RELIC

                              HENRY
                    Mrs. Beasley, it's almost time to go
                    and we still haven't seen the
                    dinosaurs!

                              BEASLEY
                    If you ask me about the dinosaurs
                    once more, I'II strangle you both!

     She starts to lecture about horseshoe crabs in a droning monotone.
     Henry and Larry hang back.

                              LARRY
                        (whispers)
                    This room sucks.

                              HENRY
                    She's never going to take us to see
                    the dinosaurs.  That lady said they
                    were on the fourth floor.

                              LARRY
                    Let's ditch and find them ourselves.

     They dart off down a side corridor and up a wide stairs.

     INT. REPTILES AND AMPHIBIANS ROOM - DAY

     Larry and Henry emerge and walk wide-eyed among the cases of lizards,
     chameleons, tortoises.  High windows light the room.  Outside the sun is
     going down.  A woman pushing a child in a stroller exits and the boys
     have the hall to themselves.

                              LARRY
                    Look at this.  A Komodo dragon.

     As Larry checks out, the huge, dragon-like reptile, which has just
     sunk its Jaws into a stuffed boar.  Henry points to a stuffed Gecko
     climbing vertically up the side of its case.

                              HENRY
                    Check out this one.  It can walk up
                    walls.

     Larry already has his eyes on the far end of the hall where temporary
     barricades have been put up to prevent access to the next room.
     Painting is in progress.  Scaffolding just begs to be climbed.  Henry
     runs over and starts up the scaffolding.  Larry hesitates.

                              LARRY
                    We're not supposed to go back there.

                              HENRY
                    Chicken.  This is a great short cut.

     Henry drops on the other side of the scaffolding and Larry follows.  In
     a moment both disappear from sight.

     INT. MUSEUM HALL OF BIRDS - DAY

     Windowless and dark.  A closed display under maintenance.  Thousands of
     little stuffed birds line the walls from floor to ceiling, white
     cotton poking out of sightless eyes.  Henry and Larry enter and slow
     down.  Larry's getting scared.

                              LARRY
                    I don't want to go this way.

                              HENRY
                    Don't be a wuss.  Come on.

     The boys continue onward more slowly, their footfalls echoing in the
     silence.

     INT. BACK HALLWAYS - DAY

     The children are now far from the other tourists and their class.
     Larry is frightened.  The hall takes a sharp dog-leg, ending in a
     darkened cul-de-sac full of display cases filled with hideous carved
     masks.  Against the side of the chamber is a barricade of wood which
     looks much like a wall.  Henry tugs at it and the barricade moves.  He
     looks behind.

                              HENRY
                    Hey, there's a secret staircase back
                    here.  Cool.

     Henry disappears behind the barricade leaving Larry completely alone
     in the dark room with the Shaman masks.

                              LARRY
                    Henry, come back!

     Henry doesn't respond.  The lights in the cases throw strange shadows.
     Larry starts to sniffle, falls to hiccuping, sits down.  He pulls on a
     little flap of rubber that's coming off the toe of his sneaker, all
     bravado gone.

                              LARRY
                    Henry!  Henry!

     No answer.  Larry rises and peeks behind the barricade.  He sees the
     circular stair.  It descends into total darkness.  From below comes a
     strange smell that makes Larry's nose wrinkle.

                              LARRY
                    Henry?

     No answer.  Larry puts his first foot on the stair.

                              LARRY
                    Henry!  Come up!  Please!

     With no other option but staying alone in the dark, Larry follows
     Henry down.

     INT. SPIRAL STAIRCASE - DAY

     Larry clutches the banister, whispers...

                              LARRY
                    Henry?  Where are you?  Henry?

     Larry takes another step.  Another.  And another.  He stops.  Below him he
     hears SNUFFLING, rather like a large dog.  Larry freezes, starts to
     cry.

                              LARRY
                    Henry!  Henry!  It smells awful.
                    Answer me!  Are you all right?

     Larry can barely see a dim hallway stretching out in two directions.
     He pauses near the bottom of the stairs, eyes wide, holding his
     breath.  There appears to be a darker area of SHADOW at the end of the
     hall.  It's gliding TOWARDS THEM!

     Suddenly something CLOSES on Larry's leg and he YELPS.  It's HENRY.
     Henry pulls Larry the rest of the way down the stairs.  They stand
     alone together in the darkness.  Henry hisses.

                              HENRY
                    Quiet!

                              LARRY
                    What is it?

                              HENRY
                    I don't know.  But I think it's bad.

     They keep their eyes locked on the shape at the end of the hall as
     they back up, step by step.  Move in as their faces suddenly TWIST WITH
     FEAR.  THE BOYS... SCREAM BLOODY MURDER... The sound echoes in the
     darkness as we...

