160 INT./EXT. HENRY'S TRUCK - NIGHT 160
Henry is neatly dressed, but informal, and drives up
Beachwood Canyon with a startled look on his face. IT'S
RAINING.
161 EXT. TERWILLIGERS' FRONT YARD - NIGHT 161
MUSIC
Henry pulls up in his old truck and leaves the engine
running. He climbs out of the cab, into the rain, and stands
there, looking uncertain. He reaches into the back of the
truck and pulls out a tire iron. He walks around to the front
of the truck and pops the hood. He uses the tire iron to
cancel the ignition - killing the engine. He throws the tire
iron into the bed and walks to the house. He rings the bell.
Philip opens the door holding the dregs of a martini. He's
drunk.
PHILIP
Henry, what on earth are you doing
here?
HENRY
Well, there's something that I need
to talk to you about.
Philip, waves him in.
PHILIP
Well, come in. Take off your shoes.
Can I get you a drink?
Henry takes off his shoes and his jacket. He shakes the rain
off.
HENRY
No. No thanks. Well... Actually.
Vodka. NO! I'd take a bourbon - if
you've got it.
PHILIP
Arleen!
Arleen materializes from the study looking at least as tense
as she did the first time she met Henry.
ARLEEN
What's he doing here?
PHILIP
I don't know. Why don't you fetch us
some drinks and we'll find out. Sit
down.
Philip gestures to the couch and Henry sits. Arleen looks
daggers at him as she takes their orders.
ARLEEN
What do you want?
HENRY
Bourbon. No ice.
PHILIP
And you know what? I'll take some of
that vodka that's in the freezer.
Straight up with a twist.
She goes into the kitchen.
PHILIP
(continuing)
You know I hardly recognized you in
normal clothes.
HENRY
Yeah.
PHILIP
You know, You probably think I'm a
hard-hearted son-of-a-gun, but I
don't care. Business, love or war,
you gotta learn to be responsible. If
you under-estimated this job, that's
your problem. But I'll bet you a
dollar you'll never make the same
mistake again.
HENRY
So you're teaching me a lesson?
PHILIP
Darn straight. And you'll thank me
for it someday. You know, you can
tell the baby not to touch a hot
stove a hundred times, or you can
burn him once and never say another
word about it.
Henry hoists up a smile. Arleen comes in with drinks.
PHILIP
(continuing)
Thank you darling. So what brings you
over here at this hour, Henry?
Arleen retreats to the kitchen.
HENRY
Well...
Philip takes a sip of his drink and instantly gets a dark
look on his face.
PHILIP
Excuse me.
Philip walks into the kitchen and Arleen follows him. Henry
sits on the sofa uncomfortably. This is not how he imagined
this going off. Suddenly there's a loud SMACK! AND THEN
BREAKING GLASS IN THE KITCHEN.
PHILIP
(continuing; O.S.)
Now pour me a real drink.
ARLEEN
I didn't-
ANOTHER SMACK FROM THE KITCHEN cuts Arleen short.
PHILIP
Don't talk back to me, you little
tart. Now, pour the drink.
Henry gets up and walks toward the kitchen, seeing
INTO
162 TERWILLIGERS' KITCHEN - NIGHT 162
Arleen is pouring another glass of vodka under Philip's close
watch. Philip takes a sip, throws the remainder in the sink
and goes after Arleen, who's retreated into a corner. Henry
steps into the kitchen.
HENRY
Hey! I'm the one you're after Philip!
Philip is startled.
PHILIP
You!?
HENRY
Yeah, I watered it down.
PHILIP
Why?
HENRY
Well, I spilled it and I didn't want
you thinking...
ARLEEN
You spilled it!
Philip jerks his arm and Arleen flinches. Philip laughs.
HENRY
I was going to replace it.
PHILIP
You're darn right you're going to
replace it. Did you really think I
wouldn't notice?
HENRY
No sir.
Philip laughs again and jabs his finger at Arleen.
PHILIP
This doesn't change anything from
before.
