August 14-15, 2001

Transcribed by Lee Reid.

Nora is lying on a blanket on the grass. A shadow falls over her. She opens her eyes, shielding them from the sun with her hand, and sees Troy, dripping wet in swim trunks, standing over her.

Troy: Hello, Nora.

Nora: No!

She reacts, gets up, tries to run away. He grabs her by the wrist and will not let go.

Troy: No, you're not going anywhere.

Nora: OK, if you don't let go of me in the next 3 seconds, you're going to be writhing in agony on the ground because I've taken advanced self defense.

Troy: (lets go) Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you.

Nora: You didn't? Oh, really, I wonder what it would have been like if you had meant to.

Troy: I was out of line. I'm sorry.

Nora: What are you doing up here anyway? And don't tell me you just happened to wander up here and came to the same spot by coincidence.

Troy: (smiling) Why not? That's all it was - just coincidence. I had to get out of Llanview. I had to clear my head.

Nora: So what did you do, follow me up here?

Troy: (drying off) Of course I didn't follow you up here. I went for a drive. I saw the lake and decided to take a swim. It's not exactly the mountains of Kenya but it - it's very beautiful up here. (sees her looking at his neckwear) Oh, my talisman. Yeah. It was actually carved out of the wood on an African tree that grows on the slopes of Mt. Kenya.

Nora: Why did you grab me?

Troy: Because you were running away. Look, Nora, you can't imagine what it's like to have complete strangers look at you like you're a common criminal.

Nora: Well, springing yourself on us that way wasn't exactly a way to inspire trust.

Troy: Fair enough. But I've also had a few surprises sprung on me. I have a whole lot of questions, Nora.

Nora: Such as?

Troy: Why did you kill my brother?

Nora: Well, that's a conversation stopper. Look, um, uh...

Troy: Troy.

Nora: Troy.

Troy: My name is Troy

Nora: Right. You have absolutely no idea what happened between your brother and me.

Troy: You're right, Nora. I don't. That's why I'm asking you. I want to know how my brother died.

Nora: Well, it's a matter of public record. You could go down to the courthouse or read it in any newspaper.

Troy: I already know the bare facts, Nora. Now I want to understand them.

Nora: You came to the wrong person.

Troy: I don't know about that. You see, from the moment we first met, I had a feeling that you were the only one who could make sense out of this for me.

Nora: I'm still trying to make sense out of it for me! Why don't you go ask all his other victims? That could give you a well rounded picture of your brother.

Troy: I already have.

Nora: Well, not all of them, I'll wager.

Troy: Uh - maybe not.

Nora: Whatever he used to be, he became a very sick man, Troy - a menace to society.

Troy: Yet no one seems to fault his skills as a physician.

Nora: No, he was a very good doctor.

Troy: You see, even you say so despite his being a "menace to society."

Nora: He pulled me out of a wrecked train just before it exploded. He saved my life.

Troy: Then he kidnapped you.

Nora: You have been doing some reading, haven't you?

Troy: So, why did he do it?

Nora: I don't know. I wish to God I did.

Troy: Right. Because he gave you drugs to wipe out your memory of the kidnapping.

Nora: Actually, he always claimed he wasn't the one that gave me that drug.

Troy: Really? Who did?

Nora: Since I don't have proof, I'd rather not say.

Troy: And then he was able to somehow avoid prosecution and apparently he blackmailed most of Llanview, according to some people.

Nora: Yes. And then he kidnapped me again.

Troy: Which is when he was killed.

Nora: Yes.

Troy: And then because he was so popular, people just lined up so they could confess to having stricken the first blow.

Nora: And now you have a complete picture. Anything else you need to know?

Troy: Yeah. I want to know why. I want to understand why it happened. He was my brother, Nora, my twin brother, and although we hadn't been close for a long time for a lot of reasons, he was still my brother.

Nora: OK, if he had lived, would you have anything to do with him again?

Troy: I don't know, Nora, I mean I don't have any illusions about who or what Colin was but still I can't just walk away.

Nora: You've come to the wrong place to look for answers.

Troy: Maybe. I mean, you certainly don't owe me any explanations, Nora. But I'm asking anyway. Please. Will you help me?

Nora: I don't know where to begin.

Troy: Why don't you start with when you first met?

Nora: Well that is the "no man's land" part of my brain. I know he pulled me from a train wreck just before the car exploded. I know he saved my life.

Troy: Now, is that what he told you or -

Nora: Well, yes, but it was confirmed by other people and there are moments when I actually have feelings that it is true. Anyway, it's kind of ironic, huh? He saves my life, I take his.

Troy: Yeah, I suppose so.

Nora: Anyway, he nursed me back to health. He taught me to walk again. I don't know how or why he went over the edge. All I know is that he did.

Troy: Let me ask you this: who else knew that he saved you?

Nora: Oh, nobody. No one. Everyone thought I was dead. They all thought that I'd been blown to smithereens in the train wreck.

Troy: And Colin let them think that.

Nora: Oh, yes, he did. Everyone. My children. My family. He kept me prisoner for months in his house. Months. Away from everyone. My family. My children. My home. My work. My life. For months.

Troy: You see, that's what I don't understand Nora. Why did he do it?

Nora: The only thing everyone seems to agree on is that some time, at some point during this whole madcap adventure, he became obsessed with me.

Troy: And did he finally let you go?

Nora: No. No. I actually was "rescued" by someone who's only slightly less insane than Colin, if you can believe it or not. But I did get home. No memory of having given birth to my child, no memory of having that child, no memory of a divorce from my husband, but I was home and alive.

Troy: And Colin got away with it.

Nora: Well, I don't know if you can count getting killed.

Troy: Well, yeah, but that wasn't for quite a while after.

Nora: You're right. In the meantime, his obsession grew worse to the point where I don't think the shrine he built in the wardrobe in his bedroom would do it for him enough so…

Troy: Which is when he kidnapped you again.

Nora: Yeah and shot me full of a whole bunch of customized date rape drugs. The plan, I believe, was to rape me. (sighs)

Troy: Look, look, I'm sorry. Please, Nora, you don't have to go on.

Nora: Yeah. I do. Because you're right. You deserve to know. Before he could finish what he started, all his irate fans seemed to come knocking on his door and he had to go downstairs and deal with them. He kept trying to get rid of them so he could come back upstairs to me.

Troy: And they didn't know you were upstairs.

Nora: Oh no, of course not. They had no idea and I was too weak from the drugs to call out. I, I, I don't, I don't even know how I managed to get out of the bed and to the landing but I did. And that's when he was coming up the stairs and I got scared and I pushed him. It's just the whole thing happened so fast. The next thing I knew he was lying at the bottom of the stairs and I passed out and I didn't remember that he was dead and well, I didn't remember anything when I came to. So there it is.

Troy: There it is.

Nora: You have the whole story of how I killed your brother. (sighs) I hope you don't expect me to apologize for what I did.

Troy: I don't know what I expected but it certainly wasn't that.

Nora: I hate what I did. I hate what I did but, given the same set of circumstances, I would do it again in a second.

Troy: Yeah, well, if anything, I should apologize for what my brother did to you.

Nora: It's not necessary. You're not your brother's keeper.

Troy: That's true. But, even so, I am still very sorry for what Colin did to you.

Nora: Thank you. (Camera angle widens, revealing Sam standing behind them, glaring at Troy.)

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