A Clue Saga

INT. BLACKWELL GRANGE - BALLROOM - LATE NIGHT
The clock above the fireplace chimes to indicate that it is 2 o'clock in the morning.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK THE 4TH stands at the head of the room beside the piano. With his left hand, he is holding his cane to support his unsteady, elderly knees. With his right hand, he holds onto the short rifle. The barrel is pointed down at the marble floor.
All eyes in the room are turned to the long-thought dead man.
Even in his old age, SIR BENEDICT commands everyone's attention with his presence.
MR. REGINALD ASH and MRS. BLANCHE WHITE solemnly stand to the left and right of SIR BENEDICT.
There is blood splattered on MRS. WHITE's collar and apron.
2.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"Ladies and Gentlemen, it doesn't bring me any pleasure to say what I must say..."
COLONEL MICHAEL MUSTARD comforts MISS VIVIENNE SCARLET, who is crying uncontrollably into his arms.
MISS SCARLET breathes heavily, completely overwhelmed with anxiety, fear, and grief.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"For far too long I've waited. My bed became my prison as I waited to recover... as I hoped, thought, and planned."
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM watches NURSE AVA SILVER as she comforts young FIVEL DOVE on the ivory-colored chaise lounge.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"I suppose I've been trying to figure out a way to escape without dying in the process. A way to save my own ass... It was a selfish thought, seeing what this night has brought. I could have killed Hugh in his sleep every night for six years. I could have..."
MRS. PATRICIA PEACOCK closes her eyes from where she stands. She sniffles and tries to hold back her tears.

MONSIEUR ALPHONSE BRUNETTE notices the sorrow in her eyes and begins to move towards her.

MADAME ROSE BLACK reaches for his arm and stops him. MME ROSE shakes her head 'no' with fierce, angry eyes.
3.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"I do not blame the staff and family for following Hugh’s orders. We all know what became of those who didn’t obey him.”
Lightning flashes brightly behind SIR BENEDICT, in the ROSE GARDEN. Thunder crashes loudly a second after.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
“So now, my fellow sufferers - Hugh needs to pay for what he's done."
SIR BENEDICT points to the circular ottoman in the middle of the room.
Laid out on the circular ottoman are the photographs of tortured, murdered women from Monte Carlo.
MASTER JOHN BODDY and DR. ANDREA ORCHID leans forward rudely to get a closer look at the macabre photographs.
DR. ORCHID looks up at SIR BENEDICT with dazed, glassy eyes. A smile creeps over her lips. She is clearly impressed by the speech and actions of the brute, menacing, patriarch.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"Too long have we sat idly by while he feasted on flesh... wallowed in his own deadly desires. To some level or another we all knew who Hugh was. We all knew what he was capable of. We just chose to be the friends, lovers, and subordinates. It is too hard to question the truth when you fear for your own flesh.
(MORE)
4.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK (CONT'D)
It is even harder when the harbinger of the fear pampers you with champagne, cherries, and chocolates."
MISS OLIVIA RAVEN and DR. WALTER RAVEN avoid eye contact with SIR BENEDICT as he speaks. The old man's words fall heavy in their ears.
MR. THALLO GREEN notices the way they react. He chuckles silently, lighting a cigar, and turning his attention back to SIR BENEDICT. He exhales smoke casually, feeling no urgency or seriousness in SIR BENEDICT's monologue.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"I understand why you chose to ignore it. The lobster is the reddest you've ever seen, the steak falls apart in your mouth, and three sips of wine makes you feel like you've had three bottles from anywhere else in the world."
MME ROSE listens to her fathers words, but observes the faces of all those listening.
FIVEL's watery eyes meet SIR BENEDICT's. The child stares at the old man with confusion. The grief from his mother has reverted the smart, bratty child into a less mature, more fragile state. He rocks back and forth, crying, and holding himself at the elbows to comfort himself.
NURSE SILVER finds her hand absent-mindedly wandering to her throat protectively. When she realizes she quickly puts her hand down and checks to see if anyone noticed.
