"Footprints"
Episode #02
The Morning After #01
TEASER
the Fisher kitchen:
Telephone rings several times. Finally, Paula rushes down and picks it up. One-way conversation.
Paula: Hello? (beat) Hi, honey. (beat) What’s happened? Is everyone o—? (long beat) Oh my! Sure, bring her over. See you in a few minutes. (beat) Okay, love you. Bye.
Bill enters kitchen, not fully awake.
Bill: Who was that calling this early? It’s hardly six o’clock!
Paula: Something terrible has happened, Bill.
ACT I
at Tim & Claire’s apartment:
Claire climbs out of bed, with Tim still asleep. She goes into the living room.
Claire (sotto voce): How did I manage to get myself into this mess? Why can’t I just work up the courage to tell Tim what my problem with Chicago is?
She walks over to the desk
Claire: Oh, there’s a message on the machine. We must’ve missed it last night – we got in pretty late.
She sits in a nearby chair and hits "play" on the answering machine
James (from answering machine): Hi Claire, it’s me. Don’t bother to call me back if you get this message tonight. I’ll give you a call in the morning. Bye.
Claire: Oh no.
Out on Claire’s astonishment
in the Fisher kitchen:
Bill: What do you mean, something terrible has happened? What’s wrong, Paula? Who was on the phone?
Paula: It was Sarah. She – Molly …
Bill: Are they alright?
Paula: Yes, they’re fine. But last night – Molly went home late, you know – when she got home she found something terrible outside her door. (long beat) A dozen roses—
Bill: Since when is a dozen roses a bad thing? You women …
He goes over and turns on the coffee pot
Paula: That’s not all.
Bill quickly turns around.
Bill: What else did she find?
Paula: A dead bird. Nailed to the floor of the landing.
Bill: Oh my God!
in Sarah’s car:
Sarah is driving, Molly is in the passenger seat.
Sarah: I still can’t believe this. Well, I’m definitely gonna tell Brent about it. Maybe he can help out.
Molly: No, Sarah – it was probably just some kind of practical joke or something. After all, why would anyone … do something like that to me?
Sarah: I really can’t help you there. But you didn’t seem to think it was some sort of practical joke last night. You were really shaken.
Molly: Well, you know, everything seems scarier in the dark. That’s all.
Sarah: Mmm-hmm.
Molly: I’m sure nothing like it’ll happen again. Just watch.
Sarah: You know, maybe we should be a little more worried.
Molly: I am worried! Don’t you think I’m scared? I’m frightened to death! I don’t know what to do – Sarah, you have to help me!
Molly begins to sob
Sarah: Don’t worry, Molly. I’ll do something about all this.
ACT II
at Tim and Claire’s:
Claire is sitting, confused, by the desk, when Tim walks in
Tim: What’s going on? Were you talking to someone?
Claire: No, no. There was a message on the answering machine. I was just listening to it.
Tim: Who was it from?
Claire walks into the kitchen and pulls out some eggs and a pan. Tim follows.
Claire: I mean, we came in pretty late last night. We must’ve just walked right by the machine.
Tim: Did you even hear me? Who called?
Claire: No one, really—
Tim: Claire, answer me! Who left a message? Why are you avoiding my questions?
Claire: Really, Tim, it’s nothing.
Tim: Then why are you being so evasive? First you have this mysterious reason for not wanting to move to Chicago. Now this. Just answer me: Who left the message?
Claire: No one. It was no one.
Tim: You’re not making any sense whatsoever. Dammit, Claire, who was that? And why are you trying to avoid answering me?
at the Fisher house:
Bill and Paula walk into the living room
Bill: I just can’t believe that. A dead bird and a dozen roses. What a strange … message, I guess.
Paula: Well, anyway, Sarah is bringing her over now. Apparently she was so shaken that she went over to Sarah’s for the night. She didn’t want to bother us.
Bill: She should know that we always have the time for her – for any of them.
Jason comes down the stairs and into the living room
Paula: Oh, good morning, Jason.
Jason: Why are you guys up so early?
Bill: The telephone woke us up. It was Sarah.
Jason: What’d she want?
Paula: Last night, after she left, Molly found a dead bird nailed to the floor outside her apartment, surrounded by a dozen roses. She was really frightened and went to stay at Sarah’s, but now Sarah is going to bring her over, ‘cause she has to go to the station.
Jason: Weird. Is she okay?
Paula: Physically, but I’m not too sure how she’s doing mentally.
Door bell rings
Bill: Come in, girls!
Molly and Sarah walk in through front door
Paula: Molly, how are you?
Molly: Okay, I guess.
Sarah pulls Bill aside
Sarah: Dad, she’s really shaken. In the car she was trying to act all brave, but all of a sudden she broke down in tears. She just pulled herself together again.
Bill: It sounds like a frightening experience.
Sarah: She hardly slept all night, and she didn’t stop shaking for hours.
Bill: Will you look into this? Maybe get some protection for her?
Sarah: I’m one step ahead of you, Dad. I’ve got it all planned out already.
Bill: Great. Well, maybe you should go to work.
Sarah: Yeah, I should.
Sarah turns back to Jason, Molly, and Paula
Sarah: I’m gonna head off to the station. If any of you need anything, especially you, Molly, just gimme a call.
Sarah leaves through front door
Bill: Is there anything we can get you, Molly, honey?
