CTHULHU

By Sam Gafford

"Dexter Wilson" created by Tom Francis

Issue #1

"Venus in Transitory"

Page One:

Panel One: Establishing panel. Bird's eye view. ARKHAM, MASSACHUSETTS. Waterfront area. View coming from ocean side into the city. The time period is early 1930's. Arkham is a perfect example of an old New England town. The architecture is a mix of different styles but the one that is dominant is the old Victorian style with plenty of old houses and streets. It has an infamous history and is generally regarded to be a 'haunted' city. Witches were hung here in the 1600's and there are stories of even stranger things wandering the dark streets and the hidden caverns beneath the city. To be a 'normal' person in Arkham is to be in the minority. The waterfront is old with warehouses dating back to the late 1700's. It is a rough neighborhood and not one that decent people would travel at night. There are a few lights on, mostly coming from the windows of bars. There are some large ships in the harbor. By 1930, shipping is done in large, clunky metal ships but there are still some old clippers and schooners in the water but they are old, decrepit and at a risk of sinking right where they are.

CAPTION: "Arkham, Massachusetts. September, 1931. My name is Roger Martin. I'm a reporter for the ARKHAM GAZETTE. Arkham is my town. My city. I've lived here all my life and probably I know it better than any other person alive. And yet, I never really knew it at all."

Panel Two: Still bird's eye view. Moving in closer over the streets. There is a woman running desperately away from the waterfront. She is dressed in average clothing of the period. She does not appear to be rich or fancy, just a normal woman in her late 20's running for her life from something that is stalking her.

CAPTION: "Certainly ALICE MUNROE didn't know it. She had only been here for two days and in that short time she had managed to catch the attention of something that shouldn't have been here. Something evil. Something dead."

Panel Three: Close up of Alice's face. She is extremely scared. Frightened for her life. At one time, she would have been considered beautiful but time and worry have taken the youth from her and left her an old woman in mind and body if not years. She is looking over her shoulder, trying to see what is chasing her.

CAPTION: "Alice Munroe was only Twenty-Eight years old when she died but you couldn't tell that. She looked much older. Her face was one of the few things left intact so you could see the damage her life had caused her. In the end, she may have welcomed death."

Panel Four: Worm's eye view as Alice trips on something and lands on the street, hard. Something rolls away from her into the darkness. It is a gold amulet, Chinese, covered in strange markings and sigils.

CAPTION: "But somehow, I doubt it. Even in the worst circumstances, I cannot believe that anyone would have welcomed what happened to her."

Panel Five: Overview as a shadow falls upon Alice. It's shape is slightly reminiscent of an animal but it is huge, much larger than would occur in nature and there is something wrong about it. The perspective is off and it is as if it were being seen through the cracks of a broken mirror.

CAPTION: "To die that way, alone and afraid, on a dirty back street with no one to help, no one to see, no one to mourn you. That kind of death, no one would ask for."

Page Two

Panel One: Splash panel. A large creature is standing over Alice who is screaming and trying to get away. It is a hideous thing. A creature of pure nightmare that only somewhat resembles a werewolf. The jaws are huge, dripping with blood and saliva. It is at least nine feet tall, completely covered in fur and very, very angry.

CAPTION: "Not to mention the physical pain of being ripped apart."

CREDITS: CTHULHU. "Venus in Transitory, Part One." Written by Sam Gafford. Illustrated by ……………… "Dexter Wilson" created by Tom Francis.

Page Three

Panel One: ROGER MARTIN's bedroom in his Arkham apartment. It is a mess. It shows that it is the home of a man who does not spend a lot of time here. There are clothes all over the place. Plates of half eaten food. Books and papers are spread over the floor and nearby desk. There is a night-table next to the bed in which Roger is sleeping. It has been a restless sleep but that is normal. Roger is a middle aged cynic who has been a reporter virtually all his adult life but has never made any big scores. His dream is to move up to one of the big name papers in New York or Boston but he's never quite made it and he's beginning to think that he never will. Roger rarely shaves and, when he does, he doesn't do a great job at it. He is average height and has dark hair and a moustache. He is a blunt man who says what he thinks and, consequently, does not have many friends. He is not married, nor has ever been. He is very attracted to women but they tend not to put up with him for very long. What few friends he has have long given up trying to fix him up for marriage. He is the quintessential 'lone man crying out against the wilderness'.

