SEASON THREE
EPISODE NINE
“Murder 101”
Writers: Andrew Dettman & Daniel Truly
Director: Scott Lautanen
The Centre
Miss Parker’s Office
(Miss Parker is sitting at her desk, a pencil held in her hand.  She snaps 
the pencil in half, looks at photograph of Catherine Parker holding her as a 
baby.  The phone rings, she answers it.)
Parker: What?
Jarod: (He is standing in an office.)  How well do you know your father?
Parker: Better than you know your’s.
Jarod: Yes, well I’m working on that one.
Parker: Why the call, Jarod?
(Sydney enters her office.)
Jarod: You and your father are close, but how close?  Does he share 
important things with you?  Would he tell you about the big developments 
in his life.
Parker: I’d be insanely optimistic to think that this little quiz show had a 
bonus round, wouldn’t I?
Jarod: Check your mail Miss Parker.
Parker: Why?
Jarod: Because we all have a lot to learn.  Including me.  Gotta go.  Don’t 
want to be late for my first day at school.  (He picks up an apple and bites 
into it and then disconnects.)
Parker: Jarod!
(She starts to search through her mail.  She finds the letter she is looking 
for and opens it.)
Sydney: What did he have to say?
Parker: A lot less than he knows, that’s for sure.
(She looks at the letter.)
Sydney: Parker?
Parker: It’s a copy of a letter to my father from his attorney.  He’s 
changing his will.
Sydney: Hmm.
(Broots enters and hands Miss Parker a piece of paper.)
Broots: Miss Parker, statistician from the Brooksbury field office swore 
that she saw Jarod on a lunch break. 
Parker: Call Brooksbury.  Get a local sweeper team moving.  Now!
Broots: Okay.

University of Hanover
Connecticut
Auditorium
(A number of students sit around the front of the auditorium.  They are 
relaxed, some with feet up on the chairs, some talking, joking, having a 
good time.  Jarod walks onto the stage, moves to the chalk board and 
scrapes his finger nails across its surface.  Some of the students let out a 
grown but they all stop talking and watch Jarod as he writes “The Criminal 
Mind” on the chalk board.  Jarod turns to face them.)
Jarod: Well well well.  The Vanguard Program.  The finest minds at the 
university.  I’ll have to do my best to keep up.  (He walks down the stairs 
to stand on the same level as the students sit.)  Welcome to Graduate 
class 523.  Psychology of the Criminal Mind.  I’m your new professor, 
Doctor Gardner.  (He sits on the edge of the stage.)  But please, call me 
Jarod.
(The door at the back of the auditorium bursts open getting Jarod’s 
attention.  He sees two men in suits. Several of the students also turn to 
look.  Jarod turns, jumps back onto the stage and runs towards the wing.  
Another man in a suit steps out from the wing, a gun raised and aimed at 
Jarod.  Jarod slides to a stop on the polished timber floor, turns and runs 
towards the opposite wing.  The man shoots Jarod in the back.  Some of 
the students scream.  Jarod falls to the floor.  One of the men picks up 
one of Jarod’s legs and drags him off into the wings.  A student stands 
and runs through a side entrance.)

OPENING CREDITS

University of Hanover
Auditorium
(There is general confusion, with many students talking at the same time, 
looking around, not sure what to do.)
Gwen: What the . . . 
Matthew:  Somebody get some help.
Student: Call 911.
(Jarod sticks his head out from behind the curtain of the wing.)
Jarod: You can cancel that call.  (He steps out onto the stage.)
Student: What?
Jarod: I may be a little sticky (He waves a bottle of fake blood at them.)  
but otherwise I’m just fine.  Oh the gunmen, they were some drama 
students that I recruited.  And the shots, blanks.
Richard: I assume there’s a point to scaring the hell out of us like that.
Jarod: Oh yes sir.  There’s absolutely a point.  (He jumps off the stage 
and walks up to the student.)  I’m the cop.  You’re the witness.  (He leans 
down to get very close to Richard.)  Describe the gun man to me.
Richard: Tall.  Dark suit?
Jarod: How tall, how dark?
Richard: Uh? 
Jarod: “Uh” don’t cut it.  I need  details.  What colour hair did have?
Gwen: Brown, maybe a little reddish.
Student 3: No it was blond.
Jarod: Straight or wavy?
Student 3: Straight.
Student 2: Wavy.
Jarod: Any distinguishing features?  Scars?  Facial hair?  (He points at a 
student who shrugs in response.)  What kind of shoes was he wearing? 
(He points at a different student.)
Student 4: Shoes?  All I saw was the gun.  I couldn’t even tell you 
whether the guy had feet.  
(Jarod and the students laugh, the tension broken.)
Jarod: This is a highly charged situation.  Your adrenalin is pumping.  
Here’s my point.  That even the most brilliant minds can miss a thing or 
two.
Claire: Speak for yourself.  (She stands in her seat which is at the back of 
the group.  She has been sitting on her own except for two other students 
who sit immediately in front of her.)  Your killer, Jarod was a white male, 
six one, a hundred and seventy.  He had straight brown hair, blond if you 
count the cheesy shampooed in highlights. And except for the played out 
90210 sideburns he was clean shaven.  Clothing wise, and that’s where 
the real crime was committed.  He wore an off the rack J.C. Penny special, 
charcoal grey, with lapels which screamed Bush administration. Oh and 
start your man hunt in the financial aid office because nobody with even 
ten bucks in their pocket would be seen wearing those shoes.  (The 
students laugh and nod in appreciation of her eye for detail.)
Jarod: Very good, Miss . . . 
Claire: Dunning.  Claire.
Jarod: Ah yes.  Top of the vanguard class.
Claire: Grady and Matthew here (She places her hands on their heads 
and then pushes them to one side, almost like someone would do to a 
puppy.)  were close but ah, no cigar though.
Jarod: Even with their vast intellect it would be pretty difficult to keep up 
with someone who joined Mensa at aged thirteen.
Claire: I’m kinda curious as to your qualifications doc.
Jarod: Well you frame a couple of diplomas, you slap your name on a few 
of dissertations and voila, people think that you’re a genius.
Gwen: So what kind of genius surprises are we in for next?
Jarod: Something that will help us delve into the criminal mind.  (He 
picks up a book.)  This class has been put on hold since your last 
professor, Alden Clark, disappeared.  (He goes back up to the stage.)  
Now I thought, wouldn’t it be provocative if we all solved the mystery of 
his disappearance.
Richard: Cleaned out his bank account and ran off with his mistress.
Jarod: Maybe.  Maybe not.  This is Professor Clark’s book,  (He crouches 
and holds up the book.)  “The Perfect Murder”.  Now what if Professor 
Clark didn’t run off with his mistress.  What if, for argument sake, that he 
himself was the victim of “The Perfect Murder”.  

