Wow!!! A great day to post -- such wonderful fics today.
As you can see I now know how many parts.
Yes -- longer than SP1 and SP2 -- so please hang in there with me. I've really enjoyed writing this one and working with my wonderful BR -- Laswa
More "Arsenic and Old Lace", more 1938, 1948, 1994 and more bodies!!!!!
Hope you all like it.
From part 8
Sheldon Bender left the high school and walked toward the parking lot. He heard a noise and turned around in time to barely make out, beneath the dim illumination of a lamppost, what appeared to be just a shadow. It held up a gun and fired.
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Now for Part 9
Cassville, New Jersey
Sunday,
October 30, 1938
8:47 p.m. EST
David Trask glanced over at the radio and then slowly tightened his grip on the rifle. He altered his position somewhat to get the best view of the road in front of the house, while the radio continued calling a play by play of the attack.
##### OBSERVER: One hundred and forty yards to the right, sir.
OFFICER: Shift range . . . thirty-one meters.
GUNNER: Thirty-one meters
OFFICER: Projection . . . thirty-seven degrees.
GUNNER: Thirty-seven degrees.
OFFICER: Fire!
Another boom. Another pause.
OBSERVER: A hit, sir! We got the tripod of one of them. They've stopped. The others are trying to repair it. #####
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Smallville, Kansas
Thursday,
February 3, 1994
7:50 p.m. CST
Jonathan Kent, using an electric drill, was finishing up the last hinge on what was to be the all important window seat for the set of “Arsenic and Old Lace”. He stepped back and surveyed his work. He carefully moved the set piece to where it would finally reside in the Brewster living room and spent a couple minutes securing it to the ‘flat’.
Taking one last look, he turned and walked out the back stage door of the auditorium and toward the practice room.
As he entered, the cast was just completing a segment.
Mortimer/Clark: When the curtain goes up the first thing you’ll see will be a dead body.
The script calls for Mortimer to lift the window-seat and see the dead body, to drop the cover, walk away; and, then realizing what he had seen, do a ‘double take’, go back and look again. He is then supposed to back away and seeing Aunt Abby return to the room, quickly sit on the window seat
Clark pantomimed this process while the onlookers snickered at his facial expressions and his exaggerated movements.
Mortimer/Clark: Aunt Abby!
Abby/Beatrice: Yes, dear?
Mortimer/Clark: You were going to make plans for Teddy to go to that... sanitarium--Happy Dale--
Aunt Abby/Beatrice: [Pretending to bring legal papers from the sideboard to Mortimer.] Yes, dear, it’s all arranged. Dr. Harper was here today and brought the papers for Teddy to sign. Here they are.
Mortimer/Clark: [Takes them from her.]
Jonathan walked over to Martha as the actors continued with their rehearsal. He sat down next to her, leaned closer and whispered something in her ear. “Great!” Martha whispered back. “We’ll try this again on stage in a few minutes.”
Mortimer/Clark: There’s a body in the window-seat!
Aunt Abby/Beatrice: Yes, dear, we know.
Mortimer/Clark: You *know*?
Aunt Martha/Libby: Of course, dear, but it has nothing to do with Teddy.
The script called for Aunt Martha to be busy with arranging stuff on the table. Miss Libby puttered around as she pantomimed that action.
Aunt Abby/Beatrice: Now, Mortimer, just forget about it--forget you ever saw the gentleman.
Mortimer/Clark *Forget*?
Aunt Abby/Beatrice: We never dreamed you’d peek.
Chuckles erupted from the rest of the cast members. “Let’s stop there,” Martha informed them. The Technical Director, she pointed to her husband with pride, has finished an important part of the set--the window seat. And I thought we’d go on the stage and do this scene again, using the set piece so we can see if it will work.”
Clark walked over to Lois and put his arm around her and escorted her toward the auditorium. Beatrice and Miss Libby strolled over just behind them followed by Wayne Irig, Donald Botts and Jonathan. Martha put her arm through Richard’s as they took up the rear.
Richard shuddered inwardly as Martha’s arm slipped through his. He put on what he imagined to be a plebian face and smiled at the woman.
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Smallville, Kansas
Sunday,
October 30, 1938
10:40 p.m. CST
Jerry Kent smiled down at the woman who held their baby son in her arms. He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “This has been an incredible night to welcome a new baby into the world--what with Martians, and everything.”
