"Marcus?" "I let myself in." "You weren't expected until the week." "I have a key." "Paul..." "Father had one cut for me." "Yes, of course." "You should have a key." "I hired a car from the airport." "Took some money from the desk, a thousand pesetas." "I almost called the police." "I knew Consuela had left." "Consuela?" "She works for me, around the house." "It was scary." "You were frightened?" "I don't like to be alone." "I like to be alone." "Not to be confused with being lonely, that's quite different." "I'm sorry Paul isn't here." "He'll be very disappointed." "We thought it was over a week til the end of term." "What happened?" "Marcus." "There was an outbreak, chickenpox." "Are you all right?" "I'm never ill." "Anyway, let's forget about school." "Welcome home." "We're going to be good friends." "Yes." "Paul wants that more than anything." "Now, you must be hungry." "No, not really." "I'd better go and unpack." "What do I call you?" "Elise." "Ok?" "Hmm." "Hi." "Anything I can do, get you?" "No." "What would you like for dinner?" "Anything." "Something special?" "There must be something." "No." "Do you actually read some of these books?" "Most of them." "What's, uh, phenology?" "The study of the times of recurring natural phenomena, especially those that appear to be related to climatic conditions." "I like cold chicken and salad." "So do I." "Ice cream?" "Chocolate?" "Is there any other flavor?" "How old are you?" "Fifteen or fifty." "Depends on how I feel." "Twenty-five?" "Twenty-two." "Why?" "Paul's forty-two." "Yes." "Mother was thirty-five when she died." "Yes, I know." "When I'm twenty-five, you'll be thirty-five." "Marcus?" "Yes." "Marcus, it's Paul on the phone from Paris." "He wants to talk to you." "Ok, come in." "Hello." "Hello, Paul." "Yes, chickenpox, that's right." "The flight was fine." "Yes." "She's very beautiful." "That goes without saying." "I'm sure we will." "Quite sure." "Okay." "Here she is then." "He wants to speak to you." "Paul." "Huh?" "Oh, darling, it's a terrible line." "What?" "Yes." "Saturday night dinner with Clive." "No, no." "No, he'll understand." "Huh?" "You, you don't have to explain." "Paul." "No, no." "He'll understand." "I must go." "Marcus." "Marcus!" "Breakfast!" "Ooh, one for you already?" "Oh, a book club circular." "Anything interesting?" "No, they're a nuisance." "They even send them here." "Anything for me?" "Don't think so." "Here." "Expecting one from Paris?" "Well, you never know your luck." "Do you want me to write to them for you?" "What?" "The book club." "Take you off their list." "No, let them waste their money." "Oh, here." "Let me." "Tell me if you feel queasy." "Yes." "Don't want you catching chickenpox." "No." "All right." "Good." "Marcus." "What?" "Don't you have any friends?" "Of course." "I meant around here." "Not here." "No." "Not at all?" "No." "Pity." "Why?" "It's a shame to waste a pool." "I suppose so." "Paul and I use it so little." "You look..." "lonely all by yourself." "I've got Trotsky." "Marcus?" "That letter, Marcus." "What letter?" "From the book club." "I tore it up." "Without opening it?" "Yes." "You're sure it was a circular?" "Yes." "Addressed to you?" "You're mysterious this afternoon." "Just inquisitive." "One of my vices." "Salt." "What?" "A pillar of salt, Lot's wife, in the Bible." "Turned to salt for looking back." "Curiosity was her downfall." "Sounds like a slogan for a horror film." "All virgins, fangs and hairy faces." "Why do you try to talk like Paul?" "Do I?" "All the time." "I can see your eyes, but you can't see mine." "Did he like the book idea?" "So-so." "What went wrong?" "Oh, it will be all right." "If I had chickenpox," "I could stay in bed." "Show me your tongue." "Put it away." "DeGray sends his love." "He says you can come and work for him whenever you like." "Lovely, old lech." "Lovely." "Why an English school?" "Odd question." "Sarah wanted it." "Oh, ...sorry." "I didn't... know." "Forget it." "Oh, honey." "You witch." "Love you, baby." "Oh, Paul!" "Oh, Paul!" "Ha ha ha" " Oh, you monster!" "Paul!" "Hey." "Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" "Paul?" "Hmm'?" "Ls