Monster (10 page)

 

O'BRIEN

 

How about the money? Weren't you supposed to split the money up?

 

BOBO

 

When we found out the guy was dead, we decided to lay low.

 

O'BRIEN

 

Who is the “we” who decided to lay low?

 

BOBO

 

Me and King.

 

O'BRIEN

 

Thank you; nothing further.

 

CUT TO: PETROCELLI, adjusting her glasses.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Prior to the robbery, just before the robbery, what were you and Mr. King doing?

 

BOBO

 

Just before we went in?

 

PETROCELLI

 

Yes, just before you went in, what were you doing?

 

BOBO

 

Waiting for him to come out.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Who are you referring to when you say “him”?

 

BOBO

 

Him, that guy sitting over there.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Let the record show that Mr. Evans is referring to Steve Harmon. Nothing further.

 

O'BRIEN

 

(Stands quickly.)
But you had not spoken to Mr. Harmon prior to the stickup?

 

BOBO

 

Naw.

 

O'BRIEN

 

And you didn't speak to him after the stickup or split any money with him?

 

BOBO

 

I told you we decided to lay low. We would have given him his cut later when things cooled down.

 

O'BRIEN

 

Did that time ever come?

 

BOBO

 

I don't know what King did.

 

O'BRIEN

 

But as far as you know, there was no money given to Mr. Harmon.

 

BOBO

 

I don't know what King done.

 

O'BRIEN

 

Nothing further.

 

CUT TO: MS of JURORS from STEVE's point of view (POV). One JUROR, a middle-aged man, looks directly toward the camera for a long time. The camera then moves away as if STEVE has turned away from the accusing stare.

 

PETROCELLI

 

The people rest.

 

FADE OUT.

 

FADE IN: Concentric colorful circles and hurdy-gurdy music: A hustling, bustling CARTOON CITY comes alive on the screen. Then a small CARTOON MAN, dressed in an old-fashioned night-gown, looks out of his window.

 

CARTOON MAN (shouting)

 

The people rest!

 

On-screen all CARTOON CHARACTERS stop, cars screech to a stop, and then everybody sleeps. The people are resting.

 

CUT TO: INTERIOR: COURTROOM.

 

JUDGE

 

I'll take motions this afternoon after lunch. The defense can start its case the first thing in the morning. It's a nice day out, and we'll adjourn and give the jury the rest of the day off unless somebody has an objection.

 

We see the JURY leave, then the various parties leave in turn. We see MRS. HARMON come over and talk to O'BRIEN. STEVE's MOTHER is disturbed as a COURT OFFICER comes over and stands near STEVE.

 

FADE OUT.

Tuesday, July 14th

Miss O'Brien came to see me this afternoon. She looked tired. She said that Bobo's testimony hurt us a lot and that she had to find a way to separate me from King, but King's lawyer wanted to make sure the jury connected us because I looked like a pretty decent guy. She talked to me for almost an hour. Several times she patted me on the hand. I asked her if that meant that she thought we were going to lose the case. She said no, but I don't believe her.

I am so scared. My heart is beating like crazy and I am having
trouble breathing. The trouble I'm in keeps looking bigger and bigger. I'm overwhelmed by it. It's crushing me.

It is a nice day on the outside. On the street below, people walk in what looks like a crisscross pattern across the narrow streets. There are yellow cabs inching along. On the corner there is a cart that sells food, frankfurters or sausages I guess, and sodas. People stand around buying what they want, then move away. It looks like something I would like to do, move away from where I am.

Tomorrow we start our case, and I don't see what we are going to do. I hear myself thinking like all
the other prisoners here, trying to convince myself that everything will be all right, that the jury can't find me guilty because of this reason or that reason. We lie to ourselves here. Maybe we are here because we lie to ourselves.

Lying on my cot, I think of everything that has happened over the last year. There was nothing extraordinary in my life. No bolt of lightning came out of the sky. I didn't say a magic word and turn into somebody different. But here I am, maybe on the verge of losing my life, or the life I used to have. I can understand why they take your shoelaces and belt
from you when you're in jail.

Miss O'Brien made me write down all the people in my life who I love and who love me. Then I had to write down the people who I admire. I wrote down Mr. Sawicki's name twice.

