DEXTER

Episode103
"Popping
Cherry"

Writtenby
DanielCerone

Directedby
MichaelCuesta
 DEXTER

"Popping Cherry,,
FADE IN:

ON DEXTER

Hj-s face kind of scrunched into a look of compassion. start

slow1y PULLING BACK --

DE X T E R (V . O . )
Y ou'd nev e r k n o w f wa s a s o c io p a t h .
f 'm quite well versed j_n human
behavior, and when f apply myself,
nobody can t e ll_ I ' m f a k ln g it --
except at f u n e ra ls .

we can now see that Dexter stands among a group of MouRNERS/

hal-f of them in tears or vreept_ng.

DE X T E R (v . O . )
I'm not go o d a t g rie f . fn those
cases, sha d e s c o me in h a n d y .

Dexter dons a pair of DARK SHADES. REVEAL that we,re --

EXT. BEACH - DAY 1

By the turquolse water's edge, six Miami porice HoNoR GUARD

stand at attention on either side of a lectern, surrounded
by flower arrangements. sixty fording chairs are fil1ed,
many of them by uniformed MEN and woMEN in l-aw enforcement.
Dexter stands among a group of mourners behind the chai_rs.

At the lectern, Detective STEVE McNAMARA,40s, brave and

diqnified but torn up inside, talks into a microphone.

DET. MCNA]VU\zu\
Miami's fu ll of good cops. A lo t o f
'em here t o d a y . But no offense, I
wouldn't want any of you hittlng on my
srster.
( then )
Ricky was d if f e re n t .

WEAVEAMONGthe mourners to find DEBRA paying respects, a

stoic BATrsrA listening, LT. LAGUERTAeyeing the reporters
and cameras, and sGT. DOAKESfighting blck ieal
"molion.
DET. MCNAMARA
He was a guy you wanted your sister to
fall for, ' c a u s e y o u ju s t k n e w h e , d
respect her, marry her and he did.
(MoRE)
( coNTTNUED)
 DEXTER 103 "Popping Cherry" FuIl BIue - 06/19/06 2.
1 CONTINUED: 1
DET. MCNAT,IARA( CONT' D )
I never saw Kara as happy as she was
with Rickv.

CUT TO:

2 AFTER THE SERVICE 2

Knee-deep in water, TWO ELDERLY COUPLES, the parents of the

deceased, spread their children's ashes in the ocean. By
the shore, bereaved officers, friends, and family members
congregate and commiserate as they watch. Doakes approaehes
l4cNamara, who stands with two rough-and-tumble COP FRIENDS.

SGT. DOAKES
It's a fucking travesty.

DET. MCNA},IARA
(appreciates the support)
Thanks, man.

COP FRIEND
Heard you're going after Guerrero.

SGT. DOAKES
Shit yeah. This ain't over. Guerrero
ordered these hits. I' m gonna make
somethinq stick to that carte] cock-
sucker.

DET. MCNAMARA
I never knew you and Ricky were so
tight.

Doakes, who was actually sleepi-ng with Ricky's wife, covers.

SGT. DOAKES
Ain't about that. Fuck with a cop,
fose the prlvilege to walk the streets
we protect, am I right?

As the cop friends enthusiastically ad llb their agreement,

SWfNG AROUND to find Lt. LaGuerta a short distance away,
giving sound bites to a TV NEWS CREW.

LAGUERTA
We're heartbroken over the tragic loss
of our fallen brother. But we praise
his courage. Ricky Simmons knew no
fear. f always call-ed him the
gutsiest man on the police force.

Debra WfPES PAST, staring in disgust. FOLLOW her to Dexter.

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 " P o p p in g Ch e rry " FuIl B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 3.
2 CANTINUED2 2

DEBRA
Can you b e lie v e t h a t c o w? S h e d id n ' t
even know Simmons.

DEXTER
A t least s h e k n e w h e wa s a c o p . . -
unless, wa it -- d id Y o u t e l1 h e r?

D eb ra smiles.

DEBRA
I'm proud o f y o u f o r c o min g , B ro . I
know you hate funerals. How You
holding up?

DEXTER
(bra v e b re a t h )
I 'm mana g in g .

Debra gives his arm a sympathy squeeze then splits off.

Dexter turns to look out to sea, where the two elderly
couples are returning from spreading ashes.

DE X T E R (v . o . )
No I'm no t . K e e p in g o n e ' s f a c e
pinched in sorrow for two hours
straight 1 s a re a l c h o re .

D exter,s attention drift s t o a Q HI L D u s in g a re d p la s t ic

sho vel to build castles in t h e s a n d .

DE X T E R (V . O . )
Ooh, that reminds me. I need to Pick
up a sho v e l f o r mY n e x t P ro le c t -

3 EXT. CORRECTIONSFACILITY * DAY 1

A batch of hardcore YOUNGMEN -- atl- races, sizes, and gang

a ffiliations, but none o ld e r t h a n 2 1 -- a re e s c o rt e d b y a
PRISON GUARDout the front gates of a low-slung, concrete
fa citity surrounded by h ig h c h a in -lin k . E x c it e d f a milie s '
gangsters, and hoodrats greet them.

DE X T E R (v . O . )
Florida p ris o n s k ic k f re e 2 5 0 0 0
inmates a year. TheY don't do ' that
for me, b u t it s u re f e e ls lik e it .

4 INT. DEXTER'S CAR - DAY 1

CLOSE ON a gleaming RED SHOVEL, prJ-ce tag and stj-ckers still

attached, propped up in the passenger seat. PAN to Dexter,
parked out front, watching the young men being released-

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "Po p p ln g Ch e rry " F u ll B I u e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 06 4.
4 CO NTINUE D: 4

DE X T E R (V . O . )
I search for ones who think they beat
the system. T h e y ' re n o t h a rd t o f in d .
Like young Jeremy Downs.

D exter sees JE RE MY , 19, h a rd e n e d b e y o n d h is y e a rs . He s t e p s

th r o ugh the gate, squint in g in t o t h e s u n lig h t . T h e g u a rd
escorts Jeremy, who has no one to greet him, into a van that
says "Homestead Halfway Ho u s e . "

DE X T E R (v . O . )
Today, Jeremy is just another piece of
trash on the street. But four years
ago, he wa s t h e t o a s t o f Mia mi. . .

CUT T O:

5 A SCREEN 5

An Asian REPORTERstands in a park, holding a microphone. A

GRAPHICreads: "BREAKING NEWS. SANDRAYEE. MIAMI." Pollce
cars can be seen behind her, along with yelIow police tape
stretched out to keep a gathering CROWDout of the park.

SANDRAYEE
It was a gruesome scene today. The
bloody body of a teenage boy found
stabbed to death inside this South
Miami park.

PULL BACK to reveal that we are

INT. DEXTER'S APARTMENT_ NIGHT 1

Dexter slts shirtless behi-nd hj-s desk on a hot Miami night,

eating popcorn and watching the archived NEWSREPORTon hj-s
computer. A gentle breeze billows the curtains behind him.

SANDRAYEE
P olice ha v e n ' t re le a s e d t h e n a me o f
the victj-m, but our sources tel-l us
that inves t ig a t o rs a re h o ld in g a 1 5 -
year-old s u s p e c t in c u s t o d y .

On the computer, B-ROLL NEWSFOOTAGEshows uniform officers

wheeling out a BODY covered by a whj-te sheet, followed by
fuzzy LONG-LENSSHOTSof poli-ce poking around the area.

SANDRAYEE
W e're hea rin g t h a t t h e s u s p e c t lu re d
the older boy to the pond to spot
alligators.
(MORE)

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p ln g Ch e rry " FuIl BIue - 06/19/06 5-
5 C ONTINUE D: 5
S A NDRAY E E (CO NT ' D)
But once they were alone, the victim
was robbed and repeatedly stabbed.

Using the mouse, Dexter closes the wj-ndow on-screen with the
news report and clicks on a folder wlth AUTOPSYPHOTOS. He
starts flipping through coloR STILLS of the dirty, bloody
bo d y of a HE A V Y S E TB OY' L l, c ris s c ro s s e d wit h d e e p k n if e
wo u nds.

DE X T E R (v . o . )
To the coroner, the knife strokes
l-ooked random, impulsive. But I saw
the work of a young virtuoso. Too
many majo r a rt e rie s we re s e v e re d . . -
femoral, b ra c h j-a l, c a ro t j-d .

D exter, staring with w ld e e y e s , t a k e s a b it e o f p o p c o rn - He

clicks the mouse and a PHOTOOF JEREI4Y in the courtroom
appears. The boy has a smug smile on hj-s f ace -

DE X T E R (V . O . )
Jeremy got off easy. Four years l-n a
juveni-le facj-lity for manslaughter-
But I knew what he was, and what he'd
do again. A 1 1 I h a d t o d o wa s c irc l-e
my calend a r. . . a n d wa it .

pusH rNTo the bul_Ietin board near the desk, where on the
ca le ndar a DA TE IS CIRCL E D t h a t s a y s : " J e re my . "

SMASHCUT TO:

6 EXT. RITA'S HOUSE_ YARD - DAY 2 6

From a LOW ANGLE in the dirt, the new RED SHOVEL swiftly
STRIK E S down on us. D e x t e r, we a rj-n g je a n s a n d a t -s h irt ,
wields the shovel. He uses the sharp edge to hack at
something we can't see . We c a n o n ly ima g in e wh a t , u n t il --

THE LUMINOUSRITA

Strolls up i-n a skirt with a trav of ice-cold lemonade.

RITA
Lemonade for my sweatY workers?

REVEAL that Dexter is digging up a dead little LEMONTREE in

front of her modest home. Nearby, CODY and ASTOR play in
th e dirt with hand sho v e ls . De x t e r t u rn s t o t h e k id s .

DEXTER
What do you say, crew? AnYone
parched?

( coNTTNUED)
 DEXTER 103 "Popping Cherrv,,
CONTTNUED: F u 1 l B lu e _ 0 6 / 19 / 0 6
6.

CODY
What's p a rc h e d ?

Tl:L:"i"nil3ir5"irililf: Astorcarries her littre dolr.

RTTA
Once we put in the
new l_emon tree
we'l_l make our o\,rrl
f re s h -s q u e e z e d
lemonade.

ASTOR
( excited )
Can we have a lemonade
stand?

DEXTER
I:tI a p pty f o r a b u s in e s s
trrst thing rn the morning. ] ic e n s e

RTTA
Thanks d o in g t h is , De x t e r. you
know, I_tomoved
:,
from Michigan with--
dreams of f ru it t re e s in my
V " iJ .
CODY
But they keep dying.
Astor holds up three fingers and mouths ,,Three,,
to Dexter.
RTTA
r can, t help it. f kill thj_nqs.

DEXTER
That must be awfu1.
FortunateJ_y,
"J"cret f
li::- " sreen 9r."*u. r;; to
n a p p y ci trus is 1n the
find i"itr li""..
r
that bone meal_works best.
sneakers rrompl_ns across
;i":: a ye1low 1awn.
Rita :lr5:i.I
i;;ii;.-.lHlT;.i3=i"i rrl?
rj:;jljli i:tiT:.iliij;:."*.
RTTA
Paul_ doesn,t li_ve here an)rmore.

FRANKTE
No shit, he , . . -rn ja il.
owes me for f ifty B u t-blor,
h e s t-riri"f.
ill
grams oi
means vou owe me.
As Dexter curiously steps over, Rita holds up a hand.

( coNTrNuED
)
 DE X TE R103 "Popping Cherry" F u ll B lu e - 0 6 / 7 9 / 0 6 7.
C ONTINUE D: (2) 6

RITA
Don't ge t in v o lv e d .

DE X T E R (V . O . )
I'm supp o s e d t o g e t in v o lv e d ? I never
know in t h e s e s it u a t io n s .

