Fake History

by DoctorH

A teleplay in five acts, like watching an episode on TV. An early-morning murder leads Murdoch through a strange world of fakes and frauds and falsehoods, in which it is unclear who is on the up-and-up and in which it is unclear whether national treasures are what they purport to be. A solution to the mystery is included.

3. Act III

ACT III

(FADE IN. MUSEUM STORAGE ROOM, moments later. MURDOCH gets excited.)

MURDOCH
How did you know that? How did you know that the two artifacts I came to ask about were a hat owned by General Brock and a ring owned by Queen Elizabeth?

COLVIN
The man who was murdered: it was Monty Paulin, wasn't it?

MURDOCH
(slightly stunned) You seem to know a great deal about the case!

COLVIN
I just put two and two together. I know Monty, a little; and I read about Monty's death in the afternoon newspaper. And Monty spoke to me by telephone four days ago about the potential value of Queen Elizabeth's ring.

MURDOCH
He did?! What was said in that conversation?

COLVIN
Monty said that he was doing this one last deal for a ring, which he described to me.

MURDOCH
"One last deal"?

COLVIN
That's what he said, he didn't explain what he meant. He just wanted to hear whether I would agree that such a ring, if authentic, would be as valuable as his partner, Reed, said. And I said, IF the ring is authentic, probably yes.

MURDOCH
What about the hat? Did Mr. Paulin talk to you about, or try to sell you, General Brock's hat?

COLVIN
No, but the same day that Monty telephoned, I spoke by telephone with another man— I believe he said his name was Jones— about possibly buying General Brock's hat from a dealer. I asked him "Which dealer?" The man said he was considering purchasing it from Reed and Paulin.

(COLVIN shrugs.)

COLVIN
So Paulin gets killed, and you tell me that the killer might be in possession of two historical artifacts, one from the War of 1812— I put two and two together.

MURDOCH
Very well, then. You dealt with some inquiries about both of these artifacts?

COLVIN
By telephone, yes.

MURDOCH
And what did you tell those who made the inquiries?

COLVIN
I told them that, if the article— the ring or the hat— was genuine, a very high price was probably fair. But I also told them that they were taking a risk, and that each article may well be a fake.

MURDOCH
A fake? Why a fake?

COLVIN
(sighing) Let me show you something.

(COLVIN stops near a row of what look like cupboards. MURDOCH and CRABTREE stop as well. COLVIN opens one of the cupboards and withdraws a sword in a scabbard, and hands the sword to MURDOCH.)

COLVIN
You know General James Wolfe, who died in the Battle of Quebec?

MURDOCH
Yes. Some call that the Battle of the Plains of Abraham. One of the most important battles in Canadian history.

COLVIN
Um-hmm. This is General Wolfe's sword. He was holding it in his hand when he died.

(CRABTREE is amazed. MURDOCH is shocked. MURDOCH FLASHES BACK to a memory of MURDOCH and OGDEN visiting the Wolfe Memorial near Quebec City, showing General Wolfe's name on the monument and a sculpture that features a sword. FLASHBACK ENDS.)

MURDOCH
(greatly impressed) Really!?

COLVIN
No. Not really. It's a fake.

(MURDOCH deflates. CRABTREE isn't sure how to process this news.)

COLVIN
It's a real sword, all right, and it was made in that era, circa 1759; but it did not belong to General Wolfe. It has been modified— (indicating places on the sword and scabbard) see the metalwork here and here, for example— to make it appear that it was owned by General Wolfe, to make it appear the sword had more historical significance than it actually had. The metalwork is quite good; it had us fooled for a while.

(MURDOCH reinserts the sword in the scabbard.)

CRABTREE
So, you're saying that the sword is a real historical sword from that time, but it is not the sword of a famous person.

COLVIN
Correct. We keep the sword because it is an authentic sword from the period, but we do not display it as General Wolfe's sword— because it isn't that; and because it has been physically altered.

MURDOCH
If I understand correctly, this sword (hefting the sword in scabbard) would have value as a legitimate relic of the Seven Years' War; but it would have an even greater value if it were to be the property of a famous figure from that war.

COLVIN
MUCH greater value, yes.

(MURDOCH hands the sword back to COLVIN, who puts it away.)

CRABTREE
May I ask: how did the museum happen to come into possession of this falsified artifact?

COLVIN
One of my predecessors acquired it from a wealthy man, who wanted to give it to the museum shortly before his death. This man bought that sword a year or so earlier from, uh—

MURDOCH and CRABTREE

(finishing the sentence) From Reed and Paulin.

COLVIN
Yes. I don't know how much the man paid for it, but he almost certainly paid many times the sword's actual worth. He died believing it to be a genuine national treasure.

MURDOCH
So you are saying Mr. Paulin traded in forged historical artifacts?

COLVIN
(chuckling) Yes, he and his partner Reed. Nobody's been able to prove that they knew the items they sold were false, but—

CRABTREE
Is fakery of historical artifacts a common thing?

COLVIN
(laughs) Fakery is everywhere. I have been shown all sorts of artifacts: letters, hair samples of famous people, personal possessions, ancient jewellery— much of it fraudulent. Faking historical relics is a proven way for people without any moral principles to make money. The Catholic Church for many years dealt in fraudulent religious relics, hundreds of them. A number of parishes to this day draw financial support from sham religious artifacts; it's disgraceful.

(MURDOCH looks uncomfortable, but COLVIN does not notice, and moves on.)

COLVIN
We have ways of identifying the forgeries, though some forgers are really quite talented. The first step is usually to evaluate the provenance of the artifact, rather than the artifact itself.

CRABTREE
The— "provenance?"

COLVIN
The proof of authenticity, usually by independently reliable documents. Where did the article come from? Can it be traced back to its original owner? Is the article described in the historical record? Are there pictures of it? It can get complicated. The sword you saw was accompanied by letters attesting to its authenticity; but those letters themselves were forgeries. Forgery of documents, by the way, was Paulin's specialty, I hear; and I also hear he was pretty good at it.

MURDOCH
I have had some experience dealing with forged works of art—

COLVIN
Which can be a rather a different thing; determining the authenticity of a work of art often involves techniques and examinations not available to those interested in the authenticity of supposed historical artifacts.

MURDOCH
All right. Did you see the provenance of the— the supposed— hat of General Brock?

COLVIN
No. The simple truth is, I wouldn't trust Paulin and Reed. So many of the things they've sold to others have turned out not to be what they were said to be. I could give you a list of people they've cheated; in fact, I keep such a list in my office.

MURDOCH
Before we leave, we will get that list from you.

CRABTREE
(consulting his notes) I'm just curious, Doctor, whether one might expect there even to BE a provenance for the Queen's ring. From what we've heard, the ring had been stolen in the early 1600s. The thief, it would seem to me, would be unlikely to write down or attest in any way that he stole the ring, for to do so would be to condemn himself if he were ever to be caught.

COLVIN
(nodding) Establishing proof of authenticity in such a case may be difficult. If an object goes missing for 300 years, then just turns up, who is to say that it's real?

MURDOCH
I don't understand. If there is no provenance, no proof of authenticity, why would the ring be valuable at all?

COLVIN
Well, there MIGHT be a provenance, of a sort. I don't know if you know James Woodward— he's very wealthy, and very British.

(CRABTREE and MURDOCH say nothing, but their expressions indicate they know the name. COLVIN goes on.)

COLVIN
The rumour is that James Woodward is in the possession of documents that can establish the authenticity of the ring. And if that's true, and Woodward is able to acquire the ring for himself, then (takes a breath) he would have title to a bona fide national treasure of immense value, and he would be able to demand almost anything from the British government: money, land, favours—

CRABTREE
(musing) Maybe even a lordship. They might call him the Lord of the Ring.

COLVIN
I don't know about that, but— personally, my opinion is Woodward, apart from being very rich and very British, is also somewhat balmy. That story about the theft of the ring from King James is, shall we say, of unsound historical basis. But I could be wrong. Maybe his ring provenance is legitimate. Maybe this ring is genuinely historical. (shrugging) But I'm inclined to think not.

(COLVIN suddenly laughs a little. MURDOCH is a bit taken aback by her reaction.)

MURDOCH
You find something amusing?

COLVIN
It is like a black comedy, I suppose. It could well be that two counterfeiters tried to cheat each other, one with a fake ring, the other with a fake hat.

MURDOCH
I see little cause to laugh, since one of them got killed in the process.

(COLVIN becomes more serious; point taken. CUT TO: ESTABLISHING SHOT OF EXT. STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, later in the same day. CUT TO: INT. STATION HOUSE NUMBER FOUR, BRACKENREID'S OFFICE. BRACKENREID sits on his desk, MURDOCH and CRABTREE stand nearby.)

BRACKENREID
So Paulin and his partner were in the business of selling false goods, eh?

MURDOCH
It would seem so. The curators at the museum said that, although they have been known to trade some legitimate items, many of their commodities are fraudulent. Because of their reputation, the curators mistrusted them and said they would be strongly disinclined to buy anything from them.

BRACKENREID
And you say Reed and Paulin sold a few things to innocent collectors that turned out not to be authentic. Like what kind of things?

CRABTREE
(consulting his notes) Many forged documents. A typical example would be a letter apparently written by Sir John MacDonald in his own hand, but actually written by Mr. Paulin, who seems to have been an accomplished forger.

BRACKENREID
Did they deal in falsified rings or counterfeit hats?

CRABTREE
(consulting his notes) They did deal in some war artifacts: from the American Rebellion in 1776, from the War of 1812, for example. The hat would have been an artifact of the War of 1812. They also sold some items that were said once to be possessions of famous people; the ring might qualify as such an item.

MURDOCH
Several buyers that feel they have been swindled by Messrs. Reed and Paulin.

BRACKENREID
And therein lies motive for killing Paulin: revenge for being cheated.

MURDOCH
Possibly. George and I plan to follow up those leads tomorrow, and check their alibis. As for now, however, I have asked Mr. Reed to pay us another visit.

(CUT TO: INTERVIEW ROOM. REED is in the hot seat, MURDOCH and CRABTREE sit opposite.)

MURDOCH
Mr. Reed: Was General Brock's hat a counterfeit?

REED
(greatly offended) It was not! That is to say, I thought it was authentic, and I have never had any reason at all to think it was a counterfeit!

MURDOCH
But you and your late partner have traded in counterfeit articles, have you not?

REED
(still offended, but slightly less so) Never! That is to say, never intentionally! In our business, there are bound to be some false goods. But we do our best to deal only in those that seem to be genuine.

MURDOCH
"Seem to be genuine?" You "do your best?" Do you guarantee authenticity?

REED
Of course not! The way it works is, the more doubt there is about the authenticity of an artifact, the lower the price. The more certainty that the artifact is genuine, the higher the price.

MURDOCH
And if the artifact has great historical significance—?

REED
Well, that increases the price as well.

MURDOCH
What I seem to be hearing from you is that you DO sell items that you suspect are frauds, but because they are frauds, you sell them more cheaply.

REED
(standing) If you are going to charge me with fraud, then charge me! I am not going to listen to your insults!

MURDOCH
How authentic WAS General Brock's hat, in your estimation? How much doubt did you have whether or not it was genuine?

(REED softens, and after a few moments, sits.)

REED
I was convinced the hat was authentic. (with difficulty) It was our most valuable asset. Without admitting any wrongdoing, I can tell you that many of our most recent acquisitions were of, um, questionable authenticity, and not worth much. But the hat— the hat! It had all of the indications of being genuine. We had letters, testamentary documents— we could trace that hat all the way back to Fort George at Newark in the War of 1812. General Brock was the commanding officer at that fort. It HAD to belong to General Brock!

MURDOCH
How did you acquire the hat?

REED
From an estate sale. A Toronto man died without heirs and with many debts. The hat was one of the items sold at auction. No one else knew what its significance was, but Monty and I thought we did. We bought it for eight dollars. After we bought it, we found documents establishing a provenance hidden in the box that held the hat. We were then able to independently verify the documents, and to prove that this man's grandfather served at Fort George, under General Brock!

MURDOCH
It was a matter of good luck, then, rather than dogged investigation and sharp bargaining, that allowed you to acquire the hat.

REED
Yes. It was good fortune! We were so incredibly fortunate to find something so immensely valuable.

MURDOCH
Immensely valuable? Yet you would have traded it— for Queen Elizabeth's ring?

REED
(nodding, lowering his eyes) The ring would be even more valuable. As I've told you, James Woodward wanted to own that ring, and I knew he would pay well! So when Mr. Jones offered me— (hastily correcting himself) that is, offered Monty and me— the ring, and expressed a strong interest in General Brock's possessions, well, we were very excited about making a trade! We would be giving up the hat, but from the proceeds of the sale of the ring to Woodward, we—

(REED stops abruptly.)

MURDOCH
(prompting) Yes?

REED
— We would probably never have to work again for the rest of our lives. (laughs nervously)

MURDOCH
The ring would be that valuable?

REED
Oh, yes.

MURDOCH
If the ring is as valuable to Mr. Woodward as you say, he might go to great lengths—

REED
(interrupting) I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that Mr. Woodward may have killed to get that ring. He might have killed my partner.

MURDOCH
No, I—

REED
(adamantly) Mr. Woodward not a criminal. I want to be totally clear on that point. I will NEVER testify that he ever did anything illegal.

(MURDOCH is unconvinced. CUT TO: EXT. WOODWARD ESTATE MAIN HOUSE, later the same day. The house is a mansion with notable English architectural features, and it is clearly the abode of someone wealthy. CUT TO: INT. WOODWARD ESTATE MAIN HOUSE, DRAWING ROOM. WOODWARD, who is a distinguished-looking gentleman perhaps slightly older than MURDOCH, but whose demeanour shows him to be a right bastard, sits in one chair. MURDOCH sits in another chair. CRABTREE stands near MURDOCH. A BUTLER stands near WOODWARD. The BUTLER is a fit man with Italian features, and except for a white shirt, he is dressed entirely in black. There is a coffee table or other empty table nearby or between WOODWARD and MURDOCH. WOODWARD has a pronounced high-class British accent.)

WOODWARD
Yes, I wanted to buy the ring. Do I understand correctly that it has been stolen— again?

MURDOCH
We have evidence that Mr. Paulin was in the process of acquiring that ring when he was killed, apparently by the man who was purporting to sell him the ring.

WOODWARD
The newspapers reported that Reed made a substantial effort to find something, no doubt the ring, at the scene; but he failed. Have you been able to find the ring?

MURDOCH
No. The killer did not leave the ring at the scene. I was wondering whether you might have it—

(WOODWARD is offended to be asked this question in this fashion. MURDOCH notices and rephrases.)

MURDOCH
— That is, I was wondering whether someone besides Mr. Paulin may have tried to make a bargain with you for the ring.

WOODWARD
(suspicious) No one has approached me to make a bargain, yet. (after a pause, adamantly) As you no doubt know, some say the whole tale about the stolen ring of Queen Elizabeth is a fantasy. But I can prove otherwise.

MURDOCH
(slightly incredulous) Prove?

(WOODWARD again acts offended, and turns to the BUTLER.)

WOODWARD
(to the BUTLER) Mario, get the documents from the safe. Detective Murdoch seems to doubt my veracity.

(The BUTLER nods and leaves.)

WOODWARD
(scowling) I do not know who has the ring. I expect I will now have to make my own discreet inquiries, a process that entails considerable risk.

MURDOCH
Risk? Why?

WOODWARD
Because if the seller learns that I am the buyer and I am adamantly determined to have that ring, the asking price may well multiply many times! I was relying upon Reed to get that ring for me. He said he could get it for me, without disclosing it was I who was interested in owning it.

MURDOCH
You mean Mr. Paulin, the man who was killed, you were relying upon Mr. Paulin to get the ring?

WOODWARD
The one I dealt with was Reed.

(CRABTREE makes a note in his notebook.)

MURDOCH
Oh. Well. May I have your word, sir, as a gentleman, that if your discreet inquiries lead you to find the one who possesses the Queen's ring, that you would notify the Constabulary so that we may— at the very least— question that person?

WOODWARD
(steely) I want that ring, Detective. I will not let the Toronto Constabulary keep me from acquiring it.

(MURDOCH is unclear as to what is being said; he is about to ask for an explanation when WOODWARD continues.)

WOODWARD
Do you intend to seize the ring as evidence and keep me from having it? (menacingly) If the ring is authentic, I will have it. I have experts in my employ who will verify that ring is authentic. When they confirm that it is authentic, (even more adamantly) I will have it and I will not surrender it. (softer) AFTER I acquire it, however, I will tell the Toronto Constabulary all I know about the person who sold it to me. You have my word as a gentleman on that.

MURDOCH
(unsure) Well, we would like to be informed sooner—

WOODWARD
(ignoring what MURDOCH is saying) Naturally, if my experts tell me that the ring is false, I will tell the Toronto Constabulary all about the person who tried to sell it to me, and I will register a formal complaint for fraud, and demand that charges be laid.

(The BUTLER silently returns with a folder of documents, and hands it to WOODWARD.)

MURDOCH
Sir, we are trying to catch a murderer, not a counterfeiter.

WOODWARD
(testily) I know that! I am merely telling you that (adamantly) I want that ring! I will have that ring! (sinisterly) I will not let the police take it from me, and (even more sinisterly) I will not be cheated!

(MURDOCH and CRABTREE exchange looks upon hearing the veiled threat. WOODWARD looks like he means it. WOODWARD opens the folder and slides out various documents onto the table as he describes them.)

WOODWARD
What I have here, Detective, is the world's most comprehensive collection of documents pertaining to the missing ring. First, let me show you these.

(WOODWARD slides two photographs in front of MURDOCH showing a signet ring from two different angles. In both of the photographs, a newspaper is visible.)

WOODWARD
These are the photographs that the seller gave to Reed, to prove that he indeed had the ring. As you can see, the photographs show a recent Toronto newspaper, proving that the ring is in Toronto!

MURDOCH
And proving that the photographs are recent, rather than old.

WOODWARD
Yes.

MURDOCH
That's quite a coincidence. The article that you want so very much just happens to show up in the city in which you live.

WOODWARD
(irritated) The ring was known to be in Canada, and Toronto is the largest city in Canada. I don't think it is an especially remarkable coincidence. Now. Look at these. (showing a small stack of documents) These letters and diaries trace the ring from the time it was stolen, to the time it was taken to Ireland, to the time it came to Canada, to today. (showing a document) This is a true copy of the drawing used by the master metal smith commissioned by the Crown to create the ring. (another document) This is a true copy of the royal drawings showing the ring as it was made. (another document) Here is a detailed description of the artifact from the royal records. (another document) This is one photograph of a royal document showing the imprint of the ring. (another document) Here is photograph of another royal document showing the imprint of the ring. (smirking) Notice who one of the intended recipients of this document was.

(WOODWARD points to a place on the photograph. MURDOCH leans forward to examine the photograph where WOODWARD is indicating, careful not to touch any of the documents. A closeup shows a signature with the clear letters "Shakesp" on it.

MURDOCH
(astonished) Shakespeare? William Shakespeare?

WOODWARD
Yes. This is believed to be the only known royal commendation of Shakespeare, and this is the seal upon it, made with the very ring that I mean to own. So you see: This ring has a very distinguished history. It is a piece of England. And I want it.

(FADE OUT.)