BACK ROOKIE01 23' 1 1/2 ROOKIES: pilot episode: the partnership INT AFTERNOON CLOSE-UP: LAURA'S SQUAD CAR (Laura, dressed in police uniform, drives) DISPATCHER (voiceover) Edward four. Edward four. This is dispatch. LAURA (speaks into microphone) Dispatch, go for Edward four. DISPATCHER Edward four, home owner reports a burglary at 2 5 3 4 Forest Hills Blvd. See the home owner. LAURA I copy. That's 2 5 3 4 Forest Hills Blvd. See the home owner. (U-turns car, turns at next intersection) Show me 10-76, E.T.A. four minutes. DISPATCHER Edward four, please be advised that, because of a shortage of detectives in the department, there is no detective available for this case. LAURA (smiles) Does that mean I'm primary on this case? DISPATCHER Affirmative. After you set up a perimeter, you are to do a full interview with the victim and assess the crime scene until the crime lab guys arrive. Can you handle? LAURA 10-4. (grins) I'm looking forward to it. EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: MANSION FRONT YARD (Laura unreels the last few feet of yellow POLICE LINE tape and ties it to a fence post as Katie rides up on her bicycle wearing a backpack) KATIE Hiya, Sis. LAURA What are you doing here?! KATIE I'm helping you process the crime scene. LAURA You will do no such thing! KATIE (puts on rubber gloves) You don't have to worry. I won't corrupt the evidence. LAURA How did you even know about this crime? KATIE I built my own police radio. LAURA Our police radio is digital! How did you access the data stream? KATIE I duplicated the simm card from your radio. LAURA You what?! You cloned my police radio?! Katelyn Rose Archer! Are you trying to get me fired?! If my boss finds out.... KATIE Relax, Sis. The only way your sergeant will find out is if you tell him. LAURA (backs toward front door, points at Katie) You stay away from my crime scene. This is my first solo, and you're not going to mess it up! KATIE I could be a big help here, Sis. LAURA (points at Katie) Stay. KATIE Have mercy, Sis. I need this crime scene for my Science Fair project. LAURA (points at Katie) Stay. (turns, knocks on door, door opens, enters house) KATIE (rides out of frame, to self) Well, I tried to do it the right way. You can't say I didn't try. EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: MANSION BACK YARD (Katie's eyes rise over the alley wall, look left and right, she climbs up and over, then drops down behind a bush, looks in all directions, sneaks from bush to bush all the way to the side windows of the house, hugs the wall under an open window, listens to the interview, takes notes) INT AFTERNOON WIDE: MANSION LIVING ROOM (Laura sits taking notes opposite Victim) LAURA Any idea how the burglar got into the house? VICTIM I have no idea. All the doors were locked and the alarm was still turned on when I got home. You think maybe the burglar had a key to my house?! LAURA (writing) I don't know yet, but, if he did, he also knew your alarm code. Just to be safe, you should call a locksmith and the alarm company and have all the locks and the alarm code changed. LAURA How long were you gone? VICTIM Just a couple of hours. LAURA And what was the value of the necklace? VICTIM One million two hundred thousand dollars. LAURA Holy smokes! That must be some necklace! VICTIM Well, it has some large diamonds and sapphires, but what made it valuable was that it's an antique. It was originally commissioned by the royal Romanoff family of Russia. LAURA Who knew you had possession of such a valuable necklace? VICTIM Everybody. It was recently on display down at the museum of art downtown. LAURA Was anything stolen besides the necklace? VICTIM You know, that's odd. The burglar took the Romanoff, but he left behind several other pieces of jewelry with pearls and gold and diamonds. It's as if the burglar broke into my house just to steal the Romanoff necklace. LAURA Where did you keep the necklace before it was taken? VICTIM It was in a wall safe in the master bedroom. (points up) In the left rear of the house upstairs. EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: MANSION BACK YARD (Katie bends as she sneaks under the windows toward the rear of the house, rounding the corner, she looks up at the window of the second floor bedroom, repeatedly looking up and down and moving until she lines up the second floor window with hands on an imaginary ladder, finally, she kneels an looks closely at two small rectangular marks in the freshly tilled soil) KATIE (to self) Aha! Just as I thought! (looks left and right repeatedly) Alright, where's the ladder that was leaning up against the house? (crouches and moves toward bushes on the far side of the house) Alright, Mr burglar, where did you hide the ladder? (looks behind bushes, sees nothing, scratches head) Well, if he didn't hide it, what did he do with it? (stands at attention) He brought it with