                                                            CUT TO:

     INT. MARGO'S APARTMENT - NIGHT

     Margo sits up in the darkness, gasping.  Moonlight cuts across the bed.
     It takes a moment for her to realize that she's had a nightmare.  She
     reaches for her light.  As she switches it on, we see a photo on her
     bedside table.  It shows a group on a mountain in TIBET.  There are
     several people with their arms slung around each other.  At the end is
     a younger MARGO holding hands with JOHN WHITTLESLEY.  They appear to be
     more than friends.

     ON MARGO... she looks at the photo a moment, then turns off the light
     and lies back, alone in her bed.

                                                            DISSOLVE TO:

     EXT. CENTRAL PARK WEST - DAY

     Yellow crime tape encircles the museum.  Dead leaves swirl in clusters
     and the sky is overcast.  Overnight, fall turned to winter.  The front
     of the museum is ringed with police cars.  Margo rides up on her bike
     and pauses, startled at the sight.  We watch as she crosses, has a few
     words with one of the officers who motions her to a side entrance.  She
     wheels her bike under a stone tunnel as we pick up...

     A TAXI CAB arriving at the front entrance.  Out steps SPECIAL AGENT
     PENDERGAST.

     INT. LOWER ROTUNDA - DAY

     Margo enters.  The huge hall is taken up by an enormous boat carved
     from the trunk of a single tree.  Inside it are mannequins of Northwest
     Coast Indians.  Milling around are at least twenty COPS.  One
     approaches.

                              COP
                    ID.

     Worried, Margo hands it over.

                              MARGO
                    What's going on?

                              COP
                    All employees are to go to the IMAX
                    room for a briefing, Dr. Green.

     INT. SIDE HALL - MUSEUM - DAY

     Several cops go by with tracking dogs.  Margo looks back at the dogs,
     increasingly uneasy, almost bumps into...

     HENRY AND LARRY.  Surprisingly, they are alive and well and seated with
     MRS. BEASLEY outside an office.  Margo exchanges a look with both boys,
     remembering them from yesterday.  A tentative smile starts but Henry
     and Larry don't return it.  Serious and chastened, they drop their
     eyes.  Margo continues on.

     TWO COPS stand outside the door to the rest room, their backs turned
     to Margo as she approaches.

                              COP ONE
                    What was that?  Six?

                              COP TWO
                    Lost count.

     Margo glances past them to see an OLDER MAN wearing the badge of a
     NIGHT WATCHMAN, leaning over a sink.  He wipes his mouth.  Margo's eyes
     move down to see... THE MAN'S SNEAKERS are soaked in blood.

     INT. HALL OF ADVANCED FOSSIL MAMMALS - DAY

     More cops gather, surrounded by skeletons of primates... humans,
     monkeys, gorillas.  It's an odd sight.  They all look up with interest
     as in walks the imposing figure of...

     SPECIAL AGENT PENDERGAST.  He turns to a young eager beaver, OFFICER
     BAILEY, flashes his badge.  Bailey straightens to attention.

                              PENDERGAST
                    Could you please take me to the
                    officer in charge?

     INT. CIRCULAR STAIRWELL - DAY

     Pendergast follows Bailey as they descend the rickety old metal
     staircase that goes into the bowels of the museum.  The hall below them
     is narrowand lit by an occasional bare bulb.  The stairway opens onto a
     maze-like set of rooms in the basement.  Everything around them is
     STREAKED and SPATTERED in BLOOD.  There are trails of it on the floor,
     the walls, the overhead light.

     Several COPS stand guard as DETECTIVE VINCE D'AGOSTA goes over the
     area.  He is a round, balding, man with an unmistakable air of
     authority.  A modern knight in shining armor in disguise... deep
     disguise.  He has on a cheap polyester short sleeved shirt.  His t-shirt
     is plainly visible underneath.  On his worn plastic belt is a badge.

                              D'AGOSTA
                    Don't touch anything until the
                    S.O.C.  has finished with those
                    stairs.  Keep everyone clear of the
                    perimeter.  I don't want any
                    contamination.  There's an incredible
                    amount of blood evidence down here.
                    We need more light.  Where's the
                    photographer?  Tell him to quit
                    eating donuts, I need him.

     As Pendergast enters, D'Agosta looks up at this serious African-
     American in simple black suit, white shirt and dark tie.

                              D'AGOSTA
                    Who are you?  The undertaker?

                              PENDERGAST
                    Special Agent Pendergast.  FBI.

                              D'AGOSTA
                    Vince D'Agosta.  Am I out?

                              PENDERGAST
                    Not at all.  I think we may be
                    working on the same case.  If so, I
                    could use your help.

     The two men shake hands.  They couldn't be more different.  Pendergast
     is an elegant intellectual... D'Agosta a working class spark plug who
     operates from the gut.  Pendergast gestures to the form on the ground.

                              PENDERGAST
                    The body?

                              D'AGOSTA
                    What's left of it.

                              PENDERGAST
                    Mind if I have a look?

