Thriller s04e03- Night Is The Time For Killing

[michaellevenson]

Mr Parker head of DI5 Intelligence, a government minister and a uniformed General are in a room overlooking a square in Central London. They are waiting for a defector to contact them, by the name of Marlov.

They've never seen him but believe his defection to the West would be a coup, and soon he will enter the Square below and into the building for this top secret rendezvous.
Marlov enters the Square, passing a workman digging up the road, when suddenly the workman produces a gun from his fluorescent top and fires at Marlov.
The bullet whistles over Marlov's head, and Marlov runs, gets in his car and speeds away.
Later Marlov phones Parker, the General and the Minister listen apprehensively as Marlov, a frightened man makes demands for another rendezvous.

Parker puts the phone down, " he wants another rendezvous, this time, very different, difficult to arrange, but we'll play along, we want him, this is what he wants...."

Across the Square in another room , at the window is someone with a directional listening device overhearing the conversation, Marlov's people, wanting to track him down.

 

[michaellevenson]

Up in the North of England a train bound for London is being boarded, the overnight sleeper service is filling up with passengers.
Helen Marlow looking very sombre boards, her father sees her off, saying, " they'll be other chances Helen."
Helen's fiance recently died in a car crash and she has as a result had a nervous breakdown. Her father after seeing Helen safely on the train to her sleeping berth goes to speak to the guard. He hands him some money, off the record, and asks him to take extra care of her, he tells him of Helen's recent breakdown.
Also boarding the train is a newly wed couple, their friends on the platform throwing confetti as the two honeymooners board.
An elegant gentleman boards, dressed in a sharp light grey suit, trilby hat, carrying an umbrella looking every inch the perfect English gentleman.



Also behind him boards Bob Mallory, an Australian, then at the last minute another man jumps on, shows his ID to guard, he is last on as the train departs on its overnight journey to London.

 

[michaellevenson]

The English debonair gentleman is Hillary Vance, a reasonably well known wit and raconteur, after dinner speaker, a sort of B or C list celebrity. As he is about to enter the cramped sleeping berth he is confronted by a charming old lady, Penelope, they last met 40 years ago in Boulogne France.
Penelope " Hillary Vance, fancy meeting you here after all this time."
Vance is puzzled, " er...Madam."
Penelope, " you've forgotten me haven't you? I had the Pomeranian, Edith."
Vance, " Edith, delighted to see you."
Penelope, " Edith was the Pomeranian, yes you have forgotten, Penelope.."
Vance, " Heston- Smythe of course, how are you?"
Penelope, " a bit older."
Vance, " but still très elegance if I may say."
Penelope, " I still think you've forgotten me."
Vance," no no, I remembered the name."
Penelope, " can you remember what you said to me in Boulogne?"
Vance" erm..."
Penelope, " thought not, I'll give you time to think and I'll ask you again Hillary.....until then."
She totters off down the carriage corridor as Vance enters his sleeper.


The honeymoon couple enter their sleeper, the bride opens a suitcase to reveal a gun!


Helen is lying on her bed in her sleeper, tears in her eyes, a knock on the door is heard and the guard saying, " first or second sitting for dinner Miss Marlow?"
Helen," first."
The guard then knocks on Vance's sleeper door, " first or second sitting sir."
Vance opens the door," first or second sitting? Sounds like a protest sit down. "
Guard, " no, dinner sir."
Vance, " crowded dining car, soup splashed everywhere, the food shaken by the perambulations of the train, definitely second sitting for me."

 

[michaellevenson]

Vance gets another knock on the door, he answers it and a brown suited man enters .
" I'm Barkley sir, DI5, here to keep an eye on things, are you okay sir?"
Vance," no I'm not okay, this whole affair is tinged with melodrama and foreboding. This compartment is cramped beyond endurance, I'm a man inordinately fond of open spaces."
Barkley, " won't be for long sir, I'm in sleeper D13 if you need me."
Vance," I said I'm not okay, I need scintillating conversation, and your scintillator is in need of repair."
Barkley laughs, " sorry sir, remember D13."