him! Then he took it with him! (crouches and runs to back wall next to alley, rises behind a bush, looks both ways, climbs to the top of the wall, looks left and right, points to a nearby scuff on top of the wall, approaches removing back pack) There! He dragged the ladder over the wall there! If the ladder is made of wood, there should be wood splinters there. If it was aluminum, there should be aluminum there. (pulls hand-held microscope from backpack, examines scuff mark) Aha! I see aluminum particles! (moves scope) Oh. What's this? It's yellow. Yellow fibers. (sits erect) Yellow fibers. Yellow fibers. Fiberglass! It's a yellow fiberglass ladder! It's a yellow fiberglass ladder with aluminum rivets! (turns toward a dark scuff mark and some particles nearby) Wait! What have we here? This mark is from his shoe. This is where he climbed over the wall. But these particles... (examines particles with microscope) They look like flakes. Flakes of... paint. The burglar was a painter. Well, if he was a painter, he would carry his ladder on the roof of his van. No, wait. Some of these flakes have two or three different colors side by side in one small flake. What kind of painter paints a wall three or four different colors? (sits up, tilts head) This doesn't make sense. Only an artist would paint like that. But an artist wouldn't have a van with a ladder on top. Maybe he's a janitor in a place where artists work, like a school or an art studio or... the art museum downtown! (smiles) EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: NEIGHBOR'S HOUSE (Katie knocks on the door) NEIGHBOR (opens door) Hi. May I help you? KATIE Yes. I was just wondering if you noticed a truck or a van in your back alley with a yellow ladder on top? NEIGHBOR Yes, I did when I brought my trash to the trash can late this morning. It was a white van with a big round sticker on the door. (ponders) I can't remember what it said. But it made sense at the time. What did it say? (snaps fingers, points) The art museum. My neighbor... (points) across the alley. She just loaned her necklace to the art museum recently. I assumed that the van was here to return her necklace. KATIE (exiting frame running) Thank you. You've been very helpful. EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: MANSION FRONT DOOR (Katie knocks on the door) LAURA (opens door while speaking to victim) I'm sure it's for me. I'm expecting the guys from the crime lab any minute. (turns to Katie) What are you doing here?! KATIE I solved your crime. LAURA Let me put it another way: (points toward street) That yellow tape across the front of the property was to keep YOU out! KATIE Let me put it another way: I solved this crime. LAURA Alright, listen up. I'm only going to say this once more: (leans in, lower voice) This is my first solo crime scene and you are not going to mess it up! (louder) Now leave before you contaminate my crime scene! KATIE So, you already know how the burglar got into the house? LAURA Yes, I'm pretty sure the burglar had a key to the house and he knew how to disable the burglar alarm. KATIE (sings) Wrong. LAURA What do you know about it?! KATIE I know that the burglar got into the house through the second floor window at the rear of the house. (points) LAURA That's impossible! There's a state-of-the-art burglar alarm in this house! KATIE Check again. There are no alarm sensors on the second floor windows. LAURA You're just saying that. You don't know! KATIE Check for yourself. LAURA There is no way you could possibly know that. KATIE I not only know that, I also know who stole the necklace. (turns, exiting toward street) But don't listen to me. I'm just a little kid who wants her sister to be the youngest detective in the police department. LAURA Wait. KATIE (smirks, turns) Yes? LAURA Alright, here's the deal. I'll go up and check to see if there are alarm sensors on the upstairs windows. But if I find sensors on all the upstairs windows, you have to go away an never interfere with police business ever again. KATIE And if I'm right, you have to let me help you solve the next crime too. LAURA (shakes finger) Wait. You've already been in the backyard, haven't you? You defied my instructions to stay out of my crime scene, haven't you? I could have you arrested. KATIE Or... you could solve this crime before the crime scene investigators get here and you could look like a hero,... Detective Laura. LAURA (looks to see if Victim is listening, leans toward Katie) Alright! I'll go look at the upstairs windows. But if you're wrong about this, I'm telling Dad. KATIE And if you're wrong about this, I get to help you with your next solo case. Let's check the windows upstairs for alarm sensors and... (steps toward door, Laura closes it in her face) Well, I thought that went well. (crime lab truck parks at curb, two CSIs exit truck carrying cases) CSI (approaching Katie) Shouldn't