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Series: Miscellaneous Single Episodes
Show: CBS Radio Mystery Theater: "The Sinister Shadow"
Date: Feb 12 1979

CAST:
HOST
DORRIE, repressed, unmarried 35-year-old woman living at home
NURSE, no-nonsense; bored, impatient, but humoring Dorrie
MOTHER, Dorrie's neurotic overbearing mom
DOUBLE, Dorrie's self-confident twin

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS AND CREAKS OMINOUSLY!

MUSIC:

OMINOUS THEME ... THEN IN BG, IN AGREEMENT WITH THE FOLLOWING--

HOST:

Come in. Welcome. I'm E. G. Marshall. Are you old enough, and were you lucky enough, to have been raised on "A Child's Garden of Verses" by Robert Louis Stevenson? If so, you must remember the one that began, "I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me / and what can be the use of him is more than I can see." Well, in the musings of the very young, a shadow may seem a superfluous if delightful thing, but, in the world of parapsychology, the shadow is full of significance, mysterious and arcane.

DORRIE:

In the morning on sunny days, there was my shadow walking ahead of me. And in the afternoon, if I looked over my shoulder, there it was right behind me. But then this wondrous thing happened. And after that, my shadow was with me on the rainy days, too; and indoors, not only outdoors; in the dark just as much as in the light. Why, it's here even now. After all that's happened, my shadow is right here.

MUSIC:

UP TO FILL AN EERIE PAUSE ... THEN IN BG, OUT AT [X]

HOST:

Our mystery drama, "The Sinister Shadow," was written especially for the Mystery Theater by Elspeth Eric and stars Teri Keane. [X] It is sponsored in part by Sine-Off, the sinus medicines. I'll be back shortly with Act I.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

MUSIC:

OMINOUS ... THEN BEHIND HOST--

HOST:

There are twenty-three separate definitions of the word "shadow" in Webster's International Dictionary. If you wish, you may read them all, but for our immediate purpose we have selected Definition Number 8, "a reflected image, as in a mirror or in water." Listen carefully to what follows and you will understand why we selected this definition.

DORRIE:

I'll tell you how it all started. I mean, that is, if you're interested.

NURSE:

Sure, I'm interested.

DORRIE:

I don't know why you should be.

NURSE:

Well, I am.

DORRIE:

It would kind of help me to clear up the whole thing in my head.

NURSE:

So tell me.

DORRIE:

(EXHALES) It was the darnedest thing. I was on my way home from the bank. I'm a teller at the bank. It doesn't pay much, but it's a-- You know, a respectable kind of job; not like some, you know.

NURSE:

Sure.

DORRIE:

I was walking east on Lake Street. It was about 3:30 and I was looking at my shadow. See, I always walk with my head down -- it's a terrible habit, but anyhow that's the way I generally walk -- and for some reason, I heard my mother's voice, the way I'd heard it about a million times.

MOTHER:

(ECHO) Stand up straight, for heaven's sake!

DORRIE:

She was always saying that to me. "Dorrie, for heaven's sake, stand up straight."

MOTHER:

(ECHO) Don't slump, Dorrie.

DORRIE:

"Don't slump," she'd say.

MOTHER:

(ECHO) Throw your shoulders back. Stand erect.

DORRIE:

"Stand erect, Dorrie. Throw your shoulders back, Dorrie." (SADLY) Oh, how many times I'd heard her say that.

NURSE:

Yeah? Then what?

DORRIE:

Well, I looked at my shadow and-- (CHUCKLES) My goodness, I looked like a dwarf or something. I could hardly see my head at all and I didn't seem to have any shoulders. So--

NURSE:

(BEAT) So?

DORRIE:

So I straightened up. I threw my shoulders back and I pulled in my stomach and I held my head high and I started taking long steps, swinging my arms.

NURSE:

(BEAT) And?

DORRIE:

And I walked that way for-- Oh, half a block maybe. But then I looked down at my shadow.

NURSE:

(BEAT) And?

DORRIE:

My shadow-- My shadow still looked like a dwarf -- all hunched over, no head showing, hardly any shoulders. (BEAT) You believe me, don't you?

NURSE:

(SHRUGS) Whatever you say.

DORRIE:

Well, you can imagine how surprised I was.

NURSE:

Sure.

DORRIE:

I mean, there I was, standing erect and my shadow was all hunched over; I couldn't understand it. I was-- I was-- Flabbergasted.

NURSE:

Naturally.

DORRIE:

Now, it so happened that I was standing right in front of a bar and grill. I'm not in the habit of going into those places, but I was so-- I was really shook up.

NURSE:

Sure you were.

DORRIE:

So I went in. It seemed like a nice place; not very many people. After all, it was the middle of the afternoon.

NURSE:

Uh-huh.

DORRIE:

And I didn't know if to sit at a table or what. I really didn't know what I was doing there exactly. But then I saw a woman sitting at the bar. She was by herself, too. I'd heard that women do that these days, or I read it somewhere, so I thought, "Well, I'll go and I'll sit next to her. That way, nobody'll think I'm trying to pick up a man," you know.

NURSE:

Uh-huh.

DORRIE:

So I hopped up on the stool next to her and I just sat there, wondering what had happened to my shadow.

DOUBLE:

(TO DORRIE) Excuse me.

DORRIE:

(DISTRACTED) Hmm? What? Uh-- Ohhh, were you speaking to me?

DOUBLE:

I think the bartender wants to know what you want to drink.

DORRIE:

(REALIZES) Ohhh. Er, what are you drinking?

DOUBLE:

I'm having a glass of white wine.

DORRIE:

Oh. Well, I'll have that.