Rita, scared, turns to F ra n k ie .

RITA
f don't have money.

Frankie indicates the Toyota RAV4 parked j-n the drlveway.

FRANKIE
You have a car.

RITA
( disbelief )
My car...?

FRANKIE
(snaps f j-ngers )
K eys.

Ri-ta doesn't know what to do. Cody innocently looks up.

CODY
You know my dad?

Frankie squats down to Cody's level and smiles.

FRANKIE
Why I sure do, Iittte man. And you
Iook just lik e h im. I ' ll t e l-I h im y o u
said hi, o k a y ?

Frankie reaches to tousl-e cody's hair, but Ri-ta pulls her

son close, out of Frank ie ' s re a c h . Wit h a k n o win g s mile ,
Fr an kie rises to his fee t a n d q e t s s e rio u s .

FRANKIE
Look... y o u wa n t I c o u ld g o in t o y o u r
house and throw around your furnj_ture,
make a real mess. But what kind of
message would that send to the littl-e
ones? Jus t g iv e me y o u r f u c k in g c a r.

Dexter knows better than to challenge this guy with the kids
ar o u nd. He calmly turn s t o Rit a , wh o , s n e a r t e a rs .

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 " P o p p in g Ch e rry " F u lI B lu e - 0 6 / L 9 /A 6 B.
6 C ONTTNUE D:(3) 6

DEXTER
Maybe you should go get the keys.
f 'l-l wait h e re wit h o u r f rie n d .

Rita nods and herds the children i-nside. Frankie turns and
stares daggers at Dexter, an imposing figure, holding the
sho vel in hls hands.

FRANKIE
What? Think vou can take me?

DE X T E R (V . O . )
fn my slee p .

Off Dexter's innocent e x p re s s io n --

MOMENTSLATER

Franki-e reckl-essly backs down the driveway in the RAV4,

bounces over a curb and speeds away. Dexter watches him go.

7 TNT. RTTA'S HOUSE_ BATHROOM

- DAY 2

R i ta sits on the toi-let p e e in g a n d c ry in g . S h e re a c h e s in t o

a vanity drawer mirror for a rubber band, pulls i-t onto her
wrist, and starts snappi-ng it. She hears a KNoCK.

INTERCUT:

B INT. RITA',S HOUSE- HALLWAY- DAy 2 (CONTINUOUS)

Dexter stands outside the bathroom door,

DEXTER
Everything okay in there?

RITA
Yes.

Dexter really wants to help but 1sn't exactly sure how.

DEXTER
Do you need toil-et paper?

RITA
No.

DEXTER
(beat )
He's gone.

Rita dries her eyes, flushes the chaj-n, and adjusts her
skirt. She opens the door to find Dexter standing there.

( CONTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 " P o p p in g Ch e rry " F u ll B lu e - 0 6 / L 9 /0 6 9,
B CO NTINUE D: B

DEXTER
Guy clearly had no ldea who he was
dealing wit h . I'II f il-e a re p o rt a t
work and get your car back.

Rita subconsciously pulls her sleeve over the rubber band.

RTTA
No, Dext e r -- t h a n k s . No re p o rt s .
P aul's o u t of our liv e s , f ' v e f ile d
for divorc e . . . I ju s t wa n t my p a s t t o
go away.

DEXTER
It went awav in vour RAV4.

RITA
Whatever it takes.

DEXTER
Okay, we ll I c a n g iv e y o u a rid e to
work until you get another car.

Rita slips her arm thro u g h De x t e r' s a n d h e a d s o u t s j-d e .

RTTA
Or, I ca n t a k e t h e b u s lik e millio n s
of other p e o p le . No w c ' mo n , le t ' s go
outside a n d e n jo y t h is b e a u t if u l day.

Off Rita forcing an lmpossibly hopeful smil-e --

9 rNT. POLTCE STATTON- DEXTER',SLAB - DAy 2 (MORNTNG)

CLOSE on a BLOOD SPATTERPHOTOthat shows a vertlcal arc of

crimson blood stretching up a wall-. Dexter and ANGEL
BATISTA discuss the photo, pi-nned on a bulletin board.

DEXTER
That's n o t a rt e ria l s p u rt in g . The
drops are e l-lip t ic a l in s h a p e . They
were cast off by a weapon, something
the killer swuns overhead.

BATISTA
Lj-ke, what? An axe?

DEXTER
Blunt force. See how the head's caved
in on the left side?

As Dexter shows Batista a CRT},IE SCENE PHOTO, VINCE }4ASUKA

enters the work area.

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " F u lI BIue - 06/19/06 10.
9 C ONTINUE D: 9

MASUKA
You guys scope out the new Hottie
McHotass in dispatch vet?

BATISTA
( dismissing )
She's a Butter Face.

DEXTER
What's a Butter Face?

BATISTA
You know, compa. She's got a hot
body, "but her face."

MASUKA
Yeah, but how great to puII a Bronco
on that one, yeah? Yeah?

Dexter just stares at them blankly. Batista explains

BATISTA
Mira aqui. You do her doggy style,
right? Just when she gets into it,
you grab her hips and yell another
woman's name. Bam, you're rrdrng a
bronco 'cause she's tryj-ng to buck you
^ f+

M asuka, getting into th e s p irit o f t h in g s , l-e t s o u t a h o ll-er

and pretends to ride. Dexter can only stare in amazement.

DE X T E R (V . O . )
Many time s in lif e , I f e e l lik e I ' m
missing s o me e s s e n t ia l p ie c e o f t h e
human p:uzzLe. lhis is one of them.

D eb ra runs up, looki-ng f o r De x t e r, a n d s e e s Ma s u k a .

DEBRA
What're yo u d o in g -- t h e B ro n c o ?

BATISTA
(to De x t e r)
S ee socio , s h e k n o ws .

Debra excitedly turns to Dexrer.

DEBRA
I got my f irs t o f f ic j-a l h o mic id e c a ll!
He's back !

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "Po p p ln g Ch e rry " F u l_ l_B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 11 .
9 ? (2)
CO NTINUE D 9

DEXTER
(hoping beyond hope)
Who's back? The Ice Truck Kill-er?

DEBRA
That's right, and you're not gonna
believe where he l-eft the body.

10 EXT. MrAMr - AERTAL VIEW (STOCK) - DAy 2 (MORNING) 10

An AERTAI SHOT circles a qiant Sports Arena.

11 rNT. spoRrs ARENA - LoBBy - DAy ; (MORNTNG) 11

Dexter, cranlng hj-s neck around in awe, enters the massive

indoor stadj-um, where the Miami gl-ades play hockey.

DEXTER (V.O. )
I knew he'd be back. ft feel-s l-ike
Christmas morning.

L2 rNT. HOCKEY ARENA - DAy 2 (MORNTNG) 12

Dexter enters the expansive space, which looks even bigger

with the uniform rows of empty seats. SOUNDS of an active
murder scene echo across the cold, hard surfaces. Dexter
stops at the perimeter of the ice rink and peers through the
plexiglass with child-Iike wonder.

REVERSE ANGLE

Reveals a woman's bl-oodless BODY PARTS, carefully wrapped j_n

butcher paper and stacked on ice inside the goalie net. The
brunette HEAD of the victim j-s perched ghoulishly atop the
pile. Crime scene PERSONNELwork the area.

DEXTER (V.O. )
(breathless )
Look at that, a miracl-e on j-ce. Any
jeweler wiII tell you that fj-nding the
right setting is essential, but this
it's stunning.

AT THE HOCKEY NET

Bati-sta and Masuka are already examining the body. Dexter,

struggling not to slip, crosses the ice and joins them.

DEXTER
You ever seen anything like thj-s
before, Angel?

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "po p p in g c h e rry " F u l-l- B lu e - o 6 / r9 / a6 12.
1,2 CO NTTNUE D: 12

BATISTA
Guy's an o rig in a l.

MASUKA
Did you hear? They caught hlm.

DEXTER
( heartbroken )
The killer?

MASUKA
Y eah.
(po in t s a c ro s s t h e ic e )
Thev s enf him fa tuhror E nanrltrz vhvn^v lf vnrr
""" verrqrLJ
:
"r "3r r i"ai
Masuka laughs. Dexter nods ,,you got me,, -- then turns to
stare at the body, mesmerized.

BATISTA
You al-l- rlght, Dexter?

DEXTER
I am f antastic. This i_s like a dream.
(of f thej-r curj_ous looks )
Standing on the home 1ce of the Mj_ami
Blades.

BATISTA
Never pegged you for a hockey fan.

DEXTER
There's something about sltting j_n a
l- ;^ ^^^'l L.^'rl
pLy
t uvvr [Link]! !T fi nd
!rtfu \zarl
vE!y , ro'l avie^frly.
!sf nn
( then )
So what do we know?

MASUKA
(holding a severed leg)
Same as the others, no blood.

BATISTA
But... f 'm not seeing any hesj_tatlon
cuts this time. No flaved bones. I
think our boy's got his confldence
back.

Dexter cranes hj-s head, looking around the inspiring arena

that engulfs them like a cathedral.

DEXTER
He never lo s t it . He wa s ju s t g e t t in g
bored.

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " F UI I B I u e - 0 6 1 1 9 / 06 13.
12 CO NTINUE D: (2) L2

BATISTA
W onder wh a t h e ' s t ry j-n g t o t e ll- us by
stuffing h e r b o d y in a g o a lle ' s net.

DEXTER
Hockey's a v io l-e n t s p o rt ?

BATTSTA
Anything else?

DEXTER
( rea li-z in g )
He's escala t in g t h e t h rill. P o s in g
his victim in a 2 0 , 0 0 0 -s e a t s t a d iu m
f or aII l'liami to see. To show them,
show gg, wh a t h e ' s c a p a b le o f d o j-n g .

De b r a eagerly slips and s lid e s h e r wa y a c ro s s t h e ic e to

join them and skids into Dexterr who catches her.

DEBRA
W hat'd I mi-s s ? Wh a t ' d I mis s ?

DEXTER
Relax. Y o u ' re n o t mj-s s in g a n y t h in g .

Masuka smiles and waves a SEVEREDHAND at Debra. The

FfNGERTfPS have been sl-iced off .

MASUKA
B ut she i s . . . f in g e rt ip s .

DEBRA
Fucking A l T h a t ' s my g irl!
(to De x t e r)
This body belongs to the fingertips we
found frozen i-n the i-ce truck. Shari
Taylor. A n o t h e r p ro s t it u t e .

De xter smiles proudlv at h i-s s is t e r.

DEXTER
W el-I, no b lo o d , n o n e e d f o r me . I
should pr o b a b ly g e t g o in g .

Doakes strides over, managing much better than Deb and Dex
d id on the slick ice. He q lo we rs a t De x t e r.

SGT. DOAKES
What are you smiling at, freak boy?

( coNTTNUED)
 DEXTER 103 "popping Cherry" Fu11 Bl-ue 06/79/06 L4.
I2 CO NTTNUE D:(3) T2

DEXTER
I'm not s milj_ n g . Just s t re t c h in g my
face.

SGT. DOAKES
Well stop it .
(to De b ra )
Meet me at the command post in f j_ve.
We may ha v e a s u s p e c t .

Doakes walks away. rntrigued, Dexter turns to Debra.

DEXTER
There's re a llv a susnect?

DEBRA
(a lit t le cocky)
_I'll let y o u k n o w, B ro . Wh e n I g e t
back from my flrst officlal homiclde
investigat io n . Da mn , it , s good to be
out of vic e . f c a n , t wa it t o . . .
Her voice trails of f when Masuka stands, wrprNc FRAI'IEto
reveaf the SEVEREDHEAD of the victim. Debra blanches.

DEBRA
f know her.

