X-MAN SCREENPLAY by BRIAN R. LUNDIN (ereader for comics txt) 📕

Detroit since June. Vics an executive secretary at the Learn to Read center on 47th Street. Two months pregnant and WILLIAM SMITH, her boyfriend was the father. Found naked in bathtub, large x carved on her body and a bloody x smeared over the bathroom wall. When the victim failed to show up at work her supervisor sent a co-worker, WILLIAM JOHNSON over to check it out. He stated that the front door was wide opened and when he went in he found her in the bathtub.

Ringo nodded and started up the stairs, another uniform police officer was posted at the wide-opened door surrounded by bright yellow tape at the second floor apartment and Crime Scene Tech was examining the door. They showed their badges to the officer and ducked under the tape and entered the small one bedroom apartment.

INT.-FRONT ROOM-MORNING

We walked down a narrow hallway and entered a small front room that contained a 12 inch television, a two seat brown couch and a brown old recliner. Off from the front room was the kitchen and on the stove was a pot containing greens. Further down the hall was the bedroom that contained a queen size bed, a three drawer dresser and a small clothes closet. Evetta took the closet and I started looking in the drawers.

EVETTA
Nice wardrobe, conservative business suits and dresses, find anything?

RINGO
First drawer, blouses neatly folded second drawer bras, women napkins, third drawer empty, and no panties.


They entered the bathroom which was next to the bedroom, careful not step in the pool of blood on the floor. The young woman was propped up in the bathtub full of bloody water. She was very dark had short black hair and a very nice figure. Duct tape covered her mouth and a pair of brown panty hose was tied tightly around her neck and a deep x was carved in her chest and a large x was smeared on the wall.


EVETTA
Jesus! Thinks it’s him?

RINGO
Yep!

CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATOR
Ok for us to start detectives?

RINGO
Yes, go ahead.

EVETTA
Let’s interview Mr. Johnson.

Mr. Johnson was sitting in a squad car, shaking. Ringo introduced himself and Evetta and helped Mr. Johnson out the car and they walked to his vehicle.

INT.RINGO’S VEHICLE-MORNING

EVETTA
Tell us what happened?

MR.JOHNSON
Robin worked as an executive secretary at the Learn to Read Center at 47th Vincennes; she was very competent and was always at work half hour before the starting time. Today when she failed to come in, my boss MRS. ANDERSON became concerned and asked me to go to her apartment and make sure she was alright. When I arrived the front door was cracked, I knocked and called her name, when I got no answer I went in and found her in the bathtub.

RINGO
Did you touch or remove anything?

MR.JOHNSON
No, but I knew she was gone. I was a Marine in Iraq during Iraqi Freedom and I know when a person is gone.

RINGO
What kind of person was Robin?

MR.JOHNSON
A really nice young lady, always pleasant and had a big smile for everybody.

EVETTA
Did she have any trouble with her co-workers?

JOHNSON
Not to my knowledge, she got along with everybody, such a tragedy.

Evetta handed Mr. Johnson her business card and they watched as he walked to his car and drove off.

EVETTA
Hellava way to start your day.

RINGO
Yep, certainly is. Well, let’s talk to some of the neighbors.

Evetta rang the door bell at 4325 South Prairie Avenue and got no answer, although she saw the curtains move, they walked to 4321 South Prairie Avenue and I knock hard on the door.

VOICE
Who’s there?
EVETTA
Police!
After a moment the door was cracked and an old woman peeped around the door, Evetta showed her, her badge and identification.

RINGO
We’re investigating the death of Robin Honeywell, did you know her?

The woman put her hand to her mouth.
WOMAN
Oh my goodness!
RINGO
May we come in?

The woman opened the door and directed us into the dining room and motioned for us to sit, we noticed how upset the woman was and waited a minute.

INT. APARTMENT-MORNING

RINGO
What is your name?

WOMAN
MRS. WOODBERRY!
EVETTA
Did you know Robin well and did she have many visitors, males or females?
MRS WOODBERRY
Yes she grew up in the neighborhood and was a nice girl, always polite and mannerable and No, not many but sometimes I would see a young man and her going out, but no not to many other visitors. Matter of fact just last week she seemed so happy she told me she was pregnant and was going to get married.

EVETTA
Did you ever see her walking around the house naked or partially dressed?
MRS. WOODBERRY!
The old woman blushed.
One morning I ran out of sugar for my coffee and went to her apartment to get some, when she came to the door she was buck-ass naked. She was embarrassed of course and ran and put on a robe and told me that it’s always too hot in her apartment.

EVETTA
Thank you, we’ll be in touch.

EXT. - APARTMENT BULDING PORCH-MORNING
RINGO
We know that Robin Honeywell was about two months pregnant and William Smith, her fiancé’ and was the father he has an alibi as well as her husband. There were no prints or any trace evidence, just a laceration on her head that DIXON said was caused by a blunt instrument, there were signs of sexual abuse and the murder weapon was probably one of her kitchen knives, no prints.

