ACT IV
(FADE IN. STATION HOUSE NO. 4. It is the morning of the ninth day of the month. CUT TO: Just outside MURDOCH'S OFICE. MURDOCH is standing outside his office. CRABTREE approaches. With CRABTREE is JONES, a fairly young well-dressed businessman stands, holding a neat portfolio of papers.
CRABTREE
Detective Murdoch? This gentleman wants to speak to you about the Akers case.
MURDOCH
I'm Detective William Murdoch.
JONES (offering his hand)
My name is Peter Jones—
(MURDOCH and JONES shake hands.)
JONES
— And I am with Stately Life Insurance Company. Do I understand correctly that you are investigating the Timothy Akers case?
MURDOCH
Yes.
JONES
I wonder if I might have a few minutes of your time.
(CUT TO: MURDOCH's office. MURDOCH is seated behind his desk. Seated at a chair in front of the desk is JONES, his portfolio of papers open, his pen poised.)
JONES
Mr. Timothy Akers's life was insured by Stately, in quite an unusually large amount. The sole beneficiary is Mr. Akers's widow, Mary Akers.
MURDOCH
I see. May I ask the amount of the insurance?
JONES
Um. It's a hundred thousand dollars.
MURDOCH (slightly stunned)
That much?
JONES
In the case of a homicide, we PREFER not to make a payment until the case is resolved. And of course, in the event the beneficiary is found guilty of causing the death, no payment is made at all.
MURDOCH
I understand. A beneficiary is not permitted to profit from a crime.
JONES
Yes. Mrs. Akers has filed her claim for benefits, and her claim has been assigned to me. And so, Detective, I wonder whether you could tell me how the case is proceeding?
MURDOCH (carefully)
It is proceeding, it is not resolved.
JONES (taking notes)
Have you made an arrest?
MURDOCH
No.
JONES
Oh. Do you have any idea when you might make an arrest, or close the case?
MURDOCH
No. The investigation is ongoing.
JONES (disappointed)
Oh. Can you tell me whether Mrs. Akers is a suspect?
MURDOCH (carefully)
When I investigate a murder, everyone is a suspect.
JONES
Strange. Mrs. Akers had told us that you had told her she was NOT a suspect. Was she being truthful in that regard?
(MURDOCH flashes back briefly to his meeting with MARY, in which MARY asked whether she was a suspect and MURDOCH replied that he had no reason at this time to suspect her.)
MURDOCH (a little embarrassed)
Uh. Yes. She was being truthful; I did say something to that effect.
JONES (a bit flummoxed)
I see. But you've changed your mind, and now she is a suspect?
MURDOCH
She has been— cooperative in our investigation; we are pursuing other leads at this time. Mr. Jones— I wonder whether I might ask YOU some questions.
JONES
Of course.
MURDOCH
This policy amount, the hundred thousand dollars, that seems to be a— good-sized amount.
JONES
Yes, it is, larger than usual.
MURDOCH
Did Mrs. Akers have any part in procuring such a large policy?
JONES (uncomfortably)
Detective Murdoch, I wish to be frank with you. I— suspected that very thing. You see, the policy was originally for a much more modest amount, twenty thousand dollars. About nine months ago, however, the value of the policy was increased to a hundred thousand. I suspected that Mrs. Akers may have somehow convinced her husband to increase his coverage substantially. And so, I looked into whether she had any hand in causing the increase.
MURDOCH (intrigued)
And did she?
JONES
No.
MURDOCH
Are you certain?
JONES (getting out some papers)
Our paperwork on this is quite thorough. The agent who sold the extra coverage was a friend of Mr. Akers. They went to the same church. The agent persuaded Mr. Akers that he ought to have more insurance protection, and sold him a larger policy. (shuffling the papers) As best I can tell, Mrs. Akers had nothing to do with asking for the increase. She knows about the higher policy limits now, of course, but back then, she was unaware that her husband was increasing her level of protection. The agent's name was Timbrook, if you'd like to speak to him.