DEXTER
Shari?

DEBRA
She called herself Cherry. We worked
the same corner *rr"i-Gis [Link].
We had coffee together. She always
ordered hers black. Like her pimp.
(knowing it's lame)
( ha
rrrE fhnr
Lrr'..,ugrrL
r ah+ +l
uhat was funny.

DEXTER
So you and Cherry were, like, friends?

DEBRA
I guess.

Debra appears shaken, maybe even close to tears. Dexter has

compassion for, his sister, but as a semi-sociopath he never
knows how to show it.

DEXTER
( sin c e re )
You want a hug?

( CONTTNUED)
 DEXTER 103 "popping cherry" Ful1 Br-ue - 06 / rg / 06 15 .
12 CoNTTNUED: (4)
t2

DEBRA
(as if)
Fuck off.

upset, she turns to go, sl1ps a ]ittre, rights herself and

walks away.

13 INT. HOCKEY ARENA _ THE STANDS _ DAY 2 (MORNING)

13
LaGuerta has set up a command post halfway
up the stands,
with a dramatlc view of the ice ber_ow. Doakes briefs her.

SGT. DOAKES
...f tore apart the security office.
A surveillance tape,s missing.

LAGUERTA
Lemme guess, the one covering the ice.

SGT. DOAKES
They said you were good.

LAGUERTA
Don't bust my balls, James. The press
is pounding on the doors outside.
Someone had to be here last niqht who
saw something. A rent_a_badgei a
cleaning crew? A crack whore in the
men's room? Work with me.

SGT. DOAKES
They got a night watchman. We can,E
find him.

LAGUERTA
Then he's a suspect.

DEBRA (O.C. )
Unl-ess the fce Truck Killer abducted
hj-m to gain entry into the arena.
They turn to see Debra coming up the stairs to join them.

LAGUERTA
Your brother help you with that
startl_j-ng piece of deductive ]oqic?

SGT. DOAKES
(to Debra)
ft's possible the watchman was in the
wrong place at the \^/rong time. That, s
why we need to get to his apartment,
see what we can find

( coNrrNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "p o p p ln g c h e rry " F u rl- B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 16.
13 C ONTINUE D: I?

De b ra turns to LaGuerta . T a k e s a d e e p b re a t h . . .

DEBRA
Actually, T was hoping f could hit
CaIIe Och o . T a lk t o my o 1 d c o n t a c t s .

L a Guerta folds her arms , I o v in g t h is .

LAGUERTA
Well isn' t t h is a p is s . I thought you
wanted to g e t o u t o f v ic e . fsn,t that
what you cried to the Captaj_n last
week?

DEBRA
Yeah. I mean no, I didn'L cry. Look,
my girls know this vj_ctim, okay? They
may have information that could help
us.

LAGUERTA
(considers it, then --)
No. I want you to stay with Doakes.

LaGuerta turns to go. Debra can't berieve it. Doakes is

caught in between, but he's a detective fj-rst and foremost.

SGT. DOAKES
Maria. She's got contacts.

LaGuerta stops on the staj-rs and turns back. After shooting

Doakes an annoyed rook for putting her on the spot, LaGuerta
glares at Debra.

LAGUERTA
You still got your tube top?

DEBRA
And my nipple clamps.

LAGUERTA
Don't come back without information.

LaGuerta turns and warks away. Debra gives a smarl nod of

appreciation to Doakes, who nods back.

14 EXT. CALLE OCHO _ STOREFRONTS_ DAY 2 14

A row of colorfur storefronts alr- the f r-avors of Miami.

Dexter stands outside a curio shop with a tabre out front,
ful-l of assorted second-hand knickknacks. Dexter holds up a
blown-glass POODLE to examine it.

( coNTTNUED)
 DEXTER 103 "Poppj-ng Cherry" F u ll B lu e - 0 6 / 7 9 / 06 L7.
L4 C ONTINUE D: I4

DE X T E R (V . O . )
Everyone moves to Miami to die, which
means we have more junk than any city
i-n America. A skilled barqain hunter
can find re a l- t re a s u re h e r6 -- T if f a n y
lamps, St e u b e n g la s s -- b u t t h a t , s not
my idea of hunting.

RACK Focus from Dexter's poV of the poodre to REVEAL Jeremy,

walking up the sidewalk toward Dexter, window shopping.

DE X T E R (V . o . )
I pref er a stal_k and ambush approach.
My instinc t s a re imp e c c a b le , b u t f
have to be sure of my prey.

Dexter curiously watches Jeremy stop to survey the wares of

a KNTFE vENDoR, 60s, a bit of a yahoo wearing an American
Eagle cap and surrounded by American frags. He has set out
a couple card tables w it h ro ws o f s h in in q K Nrv E S , a l1 s iz e s
an d shapes, floating o n d a rk v e lv e t

KNIFE VENDOR
What'cha in the market for? you hunt
trophies or meat?

JEREMY
E xcuse m e ?

KNIFE VENDOR
Wel-l, tro p h y h u n t e rs , t h e y ' re in t o the
raw adrena lin e ru s h . . .
/ r odnonl r qannonf
vv9 r r u ,, \

Kill it till it dies, Bil1y Bobl

( then )
Meat hunters are looklng for dinner.
What're you looking for?

JEREMY
Can I see that one?

Jeremy points to a SKTNNTNG KNIFE with a 4-j-nch brade, not

the most impressj-ve of the l-ot. The vendor takes the knife
and deftly shows it off like a bj_rthday party maglcian.

KNTFE VENDOR
t / lnnr l 6\ z a r ; r^su-vrqus
r xed-bl-ade skinn
DAftlrrrrrY i no kAlla!E.
n i f e -
Full-tang s t a in le s s s t e e l. Re a l t i-me
saver for hunters who li_ke to do thei_r
own butchering in the field.

De xter drifts a little c ro s e r, a s t h e k n if e v e n d o r h o ld s up

the skinni-ng knife, whic h g lin t s in t h e s u n lig h t .

( coNrINUED)
 DE X TE R103 "Poppi-ng Cherry" F u ll B lu e - 0 6 / 7 9 / 06
I4 C oNTINUE D: (2) I4

KNIFE VENDOR
See the way that blade curves gently,
son? Llk e a n e a g le ' s t a lo n . It,s
yours for f if t e e n d o lla rs .

JEREMY
(pu1 ls o u t a t we n t y )
f 'l1 take i-t .

KNIFE VENDOR
Hell yeah , y o u ' 1 l t a k e it . Wh y
wouldn't y o u ? I ' I 1 get your change.

Jeremy delicately picks up the knlfe off the tabre to test

the welght, hording the handle with an expert backhand grip.
Abrupt1y, he SLASHESthe empty air in front of him, once,
twice, then spins with the blade --

and a HAND catches his wrist, stopping him in midswing.

The hand belongs to Dexter, now standing next to Jeremy.
Th e knife hovers two in c h e s f ro m De x t e r; s h e a d . c lo s E o n
Je r e my's eyes cold, e n ra g e d , h u n g ry .

DEXTER (V.O. )
There it is. The inhuman l_izard-braln
sense of I-Want. f remember the first
time I saw that look.

FLASH CUT TO:

15 RAPID IMAGES 1q

A hy podermic NEEDLE... The chilling eyes of an enraged

NURSE' 40s, with a stout body... A weakened HARRy, ryi-ng in
a hospital- bed

RESUI'IE:

76 EXT. CALLE OCHO_ STOREFRONTS

_ DAY 2 t6
Dexter stares at Jeremy with an odd sense of r ecognition.

DEXTER
Easy, kid.

The knife vendor turns to see Dexter holdinq off the knife.

KNrFE vENDoR
rr^r,
rrsJ ..L^+
wr r a u uoe Sam Hill ?

Jeremy pulls his hand away.

( c o NT T NUE D
)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " F u lI BIue - 06/19/06 19.
16 CO NTTNUE D: 16

JEREMY
I didn't s e e h i-m.

KNIFE VENDOR
(to De x t e r)
Y ou okay, s ir?

DEXTER
I'm fine. Ho n e s t mis t a k e . No h a rm.

The knife vendor hands Jeremy hi-s change.

KNTFE VENDOR
B e more c a re f u l, huh?

Jeremy takes off up the street, looking nervously over his

shoulder at Dexter. The knife vendor turns to Dexter.

KNIFE VENDOR
S orry abo u t t h a t . f o n ly s e } I ' e m.
S o what're y o u h u n t in g ? T ro p h ie s o r
meat?

Off Dexter, watching Jeremy go

FLASHBACK:

17 Exr. wooDs - DAy 17

CLOSE on HARRY, dressed for a hike, waTking through thick

woods with 75-year-ol-d TEENAGEDEXTER. They move in and out
of shadows as thev talk.

TEENAGE DEXTER
You ever shoot anybody, Dad?

HARRY
Afraid so.

TEENAGE DEXTER
A ny of 'e m d ie ?

HARRY
Just one .

TEENAGE DEXTER
How'd it feel-? To kill a guy?

Harry turns and fixes his son with a probing 7ook.

( coNTTNUED)
 F u ll B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 20.
DE X TE R103 "Popplng CherrY"
T1
I7 C ONTINUE D:

HARRY
Not so great, Dex. When You take a
man's Life, Y o u ' re n o t ju s t k ilT in g
him. Y ou ' re s n u f f in g out aIL the
things he ' 7 7 e v e r b e c o me '

That realitY hits Teenage Dexter'

HARRY
As a poliee officer, I onTY fire mY
weupin xo save a Life' Thax's a code
I L-ive bY. KiTTing has to a
.serve
o t h e rwis e , it ' s ju s t p la in
""tiLL".'
murder.

Harry .see,s something on the ground ahead'

HARRY
There it is . . -

Th e yreachaFA LLE NDE E Rrb T e e d in g in t h e h in d q u a rt e rs f ro m first time' *

f"l stil1- brealning. For the
where it was *
"n"t,-
w en oticetheRLFLE inHarry , s h a n d s . T e e n a g e De x t e t s t a re s *
down.
tr
TEENAGE DEXTER *
It's sti77 a liv e .
*
troubled by his son's. questions' has an idea to help *
Harry, he
the boy cope witi his emergin; instinc,ts ', ReluctantTy ' *
u n sheathesaHUNTINGK N I F E a n d h a n d s it t o T e e n a g e De x t e r.
HARRY
W hy don' t Y o u g o a h e a d l s . o n ' P u t t h e
pobr animaT out of its mtserY '

Tooks in wonder from his father to the

Teenage Dexter
wounded deer-
TEENAGE DEXTER
Rea77Y?

HARRY
For now, this is how we'TL control the
urges You fee7. ChanneT them'

bareTy beTieving' He steps

Teenage Dexter takes the knife'
forwardandkneelsoUToF F RA ME . P US HI NT )Ha rry , h o p in g
th is is a good idea" '

( CoNTTNUED
)
 DEXTER 103 "Popping Cherry" F u ll B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 27.
L7 C ONTINUE D: (2) I7

EARRY
This deer wiTI put meat on our tabl-e
+ ; 7.1- a
^^Ly!!u.^^+
av!' au D gfVeS pU fpOSe.

END FTASHBACK:

1B EXT. POLICE STATION _ KITCHEN _ DAY 2 18

A tl r ed Doakes fixes a c u p o f c o f f e e . O n t h e c o u n t e r, h e *
notices a NEWSPAPER ARTICLE on the memorial for fallen *
officer Ricky Simmons and hj-s wife Kara, with separate *
photos of each. Doakes pj-cks up the story. PUSH fN on *
KARA 's photo. A s he st a re s a t h is s la in lo v e r, Do a k e s is *
fl oo ded wlth anser. It ' s t ime t o d o s o me t h ln q a b o u t t h rs . *

19 EXT. CATHOLTCCATHEDRAL_ COURTYARD- DAY 2 I9

CLOSE on Doakes entering a Spanish courtyard. FOLLOWhrm *

through a crowd of mingling CHURCHIIEI4BERS,on the heels of *
a Confirmation ceremony. He moves through TEENAGERSdressed *
for Confirmatj-on, receiving hugs and handshakes from FAMILY t(

MEMBERS.

