Yes…but…he was obeying God. This boy…he…he’s not right.
ADAM
That’s all, Reverend. Thank you.
ADAM sits and ALDINE goes to LEE.
ALDINE
Reverend, we’ve heard testimony from psychological experts saying this young man, Oscar Telford, is not insane. Not only does he miss the legal definition of insanity, but our own Dr. Scott Hudson has explained that the defendant doesn’t even clearly fit any medical definition of insanity. Were you aware of that?
LEE
Yes, Ms. Cage, and I agree.
ADAM stands.
ADAM
Objection. The Reverend is not a mental health professional.
ALDINE
Withdrawn. I’m not interested in your opinion on that particular subject, Reverend. However, you are a religious leader, are you not?
LEE
That’s absolutely correct.
ALDINE
And you were present in the courtroom when Father Michael Stone gave his testimony?
LEE
I am sorry to say that I was.
ALDINE
Then you must have heard Father Stone say that he believes that Oscar Telford does have faith in God. In fact, you must have also inferred, as many of the rest of us did, that Father Stone seems to regard the defendant as some sort of latter-day messiah.
ADAM stands.
ADAM
Objection! Your honor, aside from being assumptive and inflammatory, Ms. Cage has yet to ask the witness a direct question that pertains to his field of knowledge.
ALDINE
I apologize, Your Honor. I was about to ask just such a question. Reverend Lee, as a religious expert, do you think that Oscar Telford has heard the voice of God?
LEE
I most certainly do NOT.
ALDINE
I see. You do not.
ADAM stands.
ADAM
Objection. The Reverend already gave his answer. If the court needs to hear it again, the record can be read back, but there’s no need for the DA to repeat it.
ALDINE
I’m sorry, Your Honor. And…um…Reverend…under oath…is your answer based on theological deduction alone?
LEE
No, it is not.
ALDINE
I see. And…um…are you basing your answer on observation made of the defendant here in the courtroom?
LEE
No, I am not.
There is a long, uncomfortable pause. Finally, JEFF stands.
JEFF
No more questions!
ALDINE
Wait!
ALDINE looks over at OSCAR. He is smiling sweetly at her. She looks around the courtroom and then down at her hands. She looks at the “jury” (the audience) and finally stalks toward LEE, locking her eyes with his, her hands clenched into tight fists.
ALDINE
What is your answer based on, Reverend?
LEE
This boy could not have heard God speaking to him because of the simple fact that he does not believe in God.
ALDINE
And how can you be sure of that, Reverend?
LEE
Because he told me so.
ALDINE
When was this, Reverend?
LEE
The very night before the murder took place!
ALDINE
You are saying you spoke to the defendant before the murder? Please tell the court what happened.
LEE
He came into my church. Said he was lost and looking for directions. I told him that if he was lost, he did the right thing by coming to ask guidance from God. And he said that he didn’t believe in God. Didn’t want anything to do with God. That people who believe in God are nothing but a bunch of suckers!
Everyone at the defense table is now standing. They all yell at once. JEFF is trying to pull ALDINE toward their table; ADAM is trying to restrain GRAINE and get the attention of the judge at the same time.
GRAINE
Objection! This is hearsay! He’s putting words into Oscar’s mouth!
ADAM
Objection! Your Honor, the defense moves to have Reverend Lee’s remarks stricken from the record!
JEFF
Your Honor, I need to confer with my co-counsel!
LEE stands and joins the shouting. We hear the sound of a gavel banging and the judge calling for order.
LEE
He came to me! He did! I tried to reach out to him! I told the boy: beHOLD what manner of LOVE God hath bestowed upon us!!
GRAINE
He’s lying! Adam, I know it!
ADAM
Graine! Your Honor! We object to this witness’s entire testimony!
JEFF
Aldine! Your Honor, we need a recess!
OSCAR, who has been watching all this with detached amusement, suddenly stands and shouts at LEE over the noise of the others.
OSCAR
But we know that when He shall appear we shall be like Him, for we shall SEE HIM AS HE IS! Behold! He comest with clouds of blood and every eye shall see Him! Look at me! You think what he bestowed upon me was an act of love? Look at me!
The lights in the courtroom flash on and off and then go out. Everyone screams, the room is black for a few seconds, then the emergency lights come on.
Scene Nine
The courtroom is empty except for ALDINE and JEFF. It is still lit only by the emergency lights.
