DINNER FOR ONE

iagostev@gmail.com
1 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT - EVENING 1

BILL, 50s, overweight, is staring wide eyed and blankly into

space. A little blood trickles from his mouth and flows up
his face.
Bill is lying on his back on a coffee table in his apartment,
his head hanging over the end, upside down.
The living-room with adjoining kitchen is a mess. By the oven
are pots and broken glass on the floor, chilli spilt
everywhere. There’s a pool of blood in the middle of the
room, with a trail leading over to the music system. The
music system is smashed, with a broken vase beside it. Beside
Bill on the floor is a bloodied kitchen knife.
Bill is covered in burns, water, chilli and blood. In the
middle of his chest is a serious stab wound.
FADE TO:

2 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT - PRESENT 2

The apartment is filled with POLICE. The mess is being

photographed with little numbered labels beside each item.
Beside the front door is a woman, LUCY, 20s, who is crying
while talking to a POLICEWOMAN. She’s wearing a bloodied
man’s shirt, and not much else.

3 INT. - CORRIDOR - CONT. 3

MARK, late 20s, a fresh detective in an immaculate suit sans

tie, is talking to a young POLICEMAN.
Mark is searching through his pockets.
MARK
Where’s my bloody tie?
There is the sound of someone coming and the corridor goes
quiet.
The Policeman points to Mark’s neck, where there’s a hickey.
Mark quickly pulls up his collar and buttons the top button.
MARK (CONT’D)
Shit.
Mark turns to see JOHN, 60s, a veteran detective leaning on a
walking stick, walking slowly down the corridor. He stops
beside the apartment door.
John nods to Mark.
 2.

MARK (CONT’D)
(to everyone)
Alright, everyone out.
Lucy is led away while Police and CSI march out of the
apartment.
The Policeman gives Mark a ‘good-luck’ nod and leaves.
John enters the apartment without a word.
Mark takes a deep breath, nods, and follows.

4 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT - CONT. 4

Mark closes the door behind him and stands next to John, who
is just inside.
John looks beside the door to see a gym bag.
He looks at the body.
JOHN
Ha. Figures.
MARK
What?
John turns to look at Mark.
JOHN
You can’t see I’m thinking?
John slowly scans the room, looking at every detail.
BEAT.
MARK
The woman, Lucy Gardner, claims she
came out of the bathroom to find
him like this.
JOHN
Poppycock. Obvious, isn’t it.
MARK
Is it?
JOHN
Rich fat bloke, young hot girl.
Need a capella band to spell it
out for you? Newly weds, right?
MARK
Yes... but-
 3.

JOHN
She the sole benefactor?
MARK
Yes.
John nods, pointing with his walking stick.
JOHN
You see the kitchen? That’s where
it started. The victim-
MARK
Bill Lancaster.
JOHN
Sure. Bill comes home.

5 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT (JOHN’S IMAGINATION) - EARLIER 5

Bill enters.
BILL
Honey?
Bill throws his gym bag down.
BILL (CONT’D)
Baby?
No answer.
Bill notices something is cooking on the stove.
He walks over and starts to stir the pot.
JOHN (V.O.)
The girl-
MARK (V.O.)
Lucy Gardner.
JOHN (V.O.)
Lucy, a class C gold-digger,
decides not to wait for old age to
do the job, she’d be in her fifties
by then.
Bill pours himself a glass of wine and continues cooking.
BILL
Sweet-pea, where’s the big knife?
Lucy comes out of the bedroom, wearing a man’s shirt and
holding the chef’s knife.
She slowly walks up behind him.
 4.

Bill turns around, smiling.

Lucy plunges the knife into his chest.
JOHN (V.O.)
Bill’s surprised, naturally. He
falls back into the cooker.
Bill falls back against the cooker, knocking the pots and
their contents to the floor.

6 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT - PRESENT 6

John squats down next to the mess on the floor in the

kitchen.
He dips his finger in the food on the floor, then tastes it.
JOHN
Chilli. Not bad. Needs more salt.
MARK
It’s that simple?
John makes his way over to Bill’s body.
JOHN
Not quite. Bit of salt. I’d add an
extra clove of garlic too.
Mark rolls his eyes.
John sees it.
JOHN (CONT’D)
Where’s your tie? You know I can’t
abide a tie-less suit.
John looks Mark up and down.
JOHN (CONT’D)
Didn’t you wear that yesterday?
BEAT.
MARK
I like the cut.
JOHN
Uh huh.
John points to Bill’s body with his walking stick.
JOHN (CONT’D)
Look at his sleeve.
 5.

Mark gloomily walks over and takes a look. The sleeve is

burnt and the hand blistered.

7 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT (JOHN’S IMAGINATION) - EARLIER 7

Bill is on the floor, surrounded by chilli.