Doakes scans the courtyard, until he spots

RO SE , 15, Latino, awkw a rd b u t b e a u t if u J -, we a rin g a v irg in a l

w hite gown. A Catholic B f S HO P , 7 0 s , f u ll wh it e h a lr a n d re d
ve stments, clasps her ha n d in h is h a n d s .

BISHOP
I'm very proud of you. You worked
hard for this.

ROSE
Thank you, Bishop.

Rose smll-es and steps away to find her friends -- but bumps
into Doakes, now strategically positioned in her path.

SGT. DOAKES
Hi, Rose . Congratul-ations on your
Conf irmati-on.

ROSE
Thank you. Do f know you?

SGT. DOAKES
My name's James Doakes. Miami-Metro
PD. I'm investigating the murder of
an undercover officer and his wife.

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "Po p p in g Ch e rry " F u lI B lu e - 0 6 / L 9 / 06 22.
19 C ONTINUE D: 19

ROSE
That's t e rrib le . We re t h e y me mb e rs o f
the church?

R ose couldn't be sweete r o r mo re in n o c e n t .

SGT. DOAKES
No, Rose. They weren't.

ROSE
/nan fr r c od)

oh?

Doakes pulls out a PHOTO of Ricky Simmons and hol-ds i-t up.

SGT. DOAKES
Have you ever seen this man?

In the background, for the flrst time we see kingpin CARLOS

GUERREROand hi-s wife CELESTE, talking to other churchgoers.
A G uerrero ASSOCIATE urgently taps his boss on the shoulder
and points out Doakes.

ROSE
I don't know. Why are you asking me?

GUERRERO *
Hey! Get away from my daughterl *

Doakes turns to see Guerrero angrily racing over, pushing *

people aside. *

SGT. DOAKES *
What? C'mon... *

Tryi-ng to provoke Guerrero into a fight, Doakes holds up his *

hands, 1j-ke "Take a shot." Guerrero pushes people aside and *
lunges at Doakes to do just that, but some of his associates *
wisely hold him back. Guerrero stralns to get to Doakes *

GUERRERO
At my church? In front of my family? *

SGT. DOAKES
Ricky and Kara had families, too.

Everyone j-n the church has turned to watch. *

ROSE
/ cn ar or l \

What's he say-i-ng, Daddy?

( CONTINUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P op p in g Ch e rry " F u l1 B lu e - 0 6 / L 9 / 0 6 23.
19 CO N T INUE D: (2) 19

CELESTE
Come on, honey. Let's go.

Celeste escorts away Rose. Guerrero forces down his fury, *

qhrrrrrc off the associates holding him, and faces Doakes. *

GUERRERO
You just opened a dangerous door.

SGT. DOAKES
Naw, man. You did. When you murdered
a cop. And an innocent lady. You
don't follow the rules, Guerrero. Why
should I?

The Bishop calmly approaches.

BISHOP
This is a place of worship, officer. *
I need to ask vou to leave. Go in
noa-o

SGT. DOAKES
Not likely.

Guerrero's men step asi de to let Doakes exit. As he walks *

down the center of the courtyard without turning back -- *

20 OI,IITTED 20

2I EXT. CAILE OCHO _ NIGHT 2 2T

Little Havana. The heart of Cuban I'[iami. A time warp into

an alternate reality of hand-rolled cigars, fruiterias, meat
markets, and windows with cafecitos for only 25 cents.

At a corner traffic light, four motley hookers in slinky

dresses and strappy heels -- SHANDA (Black, attitude)
demure), '
and a
GABRIELLE (Latino, trashy), BELLA (Latino,
FOURTH HooKER -- l-ift their skirts to display their wares.
Annreci ative
rrt/y! g v +\ drivers HONK.

Debra, wearing her business suit' approaches the girls on

the street. They turn and break out f amil-iar smil-es.

SHANDA
Yo, Iooks who's backl

BELLA
Mamacital Estds caliente!

GABRIELLE
Who'd you fuck? Dolce or Gabbana?

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " FuII BIue - 06/19/06 24.
2L C ONTINUE D: 2L

DEBRA
I let 'em both pull a train on me.

The girls laugh.

DEBRA
Listen, t have a confession to make. -.
I'ITI, uh... I'm not who You think I am.
I'm a cop.

The girls look at each other nervously. The Fourth Hooker

turni and bolts, doing her best to run in high heels.

DEBRA
(calls after her)
back -- f'm not gonna *
Bridget, 9et
bust you! Bridget!

gone. The others size up Debra, not buying it' *

But she's

GABRIELLE
You're not a coP, You're a whore.

DEBRA
I'm not a fucki-ng whore.

SHANDA *
What's wrong with being a fucking
whore?
x
Bella reads the truth o n De b ra ' s face.
x
BELLA
Oh my God. She's tell j-ng the truth.

[Link] *
Of course, the white girl. It's *
girl. *
always the whlte

SHANDA
Mother fuck! You come to arrest us?

BELLA
We trusted you, Brandy.

DEBRA
My name's Debra, and f 'm not here to
bust you. I need your helP. He hit
again. . . the Ice Truck Kill-er. He got
Cherry.

That quiets the girls. They all look at each other.

( CoNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "Po p p in g Ch e rry " F u ll B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 06 25.
27 Co NTTNUE D: (2) 2T

BELLA
(te a rin g u p )
Cherry?

22 INT. CAFETERfA - NIGHT 2 22

A Little Havana Cafeteria -- a colorful neighborhood cross
between a cantina and restaurant -- where workinq men can
relax after a hard week and meet friends to talk polj-tics,
spofts or gossr-p. CUBANMUSrc plays on a cheap boombox.

Debra sits with the three hookers over beers. Bella is *

still tearfuf. some CUBANMEN at the bar eye the girls. *

GABRIELLE *
This shit ' s t o o c ra z y , I , m d o n e . I x
got a slst e r in O h io , ru n s a b o u t iq u e *
fashion s t o re . f ' m o n a b u s ro mo rro w. *

SHANDA *
I ain't clo s in g my s h o p f o r n o s ic k *
psycho bit c h . F u c k in g wo ma n h a t e r. I rt
was on this s t re e t b e f o re h im. Fuck *
:-t. *

DEBRA *
W e can ge t h im, y o u g u y s . y o u ju s t *
gotta give me something. Any of you *
see Cherry with anyone the nj_ght )k
before las t ? *

BELLA *
(fighting tears) *
-L DCI\A/ Cherry get in a car. Come co
think of it, she didn't come back.
ANO .L was working alI night.

DEBRA
T.) t tznrr
lvu know the driver?

BELLA
No. But... it was like an old-
fashioned station wagon. with the
wood panels on the side?

DEBRA
( psyched )
This is good, this is a lead. Now j_f
I can 3ust get that chode LaGuerta to
l-isten.

GABRIELLE
Who's LaGuerta?

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "Po p p in g Ch e rry " F u ll B lu e 06/19/06 26.
22 CO NTINUE D: 22

DEBRA
My lieuten a n t , s h e h a t e s my g u t s , but
I'm tight wit h t h e Ca p t a in . f'II go
to him.

Shanda whistles. The girls knowingly shake their heads.

DEBRA
What?

BELLA
Never piss off your prmp.

DEBRA
LaGuerta's not my pamp.

SHANDA
S'that right? The bitch tell you what
to do?

GABRIELLE
(off Debra's nod)
Is your pussy taking all the risks?

BELLA
(off Debra's shrug)
Does she steal- what vou earn?

DEBRA
She definitelv does that.

GABRTELLE
Then she's your pimp, baby, and she
will mess you up if you play her.

DEBRA
I told you, I'm not a fucking whore.

SHANDA
Yeah you are.
(pissed again)
And what' s wrong with being a fucking
whore?

Debra shakes her head. She can't win.

23 rNT. DEXTER',S APARTMENT - DAy 3 (I4ORNrNG) 23

CLOSE on an open file with court transcripts and photos of

Jeremy Downs. RE\IEAL Dexter multitasking: working-out on an
exercise bike, eating an egg sandwich, and reading the file
at the same time.

( coNTTNUED)
 D E X T E R1 0 3 " popping cher r y" Fulr - Br ue - 06/19/06 27.
23 C O N T IN U E D : 23

When his phone RfNGS, he sets down his sandwich but, still
en g r ossed in the fire, t a k e s 1 t wit h h -im a s h e h o p s o f f t h e
bike to answer the phone.

DEXTER
(pr e o c c u p ie d )
Halln

INTERCUT:

24 EXT. BUS STOP - DAy 3 (MORNING)- CONTINUOUS 24

Rita sj-ts at a bus stop, s u rro u n d e d b y t h e c it y ' s u n d e rp a id
an d underprivileged crrrz E Ns . S h e t a lk s in a c e rr p h o n e .

RTTA
Oh, hi. A re y o u . . . is t h j-s a b a d
time? It ' s Rit a .

DEXTER
It' s f ine. Hi. I 'm just readj_ng a. . .
sad story. Everything alright?

RITA
Wel-l, yes. But, here's the thing...

DEXTER
You want me to pick up Cody after
school?

RITA
No, Colleen's taking him to karate
with Hudson.

DEXTER
What about Astor's piano?

RITA
Jen' s got that covered. It's Soc j_al_
Servrces. A case worker's coming by
the house this afternoon. I shoul_d be
home by four, but with the busses...

DEXTER
I'll- be there. Don't worry about a
thing.

RITA
Thank you, Dexter. I should be on
time. It's just in case. you're a
Iife saver.

Rrta hangs up. Nervous, she stares at the street and starts
discreetly snapping the rubber band against her wrj_st.
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " FuIl BIue - 06/19/06 28.

25 INT. POLICE STATION _ BULLPEN - DAY 3 25

Packed with UNfFORM COPS and DETECTIVES, includinq Dexter,

Debra and Batista. Doakes briefs the group from the front,
with LaGuerta off to the side.

SGT. DOAKES
As you all know, a night watchman from
the hocke y a re n a ' s mis s in g . T j-1 I n o w,
we presumed he was abducted, or worse,
by the Tc e T ru c k K j-lle r.

Doakes nods to someone offscreen, and a gralny SURVEILLANCE

VIDEO starts playing on the HUGE SCREENbehind Doakes. The
tape shows a MAN in a security uniform hauling chopped BODY
PARTS across the ice an d s t a c k in q t h e m in t h e q o a lie ' s net.

sGT. OO*"'
Howeverr we searched his apartment and
found a s t o le n s u rv e illa n c e t a p e f ro m
the nlght of the murder. Chief of
security a t t h e a re n a c o n f irme d rt . . .
the man y o u ' re lo o k in g a t is T o n y
Tucci, the mis s in g n ig h t wa t c h ma n .

Dexter and Debra watch in shock. LaGuerta steps up.

LAGUERTA
Here's the b e s t p a rt . T u c c i' s g o t a
record. P u lle d a k n if e a t a p a rt y in
tQ7

LaGuerta nods and the tape stops. A STILL IMAGE appears on

the big screen -- the grinning employee ID photo of Tony
Tucci , a simple blue-collar type.

LAGUERTA
Ladj-es and gentleman, I give you Tony
Tucci... the lce Truck Killer.

DEBRA
(whi-spers to Dexter)
Bul1shit.

LAGUERTA
Captain Matthews is coord-inating wlth
the FDLE to launch a statewide manhunt
as soon as we qet clearances.

