A WOMAN FOR ALL REASONS
BY PAUL CHANDLER AND NICK GOODMAN
EPISODE TWO:
BY NICK GOODMAN
MAIN CHARACTERS
MATTHEW - AN ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN
BOB - A DEPUTY THEATRE MANAGER
DEBS - BOB'S WIFE
OTHER CHARACTERS - TO BE UPDATED SOON
THE STORY SO FAR: MATTHEW AND BOB ARE TWO MIDDLE AGED GUYS WHO HAVE KNOWN EACH OTHER FOR MANY YEARS... THEIR FRIENDSHIP STEMS BACK TO A SHARED LOVE OF CULT TV AND FILMS - THEY ARE ALSO KEEN WRITERS, ALTHOUGH OF LATE BOB DOES NOT APPEAR SO INSPIRED AND MATTHEW IS CONCERNED BY HOW IT IS AFFECTING HIS FRIEND. AFTER A CHAT WITH BOB IN A LOCAL PUB MATTHEW REVEALS THAT HE HAS AN IDEA FOR A CREATIVE PROJECT THAT THEY CAN BOTH WORK ON TOGETHER... BOB AGREES TO TAKE PART, BUT HIS WIFE - DEBS - IS SUSPICIOUS OF MATT'S MOTIVES - EVEN GOING SO FAR AS TO CALL HIM UP TO WARN HIM NOT TO TURN BOB'S WORLD UPSIDE DOWN WITH HIS PLANS... MATT ASSURES HER ALL WILL BE WELL...
SCENE 4. INT.
LIBRARY. EVENING.
(Early evening the same day. Matt and Bob enter the
Reference section of their local library. Matthew is shot through with intrepid
zest. Bob is confused. Matthew stops short)
BOB: This isn't
your section?
MATTHEW: No its
the upstairs. We from downstairs are..well..looked down upon.
BOB: So this
is unexplored country then?
MATTHEW: Bingo!
That's her.
BOB: That's
who?
(Matthew turns on his heel, back to the reception desk. He
thumbs backwards to a pleasingly ordinary “Plain Jane” with frizzy hair sat
head down down, glasses on nose)
MATTHEW: Emily
Bradnock!¬ She knows you know!
BOB: And what
exactly does she know?
MATTHEW: I
don't know yet!
(Awkward pause)
Let me show you. Sit down.
BOB: (Under
his breath) Maybe a night in with Lambert would have been better..
(Matthew goes to a shelf, grabs a book and in indicates
Bob to do the same. Bob randomly picks one called “Hitler: The Final Moments”
and sits)
This is the first one I found. Why the books? I thought we
were hear to talk to the girlie.
MATTHEW: (Whisper)
Its a calling code. Watch!
(Matthew stands his copy of “Arthur Askey:The McCarthy
Letters” and peers over the top. After a
while, Emily peers over towards and “lights up”. She wanders over and
sits with the boys. All her formality drains from her and she reaches a hand
out to Matthew like a prisoner being visited)
EMILY: You came
back!
MATTHEW: (Indicating
Bob) This is Bob.
EMILY: (Holding
Bob's startled hand) Bob, TELL HER
STORY!
BOB: (Slowly)
Whose story?
EMILY: Walsh!
(Bob looks at Matthew trying to think fast and back to
Emily)
BOB: (To
Emily) Tell me more.
MATTHEW: She
doesn't know any more.
EMILY: Matthew
tells me you're a writer.
BOB: I was!
MATTHEW: (Firmly) You are!
(To Emily) He
is!!
EMILY: Then you
can dig and find and tell. I am merely the rock you thrust aide and plunge your
hand in to reach for the treasure!!
(Bob gulps, literary mystery far from his mind)
MATTHEW: (To
Emily) We must know more.
EMILY: Then
meet me here at 1am
(Both Matthew and Bob squawk in alarm)
MATTHEW: How
are we meant to get in??!!
EMILY: (Producing
a key) I will lock you in the
stationary cupboard and let you out at the appointed hour.
BOB: I have a
wife at home!!!
MATTHEW: (To
Bob) She has her TV carnage for
company. But I do have Tolstoy to think about.
EMILY:
Remember, to a cat, humans are pleasant but expendable company. He'll
cope. Meet me at the cupboard at 7pm for lock down.
(Emily returns to her desk. Her manager, Neville, has
grown a frown)
BOB: (To Matthew) Why can't we just sit down
and blow up spaceships like we used to. Is any research worth being locked in a
cupboard for four hours!!!??