The exhausted woman looked up at her beaming husband and smiled back. “Do you think it will happen in his time?” she asked looking down at her son.
“What will?” the sheriff asked her.
“Aliens coming to visit us.”
“I’m sure that he will see wonders that we never even imagined. And I only pray that someday, someday...he will be as lucky as me and will find a wonderful woman to become his wife. And that he, too, will have a son that will be as special to him as he is to me.”
Betty gazed at her husband. “I’m the lucky one,” she said.
“Well?” he asked her. “Have you decided on a name?”
Betty smiled down at her son. “Yes,” she responded. “Jonathan. Jonathan Kent.”
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Smallville, Kansas
Thursday,
February 3, 1994
8:10 p.m. CST
Jonathan Kent proudly showed off his handiwork. The actors looked at the now finished stairway, winding its way up to the supposed second floor; and at the window seat which had been securely fastened to the partial wall under what was soon to be a window which overlooked the church cemetery. A partially painted ‘flat’, with gravestones and leafless trees, was leaning over on the side of the proscenium.
The window-seat set piece was bordered with some unique molding to give it an elegant and somewhat dated feel. “It will look even better when it is sanded and stained,” Jonathan Kent told them all. “But I thought you might want to see if it opens easily enough and will not wobble when all of you are sitting up and down on it. I will shore it up, if it doesn’t work well.”
“Okay,” Martha said. “Let’s give it a try. Beatrice, start with: ‘Well, when Elaine comes back....’ And let’s see if you can try it without your scripts.”
The actors placed their scripts on several chairs and took their places.
Aunt Abby/Beatrice: Well, when Elaine comes back I think we ought to have a little celebration. We must drink to your happiness. Martha, isn’t there some of that Lady Baltimore cake left? [She walks down stage left.]
Aunt Martha/Libby: [Crossing to her.] Oh, yes!
Aunt Abby/Beatrice: And I’ll open a bottle of wine.
Aunt Martha/Libby: [As she exits to the kitchen.] Oh, and to think it happened in this room!
Mortimer/Clark: [Has finished looking through papers, and is gazing around the room.] Now where could I have put that?
Aunt Abby/Beatrice: Well, with your fiancée sitting beside you tonight, I do hope the play will be something you can enjoy for once. It may be something romantic. What’s the name of it?
Mortimer/Clark: “Murder Will Out.”
Aunt Abby/Beatrice: Oh, dear! [She disappears into the kitchen as Mortimer goes on talking.]
Mortimer/Clark: When the curtain goes up the first thing you’ll see will be a dead body.
And as the script told him to, Clark lifted the window seat and saw one.
“There’s a body in the window seat,” Clark told everyone incredulously.
“You’ve skipped ahead,” his mother informed him. “The next line is....
“No, mom. There *is* a body in the window-seat.”
All the members of the Smallville Players closed around the window-seat to see Sheldon Bender lying dead.
“Well it’s just a lawyer,” Donald Botts informed them.
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Smallville, Kansas
Monday,
October 31, 1938
9:00 a.m. CST
“Where is she?” Joe Clark, attorney at law, asked.
“She’s still asleep,” his wife answered. “She’s had a pretty difficult night.”
“Yeah, I know,” Joe agreed. “But she’s going have to face even harder times ahead.”
“What’s your plan?”
“Well, I’m not sure I have one,” the lawyer admitted. “The doors were all locked, no sign of a break in, and everyone dead in the house but her. To boot, she was holding the smoking gun, so to speak.”
“There has to be much more than that,” Theresa insisted.
“The Barton family has kept to themselves for so many years. I’m not sure that we can unearth any answers, especially since Libby won’t let me ask the questions.”
“But she’s only twelve years old,” Theresa Clark offered.
“Yet she killed her whole family.”
“Do you really believe she could do that?”
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Smallville, Kansas
Friday,
February 4, 1994
3:45 p.m. CST
Keith Haley rushed into the bookstore. “She didn’t do it!” he exclaimed. “She didn’t kill them!”
“How do you know that?” Cindy asked, as Keith joined the two girls sitting on the couch in the corner.
“I’ve been reading the coroner’s report that was used at the trial. And it just doesn’t make sense,” he explained. “Laslo Barton’s entry wound had to be made by someone much taller. They tried to prove that Laslo was down on his knees when Miss Libby shot him, but not only would she have had to be above him but the gun would have had to be sort of twisted in her hand to have made that shot. I just don’t think she did it.”
