Murder Mysteries a Play for Voices (9781466109827) (7 page)

SARAQUAEL

No. But I suppose I must. Very well, then.
We worked together. And when we began to work on Love... we became
lovers. It was his idea. We would go back to his cell, whenever we
could snatch the time. There we touched each other, held each
other, whispered endearments and protestations of eternal devotion.
His welfare mattered more to me than my own. I existed for him.
When I was alone I would repeat his name to myself, and think of
nothing but him. When I was with him...

(beat)

...nothing else mattered.

RAGUEL AND SARAQUAEL ARE NOW VERY CLOSE,
TALKING INTIMATELY.

RAGUEL THEN

Then why did you kill him?

SARAQUAEL

Because he would no longer loved me. When we
started to work on Death he -- he lost interest. He was no longer
mine. He belonged to Death. And if I could not have him, then his
new lover was welcome to him. I could not bear his presence -- I
could not endure to have him near me and to know that he felt
nothing for me. That was what hurt the most. I thought... I
hoped... that if he was gone then I would no longer care for him --
that the pain would stop.

(pause)

/SFX/ OVER THIS WE HEAR A REPEAT OF THE
OPENING SEQUENCE -- THE DEATH OF CARASEL.

SARAQUAEL (CONT’D)

So I killed him; I stabbed him, and I threw
his body from our window in the Hall of Being.

(nearly wails this, in pain)

But the pain has not stopped.

SARAQUAEL (CONT’D)

Now what?

/SFX/ FLAMES -- BEGINNING GENTLY THEN
BECOMING A ROAR....

RAGUEL NARRATION

I felt my aspect begin to come upon me; felt
my function possess me. I was no longer an individual -- I was the
Vengeance of the Lord.

RAGUEL THEN

(treatment))

Come close to me, Saraquael. Come very
close.

SARAQUAEL

No... please... no....

RAGUEL THEN

(treatment)

I have a gift for you.

/SFX/ AS RAGUEL CARRIES OUT SARAQUAEL’S
SENTENCE. MUSIC AND FLAME SOUND EFFECTS TELL THE STORY. BURNING,
UNDER...

RAGUEL NARRATION (CONT’D)

He moved close to me, and I embraced him. I
pressed my lips to his, forced my tongue into his mouth. We kissed.
He closed his eyes. I felt it well up within me then: a burning, a
brightness. From the corner of my eyes, I could see Lucifer and
Phanuel averting their faces from my light; I could feel Zephkiel's
stare. And my light became brighter and brighter, until it erupted
-- from my eyes, from my chest, from my fingers, from my lips: a
white, searing fire. The white flames consumed Saraquael slowly,
and he clung to me as he burned.

/SFX/ SARAQUAEL’S DEATH SCREAMS UNDER THE
END OF THAT LAST...

RAGUEL NARRATION

Soon there was nothing left of him. Nothing
at all. I felt the flame leave me. I returned to myself once more.
Phanuel was sobbing. Lucifer was pale. Zephkiel sat in his chair,
quietly watching me.

RAGUEL THEN

You have seen the Vengeance of the Lord. Let
it act as a warning to you both. Phanuel. Lucifer.

PHANUEL

It has. Oh it has. I, I will be on my way,
sir. I will return to my appointed post. If that is all right with
you?

RAGUEL THEN

Go.

/SFX/ WINGS BEATING

LUCIFER

Nothing. There is nothing left of Saraquael.
You destroyed him. Look. No fragment of ash, or bone, or even a
charred feather. It is as if he never existed at all.

RAGUEL THEN

He existed. But he’s gone.

LUCIFER

(trying to hold back tears)

That was not right. That was not just.

(and then the tears begin)

RAGUEL THEN

It was justice. He killed another. He was
killed in his turn. You called me to my function, and I performed
it.

LUCIFER

But... he loved. He should have been
forgiven. He should have been helped. He should not have been
destroyed like that. That was wrong.

RAGUEL THEN

It was the will of our creator, the will of
the Name.

LUCIFER

Then perhaps His will is unjust. Perhaps the
voices in the darkness speak truly after all. How can this be
right?

RAGUEL THEN

It is right. It is His will. I merely
performed my function.

LUCIFER

No. I must think on this. I... will go
now.

/SFX/ WINGBEATS. LUCIFER FLIES AWAY.

ZEPHKIEL

Did you observe the liquid that came from
Lucifer’s eyes.

RAGUEL THEN

Yes.

ZEPHKIEL

It’s called tears. How strange. Carasel was
the first to love, but Lucifer was the first to shed tears.

ZEPHKIEL

So. It is over. You have performed your
function well, Raguel. Shouldn't you return to your cell, to wait
until you are next needed?

/SFX/CROSS FADE TO:

/SFX/LOS ANGELES NOISES

NARRATOR -- LIVE

So. Saraquael did it. A murder for love.
Yes. I can understand that. It makes so much more sense than a
motiveless death, doesn’t it? The kind where you don’t know why you
did it. The kind you could never explain.

RAGUEL NOW

I’ll take a last cigarette from you, now. If
you’re offering.

NARRATOR -- LIVE

Sure. You don’t honestly expect me to
believe any of this, do you?

RAGUEL NOW

Story’s not over yet, pal. Not quite.

