ACT III

(FADE IN. STATION HOUSE NO. 4, late afternoon on the sixth of the month. CUT TO: INTERROGATION ROOM. MURDOCH is interviewing TERRENCE. MURDOCH's posture and demeanor is non-confrontational. TERRENCE is at ease in his chair. BRACKENREID is in the room also, but it more distant from TERRENCE. The BODYGUARD is nowhere to be seen.)

TERRENCE (somber)
We are not twins, Detective Murdoch. I'm actually a year older than my brother. My late brother, I mean. You're not the first to think we were twins, though.

MURDOCH
I need to ask you this: Do you know of anyone who may have had reason to want to hurt or kill your brother?

TERRENCE
I can't think of anyone who would do such a thing. As far as I know, my brother was a very kind gentleman. But if I may speak frankly, I did not really— know him all that well.

MURDOCH (determinedly, after a pause)|
If I may ask, as long as we are speaking frankly, do YOU have any enemies who might want to kill you? It seems to me, that considering your line of work—

BRACKENREID (warning)
Murdoch—!

MURDOCH
Mister Akers, we know that you have some, uh, concerns with the law, especially in Detroit—

BRACKENREID (more urgently warning)
Murdoch!

(TERRENCE becomes uncomfortable, perhaps a bit annoyed or angered. He tries to keep his expression straight.)

MURDOCH
— And I want you to know that I am not one bit interested in asking you about any of those concerns! But sir, given that you bear such a strong resemblance to your late brother, I NEED to ask: Is it possible that someone might have attacked your brother, thinking that he was attacking YOU?

(TERRENCE does not answer right away. TERRENCE is not angry or frightened, but his expression is poker-faced.)

MURDOCH
Sir, my goal is to bring your brother's killer to justice. And this is an avenue I need to explore. Could it be that someone mistook your brother for you? Do you have enemies that might wish to do you harm?

TERRENCE (takes a careful breath, then answers)
Yes.

MURDOCH
Such as?

TERRENCE
As long as we are speaking frankly: I have many enemies. And to be even more honest: quite a few of them are policemen. Some of them are— not.

MURDOCH
And they might wish to do you harm?

TERRENCE
Yes, they wish to "do me harm." You saw that gentleman who accompanied me here to your station, didn't you? He's not my Toronto tour guide; he's my bodyguard. I sometimes travel with bodyguards when I am concerned about my safety or the security of my property. I've had several attempts on my life, Detective. I suppose you're aware that I was once on trial for murder.

MURDOCH
Yes, I am aware of that. You were acquitted.

TERRENCE
Yes, I was. It was self-defence. Do you know the story? A man broke into my home, threatened to kill me and my family. I shot him dead. I'll bet you don't know who put him up to it, though. A couple of goons on the Detroit police force "persuaded" him to try to murder me.

MURDOCH
I— have no information on that. So forgive me if I'm skeptical.

TERRENCE
Of course you're skeptical. Policemen are always skeptical of wrongdoing by other policemen. I'll bet you have information about my arrest record, though, don't you? Arson, fraud, kidnapping, extortion, cruelty to animals, spitting on the sidewalk— the Detroit cops have charged me with everything they could, to try to pressure me to leave town. They never have any proof, though, and the charges always end up getting dropped. They want to run me out of Detroit. But I won't leave. Detroit is my home, it is where my business is, and I built my business up from nothing. Oh, and by the way, Detective: do you know who my principal competitor is, in Detroit? It's the brother-in-law to the Chief of Police! That's why the cops harass me.

(MURDOCH isn't buying that TERRENCE is being harassed by the police, but he says nothing. TERRENCE nods.)

TERRENCE
Yes, I see. You're skeptical.

MURDOCH
What is your line of business, Mr. Akers?

TERRENCE
I handle freight shipments across the border: exports to and imports from Canada. I'll bet your policeman-pals in Detroit told you I was a smuggler, didn't they?

(MURDOCH and BRACKENREID exchange looks.)

TERRENCE
Everything I do is legal and above board. I suppose you're skeptical of that, too? Well, I'm sure you've checked to see whether I have a criminal record in Canada. I don't have one, do I?

MURDOCH
No. You do not.

TERRENCE
You were asking whether I have enemies. Yes, I have enemies.

MURDOCH
You have enemies in Detroit. Do you have any enemies in Toronto, or any enemies who may have known you would be in Toronto? And who may have wanted to harm you?

TERRENCE (without amusement)
I suppose if I really thought about it, I might be able to give you, oh, about a hundred names of people in and around Toronto who'd want to kill me.

(MURDOCH and BRACKENREID exchange looks again.)

TERRENCE
Skeptical of that too, are you? (Smirks, then shakes his head.)

MURDOCH (slightly stunned)
I'll ask you for the most likely suspects shortly, and we will check them out. But first, would you mind telling me where you were on the morning of the fifth, at about 7:30?

TERRENCE
On my way to Toronto. I had stayed overnight in Waterloo.

MURDOCH
Perhaps you're thinking of the day before. I'm interested in where you were yesterday morning.

