The Truth - Part I
Post by shadowplay
Part I
Characters: Frank Cooper, A.C. Mallet, Gus Aitoro, Detective Uzbecki
SCENE: Springfield Police Station.
Mallet is sitting at his desk, going through the case file of Phillip
Spaulding’s murder. He cannot believe his eyes.
Mallet
I don't believe this.
Mallet charges toward Frank Cooper's office, knocks on the door. He opens the
door before Frank is finished telling him to come in. Frank glances up from his
own stack of paperwork.
Frank
What is it?
Mallet
Did you see this?
He hands Frank the case file. Frank goes through it briefly.
Frank
This is the Spaulding case. (Sarcastic) I believe I'm already familiar with
this, Mallet.
Mallet
Yeah. But did you know about this?
He pulls out a report from the file and brings it to Frank's attention. Frank
reads it, then stitches his brow.
Frank
What the hell it this? Where'd you get this, Mallet?
Mallet
It was in the file.
Frank (upset)
I never saw this before. Who did this paperwork?
Searches for signature of police officer's name on report.
Uzbecki. (Picks up phone) Uzbecki, get the hell in here.
Frank and Mallet wait in silence until Detective Uzbecki enters.
Uzbeck:
Yeah, Chief. You wanted to see me?
Frank
Did you file this report?
Hands him the report.
Uzbecki (glancing through it)
Yeah. (Cautious) There a problem?
Frank
Why wasn't I told that there was physical evidence found on the scene the night
Phillip Spaulding was murdered?
Uzbecki (confused)
Come again?
Mallet
There was a clot of blood with human hairs matted to it found on the door knob
on the back door at Company. You discovered this evidence and send it over to
forensics.
Uzbecki
Well, yeah. Chief, I thought you got the full report. I figured the crime lab
would've gotten back to you about that.
Frank (visibly upset)
Great! Cause I don't recall this detail.
Uzbecki (shrugs)
Sorry, chief. It was a pretty hectic time, actually. I mean, there was a backup
at the crime lab and by the time they got an analysis, well, your sister was
already arrested.
Frank and Mallet exchange knowing glances.
I just filed it as part of the report. We sent it up to the D.A.'s office. I
figured he'd have kept you updated.
Frank
Dammit, Uzbecki. You were assigned to this case. You were supposed to keep me up
to date.
Uzbecki (defensive)
Whoa, wait a minute, Chief. I was called off the case after that first night. I
just wrote up the report and left it with the assigned detective. Look, I had a
pretty thick case load.
Frank (rubbing hand over head)
No, no. You're right. I'm sorry.
Uzbecki
Like I said, I thought O'Neill would've kept you up-to-date on this.
Frank
Yeah, well, the D.A.'s office hasn't exactly kept an open-door policy when it
comes to that kind of stuff. Thanks Uzbecki for clearing this up. You can go.
Uzbecki leaves.
Frank (visibly upset, pounds on desk)
Damn. We could've proven Spaulding did it all along. Harley could've been spared
all that...
Mallet (interrupts)
Did you read the entire report, Frank?
Frank (alert)
Why?
Mallet
The lab ran a DNA analysis on the blood and hair samples. The blood was
definitely Phillip's. But the hair samples came up negative.
Frank (glancing at report)
So? What the d...
Mallet (carefully)
Frank. Who do you think the lab cross-analyzed those samples with?
Frank (slowly dawning on him)
Phillip and Alan.
Mallet
Bingo. And they both came up negative.
Frank
So what are you saying? That Alan didn't kill Phillip?
Mallet
Now, I'm not saying that. All I'm saying is that the evidence is putting a new
wrinkle in an old mystery.
Male Voice
A new wrinkle in what old mystery?
Mallet turns. Gus Aitoro is standing in the doorway, a curious but wary look on
his face. Close-ups of both Mallet and Frank's faces. Fade to Black. Commercial
Break.
~~~~~
Characters
Frank Cooper, A.C. Mallet, Gus Aitoro
Scene: Frank's Office.
Gus
A new wrinkle in what old mystery?
Frank
Gus. Uh–Mallet uncovered some evidence...
Mallet (purposely obnoxious)
That your old man might be innocent after all.
Frank glowers at Mallet. Close-up of shocked look at Gus's face. Fade-to-Black.
Scene: Frank's Office.
Gus is now sitting, going through the case file. He shakes his head.
Gus:
There's gotta be some mistake here.
Mallet
There's no mistake. The lab cross-analyzed those hair samples. They didn't match
Phillip's or Alan's DNA.
Gus (shouts)
That's impossible. Alan...Alan...he admited he did it. He...he made Harley's
life a living hell just to keep people from finding out the truth.
Frank (to Mallet)
I thought you said this doesn't necessarily prove Alan is innocent.
