Bane

My name is Commander Bane with the Metro Police Force. Thank you for coming in. Please take a seat.

Okay … Commander Bane. Can you tell me why I’m here?

Don’t pretend you don’t know. You tell me why you're here.

Well, you're a lawman, so someone must be in trouble.

Would I have brought you in otherwise?

What kind of trouble?

I’m the one asking questions here!

Sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you.

Let’s start by you telling me your name, for the record.

Okay, I’m Dr. Artie Canwell –

No! That’s a lie!

But –

That is not your name here! Now tell me who you are!

Okay, okay, sorry. I’m … well, I could be lots of people. I could be one of the staff here ...

No! Stop messing around!

Someone in the Lane family maybe?

Maybe.

Like … Darren? No? Scott? Tell me if I’m getting warmer.

Keep going.

Carl? That’s right, isn’t it? I’m Carl Lane.

Yes. Yes. And you’re going to answer for what you’ve done, Carl.

What have I done?

I said I’m asking the questions! You know what you’ve done!

Sorry, sorry, let’s stay calm. I’ll try again. How did you — I mean, it would help jog my memory if you could please tell me how you found out what terrible thing I’ve done.

I have my sources.

Like, other Lane family members? Uh huh. Several sources, or just one?

One is all I need.

I hope this person is a reliable source. Someone in the know. No hidden agenda.

Hidden agenda? Hidden? It’s all been hidden.

That’s a big part of the problem, I guess. When people can get away with things they do in secret.

Like you've fooled us for all these years. It makes me sick. Sick! Everybody should know. Then you can finally get what you deserve.

I don’t know if anyone really gets what they deserve. Or wants to.

Well, all I want is justice. It's about time.

Commander, why now?

What do you mean?

You said it was urgent. I wouldn’t have come to you if it wasn’t.

So?

I’m just wondering, if Carl—if I’ve gotten away with something so horrific for so long, what happened to make this urgent just now? What changed?

I – I need to get a drink of water. You want some water?

Are you feeling okay? You look pale. Paler than usual.

I told you, this thing is making me sick.

This thing I did. Yes.

Aha, so you confess to murder!

What? I’m not sure what I’m confessing to. Who did I kill? Who died?

No one … not yet … But you’re killing me.

Someone is — I’m trying to kill you?

You did it already. I’m already dead. Just not yet.

I’m confused. So, I did something already that was so bad you're going to die from it?

Is that a confession?

Charlie, is this about your health? Did you get bad news from Dr. Arriyo recently?

Murderer! Murderer!

Don't I have the chance to share my side of the story?

You should get locked away to rot forever, Carl. You should get the death penalty.

Charlie … you know that Carl Lane is already dead, right? Your grandfather died over ten years ago.

Well then, Carl, tell me how someone can commit murder from the grave, hmm?

I guess … I’d start by investigating how they died.

Oooh, playing detective now, are we? Okay, I’ll play along. Here’s a hint: It wasn’t what it says on his death certificate.

So, someone made a mistake about the cause of death? Or – it was covered up.

Keep going.

He must have died from something illegal, or shameful ….

Or both.

Your grandmother passed away more recently, right? Cancer, I think. Was that hard for you? I believe you and Iris were close.

Oh, yes, we were close. I was her favorite grandchild. I spent a lot of time at her house. Sometimes stayed the night if I didn’t want to go home. You know, because of the fighting.

Yes. You told me your parents yelled at each other, and you, all the time.

Grandma Iris was always so nice to me. Treated me better than her own kids. … You want to know how I knew I was her favorite?

How?

She wrote that to me from the hospital, a few days before she died. It's all in her letter. She said never forget how special I was to her and … to Grandpa Carl, and to remember how nice she treated me. And then she told me that I inherited everything … everything!

Why are you laughing? What’s funny about that?

Read the evidence yourself. Then you’ll get the joke.

This is the letter … that Iris sent you from the hospital? “Our Dear Charles,—”

No, no, not out loud!

Okay, okay. … Oh, my God, Charlie. Damn.

Everyone believed what she told the doc. Heart attack. He just wrote it on the certificate, no questions asked.

She says here your grandfather died of — syphilis. No wonder she didn’t want anyone to know.

She could have took that secret to her grave. But she chose to come clean.

I guess she felt burdened by knowing this, guilty for hiding the truth. But then why does she insist that you keep quiet about it too? Why did she say in her letter that you, and only you, have a right to know?

Ha! Now you get the punchline. I – inherited – everything.

I’m missing something.

This piece of evidence will fill you in.

Recent test results … Dr. Arriyo’s clinical notes — Damn, Charlie. I’m so sorry. Syphilis is a tough diagnosis.

Grandma Iris knew all along what was coming for me. She that knew that Grandpa Carl's secret would take me to my grave.

And you inherited Carl's disease. ...

I was her favorite, she said ... and Grandpa Carl's too. My whole life, she was aiding and abetting a murderer. A sick, sick, sick murderer.

Charlie. ... In all our years of therapy, you never told me your grandfather had molested you.

Ha! That’s because we’ve been looking for the wrong suspect all along. You — you — told me it was my dad! That everything wrong in my brain was his fault!

I wasn’t blaming him, Charlie. Just explaining to you that schizophrenia can be hereditary. He couldn’t help having a mental illness. But did it ever occur to you that maybe, he inherited his illness the same way you did?

So … so … maybe I wasn’t the only victim?

Syphilis can lay dormant for many years. That’s why it often goes untreated. Eventually, it can cause mental illness, neurosyphilis, which is often mistaken for schizophrenia.

I was glad when Dad died, and Grandpa too. I hated them both so much.

And now?

Now -- I still hate them. I just hate Grandpa more.

This is a lot for you to process, Charlie.

I don't know if this case can ever be closed. Will there ever be justice in this world? For me?

Let's talk about that in our regular session, okay? Next Tuesday?

Yeah, okay.

Will you be alright tonight on your own?

I'm a lawman. I'll tough it out.

See you Tuesday, Commander.