Marcus happy at school?" "Getting all parental?" "Has he got any friends?" "Of course." "Know any of them?" "He isn't all cranium... and pebble lancers surrounded by chess sets." "He's a great kid." "You only have to watch him." "I do." "He seems, uh, distant." "From a woman, that means lonely." "All right, lonely." "He has his problems." "Of course." "It's too easy to forget that... he's only a child, twelve years old." "He needs as much love, warmth, sympathy, understanding..." "as any other kid." "His mother's death must have stunned him." "Of course it did." "Was he very broken up?" "Very." "I booked a table." "Oh, does Marcus know we're going out?" "We always do at the end of term." "He loves Chinese food." "Well, I'd better go and scrub his knees or whatever it is twelve year olds get dirty." "I would like to learn Chinese." "Why, for chrissakes?" "Then I could read Confucius, in the original." "Confucius?" "He gave the instructions on the training necessary to become a superior man." ""The Great Learning" it was called." "Sounds hip." "It had most things in perspective." "Especially wives." "Seven basic reasons for divorce, disobedience, barrenness, lewdness, jealousy garrulousness, leprosy and stealing." "No corruption or stupidity?" "Utopia." "Did you borrow some money, Elise?" "Borrow?" "From my desk." "Marcus paid for his car coming from the airport." "Three hundred pesetas." "You told me..." "I thought you told me a thousand pesetas." "No, Elise." "Doesn't matter." "I'm sure you told me a thousand pesetas." "When?" "In the hall." "I mentioned no amount." "Look, forget it." "How much is missing?" "Elise, forget it." "I shouldn't have said anything." "I just thought that..." "Perhaps Consuela..." "She's so honest, she wouldn't take a biscuit without asking." "All right." "I didn't have any Spanish money." "Elise, uh, Elise made a mistake." "Yeah." "Would any of you feel insulted if I asked for a spoon and fork?" "I'm starving." "Come on in, Paul." "The water's lovely." "Corning." "Paul." "Uh hum." "Do you love me?" "Odd question." "Do you?" "Of course I do." "Why so serious?" "Do you love her?" "Very much." "And "her"" "is Elise." "Sorry." "What's wrong?" "She doesn't like me." "Not so loud, she can hear you." "She doesn't." "I can tell." "You idiot." "And she thinks I stole the money." "That isn't funny, Marcus." "You heard her." "She was mistaken." "She searched my room." "Thank you." "Did you search Marcus' room?" "Does he think I did?" "Yes." "Do you think I did?" "I hope not." "But you're not sure." "No." "What am I supposed to have been looking for?" "The money." "I see." "Well..." "Well, what?" "Did you?" "Where's the school?" "Berkshire." "Beautiful." "Cookham, near Windsor." "Is he happy there?" "He doesn't complain." "Paul..." "Hmm'?" "Does he resent me?" "No." "It's going to take time." "We both knew that." "Marcus." "Thank you." "Will you wait, please?" "Yes." "Good afternoon, Mrs. Bezant." "My secretary told me you'd, uh, phoned from the airport." "Please sit down." "To be quite frank," "I had expected Mr. Bezant to have contacted me before now." "He's been away, almost constantly, working flat-out on a new book, with Splash Publishers." "On surrealism." "I read his articles in the Sunday Times." "It must be very difficult coping with so many boys." "I have a first class staff." "I meant all the cuts and bruises, measles and, uh, chickenpox." "Per taskwork, we've only had one broken wrist." "And the usual assortment of colds this term." "Dr. Kessel, as you no doubt realize," "Marcus is my stepson." "I met him for the first time when he came home." "Forgive me if I seem a little blunt, but, uh," "I would prefer to discuss this matter with your husband." "I was hoping I could protect him from the worry." "Your husband has seen my letter?" "Not yet." "I wanted to speak to you first." "I see." "I haven't seen the letter." "But, uh..." "Marcus destroyed it." "I found some smaller pieces in a book." "I find this very disturbing." "I think perhaps, uh, you should see this letter." "I just