DOUBLE:

(TO BARTENDER) She'll have a glass of white wine.

DORRIE:

People seem to be drinking that a lot these days.

DOUBLE:

It's fashionable. A glass of white wine sounds very ladylike.

DORRIE:

Yes, I guess it does.

DOUBLE:

It shows right away you're not a drunken dame.

DORRIE:

(CHUCKLES) I guess so.

DOUBLE:

On the other hand, you're not a prude; not above "lifting one" on occasion. (BEAT, AS GLASS ARRIVES) Oh, here's yours. (BEAT) Shall we?

DORRIE:

(BEAT, PUZZLED) What?

DOUBLE:

Lift one.

DORRIE:

Oh. Sure.

SOUND:

GLASSES CLINK!

DOUBLE:

To the future -- whatever it is!

SOUND:

THEY DRINK ... SET GLASSES DOWN

DOUBLE:

Do you like it?

DORRIE:

(BEAT, PUZZLED) Oh. What?

DOUBLE:

Like the wine?

DORRIE:

(BEAT, REALIZES) Oh. Yes. (MEEKLY) I've, uh-- I've had wine before. Several times.

DOUBLE:

(DRY) I'd never have guessed.

DORRIE:

Oh, beer, too.

DOUBLE:

(AMUSED) No foolin'?

DORRIE:

Oh, yes.

DOUBLE:

Look-- Am - am I bothering you? You want me to shut up?

DORRIE:

No, no.

DOUBLE:

I talk too much sometimes. I can't seem to help it. I just go on and on, and it drives some people crazy. I can't seem to stop myself, so just tell me if I--

DORRIE:

(INTERRUPTS) No-no-no, it's not that. It's just--

DOUBLE:

You don't have to listen to me.

DORRIE:

Oh, I am listening.

DOUBLE:

(BEAT) The way you keep staring in the mirror--

DORRIE:

That's just it.

DOUBLE:

What is? What's "it"?

DORRIE:

Look. In the mirror. Don't you see?

DOUBLE:

(BEAT) See what?

DORRIE:

You and me. You and me, side by side.

DOUBLE:

So?

DORRIE:

We look alike.

DOUBLE:

We do?

DORRIE:

Don't you see? You must see. We're doubles.

DOUBLE:

(BEAT) Why, yes. So we are.

MUSIC:

UNEASY STING

DORRIE:

(TO NURSE) It was true. We looked exactly alike and, when she really looked at me, she could see it, too. Of course nobody would notice it right away because-- I mean-- Well, her clothes were very, very, er, "mod" -- isn't that what they say?

NURSE:

Mm, they used to.

DORRIE:

And she had on blue jeans; very tight, very-- Uh-- Well, revealing.

NURSE:

Uh-huh.

DORRIE:

And then this top -- kind of a magenta color -- cut down to here. And these masses and masses of gold chains. And her hair. It was, like, light blond like mine, but all in tiny little curls. She told me later she'd had a permanent, but it certainly looked wonderful; sort of lighted up her face, you know?

NURSE:

Uh-huh.

DORRIE:

Well, we got very friendly. Yes, we did; we really did. I told her all about what happened with my shadow and she listened, and every once in a while she nodded her head and acted like she believed every word I was saying. Really.

NURSE:

Well, sure.

DORRIE:

I've always heard that everybody has a double somewhere in the world, but I've never met mine. (BEAT) Have - have you met yours?

NURSE:

(SKEPTICAL) No, I haven't.

DORRIE:

Well, wait till you do. It will change your whole life. It certainly changed mine.

NURSE:

(DRY) Certainly has.

DORRIE:

I told her all about my mother. About hearing my mother's voice -- you know, "Stand up straight, Dorrie. Don't slump, Dorrie." She understood that, too. It was really amazing.

NURSE:

I can imagine.

DORRIE:

All of a sudden I realized I'd been sitting there for almost an hour, going on and on about all these things, and my mother must be wondering what on earth had become of me, because-- Well, usually I come straight home from the bank and it was almost five o'clock.

NURSE:

Yeah? So?

DORRIE:

So I - I knew I'd get holy heck for being late, because I always have to get the dinner. My mother does the shopping, but I get the dinner. So I jumped up all of a sudden and said goodbye in a hurry and went out. But this time-- This time--

NURSE:

(BEAT) Yeah? This time?

DORRIE:

(WITH QUIET TRIUMPH) This time I walked with my head up and my shoulders back. I stood up very tall and took long steps--

NURSE:

(BEAT) And?

DORRIE:

And this time my shadow was very tall, too. My shadow held up its head -- and took long steps -- all the way home.

MUSIC:

GENTLE ACCENT

SOUND:

FRONT DOOR UNLOCKS, OPENS AND SHUTS ... RATTLE OF KEYS

MOTHER:

Dorrie?

DORRIE:

It's me.

MOTHER:

Where in the name of heaven have you been? Do you know what time it is? Nearly five o'clock! Where were you?

DORRIE:

I was detained.

MOTHER:

Detained? They detained you at the bank?!

DORRIE:

Not - not at the bank.

MOTHER:

Then where? You never go any place -- that I know of.

DORRIE:

I just stopped to talk to somebody.

MOTHER:

Did you forget I have guests coming for dinner?

DORRIE:

Well, I guess I did.

MOTHER:

The Swensons are coming, and the Morrisons! Oh, and the Morrisons' son Gordon, I think his name is. Remember him?

DORRIE:

(UNEASY) I - I don't know if I do.

MOTHER:

Well, he got married about ten years ago and moved out of town, but now he's getting a divorce. I thought maybe-- Look, I've put the ham in the oven. I thought I'd better when you didn't show up.

