Episode 7: A Revelation at the Opera

Frances and Margaret attempt to track down Lombroso, but Grimshaw’s soldiers are also in pursuit. Burton has a life-changing encounter at the opera.

The Greatest Matter was written & directed by Conor Reid

It was Recorded at The Podcast Studios, Dublin and produced by Hilary Barry

Editing, Sound Design, and Original Music by Conor Reid

The show is a HeadStuff Podcast. For more on the network, all the great shows, and details on how you can support the podcast, go to HeadStuffPodcasts.com

CAST

Dramaturgy & Script Support from Peter Dunne

Artwork & Design by Matt Mahon

Marketing & Promotional Support from Claudia Grandez & Hilary Barry

Transcript: A Revelation at the Opera

SCENE 1

[FX Restaurant sounds]

RYAN:                              Thank you again for inviting me to dine with you, Professor.

LOMBROSO:                    No, thank you for accepting my invitation, Dr Ryan.

RYAN:                              I just receivedsome news before coming here, from Lord Grimshaw. It seems this will be in the papers very soon but he wanted to thank me personally for my help, and to pass on this thanks to you. It seems the murderer has been caught

LOMBROSO:                    (shocked)Che cosa? The murderer was caught? Who was it?

RYAN:                              Well, it seems you were correct. A degenerate, a criminal – I can’t recall his name – but he was known to the police. He had been drinking and, well, clearly there was some degree of lunacy in the blood. It seems he flew into a frenzy and viciously murdered poor Redgrave.

LOMBROSO:                    I see.

RYAN:                              Yes. And, not only that, but we’ve all been spared the wasted expense and time of a trial, as your “uomo delinquente” made a run for it when he was being transferred from Dublin Castle and got shot for his troubles.

LOMBROSO:                    My God! He’s dead?!

RYAN:                              Yes, thank God. So this whole business is over. No doubt the newspapers will have a field day with it, but there’s nothing to be done about that. And Lord Grimshaw is very thankful for our assistance. A terrible business though, this whole thing, wasn’t it?

LOMBROSO                     Mmm (quietly, distracted)

RYAN:                              Professor?

LOMBROSO:                    Hmm? Sorry, yes, terrible.

RYAN:                              That was an excellent dinner. Will we order a port, perhaps?

LOMBROSO:                    Dr Ryan, I’m very sorry but I have just realised the time – I have an appointment at my hotel. If you’ll excuse me?

RYAN:                              Of course, of course. Please, you go, I’ll get the bill. Waiter!

[FX: Restaurant noises fade out]

SCENE 2

[FX: Street sounds]

FRANCES:                        Right, so we’re nearly at the Gresham. What’s the plan?

MARGARET:                    Well, wego to the hotel reception andask for Professor Lombroso, I suppose.

FRANCES:                        And you think he’s going to come down to meet two unknown, unannounced ladies?

MARGARET:                    Well, then we should give him a strong reason to. Maybe we send up a note saying say we need to speak to him urgently about a private matter involving a spirit?

FRANCES:                        Hmm, yes, that would probably do it alright.

NEWSPAPER BOY:          (shouting)Murder in the Park! Murder in the Park! Evening edition! Read about the shocking events in Phoenix Park!

MARGARET:                    Oh my god, it’s out!

FRANCES:                        Hello, yes, we’ll take a copy

NEWSPAPER BOY:          Thank you ma’am, here you are. (back to shouting) Murder! Murder in the Phoenix Park!!

MARGARET:                    What does it say?

                                         [FX: rustling newspaper]

FRANCES:                        Ok, let me see.

MARGARET:                    Wait,which journalist got the story?

FRANCES:                        Eh….Graham Dunne?

MARGARET:                    (at same time) Not Graham Dunne? …ugh, of course he did!

FRANCES:                        Focus, Margaret!

MARGARET:                    Sorry, ok, let’s see, what does it say?

FRANCES:                        (skim reading) Murder in the park…Lord Redgrave’s son, etc, etc, attacked by known Dublin criminal Joe O’Callaghan, in the evening of…

MARGARET:                    Wait,who?

FRANCES:                        Joe O’Callaghan?I have no idea. Oh, look there’s a sketch of him. [fx: rustles paper] Hey, this is Áine’s man, the fellow in the park who claimed he saw the ghost! Just like she said – dark hair, shaggy beard, large ears…

FRANCES:                        Oh my god you’re right! Wait, it says O’Callaghan was later shot by police while trying to escape!