Mr. Briggs will present King's defense first. Miss O'Brien will go second, but she says she has to be careful because if she says anything that makes King look bad and Mr. Briggs attacks her, it will look bad for me.

“We can use some friends,” she said.

When she left and I had to go back to the cell area, I was more
depressed than I have been since I've been here. I wish Jerry were here. Not in jail, but somehow with me. What would I say to him? Think about all the tomorrows of your life. Yes, that's what I would say. Think about all the tomorrows of your life.

When the lights went out, I think I heard someone crying in the darkness.

 

FADE IN: INTERIOR: COURTROOM: DOROTHY MOORE is on the stand. She is a brown-skinned, fairly pleasant-looking woman. She looks sincerely at ASA BRIGGS.

 

BRIGGS

 

And what time do you remember Mr. King coming to your home that afternoon?

 

MOORE

 

Three thirty.

 

BRIGGS

 

And you're sure of the time?

 

MOORE (confidently)

 

I am quite sure, sir.

 

BRIGGS

 

Nothing more.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Mrs. Moore, how often does Mr. King come to your house?

 

MOORE

 

About twice a month. He's my cousin.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Do you remember the purpose of the visit?

 

MOORE

 

He was just dropping by. He saw a lamp that he thought I might like and he brought it by. We talked about Christmas coming up.

 

PETROCELLI

 

He bought the lamp for you?

 

MOORE

 

Yes, he did.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Do you remember if he was working at the time? Did he have a job?

 

MOORE

 

I don't think so.

 

PETROCELLI

 

And still he took his money to buy you a lamp. You remember how much the lamp cost?

 

MOORE

 

No, I don't.

 

PETROCELLI

 

But that was nice of him, wasn't it?

 

MOORE (subdued)

 

I think it was.

 

PETROCELLI

 

And you like him a lot, don't you?

 

MOORE

 

I wouldn't lie for him, if that's what you're saying.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Before this visit, when did you last see Mr. King?

 

MOORE

 

I guess a few weeks before that. I don't know the exact date.

 

PETROCELLI

 

What kind of work was he looking for?

 

MOORE

 

Just a job. I don't know.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Does he have a driver's license?

 

MOORE

 

I don't know.

 

PETROCELLI

 

You really don't know a lot about your cousin, do you?

 

MOORE

 

I know I saw him that day.

 

PETROCELLI (condescendingly)

 

And what do you do for a living?

 

MOORE

 

I do day's work, but I wasn't working that week, because I had hurt my ankle. I went to the doctor that Monday, and you can check that.

 

PETROCELLI

 

You don't have to verify what you were doing, Mrs. Moore. Did anybody see Mr. King at your home on that day?

 

MOORE

 

I don't think so.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Do you still have the lamp? The lamp Mr. King so kindly bought for you?

 

MOORE

 

It broke.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Should I take that to mean you no longer have the lamp?

 

MOORE

 

They don't make things to last anymore. I think it was made in Korea or someplace like that.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Again, should I take that to mean that you no longer have the lamp?

 

MOORE

 

I don't have it now, but I did have it.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Yes, of course. Thank you. Nothing further.

 

CUT TO: GEORGE NIPPING on stand. He is about 50 and wears wire-rimmed glasses. He speaks precisely and generally makes a good impresssion.

 

BRIGGS

 

Mr. Nipping, do you know, as a matter of fact, if Mr. King is right-handed or left-handed?

 

NIPPING

 

He's left-handed. I know that because when he was a kid, I went out and bought him a glove, a baseball glove, and I had to take it back because he was left-handed.

 

BRIGGS

 

Have you ever known him to do anything of significance with his right hand?

 

NIPPING

 

No, I've never seen him use his right hand for anything.

 

We see STEVE writing on a pad.

 

CUT TO: The pad. O'BRIEN is writing a note under STEVE's question, which reads “What's that about?” She writes: “The wound was on the left side of the body, which might mean that the shooter was right-handed. It's a weak argument.”

 

BRIGGS

 

And for the record, how long have you known Mr. King?

 

NIPPING

 

I'd say about 17 to 18 years.