didn't realize." "What were these series of unfortunate incidents?" "Why did you expel Marcus?" "I find this very distressing, Mrs. Bezant." "It must have been serious." "The boy is quite brilliant, the most outstanding pupil we've ever had." "Was it other boys?" "Homosexuality?" "No." "That we usually know how to deal with." "Dr. Kessel, please." "I appreciate that this is very difficult, embarrassing, but I can't do anything to relieve the situation unless I know all the facts." "It, uh, .." "Started with these drawings." "We've had a series of complaints from local people." "A prowler, a face at the window, voyeur." "A boy from the school, they were quite certain." "Marcus?" "If fitted in with previous patterns in his behavior." "Previous patterns?" "One of the groundsmen rescued him from a beating one night." "Sorry." "Merrill pavilion is very popular among courting couples in the village." "Apparently, Marcus had engineered, uh, some spy holes at various vantage points." "You mentioned a beating." "One of the lads from the village caught Marcus spying on him and his girl." "If Clayton hadn't been around, he might have ended up in hospital." "But why didn't you report these incidents as they occurred, Dr. Kessel?" "Mrs. Bezant, I think we're at some variance." "I've had several meetings with your husband concerning the boy." "Oh." "I'm sorry." "I just wasn't aware." "At first, we naturally attributed his behavior as a reaction to his mother's most distressing death." "But, uh, that was nearly two years ago." "He stole a cat... killed it, after torturing it." "But the other incidents, serious as they were, it was possible to understand, overlooking them." "I can cope with... most things, but this was horrifying." "Frankly, I didn't know how to deal with it and didn't feel much like trying." "I'm very sorry," "I had no alternative but to remove the boy." "You look so beautiful." "Enter, enter." "There's no one here but me." "Sophie me." "Uh, that rhymes." "Sophie me." "Fie me." "And I may be a..." "I'm the hostess, and I've had the most." "Oh, here, let me." "How lovely." "Oh!" "So sorry." "Much too much." "My own party too." "But I don't like the people." "None of them." "Thank you." "I think what you need is some coffee." "What I need, my lovely lady, is a very big man, with very rough hands." "This place... doesn't it give you the creeps?" "No." "Why?" "Sarah." "She was my friend." "Under the water." "What happened?" "Dead." "Sophie, tell me what happened." "Must not get all morbid." "Ask Paul." "Bye, lovely lady." "Thanks for the..." "That was your house." "Yes." "Her house." "Yes." "Now it's Sophie's." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I sold it after Sarah died." "I haven't been back there til tonight." "I was trying to prove to myself that... that it was over." "No ghosts." "You didn't think about me." "We're going to share our lives." "Remember?" "Please, let's forget it." "You bastard!" "What are those people going to think?" "The majority are incapable." "The damned place was choked with zombies." "Don't you have a normal friend?" "Tell me what happened." "It was a heart attack." "She was bathing." "She slipped under the water." "She had a weak heart." "I didn't even know it." "Anyway, what does it matter, bath or bed or where?" "She is dead." "Your performance in the Chinese restaurant... first night we went out together." "Marcus took that money, Paul." "Did he?" "I think you know he did." "I found it, caught in the back of the drawer." "That was all." "He put it back." "Accusations are becoming a... a thing with you." "And his headmaster?" "Is he in on this conspiracy?" "Kessel?" "Have you spoken to Kessel?" "I've, uh, been to the school." "I took the early morning plane the day you went to Barcelona." "Paul... there was no chickenpox." "Marcus destroyed the letter." "Kessel wrote to explain it." "You've been so busy with the book, so tired." "I only wanted to help him, to help you." "I suppose he took you through the complete chamber of horrors." "The drawings, complaints." "He was never identified by any of those