The Centre
Main Concourse
(Miss Parker is standing outside the door of her office, leaning on the door 
frame on an outstretched arm.  Broots, once again, is the target of her 
ire.)
Parker: If murder was legal Broots . . 
Broots: Hmm?
Parker: Your tip on Jarod.  False alarm.  The sweeper team came up 
empty.
Broots: Oh , what?  Oh I see, so kill the messenger?
Parker: Well that’s your first useable idea in weeks.  (She turns to see 
her father shaking hands with a man in a grey suit who is carrying a 
gladstone.)  Broots do you know who that man speaking with my father 
is?
Broots: Yeah he’s a doctor.  I just rode up with him on the elevator.
Parker: Doctor?
Broots: Yeah.
Parker: Changing his will.
Broots: Hmm?  (She goes back into her office.)  Something the matter 
Miss Parker? (She goes back into her office.)

Mrs Clark’s Residence
Outside
(Jarod, leaning on his car, watches as a man guides his little boy along on 
a bicycle.  He smiles and then frowns as he looks in the garage of the 
house that he is standing outside and sees a woman packing boxes.  He 
opens his red note book.  There are two news articles pasted within, 
“Professor Missing, Pregnant Wife Left to Wonder” and “Wife Gives Birth, 
Vows To Keep Searching For Missing Husband”.)

Mrs Clark’s Residence
Garage
(Mrs Clark is placing objects in boxes and sealing them.  Her baby is in a 
little seat beside her.  Jarod enters.)
Jarod: Mrs Clark? 
Mrs Clark: If you’re another bill collector you can save your breath.  Not 
even the house is mine any more.
Jarod: Actually my name is Jarod Gardner.  I’m taking over your 
husband’s classes at the university.
Mrs Clark: I’m sorry.  (She stands and shakes his hand.)  I’ve been 
meaning to stop by and clear his things out of the office.  I just haven’t 
been able to bring myself to do it yet.
Jarod: I understand.  (He crouches down beside the baby in its capsule.)  
Hi.  They’re so fragile, so innocent.  Yet with one look they can help you 
through anything.
Mrs Clark: Why are you here Doctor Gardner?
(He holds out a piece of paper.  “Have you seen this man?  Missing 
Person”.  There is a picture of Alden Clark and a physical description.)
Jarod: To help.

Mrs Clark’s Residence
Garden
(Jarod and Mrs Clark sit on a garden setting.  There are cups on a low 
table, and the baby is in a stroller beside Jarod.)
Mrs Clark: Alden and I used to dream about the day our children would 
run around this yard.
Jarod: It must be very difficult to be the only one who still believes in 
him.
Mrs Clark: It’s been a year now.  (She starts to cry.)  I don’t have any 
allusions that my husband is suddenly going to walk back into my life,  but 
I need answers.  I need something to tell our child other than his father 
ran off with his girlfriend.  Alden and I had a very difficult time getting 
pregnant.  There was so much heartbreak.  He wanted this baby so badly.   
There is no way he would have missed his son’s birth if he was still alive.

The Centre
Mr Parker’s Office
(Miss Parker opens the door to her father’s office in time to see the doctor 
handing some pill bottles to Mr Parker.  She closes the door before she 
can be noticed.)

Police Station
(Jarod and a detective walk along a corridor.  The detective, Rusk, is 
carrying a file folder.)
Rusk: The harsh reality is that he left her.  Alden Clark was having an 
affair.  I found e-mail on his computer from his mistress.  Fantasies, plans 
for running away, none of it G rated.  Plus he withdrew every last cent 
from their account on the day he left.
Jarod: He had a baby on the way.  It doesn’t make any sense.
Rusk: Look I feel for Mrs Clark and the child.  But sooner or later she 
needs to face the facts.  No body, no sign of foul play.  The man walked 
out.  Now Dr Gardner it’s only natural to want the facts about the man 
you replaced but I have twenty-five real cases to handle.  That’s my harsh 
reality.  (He slaps the folder down on the front desk.) Excuse me. (He 
goes into his office and closes the door.  Jarod has a look through the 
folder.)

