Speakeasy #164: The Maltese Cockatiel

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…There is no warning rattle at the door. It swings silently inward. Someone passes through and quietly shuts the door behind them. Sam lights a match illuminating his own face and startling the intruder. It’s Carlotta. Sam turns on the desk lamp.

 ACT II

INT, SAMS OFFICE, NIGHT

Establishing shot shows a bird’s eye view of a cluttered desk in a cluttered office it is clear that they are in a building of many similar offices, the door is closed but a faint glow comes from the lighted hallway through the frosted panel, the transom is open. INVESTIGATIONS can be read backwards through the window glass. Sam sits at his desk, with half a bottle of whiskey, a smudged glass, and a full ashtray. Carlotta is across the office near the door. She is holding a handgun at her side.

 SAM:

So it’s you, Doll. I thought it might be. What are you doing here?
(monotone, terse, tough-guy delivery spoken while lighting a cigarette)

 CARLOTTA:

Sam, you startled me. I didn’t think you’d be… well, I thought…

I confess, I’m here looking for the Maltese Cockatiel.
(clearly flustered)

CLOSE UP CARLOTTA:

 CARLOTTA:

I know you got it off the ship, Sam, and I need it. The money that bird represents can solve a lot of problems. I haven’t lived a good life. I’ve been bad, worse than you could ever believe.
(pointing the pistol at Sam, threatening)

SAM FROM CARLOTTA’S PERSPECTIVE

 SAM:

You know, it’s good that you’ve been bad, because if you actually were as good as you pretend to be, there’d be no future for us. I don’t meet a lot of nice dames in my line of work and I’d like to get to know you better but, I don’t have the bird. Sorry, Doll.
(shaking out his match and blowing smoke into the air, nonchalant)

CARLOTTA FROM SAM’S PERSPECTIVE

 CARLOTTA:

This isn’t about us Sam. We’ll never get anywhere. We can never be ‘us’ – all because of that cursed, jewel encrusted Cockatiel . That million dollar bird.
(remorseful, hurt, pistol drops back to her side)

Camera pulls back to bird’s eye view looking down from behind Sam’s desk. The door is visible behind Carlotta at the top of the screen. Sam pours a shot of whiskey into the dirty glass and drinks it down. He opens the desk drawer and removes his pistol, keeping it low. The door bursts open and a large, overweight man steps in with a gun. Carlotta quickly hides her pistol behind her back.

 FAT MAN:

I want the Cockatiel.
(menacingly, moving the gun back and forth between Sam and Carlotta)

Carlotta brings her gun around quickly and fires once at the fat man, he falls back, into the hallway, dead. Sam sets his gun on the desk and gets up to comfort Carlotta who’s broken down with the death of the fat man. Sam kisses her deeply. She kisses him back.

 SAM:

Now that the fat man’s dead we’ll never find the Cockatiel . He was our best lead. Whatever he knew he’s taken to the grave.
(matter of fact)

Carlotta breaks away from Sam’s embrace, rushes out of the office down the hall. Sam shuts the door, returns to his desk and pours another two fingers of whiskey into the glass. Reaching down and opening the bottom drawer he removes a cloth covered bundle, about the size of a football, unwraps it and sets the Maltese Cockatiel on the desk, next to his broken heart.

 SAM:

So long doll. We coulda made beautiful music together.
(tough guy again, lighting another smoke, shaking the match out slowly while staring wistfully at the door)

 

FADE TO BLACK – QUE DRAMATIC/SPOOKY MUSIC – ROLL CREDITS

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