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YOKNAPATAWPHA COUNTY SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
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Investigating Officer(s): Det. S. Murphy, Det. T. Armstrong
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Incident No.: 002221-15H-2004
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Case Description: Corwin Fitz Homicide
This is the opening scene of Fitz's movie, Bacchanals'
Destruction, taken as
evidence (Evidence # 002221-03) from the master bedroom of the film crew's lodge. Caution: Rough language and
situations.
EXT--LONESOME COUNTRY ROAD, DAY
It's a swarthy afternoon down South. Traveling this stretch, one is
likely to encounter various forms of dilapidation. The world is vast and
falling. At one particularly lonesome stretch, BEECH, a young black
hitchhiker, is resting in the partial shade of a road sign. A
nuts-and-bolts economy car rattles down the road and passes him, then
slows to a stop and backs up.
Two men are in the car. The passenger, KENNY, is middle-aged and
road-whipped, or so it seems. He has a couple of day's worth of stubble,
and his business attire looks worn from routine. The driver, RALDLER, is in
his early twenties; he looks as if he were held at gunpoint and made to
comb his ratty hair and change his clothes, but still refused to shave.
Kenny rolls down the window...
KENNY
(to BEECH)
Ain't gonna get too far sittin' on your knees, boy.
BEECH
What can I say? Traffic's slow today, and the sun's 'bout to eat
me alive.
KENNY
Damn right it is. Where ya headed?
BEECH
Jackson.
KENNY
Jackson? That's a helluva stretch. What's a matter, your daddy
beatin' on ya?
BEECH
Naw, I don't reckon he is.
KENNY
Well, ain't you lucky. Get in.
BEECH climbs in the backseat and the little economy car sputters off
into the haze.
CUT TO:
INT--CAR, SAME
KENNY
You seem like a trusting fella. Most people these days wouldn't
get in a car with a couple of rogues like us.
BEECH
Most white folks 'round here wouldn't stop to give me a ride
either.
KENNY
Yeah, well, white or black, all people are bull****, you hear
me?
Everyone is silent, only the blues on the radio and the road noise
are heard.
KENNY
(cutting off radio)
Turn this s*** off. I wanna talk to our new friend here. What's
your name?
BEECH
Beech.
KENNY
Beech?
BEECH
That's right.
KENNY
Well... Beech. You in trouble or somethin', I mean, why you
scramblin' through the Delta on a day hot as this? You lookin' to become
roadkill?
The car swerves. Raldler looks tense behind the wheel.
KENNY
S***, boy!
RALDLER
Sorry. Armadillo.
KENNY
Rather a dead armadillo than whiplash, ain't that right,
Beech? Now, why was it you're out here wearing holes in your shoes?
BEECH
I'm just tryin' to start over. I done been in all the trouble I
care to be in, so I'm goin' somewhere where it might not can find me.
KENNY
You can't hide from trouble. And that'll be the first thing you
learn out here on the mean highway. Trouble is a slick bastard. Just ask
my boy. Trouble is sho nuff gonna find his little prancin' ass. You
know, Beech, some people have to die before they wake up.
Raldler bobbles the wheel again. Kenny screws up his face in disgust.
KENNY
I smell s***. Beech, did you s*** yourself, boy?
BEECH
No.
KENNY
No, I think you s*** yourself for fear of this knucklehead's
driving.
(to Raldler)
Why don't you pull over someplace and let somebody
drive who ain't gonna get us killed. And that would be me!
Raldler shoots Beech a worried look in the rearview mirror, then pulls
the car to the shoulder. Kenny gets out and Raldler slides over into the
passenger seat.
RALDLER
(on the sly, to Beech)
You picked the wrong day to go to Jackson,
friend. Or the wrong car to get in one. You and me both are f****d. This
guy's lost his marbles.
BEECH
Oh s***. You don't know him?
RALDLER
S*** no, man. I just started working with him today, and he's
already pulled a gun on me.
BEECH
Oh s***.
RALDLER
You ain't packin' are you?
BEECH
Naw, man.
RALDLER
Well, then... Just let me handle this.
Kenny gets in. The awkward silence hangs heavy.
KENNY
What are y'all f**** sayin'?
RALDLER
Nothin' man, just--
BEECH
I was just tellin' him that I can get out right here, it'd be
cool--
Kenny pulls off quickly, before Beech can get to the door.
KENNY
What's a matter, Beech? You feelin' sick back there?
BEECH
Kinda.
KENNY
Well, maybe you need to see a doctor or somethin'.