MATTHEW: This
is going to be big. And its real. She says so.
BOB: (Sarcastic)
Oh she says so. She's loop the loop old friend!
MATTHEW: (Banging
on the desk as quietly as possible) Exactly. They're in every horror film.
Some mad bugger who knows what’s going on.
BOB: ALL we we
have is a name and a story. No, we don't even have a story. Just a request for
a story.
MATTHEW: That
girl has picked up masses of bits and pieces from local sources.
BOB: (Unhappy)
Why the cupboard??!! Why can't she just tell us?
MATTHEW: All
the info is here and there. She has no time to stick it together.
BOB: Why can't
she set off the fire alarm and just get everyone out if its so secret.
MATTHEW: She
did that when she was tapping the Marquis of Hamilton. She is now on her last
warning with her manager Neville.
BOB: Its a pity
I didn't get a warning. What if we need the loo?
MATTHEW: (Struggling)
Ink pots?
BOB: They're
full of ink!
MATTHEW: Cheer
up. Live a little!
BOB: (Holding
his head in his hands) Gives a new
meaning to getting a retainer. I wonder what old Lambert is doing now?
(Time passes. It is now 1am and all is quiet in the
stationary cupboard. The door is unlocked. Twisted at awkward angles inside and
half asleep, Matthew and Bob stir, moan, creak, stretch and blink before
emerging from their “tomb”.Fresh as a posy and dressed in black like a burglar,
Emily leads the boys back into the Reference section. A power point projector
stands ready. A sepia still of an old lady crossing a medieval square is being
projected)
BOB: (Still
bent over and bleary eyed) Oh
dear..not even if my youth did I do this..
(Emily clicks her fingers and indicates for the boys to
sit. This they do, their offended backs reluctant to let them sit without pain)
EMILY: (Scooping
up a stick indicator and points it at the projected image) Now then. Walsh! A resident of the area as
you can see . Outwardly a kindly old lady in unflattering stockings for a woman
of her age... (Turning to the boys,
whipping glasses off an glaring)
Inwardly – a dark enigma! She has a bequest that has bank
rolled the Mother's Union, four local stores and the local Boy Scouts for 150
years!
BOB: Fancy.
EMILY: (Pointing
stick) Some say the brothel too!
MATTHEW: (Shaking
his weary head) I was really was out
of the loop as a young man..
EMILY: Her name
is associated with dozens of ventures BUT (Slamming down his stick) have
you spotted what doesn't add up?
BOB: She still
couldn't afford decent stockings?
EMILY: (Inpatient)
No!
MATTHEW: (More
keenly) The Scouts didn't start
until 1907!
EMILY: Good but
not quite....
(Emily zooms in on the picture using a remote control)
Behind Walsh is a Cop-Op Advertising Green Shield stamps. I
checked with the Marquis. His father was
involved. That type was active in 1973. 43 year years ago!
(Matthew and Bob try to reboot their tired brains. Emily
sits wide eyed)
If her bequest was 150 years ago, what was she doing walking
around at liberty 113 years later??!!
(Matthew and Bob are briefly impressed. Then....)
BOB: Are you
sure its the same person?
EMILY: Yep.
Check the Internet if you don't believe
me.
MATTHEW: Does it mention her?
EMILY: No.
That’s what I mean. Total security blackout. So we are left with good old
fashioned tell-tale books.
MATTHEW: What
became of your helpful Marquis of Hamilton?
(Emily slumps back in her chair, solemn and thoughtful)
EMILY: He went
yellow on me. Couldn't take the heat. Too close. Too much to lose..
(Turning to the boys) So there you are. Its up to you now! Good
luck!
MATTHEW: You
want us to look for clues in this library? At this time of night?
EMILY: Whilst I
catch up on my sleep.
BOB: Then you
can let us out?
EMILY: Oh no,
the CCTV at the back door would give the game away and pick up up leaving.
MATTHEW: But
you've go it in here.
EMILY: Its
switched off in here.
BOB: Then
switch off the back door one!
EMILY: That works off a master control. Locked in
Neville’s office Only Neville has the key. For some reason he doesn't trust me.
MATTHEW: So its
back to the cupboard after our labours?
EMILY: I'm
afraid so … but
(Emily scribbles on a piece of scrap paper)
You can try this chap at this address. He's called CB. He's
the only other one who is on the case. Never met him but he claims to be in
contact with Walsh. (Eyes upwards) If you know what I mean.
MATTHEW: Is
this more info from the Marquis.