Later Helen enters the dining car and is shown to a table, it's a table for two and Bob Mallory is already seated and eating.
Bob, " well I guess I'm the lucky one."
They eat in silence , Helen close to tears, Bob tries to break the ice.
Bob, " look I know when someone needs to be left alone, but..do you think it'll help to talk?"
Helen, " I'm sorry Mister..
Bob," Bob Mallory."
Helen, " Helen Marlow, you're Australian?"
Bob, " damn it, knew I shouldn't have packed that Kangaroo."
Meanwhile Vance gets up from his bunk ready to leave for dinner, muttering to himself, " what an earth did I say to Penelope in Boulogne? Was it evening? Summer? Winter? God knows."
Vance opens the door to see the bride from the next sleeper standing there with a gun.
Bride, " inside please Mister Vance."

Helen has told Bob everything, the pain of losing her fiance in a car crash.
Bob, " you said it was over a year ago, I'm no expert but I'd have thought the pain should be healing now."
Helen, " you don't understand Mr Mallory, I was driving the car, it was my fault. I'm sorry I don't know why I told you all that."
Bob," you needed to tell someone."
Helen, " yes, well, it's been nice talking to you Mr Mallory, but I think this table will be needed soon, thank you."
Helen gets up and leaves carriage.

 

[michaellevenson]

Helen walks back to her sleeper, down the corridor, the train suddenly lurches as she passes Vance's door, the door momentarily opens ajar, Helen sees lying on the floor Vance, dead, bullet hole in forehead. She screams and runs off , Bob comes running along.
Helen( crying), " Bob, he's dead! Vance, I saw him."

The guard comes along, Bob tells him, and the guard knocks on Vance's door.
Guard, " Mr Vance....Mr Vance."
No answer, so using his passkey the guard opens the door, the cabin is in darkness.
Suddenly the bedside lamp is turned on by Vance lying on his bed.
Vance " what is this? A deputation?"
Guard, " sorry sir, I knocked."
Vance, " I was dozing, I'm entitled to doze surely."
Guard " sorry sir, but this lady said you were dead."
Helen shakes her head, and cries, " he was dead Bob!"

Helen walks off , shrugging away Bob in the process. Barkley hearing the commotion has turned up.
Barkley, " what's happened?"
Guard " Miss Marlow said she saw Mr Vance dead."
Vance, " and as you can see Barkley my bloodhound I'm not."
Guard " very sad, Miss Marlow's father said she'd recently not been well, mentally."
Barkley, " is that right?"
Bob, " yeah, afraid so."

The guard and Bob leave, Barkley says, "what's that kerfuffle about sir?"
Vance, " kerfuffle is a word I do not recognise, it sounds like a dance popular in the 1920's, now if you substitute melee, or contretempe or misunderstanding."
Barkley, " misunderstanding then sir."
Vance, " of course that what it was, even you can see I'm not dead, however I haven't as yet eaten dinner."

 

[michaellevenson]

Helen is lying on her bunk when there's a knock on the door and a voice.
Barkley is outside, " Miss Marlow, I'm Peter Barkley, I'd like to help. Perhaps you did see Vance dead, I'd like to talk about it. I know you're upset, that's understandable....I'm in D13 if you want to talk about it."
Barkley walks off back to D13 berth. He opens the door, to see the bride sitting on the bed holding a gun.
" come in Mr Barkley."

Vance is in the dining car ordering his food to the bewildered waiter.
Vance, " I'd like a fillet steak, grilled, not fried, for 45 seconds on its two flatter sides. That's 45 seconds, not 44 or 46. You may bring any vegetables you have..er stewing. I doubt if I'll eat them, but the sight of them sad and soggy on the dish will make the steak seem edible by comparison. Also a bottle of claret, please do not excessively touch the bottle, I prefer my wine at room temperature not body heat."