University of Hanover
Auditorium
(Jarod adjusts the vertical drapes at the back of the stage area, before 
turning to address the class.)
Jarod: So you want to commit the perfect murder.  How do you go about 
it?  (The students remain silent.)  Well?  Oh come on.  Use those brilliant 
minds of your’s.  (He crouches on the edge of the stage.)  Become a killer, 
a sociopath, someone without compassion, without a conscience.
Richard: This is sick.  We’re talking about Professor Clark here.  We 
should just leave it alone . . . 
Jarod: No.  I think we can stand to learn a great deal from this.  So I’m 
asking that you go along with me.
Claire: I’m willing to go along with any game you want to play Jarod.
Gwen: At the risk of sounding like Claire, I’m in.
Student: I’m in.
Student 4:  Me too!
Jarod: Good.  Now let’s begin.  (He jumps down from the stage and goes 
to the chalk board.)Name all the ways that you can kill someone.
Student: Stabbing.
Jarod: (He starts writing the student responses on the chalk board.)  
Stabbing.
Student: Shooting.
Jarod: Shooting.  Very good.
Student: Suffocation.
Jarod: Suffocation.
(He continues to write on the board, ending up with two columns of ways 
and means to kill.  He draws a line under the last one on the list “VIRUS” 
before putting down the chalk and dusting off his hands.  He turns back to 
his class.)
Jarod: There certainly are a lot of ways to kill somebody but you still 
have to deal with the body.
Student: I’d bury it out in the woods.
Claire: Too risky.  You hear stories all the time about some hiker 
stumbling over a stiff.
Student 3: It would be smarter to make the perfect murder look like a 
suicide.
Claire: You’d still end up with an investigation.  If it’s not flawless you’re 
screwed.
Jarod: So how would you deal with it Claire?
Claire: The perfect murder isn’t a murder.  It’s an accident.
Jarod: Hmm.
Student 4: She’s right.  Plausible deniability.  Make it look like a an 
accident.  Something that fits into the victim’s daily routine.
Student 3: If we’re talking about Doctor Clark, how about on the road up 
to his cabin.
Jarod: His cabin?
Student 4: Yeah he had a cabin he used to go up there in the mountains 
after school on Fridays.
Richard: And he did disappear on a Friday.
(Claire appears to be listening very carefully, a thoughtful smile on her 
face.  Jarod just looks thoughtful.)

University of Hanover
Jarod’s Office
(Jarod sitting at his desk, inserts a DSA into the DSA reader.)

DSA
(Young Jarod sits at a table in the middle of the sim lab working on some 
problems on the pages in front of him.  Sydney talks straight to the 
camera.)
Sydney: Lately Jarod’s been bored.  We must find better ways to engage 
his intellect.  Keep a brilliant mind from becoming idle.
(He turns and walks over to Jarod.)
Young Jarod: Sydney, I can’t do these any more.  These same problems, 
they’re so monotonous.  (He notices some workmen off to one side of the 
sim lab.)  What are they doing?
Sydney: They’re just working on a new security system.  Come on Jarod, 
back to work.

(The phone rings.  Jarod answers it.)
Jarod: Hello.
Mrs Clark: Jarod I just got your message.  Alden wasn’t headed to the 
cabin on the day he vanished.
Jarod: The students told me that he headed up to his cabin every Friday 
night to write.
Mrs Clark: He planned to go but that was the Friday I found out that I 
was pregnant.  I called him at school and he said he was coming right 
home to celebrate.  That was the last . . . time I spoke to him.
Jarod: So the police never searched the road on the way up to your 
cabin?
Mrs Clark: No.  No they didn’t.

On the Road to the Cabin
(It is night.  Jarod searches along the edge of the road, from his car, 
looking for damage to the vegetation.  He finds where a tree has been 
knocked down.  Getting out of the car, he investigates the broken timber 
before making his way down the wooded embankment.  He finds a car 
near the bottom, inside a skeleton, a large bag of money and a copy of 
Alden Clark’s book, “The Perfect Murder”.)

Crime Scene
(It is still night.  It is a typical crime scene with lots of hustle and bustle, 
flashing emergency lights and noise.)
Rusk: You get around Professor Gardner.
Jarod: I just heard what happened.
Rusk: Got a call from an anonymous motorist.  Guy stopped to let his dog 
take a leak, (glass hound?) spied the wreck.
Jarod: Hmm.
Rusk: Kinda feel for Mrs Clark, this goes from bad to worse for her.
Jarod: She told me he wasn’t headed up here the day he disappeared.
Rusk: That doesn’t surprise me, especially finding these in the car.
Jarod: Plane tickets.
Rusk: Marsolan.  One for Clark, the other issued to a Karen Sweet.  We 
found these in the glove box.
Jarod: The other woman?
Rusk: Hmm hmm.  We also found forty thousand in cash Clark took from 
his  account and a six pack of empty beer bottles.
Jarod: So you think he was headed up to his cabin to meet her, had a few 
beers and lost control.
Rusk: Yeah the story’s clear.  Clark died, the victim of a car accident.

