What’s it to ya, fucker?
JEROME
The guy’s a cop, man! He’s a cop!
CROP-HAIRED GUY
Oh yeah? He ain’t wearing no badge.
DIXON
(through blood)
I lost my badge. I can’t remember where I lost it.
CROP-HAIRED GUY
You started this, man! I didn’t do shit to you.
DIXON
I know I started it. I scratched you up like a bitch.
CROP-HAIRED GUY
That’s exactly fucking right …
Guy kicks Dixon viciously in the head and exits with Pal, leaving Dixon lying there. Unmoving.
INT. RESTAURANT – NIGHT
Mildred and James finishing their starters.
JAMES
Gotta use the little boys’ room.
James goes off to the toilet. Charlie comes over, leaving Penelope hanging, sits in James’ seat, smiling.
MILDRED
You got something to say to me?
CHARLIE
If I’d known, we coulda double-dated.
MILDRED
Doesn’t shitgirl have a curfew weeknights?
CHARLIE
No, no, in fact I was actually gonna take her to the circus later, but there’s no need now. Does he juggle?
MILDRED
I’m having one dinner with the guy cos he did me a favour, okay?
CHARLIE
You don’t have to explain yourself to me cos you’re having dinner with a midget, Mildred.
MILDRED
I’m not explaining myself to you.
CHARLIE
You kinda are.
Across the room, Penelope makes a gesture about being left alone, as James comes back, sees Charlie in his seat.
Listen, I didn’t come over to break your balls, you can date as many midgets as you want. No, I came over to say I was sorry, actually.
MILDRED
Sorry for what?
James gets back on to his chair as Charlie gets out of it.
CHARLIE
I’m sorry about what happened to your billboards an’ all. mildred Yeah well, that’s all water under the bridge now, I guess.
CHARLIE
Good. I’m glad. I was pretty drunk, but it still don’t excuse it.
Mildred just stares at him.
All this anger, man, Penelope said to me the other day, it just begets greater anger, y’know? And it’s true.
JAMES
Penelope said ‘begets’?
CHARLIE
Yeah, ‘It begets greater anger’. (To James.) Well, you take care of this little lady, okay sport? Big lady, compared to you, right?
Charlie returns to his table. Silence between James and Mildred a while.
JAMES
You alright?
MILDRED
I think I’d like to go home now.
James just stares at her.
Aw, don’t gimme any shit, James? We can do this another time, alright?
JAMES
Why would I wanna do this another time? You’ve been embarrassed to be here ever since we arrived.
MILDRED
Oh, for Christ’s sakes, James. I didn’t force you to come on this date, alright? You forced me.
JAMES
Forced you? I asked you on a date. Wow! Well, y’know, I know I ain’t much of a catch, okay? I know I’m a dwarf who sells used cars and has a drinking problem, I know that. But who the hell are you, man? You’re that Billboard Lady who never ever smiles, who never has a good word to say about anybody, and who, in the evening times, sets fucking fire to police stations! And I’m the one who’s not a catch?!
James climbs down off his chair …
MILDRED
James …
JAMES
I didn’t have to come and hold your ladder!
James leaves in tears, leaving Mildred drained. She glances at Charlie. He’s smirking at the scene. Mildred picks up her wine glass, picks up her half-empty bottle, and, holding it low at her side, slowly walks over to him. He loses his smile.
CHARLIE
Now don’t make a scene.
She looks the two of them over, bottle still in hand.
MILDRED
(to Penelope)
Did you really tell him ‘Anger begets greater anger’?
PENELOPE
Oh! Yes! I did! I didn’t make it up myself though. I can’t claim that! No, I read it on a bookmark. (Pause.) Which was in a book I was reading (Pause.) About polio. (Pause.) Polo. No, which is the one with the horses? Polio or polo?
CHARLIE
Polo.
PENELOPE
Polo!
Mildred looks at them a moment … then places the bottle on the table for them to finish.
MILDRED
Be nice to her, Charlie. You got that?
Charlie nods imperceptibly. Mildred leaves.
INT. DIXON’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Dixon staggers in, bloodsoaked, past his horrified momma.
MOMMA
Jason!
DIXON
Just leave me, Momma, don’t look at me.
MOMMA
(crying)
Jason! What have they done to you?