EXT. SPECIAL CRIMES BUREAU-MORNING
The Special Crimes Bureau was located at 2900 South Western Avenue in a converted warehouse built in 1935. There were no signs indicating it housed an elite investigative unit that consisted of specially selected and trained detectives and four sergeants who called the place home. On the second floor were six offices; one for the lieutenant, one for each sergeant and one for the DEPARTMENTAL CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST MONIQUE BROWN, two civilian secretaries shared a large workstation. The ancient white stone building used to be a storehouse for CTA buses and was purposely chosen for it remoteness. There were no windows and the drab walls consisted mostly of blackboards with pictures of wanted fugitives and pin boards. The bureau investigated extraordinary crimes; high profile murders or robberies, white collar crimes and serial murder cases
.

INT. SPECIAL CRIME BUREAU-MORNING
On the first floor was a large room where the walls and ceiling were painted the usual stale municipal off-white. The room contained cubicles with top of the line computers for the detectives, two interrogation rooms with a row of a bus- station type chairs bolted against a wall and in the basement was for holding cell for prisoners. A coffee maker sat on a table in the small kitchen beside it was paper cups, packets of sugar and powdered cream; I poured a cup of coffee.

Ringo and Evetta entered the building and waived at Detectives MARCUS BURKE and CHARLEY TURNER that both had telephones to their ears, their suit jackets hung over the back of their chairs and their ties loosened and they were writing on paper pads lying next to the Chicago Sun-Times, the headlines read in bold print “X-MAN STRIKES AGAIN,” both Detectives distractedly waived back.

EVETTA
I see the papers got a label for our killer, X-MAN!
RINGO
I knew it wouldn’t take long makes a good headline.

A young black man was sitting handcuffed behind his back sneering at another detective who looked up from his desk and pointed to the second floor. Ringo knew that that was a sign that LIEUTENANT O’SHEA, the commanding officer wanted to see him. He nodded and headed for the stairs. Evetta smiled as she entered her cubicle.

EVETTA
Maybe you should leave your gun here.

INT. LIEUTENANT O’SHEA OFFICE-MORNING

The door to the lieutenant office was open; Ringo entered and sat on the arm of the only chair in the spacious office, sipped his coffee and looked around. On one wall was a photo of O’ Shea being promoted to lieutenant and a Northwestern Traffic Institute Certificate. On another wall was a copy of his Liberal Arts Degree from Roosevelt University and on his desk was a photo of his wife and two kids a boy and a girl. Ringo heard the dull clattering of typewriters. In a few minutes Lieutenant O'Shea walked into the office. The lieutenant was dressed in his trademark dark blue suit, white shirt and dark tie and with barely a word, pulled the door shut.
O’SHEA
Don’t sit on the arm sergeant and please be careful with whatever you‘re drinking.

RINGO
Ignoring the request.

Long night?

O’SHEA
(angry)
Shit yeah, the chief and the mayor is under a lot of pressure a about this X-Man bullshit and you ain’t done shit to catch him!
RINGO
(overlooking the slight)

Got a little insight to the mind of our guy, but not much else.

O’SHEA
(angrier)
Fuck insight, I need results!

Ringo got off the arm and casually walked to the door.

RINGO
Me too.
O’SHEA
What the fuck are you doing to catch this asshole?
RINGO
Everything we can, sir.
O’SHEA
(calmer)
Whatever you need let me know and by the way, the head of the FBI Behavior Science Unit called and said we are willing to help in any way possible, but until there is some federal violation we have to remain as advisors and if this is a serial killer, VICAP, their Violent Criminal Apprehension Program found two other Victims in Gary that match his MO. The Mayor’s office is putting all kind of heat on the Chief, he even suggested hiring a psychic from California, and can you believe that bullshit.
RINGO
Talk about a circus if the media get hold to that, fight hard against that, shit they grow California psychics like a cash crop.
O’SHEA
We’re trying to keep a lid on this thing, but eventually we are going to have to let the public know that maybe there’s a serial killer out there and the last thing we need is the press getting hold of it an scaring the shit out of the good citizens, the word serial killer scares the shit out of most people and we certainly don’t need good people walking around with guns, we’ve got enough of that already but you know, that if these killings were on the north side, in Lincoln Park, Wrigleyville or Bridgeport, the people would be enraged, It would be on the front page of the Sun-Times and the Tribune, shit the mayor might even demand the governor sent out the National Guard, but who gives a fuck about some poor-ass black women.

RINGO
I care and if these were young white gals being raped and murdered the National Guard would already be on the streets.

O’SHEA
(voice trembling)
Let’s not make this a race thing.

RNGO
Everything in Chicago is a race thing.

O’Shea glared at Ringo as placed the paper coffee cup on his desk and headed for the door.


INT. RINGO’S OFFICE-MORNING
Ringo returned to his office, called Evetta, Detectives Willie Burke and Charley Turner the lead I.D. Tech and DOCTOR ANTHONY DIXON the city Chief pathologist to meet him in the conference room and twenty minutes later they met in the conference room and