MURDOCH
That won't be necessary.
JONES
So— can you give me an estimate of how long it will take before you will have a resolution of the case?
MURDOCH
There are several potential suspects that we need to locate and question. That may take several weeks.
JONES (disappointed)
Ah. This makes things difficult for me. The company CAN defer payment if the beneficiary is being actively investigated as a criminal suspect. But as a general rule, we cannot deny payment on the basis of mere suspicions. We need to have some sort of reasonable basis for thinking that the beneficiary is involved in the crime. Unless we have that reasonable basis, we will have no choice but to pay. (Pause) I was hoping—
MURDOCH
You were hoping that I might have some evidence incriminating to Mary Akers?
JONES
Mm.
MURDOCH
I'm afraid not.
JONES (disappointed)
Mm.
(JONES is a bit shaken; his facial expression suggests that his company will have to pay. CUT TO: The AKERS HOME. It is the afternoon of the ninth of the month. MURDOCH, wearing his hat, knocks at the door. MARY opens the door.)
MARY
Why, Detective Murdoch!
MURDOCH
May I come in?
MARY
Yes, of course.
(MURDOCH enters and removes his hat. MURDOCH sees a fit young man, TIMBROOK, dressed in a business suit and sitting by himself in a loveseat. TIMBROOK rises.)
MARY
Detective Murdoch, this is Michael Timbrook. He's helping me with my finances.
(TIMBROOK makes no effort to move toward MURDOCH or shake his hand. MURDOCH nods to TIMBROOK, TIMBROOK nods back to MURDOCH and turns quickly to MARY.)
TIMBROOK
We're all done for now, Mary. Telephone me when it's convenient.
MARY
I will.
(TIMBROOK walks to the front door, giving MURDOCH an unthinking nod.)
TIMBROOK (mumbling)
Good day.
MURDOCH
Good day, Mr. Timbrook.
(TIMBROOK exits.)
MURDOCH (slowly)
I was just visiting the— the scene of the crime— again, and I wondered whether you could answer a few more questions.
MARY
Certainly. I was about to make some tea. Would you like some?
MURDOCH
No, thank you. I noticed that there is only one building from which the scene of the crime can be seen, and that is your house.
MARY
Oh?
(MURDOCH goes to a window and looks out at the scene of the crime. MARY follows him.)
MURDOCH
Yes. The scene is obscured from all of the other buildings in the neighbourhood by trees and hedges and other obstacles. But from this window, you can see the walkway, the pond, the hedges, Mr. Hull's wood shop.
MARY
Yes.
MURDOCH
I'm wondering whether you saw anything out of the ordinary.
MARY
No, as I said when we spoke at the constabulary, I did not see my husband get attacked.
MURDOCH
What I meant was: did you see anything out of the ordinary at any other time, perhaps in the days before your husband's death? Do you, for example, see any strangers milling around by the pond or the walkway or the hedges?
MARY
I don't recall any. I don't look out that window very much, to be honest.
MURDOCH
I see. Now, you knew that your brother-in-law, Terrence, was coming to visit.
MARY (uncomfortably)
Yes. I now know I gave you the wrong date. I now understand Terrence misled me about the date he would arrive in Toronto. Terrence told me about it after Timothy's funeral.
MURDOCH
At any time prior to the fifth, did you tell anyone that Terrence was coming to visit?
MARY (carefully)
Yes, a few people. Why?
MURDOCH
What I'm trying to discover, Mrs. Akers, is how an assailant— an assailant who wanted to kill Terrence, not Timothy— would know to look for Terrence here (gesturing to the scene of the crime).
MARY
I did tell some people I know, neighbours, the people at the market—
(MARY abruptly begins to get emotional, and MURDOCH sees and begins to get uncomfortable.)
MARY
Does that mean— if I told someone— that I might have contributed to Timothy's death?
MURDOCH (guilty at causing her distress)
Not in any culpable way, no. I'm sorry, Mrs. Akers, I simply felt I needed to inquire. (uncomfortably) Thank you for your time.