On the night-table is an old, worn lamp with a telephone and a old, wind-up alarm clock. The phone is ringing.

CAPTION: "Wednesday, September 4^th, 1932. 2:32 am. I can still remember getting the call that morning. After all this time, I can't forget it. Everything else that came after, all the death, all the blood, all the horror, can be traced back to that one time, to that one phone call."

Panel Two: Roger reaches out and groggily answers the phone. His voice is tired and weak. He has spent the better part of a week chasing a story that turned out to be nothing and been drinking heavily during the same time. He has not shaved in days. On the other end of the phone is Patrolman SEAN FLANNERY who has given Roger valuable tips before.

ROGER: Hello?

FLANNERY: Martin? It's me. Sean Flannery. Listen, I got something for ya… something big.

ROGER: Flannery, do you know what damn time it is? Go away. I'm sleeping and dreaming of beautiful women doing unspeakably wonderful things to me.

FLANNERY: Sure, Roger, I'll go away. I'll just call Edwards over at the Chronicle. I'm sure he'd be interested in a murder.

Panel Three: Roger sits up in bed. He's awake now and his brain is already racing.

ROGER: Murder? Where?

FLANNERY: Down on the docks. A woman.

ROGER: Hmmph. So what? What night doesn't a "professional" get killed on the docks?

FLANNERY: That's not it, Roger. She's not a pro and there's something else.

ROGER: Yeah? What?

Panel Four: Close up on Roger's face. He is interested and intrigued now.

FLANNERY: Roger, I've never seen anything like it. She… she's been ripped open. Gutted like a fish.

PAGE FOUR & FIVE

This is a complicated two-page spread but it is one of the most visual parts of this issue. In the middle of the spread is the body of the dead woman. There is a sheet over here but it shows the outline of her body and there is blood leaking out from under it in all directions. There are four longish panels on each side of her running from top to bottom.

Panel One: Bird's eye view. Roger Martin and Patrolman Flannery are standing over the body. There are a few other patrolmen around them at a respectful distance but they are the two closest to the corpse. The street is damp but it is not currently raining. Roger is wearing a wrinkled overcoat and a plain shirt, tie and pants. The tie is tied loosely and, if at all possible to show, does not match his other clothes. It looks as if he dressed quickly in the dark which, of course, he did.

CAPTION: I remember it had been raining earlier that morning. The streets had that autumn-rain smell. Or maybe it's just the blood I'm remembering. There was a lot of blood.

Panel Two: Close up on Martin and Flannery. In the background we can see a small crowd beginning to grow. They are filled with the type of people who would be getting out of the bars at 3 am or heading to the docks for work.

ROGER: Do we know anything about her?

FLANNERY: No, nothing yet, Roger. She had nothing on her for identification.

ROGER: Hmm, not too unusual for this area. Most people around here don't carry any I.D.

FLANNERY: I told you, Roger, she's not a pro.

Panel Three: Roger is looking under the sheet at the dead girl. He is disgusted by what he sees. It is the worst murder he's ever seen in his life and he's seen a few.

ROGER: My God, Sean, what the hell happened to her?

Panel Four: Flannery is standing away from the body and looking in the other direction. He is nervous about something but it isn't the corpse.

FLANNERY: I found her on my rounds about an hour ago. I used the callbox to call for backup and to call you.

FLANNERY: (afterthought) Listen, Roger, you'd better get out of her now. But this was worth a sawbuck, right?

Panel Five: This is an inset into panel six. Extreme close up on Martin. He is uncharacteristically angry about something other than himself.

ROGER: DAMMIT, SEAN!! What happened here??

Panel Six: Flannery backs off a bit and points down the street.

FLANNERY: Near as I can figure, the killer chased her down here where she slipped and fell…..

Panel Seven: Worm's eye view of large pool of blood at Flannery's feet.

FLANNERY: I figure this is where he caught her.

Panel Eight: Flannery in extreme foreground. You can only see his lower right arm and fist. Roger is in the background, bent over something. It is hard to tell if he's vomiting or crying.

FLANNERY: And this is where he tossed her afterwards. I've never seen the like, Roger. It's awful. Like someone was ripping through her, looking for something.

Panel Nine: Roger is in the foreground, still bent over the body. He is shielding something from Flannery. It is a small amulet with Oriental markings on it. Very elaborate. Flannery is standing behind him with his hand on Roger's shoulder.

FLANNERY: Roger, I'm serious. I've given you all I can. You've got to get out of here, now!

VOICE: (Shouting from off camera) FLANNERY!!!

Page Six

Panel One: Extreme close up on Lt. WILLIAM MATTHEWS. He is an older man, roughly about 55-60. Very rough looking and a political animal. He is frustrated that he has only gotten so far in the ranks of the police department and takes his anger out on anyone weaker than he is. He is a bully and a sadist who enjoys using his power to hurt people. He particularly hates Martin. They have a long history of mutual hatred and trying to cause each other pain.

MATTHEWS: Just what the hell is he doing here??

Panel Two: This panel is a little complicated. Matthews is in the foreground with his back to us. Next is Flannery who is stammering and nervous, trying to explain to his superior what has happened. Martin is still in the background, taking pictures of the body.

FLANNERY: I don't know, sir. He just showed up here a minute ago.

MATTHEWS: The hell he did! MARTIN! Get away from that body!

Panel Three: Martin getting into Matthews's face.

ROGER: What's the matter, Lt.? Afraid I'll spell your name wrong?

MATTHEWS: Shut your hole, Martin! I haven't forgotten what you did to me on the Howard case.

ROGER: You deserved it, you son of a bitch! You killed her! You didn't pull the trigger but you as good as killed her anyway!

Panel Four: Matthews grabs Martin and shoves him into the wall. A couple of the patrolmen are trying to pull Matthews off of Martin but haven't had much luck.

MATTHEWS: Damn you, Martin! That wasn't my fault!

ROGER: Bullshit, Matthews! You knew what you were doing. You just didn't care!

Panel Five: The patrolmen finally pull Matthews off of Martin and are holding him back. Martin is walking towards the front of the panel, straightening his clothes. He is slipping the amulet into his pocket. He has, in effect, just stolen important evidence from the scene of a crime.

FLANNERY: Easy now, Lt., don't do anything stupid. There's people all around here.

MATTHEWS: Get out of here, Martin! Get out of Arkham now before I kill you!

MARTIN: So long, Lieutenant, it's always a pleasure!

Page Seven:

Panel One: Outside view of the Arkham Gazette building. It is a typical office building in a typical downtown New England city. There are people walking around outside and a few cars on the street. It is still relatively early in the morning.

CAPTION: "The run-in with Matthews did nothing to improve my mood. Then, after writing up the story, showing it to my editor, Vincenzo Wright, didn't help much either."

VOICE: (shouting from off panel): It's GARBAGE!!

Panel Two: VINCENZO WRIGHT, Martin's editor, is a large man by which I mean he is fat. Not abnormally fat but he is carrying some weight on him. He is not a fashion plate but he is better dressed than Martin which is not difficult to do. Wright doesn't like Martin all that much but he appreciates his writing talent and ability to sniff out a story. But they rarely see eye to eye and especially not this time.

WRIGHT: Not one! Not ONE fact to support this!

ROGER: The girl IS dead and it is similar to the London Ripper murders.

Panel Three: Wright is calmer now but still skeptical.

WRIGHT: And what do the police say?

ROGER: Come on, Vincenzo, you know what they're like. They're not saying anything. Particularly not until the autopsy is done.

Panel Four: Wright picks up the typed pages and looks at them again.

WRIGHT: Humph. Still no ID on the girl?

ROGER: Not yet. I'm waiting for a call from my informant.

Panel Five: Close up on Wright.

WRIGHT: Okay. We'll run it on the first page but WITHOUT this "Ripper" nonsense.

ROGER: (off panel) WHAT?!

Page Eight

Panel One: They continue to argue. Roger is very emotional.

ROGER: But that's the whole hook of the story! It's NEWS, Vincenzo, NEWS!

WRIGHT: Now, come on, Martin. You can't be serious! Even if this was the Ripper he'd be, what? Over 60 years old?

Panel Two: Roger getting frustrated.

ROGER: I never said it was THE Ripper! Just that it is similar.

WRIGHT: (off-panel) No, Martin. No. It's not going to happen!

Panel Three: Wright pointing his finger at Martin. He has reached his limit and is letting Martin know it.

WRIGHT: You want to write "yellow rag" shit, you go to Boston or New York. I'm not having it here. Not in my paper.

Panel Four: Close up on Martin.

ROGER: Byline?

WRIGHT: (off panel) Full header.