TERRENCE
Waterloo. On my way to Toronto, as I said.

MURDOCH
According to your sister-in-law, you arrived in Toronto two days ago, on the fourth.

TERRENCE
Ah, I see. I had told Mary that I would be arriving in the city a day earlier than I actually did.

MURDOCH
You lied?

TERRENCE
Yes. I lied. I sometimes lie to people about my travel plans. Traveling can be dangerous for me, so I sometimes announce plans that are different from my actual plans. I suppose you'd want the names of witnesses who can verify that I was in Waterloo at the time my brother was murdered?

MURDOCH (readying pen and paper)
Please. And also the names of people in the Toronto area whom you think may be a threat to your life. But please: not a hundred names. Let's start with— say— the fifteen to twenty most likely, shall we?

(CUT TO: BRACKENREID's office. Early evening on the sixth day of the month. BRACKENREID sits at his desk and MURDOCH stands nearby.)

BRACKENREID
All right, just so I've got it straight: Two hours ago, we had NO suspects with a plausible motive. Now we have about TWO DOZEN suspects with REALLY STRONG motives.

MURDOCH
So it would seem. Perhaps even more than two dozen.

BRACKENREID
I knew some of those names Akers listed: some tough, violent bastards, they are! They'd definitely be capable of bashing a man in the skull, especially if there was payment for doing it.

MURDOCH
I recognized one of the names myself: Zimmerman. I've arrested him at least twice. And I know he has used a club to assault his enemies.

BRACKENREID
How on Earth are we going to sort through all these names? How are we going to question them all? Are we even going to be able to FIND them all?

MURDOCH
I expect that I will simply have to be methodical about it. We may be able to determine that some suspects are more likely than others by virtue of geographical position, or preference for assault by beating rather than, say, by stabbing or shooting. Constable Crabtree's assistance in following up on these leads would be greatly appreciated, sir.

BRACKENREID
Of course. The two of you have your work cut out for you.

(CUT TO: Interrogation room. It is now the seventh day of the month. ZIMMERMAN sits in a chair with a muscular CONSTABLE poised behind him. MURDOCH sits opposite, with CRABTREE behind him. MURDOCH shows a photograph of a dead man's face to ZIMMERMAN.)

MURDOCH
Do you know this man?

ZIMMERMAN
Never seen him before.

MURDOCH
He was murdered.

(ZIMMERMAN laughs, then catches himself.)

MURDOCH
You think that's funny, Mr. Zimmerman?

(ZIMMERMAN tries to be serious but can't help smiling. MURDOCH shows the photograph again.)

ZIMMERMAN
Yeah, I know him. It's Terry Anderson. So, somebody else got him before I could, eh?

MURDOCH
This is not "Terry Anderson." It is his brother.

(ZIMMERMAN stops smiling.)

ZIMMERMAN
Looks just like Terry.

MURDOCH
Where were you on the morning of the fifth?

ZIMMERMAN
The fifth? What's today? The fifth would be, what, two days ago? (Opens eyes wide, laughs.) Is that when this murder occurred? (Laughs.) Well, bad luck for you, I've got me an alibi! Ha!

MURDOCH
Where were you?

ZIMMERMAN (confidently)
Port Credit.

MURDOCH
I assume you have witnesses to that effect?

ZIMMERMAN
Hell, yes! Just call the local constabulary! I was, you might say, their "guest" that morning!

(ZIMMERMAN leans back, crosses his arms, and smiles a contemptuous smile. MURDOCH is not pleased. CUT TO: A park in the evening of the eighth day of the month. MURDOCH and OGDEN are walking arm-in-arm.)

OGDEN
You've been tracking suspects down and questioning them for two days now. How many of the names have you and George checked out so far?

MURDOCH (dejected)
Only six. So far, none of the suspects has produced any promising leads. If anything, we have found that Terrence Akers was not exaggerating when he said he had many enemies. There were quite a few people in the Toronto area that held grudges against Terrence Akers. To complicate matters, word seems to have gotten out, and some of Terrence's enemies have gone into hiding. It is going to be difficult to find them and question them.

OGDEN
Do you think you are getting any closer to catching who did this?

MURDOCH (thinks about the question for a bit)
No one has any reason or motive to kill Timothy Akers. But many people want to kill Terrence Akers. When I saw that Terrence looked exactly like Timothy, the pieces seemed to fall into place. The killing HAD TO BE a case of mistaken identity! Even now, that explanation seems to be the most probable. (wincing) And yet—

OGDEN
It is possible, isn't it, to obtain a murder conviction when the killer kills the wrong man as a matter of mistaken identity?

MURDOCH
Yes. Even if the identity of the victim is mistaken, the killer can still have malice aforethought, legally.

OGDEN
And I expect you are concerned about the lack of witnesses to the crime, as well as the lack of physical evidence.

MURDOCH
That's true; but Julia, my concern is with the evidence we already have, such as it is. There's something that is just not fitting, but I can't quite see what's not fitting.

(MURDOCH and OGDEN walk on. MURDOCH is agitated and uncomfortable in his walk. FADE OUT.)