BOOK OF BLOOD

CHAPTER 07

EXT. SAN ANTONIO 200 - REPTILE HOUSE - DAY On screen:

San Antonio. A ZOO-KEEPER wanders into the darkened interior of the Reptile House.

INT. REPTILE HOUSE - DAY :

The Zoo-keeper's benign expression changes at the sight of the chaos inside. The glass cases have been SMASHED. Another KEEPER lies on the ground, his face pulped. A few SNAKES slither around his body, but most of them have gone.

EXT. SNAKE-HANDLER CULTIST'S CAR - DAY :

The Snake-Handler Cultist drives at speed.

INT. SNAKE-HANDLER CULTIST'S CAR - DAY PAN UP :

From another letter'- with the same message - on the dashboard, to the crazed face of the Snake-Handler. PAN TO the back of the car. IT SEETHES WITH HUNDREDS OF SNAKES.

EXT. SWANN'S MANSION - DAY :

It's early morning in Bel-Air. The sun shines down on a millionaire's paradise: a huge house surrounded by a jungle of trees and blossoms.

EXT. SWANN'S MANSION - POOLSIDE - DAY:

The blue water glitters in the noon-day sun. And a WOMAN -- her body perfectly proportioned -- glides under the surface, emerging at the shallow end, where the housekeeper CLEMENZIA is setting a tray on a table. CLEMENZIA Coffee, Mrs. Swann? Mrs. Swann's name is DOROTHEA. She is a beautiful and sensual woman. DOROTHEA Thank you. She dries off. DOROTHEA Where's Mr. Swann? CLEMENZIA In his study. (a beat) He got something on his mind? DOROTHEA Why? CLEMENZIA Bad mood today.

INT. SWANN'S MANSION - STUDY - DAY :

Venetian blinds shut out most of the sunlight, but a lamp burns on the desk (huge), showing us the furniture (leather), the books (innumerable), and the figure of SWANN, sitting behind the desk smoking a CIGAR. He's lost some hair and some colour over the years, but he still has the same hypnotic eyes. He studies the L.A. TIMES in front of him. ON THE OPEN PAGE "Fortune Teller Brutally Murdered," the headline announces. Underneath, a PHOTOGRAPH of Quaid's wrecked room. WE CLOSE IN on the photograph, and catch a glimpse of Harry, standing looking at the chaos. CAMERA.

MOVES DOWN to the text beneath, and on to the name "Harry D'Amour." ON SWANN, pensive as he studies the paper. DOROTHEA (V.O.) (softly) Hey... He looks up, startled. DOROTHEA The sun's shining out there. Dorothea is dressed in a white robe now. She literally brings light into this gloomy room. On the shelves behind Swann are a number of art brut figurines, vaguely recalling the idols outside Nix's "temple." DOROTHEA Bad show last night? SWANN (wearily) The usual.

Full house. Standing ovation. I tell them it's magic... DOROTHEA (distastefully) ... they believe you. SWANN Yeah. (a beat) Remember Quaid? DOROTHEA Sure. SWANN Somebody killed him. DOROTHEA Oh God. SWANN (disturbed) I just saw him. A difficult silence. Then Swann crosses to the door. SWANN I'm putting in a new illusion tonight. Will you be there? DOROTHEA Sure. You want me to find out about Quaid? I mean, the funeral? SWANN No. (superstitiously) I'm not going near him.

INT. SWANN'S MANSION - LOBBY - DAY VALENTIN :

Is overseeing the hanging of a new piece in Swann's collection: a huge, framed POSTER from a late nineteenth century magic spectacular. Valentin is fifty or so, his gray hair combed back close to his scalp. Immaculately dressed in a distinctively European fashion. Precise. Cautious. Elegant.

He orders the TWO PICTURE-HANGERS in a clipped fashion. VALENTIN Higher. Another inch. The left hand side's too low. Dorothea descends the stairs, dressed for the day. DOROTHEA Valentin? VALENTIN (to Hangers) Good. There. (to Dorothea) Yes? DOROTHEA (gives him the newspaper) You saw this? Valentin nods. They walk back through the house together, while the picture-hanging goes on behind them.

DOROTHEA I want you to find this man D'Amour for me. She passes the newspaper to Valentin. He looks down at it. ON NEWSPAPER. C.U. of Harry's blurred PICTURE.

INT. HARRY'S HOTEL ROOM - DAY:

Harry is sprawled on the bed, in his under shorts. A shaft of sun darts between the drapes, missing his face by inches. Somebody is knocking on the door, hard. HARRY (waking) What...? He rolls over. The sun strikes his eyes. He winces. HARRY Shit. VALENTIN (V.O.) Mr. D'Amour? HARRY Go away. VALENTIN (V.O.) It's one in the afternoon. HARRY What are you, my mother?

VALENTIN (V.O.) I need to speak to you, Mr. D'Amour. About last night. Harry gets up and stumbles to the door. He opens it a little. The face of VALENTIN is visible through the crack. HARRY Whatever I said, I didn't mean it, okay? I get a few drinks inside me -- VALENTIN We've never met. HARRY Then what do you want? VALENTIN I'm here to offer you a job. HARRY I'm going back to New York in-- (consults his watch) Shit! I'm outta here.

VALENTIN Have you got a job that'll pay you five thousand a day? A beat. Then Harry takes the chain off the door. HARRY Do I get lunch?