JEFF
Aldine, what the hell just happened?
ALDINE
A circuit blew, I guess. That’s what Crawford said.
JEFF
Not the goddamn lights! We didn’t prep those questions with Reverend Lee. I don’t remember him saying anything about talking to Telford when we interviewed him before. You knew what he was going to say.
ALDINE
Of course I did. It’s my job to know what the witness is going to say.
JEFF
Why didn’t you tell me?
ALDINE
I didn’t want you running off telling Crawford.
JEFF
But…we have an obligation to disclose pertinent evidence. Now it looks like you coerced Lee into saying all that.
ALDINE
They should have known already. Done their own research.
JEFF
I think it’s obvious from their reaction that they didn’t.
ALDINE
That’s not my fault.
ALDINE walks out with JEFF trailing. As they exit, OSCAR comes back and sits on the floor. He sits alone for a while, then GRAINNE enters. OSCAR startles her when he speaks.
OSCAR
Hi.
GRAINE
Oh God! You scared me. I forgot my notes. Why are you still here? I was just going to the jailhouse to find you.
OSCAR
It’s quieter in here. People are always yelling outside the jailhouse.
GRAINE
Oscar, was what Reverend Lee said true?
OSCAR
You know what’s strange—
GRAINE
Oscar. Can you just give me a straight answer for once.
OSCAR
I’m trying to.
GRAINE sits.
GRAINE
Okay. Go ahead.
OSCAR
I think it’s strange how words can turn something true into a lie. Like Reverend Lee. He says all of the words when he preaches and he doesn’t even believe them, but he’s just trying to comfort people in his own way.
GRAINE
Why didn’t you tell me you had spoken with him?
OSCAR
So I returned, and considered all the oppressions that are done under the sun and beheld the tears of the oppressed, and they had no comforter. I would have liked to have been a preacher. No. Actually, I would have liked to have been an elementary school nurse. Yeah. And little kids would come to me with cuts and scrapes and I’d give them a band-aid a
nd say ‘it’s gonna be okay.’ I went to Lee’s church that night. I thought I could get out of it.
GRAINE
What do you mean?
OSCAR
I didn’t tell Reverend Lee that I didn’t believe in God. I said I didn’t want to. I thought if I could stop believing then I could just go back to being myself, to something small and simple. Graine, why did this happen to me?
GRAINE
I don’t know, Oscar.
OSCAR
If you were the school nurse and I cut my knee, would you hold me in your arms and tell me it’s gonna be okay?
GRAINE hesitantly gets up and goes to OSCAR. She takes him in her arms.
Scene Ten
The courtroom. As before, with each at the respective tables. ADAM and GRAINE are talking softy.
ADAM
It’s his word against Oscar’s. We have no way to prove what Oscar really said.
THRINH
Can’t we ask for a mistrial? Lee lied. That’s perjury.
ADAM
Unless you have proof…the best we can do is put Oscar back on the stand for rebuttal.
GRAINE
Good. Let’s do that.
ADAM
You’ll have to question him.
GRAINE
Fine.
The courtroom comes to order and they go through the pantomime of rising again. When everyone is seated, ADAM stands.
ADAM
Your Honor, the defense would like to recall Oscar Telford to the stand.
OSCAR hobbles to the witness stand. ALDINE whispers to JEFF.
ADLINE
What now?
JEFF
You can fool the law, Aldine, but I think God’s got your number.
ALDINE
What the hell do you mean by that?
JEFF
I mean, I think this is my last case with the DA’s office.
GRAINE
Oscar, you’re still under oath. Now, do you remember what Reverend Lee said? About how you told him you didn’t believe in God?
OSCAR
Yes, I do. But it doesn’t matter. I don’t want to talk about that anymore.
GRAINE turns to ADAM, who is panicking and trying to prompt her to do something.
GRAINE
Why not?
OSCAR
Because I realize now that I can’t escape my fate. It doesn’t matter whether or not I believe in God. He believes in me, so I’m stuck with him.
GRAINE
Did you believe in God when you killed Daniel Leyland?
OSCAR
Oh yeah.
GRAINE
What did God tell you to do, Oscar?
OSCAR
Oh, you know. Go and kill someone. Like Abraham.
GRAINE
Did God tell you why He wanted you to do this?
OSCAR
No.
GRAINE
What would happen if you refused?
OSCAR
He’d do something really bad to someone I cared about.
GRAINE
May I have a moment, Your Honor?
