31 Plays in 31 Days, #12 - "Corrupt"

[breakinglight11]

Today's scene roughly follows 2016's Day #16 - "From a Bloody Nightmare," though at this point that scene is significantly edited. Arthur brings news of the fifth Ripper victim murdered, and some information about the investigation that leads them to think there's some manipulation from the inside that's obstructing the police case.

This is the one element of conspiracy in my conception of who the Ripper is in Mrs. Hawking part VI. I wanted to avoid getting too byzantine with it, as most of the more off-the-wall theories do; even the one put forward in Alan Moore's famous "From Hell" gets a little too complicated and outre for my tastes. But I wanted some obstruction from people in high places because it serves a theme I want to incorporate in the story— specifically, that the rich can circumvent social and moral standards in a way the poor never can, and that justice is similarly accessible based on privilege and position.

This piece is rough, though. It's involved incorporating actual historical details and making them work with the story I want to tell. As I've mentioned, I'm taking the approach that if the historical facts are not in question, then I am keeping consistent with them. But if the facts are unknown or under debate, I am supplying what answers I need in order to make my story work. That has been really challenging to hold to and still make this structure do what I need. This scene contains an example of me taking historical facts in evidence and applying my own interpretation of them to usefully serve my story; in this case, using something true, that in real life happened likely because of straightforward intentions to solve the crime, but I am assigning nefarious motives to behind the scenes.

Right now the leap of logic the characters make, that the events are evidence of conspiracy, is way too huge a jump. I need to justify it better. But if I edit it right, I can create a necessary conspiracy in my story without having to bend history beyond recognition.

It's also tough to shoehorn historical figures' names in there without sounding like they're being explained for the modern audience. "DID YOU KNOW THE HOME SECRETARY AT THE TIME WAS NAMED HENRY MATTHEWS?"



Day #12 - "Corrupt"
From Mrs. Hawking VI
By Phoebe Roberts

London, England, 1888

VICTORIA HAWKING, lady's society avenger, late forties
MARY STONE, her housemaid and assistant, late twenties
NATHANIEL HAWKING, her gentleman nephew and assistant, mid thirties
ARTHUR SWANN, undercover Scotland Yard policeman, early thirties
~~~

ARTHUR:

We let her down. We promised help for her, and we let the monster find her.

MARY:

If he knew about Mary Jane, he could know about Violet too.

ARTHUR:

He’s already gotten her, for all we know. While the assistant commissioner in charge of the case shuffles papers back and forth to the Home Office.

MRS. HAWKING:

The Home Office? What have they got to do with it?

ARTHUR:

Warren’s been battling Mr. Matthews the Home Secretary since the beginning! The assistant commissioner is his man, you know— Matthews put Robert Anderson in charge of the case. And now he disappears off to Switzerland or somewhere and drowns us in red tape.

NATHANIEL:

Do you mean that the Home Secretary is interfering in the investigation?

ARTHUR:

Since the bloody beginning. Commissioner Warren up and resigned last night, thanks to all the badgering.

MRS. HAWKING:

What could they possibly— unless they want to manage something? They mean for this man to obstruct things.

NATHANIEL:

What?

MRS. HAWKING:

With this plant in place, the police won’t find this man even if they do learn to investigate. You, now— Sergeant Swann. You’re on the case now, are you? Then you can get close. You’ve got to implicate this Robert Anderson in something— women, embezzling, some scandal, and get him off tossed off his post.

ARTHUR:

Are you joking?

MRS. HAWKING:

Do you imagine that for a moment? I thought you meant to be of use.

ARTHUR:

Here, now, madam— I never told no one about Miss Strallan because you asked me to. But it’s quite another thing to conspire against an innocent man.

MRS. HAWKING:

Hardly innocent, if he’s a tool of such a scheme.

ARTHUR:

I won’t make up false evidence.

MRS. HAWKING:

Policemen do it every day for less than this.

MARY:

Won't they just put another of their men in his place?

MRS. HAWKING:

It would make them no less incompetent! You wouldn’t need my help if your brothers in arms were capable. And I wouldn’t need yours if they were not corrupt!

ARTHUR:

I mean to help you, madam. But I took an oath.

MRS. HAWKING:

As if that meant anything to the likes of you—!

ARTHUR:

Then one of us ought to do better! Don’t you think?

(Pause.)

ARTHUR:

I want this monster found as bad as you do. But I won’t do that.