The Mystery of the Blind Crook
Adapted by Jason McDonald, Cathy Rathbone, and
Rondi Downs
Characters:
Wearing trench
coat and fedora.
Noah thinks he’s
brilliant, but he’s totally clueless.
Wearing street
clothes (i.e. blue jeans and t-shirt)
Just doing her job,
yet manages to solve every case.
Wearing sunglasses
and street clothes (i.e. blue jeans and t-shirt). Carries white
cane.
Not really blind or
hard-of-hearing, but pretends to be. Also pretends to be a kind old man.
Settings:
Props:
SETTING:
NOAH CLUE'S OFFICE
Setting consists
of a desk and two chairs, one behind the desk, and one to the side of the desk.
Place setting in the middle.
[Opens with
Noah Clue sitting at his desk, writing on a piece of paper.]
Noah: (To
Audience)
My name is Noah
Clue. I'm a private eye. With the help of my clumsy assistant, Dee Tective, I
crack every case I take, and I always get my man. Last week, I was just putting
the finishing touches on my police report when…
[Dee enters and
stumbles over chair. She stands and brushes herself off.]
Noah: (To
Audience) Dee's never been
known to be a very graceful investigator, so that's why she stays out of
the crime scene. But she often notices things I would have never even
considered.
[Dee pulls a stack
of mail out of her bag and tosses it on Noah's desk]
Dee: New case. Jewel heist at Mr. Richard
Forpoorer's mansion. Eyewitness caught a glimpse of the suspect, but that's all
we have to go by.
[Noah nods and
skims through the papers.]
Noah: Hmm, an advertisement, postcard, my credit
card bill...my credit card bill??
[Noah looks
puzzled]
Dee: Erm…wrong stack.
[Dee rummages
around in her bag and plops the file of papers on the desk.]
[Noah flips
through the file.]
Noah: Ahh, that's better.
[Noah puts the
file in his briefcase.]
Noah: Let's hit the road, Dee. You drive.
SETTING: THE FORPOORER MANSION
Consists of the safe on a shelf or table, with the crime scene tape in front. Place on the far left.
Noah: (To
Audience) When we got to the
mansion, Dee went to interview the eyewitness and the mansion owner, Richard
Forpoorer. Meanwhile, I checked out the crime scene.
[Noah looks around
the crime scene with his magnifying glass.]
Noah: (To
Audience) No fingerprints, no
footprints, nothing.
[Stands up and
walks to the far right of the setting.]
Noah: (To
Audience) Disappointed, I
returned to the truck. To my surprise, Dee was already there.
Dee: Find anything?
Noah: Not a hair. How about you?
Dee:
Well, Mr. Forpoorer was asleep, so he couldn't help us much. All he said was that
he heard glass shattering downstairs and called police.
When they got there, the only
thing they found was the patio door broken, and the safe open.
[Dee flips a page
in her notebook.]
Dee: The eyewitness on the other hand got a good look at the crook. Although he
wore gloves and sunglasses, he could make out the rest of
his face. He identified him as Redd Handed. I wrote the address down
so we could interview him.
SETTING:
REDD’S HOUSE
Consists
of a lawn/rocking chair in front of a background. Place setting far right.
[Redd enters from
behind the background carrying a cane and a newspaper]
Noah: (To
audience) When we got to Mr.
Handed’s house, he was sitting on the front porch with sunglasses on.
[Redd sits down in
a chair, and sets the newspaper next to the chair.]
[Noah looks up at
the sky.]
Noah: Hmmm, cloudy. Looks like our suspect is
blind.
Dee: Mr. Handed? I'm Dee Tective, and this is Noah
Clue. We're-
Redd: Well you don't say! The famous Detective
Clue? I'm flattered!
[Dee mutters
something under her breath before continuing.]
Dee: Anyway, as I was saying, we're detectives, and we would
like to have a word with you.
Redd: Oh dear. I'm sorry if I interrupted. You see,
I'm rather hard of hearing.
Dee: (Louder) Well then, I'll just try to speak up. Where
were you at 8:00 p.m. yesterday?
Redd:
Asleep, of course. I don't go anywhere much anyway. My wife died years
ago.
Dee: Do you know a Richard Forpoorer?
Ruby: Ehh, nope. Never heard of him. Like I said, I
don't get out much.
<
[Dee starts to ask another question, but is interrupted by a slight whimper at the back door.]
Redd: That must be Babe, my little dog…uh…guide
dog. I guess he wants out back.
[Redd gets up,
picked up cane, and goes behind the background.]
Noah: Looks like our suspect is just a lonely, old
man. Let's go, Dee.
Dee: Hold it Noah. I think he’s guilty! I'll call
Deputy Warren and tell him to get a search warrant. He’s got the jewels!
Noah: But we don't have any proof!
Dee: Oh yes we do!
Noah: What is it then?
Dee: Come on, Noah. Think!
Noah: (To audience) What is the proof she's talking
about? Does anyone know?
[AUDIENCE
PARTICIPATION. Answers may include saying “little dog”, hearing the whimper at
the back door, having a newspaper, and carrying the cane, not using it.]
Noah: Once Deputy Warren arrived, we searched the
house. Hidden in a sack under the bag was the jewels…
[Holds up one of the jewels]
Noah: …and a one way ticket to Cancun, Mexico.
[Holds up ticket.]
Noah: This case was closed.
[Dee and Noah exit stage left.]