“Well, why didn’t Joe Clark, argue that? He was a pretty good lawyer,” Emily said. “My dad told me how good he was and that he kept fighting for Miss Libby even after they put her away.”
“Because Miss Libby told my father not to,” Martha Kent responded, coming to join the young people.
The group looked up at Martha Kent who was offering the young group lemonade and cookies.
“There were some family secrets that my father promised he would not reveal and so no defense was presented at all.
“But she was only twelve years old,” Cindy exclaimed. “Why did he listen to her. Shouldn’t he have convinced her to reveal everything.”
Martha put the tray down and sat down across from the four high school students. “My father blamed himself for many years. He tried to persuade Miss Libby to present some kind of a defense. But she was a very headstrong young lady. She told the district attorney that she had done it and she wouldn’t change her story.”
The young people looked at each other.
“My father was able to get her incarcerated in a special facility and he worked diligently to try to get her out as soon as possible. She was finally released when she was twenty-one years old after nine years in that place.”
“Nine years?” Keith questioned. “Mrs. Kent, Miss Libby said she had been away for ten years. Where was she that last year?”
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Smallville, Kansas
Wednesday,
June 30, 1948
10:30 a.m. CST
The square in the middle of town was decorated for Fourth of July. Red, white and blue bunting was everywhere as were flags and streamers.
Miss Libby Barton emerged from the bus that stopped in front of city hall. She carried a small, battered suitcase given to her by another waitress at the café in Roswell. Libby put the suitcase down and looked around. The town hadn’t changed in the ten years she had been gone. It was still the same. Several people walked by and just glanced at her. The town hadn’t changed, but she had. She had left a child of twelve and was now a young woman of twenty-two. She had lived in an institution for nine years, and she had borne and lost a baby.
Libby looked up at the city hall as a man descended the steps. “Hello Libby,” Joe Clark said. “You’re coming home with me, at least until we can open up your house and get you resituated. This is Martha,” he told Libby and indicated the six-year old holding on to his hand. “She’s here to help.”
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Cassville, New Jersey
Sunday,
October 30, 1938
8:49 p.m. EST
Mary Trask pulled her son Jason along the road. She came to an abrupt stop at a barricade where the sheriff’s department had set up a road block.
“Everyone, listen to me!” a deputy yelled out. “There are no Martians! There are no Martians! It was just a radio program. Go back to your homes. Believe me! Trust me. There is no invasion!”
Mary saw her neighbor’s automobile and waved him down. “Is it true, Stan?” Mary asked the driver and his wife sitting next to him? There are no Martians?”
“It was just a play,” Katie Nowak told them.
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Smallville, Kansas
Saturday,
February 5, 1994
10:30 a.m. CST
Lois, Clark, Martha and Jonathan were sitting in the bookstore discussing the play. “Well, what shall we do?” Martha asked them. “The number of deaths are reaching epidemic proportions and we have a decision to make.”
The bell over the door tinkled and Libby Barton walked in and joined the group. She sat on the couch next to Clark and looked across at Martha. “Don’t cancel the play,” she told them. “I know it’s just a play, but it means a great deal to me, right now.”
The others looked at her. “Miss Libby,” Martha started.
“Please,” Miss Libby implored, as she clasped her large shopping bag to her chest.
Within its confines, lay the globe. Miss Libby was ready to use it as a bargaining chip. But she hoped she wouldn’t have to. She knew that she was going to have to get it to Clark soon, but she really didn’t want him to know that she had had it all these years.
The globe started to resonate and Libby could feel its vibrations. It appeared to be getting stronger. Obviously Clark could hear it, as he cocked his head. But it was also obvious that he had no idea what it was.
Miss Libby jumped to her feet. “I have to go,” she explained and headed quickly toward the door. Once there, she turned to face the four speechless people. “Many folks don’t know how much I have secretly contributed to his town, and I really haven’t asked for much except to be left alone. I’m now asking.”
Martha looked down and then back up at Libby.
“Martha,” Libby continued. “Your father tried to help me but I wouldn’t let him. Please help me now,” she begged as she opened the door, and then turned back yet another time. “I’m dying,” she told them, “and I need to do this one last thing.”
