ACT III

(FADE IN. ESTABLISHING SHOT OF EXT. STATION HOUSE NO. 4, minutes later. CUT TO: INT. STATION HOUSE NO. 4, Brackenreid's office. BRACKENREID sits at his desk, an astonished look on his face.)

MURDOCH
I have questioned all of the witnesses, except for Mr. Shepherd, who fled the scene. The stories are remarkably consistent. They differ in only the most minute details. All of the guests agree that Miss Stella Marie Bassett arrived at the house first, and that all the other guests arrived a few minutes later. Everyone agrees that Mrs. Gould was watching, just as they expected she would be. Everyone agrees that the dinner that Miss Luna prepared was very, very good. Some of the guests had been told in advance what was on the menu, and some had not; but all agreed the dinner was a very fine one. And everyone seems to agree on what happened just after dinner.

BRACKENREID
Tell it to me again, Murdoch. It's bloody strange. Miss Luna apologized, and then—?

MURDOCH
After Miss Luna apologized to all of her guests—

(FLASHBACK TO: INT. CHARLIE'S HOUSE, the dining room, same early evening as before. The guests are all paying attention to CHARLIE as she speaks.)

CHARLIE
I admit that I have done wrong to each of you, and I have apologized. And what I ask in return is this: each of you must admit that you have done wrong to me, and apologize to me.

(There is a stunned silence; MARK is the first to speak.)

MARK
What!? That's absurd! Me, apologize? I've never done any wrong to you!

MAGGIE
Nor I!

JOHN
Nor I!

(General assent from the other guests.)

CHARLIE
(adamantly) You HAVE done me wrong. You may have forgotten that fact, but I have not! Each of you sees only the wrongs done to you; and you seldom see the wrongs you have done to others. You think yourselves innocent, and you think I am wicked. I freely admit that I have behaved shamefully toward you in the past, and all I ask is that you recognize that you have behaved shamefully toward me.

SUMMER
(rising) Thank you for the dinner. I'm leaving.

MAGGIE
(rising) As am I.

(The others watch as SUMMER and MAGGIE go to the front door, and find it locked.)

SUMMER
Open this door.

CHARLIE
I will. But not until you apologize to me.

SUMMER
There is nothing for which I need apologize.

STELLA
I do not owe you any apology, Charlie!

CHARLIE
I thought you would feel that way. In fact, I thought all of you would feel that way. And so, I would like to have each of you participate in a little exercise. You participate, then you may leave.

MARK
What sort of exercise?

CHARLIE
Throughout this house I have placed items. They may be anywhere— in the bedrooms, in the study, in the library— and these items are mementos. There is one for each of you. You must look, and try to find the memento that applies to you. And when you find it, you will realize that you have done wrong to me. Then you simply come to me and apologize. We will have made peace, and I will let you leave.

JOHN
I won't participate in this.

(General agreement from others.)

CHARLIE
You may think this a silly activity, but it seems to me that indulging me would be the least you could do, to thank me for the dinner. And since the doors will remain locked to you until you find your memento, then you should start looking.

STELLA
(rising) Let's get this over with. (to the others, unenthusiastically) Come on, everyone. (to CHARLIE) You say these mementos could be in any room in the house?

CHARLIE
Yes. There could be one in this dining room, or the sitting room, even the storage room and the washroom. They aren't hidden. Just look, and you'll find the memento that applies to you.

(The guests reluctantly begin looking around. JOHN heads down the hallway away toward the library and disappears. Most of the others look around the dining room, kitchen, and sitting room. FLASHBACK ends. BRACKENREID is open-mouthed.)

BRACKENREID
Bloody h—! She was balmy, this Charlie!

MURDOCH
Many of the guests would have agreed. Miss Luna has long had a reputation of being— eccentric. Regardless of the absurdity of the situation, the guests realized that the quickest way out would be to begin searching the house. And as the search got underway, curiously, all of the guests told me almost exactly the same thing about Mr. Shepherd.

BRACKENREID
Let me guess. They all say that they remember Shepherd and Luna being unaccounted for at the same time.

MURDOCH
(surprised) No, sir. In fact, it's the opposite. The other guests are all agreed that there was no time that evening that Mr. Shepherd was ever alone with Miss Luna.

(There is a commotion in the Constables' Area. BRACKENREID and MURDOCH stop to see what is going on. They see Constable RILEY bringing CHESTER into the Station House. CHESTER is not resisting, but he is manacled and is being handled in a way in which he could not resist. His appearance is nevertheless intimidating.)

MURDOCH
That's the suspect who fled!

(BRACKENREID goes to his office door and opens it, and shouts to RILEY.)

