Twisted Minds

Trou Normand

GRAFTON, WEST VIRGINIA - BEACH - DAY

WILL GRAHAM walks across chilly winter beach, past LOCAL POLICE closing off the CRIME SCENE, toward Jack Crawford, Caroline Bailie, Beverly Katz, Jimmy Price and Brian Zeller. They are looking up at a grotesque TOTEM POLE, a crazily artistic vertical display made up of HUMAN BODY PARTS (from a lot of bodies). Dried dead faces mark it at regular intervals getting FRESHER and FRESHER as they reach the top.

The HEADPIECE is the BRUTALIZED BODY of a recently murdered MAN His bones and joints have been broken, so that his legs SPREAD out from either side like WINGS. His head and torso lean forward like a HAWK, ready to pounce with dead eyes.

Around the TOTEM POLE, the field shows SEVEN RECENTLY DUG SHALLOW GRAVES, like dark earthen wounds in the sand. BLOOD SPLATTER marks the base of the TOTEM POLE. Will pulls ASPIRIN from his pocket and chews two. "I got ten heads and counting..." Beverly says as she counts and circles the Totem pole. "The world's sickest jigsaw puzzle." Zeller comments from the 'peanut gallery'. "Where are the corners?....My mom always said "start a jigsaw with the corners"" Jimmy says as the other two look at him with strange looks.

"I guess the heads are the corners?" Zeller Says as he watches Beverley circle the TOTEM POLE, counting body parts. "We've got too many corners. Seven graves. Way more heads." Beverly exclaims as she has a specific look on her face, one of disgust? No disdain.

"It's a totem pole." Will says as he looks at the Totem Pole. "The headpiece is the only recent victim. The others are years, even decades old. At least seven of them were buried on the beach." Jack explains, as they watch the scene before them.

"Whoever dug them up knew exactly where they were buried." Will says as he starts to examine and analyze what he can see. "Killing them once wasn't enough. He came back to defile his victims." Jack says as he stares at the Totem Pole. "These graves weren't desecrated, Jack. They were exposed." Says Caroline as she smiles at Will coming up from behind them and stands beside him.

FIELD - MOMENTS LATER

Katz, Price and Zeller herd back the INTRIGUED LOCAL OFFICERS. Jack watches Will Graham and Dr. Caroline Bailie from across the field as they continue to stare upwards at the TOTEM POLE.

She exhales, then closes her eyes. A PENDULUM Swings in the darkness of Caroline's mind. FWUM. The PENDULUM now swings outside Caroline's head. As it swings the POLICE PRESENCE is wiped from the field. FWUM. Now only the TOTEM POLE remains. The PENDULUM swings again and the TOTEM POLE now lies flat on the ground with its horrific

decoration. FWUM. The PENDULUM swings across the TOTEM POLE and the blood is lifted from the snow. The PENDULUM STOPS SWINGING, snapping into place. The scene has now been decriminalized in Caroline's mind.

She opens his eyes, WALKS FORWARD and KNEELS in the SNOW. We see her raw material - laid out around her in the SNOW. CORPSES. The oldest have rags of cloth and dried-out flesh,

and they get FRESHER along the line. "I planned this moment... this monument with precision. Collected all my raw materials in advance."

She is WIRING BODY PARTS in an intricate pattern to one end of the horizontal wooden pole. She attaches a SKULL. "I position the bodies carefully, according each its rightful place. Peace in the pieces disassembled." As Caroline works, we FIND JOEL SUMMERS bound and gagged, lying terrified in the SNOW. STRUGGLING against his BONDS. Wrists BLOODY from his efforts. Smearing the snow with red. "My latest victim I save for last. I want him to watch me work. I want him to know my design."

Now Caroline kneels by Joel Summers and RAISES a HUNTING KNIFE. Caroline's murderous face is REFLECTED large in Joel Summers Terrified EYE, and he brings down the KNIFE, hard and fast into JOEL SUMMERS' heart. "Your death is my crowning glory." BLOOD seeps into the surrounding sand. "This is my resume. My body of work." Caroline looks UP as a SOLITARY DROP OF BLOOD falls towards her face.