The Boys From Houston Heights by Brad Nies
PROLOGUE
A dark stage
A spotlight reveals MAN #1
He and the other men in the scene are dressed as working-class Joes
from the early 1970s
MAN #1: When Jeff's family found out what happened to him, they
couldn't believe it. He was just a kid starting college in a year.
He was supposed to live forever.
A spotlight reveals MAN #2
MAN #2: Danny's family couldn't understand why this had to
happen. He didn't do anything to anybody. Whose fault was it? Was
it God's?
A spotlight reveals MAN #3
MAN #3: Jerry's parents found themselves wishing this had happened
to someone else's kid. Remembering Jerry was easy for them. It was
missing him that was hard.
A spotlight reveals MAN #4
MAN #4: Each morning, David's family got up knowing they'd hear
something. But when they went to bed that night, they had no more
answers than they did that morning.
A spotlight reveals MAN #5
MAN #5: Maybe Greg's mom and dad will see him again someday. In
another world. Who knows?
All five spotlights snap off
THE BOYS FROM HOUSTON HEIGHTS
ACT I
In the darkness the end of an early 1970s song is heard
Dim, blue lights illuminate the silhouette of someone, probably a man,
slouching in a chair and facing out front to the audience
As the song ends, the offstage voice of a RADIO NEWS REPORTER takes
over
REPORTER: Good afternoon, Houston. We are here today with a
gentleman who has asked us to refer to him as 'Lucky.' He is the
former friend of Dean Arnold Corll, the Houston Lighting and Power
Company electrician who is claimed to be responsible for what many
here in Houston are calling the worst and most bizarre murder spree in
U.S. history. As many already know, Corll was shot and killed in his
home earlier this month by an accomplice who aided him in the murders
of 27 teenage boys from Houston Heights. Police say that their
continued investigation may yield more unfortunate victims. Lucky,
welcome to the KAUM-FM studios.
The lights rise to reveal LUCKY, an attractive and streetwise young
man
He is in his mid-twenties, but could easily pass for younger
He looks out into the audience as he speaks
LUCKY: Yeah. Thanks.
REPORTER: Now, I know this is a very sensitive subject for you, so
I'm going to be as delicate as possible. Alright?
LUCKY: Sure.
REPORTER: This story has certainly taken Houston by storm over the
past few weeks. It's even surpassed the recent rampage shootings in
Willow Meadows last April that left three dead and several other
wounded.
LUCKY: Yeah. Dean's story's pretty big.
REPORTER: And I think our listeners would like to know more about
Dean Arnold Corll. The story of his murder and the murders he is
allegedly responsible for has been all over the news, but we haven't
seen the personal side of this man.
LUCKY: Okay. So, whataya wanna know?
REPORTER: First of all, he went by the name Dean, didn't he?
LUCKY: Yeah. He didn't like anyone using his middle name. Arnold
was his father's name, and he had issues about people calling him
that.
REPORTER: And how long were the two of you friends?
LUCKY: 'Bout two years.
REPORTER: And how did the two of you meet?
LUCKY: Dean's mom owned a candy store that moved in down the street
from us. Dean had an apartment up over the store, and I'd usually
see him in the street on my way to work. He liked to give out free
candy to the kids in the neighborhood.
A light reveals DEAN standing in an upstage playing area
He is frozen through the following
REPORTER: You said "us." Who do mean by that?
LUCKY: I mean me, my mom, and my little brother. We lived on West
22nd.
REPORTER: And this was in The Heights, right?
LUCKY: Yeah. Close to Helms Elementary School.
REPORTER: Dean's store was across the street from that school,
wasn't it?
LUCKY: (nodding) Directly across the street.
REPORTER: With access to a lot of pre-teenaged boys, I suppose?
LUCKY: That's right.
REPORTER: Do you think that was by coincidence?
LUCKY: Looking back on it, I don't think so. He may have talked
his mom into moving to that location.
REPORTER: What year did the candy store move to West 22nd, Lucky?
LUCKY: In '65.
REPORTER: What time of year?
LUCKY: Around mid-June.
REPORTER: And is that when you got to know Dean?
LUCKY: No, I didn't really get to know him 'til about a month
later.
REPORTER: How old were you?
LUCKY: Almost eighteen.
REPORTER: Lucky, to your knowledge, was Dean murdering young boys
prior to 1970?
LUCKY: Yeah, I'm afraid he was. (quickly) Now, understand I
didn't know about it 'til a couple of years after I met him, but
the newspapers are wrong in saying that Dean only murdered boys
between 1970 and 1973. I'm here to tell ya that they'll probably
find more than 27 of Dean's boys buried around Houston.
REPORTER: Tell us, Lucky, what was Dean like?
LUCKY: Nice. Real nice. Polite and quite. He took a real interest
in me, ya know? Kinda Like a big brother. But I didn't realize
what he was 'til later on.
DEAN unfreezes
DEAN: (to Lucky. Part of Lucky's memory) Lucky! Hey, Lucky!
REPORTER: And what was Dean Corll, Lucky?
LUCKY: I think everybody knows by now what Dean Corll was. Dean
Corll was a monster.
The lights alter in the acting area as Lucky stands up from his chair
We are on a street in Houston Heights in July of 1965
Although Dean is 26 years old, he acts as if he is closer to Lucky's
age
Lucky is almost 18 years old and a little more naïve than he is
during the radio interview
If possible, sound effects of a city street are heard: occasional
cars passing by, dogs barking, etc.