people." "The police reports, the pavilion incident." "Paul, why didn't you tell me?" "Marcus is over all that." "He killed a cat." "Tortured it." "Kessel can't deal with him anymore." "Can't overlook it this time." "Marcus was expelled." "I'll talk to Marcus." "Talk to him!" "?" "What do you want me to do?" "Beat him within an inch of his life?" "Lock him under the stairs?" "Shave his head?" "You have done nothing but harass him." "Accusing him, searching his room, going to his school." "You made your mind up before you met... that you weren't going to like him." "That's a terrible thing to say." "While you were listening to Kessel crucify my son, did you ever stop to think why?" "Why?" "Or were you only interested in... in exposing him?" "I wanted to help him." "To do that, you have to face facts." "You're just pretending it never happened." "Like Sarah's death." "Sell the house, forget... close your mind." "Now I just feel confused." "And frightened for us all." "Do I have to spell it out for you?" "Are you that obtuse?" "Marcus found his mother in the bath." "A few months later, the incidents started." "Poor Marcus." "Poor little devil." "I hadn't realized." "I destroyed everything of Sarah's." "Clothes, photographs, everything." "Darling... he needs time." "Time and love." "Sorry." "Sorry." "Wait til you get to know him, love him... like I do." "I will, Paul, I know I will." "Thought you were here." "Did you want something?" "Are you busy?" "No." "Paul has to go to Paris again soon." "I was wondering if there was something special you like to do?" "We could go out... anywhere." "Not really." "I like it here." "I've got all I want." "Marcus, Paul has told me about your mother." "Has he?" "I didn't know." "I suppose not." "I was in the attic." "Why, what's up there?" "I found some clothes and things in an old trunk." "Did you?" "I know they're Sarah's things." "I shouldn't think so." "You see, Paul threw all the clothes away." "Didn't he tell you?" "I'll talk to him if you like." "You could keep them in here, if it helps." "I don't know what you're talking about." "I'm sorry, Elise." "What was she like?" "Sorry, you... won't want to talk about it." "I don't mind." "Was she beautiful?" "No." "Attractive?" "To some maybe." "Was she tall?" ", short?" ", dark?" ", fair?" "Tall, fair." "If you really don't..." "No, you want to know." "I thought it might help to talk about her." "So, you're not just being inquisitive?" "Not this time." "Sarah was... exposed." "In what way?" "She never knew when Paul and I were joking." "I sympathize." "What did you think when Paul told you about... the accident?" "Accident?" "Sarah's accident." "She had a heart attack." "Didn't Paul explain?" "No." "I wonder why not." "What did happen?" "I'm sorry." "If Paul..." "I want to know" "I can't." "I have a right to know." "Then you must ask your husband." "Paul refuses to talk about it." "I can't force the issue." "What has he said?" "She died from a heart attack while she was bathing." "Just that?" "Just that." "Please, Sophie." "It could mean a great deal to me." "Nearly two years ago, it was Marcus' birthday." "He didn't want a party." "At ten, he was far too sophisticated for jelly rabbits and squeak, piggy, squeak." "Paul had arranged a family party." "A family meal." "Sarah went to have a bath." "Nobody could work out exactly how it happened." "There was an electric heater beside the bath." "The insulation had perished... the current jumped the pipes... through the taps." "She was electrocuted?" "Had she been healthy, it wouldn't have done more than shake her." "But she had a heart condition." "She had kept it a secret from everyone." "Paul sold me the house, took Marcus abroad, came back to the new house." "Marcus went off to school, Paul back to his work." "Accident, accident, accident!" "The sniping between you two." "You with your stupid suspicions." "Him with his innuendos." "I'm like a..." "I'm like a punch bag." "Oh, god." "I thought I'd got away from all this." "All what?" "You are beginning to sound like Sarah." "You're even beginning to look like her." "(musk; 