The Early Ayn Rand (57 page)

DIXON: Yes, Chief?

HASTINGS: Have the boys examine the shrubbery and the ground under Mr. Fleming’s window. Have them examine the balcony and the stairs leading down from it. Look through the phonograph records and see if you find one of Rachmaninoff’s Prelude in G Minor. Search the house and bring me all the newspapers you find. Look particularly for a copy of today’s
Courier.

DIXON: Okay, Chief. [
Exits Right
]

SERGE: [
Jumping up suddenly
] Mr. Hastings! I know who did it! [
They all look at him
] I know! And I will tell you! You are wasting the time when it is so clear! I know who did it! It was Mr. Ingalls!

INGALLS: By us in America, Serge, when you say a thing like that—you’re expected to prove it.

HASTINGS: Now, Mr. Sookin, why do you think that Mr. Ingalls did it?

SERGE: Mr. Ingalls hated Mr. Breckenridge, because Mr. Breckenridge was fine and noble, and Mr. Ingalls is cold and cruel and without principles.

HASTINGS: Is he?

SERGE: But is it not clear? Mr. Ingalls he seduced the wife of Mr. Breckenridge. Mr. Breckenridge discovered it this afternoon.

HASTINGS: Now there, Mr. Sookin, you have an interesting point. Very interesting. There’s never been any trouble between Mr. Ingalls and Mr. Breckenridge—until this afternoon. This evening, Mr. Breckenridge is found murdered. Convenient. A bit too convenient, don’t you think? If Mr. Ingalls murdered Mr. Breckenridge—wouldn’t it be dangerous for him to do it tonight? On the other hand, if someone else murdered Mr. Breckenridge—wouldn’t he choose precisely tonight, when suspicion could be thrown so easily on Mr. Ingalls?

SERGE: But that is not all! Mr. Breckenridge he wanted to give this great invention to all the poor humanity. But Mr. Ingalls wanted to make the money for himself. Is it not to his advantage to kill Mr. Breckenridge?

HASTINGS: Sure. Except that Steve never cared for money.

SERGE: No? When he said so himself? When he shouted so? When I heard him?

HASTINGS: Sure. I heard him, too. Many times. Except that Steve never shouts.

SERGE: But then, if you heard it, too—

HASTINGS: Come on, Mr. Sookin, you can’t be as stupid as you’re trying to appear. Who doesn’t care for money? You name one. But here’s the difference: the man who admits that he cares for money is all right. He’s usually worth the money he makes. He won’t kill for it. He doesn’t have to. But watch out for the man who yells too loudly how much he scorns money. Watch out particularly for the one who yells that others must scorn it. He’s after something much worse than money.

INGALLS: Thanks, Greg.

HASTINGS: Don’t thank me too soon. [
Picks up the fingerprint cards
] You see, the fingerprints on that gun are yours. [
The others gasp
]

ADRIENNE: [
Jumping up
] That’s horrible! It’s horrible! It’s unfair! Of course they’re Steve’s. Steve handled that gun today! Everybody saw him do it!

HASTINGS: Oh? . . . Tell me about that, Miss Knowland.

ADRIENNE: It was . . . it was this afternoon. We were talking about Walter being afraid of guns. Walter said he wasn’t, said he had a gun and he told Steve to look in that drawer. Steve took the gun out, and looked at it, and then put it back. And we all saw it. And someone . . . someone got the horrible idea . . .

HASTINGS: Yes, Miss Knowland, I think so, too. [
Walks to cabinet, opens the drawer, looks in, then closes it
] Yes, it’s gone. . . . Sit down, Miss Knowland. There’s no need to be upset about this. Nobody who’s ever seen a movie would commit murder holding a gun with his bare hand. Now, if Steve did it, he would certainly think of wiping off the fingerprints that he’d left on that gun earlier. But if somebody else did it, he’d certainly be damn glad to leave Steve’s fingerprints where they were. Convenient, isn’t it? . . . Now, who saw Steve handling that gun today? All of you here?

ADRIENNE: All—except Billy and Flash and Curtiss.

HASTINGS: [
Nods
] Interesting. . . . You see, Steve, that was one of the reasons why I said I thought certain things let you out. I saw that there were prints on that gun and I didn’t think you’d be stupid enough to leave them there. I didn’t think you’d drop the gun like that, either. Not with a deep lake close by. . . . The other reason was that I don’t think you’d shoot a man in the back.

