JEFF
Hey, no problem. But you’ve got to agree, this town could use a little excitement.
ALDINE
This case isn’t exciting. It disgusts me! I’d rather not have anything to do with it, but it’s my job. So, before your Daddy buys your way into Big City politics, could you try and do your job for a little while?
JEFF
Nothing would give me more pleasure. Oh! Except maybe to tell you that Reverend Lee is waiting outside to see you.
ALDINE
Poop-on-a-stick! Why didn’t you tell him to go away? Tell him I’m in a meeting or something.
JEFF
Are you suggesting that I should lie to a man of God? Aldine, I can’t do that. Besides, he’s all worked up. There’s steam coming from his nostrils.
ALDINE
Oh! Just say something.
ALDINE grabs the notice to dismiss from JEFF’s hands and begins flipping through it, moving her lips as she reads. JEFF moves to the edge of the stage.
JEFF
Right in here, Reverend. You said to say something.
ALDINE glares at him as he exits and REVEND LEE comes charging in.
ALDINE
Reverend Lee. How kind of you to drop by, but as you can imagine, I’m terribly busy—
LEE
Aldine! You must not alLOW Crawford and his UNCtuous band of SHYsters to work their aMORAL trickery on this CASE!
ALDINE
Well, now, it’s really a matter for the DA’s office to—
LEE
Like HELL it is!
The phone on ALDINE’s desk rings. She picks it up with a motion of apology to LEE.
ALDINE
(into the phone) No comment! (she slams the phone down.) Reverend, please! I don’t think swearing is going to—
LEE
The people of this TOWN will not STAND by and see that EVIL monster loose on our precious streets.
ALDINE
We’re doing our best, Reverend. We have to take it one step at a time.
The phone rings again. ALDINE picks it up and speaks into it.
ALDINE
Excuse me. (into the phone) Councilman Roberts! I’m afraid I can’t talk at the—yes, we are considering a private commitment hearing, but how—Of course, he’ll be detained somewhere, no matter the outcome, rest assured. There’s no cause for that tone of—hello?
ALDINE hangs up the phone.
LEE
Detained? In a MENtal hospital? With cable TV and a ping-pong table and a nice daily dose of sedatives to keep him from THINKing about his crime?
ALDINE
I think you’re painting a very generous picture of our state mental facilities, Reverend.
The phone rings. ALDINE picks it up.
ALDINE
Aldine Cage. No, I promise you, he is still in jail Mrs. O’Leary, but if you think you hear a prowler, call 911.
ALDINE hangs up.
LEE
Keep the law of the Lord, thy GOD! Then thou shalt prosper, if thou takest heed to fulfill the statute and judgments with which the Lord charged Moses. Do you think the Bible is just so much rhetoric, Miss Cage?
ALDINE
Well…no. I see—
LEE
I’m talking about fighting for GOD’s justice! We are warriors of GOD, Miss Cage. We must wage war against those who threaten us! We have got to wield the SWORD, even as Jesus Christ did, to protect ourselves from the servants of SATAN!
ALDINE
Uh huh. Yes. Well…as noble as that may be, I have to tell you that we only just barely got him indicted. You see…well, I can’t go into specifics—
The phone rings. ALDINE answers it with a guilty glance at LEE.
LEE
I know he is guilty!
ALDINE
Cage. Nothing? Not even a social security number, a birth certificate, anything? Okay. Okay. Thanks for your help, Agent Fields.
She hangs up slowly. It takes her moment to come back to the present situation.
ALDINE
As I was saying, there’s the matter of physical evidence linking the accused to the victim, or if we feel the defendant would be better off under the care of a physician, then we’d just as soon not waste the tax-payers’ money on a trial—
LEE
Money?! That’s what this is about? MONEY? Then, Miss Cage, I will PERsonally pay for the trial myself, if that’s what it takes. I am sure the good people of this town will be happy to donate—
ALDINE
I’m afraid it doesn’t work that way. The Leyland family is suing for wrongful death, but—
LEE
You’re DAMN right it was wrongful! And the DECent folk of this Town will not stand by and watch a killer go free! No one will ever go into a public restroom again without being afraid for his life!
The phone rings. ALDINE picks it up.
ALDINE
Of course, we’re very concerned with public opinion, but the law—(into the phone) Cage. Oh, hello Sheriff. What? Since when? Well, let the little creep starve then!
She slams down the phone.
