INT. BAR. DAY.
OLD-SCHOOL DETECTIVE (DRAKE) WITH FEDORA HAT AND CIGARETTE IN HAND IS QUESTIONING A DISHEVELED-LOOKING MAN (BARNEY) WITH TOUSLED HAIR AND TATTERED SHIRT.
DRAKE (WEARILY):
Alright, let's go through this one more time; What time did you arrive at the bar?
BARNEY:
I'd always have my lunch here during the week and I remember how I found it unusual that it was already freezing at that time of day.
DRAKE:
And that time of day was...?
BARNEY:
Freezing.
DRAKE:
And what time were the clocks?
BARNEY:
Oh, the clocks must have been five past one if they were a day.
DRAKE:
So what happened then?
BARNEY:
I ordered my usual tea and goose sandwiches, took a seat here at the window and started drinking and biting and eating the stuff I'd just bought.
DRAKE:
Still relatively normal.
BARNEY:
Then a blue sedan pulled up at the corner of Morton's chemist and a man got out with a tea cosy on his head. I watched him throw a load of apples into the clock tower and then speed away.
DRAKE:
No longer normal. Did you notice anything strange about the car?
BARNEY:
Not when it was pulled up but when it was in motion it looked like there was a rabbit in the back seat eating a cornetto.
DRAKE:
Highly odd now.
BARNEY:
Exactly! Who eats an ice-cream in sub-zero temperatures!?
DRAKE SIGHS HEAVILY.
DRAKE:
Let's skip forward shall we. Tell me about the actual-
BARNEY (LOUDLY):
After the rabbit my attention was quickly drawn back inside as I could hear an argument taking place in the kitchen.
DRAKE:
Oh yes?
BARNEY:
Yes. The lady kept repeating something about the dust of smoke, the dust of smoke and the chef was giving out about how someone had accidentally eaten a nest.
DRAKE (EXASPERATED):
(whispers) Jesus Christ! (normal tone) And then...?
BARNEY:
Then I looked back out the frosted window and I could have sworn I saw a horse drinking pigeon shit out of a straw.
DRAKE SLAMS THE TABLE.
DRAKE (ANGRY):
What's the point!? Can you tell me that? What's the bloody point!? With you dust of smoke, apples in clocks and pigeon shit. What am I supposed to do with that!!?
HE IS INTERRUPTED BY BARNEY SNEEZING EIGHT TIMES.
DRAKE (REVELATION)
Wait a second. You don't sound too great yourself. Maybe you were out in the cold last night; just as the incident occurred perhaps?
BARNEY:
No. I had a bit of a sneezing fit last night and when I woke up this morning my nose was gone to shit.
DRAKE:
Your hair too, it looks very much askew. Like you were maybe up half the night?
BARNEY SPRINGS TO HIS FEET DEEPLY INSULTED.
BARNEY (INSULTED):
I am entitled to have whatever hair I have on my own head please!
DRAKE:
Alright, alright, cool your jets....Jesus, you're after spilling hot coffee all over my hands with the force of that jump and you don't see me prancing around...sit down and we'll get to the crux of the case.
BARNEY:
I most certainly will not!! I'm heading straight to Harry Bjerken's salon for a cut, trim, blowdry, wash, towel dry, wet trim, highlights, lowlights, relaxed, straightened and curled in that order and it's all because of you!
DRAKE:
Go then you absolute cretin! You just wasted my whole morning. The worst person I've ever questioned, by a huge margin. Nothing makes any sense with you with your goose sandwiches and eating nests, not to mention your horrible hair of course.
BARNEY WHIMPERS AND RUNS OUT THE DOOR.
DRAKE SIDLES UP TO THE COUNTER.
DRAKE:
Coffee and a sandwich.
ATTENDANT:
What kind of sandwich would you like; goose or nest?
DRAKE:
Jesus Christ! Nevermind, just give me something to cool down my hands.
ATTENDANT:
I'm afraid we did have some cornetto's in the freezer but the rabbits have eaten the last of them.
DRAKE (REALISATION):
He was telling the truth....Oh Jesus! Barney wait!!
DRAKE HASTILY RUNS FOR THE DOOR.
END.