ACT II: Who Framed John Roxton?

Scene I: The Scene of the Crime

"John, what have you done?"

Roxton looked back down at his bloody hands and shook his head. The initial shock had worn off and the people were beginning to raise their voices in anger and were trying to push their way into the cabin. Malone tried to keep them at bay while Marguerite slowly approached Roxton.

A million thoughts were racing through her mind. She knew Roxton. She'd spent enough time with him to know that he wouldn't kill anyone, much less a harmless young man like Rani in cold blood. There had to be a logical explanation. Marguerite knelt next to Roxton and slowly reached out a hand to his shoulder. He didn't even acknowledge her presence.

"Roxton. Roxton. John!" After shaking him several times, she finally got him to finally look her in the eyes. The look of shock and sorrow in his eyes was enough to break her heart. "John, we need to know what happened here." For the first time Marguerite had a good look at his appearance. His clothes were ripped in several places, his arms were covered in welts and scratches, and he had a split lip and several bruises developing on the rest of his face. From the way he was favoring his left arm, Marguerite figured that his shoulder had been dislocated. "My god, Roxton, what happened to you?"

"Out of my way! Out of my way, I said!"

Marguerite looked over her shoulder and saw Aldaz, Jun, and Kalee push past Malone. Immediately on arriving, Kalee screamed and fainted. Jun managed to catch her, and with a little help from Malone, settled her gently on the ground.

Aldaz gave a cry of distress and checked on his granddaughter. "I told her not to come. She should not have been subjected to such a horrible sight."

"She's only fainted. The shock was too much for her. She should be all right," Malone observed.

Jun rose to his feet holding Kalee in his arms away from Malone. "We can take care of her. Haven't you done enough here already? Isn't it enough that he," jutting his chin at the practically catatonic Roxton, "murdered Rani? Mi mejor amigo; mi hermano! He had his entire life to look forward to! You will excuse me if I do not jump at the chance to accept help from the people who robbed Burka of one of its treasures." Jun sniffed but did not try to stop the tears that swept down his face. "I will take her to the healer, Aldaz."

Aldaz nodded his head. "Stay with her until she awakens."

"I will look after her."

Marguerite and Malone noticed as Jun left that the crowd outside had grown several times larger and the only thing keeping them out was several armed men standing outside. They moved to the side to allow a few more guards to enter the cabin. Two of them went down and picked Roxton up off the ground and none too gently.

"What's the meaning of this?" Marguerite asked.

"Ce n'est pas évident?"

"No, it's not obvious!"

"Rani has been killed! Este bárbaro is found here with the weapon that killed him and blood covering his hands. Why else do you believe they are here? Unless you prefer that I turn him over to the mob that is waiting outside!" Aldaz did not try to disguise the contempt in his voice. He nodded his head at the two guards to continue taking Roxton away.

Marguerite and Malone both moved to stand in front of the door. "Wait a minute! Let's not be hasty here!" Malone tried to reason. "We don't even know what happened here. We can't start making assumptions."

"What is there to assume?" Aldaz gestured to Rani's body. "That boy is dead while your friend is perfectly fine. He was obviously killed by his weapon. It was laying right there next to him. There are no others in Burka who carry such weapons, unless one of you two is confessing to murdering Rani?" When he was met with silence, Aldaz continued. "Then I do not see what there is to argue about."

"Wait, please! Have you taken a good look at Roxton?" Marguerite said urgently. "The man has obviously been in a fight. He has several injuries. They had to come from somewhere. We don't know anything about what happened here. He could have acted in self-defense."

Aldaz's expression darkened. "Nonsense! Rani would never harm anyone. Everyone in Burka has seen him enjoying himself with all of you. He had no reason to attack him."

"Well, maybe it was an accident," Malone reasoned. "Our point is, until we know for sure, we shouldn't make any rash decisions. We should at least hear Roxton's side of the story."

"Very well." The guards placed Roxton into a chair while Aldaz approached Roxton and stood in front of him. It took several calls of his name before Roxton acknowledged Aldaz's presence. "Tell me what happened here."

Roxton looked back down at his shaking hands and shook his head. "I-I don't know."

"Did you kill, Rani?"