MARGARET:                    What?!

FRANCES:                        Chief Inspector Augustus Bruton was…

MARGARET:                    (interrupting) Burton. Does it say “Bruton”? Sloppy work, Dunne!

FRANCES:                        (trying to continue) …was quoted as saying a full confession was obtained from O’Callaghan, man was known to police, etc, etc eye-witnesses saw him fleeing from the scene covered in blood.

MARGARET:                    Jesus, the poor man is dead?!

(sarcastic) “Shot while trying to escape”. Christ, we’ve heard that line before, Fran

FRANCES:                        I know, and it says here the man was a petty criminal – what’s he doing murdering a man in the park? And it’s not just some robbery gone wrong. We know Redgrave was torn apart, they thought it was a wild animal for god’s sake.

MARGARET:                    Yeah, this is nonsense. Police needed a man, and this guy was in the wrong place at the wrong time. All very convenient that they got a full confession and then he just happened to be shot, isn’t it? And it doesn’t explain what the army are doing rounding up witnesses and apparently random spiritualists.

FRANCES:                        And look who it is down the end of the article here: “Police have thanked the staff of Dublin Zoo, who aided with inquiries, as well as a visiting “Professor of Crime” whose assistance was invaluable. Right, so I don’t think that’s his official title but there’s Lombroso again.

MARGARET:                    We need to talk to this man. Something is being covered up, the army are running some sort of alternative investigation, and Lombroso’s name is everywhere.

FRANCES:                        Well, let’s stick to the plan. Send up a card with a note at the hotel, and see what happens.

MARGARET:                    And then?

FRANCES:                        Then we ask him if he thinks a spirit killed Redgrave.

MARGARET:                    Sorry, what?

FRANCES:                        The glowing figure who bumped into O’Callaghan.

MARGARET:                    Frances, why don’t we make a wild assumption that that was a man, until the evidence proves otherwise?

FRANCES:                        Let’s see what Lombroso thinks.

MARGARET:                    Ugh, fine. Come on!

SCENE 3

USHER:                            Just through here, sir.Lord Grimshaw is in his box.

BURTON:                         Thank you. Is he alone?

USHER:                            Yes. He typically has guests but it seems it’s just yourself tonight. Here we are.

[FX: Door opens, opera sounds]

BURTON:                         Good evening, sir. Thank you for the, eh, invitation to the opera.

GRIMSHAW:                   Indeed. Don’t worry about the opera, Chief Inspector. This is a particularly poor version of La Traviata. But I’ve found a box in the Gaiety is an excellent place to have a private conversation. Now, I hear you have excellent news?

BURTON:                         Yes, sir. O’Callaghan is dead. Shot while trying to escape.

GRIMSHAW:                   And you have a confession?

BURTON:                         I’ll write up a report stating as much.

GRIMSHAW:                   Excellent. Chief Inspector you have truly impressed me, I must say. You get things done quietly and quickly, and most importantly you follow orders, even when it requires… getting your hands a little dirty.

BURTON:                         Sir.

GRIMSHAW:                   Which is why I have requested your temporary transfer to a specialised unit I command.             

BURTON:                         Oh. And what does this unit specialise in, may I ask?

GRIMSHAW:                   The dead.

BURTON:                         The dead?

GRIMSHAW:                   Well, more specifically, those among the dead who have a fondness for visiting the living. Ghosts, you might say. Spirits, ectoplasmic embodiments of those from another plane of being.

BURTON:                         Sir, I’m not sure I’m following.

GRIMSHAW:                   Not quite what you were expecting, I imagine. Chief Inspector, in revealing what I am about to say, I am bringing you into a very small circle of military intelligence operatives who are aware of the true reality of life beyond our own.

BURTON:                         As in spiritualism? Séances? Is that what we are talking about?

GRIMSHAW:                   Precisely. As you can imagine, a huge proportion of all this is nonsense. So-called mediums looking for a way to earn a few shillings; others are operating more sophisticated scams.

BURTON:                         I arrestedone last year – he was conning gullible old ladies out of their savings.

GRIMSHAW:                   Of course, and like everything in life, people will take advantage where there is an opportunity. However, in recent years, a small unit in the military began taking a more active interest, in conjunction with the Institute of Psychical Research in London. When world-renowned scientists start to take something like this seriously, there’s an understandable interest from a number of parties. The military began looking into it and I was placed in charge, especially as it seemed the most convincing evidence was coming out of Ireland.