While Arleen bends and starts picking up the broken glass,
Philip pours the vodka down the drain. Arleen throws the big
pieces away and gets a broom and a dust pan.
PHILIP
(continuing)
As you can see, you're not the first
person to water down my drinks.
HENRY
She's probably just concerned about
your health.
PHILIP
Yeah, well, she ought to be thinking
about her own health.
Philip goes into the liquor cabinet and pulls out some
whiskey.
PHILIP
(continuing)
She's a good wife.
Arleen puts away the broom and goes into the freezer.
PHILIP
(continuing)
But, in the end...
Philip makes a gesture to smack Arleen and she flinches again.
PHILIP
(continuing)
You see that?
As Philip comes back toward Henry to pour his drink, Arleen
pulls a large block of ice out of the freezer.
PHILIP
(continuing)
It comes down to discipline. If you
let go of discipline, you've got
chaos. And when you've got chaos,
people get hurt. Hell, people get
killed.
As Arleen raises the block of ice and lunges toward Philip,
Henry quickly slips around him and catches the block of ice,
wrestling it out of her hands like a greased watermelon.
HENRY
Oh great! Let me help you with that.
Henry clumsily maneuvers the thing onto the counter.
HENRY
(continuing)
I was just about to ask you for some
ice. You read my mind.
PHILIP
What in Sam Hill...
HENRY
And these big old blocks make much
better ice than you'll get out of
trays. Have you got an ice pick?
PHILIP
Where the heck did this come from?
HENRY
I'll bet you read about it in that
magazine, right?
Henry winks frantically at Arleen.
HENRY
(continuing)
It's all the rage. The ice trucks are
back.
PHILIP
But we've got a perfectly good
refrigerator that makes ice here.
HENRY
No, no, no! Big ice is big right now.
Arleen is rummaging through the drawers for an ice pick.
HENRY
(continuing)
Some Hepcat nightclub started serving
drinks with it and word got around
that it's the only ice worth putting
on drinks. It's got to do with the
molecules. And the speed at which
it's frozen. I think it's supposed to
melt slower or something.
Arleen finds the ice pick and Henry sees her raising it above
her head and plunging toward Philip's neck.
PHILIP
Well, I'll be darned. I thought we'd
seen the last of this stuff.
Henry sticks his hand out over Philip's head to intercept
Arleen's ice pick, accidentally getting it right through his
own hand - right to the hilt.
HENRY
Agh!
Henry grabs the handle with the fingers of the skewered hand
and wrenches it from Arleen's grasp, pulling it quickly
behind his back. He disguises his pain as wild enthusiasm, as
he reaches behind with his un-injured hand and extracts the
pick.
HENRY
(continuing)
That's the ticket! Thanks, Arleen.
He holds up the pick ceremoniously then quickly sticks it in
his armpit and yanks it out again, clean.
HENRY
(continuing)
Clean it off a little. And...
Henry lays the point against the ice block and clenches his
injured hand behind his back. Philip is a little confused by
Henry's strange behavior, but still oblivious to his wife's
murderous intentions.
HENRY
(continuing)
I don't suppose you have a nice
mallet?
PHILIP
No, you don't need a mallet for that.
Here...
Philip takes the ice pick from Henry and starts chipping away
the block.
PHILIP
(continuing)
I used to do this all the time.
Henry steps away from the counter and looks at his injured
hand, he looks at Arleen. She is looking for a mallet and
looking at Henry.
PHILIP
(continuing)
My mother always let me break up the
ice. I don't know why, but I always
got a big kick out of it. I suppose
it made me feel like a big kid,
getting to use a dangerous weapon...
While Philip savages the ice block and blathers on about the
past, Arleen and Henry SILENTLY MOUTH the following
conversation.
ARLEEN
What are you doing!?
HENRY
I'm going to tell him everything.
ARLEEN
No! You can't!
HENRY
You can't kill him!
ARLEEN
Try and stop me.
PHILIP
- I can't imagine what possessed you
to get block ice, darling. But, I
must say, it's kind of a novelty,
isn't it? Oops!