Mrs Clark’s Residence
Living Room
(Jarod and Mrs Clark are sitting on a sofa, surrounded by half packed 
boxes. Mrs Clark is distraught.)
Mrs Clark: I guess part of me was still hoping.
Jarod: That’s only natural.
Mrs Clark: You know yesterday I would have done anything to keep this 
house.  The memories.  Now I’ve got the money to stay I’m not sure that 
I want to stay any more.
Jarod: Don’t give up on your husband yet.
Mrs Clark: I’m doing the best I can, I really am. But now, the plane 
tickets, and the photographs.  What am I supposed to believe?
Jarod: (He takes her hand in his.)  Believe what’s in your heart.

The Centre
Mr Parker’s Office
(Miss Parker and her father are standing in front of his desk.  Miss 
Parker’s tone is sombre which is in direct contrast to Mr Parker’s which is 
lighthearted.)
Parker: Are you sure you’re alright, Daddy?
Mr Parker: I never felt better, it’s amazing how we adapt to the changes 
that life throws at us.  Ha.  Even the big ones.
Parker: Big ones?
Mr Parker: I always thought I would be frightened standing on the 
threshold as it were.  Honestly I’ve made peace with a lot of things.
Parker: Daddy are, are you dying?  I know about the doctor, your will 
and the life insurance.
Mr Parker: Oh Angel.
Parker: Please don’t lie to me, not about this.
Mr Parker: (He picks up the pill bottles from his desk and hands them to 
Miss Parker.)  Sweetie, read the labels.  Hmm?
Parker: Vitamin E, Ginseng, Viagara.
Mr Parker: I’m in love, sweetheart.  I feel like I’ve been reborn.  (He 
laughs.)
Parker: What? Who is she?
Mr Parker: Oh I promised her she’d be here when I told you.  I don’t 
want to start messing up this early in our engagement.
Parker: Engagement?  Daddy, this is crazy.  (Tears well in her eyes.)
Mr Parker: Oh I know, I know.  After all this time your old man found 
someone who makes him happy.

University of Hanover
Science Lab
(Grady and Claire are standing looking at the rat in the maze.  Matthew 
sits in a chair looking despondently at his feet.  Jarod enters the room.)
Claire: Pretty wild isn’t it?
Jarod: What’s that Claire?
Claire: Professor Clark turning up like that.
Grady: Yeah!  Talk about him one day, he’s found the next.  Makes you 
wonder.
Jarod: Wonder is a wonderful thing Grady.  How do you feel about it 
Matthew?
Matthew: Sad, I guess.  Doctor Clark was our adviser.
Jarod: I’m just surprised that you’re not all more upset.
Claire:  Why be upset?  This will make the game so much more fun.
Jarod: The game?
Claire: In class.  Now there are clues to follow.  It’s no longer just 
theoretical.  Now it’s real.  Much more . . . dangerous.  You know, Jarod, 
(She walks up to him and runs a hand down his Jarod’s lapel.  Her tone of 
voice matches her seductive movements.)  if you ever want to get 
together pick each other’s brains, a little one on one . . . 
Jarod: Careful Claire.  Don’t cross a line you can’t come back from.
Claire: Oh well, I guess my friends will have to do. (She straddles 
Matthew’s lap and kisses him deeply and at length.  She turns back to 
face Jarod, giving him her most seductive expression.  She laughs.)
Jarod: See you in class.  
(Jarod goes to leave the room but stops in the doorway and turns back to 
watch Claire as she focuses her attention back on the rat in the maze.)

Flashback
(Jarod goes to the control box for the new security system, picks the lock 
and sets off the alarm.)
Sydney: Jarod.
(Young Jarod sits at his desk, tapping his a pencil and laughing.  He spins 
around on his chair.)

Mrs Clark’s Residence
University of Hanover
Jarod’s Office
(Jarod accesses the student records.  He looks at Matthew’s grade history 
first.  The grades range from a high of 4.0 to the most recent, a low of 
2.0.)
Jarod: Hmm.  Professor Clark disappears and your grades take a nose 
dive.  Something on your mind Matthew?  (He brings up Claire’s grades.)  
And what about you Claire?  Feeling guilty about anything?  (Claire’s 
grades start at 4.0 and increase over time to a high of 4.25.)  Hm!  I 
guess not.

University of Hanover
Auditorium
(Jarod is standing on the stage.)  
Richard: This is really getting too creepy don’t you think, Professor 
Gardner?  If this is really the perfect murder . . . ?
Jarod: (He crouches on the front edge of the stage.)  What if I told you it 
wasn’t the perfect murder?  What if I told you that our killer made a very 
serious mistake?
Claire: You’re not just toying with us now are you Jarod?  (Claire sits in 
her usual place at the back of the group with Grady and Matthew in the 
row in front of her.  She has her feet up on the back of Matthew’s seat, 
her boots close to his shoulder.)
Jarod: Professor Clark’s body.  It was recovered on the road to his cabin.  
But he wasn’t going to his cabin that Friday night.  (Jarod walks down the 
stairs.)  He was going home.  He changed his routine.  The killer didn’t 
know that.
Student 3: So what next?
(Matthew pushes Claire’s feet off his shoulder.)
Jarod: We go back to the scene of the crime.  You want to fake a car 
crash, how do you do it?  Do you run the professor’s car off the road, do 
you cut his brake line, or maybe you just drug him?
Student 4: Well ramming the car would leave paint evidence, and cutting 
the brakes would be too obvious.
Claire: And drugs would be found in an autopsy.
Jarod: Not necessarily.   Right, ah, Matthew?
Matthew: What?  I don’t know.
Jarod: Oh come on.  You’re the ace of your biochemistry class didn’t you?  
Why don’t you tell everyone what di-methyl-phenol is?
Matthew: Um, it’s a heavy sedative.
Jarod: And it metabolises in the body how?
Matthew: The same as alcohol.  It has the same chemical signature.
Jarod: So a shot of DMP it would knock the victim out but if anybody 
checked it would show up in the blood no different than let’s say a few 
beers.
Grady: Okay, so maybe we’ve got the how, but what about the why?
Jarod: The motivation.  Why would someone want to kill somebody?  
Tomorrow in class we’ll do a little role playing exercise that will help us 
discover this motivation.  Ah, Richard you can play the cop and Gwen you 
can be the other woman.  And um, you Claire, you’re the killer.  But you 
had accomplices.  How about you Grady?  And you Matthew?  (Claire taps 
at Matthew’s face with her boot and he pushes her away again.)  Strictly 
theoretical of course.  This is after all just a game.
Claire: Let the games begin.