(MURDOCH turns to leave. MARY walks with him to the front door. She continues to tear up, then takes a deep breath.)
MARY
Detective Murdoch, before you leave, I have a question for you.
MURDOCH
Certainly.
MARY
Are you here at the behest of a Mr. Jones? Mr. Jones is—
MURDOCH
I have met him. He is with a life insurance company.
MARY (becoming a bit more emotional)
And he is trying to deny my claim to my husband's life insurance proceeds. He says that if I had anything to do with Timothy's death, that I cannot get the insurance benefits. I want an honest answer: Has he asked you to try to find evidence against me, so that his company can escape its obligation?
MURDOCH
No. I am not here at Mr. Jones's behest.
MARY (still more emotional)
Are you going to tell him that I may have told someone my brother-in-law was coming to visit, and that my actions may have brought about Timothy's death?
MURDOCH
No. I am not.
MARY (weeping)
My husband is dead. I have no other source of income. If the company withholds payment—
MURDOCH
I understand.
(There is a knock at the door. MARY wipes her eyes with a handkerchief in her left hand, and goes to answer the door. MARY takes the handkerchief with her right hand and opens the door with her left hand. Mr. WRIGHT is there. WRIGHT is an older man wearing a suit, but he is not an especially well-dressed older man. WRIGHT carries a worn but not shabby valise. WRIGHT has opened his valise and has pulled some papers from it. He sees that MARY has a guest in her home, and that she has been crying. As she opens the door for him, he hastily puts down his valise, and with his now-free hand, removes his hat.)
WRIGHT
Oh, I'm sorry, Mary. Is this a bad time?
MARY
No. I believe Detective Murdoch was just leaving. Detective Murdoch, this is Mr. Wright, who is helping me wind up some of my late husband's financial affairs.
MURDOCH
How do you do?
WRIGHT
How ja do?
MURDOCH (leaving)
Thank you, Mrs. Akers.
(MURDOCH exits the house, WRIGHT enters. CUT TO: A dining table in a restaurant. It is evening of the ninth day of the month. MURDOCH and OGDEN are dining.)
OGDEN (gesturing to the dish in front of MURDOCH)
Do you like it?
MURDOCH (distracted)
Yes. Yes, it's— very good.
OGDEN
William, for just once, when you and I are together, can you leave your work behind?
MURDOCH
I am sorry, Julia.
OGDEN
I am sure that anything that has to do with the Akers case can wait until tomorrow.
MURDOCH
I am sorry.
OGDEN (trying to change the subject)
I understand that the Princess Theatre is—
MURDOCH (interrupting)
It's just that, the number of people who wanted to hurt Terrence Akers seems to be endless. There is no way that George and I can question all of them. And the other evidence— is—
OGDEN
It seems to me, that someone really planned this out well. Well enough to confound you, anyway.
MURDOCH
No, Julia; this was an improvised crime, not a planned one. Someone who had reason to kill Terrence learned that Terrence was in Toronto and killed Timothy by mistak—
(MURDOCH freezes. In his mind's eye, he sees himself as the assailant peering through the hedge, seeing his victim, attacking, disposing of the weapon. MURDOCH looks at OGDEN with a realization. Something has fallen into place. CUT TO: Police station, the tenth day of the month. MURDOCH'S OFFICE. BRACKENREID and CRABTREE look on as MURDOCH stands by his chalkboard and his diagram of the scene.)
CRABTREE (discouraged)
I've talked with one more person on Mr. Akers's list, sir. Only one. Arthur Morelli. He has a good alibi. (Sighs.) I do not know how many more suspects we'll be able to question. All the others have left town or have gone into hiding.
MURDOCH
Maybe we won't have to talk to any more people on the list, George.
(CRABTREE exhibits surprise and relief.)
MURDOCH
We have been assuming that the intended target of this killing was Terrence Akers. But I think that the intended target was not Terrence at all!
(BRACKENREID and CRABTREE look at each other with disbelief. FADE OUT.)