The Skeleton Key

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CAROLINE:
"I lost no time, of course, in

telling my mother all that I knew...

"and we saw ourselves at once in

a difficult and dangerous position.

"Something must speedily be resolved

upon, and it occurred to us...

"at last to go forth together...

"and seek help

in the neighboring hamlet.

"No sooner said than done.

Bare-headed as we were...

"we ran out at once in the gathering

evening and the frosty fog.

"The hamlet lay not many

hundred yards away...

"though out of view, on the other

side of the next cove...

"and what greatly encouraged me...

"it was in an opposite direction...

"from that whence the blind man

had made his appearance.

"And I shall never forget

how much I was cheered...

"to see the yellow shine in doors

and windows...

"But that, as it proved...

"was the best of the help we were

likely to get in that quarter.

"For you would have thought...

"men would have been

ashamed of themselves...

"no soul would consent

to return with us to the... "

Audrey? Sorry.

Mr. T alcott's gone.

Okay.

Front desk, in case anyone shows.

dESK NURSE:
I think you'll be waiting

a while, hon.

No. didn't we call? He said he had family.

Yeah.

But they don't wanna have anything

to do with him.

dESK NURSE:
You can dump it out back.

CAROLlNE:
Okay, take a look.

CAROLlNE:
I interview tomorrow.

What about your job?

I had enough of that place.

JlLL:
What happened?

WAlTRESS:
Here's your beer.

- Thanks.

- Sure.

I lost a patient today. Mr. Talcott.

- I'm sorry.

- You should have seen it.

The second he died, it was like...

they couldn't wait to get him out of there.

It's just a business to them.

It is a business, But at least he had you.

No. It's supposed to be

a business about caring.

They couldn't care less.

Wait. This is Terrebonne Parish.

It's the freaking swamps.

I get the hours I need to start

nursing school, and I get paid.

And I get to help somebody, my way.

They got gators in the swamps,

and guys missing teeth.

Are we dancing here, or what?

Cary, look.

This work you're doing,

are you sure it's not changing you?

I'm 25 years old.

What's wrong with a little change?

[Upbeat Jazz music]

[Slower jazz music]

Oh, my God.

[Rocking chair creaking]

Hello?

Hello?

[Caroline knocking on door]

[Opera music on record player]

[Flies buzzing]

LUKE:
Now that right there

is what love is all about.

Old-fashioned devotion,

like what you read about.

You must be Caroline.

I'm sorry, the door was open,

so I just walked in.

Oh, no. It's a big house. I didn't hear you.

LUKE:
It's okay.

So much for getting their affairs in order.

I'm sorry. I'm Luke Marshall. Estate lawyer.

We talked on the phone.

Oh, right.

The docs figure a month maybe.

He's pretty far gone.

CAROLlNE:
I understand.

His wife's having kind of

a rough time with it.

Most people do.

LUKE:
Violet, you have a visitor.

May I present Miss Caroline Ellis?

She works down at the hospice

in New Orleans.

Caroline, this is Violet devereaux.

You have a lovely home.

I'm sorry. It's just hard.

The idea of a stranger living here-

I understand, really.

She's Old South, you know.

She thinks women still curtsey.

So, he can't talk at all?

No. Stroke pretty much paralyzed him.

- Which side was affected?

- Both.

It happened about a month ago,

up in the attic.

That's where she found him.

Ben?

You have a visitor. Meet Miss Caroline Ellis.

Hello, Ben. I'm Caroline.

VlOLET:
She's not from around here.

She not gonna understand my house.

She's from New Orleans.

She wasn't raised in New Orleans.

You hear how she talks?

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