5. Goodbye Cruel World

[r2k]

This one took a while. I had to do a little research. Forgive the beatnik slang in the flashbacks. It is pretty bad. I also could not find enough songs to fill in the flashbacks. Also, I tried to write some twisted poems. Like I have stated in the past, in the hands of a professional writer, this would be better. I can see why they don’t have as many cases as old as these. They are hard to do.

Goodbye Cruel World

June 13, 1956

(In a coffee house in Philadelphia, a poetry reading is going on in the backroom. A young man is reading a poem he has written.)
Jeff: This cold cruel world has nothing I need
For its sole purpose is to make me bleed
I find no reason to stay here in this cold cruel world
For it tries to tempt me with all of its greed.
(The audience applauses as the man smiles a little and walks off the stage. He looks somewhat unhappy. He sits down at a table as the poetry reading takes a break. A young woman sits down with him.)
Joanna: Jeff, that was great. You are so deep. Your poetry speaks to me in ways you’ll never understand.
Jeff: What good does it do? It reaches us. We’ve already been reached. Others need to know. Besides, I can’t read my real poems.
Joanna: You’ll get in trouble. The police are already looking for you. You’ve got to be careful.
Jeff: I can’t even read the poems I want to read. Too offensive for the common decency. Decent people don’t even come in here. They’re too afraid.
Joanna: Be patient, Jeff. The world will see our way soon. They are lost now. Lost in their ambitions. It takes time.
Jeff: Time we don’t have. We’re on the brink of nuclear annihilation and the middle class people living in their safe suburban homes don’t seem to care. If we wait any longer, there won’t be a world to reach.
(Another man comes over.)
Scott: Daddy ‘O, great poetry. You are an inspiration to us all.
Jeff: Thanks.
Joanna: Scott. Please help Jeff. He’s a little upset.
Scott: About what?
Jeff: People aren’t getting it, man. I feel like this world is hopeless.
Scott: People are misguided. They aren’t enlightened like we are. Give it time, Jeff. We know the way and soon more will see things the way we do. Well, I better go. It’s my turn to read.
(Scott goes up to read his poetry.)

(Later. The coffee house is closed. A waiter is cleaning up in the main room. The back room is closed. Inside the back room, Jeff is sitting in a chair. He has a knife wound in his chest. There is no murder weapon present. A trail of blood has dripped out of his mouth. He has been dead a while. In the cold case room, a box is being put away.)

J. Billings 1956

RETURN TO PRESENT
(Lily is sitting at her desk with Scotty. She is typing up some paperwork. Vera walks up to them both.)
Vera: Hey you two. Got another one for you.
Scotty: What’s the job?
Vera: Not sure. This came in the mail.
Lily: What is it?
Vera: A book.
Scotty: We can see that.
Lily: What’s in it?
Vera: Poems
Lily: Sweet.
Vera: I don’t think so. You haven’t read such filth in your life. This poetry was written by a beatnik.
Scotty: A beatnik.
Lily: You know, Scotty. Poetry Readings, coffee houses. Movement that began in the late ‘40s. Started to take hold in the ‘50s. Paved the way for the hippie movement of the ‘60s.
(Stillman joins the conversation.)
Stillman: Beatnik’s were a troublesome bunch. Broke dozens of laws, rejected middle class life. Pretty much hated everything a normal person likes.
Scotty: How do you know so much about them?
Stillman: I arrested a few in my day. In the ‘60s of course.
Vera: Of course.
Lily: There’s a note stuck in here in the inside front.
(Lily reads the note.)
Read his poems. For within them you will find that he was indeed tortured, just not the way everyone thinks. Be warned. You must read from front to back. Every detail you need is located in these pages. His name was Jeff Billings. These poems are his life and death.
(She then goes glances at some of the poems.)
Lily: Some of the poems are kind of sweet. (Turns the page.) Ooooogh.
Vera: Spoke too soon.
Scotty: Riddle me this, Riddle me that.
Vera: Whoever sent this is a big old nut.
Lily: That didn’t rhyme, Vera.

OPENING CREDITS

[r2k]

Lily: Jeff Billings, 19, found stabbed in the backroom of a coffee house in 1956. No witnesses. No murder weapon.
Scotty: You buyin’ that?
Lily: Place was closed. Says right here. Owner and a waiter were cleaning up in back. Body wasn’t discovered until the next morning. Question is, what was he doing after hours?
Scotty: In the report, there is mention of a girl, Joanna Paris. Says here she was 23 at the time. That would make her 70 by now.
Lily: And possibly deceased. I’ll have Vera check it out. (Lily notices something.) Scotty, check this out. Jeff had a sister.
Scotty: Still alive.
Lily: Possibly. She is the youngest of 7 children. She is only 59. Jeff was the oldest at 19. She was 12 at the time of his death. The owner of the coffeehouse, Larry Pappas, opened the place in 1955. Could it still be opened?
Scotty: We’ll have to check. A lot of time has passed since this one.
(Later. Upstairs.)
Vera: Found Joanna. Still alive and married. Someone named Scott Henderson. Hey hey hey, Scott.
Scotty: Very Funny.
Lily: There was a Scott Henderson in the file. He read poetry at this place too.
Stillman: If they’re both still alive, then they might be able to help out.
Jeffries: I also tracked the sister down. She married and lives south of Philly.
Stillman: Lily, you and Scotty go see the sister. Vera, Jeffries, talk to Joanna and Scott.
Scotty: The note says everything we need is in the poetry book.
Lily: It might help some more if we learn about the people in his life. We’ll look at the book later.

(At Leslie Turner (Billings) house. Lily and Scotty knock on the door. A woman answers the door. Her image flashes back to that of a 12 year old and returns to 59.)
Leslie: May I help you?
Lily: Yes. Detective Rush. This is my partner, Detective Valens. We want to ask you some questions about your brother, Jeff.
Leslie: Come inside. Nobody has asked me about him for a long time.
(Inside.)
Leslie: Jeff was the oldest. He was always in trouble as far as I can remember.
Lily: What kind of trouble?
Leslie: Well, he was always asking questions. Started in church my mother said. She told me that one day during Bible School, he kept asking about the dinosaurs. Sunday school teachers were very concerned. Then, in school, he was always causing trouble. When I was four, I really started to remember things. He was in high school and always being sent home. They shipped him off to military school to straighten him up.
Lily: Did it work?
Leslie: No. He ran off. When his 18th birthday came around, there was no party. Dad told him to pack up and get out. Jeff was ever defiant.