BURTON:                         I….see. Sir, I’m not sure I… what did you find?

GRIMSHAW:                   With the help of two particularly brilliant scientists and their team, we found a significant amount of evidence for the reality of spiritualism. Not everything the spiritualists claim is true, you understand, or certainly not verifiable. But we have incontrovertible proof of the ability of the dead to communicate with our plane, with the assistance of a particularly gifted medium, of which there are a relatively small number.

BURTON:                         I’m sorry, sir, this is all just…

GRIMSHAW:                   Unbelievable? Yes, absolutely. I thought the same. But I’ve seen the experiments, I’ve spoken with the scientists, I’ve seen spirits materialise in totally controlled environments. Not parlour tricks, experiments in scientific laboratories, under the close supervision of scientific and military men.

BURTON:                         (stunned)I see.

                                         So, if you don’t mind me asking, why is this not…widely known?

GRIMSHAW:                   Chief Inspector, can you imagine the impact this sort of knowledge would have on society? For one thing, the church – all the faiths, as you can imagine – have a strong and powerful interest in maintaining their hold over access to the afterlife.

                                         And then there’s another, more pressing, reason. This is all very new. We don’t understand how most of this works. The nature of the afterlife, the reason why some spirits can return to us and others seemingly cannot, the reason why quite a few mediums can channel the spirit plane in a limited way, but a select few are considerably more powerful.

BURTON:                         So there are real mediums?

GRIMSHAW:                   Yes. And, as I’m sure you understand, Chief Inspector, when it comes to a source of huge potential power like this, Her Majesty’s Government is rather keen to retain any advantage it can. We have yet to ascertain how far along the Germans or the French, for example, are in this field. Unfortunately, it would seem in almost every case to be women who are the most powerful mediums. So this all needs…guidance We have an empire to administer, interests to protect. Which brings me to why I am telling you all of this.

BURTON:                         I was beginning to wonder, sir.

GRIMSHAW:                   Of course, I need not remind you of the extreme consequences of revealing this. Consequences for you and, in this case, I am regrettably going to have to include consequences for your wife, your two lovely children, and your poor widowed mother. (menacing) Are we quite clear?

BURTON:                         Very clear, sir.

GRIMSHAW:                   Excellent. The fact of the matter is I have looked into your background and you can be trusted, your men speak very highly of you, and you know this city and its criminal class better than most. Which is why I need you in this unit, to track down this murderer.

BURTON:                         To track down… sorry are we saying O’Callaghan is not…?

GRIMSHAW:                   Do you think that petty thief and drunkard killed Redgrave?

BURTON:                         Well, no, but…

GRIMSHAW:                   So, Redgrave’s killer is out there. The Chief Secretary, the Prime Minister, and the powers that be are content that this gruesome murder – a lone, non-political act of a lunatic – has been solved. Now we can get on with finding the medium behind it.

BURTON:                         The medium?

GRIMSHAW:                   Precisely. As we have recently established, there are a very small number of mediums who can bring forth spirits to this plane – they materialise and take an ectoplasmic form. Not exactly flesh and bone but they can interact, physically, with our world.              

BURTON:                         So they arespirits, but they have a physical form? Theyare back from the dead?

GRIMSHAW:                   Well, yes and no. They are definitely not alive like you or me, but they do have a physical form. They can pick up objects. If they hit you, you bleed.  

BURTON:                         And if one of these spirits violently attacked, bit, and clawed you, it might kill you? 

GRIMSHAW:                   Nowyou see where we are. My unithas been running a parallel investigation into this murder and our suspicion is that whoever, or whatever, killed Lord Redgrave’s son was a materialised spirit form. There were certain signs, remnants apparent on the body when our scientists examined it, that have led us to this conclusion.

BURTON:                         My god.

GRIMSHAW:                   Now, with all our experiments so far, these spirits tend to dematerialise very quickly, typically a few minutes. But clearly there is a medium in Dublin with an unprecedented ability. As you can imagine, we would be very keen to talk to her.

BURTON:                         And so you need me to help in tracking this woman down?

GRIMSHAW:                   I do.I have already spoken to the Commissioner, who has assigned you to my unit.

BURTON                          And so what happens when we find this medium?

GRIMSHAW                     You can leave that to us, Chief Inspector. Once we have questioned her, our scientists would be very keen to run some experiments. We’ve been frustrated in previous attempts. The female constitution is unfortunately too delicate for some of the stresses we have been required to put on it. But a few women in asylums is a price we are more than willing to pay for the potential power this could unlock.

