Said Solomon Rusk to Jerusalem Parry, licking this last truth—with a wintry ghost-tongue—directly onto the drum: Shouldn’t’ve killed me on me own ship, my Jerusha, ye really wished t’be rid of me. And while Parry moaned and tossed in sorcerous sleep, all unknowing of why he felt so cold, the Bitch of Hell sailed on, secure in its two captains’ care.
JACK-KNIFE
TABLEAU ONE: CORRESPONDENCE GONE UNANSWERED
A WOMAN’S SCREAM. It begins with a gasp and peaks until ragged, breaking off at its height, then trails into an ugly, liquid gurgle, and is gone.
THE MAN KNOWN AS JACK
(Very clear, polite)
From hell, Mister Lusk, I send you half the
kidne I took from one woman, prasarved it
for you, tother piece I fried and ate it;
was very nise. I may send you the bloody
knif that took it out if you only wate
while longer. Catch me when you can,
Mishter Lusk.
A LARGE SPLASH dies away slowly, the drops of water dispersing over the stones by a river’s side.
FADE UP, very slowly, a HISSING, PULSING noise—like the sound of the sea but darker, more interior.
BRING UP a HEARTBEAT. The sound resolves itself into that of blood circulating inside someone’s head.
JACK
(Slow, sleepy whisper)
It’s so. Cold.
HOLD the BLOOD SOUND a few more seconds. MODIFY it to become—
TABLEAU TWO: LESSON THE FIRST—UNMENTIONABLES
—the soft sound of a cloth squeezing water into a basin.
A CLICK, like a lid opening. Pure, slightly warped MUSIC begins in mid-phrase: A MUSIC-BOX tune (“Oh, Believe Me, If All Those Endearing Young Charms . . . ”). A woman (JACK’S MOTHER) HUMS ALONG.
MOTHER
“ . . . that I gaze on so fondly today
Were to fleet in an hour and fade in my arms . . . ”
YOUNG JACK
(Outside the door)
Mother! Mother, I’m home!
MOTHER