BRACKENREID
Hold him in the Interview Room. Riley, you stay with him.

(As RILEY takes CHESTER to the Interview Room RILEY hands MURDOCH a knife in a sheath.)

RILEY
(to MURDOCH) He was armed with this, sir. He surrendered it to me without any argument. He asks only that it be held in a safe place for him while he is here.

MURDOCH
(somewhat surprised) All right. (to CHESTER) We will hold this object for you, Mr. Shepherd.

CHESTER
I'd appreciate it.

BRACKENREID
(pointing to the manacles) Did he resist arrest, Riley?

RILEY
Uh, no, sir. This was just a precaution, sir. He came with me voluntarily.

MURDOCH
(to BRACKENREID) Sir, now that Mr. Shepherd is here, and considering that he is here voluntarily, the restraints ought not to be necessary, would you agree?

(BRACKENREID nods.)

MURDOCH
(to RILEY) When you get to the Interview Room, Constable, please remove the manacles. (to BRACKENREID) Sir, I will question Mr. Shepherd right now. Perhaps you'd care to listen in? If he tells the same story as the others—

(CUT TO: INTERVIEW ROOM. CHESTER is in the chair. The manacles are no longer in place, but RILEY watches over him. MURDOCH and BRACKENREID sit opposite, with CRABTREE taking notes.)

MURDOCH
Mr. Shepherd. You fled from the scene of the crime. Certainly you know how that looks.

CHESTER
(calmly) It makes me look guilty. But I'm not. I don't care what the other guests have said, I am innocent.

MURDOCH
It may interest you to know, Mr. Shepherd, that the other guests in the house seem to agree with you, that you are not guilty. So far, the guests have all said there was no time in which you could have been alone with Miss Luna.

CHESTER
(surprised) Oh? Is that right?

MURDOCH
Yes. And yet, you fled. Why would an innocent man flee from the scene of the crime?

CHESTER
It's obvious.

BRACKENREID
(sarcastic) Well, we're all a bit daft here. Explain it to us.

CHESTER
Charlie got stabbed. I was going to be blamed for it.

MURDOCH
You, blamed?

CHESTER
'Cause I've had trouble with the police in the past, and I'm known to carry a knife.

BRACKENREID
And when Riley found you, you were carrying a knife, weren't you? And not too long ago, you used that knife or one like it to stab someone to death.

CHESTER
(calmly adamant) That was self-defence.

BRACKENREID
Yeah, and you were acquitted in part because you had no motive to commit homicide. But this time, you HAVE got a motive, haven't you?

CHESTER
(carefully) Charlie and I had our disagreements. But she had disagreements with a lot of people! You see, this is exactly the type of unfair treatment I knew would happen.

(MURDOCH produces the murder weapon.)

MURDOCH
Have you ever seen this knife before, Mr. Shepherd?

CHESTER
No. That is, it's a knife for cutting steak, but it isn't one of the knives we had at dinner. The table knives were much shorter. (realizes something) Unless— Is that the knife used to stab Charlie?

MURDOCH
It is.

CHESTER
(relieved) Then you can be sure it wasn't me. I'd never carry a knife of that kind.

BRACKENREID
Oh? Why not?

CHESTER
It isn't designed to BE carried, it doesn't have a scabbard, its blade won't retract, and it's bloody sharp, that's why! The blade would be essentially naked. I wouldn't carry a thing like that around. Chances are, I'd wind up injuring myself. And use it for defense? Ridiculous! Too small, serrated blade, wrong handle shape!

(MURDOCH puts the knife in front of himself, then looks at BRACKENREID. BRACKENREID seems calm.)

MURDOCH
(to BRACKENREID) Sir, I think Constable Riley may return to his duties.

BRACKENREID
(to RILEY) You're dismissed, Riley.

(RILEY exits. CHESTER wonders what game is being played.)

MURDOCH
We would like to have your help, Mr. Shepherd, finding the person (indicating the knife in front of himself) who did carry this knife.

CHESTER
I didn't see who killed Charlie.

MURDOCH
Let's start with how you happened to be at the house in the first place.

CHESTER
Charlie invited me to dinner. Gave me a written invitation and personally asked me to come, said the food would be good and it would be worth my while. I hadn't had a good meal in some time, so I said all right. When I got to Charlie's house, there were a bunch of people already there. We were all surprised there were others; we all thought we were going to be the only ones invited. As we tried to figure out what was happening, well, there was this old lady next door laughing at us.

MURDOCH
Did you know her?

