Chapter 7:
SMASH ON
EXT. SAN MARTIN INLET POLICE STATION – MORNING
Detectives Rogers and Wayne pace back and forth in an interrogation room. Ashley is sitting there, fumbling with her hands.
ROGERS: And you didn't know the victim?
ASHLEY: Uh, why would I know a creepy old man with a boat?
WAYNE: Well, you were on his boat …
ASHLEY: Yes. And?
Rogers places a newspaper clipping down. It's a picture, a news article from the Woodsboro Massacre two years ago. Pictures of the victims. One of them was CASEY BECKER.
ROGERS: You're related to one of the victims from that massacre.
ASHLEY: Casey … she was my cousin … but I don't see …
WAYNE: And now a murder happens, similar in style to the previous killings. Tell me, how well do you know Billy Loomis and Tatum Riley?
ASHLEY: Well, we're friends …
WAYNE: Are you? Or is there some pent-up resentment that they made it out alive and your cousin didn't.
ROGERS: Wayne -.
WAYNE: It's an honest question.
ASHLEY : Casey was a Class-A bitch, she made everyone's lives miserable, not to mention my own. Trust me, I'm not that upset over her, we hadn't spoken in years. Er, not to implicate myself or anything …
WAYNE: Your friends said you vanished last night around the same as the killing? Care to explain that?
ASHLEY: Ugh, my ex-boyfriend Dylan showed up.
ROGERS: Your friends say you broke up because he was abusive.
ASHLEY: He was. That's why I broke up with him and agreed to go on this stupid trip in the first place.
WAYNE: Quite a coincidence though, that he happened to know where you would be and just magically showed up. And you just went off with a man that has hit you in the past?
ASHLEY: I wanted to tell him bug off, that we were done. I don't … I don't remember, the night was a blur … he gave me some BS sob story and I had a few drinks …
WAYNE: Are you admitting to underage drinking?
ROGERS: Wayne!
ASHLEY: The room was spinning, he offered to take me home … I don't remember us having sex but the roomies found him leaving my room.
WAYNE: Leaving your room after doing what?
ROGERS: WAYNE!
ASHLEY: That's all I can remember from last night, I swear. (Beat) Can I go now, I kinda want to hit the tanning salon.
CUT TO:
Shane is in the hot seat.
ROGERS: So … Ashley and Carrie don't seem to think too highly of you.
SHANE: Feh, Ash wants me, she just doesn't realize it yet.
ROGERS: Indeed? Then why did she go off with her ex-boyfriend?
SHANE: (changing the subject) Look, why would I kill some crazy captain? 'Cause I can't get with Ashley? 'Cause let me tell you something, I could have her just. Like. That.
CUT TO:
Greg is fidgeting nervously.
WAYNE: I hear you're good with a knife, Greg. You could gust a fish in five seconds flat.
GREG: Umm, well, I want to be a surgeon. Shouldn't, shouldn't I have a lawyer present or something?
ROGERS: And you went missing at the time of the murder.
GREG: I was on the phone with my girlfriend.
ROGERS: Girlfriend? We'll need her contact info.
GREG: Well … she called me on a private number …
ROGERS: You don't have her actual number?
GREG: We've … never actually met …
SPIN ON:
Bryson who is leaning forward, freaking out.
BRYSON: I've never been to prison before! Please, I can't be prison-bait!
WAYNE: No one says you're going to prison.
ROGERS: We just need to understand why someone would want to hurt him.
BRYSON: Billy and Tatum seem to think … well …
ROGERS: Go on …
BRYSON: The captain promised to keep an eye on us. They think someone killed him to put a stop to that.
WAYNE: And why would they want that?
BRYSON: (beat) Because they plan to kill again.
ROGERS: How well do you know Billy and Tatum?
BRYSON: Oh, we all go way back. Woodsboro High and all that. I was a year ahead of them, already in college when the whole Sidney Prescott thing happened.
WAYNE: And what about the others?
BRYSON: What about them? Shane, Greg, Ash, Carrie … they all went to Woodsboro High. They were in my year, graduated with me. But we were all friends. We all used to hang out before we graduated.
ROGERS: And what about Sidney Prescott?
BRYSON: What about her? We were all friends, but I never thought she was right for Billy. Feh. Turns out I was right.
WAYNE: Tell us – do you like scary movies?
CUT TO:
CARRIE: Love 'em!
WAYNE: And did you plan on enacting a real-life horror movie this week?
CUT TO:
PRUDENCE: I just wanted to get laid this week!
CUT TO:
WAYNE: You were missing at the time of the murder too, weren't you?
Sarah is sitting there, prim and proper, hands folded.
SARAH: I want a lawyer.
ROGERS: You're not under arrest and you're not a minor. Now tell us, how did you get mixed up with this group?
SARAH: (sighs) My boyfriend, Billy. I wanted to meet his friends, enjoy a nice week away.
WAYNE: Even if that meant that you would be forced to spend a week with his ex?
SARAH: I'm not the jealous type.
WAYNE: You're not? Then why'd you blow Billy off last night after she got engaged?
SARAH: (sighs) Billy's not over her. I was hoping he'd already put it past him … he just needs me, you know, to help him get past everything. To see what's right in front of him, what he could have with me, what I have to offer him. Much more than some rocker chick still living with her brother and his wife.
ROGERS: You sound pretty jealous to me, Sarah.