you be BEHIND the tape? (points) KATIE Well, as you know, the police department's budget has been cut, so there aren't enough detectives. The dispatcher assigned a patrol cop as primary on this case. So, I'm here to help her. CSI That's got to be against regulations. KATIE I think the powers that be will forgive us when we tell them that we already solved this crime. CSI Yeah, right. KATIE (offers slip of paper) Here is a list of evidence the patrolman wants you to collect. CSI (to CSI) She's telling us how to do our job? KATIE She's just saving you time. You won't find much trace evidence upstairs in the crime scene. CSI How does she know?! KATIE This job is clearly the work of a professional jewel thief. (points to slip) These items are the pieces of evidence that helped us solve this case. And as you can see, these are not the usual items of evidence. You wouldn't normally look for yellow fiberglass fragments or multicolored paint chips on the backyard wall near the alley, would you? CSI How on earth did she notice those? KATIE There's no ladder on this property. The robber brought his own yellow fiberglass ladder and he dragged it over the wall from the alley. CSI Oh. I suppose that makes sense. LAURA (exits house) Oh, you're here! CSI Yeah, your... assistant... gave us your list of evidence to collect. LAURA My list? (Katie nods sideways) Oh, of course. Well, the crime scene is all yours. (points toward house) Master bedroom. Second floor in the left rear. (CSIs enter house) (Laura turns to Katie) Are you trying to get me fired?! KATIE On the contrary, I'm trying to help you become the youngest detective in the police department. LAURA Katie, if you get me in trouble... KATIE Time is wasting, Laura. The fact that you're out here tells me that I was right. There are no alarm sensors on the second floor windows. (points and walks toward patrol car) So, let's get going to the art museum. LAURA (follows) The art museum?! KATIE I'll explain it to you in the car. LAURA The car?! You can't ride with me! It's against regulations. KATIE Laura, time is wasting. If we don't hurry, the burglar will skip town. LAURA You just get me in deeper and deeper. (points at car) Alright, get in. EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: ART MUSEUM FRONT ENTRANCE (Laura's patrol car parks at the curb, she exits) LAURA Alright, I'll get the name and address of the driver of the white truck with the yellow ladder. (Katie begins to exit car) You stay in the car. KATIE But we need to collect evidence from... (points) LAURA You stay in the car! (closes door) KATIE (shouts) That is no way for a cop to treat her partner! (slams door, crosses arms, watches Laura until she disappears into the museum, then exits car with backpack and exits frame running) EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: ART MUSEUM LOADING DOCK (enters frame running) KATIE (sees the white van with circular decal on door and yellow ladder mounted on top) What have we here? (she jumps up on the loading dock and examines the ladder, sees scrape marks) Just as I thought. This is the truck and this is the ladder. (jumps down from loading dock, tries all the doors, locked. Pulls a slim-jim out of backpack, slides it down between the driver's side window and the door frame, lifts, unlocks door, opens door, slides into seat, removes GPS from its holder, turns it on, clicks buttons) Now, let's see where the burglar has driven this van recently. Well! That was easy! (copies the address from the screen onto her writing pad) EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: ART MUSEUM FRONT ENTRANCE (Katie rounds the corner on the run, sees Laura leaning impatiently against the fender of the patrol car) LAURA I told you to stay in the car! KATIE (entering car) And I told you that we need to collect evidence. (shows slip with handwritten address) LAURA (entering car) You are going to get me suspended. (both close doors) INT AFTERNOON WIDE: LAURA'S PATROL CAR KATIE Did you find out who drove the white van? LAURA (driving) Yes. The security guard says a maintenance man named John Smith took the van before lunch but they haven't seen him since. KATIE (offers picture) Here's his picture. KATIE John Smith. Sounds like an alias. LAURA Good guess. It is an alias. (pulls inverted page from dash board, offers it) The sergeant just gave us this BOLO from Interpol this morning. KATIE (compares pictures) Same guy! It says he's a Russian. LAURA His real name is Boris Petrova. He's a career criminal. KATIE (reads) Thirty burglaries? LAURA He specializes in high-end jewelry and art work. KATIE If this guy is a pro, shouldn't we call in some back-up? LAURA Naw. Interpol says he never carries a gun. KATIE Just to be safe, maybe I should carry a gun. LAURA (chuckles) Dream on. INT AFTERNOON WIDE: BURGLAR'S APARTMENT BUILDING (Laura and Katie sneak down the hallway toward the