JOHN (V.O.)
Lucy didn’t count on him not dying
instantly. A classic mistake.
Bill reaches above his head and pulls himself up using the
cooker.
He accidentally turns one of the knobs up full.
The gas shoots out, hitting the still-lit flame on the other
ring.
A small explosion ignites Bill’s arm.
In a panic, Bill beats his arm, putting out the fire.
He howls in pain, slips, and reaches out for support, instead
knocking more pots to the floor. He stumbles around the
kitchen counter by the coffee table, away from Lucy.
Lucy is horrified, but then regains her purpose.
She strides over to Bill and pulls the knife from his chest.
Bill collapses.
JOHN (V.O.)
All she needs to do now is wait.
He’ll bleed out soon enough.

8 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT - PRESENT 8

Mark looks around the room and spots the broken music system
and vase.
MARK
And the music system?
JOHN
Hmmm.

9 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT (JOHN’S IMAGINATION) - EARLIER 9

Bill has just put out the fire on his sleeve and is
struggling not to collapse.
 6.

Lucy hesitates, then tries to pull the knife from Bill’s

chest, it’s stuck. She succeeds and, by momentum, gets sent
backwards into the music system, breaking it and the vase.
Bill closes his eyes and lets out a last breath.
Lucy drops the knife on the floor.
JOHN (V.O.)
Possible.

10 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT - PRESENT 10

John walks over to the TV, then looks at Bill.

JOHN
That’s what it’ll do to you.
MARK
What?
JOHN
Marriage.
Mark frowns.
MARK
I’m not convinced. She’s
automatically guilty? That’s twenty
to life.
JOHN
What do you think happened? He
slipped, fell, landed on the knife?
MARK
And what if it’s self-defence?
JOHN
I’ve been doing this a long time
kid. If it looks, swims, and quacks
like a duck, it’s a fucking duck.
MARK
Innocent until proven guilty, no?
The good in humanity? Ever heard of
it?
JOHN
Nope.
MARK
Not everyone’s a villain John.
Mark spots something on the floor.
 7.

MARK (CONT’D)
Did you see what she was wearing?
(BEAT)
Pretty hot for cooking.
Mark kneels and picks up a woman’s wedding ring.
MARK (CONT’D)
But then why take off the ring?
Mark looks around the room.

11 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT (MARK’S IMAGINATION) - EARLIER 11

Bill enters the apartment and puts his gym bag down by the
door.
Lucy is sitting at the table with a glass of wine.
BILL
Hello.
He walks up to her and kisses her neck. He smells her hair.
Bill looks around the room, there’s cooking on the hob.
He walks up to the sink. He sees the wedding ring on the
counter.
LUCY
We need to talk.
Bill smiles. He picks up the knife from the counter and
starts chopping carrots.
BILL
Of course honey. Sure.
(BEAT)
Who’re you fucking?
JOHN (V.O.)
An affair?
LUCY
Bill!
BILL
That’s alright. Doesn’t matter.

11A INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT - PRESENT 11A

JOHN
I like where you’re going.
(BEAT)
Right, and her shirt.
 8.

Mark nods. They’re getting somewhere.

MARK
A small man’s shirt.
JOHN
Smaller than Pavarotti over here.
MARK
Exactly.

11B INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT (MARK’S IMAGINATION) - EARLIER 11B

Bill stirs the pot with a spoon, then takes a taste.

BILL
Wow, that’s fantastic. Want to try?
Bill turns to Lucy with a cooking spoon full of chilli. Some
drips on the floor.
Lucy gets up and puts her wine glass on the counter.
LUCY
Bill, please.
BILL
Needs a bit more salt though.
Bill opens a cupboard, then stops.
Suddenly he spins around, holding the knife. He launches
himself at Lucy, but slips on the chilli spilt on the floor.
He falls, dropping the knife, and sweeping off the saucepan.
Lucy quickly picks up the knife and holds it away from Bill.
Bill pulls himself up, looking furiously at Lucy. He takes
the wedding ring from the sink and throws it at Lucy.
JOHN (V.O.)
Bit over the top, don’t you think?
His left sleeve goes over the open flame on the hob. Bill’s
arm alights.
Bill beats his arm, trying to put it out, but it doesn’t
work.
He rushes to the sink and turns on the tap. He puts out the
fire.
Bill’s anger has reached boiling point. He moves towards
Lucy, who is frozen in fear.
 9.

Bill grabs her by her shirt and instinctively Lucy puts the
knife between them.
Not seeing the knife Bill jerks her towards him, getting
stabbed in the chest.
MARK (V.O.)
She’d be scared, but not stupid.
Maybe a little angry even.
Lucy backs away towards the music system, Bill slowly
following.
BILL
You bitch.
Lucy bumps her back into the music system.
Bill picks up a vase from the coffee table and hurls it at
Lucy. She ducks out of the way and the vase smashes into the
music system.
Lucy gets out of reach.
Throwing has taken it out of Bill, and he lowers himself to
sit on the coffee table.
He looks at the knife sticking out of his chest.
He hesitates, then pulls it out in one move.
He leans back into a lying position.
BILL (CONT’D)
So tired.
Bill closes his eyes and lets out his last breath.

