DR. LEWIS: Understood.
Dr. Grimm shakes his head.
DR. GRIMM: Why is it that I always leave Dr. Clark in charge when I’m away instead of you? You follow orders so much better.
DR. LEWIS: I have no idea, Dr. Grimm.
Dr. Grimm looks around, leans in and lowers his voice.
DR. GRIMM: Between you and me, Dr. Clark’s going to be spending much more time at the Dawson Springs facility, so looks like you’ll be getting more opportunities to run the show here.
DR. LEWIS: That would be terrific Dr. Grimm…
(She pauses)
Franklin.
She smiles at him with a subtle sense of flirtation, which catches Dr. Grimm off guard.
DR. LEWIS: Is there anything else you need me to do?
The dinginess of the stairwell catches his attention.
DR. GRIMM: It’s awful dusty in here.
DR. LEWIS: Back stair wells are supposed to be dusty. Isn’t that a law?
DR. GRIMM: Not in my building. Do me a favor and call maintenance.
DR. LEWIS: Anything else?
Dr. Grimm gets a little antsy as he asks.
DR. GRIMM: Have you seen the head of security?
DR. LEWIS: You mean Ski Mask?
DR. GRIMM: Yes, Ski Mask.
DR. LEWIS: Isn’t he on vacation?
Dr. GRIMM: Yes, have you seen him, though?
DR. LEWIS: No. And I wouldn’t mind if he took a permanent vacation.
She shudders at the thought of him.
DR. GRIMM: Well…enjoy your cigarette.
He turns and heads up the stairs.
Dr. Grimm reaches the floor to his office. He relaxes as he knows the hall should be quiet this time of the day.
He walks through the double doors that near his office and walks briskly being the only soul in sight.
He halts, startled when a young, voluptuous, blond lab tech turns the corner toward him.
Dr. Grimm can’t remember her name, but recognizes her as a chit chatty nuisance, exactly the type he least wants to encounter at the moment.
He turns and grabs some forms out of a nearby file holder and makes himself look busy as she passes. As her footsteps pass him and become distant, he lets out a sigh of relief.
Dr. Grimm turns to watch her exit the floor, only to see Dr. Bloomfield, a man in his early 40’s and one of Dr. Grimm’s least favorite subordinates, bump hard into the lab tech. Dr. Grimm senses an underlying sense of familiarity between the two as the lab tech stares daggers at Dr. Bloomfield before beginning to walk away.
Dr. Grimm’s jaw drops at what he next witnesses.
Before she can get out of arms reach, Dr. Bloomfield grabs her ass and smiles goofily.
She wields around and slaps him full on. He doubles over for a second and then rises up, still holding his goofy expression. He observes her ass while she storms away.
Dr. Grimm shakes his head knowing that Dr. Bloomfield has had multiple complaints from co-workers. The boss in Dr. Grimm takes over and he makes himself extremely visible to Dr. Bloomfield by snapping his fingers and commanding him to his side.
Dr. Bloomfield, still rubbing his reddened face, takes a nervous breath as he walks to Dr. Grimm
DR. GRIMM: Perhaps I’m hallucinating, but did I just see you touch that woman on the buttocks inappropriately?
Dr. Bloomfield searches for the words to properly defend himself with.
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Uh…uh…it’s okay…we used to date. A long time ago.
DR. GRIMM: Mark my words, one more sexual harassment complaint against you and you’re out on your buttocks, do you understand me?
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Yes sir. It will never happen again.
DR. GRIMM: Good!
Dr. Grimm turns to leave.
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Uh…Dr. Grimm while I have you here, I need to discuss a patient with you…
Dr. Grimm rolls his eyes as he turns back to Dr. Bloomfield and notices his tie is crooked. Very unprofessional. Dr. Grimm can’t take it.
DR. GRIMM: Oh, for crying out loud will you fix your tie!
Dr. Bloomfield quickly begins adjusting his tie as the hall lights flicker.
Dr. Grimm looks up at the lights. His face reddens. He lost count as to how many times maintenance has assured him that it was next on their list. The thought of firing the entire maintenance staff once his current ordeal was corrected is disrupted by Dr. Bloomfield’s predictable comment on the situation.
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Boy, there go the lights again. Maybe you should have maintenance look into that?
Dr. Grimm’s blood begins to boil as he sarcastically snaps at Dr. Bloomfield.
DR. GRIMM: What would we do without you?
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Yeah…uh…I wanted to ask you about the patient in 4102.
It takes Dr. Grimm approximately two seconds to put the room number and patients name together.
DR. GRIMM: Bradley Keith?
An impressed Dr. Bloomfield smiles and looks at his chart to confirm the accuracy.
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Yes! That’s right. Wow, that’s pretty impressive, how about that…
DR. GRIMM: Continue!
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Oh, yeah, uh…for some reason he keeps going on and on about Marty Feldman. It’s Marty Feldman this, Marty Feldman that, he just won’t stop talking about Marty Feldman.
Dr. Grimm says nothing. He simply stares at Dr. Bloomfield in disbelief and disgust.
DR. BLOOMFIELD: You know Marty Feldman, the actor?