DORRIE:

How big is it?

MOTHER:

Er, twelve pounds.

DORRIE:

(MUSES) That means eighteen minutes per pound--

MOTHER:

(INTERRUPTS) --at three fifty?

DORRIE:

No, no -- you start at one-fifty internal temp.

MOTHER:

Well, you go take a look at it.

DORRIE:

Well, in a minute. I - I want to tell you about--

MOTHER:

(INTERRUPTS) And, Dorrie, you'll have to make the sauce. I have no conception--

DORRIE:

(EXASPERATED) It is just prepared mustard and currant jelly--

MOTHER:

(INTERRUPTS) Well, you take care of it.

DORRIE:

Mother-- I met somebody. On the way home.

MOTHER:

(SURPRISED DISBELIEF) A man? You met a man?

DORRIE:

No. A woman.

MOTHER:

(DISAPPOINTED) Ohhh. (REMEMBERS, BRISKLY) Listen, about this Gordon Morrison-- I understand his marriage wasn't too happy. Now, there weren't any children, so there won't be any trouble about the divorce. I believe he's a certified public accountant--

DORRIE:

(INTERRUPTS) Mother, I want to tell you about--

MOTHER:

(INTERRUPTS) He's moving back here to live. A good CPA never has any trouble getting established, so I'm told.

DORRIE:

Mother--

MOTHER:

(INTERRUPTS) He's just your age, Dorrie, give a year or two.

DORRIE:

I wish you would listen to--

MOTHER:

(INTERRUPTS) Dorrie, what I am getting at is: this is a chance for you!

DORRIE:

Oh, mother!

MOTHER:

You're almost thirty-six.

DORRIE:

I wish you would just--

MOTHER:

(INTERRUPTS) Now, at dinner, please don't sit there like a lump. Please don't. Say things, join in, be a part of the conversation, be animated. The dinner will be good; we know that. And I'll make sure they know you cooked it. You'll make spoon bread, won't you?

DORRIE:

(WEAKLY) Yes, I--

MOTHER:

(INTERRUPTS) But you have to do more than that. You have to act like you're having a good time, like you're enjoying yourself, do you understand?

DORRIE:

(DULLY) Yes.

MOTHER:

Maybe if you-- If you took a drink. That often helps. I know it helps me. It helps most people. Do you think you could do that?

DORRIE:

(BEAT, QUIETLY THOUGHTFUL) I could do that.

MOTHER:

A cocktail maybe.

DORRIE:

I think-- I think maybe a glass of white wine. (BEAT) Maybe two.

MUSIC:

GENTLE ACCENT

DORRIE:

(TO NURSE) I sat there -- like a lump. Once in a while I'd think of something to say about something, but by the time I got around to saying it, they were talking about something else. You know.

NURSE:

I think I do.

DORRIE:

Of course they raved about the food. I really am a good cook.

NURSE:

I'll bet you are.

DORRIE:

(WITH DIFFICULTY) But I was all shut up in a cocoon, sort of. I couldn't get out.

NURSE:

Uh-huh.

DORRIE:

And I could feel my mother getting madder and madder and more disgusted with me, but I couldn't do anything about it. I didn't blame her.

NURSE:

No?

DORRIE:

No, because, to her, everything comes so easy -- always has. She laughs a lot; smiles; she can talk about anything practically; the words just roll out of her mouth. She doesn't have to try to make an effort. It all just kind of comes naturally to her, and she can't see why it doesn't come naturally to me.

NURSE:

(HELPFULLY) You're shy.

DORRIE:

I-- I guess you could call it being shy, I don't know. I just get sort of paralyzed when I have to talk to people. I want to go away, or - die or something.

NURSE:

You're talking to me.

DORRIE:

Oh, yes, but--

NURSE:

(BEAT) But what?

DORRIE:

(LIGHTLY) You know all about my double.

NURSE:

Oh.

DORRIE:

Do you know what I did -- the very next day? I went out and I had my hair cut short.

NURSE:

Oh?

DORRIE:

And then I had a permanent. (BEAT) You like it, don't you?

NURSE:

Sure. It's nice.

DORRIE:

(PLEASED) Now I look exactly like her.

NURSE:

(MORE SERIOUS) I'm, er-- I'm going to bring you a comb. You can run it through those pretty blonde curls.

DORRIE:

Why? Do I look awful?

NURSE:

No. You don't look awful at all. But you could stand a little sprucing up.

DORRIE:

Okay.

NURSE:

You'll be going upstairs in a little while. You'll want to look your very best for that. It's important.

MUSIC:

OMINOUS ... BEHIND HOST--

HOST:

How would you feel if suddenly you came face-to-face with someone who looked exactly like yourself? How would you react? Would you advance, happily thinking, "Why, what an attractive person?" or would you back off a bit, thinking, "What a loathsome creature." Not knowing what my own immediate response would be, I am content that my double should go his way while I go mine, and that we should be destined never to meet. I'll be back with Act II.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

MUSIC:

OMINOUS ... BEHIND HOST--

HOST:

I said before that in case I do have a double -- that there actually is another E. G. Marshall roaming the earth -- I hoped that we would never meet. But fate has a way of ignoring our hopes and that has set me to wondering: if we did meet, we two, would we get along? Would I like him? Would he like me? Or would we dislike each other intensely and even become enemies? I think I'll return to my first position: let him go his way; I'll go mine.

DORRIE:

Do you really like my hair this way?

NURSE:

I really do.

DORRIE:

It's exactly like hers.

NURSE:

You just need to run a comb through it.

DORRIE:

Well, you said you'd bring me one.

NURSE:

I will.

DORRIE:

How about the blue jeans? You don't think I look silly in them?