ROGER: All right. But you're making a mistake.

WRIGHT: (off panel) MARTIN!

ROGER: All right, all right.

Panel Five: Martin is sitting at his desk. It is just as bad as his apartment. Papers all over the place and no organization. He is brooding. He still thinks his "Ripper" angle is right. There is a co-worker in the background calling to him.

ROGER: (low voice) Damn fool! Wouldn't know a story if it bit him on the ass.

WORKER: Martin! Phone!

Panel Six: Another newspaper office. This one is neat and well organized. People are running all over the place. Another reporter is sitting at his desk, talking to Martin on the phone. He is very neat and well dressed. This is PAUL VINCENT.

ROGER: (coming through phone) Hello?

VINCENT: Hey, Roger? It's Paul Vincent in Newport. Heard you had a bit of murder up there last night?

Panel Seven: Over Roger's shoulder. He is looking at the amulet.

ROGER: How'd you know about that? I just finished writing it up?

VINCENT: Hey, you're not the only reporter with informants, old buddy.

Panel Eight: Moving in closer to Vincent.

VINCENT: Let me guess. The victim was ripped open like a side of beef.

ROGER: (off phone) How'd you know that?

VINCENT: I've seen it.

Panel Nine: Reaction shot of Roger. He is very surprised.

VINCENT: (off phone) There's been three murders here in Newport already.

Page Nine

Panel One: A passenger train moving at great speed in front of the large letters: NEWPORT

Panel Two: Long panel. Shows Vincent in the foreground and Roger rushing towards him in the background. Everyone is looking at this fairly shabby person who has just jumped into their office.

ROGER: Vincent!

VINCENT: Hey, Roger. No time to shave on the train?

Panel Three: Martin is sitting in the chair next to Vincent's desk.

ROGER: Very funny. What do you have on these murders?

VINCENT: Not much more than I already told you on the phone. Why'd you come all the way down here for this?

ROGER: It was recently strongly recommended to me that I take a vacation. Give me everything again.

Panel Four: An open file. There are pictures of three dead women all of which look like the same woman who Roger Martin has just seen in Arkham.

VINCENT: Three women. All killed in a similar method to yours. Ripped to shreds with no identification. All killed over the space of the last two weeks.

Panel Five: Martin looking through the file.

ROGER: Do the police know anything?

VINCENT: If they do, they're not saying.

ROGER: Who's in charge of the case?

Panel Six: Martin in foreground as he leaves Vincent behind. Roger has a determined look on his face.

VINCENT: Inspector Robert Blacke. Real tough nut. Bit of a rep as being eccentric.

ROGER: So do I. He'll love me.

VINCENT: Roger, he hates reporters.

ROGER: So do I. Haven't I told you how much I hate you lately?

VINCENT: Not since this morning!

Page Ten

Panel One: The outside of a business shop. It is a classy front door and reads: NEWPORT ANTIQUES in large letters. In smaller letters in the bottom right corner it says: Dexter Wilson, Prop. A male hand is turning the door handle.

Panel Two: Larger panel. DEXTER WILSON is in the foreground. He is a small fellow. Very thin. Large glasses and is very timid. He is a bookish sort who is more at home with his books and antiques than he is with people. He has that kind of air that lets you know that he comes from money and is only doing this as a hobby, not a livelihood. He is dressed in a very neat suit and is looking over some small pieces when the VISITOR comes in. He is an oriental man, dressed in a very smart suit and, although thin and trim, exudes a sense of raw power and danger.

VISITOR: Good morning. Mr. Wilson, I presume?

Panel Three: Wilson facing the Visitor.

WILSON: Indeed you do, sir. Dexter Wilson at your service. How may I help you this fine morning?

Panel Four: Close up on the Visitor's face, half hid by shadow. He is being polite but is very dangerous.

VISITOR: I am looking for a certain piece. It is a very special item. A gold amulet, dating back to the First Dynasty in China with sigils decorating both sides. Might you have such an item?

Panel Five: Dexter is getting nervous now. He wants no part of this customer and wants him to leave as quickly as possible.

WILSON: Ah, no… no, I'm afraid not. I don't believe I've ever seen such a piece.

Panel Six: The Visitor is eyeing Wilson, determining whether to believe Wilson or not. He finally decides that Wilson is telling the truth.

VISITOR: A pity. I have reason to believe that the previous owner, who lives here in Newport, might have sold the piece recently.