14 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT - PRESENT 14

John is standing by the coffee table, looking at Bill’s body.

Mark nods with approval. John looks at Bill.
JOHN
Self-defence then, huh.
John sighs and looks back around the room, his eyes lingering
on all the points the incident took place.
He nods.
JOHN (CONT’D)
Could be.
(BEAT)
What time is it?
 10.

There’s a knock on the door and the Policeman looks in.

POLICEMAN
Detective, your wife is here,
should I let her-?
SARAH, 40s, holding two cups of coffee, slides past the
policeman.
John is surprised.
JOHN
Sarah! What are you doing here? I
thought you weren’t back until-
SARAH
Just bringing you boys some coffee.
She gives John a quick kiss.
SARAH (CONT’D)
I got back early honey, want to
grab lunch? Hi Mark. How’s the
case?
Sarah looks at the body and grimaces.
JOHN
Looks like Mark might have cracked
it. Damn it.
She smiles at Mark. Mark nods.
Sarah holds up the coffees.
SARAH
I have two lattes.
JOHN
I hate lattes?
John takes one anyway and walks back over to Bill’s body for
one last look.
Mark takes the other latte.
SARAH
(whispers)
You don’t.
Sarah reaches into her handbag and pulls out a tie, quickly
handing it to Mark.
Mark waves his hand ‘no’ and she stuffs it back into her bag.
John finishes looking at Bill and turns around.
 11.

JOHN
I guess we’re-
He notices a small piece of Mark’s tie sticking out of
Sarah’s bag.
JOHN (CONT’D)
...done here.
MARK
So... How do you want me to write
it up? Self-defence?
(BEAT)
John?
John snaps out of it.
JOHN
Nope, don’t think so.
(BEAT)
Nice theory though.
Mark opens his mouth to speak, then closes it.
John heads out. He gives Mark his latte.
JOHN (CONT’D)
Drink your latte.
JOHN (CONT’D)
(from the corridor)
Come on, honey, we don’t want to
miss lunch, do we?
Mark and Sarah look at each other.
FADE TO:

15 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT - EARLIER 15

Lucy puts her wedding ring on the counter and starts washing
a chef’s knife in the sink.
Bill is at the other end of the room, putting on a record.
BILL
You are gonna love this.
The music starts to play.
Bill dances over to her and wraps his arms around her.
He kisses her on the neck. She smiles and leans into the
kiss.
Bill swings her around, Lucy still holding the knife.
 12.

Lucy laughs.
BILL (CONT’D)
New shirt?
LUCY
Maybe one day you’ll fit into it.
BILL
Fat chance baby.
They kiss for a long moment.
LUCY
Back to work love.
Lucy beams at Bill, then turns around and starts chopping
carrots.
Bill pours a glass of wine.
Lucy pricks her finger with the knife, a little blood comes
out.
LUCY (CONT’D)
Ouch.
BILL
Let me see.
Bill puts her finger in his mouth, sucking away the blood.
BILL (CONT’D)
There, it’s nothing.
Lucy smiles, hands him the knife and walks off to the
bathroom.
Bill walks over to the music system. He turns up the volume.
He walks back to the counter, wipes the knife, and starts to
chop the carrots, moving to the music.

16 INT. - BATHROOM - CONT. 16

Lucy hears the music go up and rolls her eyes.

17 INT. - BILL’S APARTMENT - CONT. 17

Bill slides the chopped carrots into the chilli pot with the
knife, singing along to the music.
He picks up a wooden spoon and takes a spoonful of chilli and
tastes it.
 13.

It’s too hot and he starts gasping for air. He drops the
spoon and still holding the knife reaches out for support.
His sleeve is too close to the flame and catches ablaze.
Bill plunges his arm into the pot of boiling water and
spaghetti, putting out the fire.
He screams, whipping his arm out, knocking the pot over.
Bill stumbles backwards, slipping on the spaghetti.
He reaches out for support and grabs the pot of chilli,
bringing it to the floor after him, and swiping Lucy’s
wedding ring across the room.
He lands face down on the floor, the knife still in his hand
driving into his chest.
Bill gasps for air, slowly managing to stand up, he stumbles
blindly towards the bookcase and the music system.
He stops, facing the music system with the vase on top of it.
With both hands, he pulls with full force the knife from his
chest.
His hands and the knife go straight into the music system,
smashing it and toppling the vase from on top into the wires
of the amplifier.
Bill is electrocuted and shot backwards through the air as
the bathroom door opens and Lucy comes in.
LUCY
What the-
Lucy is sprayed with blood as Bill lands on the coffee table.
He lies there for a second, then drops the knife from his
hand onto the floor and lets out his last breath.
Lucy stares at Bill in horror.
Her eyes widen, she screams, then faints.
CUT TO BLACK.