Anyway, you don’t need to worry about the science. Just find this medium.

BURTON:                         Of course,sir. I think I just need a little time to…digest all of this.

GRIMSHAW:                   Naturally (pause). You have three hours. Then you can report to Colonel Godley at this address. Do what’s required of you, and this should all run smoothly.

BURTON:                         Yes, sir.

                                         [Door opens and closes]

USHER:                            Oh, you’re not staying, sir?             

BURTON:                         No, I…eh (silence)

USHER:                            Sir? Sir, are you alright?

BURTON:                         Hmm? No, sorry I. I’ve just received some…unbelievable news.

USHER:                            Oh, well I hope it’s nothing too unfortunate, sir.

BURTON:                         Honestly, I don’t know what to believe or, what I’ve gotten myself into, I… (pause). Sorry, I can get out here, yes? Thank you.

SCENE 4

[FX: Hotel bar sounds]

LOMBROSO:                    Ms Carey! Over here!    

CAREY:                             Professor, good to see you. It’s so busy here tonight!

LOMBROSO:                    Yes, there was a function on, it seems. I’ve got us a table over here. I’ve ordered myself a port, would you care for a drink?  

CAREY:                             No, thank you, just some water is fine. Professor, there have been some developments since we spoke yesterday.

LOMBROSO:                    Indeed there have.

CAREY:                             You know aboutthis spate ofspiritualist arrests?

LOMBROSO:                    Oh, no, Iwas referring to something else entirely. What arrests?             

CAREY:                             Professor, five mediums – that I know of – were taken into custody, not by the police, but by some army division, I’ve been told. Nobody seems to know why this is happening and I’m wondering if I’m next?

LOMBROSO:                    MsCarey I fear you may be.

CAREY:                             What!? What do you know?

LOMBROSO:                    I’m afraid this may come as quite the shock to you, but let me explain as best I understand it.   I picked up a copy of this evening’s paper in the lobby there. Do you see the headline – “Murder in the Park”?

CAREY:                             Yes, I saw that. The chief secretary’s son was violently murdered. Awful stuff.

LOMBROSO:                    Ms Carey, please try to stay calm, but I’m afraid that the murderer was your pithecanthropus.            

CAREY:                             (Shouting) What!?

LOMBROSO:                    Please! 

CAREY:                             (Lower voice)How? But the paper said they caught the killer, some criminal?

LOMBROSO:                    The paper didn’t release all the details. Mr Redgrave wasn’t just killed in some robbery; it was a crazed attack. I saw the body, Ms Carey.

CAREY:                             You saw the body?

LOMBROSO:                    Yes, I was asked to help identify what type of killer it might have been. And, well, now I know. Your…spirit, a violent ape-man, as you said yourself, left your house, heading in precisely that direction. The next day a man is found clawed and bitten to death.  

CAREY:                             Oh my god. But what about this murderer in the paper?

LOMBROSO:                    Unfortunately, perhaps,my pronouncements on the criminal type have contributed to the police arresting a common criminal, and he’s now dead too. He wasn’t the murderer, Ms Carey, I am sure of it. Which leaves us with a very serious problem. And, if your report on these spiritualist arrests is right, a problem which is more urgent than I thought.    .

CAREY:                             Oh my god, what have I done? This has got out of control!

LOMBROSO:                    (Hushed) Ms Carey! Please speak quietly! Look, we need to act fast.

CAREY:                             Act fast how?!Not one, but two men are dead because of me.

LOMBROSO:                    Ms Carey, you are, without any shadow of a doubt, the most powerful medium I have ever encountered. Nobody has managed to materialise a spirit that has remained corporeal for so long. This is a huge coup for our cause. Think of the sensation it will cause! A spirit, that people can truly touch and feel, and talk to.             

CAREY:                             And get murdered by.

LOMBROSO:                    Well, yes, clearly there is some work to be done on who, or what, is materialised like this. But surely you can see how important this is to the Great Truth. And what an irreparable setback it would be if the truth of this murder were to get out.             

CAREY:                             Well, yes, of course.

LOMBROSO:                    I thought we had been extremely fortunate with the arrest, and death, of this criminal. But I see now it was all too tidy.       

CAREY:                             What do you mean?

LOMBROSO:                    The public has a murderer. The crime has been solved, and now the murderer is conveniently dead before trial. And yet an army unit is rounding up well-known mediums in the area for questioning. Somebody knows the truth of what has happened. And they’ll come for you very soon.