NURSE:

No, not a bit.

DORRIE:

(SOMBER) My mother thought they were okay. She liked them. She liked my haircut, too.

NURSE:

That's nice.

DORRIE:

No. Not really.

NURSE:

Why not?

DORRIE:

She had the wrong idea entirely. She didn't understand. You see, I couldn't tell her about meeting my double.

NURSE:

You couldn't?

DORRIE:

Well, no! It was such a remarkable thing. I - I wasn't sure she'd believe me.

NURSE:

Maybe she would have.

DORRIE:

Oh, no-no-no. She hardly ever believed me about anything. And she'd never believe that I'd met my double. And if I told her, she might try to do something about it.

NURSE:

Like what, for instance?

DORRIE:

Well, forbid me to see her, for one thing.

NURSE:

But you're thirty-six years old.

DORRIE:

Oh, that wouldn't have made any difference to my mother. No, she would have found a way.

NURSE:

Like what?

DORRIE:

Ohhh, I don't know. (BEAT) And it was very important to me to be able to see my double. I saw her every day.

NURSE:

You did?

DORRIE:

In the same bar and grill, sitting on those same two stools, drinking white wine. Oh, it was lovely, you know?

NURSE:

Uh-huh.

DORRIE:

The only thing was, it made me late getting home. And my mother didn't like that. Not one bit.

SOUND:

FRONT DOOR OPENS AND SHUTS

MOTHER:

Dorrie?

DORRIE:

It's me.

MOTHER:

Do you realize it's five o'clock?

DORRIE:

It is?

MOTHER:

Yes, it is. I suppose the bank detained you.

DORRIE:

(SLOWLY, CAREFULLY) I was detained.

MOTHER:

But not by the bank?

DORRIE:

No, not by the bank.

MOTHER:

Well, who then? Who detained you? (NO ANSWER) Dorrie, are you seeing somebody behind my back?

DORRIE:

(CHANGES SUBJECT) Er, what'd you get for dinner?

MOTHER:

Chopped beef.

DORRIE:

Enough for a meatloaf?

MOTHER:

Dorrie, are you seeing a man?

DORRIE:

I need two pounds for a meatloaf.

MOTHER:

Who is he? Somebody at the bank?

DORRIE:

(SULLEN) No.

MOTHER:

Well, where did you meet him? You never go anyplace. (WITH DISAPPROVAL) You didn't pick him up on the street, did you?

DORRIE:

No.

MOTHER:

Girls do that all the time these days.

DORRIE:

I am not a girl.

MOTHER:

You just better bet you're not. (REASONABLY) Listen, Dorrie, if he's a nice man-- You know how much I want you to meet a nice man.

DORRIE:

I know.

MOTHER:

Nothing could make me happier. And with your new haircut and those jeans and that top, there's no reason why you shouldn't meet some nice man and-- Where are you going?

DORRIE:

(SLIGHTLY OFF) I'm going to make the meatloaf.

MOTHER:

I want to know who this man is! I want to know where you met him and I want to know where you see him every afternoon. Why don't you see him in the evening? Is he married? Is that why? Are you seeing a married man on the sly?

DORRIE:

No.

MOTHER:

Then why don't you bring him home here so I can meet him? What is he, some kind of crook?

DORRIE:

No!

MOTHER:

Then what's wrong with him that your own mother can't meet him?

DORRIE:

(QUIET BUT FIRM) Mother. I am not going to discuss this with you any more. I'm going to make the meatloaf.

MUSIC:

GENTLE ACCENT

DORRIE:

(TO NURSE) I couldn't explain to her. She'd've wanted to meet my double. And that would have spoiled everything.

NURSE:

Why?

DORRIE:

Well, because when you have a double, it's a-- A very strange thing. It's not something you share with anybody. It's very personal and private, and it's not something you talk about, not even to your own mother. Especially to your own mother. It's your secret. Your very own secret. Your most precious secret. I - I don't know how to explain it to you if you don't know.

NURSE:

That's all right.

DORRIE:

But, you see, she kept after me and after me, every day when I came home from the bar and grill. It got worse. She said she'd have me followed. She'd hire a detective and have me followed. She said she'd report me to the bank manager. She said she'd throw me out of the house. Everything! And every day it got worse and worse till I could hardly stand it. If it hadn't been for my double and seeing her every day, I think I'd have gone crazy. But, you see, I could talk to her about it, and she would be very sympathetic, and we'd drink our white wine, and I'd feel better. And I'd go home. But it was always the same thing as soon as I got there.

SOUND:

FRONT DOOR OPENS

MOTHER:

(AGITATED) Oh! Get in here!

DORRIE:

What's the matter?

MOTHER:

I watched you coming down the street!

SOUND:

DORRIE'S STEPS IN ... DOOR SHUTS

DORRIE:

What for?

MOTHER:

You're a whole different person, you know that?

DORRIE:

I know.

MOTHER:

You don't walk all slumped over the way you used to. You hold your head up! You're thirty-six years old and all of a sudden you walk like a human being! Now, what I want to know is -- what is the cause of all this? Or should I say who's the cause of it all? I know you get out of the bank 3:30 at the latest. You've been getting home later and later! Five! Five-thirty! Now, Dorrie, I know perfectly well you are not walking around by yourself or sitting in the library. Because I smell liquor on your breath. You spend your time drinking with somebody!

DORRIE:

(DEFENSIVE) Just a little white wine. I never get drunk. You've never seen me come home drunk. Two little glasses of white wine and that's all.