TONY: [
Gasps at a sudden thought
] Mr. Hastings! . . . I just thought of something!

HASTINGS: Yes?

TONY: What if Serge is a Communist spy? [SERGE
gasps and leaps to his feet
]

HASTINGS: [
Shakes his head at
TONY
reproachfully
] Why, Tony. You didn’t really think that I hadn’t thought of that already?

SERGE: [
To
TONY] You swine!
I
—a Communist? I who go to church? I who have suffered—

HASTINGS: Look, Mr. Sookin, be sensible about it. If you’re not a Communist spy—you’d be angry. But if you
are
a Communist spy—you’d be much angrier, so where does it get you?

SERGE: But it is the insult! I, who have faith in the Holy Mother Russia—

HASTINGS: All right. Drop it. [
To
TONY] You see, Mr. Goddard, it’s possible, but it doesn’t jell. If Mr. Sookin were a Soviet agent, he’d be after the invention, of course. But nobody touched that machine. Besides, I understand that Mr. Sookin heartily supported Mr. Breckenridge in his decision to give this invention away to the world.

SERGE: I did! I am a humanitarian.

HASTINGS: What? Another one?

INGALLS: He did more than that. It was he who gave Walter the idea of the gift in the first place.

SERGE: That is true! But how did you know it?

INGALLS: I guessed it.

HASTINGS: Tell me, what is that invention actually good for? I mean, in practical application.

INGALLS: Oh, for a source of cheap power. For lighting the slums, for instance, or running factory motors.

HASTINGS: Is that all?

INGALLS: That’s all.

HASTINGS: Well, you see? If it’s a purely commercial invention, why should the Soviets be anxious to get exclusive control of it? They would try to steal it, of course. But once Mr. Breckenridge had decided to save them the trouble and give it away, they would cheer him as their best friend. They spend billions trying to prompt giveaways of that kind. They would guard his life—at least until tomorrow noon. They wouldn’t send any spies around to kill him.

SERGE: But Mr. Hastings!

HASTINGS: Yes?

SERGE: I am
not
a Soviet spy!

HASTINGS: Okay. I haven’t said you were. [
To the others
] Well, here’s how we stand. On one side, we have Steve, who had not one, but two possible motives. He has no alibi at all and his fingerprints are on the gun. On the other side, we have Mr. Sookin, who has a perfect alibi and no possible motive.

SERGE: But then why do you not act? What more do you want? When you have the so good case against Mr. Ingalls?

HASTINGS: That’s why, Serge—because it
is
so good. It’s
too
good.

SERGE: Why do you not let the jury decide that?

HASTINGS: Because I am afraid that the average jury would agree with you.

DIXON: Found in the grass near the machine.

HASTINGS: [
Unwraps the cellophane. Looks, sighs with disgust
] Oh Lord! . . . A cigarette butt. . . . I didn’t think murderers went around doing that anymore. [
Waves to
DIXON
, who exits into the garden.
HASTINGS
picks up the cigarette butt, examines it
] A Camel . . . burned just to the brand. . . . How convenient. . . . [
Puts the butt down. Says wearily:
] All right, who smokes Camels around here? [INGALLS
takes out his cigarette case, opens it, and extends it to
HASTINGS
.
HASTINGS
looks and nods
]

INGALLS: It doesn’t surprise you?

HASTINGS: No. [
To the others
] Does anyone else here smoke Camels? [
They shake their heads
]

ADRIENNE:
I
do.

INGALLS: You don’t smoke, Adrienne.

ADRIENNE: I do—on the stage. . . . I’m very good at staging things.

HASTINGS: I’m not too sure of that.

INGALLS: [
In a warning tone
] Adrienne . . .

ADRIENNE: [
To
HASTINGS] Keep him out of this. Are you running this investigation or is he? You’ve been reviewing things a lot around here. How about my doing that for a change?

HASTINGS: Go right ahead.

ADRIENNE: Well, for instance, look at me. I had two motives. I wanted to break my contract. If you wish to know how badly I wanted it—well, I tried to kill myself a year ago. If I’d try that, wouldn’t I try something else, as desperate—or worse? Today I asked Walter, for the last time, to release me. He refused. That alone would be enough, wouldn’t it? But that’s not all. I love Steve Ingalls. I’ve been in love with him for years. Oh, it’s all right for me to say that—because he doesn’t give a damn about me. Today—I learned that he loves Helen. [
Looks at
HASTINGS] Well? Am I going to finish? Or will
you
?