CAREY:                             So what do I do?

LOMBROSO:                    “We”, Ms Carey. I intend to help you in any way I can. The Truth is too important to be hushed up by the British military.

CAREY:                             Maybe I will take that drink….

                                         [Fade out and in: bar to lobby]

FRANCES:                        Hold on, Margaret, let me just write this note for Lombroso and we’ll give it to the receptionist there.

MARGARET:                    Perfect. (pause) This is a nice hotel, isn’t it? Maybe he’ll invite us for a drink in the bar over there?

FRANCES:                        Unlikely, but yes, it is lovely…wait (hushed) Margaret!

MARGARET:                    Hmm?

FRANCES:                        (loud whisper) Margaret, come here. Look, he’s in the bar. There!

MARGARET:                    Oh, and he’s with a lady.

FRANCES:                        Who is it, do you think?

MARGARET:                    I’ve no idea, but they’re looking very conspiratorial, aren’t they?

FRANCES:                        What do we do?

MARGARET:                    We have to go over. We could ask if he might be free later, and come back then?

FRANCES:                        Well now I don’t need my note (getting up).

MARGARET:                    Wait, Frances, sit down! Just turn around to me this way and pretend we’re having a chat.

FRANCES:                        (now both hushed) Now what is it?

MARGARET:                    Don’t turn around but over at the reception there are four very soldiery-looking men.

FRANCES:                        Soldiery?

MARGARET:                    You know what I mean! Just glance casually over. They’re not in uniform but they must be soldiers – the haircuts, the shoes, the way three of them are sort of standing to attention behind the older one.

FRANCES:                        Hmm, they do look soldiery

GODLEY:                          (slightly distant, heard from F&M’s perspective)Good evening, we need           to speak to a Professor “Cesar…Lombroso” urgently. Could you send someone up to his room with this note please?

FRANCES:                        I’m not getting a friendly feeling from these gentlemen.

MARGARET:                    No. We have to stay, though. Lombroso could be the key to all this. Come on, let’s just go over to him, quickly.

FRANCES:                        Fine – quick, quick!

                                         [FX: Moving through bar, piano music in background etc]

MARGARET:                    Sorry, sorry, excuse me, sorry, pardon me. Ow! (bangs table), oh, good evening. Professor Lombroso, is it?

LOMBROSO:                    Yes?

FRANCES:                        Pardon the interruption.             

GODLEY:                          (from across the room)Excuse me! Professor! A word please?

MARGARET:                    Frances! The soldiers!

LOMBROSO:                    The what? Oh dear. Ms Carey, I think we should leave.

GODLEY:                          (Still across the room) Wait, stop!

LOMBROSO:                    Look, the side door, out there, run!

FRANCES:                        What are we doing, Margaret?

MARGARET:                    I don’t know, I don’t know, eh…follow the Professor, come on! 

GODLEY:                          Stop! You two, what are you doing!?

MARGARET:                    Run!

GODLEY:                          Lieutenant, go round the back. Smith, Haggard, with me. Get the medium, and the professor too, and those two women might be involved. Take them if you can. (shouting to men) Carey is the main target! Go, go!

                                         [commotion, banging, people gasping, muttering etc]

FRANCES:                        (running)Oh god, oh god, oh god

MARGARET:                    (running)She’s a medium, Fran.

FRANCES:                        What?

MARGARET:                    The lady with Lombroso must be a medium. Did you hear? The men are after her, not Lombroso. We need to help her!

                                         Professor! Professor wait!

FRANCES:                        They’re heading towards Tyrone St. What about your friend Fergus – his shop on the corner? Would he help?

MARGARET                     Yes! It’s worth a go. Hold on (out of breath) My god they can run! Professor! We want to help you!

LOMBROSO:                   (up the road, shouting back to them)Who are you?

FRANCES:                        (catching up now)There’s no time to explain now. Come this way, we can help you get away from the soldiers. There’s a shop just around the corner, if we can turn the corner and get into it before the soldiers see us, the shopkeeper will help us out

LOMBROSO:                    I don’t know

FRANCES:                        Do you have any better options?!

                                         [Fx: running, panting, soldiers’ shouts of “stop!” Then, door bangs open, shop bell rings]

MARGARET:                    Fergus, quick you need to help us!

FERGUS:                          Jesus, Margaret what’s going on?! Frances!? Who are these people?