3." "Hello, genius." "What are you reading," "De Sade?" "Did you love her?" "Did you love your mother?" "I don't think so." "Did Paul?" "Ask him." "I'm asking you!" "His grief was... transitory." "Hiding behind big words." "Cold as a fish." "You're not a child." "You're a... thing." "You're a freak." "So is this circus." "She looked like a fish." "A dead fish under the water, her mouth wide open." "What did you do, Marcus?" "Were you frightened?" "Did you scream?" "Cry?" "Run away?" "I laughed." "She looked so surprised." "So ridiculous." "So vulnerable." "You laughed?" "When Paul came, he was sick." "Oh, you're actually working." "Ha ha ha." "Well, that's what mortals do sometimes." "You're due at the airport in an hour." "Let me have a go!" "What's the matter?" "Why don't you go and lie down." "You're impossible." "I'll drive you to the airport." "No." "Why not?" "Because you're drunk... and you're a mess." "I'll have a shower." "No!" "I'll be ready in fifteen minutes." "I'll take a taxi." "Paul." "Paul, I'm sorry." "Please." "You're too drunk." "I've just come from the attic." "There's a large trunk." "And underneath, the floorboards have been cut away." "You were spying on Paul and me." "Of course." "But why?" "To use Paul's self-conscious chitchat it turns me on." "Sarah." "You spied on Sarah too?" "She wasn't as entertaining." "No acrobatics." "And Paul's getting older." "Did he have anything to do with Sarah's death?" "My mother died from a heart attack." "After the "accident" with the electric heater?" "You know, don't you?" "Do I?" "Yes." "You think I would give you this information?" "Not freely." "Are you suggesting some sort of exchange?" "Why not?" "What do you have that I could possible want?" "Money?" "Really!" "What then?" "Anything?" "Anything." "You!" "Your natural presence." "Was Sarah's death an accident?" "No." "It was murder." "Was it murder?" "Yes." "Are you sure?" "Yes." "You knew all the time." "And said nothing?" "Yes." "Paul did know she had a heart condition." "No." "He must have." "He didn't." "Then how..." "Yes." "I did." "How?" "I found a letter..." "from a specialist." "And you told Paul?" "No." "You little bastard!" "You knew nothing." "All lies!" "Just a dirty, little schoolboy." "No." "Dirty drawings, peepholes." "No." "Killing cats, thief." "A dirty little schoolboy couldn't murder his mother." "I did." "I did, Elise." "Yes." "Look." "That?" "You knew about it." "That was cut by one of the electricians to locate the main cable before we moved in." "Did he cut that too?" "What?" "There." "A small hole... in the plaster." "There, covered with gauze." "There's nothing, Elise." "A peephole." "Show me." "Where?" "There." "It was." "It was there." "You could see everything." "The bed, everything!" "A spyhole... into our room." "Elise." "He must have filled it in." "No, Elise." "He filled it in." "He knew I'd show it you." "Elise." "I know how it is." "Oh, for chrissakes, stop understanding everything, everyone." "Me and..." "And?" "Start facing the truth about Marcus." "The truth?" "You accuse him of stealing money, search his room." "Now it's peepholes in ceilings." "You drag me all the way back from Paris with neurotic phone calls for this?" "It was a hole..." "It was!" "I wouldn't have dragged you back from Paris for nothing." "All right, I..." "I'll see him... talk to him." "I promise." "Now?" "All right." "Well?" "I couldn't make much sense out of any of it." "But you did question him, about the hole?" "Yes." "He denies it." "Yes." "Of course he would." "He is my son." "He's Sarah's son too." "What does that mean?" "Well, he told me..." "What?" "Paul... you do believe me about the hole?" "I don't know what to believe any longer." "But Paul, I swear." "All right." "All right, perhaps you are right." "What do you mean?" "Perhaps he should see someone." "A psychiatrist." "Paul, oh, we'd be much happier." "Maybe." "Oh, I know I'm right." "Maybe." "Paul, it's the only way we can start all over again." "Yes." "Where's Paul?" "Madrid." "Seeing Dr. Viorne?" "Yes." "How boring." "She bores you?" "All psychiatry bores