"DICK KRAUSS, P.I."
Written by
Al Lindsay
1
“DICK KRAUSS, P.I.”
FADE IN:
INT. BUSINESS OFFICE, DEAD OF NIGHT
The office is dark: no-one is working at this time of
night. There are no clues to what kind of work is done
here, it is very much a generic desk room.
We catch glimpses of a black-clad PROWLER riffling
through papers and drawers. A flashlight is suddenly
visible in the open doorway of the office, startling the
prowler. The SECURITY GUARD holding the flashlight
questions the prowler curtly:
SECURITY GUARD
What are you doing?
A pause, then the guard begins advancing on the prowler,
who backs away.
SECURITY GUARD
You'd better come with me.
The prowler continues to back away, pulling out a knife
which the guard doesn't see.
CHANGE OF SHOT to show the knife slashing through the
air, and a suggestion of blood spatter.
BACK TO SCENE as the prowler hurriedly exits the office.
The camera pans slightly, bringing the guard's lifeless
body into view.
EXT. OUTSIDE DICK'S HOME, NEXT MORNING
This is a basic block of flats. DICK KRAUSS steps out
the front door and walks away down the street.
INT. NEWSAGENT'S SHOP, SOON AFTER
A typical small newsagent's. Dick pays for a newspaper.
The SHOPKEEPER 'says' something in sign language; Dick
gives him a half-nod and leaves.
2
INT. RECEPTION OF DICK'S OFFICE BUILDING, SOON AFTER
The RECEPTIONIST, a young man, is sat behind the
reception desk. He looks up, smiling, as he hears
someone approaching; his smile fades as he realises the
new arrival is Dick, who he acknowledges without
enthusiasm. Dick ignores the receptionist and goes
straight to his office.
INT. DICK'S OFFICE, CONTINUOUS
Dick slings his overcoat onto a chair and starts
preparing a percolator of coffee.
INT. RECEPTION, A SHORT TIME LATER
The receptionist is still sat behind his desk when
Dick's assistant, POLLY, walks in; she is a smartlydressed young woman. Polly and the receptionist greet
each other warmly and chat while she collects messages
for Dick.
POLLY
Good morning!
RECEPTIONIST
Hi, Polly!
POLLY
Is the old man in yet?
RECEPTIONIST
(handing her the
messages)
I'm afraid so.
Polly mimes disappointment and heads toward Dick's
office.
INT. DICK'S OFFICE, MOMENTS LATER
Dick is sat behind his desk, scrutinising a newspaper,
with a mug of coffee in hand.
3
Polly enters and moves to stand in front of Dick's desk.
She puts the messages on the desk in front of him,
pointing out a couple that are of particular importance.
She is professional but lacking the warmth she showed
the receptionist; Dick regards her dispassionately.
POLLY
Mister Perseval called again,
it's the third time this week,
maybe you ought to give him some
kind of a response. And John
Oates settled his invoice, I'll
bank the cheque later.
When Dick is sure she has finished speaking, he nods
curtly and returns his attention to the newspaper.
Polly stares at him for a moment, then adopts an
aggressive stance, hand on hips, and berates him
sharply:
POLLY
You know, it's considered polite
to say thank you, even if only
once in a while!
Dick ignores her initially, then a few seconds after she
has finished speaking he looks at her and raises an
eyebrow as if to say 'why are you still here?'
Polly stares at him in disbelief, then storms out of the
office, furious.
Dick watches Polly go, then puts the newspaper
side while he picks up the messages and flicks
them. After four or five in which he shows no
he comes across one which makes him sit up and
note. The note reads:
to one
through
interest,
take
"Murder at Juniper Co
Manager (Hartley) requests Mr Krauss' involvement"
Dick ponders the note for a moment, then decisively gets
up, grabs his coat and leaves the office.
4
INT. CORRIDOR OUTSIDE DICK'S OFFICE, CONTINUOUS
As Dick strides away quickly and purposefully, Polly
looks out of her office and calls after him.
