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| Greetings
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2003 -
2003 Season 
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ACT I
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| Giles : Where have
you been? surely you've not been out in this weather? Mollie : I had to go th the village for some stuff I'd forgotten. Oh, Giles, do you think it's going to be all right? Giles : Got cold feet, have you? Are you sorry that we didn't sell this place instead of having this mad idea of running it as a guest house? |
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Mollie : Giles,
look at the sign. Giles : Pretty good, what? Mollie : It's a disaster! Don't you see? You've left out the "S". Monkwell instead of Monkswell. |
| Christopher : Weather
is simply awful. My taxi gave up at your gate. No
sporting instinct. This place is wuite heavenly. |
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Mrs. Boyle : This
is Monkswell Manor, I presume? The taxi wouldn't risk coming up the drive. It stopped at the gate. Nothing was ordered to meet us at the gate. |
| Major Metcalf : Absoltue blizzard outside. Thought at one time we should't make it. If it goes on like this I should say you'll have five or six feet of snow by morning. Not seen anything like it since I was on leave in nineteen-forty. |  |
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Christopher : This
is a very beautiful house. Don't you think so? Mrs. Boyle : I have cine to the time of life when the amenities of an establishment are more important than its appearance. If I had not believed this was a running concern I should never have come here. I understand it was fully equipped with every home comfort. |
| Giles : There is no
obligation for you to remain here if you are not
satisfied, Mrs. Boyle. Mrs. Boyle : I am certainly not going to leave before I have tried what the place is like. You needn't think you can turn me out now. |
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Miss Casewell : Afraid
my car's bogged about half a mile down the road - ran
into a drift. Got to get myself thawed out. Looks as
though you're going to be snowed up here. Paper says
heavy falls expected. Christopher : Any news in the paper - apart from the weather. Miss. Casewell : Usual political crisis. Oh yes, and a rather juicy murder! |
| Christopher : Dosn't
say much, does it? "The police are anxious to
interview a man seen in the vicinity of Culver Street at
the time. Medium heigth, wearing darkish overcoat,
ligntish scarf and soft felt hat. Police messages to this
effect have been broadcast throughout the day". Miss Casewell : Useful description. Fit pretty well anyone, wouldn't it? |
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Mollie : I must
hurry out to the kitchen and get on with things. Christopher : Do let me help. I adore cooking. Show me where the kitchen is and what you've got, and I daresay I shall have an inspiration. |
| Paravicini : What an answer to a prayer. My Roll Royce has run into a snowdrift. Blinding snow everywhere. I do not know where I am. I fall into the snow as I come up your drive, but at last I arrive and immediately - Despair turns to joy. |  |
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Paravicini : I am
the unexpected guest. The guest that you did not invite.
The guest who just arrived - from nowhere - out of the
storm. I am the man of mystery. From now on there will be
no more arrivals. And no departures. It could not suit me
better.
Perfect. [Paravicini Laughs] |
ACT I
Scene 2
| Major Metcalf : Excellent breakfast this morning. All nicely served. |  |
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Mrs. Boyle : From
the advertisement I got quite a different impression of
what this place would be like. A comfortable
writing-room, and a much larger place altogether. Major Metcalf : A regular old tabbies' delight. |
| Mrs. Boyle : All the
housework shoule have been done in the morning before
lunch. Miss Casewell : I gather our hostess had to cook the lunch. Mrs. Boyle : There should be a proper staff. The lower classes seem to have no idea of their responsibilities. Miss Casewell : Poor old lower classes. Mrs. Boyle : I gather you are a Socialist. Miss Casewell : I'm not a red - just pale pink.ther your a Socialist. |
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Mollie : This is Mrs. Ralston. Who - the Berkshire Police? I'm afraid that the roads are impassable . . . . |
| Mrs. Boyle : Do you know the central heating is practically cold? I'm not paying seven guineas and I do not want to freeze. |  |
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Mrs. Boyle : All I
say is that this Paravicini seems to me . . . .
Paravicini : Beware, dear lady. You talk of the devil and here he is Mrs. Boyle : I didn't here you come in. Paravicini : I came in on tiptoe - like this. Nobody hears me if I do not want them to. |
| Paravicini : It is
advisable to know a little about your guests.
What do you know of me, I may be a theif, a robber, - a madman, - even a murderer. Mollie : OH!
Paravicini : You see! And
perhaps you know just as little of the other guests. |
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Mollie : What an
awful day. First the police and then the heating pipes. Major Metcalf : The police, did you say? Mollie : They rang up. They are sending a sergeant out here. |
| (Knocking on the window) Trotter : Are you Mr. Ralston? Giles : Go around that way to the front door. |
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Giles : This is Detective Sergeant Trotter. We will put your skis away under the stairs. |
| Giles : Do you want
to see us alone? Trotter : It'll save time ifeverybody's present. Mollie : What have we done? Trotter : It's something quite different. It relates to the death of Mrs. Lyon. You may have heard of the case. Her real name was Maureen Stanning of the Longbridge Farm that is not far from here. Giles : That is where those children . . Trotter : Yes. One of the children died as a result of criminal neglect and ill-treatment. |
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Trotter : A notebook was found at the murder. In it was the address of Monkswell Manor. Scottland Yard thought it imperative for me to come here and find out if you know of any connection between anyone in this house and the Longridge Farm case. |
| Trotter : A paper
was found on the body with the words "Three Blind
Mice" written on it Giles : What happened to the other children. Trotter : The girl was adopted by someone. We haven't been able to trace the elder boy. |
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Major Metcalf : Mrs.
