Conversation · Titus Hardie

Another apocalyptic actor in town?

This is their last play -- this tape. Their story is in tatters, a mess. It might be nice to listen to -- but at this point, you don't need to.

The room is so quiet you could hear a pin drop. The rest of the cafeteria has gone quiet too.

"Goddamnit..." He clenches his fists. "I show you all kinds of kindness, let you snoop around in my town -- and then I ask you one thing..."

His hands become fists.

"And what do you do? You go and push her anyway!" Something breaks in him. He takes a step closer. "I am going to... fucking..."

"Crazy? What are you talking about? She was very lucid."

"She wasn't raped." The lieutenant's voice is beginning to betray his agitation. "The witness' statements were very clear."

"Goddamnit... you fucking questioned her, didn't you? I told you not to push her! I fucking told you!"

"Cut the bullshit. She told me the truth."

You've hit a nerve. Titus is furious -- no, more than that -- the loyal Titus feels betrayed.

"I found eight sets of footprints, but there's only seven of you. Where is the eighth Hardie boy?"

Scan the room.

Starting from the right: Boot size 44. Blond man in his thirties. Overbearingly masculine.

Wants the world to know he's a macho-macho man: tobacco-chewing and knuckle-cracking. Who else do we have here?

"No-no-no," he points at himself, "eyes here! You got business with my boys, you got business with me."

He understood what you were doing. Taking inventory of them.

Now watch the other guys fuck it up by falling out of line.

The boys are too eager to please him to keep their mouths shut. You're gonna get a good head count here, just wait...

Take an aggressive step closer.

The room is silent. The leader does not flinch.

Get further in there. Escalate.

Tilt your head from side to side, cracking your neck.

"What the fuck is this?" He gets up in your face. "You wanna fuck with me?!"

Shift your centre of balance from one leg to another.

His eyes narrow. His right hand starts tapping a quick little rhythm on his thigh: tap tap tap.

This guy's tough... get the eye-twitch going. You need to look scary.

Engage eye-twitch.

What do you think you're doing? you hear, but his mouth isn't moving. It's the tension in his shoulders speaking.

What are you doing?

I can do this all night long, his clenched fists say, their knuckles turning white. I'm young. You're fifty thousand years old.

Do not explain or defend yourself, attack.

At my age you will be dead, you're impulsive. You'll get in a fight you won't win.

"Probably," the scars on his arms say. "I need to be like this to lead them -- something you would understand."

The moment ends. With begrudging respect the man leans back. Time to say something.

With all the abuse I've taken I'm still walking, talking and ready to get into this fight.

'No, you're not. You're frail and your nerves are frayed. Old sadness weighs you down.' He refuses to budge.

You failed here -- a weakness is a weakness, not a strength. Time to speak now. With words.

In that time I have killed. More than once. I can feel it in me. The ugly.

Good, the twitch in his eye replies. I've beaten a man so hard he doesn't move. Or maybe I kept his head underwater? Hard to say which, but you can feel the ugly in me too.

Neither one of us will ever get it off completely.

With begrudging respect he leans back. The room around you is silent. Time to speak now. With words.

Open and close your fists.

He hunches forward. His right hand starts tapping a quick little rhythm on his thigh: tap tap tap.

De-escalate.

"What are you looking at, copper?" He cracks his neck.

"I found someone who saw the hanging. A witness."

"The man hanged in the backyard -- did you do it?"

"I just found a bullet -- in the hanged man's head."

"There's an old catatonic lady in the old fish market, on the other side of the bay. She needs help."

Present a solid theory about why Ruby could've done it.

"Titus, let's go over the night of the murder again."

He frowns, but then gives you a quick nod. "Alright."

"Hey, about that complex operation out of Rubys lorry -- I think that's tied to another case I'm working."

"Nope." That's all he says. He doesn't even do anything.

"Next question."

"Let's go over the rape victim again."

"Again? Seriously, man..." He shakes his head. "Fine, fire away."

Convince Titus he is being manipulated.

"It's you again..." He acknowledges you gruffly. "What is it?"