Angles

Scene One
In a locked room where there were only a table and two chairs, two men were sitting and about to have a conversation, or an interrogation to be exact. There was a big mirror on one of the walls that surrounded the room. The atmosphere was gloomy.

HAFSHAM
Can we start now?

JAZIMAN
Yes.

HAFSHAM
Can I say that you are now ready to tell me the truth? About everything?

JAZIMAN
Yes. Of course.

HAFSHAM
Good. Now please tell me everything you know. Tell me what happened.

JAZIMAN
(taking a deep breath) I saw you walking out of the house about half an hour before it happened. Then, exactly the amount of time later, I saw Jimi. He was standing in front of your house. He stood there about ten minutes, he was like...thinking about something, and then he entered the house.

HAFSHAM
What did you do? Didn’t you feel weird?

JAZIMAN
Yes. I did feel something was not right. He looked a bit anxious. I wasn't sure what was bothering him. So I followed him. I entered your house.

HAFSHAM
Did you knock?

JAZIMAN
I’m sorry. I didn’t. I wanted to know what was happening, so it would alarm him if I knocked.

HAFSHAM
Okay. Continue.

JAZIMAN
I saw Jimi was shouting.

HAFSHAM
Shouting?

JAZIMAN
Yes. He said, “You shouldn’t have messed with me!!”

HAFSHAM
What about my wife? How did she react?

JAZIMAN
She didn’t react.

HAFSHAM
At all? (confused)

JAZIMAN
Yes. Look, you don’t understand.

HAFSHAM
I don’t understand about what?

JAZIMAN
Your wife was already dead when I entered the house. I was too late.

HAFSHAM
What do you mean??

JAZIMAN
He stabbed her.

Scene Two

HAFSHAM
You ready?

ZAKI
Yup.

HAFSHAM
You can start.

ZAKI
Okay. This is what happened, alright? I was walking on the street and then suddenly Jaziman stopped me. He asked about you. Based on your schedule, I told him that you should be on your way to the station at that time.

HAFSHAM
What was the time?

ZAKI
8 o’clock. 8. 05 to be exact.

HAFSHAM
What did he ask?

ZAKI
He wanted me to show him your house. He looked like he was in trouble. So I showed him. Your house was a few blocks away anyway.

HAFSHAM
What did he do at my house?

ZAKI
Well, he entered the house, without knocking. I was shocked at first, but then I decided not to give a damn.

HAFSHAM
So you left?

ZAKI
Not immediately. I played with your cat first. Right in front of the yard. Only then I heard your wife screaming. I think it was your name.

HAFSHAM
What did you think of that?

ZAKI
Well I thought maybe you were still in the house. You were fighting or something. You know, husband and wife, and Jaziman. So I ignored the scream. Continued playing with the cat.

HAFSHAM
That was all?

ZAKI
Nope. I heard another scream after that. This time, she screamed like she was terrified, or in pain. I knocked the door a few times. I called you. I called her. No answer. So I rushed into the house. Just..(paused) barged in.

HAFSHAM
What did you see?

ZAKI
I saw nobody in the living room. She had stopped screaming when I entered the house. So I thought maybe I should go and check the kitchen. I did. And I saw your wife lying on the floor unconscious, while Jaziman was standing in front of her with a hand phone charger in his hand.

HAFSHAM
What did you do when you saw that?

ZAKI
What do you expect? I panicked! I ran! As fast and as far as I could!

HAFSHAM
Did he see you?

ZAKI
I think so. I don’t know.

HAFSHAM
Okay. Thank you.

Scene Three

JIMI
I’m tired of talking about the same thing again and again. Nobody believes me anyway.

HAFSHAM
I do. I mean, I can try to believe you, as long as you are telling me the truth.

JIMI
And how exactly can you tell whether or not I’m telling the truth??

HAFSHAM
Investigations. And I need your version in order to start. Now help me. Please.

JIMI
Okay. As what I have been telling that Malique officer, I went to your house in order to meet you. I was hoping to meet you. I..I wasn’t sure if you were home or what, I just had to try.

HAFSHAM
What for?

JIMI
I needed the money.

HAFSHAM
What money?

JIMI
The money. (waiting for a response) The deal! We had a deal, right? 50/50!

HAFSHAM
I have no idea what deal you are talking about.

JIMI
Ah..now you’re playing innocent, eh? You found the weed, I caught you red-handed dealing with those people, and you offered me half of the prize in exchange for my silence. That deal!

HAFSHAM
Look, Jimi. I told you that I will try to trust you as long as you’re telling me the truth. But now you’re talking about a deal that doesn’t exist and haven’t told me a single damn thing about the murder! I can’t help you if you don’t tell me the truth!

