Ayn Rand - Night of January 16th

FLINT: What banquet was Mr. Faulkner supposed to attend?

NANCY LEE: He did not tell me and I didn't ask. I made it a point never to interfere with his business.

FLINT: Did you notice anything peculiar when he said goodbye to you, that night?

NANCY LEE: No, not a thing. He kissed me and said that he'd try to come home early. I stood at the door and watched him drive away. He waved to me as his car disappeared in the dusk. I stood there for a few minutes, thinking of how happy we were, of what a perfect dream our love had been, like a delicate idyll, like . . . [Her voice trembles]

I didn't know that our beautiful romance would . . . indirectly . . . through jealousy . . . bring about his . . . his death.

[She drops her head, hiding her face in her hands, sobbing audibly, as STEVENS' s voice booms out]

STEVENS: Your Honor! We object! Move that that be stricken out!

JUDGE HEATH: The witness's last sentence may go out.

FLINT: Thank you, Mrs. Faulkner. That is all.

STEVENS: [Coldly] Will you be able to answer a few questions now, Mrs. Faulkner?

NANCY LEE: [Raising her tear-stained face, proudly] As many as you wish, Mr. Stevens.

STEVENS: [Softly] You said that your romance was like a perfect dream, didn't you?

NANCY LEE: Yes.

STEVENS: A sacred troth that regenerated a soul?

NANCY LEE: Yes.

STEVENS: A beautiful, uplifting relationship based on mutual trust?

NANCY LEE: [Becoming a little astonished] Yes.

STEVENS: [Changing his voice, fiercely] Then why did you hire a detective to spy on your husband?

NANCY LEE: [A little flustered] I . . . that is . . . I didn't hire a detective to spy on my husband. I hired him to protect Mr. Faulkner.

STEVENS: Will you kindly explain that?

NANCY LEE: Well . . . you see . . . you see, some time ago, Mr. Faulkner had been threatened by a gangster -- "Guts" Regan. I believe they call him that. Mr. Faulkner did not pay any attention to it -- no one could intimidate him -- and he refused to hire a bodyguard. But I was worried . . . so as soon as we were married, I hired Mr. Van Fleet to watch him. I did it secretly, because I knew that Mr. Faulkner would object.

STEVENS: How could a sleuth following at a distance protect Mr. Faulkner?

NANCY LEE: Well, I heard that the underworld has a way of finding out those things and I thought they would not attack a man who was constantly watched.

STEVENS: So all Mr. Van Fleet had to do was to watch Mr. Faulkner?

NANCY LEE: Yes.

STEVENS: Mr. Faulkner alone?

NANCY LEE: Yes.

STEVENS: Not Mr. Faulkner and Miss Andre?

NANCY LEE: Mr. Stevens, that supposition is insulting to me.

STEVENS: I haven't noticed you sparing insults, Mrs. Faulkner.

NANCY LEE: I'm sorry, Mr. Stevens. I assure you that was not my intention.

STEVENS: You said that Mr. Faulkner told you he never wanted to see Miss Andre again?

NANCY LEE: Yes, he did.

STEVENS: And yet, he called on her after his marriage, he called on her often and at night. Your detective told you that, didn't he?

NANCY LEE: Yes. I knew it.

STEVENS: How do you explain it?

NANCY LEE: I cannot explain it. How can I know what blackmail she was holding over his head?

STEVENS: How do you explain the fact that Mr. Faulkner lied to you about the business banquet on the night of January sixteenth and went directly to Miss Andre's house?

NANCY LEE: If I could explain that, Mr. Stevens, I might be able to save you the bother of this trial. We would have an explanation of my husband's mysterious death. All I know is that she made him come to her house for some reason which he could not tell me -- and that he was found dead, that night.

STEVENS: Mrs. Faulkner, I want you to answer one more question.

NANCY LEE: Yes?

STEVENS: I want you to state here, under oath, that Bjorn Faulkner loved you.

NANCY LEE: Bjorn Faulkner was mine.

STEVENS: That is all, Mrs. Faulkner.

KAREN: [Calmly, distinctly] No. That's not all.

[All eyes turn to her]

Ask her one more question, Stevens.

STEVENS: What is it, Miss Andre?

KAREN: Ask her whether she loved him.

NANCY LEE: [Sitting straight up, with the icy poise of a perfect lady] I did, Miss Andre.

KAREN: [Jumping to her feet] Then how can you speak of him as you did? How can you sit here and lie, lie about him, when he can't come back to defend himself?

[JUDGE HEATH strikes his gavel violently. NANCY LEE gasps and jumps to her feet]

NANCY LEE: I won't stand for it! Why should I be questioned by . . . by the murderess of my husband!

[She falls back on the chair, sobbing. FLINT rushes to her]

KAREN: [Calmly] That's all.

FLINT: I'm so sorry, Mrs. Faulkner!

JUDGE HEATH: The court will now adjourn till ten o'clock tomorrow morning.

[EVERYONE rises. JUDGE HEATH leaves the courtroom, while FLINT helps NANCY LEE down from the witness stand. As she passes by KAREN, NANCY LEE throws a defiant look at her . KAREN stands straight and says aloud, so that all heads turn to her]

KAREN: One of us is lying. And we both know which one!

CURTAIN

Scene: Same scene as at the opening of Act I. KAREN sitting at the defense table, as proudly calm as ever. When the curtain rises, the BAILIFF raps.

BAILIFF: Court attention!

[JUDGE HEATH enters. EVERYONE rises]

Superior Court Number Eleven of the State of New York. The Honorable Judge William Heath presiding.

[JUDGE HEATH sits down, BAILIFF raps, and EVERYONE resumes his seat]

JUDGE HEATH: The people of the State of New York versus Karen Andre.

FLINT: Ready, your Honor.

STEVENS: Ready, your Honor.

JUDGE HEATH: The District Attorney may proceed.

FLINT: If your Honor please, the prosecution has one more witness to introduce. Mr. John Graham Whitfield!

CLERK: John Graham Whitfield!

[MR. WHITFIELD comes in, followed by NANCY LEE.MR. WHITFIELD is tall, gray-haired, perfectly groomed, a thorough gentleman with the imperious manner of a wartime generalissimo. NANCY LEE walks in slowly, head downcast. WHITFIELD pats her hand affectionately as if to encourage her, as they part; he walks to the witness stand, and she takes a chair at right]

CLERK: You solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth so help you God?

WHITFIELD: I do.

FLINT: What is your name?

WHITFIELD: John Graham Whitfield.

FLINT: What is your occupation?

WHITFIELD: I am president of the Whitfield National Bank.

FLINT: Were you related to the late Bjorn Faulkner?

WHITFIELD: I was his father-in-law.

FLINT: It is obvious, Mr. Whitfield, that you are well qualified to pass judgment on financial matters. Can you tell us about the state of Mr. Faulkner's business at the time preceding his death?

WHITFIELD: I shall say it was desperate, but not hopeless. My bank made a loan of twenty-five million dollars to Mr. Faulkner in an effort to save his enterprises. Needless to say, that money is lost.

FLINT: What prompted you to make that loan, Mr. Whitfield?

WHITFIELD: He was the husband of my only daughter; her happiness has always been paramount to me. But my motives were not entirely personal: realizing the countless tragedies of small investors that the crash would bring, I considered it my duty to make every possible effort to prevent it.

FLINT: Is it possible that you would have risked such a considerable sum in Mr. Faulkner's enterprises if you believed them hopelessly destined to crash?

WHITFIELD: Certainly not. It was a difficult undertaking, but I had full confidence that my business acumen would have prevented the crash -- had Faulkner lived.