MOTHER:

I never said you got drunk. I said you spend an hour, or an hour and a half, drinking with somebody. Now, I'm sick and tired of asking you who it is you're meeting on the sly! I'm your mother and I've a right to know! Now, you look me straight in the eye and tell me who it is! (NO RESPONSE) Dorrie?! Who is it?!

DORRIE:

Just somebody.

MOTHER:

I know it's somebody! I want to know what somebody. It's nobody we know because I've asked all over town--

DORRIE:

(INTERRUPTS, OFFENDED) You asked people?

MOTHER:

Well, how else am I going to find out?! Not that I found out anything. A couple of people said they saw you go into the bar and grill on Lake Street a few times, but they never saw you with anybody.

DORRIE:

You asked people about me?

MOTHER:

Well, who do you meet in that bar and grill? (NO ANSWER, EXPLODES) Dorrie! Are you going to tell me or do I have to shake it out of you?!

DORRIE:

(EXCLAIMS AS SHE'S GRABBED)

SOUND:

BRIEF SCUFFLE, IN BG

MOTHER:

Tell me the truth!

DORRIE:

Let me go!

MOTHER:

I'll let you go when you tell me! Now, who is it?!

DORRIE:

(BROKENLY) My double. It's my double.

SOUND:

SCUFFLE ENDS

MOTHER:

Your--? Your what?

DORRIE:

(QUICKLY) Everybody has a double. Most people don't meet theirs, but I did. She was sitting at the bar.

MOTHER:

What?! What did you just say?

DORRIE:

She was sitting at the bar.

MOTHER:

You've been meeting a woman?

DORRIE:

We look exactly alike.

MOTHER:

You mean to stand there and tell me you've been getting drunk every day with a woman?!

DORRIE:

Not drunk.

MOTHER:

A man maybe--

DORRIE:

A glass of wine!

MOTHER:

Oh, but this is crazy!

DORRIE:

It is not.

MOTHER:

It's weird!

DORRIE:

No! She's my double. She's like a twin, only it's better!

MOTHER:

She's wicked! That's what she is!

DORRIE:

(DEFIANT) She is not. Don't say that.

MOTHER:

(SAVAGELY) And so - are - you!

DORRIE:

Don't say that or I'll kill you.

MOTHER:

To think that my daughter--

DORRIE:

I swear, I'll--

MOTHER:

My very own daughter--

DORRIE:

Shut up! I will kill you!

MUSIC:

GRIM ACCENT

DORRIE:

(AGITATED, TO NURSE) I was shaking all over I was so angry.

NURSE:

Sure you were.

DORRIE:

To think my own mother -- my very own mother -- would say such things about me! That she would even think them-- It was horrible.

NURSE:

Of course.

DORRIE:

And talking about her that way. Why, she'd never even met her. Never even seen her.

NURSE:

Uh-huh.

DORRIE:

(BROKENLY) She knew that I - I'd never-- She knew me. She knew I would never-- Never-- Oh-- (QUIETLY) She should have known anyway.

NURSE:

I understand.

DORRIE:

(BRISKLY) I - I got away from her and I ran out of the house. I couldn't possibly have stayed there; I just couldn't because - when I said I'd kill her, I meant it. I really did. I didn't know how I'd do it, but I knew I'd do it if I stayed there. So I ran out of the house. She was still standing in the doorway screaming at me, saying awful things. I just ran; ran down the street. I didn't know where I was going; I didn't have any idea where to go. I just ran. (SLOWLY) And, all of a sudden, I was on Lake Street, in front of the bar and grill. And there she was.

NURSE:

Your double?

DORRIE:

Yes. I could see her through the window. She was sitting at the bar, just the way I'd left her -- oh, maybe an hour before -- and there she was with her glass of wine in front of her. And, oh! I was so relieved to see her -- the only person in the entire world I could talk to. So I opened the door and I went in.

SOUND:

PAUSE AS DORRIE ENTERS AND APPROACHES DOUBLE

DORRIE:

(BREATHLESSLY) Oh! Oh, you're still here.

DOUBLE:

What's the matter?

DORRIE:

Oh, I'm so glad.

DOUBLE:

Oh, sit down. (REALIZES) You're - you're all out of breath.

DORRIE:

Yes, I've been running. All over town.

DOUBLE:

Sit down. You want some wine?

DORRIE:

I don't think so.

DOUBLE:

Here. Drink the rest of mine.

DORRIE:

I thought you'd probably left by now.

DOUBLE:

I left when you did, but I came back.

DORRIE:

You must have known I'd need you. Oh, listen, I had the most awful row with my mother.

DOUBLE:

What about?

DORRIE:

You know she's been trying to find out who I've been seeing after banking hours.

DOUBLE:

Yes, I know.

DORRIE:

And she's kept after me and after me. She thought I'd picked up with some man, some disreputable man that I was ashamed to bring home so she could meet him. And - and she said she'd hire a detective.

DOUBLE:

You told me.

DORRIE:

And this time she said she'd been asking all over town, different people, if they'd seen me with anybody. Can you imagine that? I mean, that's like opening my mail; reading my private letters. I simply could not believe she'd do a thing like that. And then she grabbed hold of me by the arms. And she started to shake me hard, and she hurt me, and she wouldn't let me go! She said she'd shake the truth out of me!

DOUBLE:

(EVENLY) Yes?

DORRIE:

I had to make her stop. So I told her. (BEAT, HUSHED) I said it was you.

DOUBLE:

Yes?

DORRIE:

Oh, not your name, because I don't know your name, but I said I was meeting my double; that everybody has a double and I was so lucky that I had met mine.

DOUBLE:

Yes?

