The Further Inquiry
continued...

Bus film begins to move on KEM as Jane rises from pews and comes to the witness stand. She towers over Chest as she strides past him.

BAILIFF
How would you be called?

JANE
(very hoarsely)
Jane Burton

CHEST
Is that Miss, or Mrs.?

JANE
Ms.

CHEST
Ms. Burton, you seem to have a very small voice for someone of your stature.

JANE
Heavy drinker and smoker.

CHEST
Could the court have the benefit of some amplification, please?

An attendant switches on a goosenecked mike. He bends it uncomfortably close to Jane's mouth

A professor of philosophy? On a pleasure cruise to New York?

JANE
One of those Stanfordites, yes. And I can tell you right now it was the exact opposite of a pleasure palace.

CHEST
Good. Do tell us a little about the lifestyle on this bus.

JANE
There was no lifestyle. Eating happened by accident. If you slept it was because you were lucky. You gotta realize I became especially cranky and uncomfortable because I was pregnant.

CHEST
Well, describe a little what the feelings were with these people.

JANE
Nobody was mad at each other. It's just that everything was always fouled up, all the time.

CHEST
What do you mean?

JANE
Well, the bus didn't run too good and we got lost all the time and all the equipment broke down. We had all the money in a plastic bag and I think a bunch of it got lost. We had all the acid in the lemonade jar and somebody guzzled half of it.

CHEST
Who was that?

JANE
That was what's her name . . . Kathy . . . Stark . . . who went crazy.

CHEST
Kathy . . . Stark . . . who went crazy?

JANE
Right.

CHEST
You're referring to lysergic acid diethylamide, I presume.

JANE
Oh yes, yes, Mr. Chest. Number 25.

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