Professional Portfolio – Crime Script

INT. SCHOOL KITCHEN – DAY
A friendly, plump DINNER LADY, who looks to be in her late fifties, is bustling around the kitchen. She is by herself, finishing up after the school day. The large, stainless steel kitchen seems very empty and quiet. She carries two large, fit-to-burst bin bags towards the door.
EXT. SIDE ALLEY, SCHOOL – DAY
The dinner lady heaves the bags on to an already over flowing pile, misjudging her efforts and knocking the bags to the floor.

DINNER LADY
(muttering)
Tsk, damn bin men. Easiest job in the world and they can’t even do that properly, leaving it all here in a…

She stares at the cause of her abrupt halt. A YOUNG, DARK-SKINNED BOY’s body lays lifelessly in a pool of blood beneath the scattered bags, his school uniform stained deep red around an unnatural whole in his stomach.

DINNER LADY (CONT’D)
(screaming, backing away frantically)
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! SOMEONE, SOMEONE HELP!

EXT. SIDE ALLEY, SCHOOL – DAY
It is later in the afternoon, almost early evening, and D.C.I DAVID MOORE has brought forensic investigators JAMES MILTON and DAWN EDWARDS to the crime scene. They are cut off from the outside world by police tape, as onlookers gather behind. The shaken dinner lady sits with a paramedic. James kneels next to the body.

D.C.I DAVID MOORE
(calling back as he walks away)
You two carry on here. I’m going inside, find out if the kid had any enemies.

He ducks under the tape and heads to the main entrance of the school.

JAMES
Nasty wound. It’s definitely been caused by a blade, and a blunt one at that. A simple household knife, perhaps. From what I can make out through all this blood, there’s a lot of damage to the tissue inside the entry point.

DAWN
(nodding, mentally piecing information together)
The knife went in, caused serious damage to the surrounding tissue on the way. Then when it was pulled out he was left to bleed out.

She stands and sighs, shaking her head.

DAWN (CONT’D)
He looks so young. Has anyone ID’d him?

JAMES
(holding up an evidence bag containing a library card)
This was in his trouser pocket. GEORGE TECKETT. His date of birth is June 1997.

DAWN
He was twelve.
Dawn pushes her copper hair from her face as James stands and looks out into the playground behind them, a sea of worried children and parents.

JAMES
Let’s bag all the evidence and get everything back to the lab. Moore is friendly with the teachers, LUCY comes here, so he’s gonna ask a few questions and see if anything crops up as suspicious. We need to find this knife. It could be anywhere by now.

DAWN
Right. And we need to find our killer.

They turn and look towards the ever growing crowd behind the tape, each face etched with concern.

JAMES
(tiredly)
Where do we start?

INT. D.C.I MOORE’S HOME – NIGHT
David places his keys down, his face reflecting his gratitude to be home. He walks down his large hallway and into his kitchen where his wife, ARRIANE MOORE stands, preparing dinner. He kisses her ebony cheek and puts his arm round her waist.

D.C.I DAVID MOORE
Evening, sweetheart. Good day?

ARRIANE MOORE
(smiling as she chops)
Average to good. LUCY isn’t home yet, she sent me a text, something about staying with YASMIN for a few hours. I think they’re all quite shaken up after what happened today, y’know?

D.C.I DAVID MOORE
Yeah, understandable. It wasn’t a pretty sight. Poor kid. None of the teachers seemed to think there was anyone in particular that would go after him like that, but teachers can be really blind to these things. Why are you chopping that onion with that huge knife? Give it here.

Giggling, Arriane hands her grumpy old husband the knife. She wipes her hands on her apron before taking it off and swinging it over his head instead.

ARRIANE MOORE
You are more than welcome to cook the dinner my love. You know what I’m like, couldn’t find the usual knife, didn’t jump at me from the drawer, so didn’t really look…

D.C.I DAVID MOORE
(smiling)
And you wonder why me and Luce call you lazy?

She throws a dishcloth at him and leaves the kitchen, laughing softly.

INT. FORENSIC CRIME LAB. EVIDENCE ROOM – DAY
It is the following day. Dawn, in a bright white lab coat, hair pulled back off her young face is bent over a large table, examining a blood stained shirt.

INT. FORENSIC CRIME LAB, CORRIDOR – DAY
D.C.I Moore strides purposefully down the brightly lit hallway. His face is painted with anguish. A YOUNG BOY sits alone on plastic chairs, swinging his legs. His expression matches Moore’s.

INT. FORENSIC CRIME LAB. EVIDENCE ROOM – DAY
JAMES (O.S.)
I’m finished up here for now.

He walks into shot and next to Dawn, placing his evidence bag back in the large open box on the table.

JAMES (CONT’D)
I’ve collected trace evidence from his trousers but nothing is jumping out at me right now. Moore said yesterday that the teachers thought he was lovely, and the other pupils did too.

Dawn slides the shirt back into its evidence bag and seals it carefully. She places it in the box along with the samples she has just recovered, and replaces the lid.

DAWN
He pissed someone off. But who get’s so agitated with a twelve year old child that they stab him and kill him?

JAMES
The police have bought someone in, meant to be his best friend apparently. Found him cowering in some bushes about two miles from the school. No idea where his parents are. Moore’s meant to be having a chat with him.

LAB ASSISTANT (O.S.)
(shouting agitatedly)
Watch it! Hey, hey where are you going?!

The young boy from the corridor dashes past the evidence room, dodging the lab assistant’s attempted grasp.

DAWN
What the -

JAMES
That’s him, that’s the friend. He’s our primary suspect, and he’s bloody running away!

Dawn and James rush from the evidence room to follow the boy, desperate to catch up with him.

EXT. FRONT OF FORENSIC LAB – DAY
James and Dawn emerge from the building, out of breath and exasperated.

DAWN
(breathlessly)
He’s gone. God knows where, but he has.

JAMES
The little -

DAWN
(interrupting)
The police will catch up with him, James. Our job is the evidence. Leave the running around to them. You aren’t cut out for it, anyway.

She punches him lightly on the arm and turns to go back inside, leaving a disgruntled James searching the carpark with his gaze.

INT. FORENSIC CRIME LAB, CORRIDOR – DAY
Dawn almost collides with D.C.I Moore as he leaves the evidence room.

DAWN
Sorry, Sir! You okay?
D.C.I DAVID MOORE
(flustered)
Dawn, sorry, sorry, I was, just, looking for you and James. I heard the boy ran away, our suspect?

DAWN
Yeah, ran like a bloody whippet as well. Think he got out somehow and bolted. James is still -

Dawn stops and pushes past Moore into the evidence room, her eyes on the table and the open box, the evidence bags spread and scattered across the surface.

D.C.I DAVID MOORE
What’s the matter?

DAWN
(authoritatively)
Secure the building. If he’s still in here we need to catch him.

She gestures wildly to the table.

DAWN (CONT’D)
This evidence has been tampered with.