Helen lies on her bunk, the lower bunk, when suddenly an arm flops down from the top bunk , she gets up and screams as she sees Vance dead on the top bunk. The train lurches and the body topples over the edge of the bunk.

She runs out screaming. " BOB BOB."
Bob runs up , Helen cries, " he's dead, in my cabin, Bob I'm not going mad, he's there."
Arriving at the cabin Bob enters and sees no body, he reckons Helen in.
Bob, " nothing Helen. You told me you couldn't stop seeing your fiance in your mind's eye. Well now you've substituted your fiance for Vance. It's all in your mind Helen. Look I'll prove it, the man you say is dead is right now having his dinner. Come I'll show you."

As they walk away, the door opens of the honeymooners berth, the bride pokes her head out smiling, the dead body of Vance behind her on the bed.

 

[michaellevenson]

Helen and Bob enter the dining car, Vance looks up from his meal.
Vance," ah, my morbid friend. If you are representing a firm of undertakers you'll drum up no business here. Longevity is on my side. My grandfather lived to 108, and even then we eventually had to shoot him. A joke, savour it, I don't make many."
Helen isn't amused and leaves as Penelope Heston Smythe enters.
Penelope, " ah Hillary have you remembered yet."
Vance, " er...madam?"
Penelope, " oh back to Madam is it, you have changed, not the same man at all. ' I want to carry you off and marry you' that's what you said in Boulogne. "
Penelope holding back the tears leaves.
Vance gives a shrug to Bob who follows her out.
The waiter comes up to Vance.
Vance," is it customary to offer the chef congratulations?"
Waiter, " well sir, it doesn't happen very often."
Vance," you surprise me that it happens at all."
Waiter, " was something wrong with the meal sir?"
Vance " if you asked me if anything was right with it, I could give you a more succinct answer. The plate was of decent porcelain, the cutlery clean, the knife sharp, although unfairly matched against the steak. My friend you may have unwittingly stumbled on a substitute for plastic."
The waiter politely puts up with this barrage of sarcastic wit from Vance.

 

[michaellevenson]

Helen leaves her cabin and goes to cabin D13 and knocks on the door.
" Mr Barkley are you there, it's Helen Marlow."
No answer, because Barkley is dead on the floor, bullet in the head.
Helen goes back to her cabin passing Vance's and notices on the floor outside the door, confetti, a few pieces.

Helen goes to the guard's car and asks the guard for a magazine to read. The guard obliges and opens a drawer to give Helen a magazine. While his back is turned Helen quickly removes his passkey from a hook on the wall.

Helen knocks on the door of the honeymooners, no answer, she enters cabin. Her attention is drawn to a tape recording machine on the bed she switches it on and hears Vance , giving one of his speaking engagements.


Minutes later she leaves cabin and falls to the floor as someone hits her.
Bob comes along and sees Helen flat out on the floor , Vance and the bride standing over her.
Bob, " what happened?"
Vance, " just found her here."
Bob and Vance carry Helen to her cabin and lay her on the bed.
Helen wakes and says she's okay, just fainted. When Vance, the bride and the guard leave, Helen confides to Bob.
Helen, " I was right Bob, about Vance, someone hit me."
Bob, " so you say."
Helen, " yes and everything I say is suspect isn't it? I've found something, come."
Helen re-enters the honeymooners berth, Bob protesting, "Helen they're on honeymoon you can't just break in."
Helen switches on the tape recording, Bob listens, "so it's Vance, perhaps they know him."
Helen, " has it remotely looked as if they know him."
Bob, " well no, even so why keep a recording like that?"
Helen, " there I'm ahead of you, if Vance is dead and Vance is alive there must be two of them. I believe the real Vance is dead , and the one out there now is an imposter. Now if you wanted to impersonate anyone as asinine and acidic as Vance, where would you start....that voice, and for that you'd need to study recordings."

