...continuing...
90 EXT. NICK’S APARTMENT. DUSK
NICK
inserts a key into the front door to Nick’s apartment.
91 INT. NICK’S APARTMENT. DUSK
STAIR
walks into Nick’s cluttered Living Room.
He
explores the room for a few moments, looking at Nick’s desk: note-books, notes
written on scraps of paper, magazines, newspapers with sections highlighted,
the paper remnants of late night snacks etc.
His
attention is caught by a book resting by the computer:
HEART
OF DARKNESS, by Joseph Conrad.
He
picks it up, flicks through the book, worn from many readings. Some passages
have been highlighted.
Still
holding the book he looks at Nick’s notice board for a moment, leaning close to
look at the photo with Wing Chou’s face circled - a dart piercing one of his
eyes.
STAIRS
turns, walks towards the kitchen area. He opens the refrigerator, takes out a
close-to empty bottle of wine; pours it into a glass.
As
he walks back towards the notice board the wooden floorboards creak.
PATRICE (VOICE OFF)
Nick?
STAIR
It’s
me. Stair.
PATRICE
appears in the doorway to Nick’s bedroom, adjusting the sarong around her body.
92 EXT. STAIR’S HOME. PATIO
OVERLOOKING SYDNEY HARBOUR. DAY
STAIR
looks into the camera. His hair is longer. He is less well groomed than we have
seen him before. Sydney harbour can be seen in the background.
Stair’s
modern house, the view, the expanse of waterfront garden bespeak his wealth.
KATIE (VOICE OFF)
Did
you have doubts? That first day? About how...?
STAIR
No.
I knew that Nick hadn’t died in an accident.
KATIE
sits alongside a camera on a tripod - on the other side of which sits TODD -
late 20’s, handsome, his carefully styled hair streaked blonde.
TODD
You
already suspected he was murdered?
STAIR (patronizing)
Listen
to what I say, Todd. I am not going to repeat myself.
TODD
bristles.
KATIE
Did
you talk to Katie about...your doubts?
STAIR
Not
that evening, no.
TODD
Why
not?
STAIR
shakes his head, sighs in exasperation.
KATIE
Can
you tell us what you did talk about?
STAIR
Nick.
TODD
And?
(A BEAT) Did you argue?
STAIR
looks at KATIE, raises his eyebrows theatrically.
STAIR
Is
that what she told you?
KATIE
It
became quite physical....it seems.
STAIR (LAUGHS)
‘It
seems’!? In what way?
TODD
Did
she bite you?
STAIR
Does
Katie bite you Todd?
TODD
What...!
KATIE
Not
nearly often enough.
STAIR
laughs. TODD stares at KATIE, mouth open.
TODD
Well,
can you tell us...the camera...how it became ‘quite physical’?
STAIR
Todd,
a word of advice. I don’t need to do this. I don’t need to be here talking to
you. Stop acting like a police prosecutor.
KATIE
Sorry,
but I don’t think he means...(She turns to TODD). Do you?
TODD
You
don’t think I mean what?
Close
on STAIR. He is not listening.
KATIE (V.O)
It’s
just...the way you ask questions sometimes...
93 NICK’S APARTMENT, LIVING ROOM.
DUSK
2014
STAIR
kneels astride PATRICE - his hands holding her wrists firmly against the floor;
their heads close together.
PATRICE’S
sarong is awry, her naked body partially exposed.
They
stare into each others eyes - both breathing deeply, exhausted by their
struggle.
She
moves her head up towards STAIR’S, her mouth open - a wildness, madness, in her
eyes.
STAIR
breathes deeply, heavily, as she moves her mouth closer to his.
Their
mouths are millimeters apart now. Natural sounds drain away.
Their
lips meet.
94
INT/EXT VARIOUS LOCATIONS. PHNOM PENH. DAY/NIGHT
A montage, with music over:
- A BEGGAR WOMAN, sitting on a
sidewalk, hand outstretched. The shot, seen through the legs of passers by, is
wobbly, ‘out of focus’ and badly framed. Beside the BEGGAR WOMAN sits a 10 YEAR
OLD GIRL, a BABY asleep in her lap, looking directly into the lens of the
camera.
