Stage Plays by Ian Hornby
Murdered,
Presumed Dead
Thriller - single set - 3m 4f or 2m 5f
Synopsis
Ruthless businesswoman Lynne discovers husband John in their country cottage entertaining Carol. They fight, not for the first time, and John is killed - or is he? She gets Carol's fingerprints on the murder weapon, and with the help of shady private detective Ronnie to cover the crime up. Lynne has been troubled by the paranormal before and when John reappears and only she can see him she is convinced he is a ghost. They devise a clever story, but when the police arrive they arrest Lynne, supported by the evidence of local fisherman Simon, the man she knew as Ronnie. The three of them had hatched this supposedly foolproof plan to get control of Lynne's business interests. John finds out too late that he too has been duped - Simon is also Carol's lover. They decide they no longer need him, and since he is "already dead" anyway, they simply carry the plan through and kill him, knowing it all points to Lynne. This perfect plan is upset by the chance arrival of two hikers, who, quite simply, know too much. Will ruthless Carol get away with multiple murders? It certainly looks as if she might.
| Character | Lines |
| Lynne a businesswoman |
400 |
| John her husband |
226 |
| Carol John's girlfriend |
339 |
| Ronnie shady private eye |
226 |
| Inspector Hastings * CID detective |
59 |
| Zoe hiker, any age |
49 |
| Donna hiker, any age |
12 |
| * Note that Inspector Hastings could be played by a man or a woman |
Author's
notes
This actually started out as a third in my intended trilogy of "ghost comedies" to go alongside "Wait Until the Ghost Is Clear" and "Late of This Address", but turned itself into a thriller without any apparent input from me. It just goes to show how the characters are running the writing process, not the author who documents their actions!
It does have a ghostly item in it, but only because one of the characters believes in ghosts and the others see that as a chance to turn things their way.
It also includes the risk that if you fake your own death it's quite possible your colleagues will see that you can then very easily be killed. When I originally "finished" this play, wrapping up all lose ends, I found I had a problem. It only ran to about 30 pages - too long for a one act and not long enough for a full length.
Cue the unexpected appearance of two hikers....