DEBRA
(out loud to LaGuerta)
Does he drive a stati-on wason?

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " F UI I B lu e 0 6 / 1 9 / 06 29.
25 C ONTINUE D: 25

LAGUERTA
E xcuse m e ?

DEBRA
Tucci. Wh a t k in d o f c a r' s h e d riv e ?
The l-ast victim was seen getting in --

LAGUERTA
I don't re c a ll a s k in g f o r q u e s t io n s ,
Miss Mor g a n . Thank you.
(to t h e ro o m)
From this moment forward, aI1 our
resources g o in t o f in d ln g t h is ma n .
Your lndividual assignments will be
coming s h o rt ly . T h a t ' s a ll f o r n o w.

The brlefing breaks and the detectlves start buzzing. Debra

stands and turns to Dexter in frustration. Dexter stares at
th e nr o- ic c f c d nhr : t o of Trrr-r-1.

DEBRA
It doesn't make sense. After belng so
careful for so long, why in the hell
would he l-eave recorded evidence?

Debra angri-Iy turns to go and brushes past Batista.

DEBRA
Excuse me.

HOLD for a beat on Batj-sta, who was listening to her words,

before he heads out with everyone else. Dexter stays in hls
seat, staring up at the grinning face of Tony Tucci.

DEXTER (V. O. )
Of course, I agree with my sister.
But unlike her, I 'rTl not upset. He' s
still out there. And I'm waitinq.
Breathless.

off his reverv --

26 EXT . RITA 'S HOUS E_ DA Y 3 26

Dexter and Social Service worker LAURA SHAW, 40s, exit the
house, where we hear Astor practicing PIANo inside. They *
start walking toward Laura's car on the street. *

DEXTER
She should be here soon, dny second
now. Her bus must be late. Can we
get you anything?

( coNTTNUED)
 t u rr u ru e - 0 6 / L 9 / 0 6 ?n
DE X TE R103 "Po P P in g Ch e rrY "
zo CO NTINUE D: zo

LAURA
I'm fine. Are you the full-time care
giver for the children?

DEXTER
No, Rita's usually home in time for
the kids. I'm iust back up.

LAURA
My files say Miss Bennet is supposed
to have personal transportation.

DEXTER
Yes, well she did. And will again
very soon. Probably next week?

LAURA
Nothing to worry about. Just have to
make a note of it. Mi-ss Bennet is
doing an exemplary job. Wlsh a1I mY
home visj-ts were this lovel-y.

DEXTER
So why are you still coming around?

LAURA
Routj-ne follow-up for all domestic
violence cases. We need to ensure a
stable home environment exists.

DEXTER
Good thing. Just this morning I was
readlng about a caser so tragic. A
boy abandoned by his mom when he was
six. Sent to a foster home where the
man of the house sexuallv abused him.

LAURA
Happens more than you want to know.

DEXTER
Ynrrr denertmant
rvu4 vvyq! rrnt him Y"
orrt of there
'

faster than you can say Jacko' thank

God.

LAURA
Yeah but the damage was probably done.
Lemme guess -- he got bounced from
placement to placement, commj-tted a
crime, e n d e d u p in ju v ie .

DEXTER
A maior c rime . Mu rd e r. Y o u ' re good.

( coNTINUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " FuII B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 06 31.
26 CO NTINUE D: (2) 26

LAURA
(weary )
I try.

DEXTER
You should keep the faith. The system
works, now and then. I was taken in
by a won d e rf u l f a mily . No a b u s e . In
fact, fry foster father understood I
had spec ia l n e e d s . Wit h o u t h im. , .

LAURA
Y ou'd be lik e t h a t k id . Y o u ' re lu c k y .

DE X T E R (V . O . )
Lucky.

RrT A (O . C. )
I'm here, h e re I c o me ! Hi, e v e ry o n e !

Rita comes running up the driveway, panting and smiling and

l oo king eternally gratef u l t o De x t e r. S h e mo u t h s " t h a n k
you" to him as she leads Laura into the house.

DE X T E R (V . O . )
I am lucky. What do I know about
abuse? Wit h o u t t h e Co d e o f Ha rry , f ' I rr
sure I w o u ld ' v e c o mmlt t e d a s e n s e le s s
murder in my youth. Just to watch the
blood flow.

As a troubled Dexter watches Rita head inside

FI-,ASHAACK:

27 INT. HOSPITAL ROOI( _ DAY 27

Dexter and Debra, both early 20s, stand over a hospitaL bed.
Harry, Tooking green against the sheets, fies with his eyes
closed, hooked up to an fV. A sturdy nurse named MARY --
the one we foreshadowed earlier -- fluffs up his pi77ows.
On her way out, she whispers to Dexter and Debra.

MARY
Just try to make him comf ortabl-e.
It's abou t a l-7 we c a n d o n o w.

DEBRA
(torn apart)
I don't understand. A week ago the
doctor sard he was getting better.

( CONTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 " p o p p in g c h e rry , ' F u ll B ru e - 06/19/06 32.
21 CO NTINUE D: 27

TLARY
( a 7 J -wis e )

!Z,#,nztii\il:"'!7:;,"yz:"::""
she pushes a nurse's cart out, past an unconscious oLD
PATTENT in the next bed. Annoyed, Debra caLLs after Mary.

DEBRA
What does that mean?
(to Dexter)
What the h e f f , s t h a t me a n ?

DEXTER
That she' s we ird ?
Harry opens his eyes and roTls hrs head toward his chirdren,
as if some invisib]e hand pushed it from the far side of the
p iIT ow.

HARRY
Listen y o u t wo , I , m n o t gonna be
around much J_onser.

DEBRA
Dad, stop. you can make it throuqh
this. If you fight.

Debra's grief can be seen in the tears she angriry brushes

back. Dexter hol_ds his pain inside,

HARRY
! u fighting, honey. With every
breath.
(to Dexter)
Wlen I'm g o n e , I c a n , t s t o p y o u . . .
f rom belng who you are. Siooner or
7ater, y o u , 7 7 -- n e e d -- t o d o it .

Dexter nods, scared. But Debra has no idea what Harry zs

talking about.

DEBRA
Do what?

HARRY
(to Dexter)
Just remem-ber our l_essons.

DEBRA
What l-essons? What're you talking
about?

( c o NT T NUED
)
 DE X TE R103 "p o p p in g Ch e rry " t uJ-1 ljlue 0 6 / 1 9 / 06
zl C ONTINUE D: (2)
27

fIARRY
(to De b ra )
f never worried about you, Debra. Yr-ttt
got your mom,s spirit. But Dexter, he
required extra handl_inq.

DEXTER
( sinply )
f can't ma k e it wit h o u t vou.

HARRY
Yes you can. If you feel like you're
slipping, you l_ean on your sistbr.
S he'l-l ke e p y o u . . . connected. y o L j,re
a better person than you think, Dex.
As Dexter wonders if that,s reallv true __

END FIJASHBACK:

2B INT. POLICE STATION - BULLPEN _ DAY 3 z6

cl,osE on a fv screen showing the grainy surveillance tape of

Tony Tucci carryi-ng BoDy PARTS acioss 1... REVEAL Batista
closely watchlng the tape on a TV set in the mostly
b u 1 lpen. Debra enters wit h h e r n o s e in a F I L E . "*ptv

DEBRA
Fucking forensj_cs report.

BATISTA
What'd they find?

DEBRA
Tucci's hair and f i_bers.

she looks at the TV screen to see Tucci holding the vi-ctim,s

WRAPPEDToRSo. Di-sgusted, she tosses the file onto a desk.

DEBRA
Of course hi_s hair and fibers are on
the body. He's haul_ing her around
wlth his pork hands, isn,t he? prettv
fucking peculiar behavior for a qeniu's
serial killer, if you ask me

BATTSTA
He's a mystery, all right.

DEBRA
The problem is, nobody asks me. Or
l-istens to a goddamn word f say.

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P op p ln g Ch e rry " F u ll B lu e 06/19/06 34.
28 C oNTINUE D: 28

BATISTA
No es verdad. Why do you think I'm
going over this surveillance taPe?

Intri-gued, Debra moves over to Batlsta, who hasn't taken his

eyes off the TV screen the whole time.

BATISTA
Come here. Watch carefullY.

Deb stares at the screen. As Tucci places the wrapped torso

inside the net, he subtly TURNS HIS HEAD [Link] responding to
someone off screen, then adjusts the position of the torso.

BATISTA
You see that? Right before he
repositioned the torso?

DEBRA
( excited )
He turned his head!

Batlsta rewinds and FREEZES FRAME on the head turned back.

BATISTA
Like someone's giving him directions.

DEBRA
Someone like the Ice Truck Killer
holding a mother-fucking gun on hrs
back. The killer's framing Tucci!

BATISTA
Looks that wav.

DEBRA
LaGuerta's gonna lose her sheep shit
when she finds out. She's gonna have
to cancel her press conference.

BATISTA
And you know how LaGuerta loves her
press conferences.

DEBRA
(an idea f ormj-ng )
Can I borrow this tape?

off hor a n a r .r '

-"-- rY --
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " FuIl B l-u e 06/79/06 35.

29 EXT. HOMESTEADHALFWAY HOUSE - DAY 3 (DUSK) 29 *

A rundown boardj-ng house with a sign that says: "Wel-come to

Homestead Halfway House." Jeremy and a somewhat frail boy *
named LUCAS an 18-year-old runt of the litter exit the *
house joking and laughing. *

30 OMITTED 30 *

31 EXT. MARSH - DAY 3 (DUSK) 31 *

CLOSE on the faces of Jeremy and Lucas behlnd chain-lj-nk. A

REVERSE ANGLE reveals that they're staring into a secluded,
marshy area. A "NO TRESPASSING" sign on the fence.

LUCAS
f don't know, Jeremy.

Lucas looks nervous.

JEREMY
What's wrong? I thought you wanted to
see an al-liqator.

LUCAS
tdn

JEREMY
Well come on, it's in the marsh.
( impatient )
You pussing out?

LUCAS
No.

WAY DOWN THE STREET

A familiar car sits under a tree.

32 rNT. DEXTER',S CAR - DAY 3 (DUSK) 32 *

Dexter sj-ts inside, shadowing Jeremy. He watches as Lucas

overcomes his fear and starts climbing the chain-l-ink to
break into the marsh. Dexter raises binoculars for a better
look.

LONG_LENS POV

As Jeremy climbs, his shirt lifts and Dexter spots the GLINT
of the skinning knife strapped to Jeremy's hip.

( c o NT T NUE D
)
 DE X TE R103 "Popping Cherry" FuIl B l-u e 0 6 / 1 9 / A6 36.
5Z C ONTINUE D: 3Z

DE X T E R (V . O . )
Bingo. I know what haPPens next in
this gruesome little scenario. Jeremy
is trying t o re c re a t e h is f irs t k i-ll'
ritualize it . I've g o t wh a t I n e ed-

As Dexter puts his bj-noculars back in the case' PAN to the

front window, through which we see the boys in the distance
cl ea r the high fence and ru n o f f in t o t h e ma rs h .

33 rNT. POLTCE STATTON- VTEWTNGROOM- DAY 3 (DUSK) 33

Debra shows CAPTAIN MATTHEWSthe security tape FREEZE FRAI4ED

on Tucci's turned head.

DEBRA
See the look on his face? Like he's
scared. Like he's got a gun pointed
at him.

CAPTAIN MATTHEWS
It's not much to go onr Debra. A look
off camera?

DEBRA
There's more, one of my vice contacts,
Gabrielle, I trust her, and she saw
the victim get into a panel wagon the
nlght of her death. That was the last
time anyone saw the victim.

Debr a, on a roll, hands a file to the Captarn.