INT. DIXON’S HOUSE, BATHROOM – CONTINUOUS
Dixon gets to the bathroom, slams door behind him, still clutching his right hand to his chest. He looks at himself in the cabinet mirror a second, repulsed by what he sees.
He opens the cabinet mirror left-handed, rifles through shelves, finds an unopened tweezer set, then finds a small clean glass vial, a blank label on it.
He sits on the bath and very slowly uses the tweezers to scrape out all the Crop-Haired Guy’s blood and skin trapped underneath the fingernails of his right hand, and carefully places each amount inside the vial.
Once all five fingernails are done he caps the vial and, pen in shaky hand, writes on its label H5T371, IDAHO.
Finished, he clutches it to his chest and sinks to the floor, shaking violently, Momma calling out, banging on the door.
MOMMA
(off screen)
Jason?! Jason?!
DIXON
I’m gonna be alright, Momma. It’s all gonna be alright.
INT. MILDRED’S HOUSE – DAY
Mildred, glass of wine on couch, TV on but not really watching. Knock at the door. She goes to get it. Looks through the spyhole.
Spyhole point-of-view: convex Dixon, new scars, bandages.
EXT. MILDRED’S GARDEN – DAY
Mildred sitting on swing set, Dixon standing, a repeat of the Willoughby scene from long ago..
DIXON
I don’t wanna get your hopes up, alright, but there’s a guy, and I think he might be the guy. I got his DNA. I got a lot of it, actually. They’re making the checks as we speak.
MILDRED
He’s in jail?
DIXON
No, but he ain’t gonna be hard to find.
MILDRED
Why do you think he’s the guy?
DIXON
I heard him talking about something that he did to a girl in the middle of last year. I couldn’t hear all of it, but it sounded a lot like what happened to Angela. Then he beat the crap outta me. But cos of that I got a bunch of his DNA. So I wanted to let you know sooner rather than later. I didn’t want you to give up hope, y’know?
MILDRED
I’ve been trying not to.
DIXON
Well, all you can do is try, as my momma says. Not so much about hope as about … well, I didn’t used to be very good at English at school, so it was more, ‘All you can do is try … to not be so crap at English.’ Cos you need English, really, if you wanna be a cop. If you wanna be anything, really. (Pause.) Unless you live in Mexico or something. But who wants that?
He gets up to go.
MILDRED
Hey, Dixon? (Pause.) Thanks.
He smiles, and she watches him drive away, out past the billboar
ds. She sits there a while, looking at them, thinking.
INT. POLICE STATION, WILLOUGHBY’S OFFICE – DAY
In the burnt-out office, Dixon is sitting down. Abercrombie closes the office door and sits across from him.
ABERCROMBIE
You did good, Jason. You did real good. But he wasn’t the guy.
DIXON
(stunned)
What?
ABERCROMBIE
There was no match to the DNA, no matches to any other crimes of this nature, to any crimes at all, in fact. And his record is clean. Maybe he was just bragging.
DIXON
He wasn’t just bragging.
ABERCROMBIE
Well, that’s as may be. But at the time of Angela’s death he wasn’t even in the country.
DIXON
Where was he?
But I’ve seen his records of entry and exit to the States, and I’ve spoken to his Commanding Officer. He wasn’t in the country, Dixon. He ain’t our guy.
DIXON
He might not be our guy, but he still done something shitty.
ABERCROMBIE
Not in Missouri he didn’t.
DIXON
Where was he?
ABERCROMBIE
That’s classified information.
DIXON
Come on, man.
ABERCROMBIE
If the guy’s got a Commanding Officer, and if the guy got back to the country nine months ago, and if the country where he was is classified, which country do you think he was in? (Pause.) I’ll give you a clue. It was sandy.
DIXON
That doesn’t really narrow it down.
ABERCROMBIE
All you need to know is, he didn’t do nothing to Angela Hayes. So we’re gonna keep looking. Alright?
Pause. Dixon takes out his badge, shows it to Abercrombie.
DIXON
I found my badge after all.
Dixon looks at it a few seconds, then slides it across the table to Abercrombie, and leaves.