University of Hanover
Science Lab
(Jarod stands in the doorway watching Claire watch the rat in the maze.)

Flashback
The Centre
Sim Lab
(Young Jarod is working at his desk.)
Sydney: Did you think you’d get away with it?
Young Jarod: I just get so bored sometimes Sydney.
Sydney: A sharp mind left idle can become a very sharp weapon indeed.

(Claire looks at Jarod through the maze.)
Claire: Are you going to come in doc, or do you just like to watch?
Jarod: (He steps into the room.)  Interesting experiment.  There’s no way 
the rat can win.  Every turn leads nowhere, no reward, no way out, seems 
pointless.
Claire: Maybe that is the point. 
Jarod:  He with the biggest brain wins, is that it?
Claire: (She looks up from the maze.)  Or she.  Certainly not them.  (She 
nods towards the rat.)  Their tiny brains can barely think.  So round and 
round they go, chasing their tails forever.
Jarod: (Jarod sits on the edge of a desk.)  Very cruel, Miss Dunning, 
although I can’t believe a rigged game doesn’t bore you.
(She goes to one of the cages and feeds one of the rats.)
Claire: Once in a while even the dumber animals do something 
unpredictable, something that catches you off guard, and that’s when it 
really gets fun.
Jarod: Fun until you get bitten.
Claire: I haven’t been bitten yet.  
(She moves over to Jarod and stares down at him.)
Jarod: Yet, being the operative word.
Claire: Everyone’s got to go sometime.  The question is, who will go first.
(Jarod stands up making it his turn to tower over her.) 
Jarod: Which brings us back to . . . the biggest brain rules.
Claire: The superior mind always has a way out.   A tiny little door 
marked exit.
Jarod: (He leans down so that he is eye to eye with her and drops the 
volume of his voice.)  Well maybe it’s time to run for it.  (He turns and 
gets as far as the doorway before Claire stops him.)
Claire: Oh, um, Jarod.  (Jarod turns and Claire takes a Polaroid of him.)  
I’ll keep it in my glove box, just like Professor Clarke.

The Centre
Miss Parker’s Office
(Miss Parker is sitting at her desk, looking at the photograph of Catherine 
Parker holding Miss Parker as a baby.)
Parker: I just don’t get it Sydney.  He hasn’t so much as looked at 
another woman since the day my mother died.  And now just like that he 
decides he’s  replacing her.
Sydney: (He sits opposite her.)  No, he’s not replacing her.  Your father 
has lived alone a long time.  It’s only natural for him to reach out again.
Parker: You sound like you’re on his side.
Sydney: There’s no sides here.  Just let him move on with his life.  I’m 
sorry it’s painful for you.  It often is for the children involved.
Parker: I’m not a child.
Sydney: Then you know what you must do.
(Miss Parker picks up the photograph again.)