Chunks of ice are flying all over the place. Arleen pulls a
mallet out of a drawer, and, as Philip bends to pick up a
piece of chipped ice, she raises it. Henry leaps over Philip
and grabs her arm. He finds himself holding her like a dance
partner. Since there seems no way of justifying this action,
Henry goes with it.
HENRY
Hey, let's dance! We got big ice all
we need is a little music! Ta dum ta
dah. Dee dee dee dee dum, ta dah...
Henry scats out a swing beat and twirls around the kitchen
with Arleen - who still has the mallet clasped in her hand.
Henry leads Arleen through increasingly complex dance moves
while Philip watches with growing unease. Henry tips Arleen
back and stares into her eyes. Arleen pushes Henry away.
Henry faces Philip, who's sipping his whiskey.
HENRY
(continuing)
I'm in love with your wife.
PHILIP COUGHS his drink.
PHILIP
What?
Henry just sets his jaw and stares him down. Arleen steps
away from him. Philip sets down his drink and bristles.
PHILIP
(continuing)
NO ONE is in love with my wife!
It sounds like a statement.
HENRY
No. I am. I'm in love with her.
Philip bristles. Arleen looks like she's swallowed a wasp.
PHILIP
This is ridiculous.
HENRY
Why?
PHILIP
Is this what you came over here to
tell me?
HENRY
Yeah.
Philip takes a hold of his lapels and SHOUTS IN HIS FACE LIKE
A DRILL SERGEANT.
PHILIP
Well, I'll give you about a second to
rescind it, punk.
HENRY
Why? there's no law against it. You
should try it.
PHILIP
You want to talk about laws? I'll
have you so deep in the law you'll
have to ask permission to go crap. Do
you hear me?!
HENRY
Loud and clear.
Henry sees Arleen pick up the ice block again and raise it
over her head. She comes toward Philip.
Henry shoves Philip into her, throwing off her calculations.
Husband and wife collide, the block of ice goes over Philip's
head and lands CRUNCH! on Henry's foot.
HENRY
(continuing)
Agghhh! Shit!
Philip, still oblivious to Arleen's motives, construes
Henry's shove as an invitation to fight. Henry, who's busy
SCREAMING AT HIS FOOT, doesn't see Philip's uppercut coming.
Philip's blow spins Henry around into the counter. Philip
winds up for another punch, but Arleen catches his arm. He
spins and punches her, giving Henry just enough time to
recover. When Philip turns around, Henry decks him. Philip
slides to the floor and Henry stares at the blood that's
spurting out of both sides of the ice pick wound. Arleen is
holding her jaw.
HENRY
(continuing)
Maybe you should put some ICE ON
THAT, ARLEEN!
Arleen glowers at him. Philip wipes blood off his lip and
stands up again.
PHILIP
You're fired.
HENRY
Fine.
PHILIP
Now get out of here before I call the
police.
Henry and Arleen don't take their eyes off each other. Philip
notices that Henry isn't looking at him.
HENRY
Not until she tells me to.
PHILIP
Why, you...
Philip attacks him again. They careen around the kitchen.
ARLEEN
Stop it!
HENRY
Arleen. You've got to tell him.
ARLEEN
Philip, don't listen to him. He's
crazy!
Arleen runs out of the room.
HENRY
Goddamn it. I didn't come over here
to fight with you. You chiseling,
opportunistic shit heel. I'm only
concerned about your wife and what's
going to happen to her, after I WALK
OUT THE DOOR. TONIGHT. FOREVER. COME
ON ARLEEN, TELL HIM!
Henry pins Philip to the floor.
HENRY
(continuing)
She doesn't love you, she's just
scared. Why don't you to let her go?
PHILIP
I'd sooner kill you both.
HENRY
You know, it's funny. I think she
feels the same way.
A GUNSHOT IS FIRED IN THE BEDROOM. Henry is slow to act.
PHILIP
God DAMN it. Who's firing a weapon in
the house?