DEBRA
I checked Tucci's background report.
He doesn't even own a car. I'm
telling you, there's no fucking way he
can be the Ice Truck Killer.
I aal .r h i nc hor qel f \

S ir.

Captain Matthews appears impressed, but circumspect.

CAPTAIN MATTHEWS
What's Lieutenant LaGuerta think of
all this?

DEBRA
I came straight to you, CaPtain.

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " F u 1 1 B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 37,
33 Co NTINUE D: 33

CAPTAIN MATTHEWS
( frowning )
You went around the back of vour
commandi-nq officer?

DEBRA
( defensively )
LaGuerta doesn't listen to me. Every
time I open my mouth she

CAPTAIN MATTHEWS
I don't want to hear it, officer. You
don't vi-olate the chain of command. I
gave you a shot in homicide because I
think you can make a halfway decent
detective, but I'll put you right back
on the street if you can't swim in
these waters. Got it?

DEBRA
Yes, sl-r.

Captain Matthews turns to go, then pauses

CAPTAIN MATTHEWS
Your father never would've pulled the *
shit you just did.

That hurts. The Captain exits, leaving Debra chastised.

34 EXT. MARSH - SWAMPYAREA - DAY 3 (DUSK) 34 *

An extremely LOW ANGLE, an inch above water, gazing out over

the blackness of a swampy WATER HAZARD. On the far side,
close to the water, stand Jeremy and Lucas. It all feels
creepy.

LUCAS
I don't see it.

Jeremy points right INTO CAMERA.

JEREMY
It's right there. See its eyes
stickinq up?

AT THE WATER'S EDGE

Lucas looks into the murky water. Jeremy stands slightly

behind hj-m.

JEREMY
Y ou have t o g e t c lo s e r.

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " FuII BIue 0 6 / 1 9 1 06 38.
34 C ONTINUE D: 34

Lu ca s nervously steps r ig h t t o t h e wa t e r' S e d g e . A n y c lo s e r

a n d he'd faII in. Lucas lo o k s o u t o v e r t h e wa t e r.

LUCAS
I still don't see it.

JEREMY
Rea1ly? Huh. MaYbe I was wrong.

Lucas l-ooks back at the bigger boy, suddenly realizrng.

LUCAS
There's no gator here, is there?

Jeremy shrugs. Dark. Menacing.

JEREMY
I don't know, Lucas. Is there?

It's a tense, uncomfortable moment. Lucas is helpless. He

knows it. We know it. Jeremy smlles, the smile of a
predator in control --

VOICE
Excuse me!

They turn to see Dexter materializing out of the trees as he

walks toward them. He strolls right up to the boys, who are
frozen by his sudden appearance.

DEXTER
Anyone see a Frisbee? It flew in here
somewhere.

Jeremy impulsivety takes off running. Lucas follows a beat

behind. Dexter watches the boys run away. After they flee
from sight, he looks around at his surroundings-

DEXTER (V.O. )
What am I doing out here?

Dexter is about to head back, when he hears a SPLASH behi-nd

him. Dexter turns as a 12-FOOT ALLIGATOR lunges out of
the water. Dexter leaps away but trips, falls, and quickly
scrambl-es back to his f eet.

DEXTER
Son of a bitch!

EXT. PARKTNG LOT - DAY 3 (DUSK) 35 *

35

Dexter I angry and wet, Iimps across the empty parking lot-

( coNrrNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p i-n g Ch e rry " F u ll B l-u e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 39.
35 C oNTINUE D: 35

DEXTER (V. O. )
All I had to do was dri-ve home. Have
a taco. PIan mY attack. Instead, *
dearly deluded Dexter tried to act
human. Llke it's my iob to save
lives.

He reaches his car -- to find the passenger window SMASHED. *

oh hell. Dexter opens the door and more glass falls from
the window. Dexter checks the glove box. Emptied out.

DEXTER (V.O. )
The Code of Harry never covered this-
At least f know what JeremY is and
what f need to do.

As Dexter angrily slams the glove box cl-osed --

FI,ASHBACK:

36 rNT. HosPrrAL RooM - NrGHT 36

cLosE oN a hypodermic needfe fil-Ling up with Tiquid. The

needle slowly rises to face of Mary, who's holding the
swrinoe-
p) ' LLt t J vsho [Link] out the air bubbfe. RACR FOCUS to
Harry, Iying behind her in bed, Tooking very cTose to death.

HARRY
(very faint)
Watt. ..

FIND Dexter sitting on Xhe edge of the bed. Dexter turns to

his dying father to see a sma77 spark shining in his eyes-

DEXTER
What Dad?

HARRY
Don't Let her...

Mary, not hearing Harry (or ignoring hin), turns with the
needTe and gently lifts Harry's frail- arm.

MARY
Okay, my brave TittLe soldier. Let's
get this nasty shot over with.

HARRY
No... no shot...

Dexter sees the horror in his father' s eyes. Just before

Mary plunges the needl-e into Harry's raised bl-ue vein,
Dexter reaches out and restrains her arm.

( coNTINUED)
 DE X TE R103 "Popping Cherry" FuII B lu e 06/L9/06 40.
36 C ONTINUE D: 36

DEXTER
w a J -t.

In SLOW MOTTON. Mary's eyes snap to Dexter and fix him with
a fook of col-d rage. It mirrors the rage we watched earl-ier
in Jeremy's eyes. Dexter registers the J-ook, before we
HESUILE NORMAL SPEED and Mary breaks out a granola smil-e.

MARY
What is it, honey?

DEXTER
He doesn't want the shot.

MARY
Your father is verv sick. He's in a
Lot of pain.

She hofds up the needle, and a meLodramatic SHAFT OF LIGHT

from the window shines through it like her own HoIy Grail-.

MARY
He needs a shot.

Harry's hand s7ow7y reaches for Dexter's hand and gives it a

squeeze. Dexter Looks down at his fraiT father, fighting
his way up through the fog.

HARRY
I want... pain.

Dexter smiTes and looks at Marv.

DEXTER
He wants pain.

Mary forces down a savage roar and replaces it with a

petuTant shake of her head.

MARY
I'17 have to tefl the doctor. He *
won't be happy that you're refusing )k

your medication. x

She turns on her heel-s and saiTs out into the hallway like
some large and deadTy bird. Dexter Tooks back at Harry.

HARRY
Y ou... c a n t e lJ -.

DEXTER
A bout the n u rs e ? Yeah. S h e ' s T ik e
me. How c o u ld v o u t e lf ?

( coNTTNUED)
 DEXTER 103 "Poppj-ng Cherry" FulI Blue 06/L9/06 4]- .

36 CoNTINUED: (2) 36

HARRY
She gives ... too much-..
(he gasPs in Pain and
cToses his eYes )
...too much morphine- It's making me
worse.

DEXTER
( reaTizing )
She's drugging You. KiTTing bY
overdose, right?

HARRY
Not just me... others, too-

Harry swiveTs his head and nods at the other bed. Dexter
700ki oveT -- and we reveaf for the first time that it's
EWTY. The ofd patient gone. Dexter turns back to Harry.

DEXTER
What shoufd I do?

Harry gives Dexter's hand a squeeze.

HARRY
Stop her.

DEXTER
( cautious )
What do You mean "stoP her"?

HARRY
The way I taught You. It's time,
Dexter... to Put Your l-essons to
use... before she hurts anyone el-se.

Off Dexter. Whoa.

END FI,ASHBACK:

31 INT. POLICE STATION _ LAGUERTA'S OFFICE - DAY 4 37

LaGuerta sits at her desk going over paperwork. A KNOCK.

LAGUERTA
(don't bother me)
Yeah, what is it?

The door opens and Captaj-n Matthews enters.

LAGUERTA
What can I do for You, CaPtain?

( coNTTNUED)
 DEXTER 103 "Popping Cherry" F u ll- B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 +2.
JI CONTTNUED: 5/

He takes a seat on the couch, assuming control of the room.

CAPTAIN MATTHEWS
Did you know one of your officers has
information that casts some doubt on
this manhunt of vours?

LAGUERTA
/d o ri ci rrg)
Who? il"-r-o-""#
Captain Matthews patiently ignores the disrespect.

CAPTAIN },IATTHEWS
f realize y o u ' re s o me t h in g o f a f o lk
hero aro u n d h e re , Ma ria . B u t it wo u ld
be a mistake to ignore the work of a
promi-sing officer to further your
polj-tical c a re e r.

LAGUERTA
S 'that w h a t y o u t h in k f ' m d o in g ?

CAPTAIN MATTHEWS
AII of Cuban Miami knows what vou're
uvrrry.
A^i
-^
W nr r
rvu yrV€
^i - '^
L^^^
hope +^
to every
^r ,, ref ugee
who ever hugged an inner tube. For
Chrissake, you're the face of the new
Miami-Metro PD.

LAGUERTA
Jealous ?

CAPTAIN MATTHEWS
No, worried. You were a middle of the
pack detectj-ve before the press got a
hol-d of you.

LAGUERTA
Thanks for the vote of confidence.

CAPTAIN MATTHEWS
ft's a reality check and you need it.

LAGUERTA
And I got it. Now let's cut to the
chase. Are you telling me to call off
my manhunt? 'Cause I wlII remind you
that Jeb Bush hi-mself si-qned off on
this, okay?

Captain Matthews sighs. She just doesn't get it.

( CONTTNUED
)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " FuII B lu e A6/19/06 43.
37 Co NTINUE D: (2) 37

CAPTAIN MATTHEWS
You can hold your press conference,
Ivlaria. The people of this city need
to know we're doing something about
this mess. But don't expect me to
bail you out if that night watchman
turns out to be a dead end.

He rises and exits, Ieaving LaGuerta to stew on his words

FEMALE NEWS ANCHOR (V.O. )

A statewide manhunt is under way right
now 1n Florida...

38 INT. POLICE STATION _ BULLPEN - DAY 4 38

CLOSE on a TV SET. The FEMALE NEWS ANCHOR sits behind her

desk, delivering a breaking news report.

FEMALE NEWS ANCHOR

According to police, a night watchman
is on the run after the dismembered
body parts of a young South Beach
woman were found Tuesday stacked on
the home ice of the Miami Blades.

CAIIERA ROAI"ISthe bullpen to reveal detectives includi-ng

Doakes, Batista and Debra -- watching on various TVs.

FEMALE NEWS ANCHOR

The woman is believed to be the latest
vlctim of the notorious Ice Truck
Killer, now responsible for fj-ve
deaths in the greater Mramr area.

LaGuerta's j-mage comes up on TV, with a graphic that says:

"LL. Maria LaGuerta, Miami Metro Homicide."

LAGUERTA
These terrible attacks have to stop --
p have to stop them. With Tony Tucci
now linked to the murders, j-t's our
mission here to find him.

De b ra can't stand to wa t c h .

DEBRA
Fucking jo k e .

She angrily turns and exits, walking past Doakes. HOLD on

Doakes, watching TV. Det. McNamara steps up next to him.

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P op p in g Ch e rry " F u ll B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / A 6 44.
38 CO N T INUE D: 38

DET. MCNAIVI'UU\
I'm going out tonight with the guys,
blow off a litt1e steam. You in?

SGT. DOAKES
Yeah, man. Sounds good.

DET. MCNAMARA
I'II pick you up at eight.

McNamara slips away. As Doakes turns to the TV, now showing

the videotape of Tucci hauling body parts across the ice

39 INT. HOTEL _ FRONT DESK _ DAY 4 39

Rita, working behind the front desk, i-nserts a pair of flat

hotel keys lnto a folder and hands it to a YOUNG COUPLE with
a smlle.

RITA
Elevator's around the corner to your
Ieft. Enjoy your stay with us.

Her cell phone RINGS and she answers rt.

RITA
HeIlo?

