the pew behind her.) Why did you do it, Thelma? That's all I want to know, kid, why? I gave you the camera, couldn't hurt you, you had a good time with it. Why? I thought we were friends, aren't we? (Thelma nods.) ROBERT So what did I do? What? You don't like me? (Thelma nods.) You don't like Dotty? What? (Thelma thoughtfully licks her ice cream.) Ruin a man's life. You can't get pleasure out of that. Why're you ruining the one last shot I had? Maybe you think it's all a game. Well, now it's real life out there. They'll shoot me, Thelma. I don't get to walk home. Let me get rid of that. THELMA (shakes her head) No! (Slides away slightly on the pew.) ROBERT Yes, (Gets up to sit next to her.) but--look. Look, you understand? Yes, I think you do. (Brings Thelma to her feet.) Look. We're going to walk out of here together, with our hands up. And we're going to tell them that you took the gun. And that somebody stole it from you. We don't know who. We're going to tell them the truth. Look, we two- (Robert stops, kneels by her, holding her waist, looking at her.) --are going to tell them I took a little money from the bank. Well, who was going to notice it? It was--meant to buy a little sunshine for Dotty and me. If I'd had a little girl like you then perhaps I would never have done it. Maybe I would've stayed at (Stands, escorts Thelma to the door.) Look, we've--both been bad, you and me. So lets... both... make things right, hmm? Tell them what you did, and tell them what I did. That sound fair? All the sheriff has to do is talk to you. Hey! (Opens the church door.) Maybe they'll find fingerprints on the car. Maybe they'll find out who stole it. THELMA (pauses, then begins screaming) Eeeh! Eeeh! Eeeh! Eeeh! Eeeh! Eeeh!... A deputy is strolling with a shotgun and hears Thelma's screams. The waitress in The Grill Restaurant hears the screams and looks up. Robert goes running down the street towards the front of the furniture store, outside the window where the waitress and deputy are watching from inside. Robert runs towards the police car where Dorothea is sitting BYSTANDER What the hell's happening? DOROTHEA (waving Robert back) No! No! No! No! Back! No! FIRST DEPUTY Freeze! A police car comes screeching into the intersection and cuts Robert off. Robert reverses direction, runs around a corner just as a deputy does, deputy blasts him with a shotgun, Robert lands on the windshield of the police car in which Dorothea is sitting, shattering the windshield, and then rolls off dead onto his back DOROTHEA (hysterical) No! No! No-o-o! Uh...! Uh...! People are standing outside the businesses watching, one man comes out of a door to watch. Thelma nonchalantly eats her ice cream while watching everything, then wanders off causally, glancing over her shoulder a couple times. Behind the deputies are the corner brick wall, and signs for Marie's Laundryland and Dallas Furniture FIRST DEPUTY (walks up slowly to the car & body) Well, I heard the kid screamin', and he... ran at me... SHERIFF (as deputy puts a blanket over the body) Well, looks like you just saved the county the cost of a trial. Waves a police car over, which pulls up with its blue light flashing FIRST DEPUTY And some dude lawyer collecting his fee. What do you reckon happened to the money he stole? SHERIFF Sure as hell won't be comin' to you or me. (Dorothea is crying on the seat of the police car.) SHERIFF Come on, lady. Come on outta there, I wanna put you in this other car. (Dorothea gets out, dazed.) Right over here. Put her in. FIRST DEPUTY You reckon the D.A.'ll let her go free? (Dorothea gets in the police car.) SHERIFF Free as she'll ever be. (Police car with Dorothea leaves, turns on its siren as it rounds the corner.) Oyster Blues. Thelma is walking along the pilings at Bob Sikes Channel, eating her ice cream , tosses it down on the sand before she is completely done with it. In the distance a fishing boat is entering Bob Sikes Channel, returning from the gulf. Close up, on board the boat, we see Elizabeth sitting on deck, a patch on face and her arm in a sling. The word "SERVICE" is seen upside down and in reverse on the cloth wrapped around her. One of the crew comes up to her-- the same man in tan shorts who vaguely heard the shots earlier--pats her on the head, she smiles and talks with him. Freeze on her face. Aerial views of the Bob Sikes Channel at increasing distances, with the fishing boat entering the channel FADE OUT http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Bungalow/3832/index.html