Molly: No, Daddy, I just need to be safe here.
Molly breaks down in tears and hugs Bill
ACT III
at Tim and Claire’s:
Tim: Now, will you please answer me? Who left that message?
Claire walks over to and stares out of window
Claire: Well …
Tim comes up behind her and puts his arms around her
Tim: You can tell me anything, Claire. You know how much I love you, that I’d do anything for you. Now tell me, who called?
Claire: It was my father!
Tim: What is so bad about that? He’s been away on business in Asia for almost three months. I’d think you’d be thrilled that he’s back.
She starts to lightly sob and turns her back to Tim
Claire: I’m not. I’m terrified. Tim, that’s what I’ve been so secretive about lately. That’s why I can’t move to Chicago.
Out on Tim’s shock
at the police station, in Brent’s office:
Sarah is sitting on Brent’s desk
Sarah: So there’s nothing you can do about this situation with my sister?
Brent: I’m sorry, but there’s just not enough evidence to merit full-time protection or anything.
Sarah: Can’t you just look into this little "present" or something?
Brent: Like I said, there’s not enough of a case to waste officers on.
Sarah’s cell phone rings. She picks it up and moves aside. Two-way conversation.
Sarah: Hello? Sarah Fisher speaking.
Bill: Sarah, it’s me. I’m at the restaurant. Anyway, there’s something you need to know about.
Switch to one-way conversation.
Sarah: Yeah? (beat) What happened? (long beat) Oh my God! (beat) Yeah, I’ll do it right away. Bye.
Sarah puts her phone away and turns back towards Brent
Sarah: Well, it seems we’ve had another incident.
ACT IV
in the Fisher living room:
Molly is sitting on a couch in the background. Jason and Paula are in the foreground.
Paula: I just cannot believe this is happening.
Jason: Tell me about it. It’s so weird, like something from a movie.
Paula: All I know is that someone is trying to do something to my little girl, and I don’t like it one bit.
in Brent’s office:
Brent: What do you mean, "another incident"?
Sarah: My sister was in an upstairs bedroom taking a nap. They heard a car alarm going off, so everyone rushed outside. The tires on my mother’s car were slashed, and scrawled on the window was Molly’s name, over and over again. And guess what was sitting in the back seat, via a smashed window?
Brent: Please don’t say it was more dead fowl.
Sarah: Not quite. Another dozen roses, though. This time they were black.
Brent: Looks like we’ve got ourselves a case.
Sarah: Why don’t we get someone out there to do a fingerprint search and maybe a handwriting analysis?
Brent: You’re reading my mind. I’ll get ‘em on the phone. Why don’t you go to your parents’ house and check things out, too?
Sarah: Consider me there.
Sarah rushes out the door. Brent looks after her with an unbelieving look and then picks up the telephone.
at Tim and Claire’s apartment:
Tim: How is your father coming home related to us moving to Chicago?
Claire: It was about thirteen or fourteen years ago. My mother had just left him. It was before she got remarried. (long beat) My dad was on the phone, and …
Tim hugs her as she starts to sob again
Claire: I overheard his conversation, and I got a little suspicious. So I started to peek at some of his paperwork, you know. I was this little fourteen-year-old detective.
Tim cracks half a smile
Claire: Then we started meeting all these new people. I remember one of them, Nick, really hit it off with my dad. His son Ryan was about my age, maybe a year or two older. Anyway, a few years went by, and during that time, I figured it out.
ACT V
in the Fisher driveway:
Paula, Jason, Molly, and Sarah are all standing in the driveway. In the background, several officers and analysts are at work on the car and the evidence.
Sarah: About what time did this happen?
Paula: I can’t say. We heard the alarm—
Molly: Between nine and ten. What is it now? Ten-thirty? It had to be close to nine-thirty, I guess.
Sarah makes a note of the time
Sarah: You saw no one?
Jason: I was the first one out here. I had been in the living room. No, I didn’t. There was no one in sight.
Molly: He – she – they – could have hidden somewhere.
Sarah: They’d be gone by now. Too much time has gone by. Otherwise we’d have a pretty dumb stalker.
Molly gets a look of dread on her face
Molly: It is, isn’t it? I’m being stalked! There’s an actual stalker following me! I can’t believe this. (long beat) What am I gonna do?
at Tim and Claire’s:
Tim: Figured what out?
Claire: My dad was heavily connected with the mob. I never let him know that I knew anything; I don’t know if he was even trying to hide it from me at all. But I was so scared. But Ryan, I really liked him. I even started to go out with him. It was great. He seemed to have endless supplies of money and gave me so much stuff. Everything a teenage girl could want.
Tim: Are your dad’s mob ties the reason you won’t move to Chicago?
Claire: Not quite. That’s only half the story. (long beat) One summer, I broke up with Ryan and went to Chicago to visit my mother. She was so happy, with her new husband and being pregnant. She had a new life. So I went home and told my dad that I wanted to live with Mom and Jack for a while. He didn’t even bother trying to stop me – I think having a teenage daughter was getting in his way. But when I moved there, Ryan showed up. When I told him to leave me alone, he kidnapped me.
Tim: What?
Claire: And then he … he …
Tim: What did he do? (beat) Claire, you’ve gotta tell me. What happened next?
Claire: He … he … he raped me!
Out on Claire’s tears
END OF EPISODE #02