FLASHBACK TO 1956. Rock Around the Clock by Bill Haley plays in the background.
(Jeff comes home to find his parents waiting for him.)
Jeff: What’s going on?
David Billings: Happy Birthday Son. We want to give you your present. Get out!
Jeff: What?
David: You heard me. Get out! You are no longer our responsibility. Pack up whatever you can take and get the hell out of my house. I have enough responsibility without you making trouble.
Jeff: Your crazy. Mom, tell him he’s crazy.
(Jeff’s mom walks over to her husband and stands by him.)
Gloria: I’m sorry, Jeff. We’ve tried so hard to lead you on to the right path. (Calls loudly upstairs.) Leslie, turn that music down now! Despite our best efforts you continue to defy us. You’re going to have to leave as long as you continue this behavior.
Jeff: I don’t understand.
(Gloria takes out a book. The book of poems.)
Gloria: We found this in your room.
Jeff: You had no right to go in there.
David: I pay for this house and everything in it. I’ll look where I want. Now get out you ungrateful brat of a boy. We did not raise you to write that filth. You will not bring shame onto our family.
(Leslie walks in and overhears the tail-end of the conversation. She just stands there as her parents look at her.)
Leslie: What’s going on?
Jeff: Your parents don’t love me anymore. When you get old enough, leave. Leave before they decide they don’t love you.
(Jeff storms up to his room.)
Leslie: Jeff, wait!!
(She turns around.)
Leslie: Tell me that isn’t true. Please, tell me it isn’t true.
Gloria: I’m afraid it is. We’ve tried everything. When your brother decides he is ready to get with the establishment, he is welcome back.
Leslie: But he never will!! Don’t you understand that?
David: Then, he’ll never come back. It is up to him.
Leslie: No. No

RETURN TO THE PRESENT
Leslie: He packed his things and left.
Lily: And that was the last you saw him.
Leslie (Flashing back to age 12): No, it wasn’t. My Aunt Jessica lived in the city. She knew where he was after he was kicked out. (Returns to 59) She arranged for me to see him a few times before things got worse.
Lily: What do you mean by worse?
Leslie: Before the arrests for indecency. His poetry was often filled with, well, things that were inappropriate for the time. Or for any time. The things he wrote about were way ahead of his time.
Scotty: We’ve read a little.
Leslie: I don’t follow.
Lily: Someone sent the poetry book to us. There was a note attached to it. Said we must read the book from front to back. Something about the poems possibly being able to solve his murder.
Leslie: Jeff loved to create a mystery. His poems were connected. The early ones he would write in high school. He loved linking things together. But he began writing those poems years before he died. He was into the beatnik thing when he was a freshman in high school. Managed to keep it a secret from Mom and Dad.
Lily: Are your parents still alive?
Leslie: You’re in luck. Both of them are indeed. Dad’s not doing too well. He’s got a few good years left in him. Can’t walk very well. What can you expect at 88. Mom is still strong. All of my other siblings are still alive as well. Though none of them really knew much about Jeff and his life like I did. They told me it was up to him. I always felt that was cop out. They never fought for him. They simply expected him to cooperate. Never tried anything different.
Lily: Can you think of anyone who might have wanted to kill him?
Leslie: Not from school. Afterward, there had to be someone. I was only at the coffeehouse a few times. When the arrests happened, my aunt tried to distance me from it. I managed to sneak over there a few times to see him. There was the girl, Joanna. Jeff had a friend named Scott. Though I’m not so sure they were close friends. Seemed more like they were drawn together by the movement. The Coffee House was a meeting place for beatniks. It was called “Changin’ Times”. Stayed in business until 1976. Turned into a small café after that. Same owner . Larry Pappas was his name. Nice man. Somehow he always had chocolate milk to give me. Made sure I didn’t see or hear anything I wasn’t supposed to. After a while that was near impossible. Café is still open. Larry’s Café. He’s retired now but his family keeps it going.
Lily: You know where we can reach him?
Leslie: No. I used to see him a lot after Jeff was killed. Over the years, my life changed so much. I eat there occasionally. His sons don’t know me. They were born after. Larry was in his twenties when he opened the coffee house. He just married then.

[r2k]

(Meanwhile, Vera and Jeffries locate Joanna and Scott Henderson. They are inside the house.)
Joanna (First you see her at 70. She flashes back to 22 and then returns.): I remember Jeff. A true poet. Held nothing back. A little impatient. But with good reason.
Vera: What do you mean?
Joanna: You see, our whole philosophy at the time, and even now, is that regular society was so restricting. We had to follow so many rules. Nobody was questioning them. Jeff learned at an early age that something was wrong.
Jeffries: Did Jeff ever talk about his upbringing.
Joanna: Not directly. You heard it in his poetry. His parents were traditional. Very strict. Typical middle class lifestyle. We rejected that kind of life a long time ago. It was 1955 when Jeff first began coming to the coffee house. Larry had just opened it up. There was a revolutionary in the movement. Sam was a risk taker. Scott and I began hanging out there. One day, Jeff walked in. My life was never the same.

FLASHBACK TO 1955
This Land is Your Land by Woody Guthrie plays in the background.

(Jeff walks into the coffee house. He looks frustrated. He looks around. Joanna spots him and calls to him.)
Joanna: You look frightened. Have a seat.
Jeff: Thank you. Jeff Billings.
Joanna: Joanna, this is Scott.
Scott: Nice to meet you. You look a little lost.
Jeff: Parents just kicked me out. I got nowhere to go. Good thing, though. I hated them and everything they stand for.
Scott: Cool man, cool. Don’t worry. Your among friends here. We said goodbye to that life a long time ago.
Joanna: Yes. Look, you can stay with us. We don’t care.
Jeff: But aren’t you two.
Joanna: What? Together. No. We’re free to do whatever it is we want to do. No need to be chained down. We move to the beat of a different drum.
Scott: You’re just starting to see things differently. You’ll get used to it in time.
Joanna: The times we’ll have together. Just wait and see.

RETURN TO THE PRESENT
Joanna: We all had some good times and sad times. His poetry was so deep.
Vera: So, the three of you were an item.
Joanna: That was the ‘50s. We rejected the establishment. There was no item. We were free to do what we pleased. That was our driving force. Anyway, Jeff wasn’t interested in that.
(Scott walks in. His image flashes back to 25 and returns to 73.)
Scott: We’ve got company.
Jeffries: Detective Jeffries.
Vera: Detective Vera. We’re looking in to the murder of Jeff Billings.
Scott: Oh. There’s a name I haven’t heard in a long time. Tragic. His death. He was a poet no one could match. Not even me.
Jeffries: What do you mean?
Scott: When he came into our lives, he became the star. He never wanted the attention. It came to him anyway. Amazed me how such deep poetry could have come from someone so young. Never understood where it came from.

(Back at the station.)
Lily: Leslie was able to confirm the coffee house owner might still be alive. At least his family still owns the property. Turned it into a café in 1976.
Stillman: After the Vietnam era. Things sort of returned to normal.
Scotty: Parents did not approve of his poetry. Threw him out over it. Leslie still managed to see him a few times before he was killed.
Vera: Joanna and Scott were able to explain how he got there. Apparently, they are were roommates.
Jeffries: That was pretty unusual for the time. I was getting the feeling Jeff must have had the hots for Joanna at some point.
Vera: Maybe Scott didn’t like that. I was thinking that too. He certainly gave away the fact that Jeff was a better poet. I mean these people were all about fairness and equality and all that crap. Still, some people want to be the best no matter where they are.
Stillman: Good point. There were hippies who were so much into the movement as much as they were into the attention they got out of it.
Lily: So maybe Scott did something about it. Let’s look into arrest records for these three. Must have happened at some point. I think we should pay the parents a visit. See where they stand on Jeff now.