CHESTER
No, but I'd heard of her. Charlie told me about her, said she's nosy. Anyway, we all went in and had dinner, and I forgot about the old lady next door. Dinner was— well, it was the best dinner I've had in a very long time. A steak dinner, it was a very pleasant surprise.

MURDOCH
And after dinner?

(BRACKENREID leans forward.)

CHESTER
It was very strange. Charlie apologized to us. Said she'd done us wrong. She seemed very sincere. But then— like I said, it was strange. I don't know how to explain it. She made us look around the house.

MURDOCH
For mementos?

CHESTER
Yeah! The doors were locked, we couldn't leave. So we all decided we might as well play along, and we started looking for our mementos.

MURDOCH
Can you tell us what the other guests were doing? Was there a time when you noticed Charlie and any of the other guests were missing?

CHESTER
Truth be told, I can't tell you who looked where, or where anyone else was. I was too busy looking for the memento that was supposed to be mine. All I know was that people were wandering about, but I can't say who went where or when. I did see Charlie walking around, watching everyone while we searched; but I didn't see her all the time.

MURDOCH
Did you go to the library?

CHESTER
When that lady screamed, yeah, I did. I saw Charlie had been stabbed. But before that, no, I hadn't gone to the library. There was no reason for me to go to the library.

MURDOCH
No reason?

CHESTER
I didn't need to search the library to find "my" memento. I found "my" memento in the sitting room. On the mantle, over the fireplace.

(CHESTER falls silent and hangs his head.)

MURDOCH
What was your memento?

CHESTER
(still hanging his head) Charlie and I used to be friends. But— she got me into a lot of trouble with the law, and I was mad at her for that. What I had forgotten was that I had gotten her in trouble with the law, first. My memento reminded me.

MURDOCH
And your memento was—?

CHESTER
It was a photograph of my parents, placed on top of a brick. It reminded me of something I'd done to Charlie many years ago. I had damaged my parents' shop window by throwing a brick through it. I told my parents that Charlie had done it. She got arrested for it, based upon my parents' complaint. (lifting his head) Charlie was right. I HAD wronged her, and I had forgotten about what I'd done. When I saw the photograph and the brick, I realized I ought to apologize to Charlie. I looked for her, but didn't see her. And then there was the scream. (sadly) And then it was too late for any apology.

(CHESTER doesn't weep, but the sadness in his voice affects MURDOCH and BRACKENREID, who look at one another. CUT TO: the same room, later. MARK is in the chair, MURDOCH and BRACKENREID are still in their spots as well. CRABTREE takes notes.)

MARK
I have to tell you, in all honesty, I don't remember exactly what places I looked or in what order.

(FLASHBACK TO: INT. CHARLIE'S HOUSE, the dining room. The guests depart from the dinner table and begin searching for their mementos. JOHN heads toward the library and disappears. MAGGIE wanders into a bedroom and disappears. CHESTER is looking at something on the fireplace in the sitting room. STELLA and MARK look in various places. SUMMER seems to be heading toward the library.)

MARK (V.O.)
And I can't really tell you what everyone else was doing. I know I checked the bedrooms. I know I checked the storage room. And the I didn't pay attention to what anyone else was doing until—

(STELLA screams. People come running to the library, but the order of arrival is unclear; some people arrive but it is not known who they are. MARK arrives and is horrified by what he sees. Something on a bookshelf catches his eye. He goes to the bookshelf and takes a book. Amazed, he looks at the book. People are all talking about what to do. MARK decides to kneel next to CHARLIE, while holding the book.)

MARK
(quietly, but not whispering, to CHARLIE) Charlie, you were right. I am sorry. I am so sorry. Please forgive me.

(FLASHBACK ENDS. Return to the Interview Room, with MARK still in the chair, quite somber.)

MURDOCH
You found your memento.

MARK
(sadly) Yes, I did. A science textbook I'd used for years; I recognized it at once. It reminded me that I had done wrong to Charlie. When she was my student, I gave her a poor grade, because I thought she was disrespectful. She was a good student, and she deserved a good grade; but I gave her a poor grade. I owed her an apology. I hope she heard me before she died.

(CUT TO: Interview Room, SUMMER in the chair.)

SUMMER
I did not pay attention to what anyone else was doing, in part because I was looking for the thing Charlie had hidden for me, and in part because I was angry.

BRACKENREID
How angry?

SUMMER
(sarcastic) Angry enough to hurt Charlie. (sincere) But I didn't hurt Charlie. I think I was in one of the bedrooms when Charlie got stabbed.

MURDOCH
(tactfully) That is, you were in one of the bedrooms when the young lady screamed.

SUMMER
Yes. Did somebody else tell you differently?

