Murder Is Easy Page #3

and cultures.

BRIDGET:

Luke,

remember I mentioned

about Tommy Pierce?

LUKE:

Yes.

Well...

This is the window

he fell from...

while cleaning it.

Luke is doing a book

on death rites

or something.

Witchcraft, anyway,

and I thought you might

be able to help him.

But how intriguing.

Yes, we've quite

a history that way,

goes back

to pre-Roman times.

Of course,

our most famous witch

was actually a warlock.

Oh, what was her name?

It was Harold, I think.

[WAYNFLETE SNEEZES]

Miss Waynflete,

you should be home

in bed.

Don't you agree,

Luke?

LUKE:

Yes, absolutely.

This can wait.

[APPROACHING FOOTSTEPS]

Yes, Tommy fell

from that window,

onto the flagstones there,

quite horrible.

And you found him?

No, it was Mr. Abbot,

the solicitor.

We'd all gone off

to the charity bazaar.

Remember, Bridget?

Poor Tommy.

I'm sorry to say

that no one liked him very much.

He was an infuriating,

little snoop.

WAYNFLETE:

I'm sure it was very good of Lord Easterfield

to keep him on after Tommy

was so impertinent to him.

Well, you know Gordon.

Such a pity.

Lord Easterfield's kindness

turning into tragedy like that.

[MEOWING]

You'll stay for tea.

[RINGING]

[BIRDS CHIRPING]

Amy.

Amy.

Where is that girl?

I'll go.

Amy, we're wanting tea.

I'm afraid my housemaid

is quite a lazy girl.

Wasn't even up this morning

when I left.

[CAT MEOWS]

Oh, you would love

to get at my little birds,

eh, Wonky Pooh?

"Wonky Pooh."

Yes.

Lavinia asked me to watch him

the day she went to London.

He had a bad infection.

I can't find Amy anywhere.

Really?

Up to her old tricks again.

[KNOCKING]

Gordon gave her no end of

lectures about staying out late.

[KNOCKING]

You're sure she came home?

Oh, yes.

I was awakened

by a noise, very late.

She must be

in there.

[]

[GRUNTING]

It's that one there.

The little skylight.

That's it.

Oh, dear.

I do hope she's all right.

BRIDGET:

Perhaps she did it on purpose.

She was awfully torn up

about some love affair

a while back.

WAYNFLETE:

Come, you know Amy,

always several men

on a string.

In fact, she's just broken off

with Mr. Ellsworthy.

Curious.

No sign of anything.

Tsk. Could you not

touch anything, sir.

It's only

a cough mixture.

I prescribed it myself.

Don't suppose you noticed

the, uh...

Needle marks on her arm,

Dr. Thomas.

I did manage

to notice them,

thank you very much,

Constable Reed.

I put them there myself.

Amy's cold would linger,

and I thought

she might be run down.

Took a blood sample.

But there must be a half dozen

marks on there, sir.

Quite.

Amy had what's commonly called

"floating veins."

Always takes several tries

to insert the needle properly.

Embarrassing for you, sir,

all that stabbing about.

Still, we don't know

that she didn't make

one of those marks herself,

do we?

What are you suggesting,

constable?

Drugs, miss.

It's a common problem

these days.

Amy?

Really, constable,

I'm something of an expert

on narcotics.

If Amy were an addict,

I believe I'd have known.

Always a first time, eh?

Now, Miss Waynflete,

I understand she frequented

rock concerts in London.

Oh, well, that's

proof positive, isn't it?

Rock concerts.

REED:
Please, miss!

Mustn't touch things.

How very odd.

So white.

Not at all

a flattering shade for Amy.

Care to have a look, sir?

Heroin.

Dreadful business,

these drugs.

Still, I expect it's just

routine for you, isn't it, sir?

You being an American.

Love your squad car.

I wonder...

what's the probability

of five people dying suddenly

in a town of this size?

Six, counting Amy.

And I wonder what all this

has to do

with your study

on witchcraft.

I want a straight answer, Luke.

Why did you really come here?

HORTON:

Heel! Heel!

Heel, Nero.

[]

Heel!

Heel, Nero.

BRIDGET:

You must be joking.

I mean, who would want

to murder all those people?

I don't know,

but Miss Fullerton did,

and that is why she's dead.

She said the guy was crazy.

Perhaps it was one

of your warlocks at work.

All right, all right.

How was I to know

that warlocks were male witches?

Let's hope that Miss Waynflete

is not as sharp as you are.

She's sharp enough to be

suspicious about Amy anyway.

[SIGHS]

So, what are we saying?

That some man doped Amy

and then planted the compact

to make it appear

as if she overdosed?

But how did he get

into the room?

The door was locked

from the inside.

Any fairly strong man

could have got in

through that window,

as you did.

Wait, wait, wait.

Wait.

Wait. Amy knows the guy,

she brings him home,

he kills her,

he leaves the compact,

and then he goes out

the window.

Mm.

Better.

Ah, but...

why the compact?

Why not a syringe?

[YELLS]

Oh!

Careful.

We already lost Harry Carter

off this bridge.

Unless he was pushed.

Oh, this whole thing

is so bizarre, I mean,

I've lived all my life here.

If there really is a killer

and he really is mad,

then I should have some idea.

Bridget,

there is a killer.

And if we don't do something,

he's gonna go right on killing.

[]

What?

Of course.

What?

Come on, Luke.

What?

Come on.

ELLSWORTHY:

Witchcraft?

No, no.

I have a few amulets and such,

for the tourists, of course.

Hm.

Interesting,

Mr. Ellsworthy.

Yes, yeah. I've just got in

a few Oriental things.

Perhaps you'd be good enough

to tell his lordship,

Miss Conway.

I shall.

What is that?

LUKE:

It's a bong. Used for smoking hash.

You may be the only soul

in Wychwood who would know that.

Yes, this one's quite old.

It's possibly 19th century.

BRIDGET:

Must have been the sort of affair

that Coleridge

would have used.

No, no.

Coleridge used opium.

Very different sort of thing

to hashish.

Xanadu, you know.

Divine madman, Coleridge,

thanks to opium.

Sanity's such a bore,

don't you think?

I mean, it...

It takes a touch of madness

to see life through a new

and... entrancing angle.

At least, so one imagines.

I know very little about

the artistic temperament.

BRIDGET:

Oh, you're too modest, Mr. Ellsworthy.

Those sketches you did

of Amy Gibbs

were really very good.

Yes, well, uh,

Amy would make a very pretty

subject for anyone.

You think so?

I've always found her

rather common.

Certainly not the sort

to whom a man

would want to lose his heart.

She'd be sure to break it,

wouldn't she?

Yes, yes,

I... I suppose that's so.

Bridget, what a thing to say

about poor Amy.

After all, she's dead.

Dead?

LUKE [ON TAPE]:

He was in love with Amy,

and he knows enough about dope

to kill someone with it.

And he's not very well-liked.

And that's all I know

about Ellsworthy,

except that he's generally

pretty weird.

Oh, that's brilliant,

Professor Williams,

they're all pretty weird,

except Bridget.

Okay. Now let's look at

the victim for a minute. Amy.

She was young and pretty,

she was a man-chaser,

she was unreliable.

Bridget said she worked here

until Easterfield

got in a hassle with her.

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