The Mousetrap and Other Plays (95 page)

BATTLE
. It's not absurd, sir. We've found some very curious things in this house.

NEVILE
. Curious? What do you mean by
curious?

BATTLE
. Give us the exhibit, Jim. (
Leách moves to
R
.
of Battle, extracts a heavy, steel-headed poker from his parcel, hands it to Battle, then moves down
L
.
C
.
He shows the poker to Nevile.
) Old-fashioned Victorian fire-iron.

NEVILE
. You think that this—

BATTLE
.—was what was really used? Yes, Mr. Strange, I do.

NEVILE
. But why? There's no sign . . .

BATTLE
. Oh, it's been cleaned, and put back in the grate of the room where it belonged. But you can't remove bloodstains as easily as all that. We found traces all right. (
He moves up
C
.
and puts the poker on the window-seat.
)

NEVILE
. (
Hoarsely.
) Whose room was it in?

BATTLE
. (
With a quick glance at Nevile.
) We'll come to that presently. I've got another question to ask you. That dinner jacket you wore last night, it's got fair hairs on the inside of the collar and on the shoulders. Do you know how they got there? (
He moves to the
L
.
end of the rostrum.
)

NEVILE
. No.

BATTLE
. (
Crossing and standing up
R
.) They're a lady's hairs, sir. Fair hairs. There were several red hairs, as well, on the sleeves.

NEVILE
. These would be my wife's—Kay's. You are suggesting that the others are Audrey's?

BATTLE
. Oh, they are, sir. Unquestionably. We've had them compared with hairs from her brush.

NEVILE
. Very likely they are. What about it? I remember I caught my cuff button in her hair the other night on the terrace.

LEACH
. In that case the hairs would be on the cuff, sir. Not on the inside of the collar.

NEVILE
. (
Rising.
) What are you insinuating?

BATTLE
. There are traces of powder, too, inside the jacket collar. Primavera Naturelle, a very pleasant-scented powder and expensive. It's no good telling me that
you
use it, Mr. Strange, because I shan't believe you. And Mrs. Kay Strange uses Orchid Sun Kiss. Mrs. Audrey Strange uses Primavera Naturelle.

NEVILE
. Supposing she does?

BATTLE
. It seems obvious that on some occasion Mrs. Audrey Strange actually
wore
your dinner jacket. It's the only reasonable way the hairs and the powder could have got
inside
the collar. You've seen the glove that was found in the ivy outside her window. It's hers all right. It was the left hand glove. Here's the right hand one. (
He takes the glove from his pocket and holds it up. It is crumpled and stained with dried blood.
)

NEVILE
. (
Huskily.
) What—what's that on it?

BATTLE
. Blood, Mr. Strange. (
He holds the glove out to Leach. Leach moves on to the rostrum and takes the glove from Battle.
) Blood of the same group as Lady Tressilian's. An unusual blood group.

NEVILE
. (
Moving slowly down
R
.) Good God! Are you suggesting that Audrey—
Audrey
—would make all these elaborate preparations to kill an old lady she had known for years so that she could get hold of that money? (
His voice rises.
) Audrey? (
Royde enters quickly
L
.)

ROYDE
. (
Crossing to
L
.
of the chaise.
) Sorry to interrupt, but I'd like to be in on this.

NEVILE
. (
Annoyed.
) Do you mind, Thomas? This is all rather private.

ROYDE
. I'm afraid I don't care about that. You see, I heard Audrey's name mentioned . . .

NEVILE
. (
Moving to
R
.
of the chaise, angrily.
) What the hell has Audrey's name got to do with you?

ROYDE
. What has it to do with you, if it comes to that? I came here meaning to ask her to marry me, and I think she knows it. What's more, I mean to marry her.

NEVILE
. I think you've got a damn nerve . . .

ROYDE
. You can think what you like. I'm stopping here. (
Battle coughs.
)

NEVILE
. Oh, all right! Sorry, Superintendent, for the interruption. (
To Royde.
) The Superintendent is suggesting that Audrey—
Audrey
committed a brutal assault on Camilla and killed her. Motive—money.

BATTLE
. (
Moving down
L
.
C
.) I didn't say the motive was money. I don't think it was, though fifty thousand pounds is a very sizeable motive. No, I think that this crime was directed against
you
, Mr. Strange.

NEVILE
. (
Startled.
) Me?

BATTLE
. I asked you—yesterday—who hated you. The answer, I think, is Audrey Strange.

NEVILE
. Impossible. Why should she? I don't understand.

BATTLE
. Ever since you left her for another woman, Audrey Strange has been brooding over her hatred of you. In my opinion—and strictly off the record—I think she's become mentally unbalanced. I daresay we'll have these high-class doctors saying so with a lot of long words. Killing you wasn't enough to satisfy her hate. She decided to get you hanged for murder. (
Royde moves up to
R
.)

NEVILE
. (
Shaken.
) I'll never believe that. (
He perches on the back of the chaise.
)

BATTLE
. She wore your dinner jacket, she planted your niblick, smearing it with Lady Tressilian's blood and hair. The only thing that saved you was something she couldn't foresee. Lady Tressilian rang her bell for Miss Aldin after you'd left . . .

NEVILE
. It isn't true—it can't be true. You've got the whole thing wrong. Audrey's never borne a grudge against me. She's always been gentle—forgiving.

BATTLE
. It's not my business to argue with you, Mr. Strange. I asked for a word in private because I wanted to prepare you for what's about to happen. I'm afraid I shall have to caution Mrs. Audrey Strange and ask her to accompany me . . .