DORRIE:

And then she really started to scream at me. She said I was wicked. And you were wicked. And crazy. And weird. And when she said that, it was like the top of my head just blew off, and I yelled back at her. I told her-- I told her to shut up or I'd kill her. (BEAT) Yes, I said that. And, oh! I meant it.

DOUBLE:

(COMFORTING) It - it's all right, really.

DORRIE:

And I would have, if I hadn't gotten out of there.

DOUBLE:

Really, it's all right.

DORRIE:

And if I go back there, I will.

DOUBLE:

(BEAT) There's no need to do that. (BEAT, SIMPLY) I've already killed her myself.

MUSIC:

GRIM ACCENT

DORRIE:

She was so calm when she said it. "I've already killed her myself." She said it like it was nothing.

NURSE:

Uh-huh.

DORRIE:

And the peculiar thing was, it made me feel like it was nothing, too.

NURSE:

Really?

DORRIE:

Yes! It seemed perfectly natural, perfectly logical, like she'd done the only sensible thing.

NURSE:

Then what?

DORRIE:

Well, we sat there, and drank a little more wine, and talked some, very quietly. And then I came here.

NURSE:

You did the right thing.

DORRIE:

I hope so.

NURSE:

Absolutely. (BEAT, BRIGHTLY) Say, I told you I'd bring you a comb and I haven't done it. Why don't I go fetch one now?

DORRIE:

(SUDDENLY DISTRESSED) Oh, don't leave me.

NURSE:

I'll be right back.

DORRIE:

I don't want to be alone. This is the first time I've told anybody and I don't want to be alone.

NURSE:

It won't take a minute.

DORRIE:

Please.

NURSE:

Then you can fix yourself up a little -- before I take you - upstairs.

MUSIC:

GENTLY EERIE ... THEN BEHIND HOST--

HOST:

A most efficient double, wouldn't you say? One capable of strong, direct, even violent action. And, at the same time, able to bring peace of mind and serenity and a conviction that everything has been for the best. Now, if I could be sure of having a double like that-- Oh, but no. So far, I don't think I want to take the chance. I'll be back shortly with Act III.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

MUSIC:

OMINOUS ... BEHIND HOST--

HOST:

I said before that I still do not wish to meet my double, but now it occurs to me: were I to meet him, would I recognize him? Offhand, you'd say, "Of course. How could you fail to recognize a replica of yourself?" But consider this: do I really know what I look like? I think I do. It's a very familiar face. But have I ever really seen it? Is it possible ever to see it? I'm not sure that it is.

DORRIE:

(NO LONGER DISTRESSED, TO NURSE) Thank you for the comb.

NURSE:

Don't mention it. See that you use it.

DORRIE:

Oh, I will -- right now.

NURSE:

(MOVING OFF) We'll be going upstairs in about twenty minutes, so fix yourself up, d'you hear?

DORRIE:

(IDLY CURIOUS) What's upstairs?

NURSE:

(OFF) You'll see.

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS AND SHUTS AS NURSE EXITS

DORRIE:

(TO HERSELF) I wonder what's upstairs. (BEAT) I wonder--

DOUBLE:

(INTERRUPTS, CASUAL) Hello, Dorrie.

DORRIE:

(GENTLY STARTLED) Oh! (REALIZES) Oh, it's you.

DOUBLE:

How are you?

DORRIE:

(UNEASY) I was just going to comb my hair.

DOUBLE:

It needs it.

DORRIE:

Nobody told me you were here.

DOUBLE:

Nobody knows. (BEAT) Are you glad to see me?

DORRIE:

I - I think so.

DOUBLE:

You're not sure?

DORRIE:

(BEAT) What about my mother?

DOUBLE:

What about her?

DORRIE:

(BEAT) How did you do it?

DOUBLE:

(IMPROVISING) I think I hit her with a chair.

DORRIE:

Don't you know?

DOUBLE:

You know that little chair that stands in the front hall just to the left of the door?

DORRIE:

Yes.

DOUBLE:

I picked that up and I held it up high and then I brought it down hard on the top of her head. Yes, that's what I did.

DORRIE:

I could never have done that.

DOUBLE:

And then I choked her -- just to make sure.

DORRIE:

You did? Really?

DOUBLE:

Then when I was quite sure she was dead, I went back to the bar and grill.

DORRIE:

You didn't even seem - upset or anything.

DOUBLE:

Why should I have been? It was the only thing to do.

DORRIE:

I suppose so.

DOUBLE:

There was no other way out.

DORRIE:

But, just the same, to kill a person--

DOUBLE:

(DISMISSIVE) People get killed all the time. People kill people all the time.

DORRIE:

Not people I know.

DOUBLE:

Just the same, it happens.

DORRIE:

I guess so. I know I read about it in the papers, but--

DOUBLE:

So why shouldn't it happen to you?

DORRIE:

To my mother, you mean. I didn't do it.

DOUBLE:

No, of course you didn't. I did.

DORRIE:

That's right!

DOUBLE:

Do you think I'm a terrible person because I did it?

DORRIE:

Well--

DOUBLE:

When we were sitting in the bar and grill on Lake Street, you didn't seem to think I was so terrible.

DORRIE:

No.

DOUBLE:

So why do you think I'm so terrible now?

DORRIE:

I - don't know if I do.

DOUBLE:

That's the way you're acting. You're being very critical.

DORRIE:

But she was my mother!

DOUBLE:

Exactly.

DORRIE:

Sometimes-- Sometimes I don't understand you at all.

DOUBLE:

No?

DORRIE:

I thought we were doubles!

DOUBLE:

We are!

DORRIE:

Then why don't I understand what you're saying?!

DOUBLE:

I don't know. It's really very exasperating.

DORRIE:

(BEAT) You're not mad at me?

DOUBLE:

Not yet.