LEE
The law doesn’t matter one SPECK compared with what my congreGAtion thinks in this town. I am spiritual advisor to a great NUMber of influential people, and they will not TAKE kindly to your insinuation that they are concerned more about their TAX money than with seeing justice SERVED!
ALDINE
As I have said, I want to see justice done as much as anyone, but without knowing for certain the young man’s condition…well, it’s difficult to—
LEE
Difficult?! DIFFICULT! Did DAVID tell his people that killing Goliath was too difficult? Did MOSES say that leading his people out of slavery was too difficult? Did JESUS complain to the Lord that being crucified for our SINS was too DIFFICULT?!
ALDINE
Meekly
I s’pose not…
LEE
And now you exPECT me to go to my flock and tell them that Oscar Telford will not be put on trial for MURDER because the DA said it would be too DIFFICULT?
ALDINE
No, I certainly—
LEE
Because I doubt very MUCH if you would find yourself with much supPORT in the next election if my people thought you backed DOWN on this because it was too DIFFICULT.
ALDINE
No, of course, I—
LEE
Because this is a WAR against evil, Miss Cage. And no price is too great to keep our town safe!
The phone rings. ALDINE picks it up.
ALDINE
Yes, the safety of our citizens is the primary concern—
LEE takes the phone from her and slowly hangs it up. He gets close to her and his tone becomes uncharacteristically intimate.
LEE
Let me tell you something, Miss Cage. Once evil has come into a place, it does not simply disappear. This didn’t happen in the Capital, where violence has become a way of life. This happened in a quiet town, a place where our citizens live and work. In Bethany, where parents believed they could send their children into the bathroom alone without fearing for their safety. Look around, Miss Cage. Look at the town you have sworn to protect. Men are afraid to let their wives go out alone. Parents keep their children home from school. Families are locking their doors at all hours and keeping shotguns in their kitchens. We are not the peaceful, safe, isolated town we once were. The people—your people—are afraid. They have been corrupted by fear. And what further evils might enter once fear gets inside? If we don’t take a stand now, when will we? The next time a man cuts a child’s throat? The time after that?
ALDINE
I have a responsibility. Our justice system is not perfect, but I am…sworn to uphold it.
LEE points to the gun on ALDINE’s desk.
LEE
I assume you have a valid license for that.
LEE and ALDINE stare at one another in silence for a moment.
LEE
You may think you are serving the law, Miss Cage. But in times of peril, you will find that you are really serving God.
ALDINE
Yes, Reverend. I see your point.
LEE
Returning to his usual oratory style
Thank you, Aldine. I know you are a CHRISTian woman, and I’m sure this must be a trying time for you. Forgive my passion here today. But this parTICular crime seems to me especially heinous.
The phone rings.
LEE
I’ll take my leave now. I’m sure you have a LOT to do to get ready for the trial.
LEE exits and ALDINE picks up the phone. JEFF enters.
ALDINE
Yes? Dammit, Mr. Carter, then go to a different gas station! Or get a bike!
She slams down the phone.
JEFF
That Reverend is a pleasant fellow. Shall I call Crawford and tell him we won’t contest the dismissal?
ALDINE
No. Call Scott Hudson.
JEFF
Aldine, we’ve got no finger prints, no DNA. No motive! And the kid’s as loony as a Saturday morning cartoon. Let’s just dismiss the murder charges and schedule a commitment hearing. Get this whole mess over with.
ALDINE
Snapping at him
Are you a friggin’ shrink?! We’ll let Dr. Hudson decide if he can stand trial first. Get him over here ASAP.
JEFF shakes his head as he exits.
JEFF
Fuck. There goes my nice quiet final month in Shit-ville. I hope my father appreciates this.
ALDINE raises her head and is about to chastise JEFF for his language, but she doesn’t have the energy. The phone rings. ALDINE starts to answer it, but instead, she picks up the gun and points it at the phone. Then, with a sigh, she puts the gun in her purse.
Scene Eight
GRAINE is seated at her desk in her office, grading papers. She is distracted and keeps glancing at the picture of her father on her desk. She gives up grading and picks up the picture.
GRAINE
The voice of one crying in the wilderness.
She puts the picture down with a bang, but continues talking to it as though it could hear her.
Sunday school, church twice a week, Bible reading every night by the fire. Reciting and chanting and memorizing. Keeping all those words in my head so that no one could ever take them away. And now I can’t get rid of them! All the voices in the wilderness. Prepare ye the way of the Lord. All your life, preparing. You spent seventy-six years getting ready for a party you weren’t invited to.