- An ‘almost-in-focus’ wobbly and
tilted shot of the magnificent Royal Palace in downtown Phnom Penh.
- A crowded market. Live eels and
fish squirm in a large plastic tray.
- A YOUNG GIRL leads a BLIND
MUSICIAN by a rope as he plays a one stringed instrument.
- The amateurishly filmed street
life images flow - as might be seen through the eyes of a child who has never
been in Phnom Penh of used a camera before: First impressions.
The images are mostly of poor,
beggar and disabled people, but there are some of TOURISTS sitting in swish
roadside restaurants drinking coloured cocktails and eating from plates piled high with food.
- The ‘child’ filming has
discovered the zoom function. A shot tightens on an EXTREMELY FAT CAUCASIAN
MAN, eating alone, trying to wrap his mouth around a huge hamburger. The shot
wobbles a little as the child’s giggling is heard.
- Walking through a dingy falling
down building, its walls covered in green mould. The POV of the child filming.
Water leaks from the roof onto hallway floors littered with rubbish. Pools of
water have formed. Rats scurry. Turning a corner, a skinny dog appears, lapping
a puddle of water. A shaft of light hits the ‘water’. It is red. Hold on the
‘puddle’ a moment. A wobbly tilt up reveals two feet hanging in mid air - one
of them dripping blood.
95 EXT.
STAIR’S HOME. PATIO OVERLOOKING SYDNEY HARBOUR. DAY
2015
KATIE and TODD sit on either side
of the tripod - on top of which sits the camera pointed at STAIR. Tension
between them.
KATIE
It’s just...the way you ask
questions sometimes...
TODD
I just wanted...
KATIE
I know, but...
KATIE gestures to TODD to
continue. They both look at STAIR - whose mind is elsewhere.
TODD
Mr Morecombe?
STAIR seems not to have heard.
TODD looks at notes written on the pad resting on his lap.
TODD
Mr Morecombe? (A BEAT) Did
Patrice...? She told us...she tried to bite you!?
STAIR
Is that a question or a statement?
TODD seems not to understand.
STAIR looks at KATIE, raises his eyebrows. He is not impressed by TODD.
KATIE
A question, I think!
STAIR
You’d have to ask Patrice. (A
BEAT) You have, right?
TODD is reluctant to answer.
KATIE nods.
STAIR
What does she say?
TODD
She tried to bite you?
STAIR
True. (A BEAT) And not true.
TODD
How can it be true and not true?
STAIR
You’ll figure it out when you
grow up! Maybe! Is it important? Whether
she tried to bite me or not?
STAIR’S eyes flick from TODD to
KATIE.
TODD
If you’re trying to get to the
truth, you have to get your facts straight.
STAIR (laughs)
Is that what you two are doing
here? On a quest to find ‘the truth’?
KATIE
No, we’ve been commissioned to...
TODD
Yes, the truth.
STAIR (laughs)
“And nothing but the truth, so
help me God.” (A BEAT) And you’ve got... what?, a TV hour to play with? (A
BEAT) With or without commercial breaks? And in that hour you’ve got to pose
the question, “Who killed all these people and why?” And then answer it. Right?
And present the key characters in your doco as ‘three dimensional, complex,
contradictory’ and so on, right?
TODD nods.
STAIR
But its not that easy, Todd, as
you’ll learn in due course. Maybe. Life doesn’t come all neatly wrapped in a
package with the instructions written clearly on the side.
Inside the house we catch
glimpses of Stair’s wife, TILDA and his two daughters - ROSIE (aged 8) and TINA
(aged 10).
STAIR
Tell me one ‘truth’ about your
life, Todd. One thing that you have found to be irrefutably ‘true’. Just one.
TODD
This is not about me. Its...
STAIR
What is the ‘it’ you are
referring to? “It’s...”!?
TODD
I mean...
STAIR
You don’t know what you mean,
Todd, do you? Not your fault that you don’t. You’re young. How old are you?
TODD is ready to explode but
realizes that he can’t. His frustration is compounded by KATIE’S clear
enjoyment in this joust between TODD and STAIR.
STAIR
If even you can’t understand
your life, and you’re the one living it,
what chance is there that anyone else will understand it? Sure, they’ll come up
with a story that suits their...their ends...to justify themselves to
themselves but...
KATIE
That’s pretty cynical, Mr
Morecombe. I mean, that no-one can really understand another person.
STAIR
Stair, Katie. (A BEAT) Do you
understand Todd here?
TODD (bristles)
You agreed to let us interview
you, not the other way around!
STAIR
Why not? Why don’t we just turn
the camera around and I’ll interview you? OK?
TODD and KATIE stare at him in
confusion.
STAIR
My relationship with
Patrice...with Nick...they’re both going to be seen through the prism of your
relationship with each other, right?
TODD and KATIE are dumbfounded
STAIR
I’m guessing you have a
relationship with each other than ‘professional’, right? Do you share a bed?
Fuck? You ever bitten Todd’s lip, Katie? Because you loved him, hated him?
Both?
TODD
Fuck this.
TODD jumps to his feet, looks at
KATIE, expecting her to follow suit. She doesn’t. She addresses STAIR
apologetically.
KATIE
Sorry. (to Todd) Why do you let
Stair push your buttons?
TODD
Why do you take his side?
KATIE
I’m, not taking ‘sides’. I’m just
saying...
TODD
What are you saying, Kate?
KATIE
Sometimes I love you and
sometimes... like now, I think...
TODD
You think? (A BEAT) What?
STAIR
You’re a pain in the arse!
TODD stares at KATIE, expecting
her to disagree with STAIR.
TODD
I can’t believe this is
happening.
STAIR
Sit down, Todd. Relax. I’ll give
you some facts and leave it to you..the two of you...to figure out ‘the
truth’...in the editing room.
He gestures to TODD to sit down.
TODD complies reluctantly.
STAIR
And, hey, when you discover it,
please share it with me. I’d be very interested to discover what the truth of
my life is!
KATIE laughs, despite
herself.
STAIR
I’m sorry, Todd! It’s just you
remind me...forget it... Fire away, Todd. (A BEAT) “So, Mr Morecombe...Stair...tell
us what happened after you and Patrice had the argument in which she may or may
not have tried to bite you.” Certainly, Todd, I’m glad you asked.”
TODD smiles.
96 INT.
LIVING ROOM. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT
2014
BALIN MEAS, standing in the
doorway, holds up the Glock.
BALIN
MEAS
It was underneath the driver’s
seat of Nick’s car.
PATRICE adjusts her sarong. STAIR
rakes fingers through his dishevelled hair, runs his tongue over a small red
bite mark on his lower lip.
PATRICE
Nick didn’t own a gun.
STAIR
He didn’t say it was Nick’s gun,
Patrice.
PATRICE glares at him
STAIR
He said he found it under the
seat.
PATRICE
Don’t fucking patronize me,
Alistair.
STAIR holds up his hand (”OK”),
raises his eyebrows for BALIN MEAS’ benefit: (”Women!). PATRICE is mad as a
hornet.
BALIN
MEAS
I thought you should see this
and...
PATRICE
Nick didn’t own a gun.
She is quite drunk; slurs her
words a little.
PATRICE
At least...that’s what he told
me. And if he had one, and if...or if he got one but didn’t tell me...
STAIR’S mobile announces the
arrival of a text message.
PATRICE
...because... because he didn’t
want me to worry about him...its because he needed some protection from...
whatever it was he was scared of?
STAIR reads the message. It is
not good news!
BALIN
MEAS
What was he scared of?
PATRICE
You’re the cop, Meas. You fucking
figure it out. He had more enemies than you could poke a stick at.
BALIN MEAS is confused. STAIR is
more preoccupied with the ramifications of his text message than with the
conversation.
PATRICE
A lot of enemies.
BALIN
MEAS
Yes, I understand, Miss Patrice,
but he also had plastic containers full of petrol in his car and...
PATRICE
And he was a fucking moron but...
She bursts into tears, stumbles
out of the room.
BALIN MEAS indicates to STAIR
that they should go outside, to a dimly lit tropical garden. STAIR nods;
follows BALIN MEAS.
97 EXT.
TROPICAL GARDEN. NIGHT
As STAIR and BALIN MEAS walk into
the tropical garden.
BALIN
MEAS
I arrived at a difficult moment,
no?
STAIR
We all grieve in our own way.
BALIN
MEAS
(smiles)
My friend, I do not want to
contradict Miss Patrice, but it seems Mr Nicholas did own a gun.
STAIR nods, but seem
disinterested.
BALIN
MEAS
If he feared for his safety, as
Miss Patrice says, if he was scared, I have to ask myself - of what or who was
he scared? For his life?
STAIR
He’s dead, Meas. That’s all that
counts.
BALIN
MEAS
All?
STAIR
I don’t mean that. ( BEAT) I
mean, Nick is my brother, but...Let’s just say he was murdered...
BALIN
MEAS
So you think it is possible?
STAIR
He’s just as dead if he was
murdered as if...
BALIN
MEAS
It is my job to...(ask questions)
STAIR
Yes, I understand, but...
STAIR speaks fast; in something
of a panic.
STAIR
Meas, have you ever been...in a
situation that...you can’t escape. There is no way out and you panic and...then
a way out appears...a light at the end of the tunnel and you have no choice but
to run as fast as you can towards that light and... there is a chance...a slim
chance that you can...save yourself. That’s me. Now. It would be too
complicated to explain but...I have to get back to Sydney. If I don’t...
He makes an explosive gesture
with his hands.
BALIN
MEAS
I understand. You’re on the edge
of a deep hole and if you are not careful you will fall into it. (A BEAT) I
know this feeling. “At the end of your tether” I think it is called.
BALIN MEAS pats STAIR’S shoulder
reassuringly.
BALIN
MEAS
You need say no more, Mr Stair. I
understand.
STAIR nods his thanks, composes
himself.
98 INT.
BATHROOM. NIGHT
PATRICE leans with both hands on
the sink in front of the mirror, her head lowered, willing her head to stop
spinning. She looks up into the mirror; does not like what she sees.
She turns on a tap, scoops water
into her cupped hands and splashes it onto her face.
99 EXT.
TROPICAL GARDEN. NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT
STAIR and BALIN MEAS sit at the
table in the garden.
STAIR
I like to gamble. Too much. No,
not ‘like’, but...I can’t... or I don’t want...(to stop myself).
BALIN
MEAS
(nods)
An addiction.
STAIR
I hate that word, but yes....
probably. (A BEAT) I owe a lot of money, Meas. A lot. And the person who I owe
it to wants it back. Now. And I don’t have the money. Now. In a week, I
should...have it, but I might not!
BALIN MEAS nods.
STAIR
And if I don’t, I lose...
everything. More than everything.
BALIN
MEAS
I understand what it is like to
lose everything.
STAIR
I am this close...this close...
He holds his thumb and index
finger close
STAIR
...but I have to be in Sydney to
close the deal.
BALIN
MEAS
If you worry about this problem
tonight, will this change anything?
STAIR laughs, shakes his head.
100 INT.
NICK’S BEDROOM. NIGHT
PATRICE, dressed in trousers and
shirt now, does up the last of the shirt buttons, wills herself not to cry.
101 EXT.
TROPICAL GARDEN. NIGHT
CLOSE ON:
Skeletal
hands clutching the steering wheel.
STAIR (V.O.)
Nick’s hands are holding the
steering wheel...
STAIR, holding his iPhone, on
which the photo is displayed, looks at BALIN MEAS to see if any pennies drop
for him.
STAIR
...as if he had no warning that
he was about to be burned to death.
BALIN MEAS thinks about this,
nods, but is clearly confused as to where STAIR is going with this.
STAIR
Let’s just say the fire started
in the engine.
BALIN MEAS nods.
STAIR
There would have been a few
seconds, at least, from when the fire broke out and the gas tank exploded,
right?
The penny finally drops for BALIN
MEAS. He smiles, gestures his understanding of what STAIR is suggesting.
STAIR
And a few seconds again before
the petrol containers caught fire.
BALIN MEAS nods, would like to
interrupt.
STAIR
Nick would have had a few
seconds, at least, to get out of the car...
BALIN
MEAS
...in which case his hands would
not be clutching the steering wheel.
STAIR
Precisely.
BALIN
MEAS
Your theory is an interesting
one, Mr Stair, but...perhaps the fire started inside the car...If Mr Nick lit a
cigarette and...
BALIN MEAS makes an explosive
gesture with his hands. STAIR shakes his head.
STAIR
No, that doesn’t work, Meas. His
hands wouldn’t be clutching the steering wheel if he’d just lit a cigarette. (A
BEAT) And Nick didn’t smoke.
BALIN
MEAS
(laughs)
You have the makings of a good
detective, my friend.
STAIR
I trained as a lawyer.
BALIN
MEAS
I know. “The first thing we do,
let's kill all the lawyers.”
STAIR (laughs)
You read Shakespeare?
BALIN
MEAS
In a past life.
STAIR
I must say, Meas, I never
expected to meet a Cambodian policeman who could quote Shakespeare!
BALIN
MEAS
Do not expect anything in my
beautiful country, my friend. And expect anything.
STAIR
How do you know I am...was...a
lawyer?
BALIN
MEAS
It is my job to know things.
STAIR nods, smiles
BALIN
MEAS
So you agree with Miss Patrice
that your brother’s death may not have been an accident?
STAIR
No. But I don’t disagree. (A
BEAT) I have a few... doubts.
BALIN
MEAS
Without doubt we have no reason
to look behind the appearance of things. We must keep an open mind.
STAIR
A policeman’s job.
BALIN
MEAS
And a lawyer’s. (A BEAT) You are
right, my friend, to doubt. In Cambodia nothing is ever quite as it seems to
be.
STAIR (smiles)
In life.
BALIN
MEAS
(nods)
Indeed. My own doubts have to do
with this.
He holds the Glock pistol up;
points to the base of the grip.
BALIN
MEAS
You see, here, the serial number?
I have checked online...it was part of a batch of 200 guns bought by one buyer,
but the name has been...how do you say...re-d...
STAIR
Redacted.
BALIN
MEAS
Redacted, yes. What is
interesting is the address of the supplier. Virginia.
STAIR doesn’t understand.
BALIN
MEAS
Langley, Virginia. (A BEAT) Where
the CIA has its headquarters.
STAIR holds his hands up in a
familiar gesture.
STAIR
I can assure you, Meas, that
there is no way, no way on earth, that my brother worked for the CIA.
BALIN
MEAS
My friend, I am not saying that
he did, but...I have a question. If you were the CIA and were recruiting spies
what sort of people would you recruit?
STAIR (smiles)
The kinds of people whose
friends... brothers...would say...’there’s no way he worked for the CIA.’
BALIN
MEAS
Do you think that your brother
would have backed up his photos in ‘the Cloud’?
STAIR gestures “I don’t know”.
BALIN MEAS takes a plastic bag from his pocket. Inside are the melted blackened
remnants of a mobile phone - one small part of which has melted but not burnt.
It is yellow.
STAIR
Where did you find this?
BALIN
MEAS
In the pocket of your brother’s
trousers.
STAIR takes the plastic bag,
stares at the melted yellow mobile for a long moment. When he sees PATRICE
making her way across the room inside to the door leading to the garden he
stuffs the bag in his pocket.
STAIR
Don’t mention this to Patrice.
BALIN MEAS, puzzled, nods.
STAIR
Or the CIA.
BALIN MEAS nods. PATRICE walks
up; more sober now. She addresses both BALIN MEAS and STAIR.
PATRICE
OK, so Nick told me that he did
not own a gun but let’s say he lied, right? Let’s say he didn’t want me to
worry about him - which I would have if I knew he had a gun, because I would
have asked him why he had a gun and he would not have....
STAIR is only half listening,
which annoys PATRICE.
PATRICE
So Nick was scared...of
something... when he left that morning. Really scared. Doesn’t the fact that he
was scared, that he had a gun, if the gun was his, at least raise some doubt in
your mind about his death being ‘accidental’?
STAIR’S face expresses nothing.
BALIN
MEAS
I have an open mind, Miss
Patrice. If there is a truth to be found, I will find it.
PATRICE looks to STAIR for a
response.
STAIR
I am sure Meas knows what he is
doing.
PATRICE
OK, there is something I want to
show you, Meas.
She turns to Stair.
PATRICE
And you too.
She turns to walk inside.