DORRIE:

I mean, you won't leave me?

DOUBLE:

Not yet.

DORRIE:

Not ever? Don't leave me ever!

SOUND:

DOOR ABRUPTLY OPENS

NURSE:

Dorrie?

DORRIE:

(STARTLED) What? What is it?

NURSE:

I brought you some hot water. Now, wash your hands and face. (SURPRISED) Haven't you combed your hair yet?

DORRIE:

Oh, I was just going to.

NURSE:

(A LITTLE STERN) Look, I'm putting this bowl of hot water down here. Now, there's a washcloth and a piece of soap. Use them.

DORRIE:

I will.

NURSE:

Oh, before I forget.

SOUND:

NURSE TAKES DOWN THE WALL MIRROR

DORRIE:

What are you doing?

NURSE:

Taking down the mirror.

DORRIE:

What are you doing that for?

NURSE:

Orders from upstairs.

DORRIE:

You're always talking about upstairs. What is upstairs?

NURSE:

You'll find out -- soon enough.

DORRIE:

(BEAT) Are you mad at me?

NURSE:

Do I sound mad?

DORRIE:

Kind of.

NURSE:

Well, I'm not. Now, you wash your face and hands before that water gets cooled off. I'm going to check and see when they'll be ready for you.

DORRIE:

Who?

NURSE:

The people upstairs.

DORRIE:

Who are they?

NURSE:

(GENUINELY) Look. They're very nice. Really. You don't have to be afraid of them. They mean well. They've got your best interests at heart. Believe me.

DORRIE:

Why would they want to take my mirror away?

NURSE:

Just a precaution. They were afraid of what you might do.

DORRIE:

Do? I wouldn't do anything.

NURSE:

(A LITTLE DRY) No, of course you wouldn't.

DORRIE:

Then why--?

NURSE:

Better safe than sorry. That's how they figure. Now, listen, I'm going to go upstairs and check on how soon they'll be ready to see you. Meantime you wash up, okay?

DORRIE:

Okay.

NURSE:

(MOVING OFF) I'll be back in a few minutes.

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS AND CLOSES AS NURSE EXITS

DORRIE:

(TO HERSELF) What is she talking about? I'm not gonna do anything.

SOUND:

GENTLE SLOSH OF WATER IN BOWL AS DORRIE PUTS WATER ON HER FACE ... THEN IN AGREEMENT WITH FOLLOWING--

DORRIE:

(EXHALES, TO HERSELF) Where's the soap? (BEAT) Oh, here.

DOUBLE:

Hello.

DORRIE:

(GENTLE STARTLED GASP) Oh! I thought you'd gone away.

DOUBLE:

Not at all.

DORRIE:

Look, if I said anything to make you angry--

DOUBLE:

(INTERRUPTS) You were very snippy.

DORRIE:

I was?

DOUBLE:

About my killing your mother.

DORRIE:

Well, after all--

DOUBLE:

(INTERRUPTS) You're getting very holier-than-thou all of a sudden.

DORRIE:

I don't mean to.

DOUBLE:

Sitting in the bar and grill you seemed very pleased at what I'd done.

DORRIE:

You--

DOUBLE:

(INTERRUPTS) After all, I did it for you. She was your mother, not mine. I didn't know her from a hole in the wall. She meant absolutely nothing to me.

DORRIE:

She did to me!

DOUBLE:

Ohhh! The way you talked, I'd never have guessed.

DORRIE:

That was just talk!

DOUBLE:

You wanted to kill her; you told me so.

DORRIE:

That was talk! Don't you understand? That was talk!

DOUBLE:

Pretty serious talk.

DORRIE:

I would have never done it! Never! I wouldn't have!

DOUBLE:

Of course you wouldn't have. That's why I did it for you.

DORRIE:

(PAUSE) I'm going to tell them you did it.

DOUBLE:

You are?

DORRIE:

You don't mind?

DOUBLE:

What can they do to me?

DORRIE:

They will catch you. I'll tell them what you look like and they'll go after you and they'll catch you.

DOUBLE:

What will you tell them I look like?

DORRIE:

Well, you--

DOUBLE:

(INTERRUPTS) What do I look like? (NO ANSWER, SLOWLY) Come on. Take a close look. Now. Tell me. What do I look like?

DORRIE:

(DEFLATED, SLOWLY) You look-- You look just like me.

DOUBLE:

(WITH QUIET TRIUMPH) Of course. We're doubles.

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS AND SHUTS AS NURSE ENTERS

NURSE:

(LIGHTLY) Okay now. You ready? 'Cause they're ready for you.

DORRIE:

(CONFUSED) What?

NURSE:

(STERN) You haven't even washed your face.

DORRIE:

No, I--

NURSE:

(INTERRUPTS) The water's not even warm. Why did I go to all the trouble to bring you hot water?

DORRIE:

But you're not gonna throw it out.

NURSE:

Well, what good is it now?

SOUND:

WATER POURED OUT INTO SINK

NURSE:

You haven't combed your hair either. What have you been doing while I was out of the room?

DORRIE:

(BEAT) My double was here. I was talking to her.

NURSE:

(A LITTLE DISMAYED) Ohhh. Oh, I see. Your double. (CAREFULLY) Well, how did things go -- with your double?

DORRIE:

(BEAT) Not very well.

NURSE:

Oh? In what way?

DORRIE:

We, er-- We had a kind of a quarrel.

NURSE:

I see.

DORRIE:

(BEAT) We're not getting along.

NURSE:

Look, it's time we were getting upstairs, so come on. You'll have to go as you are because they do not like to be kept waiting.

DORRIE:

You said the people upstairs-- You said they were nice?