Mallet (smiling, glad to see Gus riled up)
It doesn't. But it does prove that somebody else was at Company the night
Phillip was killed. And this person had contact with Phillip's blood.
Gus
It could've been a witness. Somebody who saw Alan shoot Phillip, but kept quiet
about it this whole time.
Frank
That's a possibility, Mallet.
Mallet
Yeah, well. There's something else you ought to know. Officer Krim fielded a
call this morning from a woman who claimed she had some new evidence regarding
the case. Now, Krim didn't follow up on it because the case was closed. But I
overheard him and got curious. I called her to ask her what info she had.
Frank (raises eyebrow)
New info? Well, what did she say?
Mallet
This lady, she lives nearby Company. She swears she overheard two men behind
Company arguing the night of Phillip's murder.
Gus (incredulous)
Wait...wait...wait a minute here. She told you what?
Mallet nods and raises his eyebrows in confirmation.
Frank
Did she say what they were arguing about?
Mallet
She couldn't hear everything, but she did say she heard one of the men shout:
"You shot my son!"
Frank and Gus exchange glances.
Frank
She's sure about that?
Mallet
That lady did sound up in years. I thought she might have misheard.
Gus
Well, there you go. She's old and senile. I mean, it doesn't even sound like she
knows who Alan is.
Mallet
Maybe. But, I decided to go look at a case file and lo and behold...the lab
analysis. It got my spidey senses tingling.
Frank (concentrating)
Mallet, I want you to follow up on this. Something here stinks to high heaven.
Gus
Oh, come on. Wha...why are we dredging this up now? Alan did it. He shot Phillip
in cold blood. We don't need anymore evidence. He admitted it himself. Why would
he lie about something like this? Especially this.
Frank
That's what doesn't smell right. Mallet, call that lady...(reaching for a name)
Mallet
Mrs. Potter.
Frank
Mrs. Potter. Bring her in for more questioning.
Mallet departs, leaving Gus and Frank alone.
...Continues
Gus (approaching desk)
Frank. Frank. We can't do this. All right. We can't bring all this stuff back up
again. Harley and I have moved on. And...and do you really want to remind her of
one of the worst periods in her life?
Frank
I have no intentions of bringing up bad memories for Harley. But I can't just
ignore this either.
Gus (shouts)
Why not? Why not? Look, even if Alan didn't do this...he knew who did. And he
let that person go. Now...now under the law that makes Alan an accessory. And
let's not forget about all the other stuff he did.
Frank
What are you getting at?
Gus
What am I getting at? Look, Frank. Do you know what this will do to Harley? Huh?
I mean, do you understand the implications here? About Harley? What she did?
Frank, who has been staring hard at Gus, softens and exhales deeply.
Frank
Yeah, I know. This info would've come quicker to our attention if Harley hadn't
tried to frame Ruth Karloff. Dammit, Harley.
Gus
That's...that's right. But you remember what it was like for her, don't you? She
was scared. She panicked. Now, Frank...Frank, listen to me. Harley paid. She
paid in her freedom and time.
Frank (frustrated)
Yeah, yeah. I know. It's just...if only she just...if she just didn't take
matters into her own hands and trusted the system. Hell. (Rubs hand over hair).
Who am I to talk? I let this slip through my fingers. Dammit. (Kicks chair, it
rolls violently to side). When I think of everything Harley went through. And it
all could've been avoided.
Gus
Yeah, that's right. Harley went through hell. Why drag her through all that
again? She's doing fine at Spaulding. She's getting her confidence back. She
lost so much of that back during the trial. (Intense) You remember what she was
like then. She was lost, Frank. Working at Spaulding has done a world of good
for her. She's confident, she's assertive again. She's not gonna let anybody
kick her around anymore. That's the old Harley I fell in love with. And dammit,
Frank, I don't want to lose her again. Do you want to see her lose it again
because that's what's going to happen if she finds out how much she impeded the
investigation. I know Harley.
Frank (insulted)
And you think I don't? 'Cause I knew her a helluva lot longer than you, buddy.
Gus
No. No. That's not what I'm saying. I'm just saying that for everybody's sake
maybe we should just bury this.
Close-up of Frank's face, shocked. Fade-to-Black. Commercial Break.
Scene: Frank's Office
Frank
You gotta lot of nerve, you know that, Aitoro? I'm a cop. I swore to defend and
protect the laws. Now, if there is somebody still running around out there who
murdered Phillip, then it's my responsibility to find him and bring him...or
her...in.
Gus (contrite)
You're right. You're right. I overstepped my bounds.
Frank
I don't believe you. You haven't changed at all.
Gus lowers his eyes, embarrassed. Mallet barges in.
Mallet
I called Mrs. Potter and she's coming in.
Frank
Well. We'll find out what really happened that night, won't we?
All three men exchange glances as twinkling music plays on the soundtrack.
Fade-to-Black.
Fan Fic Index |
|