NEVILE
. (
Rising.
) You mean—you're going to
arrest
her?

BATTLE
. Yes, sir.

NEVILE
. (
Crossing below the chaise to
R
.
of Battle.
) You can't—you can't—it's preposterous. (
Royde moves to
L
.
of Nevile.
)

ROYDE
. (
Pushing Nevile down on to the chaise.
) Pull yourself together, Strange. Don't you see that the only thing that can help Audrey now is for you to forget all your ideas of chivalry and come out with the truth?

NEVILE
. The truth? You mean . . . ?

ROYDE
. I mean the truth about Audrey and Adrian. (
He turns to Battle.
) I'm sorry, Superintendent, but you've got your
facts
wrong. Strange didn't leave Audrey for another woman.
She
left him. She ran away with my brother Adrian. Then Adrian was killed in a car accident on his way to meet her. Strange behaved very decently to Audrey. He arranged for her to divorce
him
and agreed to take the blame.

NEVILE
. I didn't want her name dragged through the mud. I didn't know anyone knew.

ROYDE
. Adrian wrote to me and told me all about it just before he was killed. (
To Battle.
) You see, that knocks your motive out, doesn't it? (
He moves up
R
.
C
.) Audrey has no
cause
to hate Strange. On the contrary, she has every reason to be grateful to him.

NEVILE
. (
Rising; eagerly.
) Royde's right. He's right. That cuts out the motive. Audrey can't have done it. (
Kay enters quickly by the French windows. Latimer slowly follows Kay on and stands down
R
.)

KAY
. She did. She did. Of course she did.

NEVILE
. (
Angrily.
) Have you been listening?

KAY
. Of course I have. And Audrey did it, I tell you. I've known she did it all the time. (
To Nevile.
) Don't you understand? She tried to get you hanged.

NEVILE
. (
Crossing to
R
.
of Battle.
) You won't go through with it—not now?

BATTLE
. (
Slowly.
) I seem to have been wrong—about the motive. But there's still the money.

KAY
. (
Moving below the chaise.
) What money?

BATTLE
. (
Crossing below Nevile to
L
.
of Kay.
) Fifty thousand pounds comes to Mrs. Audrey Strange at Lady Tressilian's death.

KAY
. (
Dumbfounded.
) To
Audrey?
To
me.
The money comes to Nevile and his wife. I'm his wife. Half the money comes to me. (
Nevile moves slowly down
L
.)

BATTLE
. I am informed—definitely—that the money was left in trust for Nevile Strange and “his wife Audrey Strange.” She gets it, not you. (
He makes a sign to Leach. Leach exits quickly
L
.
Royde crosses slowly and stands up
L
.)

KAY
. (
With a step towards Nevile.
) But you told me—you let me think . . .

NEVILE
. (
Mechanically.
) I thought you knew. We—I get fifty thousand. Isn't that enough? (
He moves to
L
.
of the chaise.
)

BATTLE
. Apart from all questions of motive, facts are facts. The facts point to her being guilty. (
Kay sits on the chaise.
)

NEVILE
. All the facts showed that
I
was guilty yesterday.

BATTLE
. (
Slightly taken aback.
) That's true. (
He moves a little up
C
.) But are you seriously asking me to believe that there's someone who hates
both
of you? Someone who, if the plan failed against you, laid a second trail to Audrey Strange? Can you think of anyone who hates both you
and
your former wife sufficiently for that?

NEVILE
. (
Crushed.
) No—no.

KAY
. Of course Audrey did it. She planned it . . .(
Audrey enters
L
.
She moves like a sleepwalker. Leach follows her on.
)

AUDREY
. (
Moving up
L
.
C
.) You wanted me, Superintendent? (
Royde moves quietly behind Audrey. Nevile faces Audrey, his back to the audience.
)

BATTLE
. (
Becoming very official.
) Audrey Strange, I arrest you on the charge of murdering Camilla Tressilian on Thursday last, September the twenty-first. I must caution you that anything you say will be written down and may be used in evidence at your trial. (
Kay rises and moves to Latimer. Leach takes a notebook and pencil from his pocket, and stands waiting. Audrey stares straight at Nevile as though hypnotized.
)

AUDREY
. So—it's come at last—it's come.

NEVILE
. (
Turning away.
) Where's Treves? Don't say anything. I'm going to find Treves. (
Nevile exits by the French windows. Off. Calling.
) Mr. Treves. (
Audrey sways and Royde holds her.
)

AUDREY
. Oh—there's no escape—no escape. (
To Royde.
) Dear Thomas, I'm so glad—it's all over—all over. (
She looks at Battle.
) I'm quite ready. (
Leach writes down Audrey's words. Battle is impassive. The others stare at Audrey, stupefied. Battle makes a sign to Leach, who opens the door
L
.
Audrey turns and exits slowly
L
.,
followed by Battle and the others. The lights fade to Black-Out as
—)

THE CURTAIN FALLS

Scene II

SCENE
:
The same. The same evening.

When the curtain rises the windows and curtains are closed and the room is in darkness. Nevile is standing down
L
.
He crosses to the French windows, draws the curtains, opens the windows to get some air, then moves above the chaise. The door
L
.
opens and a shaft of light illuminates Nevile. Treves enters down
L
.

TREVES
. Ah, Nevile. (
He switches on the lights, closes the door and moves
L
.
C
.)