Dr. Bloomfield bugs his eyes out trying to do his best imitation of the late actor.
Dr. Grimm is insulted that anyone would assume he doesn’t know who Marty Feldman is.
DR GRIMM: Yes, I know who Marty Feldman, the actor, is.
DR. BLOOMFIELD: I just thought maybe you hadn’t seen Young Frankenstein.
Dr. Grimm is even more insulted now, as though Young Frankenstein was the only thing of note that Marty Feldman had done.
DR. GRIMM: Yes, I’ve seen Young Frankenstein, I’ve seen The Marty Feldman Show, I’ve seen Silent Movie and Yellowbeard and In God We Trust and The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes Smarter Brother!
Dr. Bloomfield doesn’t know how to respond. Clearly, Dr. Grimm is quite familiar with Marty Feldman’s resume.
DR. GRIMM: Have you read the patients summary?
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Uh…
DR. GRIMM: If you had you wouldn’t be wasting your time and mine with all these questions!
(Pause)
The patient is suffering from an acute case of dissociative fugue. He thinks he’s Gene Wilder. Today he’s fixated on Marty Feldman, tomorrow it will be Madeline Kahn, the day after that it will be Richard Pryor, the day after that it will be Mel Brooks.
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Gene Wilder? Really?
Dr. Grimm’s voice drips with sarcasm.
DR. GRIMM: Yes, you know Gene Wilder, the actor?
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Yes, I know who Gene Wilder is.
DR. GRIMM: Thank God. I was beginning to think you hadn’t seen Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory!
DR. BLOOMFIELD: I have.
DR. GRIMM: Not the remake.
DR. BLOOMFIELD: No, the original, Gene Wilder…Jack Albertson…
DR. GRIMM: Good. Perhaps you should consider giving up psychiatric medicine and become a film critic!
Dr. Grimm’s heart drops as he hears a radio broadcast coming from down the hall.
RADIO ANNOUNCER: …hospital officials have yet to confirm the escape of one of their mental patients who has been described by an anonymous source as extremely dangerous. We have been trying all morning to get confirmation. Dr. Franklin Grimm the head of the hospital for the past decade will not take our calls. His secretary claims that Dr. Grimm is away from the institution today, but we have confirmed that Dr. Grimm’s vehicle has been spotted in the parking lot, causing us to wonder what exactly it is that he’s trying to hide. Until Dr. Grimm makes a statement, we can only speculate…
Dr. Gri
mm sprints to the room the radio is in, followed closely by Dr. Bloomfield.
DR. GRIMM: How long has this been out?
DR. BLOOMFIELD: I don’t know…I think…
Dr. Grimm grabs Dr. Bloomfield by the jacket, pulls him close and shouts.
DR. GRIMM: How long has this been out?
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Since this morning!
Dr. Grimm freezes in shock and looks back at the radio.
DR. BLOOMFIELD: Surely you’ve known something about the reports…
DR. GRIMM: Get the hell out of here!
He tosses Dr. Bloomfield to the side.
Dr. Grimm’s mind floods with thought. He walks down the hallways in a daze.
Dr. Lewis enters the hall and begins talking to Dr. Grimm.
DR. LEWIS: Hi Franklin, listen, I was thinking, you and I have a lot in common. Maybe we can get to know each other a little better now that my husband is out of the picture.
I mean it makes perfect sense if you think about it.
Dr. Grimm doesn’t hear a word she says. His mind is in a fog as he tries to put together how word could have gotten out about the escape. He doesn’t even notice the hallways lights flickering again as he walks down the hall.
DR. LEWIS: You’re alone most of the time, I’m alone now. We’re both going through difficult things. Maybe we can get together and blow off some steam or something.
Dr. Grimm stops and focuses in on his secretary Gloria as she walks down the hallway with a lab tech.
GLORIA: Are you kidding? They don’t tell me anything.
She turns into the office as the lab tech continues down the hallway.
Dr. Grimm furrows his brow and scowls slightly.
DR. LEWIS: What do you think about that, Franklin?
Dr. Grimm looks at Dr. Lewis and waves her off.
DR. GRIMM: Not now!
He storms off down the hall, toward his office.
CHAPTER 6
FRIDAY
Afternoon
Alex is on his back in the bed with his hands duct taped behind him. Melissa is thrown onto the bed next to him on her stomach. Her hands too are bound behind her with duct tape.
On a dresser next to the bed, Max has laid out a variety of tools. Hammer, pruner, hacksaw, pliers, tree trimmer, drill, garden claw, pointed brick trowel and a chef’s knife.
Max slowly moves his hand over the items. He picks up the pruners and then sets them down. He slows to feel the handle on the garden claw and then moves on until his hand stops at the chef’s knife. He grips it in his hand and cracks an evil grin as he turns to the two people on the bed.
MAX: Well, well, well, look at this happy little couple.
(Pause)
Don’t you think he’s a little old for you?
ALEX: I’m not that old.
MAX: (Shouts)
Shut up!
(He looks at Melissa)
I asked you a question!
He gets on top of Melissa and pulls her head back by the hair. He places the blade of the knife against her exposed throat.