University of Hanover
Auditorium
(Jarod is sitting on the stage, Dr Clark’s book open in front of him.)
Jarod: Professor Clark said in his book that motive springs from that 
bottomless pit called the human psyche.  That no matter how deeply you 
dig, you can never exhaust it.  Let’s do right by him, shall we?  (He stands 
up, picking up the book.)  Let’s figure out why he was killed.  (He points 
to the photograph of Professor Clark on the back cover of the hard bound 
book before throwing it down onto the floor in front of the stage.  Several 
of the students are startled by the noise.)  Let’s start with the police.  
Richard.  You’re our cop.  What do they think?
Richard: Statistically money and jealousy top the list.  Could have been a 
robbery.
Gwen: Except the forty thousand was left in the car.
Student 3: So, jealousy then.  Another teacher with a gripe against 
Professor Clark.
Gwen: Or his wife, if she knew about the affair.
Student 4: Come on.  It could be something as simple as road rage.
Richard: That’s spontaneous.  This was planned.
Jarod: Well we are in a unique position here today because we have the 
killers in our class.  (He jumps down from the stage and moves up the 
aisle to where Matthew, Grady and Claire are seated.)  Why don’t we ask 
them.  Matthew?
Matthew: Yeah!
Jarod: Why would you murder someone?
Matthew: Maybe I didn’t like him?
Jarod: If you don’t like someone you avoid them.  You see them walking 
down the street you walk to the other side.  You don’t send them 
careening off a cliff.  Grady, any thoughts?
Grady: Ah, I don’t know.  Why does anyone murder?
Jarod: I’m not asking anyone, I’m asking you.  So dig down deep into 
that bottomless pit of yours and tell us.  Why would you kill?  (Grady is 
speechless by Jarod’s apparently personal attack.)
Claire: Hello.  There are a million of reasons to kill.  Revenge, revolt, 
release, superstition paranoia, dah, dah, dah, childhood, bad hair day.
Jarod: I’m afraid you’ve missed the most relevant one.  (he moves back 
to the front of the room.)  Arrogance.  (He locks eyes with Claire.)  You 
see our killers, they  think they’re smarter than the rest of us.  (He breaks 
eyes contact with Claire.)  And that this is all a game.  That’s the reason 
that they have accomplices.  What fun is it to commit the perfect murder 
if you don’t have someone to gloat over it with.  But arrogance just may 
be their downfall.  Professor Clark says in his book says that the perfect 
murder is committed by one person alone.  Why is that?
Student 4: Because accomplices can be unpredictable.
Jarod: Exactly.   You never know what they might do, how they might 
react.  (He walks back up the aisle towards the trio of “murderers”.)  Take 
our role players over here.  What if one of them couldn’t take the pressure 
and crumbled?  What if one of them went to the police and cut a deal?  
(He bends down to be face to face with Matthew.  Matthew looks very 
nervous.)
Claire: Aren’t you getting a little ahead of yourself Jarod.  I mean there’s 
no evidence that Professor Clark’s death was anything but an accident.
Jarod: (He moves back to the front of the room.)  Well quite obviously 
you haven’t spoken to the police today.  I talked to the detective in charge 
of this case and he’s convinced that the Polaroids in the glove 
compartment were fakes along with the e-mail and any other evidence 
that  might suggest that there was another woman.   As of today (He 
picks up the book from the floor.)  Professor Clark’s death was re-
classified as a homicide.  (Grady looks worried but not as much as 
Matthew.)  As a matter of fact Detective Rusk thinks the killer may even 
be right here in the classroom.  (This creates a stir in the classroom as 
students express surprise and doubt.  Grady and Matthew exchange looks.  
Claire smiles at Jarod and they lock eyes.)  Well that’s all for today.  (He 
looks directly at Claire.)  See you the next time.
Claire: Not if I see you first.
Matthew: Come on Claire, let’s go.  (She smiles and laughs.  She turns 
away and allows herself to be led away by Matthew.)  Please.  Please?

University of Hanover
Science Lab
(Jarod watches through a window as Matthew, Grady and Claire have a 
heated discussion.  Claire shoves Matthew away from her using both 
hands on his chest.  He stares at her briefly before turning and walking 
away.  Grady goes to follow but Claire grabs him by the elbow and pulls 
him back  She takes a notepad out of her bag and holds it out to Grady.  
While he studies it she addresses an envelope.  She puts the notepad in 
the envelope and seals it shut.)

Police Station
(A delivery boy walks towards Rusk’s office.  His is pulled up short by 
Jarod, who has changed his turtle neck shirt, jeans and long coat for a 
white business shirt and tie.)
Jarod: Whoa.  Whoa, whoa, whoa.  Excuse me.  You need a special pass 
to get back here.
Delivery: Ah I just have a delivery.
Jarod: For who?
Delivery: Detective Rusk.
Jarod:  I’ll take it.
Delivery: Are you sure?
Jarod: Trust me.  It’s in the right hands.
Delivery: Cool.  Thanks.
(Jarod looks around the corner towards Rusk’s office.  He is relieved to 
see that Rusk still sits at his desk, talking on the phone and unaware of 
his exchange with the delivery boy.  He puts the envelope under his arm 
and leaves.)  

Jarod’s Lair
(Jarod, changed out of his detective outfit, opens the envelope that was 
addressed to Detective Rusk of the Hanover Police Department.  He looks 
at the notepad.  It is a page of neatly printed points under a heading of 
“The Perfect Murder”.  There is a hand drawn revolver and a hangman’s 
noose in one corner.  There is also the stain from the bottom of a glass or 
cup.)

University of Hanover
Stairwell
(Jarod walks along the landing above a set of stairs on which Matthew is 
sitting about half way down.  He carries the note pad and reads aloud 
from it.)
Jarod: Take polaroids of hooker to plant in glove box.  Hack into Clark’s 
bank account. Get di-methyl-phenol from the chem lab.  It goes on and 
on.  And it’s all in your handwriting.  You might want to refresh yourself 
Matthew.  (He throws the notebook down on the step beside Matthew.  
Matthew picks it up.)  It’s been a long time since you murdered Professor 
Clark.
Matthew: Where did you get this?
Jarod: In an envelope addressed to the Hanover Sheriff’s Department.  
Oh there was a little note inside from a concerned citizen.
Matthew: (He is close to tears.)  Claire wouldn’t . . . she wouldn’t do this 
to me.  And Grady.  They’re my friends.
Jarod: And you’re their patsy.  (Jarod takes a photo of Mrs Clark holding 
the baby from his coat’s inside pocket.)  You see this baby, Matthew?  
He’ll never know who his father is.  Not for a second.  Not ever.  And his 
mother, she agonised for months, wondering when he was coming home. 
Until they discovered that he was dead.
Matthew: We were just sitting around talking one night, getting drunk.  
You know?  Just tossing out ideas on how to pull it off.  It was just a 
game.  When I walked into class that day and Professor Clark wasn’t there 
Claire just started to laugh.  She said what good is building the perfect toy 
if you’re not going to play with it.  She and Grady actually killed him.
Jarod: (He crouches in front of Matthew.)  And you, you sat around and 
you did nothing.
Matthew: I was afraid.  What was I supposed to do?  Claire’s my best 
friend.  And I didn’t want her to be mad at me.
Jarod: The game is over Matthew.  (He hands the photograph to 
Matthew.)  It’s time to do the right thing.  (Jarod continues down the 
stairs.)  