NURSE:

They are. Basically very nice. Now, come on.

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS ... THEIR STEPS INTO HALLWAY ... THEN IN AGREEMENT WITH FOLLOWING--

NURSE:

Turn right here. That's it.

DORRIE:

What will they do to me?

NURSE:

They won't do anything. They'll just talk to you. The stairs are straight ahead. We have to walk up. And of course they'll want you to talk to them. Come on, up we go.

SOUND:

STEPS ON STAIRS ... IN AGREEMENT WITH FOLLOWING--

DORRIE:

What will I talk to them about?

NURSE:

Oh, it's almost anything. Anything you've got on your mind.

DORRIE:

Should I talk to them about my mother?

NURSE:

If you feel like it.

DORRIE:

Should I tell them she's dead?

NURSE:

If that's what you feel like telling them.

DORRIE:

(BEAT) I think I'll tell them that.

NURSE:

Okay.

DORRIE:

And something else I'll tell them.

NURSE:

What's that?

DORRIE:

I'll tell them who did it.

NURSE:

It's one more flight up.

DORRIE:

Okay.

NURSE:

You're going to tell them about about - about your double?

DORRIE:

Yes. Definitely. I'm going to tell them she killed my mother.

NURSE:

All right.

DORRIE:

Do you think it's okay to tell them that?

NURSE:

I think it's exactly what you should tell them.

DORRIE:

Of course, if I tell them, I may not ever see her again.

NURSE:

Oh? Why not?

DORRIE:

Well, when you were out of the room and I was talking to her, I got the feeling she didn't want me to tell anybody. Of course, I'd already told you, but you wouldn't tell, would you?

NURSE:

Certainly not.

DORRIE:

She said she did it for me.

NURSE:

Uh-huh.

DORRIE:

And I understand that. But I didn't ask her to. (UNSURE) Did I?

SOUND:

THEIR STEPS STOP

NURSE:

Look, here we are. This is the room. They're waiting for us.

DORRIE:

(SUDDENLY DISTRESSED) I'm scared. I - I don't want to go in.

NURSE:

(REASSURING) Now, there's nothing to be afraid of.

DORRIE:

But I don't know these people.

NURSE:

They're very nice. Really. You'll like them.

DORRIE:

No, I won't, and they won't like me.

NURSE:

Yes, they will.

DORRIE:

(QUIETLY HYSTERICAL) They think I killed my mother. And they'll ask me all about it and it'll be awful; no, I don't want to do it.

NURSE:

Dorrie, stop it.

DORRIE:

No, no--

NURSE:

(INTERRUPTS) Now you just stop it.

DORRIE:

No, I won't do it! (SUDDEN SHARP GASP! ... BEAT ... SOBS ... BEAT ... QUIETLY SURPRISED) You hit me. (BEAT) You hit me.

NURSE:

(STERN BUT SYMPATHETIC) I want you to listen to what I have to say. Listen to me carefully. Do you understand?

DORRIE:

(BEAT, MEEKLY) Yes.

NURSE:

You are going into that room with me, and you are going to tell those people in there exactly what you told me, start to finish. Got that?

DORRIE:

(HOPELESSLY) I can't.

NURSE:

Those people in there are doctors, Dorrie. They want to help you.

DORRIE:

(BEAT, CONFUSED) They're not - policemen?

NURSE:

Whatever gave you the idea they were policemen?

DORRIE:

I just thought--

NURSE:

(INTERRUPTS) Well, you thought wrong. And there's something else I'm going to tell you; something I'm not supposed to tell you because I'm just a nurse here, but I'm going to tell you anyway. There are three doctors in that room -- two are men and one's a woman -- and there is some possibility that there'll be another woman in there with them. (BEAT) Your mother.

DORRIE:

My mother's dead.

NURSE:

Your mother is not dead.

DORRIE:

My double, she killed her. She hit her over the head with a chair, and then she choked her. She did it for me. (BEAT) My mother's dead.

NURSE:

Your mother is very much alive and there isn't a mark on her. (BEAT) Now --- are you ready to go in there?

DORRIE:

(BEAT) Okay.

NURSE:

Wait a second. Look at your shadow. All hunched over. Aren't you ashamed? (PAUSE, PLEASED) That's it! Now you're standing tall. And your shadow is, too!

SOUND:

DOOR OPENS

NURSE:

(REASSURING) All right, Dorrie. Go on in. Nobody is going to hurt you.

MUSIC:

GENTLY MYSTICAL ... THEN BEHIND HOST--

HOST:

Now you know. Dorrie's double lived in her shadow. Then in her image reflected from the big mirror behind the bar. Later a reproduction of herself in the small hospital mirror where she combed her hair. And finally her own face seen in a bowl of water. So she got a glimpse of a second self -- strong and competent, and possessing the capacity for rage, even murder. I'll be back shortly.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

MUSIC:

OMINOUS ... BEHIND HOST--

HOST:

So maybe I do believe that I have a double, and that he and I have a rendezvous somewhere, sometime. And he will have qualities I never suspected in myself: some pleasant perhaps; perhaps others very very unpleasant indeed. I wonder: am I ready for this encounter? Not today, no. Maybe tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that, or-- Well, someday. Our cast included Teri Keane, Grace Matthews, and Joan Shay. The entire production was under the direction of Himan Brown.

[COMMERCIAL BREAK]

HOST:

This is E. G. Marshall inviting you to return to our mystery theater for another adventure in the macabre. Until next time--

SOUND:

CREAKING DOOR STARTS TO SQUEAK SHUT

HOST:

Pleasant dreams--?

SOUND:

CREAKING DOOR SQUEAKS SHUT