There is a knock at the door and GRAINE hurriedly resumes grading.
GRAINE
Come in.
ADAM CRAWFORD enters. He walks over to GRAINE’s desk and stands in front of it, waiting for her to look up.
ADAM
Are you busy?
GRAINE
Well, office hours are over, but—
She looks up and recognizes him.
Adam! What are you doing up here?
ADAM
Hi, Graine. Felt like going for a drive. I’ve always thought this was the most beautiful campus in the country. How’s academic life?
GRAINE
Not bad. Less stressful than real life. How’s life down in Bethany?
ADAM
The practice is going well. I’m a partner now. S’funny. I always thought you’d be the one with the partnership and the fancy office.
GRAINE
How sweet. It’s nice to know you had such high expectations of me.
ADAM
You haven’t changed at all since law school. Still sexy when you get defensive.
GRAINE
You haven’t changed either. Still patronizing. Oh, wait. Now that I get a closer look, you have less hair than before.
ADAM
No, I have the same amount. It’s just moved to different parts of my body.
GRAINE
How attractive.
ADAM
I was sorry to hear about your father.
GRAINE
Thank you. How’s your wife? What’s her name?
ADAM
Trudy. Fine. We have three kids.
GRAINE
I was an only child.
ADAM
They’re a hoot. Did you know that you have to watch them all the time when they’re small?
GRAINE
Really?
ADAM
Yeah! They’re really a lot of fun, though.
GRAINE
I’m not very good at this. Small talk.
ADAM
Me either.
GRAINE
So, I’ll just be straight with you. I really don’t know Miss Nguyen very well. It’s her first class with me. But she seems really bright, and I’m happy to recommend her.
ADAM
Who? Recommend who for what?
GRAINE
One of my students. Thrinh. She didn’t call your office?
ADAM
Not that I’ve heard.
GRAINE
Oh. Well, I’m recommending her for a summer internship at your firm. So, there. Bright, quick, studious. Is that enough?
ADAM
I should probably meet her.
GRAINE
Sure. I’ll tell her to call your office. Set something up.
ADAM
Okay.
GRAINE
Good. That was easy.
ADAM
Yup.
GRAINE
Okay, then. Well…we should go out for drinks sometime. Catch up. I could meet the wife.
Actually, I wanted to—
GRAINE
I’ve got a lot of papers to grade, so—I know it’s not as exciting as defending jaywalkers, but—
ADAM
Come on. You miss the fight.
GRAINE
Not really.
ADAM
I mean, if your father hadn’t died—
GRAINE
Things happen.
ADAM
Because, no joke, Graine, you were one of the greatest litigators I’ve ever seen. How could you just walk away from it?
GRAINE
I lost my taste for ambiguity. Wait. If Thrinh didn’t ask you to come talk to me, what you are doing here?
ADAM
Like I was just about to say: I need a favor. In fact, this works out great. Tit-for-tat. My favor for the intern kid.
GRAINE
Why do I have a bad feeling about this?
ADAM
You argued a lot of murder cases down in the Capital before your dad got sick, didn’t you?
GRAINE
Oh, no. Don’t say anymore.
ADAM
I read the files on every case you argued while you were in the city and most of the ones from your year with our firm, too.
GRAINE
I don’t want to come back.
ADAM
Hey, that’s no problem. I got my job because you left for the big city.
GRAINE
That’s right, you did. So, I guess I’ve already contributed my “tat.”
ADAM
I checked the course catalogue. You’re teaching a class in incompetency defenses.
GRAINE
You want to take my class.
ADAM
Not exactly. I understand you are quite the expert on the insanity defense.
GRAINE
Stop.
ADAM
I’ve got a case—
GRAINE
The Telford case. I read the papers.
ADAM
It’s really complicated—
GRAINE
No way.
ADAM
Will you just listen—
GRAINE
Adam, I wouldn’t let you cheat off me in law school, and I refuse to carry you now.
ADAM
I never had to cheat!
GRAI
NE
It’ll never go to trial.
ADAM
It is going to trial. Cage is ramming it in. She’s got it in for this kid. They’re asking for the death penalty.
GRAINE
Well, unless I missed something in the paper, she’s got no chance. They can’t execute this kid. They best they can hope for is life at the county hospital.
ADAM
They’re having Scott Hudson interview him. If he says the kid can stand, they’re going to prosecute all the way.
GRAINE
Not a chance. I know Aldine Cage. She’s got a completely clean record. She won’t want to risk an acquittal on something like this. She’ll offer you a deal.