MISS SCARLET looks up at the crystal chandeliers through blurry eyes. She shakes her head in disbelief, hoping that when she returns her gaze downward, her love will be by her side. She turns her eyes downward and finds that he is not there. She rests her eyes on the harp across the room. She lets out a loud moan of agony.
MRS. WHITE and MR. ASH lower their heads in silence for the loss of FRAU BLOOM and YVETTE.
5.
MRS. WHITE's hands are trembling. MR. ASH's breathing is quick and erratic - holding his breath to choke back tears.
PROF. PLUM looks around the room and meets eyes with his half-sister, MME ROSE. He adjusts his bowtie and motions for their father to continue speaking.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"The answer to our problems is quite simple..."

The thick red curtained entrance to the BALLROOM is disturbed as SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY enters from the HALL. His clothes are damp and his brow is heavy.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"... We wait until the police get here, and we turn Hugh over to them for the crimes he committed here tonight - and for whatever else they uncover after their extensive investigation."
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
"The police have been notified, sir. Two inspectors from INTERPOL have been assigned. Detective Amarillo has also been sent from the police station."
MR. GREEN, M. BRUNETTE, COL. MUSTARD, MRS. PEACOCK, DR. RAVEN, and MRS. WHITE shift uncomfortably at the mention of the forthcoming investigation.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"And you made sure to tell them about Hugh?"
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
"I told them there were a series of murders tonight and that Dr. Black is believed to be responsible. I told them we have Dr. Black subdued and tied up.
(MORE)
6.
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY (CONT'D)
I also told them that disturbing photographs where found that implicate Dr. Black for the murders committed here tonight."
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
(tearfully)
"Did you tell them about Ben?"
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
"I told them that a mentally disturbed family member was kept on the premise by Dr. Black. I told them he attacked another captive prisoner on the premise and was shot."
MR. ASH keeps an eye on FIVEL from across the room as he steps closer to SIR BENEDICT and SGT. GRAY.
MR. REGINALD ASH
(whispering)
"We still don't know where Frau Bloom or Miss Dove have been hidden. Where are the police going to find them? The lake? The furnace? The stables? The crypt? We need that boy to be away from this place when his mother's body is pulled out. God knows what Hugh did to her. She could be chopped to bits. Look what happened to Mr. Clay..."
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
(hushing him)
"Now is not the time, Reggie. Good God, learn to read the room."
MR. REGINALD ASH
"Sir, I'm merely suggesting..."
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
(cutting him off)
"I know what you are suggesting and we will make arrangements after the police get here."
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"I'm not sleeping here tonight..."
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
(looking around the room)
"No, I doubt any of us want to."
7.
MASTER BODDY picks up a photograph from the ottoman, clucking in disgust as he takes in the violence, blood, and gristle. He brings it over to his grandfather with a scowl.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
(scolding)
"Did you know about this? Did you tolerate this type of behavior? We all knew Ben was a psycho path but now Hugh? You've raised nothing but killers."
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"Your uncle never showed you the dark path he went down because he figured you would find out on your own. You've always been rough and angry -- he probably saw you as a killer-in-training."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
(laughing sarcastically)
"Another old man with attitude towards me... how dull."
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"I've heard the way you blame Colonel Mustard for Maggie and Sam's disappearance."
MASTER BODDY's lip stiffens upon hearing their names.
COL. MUSTARD's ears perk up from hearing his own name.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"They are either long dead or they've adopted new lives. Either way -- Maggie and Sam and dead."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"Where is Uncle Hugh? Where are you holding him? I want to see him before they take him."
DR. ANDREA ORCHID
(aside)
"John, I don't think..."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"I want to see him!"
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
(firmly)
"No."
8.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"This house isn't that big. I'll find him."
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"Your defiance tires me. Once I'm back in charge, I'm shipping you off to boarding school for good. You can return to the Monte Carlo estate on holidays. Blackwell Grange is no longer your home."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"It is my birthright!"
