ACT THREE Flashcards
Ben: ….. especially that motive for the strangulation of Lord Clive!
But what other explanation fits the facts?
lights go on
Are you quite sure you’ve got it all straight now, Ben?
Ben: Well, when you put it that way-
Good.
Shall we start the summing up, sir?
Ben: Yes, I suppose we should. How do I look?
Splendid, sir. The consummate Great Detective in the flesh!
Ben: You really think so?
You’ll strike terror into every guilty heart in the room!
Nancy: Now-?
Now.
Chloe: Algy, will you please stop admitting you did it?
Where are Tom Groggins and Mimosa?
Ben: … I suppose that is a bit more accurate-
It is not! Chief Inspector Braddock will tell you all precisely what happened!
Pierre: Do we even get to argue with on various points?
Not unless you want this denouement to drag on till dawn!
Ben: Sergeant Threedle, I hereby authorize you to shoot the next person who interrupts me!
But, Ben, I’m not armed.
Ben: Alma, why didn’t you fire?
At whom? They all interrupted in unison!
Monica: …. Sergeant, but I simply must interrupt!
Ben-?
Pierre: What are you suggesting, Inspector?
Shall I shoot him, sir?
Ben: … damnable side-excursions into their own conversations.
As you wish, sir.
Ben: …. Now why would the old skinflint do a thing like that? Lady Monica-?
I don’t shoot at people merely answering questions, milady.
Algy: …. Chloe Custardine!
My trigger-finger is getting very itchy-!
Ben: …. I had a roomate-
Ben-
Ben: She was a lovely little thing, but rather strapped, financially-
Ben-
Ben: Duh-uh-well–
Ben!
Ben: Yes, Sergeant?
I told you to tell this part about my college days, remember?!
Ben: Shoot that man!
Oh, come on, Ben! Now that you’ve blown it, let me handle this part of the solution, all right?
Ben: All right.
My college roomate, of whom Ben spoke, had taken this job as a hotel maid. But about that same time, she needed an operation. A cervical laminectomy with fusion.
Nancy: The same as Monsooer Pourri’s!
Precisely. Unfortunately, there is a side-effect to this surgery about which neurosurgeons never think to warn their patients. My friend lost her job at the hotel because of it.
Fredonia: What side-effect?
She could no longer change the pillow casings when making up rooms!
Mimosa: What is a C.L.w/F. anyhow?
A disk had ruptured between two of the vertebrae in the neck, causing pain and often paralysis as it presses on the spinal nerves there.it is vital that this disk be surgically removed, and the two vertebrae surrounding it fused together, usually with a small sliver of bone from the hip, or there might ensue paralysis, or even death.
Remley: …. cause your friend to lose her job in the hotel?
There are seven vertebrae in the neck. After the fusion, in effect, the person now has only six flexible vertebrae, since two now move as one. It prevents the person’s chin from reaching the person’s chest.
Monica: …. But- what in the world does this have to do with Pierre?
He could no longer put his trousers on a hanger!
O.E.B.: What?!
Ask any man how it’s done: Two hands must hold the trousers at the sides, in order to maintain their crease, whole the cuffs of the trousers are held between chin and chest as the hanger is maneuvered into position. Pierre could no longer hang up his trousers neatly-