"I don't know," he whispered.

Aldaz grabbed him by the shoulders causing Roxton to grunt in pain. "Did you kill him?!"

"Stop that! Can't you see he's injured? What are you thinking putting pressure on him?" Marguerite sat on her knees in front of Roxton and started checking his injuries. She glanced up too see Roxton staring back at her. Marguerite almost missed what he said because it was so softly spoken. "I-I might have killed him." He lowered his head on Marguerite's shoulder and shuddered. She slowly ran her hand over his back and tried to soothe him. She turned back to Aldaz. "Listen to me, please…I understand that you have no reason to trust us, but I know Roxton just like you know Rani. He's not capable of something like this. He didn't murder him. He had no reason to want to hurt him. Please, let us have some time alone with him. I can tend to his injuries and maybe we can find out from him what really happened."

"Please, Aldaz," Malone pleaded, "Roxton's a good man. Give him a chance."

Aldaz considered their words for a few moments before replying. "It will be as you wish. You may attend to your friend here. I will not allow him to be taken to the healer where his presence would cause more distress to my granddaughter. And I warn you, as soon as I leave I will place orders with the men outside that if you are caught trying to leave Burka that they are permitted to use whatever means necessary to stop you. When you are ready to speak to me, ask one of the men outside to send for me."

Malone nodded. "We understand, thank you."

The two guards and followed Aldaz out. Once they were gone, Marguerite grabbed Roxton's pack and dumped everything on the floor. Finding the first aid supplies, she started cleaning up the scrapes and scratches she found on his body. She worked in silence for a few moments before she called Malone over. "Go pour some water in that basin and bring it over here. I want you to clean his hands. Then we'll have to put his shoulder back in place."

Marguerite glanced worriedly at Roxton. Even after Aldaz left the room, he still hadn't spoken. Even as Malone finished bathing his hands, Roxton still continued to stare at them. Marguerite didn't like what Roxton's behavior told her. She didn't for a minute believe what the others did but it didn't change the fact that Roxton was acting guilty. In normal circumstances she would have joined the rest of the crowd and believed what the evidence was telling her, but in this case she couldn't do it. It went against everything she knew of John Roxton. It wasn't in character and she wouldn't allow him to take the punishment for something he couldn't have done. She had witnessed Roxton shoulder responsibility before, but this was far different. Knowing Roxton's past history, she could only hope that she and Malone would be able to prove his innocence and prevent another burden from weighing down Roxton's soul.

Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she motioned to Malone to get ready. "How do you want to do this?" he asked.

Marguerite considered his question for a few moments. "Help me lower him to the floor. He needs to lie on his back. Hold down his legs and his torso and make sure he doesn't squirm." Malone nodded and got in position. "Are you ready?"

"Yes."

Picking up Roxton's left arm, she made sure she held his wrist in a firm grasp. She placed her left foot on his chest and gave a sharp tug on his arm upwards until she felt it pop back in place. Then she slowly and gently lowered Roxton's arm to the ground. "Ok, that's done. Help him sit back up. I'll need to immobilize his arm so he doesn't do any damage to it while it's sore."

Even while going though a painful procedure with no anesthesia, Roxton still hadn't made a sound. After removing Roxton's shirt to change it into a fresh one, Malone and Marguerite found that he had several bruised ribs.

"What the hell happened here?"

"I don't know, Malone. But Roxton is the only one who has the answers and so help me, he's going to tell us."

After a few more minutes, they had wrapped Roxton's ribs, dressed him in a fresh shirt, and placed his left arm in a sling. Satisfied that all the injuries were tended to, Marguerite and Malone decided to get down to business. Marguerite placed the chair in front of Roxton and sat down while Malone remained standing next to her.

Marguerite took hold of both of Roxton's hands and looked him in the eyes. "John, we need you to talk to us. We can't help you unless we know what happened here." No reply. He continued to look blankly at Marguerite as if she wasn't there.

"Look," Malone spoke softly, "let's try something different. Last night you weren't feeling well so you left early. Tell us what happened after that."

Roxton's brow wrinkled in confusion. Marguerite took that as a sign that he was at least hearing what they were saying. "Go on, John."

"I came in here, took off my things, and went to sleep."

