WOLFE
If you don’t talk to me, I don’t have a job. And I’m not
really qualified for anything else.
JOHNATHAN
More like overqualified- But I bet you’d flip a mean burger.
WOLFE
So what happened today?
JOHNATHAN
I had the feeling we’d come back to that soon.
WOLFE gives JOHNATHAN a concerned look. JOHNATHAN inhales
deeply and looks at WOLFE afterwhich JOHNATHAN quickly averts his eyes and studies
the floor as he begins speaking.
JOHNATHAN
DeSantos…He made comments about my wife today.
WOLFE
What did he say?
JOHNATHAN
It started with cell inspection. DeSantos was the officer
assigned to search my cell today. There’s a picture I keep of my wife under my
pillow. The pig snatches it and puts in is his pocket, saying that he’ll “save
it for later.” He said that such a “fine piece of ass” didn’t deserve to be
saddled with a screwball like me.
WOLFE
Hmm. What did you do in response?
JOHNATHAN
I warned him not to dehumanize my wife by reducing her to a
sex object. He laughs in my face and wraps a hand around his baton. He dares me
to try something. Unfortunately for him, I’m a risk-taker.
WOLFE
And this is when…?
JOHNATHAN
Yeah. That’s when I started choking the life out of that son
of a bitch.
WOLFE
That isn’t a healthy way of responding. He may have wronged
you, but he is still a human being.
JOHNATHAN
Yeah? Well I’ll probably get an extra twelve years added to
my sentence, so I can care less about your morality.
WOLFE
I understand your frustration, especially since he exhibited
such deviant behavior, but violence is never the answer.
JOHNATHAN
Do you think I don’t know? Do you honestly think that after
my wife and children were murdered that I wouldn’t fucking know that?! I don’t
even know what the fuck I’m in here for, so maybe nearly killing that asshole might
at least justify my being here!
In frustration, JOHNATHAN sweeps the objects on WOLFE’s desk
onto the floor. JOHNATHAN is standing and panting heavily. WOLFE calmly looks
at JOHNATHAN. JOHNATHAN, surprised by his own anger, sits down.
JOHNATHAN
Jesus… I’m sorry Doc-
DETECTIVE WELSH, POLICEMAN 1 and POLICEMAN 2 burst through
the door as JOHNATHAN lowers himself into the chair.
DECTECTIVE WELSH
What’s going on?!
WOLFE
It was nothing, Detective, just an outburst. You can return
to your posts; I can handle it from here.
DETECTIVE WELSH
I don’t think so, Dr. Wolfe. I know you trust your patients,
but I don’t. And given his track record, you’re in no position to be defending
him. That episode this with Officer DeSantos this morning should be enough to
prove that. We should get him out of here.
JOHNATHAN
The man’s right, Doc. I don’t want to hurt you. I don’t
really want to hurt anyone. I just want to understand what’s going on.
POLICEMAN 1 and POLICEMAN 2 look at JOHNATHAN somewhat
confused, and then look to each other. DETECTIVE WELSH just frowns and holsters
his gun.
DETECTIVE WELSH
Alright boys. Let’s get him back to cell block C before
curfew.
DETECTIVE WELSH and POLICEMAN 2 leave. POLICEMAN 1 lingers
and looks to WOLFE.
POLICEMAN
1
What did he mean that he didn’t understand what was going
on?
WOLFE
Johnathan suffers from memory repression. You see, he
believes that his wife and children were murdered.
POLICEMAN 1
What? But… But wasn’t it-
WOLFE
Johnathan who killed his wife? Yes, it was.
POLICEMAN 1
Oh my God… D-Did he kill his kids too?
WOLFE
No. Detective Welsh was in charge of the investigation
regarding Johnathan. He found clues while I tried piecing together a motive
based on evidence. Surveillance showed Johnathan’s wife and children were at a gas
station on the twentieth of March last year. Johnathan’s children were hit by a
car while their mother was purchasing gasoline.
POLICEMAN 1
Jesus… But why would he kill his wife?
WOLFE
It is my belief that Johnathan blamed his wife for their
passing and killed her out of grief.
DETECTIVE WELSH
Officer Brandon?
POLICEMAN 1 jumps at the sound of his/her name.
POLICEMAN 1
Coming, sir!
WOLFE closes the door behind her and reclines in his chair. WOLFE
picks up a pill bottle from the miscellaneous objects strewn on the floor. WOLFE
chuckles softly and pockets the pill bottle.
Cue light fading
As the lights come back on, we see DETECTIVE WELSH standing
in the psychiatric office. WOLFE is at his desk, a book is in his hand, though
he politely disregards it while conversing with DETECTIVE WELSH.
DETECTIVE
WELSH
I’m serious, Edwin. This “Johnathan Bard…” Edwin, he already
has two strikes.
WOLFE appears baffled for a moment.
WOLFE
Pardon me, but this is his “second” offence?
DETECTIVE WELSH shakes his head grimly. He sighs and rubs
his eyes.
DETECTIVE
WELSH
Last night at cell inspection, he broke into some kind of
rant about how the guards had something to do with his wife’s death. When
Officer Brown came to inspect his cell, Bard-
WOLFE
Johnathan?
DETECTIVE
WELSH
None other. He glared at him with such intensity, I thought
that the bars would melt. I just walking by his room when all of a sudden I
hear a yelp.
WOLFE
Did he attempt to…to kill him, Richard?
DETECTIVE WELSH
He stabbed Officer Brown with a plastic spork. So needless
to say, it wasn’t a particularly fatal wound
WOLFE
(chuckling) As I would imagine.
DETECTIVE WELSH
I know. It was pretty funny. It would be funnier if he
hadn’t had that incident with Officer DeSantos two weeks ago, but unfortunately
he did.
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