GRAINE goes over to ADAM.
ADAM
That’s not what he told us before.
GRAINE
I know.
ADAM
Why’s he changing his story? We should ask for a recess for conference.
GRAINE
No.
ADAM
You know how he is. We can’t risk it.
GRAINE
He’s not going to tell us the truth in conference either, Adam. I think I can get it out of him on the stand.
ADAM
Graine, this will sink our case. If he doesn’t believe there would be some huge retribution…I mean, we can’t make the case for justification without that.
GRAINE
It doesn’t matter.
ADAM
Doesn’t matter? What about Oscar? I’m asking for a mistrial.
GRAINE
On what grounds?
ADAM
On the grounds that you and your client are both insane!
GRAINE goes back to OSCAR without replying to ADAM.
GRAINE
Oscar, remember how you told us about the first time you heard God?
OSCAR
Yes.
GRAINE
What were you doing when you heard God’s voice telling you to kill Daniel?
OSCAR is silent.
GRAINE
Oscar, just tell me what you were doing.
OSCAR
I was in that park at the edge of town.
GRAINE
Riverside Park.
OSCAR
Yeah, I was on the swings. I love the swings. If you get going really high, it feels like flying.
GRAINE
What happens when you feel like that?
OSCAR
I kept going higher and higher. I could see the whole park. And then I could see the whole town. And the whole world. Everywhere people were doing things—eating, laughing, crying, screwing, taking out the trash. Falling in love. Holding their children. And other things, too. Hurting each other. Killing each other because they couldn’t agree on what to call God. I couldn’t stand it.
GRAINE
You couldn’t stand to see the world suffering?
OSCAR
No, no. Not just the suffering. Being alive! The whole experience. It was all so beautiful and terrible. None of you understand. God didn’t just speak to me. He showed me! He showed me what it was like to know the whole world. I had swung so high that I was at the top of everything and I could feel it all—every kiss, every bullet, every broken heart.
GRAINE
You were scared.
OSCAR
He did this to me and expected me to figure it out. I had a regular life somewhere. I was going to be something good…a teacher or a nurse or something. And then it all got fucked up. What for? Okay, I can help some people, but not really, not everyone. And the ones I help…what good does it really do them? Every miracle becomes just another anecdote after a while.
GRAINE
You were angry at God.
OSCAR
Aren’t you? Aren’t all of you? He asks you to worship him, follow his rules…there’s nothing special about me. I don’t know why he wanted Daniel killed. I don’t know why he picked me to do it. I just happened to be the one listening, that’s all. And you want to hear what I heard, to know him. You try so hard…you think you can find him in the Bible or in a church? He’s everywhere! All the people, all the words, all the shit of the world! You can’t get away from him! It’s the world’s original dysfunctional relationship. He abuses us and then expects us to love him for it. He ruins my life and then makes me come in here and defend him. Is that what you want to hear?
Scene Eleven
Outside the courtroom. GRAINE sits alone on a bench. THRINH enters.
THRINH
The jury’s coming back in.
GRAINE
Okay. Thrinh, were you there when you father died?
THRINH
I got back just in time to say good-bye.
GRAINE
I fought with my father, right up until the end. I tried to understand. I tried so hard to comprehend the things he believed in. I memorized the verses and listened to the sermons, but I just couldn’t believe in it the way he did. So I argued with him, trying to find some crack in his logic, some hole in his faith. Even when he was sick. I knew he was dying, but I still argued with him. He’d be lying there, barely breathing. My voice getting louder and louder as I tried to refute some theological phrase he loved. Then he’d take a deep breath, cough, and argue right back at me. I think I needed to get the whole thing resolved, once and for all, before he left me. I think I wanted, I expected to be convinced, at the end. To have the torch passed to me. I wanted to see that light. To believe. All the way, no doubts, no questions. But there was nothing. He said those
awful things to me, stopped breathing, and then there was just nothing there. So I got my resolution. I won the argument. I didn’t think it was possible for me to hate winning so much.
ALDINE, JEFF, and ADAM enter.
ALDINE
What the hell is going on? Alright, Graine, where did you send him?
GRAINE
Who?
ALDINE
Telford! You had him transferred to the state hospital, didn’t you? I thought we agreed that we would wait until after we had a verdict to deal with sentencing and placement. I can’t believe this. You didn’t even inform the sheriff.
The Neophyte_a play in three acts Page 11