INGALLS: [
To
ADRIENNE] You’re going to shut up.

HASTINGS: No, Steve, I’d rather let Miss Knowland finish.

ADRIENNE: All right. Wouldn’t I be smart enough to kill Walter and frame Steve for it? Wouldn’t I figure that even if he’s not convicted, Helen will never be able to get him—because if he married her, it would be like signing a confession? How’s that? Pretty good case?

HASTINGS: Very good.

INGALLS: [
Stepping forward
] Adrienne . . .

ADRIENNE: [
Snaps angrily
] It’s your turn to shut up! [
To
HASTINGS] And besides, that business about the murderer interrupting the fireworks—that’s nothing but your own guess. What is there to prove it? Drop that—and my alilbi is as bad as Steve’s. Worse. Because I went out looking for Walter. Nothing wrong with
this
case, is there?

HASTINGS: Yes. There is. That’s why it’s good.

INGALLS: Greg, I won’t allow this.

HASTINGS: Come on, Steve, that’s the first foolish thing I’ve heard you say. What’s the matter with you? How can you stop me? [
To
ADRIENNE] Miss Knowland, have you noticed that you’re the only one here who’s been contradicting herself?

ADRIENNE: How?

HASTINGS: That’s why I like your case. Because it’s not perfect. I don’t like perfect cases. . . . How? Well, if Steve was framed, I see only two people who had a motive for framing him. Mr. Sookin and you. Mr. Sookin hates Steve. You love him—which is much more damning. Now look at Mr. Sookin. If he framed Steve, he’s been acting like a fool here, laying it on too thick. Now what would he do if he weren’t a fool?

SERGE: [
With a new kind of dangerous, mocking note in his voice
] He’d pretend to be one.

HASTINGS: [
Looks at him with new interest, says slowly:
]

Quite so. [
Then lightly again:
] Congratulations, Mr. Sookin. You’re beginning to understand my ways of thinking. You may be right. But there’s another possible method of being clever. The person who framed Steve might do his best to act afterward as if he were
protecting
him.

INGALLS: Greg!

HASTINGS: [
His voice driving on intensely
] Keep still, all of you! Do you see, Miss Knowland? You’ve put on a beautiful show of protecting Steve. And yet, it was you who gave away the story of that interrupted love scene. Why? To show us that you were jealous? Or to damn Steve?

INGALLS: [
In a tone of such authority that
HASTINGS
has to remain silent
] All right, Greg. That’s enough. [
His tone makes everyone look at him
] You wanted to know how I could stop you? Very simply. [
Takes a notebook out of his pocket and throws it down on the table. Takes out a pencil and stands holding it in his hand, over the paper
] Unless you leave Adrienne out of this, I’m going to write a confession that
I
did it.

HASTINGS: But, Steve, you didn’t do it!

INGALLS: That’s your concern. Mine is only that
she
didn’t do it. I’m not going to put on a show of protecting her—as she’s been trying to protect me, very crudely. I’m not going to hint and throw suspicion on myself. That’s been done for me—quite adequately. I’m simply going to blackmail you. You understand? If I sign a confession—with the evidence you have on me, you’ll be forced to put me on trial. You’ll have no choice. You might know that I didn’t do it, but the jury won’t be so subtle. The jury will be glad to pounce upon the obvious. Have I made myself clear? Leave Adrienne out of this, unless you want an unsolved murder on your record—and on your conscience.

ADRIENNE: [
It is a scream of terror, of triumph, of release all at once—and the happiest sound in the world
] Steve! [
He turns to look at her. They stand holding the glance. It is more revealing than any love scene. They look at each other as if they were alone in the room and in the world. . . . Then she whispers, choking:
] Steve . . . you, who’ve never believed in self-sacrifice . . . you, who’ve preached selfishness and egoism and . . . you wouldn’t do this, unless . . . unless it’s—

INGALLS: [
In a low, tense voice, more passionate than the tone of a love confession
]—unless it’s for the most selfish reason in the world. [
She closes her eyes. He turns away from her slowly.
HELEN
, who has been watching them, lets her head drop, hopelessly
]