EMILY: No that
tip off was from Billy (Suddenly sad)
Poor Billy, I still regret Billy....
BOB: I could
murder a coffee.
EMILY: I've
half a fruit shoot.
BOB: (Eyes
closed) Forget it!
SCENE 5: DEBS AND BOB'S LOUNGE. DAY
(Later that day. Matthew is sat in a chair, Debs in
another. He is fast falling sleep, a coffee on his lap. His head nods)
DEBS: FIRE!
(Matthew wakes with a
fright)
Now that I have your attention...
MATTHEW:
Uh..don't do that! Where? ...What?
DEBS: You were
about to tell me why you kept my husband up all night without so much as a
text.
MATTHEW: Yes
well there was no signal in the cupboard.
DEBS: Its not
funny.
MATTHEW: Quite.
It wasn't exactly a bicycle made for two I can tell you!!
DEBS: What are
you getting my husband into!!??
MATTHEW: I'm
too close to it ..yet still too far if you know what I mean.
DEBS: No idea!!
(Debs gets up, take Matthew's cup and goes to the kitchen
to wash it)
MATTHEW (Following
her) Look, you love a good mystery
don't you? Can't you see where we’re at?
DEBS: I love
blood and bodies..
MATTHEW:
They'll be some of that I'm sure.
DEBS: (Turning)
Not my hubby??!
MATTHEW: NO,
not now!! Years ago unexplained. Hidden under motorways. We can uncover it!
DEBS: From
inside a cupboard?
MATTHEW: We were working under cover.
DEBS: I also
like grumpy detectives who can solve things because they're cleverer than me
and I don't have to think about it too hard after a hard day at work.
(Matthew looks increasingly out of arguments as fatigue
kicks in. Debs looks thoughtfully , pause and continues)
Okay, so where do we go from here?
MATTHEW: We
carry on researching until we find out more.
DEBS: Then
what?
MATTHEW: Well, I thought it would make a great TV
serial. I've always fancied doing a six part mystery series.
DEBS: So it
will make you famous you hope?
MATTHEW: Well
Debs love, we have waited a very long time to make it big.
DEBS: What
about me? Have you thought about that?
MATTHEW: (Confused) What?
DEBS: (Patronisingly) Think! Me. Fame. Have you thought what going
to happen to me? And you come to that? Her Majesty's finest gutter snipe press
crawling all over us. Is that really what you want?
MATTHEW: Oh
look we can keep a low profile.
DEBS: Doesn't
look like that’s' what you want at the moment. I thought you would have had
more consideration. (Suddenly irritable) Go on, clear off. And, for God's sake, get
some sleep!
MATTHEW: (Placating)
Look Debs, I...
(Debs heads quickly to the loo and slams the door. Gentle
crying can be heard inside. Matthew checks his mobile phone and sheepishly
departs)
SCENE 6: RAILWAY VIADUCT. NIGHT
(This is the stuff that horror films are made of. Dark,
decrepit overgrown viaduct. Below is an old railway storage shed. Matthew and
Bob nervously approach this. A lone light burns inside. Wisps of smoke emit
from the entrance. A hissing noise sounds out)
BOB: Just
think, 24 hours ago we were safe locked in a cupboard!
MATTHEW: Let's
see this through. Just remember what Emily said. Plunge your hand in and an
grab the treasure!
BOB: (Wiping
his brow) I was trying to forget that. She was young enough to be my
daughter. I'm still an impressionable lad at heart.
MATTHEW: Come
on then. We're asking for CB...
(Gingerly the boys enter. An old metal room is festooned
with technological rubbish. It looks like an earthquake has hit. The source of
the hissing is a large and very primitive crystal radio set sat on the table.
Matthew coughs loudly)
MATTHEW: Anyone
home?
(A head bobs up from a swamp of cable loops. A jovial Kim
Newman lookalike with glasses and a droopy moustache. A lit cigarette limply in
the corner of the mouth)
CB: Oh hello
there. You're not from the Council are you?
BOB: Perish the
thought!
CB: (Emerging
from the cable jungle) Good. Only
I'm kind of in limbo. Squatters rights at the moment but I am coming to a deal
with our local station.
(Wiping his hand and offering to first Matthew, then Bob)
And you are?
MATTHEW:
Matthew. And this is Bob.
CB: Oh, are you
lost?
MATTHEW: No. Emily sent us. Did she get a message to
you.
CB: (Thinking)
Emily? Whose Emily?
BOB: You are CB
aren't you?
CB: Oh yes.
MATTHEW: Which
stands for?