me." "Have you told her yet?" "That I despise her?" "No, what you told me." "What did Paul say when you told him?" "Sarah was drinking coffee." "I'm not interested." "The cup was floating on the water." "Tell Dr. Viorne." "Paul knew as soon as he saw her." "Did he say as much?" "No, but he knew." "Your mother died from a heart attack." "I organized that heart attack." "Now you want Paul to give you the credit." "Yes." "Marcus is going to kill me." "I tried to reach it with a stick." "I'll see to it." "I thought dogs could swim." "It could." "That night we went out for dinner... and the next and the next." "We were married in three weeks." "He's a most attractive man." "Yes." "He told you about the boy." "A little." "And the mother?" "Yes." "That she had died?" "A heart attack." "Did this bother you?" "I don't think so." "When you knew he had a child?" "Not at all." "You didn't mind?" "No." "Did he talk much about Marcus?" "Not very much." "Not often." "You thought this in any way... odd?" "No." "We were too full of each other." "How long was it before you actually met the child?" "Three months." "He was away at school." "But you saw photographs." "Only one." "Paul doesn't like photographs." "Tell me about your first meeting with the child." "Paul was in Paris again." "It was a very hot afternoon." "I'd been to the cleaners to collect some clothes." "We just stood there." "I can remember his exact words," ""I hired a car, took some money from the desk"." "And then "A thousand pesetas"." "But he denied this?" "Without turning a hair." "Why do you think?" "To test Paul." "To test him?" "To see who he would believe, him or me." "And who did he believe?" "I'm not sure." "There was an argument?" "Not really." "Marcus admitted the theft?" "You're kidding?" "You were mistaken?" "No!" "He took that money." "A thousand pesetas." "Wasn't it fifteen hundred?" "It probably was." "But he told me a thousand." "He even lies about his lies." "Wasn't the money found..." "at the back of the drawer?" "He put it back." "You saw this?" "No." "Well, someone saw this, uh, Consuela?" "No." "But you're certain?" "Certain." "So, what did you do?" "I looked through his room." "Hoping to discover the stolen money?" "Yes." "To what purpose?" "Well, to prove to Paul he was lying." "This was important to you?" "Yes." "Even though you knew it might cause Paul pain?" "The truth has to be faced." "Is Paul very affectionate towards the child?" "Very." "You sound slightly negative." "He's always, umm, touching him." "Over affectionate?" "Yes, you could say that." "You found a letter?" "Part of a letter..." "from Marcus' school, when I was looking for the money." "It was hidden in a book." "When the headmaster told you that Paul knew about those incidents, what did you feel?" "I was surprised." "Angry?" "Yes, angry" "Betrayed?" "Yes." "And when you saw the erotic drawings, what did you feel?" "Nothing at first." "I was so amazed." "Amazed at what?" "I don't know." "That Marcus should be so advanced?" "Advanced?" "Knowledgeable." "Yes, it was that I suppose." "Were you disgusted?" "No." "Embarrassed?" "No." "The drawings were good?" "Good?" "Accurate?" "Very, almost..." "Yes?" "Almost beautiful." "I see." "But then he told you about the cat." "I felt sick!" "You say Dr. Kessel suggested that Marcus should see a psychiatrist." "Yes." "And you told this to Paul?" "Yes." "Why?" "Why do you think?" "What I think is irrelevant." "Sane people don't walk around killing animals." "You think Marcus is insane?" "He's not well." "He frightens you?" "In a way." "Tell me." "He says things." "That frighten you?" "Not frighten exactly." "Then what?" "I can't say exactly." "Do you think..." "you ever frighten him?" "No." "Never?" "Never!" "But you were suspicious of him?" "I..." "After the incident at the Chinese restaurant." "Uh rather..." "Deceptions?" "Lies." "All the time." "He creates difficulties?" "Yes." "Between Paul and you?" "Yes." "Emotional difficulties?" "Yes!" "With his lies?" "Lots of things." "He can just sit, saying nothing... and say everything." " Do you dislike the boy?" " No." "Do you