 

[michaellevenson]

Bob," so if Vance is dead, the body would be tossed off the train."
Helen, " no, someone might find it, the train is stopped an investigation happens, and that is something they can't have."
Bob, " always supposing there is a they"
Helen ," BOB I WAS HIT."
Bob, " okay, so where could they hide it, has to be someplace no one goes.......the luggage car."

In the luggage car Helen and Bob find a large trunk, with Vance's name on it, nervously Bob opens it ....it's empty.
Bob, " you know, you almost had me believing we would find something."
Helen leaves crestfallen with Bob, after they've gone out of the shadows comes Vance staring after them.

 

[michaellevenson]

The next morning the train is near London.
At Euston Station in a small room full of cleaning gear overlooking the main concourse the Minister, The General and Parker of DI5 wait.
Parker, " train will soon be here General."
General " I don't like it."
Parker, " Marlov once saw Vance lecture in his own country, Vance is unmistakable, he's the only one Marlov will surrender to. Don't worry Barkley will be tailing him."

But Barkley isn't tailing , as the train pulls into the station, he's dead in his berth.
Vance steps onto the platform and sets off for the exit gate.
Helen is in her cabin packing away her clothes, she sees Vance passing her window, seconds later the bride passes following Vance. Helen stares out of window looking for.....


Helen is puzzled then runs out into corridor to see Bob leaving his cabin.
Helen, " BOB, Bob, whoever heard of a bride without a groom."
Bob , " never mind that, something has been bothering me all night. I remember now what, I came aboard behind Vance and I'm sure he had no trunk then."
Helen, " then someone else brought it on board."
Bob, " right! Because they knew they'd have a use for it."

In the luggage car a guard is unloading the luggage, Bob and Helen run in.
Bob, " STOP!"
Bob opens the trunk marked Vance, and the body of Vance falls out.
Helen, " he's on his way out."

Vance is walking across the concourse when someone touches his arm.
"Mr Vance, I'm Ivan Marlov, this way please."

Bob runs full pelt along the platform , Helen running after him.
Bob looks over to an adjacent platform, he sees Marlov and Vance walking along and into a staff locker room.
Bob has no option, he jumps onto tracks and runs jumping over rails to other platform.

In the locker room Marlov disguised as station staff in uniform nervously says, " Mr Vance I'm sorry to put you to all this trouble, but I saw you once at home, you are a very unusual man."
Vance, " I stand out like a sore thumb or the last arbiter of good taste in a lake of mediocrity. Do you have the papers."
Marlov, " I need a guarantee of protection."
Vance, " yes and you'll have it , but first I must know if you have the papers."
Marlov, " I have them."
Marlov opens a locker and removes an envelope turns to see Vance with a gun.
Marlov, " no...no... please!"


Bob runs in, Vance turns , Bob attacks him, punches exchanged. Vance reels back, Bob looks horrified, the skin on Vance's face is peeling off. More punches exchanged, Vance staggers, falls to the floor out cold , Bob bends down and peels off the latex mask to reveal the bridegroom.
" very clever Mister Mallory."
Bob turns to see the bride covering him with a gun. Helen runs in behind her and grabs her around the neck and is choking her.
Bob, " Helen, you don't want to kill her, you know what people will say if you do?"
Helen releases her and the bride falls unconscious.
Helen (laughing), " yes, they'll say I'm mad!"

Cast;
Helen......Judy Geeson
Vance....Charles Gray
Bob....Jim Smilie
Bride....Jacki Piper
Groom.......Duncan Preston
Marlov.....Milos Kirek
Barkley.....Alister Williamson
Parker...Jeffrey Wickham
Guard......Reg Pritchard
Penelope....Aimee Delamain

Next episode;

Thriller s04e04- Killer With Two Faces

Prisoner Spelling is in his cell in pyjamas as Dr Styles examines him for his routine check up. Spelling, " I'm in fine shape aren't I Doc?" Styles, " if you say so." Spelling, " oh I do, fitter, stronger than you, even though we're the same age, and build too. That suit you're wearing would...

www.imdforums.com