CB: Jake
Treherne.
BOB: Shouldn't
that be JT?
CB: (Laughing) No dummy! I'm a radio man (Pointing to the
crystal set)
MATTHEW: Ham.
CB: What?
MATTHEW: Its a
radio ham isn't it?
CB: Whose
calling me a ham?
BOB: (Quickly) You must have been in the business a long
time looking at your gear..
(Pointing to the crystal set)
CB: Aww no!
That's Crystal. Isn't she beautiful? We
sit and hiss together most nights. Occasionally French radio drifts in and
serenades us.
BOB: I take it
visitors are not a frequent thing.
CB: I haven't
forgotten how to entertain. Sit down. I was making some tea, would you like
some?
MATTHEW: {
Yes please!
BOB: { Yes please!
(CB goes over to behind
huge speakers and throws about equipment)
CB: Come to
think of it I was making the kettle. You aren't in any hurry are you?
MATTHEW: Nah.
BOB: (To
Matthew) Nowhere so sit.
MATTHEW: (To
Bob) Well, as this is a squat – lets squat!
(Both Matthew and Bob sit cross-legged on the floor)
Ha! I've known you thirty years and we've never tried so many
positions as we have in the last 24 hours. Ha!
(Bob doesn't answer. He is staring at the eruption of
electrical flotsam from behind the speaker)
MATTHEW: (To
CB) Why have a next-to-useless
crystal set? Everything is digital these days.
CB: (From
behind the speaker) When the radio
world jumped on the Good Ship Digital, what happened to everything and everyone
that got left behind? The shrapnel as it
were. That’s what I look for.
BOB: What about
Walsh?
(CB urgently whips his head round the speaker, holding
bits of kettle)
CB: How do you
know about Walsh?
MATTHEW: Emily
said you were in contact with her.
(CB becomes serious. He marches to the door, shuts it and
bolts it)
BOB: (Eyes
closed ,fearful) Inspector, when you
find my mutilated remains , I hope you'll spare my wife's feelings!
(CB squats level with his guests)
CB: (Suddenly smiling) Its no good saying “if I told you, I'd have to
kill you”. Emily has already told you and she didn't bother. She sounds
careless!
MATTHEW: Do you
use a Ouji board?
CB: Hell no.
Superstitious mumbo jumbo! (Pointing
at the crystal set). It takes a Grand Dame to reach someone like Walsh!
BOB: (Scornful) Oh come on. Are you telling me you can
communicate with a ghost on your war-time tat?
(CB leaps up and puts the set's earphones over its
loudspeaker)
CB: There,
there Sweetheart, he didn’t mean it!. (To Bob) Is she alive or dead? I don't know for sure.
(CB throws down the already-beyond-repair kettle testily
at his guest's feet)
But since you have come here and invaded my space, you'll
find out. Whether you like it or not.
(Matthew and Bob look frightened. CB clicks the main light
off and lights a candle in the dark. The room lights with its flame. CB holds
the candle in an old fashioned “Wee Willy Winky” holder. He holds it close to
the boys)
I'll teach you to meddle and scoff and demand from tea from
the dead .
(CB kicks the unfortunate kettle corpse once again. Bob
opens his mouth the thinks better of it.
CB removes the crystal earphones and adjusts the set controls).
Gentlemen, be careful what you wish for!
(Matthew and Bob stare apprehensively at the old apparatus
in the flickering candle light)
TO BE CONTINUED......
NOTES
Chapters 4-6 were written between
16-19 July 2016. This is the first piece of original creative writing I've worked on
since the summer 2011 when a supernatural thriller book I was working on with a
friend fell through. In keeping with the library reference in the first chapters
I decided on a library setting. I actually wrote the chapter related to this in
Salisbury's Reference library which has been my favourite place to retreat to
and write for nearly 20 years. Emily Bradnock was named after my first infants
school teacher Tessa Bradnock. She too was quite an entertaining performer
though the resemblance ends there. I felt Debs was holding something back in
the first chapters so twisted that still further. The claustrophobic
cliffhanger was loosely based on a sinister childhood memory of being shut in
a garage of the house over our road with
a group of freaky older kids experiment with clothing dye. Miss Walsh was an
old lady with unfortunate stockings who visited a writer’s group and told us to
research local history and odd events at our library. This was the same meeting
I met Paul Chandler. As our projects is very close to home in its parallels
with your life, I thought it would be good to make her the focus of the
mystery. Enjoyed the experience of writing them very much and look forward to
further instalments.