Panel Seven: The Visitor is leaving.

VISITOR: If you should come across such a piece, please remember me. I will check back from time to time.

Panel Eight: Wilson wiping his sweaty brow.

WILSON: Of course, sir.

WILSON: (in soft voice) Why do I suddenly smell lilacs?

Page Eleven

Panel One: INSPECTOR ROBERT BLACKE in the foreground. He is a rough and ready sort of fellow. Short, balding hair. Stocky but muscular. Ready to spring into action in an instant. If anything, that is his major problem in that he often acts without thinking. He is wearing twin holsters, one on each side, hence his nickname, "Two-Gun Bob". There is another reason for his unpopularity among his peers and that is his tendency to pick up the strangest cases available. He does the work on cases that no one wants and, rather than being appreciated for solving them, is segregated because of it. He is leaning forward over his desk towards Roger Martin who is sitting in a chair acting very belligerent. There is another man standing in the background. This is AL TULLY who works directly under Blacke. He is dressed to the hilt in the fashion of the day and is your typical toadie looking to advance himself any way possible. Either on the desk or the office door, it says INSPECTOR ROBERT BLACKE.

BLACKE: So, lemme get this straight. You want me to show you our private files on these three murders?

MARTIN: That's right, Inspector. Freedom of the press.

MARTIN: The public has a right to know.

Panel Two: Blacke slamming his fist onto his desk. He does not like reporters and he has already decided that he doesn't like Martin.

BLACKE: Damn the public!

BLACKE: I've got three dead women ripped apart like sacks of wheat and you want me to create a panic? What paper was idiot enough to hire you?

Panel Three: Reaction panel for Blacke.

MARTIN: (off panel) I'm with the Arkham Gazette.

BLACKE: Arkham?! In Massachusetts? Get the hell out of here, you jackass!

Panel Four: Martin sitting on the edge of the desk. He is trying his usual bluffing routine. Although he is trying to tempt Blacke, he really has nothing more than Blacke already has on his murders.

MARTIN: Okay, fine. You don't like me. Lots of people don't. But I do have some exclusive information on my murder. How about we share info?

BLACKE: Maybe. What do you have?

Panel Five: Martin walking and talking. At Blacke's command, Tully leaves the room.

MARTIN: Less than twenty-four hours ago, another girl was killed in exactly the same manner as yours. Except that she happened to die in Arkham.

BLACKE: Tully, get on it.

TULLY: On my way.

Panel Six: Martin in the foreground. He is nervously fingering the amulet in his pocket, debating whether he should reveal it yet.

BLACKE: What else?

MARTIN: Uh-huh. You next.

BLACKE: Ok, Martin, but you'd better have something good or I'll see to it that you never write anything for anyone ever again.

Page Twelve

This is an expository page, showing the different phases of the investigation as Blacke describes them. His face is in the upper left and serves as narrator. There are four panels on this page and they should be of equal sizes.

CAPTION: (over the first and second panels) The three girls were all killed on separate nights in different places.

Panel One: Dead body of girl on the ground. Several police standing around and Blacke examining the body.

CAPTION: "The first girl was found near the Red Brick Market Place two weeks ago. She was torn into several different pieces."

Panel Two: Another dead body. Blacke conferring with police.

CAPTION: "The second girl appeared ten days ago. Neither of them had any ID on them and no one recognized them. They weren't street walkers and nobody seemed to know them.

Panel Three: The third dead girl. In the foreground, Blacke is examining a piece of paper.

CAPTION: "The last one, however, was our break. She had a receipt from a hotel and we traced her there."

Panel Four: Blacke questioning a hotel clerk and showing him pictures of the three dead women. Tully is with him.

CAPTION: "The desk clerk identified all three women. He said they'd all been staying there for the last two months but he only knew the name of the third girl. She was Sarah Main. But, and this is the important part…

CAPTION: "there was a fourth girl staying with them."

Page Thirteen

Panel One: Alice Munroe getting off a steamship. Her face is bright and cheerful with new opportunities. There are people laughing and cheering around her.

CAPTION: "Her name was Alice Munroe and she'd just arrived from England. We haven't been able to find our how she knew the other girls but, after the third murder, she disappeared.

CAPTION: "You got a picture of yours?"

Panel Two: Martin showing a picture of the dead Arkham girl.

MARTIN: Here.