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"Yes, given to you by me after Hugh couldn't produce an heir after forty years of steady fucking.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"I won't allow this. We won't allow this."
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"The sheep tells the wolf it will not allow itself to become the meal. But the wolf can't hear the sheep over the tearing of tender flesh."
MASTER BODDY narrows his eyes and stares into the old man's face.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"Sergeant Gray referred to you as another one of Uncle Hugh's captives. No one knows you are alive. No one would care if you died tonight alongside the others. No one wants to hear the long-winded speech from a coward. Yes, a coward. You hid. You admitted it yourself. You hid until the threat escalated and came crashing down. You hid so that you wouldn't have to clean up the mess alone. If you think you are going to waddle in here and command everyone..."
MASTER BODDY starts laughing hysterically.
9.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"You will never, ever tell me or any of my staff what to do ever again. Do you understand me? I will allow you to live out your days in the home that was once yours. But if you ever disrespect me in any way, I will see to it that you are tossed down the gravel driveway and dragged down to the road on your shaky knees."
SIR BENEDICT calmly sets the rifle down on the ottoman covered in photographs.
In one swift motion, SIR BENEDICT whips his cane and bashes MASTER BODDY in the side of the head with the top.
MASTER BODDY stumbles and falls to the BALLROOM floor.
SIR BENEDICT unscrews the handle and with-draws the cane-sword from it's sheath.
‌‌
SIR BENEDICT points the tip of the blade at MASTER BODDY's face.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"Remember this moment. Remember your back against the cold marble floor. With a flick of my wrist I could turn the marble warm with blood."
SIR BENEDICT turns from MASTER BODDY and address the room once more.
SIR BENEDICT BLACK
"Hugh Black will pay for his crimes. Let this be a warning to anyone else you has ill intentions under the roof of my mansion."
MRS. WHITE covers her mouth with her hand.
10.
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
(whimpering)
"This is really happening... I can't believe it. I never thought I'd live to see this day. Dr. Black is really being arrested..."
MR. REGINALD ASH
"Why are you upset?"
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"Dr. Black may have been a difficult, complicated man, but he still had a good heart. I can't be the only one who saw that, can I?"
MR. REGINALD ASH
"Blanche..."
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"No, I don't want to hear it. You didn't know Dr. Black the way I did. He was gentle and loving in those tender moments..."
MR. REGINALD ASH
"Blanche, he kept you from telling your son the truth. And now... nothing is stopping you."
MRS. WHITE's eyes widen in realization. She looks over at SGT. GRAY with hope and longing.
MR. REGINALD ASH
"Go to him."
MASTER BODDY storms away from SIR BENEDICT, gripping his fists furiously with boiling resentment.
PROF. PLUM comes over to MASTER BODDY and taps him on the shoulder. The seventeen-year-old spins around aggressively.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"Get off of me!"
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
"Calm down. Hugh is in the cellar."
MASTER BODDY quickly rushes out of the BALLROOM.
Across the room, MISS SCARLET composes herself from COL. MUSTARD's embrace. COL. MUSTARD nods to her as she appreciatively pats his arm.
11.
MISS SCARLET makes her way over to MRS. PEACOCK. She plants herself next to her and lights a cigarette. MRS. PEACOCK looks at the cigarette with a quivering lip.
MISS SCARLET stares blankly at the mirrored walls, exhaling smoke into the air and sniffling.
MRS. PEACOCK looks down at her feet, smoothing out her dress, and clearing her throat.
MRS. PATRICIA PEACOCK
(quietly)
"Can I have one?"
MISS SCARLET turns to MRS. PEACOCK with an eyebrow raised.
MRS. PATRICIA PEACOCK
"Please? It's been a long day."
With tears in her eyes, MISS SCARLET pulls out a cigarette from her cigarette box. She holds it out in front of MRS. PEACOCK.