MARGARET:                    Fergus, listen to me, we’ll explain in a minute, but can we hide in the store room? If anybody comes in looking for us, you saw four people running past the shop a second ago, ok?

FERGUS:                          Yeah, yeah, of course, Margaret.

FRANCES:                        Quick, let’s go let’s go!

                                         [FX: banging, opening doors, etc, then silence and breathing.]

MARGARET:                    (whispering) Ok, don’t move, don’t say a word.

                                         (Breathing)

GODLEY:                          (Muffled, from other room, door and shop bell) Is there anyone in this shop? Did anyone come this way?

FERGUS:                          What? No, I’m the only one here. A few people looking like they were in an awful hurry just ran down that way though.

GODLEY:                          I see. Is there anything in that back room?

FERGUS:                          Sorry, sir, who are you, if you don’t mind me asking?

GODLEY:                          Colonel Algernon Godley, 4^th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards. Open the door. Now.

FERGUS:                          Yes, yes, of course. Just lots of boxes back there, it’s an awful mess, really

SOLDIER:                         (from outside the door). Colonel, sir, the door to the church across the way swung closed as we turned the corner. Lieutenant Haggard has gone in.

GODLEY:                          Rigth, let’s go!

                                         [movement, running out the door, banging]

FERGUS:                          Have a good evening now, sir

                                         (pause)

                                         (loud whisper) He’s gone. Jesus, Margaret, my heart!

                                         (opens door)

What the hell was that all about?

MARGARET:                    Ugh, it’s a bit difficult to explain right now. Thank you, Fergus, truly. Is there a back door to get out of here?

FERGUS:                          I’ll do you one better. Tom’ll be here any minute now with a delivery. I’ll talk to him, you can jump into the back of his wagon. I’m the last stop so there’ll be plenty of room in the back and he can drop you off well out of the way of Colonel Dragoon or whoever the hell he was.

MARGARET:                    You’re a lifesaver, Fergus! Possibly literally!

SCENE 5

TOM:                               (Muffled, heard from inside wagon) Right, let’s get moving. Hup! Come on!

[FX: Sound of hooves, wheels on cobbles, etc]

MARGARET:                    That was close! 

LOMBROSO:                    Ladies, I am eternally grateful, we both are.

MARGARET:                    Is she…ok?

LOMBROSO:                    Ms Carey? Yes, I think so, it seems the episode has taken it out of her, she may need a moment.

MARGARET:                    So, this is Ms Carey, a…medium?

LOMBROSO:                    Ms Kate Carey, yes, a renowned medium, one of the greatest I have ever come across, in fact. And you are?

MARGARET:                    I’m Ms Margaret Malone and this is Ms Frances Hunter. Pleased to meet you, Professor Lombroso.

LOMBROSO:                    You know who I am?

FRANCES:                        We know quite a bit about you – Ms Malone here is a journalist and we’re investigating the murder of James Redgrave or, I should say, the cover up of his death. Your name seems to keep coming up so we thought we’d have a word with you in the hotel and, well, things have taken something of a turn.

LOMBROSO:                    Indeed they have. Ms Hunter, Ms Malone, I’m not sure how much you know, or think you know, but I can assure you this is a most serious business, with some very powerful men involved. I don’t think it is the place of two young ladies to be…

FRANCES:                        Listen, Professor. We “ladies” have just saved Ms Carey, perhaps you too, from what I can safely assume would have been an extremely unpleasant interrogation. We know about the murder, we know Joe O’Callaghan was innocent. We know about the strange man seen running from the crime scene, about the police cover up, G-Division, the army. And we know all of this, without the help of any “powerful men”.

LOMBROSO:                    I see (thinking). Well, I will leave you to your inquiries. Ms Carey and I will get out when we stop next. Thank you again for your help.

MARGARET:                    (Indignant) That’s it! That’s all we get after saving your….

FRANCES                          Shh!

TOM:                               (muffled, heard through wagon)No sir, just heading back to the factory, I’ve done my deliveries    

LOMBROSO:                    (whispers) Who is it?

FRANCES:                        I don’t know. Keep still, everyone

TOM:                               No, sir, nothing there, don’t [fx: tarp pulled back] open….the. I don’t how they got in there… [fx: thump as he’s hit] Ahhh!

GODLEY:                          Professor Lombroso. Ms Carey. And I see you brought your new friends. (to his men) Get them out of there and back to headquarters.

PVT STAPLETON:            Yes sir!