 

BRIGGS

 

Thank you.

 

CUT TO: NIPPING on stand facing PETROCELLI.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Have you ever seen Mr. King shoot a man?

 

NIPPING

 

No, I haven't.

 

PETROCELLI

 

So when he shoots a gun, you don't know what hand he uses. Is that right?

 

BRIGGS

 

Objection!

 

PETROCELLI (ignoring objection)

 

If Mr. King was struggling with someone and the gun happened to be on the right side, do you know what he would do?

 

NIPPING

 

No, I don't.

 

PETROCELLI

 

Nothing further.

 

CUT TO: FILM CLASS. MS of MR. SAWICKI.

 

SAWICKI

 

There are a lot of things you can do with film, but you don't have an unlimited access to your audience. In other words, keep it simple. You tell the story; you don't look for the camera technician to tell the story for you. When you see a filmmaker getting too fancy, you can bet he's worried either about his story or about his ability to tell it.

 

CUT TO: INTERIOR: ROOM where lawyers meet with their clients. SPLIT SCREEN: One side is O'BRIEN, pacing nervously. On the other side is STEVE, sitting.

 

O'BRIEN

 

You're going to have to take the stand—look at the jury and let the jury look at you—and say that you're innocent. I know the judge will tell the jury not to infer anything if you don't take the stand, but I believe that the jury wants to hear from you. I think they want to hear your side of the story. Can you handle it?

 

We see STEVE nodding in the affirmative.

 

O'BRIEN

 

The prosecutor's strongest point against you is the connection between you and King. She has Bobo admitting to being in on the robbery and his link to King. You've told me you know King. I don't know why you've chosen this man as an acquaintance, but it's going to hurt you big-time if you don't manage to get some distance between you and him in the eyes of the jury. You're going to have to break the link. He's sitting there looking surly. Maybe he thinks he's tough;
I don't know. I do know you'd better put some distance between yourself and whatever being a tough guy represents.

 

You need to present yourself as someone the jurors can believe in. Briggs isn't going to put King on the stand. That helps you, but when he sees us separating you from him, he's going to realize that his client is in trouble.

 

STEVE

 

How do you know he won't testify?

 

O'BRIEN

 

King made a statement to the police when he was arrested. He said he didn't know Bobo. But the prosecution can prove that's a lie. So if he takes the stand, they can use his own statements against him and he's cooked. If you don't testify, you'll just make the tie between you and King stronger in the mind of the jury. I think you have to testify. And the way you spend the rest of your youth might well depend on how much the jury believes you.

 

STEVE

 

That woman said that King was with her.

 

O'BRIEN

 

Right, but Petrocelli didn't even bother with a lengthy cross-examination. Did you notice that? She dismissed Mrs. Moore with her tone of voice. A cousin who likes him testifes that he was with her. Big deal. Against all the evidence against him, it doesn't count for very much. His lawyer is going to rely on his closing argument to win the case, and I don't think that's going to be effective unless he's very, very lucky. Cases are won on closing arguments only on television, not in a real courtroom.

 

SINGLE MS: We see STEVE nodding, but he is looking down. We see O'BRIEN looking at him, studying him closely. She sits down and takes a deep breath.

 

O'BRIEN

 

(Puts a paper cup on the table.)
Okay, Steve, now stay with me. We're going to play a
little game. I'm going to take this cup and place it on the table. Then I'm going to ask you some questions. When I like the answers you give me, I'll leave the cup facing up. When I don't like the answers, I'll turn it upside down. You figure out what's wrong with the answer you gave me. All right?

 

STEVE

 

Why?
(O'BRIEN doesn't answer. Then we see STEVE nod his assent.)

 

O'BRIEN

 

Did you know James King?

 

STEVE

 

No?

 

CUT TO: O'BRIEN turns the cup down.

 

STEVE

 

Yeah, casually.

 

CUT TO: O'BRIEN turns the cup up.

 

O'BRIEN

 

When was the last time you spoke to him before the robbery?

 

STEVE

 

Last summer?

 

CUT TO: O'BRIEN turns the cup down.

 

STEVE

 

I don't know for sure. I mean, he's not like a guy I talk with a lot.