Jason Robert Brown

NEWT LEE, a dignified black man of 50 or so, appears. His hands and feet are chained.

NEWT LEE
I am tryin’ to remember…
I was checkin’ roun’ the fact’ry,
And I went into the basement,
Down the stairs into the basement
And I shine my light around here,
In the corners and the ceiling,
And I’m ’bout to check the washroom
When the light, it kinda catches
On this pile of rags in the middle of the room…

Lights come up on the factory basement and we see the body covered with a dirty cloth.

LEO
(trembling, nearly fainting)
Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!

DETECTIVE STARNES
Do you know who this is, Mr. Frank?

LEO
Oh God! It’s the little girl I paid yesterday.  She came up to my office.

NEWT
I ain’t seen no pile o’ rags there before,
So I go over and I kick it,
And I shine down my light and Lord,
Lord, ain’t no pile of rags at all…

LEO
Who did it? Do you know who did it yet?

No response from the detectives.

NEWT
This small white body
With her tongue stickin’ out,
This pretty little child
With her eyes wide open…

LEO
Oh no.  You don’t think it was my night watchman.
(No answer.)
Newt? Newt Lee? You think it was Newt?
(Silence.)

NEWT
So I ran to the phone
And I called Mr. Frank,
But the phone kep’ ringin’,
So I called y’all to help me –
Mr. Frank, he didn’t answer…
And that’s all I can remember.