MRS. PEACOCK takes it with her right hand, all the while looking straight ahead at their reflections in the mirrors across the room. MISS SCARLET pulls a small brass flip-lighter from her purse and holds it out.
MISS VIVIENNE SCARLET
"Here."
MRS. PATRICIA PEACOCK
(taking it)
"Thank you."
M. BRUNETTE watches MRS. PEACOCK from the doorway of the BALLROOM. MME ROSE guards M. BRUNETTE like a hawk.
MONSIEUR ALPHONSE BRUNETTE
"You can't keep me away from her forever."
MADAME ROSE BLACK
"I can try."
MONSIEUR ALPHONSE BRUNETTE
(scoffing)
"She needs to know the truth."
MADAME ROSE BLACK
"She's had a long night. Everyone has had a long night. Now is not the time!"
12.
INT. BLACKWELL GRANGE - CELLAR - MOMENTS LATER
MASTER BODDY descends the creaky, wooden staircase to the greasy, uneven cobblestone floor.
DR. HUGH BLACK looks up from where he is tied to a brick structural pillar with a long length of rope.
DR. HUGH BLACK
(desperately)
"I don't know what lies they've tried to fill your head with..."
MASTER BODDY holds up one hand to silence him.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"Enough!"
DR. BLACK is visibly shaking from anxiety.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"You're caught and soon enough you will be punished."
DR. HUGH BLACK
(panicking)
"King Azure, Prince Azure, Lord Gray, Lord Oakwood, Mr. Masque, Dr. Raven, Monsieur Brunette, Dr. Olive, Dr. Winters, and Lord Lavender all knew what was going on. I'll repeat their names until I die. They were all part of BGP's elite gentlemen's club - BGP's EGC as it will appear on paper... In my desk in the Study there is a false bottom to the drawer. My little black book has dirt on every one of those fuckers up there. I won't hang alone. You can't take me in, you'll have to take them all in."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"Stop it, Uncle. You're embarrassing yourself."
13.
DR. HUGH BLACK
"You can't let them take me, John! Pratton will see me as a monster. The legacy my father built..."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"It's over, Uncle. Things have gotten too far out of hand."
DR. HUGH BLACK
(crying out in agony)
"Jesus Christ! I never thought it would end this way."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
(solemnly)
"Mrs. White was saying something similar just a few minutes ago."
DR. HUGH BLACK
(pitifully)
"I never had a normal life... none of this is my fault. My father was obsessed with madness... with torture. I was forced into this... I had no choice. I can't be punished for this. I had no real choice in the matter..."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
(sympathetically)
"I believe you, Uncle."
MASTER BODDY places his hands on DR. BLACK's shoulders.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"You'd do anything to protect your ego. I genuinely believe you've convinced yourself that you've done nothing wrong. Maybe you didn't deliver the final punch, stab, or gunshot to kill those women -- so you've convinced yourself someone else was their murderer."
DR. BLACK stares at his young nephew with hatred and confusion.
DR. HUGH BLACK
(changing his tone)
"You found the photographs, didn't you? I thought the negatives were destroyed years ago. Who planted them?"
14.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"The collective story is that a man named Gold planted them here. Yvette discovered them, probably in one of the secret passageways. She realized on of the victims was her mother... so she hanged herself."
DR. HUGH BLACK
(chuckling)
"Lorraine Ardoise."
MASTER BODDY releases DR. BLACK's shoulders and steps back.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"So you did kill her?"
DR. HUGH BLACK
(sighing)
"Does Michael know?"
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"Know what?"
DR. HUGH BLACK
"That Yvette was his daughter?"
MASTER BODDY looks towards the cellar staircase.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"This might be the last time we get to talk without policemen and lawyers listening to every word. So now is your chance to set the record straight."
DR. HUGH BLACK
"Fuck yourself..."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"Are those really going to be our last words? You know they'll hang you!"
DR. BLACK shakes his head in misery.
DR. HUGH BLACK
"I did what I did in Monte Carlo because I wanted to understand what Ben was suffering from. I engaged in the pass-times of a homicidal maniac. I took poor beggars and filthy whores. I considered it pest-control."