102 INT.
NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT
CLOSE ON a photo of a group of
Asian men posing in front of a banner that reads:
International
Development Commission of South East Asia. Wing Chou’s head has been circled.
PATRICE (voice off)
These guys are all members of a
cashed up consortium involved in illegal logging...
PATRICE stands in front of Nick’s
notice board, pointing. STAIR and BALIN MEAS look and listen.
PATRICE
...buying land from the
government... land the government doesn’t own, evicting the traditional owners,
the indigenous peoples...the Jarai and others, dredging sand from the Mekong
illegally...brothels, casinos...you name it. Crooks of the first order. And
right in the centre is...
EXTREME CLOSE UP of:
Wing
Chou, circled, smiling.
PATRICE (VOICE OFF)
Mr Wing Chou.
PATRICE moves to sit at her
laptop computer.
STAIR looks at BALIN MEAS for
confirmation.
BALIN
MEAS
He is a bad man.
PATRICE
No, not bad, Meas! Evil. Look at
this.
CLOSE ON computer screen, grainy
footage:
The
white car with Kek in it pulls up outside Wing Chou’s palatial home.
PATRICE (voice over)
Wing Chou likes to...excuse me,
Meas...to fuck little girls.
A GUARD opens the door for KEK
outside Wing Chou’s palatial home. She gets out of the car, looks at the house;
awestruck.
PATRICE
Virgins. Nick had another girl,
12 years old, who Wing Chou... ’deflowered’, but her mother wouldn’t let us
tell her story unless we gave her money. Which Nick refused to do.
STAIR
Why?
PATRICE
Your brother has principles. (A
BEAT) So, just a couple of minutes after Nick shot this, Wing Chou’s guards
hassled us and...didn’t find our cameras thank God...but before they let us go
one of them took a photo of us. Me and Nick. So, unless they are complete
idiots they will have figured out that Nick is...was...a journalist and...
STAIR looks at BALIN MEAS
questioningly.
BALIN
MEAS
Mr Wing Chou is a powerful man.
And ruthless. But if he had wanted to kill Mr Nicholas, he would not have done
it this way. He would have...
PATRICE
So you don’t discount that Nick
might have been murdered?
BALIN
MEAS
I do not discount anything, Miss
Patrice.
STAIR
Would have what?
BALIN
MEAS
Two men on a motor bike. Black
helmets. Full face. Mr Nick walking down the street. Motor bike...
He makes ‘motor bike moving fast’
gesture, raises his hand, makes a pistol of it; pulls the ‘trigger’.
STAIR
You have more?
PATRICE nods, presses ‘play’.
CLOSE ON computer screen. Grainy
covertly shot footage:
Wing
Chou sits at a roulette wheel in a plush casino, a beautiful young woman
standing on either side of him.
PATRICE (V.O.)
This is Wing Chou’s casino. He’s
a gambler.
Wing
Chou places a large pile of chips number 8. A baby turtle crawls towards the
pile of chips. Wing Chou laughs. The two young women giggle.
STAIR (V.O)
A turtle!
BALIN
MEAS
Good luck.
STAIR raises his eyebrows
questioningly. The sound of a mobile phone ringing.
BALIN
MEAS
Same with the number 8. Good
luck.
BALIN MEAS answers his phone;
listens.
PATRICE (to Stair)
And having sex with virgins.
‘Want to stay youthful, cure sexually transmitted diseases... virgins are the
way to go...’(A BEAT) But that’s not all...
BALIN MEAS has turned pale. He
indicates his mobile.
BALIN
MEAS
I must go. I am sorry...
PATRICE
No, Meas, you need to see this.
It’s...
BALIN
MEAS
Not now, Miss Patrice. I must be
somewhere else with much urgency.
PATRICE
Another murder?
BALIN
MEAS
Worse. (A BEAT) I cannot say more
now until...
PATRICE (NODS)
I wanted to ask you, Meas...What
about Nick’s mobile phone? He had it with him. Maybe...!
BALIN
MEAS
There was no mobile phone, Miss
Patrice. Not that we found. The heat...gasoline burns at more than 800 degrees
centigrade...Now, if you will excuse me...
BALIN MEAS walks out. PATRICE
turns to STAIR.