"That's it?" Marguerite asked.

Roxton nodded.

"Ok, well what happened when you woke up? Why was Rani here?" Malone questioned again.

"He told us last night, Malone," said Marguerite jumping in. "He said he was going to come check on Roxton. What happened when he got here, Roxton?"

Roxton shook his head. "I don't remember. I just remember being in pain. He had me pinned to the ground. I couldn't even breathe. I tried to find a way to get him off. I reached around and found my gun. And now he's dead…please, I don't know anymore." Roxton bowed his head and closed his eyes.

Marguerite patted one of Roxton's hands and used her other hand to rub his shoulder. "You don't remember anything else before that?"

Roxton shook his head in silence.

Something was bothering Marguerite. Neither man had a reason to want to fight each other. They were both the type to talk things out rather than to resort to violence right away. They also respected one another. It didn't make sense. Glancing down at one of Roxton's hands that she was holding she noticed his hands were bruised. He had fought back. She stood up and moved to Rani's body.

"Malone! Come here!"

Malone quickly moved to stand beside Marguerite. "What is it?"

"Look at him, Malone. Besides the gunshot, there isn't a scratch on him. I'm sure Rani is very strong, but there's no way he could do that kind of damage to Roxton and not have received some in return. Roxton would fight back and he did! His hands are covered in bruises. So why doesn't Rani look like he's been in a life and death struggle with Roxton?"

"What are you saying, Marguerite?"

Marguerite rushed back to Roxton. "John, tell me, was it Rani that you were fighting?"

"I don't know."

"How can you not know? Didn't you see his face?"

"I couldn't. My vision was blurry. I just saw a shape looming over me. I just assumed afterwards that it was Rani."

Marguerite shook her head. "No! We are not going to assume anything anymore. That boy," she said while pointing at Rani's body, "did not lay a hand on your body. I think you fought the real person who killed Rani and framed you."

"Marguerite, I don't mean to sound negative here, but that doesn't make sense. How could someone murder Rani in front of him without Roxton knowing about it?" Malone questioned. "Why wouldn't he be able to remember what happened? He would have seen the murderer do it. Why would they risk it?"

"Ok, ok, I admit there are some holes in the theory," Marguerite conceded. She was quiet for a few moments before she snapped her fingers. "What about this? Rani comes here to check on Roxton like he told us he would last night. The murderer follows him here and when he gets the chance, he knocks Roxton out. As Roxton starts regaining consciousness, the murder notices and can't risk Roxton seeing his face so tries to knock him out again. He kills Rani, plants the gun in Roxton's hand and flees the scene."

Malone seemed to consider it for a moment. "And what's Rani doing while Roxton is being beaten to a pulp? Watching?"

"Maybe he knocks Rani out first then goes to work on Roxton."

Malone shook his head. "I don't know, Marguerite, it doesn't seem to make any sense. Why doesn't Roxton remember anything?"

"Maybe he has temporary amnesia or maybe he's traumatized and he's blocking it out. I can't say. But it's possible right?"

"Well," Malone drawled out, "I guess. But Roxton remembers having his pistol in his hand before the gunshot went off."

"That's right. Damn it." Marguerite shook her head and sat down.

Malone continued looking around the room. "We're missing something, something important." He made his way over to where Roxton's pistol was lying on the ground and picked it up. Checking the magazine, he saw that there was a bullet missing. "No surprise there." Continuing to look around for a few moments, Malone stopped. "Hmmm. That's interesting."

Watching Malone kneel on the ground, Marguerite raised an eyebrow in surprise. She continued to watch him as he looked under pieces of furniture. Marguerite walked over and stood behind him. "What is it?"

"I can't find the cartridge casing yet Roxton's gun has been fired once."

Thoroughly confused, Marguerite helped Malone search. After turning the room inside out three times, the pair gave up.

"I don't understand," Marguerite said while wiping her forehead. "If he was shot in this room, there must be a casing in here. Unless the murderer took it with him."

Malone shook his head, clearly excited. "No, there'd be no reason for him to do that. Don't you see what that means? Rani couldn't have been shot here! The murderer must have killed him somewhere else and then brought the body here. Yes! That must be it! Look around Marguerite, there's hardly any blood in this room! If Rani was shot here, it would be very obvious! That blood on Roxton is probably his own or from his scuffle with his attacker!"

"But what about the gunshot we heard? If Rani wasn't killed here, what did we hear?"

"Good point," said Malone as he nodded. "Maybe he used that shot to draw everyone's attention to the fake crime scene giving himself enough time to run away before we got here and Roxton's left with the smoking gun. Roxton was so highly disoriented he didn't even know what happened. It was the perfect frame-up!"

"Again, we have a problem," Marguerite disagreed. "You yourself said that Roxton's gun was only missing one bullet. Your theory involves two shots being fired."

"Ok, maybe he used one of the revolvers." Malone suggested. Making his way to the chair, Malone found Roxton's brace hanging on the chair Marguerite had previously vacated. Checking one Webley, he found all the chambers full. "That's one down." Reaching for the second, he was surprised to find the holster empty. "We're missing the other one, Marguerite."

"What?" Marguerite walked over and checked and sure enough, there was only one revolver. Turning to Roxton, she saw that he was watching them carefully. "Roxton, now this is very important. When you came in here, can you say for sure that you had both revolvers and your pistol with you?"

For the past few minutes, Roxton had listened to Marguerite and Malone discuss the possibility that he had been framed. Each time a new theory was passed over, it only confirmed his own dark thoughts. But after hearing that one of his revolvers was missing, he began to hope. "Yes," Roxton answered with much more feeling in his voice than before. "I distinctly remember taking off my brace and putting it on the chair and both of my Webleys were there. I also took my pistol off and put it on the table."

"Ok, this is good," Malone clapped his hands. "We're making progress."

Marguerite nodded her head in agreement. "Now all we have to do is find the missing revolver and we'll find our killer."

"Yes, exactly. Our problem is the guards on the door. I doubt they'll let us look around. I guess we'll have to talk to Aldaz and tell him what we've found out. I'll go tell the guards that we need to see him."

Marguerite and Roxton watched Malone walk out and could hear voices even through the closed door.

"Marguerite."

Hearing her name, she turned around to Roxton. She saw worry and concern etched into his features. "It's ok, John. We'll get you out of here."

"Promise me, Marguerite. If anything goes wrong, I want you and Malone to leave me here. I don't want you risking your lives for me."

If the situation wasn't as strained as it was, Marguerite might have screamed in frustration. She couldn't believe Roxton was sitting there worrying about her and Malone when his own life was on the line. She didn't know what the punishment was for murder in Burka, but she could only imagine and she wasn't about to promise to leave him to that fate. "Absolutely not and you should know better trying to make me promise a foolish thing like that!" Seeing him open his mouth to argue, she stopped him. "Forget it Roxton. I don't want to hear it!"

Roxton sighed but didn't bring up the subject again. He knew how stubborn Marguerite was and that he wouldn't be able to change her mind. At this point, he couldn't be sure what really happened. But whether or not he killed Rani, he was going to make sure that his friends didn't pay for his mistake. He made a promise to himself that they would make it out of Burka alive if it was the last thing he did.

Malone entered and closed the door behind him. "One of the guards went to get Aldaz. He'll be here in few minutes."

The three of them waited in silence for Aldaz to arrive. What took no more than ten minutes was an eternity for the group of friends. Having finally arrived, they could begin their explanation. Prior to Aldaz's arrival, Marguerite had agreed to let Malone do the talking. Malone had delicately suggested that Marguerite's passionate belief in Roxton's innocence might work against them in this case.

Impatient for the truth, Aldaz beat them to it. "What has your friend revealed?"

"Well," Malone began, "not much actually. But we've come up with a theory that might explain everything and prove that Roxton didn't kill Rani."

After nearly an hour, little headway had been made. It took several debates and smooth talking to be able to convince Aldaz that they had not merely hidden the missing revolver or the missing cartridge case. They even had to go as far as demonstrating how Roxton's pistol worked to prove that a shell should have been found at the scene of the crime. But after all was said and done, Aldaz was still distrustful.

"This is ridiculous!" Marguerite asserted emphatically. After spending all that time trying to show Aldaz reason, he still wouldn't listen. "We're telling you it was impossible for Roxton to have done this! Besides, Roxton had no reason to want to kill him. He liked him just as much as the rest of us!"

A stern face met their pleas. "That is not true. I spoke to Jun not long ago and I asked him if there was any ill will between your friend and Rani. Jun mentioned that last night Roxton had raised his voice in anger at Rani."

Inwardly sighing, Malone reluctantly conceded the point. It seemed the circumstances were highly against Roxton. It figured that the murderer chose to take advantage of Roxton's off day. "That's true," Malone answered, "but that was only because he wasn't feeling well. That's not reason enough to kill him."

Marguerite realized they were dealing with a very smart person. They had set up everything to make sure that fingers were pointed that Roxton. Even with the little reasonable doubt Malone and herself had brought into the mix, Marguerite could see that Aldaz was still inclined to believe Roxton was guilty. "What aren't you telling us?"

"Jun spoke to Rani early this morning before he came to see Roxton. Rani had expressed concern that Roxton might have been upset with him because he had not been able to show him the path in the hills as he had promised. I am suggesting that Rani came here and Roxton in his anger, killed him."

Marguerite growled in disgust. "Are you even listening to yourself? Rani was busy yesterday but he was going to help us today! Roxton wouldn't kill him right before he was going to help us."

"I only have your word on this."

The old man sighed and rubbed his face wearily. The day before he had been an active, older man full of spirit. Today's recent events, however, seemed to have aged Aldaz beyond his years. His spirit was broken and he was exhausted. He had a distraught granddaughter to care for, a young boy whom he hadn't had a chance yet to grieve, and another man's life in his hands. He didn't want the death of another to hang over Burka, but being the town elder also made him the magistrate and he couldn't escape his responsibilities. Rani's death had to be avenged and it was his duty to make sure justice was done.

"I will take your theory into consideration. However, Roxton will not be permitted to be free. As you yourselves said, you have no evidence. Only speculation. I am afraid that I cannot release him on your word alone. Until you bring me proof that shows without a doubt that your friend is innocent or bring me the true guilty party, there is nothing more that I can do."

Malone nodded. He hadn't expected Aldaz to let Roxton go so easily, but at least they had the chance to prove he was innocent. "We understand. We'll bring you whatever evidence you need."

"You will have two days and no more before I will be forced to make a decision. I am not willing to let this matter continue indefinitely and I believe two days is the maximum time I can allow before the people demand action to be taken. I am not doing this because I believe Roxton is innocent, but because when I make a decision I want it made with a clear conscience. One way or another, Rani will be avenged."

Malone and Marguerite both thanked Aldaz before he called for the guards outside. "I will give you a few moments alone. I suggest you use the time wisely for I cannot promise you will have more in the future."

Roxton rose to his feet seeing the guards enter the cabin. Aldaz was speaking softly to them, probably giving them orders on where to keep him. Roxton was resigned to his fate, but he would make sure his friends didn't share it.

Turning to Malone and Marguerite, he smiled. "I want to thank you for what you are both doing for me. Just in case it doesn't all work out in the end, thanks for trying."

"Don't talk like that, Roxton. We'll get you out of here." Marguerite smiled and hoped it was enough to make him believe it.

Malone nodded his head. "Yeah, stay positive. You can count on us."

Roxton couldn't help the rush of feelings he felt at the moment. Everything was against him and it would have been easy for both of them to believe he had done it, yet they hadn't doubted him for a minute. They were both fighting for him, believing in him. He had been convinced that history had repeated itself, but his friends had stuck by him and gave him hope.

"Be careful. The person who really did this has the advantage. Don't let your guard down. Look after each other and stay safe. If I can't make it out alive I at least want you both to make it out." He reached out and gave Marguerite a brief hug and gripped Malone's shoulder. Malone smiled and patted him on the back.

Marguerite and Malone watched him leave with a sadness in their hearts.

"We have to save him, Malone. We have to."

Malone reached over and clasped Marguerite's hand in his. "Don't worry, Marguerite. We'll get justice for Roxton" he looked at the body of the young man, "and for Rani."

End Scene I

A/N: Next part coming on Monday!