burglar's apartment door) LAURA (pulls weapon, holds up her hand, stops short, crouches, whispers) You wait outside until I clear the apartment. (Katie nods) (Laura raises her foot to stomp the door) KATIE (holds up her hand in front of Laura's face, whispers) Wait! (Laura freezes, Katie turns the knob and pushes the door open, smirks, withdraws) LAURA (enters the bachelor apartment cautiously pointing gun in all directions, explores bathroom, then opens closet: empty) Okay. We're clear. (points to closet as Katie enters apartment) He cleared out the closet and drawers. He's long gone. Well, I guess that's it. Let's go home. KATIE Or... we could go look for the necklace. LAURA The perp took the necklace with him. KATIE (offers slip with address) Or... he probably dropped off the necklace at this address. LAURA Where did you get that address? KATIE From the GPS in the white van with the yellow ladder on top. It's the last address he stopped at before returning the van. LAURA You performed an illegal search of the van?! KATIE It's not technically illegal. It would have been illegal if I was a cop. But I'm a civilian, an under age civilian. Therefore.... LAURA Katie! KATIE Alright! You can make it legal if you call the museum and get their permission to look at the van's GPS. (moving toward car door holding up slip of paper) And you can do that in the car on the way to this address. LAURA (entering car) Katie, if you get me suspended, so help me... (slams door) INT AFTERNOON TWO-SHOT: LAURA'S PATROL CAR LAURA (cell phone to ear) Okay, thank you for your cooperation. (pockets cell phone) Whew! Your illegal search is now legal. KATIE (points) Take a right here at the next intersection. LAURA (turning car) You don't have any other surprises for me, do you? KATIE (points) Second building on the left. LAURA I know why you're so cool about this. If we get busted, I'm the adult and I'm the cop, so I kiss my career goodbye. KATIE You're not going to lose your job. You're going to be a hero. You're going to return the Romanoff necklace. LAURA All I ever wanted to be was a detective. I'll probably end up as a security guard in a cemetery. (slows car, cranes neck) The place looks abandoned. Why would a burglar stop at an empty building? KATIE He probably used this building as a dead-drop. LAURA A dead drop? KATIE That's where one guy stashes the loot, then the other guy picks it up. LAURA I know what a dead-drop is. Why would you conclude that this is a dead-drop sight rather than the place where the burglar already SOLD the necklace to the buyer? KATIE This particular burglar has pulled off more than 30 burglaries without getting caught. If you're a successful crook, would you risk SELLING the necklace to an undercover cop? LAURA (pulling into the driveway, distracted) I suppose a dead-drop would be safer than a live exchange. Let's see if he left the door open. If not we can stake out the place until the buyer shows up to pick up the necklace. (parks car) KATIE Too late. LAURA What do you mean? KATIE We lost the element of surprise. (points at a CCTV camera on top of the building) We've already been caught on camera. LAURA That camera might be a leftover from the previous occupant of the building. KATIE Sorry to disappoint you, but that's a battery powered camera with a wireless connection to the internet. It's brand new. No way the buyer is coming to pick up the necklace after he sees a cop car here. LAURA (smacks steering wheel) Rats, now we've lost both the burglar and his buyer! KATIE (exiting car) Well, we may have scared away the buyer, but, maybe we can still get the necklace back. EXT AFTERNOON WIDE: WAREHOUSE LAURA (looks through the front window) Just as I thought. It's empty and abandoned. (tugs on the door knob, locked) Locked. (turns) The good news is we have enough evidence to get a search warrant. (pulls out cell phone, backs toward rear of building) I'll call it in while I look around back for evidence. You wait here. And don't touch anything. (turns away, to phone) Yeah, Sarg. This is Patrolman Archer. I traced the stolen necklace to an abandoned warehouse. We're going to need a search warrant... (Katie waits for Laura to turn corner of the building, reaches into a nearby downspout, feels around, retrieves a key, unlocks door, enters building) (Jump cut: Laura returns to the front of the building from the other side, sees Katie gone and the door open, pulls pistol, enters building cautiously) INT AFTERNOON WIDE: WAREHOUSE LAURA (Laura enters) Police! Let me see your hands! (sees an office door open, enters, gun ready) Police! Let me see your hands! (sees Katie nosing around) KATIE I'm sorry, Sis, were you talking to me? LAURA What is the matter with you?! I told you to wait outside! We need a search warrant to get in here! KATIE Wrong. The police need a search warrant. I'm just a little kid. (lifts a poster taped to the