Boonville

Scene 4

INT. SHERIFF’S OFFICE. DAY.

FADE IN on a window looking up at the sky. We hear birds singing. Branches blow in a light wind.

ZOOM OUT: slowly revealing the SHERIFF'S OFFICE. Walls are white, a few brown shelves are crammed with books.

TRAVIS is sitting at a desk. HOLDEN enters.

HOLDEN: You feel like doing any talking yet?

TRAVIS: Should I have a lawyer?

HOLDEN: I don’t have a crime yet. If I don’t have a crime, you shouldn’t need a lawyer.

TRAVIS: If you don’t have a crime, how long do you plan on keeping me here?

HOLDEN: I’ve got a missing kid whose friend tells me was followed by a stranger they fought with earlier in the evening. I got a missing camper a week after that same stranger blew into town. I figure I’ll keep holding on to that stranger until I run out of questions or until I find that boy, whichever comes first.

TRAVIS: What do you think I know about that camper?

HOLDEN: Oh, I think I’d rather know about you following those boys last night.

TRAVIS: I told you. I had no idea those boys were out there. We had a fight at the bar, but that was the last time I saw them.

HOLDEN: Must have been a big surprise to find your window smashed.

TRAVIS: As a matter of fact, it was.

HOLDEN: Didn’t think to give us a call though.

TRAVIS: I didn’t know what happened, and there was no one around when I got to my truck.

HOLDEN: Yet Frank Styles tells me he smashed it after you attacked Jesse Simpson in the woods.

TRAVIS: He probably did smash it.

HOLDEN: You said you didn’t know they were there.

TRAVIS: I didn’t.

HOLDEN: You didn’t follow them?

TRAVIS: They followed me.

HOLDEN: And what were you doing out on Murtha Road?

Travis is silent.

HOLDEN: Sure does get some strange reactions, doesn’t it? I talked to your friend Danielle McBride earlier. When I mentioned Murtha Road, she got real nervous too. What’s going on that I should know about?

TRAVIS: Look, Sheriff. No matter what you find, that girl ain’t got nothing to do with it. I was a little frustrated last night. We were drinking beer, having a good time, and she came back to my place. Get back there, and she passed right out. I went for a drive. I like to walk in the woods. I picked a good spot and decided to wander for a while. When I came back, my window was smashed, and there was no one around.

HOLDEN: Didn’t call us about the window?

Travis is about to speak when Deputy PENDLETON enters.

HOLDEN: What is it, Dick?

PENDLETON: Sheriff, can I speak to you in the hall?

HOLDEN and PENDLETON exit.

SLOW PAN across the sheriff's office. We see framed pictures of HOLDEN's family and children. Shelves are crammed with books on law enforcement. Continue pan across office to the desk, and to TRAVIS, who sits staring straight ahead. He is not shackled.

Holden returns.

CLOSEUP: HOLDEN. He is under control, but his eyes betray brutal rage.

HOLDEN: Seems I’ve got my crime.

TRAVIS sighs and looks down.

TRAVIS: If it’s that boy, I got no idea what happened to him.

HOLDEN: I’ll give you the choice if you want to come with me or wait in a cell until I get back.

Travis says nothing.

HOLDEN: Very good then. Deputy Pendleton will be in to read your rights.

Holden exits.

Continued 8/15