like him?" "I want to help him." "Does he like you?" "I don't know." "Do you think..." "he might hate you?" "I suppose he could." "Why should he hate you?" "Not hate." "Resent?" "Yes." " Because of his mother?" " No!" "You seem very sure." "Lam." "Why is that?" "Well, you must have talked about Sarah?" "Yes." "What did he say?" "Oh, many things." "He talks a lot about her." "Like what?" "Oh, umm, going to buy the dog, ...his puppy." "And their museum trips together." "Uh, the chocolate ice cream story." "Childish, ephemeral things." "You seem surprised." "Even you?" "Even you can't tell when he's lying?" "When you found this, umm, uh..." "Peephole... what did you first think of?" "What Kessel told me." "About the child." "Oh, for chrissakes, stop calling him a child!" "He's not a child." "He's as adult as you or I." "Certainly not a child." "About Marcus." "Yes." "And what did you do?" "I tried to contact Paul at the airport." "To bring him home?" "Yes." " To show him?" " What else?" "And what did you do in the meantime?" "Do?" "Nothing." "What could I do?" "Why did you take your clothes off in front of the child?" "Why did you take your clothes off in front of the child Elise?" "Wha-what?" "You stripped in front of the child." "He made me." "Forced you?" "It was a game." "A game?" "He was telling me things." "What sort of things, Elise?" "I offered him money." "What for?" "For the information." "What information?" "About Paul and Sarah." "What about them?" "I was wrong." "How, Elise?" "I suspected Paul." "It wasn't Paul." "You wanted the child to see your body." "He's not a child!" "You thought he would admire your body?" "It was the only way." "What for, Elise?" "To find out what happened." "Ask him." "He suggested it." "Ask him, he suggested it!" "He'll only tell you lies." "Did you harm the dog?" "Can't you remember?" "He murdered a cat, why not the dog?" "It was his dog." "He could have murdered it!" "He could have murdered it!" "Murdered?" "Killed." "You said murdered." "Killed, killed, killed!" "Can't you understand?" "Marcus murdered his mother!" "He told me!" "It was the information he made me strip for." "He laughed." "The coffee cup was floating." "He laughed." "Her mouth was open under the water." "Ls this just for me?" "I'm getting tired and restless here." "Stop running around in circles." "Is it what you really want?" "I thought it would be good to get away." "Get rid of the house, auction all the bad memories." "I love this place." "Even after what has happened?" "Because of it, in a strange way." "We could be on a plane next week... if you think it would help." "Help what?" "Us." "You, me, Marcus, to become a family." "Running away never achieved anything." "You mean that?" "We stay." "Here." "Here." "Come on." "Hello, Elise." "Hello, Marcus." "How are you?" "Very well." "This is Hannibal, a birthday present from Paul." "Oh, he's very handsome." "You can take him out for a walk later, if you want to." "Hmm, I like that very much." "After tea?" "Mm-hmm." "Just you and me?" "Just you and me." "Here, here." "Come on." "Thank you." "For what?" "Being you." "We are very lucky." "He seems very relaxed, happy." "He's been so looking forward to your coming home." "You surprise me." "He wanted to visit you, but Dr. Viorne was adamant." "I'm glad I'm back." "So am I." "It was very lonely." "I was lonely too." "You did try?" "Yes, I tried, but they wouldn't believe me." "Couldn't expect them to." "I suppose not." "I used to lie awake at night thinking about Sarah, you." "I wanted to share it with Paul." "I know." "I thought it would..." "stimulate him." "He does know." "He can't understand." "He has a talent for understanding everything, but essentials." "He bores me." "I just hadn't realized how old he is." "You're nearer to me than him." "He wants a family." "I enjoyed your performance with Hannibal." "I knew you wanted a dog." "Now we appreciate one another." "Would you have killed me?" "Yes." "How?" "Your car." "Prosaic." "Not what I had in mind." "Perfection?" "Absolutely." "He bores me too." "Perhaps... ls he insured?" "Exorbitantly."