University of Hanover
Science Lab
(Grady and Claire are sitting at a desk just inside the door, their heads 
close together.  Students move into the room through the door behind 
them.)
Grady: Where’s Matthew?
Claire: By now, probably some prisoner’s wife.
Grady: Oh well once he starts talking they’re going to come straight for 
us.
Claire: So let them.  As long as you keep your mouth shut and your pants 
dry no one can touch us. (Grady looks far from convinced.)
Jarod: (He enters the room and strolls past them.)  Good morning Claire.  
Grady.
Richard: (He has run down the corridor and stops in the doorway.)  
Professor Gardner.  Professor.
Jarod: Richard.  Is something wrong?
Richard: Matthew Collins is dead.  He killed himself.
(Claire and Grady exchange looks.  Jarod frowns.)

The Sting
(Jarod goes to Dr Clark’s files and finds letters from Claire to Professor 
Clark.  He traces over words from the letters.)
Matthew: They bought my suicide?
(Matthew picks up a six pack of beer and slides it closer to where Jarod is 
sitting behind some lab equipment.)
Jarod: Hook, line and sinker.
Matthew: I don’t quite understand what you’re going to do.
Jarod: (He picks up a beer bottle.)  I’m going to murder them.  Perfectly.
(He transfers clear liquid to the beer using an eye dropper.)

In a Car
(It is night and it is raining.  Claire and Grady sit in the front of the car.)
Claire: I’m telling you it couldn’t have worked out better if we had 
planned it this way.  Oh wait, we did plan it this way.
Grady: Matthew is dead.
Claire: He wasn’t up to our level Grady.  What he did is only proof of that.  
(One of the rear doors opens and Jarod slips onto the back seat.)  What 
the hell are you doing here?
Jarod: I hope I’m not too late for the party.
Grady: We’re mourning our friend Professor.
Jarod: I know, that’s why I brought his favourite beer (He holds up a six 
pack.) so we could pay our respects.  Matthew would want it this way.  
(He opens a bottle.)  Go ahead.  (Grady and Claire each take a bottle.  
Jarod holds his up in a toast.)  To the biggest brain.
Claire: To ah, rats in a maze.
Jarod: Like Matthew.  Your backup plan.  Your little door marked exit.
Claire: May he rest in peace.  (Grady and Claire drink.)
Jarod: (He laughs.)
Claire: What’s so funny?
Jarod: You really think this is over, don’t you?
Claire: Well it is, isn’t it.
Jarod: Sure.  The exit door is open but where does it lead?  (She sneers 
at him before taking another drink.  She then turns to Grady who has also 
noticed the effect of the drugged beer.)  I have a little backup plan too.  
(Claire looks at Jarod with bleary vision but a clear understanding of what 
has happened.)  Nightie night.  (Grady and Claire pass out.)