15.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"Some say that Ben wasn't the infant child murdering his nanny and mother. Some say it was you and the stories have been blurred from all the lies."
DR. BLACK grinds his teeth.
MasTER JOHN BODDY
"I suppose the only people that will know the truth are the people who were there."
Dr. HUGH BLACK
"Like the people here tonight."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"They know that you murdered Olga Bloom, Brenda Dove, Yvette Ardoise, and Edward Clay. They know you tried to kill Nurse Silver. They know you probably would have killed the rest of us before morning."
DR. HUGH BLACK
"I didn't want any of this... This weekend was supposed to be something else entirely."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"It doesn't matter, Uncle. This is where we are right now."
DR. BLACK looks down at the cobblestone floor.
DR. HUGH BLACK
"No amount of scolding, no amount of prison time, not even my own execution will make me regret anything I've done. And none of it will make you feel better about your life. The birds, sunshine, and happiness after I'm dealt with... you will only find rain, fog, and thunder. Nothing will bring back the parents you had. Nothing will erase the wasted years you have spent as a miserable, unlovable little cunt."
MASTER BODDY relaxes his jaw and smiles. It is a wicked smile conflicting with joy, disgust, and anticipation.
16.
DR. BLACK quickly becomes uncomfortable by the maniacal look.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"Are the other bodies in the boat house or the crypt?"
DR. HUGH BLACK
(desperately)
"John, you need to cut me free."
MASTER BODDY laughs.
DR. HUGH BLACK
"I took you in. You owe it to me. Give me a fighting chance."
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"No."
MASTER BODDY turns his back on DR. BLACK and walks towards the staircase.
MASTER JOHN BODDY
"The next time I see you, you'll be hanging in front of the police station. Goodbye, Uncle."
DR. HUGH BLACK
(desperately)
"John! Please! I can't go out like this. You can't leave me trapped down here."
PROF. PLUM passes MASTER BODDY on the staircase. He pats the teenager on the shoulder.
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
"Hugh, I think that's enough talking. No one cares. Your pleading and begging was music to my ears, but all good things must be enjoyed in moderation."
DR. BLACK falls silent when his older half-brother stands directly in front of him.
17.
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
"My goodness, you have an ugly face when your scared. Thank goodness you spent the majority of your life with that cocky, shit-eating grin."
PROF. PLUM pulls a syringe from behind his back.
DR. BLACK lowers his head, pretending not to see the syringe -- hoping that avoiding eye contact with it will make it go away.
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
"The police will be here very soon. Which means we don't have a lot of time."
DR. BLACK shuffles as far away from PROF. PLUM and the needle as possible. The ropes prevent DR. BLACK from moving more than a few inches away.
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
"It is too bad that you managed to 'escape into the woods' right before the police got here."
PROF. PLUM grabs DR. BLACK's chin and jaw with one hand and holds the syringe up with the other.
PROF. PLUM roughly, wildly stabs the hypodermic syringe into DR. BLACK's face -- embedding the long needle into the soft flesh under his left eye.
DR. BLACK screams in agony as the burning, hot liquid is injected into his bloodstream.
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
(hushing him)
"You sound just like Ben."
DR. BLACK lets out a yelp as the needle is firmly yanked out. The area is swollen. A droplet of blood comes out of the hole.
DR. HUGH BLACK
"Stop... please..."
18.
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
"In about ten minutes you won't be able to move. You'll be awake and you'll feel everything, but you will not be able to move your limbs, fingers, toes, neck, or face. Blinking varies depending on the patient. Your eyes might experience dryness."
DR. HUGH BLACK
(panicking)
"This is what you gave to Ben."
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
(smirking)
"You are the one that said homicidal maniacs don't deserve any numbing."
DR. HUGH BLACK
(panting)
"What are you going to do to me?"
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
"Me? I don't think you really have to worry about what I am going to do to you. My part is over. But that little guest list... I'm not so sure about. Colonel Mustard knows that you killed Lorraine. Miss Scarlet knows that you killed Mr. Clay."
DR. HUGH BLACK
"Victor, please..."
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
"Mrs. White is about to tell Sergeant Gray the truth that you forced her to keep. Mrs. Peacock, Nurse Silver, and Miss Raven are three very bitter women who are discussing how you murdered your fiancée and how you should suffer for how you treat women."
DR. HUGH BLACK
(tongue becoming numb)
"I've run out of cards..."
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
"You never had a full deck."
19.
DR. HUGH BLACK
(mumbling)
"Kill me now. Don't let them torture me... I can't go to jail... I can't be tortured by them... Victor, please... Leave me somewhere safe... Once the serum wears off, I'll leave... I'll never return to America again..."
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
"That's not good enough for us. You know better than anyone that living life looking over one shoulder isn't a way of living at all."
DR. HUGH BLACK
(barely audible)
"You're my brother..."
PROFESSOR VICTOR PLUM
"You've never called me brother. Why should I accept your devotion now in your time of need. You're just another Judas."
INT. BLACKWELL GRANGE - LOUNGE - MOMENTS LATER
MISS SCARLET sits on the sofa holding a glass of brandy with two hands. She sips it slowly and stares off into the rainy night beyond the window panes.
NURSE SILVER and MRS. PEACOCK stand nearby watching over the grief-stricken, traumatized young woman.
MRS. PEACOCK tries to reach out for MISS SCARLET from behind but gives up halfway through reaching. She walks around the sofa and sits down across from her.
MISS SCARLET finishes the brandy in one large gulp.
MRS. PATRICIA PEACOCK
"Would you like another?"
MRS. PEACOCK pours another glass for MISS SCARLET.
20.
MISS SCARLET takes it quickly to her lips and swallows the contents quickly. She coughs and chokes a little.
MISS VIVIENNE SCARLET
(staring at the fireplace)
"Nurse Silver, I need you to tell me what happened."
MRS. PATRICIA PEACOCK
"Oh, Vivienne, we don't have to go into this now. Here, let me pour you another brandy. You should lie down on the sofa until the police arrive. Here's let's get your shoes off..."
MISS VIVIENNE SCARLET
(aggressively)
"I need to know."
(pausing)
"I want to know. I need to get it over with. I need to stop wondering about the details and just process them..."
NURSE SILVER slowly sits down next to MISS SCARLET on the sofa. She fumbles with the stopper on the brandy decanter on the coffee table.
NURSE AVA SILVER
"You're sure?"
MISS VIVIENNE SCARLET
"If you don't tell me what happened to Edward, I-I-I'm just going to make up the scenario in my head and it is going to be so much worse..."
MRS. PEACOCK closes her eyes and lowers her head.
NURSE AVA SILVER
"Alright..."
NURSE SILVER clears her throat a tiny bit.
NURSE AVA SILVER
"We were in the conservatory. We were talking... uh... and then Dr. Black came in."
(pausing)
"I thought something was off, but Dr. Black always throws off the room a little bit...
(MORE)
21.
NURSE AVA SILVER (CONT'D)
especially after the complicated past we've shared... the job he cost me."
NURSE SILVER stops talking and pours herself a glass of brandy. She slowly takes a sip.
NURSE AVA SILVER
(getting worked up)
"All of a sudden, Dr. Black pulls out a dagger. I almost thought he was joking or playing some silly prank. But then..."
NURSE SILVER's voice cuts off and she exhales deeply.
MISS SCARLET's eyes fill with tears.
MISS VIVIENNE SCARLET
(voice breaking)
"But then?"
NURSE AVA SILVER
"He just... slashed his throat. I don't know how else to say it. He just swung the dagger and it made contact. I barely processed what happened... it was all so fast and then he lunged at me."
NURSE SILVER downs the rest of the drink and begins to speak quickly.
NURSE AVA SILVER
(fearfully)
"I saw Mr. Clay hit the ground. I knocked the blade away and Dr. Black climbed on top of me and started choking me."
(catching her breath)
"I tried to fight back. I scratched and clawed. His grip was so tight. I-I started going numb. I thought it was over. I thought he won..."
NURSE SILVER sniffles and drops her head.
NURSE AVA SILVER
"Next thing I knew, Monsieur Brunette, Sergeant Gray, and Professor Plum were standing over me. Then they found his body."
22.
MRS. PATRICIA PEACOCK
"Hugh didn't even know Edward. No one did except for Vivienne and I. It doesn't make any sense."
NURSE AVA SILVER
"Everything he did tonight was senseless..."
MRS. PATRICIA PEACOCK
"Hugh wasn't that type of man when I knew him... he was kind and soft... he was gentle."
MISS VIVIENNE SCARLET
(covering her mouth)
"I can't..."
MISS SCARLET stands up and exits the LOUNGE quickly.
MRS. PEACOCK and NURSE SILVER hear her footsteps run up the staircase in the HALL.
NURSE SILVER sighs and pours herself another brandy.
NURSE AVA SILVER
"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have told her."
MRS. PATRICIA PEACOCK
"Vivienne is persistent. She would have worn you down until you told her."
MRS. PEACOCK leans forward and takes the nearly empty bottle of brandy. She finishes it by drinking directly from the bottle.
INT. BLACKWELL GRANGE - BALLROOM - CONTINUOUS
MRS. WHITE motions for SGT. GRAY to join her near the corner of the room.
SGT. GRAY holds up his hand to acknowledge her and rushes over.
23.
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
"Is everything alright, Mrs. White?"
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
(nervously)
"Yes, everything is fine. I just... It's..."
(pausing)
"Can you please sit down."
MRS. WHITE motions to the chairs along the wall. SGT. GRAY nods and follows her.
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
"Is this about the man in the attic?"
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"No, it's about Dr. Black."
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
"The police will be here soon. Do you want to wait and give the full statement to them when they get here?"
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
(holding up her hands)
"No, it's not that. It's something else."
MRS. WHITE takes a deep breath.
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"I don't know how to say something like this. I don't know how to start..."
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
"Is it about my father and mother?"
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"Well, yes..."
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
"Are they sick? Hurt? Did you hear something from them?"
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
(hushing him)
"Benjamin, when my sister married your father, your grandfather was very displeased.
(MORE)
24.
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE (CONT'D)
So much so that he threatened to cut them out of his inheritance entirely and give it all to your uncle Roger."
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
(sadly)
"I never knew grandfather well before he passed..."
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"Earl Gray was a snake of a man. He pressured your father to leave your mother for a more fertile woman after they could not produce an heir."
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
(motioning to himself)
"Obviously they did."
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
(grimly)
"No, I'm afraid they didn't."
SGT. GRAY shakes his head in confusion.
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
"I-I don't understand."
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"Dr. Black and I carried on a brief love affair. I say brief because it turned into a rough display of power all too quickly."
(taking a breath)
"From that affair, I became pregnant."
(pausing)
"It was a pregnancy that Dr. Black didn't want."
SERGEANT BENJAMIN GRAY
(shakily)
"What are you saying? That I'm his?"
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
(tearfully)
"I gave you to my sister, to pass off as her own in order to save your father's birthright."
SGT. GRAY stands up angrily. There are tears in his eyes.
25.
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
(crying hysterically)
"Benjamin, please don't be cross. I never wanted to give you away. Dr. Black wanted end the pregnancy before it began. He was trying to force pills into me. The only way I could save your life was by giving you away to my sister... It was the only plan Dr. Black would agree to."
SGT. GRAY rushes out of the BALLROOM gripping his fists tightly.
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"Benjamin!"
MR. ASH walks over.
MR. REGINALD ASH
"He didn't take it well?"
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"Where are they keeping Dr. Black?"
