Gerald Jones was tickled pink to be chosen as a background actor for this TV procedural. He had always loved crime shows although, as he knew from personal experience, it was actually not a sure thing that criminals and murderers would be caught and prosecuted, it was actually a lot harder than that. But, the shows were fun and he was kind of giddy to be able to tell his grandkids that he would be on TV.
Gerald had been picked to be one of the members of the jury which meant a fair bit of filming even though he had no lines or really any direction. The jury members had been told to, essentially, just pay attention to who was talking. They were also told to act surprised when the criminal made a sudden confession, but they hadn't really been briefed on what it was.
He was also amused that the criminal was about his age and named was Gerard Johnson, which was similar to his. Maybe he could even try and tell his grandkids that he was staring in the show, but ultimately that would be a huge letdown because he was just a juror. Still, it was cool.
Once filming started, a few of the details started to pull at Gerald, it was almost like the creators knew something about him...something people weren't supposed to know about him. The criminal had walked in on his wife cheating with his brother and then the brother and wife had run away together...or so everyone had thought. Gerald told himself that he was being paranoid, surely they didn't know what Gerald had done.
The problem was, the prosecutor said, that the brother and wife had never been seen or heard from again. Gerald began to squirm in his seat, but the actor playing Gerard remained stone faced.
"What do you have to say to that, Mr. Johnson?" asked the prosecutor.
"I had no desire to see them again," replied Gerard coolly.
"So you admit that you wanted them dead?"
"I wanted them out of my life, as I think is very understandable."
"But you never sought them out after all of these years?"
"No."
"Not even for a divorce from your wife?"
Gerald was wondering if this could be some elaborate set up. Could the creators somehow know what he'd done all those years ago? He thought no one had figured it out.
"No."
"Didn't your son ever ask to see his mother?"
Gerald began to tremble. Now he knew they had to know something. His son had always asked what happened to his mother and uncle James, but Gerald had always held fast to the story that they'd run away together.
"He did."
"And you didn't find it odd that she never tried to contact him?"
"She had betrayed me and our family, so no, I did not."
"Can you explain then," began the prosecutor as he dramatically walked over to his table, "the cremains that were found just yesterday tangled in the roots of a tree in your garden?"
Gerald snapped. "How did you know about that? I didn't tell anyone! No one knows that I killed them! I even sent postcards from them spaced weeks apart! No one could have found those cremains!"
"Cut!" called a familiar voice. Gerald was horrified at what he'd just said, but that didn't compare to when he saw who the director was. Gerald's son came out from behind a camera. "Glad to finally hear you admit it, dad."
(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)
Gerald had been picked to be one of the members of the jury which meant a fair bit of filming even though he had no lines or really any direction. The jury members had been told to, essentially, just pay attention to who was talking. They were also told to act surprised when the criminal made a sudden confession, but they hadn't really been briefed on what it was.
He was also amused that the criminal was about his age and named was Gerard Johnson, which was similar to his. Maybe he could even try and tell his grandkids that he was staring in the show, but ultimately that would be a huge letdown because he was just a juror. Still, it was cool.
Once filming started, a few of the details started to pull at Gerald, it was almost like the creators knew something about him...something people weren't supposed to know about him. The criminal had walked in on his wife cheating with his brother and then the brother and wife had run away together...or so everyone had thought. Gerald told himself that he was being paranoid, surely they didn't know what Gerald had done.
The problem was, the prosecutor said, that the brother and wife had never been seen or heard from again. Gerald began to squirm in his seat, but the actor playing Gerard remained stone faced.
"What do you have to say to that, Mr. Johnson?" asked the prosecutor.
"I had no desire to see them again," replied Gerard coolly.
"So you admit that you wanted them dead?"
"I wanted them out of my life, as I think is very understandable."
"But you never sought them out after all of these years?"
"No."
"Not even for a divorce from your wife?"
Gerald was wondering if this could be some elaborate set up. Could the creators somehow know what he'd done all those years ago? He thought no one had figured it out.
"No."
"Didn't your son ever ask to see his mother?"
Gerald began to tremble. Now he knew they had to know something. His son had always asked what happened to his mother and uncle James, but Gerald had always held fast to the story that they'd run away together.
"He did."
"And you didn't find it odd that she never tried to contact him?"
"She had betrayed me and our family, so no, I did not."
"Can you explain then," began the prosecutor as he dramatically walked over to his table, "the cremains that were found just yesterday tangled in the roots of a tree in your garden?"
Gerald snapped. "How did you know about that? I didn't tell anyone! No one knows that I killed them! I even sent postcards from them spaced weeks apart! No one could have found those cremains!"
"Cut!" called a familiar voice. Gerald was horrified at what he'd just said, but that didn't compare to when he saw who the director was. Gerald's son came out from behind a camera. "Glad to finally hear you admit it, dad."
(Prompt by Kimisha Cassidy)
Comments
Post a Comment