Warehouse
Jarod: Claire.  No sleeping in class.  Claire.  Wake up!  (Jarod, using a 
gloved hand, slaps her on the face.)  There you are.  You were out for so 
long I was getting worried about you.
Claire: What the hell? (She is holding a large revolver in her hands.)
Jarod: I’ll take this.  (He takes the gun from her hands and she sways.  
She is standing on a chair, the legs uneven.  There is a hangman’s noose 
around her neck.)  Wouldn’t want you smudging your fingerprints.  
Careful!  That chair’s a little wobbly.  One false move and it’s . . . (He 
pulls an imaginary noose tighter around his own neck and makes 
strangling noises.)
Claire: (She looks down at the handcuffs that bind her hands together in 
front of her.)  Not exactly what I had in mind when I said we should be 
alone together.
Jarod: We’re not alone, are we Grady?  (Jarod turns on a spot light.  
Grady blinks at the sudden illumination.  He is sitting on a chair his hands 
bound in front of him.  He is tied to the chair.)
Grady: What is this?
Claire: What, is this supposed to be a joke?
Jarod: Oh come on Claire.  I know you’re full of yourself but did you 
really think that you were the only person in the world that could pull off 
the perfect murder?
Grady: This isn’t funny.  Let us go Jarod.
Jarod: You know a teacher is very lucky if he can learn as much from his 
students as they learn from him.  (He moves to a table, picks up a bullet 
from the table, sits in the chair and inserts the bullet in the gun.)  In your 
case I hit the jackpot.  Especially with all the mistakes you made.  
Matthew being one of them.  Oh, by the way he’s still alive.  Faking his 
suicide was all part of my plan.  (He aims the weapon at Grady and 
pretends to pull the trigger, making an explosive gun-like noise at the 
same time.  Grady tries to duck out of the way.)
Grady: What?  You want us to talk?  Is that it?  Fine.  I’ll talk.
Claire: Hey shutup.  A jury could never convict us.
Jarod: If you were going to court.  But you’re not.  (He stands and starts 
circling around Claire, adopting his best prosecuting attorney tone.)  I’m 
the only judge that matters now.  So let’s examine the evidence.  First in 
all your planning you forgot one very important thing.   Professor Clark 
had a family.  He had a baby on the way and a wife who never stopped 
believing in him.  You two, on the other hand,  you only had each other, 
before the tragedy, that is.
Claire: What tragedy?
Jarod: Don’t play dumb Claire.  It’s all in your suicide note.  (He holds it 
up.)  It says in here how you and Grady killed Professor Clark.  But 
grieving for the loss of his friend Matthew, Grady cracked under pressure 
and wanted to go to the police and confess.  So you killed him.  (He holds 
the gun to Grady’s chest and pretends to pull the trigger again.)  And then 
you hung yourself because you couldn’t face the utter futility and remorse.   
Brilliant minds.  They’re so fragile.
Claire: They’ll know it’s not my handwriting.
Jarod: But it is.  You see I found these notes that your wrote Professor 
Clark in his files and I traced over various words.  And voila, suicide note.  
Gun with your fingerprints.  It’s perfect.
Claire: Go to hell.
Jarod: You first.  Actually Grady first. (He cocks the gun and aims it at 
Grady.)  Murder before suicide.
Grady: (Crying and pleading.)  Wait.  Wait.  I’ll tell you whatever you 
want to hear.
Claire: Shutup Grady.  He won’t do it.  The bullet’s just a blank.
Jarod: Oh you think so?
(He aims the weapon and shoots one of the legs of the chair on which 
Claire is standing.  It wobbles alarmingly as Claire struggles to regain her 
balance.  He reloads the gun and aims it at Grady.)
Grady: Please Jarod, oh God no.  Come on Claire, it’s over.  Okay we did 
it!  We murdered Professor Clark.  Partly it was thrill but mostly Claire was 
mad at him because he wouldn’t sleep with her.
Claire: Shutup Grady.
Grady: Just don’t kill me.
Jarod: As far as I’m concerned you’re dead already.
(He points the gun at Grady and fires.  The chair topples and Grady with 
it.  In the same action Jarod spins and kicks the chair out from under 
Claire.  She drops.)
Claire: NO!
(Claire swings on the end of the rope but not by the rope around her neck.  
Jarod walks around to her back and lifts her coat.  There is a rope 
attached to her belt which is attached to a pulley over her head.  Grady, 
lying on the floor can only stare in amazement.)
Jarod: Well well, well well well.  What do you know?  It was a bluff.  One 
that wasn’t missed by the camera.  (He walks over to a shelf near the 
door and removes a camera cassette from a camera that has been 
concealed there.)  All your talk about the perfect murder.  All your claims 
as to how extraordinary you are.  You killed Professor Clark because he 
spurned you.  You’re no genius.  You’re as common as they come.  (He 
pushes her, starting her swinging and spinning, as she scissors her legs in 
an attempt to regain some equilibrium.)
Claire: Jarod!  Jarod!
(He leaves.)

The Centre
Mr Parker’s Office
(Miss Parker enters her father’s office.  She is carrying a small gift box 
adorned with a gold bow.)
Parker: Daddy, I’ve come with a little peace offering.  Hello?  (She stops 
as she hears the sound of a woman laughing coming from the bathroom.)  
Using my father’s private washroom?  (She marches to the door and 
opens it.  Inside her father sits in the spa bath, its water frothing and 
bubbling around him and the woman he is with.  Lit candles provide a 
romantic glow to the setting.)  Daddy.  (The woman turns at the sound of 
Miss Parker’s voice.  It is Bridget.  She is sucking on a red lollypop.)  Oh 
my God!
Bridget: Hi Miss Parker.
Parker: Not Bridget.
Bridget: Look.  (She holds out her left hand to reveal a large diamond 
ring on her ring finger.)  I’m going to be your new mummy.
Parker: You’re going to marry the bi . .  the woman who tried to kill you.
Mr Parker: Come on Angel be happy for me.
Bridget: Honey bunny.  
Mr Parker: Hm mm?
Bridget: I’m your new Angel now.
Mr Parker: Oh!  (He kisses her.  Miss Parker can do nothing but stare in 
shock.)

The Centre
Miss Parker’s Office
(Miss Parker is sitting at her desk, her head in her hands, on the phone.  
She answers it.)
Jarod: How well do you think you know your father now, Miss Parker.
Parker: Coming to the wedding?  
Jarod: I’m not big on brides in black leather.  Although there is a certain 
enjoyable irony in it.
Parker: Funny, I’m not seeing it.
Jarod: Oh give her a chance.
Parker: Chance to what?  Suck the rest of the life out of my father.
Jarod: Love can change people Miss Parker.  (He finds this highly 
amusing.)
(She drops the phone on the desk and puts her head back in her hands.)

Mrs Clark’s Residence
Garden
(Mrs Clark stands up from where she has just finished planting a young 
tree.  Jarod, holding the baby watches.)
Mrs Clark: We’ll miss you Alden.  Chinese Elm.  Alden’s favourite.
Jarod: It’s beautiful.  I know someone who’s ready to climb it already.
Mrs Clark: Come here.  (She takes the baby from Jarod.)  Oh Jarod 
you’ve given us so much, a chance to bury Alden, our home.
Jarod: I just wish that I could have given it all back to you.
Mrs Clark: You’ve given us the truth.  Nothing mattered more to Alden 
than that.  Thank you.  (She hugs him.)  I just want to know how you 
knew all along, even when I had doubts.
Jarod: (He picks Professor Clark’s book up from the baby’ seat and opens 
it.)  The truth was always in your husband’s book, in the dedication.  To 
Chris who I have been waiting to meet for so very long.  Good luck.  Bye 
Chris.

CLOSING CREDITS