Theme: The decisions people make in their sexual lives is a matter of choice. (1 Thess. 4:1-8)

Characters: 1 male and 2 females
Length: 4 – 5 minutes
Set/Props: An office with desk and chair, phone, coat rack, small table and coffee pot, and a client seat.

Synopsis: In this 50’s style, movie classic that features all voice-over narration, a small time private eye is hired by a classy lady who suspects her husband of cheating on her. He muses on the decisions people make and how those choices ruin lives. Then he leaves for the day with his own sweetheart.

Excerpt:
(Frank enters with a slow, tired trudge. He’s wears an overcoat, a hat and carries a camera. He pauses to lift his hat with a tired, drawn expression.)

Frank: (voice-over) The name is Merit. Frank Merit. Private Eye.
(SFX: Melancholy music for emphasis)

(Frank slowly removes his coat and hat and hangs them on the rack. Then he looks through the mail on his desk.)

Frank: (voice-over) In my line of work, I’m different things. Part cop… part counselor…part canine. And right now I was dog tired. Of course the job always boils down to the same thing…finding the truth. Unfortunately, it’s often the last thing people want to hear. And delivering bad news is the worst part of the job. That’s when I take on the role of a prophet…sharing revelations.

(Frank pours himself a cup of coffee.)

Frank: (voice-over) It had been another long day in the world of kept secrets. Choking down exhaust fumes while camped out in parking garages, creeping along cold, damp alleys and squatting in hedgerows. Really left me feeling bushed. It was the kind of day that made my head spin, my bones ache, and my stomach knot up like it was full of lead. Or it might have been those five burritos from Taco Bell. On the bright side, I did rescue the widow Smith’s poodle who had accidentally wandered off. The way her face lit up when I handed over little Duchess was the highlight of my day.

(Frank gets out a deck of cards and starts a game of solitaire.)

Frank: I had one more appointment left and a few minutes to unwind so I relaxed with a quiet game. Yeah, I was quite a card shark in my day. But it had been a long time.

(Frank tries to shuffle the cards and they fly everywhere.)

Frank: (voice-over) Too long. (SFX: Knocking on the door) The knock on the door was tentative…almost a question mark. It was a Dame.