POLLY
Hey, where are you going?
HEY!
Hey!
When it becomes clear that Dick is not going to respond
to her, she returns to her own office, furious, and
slams the door behind her.
INT. BUSINESS OFFICE, LATER THAT MORNING
HARTLEY, the manager of the office, is talking to a
couple of POLICE OFFICERS, one of whom makes notes in
his pocket book. Dick arrives just as the officers move
to leave; they eye Dick suspiciously as they go.
Hartley ushers Dick into the room.
intently.
Dick looks around
HARTLEY
Mister Krauss, thank you for
coming, I'm glad to have someone
of your reputation working on
this.
Dick doesn't acknowledge the compliment, but turns and
looks directly at Hartley as he asks:
DICK
What do you know so far?
HARTLEY
(taken aback)
Someone broke into the building
last night. The guard was found
dead when staff arrived for work
this morning.
Dick looks away from Hartley again, scanning the room.
He spots a deposit of earth left by a shoe, and a dried
leaf. Turning back to Hartley, he again questions the
manager.
5
DICK
Any of your staff been in this
room today?
HARTLEY
No... no, I don't think so, only
myself and the police.
DICK
When do your cleaners come in?
HARTLEY
After office hours - between five
and six, every day.
Dick stares at the room again, briefly, then glances at
Hartley before walking straight out.
DICK
I'll be in touch.
Hartley stares after him, slightly bemused.
EXT. SHADY END OF TOWN, LATER THAT DAY
Dick walks briskly, ignoring the few passers-by that
share the street with him.
EXT. A GRUBBY ALLEYWAY, CONTINUOUS
A scruffy layabout, JERRY, steps out from a back door
and lights a cigarette. He takes a long drag and looks
up and down the alley before walking away.
From the other end of the alley, Dick steps out
cautiously and then follows Jerry, quickly but at a
distance.
EXT. EDGE OF THE WOODS
Jerry disappears up a tiny, overgrown track.
A few moments later Dick arrives. He inspects the leaf
litter briefly before continuing his pursuit.
6
EXT. SHACK IN THE WOODS, LATER
The woods around the shack are not too thick - there's
plenty of room to move through the trees. The shack
itself looks old and neglected.
Jerry goes up to the door and looks around furtively
before unlocking it and going inside.
Dick approaches slowly. He gently tries the handle of
the locked door then starts to search above the door
mantle and under the eaves for a key. He peers
carefully through the windows.
Unseen by Dick, the prowler of the previous night walks
through the trees toward the shack, then sees Dick and
stops dead several metres away.
The prowler quickly takes cover in the brush, then
realises Dick is engrossed in the shack, and begins
creeping toward him.
In close up, we see the prowler's foot come down on a
dry twig.
The prowler freezes at the sound of the twig breaking,
but it seems Dick hasn't heard it. The prowler
continues creeping forward.
As the prowler gets close to Dick and the shack, and the
trees offer less cover, the prowler abandons all caution
and charges forward noisily, knife drawn.
Dick remains seemingly oblivious to the prowler's
presence, right up to the moment when the knife is
plunged into Dick's back. Dick gasps, slams into the
wall, and slowly sinks to the ground.
As Dick lies dying on the ground, Jimmy opens the door
and recoils at the sight. He remonstrates with the
prowler.
Dick looks blearily up at the pair arguing. We focus on
their hand gestures for a moment; segue into flashback
montage.
7
MONTAGE - DICK'S FLASHBACK
(1) Dick is in a sign language class; he looks slightly
younger and is dressed a bit more casually.
(2) a DOCTOR peers inside Dick's ear, then sits opposite
him and talks using exaggerated mouth shapes.
(3) in the newsagent's shop seen earlier, the shopkeeper
signs to Dick again; segue into real time.
BACK TO SHACK
Again we see Jimmy and the prowler arguing and
gesturing. Dick's head slowly falls to the ground.
FADE OUT.
THE END