A she-animal.”
“Sorry if this shocks you,” Mary laughed. “I know how horribly feminist-ungrateful it must sound, but I didn’t invent human nature, you know. I simply observe it.”
“It’s a wonder the two of you were able to live together at all,” Will remarked.
“Bunny was hardly ever here. She used our apartment as a pit stop ––a place to grab a shower or a change of clothes. Like I said, we rarely saw each other,” Mary said. “And if I could have afforded the rent by myself, I would have asked her to move out long ago.”
“Will you be getting another roommate?” Will asked.
“I guess I’ll have to.”
“What did you think of Bunny’s relationship with Professor Winner?” Will said.
“A question only a man would ask,” Mary smiled tolerantly.
“Gee,” she continued. “Let’s review the plot ––Bunny seduces a married man, breaks up his marriage, convinces him to move as far away from his children as possible––what do you think of the relationship?”
Will smiled.
“If you did a binary breakdown of human nature,” Mary continued, “with one category for ego and the other for grace, Bunny was pure, unadulterated ego. You know, as in, ‘pride and grace ne’er dwelt in one place’––an old Scottish proverb, I believe. There was not a shred of humility in her. And look where it got her!”
Will let Mary’s vindictive words hang in the air, waiting to see if she would amend this sentiment. She had more or less just gone on record saying that Bunny got what was coming to her.
Self-possession in tact, Mary didn’t bat an eye. She calmly sipped her tea.
“The two of you wrote a screenplay together?” Will said.
“That’s right,” Mary said. “Amazingly, somebody in Hollywood bought it. Professor Winner sent it to an agent friend of his who represents screenwriters. The guy loved it, sold it to a studio, and signed on Bunny as a client.”
“What about you?” Will said. “Why not sign you on as a client?”
“Not interested,” Mary said. “I’m strictly an east coast girl. Los Angeles holds no lure for me. With the money we got for our script, I can afford to take time off after graduation and write something else.”
“What’s the screenplay about?” Will asked.
Mary rolled her eyes.
“Nothing very lofty, that’s for sure,” she said.
“It’s a cheesy thriller that takes place on an Ivy League campus like Cushing, about a computer geek who exacts all sorts of imaginative revenge on the kids who are mean to him, via diabolical computer ruses like altering grades, posting nasty lies, rumors, and photo shopped pictures on all the social media. Pretty formulaic stuff, really.”
“And so Bunny was planning to start a new life with Professor Winner after graduation, and seek her fame and fortune in Hollywood as a screenwriter?” Will said.
“That’s right, which probably would have proved fairly difficult for her, since I wrote the screenplay. She contributed some dialogue, and that was about it,” Mary said, pouring herself another cup of tea. “But, you know. Whatever.”
“Mary, I need to ask you where you were the night of Bunny’s murder,” Will said.
“At the screening of Spellbound , of course,” Mary replied.
“How about before the screening, say from 4:30 p.m. until seven?”
“Oh,” Mary said. “Let me think; that was on a Friday. So I would have been in a seminar with Professor Cadbury until five o’clock, then I came back here to the apartment to shower and change, and fix something to eat before the movie.”
“You didn’t receive a text message from the Film Department secretary, telling you to arrive early?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Uh-huh,” Will said, making notes.
“Did you walk to Hexley Hall alone?”
“Yes,” Mary said.
“See anybody on the way?”
“No ––I don’t think so,” Mary replied. “It’s a pretty short walk from here.”
Will produced the clear plastic
“Sorry if this shocks you,” Mary laughed. “I know how horribly feminist-ungrateful it must sound, but I didn’t invent human nature, you know. I simply observe it.”
“It’s a wonder the two of you were able to live together at all,” Will remarked.
“Bunny was hardly ever here. She used our apartment as a pit stop ––a place to grab a shower or a change of clothes. Like I said, we rarely saw each other,” Mary said. “And if I could have afforded the rent by myself, I would have asked her to move out long ago.”
“Will you be getting another roommate?” Will asked.
“I guess I’ll have to.”
“What did you think of Bunny’s relationship with Professor Winner?” Will said.
“A question only a man would ask,” Mary smiled tolerantly.
“Gee,” she continued. “Let’s review the plot ––Bunny seduces a married man, breaks up his marriage, convinces him to move as far away from his children as possible––what do you think of the relationship?”
Will smiled.
“If you did a binary breakdown of human nature,” Mary continued, “with one category for ego and the other for grace, Bunny was pure, unadulterated ego. You know, as in, ‘pride and grace ne’er dwelt in one place’––an old Scottish proverb, I believe. There was not a shred of humility in her. And look where it got her!”
Will let Mary’s vindictive words hang in the air, waiting to see if she would amend this sentiment. She had more or less just gone on record saying that Bunny got what was coming to her.
Self-possession in tact, Mary didn’t bat an eye. She calmly sipped her tea.
“The two of you wrote a screenplay together?” Will said.
“That’s right,” Mary said. “Amazingly, somebody in Hollywood bought it. Professor Winner sent it to an agent friend of his who represents screenwriters. The guy loved it, sold it to a studio, and signed on Bunny as a client.”
“What about you?” Will said. “Why not sign you on as a client?”
“Not interested,” Mary said. “I’m strictly an east coast girl. Los Angeles holds no lure for me. With the money we got for our script, I can afford to take time off after graduation and write something else.”
“What’s the screenplay about?” Will asked.
Mary rolled her eyes.
“Nothing very lofty, that’s for sure,” she said.
“It’s a cheesy thriller that takes place on an Ivy League campus like Cushing, about a computer geek who exacts all sorts of imaginative revenge on the kids who are mean to him, via diabolical computer ruses like altering grades, posting nasty lies, rumors, and photo shopped pictures on all the social media. Pretty formulaic stuff, really.”
“And so Bunny was planning to start a new life with Professor Winner after graduation, and seek her fame and fortune in Hollywood as a screenwriter?” Will said.
“That’s right, which probably would have proved fairly difficult for her, since I wrote the screenplay. She contributed some dialogue, and that was about it,” Mary said, pouring herself another cup of tea. “But, you know. Whatever.”
“Mary, I need to ask you where you were the night of Bunny’s murder,” Will said.
“At the screening of Spellbound , of course,” Mary replied.
“How about before the screening, say from 4:30 p.m. until seven?”
“Oh,” Mary said. “Let me think; that was on a Friday. So I would have been in a seminar with Professor Cadbury until five o’clock, then I came back here to the apartment to shower and change, and fix something to eat before the movie.”
“You didn’t receive a text message from the Film Department secretary, telling you to arrive early?”
“No, I didn’t.”
“Uh-huh,” Will said, making notes.
“Did you walk to Hexley Hall alone?”
“Yes,” Mary said.
“See anybody on the way?”
“No ––I don’t think so,” Mary replied. “It’s a pretty short walk from here.”
Will produced the clear plastic
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