DEAN: Hey, Lucky! Wait up!
LUCKY: (in the playing area. Turning to Dean) Oh. Hi, Mr. Corll.
DEAN: What-say, Lucky?
LUCKY: (looking down and smiling a bit. Amused by Dean's attempt
at being hip) What-say, Mr. Corll?
DEAN: (reaching into a pocket) Want some candy?
LUCKY: Candy, huh?
DEAN: (holding a few pieces in his hand) It's the best you'll
find in Houston.
LUCKY: Don't you usually save that line for the kids that play
outside your store?
DEAN: Hey, that line is why they call me The Candy Man 'round
here.
LUCKY: Yeah, I've also heard 'em call you The Pied Piper.
DEAN: Candy Man, Pied Piper, it all the same. Kids love me. So, do
you want the candy, or what?
LUCKY: Is it from your store?
DEAN: Where else?
LUCKY: Alright.
Lucky reaches for a piece of candy, but Dean closes his hand
DEAN: One condition, though.
LUCKY: What's that?
DEAN: You call me Dean like I told you to before.
LUCKY: Oh, yeah. Right on
DEAN: Mr. Corll was my father
LUCKY: that's cool.
DEAN: an' I don't wanna be anything like my father.
LUCKY: Why's that?
DEAN: A topic for later.
LUCKY: Oh. I understand.
A beat while Dean opens his hand again and Lucky takes a piece of
candy
DEAN: (referring to the candy) Take it all, Lucky.
LUCKY: (busily unwrapping his piece of candy) For real?
DEAN: Yeah. It's all for you.
LUCKY: (taking the rest of the candy) Groovy. (he pops the unwrapped
piece of candy into his mouth. Pocketing the other pieces) Mmm.
It's good. I like pecans in my candy.
DEAN: I'm glad to hear that. That's what we're known for, you
know. Pecans in our candy. (beat. As Lucky swallows the candy) So,
where you headed?
LUCKY: To work.
DEAN: Which job?
LUCKY: The diner.
DEAN: The one on Yale?
LUCKY: Yep.
DEAN: Mind if I walk with? It's not safe walking around this city
by yourself, you know.
LUCKY: (Dean has to be kidding) Whataya mean?
DEAN: They're crazies everywhere, boy. Don't you know that?
LUCKY: Not 'til now.
DEAN: You heard 'bout what happened in Montrose last month,
didn't you?
LUCKY: No.
DEAN: An elderly couple was murdered. Cut up and stuffed in their
own refrigerator. Butchered like a couple of animals.
LUCKY: No way!
DEAN: They found 'em right after Father's Day.
LUCKY: Do they know who did it?
DEAN: Nah. Police think it's a weird son of theirs, but they
can't find him anywhere. The whole thing's a mystery.
LUCKY: Wow! Crazy world, huh?
DEAN: (agreeing) Yep. Crazy world.
The two begin walking in place facing the audience as if they are
walking down a street
After a beat, Dean speaks
DEAN: How's your mom?
LUCKY: (sourly) Same as usual. Drunk. Sleeping off a hangover right
now.
DEAN: Sorry to hear that.
LUCKY: (shrugging it off) I'm used to it. She's been like that
ever since Robby was born.
DEAN: How is little Robby these days?
LUCKY: Doing alright. He's really good at keeping things up around
the house.
DEAN: Quite a job for a little boy. He can't be more than nine or
ten, can he?
LUCKY: He's twelve.
DEAN: (interested) Twelve years old, huh?
LUCKY: Yeah, but Robby's different than your average twelve
year-old.
DEAN: Whataya mean?
LUCKY: Well, he doesn't run around like a stupid kid. Like most
kids his age do. He's smarter than that, ya know?
DEAN: You really do care about him, don't you, Lucky?
LUCKY: No one else does. My dad left right after he was born, and my
mom's doing good to get up by four in the afternoon these days.
DEAN: Wow. That's heavy.
LUCKY: So, I bring in the money, and Robby takes care of things
around the house after getting home from school.
DEAN: Is that why you didn't finish school and you work three
different jobs? To take care of your family?
LUCKY: Yeah. But having three jobs sure takes a lot outta ya. I
mean, what with all the shit my bosses want me to do. (realizing
he's used profanity) Oh, man! I'm sorry, Mr. Corll. I didn't
mean to cuss.
DEAN: (calming) It's alright, Lucky. I don't mind if you cuss in
front of me. For real. It's cool.
LUCKY: Okay. But I am sorry, though.
DEAN: (calming, still) No problem. Look, Lucky, I don't want you
to think of me as an adult. You dig? I want you to think of me as a
friend. Maybe even like an older brother.
LUCKY: Oh.
DEAN: You think you can do that?
LUCKY: Oh, sure. Yeah.
DEAN: Good. Because I really want to be your friend. Not some
stupid authority figure.
LUCKY: Sure. (seeing the diner ahead) Well, there's my stop.
Thanks for the candy, Mr.(stopping and correcting himself)Dean.
DEAN: Sure. (Lucky starts to leave, but Dean stops him) Oh, and
Lucky?
LUCKY: (turning back to Dean) Yeah?
DEAN: Maybe you can do something for me one day. Huh?
LUCKY: Sure. Whatever ya want.
Dean turns and exits upstage into the darkness as Lucky returns to his
chair
The lights alter back to the radio interview
Sound effects out