BLACKE: Yep, looks like her. Matches the description we got from the desk clerk. What else you got?

Panel Three: Martin holding up the amulet in from of Blacke and Blacke reacting in surprise and recognition.

MARTIN: Nothing much. Just this.

Panel Four: Blacke taking the amulet and looking at it closely.

BLACKE: Where'd you get this?

MARTIN: Found it near the body.

Panel Five: Close up on the amulet. It is indeed a beautiful thing. Very decorative but also very strange. Something about it doesn't look right.

BLACKE: And you didn't turn it in?

MARTIN: Let's just say that Arkham police don't appreciate me the way you do. So, recognize it?

Panel Six: Pulling back away from Blacke. He is starting to pull things together.

BLACKE: Yeah, I do. We found a lot of this kind of stuff in a raid last month.

BLACKE: Some crazy nuts stirring up trouble in a cemetery.

Panel Seven: Flashback panel showing TWO-Gun Bob in a furious gun battle with a small armed group of men.

MARTIN: What happened?

BLACKE: They died in a shootout. All except one.

Panel Eight: The inside of a jail cell. There is only one occupant. He is a man in his young 20's wearing drab prison clothes. He looks dangerous but has the air of being a tool rather than a master. This is RAMON DELACORTE. He looks as if he is waiting for something. Can he tell that someone is talking about him?

MARTIN: Their leader?

BLACKE: So he said but I never believed him. Name's Ramon Delacourte. Nasty piece of work. He's in lock up in Providence.

BLACKE: Think I'll pay him a visit.

BLACKE: Wanna come?

MARTIN: You have to ask?

Page Fourteen

Panel One: A woman is attempting to leave a house. She has her hand on the door. She is haggard looking and is wearing a servant's uniform. It looks as if she's been wearing the uniform for weeks. She is turning away, reacting in fear to the off panel shout of:

CAPTION: STOP!

Panel Two: A man rushes at the door and pulls the woman away by her wrist. He is hurting her but doesn't care.

MAN: You fool!

MAN: Do you want to kill us both?

Panel Three: Close up on the man's face. He is of indeterminate age but completely insane and utterly dangerous.

MAN: Don't you realize that you'll break the seal if you leave? Don't you know what will happen then?

Panel Four: Intense close up on the woman. She is pleading for her life.

WOMAN: Please, please, sir. I only wanted to go home! My children… my babies need me.

Panel Five: The man slaps the woman down, hard.

MAN: Let them rot! Do you think I would allow myself to die for your whelps? ME? Obey me or I'll kill you myself.

MAN: You wouldn't want that…. Would you?

Panel Six: The woman is holding her face and crying.

WOMAN: No, no, no.

MAN: Good! Then stay put. The danger is near past. Nearly past.

Page Fifteen

The top row of this page shows a conversation between Delacorte and the VISITOR. It goes back and forth for six panels of up close views.

Panel One: Visitor CU.

Visitor: Who has it?

Panel Two: Delacorte CU.

DELACORTE: I do not know, lord.

Panel Three: VISITOR CU.

VISITOR: You stole it from me. My property. Gave it to your woman.

Panel Four: Closer CU of Visitor.

VISITOR: I must have it back.

Panel Five: Closer CU of Visitor.

VISITOR: Davidson must not go unpunished….

Panel Six: Extreme CU of Visitor. You can almost see Delacorte reflected in his eye.

VISITOR: …nor you.

Panel Seven: Regular length side panel. On the left side, we can see the shadow of something attacking Delacorte as Martin and Blacke enter the prison hallway. There are no captions or sound effects in this panel.

Panel Eight: Shift viewpoint to behind Martin and Blacke as they look down the corridor. Blood is beginning to seep out from under the bars of Delacorte's cell.

BLACKE: Hell.

Panel Nine: Martin and Blacke running down the corridor. Blacke is turning back and yelling.

BLACKE: Guard! Get the doctor! NOW!

Panel Ten: Reaction shot as they get to the door and see what's waiting for them. They are amazed and disgusted.

MARTIN: Oh, god.

Page Sixteen

Large splash panel. It shows Delacorte hanging in mid air, but he is not suspended by anything. He has been gutted like a fish and is quite dead.

MARTIN: Don't think he's going to be saying much now.

CAPTION: Every voyage begins with a step…but the voyage to hell sometimes starts with a leap.

CAPTION: TO BE CONTINUED….