MR. REGINALD ASH
"Blanche..."
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch before the police give him a humane execution!"
MR. REGINALD ASH
"No, you are not."
MRS. BLANCHE WHITE
"Don't get in my way, Reggie."
MRS. WHITE storms out of the BALLROOM, tossing the thick red curtains behind her violently.
26.
INT. BLACKWELL GRANGE - BILLIARD ROOM - cONTINUOUS
COL. MUSTARD and MME ROSE are in the middle of a casual, time-passing game of billiards. DR. RAVEN is perched up on a bar stool. He is drinking a beer.
DR. WALTER RAVEN
"Oh, heaven knows the types of things he'll say to the police."
COL. MUSTARD eyes DR. RAVEN carefully.
COLONEL MICHAEL MUSTARD
"Do you have something to hide, Walter?"
DR. WALTER RAVEN
"Don't we all have a little skeleton in our closets?"
COLONEL MICHAEL MUSTARD
"My life is an open book."
DR. WALTER RAVEN
"An open book that still hasn't been finished."
COLONEL MICHAEL MUSTARD
"I have nothing to hide. All of my embarassing secrets have been spread out for all to see. I challenge you to find out something I've kept hidden."
(chuckles)
"But I'm sure that sham of a marriage between Olivia and Hugh twenty-some years ago will peak the interest of INTERPOL."
DR. WALTER RAVEN
"I'm just saying... generally speaking, of course - heaven only knows what Dr. Black will tell the police."
27.
MADAME ROSE BLACK
"What I think Dr. Raven is trying to say is that the legal gray-areas of Blackwell Grange may be brought into question. Hugh may not be the only one punished. I'm also suspecting there is growing concern that Hugh might throw everyone under the bus if it means saving his own neck."
COLONEL MICHAEL MUSTARD
"Jesus, Rose! Are you going to be doing damage-control all night long? Shouldn't you run along and make sure Brunette isn't pestering Patricia?"
MADAME ROSE BLACK
"The detectives and investigators will be a nuisance as it is. But have you even considered the journalists."
COLONEL MICHAEL MUSTARD
"The press will make a headline with any noise that comes from Blackwell Grange."
COL. MUSTARD places his billiard cue down on the table and walks over to the door.
MADAME ROSE BLACK
"Where are you going?"
COLONEL MICHAEL MUSTARD
(anxiously)
"Every sound I hear out there... I keep thinking it's the police. I think I'm just going to wait out in the hall before I drive myself crazy."
INT. BLACKWELL GRANGE - LIBRARY - CONTINUOUS
MISS RAVEN stands in front of the windows, looking out at MR. CLAY's body in the tennis court.
28.
MISS OLIVIA RAVEN
"How much longer do we have to keep this up?"
A shadowy figure in the corner of the room does not respond, but instead sits down near the unlit fireplace.
MISS OLIVIA RAVEN
"I understand the whole idea was to keep the two of us out of any legal trouble... but now I think we may have jumped the shark."
The shadowy figure holds up a hand to stop MISS RAVEN from talking.
MISS OLIVIA RAVEN
"I'm tired... I want to live my own life. I want to be free to fall in love, to marry. Why can't you let me be free?"
The figure step out of the shadows holding a blood-soaked wrench.
MISS RAVEN steps back as thunder lights up the room.
MISS OLIVIA RAVEN
"So that's it then?"
INT. BLACKWELL GRANGE - CELLAR - LATER
The clock upstairs in the hall can be heard chiming to indicate that it is 3 o'clock in the morning.
There are no ropes around the brick structural pillar.
29.
There is no syringe in the room.
The furnace is roaring on a warm, muggy, rainy, May evening.
The the foot of the CELLAR stairs, DR. HUGH BLACK lays prone.
He is dead.
The left side of his head has been busted open.
Blood is spilling out everywhere onto the cobblestone floor.
The sound of the doorbell being rung echoes throughout Blackwell Grange like a banshee in the night.
END OF EPISODE #12