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.

In my experience that always leads to trouble. When people can get away with things they do in secret.

Oh, you know all about that. You kept us fooled for all these years, didn't you? It makes me sick. Sick! Everyone should know what you did. Then you can finally get what you deserve.

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

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 whole 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? I know you went to see Dr. Arriyo recently. Did you get some bad news?

Murderer! Murderer!

Tell me what's going on. Please.

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 recently, right? Cancer, I think.

That's what's written on her death certificate.

Has this been 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 said that to me in the letter she wrote 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 just before she died? “Our Dear Charles,—”

No, no, not out loud!

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

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

She says here your grandfather really died of — 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 this secret. But if she felt guilty for hiding the truth ... why does she insist here 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.

This looks like your recent test results … Notes from your appointment with Dr. Arriyo on Monday — Damn, Charlie. I’m so sorry. Late stage 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 everything. Including Carl's disease.

I was her favorite, she said ... and Grandpa Carl's too. His favorite. 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.

Wrong crime, wrong suspect. I've wasted years blaming the wrong suspect. 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. His mental illness was not his fault. ... But did it ever occur to you that maybe, he inherited his illness the same way you did?

So … so … maybe Carl's crime had multiple victims? Not just me?

Syphilis can lay dormant for many years. That’s why it often goes untreated. Eventually, it can cause serious a serious psychological condition -- neurosyphilis -- which is often mistaken for schizophrenia. I'm guessing your dad never knew.

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.

This case just doesn't end, does it? I keep hoping someone could bang the gavel. Close the books. Get me justice! Justice! But -- the offenders are all dead already. And now I'm the one on death row.

Let's talk about all that in our regular session, okay? On Thursday?

Yeah. Okay.

Will you be alright tonight on your own?

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

See you Thursday, Commander.