Boyle, I think that you were actually one of the
magistrates on the Bench at the time and were responsible
for sending those three children to the farm. Mrs. Boyle : I can hardly be held responsible. We had reports from welfare workers. |
| Mollie : We are all
safe. No one can get here because of the snow. Trotter : All these people arrived here yesterday evening. Plenty of time to get her after the murder. These crimes were planned. Giles : There's only been one crime. In Culver Street. Why are you sure there will be another here. Trotter : That it will happen here, no - I hope to prevent that. That it will be attempted, yes. |
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Trotter : This
broken telephone line worries me. Mr. Ralston, is there
an extension? Giles : Yes in our bedroom. Trotter : Could you try it there while I trace the wire outside. |
| Mrs. Boyle : Who left this window open? |  |
| Mrs. Boyle : I can't
seem to find any programme worth listening on the radio. |
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Radio : "Imagine that you are alone in a room."
"A door opens softly behind you . . " |
| (Someone whistleing "Three Blind Mice)
Mrs. Boyle : Oh, it's you. What are you doing? Why did you turn out the lights? |
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| Mollie : Why is it dark |  |
 Mollie screams |
ACT II
| Trotter : Try and
think, Mrs. Ralston. Mollie : I can't think. My head's numbed. Giles : Stop bullying her. Trotter : We're investigating a murder, MR Ralston. |
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Trotter : Up to now, nobody has taken this thing seriously. Mrs. Boyle didn't . She held out on me with information. You all held out on me. Well Mrs. Boyle is dead. Unless we get to the bottom of this, there may be another death. |
| Trotter : Now I want to find out where everybody was when Mrs. Boyle was killed. Mrs. Ralston was in the kitchen, Mr. Ralston was upstairs to the bedroom, Christopher Wren was upstairs in his room, |  |
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Trotter : Miss
Casewell was in the library. Where were you, Mr.
Paravicini? Paravicini : I was playing the piano in the drawing-room. I was playing "Three blind mice". |
| Trotter : What
about you? Major Metcalf : I was in the cellar, just looking around. |
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Mollie : You think about this - This crazy killer must be the - eldest of those three boys at the farm. |
| Trotter : It could have been a woman. With the muffler pulled up and a man's felt hat pulled well down, the voice might give it away. |  |
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Trotter : Is this your husband's coat? I found this paper in the pocket. It was sold on the streets yesterday afternoon. |
| Giles : So you haven't been to London for weeks. So where did this London bus ticket come from? So it seems that you didn't only go to the village yesterday. but you went to London as well. |  |
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Paravicini : I do hope you young people are not both saying a little more than you mean.I just came down to say that the Sergeant cannot find his skis and I'm afraid that he is very annoyed. |
| Trotter : I'm in a position now where I've got to put myself in the place of a crazy cunning brain. I've got to ask myself what he wants to do and what he is planning to do next. |  |
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Paravicini : Can I prove to you that I am not a homicidal maniac? So difficult to prove a negative. |
| Trotter : What
brought you to Monkswell Manor, Miss Casewell? Miss Casewell : Until I have finished what I came here to do. Trotter : And what was that? . . . . . . . . . . . And what was that? |
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Trotter : I want to
know what you name was when you left England? Miss Casewell : I told you - Leslie Margaret Katherine Casewell. Trotter : Katherine . . .? What are you doing here? Miss Casewell : I wish I'd never come here. |
| Trotter : I think I know who did it, But I need to check something out. I want everyone to go through the actions a second time. A reconstruction of the movements of apparently innocent persons. I want the same actions to be performed, but not necessarily by the same people. |  |
Will Detective Sergeant Trotter find out
who murdered Mrs. Boyle and
Mrs Lyon [formerly Maureen Stanning of the Longbridge Farm]?
= Was it Christopher - The young visitor with an unknown and mysterious history
and is young enough to be the brother of the boy who was killed?
Who did it?
= Was it Miss Casewell - Who has a mysterious past life and is young enough to be the sister of the boy who was killed?
= Was it Giles - Who hasn't even told his wife about his past life and could also be the brother of the boy who was killed?
= Was it Mollie - Who went to London and didn't tell her husband and also could be the sister of the boy who was killed?
= Was it Major Metcalf - Who could be the Father of the children?
= Was it Paravicini - The late and mysterious visitor who arrived at the last minute and also could be the father of the children?
Have you figured it out?
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