/SFX/ LOS ANGELES CROSSFADES TO

/SFX/ ZEPHKIEL’S CELL...

RAGUEL NARRATION

I knew that he was right. But I couldn't
have left then -- not even if I had wanted to. My aspect had not
entirely left me; my function was not completely fulfilled. And
then it fell into place; I saw the whole picture. And like Lucifer,
I knelt. I touched my forehead to the silver floor.

RAGUEL THEN

No, Lord. Not yet.

/SFX/ZEPHKIEL STANDS UP

ZEPHKIEL

Lord indeed! Get up, Raguel. It is not
fitting for one angel to act in this way to another. It is not
right. Get up!

RAGUEL THEN

Father, You are no angel.

ZEPHKIEL

Do you know what you’re saying?

RAGUEL THEN

Father, I was charged to discover who was
responsible for Carasel's death. And I do know.

ZEPHKIEL

You have taken your vengeance, Raguel.

RAGUEL THEN

Your vengeance, Lord.

/SFX/ ZEPHKIEL SITS BACK DOWN IN HIS
CHAIR.

ZEPHKIEL

Ah, little Raguel. The problem with creating
things is that they perform so much better than one had ever
planned. Shall I ask how you recognised me?

RAGUEL THEN

I... I am not certain, Lord. You have no
wings. You wait at the centre of the city, supervising the Creation
directly. When I destroyed Saraquael, You did not look away. You
know too many things. You...

(beat)

No, I do not know how I know. As You say,
You have created me well. But I only understood who You were and
the meaning of the drama we had enacted here for You, when I saw
Lucifer leave.

ZEPHKIEL

What did you understand, child?

RAGUEL THEN

Who killed Carasel. Or at least, who was
pulling the strings. For example, who arranged for Carasel and
Saraquael to work together on Love, knowing Carasel's tendency to
involve himself too deeply in his work?

ZEPHKIEL

(condescending, like an adult speaking to a
child)

Why should anyone have "pulled the strings",
Raguel? Please, get up. Off your knees.

RAGUEL THEN

Because nothing occurs without reason; and
all the reasons are Yours. You set Saraquael up: yes, he killed
Carasel. But he killed Carasel so that I could destroy him.

ZEPHKIEL

And were you wrong to destroy him?

RAGUEL THEN

It was my function. But I do not think it
was just. I think perhaps it was needed that I destroy Saraquael,
in order to demonstrate to Lucifer the Injustice of the Lord.

ZEPHKIEL

And whatever reason would I have for doing
that?

RAGUEL THEN

I... I do not know. I do not understand --
no more than I understand why You created the Dark, or the voices
in the darkness. But You did. You caused all this to occur.

/SFX/ A MOMENT’S SILENCE AS THE WIND
BLOWS

ZEPHKIEL

Yes. I did. Lucifer must brood on the
unfairness of Saraquael's destruction. And that -- amongst other
things, -- will precipitate him into certain actions. Poor sweet
Lucifer. His way will be the hardest of all my children; for there
is a part he must play in the drama that is to come, and it is a
grand role.

(pause)

What will you do now, Raguel?

RAGUEL THEN

I must return to my cell. My function is now
fulfilled. I have taken vengeance, and I have revealed the
perpetrator. That is enough. But -- Lord?

ZEPHKIEL

Yes, child.

RAGUEL THEN

I feel dirty. I feel tarnished. I feel
befouled. Perhaps it is true that all that happens is in accordance
with Your will, and thus it is good. But sometimes You leave blood
on Your instruments.

ZEPHKIEL

Perhaps I do. If you wish, Raguel, you may
forget all this. All that has happened this day. However, you will
not be able to speak of this to any other angels, whether you
choose to remember it or not.

RAGUEL THEN

I will remember it.

ZEPHKIEL

It is your choice. But sometimes you will
find it is easier by far not to remember. Forgetfulness can
sometimes bring freedom, of a sort. Now, if you do not mind, there
is work I should be getting on with.

/SFX/ UNDER THIS LAST, ZEPHKIEL OPENS A
BOOK, BEGINS TO WRITE

RAGUEL NARRATION

I stood up and walked to the window. I hoped
He would call me back, explain every detail of His plan to me,
somehow make it all better. But He said nothing, and I left His
Presence without ever looking back.

/SFX/ MUSIC AND THE SILVER CITY RISE THEN
FALL AWAY COMPLETELY...

/SFX/ LOS ANGELES. IT’S ALMOST
MORNING...

NARRATOR

The man was silent, then. And he remained
silent -- I couldn't even hear him breathing -- for so long that I
began to get nervous, thinking that perhaps he had fallen asleep,
or died. Then he stood up in the pre-dawn light...

RAGUEL NOW

There you go, pal. That's your story. Do you
think it was worth a couple of cigarettes and a book of
matches?

NARRATOR -- LIVE

Yes. It was. But what happened next? How did
you... I mean. How did you get here?

RAGUEL NOW

What happened? I left home, and I lost my
way, and these days home's a long way back. Sometimes you do things
you regret, but there's nothing you can do about them. Times
change. Doors close behind you. You move on. You know? Eventually I
wound up here. They used to say no-one's ever originally from LA.
True as Hell in my case... Stand up. Come here.