JIMI
Oh..(laughing) I should have expected this. (continued laughing) Alright. Alright. You want to play this way. Alright. Fine by me. Your wife’s dead, and you suddenly lost your memory, eh? Fine by me. Totaaaaal...lly fine.

HAFSHAM
Let’s continue with the murder then.

JIMI
Like I told them, I was hoping to see you, but you weren’t there at your house. I didn’t see your car. But I did hear a gunshot.

HAFSHAM
A gunshot? And?

JIMI
And I was scared. But that also told me that you might be in the house. After all, you do have a gun, right? You’re a police officer.

HAFSHAM
So you entered the house.

JIMI
Yeah. I even called your name. “Hafsham! Hafsham!”

HAFSHAM
What did you see?

JIMI
I saw Zaki running out of the house, ignoring me with a gun in his hand! And how the hell did he get a gun??

HAFSHAM
What did you do after you saw him running?

JIMI
Since he was from the kitchen, so I thought maybe something had happened in there. So I went in. Turned out I was right. Bang! Your wife. On the floor. Dead. Her head. Blown into pieces. Woohoo..!! (hysterically laughing)

HAFSHAM
Shut up!

JIMI
Tragic, eh? Hahahahaha..! Woohoo!!

HAFSHAM
Shut up!!

JIMI
I will! So what’s next? Where’s my money?

HAFSHAM
I don’t know what money you’re talking about! Now get out of here!

JIMI
You think you can escape, eh? You’re dead wrong! You’re dead wrong on this one!

HAFSHAM
I said get the hell out of here!!

JIMI
Ooooooh...! Hahahahaha..!!!

HAFSHAM
Shut up!! Shut up!!

JIMI
Your wife’s dead! And you’re going down too!!

HAFSHAM
Shut up!!!

Scene Four
A man and a woman came and stood outside the room. They were both staring at the scene in the room through a glass on the wall. From inside, the glass was a mirror.

MALIQUE
He starts screaming again.

HALIZA
‘Again’? (confused)

MALIQUE
Yes. He has done that exactly eight times today. This is the ninth.

HALIZA
What..what exactly happened, inspector?

MALIQUE
I’m afraid, Haliza, that your brother is the one responsible for the murder.

HALIZA
He is?? (shocked)

MALIQUE
Yes. Natasha Binti Naufal. 27 years old. Murdered in her own house, around 8.20 in the morning on 30th September 2009. Found dead by her husband, Hafsham Bin Tajuddin, at 9.25 in the morning, the same day.

HALIZA
How did you know that he was the one?

MALIQUE
The autopsy showed that Natasha was first strangled to death by what we believe, an electrical cord. Evidence, the hand phone charger. She died of suffocation. Then, she was stabbed in her stomach with a sharp object. Evidence, a kitchen knife. Based on the report, this was done about 20 minutes to half an hour after she was strangled.

HALIZA
Oh my God!

MALIQUE
And later after she was stabbed, the murderer again, killed her by blowing her head off with a gunshot. Evidence; we found the gun used for murder.

HALIZA
Oh my..that’s horrible..! He could never do such a thing..!!

MALIQUE
Yes he could, he did it already, and he was not alone.

HALIZA
What do you mean?

MALIQUE
Haliza, during the interrogation, your brother started talking about something weird.

HALIZA
About what?

MALIQUE
Well, he mentioned three names. Jaziman, Zaki, and Jimi.

HALIZA
Who are they?

MALIQUE
They are the ones who killed Natasha. In three different occasions.

HALIZA
What??

MALIQUE
We believe that Jaziman was the one responsible for strangling Natasha to death. Then, followed by Jimi who stabbed her with a knife. And finally, Zaki shot her in the head.

HALIZA
Oh my God..I can’t hear this..!!!

MALIQUE
Haliza.

HALIZA
Yes..?

MALIQUE
These Jaziman, Jimi and Zaki......they are all the same person. They are Hafsham.

HALIZA
What..???

MALIQUE
We have enough evidence that tells us your brother is suffering from what we call, a ‘Multiple Personality Disorder’. We believe that he has been in this state for years, at least.

HALIZA
For years?? But he never acted strangely, or showed any sort of violence!

MALIQUE
Patients with this kind of disorders are not necessarily violent. They might only have a tendency to ‘act’ differently based on the personality they have at the moment. However, they can be violent if there is such a situation where somebody or something dear to them has been jeopardized.

HALIZA
And what kind of situation has my brother been in that those characters managed to gain control over him and kill his wife...three times...?

MALIQUE
Because she threatened him. She told him that she would leave him and tell the authorities about his misconduct.

HALIZA
And what exactly is that?

MALIQUE
Something familiar and very common. (sighed) It’s called bribery.

THE END