INT. DIXON’S HOUSE – NIGHT
Momma asleep, open-mouthed, on couch, TV on. Dixon watches her a while, then dials a number on the phone, which he then carries into his mom’s bedroom, sitting on her bed. We now see that he has a shotgun in his hand.
EXT. BILLBOARD ROAD – NIGHT
Mildred trudging the dirt at the billboards, replacing the dead pot plants. At the third billboard, her cellphone rings.
MILDRED
Hello?
DIXON
(off screen)
It’s Dixon.
MILDRED
(off screen, pause)
Tell me.
DIXON)
(off screen, pause)
He wasn’t the guy.
Mildred crumples down beside the burnt patch of ground, lets out a long, cold breath, then picks the phone back up.
MILDRED
(heartbroken)
Are you sure?
DIXON
(off screen)
He, um, he wasn’t even in the country when it happened. So, whatever he did, he didn’t do it round here. (Pause.) I’m sorry I got your hopes up.
MILDRED
It’s alright. At least I had a day of hoping. Which is more than I’ve had for a while. I’d better go.
INT. DIXON’S HOUSE, BEDROOM – CONTINUOUS
Dixon idly taps the shotgun against his lips.
DIXON
Um, there was one thing I was thinking.
MILDRED
(off screen)
What’s that?
DIXON
Well … I know he isn’t your rapist. He is a rapist, though.
I’m sure of that.
INT. BILLBOARD ROAD – CONTINUOUS
MILDRED
What are you saying?
DIXON
(off screen)
I got his licence plate. I know where he lives.
MILDRED
Where’s he live?
DIXON
(off screen)
Lives in Idaho.
MILDRED
That’s funny. I’m driving to Idaho in the morning.
DIXON
(off screen)
Want some company?
(pause)
Sure.
INT. DIXON’S HOUSE, BEDROOM – CONTINUOUS
Dixon puts the phone back in its cradle. Looks at the gun in his arms. Leaves it on his bed. He looks in on his sleeping momma.
EXT. BILLBOARD ROAD – DAWN
The billboards as the sun begins to rise on the horizon.
EXT. MILDRED’S HOUSE – DAWN
Sunrise behind the empty swing set.
INT. MILDRED’S HOUSE – DAWN
Mildred looks in on Robbie, sleeping quietly, a drawing of Angela he’s done pinned on the wall above his pillow.
EXT. MILDRED’S HOUSE – DAWN
Mildred puts a thermos, sandwiches and Doritos in the car. Dixon places a shotgun wrapped in a blanket inside too. Mildred looks at it lying there. They exchange a look, get in the car and drive.
EXT. BILLBOARD ROAD – CONTINUOUS
The burnt backs of the billboards framed along the roadside, as the car heads away towards the horizon.
INT. CAR DRIVING, BILLBOARD ROAD – DAWN
As the car rolls along the road, they’re both quiet, nervous. They drive in silence a while.
MILDRED
Hey, Dixon?
DIXON
Yeah?
MILDRED
I need to tell you something. (Pause.) It was me who burned down the police station.
DIXON
Well, who the hell else would it have been?
She smiles. They drive on in silence.
MILDRED
Dixon?
DIXON
Yep?
MILDRED
You sure about this?
DIXON
About killing this guy? (Pause.) Not really. You?
MILDRED
(pause)
Not really.
They continue on.
I guess we can decide along the way.
Dixon nods. She smiles. They drive on.
Also by the Author
also by Martin McDonagh from Faber
THE PILLOWMAN
IN BRUGES
HANGMEN
published by Methuen
THE LEENANE TRILOGY
(The Beauty Queen of Leenane,
A Skull in Connemara, The Lonesome West)
THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN
THE LIEUTENANT OF INISHMORE
Copyright
First published in the UK in 2018
by Faber & Faber Ltd
Bloomsbury House
74–77 Great Russell Street
London WC1B 3DA
This ebook edition first published in 2018
All rights reserved
© Martin McDonagh, 2017
Cover design by Faber
Cover image © 2017 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation. All rights reserved.
The right of Martin McDonagh to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
Public performance of this work is strictly prohibited. Any queries should be directed to Knight Hall Agency Ltd, Lower Ground Floor, 7 Mallow Street, London EC1Y 8RQ (www.knighthallagency.com)
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ISBN 978–0–571–34530–4
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Martin McDonagh, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri