ACT III
(FADE IN. Station House No. 4, interrogation room. WEST is in the chair, questioned by MURDOCH, who takes notes from time to time. CRABTREE listens and takes notes as well.)
WEST
The man with the big moustache and me, we just decided to say hello to Mr. Tate, and so we knocked and then opened the door of his office to say hello. And all he said was, "Wait outside!" A bit brusque. So I went to the kitchen to take a look around. I told you all this the first time you questioned me, you know!
MURDOCH
The door you opened was the one leading from the dining room to the office?
WEST (nodding)
Yuh.
MURDOCH
Even though you had been told to remain outside the office, a few minutes later, you went into the office again?
WEST
I told you about that already. I heard this noise, like somebody dropped a book or something, and so I knocked and opened the door and went into the office. Mr. Tate's head was down on his desk. Then I saw the blood, and I screamed.
MURDOCH
You opened the door, went into the office, closed the door, and noticed the blood—
WEST
I didn't close no door! Who told you that?
(MURDOCH is momentarily speechless. CUT TO same interrogation room, LAWRENCE in the chair.)
LAWRENCE
That short lady and me, we heard this odd noise, I thought it was maybe a door slamming, and we looked at each other and then she went into the office to see if anything was wrong. She screamed right then.
MURDOCH
Did you hear anything while she was screaming?
LAWRENCE
No.
MURDOCH
Was the door to the office open or closed when she screamed?
LAWRENCE
Open. All the way open.
(MURDOCH and CRABTREE exchange quick glances.)
MURDOCH
Could you see Mrs. West in the office?
LAWRENCE
Could have seen her if I'd been looking. I was looking at the other folks. We were all wondering what that noise was.
MURDOCH
How many seconds had gone by between the time that Mrs. West went into the office and the time that she screamed?
LAWRENCE (without thinking)
Five seconds, I suppose.
(MURDOCH and CRABTREE glance at one another and nod; the time fits. But just to be sure—)
MURDOCH
Mrs. West goes into the office, and— (MURDOCH taps five times on the table) —and she screams?
LAWRENCE
Uh. I think I'd better correct myself. It was more like two seconds. Maybe even a little less.
(MURDOCH lifts his eyebrows.)
MURDOCH
This is important, Mr. Lawrence. Five seconds? Two seconds?
LAWRENCE (rolling his eyes as he remembers the events)
She goes into the office (LAWRENCE swings his finger twice) and she screams. Two seconds.
CRABTREE (quietly to MURDOCH)
Not enough time.
LAWRENCE (catching on)
Not enough—? You actually suspected that nice little lady killed that guy? Anybody could see that she couldn't have done it. And if you're trying to undermine MY alibi, remember that that older couple saw me all the time, it wasn't just that lady that saw me!
(MURDOCH's expression shows that he can't argue. CUT TO same interrogation room, PASCAL in the chair.)
PASCAL
Yeah, that lady and I decided to say hello to Tate. The door was unlocked, so—
MURDOCH
You mean the door from the dining room to the office?
PASCAL
Yes, uh-huh. Anyway, Tate told us to get out of the office. So we got out. Mister, uh, I don't know the man's name, the tall man—
MURDOCH
Smithson.
PASCAL
Mr. Smithson, he went into the office after we did, and we hear Tate get angry—
MURDOCH
What did Mr. Tate say?
PASCAL
I don't know, but he sounded irritated. Anyway, Smithson came right back out, looking like he'd just been insulted. Maybe a couple of minutes later, I heard a loud "PUND!" and wondered what it was. That short woman went into the office to check it out, and she started yelling, and everybody came running.
MURDOCH
Was there any other noise while the woman screamed?
PASCAL
Not that I remember. Like what?
MURDOCH (ignoring the question put to him)
Was there a noise of any kind when Mr. Smithson was in the office?
PASCAL
Other than Tate's grousing? None.
MURDOCH
But there was a noise, later, and Mrs. West went into the office to investigate that noise.
PASCAL
I assume so. Heard her knock on the door as she opened it, then almost immediately, the lady started to scream.
MURDOCH (repeating)
Almost immediately.
(PASCAL nods. MURDOCH purses his lips. CUT TO same interrogation room, MR. OLIVER and MRS. OLIVER in the chairs.)
MR. OLIVER
I didn't hear anything except when that woman started shrieking.
MRS. OLIVER
Neither did I. Except for some noise, don't know what it was, just before she screamed. By the way, Detective, you still know that we're innocent, am I correct?
MURDOCH
It would seem that your alibi is supported by several witnesses.
(Mr. and Mrs. OLIVER look at each other and seem satisfied with this. CUT TO same interrogation room, SMITHSON in the chair.)
SMITHSON
Yeah, I heard a "TUNG!" noise, like I told you before, and yeah, I had no idea what it was. Then the yelling started. (nervously) Listen, Detective, I'm not a suspect here, am I? I mean, I didn't like Tate, but YOU and your partner saw me when things, uh, happened, right?
MURDOCH
We saw you. So did some of the other guests.
SMITHSON
Right! Right! So I couldn't've done it, that's all I'm saying. It's not just my word. It's others who're saying I didn't do it, right?
(MURDOCH gives a very slight nod but says nothing. CUT TO same interrogation room, ROSS in the chair. His left hand is still bandaged. ROSS's attire and manner suggest he is low class. CRABTREE is in the interrogation room with MURDOCH.)
ROSS
Like I told you before. I didn't hear nothing. I was in the washroom. I was just finishing when I heard the screaming and shouting. There's people that say I was in the washroom, aren't there?
MURDOCH
Yes. Mr. Pascal saw you go in; Mr. Lawrence didn't actually see you go into the washroom, but he said that the washroom seemed to be occupied. He wanted to use it when you were done.
ROSS
Well, then, you KNOW it wasn't me.
MURDOCH
How did you hurt your hand?
ROSS (thinks, then decides to answer honestly)
In jail. You ask as if you didn't know.
MURDOCH
I didn't know.
ROSS
Markham jailer slammed the door on it a couple o' days ago, (under his breath) the stupid bastard! Still hurts like the devil.
CRABTREE
I'll call Markham to verify that.
ROSS (accusingly)
Jail, that's why you're giving me a hard time, that's why you think I did it, because I owed that guy a lot of money and because I've spent time in jail.
MURDOCH
No.
ROSS
Two witnesses! Two witnesses said I didn't do it! You can't lay the blame on me!
(ROSS is defiant. MURDOCH backs off, as if conceding the validity of ROSS's argument. CUT TO same interrogation room, CRAWFORD in the chair. CRABTREE is in the interrogation room as well.)
CRAWFORD
All I heard was a scream, and I went to see what it was all about.
MURDOCH
Then you left the scene.
CRAWFORD
No! I mean, I was chasing the guy who'd done it! Look, I didn't know you and that other fellow were policemen; if I had, I would have let YOU chase the killer. And ask your constable, he'll tell you: I didn't try to jump over the wall or run through the gate! I didn't try to escape!
(CRABTREE looks at MURDOCH as if to say that what CRAWFORD has just said is true.)
CRAWFORD (sadly but firmly, seeing MURDOCH'S steely expression)
You all think I'm guilty, don't you? Just because I owed Mr. Tate money and because I've had past trouble with the law.
MURDOCH
No.
CRAWFORD
Well, then you think I'm guilty just because nobody saw me at the time this killing happened. (He hangs his head.) Bad luck, I guess. People were milling all about, and I just happened to be in a place where nobody could see me.
(MURDOCH blinks. Something has occurred to him. CUT TO: MURDOCH'S office. A drawing of the floorplan of the house is on the blackboard. Rooms or regions are labelled "OFFICE," "DINING ROOM," "KITCHEN," "WC," "HALL," "MAIN ROOM," "VERANDA," "DRAWING ROOM," "LIBRARY." The doorway between office and hall is marked "LOCKED," as is the doorway to the stairs. The doorway between hallway and drawing room is ajar. There are circled letters in various places on the diagram, "T" in the office, "W" and "L" near the dining room and kitchen, "R" in the WC, "P" and "B" in the main room, "O" in a corner of the main room, "S" in an opposite corner of the main room near the veranda, "M" and "C" in the library. In the drawing room is a question mark representing Crawford. MURDOCH, CRABTREE and BRACKENREID are looking at the blackboard. As MURDOCH talks, he indicates the lines of sight of the people in question.)
MURDOCH
These are the approximate positions of everyone at the time a loud noise was heard. All of the doors were wide open, except for those marked "locked," and the door between the dining room and office, which was closed but not locked. This door to the drawing room (indicating) was ajar. As you can see at a glance, there is no single person who can see all of the other guests, so I have compared the witnesses' statements to estimate people's locations. None of the guests knew the other guests, and didn't watch their movements closely; nevertheless, the witnesses' stories are fairly consistent, and they generally confirm each other's locations. Some of the people, notably Mrs. West, Mr. Briggs and Mr. Pascal, were moving about quite a bit and there was some disagreement as to their exact locations, but the disagreements do not appear to be significant. Mr. Ross is in the washroom. George and I could not see anyone except Mr. Smithson, and he could see us. No one is in a position to see whether Mr. Crawford is in the drawing room, as he says he was.
BRACKENREID
Where's the bloke who was by the gate? Was he accounted for?
MURDOCH
Ah, Mr. Whitby, yes, neighbours and other witnesses all place him outside the gate at all times, so I have not included Mr. Whitby on this diagram.
BRACKENREID
As you've said, Whitby made sure no one entered the house except the guests, and no one escaped. Is his story solid?
MURDOCH
I think so, the physical evidence supports it.
BRACKENREID
So the killer had to be somebody in the house. And everyone in the house has a corroborated alibi. (Pointing at the question mark on the map.) Except Crawford.
MURDOCH
Sir, I'm beginning to wonder whether Mr. Crawford's alibi may be better than I had first thought.
BRACKENREID (skeptical)
Someone now says they saw him?
MURDOCH
No. It's— it's a little hard to explain. (Takes a breath.) The people in the house were allowed to be in the main room, the library, the veranda, wherever they wished. When George and I arrived, people were indeed wandering about.
BRACKENREID
So?
MURDOCH
This was a premeditated murder. We KNOW that the killer went to Mr. Tate's home with the intention of killing him, because the murder weapon had been specially prepared in advance to prevent recovery of finger marks. But if this was a planned murder, there is a practical difficulty: there are many potential witnesses, and there was no way for the murderer to know in advance where in the house any particular person would be at any particular time.
BRACKENREID
That's not a difficulty. The murderer simply waited for an opportune time to strike. He waited until no one was looking.
MURDOCH
Yes, but there's more to it than that. Not only must the murderer look for an opportunity to commit the crime, but the murderer would want to have an alibi. The murderer would want to say that he was not in the office at the time of the murder, but was someplace else.
(BRACKENREID is slow on the uptake, but CRABTREE seems to be getting it.)
MURDOCH
Even if the killer knew where people were when he entered the office to commit the crime, the killer could not assume that everyone would simply stay where they were, even for the next few seconds, while he committed the crime. Now, Mr. Crawford said he was in the drawing room. If he was actually in the office killing Mr. Tate, how did Mr. Crawford know that there would be no witnesses in the drawing room to contradict his alibi?
CRABTREE
Crawford's alibi isn't supported by the other witnesses. But neither do the other witnesses say that Crawford is lying!
MURDOCH
Exactly, George! (To BRACKENREID) Sir, you pointed this out yourself: No witnesses have said that Mr. Crawford's alibi is untruthful. Also highly significant is this: After the murder had been discovered, while George and Mr. Crawford were circling the grounds, I asked every other witness about his or her whereabouts and whether anyone could corroborate each witness's story. Mr. Crawford was outdoors and heard none of that! There was NO WAY he could have known where everyone else was.
BRACKENREID (shaking his head)
I'm not following this at all.
MURDOCH
Sir, think of it this way. After George and Mr. Crawford returned, I asked Mr. Crawford where HE was at the time of the scream. Suppose he had said, "The washroom." Well, we would know that that alibi is a lie, because Mr. Ross was in the washroom, and Mr. Pascal verified it. Or suppose Mr. Crawford had said, "I was in the kitchen." We would know that that was a lie, because other witnesses could see every corner of the kitchen. Or suppose Mr. Crawford had said, "I was on the veranda." We would know that alibi was a lie.
BRACKENREID (catching on, pointing to the blackboard)
Because Smithson could see part of the veranda, and the Olivers could see part of it as well.
MURDOCH
Mr. Crawford, wherever he was, had no way of knowing where any of the other people would be. They WERE here (indicating the blackboard) at the time of the scream, but they COULD have been anywhere. Yet when asked where he was, Mr. Crawford named perhaps the only room in the house where he possibly could have been, and no one could call his alibi a lie. If he were the killer, how could he know that the drawing room would be his best alibi?
BRACKENREID
Maybe he made a lucky guess?
MURDOCH
It would have been a very lucky guess, and a rather RISKY guess. Not only were people wandering all around the house, the drawing room was where Mr. Tate was going to address his guests in a matter of minutes, so it might be expected that people would begin congregating there, awaiting Mr. Tate's arrival.
BRACKENREID (after a pause)
So you're saying that Crawford really might be telling the truth. He really WAS in the drawing room after all. (BRACKENREID rolls his eyes.) We have no evidence placing him in the office or pulling the trigger, and now you're saying that we have no evidence that his alibi is a fraud. I'm beginning to wonder whether we even have enough evidence to hold Crawford at all!
MURDOCH (reluctantly)
Our case against him is weak.
BRACKENREID
Weak? We have no case against him at all that I can see. We'll have to release him. And your investigation, it seems to me, is back to square one!
(MURDOCH purses his lips. FADE OUT.)