PATRICE
What can be worse than murder?
STAIR, lost in thought, seems not
to have heard her.
STAIR
Back in a moment.
He moves fast towards the front
door.
103 EXT.
NICK’S APARTMENT. NIGHT
STAIR runs after BALIN MEAS,
calls out:
STAIR
Meas!
BALIN MEAS turns.
STAIR
Can I ask you a quick question?
About my brother?
BALIN MEAS nods.
STAIR
You know about his case?
BALIN
MEAS
Yes. I was not involved but...I
have looked at the file.
STAIR
Was Nick guilty? (A BEAT) Did he
rape that girl?
BALIN MEAS
I believe you are a man who would
prefer the truth to...
STAIR
Yes, the truth, Meas, please.
BALIN
MEAS
(nods)
The doctor’s report said ‘yes’,
she had been raped.
STAIR
But later the girl denied ever
having even met Nick.
BALIN
MEAS
Perhaps she was paid to change
her story. With the money you sent your brother.
STAIR
I didn’t...(A BEAT) Could someone
have paid the girl to have the charges laid in the first place?
BALIN
MEAS
This happens also. Welcome to
Cambodia, Mr Stair. Kingdom of wonder, kingdom of lies. (A BEAT) Does it matter
now?
STAIR
It matters to me if he was guilty
or innocent.
BALIN
MEAS
I understand.
PATRICE (voice off)
What will he understand, Meas?
PATRICE stands in the doorway.
PATRICE
What are you two talking about
that you don’t want me to hear?
STAIR
Getting Nick back to Australia.
Practical details...
BALIN
MEAS
Tomorrow, I think. Yes, tomorrow.
Now I must go.
(To STAIR)
I will speak with you in the
morning.
(To PATRICE)
And I will keep you informed,
Miss Patrice, of any new developments.
BALIN MEAS walks off.
STAIR
Me too. I’ll...come around in the
morning, before I leave...
PATRICE
Leave!
STAIR
I’m flying out tomorrow.
PATRICE
Tomorrow! No! (A BEAT) You can’t.
What...
STAIR
There you go! Calling me a cunt
again! (He laughs. Patrice smiles)
I have to. No choice.
PATRICE
Why?
STAIR
Because it would give you one
more reason to hate me.
PATRICE
I don’t hate you.
PATRICE looks at STAIR for a long
moment. He holds her gaze.
PATRICE
When was the last time you spoke
to Nick?
STAIR
A couple of days ago. Very Brief.
Like...60 seconds. Less.
PATRICE
Why? (A beat) Did you call him or
did he call you?
STAIR
He called me.
PATRICE
Why?
STAIR
I don’t know.
PATRICE
What did you talk about?
STAIR
Nothing.
PATRICE exhales in exasperation.
PATRICE
And the time before that?
STAIR
Three years.
PATRICE
Did you call him or did he call
you?
STAIR
Neither. We spoke.
PATRICE
‘We spoke’! About what? Why?
STAIR is reluctant to answer.
PATRICE
You don’t speak for three years
and then...a couple of days before he... dies...he calls you out of the blue
and you talk about... nothing! (A BEAT) Was Nick in some kind of trouble? Three
years ago?
STAIR
Not that I am aware of.
PATRICE
He was, wasn’t he?
STAIR
If he told you he was, I guess he
was.
PATRICE
You are so fucking infuriating,
Stair! (A BEAT) No, he didn’t tell me. He wouldn’t tell me. I picked up clues,
asked him about... whatever it was. The police were involved. And a girl, I
think. He said it was ‘nothing’. Now I am asking you. Was Nick’s ‘nothing’ the
same as your ‘nothing’?
STAIR
Some sleeping dogs are best left
to lie.
PATRICE
Lie! That’s what he did. He lied.
He wasn’t a good liar, Nick. He was a
fucking hopeless liar!
STAIR
Or so good you never picked it!?
PATRICE
Cunt.
STAIR
Groundhog Day.
PATRICE
Groundhog Day.
STAIR
Do you have any photos of Nick at
work?
PATRICE
What kind of work?
STAIR
At his computer, in the field, on
his mobile.
PATRICE
Why?
STAIR
I’d love to give some to dad.
...to be continued...
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