(At the Billings’ house.)
Gloria: (Flashes to 40. So does David) Jeff was our first child. Seven in all. (Returns to 87 along with David) He was smart as a child. Problem was he was always asking questions.
Lily: About what?
Gloria: For example, in Sunday School, his teacher complained that during the story of Genesis, Jeff kept asking where the dinosaurs were. Every time he was taught something, he had a question that would contradict it. They were getting upset and eventually they asked me not to send him again. As he got older, he began to question authority. He even questioned some of the laws. When he was 10, he asked why people couldn’t walk in public naked. That was the beginning. His teen years were scary. He studied and got good grades, but he rejected sports. And then, I found the poetry book.
Lily: Leslie told us about that.
Gloria: Leslie was so young. But not too young to know something was wrong. She was the fourth child. She was about 10 when all of this was going down. She never understood why he was kicked out.
David: It was decision Gloria and I made together. We had to. We needed to protect the other children from his bad influences.
Lily: Did he ever come back home after you kicked him out.
David: No.
Gloria: I offered him a chance to come back if he would change his ways. I guess I was hoping he would realize that we loved him. That’s what is so strange.
Scotty: What?
Gloria: We had seven children. Six turned out good. One turned out to be a nightmare. And he died so young.
Lily: Which of you two found the poetry?
David: Our youngest son, Johnny. He was only 3. He was looking at the book when I found it.
Gloria: That was the last draw. David wanted to talk it over with me before we made the decision. I hated having to make it but we had to reason our children right and Jeff was compromising our efforts.
Lily: Thank you. If you remember anything else please call us.
David: I’ll walk you to your car.
Lily: Oh, it’s no problem.
David: No, I insist.

(Outside)
David: I didn’t want Gloria to hear this. There is something else I wanted to tell you in there.
Lily: What?
David: Keep walking. Before the poetry I found something else. This is going to come out because Leslie saw it.

FLASHBACK TO 1954
(At the Billings’ house. Jeff comes into his room. His father is waiting for him, holding some reefers.)
Jeff: Dad.
David: What is this? You brought this into my house. (David advances towards Jeff and hits him good.) You evil boy. This is evil.
Jeff: Then why does it grow? How can it be evil if it grows. All things were created and were good. That’s what we were taught in Sunday school. Apparently, Mrs. Harris never thought things through before explaining them.
David: That’s beside the point. This is illegal and you are lucky your mother isn’t home to see this. (David hits Jeff three more times until Jeff falls to the ground and starts crying.) You will never bring this stuff into my house again, ever! Do you understand, young man.
Jeff: (Crying) Yes.
(David looks at the bedroom door and sees Leslie looking in from the narrow opening.)

RETURN TO THE PRESENT
David: She saw me hit my oldest son. I’d never hit any of my kids. Leslie was a sweet girl. She never brought it up to anyone. Remember, it was a different time. Gloria and I decided not to do that sort of thing and I ended up doing it to a 17 year old.
Lily: You did what you felt you had to do at the time.
Scotty: Seems like you dealt with some issues most families weren’t dealing with.
David: And back then, you had to keep a lid on it. Nowadays, all family problems are open for all to see. Crazy. It took a decade for it all to go to hell.
Lily: What do you mean?
David: These beatniks set out to change the world. And they did. After them came the hippies, then punks, you name it. Had to be different. Couldn’t fall in line. This country paid dearly for what these people did.

[r2k]

(Later, at the station.)
Lily: I’m getting the impression Jeff’s father more than disapproved of his lifestyle.
Stillman: What do you mean?
Lily: He blames the world’s problems on those people. He was very specific about it.
Scotty: Seems suspicious. Maybe he and his son met one more time after he kicked Jeff out.
Lily: Gloria was in the dark about the drugs in the house. David was afraid the shock would kill her.
Vera: Seems like there were a lot of people in this mix with some kind of motive. These beatniks rejected traditional values. Any one of them could have killed him. No sweat of their backs.
Lily: Or their conscience. The file said the police had been seeking Jeff out. Something about indecency.
Stillman: Yeah. His poetry was considered offensive. Remember, standards were different in the ‘50s. Beatniks were pioneers of big change. Many were arrested and charged with lewd conduct and vile poetry. Joanna and Scott managed to stay out of trouble. Jeff was arrested three times for lewd conduct. His poetry was deemed offensive.
Scotty: Did Jeff’s parents know about any of this? They never made any mention of this.
Lily: They might have read about it in the paper. There’s no way they couldn’t have known about it.
Stillman: Have you two checked out the coffee house owner yet.
Scotty: That’s our next stop.
Lily: Maybe this Larry might be able to help us.
Jeffries: Speaking of which, I have the lowdown on Larry. Last name Pappas. Retired but still helps out at the café his sons now own and run.
Scotty: Let’s go.

(On the way to the café.)
Lily: It’s nice to have you back.
Scotty: Nice to be back. (Pauses) I just can’t believe she’s gone. I always thought she’d get better, you know.
Lily: I know. It’s always good to hope. I should know.
Scotty: Really.
Lily: Well, I was married at one time. I hoped he would change. Never happened.
Scotty: What went wrong?
Lily: I changed, he didn’t. He got mad. I got divorced. I saw Jen at the funeral.
Scotty: Yeah. That was nice of her to come, given everything that’s happened to her.
Lily: She and I spoke for a while.
Scotty: What’d you talk about?
Lily: Girl stuff. Jen’s really scared right now. She’s afraid to go see Tim.
Scotty: She seemed nervous when she came up to me. It was kind of like she wanted to be there for me, but she really needed someone to be there for her. And I can’t be that for her right now.
Lily: That’s why I intercepted. I helped her out. Told her to focus on making sure that baby comes out okay. (Notices the café.) Here we are.
Scotty: I think I’ve been here a few times.
Lily: Looks nice.
(The café flashes back to the coffee house it was in 1956. Then it returns to normal. Lily and Scotty go in. A teenage girl at the register greets them.)
Sara: Hello. Welcome to Larry’s café. I’m Sara how may I help you?
Lily: We’re looking for Larry Pappas.
Sara: My grandfather. He’s in the back. You detectives?
Scotty: Detective Valens.
Lily: Detective Rush.
Sara: Why don’t you come to the back. Can’t imagine what you want with him. He’s harmless.
(Lily and Scotty follow Sara to the back. In the office, an old man is sitting down. His image flashes back to the young man from 1956. Then, it returns to his present age, 74.)
Sara: Grandpa, these detectives would like to speak with you.
Larry: Sure. Larry Pappas.
Lily: Detective Rush. This is my partner Detective Valens. We’d like to talk to you about Jeff Billings.
(Scotty leans on a table.)
Larry: (Pauses. He then remembers who Jeff is.) Yes. I remember Jeff. Charming little troublemaker that one was. Loved that guy. Excellent writer. He had a passion for his work.
Lily: What was Jeff doing here after hours?
Larry: I’m not sure. In fact, I wasn’t aware he was here at all at first. I was finishing up in back. He was in the backroom. Occasionally, customers I was more familiar with would hang around. I didn’t mind. Where else were they gonna go? Jeff stayed a little later than usual that night. I did remember something. I thought he opened the door for someone.