BRACKENREID
Would it surprise you to learn that none of the other guests knew of your whereabouts when the scream occurred?

SUMMER
No one can vouch for me, can they? Well, I cannot vouch for anyone else. All I can say is that when the scream occurred, and everyone rushed to the library, that I was the last to arrive, because I was the furthest away.

(CUT TO: Interview Room, STELLA in the chair.)

STELLA
I don't know what to tell you. I was preoccupied with trying to find what Charlie might have set out for me to find.

MURDOCH
Did you find your memento?

STELLA
(sadly) No. Or if I did, I didn't recognize it. A lot of items in that house were familiar to me, because I'd grown up there.

BRACKENREID
You found Miss Luna's body.

STELLA
(sniffing) Yes.

(FLASHBACK TO: INT. CHARLIE'S HOUSE, the kitchen. STELLA is looking in the kitchen, but is not opening any cupboards or drawers. She turns and sees MAGGIE coming from the direction of the library. STELLA walks toward the study/library.)

STELLA (V.O.)
I checked several places in the house. After looking in the kitchen, I decided to go to the study. I saw Maggie coming from there.

(MARK is checking in the washroom. JOHN is looking in that area as well, also in a storage room. CHESTER is glimpsed briefly in the sitting room by the fireplace. CHARLIE cannot be seen, but from her vantage point, there are quite a few places in the house STELLA cannot see. STELLA walks to the study and searches.)

STELLA (V.O.)
In the study, I looked around. I didn't see anyone, I didn't find anything. So I walked from the study to the library, and—

(STELLA sees CHARLIE on the floor, stabbed. STELLA screams. FLASHBACK ENDS. STELLA is quite shaken.)

BRACKENREID
When you screamed, who was the first person to come to your assistance?

STELLA
(still shaken) I— I don't know.

BRACKENREID
And you say you saw Maggie coming from that room?

STELLA
Yes. But there may have been others, I don't know. I didn't see anyone else. In the study, you can't see all of the library, and you can't see the hallway all that well, either. Someone could've gone in the library without me seeing.

(CUT TO: Interview Room, MAGGIE in the chair.)

MAGGIE
Who told you that? (sighs) As a matter of fact, yes, I did see Charlie in the library.

(BRACKENREID looks suspicious.)

MAGGIE
I was looking for whatever it was she wanted me to find, and I saw her watching me.

(FLASHBACK TO: INT. CHARLIE'S HOUSE, the library. MAGGIE is looking around and sees CHARLIE watching her. MAGGIE suspends her search and goes up to CHARLIE. MAGGIE can hardly conceal her irritation.)

MAGGIE (V.O.)
Needless to say, this business made me most unhappy.

MAGGIE
What is it that I'm looking for?

CHARLIE
(pleasantly) I'm certain you'll know it when you see it.

MAGGIE
Is it in plain sight?

CHARLIE
Of course.

MAGGIE
Is it in this room?

(CHARLIE says nothing.)

MAGGIE
Can you give me a hint?

(CHARLIE says nothing. MAGGIE huffs and walks out of the library and away from CHARLIE. FLASHBACK ENDS. MAGGIE in still in the chair in the Interview Room.)

MURDOCH
So you left Miss Luna in the library. Did you see anyone come to that area: the library, the study?

MAGGIE
I didn't.

BRACKENREID
But you admit you encountered Miss Luna in the room where she was murdered.

MAGGIE
(angrily) I didn't kill her! Yes, I was with her in the library. I said that because I was being honest with you! I left her alive! I didn't stab her and I don't know who did!

(BRACKENREID backs off.)

BRACKENREID
We're just trying to get our facts straight.

(CUT TO: Interview Room, JOHN in the chair.)

JOHN
Just trying to get your facts straight, are you? In other words, someone said I was in the library, didn't they?

MURDOCH
Well, you were in the library, Mr. Luna, by your own admission.

JOHN
Yes, but I left the library before Charlotte got there, and didn't go back until after she got stabbed. Anyone who tells you otherwise is not speaking the truth.

(CUT TO: Brackenreid's office. MURDOCH and BRACKENREID are seated.)

BRACKENREID
I see what you mean. I can't see any major inconsistencies in what the suspects say. Maggie Lynne was in the library with Charlie, we know, shortly before the stabbing; and close by were Stella, Mark and John. Chester seems to have been furthest away, Summer says she was far away as well, although nobody can confirm it.

MURDOCH
In spite of the consistencies among the stories, there are some things we know. We know that the killer was one of the guests. And we know that, even though all of the stories are in general harmony, the story told to us by the killer is a lie.

(FADE OUT.)