TEACHER'S VOICE
Rita? This is Mr. Curtis. Are vou
coming to pi-ck up Astor?

Rita speaks low and turns away from the lobby for privacy.

RITA
No, a friend of mine's picking her up.
Denise. She's not there?

TEACHER'S VOICE
Af raid not. But your daughter j-s.
She's the last kid left here at
school.

RITA
Oh no. I don't have a car. How's
Astor?

Rita's eyes flII with tears. She feels like the worst mom.

TEACHER'S VOICE
She's just fine, but we can't keep her
much longer.

( CoNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P op p in g Ch e rry " F u ll B lu e 06/L9/06 45.
39 CO NTINUE D: 39

RITA
Okay, okay... I'll work something out.

HARD CUT TO:

40 INT. RITA'S HOUSE _ DA Y 4 4Q

Dexter runs through the house with a child under each arm,
like he's a twin-engine airplane. Astor doesn't look any
worse for the wear. Dexter sets them down in the kitchen.

ASTOR
Do it agai-n ! Agaln !

DEXTER
An 1 jrro
L./r r rIy r z ri r f ryzvnr
ur 621-
sclu aJ
- 'l - r y 9u! y^^r
v l lrliuy E f !c l r
!v

supper.
(to cody)
Now Master Cody, Iet's see what we can
do about that splinter. Sit.

Cody sits at the kitchen table. Dexter pulls a washcl-oth

from his pocket and unrolls it to reveal tweezers, a needle,
[Link] tcrn a Ranr{ Aid -- echoes of his kill
,
q lsrrv tools. Dexter
takes Cody's hand and gently touches his RED FINGER TIP.

DEXTER
It's a deep one. lAight sting a bit,
but the magical Splinter Fairy will
soon make you forget all about it.

Dexter tries to get hold of the splinter with the tweezers-

ASTOR
Who's the magi-cal Splinter FairY?

DEXTER
Second cousin of the Tooth Fairy. She
l-eaves candy if you put your splinter
under your pillow at night.

In the background, Rita enters the house with groceries.

CODY
I know there's no Tooth FairY. She's
make believe, Ilke the Boogey Man.

RITA
( entering )
Hi babies.

The kids turn to say hello. with Cody distracted, Dexter

yanks the splinter free. Cody jumps.

( coNrINUED )
 DE X TE R103 "P op p in g Ch e rry " F u ll B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 46.
40 CO N T INUE D: 40

CODY
Ow!

Dexter holds up the gnarly SPLINTER, with a drop of blood.

DEXTER
You're right Cody, Do such thing as
the Boogey Man. But the Splinter
Fairy? She's the real deal.

Big crocodile tears start brimming 1n Cody's eyes.

CODY
WilI she still leave candy if I crY?

DEXTER (V.O. )
I hate to see children cry.

Dexter opens his arms and Cody sl1ps into them, burying his
head in Dexter's shoulder. As Dexter soothes him --

DEXTER (V.o. )
If I had a heart, 1t might be breaking
right now.

Rj-ta, hugglng Astor now under her arm, smiles at this man
taking care of her son. They almost look like a normal
famil y. We}l, almost.

4I EXT. CALLE OCHO - DAY 4 (DUSK) 41 x

Debra roams the si-dewal-k a1one, searching the street.

Weaving through HOOKERS hawking their wares. CUBANO l4EN
plr/1,rrry
^.i ^^ -i -^ espressos. TEEN RUNAWAYSlooking f or handouts .

ACROSS THE STREET

She spots a classj-c Fleetllne STATION WAGON' hght color

with paneled wood sides, trolling the street in SLOW MOTTON.

AN SUV

Pu11s up, blocking Debra's line of si-ght. She runs around

the SUV and bolts i-nto the street. A car SLAMS ITS BRAKES,
nearly hitting Debra. The DRIVER curses out the window.
Debra holds up a hand/ sorry, and races across the street,
forcinq another car to swerve and HONK.

( c o NT T NUED
)
 DE X TE R103 "Popprng Cherry" F UI I B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 47.
47 C ONTINUE D: 47

AT A STOP LIGHT

she reaches the rear of the Freetline station wagon stopped

at the light and hurries along the side, trying to peer in,
but the windows are tinted. When she reaches the passenger
window, which is rol-Ied down, Debra looks inside --

-- and sees a wrj-nkled ANCIENT I"LANbehind the wheel, with

his AGED wrFE ridlng shotgun. she smil-es a creepy toothl-ess
smile at Debra and waves in SLOWMOTION, as the light turns
green and the Ffeetl-ine drj-ves away. Of f Debra --

4Z EXT. UPSCAIE NEIGHBORHOOD

- NIGHT 4 42

A plain-wrap SEDANcruises through an oasis of quiet statery

ho m es in corar Gables. rt p u lls t o a s t o p o u t s id e a h o u s e .
.tJ INT. SEDAN_ NTGHT 4 43
McNamara turns off the engine and shuts off the headrights.
Doak e s ri d e s s h o tg u n with McN amara' s l q79 i -raof\l .t/\n fri ondg
from the cemetery sitting in back.

SGT. DOAKES
Who we pi cking up now/ man? He ain't
sltting on my 1ap.

DET. MCNAMARA
We're not picking up anybody.

SGT. DOAKES
Then what are we doinq in the Gables?

DET. MCNAIVU\zu\
I told you, blowing off some steam.
(looks out window)
This is i t.

McNamara reaches under his seat, produces four rubber c],owN

MASKS, and starts passj-ng them around. Doakes rooks down at
th e goofy grinning mask in h ls h a n d s .

SGT. DOAKES
W hat's this ?

DET. MCNAIVIARA
It's a disguise.
(nods to house)
One of Guerrero's top lieutenants, he
l-ives here. We're gonna fuck him up.

( c o NT T NUED
)
 DEXTER 103 "P oppj-ng Cherry" FulI BIue 06/L9/06 48.
43 CONTINUED: 43

SGT. DOAKES
Whoa. I thought you just wanted to go
out and get shit-faced.

McNamara pulIs a brown-bag bottle from his jacket and takes *

a shot.

DET. MCNAIV!\zu\
I am shi-t-faced.

COP FRIEND
Hey, how do I look?

As McNamara passes the bottle to the backseat, Doakes turns *

to see one of the cops has donned his clown mask. It's an
eerie effect. Doakes turns to McNamara.

SGT. DOAKES
I'm all for sending a message, but
this ai-n't the wav.

DET. MCNAIvil\zu\
Why the hell not? The guy's scum.

McNamara and the cops exit the car WEARING THEIR MASKS.

44 EXT. RESTDENTTAL STREET - NrGHT 4 (CONTTNUOUS) 44

Doakes follows the cops out, stil-l- holding his mask.

SGT. DOAKES
Yo listen up, I showed my face to
Guerrero, man. To his whole church.
He's gonna think I was behind this.

One clown jumps up and down, testosterone flowing.

COP FRIEND
That's part of the plan, dumb-ass.

SGT. DOAKES
( confused)
The plan?

McNamara puts a friendly arm around Doakes.

DET. MCNA]VU\R,i\
You fuck my sister. You fuck a cop's
wife. Now. . .
(he starts laughing)
...you're just fucked, buddy.

( c o NT T NUED
)
 DE X TE R103 "Popping Cherry" F u ll B lu e 06/19/06 49.
44 CO NTTNUE D: 44

The other clowns join McNamara in deri-sive laughter as they

turn like three linebackers from a huddle and bound up the
walkway toward the house, leaving a tortured Doakes by the
car. He hears the door BUST OPEN, furniture THROWN,then a
man YELLING.

SGT. DOAKES
Shit, man.

Doakes throws the cl-own mask into the car, backs away, then
turns and hurries down the sidewalk. As CRIES OF PAfN and
SOUNDS OF A BEATING echo behi-nd him --

45 EXT. HOMESTEAD HALFWAY HOUSE - NIGHT 4 45

The rundown boarding house is mostly dark. We hear the

SOUNDS of a classlc arcade game, along with a current
ALTERNATIVE MUSIC song.

46 INT. HOMESTEAD HALFWAY HOUSE _ RECREATION ROOM _ NIGHT 4 46

An UNSEEN POV creeps along the back wall of a drab and faded
rec room with a "Homestead Halfway House" sign. fts shabby
contents include a plng pong table with a saggi-ng net, a
weathered foosball table, and an donated community TV bolted
high in the corner of the room, playing a fuzzy MUSIC VIDEO.

On the far side of the rec room, we see Jeremy playing a

1980s arcade machine, like Centj-pede, with his back to us.

CLOSE on Jeremy. As he struggles with the game, the LIGHTS

and TV go out, plunging the room into shadows and darkness.
Jeremy turns around, more bored than scared.

JEREMY
Quit fucking around! Turn on the
lights !

Ro af . Tor am r z 'l
St af t S fee]inO a ittle nonznrrq
r r 9 !vvu g . F {o c0 utst/o n g
rls

away from the machine, deeper into the roo- hi c o\'aq

searching.

JEREMY
Come on, man. Turn on the fucking --

From seemingly nowhere, a FAMILIAR SHADOWblindsides Jeremy,

who lets out a reflexive grunt, and pile-drives him into a
column. REVEAL Dexter, the real Boogey Man, holding Jeremy
firmly from behlnd. H e leans close, whispers menacingly.

DEXTER
You're mine now.

( CONTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "Popping Cherry" F u lI B l_ u e 0 6 / L 9/ 0 6
46 CONTTNUE D:
46

JEREMY
( t e rrif ie d )
What do you want?

DE X T E R
silence.

Dexter his body into Jeremy, flattenrng

agarnst 'LAMS
the column, so that he cin p"ii-tir" the boy,s face
j acket pocket. syRrNGE from his
A s he ra is e s rt -; ; 5;;;*y,s neck __
JEREMY
(a c t in g t o u g h )
Y ou gonn a f u c k me , f a g g o t ? , Ca u s e I
kil-led the last guy lvt 5 raped me.
Shocked, Dexter pauses with the needle hoverlnq.
DEXTER
What guy?
Jer emy, afrai_d1 d:""1,t
syringe wi-th one hand andf . y a n y t h in g . -"pii"
De x t e r lo we rs t h e
iorc"t"rii Jeremy around
w i th the other, so he's ro o k in g
in t o h is e y e s . No t ime f o r
bu llshit here.

DEXTER
He raped yog? The boy you killed when
you were fifteen?
Jeremy, hls face lit by a SHAFT OF LfcHT beaming
high window, through a
struggles valiantly not to cry.

DEXTER
Why didn,t you tell someone?

_ _(burnl#Tfl^ shame)
Would you? He fucked me and f
killed
him and i f y o u t ry f , 1 1 k i1 1 y o u ,
t;;.
De sp ite Jeremy's best e f f o rt ,
t e a rs s t a rt ro lli-n g d o wn h is
fa ce . Dexter stares at h is v ic t im wiirr-s u d d e n
re a r_ iz a t ro n .
DE X T E R (v . o . )
f understan d n o w. Wh y d id n , t I s e e it
before? J e re my d id n , t * " iJ " r that boy
four years a g o . , .
Jeremy suddenly TRANSFORMS rnto Teenage Dexter,
instant, Dexter and for an
hords his owrr young life i-n his hands.

( coNTTNUED
)
 DEXTER 103 "popping Cherry,, F u l1 B lu e 0 6 / 1 9 /0 6 51.
46 Co NTINUE D: (2)
46

DF T X T E R
(v . o . )
...he wa s t a k in g o u t t h e g a rb a g e .
Just lik e f d o .
Young Dexter TRANSFORMS [Link] Jeremy. Dexter, [Link] oA
slides the lethal__syringe -
* v v+es,

his pocket wrthout

-io o " " r, .Taromrr
:y".- seej_ng it. He do e jn , t , h o we v e i, n r" grip around
th e ki_d,s neck.

