YOU HAVE

57.       in front of the house – ext. / day

Ellen carries the dish outside and starts searching for Clara.

ellen

Clara!

Nothing stirs.

ellen

Come here, Clara!  I’ve got something yummy for you.

Then, she catches sight of something dark lying a bit away in the grass.

Ellen puts down the dog food and runs toward the spot.

There, lying in the tall grass she finds the dog.  It’s dead!  It looks as if a wild animal had attacked Clara.

ellen

Oh, no!

            (loud)

Martin!

She kneels down beside the animal’s dead body.

ellen

            (screams)

Martin!

Martin comes out of the house and stops at the door.  He is calm – too calm.

martin

What?

ellen

Look at this!  The dog!  She’s dead!

Martin shows no reaction.  He doesn’t even seem to find it worth the trouble to go over to Ellen who is still kneeling in the grass.

martin

She was old.

ellen

Old?!  Come look at this!  She has wounds.  Wounds on her head.  Like thrashes.  Or bites.

martin

Maybe an animal.

ellen

            (furious)

An animal?  What kind of animal? 

A goddamned T-Rex, or what?

Martin is still apathetically standing in the doorway.

martin

She spent a couple of pleasant days with us, and now she’s dead.  That’s the way it is.  I’m sorry.  I have work to do.

He goes back inside.

Ellen watches him.

This very instant, she realizes that this is not the man she once married.  She knows that the time has come to take up action.

CUT TO:

58.       moor – ext. / day

A short distance away from the house, Ellen has buried the dog.  She sticks a small, self-built wooden crucifix into the soft earth.

She stands there for a moment.  She looks over at the house.  Silence.  Loneliness.

Then, she hangs Clara’s collar over the cross.  The little bell jingles.

CUT TO:

59.       country road – ext. / day

Ellen speeds down the country road in her car.  She passes the town sign of Goldmoor.  She has a tense look on her face.

CUT TO:

60.       in front of lindner’s house – ext. / day

Ellen rings the doorbell.

She is standing in front of Lindner’s house.  While she waits, she looks up and down the street.  There is no one in sight. The entire village seems deserted.

Elisabeth Lindner opens the door.  She doesn’t seem very surprised to see Ellen.

mrs. lindner

Oh, Ellen!  I’ve been wondering when you’d come.  Why don’t you step in.

ellen

Thank you.

Ellen enters the house.

61.       hallway in lindner’s house – int. / day

The hallway is dark.  The wood-paneled walls are decorated with pictures and certificates from Karl Lindner’s years as a police officer.

mrs. lindner

My husband is in his study in the back.

Mrs. Lindner leads Ellen through the corridor.

ellen

I really hate to bother him, but...

mrs. lindner

Oh no, no.  You’re not bothering him.

            (she winks an eye)

He has lots of time since he’s been retired.

CUT TO:

62.       lindner’s study – int. / day

Ellen enters the spacious study.  Lindner is seated in front of an easel, dexterously painting lines onto a canvas.  He is working on a still life of flowers.

Without turning around to Ellen, he says:

lindner

Come in.

Ellen takes a look around the room.  It is also furnished in dark colors, and there are dozens of oil paintings standing around the room.  Every single one a still life of flowers.

ellen

You only draw flowers?  A little unusual for a former policeman.

Lindner obstinately continues to work on his painting.

lindner

You know, after doing that job for so many years, you learn to appreciate the simple things in life.  Flowers incorporate a beauty that I always missed in life.  But certainly, you’re not here to chat about my hobbies.

ellen

1976.  What happened back then?

With a heavy heart, he puts down his paintbrush and turns to face Ellen.

lindner

Do yourself a favor:  Don’t ask.

ellen

I appreciate your concern, but we live in that house.  I need to know what happened in there.

Lindner turns back to his painting and continues to draw.  He seems introverted, as if he were talking to himself.

lindner

We found the wife about a week after she had died, hunched in her TV-chair.  Her husband was sitting in front of her; the whole time, he sat in front of her dead body.  A whole damn week.  Her death certificate says that she drowned, and her husband was convicted, but God alone knows what really happened back then.

Ellen is shocked.  Still, she persists.

ellen

What made him do it?

Lindner doesn’t answer.

ellen

That man, is he still alive?  Where is he?  Can I talk to him?

Lindner turns around to her again.  This time, he looks determined.

lindner

Why don’t you just leave the past alone and now go – please.

Ellen sees that it’s no use.  She turns to leave.  But she stops at the door and turns back once more.

ellen

If there’s one thing I’ve learned lately, it’s that you can not run away from the past.  Believe me.

She leaves the old policeman behind.  Once alone, he lowers his eyes.

CUT TO:

63.       in front of lindner’s house – ext. / day

Ellen leaves the house, reflective.  Just as she heads through the gate, Mrs. Lindner catches up with her.

mrs. lindner

Ellen!  Wait!

She hands Ellen a small note.

mrs. lindner

Frank Kosinski.  Here’s the address.  Go see him.  Ask him. 

ellen

Thank you.  Elisabeth, I didn’t mean to...

Mrs. Lindner puts it off with a smile.

mrs. lindner

That’s alright.  Don’t misunderstand my husband.  It’s only that he’s already had enough problems with this case.

And who would believe him if he told the truth?

ellen

But what is the truth?

mrs. lindner

I don’t know all about what happened back then.  But it always stood between me and my husband.

Ellen nods and leaves.

CUT TO:

64.       psychiatry – ext. / day

Ellen parks her car in front of the large, old building.  She opens the heavy double doors of the entrance.

65.       psychiatry – int. / day

A long, wood-paneled hallway with small resting areas.  Some of the elderly people are sitting around, others are playing cards or staring at a television – a strange atmosphere.

Ellen approaches a SOCIAL WORKER, who is pushing an OLD LADY through the hallway in a wheelchair.

The old lady giggles, as if she were mentally disoriented.

ellen

Excuse me, I’m looking for Frank Kosinski.

The young man is of the silly, bored type.

social worker

Kosinski...

            (thinks for a moment)

Oh – you mean K.K.!

ellen

Sorry?

The social worker grins.  He seems to think he’s very funny.

social worker

Killer-Kosinski, that’s what they call him around here.  He did away with his wife.

Now, the old lady joins in on the conversation.

old lady

I’m so glad you finally came.  We’ve all been waiting for you.

She gently touches Ellen’s hand. – The old lady seems to be taking Ellen for someone else.

ellen

            (softly, to the old lady)

You must be mistaking me.

            (to the young man)

Where can I find the man?

social worker

He’s in the closed psychiatry. This here’s the open section. Go down the hall, third door to the left.

ellen

Thank you.

The old lady keeps on persisting.

old lady

Are you doing better yet?

Ellen is too preoccupied to worry about the old lady.  She leaves them with a quick nod and hurries on.

The social worker starts pushing the wheelchair forward again.  Walking away, Ellen still hears the old lady’s voice.

old lady

            (to social worker)

Poor girl.  She only has two more days to live, you know.

Ellen stops.  She turns on her heels and runs back.