HENRY’S HOUSE. Henry has sat back down on the sofa and has wrapped the duvet around him. The television is on nearby but he is dozing and not paying attention to it. He wakes a little and looks out in the dark garden again, his eyes tired and heavy, then he turns to look at the TV. An old black and white film is showing several dogs running around somewhere dark and spooky-looking. Henry quickly changes the channel to a less threatening film that looks as if it’s set in a rural village during the 1940s.
Suddenly the security lights outside the house come on. Henry looks anxiously into the garden but can see nothing moving in the bright lights. A few seconds later the lights fade out again. Henry turns his head away and instantly – unseen by him – something moves quickly across the garden by the back fence. Henry changes the TV channel again and picks the worst possible choice as a wolf snarls straight into the camera while a woman screams in terror offscreen. Recoiling in annoyed frustration, Henry turns the TV off. Instantly the security lights come on again. There still appears to be nothing out there but Henry gets up and walks closer to the glass doors. Just as the lights begin to fade again, a huge shape flicks across the garden at the far end. It moves so fast that it’s impossible to see what it is, except that it appears to be fairly low to the ground. Henry recoils in horror and looks across to a small cabinet on the other side of the room. He hesitates, almost afraid to move, but then runs across and scrabbles in the cabinet before pulling out a pistol. Panting in terror, he turns and looks out into the dark garden again and then, in a move that has every viewer yelling at the screen, “Never go nearer to the danger, you idiot!” he walks slowly towards the glass doors. Just as he almost has his nose against the glass the lights blaze again and a massive shape, most definitely looking like the head of a huge dog, slams against the glass on the other side and then immediately vanishes again. Screaming and wailing in panic, Henry stumbles back and aims his pistol at the glass. The lights fade out again. Henry sobs and a couple of seconds later the lights flash on yet again. His eyes rake over the garden but there’s nothing to be seen. The lights fade one more time and by now Henry has sunk to the floor, his hands over his face as he sobs in absolute terror.
CROSS KEYS INN. John is sitting with Louise Mortimer in the pub. They are chatting and laughing.
MORTIMER (giggling): That’s so mean!
(John picks up a half-empty wine bottle from the table.)
JOHN: Um, more wine, Doctor?
MORTIMER: Are you trying to get me drunk, Doctor?
JOHN: The thought never occurred! (He refills her glass.)
MORTIMER: Because a while ago I thought you were chatting me up.
JOHN (refilling his own glass): Ooh! Where did I go wrong?
MORTIMER: When you started asking me about my patients.
JOHN: Well, you see, I am one of Henry’s oldest friends.
MORTIMER: Yeah, and he’s one of my patients, so I can’t talk about him.
JOHN: Mmm.
MORTIMER: Although he has told me about all his oldest friends. (She looks at him thoughtfully.) Which one are you?
JOHN (hopefully): A new one?
(She scoffs.)
JOHN: Okay, what about his father? He wasn’t one of your patients. Wasn’t he some sort of conspiracy nutter ... (he quickly corrects himself) ... theorist?
MORTIMER: You’re only a nutter if you’re wrong.
JOHN: Mmm. And was he wrong?
MORTIMER: I should think so!