DEXTER
(s t i1 1 s c a ry )
Look, I, f e a llv d d n , t wa n n a c a n c e l- a I I
my credit cards, and f hate waiting in
line at the DMV, so glvilb the wallet
Y ou stole f ro m my c a r -- o r I , I I b re a k
your fuc k in g n e c k .

JEREMY
fn my backpack.
Dexter lets q"
digs for his ?I Jeremy and unzips hls backpack. As Dexter
y.111?!, watchls Dexrer, trying ro fi_gure
o u t who this guy is an "1?"1rv
d wh it h e , s
wallet, tosses Lhe backp;;[ De x t e r f in d s h is
"uou!.-
to ,reremvl-""o
r oo m. Jeremy can,t belie v e wa]_ks out of the
. rt .
47 rNT. HOPIESTEADHALFWAYHOUSE - HALLWAY _
NTGHT 4 47
to Dexrer about ro leave rhe buifdins
J:ii3"Ji::Tir:p and

rs that rr-l?"ust"
Dexter stops and turns back to Jeremy.
holds them both ir, An overhead LAMp
p"of-"f light, with the
area fading " rest of the
dramaticaify j_nto darkness.

DEXTER
You want more?

shakes hi_s head no. Dexter srares ar him

iii.l"ol:f:"""r

DEXTER
Tlqt boy who raped you four years
Did he de s e rv e t o d ie ? ago.

Jeremy thi-nks and then nods with unerring certarntv.

JEREMY
Yeah,,. he dic,

( c o NT T NUE D
)
 DE X TE R103 "Popping Cherry" F u ll B lu e 06/1.9/06 52.
47 CO NTINUE D: 4l

DEXTER
Wel-l, the b o y la s t n i a]-'t-
r l r Yr l u
rtl u l li
q rln , +
U.

Remember that. It might save your

life one d a y .

With that, the Boogey Man turns to go. A s h e wa lk s f NT O

CAI4ERA, showing no emotion

FLASHBACK:

48 INT. zNE_BEDRIzI4 APARTMENT _ NIGHT +d

The back kitchen door opens and Mary enters, dressed in her
hospitaT wear. she deadbolts the door behind her, sets down
her purse, and l-ooks around.

MARY
Mr. Tinker? lrlhere are yout Mr.
Tinker?

She hears a farawav MEOW.

MARY
Mr. Tinker?

I4ary wal-ks through the dark, shadowy kitchen. rt's a sweet

prace rearry, ful-l- of cute and craftsy knickknacks, but they
only add to the building ,sense of dread. Mary hears anothel
MEOW.

MARY
Are you hiding behind the couch agaln, tr
Mr. Tinker Stinker? *

She waTks toward the l_iving room and sees

MARY'S POV

Every conceivabl-e inch of the 71ving room, from fl-oor to

ceiTing and everything between, is covered in PArNTER,s
PLASTT}. The cl-ear polyethyTene firm makes everything in
the room appear both shiny and bJurry, Iike a drbam o7 u
r?om. sitting atop the pTastic-covered couch is MR. TTNKER/
who MEOWS.

MARY

onTy has a confused and horrified beat to take al-J, of this

in -- before twentysomething Dexter MATERTALTLES from the
shadows behind her. But Mary hears him and turns to see *
Dexter wearing a surgicar mask, gloves and cap, and hording *
up a SYRINGE, just Tike the one she was using on Harry. *

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "Po p p in g Ch e rry " F u ll- B lu e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 53.
48 C ONTINUE D: 48

*
There's a surprised, awkward beat -- before Dexter plunges
But befote he can press the *
the needfe into Mary's neck. *
r'.tlrtnoor, the big-boned lrlary twists f ree and yanks the needle
L/ Lut t YeL I
*
Trom her neck.
*
The terrified Mary opens her mouth to screan -- but Dexter
tackles her to the ground befote she can make a sound and
covers her mouth with his hand. As the two awkwardfy roll
around on the Plastic --

DEXTER (V.o. )
Things were a Tittfe mess7 in the
beginning. Hey, Perfecting a new
craft takes time. But I was trained
we7l. Those who witnessed mY earlY
stumbles never had a chance to te77.

Unab|e to get Mary under control, Dexter, palm stil7 firmJy

over her mouth, finaTTy grabs her head with both hands and
SLAI4S it into the fl-oor. ONCE. TWICE- BLACK.

49 FADE FROM BLACK - A SHORT TIME LATER 49

Mary stirs awake to find herself Tying naked on her plastic-

in cTeat pTastic that *
cov:ered dining tab7e, wrapped tightTy
straps her arms to her side. Her mouth is stuffed with
thick wads of white gauze.

her head to see Dexter sitting on a *

Wide eyed, Iulary rotates
wear, flipping through a *
dininq room cnair in surgical
tri77y photo aTbum fuTJ- of )BITS FOR ELDERLY PATIENTS.

DEXTER
I've been reading through your photo
aLbum. Hope you don't mind.

panicked, she tries to speak, but it sounds Like GRUNTSwith

the gauze in her mouth. Dexter indicates the album.

DEXTER
Are a77 your victims in here?
(off her GRUNTS)
f'm sorry , 7 e t me h e T P Y o u wit h that.

Dexter starts to remove the gauze/ then pausest remembering

something. He pu77s the SKINNING KNIFE from his youth out
of his pocket and holds it cTose to her face-

DEXTER
Scream. And Tose a tongue.

He removes the qauze. Marv bursts into tears-

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "Po p p in g Ch e rry " FuII B lu e 0 6 / L 9 / 06 54.
49 C ONTINUE D: 49

ILARY
f heTped them, al-l- of them.. . They
were sick . . . I t o o k a wa y t h e ir p a in .

DEXTER
( smiles )
I understand.

Dexter stuffs the qauze back into her mouth.

DEXTER
And now it's time to take away vour
pain. I've been waiting a very Tong
time for this.

Mary launches into a primaT struggTe against her bonds bux

it's use-Zess. Dexter secured her wel-l-. He raises his knife
and l-ooks over her body in anticipation, trying to decide
where to begin. PUSH fNTO Dexter. As he makes his first
cut, bfood sputts onto his chest. He Tooks down. That was
unexpected.

DEXTER (V.O. )
It was m e s s ie r t h a n f a n t ic ip a t e d , but
still- a special day. The Nurse was my
f irst pTayrmate -- and I'77 aTways be
grateful to her for opening up so many
magnificent new doors for me.

As Dexter speaksl PAN to Mr. Tinker watching impassively

from atop the pTastic-wrapped couch. Otf the cat's MEOW-- *

50 INT. H)SPITAL _ HALLWAY_ DAY 50

Twentysomething Debra bursts from the hospitaf Toom pushing

Harry in a wheelchair, his coLor and strength back again.

DEXTER (V.O. )
But of course it was really Harry,
wise and wonderful- Harry, who paved
the road to my salvation.

A jubilant Debra spr-ns Harry in a circle, Taughing.

HARRY
For God's sake, Debra. You're gonna
put me right back in the hospitaT.

Dexter steps out of the hospital- Toom. He leans against the

doorway and smiTes, watching his father and sister together.

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "po p p in g c h e rry " F u ll B l_ u e - 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 55.
50 CO NTINUE D: 50

DEXTER (V.o. )
With the Nurse put down, Harry l_ived
another year before hardening arteries
squeezed the Last bit of life from
him. But his l_essons never f aifed me.

END PLASHBACK:

51 EXT. POLTCE STATION _ DAY 5 51

Doakes exj-ts the police statlon. Across the street, he sees

a DANCTNG c],owN -- with floppy shoes, a big nose, and full_
face makeup -- waving around a HUGE srGN t[at says ,,condos
f or Sal-e. "

DEXTER (V.O. )
Harry taught me that death isn,t the
end. ft's the beginning of a chain
reacti-on that will catch vou if vou,re
not careful_.

As Doakes wal-ks by [Link], the Dancing clown stops dancing.

He eerily looks Doakes in the eye, hotds hj_s fj_noers in thc
shape of a gu'r and fake fires at oo"[e;.---; ;;;;;;; ;;";"-
Guerrero.

52 INT. CAFETERfA _ DAY 5 SZ

The down-low neighborhood joint we establ_ished on calle
ocho. LaGuerta sits on wooden chairs wlth a group of oLD
CUBAN IvlEN, smoki-ng hand-rol-led cigars and speaking Spanish.

DEXTER (v.O. )
He taught me that none of us are who we
appear to be on the outside. But we
must maintain appearances to survive.

LaGuerta raughs with the old men. Just one of the guys. rn
the corner, nobody even notices the big TV with a NEWSCAST
of LaGuerta talking about the fce Truck Xiller.

53 EXT. RITA'S HOUSE - YARD _ DAY 5 S:

CLOSE ON a stream of water. PULL BACK to find lovel-v Rita

watering the vibrant new LEMON TREE 1n front of her hous".

DEXTER (V.O. )
But there was something Harry didn,t
teach me. Something he didn,t know.
Coul-dn't possibly know.

on the sidewalk, Astor and Cody sit behind a crude homemade

Lemonade Stand with 6 ni [Link] r:f i lemonad.e and cups.
-e-cold

( CONTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "P o p p in g Ch e rry " FuIl B lu e 06/19/06 56.
53 CO N T TNUE D: 53

DE X T E R (V . O . )
The willfu l t a k in g o f lif e re p re s e n t s
the ultimate disconnect from humanity.

The family hears a CAR HORNplay "Hal-Iel-ujah" and they turn

to see Dexter pulling i n t o t h e d rj-v e wa y in a 1 9 7 0 s Ca d illa c
convertible, pimped out wi-th chrome spinners and airbrushed
artwork, j-ncluding a sanguine picture of Jesus on the hood.

DE X T E R (V . O . )
It leaves you an outsider. Forever
looking in. Searching for company to
keep.

CL O SE on Dexter's keys h a n g in g f ro m t h e ig n it io n -- wit h t h e

BARBIE DOLL HEAD from the fce Truck Killer attached as a
ke ychain.

Astor and Cody and Rita run over to check out the car, which
sa ys "Christo S alva" on t h e b a c k . De x t e r g e t s o u t t o g re e t
them.

CODY
Sweet ride.

ASTOR
I a I r \7^ltrc /

DEXTER
7\af,.- 1' l- , i +- r ^ T r ^+.i 1 yOUr mom
ACEUaIIy It'S yours. urlLJ_-L
can afford a new one.
(to Rrta)
Borrowed it from impound. Right
before auction.

He slips the key off the Barbj-e DoII Head keychain and hands
; + lL-nU a rmj
ttf al-Ly
rz .or zor9U
- s) l Pi
f\r +a
-L U A D Lq .

RITA
Dexter...

CODY
Can we get in?

DEXTER
You better.

Dexter watches the overjoyed children hop into the car and
feel the red-velvet seats.

( coNTTNUED)
 DE X TE R103 "po p p in g c h e rry " F u rl B lu e _ 0 6 / 1 9 / 0 6 57.
53 Co NTINUE D: (2) s3

DE X T E R (V . O . )
A 11 you c a n d o is p la y a lo n g a t llf e
and hope that sometimes you get it
right.

Dexter looks back at the luminous nita, who is staring at

him, touched beyond words.

RITA
Thank yo u . . .

He r eyes brim with tear s a s s h e k j_ s s e s De x t e r.

DE X T E R (V . o . )
Score one for the lj_ttle wooden boy.
Dexter puts his arm around Rita and they turn to watch the
kids playing with i-]ne FUZZY cRoss that hangs from the rear
view. Off this fractured famitv tabl-eau __

FADE OUT.

END OF EPISODE