wall, sees a wall safe beneath with a ten-key number pad) Bingo! A wall safe! (tears off the poster) LAURA You're not listening to a word I say. KATIE I'm listening. I'm just ignoring you because... (points, louder) We found the necklace! LAURA (pulls out cell phone, pokes buttons, to phone) Yeah, Sarg, it's me again. Can you send a locksmith... (turns, sees the safe open and Katie trying on the necklace, covers phone) Katie! What are you doing?! KATIE How does it look? LAURA Katie. (to phone) On second thought, Sarg, hold off on the locksmith. I'll get back to you. (pockets cell phone) KATIE (looks at her own reflection in window, turns side to side) It doesn't look like one million two hundred thousand dollars, does it? LAURA How did you get the safe open?! KATIE The combination was on the poster. (points at the floor) LAURA The poster? (examines poster, both sides) I don't see a combination! KATIE Well, it's not really a combination. It's more like a puzzle. I'm good at puzzles. LAURA (examines poster, both sides) I still don't see a combination! KATIE The poster is an advertisement for LEGGS pantyhose. The clues to the puzzle are written in small letters in the "L". LAURA The "L". (examines poster closer) Well, I see some writing, but there are no numbers here. Just the words SPIDER, BUTTERFLY, LEOPARD and CENTIPEDE. KATIE Don't you get it? LAURA (ponders) No. KATIE The poster advertises LEGGS. You know, like how many legs do you have? LAURA Oh! Legs! So, the combination to the safe is the number of legs. Like, 8 for the spider, 6 for the butterfly, 4 for the leopard, and... and... help me out here. KATIE One, zero, zero. (removes necklace, puts it back into it's black velvet case) LAURA One hundred. Yes, of course. LAURA (writes) The combination was 8... 6... 4... 1... 0... 0. (cell phone rings, to phone) Go for Archer. Yes, Sarg. I'm here. Okay, thanks, Sarg. (pockets cell phone) KATIE (smirks, offers necklace) Don't tell me. You now have a search warrant to enter the building and open the safe. (exits laughing) LAURA (snatches necklace, follows) Very funny. INT NIGHT WIDE: FAMILY DINING ROOM (Laura enters with a bowl of salad, slides it to the middle of the table, sits, Katie follows with a bowl of beans, sits, Mother follows with a tray of Lasagna, sits) LAURA You would not believe the paperwork a detective has to fill out for one burglary! MOTHER You're not letting that discourage you from your goal to be the department's youngest detective, are you? LAURA No way! KATIE Isn't Daddy coming? CHIEF (heard entering through a remote door, shouts afar) I'm home. (enters the room wearing a full-dress police uniform with stars on the collar, removes jacket and hat, kisses Mother, sits) My day was awful. How was yours? (all pass bowls and spoon food onto plates) MOTHER Mine was okay. But your rookie had her first solo crime scene today. CHIEF Really?! How did it go? KATIE She recovered a stolen necklace worth one million two hundred thousand dollars. CHIEF The Romanoff necklace. So, you caught that burglary, huh?! LAURA Sarg said the whole department is short on detectives. CHIEF Tell me about it. I spent the entire day in front of the city council trying to talk them into giving me back some of the money they took from my budget. So, my rookie made her mark on the department today! LAURA I didn't catch the burglar, though. He was long gone. CHIEF You're not the only one. I'm told this perp is wanted in a dozen countries. He's a real pro. You did a good job recovering the necklace so quickly. KATIE How soon will Laura be promoted to detective? LAURA Katie! CHIEF Katie's got a point there. I think you were as close as anyone in the world to catching this perp. And noone has ever recovered the stolen items before. KATIE We did good! MOTHER (smiles) WE?! LAURA (to Chief, nervously) You were saying? CHIEF This perp has a reputation to defend. I think he might try to steal again just to show us he can get away with it. And when he does, I'm going to recommend that YOU get the assignment. LAURA Really?! CHIEF Really. I predict you'll be the youngest detective in the department. (to Katie) And how was your day, my little angel? KATIE I had a really good day, Daddy. (exchanges glances with Laura) I did some research for my science fair project and I solved a puzzle. (Laura lets out a sigh of relief) By the way, Laura offered to help me with my science fair project. Didn't you, Laura? LAURA (offers hands) Let's thank the Lord for our food. (grits teeth, bows head) CHIEF (all join hands) Father in heaven, we thank you.... �2013 Bob Snook. Conditions for use: Do not sell any part of this script, even if you rewrite it. Pay no royalties, even if you make money from performances. You may reproduce and distribute this script freely, but all copies must contain this copyright statement. http://www.bobsnook.org email: [email protected] BACK |