MAX: When I ask you a question, I expect an answer, now don’t you think he’s a little old for you?
MELISSA: (Crying in fear as she talks)
No, no! He’s not too old.
Max lets her go and rises up.
MAX: He sure looks a lot older than you.
ALEX: I’m not that old.
Max erupts.
MAX: SHUT UP!
Max climbs on top of Alex and points the blade at Alex’s eye as he screams at him.
MAX: Shut up! You shut up! You don’t say anything unless I tell you to! You keep that trap shut unless I ask you something directly!
ALEX: Just calm down.
MAX: What the hell did I just say to you?
He grabs Alex by the throat and moves his face closer to Alex’s.
MAX: You’re not going to listen to me? Then let explain it to you in terms you’ll understand!
Alex watches as Max stands up and walks to the dresser of tools. He gasps when he sees Max turn around holding the drill with a spade drill bit.
ALEX: My God, no!
Max smiles as he stands over Alex, grasps him by the throat and begins lowering the drill toward Alex’s eye.
Alex screams.
CHAPTER 7
FRIDAY
Afternoon
Gloria, leans back in her chair, slightly shakes her head to get her long, thick hair out of her face and props her feet up on her desk. She takes a long drag from a small cigar and unscrews the top off of a bottle of Maker’s Mark bourbon. As she begins pouring some of it into her coffee cup she freezes as Dr. Grimm enters the room.
GLORIA: I thought you left for the day.
Dr. Grimm looks at her in disbelief.
DR. GRIMM: Apparently so. Is this what you do when I’m not here?
She nods sheepishly.
DR. GRIMM: (Sighing and shaking his head)
Look, we’ll talk about that later. Right now I want to know what the hell is going on…
He is interrupted by the phone, which Gloria picks up and answers with a smile and cheerful voice.
GLORIA: Dr. Grimm’s office!
(Pause)
Yes he is!
Dr. Grimm’s eyes widen and he begins waving his hands and mouthing “no”.
GLORIA: …uh, no he’s not.
(Pause)
When do I expect him?
She looks up at Dr. Grimm for instructions, but he is panicking and giving her all kinds of frantic motions. Gloria pauses trying to decipher his actions.
GLORIA: What?
Dr. Grimm grabs the phone from her and hangs it up.
It immediately rings again and she quickly picks it up and speaks gleefully.
GLORIA: Dr. Grimm’s office.
Dr. Grimm grabs the telephone line and rips it out of the phone jack.
DR. GRIMM
Are you deliberately trying to give me a heart attack?
GLORIA: They’ve been calling all day.
DR. GRIMM: I want to know who leaked this to the press!
GLORIA: Don’t look at me.
DR. GRIMM: Who should I be looking at? Only three of us knew about this. You, me and Ski Mask. I know I didn’t tell anybody, I guarantee you that Ski Mask didn’t tell anyone. It doesn’t take Sherlock Holmes to make this kind of brilliant deduction!
GLORIA: I didn’t say…
DR. GRIMM: (Shouting)
Why? Why? Why have you done this? You are well paid! I trusted you! Why did you stab me in the back?
GLORIA: (Rising)
Don’t you shout at me! I didn’t tell anyone anything! Quite frankly, had you just kept your voice down when you were talking to Ski Mask, I wouldn’t know anything about it, which is exactly the way I would prefer it!
DR. GRIMM: (Holding out his hands and speaking calmly)
Okay, okay. You’re right. You’re right.
(He puts his hands on her shoulders)
I’m sorry Gloria. It’s just been a bad day...week. You’ve been one of my best and most loyal employees. I apologize.
GLORIA: If you didn’t leak it and I didn’t leak it, do you think it was Ski Mask?
DR. GRIMM: No. Absolutely not. Ski Mask enjoys this kind of thing too much
GLORIA: Well who then?
DR. GRIMM: (Deflated)
I don’t know.
(Thinking for a moment before addressing Gloria again)
Listen…take the rest of the day off.
GLORIA: Are you sure? Is there anything I can do to help?
DR. GRIMM: No, no. If you’re not here there’s no one to answer the phone. So, you go on home. Don’t worry about it. I’ll take care of all of this.
GLORIA: (Nodding)
Okay Dr. Grimm.
The second that the door shuts behind Gloria, Dr. Grimm puts his hands flat on Gloria’s desk and takes in a deep breath.
DR. GRIMM: DAMMIT!!!
In a short rage he shoves a number
of items sitting on the desk off onto the floor, but quickly grabs all the items and puts them back where they were in a very neat organized way.
Dr. Grimm sits down at the desk and notices the bottle of bourbon. He takes the bottle, unscrews it, takes a big swig and wipes his mouth.
CHAPTER 8
FRIDAY
Afternoon
Max begins lowering the drill closer to Alex’s eye as Alex screams. At the last second, Max moves the drill away.
MAX: Nah, I want you to be able to see everything.
Max sets the drill down on the dresser and comes back with a pair of pliers.
He flips Alex over and puts his left thumb in the plier’s teeth. He snaps Alex’s thumb with a crunching sound, causing Alex to yell out in pain!
Maniac on the Loose Page 3