The Mousetrap

KARL. You—killed—Anya. (Every time he repeats the words, his consciousness of her act grows greater and his tone more menacing. He seizes her suddenly by the shoulders and shakes her like a rat, then forces her above the left end of the sofa) You miserable immature child—what have you done? Prating so glibly of your courage and your resource. You killed my wife—my Anya. Do you realize what you’ve done? Talking about things you don’t understand, without conscience, without pity. I could take you by the neck and strangle you here and now. (He seizes her by the throat and starts to strangle her)

HELENis forced backwards over the back of the sofa.KARLeventually flings her away and she falls face downwards over the left arm of the sofa, gasping for breath.

Get out of here. Get out before I do to you what you did to Anya.

HELENis still gasping for breath and sobbing.KARLstaggers to the desk chair and leans on the back, near collapse.

HELEN. (broken and desperate) Karl.

KARL. Get out. (He shouts) Get out, I say.

HELEN, still sobbing, rises, staggers to the armchair, collects her handbag and gloves, and as in a trance, exits upCtoR. KARLsinks on to the desk chair and buries his head in his hands. There is a pause, then the front door is heard closing.LISAenters the hall fromR.

LISA. (calling) I’m back, Karl.

LISAexits to her bedroom.KARLrises, crosses slowly to the sofa and almost collapses on to it.

KARL. My poor Anya.

There is a pause.LISAenters from her bedroom and comes into the room. She is tying an apron on as she enters, and goes to look out the window.

LISA. (casually) I met Helen on the stairs. She looked very strange. Went past me as though she didn’t see me. (She finishes her apron, turns and sees KARL) Karl, what has happened? (She crosses to him)

KARL. (quite simply) She killed Anya.

LISA. (startled) What!

KARL. She killed Anya. Anya asked for her medicine and that miserable child gave her an overdose deliberately.

LISA. But Anya’s fingerprints were on the glass.

KARL. Helen put them there after she was dead.

LISA. (a calm, matter-of-fact mind dealing with the situation) I see—she thought of everything.

KARL. I knew. I always knew that Anya wouldn’t have killed herself.

LISA. She’s in love with you, of course.

KARL. Yes, yes. But I never gave her any reason to believe that I cared for her. I didn’t, Lisa, I swear I didn’t.

LISA. I don’t suppose you did. She’s the type of girl who would assume that whatever she wanted must be so. (She moves to the armchair and sits)

KARL. My poor, brave Anya.

There is a long pause.

LISA. What are you going to do about it?

KARL. (surprised) Do?

LISA. Aren’t you going to report it to the police?

KARL. (startled) Tell the police?

LISA. (still calm) It’s murder, you know.

KARL. Yes, it was murder.

LISA. Well, you must report what she said to the police.

KARL. I can’t do that.

LISA. Why not? Do you condone murder?

KARLrises, paces upC, turns slowly toL, then crosses above the armchair toLof it.

KARL. But I can’t let that girl . . .

LISA. (restraining herself; calmly) We’ve come of our own accord, as refugees, to a country where we live under the protection of its laws. I think we should respect its law, no matter what our own feelings on the subject may be.

KARL. You seriously think I should go to the police?

LISA. Yes.

KARL. Why?

LISA. It seems to me pure common sense.

KARL. (sitting at the desk) Common sense! Common sense! Can one rule one’s life by common sense?