BRIEF FLASHBACK TO 1956. SAM IS IN THE STORE ROOM. HE HEARS JEFF OPEN THE DOOR FOR SOMEONE.

Larry: When I went out into the main area, I noticed no sound was coming from the backroom. I assumed he left.
Lily: He didn’t, did he?
Larry: No. He was dead. Bad thing is, we didn’t find him until the next day. When we opened the place.
Scotty: Was that bad for business?
Larry: Not really. It only added more appeal to the place. Death was a favored topic amongst beatniks. Poets came out of the woodwork after Jeff died. People requested the table he was found dead at.
Scotty: You mean you kept the table.
Larry: Your leaning on it buddy.
(Scotty realizes it and lets go. He has an uncomfortable look on his face.)
Lily: Do you know of anyone who would want to kill him?
Larry: I was always suspicious of Scott Henderson. Jeff wanted Joanna and she was his girl. Even though he backed off, the attraction was still obvious. She wanted him too. Plus, Scott was a favorite before Jeff came along. You see, Joanna was always into this. Scott came along and did it for her. He kind of enjoyed the experience but his heart wasn’t in it. But Jeff was a beatnik all the way. He and Joanna were one the same. They were two hearts beating as one.
Scotty: Is it possible Jeff and Joanna hooked up.
Larry: Hooked up?
Lily: Had an affair.
Larry: Oh. Difficult to tell. I never really paid attention to all this stuff. I was running a coffee house. I had a family to feed. Got into trouble over some of poetry being read. For me, it was business.
Scotty: Did Jeff’s controversy endanger the business in any way.
Larry: Not really. I hope you’re not implying that I killed him. Look, he wasn’t the first and definitely not the last poet to come in through here and cause controversy with his work. If that were the case, I’d have a pile of dead beatniks buried in my backyard. You’re welcome to dig it up if you wish.
Lily: What time did you hear the door open?
Larry: We closed at 2:00. I heard it around 2:30.
Scotty: Did you hear anything out there after the door shut.
Larry: Not to my recollection. Of course, it was a long time ago. It always bothered me.
Lily: What bothered you?
Larry: I was right there at the front door and I didn’t check the back room. Jeff was dead or dying. And I never knew. (Pauses.) You know, I will tell you.
Scotty: Tell us what?
Larry: The real reason I opened the coffee house. I was never a gutsy person. Afraid to take a risk. The beatnik lifestyle always fascinated me. The idea of not having a real care in the world. They lived it. But I could never do it myself. Running the coffee house was the closest I came to going against the establishment. I had a wife and child to feed. Never regretted it. But still, there was something about these people that was alluring. Nothing stopped them from believing and living the life they did.
Lily: I thought you had children later.
Larry: I had a baby. He was about a year old.

(Later at the station. The team is together.)
Lily: Larry remembers someone opening the door to the coffee house that night.
Scotty: But wasn’t up front to see anything. He did investigate. I
Vera: I ran a check on the coffee house. The troubles Jeff had with the police actually helped the business before he died. Highly doubtful Larry would knock off a sure money maker.
Stillman: So Jeff was in the back room and Larry didn’t know.
Lily: Report said Jeff’s body was discovered the following morning.
Vera: Well, one thing is certain. Jeff opened the door and let someone in.
Lily: Someone who killed him.

(Lily and Scotty are at her desk with the poetry book.)
Scotty: Why are we doing this?
Lily: The note said everything we need to solve this is in this book. We’ve done some preliminary work. We have some background. Besides I thought you wanted to look at this book. Let’s look.
(Scotty looks over her shoulder.)
Scotty: Whooooaaaa!! This Jeff was one sick dude. Penthouse and Hustler never had anything that twisted.
Lily: And you know this from a friend.
Scotty: Yes. A friend.
Lily: Here’s something interesting.
Mother mother you gave me life
Filled it with jealousy and angry strife.
You raped my soul again and again
My heart now seeks a state of Zen

You continue to stalk me time after time
Loving you daily was the nastiest crime
Pretending to nurture you only destroy
My inner peace like a useless broken toy
(Vera approaches.)
Vera: Can we say issues? Seems like Jeffrey hated mommy.
Scotty: With a passion.
Lily: I wonder if she knew how much.
Scotty: This doesn’t make any sense. Leslie indicated that it was their father who was really tough. This comes right out of left field.
Lily: Maybe we should talk to Leslie again. She seems to know more about Jeff than anyone. Here’s something else interesting.
Why do I seek her when I know I will die
With her sweet poisonous honey I know I must try
She looks down upon me with a unbridled lust
A should know not to trust her but love her I must.
This could be a yearning for a woman.
Scotty: Joanna.
Vera: Stillman and I will track down beatnik girl.
Lily: Scotty and I will talk to Leslie some more.

[r2k]

(At Leslie’s)
Leslie: That’s impossible. Jeff and mother got along. Deep down inside she never wanted to kick him out. He made her do it.
Lily: Your father.
Leslie: He always had to have control over everything. Jeff sensed it at an early age. He tried to shield me from it. Taught me to know what to expect.
Lily: There is a poem in here that specifically states Jeff’s hatred for his mother.
Leslie: (Starts crying.) She always loved him. She loved all her children. Swore to protect them from evil. It broke her heart when she couldn’t save him. Listen. She never wanted him to leave. She confided in me on that.

FLASHBACK TO 1956.
Where Have All The Flowers Gone by Pete Seeger plays in the background
(Leslie is crying in her room when her mother walks by.)
Gloria: What’s wrong baby?
Leslie: Jeff. He’s gone forever.
Gloria: Leslie dear. We will get him back. Don’t cry. I swear he’ll be back as soon as possible.
Leslie: He’s all alone out there. In the city. He’ll never make it by himself. I’m scared. Mom, please get him back. Please!! He’ll die.
Gloria: Oh dear. It will take some time to convince your father. But I’ll figure out a way.
Leslie: Really. Thank you mom. I felt I was the only one who cared for him.
Gloria: I care for my children, dear. I won’t let anything happen to them.

RETURN TO THE PRESENT
Leslie: Dad would never have let him back in the house. Not as is. And there was no changing that.

(Meanwhile, Vera and Jeffries are with Joanna.)
Vera: So, you and Jeff had a thing going.
Joanna: No. That’s ridiculous.
Vera: Come on. You people didn’t care about laws back then.
Joanna: We were liberated and free. But not that free. Scott and I were together. Deep down inside I knew Jeff wanted me. And yes, he made it known to me.
(She looks at Scott.)

FLASHBACK TO 1956
(At their apartment. Jeff was crashing there with them. Scott is out. It is Joanna and Jeff.)
Joanna: I can’t get over your poems. They’re ahead of their time.
Jeff: Joanna , there’s something I want to tell you.
Joanna (noticing the poem Lily read earlier): I think I know what you’re talking about. (She shows the poem. Jeff looks at it but before he can talk she interrupts.) I’m flattered that you think of me that way. But I’m in love with Scott. He and I are one. We both think highly of you, but you must understand. Nothing can ever happen with the two of us.
Jeff: But…
Joanna: Jeff. Let’s not talk about it again, ever. Better to let it go and not worry about it. You’ll find someone special. And if not, don’t worry. There’s more to life than just one love. I had many before Scott came along and who knows if he and I will stay together.
(Scott comes in.)
Scott: Hello you two. Hungry.
Joanna (nervous): Sounds good.
Scott: Coming with us Jeff.
Jeff: No. I want to finish my poems for tonight.
Scott: The police are going to be around. Be careful.
Jeff: The law. I hate them. I hate them all. So they throw me in jail again. I don’t care. My life is pain.
Scott: It’s the third time. They’ll get you good this time.

RETURN TO THE PRESENT
Jeffries: Did he read his poetry that night?
Joanna: Yes. He read that poem. And another one. Police were there and heard it and approached him.
Vera: What happened?
Joanna: He ran off. Somehow he managed to get out the window. Disappeared for a month. Look I was flattered he liked me that way. But even I had my limits. We were about freedom. It didn’t mean we were into everything.
Vera: What about Scott? You think Scott might have killed Jeff?
Joanna: I don’t think he ever knew.
Jeffries: Where were you both the night Jeff was killed.
Joanna: After the coffee house closed Jeff wanted to stay. He felt the police would return and wanted to face them again. Scott and I went home and made love. Jeff always waited a while before coming in. Gave us some quiet time.

[r2k]

(At the station.)
Lily: Leslie fears her father may have hated Jeff for betraying him.
Vera: Joanna and Scott have an alibi but indicate the police had it in for Jeff was well.
Stillman: Beatnik’s hated cops. Of course she would blame them. Besides, we’re not going to get anything. All cops who arrested Jeff have died. Reports showed Jeff was defiant. Made fun of them all the time and taunted them. Clearly, they hated him as well.
Lily: Do you think they might have done it?
Stillman: Hard to tell. Things were done differently back then. Can’t rule it out.
Scotty: Lily, there’s something about these poems. I can’t place my finger on it, but there’s something.
Lily: Let’s look further.
(Later, Scotty arrives at a poem.)
Scotty: Listen here.
Stupid Stupid man for he does not see
The siren he loves does not care for him but me
He kisses her without passion but cannot tell
His favorite day in a week does fell.
Tell me this isn’t about Scott. Joanna clearly returned the favor.
Lily: The poem does seem to indicate that.
Scott: Still, there’s something we’re overlooking.
Lily: Scotty, what is it. Spit it out.
Scotty: I don’t know.
(Vera comes in with Leslie and a man who is a little younger than her.)
Lily: Leslie.
Leslie: Hi. This is Jerome. He’s my younger brother. He was nine when Jeff died.
Jerome (image flashes back to 9 and returns to 58.) Hello Detective Rush.
Lily: Call me Lily.
Jerome: Are you going to find out what happened to Jeff?
Lily: I’m doing my best.
Leslie: I wanted to tell you, I wasn’t the only one who went to the coffee house to see Jeff. Jerome came with me one day. When I told him what was going on, he wanted to talk to you.
Lily: What have you got?
Jerome: One time I was visiting my aunt in the city and I ran off to see Jeff. I was there the night he was arrested.
Scotty: I’m sorry.
Jerome: You see it in the movies. You never imagine it is going to happen to your big brother.

FLASHBACK TO 1956
Tom Dooley by the Kingston Trio plays in the background
(The coffee house.)
Jeff: The trip of life is filled with unnatural desires
That cannot be put out like a burning fire
We create pleasure without feeling inside
Giving our bodies a pleasurable ride.
(The police, who have been watching, step in.)
Officer: Okay, Daddy-O, you’re under arrest for indecency.
Jeff: How do you know? You write suggesting poetry.
Officer: It doesn’t take an idiot to know what you just said promote self-abuse.
Jeff: You would know, COPPER!!! (Jeff pushes the police officer.)
Officer: That does it, you’re coming with me. (The officer uses his night stick and gives it to Jeff good. He hits him a few times until he is subdued.) That’ll teach you to disrespect the law. The people in the coffee house just sit and stare as the police officer and his partner lift Jeff up take him away. They walk out of the coffee house with Jeff who is barely walking. Jeff notices Jerome, who looks shocked. The officer looks at Jerome.)
Officer: you should go home, son. This is not the place for you.

RETURN TO THE PRESENT

Jerome: They beat him without any remorse. Who does that?
Lily: It’s okay.
Scotty: Jerome, I want to ask you some more questions. Why don’t you come over to my desk?
Jerome: Sure.
Lily: Leslie, I need to ask you this. You don’t just spend the night in jail for pushing a cop back then. Who bailed him out?
Leslie: I don’t know. After he died, I tracked down the people he was living with and they didn’t bail him out. They didn’t have the money.
Lily: Right

(Scotty is with Jerome at another part of the main room.
Scotty: Jerome, do you remember anything about what it was like at home?
Jerome: It was tough for Jeff for a while there. He hated it. Dad was strict. He didn’t tolerate it from anyone.
Scotty: What would make Jeff rebel?
Jerome: I don’t know. He tried to warn us about mom and dad. He said they were monsters in disguise. So they banned him from the house. Forbade him to ever come back.
Scotty: So there was no chance of him ever coming back.
Jerome: No. Dad said the deal was final.

[r2k]

(After Leslie and Jerome have left.)
Lily: Jerome sheds some light on the attitudes the police had towards Jeff.
Scotty: Thing is, with them dead, there’s no way to get to the bottom of this.
Lily: This never shows up in the poems. Most of them are about love.
Scotty: Except this one.
The law is grand the law knows best
The law is good at bossing the rest
She hides in the glory she hides in the power
In truth she is weak she is a dying flower.
Vera: It’s amazing how everything this guy writes about comes back to women.
Lily: The woman represents many things to him. He has trouble relating to women and it shows in everything he writes about. Mother may not even meant his real mother.
Scotty: He had a hard time telling Joanna how he felt about her.
Lily: He has been writing about women from the very beginning. He must have had sex at a young age.
Scotty: But with who?
Lily: Leslie would have shared that? She did however give us the name of someone we could talk to. His girlfriend, Phyllis Baker. They dated up until a few months before he was kicked out. Jeffries is looking her up right now.
Scotty: Maybe the two had some premarital bliss.
Stillman: That was a big no-no back then.
Lily: People still did it.
Stillman: With consequences. Something future generations don’t seem to understand.
Lily: I’m going to return to Joanna and Scott. One of them knows something.

(At Joanna and Scott’s)
Lily: The poems are beginning to show Jeff had a big appetite for women. Joanna, are you scared of revealing something.
Joanna: No. I never had sex with him. He revealed his love for me but I said no.
Scott: You never told me this.
Joanna: I wasn’t sure how you would react to it.
Lily: You see, I think you two did have something going on and you (Scott) found out about it.
Joanna: That’s stupid. There was nothing between Jeff and me.
Scott: Joanna’s telling the truth. Jeff didn’t love her.
Joanna: What?
Scott: He loved me. He wanted to tell you. I never should have kept this a secret.
Lily: What?
Scott: We experimented back in those days. Jeff loved me. Or at least I thought he loved me.

FLASHBACK TO 1956
Goodnight Irene by the Weavers plays in the background.

(Scott and Jeff are at the coffee house after their little fun.)
Scott: I knew it was true.
Jeff: I’m not sure.
Scott: What do you mean?
Jeff: I thought it was real. I thought you were what I wanted. It was wrong. The whole thing is wrong.
Scott: You mean you used me. How could you? You don’t do this to people.
Jeff: Of course. What we just did is illegal. I’m already in so much trouble. Thing is I don’t know if you love me. She won’t love me. Why won’t she love me?
Scott: Joanna. You love Joanna. What’s wrong with you? You are sick.
Jeff: This is not the life for me. I was never meant to be here. I don’t have a place anymore.
Scott: That’s right. There’s no need to tell Joanna about this. You come in tonight and read your poetry. Then you leave. Go back home and never come back here again, ever.
Jeff: I’m sorry.
Scott: No, you’re not. You don’t know what you’re feeling right now. I don’t think you ever did.

RETURN TO THE PRESENT
Scott: Jeff was a tortured soul. He wanted something and couldn’t find it there. He was going to leave that night.
Lily: What happened?
Scott: He never made it out. He was found dead the next day.
Lily: Larry Pappas claims Jeff might have opened the door for someone.
Scott: I never knew that.
Lily: Sure that is true.
Joanna: You didn’t kill him. Because if you did you’ll be out on the street with nothing. I don’t care how old you are. I’ll throw you out on your wrinkled [behind].
Scott: I didn’t kill him.
Scotty: But he burned you pretty good. Toyed with your heart. Must have made you mad.
Lily: I know. You carry a secret crush on a guy who also likes you. But when he chickens out returns to the straight population you can’t handle it.
Scott: Stop it. I will not have this. You can leave.
Joanna: They can stay. I’m not finished. Was I not enough. Remember, we were open to new ideas as long as we discussed them together. Anything like this should have been run by me. I don’t even want to look at you right now.
(Outside.)
Joanna: I’m so mad at him. But I’ll forgive him. As long as he didn’t kill Jeff. I’ll admit it now. I really loved Jeff too. His heart was so sincere. I never knew how tortured he really was. And I didn’t know how Scott would react to my wanting him.
Lily: Keep Scott around. He is still a suspect.
Joanna: He’s not going anywhere.

(At the station.)
Lily: So Scott loves Jeff. Jeff thinks he loves Scott but realizes he doesn’t. Jeff loves Joanna and Joanna loves him.
Scotty: And his poetry contains lyrics about a mystery woman.
Lily: Poetry can mean many things. Maybe it isn’t a woman at all. Let’s look some more.
(Later.)
Lily: Here
She’s a beauty in disguise for inside of her lies evil and death
My every bit of happiness she steals with all her breath.
She seduces my body with her gentle hands of gold
That wish to strangle me with audacity so bold.
Scott: It’s like a love-hate relationship with this girl. He loves her and he hates her. She burned him.
(A woman walks up. She is 68. Her image flashes back to 18 and then returns back to the present image.)
Lily: Must be Phyllis.

(A few minutes later.)
Phyllis: Jeff was charming. He was a poet.
Scotty: We’re familiar with his work.
Phyllis: Beautiful, isn’t it.
Lily: Have you read his poems.
Phyllis: He read them to me. They were always about me.
Lily: Here are some of his poems.
Phyllis: What’s this?
Lily: His poetry book.
Phyllis: He never kept a poetry book. He wrote poems on paper. I’ve never seen this.
Scotty: This book is dated at the beginning during a time you two were going out.
(Phyllis looks at the poems and becomes shocked.)
Phyllis: What is this!!!!!!!!! He loved me!! How could he?

FLASHBACK TO 1955
(Jeff and Phyllis are in the garage at Jeff’s house.)
Jeff: We have to be quiet so my parents won’t hear.
Phyllis: I can’t believe we’re doing this. We can never tell anyone.
Jeff: Our love isn’t for anyone to know. We’ll play sweet in front of everyone else.
Phyllis: What’s it like?
Jeff: I don’t know. The people in the city say it’s great.
Phyllis: What people?
Jeff: They hang out at this coffee house.
Phyllis: I’ve never heard of them. What are they like?
Jeff: They’re really cool people. They dress in black and read poetry. It’s a little risqué for me.
Phyllis: What we’re doing is a little risky.
Jeff: Feels good, doesn’t it.

RETURN TO THE PRESENT

(She grabs the book and throws it across the room.)
I hate him! He broke up with me and humiliated me! He left home and made a living writing this crap! I’m a monster to him! He convinced me to make love to him and I did. For a few weeks I waited to see if I had gotten pregnant. I agonized over the relationship and this is how he repays me. As far as I’m concerned I like to congratulate the guy who stuck a knife into his sorry soul. And I hope Jeff is in hell right now begging for my forgiveness which he will never get as long as I live and die.
Lily: Calm down. You know the poems may not be about you.
Phyllis: Of course they are. I wasn’t good enough for him. He saw me as some kind of b----. I never did anything but love him. He was odd. Gave up on sports, normal things. I thought it was romantic at first, but I got worried fast. Then, he left me one day and it became clear. He was a beatnik. They were all crazy people. They actively recruited new people willing to talk to them. They did this to him. He hated me. He hated me. Why? (She is sobbing at this point.)
Lily: Phyllis, listen to me. I don’t think he was writing about you. He was troubled by something that obviously couldn’t have manifested itself during the time you spent together.
Phyllis: Looking back, I realize now how he was always searching for something. He could never be comfortable where he was. There was no stability. He was always spontaneous. It eventually led him away from me. I always wondered what I may have done.
Lily: Was there another girl?
Phyllis: I don’t know. I’m not of anything anymore. Jeff was always sweet to me. Why would he want anyone else? Especially someone who treated him badly enough to make him write this.
Lily: Was there a girl who may have broken his heart at some time?
Phyllis: No. I was the first. He was extremely shy. It took a while for him to get the courage to ask me out. Then, it took time to get him to relax. One day, he took charge. He was a different person after that. He had changed. Jeff was always questioning authority, but in time he changed. You know what.
Lily: What?
Phyllis: For a first time, he seemed to be familiar with it. And he insisted on showing me everything, like a teacher.




[modified word per Proboards compliance]

[r2k]

(Later.)
Lily: Maybe a teacher was involved with Jeff before he changed.
Stillman: Possible. Some teachers had liberal tendencies.
Scotty: Yeah, but high school. Universities, yes. Not high school
Lily: People’s radical politics were kept in the closet back then, Scotty. Problem is, this teacher could be a guy or girl.
Jeffries: Perhaps a woman. He seems to have contempt for them in his poetry. He longed for Joanna but only got as close as Scott. Perhaps, Scott was his way of touching her. Afterward, he couldn’t handle it.
Vera: I would like to say whatever happened to normal people, but this was 1956.
Lily: Apparently, Jeff’s poetry did not have a literal interpretation. We do know he hates a woman. Now, it is evident that one of these women killed him. Boss, female teacher’s in high school. How common were they?
Stillman: They were found more in the elementary level. But there were some.
Jeffries: I’ll be anything she was young. Possibly starting out.
Stillman: With his parents address, we can figure out what high school he went to.
Scotty: From there, we can locate the teacher. If she was young, she might still be alive as well.
Vera: You gotta let me go with you on this one, please.
Lily: Let’s go back to the book. Maybe there is a reference to a teacher.
(Later.)
Scotty: Here.
The lessons you taught me I long to learn.
Nothing more than a carcass to burn.
Looks like he hated her too.
Lily: Man. Women and this guy just didn’t mix.
Vera: I can relate.
Jeffries: I located a possible teacher. Ella Grayson. Retired, widowed. Started teaching in 1950. That would make her 76 now.
Lily: Scotty and I will check her out.
Vera: Don’t forget me.
Lily: Promise you’ll behave.

(At Ella Grayson’s house. An old woman is outside raking leaves. Her image flashes back to 26, and then to 76 again.)
Lily: Ella Grayson. Detective Rush. This is my partner, Detective Valens.
Ella: Why hello? Can’t imagine what you want with me.
Scotty: We’re reinvestigating Jeff Billings’ murder.
Ella: Oh dear. You found out what happened.
Lily: What happened?
Ella: You didn’t know. Oh well, I did nothing wrong. And I’m long retired. What are they going to do now, revoke my benefits. Jeff was a rebel in the classroom. He had always been kind of a loose cannon. But that year, his grades started slipping and he needed some tutoring in order to stay on the football team. I agreed to help him.
Lily: How long did you tutor him?
Ella: One session.
Scotty: What happened?

(Ella makes a frustrated and disappointing look like an old lady usually does when expressing disapprovement.)

FLASHBACK TO 1956
(Ella is in her classroom with Jeff. No one else is around.)
Ella: Now, what is Shakespeare trying to say in these lines.
Jeff: I think he’s trying to go into how Juliet felt when she wakes up and realizes Romeo is dead.
Ella: That’s right.
Jeff: Then, she is mad because he left no poison for her so she stabs herself.
Ella: Very good. You’re getting it.
Jeff: Do you know you’re very pretty?
Ella: Oh, why thank you.
Jeff: Do you think I’m cute?
Ella: Well, yes. Let’s get back to Shakespeare.
(Jeff leans over and kisses her. She backs off.)
Ella: This is highly unsual. I’m your teacher. I’m a married woman.
Jeff: So. What are rules anyway?
Ella: Jeff, you’ve always been a little wild, but this is going too far. You better be careful.
Jeff: I’m tired of being careful. I want to be free.
Ella: Young man, you are out of control. This behavior can lead to a lifetime of disappointment. Wait and see.
Jeff: You’re the one who will be disappointed. Following these rules. Reading boring literature filled with clichés. As for me, I won’t be tied down much longer. I want to be free as a bird who has been shot at and still lingers on to fly again.
Ella: Jeff. I never imagined you felt that way. Such passion.
Jeff: Forget. You’re just like her. She loves and she hates me. Touches me and then never allows her to be touched.
Ella: Jeff.
Jeff: Forget it. I hate you. I hate all of you.

[r2k]

RETURN TO THE PRESENT
Ella: Today, that would get a teacher in hot water whether they said yes or no. Back then, it was unthinkable what might have happened if it got out. The way I saw it, nothing happened and I refused. I left it alone. I didn’t want any trouble.

(Back at the station.)
Lily: Now there’s another woman.
Vera: You know, we could probably keep uncovering women in this whole case. Maybe this one wasn’t meant to be solved.
Lily: Yes it is. Has anyone seen Scotty?
Jeffries: I think he went downstairs.
Lily: I’m going to go find him.,

(Downstairs, Scotty is talking with Lily’s sister. Lily notices and rushes over.)
Lily: Christina, what are you doing here?
Christina: I just came by to see if Scotty was alright.
Lily: Well, he is.
Scotty: I’ll meet you upstairs. (Scotty leaves.)
Lily: What are you doing?
Christina: What do you mean? He’s nice and I just wanna be friends.
Lily: Like last time.
Christina: Are you going out with him?
Lily: That’s not the point. Number one, he is my partner. Number two, it is not a good time for him.
Christina: It is an excellent time for him. He needs a companion.
Lily: Be careful.
Christina: Look, I’m helping out with mom now, give me credit for that.
Lily: Alright. Look, I don’t expect to solve all of this right now. Let’s take things one step at a time.
Christina: I have to hand it to you, sis. You stuck by mom despite how horrible she was to us. It’s hard enough for me to do it now.
(Lily suddenly realizes something.)
Lily: That’s it! Thank you. You just helped solve a case.

(Upstairs.)
Lily: All these poems were about one woman. Now the first poem had the word mother in it. All future poems mention women in general. Never specified who.
Scotty: So.
Lily: Usual, a writer improves with time. The first poem was about his mother. Given the lyrics, you can deduce what kind of mother she was.
Vera: You mean seduce. Oh man. This is unbelievable. I never imagined such an old case would bring up such twisted relationships.
Lily: You know, Jerome was not as forthcoming when he came in earlier. Perhaps we should pay him another visit.
Stillman: Sounds like a good idea. Arrange for Leslie to bring him to her house. Do it fast and don’t let her mother know what is going on.
Lily: Got it boss.

(At Leslie’s. Jerome is there. Lily and Scotty are with both of them in the living room.)
Lily: Jerome. We need for you to answer honestly no matter who you think you’re hurting. Did your mother do anything to you that made you feel uncomfortable.
Leslie: What does that have to do with Jeff?
Scotty: Please, Leslie. He needs to answer.
Leslie: No, he doesn’t. You’re looking into our brother’s death, not my mother’s private life, which isn’t true.
Jerome: Yes, she did.
(Leslie looks shocked.)
Lily: What did she do?
Jerome: She would hug me for an extra long time. She wanted me to take my shirt off. She asked Jeff to do those things. (Flashes back to 9) One time, they were naked in his room. He had his own room. (Image returns to 56.)
Lily: Were they having an affair?
Jerome: Yes. And when Jeff was kicked out of the house, she tried to do it to me. But I told her no. I saw what she did to him and it drove him crazy.
Leslie: You are lying. That can’t be true.
Lily: Listen, Leslie. We’ve discovered several women in Jeff’s life who all say the same thing. He had trouble relating to them. The poems make sense. Jerome. Did she do this to any of the other brothers in the house.
Jerome: I don’t know. I only know what she did with me and Jeff.
(Leslie starts to cry.)
Leslie: She promised she would get him back. I always thought she loved him as a son. But she loved him for more than that. She didn’t want him back for us. She wanted him back for her!

[r2k]

(At the Billings’ House. In Jeff’s room.)
Gloria: The furniture is the same. I removed his personal items a long time ago. Threw them away.
Lily: Really. Didn’t hide them somewhere.
Gloria: Why would you do that?
Lily: He was your son. You don’t throw things away that belonged to a loved one. Especially one who has died.
Gloria: It was painful to lose him. A parent should never outlive her child. It’s just not natural.
Scotty: But Jeff was more than that to you.
Gloria: I don’t know what you mean.
Lily: We think you do. Jerome remembers what you did to him. And he knows you seduced Jeff.
Scotty: You see, we’re thinking you learned early on the Jeff was a wild person. He would defy authority. Your husband wasn’t fulfilling your needs so you saw a lover in a convenient place with someone who would love it.
Gloria: That’s insane. We simply didn’t do things like that.
Lily: Oh really. Your son is writing obscene poetry and you’re playing innocent. Do you think my partner and I are stupid. That because to us black and white movies aren’t rated R that we don’t know what life was really like for some people back then.
Gloria: I was a full time mother. There wasn’t time for an affair.
Scotty: Oh, you made time. And with your oldest son who was passionate.
Lily: It must have been great. But then one day, daddy found the poetry book and it was last draw. He never figured out the affair though did he.
Gloria: The poetry, the wild behavior. Jeff was the problem, not me.
Lily: No, you were the problem. You were doing things to Jerome when he was 9. When did it start with Jeff?
(Gloria pauses, having nothing left to say.)
Lily: Jeff always knew things were not right because you provided a different environment for him. He questioned things because his homelife was different. He kept your secret until one day, he realized it was wrong. But it was too late for him. Everytime he was with a girl he tried to seduce her because he felt if he could it would erase the memory of you.
Gloria: That’s not true. (She turns the other way and walks downstairs. Lily and Scotty follow her.)
Lily: He even had sex with another man because you screwed him up. He tried everything to erase what you did. Jeff was never really a beatnik, was he? That was just a place for him to run to. He wrote the poems to help him deal with what happened.
Gloria: It wasn’t until I went to sleep that night that I realized what I had done wrong with him. For David, family was just business. There was no real love. Jeff became that outlet for me. And he was interested in learning.
Lily: You were the teacher. The siren.
Scotty: You were good and evil to him. He loved you and hated you because you tried to be more things than you could.
Gloria: I never knew it would damage him so.
Lily: What did you think was going to happen?
Gloria: I thought he would be flattered I choose him.
Scotty: Oh, now that’s just great. Mother of the year.
Lily: Thing is, he was returning home that night. You were at the coffee house earlier. You overheard him and Scott talking. Jeff was going to leave and never go back. Deep down, you knew he’d come home. You knew he would have to come clean about your dirty little secret.
Gloria: I had six kids left and a husband. I would have lost everything. Jeff was already a goner. David never would have let him back in. Why should I let him take me down with him.

FLASHBACK TO 1956
(Jeff is in the backroom. He gets ready to leave and walks towards the door. AS he reaches the door, he sees his mother.)
Jeff: Mother.
(Jeff opens the door.)
Gloria: We need to talk.
Jeff: Sure. Come on back.
Gloria: You need to return home, son.
Jeff: Why? I can’t stay here and I won’t go back to him or you.
Gloria: I’m sorry. I was lonely. Let’s forget the whole thing ever happened.
Jeff: I can’t. It’s too late for me. Everyone knows what a loser I am. But you, you get to be June Cleaver. Forget it. Dad deserves the truth. He has been so mad at me all these years and I’ve come to realize that he really loved me, not you.
Gloria: That’s not true. I loved you.
Jeff: In a way no mother should. I can never forgive you for what you did to me. And I know you’re doing it to Jerome. I saw him today. He has that look. The confused look.
Gloria: You can’t prove a thing.
Jeff: Trust me. Jerome wants me back in that house. He’ll tell the truth.
(Gloria reaches into her coat and pulls out on of her knives.)
Gloria: Not without you to encourage him.
(She stabs him.)
Jeff: Mother. Mother. I loved you. Why didn’t you love me?
Gloria: You stopped doing what you were told. You never understood that it is the outwardly appearance that is important. People judge you. I was smart enough to cover up my desires. I forgot to teach you to cover up yours. I won’t make that same mistake with Jerome. He’ll love me in a way you never could.
(Jeff dies and Gloria pulls the knife out of his chest and rushes out the door. Larry hears it and goes out to investigate. Gloria rushes off down the street.)

(Banana-Boat Song by Harry Belafonte plays in the background as Lily and Scotty take Gloria away. David watches as he cries. Gloria does not cry. She walks defiant as ever. Leslie and Jerome arrive in a car and get out in time to see Gloria being placed in the car. Lily waves at them both. Leslie looks at her father. Their images flashback. Leslie watches as Lily drives away. As the car passes, Leslie can see Jeff a few doors down standing there staring back at her. His image disappears.
Joanna and Scott read the story in the paper as they have lunch at Larry’ Café. Their images flashback and so does the place. Leslie and Jerome arrive there too. The four sit down and talk. Leslie walks to the backroom, now another room with tables in it. She sees Jeff sitting there writing poetry. He looks up and smiles at her. Her image flashes back to 12 and returns to her present age again. Sara walks out from the back with Larry. He joins Joanna and Scott. Leslie and Jerome talk with him. Lily and Scotty are placing the box back where it was in the CC room. Lily is about to leave when she returns to the box and takes out the poetry book. But she then decides to leave it where it is, realizing Leslie might not want to know what he was going through. She walks away.

Next Episode: The Cell
A college student asks Lily to reopen a murder case where his grandmother was murdered in 2001. She was killed the night before 9/11 and her next-door neighbors, an Arab family, disappeared without a trace the next day. The police and FBI figured she found out something about the family, but the grandson claims the Arab family was gone before the murder.

[Tati]

OMG! The mother did it!! It was totally unexpected for me! Another great fic R2K.

[TVFan]

Great job R2K. I thought you did a nice job dealing with an unfamiliar time period. I was able to follow your story without knowing anything about the movement you wrote about in your fanfic. Very interesting storyline and characters. Well done. :thumb:

[r2k]

To Tati: That was a last minute decision. I was afraid I would give that one away too soon.
To TV Fan: I was worried this one wasn't going to be as good. Finding songs was hard. I'm working on the next one and it is a little easier. I'll be finished in a couple of days. I have to do some research on this a little bit. I have most of the ideas already in my mind. I'll never forget that day and the family in my story never will either.

[Disasterfreak]

[quote author=R2K link=board=fanfic&thread=1105503008&start=3#0 date=1105503265

(On the way to the café.)
Lily: It’s nice to have you back.
Scotty: Nice to be back. (Pauses) I just can’t believe she’s gone. I always thought she’d get better, you know.
Lily: I know. It’s always good to hope. I should know.
Scotty: Really.
Lily: Well, I was married at one time. I hoped he would change. Never happened.
Scotty: What went wrong?
Lily: I changed, he didn’t. He got mad. I got divorced. I saw Jen at the funeral.
Scotty: Yeah. That was nice of her to come, given everything that’s happened to her.
Lily: She and I spoke for a while.
Scotty: What’d you talk about?
Lily: Girl stuff. Jen’s really scared right now. She’s afraid to go see Tim.
Scotty: She seemed nervous when she came up to me. It was kind of like she wanted to be there for me, but she really needed someone to be there for her. And I can’t be that for her right now.
Lily: That’s why I intercepted. I helped her out. Told her to focus on making sure that baby comes out okay.

Hey R2K! This fic was really good, I had no idea about beatniks either before I read it. But I'm kinda confused about that dialogue. Some parts seem to be from Youthful Indiscretions but I'm still kind of lost about the rest. Am I missing one of your episodes? After "cake" and before "goodbye cruel world?"