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Cassville, New Jersey
Sunday,
October 30, 1938
8:51 p.m. EST
David Trask heard a noise coming from behind him.
##### OFFICER: Quick, get the range! Shift thirty meters.
GUNNER: Thirty meters.
OFFICER: Projection . . . twenty-seven degrees.
GUNNER: Twenty-seven degrees.
OFFICER: Fire! #####
Trask turned and fired.
##### ANNOUNCER: I'm speaking from the roof of the Broadcasting Building, Metropolis. The bells you hear are ringing to warn the people to evacuate the city as the Martians approach. Estimated in last two hours three million people have moved out along the roads to the north, Hobbs River Parkway still kept open for motor traffic. Avoid bridges as . . . hopelessly jammed. All communication with Jersey shore closed ten minutes ago. No more defenses. Our army wiped out . . . artillery, air force, everything wiped out. This may be the last broadcast. We'll stay here to the end . . . People are holding service below us . . . in the cathedral.
From the radio came the sound of voices singing a hymn.
ANNOUNCER: Now I look down the harbor. All manner of boats, overloaded with fleeing population, pulling out from docks.
The sad sounds of boat whistles appeared to come from a distance.
ANNOUNCER: Streets are all jammed. Noise of crowds like New Year's Eve in the city. Wait a minute . . . Enemy now in sight above the Palisades. Five -- five great machines. First one is crossing river. I can see it from here, wading the river like a man wading through a brook . . . A bulletin's handed to me . . . Martian cylinders are falling all over the country. One outside Buffalo, one in Chicago, St. Louis . . . seem to be timed and spaced . . . Now the first machine reaches the shore. He stands watching, looking over the city. His steel, cowlish head is even with the skyscrapers. He waits for the others. They rise like a line of new towers on the city's west side . . . Now they're lifting their metal hands.
This is the end now. Smoke comes out . . . black smoke, drifting over the city. People in the streets see it now. They're running towards Hobbs River . . . thousands of them, dropping in like rats. Now the smoke's spreading faster. It's reached Daily Planet Square. People trying to run away from it, but it's no use. They're falling like flies. Now the smoke's crossing Sixth Avenue . . . Fifth Avenue . . . one hundred yards away . . . it's fifty feet . . .
A thud of a body falling echoed from the radio. #####
In his small home in Casswell, New Jersey--perhaps only a few miles away from the invading hordes of Martians, David Trask looked at the fallen body of his wife and then at the radio as an announcer interrupted the tale of destruction.
##### ANNOUNCER: You are listening to a CBS presentation of Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre on the Air in an original dramatization of The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells. The performance will continue after a brief intermission. This is the Columbia Broadcasting System. #####
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Smallville, Kansas
Saturday,
February 5, 1994
8:30 p.m. CST
Lois entered the small convenience store around the corner from where she lived. She smiled at Mrs. Grochawalski, the proprietor who normally had a warm welcome for the English teacher. In fact, Mrs. G., as the neighborhood referred to her, usually had lots to say. It was sometimes difficult to get away from her stories, but she was a dear soul, so Lois most often times stayed to listen.
Mrs. G. was not talking and instead her eyes appeared to be darting furtively toward the rear of the store. Lois stared at the older woman and then turned just in time to see a tall man in a ski mask walk toward her with a gun.
Lois paused for a moment. She had to do something. But what? Her heart was pounding rapidly. She took a deep breath and moved closer to him. “You really don’t want to do this,” she said anxiously.
“Shut your mouth,” the man hissed, just as the door to the store opened and Lex Luthor alias Richard Thurston, walked in.
The man finding himself with three people facing him, waved the gun around and then pulled the trigger.
As the shot rang out, Mrs. G. screamed, and Richard jumped, pushing himself and Lois down. The gunman ran out the door and down the street.
Richard righted himself and pulled Lois to her feet. He ran out the front door with Lois following, to see Superman landing in front of the store. “You’re bleeding,” Lois told Richard as she followed him through the door, looking wide-eyed at the man who had just saved her life.
“I’m fine,” he told Lois, trying to appear gallant. “Superman!” Luthor yelled. “The thief ran off that way. I’ll see to Miss Lane.”
Clark paused to regard Richard, a fleeting thought nagging at the back of his mind.
“She’ll be safe in my hands,” Lex Luthor told the man of steel.
tbc
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