CUT TO:
Billy is now being questioned.
BILLY: Look, I went off on my own to walk the beach and do some thinking.
WAYNE: You went through a lot, Billy. Surviving a mass homicide perpetrated by your girlfriend, that's a tough hump to get over.
BILLY: It is …
ROGERS: So maybe in the stress of it, and the surprise of learning your ex is now engaged, you just snapped.
BILLY: I didn't kill anyone!
WAYNE: That remains to be seen.
BILLY: Besides, if you want my opinion, you should be questioning James.
ROGERS: Another jealous-type, huh? Really, you should forget Tatum – you and Sarah are a match made in heaven.
BILLY: You guys don't get it – if this the beginning of a sequel, then we're headed for another murder spree.
WAYNE: Why, you planning one?
BILLY: It's the lead girl or guy's partner, it always is. Last time it was Sidney. I'm telling you – this time, I think it's James.
WAYNE: Deflecting blame onto your ex's fiancé isn't a good way to profess your innocence, Billy.
WE SPIN TO:
JAMES: I think this all a little bit of an overreaction.
He's leaning back, his boots on their desk. Rogers pushes them off.
ROGERS: You seem a little too relaxed … a little over the top?
JAMES: No, I just think there's no way any of us could have done this. The Captain lived alone, ran a business … probably had people paying him under the table. A man like that could make a lot of enemies.
WAYNE: An enemy like you?
JAMES: C'mon. Do you honestly think lightning strikes twice?
ROGERS: And what about your engagement to Tatum?
JAMES: What about it? We're very excited.
WAYNE: And how long have you dated?
JAMES: A few months.
WAYNE: Really? Is that long enough to know whether you want to spend the rest of your life with a person?
JAMES: What can I say, when you know, you know.
WAYNE: But why pop the question last night? Especially with her ex present?
JAMES: I didn't know he was going to go off all crazy like that!
WAYNE: But wasn't it a little tactless … to do it in front of him?
JAMES: I admit, I wasn't really thinking that way. I was just excited …
WAYNE: And what about Tatum?
CUT TO:
The final questioner. Tatum sits there, fingers drumming.
TATUM: It's happening again.
ROGERS: How can you be so sure?
TATUM: How can you not? A guy killed in the same way as the victims last time, his corpse paraded about for the two survivors to see? The killer is sending us a message!
ROGERS: You seem to have given this a lot of thought.
TATUM: It's the curse of the sequel. It'll be bloated, filled with self-referential humor … and a much bigger body count. Mark my words, the bodies are going to pile and my friends and family are the prime targets! So get your asses to work before it happens again!
ROGERS: You're saying … your brother and sister-in-law are targets too?
TATUM: (sighing) They killed the captain because he was keeping an eye on us. Dewey comes here to do the same thing. (She motions with her hands as if to say 'hello'). Ergo … they'll be going after Dewey and Gale.
The soundtrack thuds.
CUT TO:
Rogers and Wayne are alone, Tatum having just left.
ROGERS: Well, that's the last of them.
WAYNE: Which ones did you find suspicious?
ROGERS: I found them all to be suspicious.
There's a knock at the door.
ROGERS: Come in.
The door is gingerly opened by Dewey. Gale shoves him out of the way, practically kicking the door open.
GALE: Alright. Give it to me. Who do you think did it?
WAYNE: We can't share …
DEWEY: I'm the Woodsboro Deputy. I can help you.
ROGERS: Then you should know, Deputy, that we can only accept information from you guys. We're not at liberty to divulge.
GALE: Okay, how about this? Two years ago, Sidney Prescott and Cotton Weary went on a murder spree. They confirmed all of the murders and the timeline matches … except for two victims.
DEWEY: Gale, we've discussed this before …
GALE: Dewey, you've had your suspicions too.
ROGERS: With all due respect, Mrs. Riley, what are you getting at?
GALE: Two victims were called and killed in a hotel. The coroner's report verified the time of death, but it didn't match the timeline. They died just after Sidney and Cotton were killed. Now tell me, unless we're dealing with zombies, how did Sidney and Cotton kill Veronica Tate and Brian Orth?
DEWEY: You two might as well give up, she'll argue till the sun winks out of existence.
ROGERS: Your precinct closed the case. There were no other suspects and the killing fit Sidney and Cotton's modus operandi. Once Sidney and Cotton were put down, the killings stopped. Besides, you don't exactly have a great track record when it comes to identifying who's guilty or innocent.
GALE: All that aside … you know that serial killers can sometimes go dormant. There can be intervals – cooldown periods – of months, years even, before they struck again. Remember the BTK Killer, Dennis Rader?
WAYNE: So why strike now? Why, after two years?
GALE: Because he's heating up again. More bodies are coming and if you don't act now, it'll be too late.
ROGERS: Let's say you're right. Let's say another killer murdered Veronica Tate and Stephen Orth? What's the connection with the captain?
GALE: There's no connection, the captain was only in the way. He was found with his eyes gouged out … the killer wants that beach house blinded …
And the soundtrack THUDS …
ROGERS: I'll follow your lead …
GALE: Thank you.
ROGERS: This time. Wayne, I'm leaving you in charge here. I'll take the three-hour drive to Woodsboro, visit this hotel. See what I can dig up about those two kids murdered there …
She ushers Gale and Dewey out the door, before shooting Wayne a dark look.