BEECH
Maybe, yeah.
KENNY
Yeah? Well, you know, I'm a doctor.
BEECH
You don't say...
KENNY
(angry)
I just f*****' did say, didn't I! Goddamn, you f*****'
kids are so cynical these days. Like the world is some kinda game. How old
are you, Beech?
BEECH
Twenty-three.
KENNY
Twenty-three years old. You know, when I was 23, I had a job
and earned enough money to buy a car. I didn't hang out on the side of
the road with one thumb in the wind and the other stuck up my ***, Beech.
I didn't rely on other people's charity to get me where I wanted to go.
You hearin' me?
The car is silent, dangerous.
RALDLER
Hey, man, maybe you should just let him out. I'm sure there's a
gas station or somethin' right up--
Raldler is interrupted by a pistol report. Kenny has just pulled a gun
and shot Raldler in the chest. Blood sprays the windshield, and Raldler lies lifeless.
BEECH
(whispering)
Oh s***.
Beech whimpers, trying not to ruffle any more feathers.
KENNY
(to Raldler)
Don't ever talk back to your elders, hot shot! I
guess you blew it! Ha, ha, ha....
Kenny seems as if his tension has been released by this act. He
lights a cigarette and basks in the highway wind.
KENNY
You know what this means?
BEECH
(in tears)
Wh- what's that?
KENNY
You're gonna have to help me carry out my plan. You see, my
kid, he's been runnin' around tellin' his ma and his principal and all
kinda folks that I been beatin' and molestin' him, you know what I'm
sayin'.
BEECH
(feeble)
Uh-huh.
KENNY
Truth be told, it's him and his
friends that's molestin' each other. I seen it, Beech. Walked
up in the middle of the s***.
So I'm
goin' down to the old school house and takin' him down, along with
all his f***** friends. There's so many of
them squirmin'
f***** that it'll
take two men to do the job. You hear me?
Beech can't even squeeze out a response, he's so jolted.
KENNY
This kid here ain't got the heart for it.
(Bursts into laughter)
Kenny looks at Beech in the rearview mirror.
KENNY
(menacing)
What the f***'s the matter with you?
Beech can't respond.
KENNY
You with me or what?
CUT TO:
EXT--ROADSIDE, SAME
Kenny whips the car to the shoulder and gets out. He jerks
Beech out of the backseat and sticks the gun in his face.
KENNY
You ain't tellin' me you're a softy too, are you? C'mon, man,
you said you know trouble. Hell, man, if this ain't it...
BEECH
(babbling)
What are you doin', man?
KENNY
You think I'm a maniac? Well, maybe I am. But it's people like
you made me that way! Now, you wanna die in this cotton patch here, or
you wanna end it right now?
Kenny hands Beech the gun and backs off.
KENNY
C'mon, kid! Shoot me! C'mon, trouble man!
Beech twitches with fear as Kenny taunts him. Beech raises the gun.
Kenny charges and Beech fires. Kenny's chest explodes and he falls to the
dirty highway, rolling in a fit of spasms. Finally he gives and lies
still as Beech reels in horror, his face glistening with tears. Beech
surveys the scene, then checks the road. He wipes the gun with his
shirt, throws it on the ground, and runs into the woods.
The murder scene is still as Beech vanishes in the thicket. Suddenly,
Kenny raises his head to look for his killer. He grins and stands up,
then begin to laugh. Inside the car, a bloody Raldler raises up and looks
out the window, then laughs.
CUT TO:
EXT--ROAD, LATER
A bottle smashes against a road sign.
INT--CAR, SAME
The music is blaring, the car is speeding and the passengers are
still covered in what appears to be blood. Raldler is half leaning out the
window from his bottle toss.
RALDLER
Woo! s***, man, that's a rush!
KENNY
The thrill of a good performance. We just give that boy some
damn fine entertainment, and it didn't cost him nothin', except a little
wear on his wits. But he'll be alright in ... oh, I don't know. Thirty
years maybe.
(Laughs)
RALDLER
You're the maestro, Kenny! You had me scared.
KENNY
Well, that's the thing. You adapt yourself to that mindset. If
you ain't got it in ya, you can't pull it off. It's just like that kid.
He becomes a performer too.
RALDLER
Unwilling, maybe, but...
KENNY
But who willingly comes to the world stage, Raldler? Who decides
what roles they play?
RALDLER
(laughs)
Us.
KENNY
It's funny what a man can see and hear in a matter of minutes
that'll turn him from a regular old hitchhiker into a cold-blooded
killer.
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