     D'Agosta calls to A POLICE PHOTOGRAPHER who comes down the staircase
     carrying lights, a donut stuffed in his mouth.

                              D'AGOSTA
                    We need light in here, stat.

                              PENDERGAST
                    Where's the head?

     D'Agosta points to a lump the size of a bowling ball that's in the
     corner.

                              D'AGOSTA
                    Careful.  That mess on the ground is
                    brains.

                              PENDERGAST
                    Whose footprints?

                              D'AGOSTA
                    Night watchman who found the body.
                    Sweet old man.  Been tossing his
                    cookies for over an hour.  Not a
                    likely suspect.

     The photographer is finally ready and he floods the dark room with
     light.  And now everyone (but not us) gets a very clear look at the
     body.

     THE PHOTOGRAPHER... spits out his donut.  His eyes roll up and he drops
     in a dead faint.  Just like that.  D'Agosta swallows hard.

                              D'AGOSTA
                    Woof.

     Pendergast looks down, utterly impassive.

                              PENDERGAST
                    Yes, I'd say we're definitely
                    working on the same case.

     INT. IMAX ROOM - DAY

     An old 19th century theater.  Balconies.  Heavy curtains.  It looks like
     the theater where Lincoln was shot, with the exception of the most
     recent addition, an IMAX SCREEN five stories high.  The room is filling
     with museum employees, all murmuring anxiously.  Margo sits down next
     to Frock's wheelchair.  Her face is ashen.

                              MARGO
                    Dr. Frock, I just saw a man back
                    there who'd been wading in blood.

     As Greg Kawakita sits in the chair next to Margo...

                              MARGO (CON'T)
                    For once I'm glad you're rumor
                    central.  What in the world is going
                    on?

                              KAWAKITA
                    Someone's been murdered.  Not shot,
                    strangled or stabbed, either.  Torn
                    limb from limb.  There's talk of a
                    psychotic killer or even an animal.

                              FROCK
                    For heaven's sake, Greg, someone's
                    been killed.  Look, it's Cuthbert.
                    Let's hear what really happened.

     At this everyone falls silent and IAN CUTHBERT steps forward to
     address the crowd.  He appears drawn and grey.

                              CUTHBERT
                    This has been a tragic and upsetting
                    morning.  I have terrible news for us
                    all.  A member of our security force
                    has been found murdered.  The police
                    have just informed me it was Daniel
                    Beauregard.
                        (murmuring fills the room)
                    Quiet.  Please.  With the help of our
                    head of security, Mr. Ippolito... the
                    museum has been secured.

     IPPOLITO... rises in the back and nods to the crowd... He's an imperious
     looking, pompous man with shifty eyes.  Right now he's defensive.
     Overnight, his job is on the line...

                              CUTHBERT
                    The police are satisfied we're in no
                    danger, that we're all perfectly
                    safe.  We've been asked to remain in
                    the Gem Room and be available for
                    questioning for the rest of the day.
                    Obviously, we will all do everything
                    we can to cooperate.  Are there any
                    questions?

     Ippolito raises a hand.

                              IPPOLITO
                    The party for the opening of the
                    Superstition Exhibit... I imagine in
                    the light of what's happened it will
                    be pushed back.

                              CUTHBERT
                    No action has been taken yet.  The
                    opening of the exhibit is crucial to
                    the financial health of this museum.
                    So for now, we expect that the
                    Superstition Exhibit will open on
                    schedule, tomorrow night.

     Ippolito registers surprise.  The audience buzzes again.

     INT. GEM ROOM - DAY

     Margo, Dr. Frock and Greg Kawakita enter.  The room is full of
     spectacular displays of gemstones of every type.  Greg drapes himself
     over a grey sofa.  Margo leans on a giant geode.

                              MARGO
                    That Cuthbert.  What a piece of work.
                    Someone's dead and all he cares
                    about is his Superstition Exhibit.

                              FROCK
                    Cuthbert's counting on the
                    exhibition's success.  The museum is
                    in debt.  Contributions and public
                    funding have dried up.  Admissions no
                    longer cover overhead.  The last big
                    infusion of cash we had was the King
                    Tut exhibit.  Cuthbert was hired to
                    get us out of the red.  If the
                    Superstition Exhibit isn't
                    lucrative, he'll have to start
                    auctioning off some of these gems.

                              KAWAKITA
                    With all this bad publicity, it's no
                    wonder he looks like that.

     They glance over and see Cuthbert in the corner.  He appears ill, is
     compulsively fingering his watch chain from which hangs a RABBIT'S
     FOOT.  Frock goes over to speak to him, followed by Margo and Greg.

                              FROCK
                    Ian.  Are you okay?

                              CUTHBERT
                        (shakes his head)
                    Beauregard.  I can't believe it.  I
                    may have been the last one to see
                    him alive.  He was with me just
                    yesterday, when I got out the statue
                    of Mbwun.