A Dry White Season Page #9

BEN:

That's right.

SUZETTE:

(disbelieving)

My God. What on earth for?

Susan leaves the kitchen without a word, with the dessert

plates on the tray to the dining room.

INT. DU TOIT HOUSE -DINING ROOM -NIGHT

Susan reaches VIVIERS and the minister DOMINEE BESTER,

with their dessert plates. The candles have burned down

amid the detritus of dinner: glasses disarranged and

dirty, the cloth spotted with food and wine and ashes.

In addition to Viviers, dateless, and Bester and his

wife, the school's headmaster, Cloete and his wife.

INT. DU TOIT HOUSE -KITCHEN -NIGHT

Ben hastily uncorking a bottle of wine while talking to

Suzette.

SUZETTE:

It must be a mistake, Papa.

BEN:

Of course it is. I went down

there, told them. They're looking

into it.

SUZETTE:

Went down where?

BEN:

John Vorster Square.

Suzette giggles, amazed.

SUZETTE:

You old devil you. Does Ma know?

BEN:

No. And you're not going to tell

her.

(CONTINUED)

45.

CONTINUED:

A pause. She looks at him.

SUZETTE:

Be careful. I don't want my

favorite Papa in trouble, Gordon

or no Gordon.

She ruffles his hair, smiles, kisses him. They go back

into the dining room.

INT. DINING ROOM -NIGHT

BEN:

More wine? Viviers?

VIVIERS:

Not for me, Oom Ben. I'm drunk

enough.

BEN:

Mrs. Cloete?

MRS. CLOETE

Please!

Ben serves her.

Susan passes to fetch milk jug and sugar basin from the

chine cupboard.

MRS. CLOETE

(to Mrs. Bester)

Oh, I saw those sheets you liked,

Sally, on sale at Bloom's.

MRS. BESTER

Will you be free on Wednesday

afternoon? I have one or two

other things to buy.

INT. KITCHEN -NIGHT

Susan enters the kitchen. As she is about to place the

jug and basin on the table next to the tray with cups of

the same set, there is a knock at the door.

SUSAN:

(turning to the door)

Come in.

The door opens and Stanley steps in.

(CONTINUED)

46.

CONTINUED:

SUSAN:

(surprised)

Who are you? What do you want?

CUT TO:

INT. DINING ROOM -NIGHT

Ben and guests hear Susan.

Ben jumps up, hurries to the door. Viviers starts to

follow.

INT. KITCHEN -NIGHT

Ben stops at the door, sees Stanley, turns to Viviers.

BEN:

It's all right.

Viviers returns to his seat as Ben shuts the door behind

him.

BEN:

Oh, it's you... hum... Stanley,

isn't it?

(to Susan)

That's all right, darling.

Ben leads Stanley out of the kitchen, closing the door

behind him.

CLOSE ON SUSAN:

intrigued.

INT. LEWINSON'S HOME -NIGHT

Lewinson is at the phone, behind him his wife, too, is

entertaining guests for dinner.

LEWINSON:

A Friday night, man! I'm no

doctor, I'm not on standby all the

bloody time. Can't they wait 'til

Monday?

INT. BEN'S STUDY -NIGHT

BEN:

Dan! I'm standing here with

Gordon's clothing in my hand.

It's bloodstained...

(MORE)

(CONTINUED)

47.

CONTINUED:

BEN (CONT'D)

There are broken teeth in the

pocket. Monday may be too late!

(pause)

The lawyer has been banned.

Stanley is waiting, his great hand on his hips, the other

one on Emily's shoulder. She is sitting on a chair.

Obviously, Stanley doesn't expect a positive response.

INT. LEWINSON HOME -NIGHT

LEWINSON:

(interested)

Do you mean Julius Nqakula?

(pause)

Too bad, he's a good lawyer. Why

are you getting so involved, Ben?

INT. BEN'S STUDY -NIGHT

BEN:

I'm just trying to help Gordon.

... You represented many cases,

tell me, does this happen often?

(pause)

But Gordon's not political.

(pause)

Okay, Dan, I'm sorry for

disturbing your weekend.

Ben replaces the phone. Turns to Emily and Stanley.

BEN:

He agrees to see you tomorrow and

will apply to the supreme court

for an interdict to stop any

assaults on Gordon. And, we'll

find out what's going on.

STANLEY:

You're all right, Lanie.

Ben can just hear Emily's soft voice.

EMILY:

Thank you, Baas.

STANLEY:

Come on, sisi. Tomorrow it'll all

be first-class again.

48.

INT. DU TOIT LOUNGE -NIGHT

Laughter again. Ben has rejoined the party in the

lounge. The women are together talking, laughing and the

men on their own.

SUSAN:

More coffee, anyone?

General assent.

CLOETE:

The security police don't arrest

people for nothing, Ben. Leave

it alone.

BEN:

They could make a mistake.

CLOETE:

Blacks lead double lives. One

you see and one you don't. These

people surprise you all the time.

VIVIERS:

(joking)

That's what I like about them.

BEN:

We're not concerned with 'blacks.'

We're talking about GORDON. A

good man and very loyal.

SUSAN:

(serving coffee to

Cloete)

And a hard worker too.

CLOETE:

A hard worker? I had to get rid

of him.

Susan doesn't react. She leaves to join the womens'

group.

BEN:

What?

CLOETE:

I fired him a few days before he

was arrested for staying away from

work for days. And for the sake

of the school I say good riddance.

BEN:

What do you mean 'good riddance'?

(CONTINUED)

49.

CONTINUED:

CLOETE:

I have a responsibility for the

children. These are troubled

times, Ben, we can't trust the

natives any more.

BESTER:

You have to be extra careful about

any influences, Oom Ben. Even

their churches are breeding

grounds for all sorts of evil

ideas.

BEN:

Gordon's not subversive and

definitely not a Communist.

CLOETE:

Then he's got nothing to worry

about!

VIVIERS:

Except his three teeth. Our

government mustn't allow such

things to happen. After all, it's

a Christian government.

(turning to Bester)

What do you say, Dominee?

Bester doesn't answer.

BEN:

(irritably)

I'm not talking about the

government! I believe in our

government, damn it...

His sharp tone surprises everybody. He quiets.

BEN:

... Look, I know the police often

know more than we do. I'm not

questioning that. I'm as loyal as

the next man. But I do know

Gordon Ngubene... there is

something wrong.

There's a moment's embarrassed silence, broken by Suzette's

entrance with a tray of glasses and a bottle of brandy.

SUZETTE:

(putting the tray in

front of Ben)

Anything else, Papa?

(CONTINUED)

50.

CONTINUED:

Ben starts pouring, and offers the first glass to Bester.

BEN:

Dominee?

Bester shakes his hand.

BESTER:

Nee Dankie.

Ben hands the glass to Viviers.

Immediately Viviers raises his glass and laughingly says:

VIVIERS:

Oom, Ben, may your problems be

small ones!

INT. INTERROGATION ROOM (JOHN VORSTER SQUARE) -DAY

Gordon is undoing his trousers.

Venter roughly drops the trousers and pushing him to the

floor.

He handcuffs him while Johannes pulls off the trousers

and underpants, and manacles his ankles.

Johannes fetches a rod.

Venter goes to a cupboard, pulls out two electric wires

with electrodes attachments and places them on the desk.

All the preparation is done with practiced efficiency.

From the adjoining room there are angry shouts of a

woman.

Venter and Johannes place the rod between Gordon's elbow-

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