Mindgame by Anthony Horowitz Page A

forcing her to drop the scalpel. Then he drags her to her feet and backhands her across the face. PLIMPTON slumps. FARQUHAR throws her onto the floor so that she falls behind the medical screen.
    FARQUHAR turns to STYLER and smiles.
    FARQUHAR: Excuse me. This won’t take a minute.
    Then, taking the scalpel, FARQUHAR throws himself on top of PLIMPTON. The lighting allows us to see their shadows behind the screen. We see his arm come up with the scalpel; once, twice, three times. PLIMPTON screams. The alarm rings. The lights flash.
    Now blood splatters out — onto the screen. We watch as if in a shadow play as PLIMPTON is brutally killed. And all STYLER can do is squirm and scream.
    STYLER: Don’t hurt her! Oh for Christ’s sake! Help someone! Help!
    A pause. FARQUHAR steps out from behind the screen, his mad eyes fixed on STYLER, a mad smile on his lips. The glistening scalpel is in his hand. He is soaked in blood.
    He picks up the telephone and speaks into it.
    FARQUHAR: ( Into telephone .) My security clearance is thirty-one. My labrador’s name is Reginald.
    The alarm stops. FARQUHAR advances on a terrified STYLER.
    Time to start work on Chapter Two.
    Blackout.
    End of Act One.
    * Quoted from Interpersonal Perception by R D Laing (1966)

 
Act Two
    The second act picks up the last moments of the first. The alarm is still ringing. NURSE PLIMPTON (Carol Ennis) has just been killed. DR FARQUHAR (Easterman) is talking on the telephone.
    FARQUHAR: My security clearance is twenty-nine. My labrador’s name is Reginald.
    Even here there are subtle differences. The security clearance number has changed. And as the alarm stops ringing and the flashing lights stop, we can see (but might not notice) that more changes have been made to the set and to the costumes of both FARQUHAR and STYLER.
    It’s time to start work on Chapter Two.
    STYLER: ( Total panic .) Jesus Christ! Oh Jesus…
    STYLER — impeded by the strait-jacket — lurches to his feet and runs over to the door through which PLIMPTON made her entrances. He tries to open it, turning round and scrabbling with his hands. FARQUHAR watches him. Then…
    FARQUHAR: I don’t think you’re thinking this quite through.
    STYLER twists round to protect himself as FARQUHAR approaches slowly.
    STYLER: Get away from me! Just get away from me! Get away!
    FARQUHAR: Even assuming you could get that door open, which I very much doubt, you wouldn’t get very far. It’s a cupboard.
    STYLER runs over to the other door.
    STYLER: ( Shouting .) Help me somebody! Help me somebody, please.
    FARQUHAR: There’s nobody in the building who can help you. There’s nobody in the building you’d want to help you. How about Borson? Why don’t you ask Borson for help? I’m sure he’ll be happy to supply you with a little mouth-to-mouth.
    STYLER: Oh God!
    STYLER sinks to his knees and tries to get out of the straitjacket.
    FARQUHAR: What are you doing?
    STYLER: Let me go, please. Please, let me go.
    FARQUHAR: You want to go?
    STYLER: Yes!
    FARQUHAR: But you’ve come all this way. You drove three and a half hours up the motorway just to see me.
    STYLER: I came to see Dr Farquhar.
    FARQUHAR: ( Pointing at the skeleton .) There he is.
    STYLER: ( Slumps to the floor, moaning .) No…
    FARQUHAR: This is very sad.
    STYLER: Please don’t hurt me!
    FARQUHAR: ( Angry .) Stop saying that! What do you think I am?
    STYLER: I know what you are. I know what you are. You’re…
    FARQUHAR: Go on.
    STYLER: You’re Easterman.
    FARQUHAR: Yes.
    STYLER: You’re going to kill me.
    FARQUHAR: How do you know?
    STYLER: You killed Nurse…Dr Ennis.
    FARQUHAR: That was self-defence.
    STYLER: ( Hysterical .) Self-defence? How can it…? What do you mean? Self-defence?
    FARQUHAR: She hit me first. Do you want me to help you into a chair?
    STYLER: No.
    FARQUHAR: ( Approaching him .) You’d be more comfortable…
    STYLER: