Suspect: Dr. Harold Shipman
Wanted for: Murder
Set
up: The inspector and two plain
clothes cops have arrived at the house of doctors Shipman
and Weber and have started to search for evidence of a crime.
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Dr.
Shipman:
Well, you don't need to go and get a warrant! It's the middle of the
night. You woke up my cat! How dare you accuse me of...of whatever
it is you're accusing me of!
Inspector:
Well, I say, you are making a
lot of noise for someone who doesn't wish to disturb anyone. We got an
anonymous tip that on the night of Ms. Rogers' disappearance there was
a loud, shrill noise coming from your house. Would you mind telling us
what that was?
Dr. Shipman:
Oh, that was nothing! Just the tea kettle going off, nothing to be
alarmed about. Now please go away! I have answered your question.
:::THUMP THUMP....Just a tea kettle? You think they bought that? THUMP THUMP...you think they can't tell a whistle from a death rattle?:::
Inspector:
I'm afraid we have a few more
questions before we're off. First I would like to know about your
relationship with Ms. Rogers.
Dr. Shipman:
Why I was her doctor, nothing more and certainly nothing less! I gave
her the best medical care in all of New Jersey! Not even Dr. Weber
could have done a better job.
Inspector: Alright, then I intend to ask Dr. Weber what he thinks about
this. Where did you say he went again?
Dr.
Shipman:
Well, you know, he's at a medical conference. He'll always away at
something. One can never tell when he'll come or go. It's impossible to
know which way he went. Do you hear that noise? I swear I can
hear a murmuring...
Inspector:
Like a pounding noise? Dr. Shipman, you are quite sweaty. Please sit
down.
Dr. Shipman:
No! I'm fine. I really am. There is absolutely no way I could have
killed her! On the night it
happened I was here, with Dr. Weber all evening. As I recall, Dr. Weber
was doing a crossword puzzle and I was plotting, NO, playing a game of
solitaire. We passed the time together until dark and
then went to bed. Nothing more exciting than any average night.
Inspector: Okay, let's just take this slow.
What specifically did you do after you did nothing? Did you awake to
go to the bathroom? Get a glass of water in the middle of the night?
Dr.
Shipman:
Oh well, sure, I might have gotten out of bed a time or two. Yes, I do
recall getting thirsty a few hours after I went to bed. I got out of
bed and went past Dr. Weber's room to the kitchen for some water, then
on my way back to bed I noticed Dr. Weber's door was open a crack.
Dr.
Shipman:
Being a kind and thoughtful person, I thought I'd just look in and see
if he needed anything. When my eyes had adjusted to the light, at first
I was sure he was asleep, but then I saw him open his eye a little...
Dr. Shipman:
Under the floor boards...
Inspector:
Excuse me? What was that?
Dr. Shipman:
What? Oh, nothing. I was just thinking of something else...
Dr. Shipman: NO! You're not beating! It can't be!!! Oh evil heart, stop beating!!!
Police
Officer: I think he's gone mental! Why does he get quiet and then start
shouting? What's under the floor
boards? What 'evil heart'?
Inspector: Okay, men, tear up this floor!!!
Police Officer: Holy hell! Are those body parts?! Is that a human heart?!
Inspector:
Yes, I see the heart, but it
is too large to be a woman's heart. Besides, Mary's autopsy showed she
was
not internally harmed...I deduce we are looking at the heart of Dr.
John Weber! Okay, Shipman,
it looks like the medical report might clear you for Mary's murder, but
you're looking at the death penalty for killing Dr. Weber.
Dr. Shipman:
NO! NO! What if I can help you find Mary Rogers' killer???
Inspector: We can take any help you give into consideration at
sentencing. To whom are you referring?
Meet
the next suspect....
Or
Go Home ...if you're scared
Review Profile: Introduction
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Author's Note: This is my reworking of The Tell-Tale Heart, found in Works of Edgar Allan Poe. In the original version, a man details the steps he has taken in killing his roommate and what he did to ensure that he was not suspected of a crime. The flaw in his plan is that when he attacks the man, the man lets out a blood-curdling scream before he succumbs to death. At first this does not faze the apprentice. He goes about hiding his crime by chopping up the body and hiding its parts under the floor. Just as he finishes cleaning up the mess, there is a knock at the door. One of the neighbors had called the police. This too was not a terrible inconvenience to the apprentice because he was sure he would be about to fool the cops into thinking everything was alright. After a few minutes the cops are completely subdued and are now just engaging in casual conversation with the apprentice when he starts to hear a beating. This unsettles him a little bit and he tries to ignore it as much as possible, but the sound keeps getting louder...and louder...and louder until he is final overcome with paranoia and confesses his crime in order to subdue the beating heart. I tried to stay with this version as much as possible. In mine I gave the characters names. I had the police show up a while after the crime has been committed rather than on the night of the crime. I also decided to animate the beating heart by having it retell all the things that were running through Dr. Shipman's head at the time of the attack. I also chose to use a real criminal, Dr. Shipman, as the main character in my version of the story. The real Dr. Shipman was a family doctor and a serial killer. You can read more about the real Dr. Shipman on the BBC News website.
Bibliography:
Story Title: Tell-Tale Heart
Book Title: The Works of Edgar Allan Poe
Author: Edgar Allan Poe
Year Published: 1843
Web Source: Edgar
Allan Poe Society
Mug Shot: BBC News