Exterior shot of Wentworth at nighttime

The rec room.

Mandy and Ailsa are giggling away noisily in a corner

Mandy - Poor Brumby eh gran, this time tomorrow she'll be dead.

Ailsa chuckles

Ailsa - I reckon by 9 am at the latest

Mandy - Yeah, poor bitch, time sure is running out for her

Bea and Cheryl are sitting watching a news report on TV

Newsreader - Reports are coming in that Ruth Ballinger, who this station reported earlier today had won her appeal, has this evening been found dead. It is believed she was murdered by a known associate Dale King

Bea looks delighted, she glances at Cheryl and grins......

8 HOURS EARLIER.....

The women are crowded around the rec room tv watching intently

Newsreader - News just in, in the last few minutes Ruth Ballinger, the high profile wife of notorious crime boss Arnie Ballinger has reported to have won her appeal. We cross over now live to the scene outside the court where one of our reporters is waiting for Mrs Ballinger to come out

The screen switches to a news reporter standing outside the court

Newsreader - Has Mrs Ballinger emerged from the court yet?

News reporter - Not yet no, I do however have detective inspector Grace from Wentworth Police here, he is willing to answer a few questions...

Colleen comes back into reception with Kath, Bob, and Christine

Colleen - I must ask you both to sign out now

Bob - We will come and see you again soon Kath I promise

Kath nods and smiles at Bob

Bob and Christine turn away to sign out as Jim enters the reception

Jim - Where has Janice got to Colleen, I can't find her anywhere?

Colleen shrugs

Colleen - She left In a hurry saying she had some urgent business to attend to

Jim looks annoyed

Jim - Nice of her to tell me wasn't it, I'm only deputy governor after all

Colleen - Yes well I'll take Maxwell through now, can you see her visitors out please Jim

Jim - Yes no problem

Colleen leaves reception with Kath. Jim turns to Bob and Christine and looks stunned

Jim - Bob?

Bob also looks stunned

Bob - Jim you old son of a gun fancy seeing you here!

Jim - I work here, deputy governor no less

Bob turns to Christine

Bob - This is Jim Fletcher, we knew each other in Nam

Christine - It's always nice to meet old friends again isn't it

Jim - Sure is, Nam wasn't a happy experience for any of us but one positive thing we took out of it was the close bonds we formed with each other

Christine - I must be off now I'll leave you two to catch up

Bob - Yes thanks Christine, I'll call you later. Do you think we have a good case for helping her?

Christine - Yes I do Bob, a very good case

Christine leaves and Jim and Bob are alone

Jim - I'm due on a lunch break soon we should go for a pint

Bob - Yes I'd like that

Jim - What brings you here today anyway?

Bob - I came to visit Kath Maxwell

Jim looks surprised

Back in the rec room, the women are watching the interview with Grace

News reporter - You surely cannot deny that Ballinger has been involved in many shady dealings with some very shady people? She has been involved in some very high-profile crimes such as the Wentworth siege a few years ago in which several people died?

Grace - In the end, there was very little evidence to back up her involvement in any of it, rather more it seems her husband was behind it all and she was merely an innocent victim who got caught up in it

News reporter - Come on now, you surely don't expect the public to buy this do you? That Ballinger is totally innocent?

Grace - That is what the court has decided, it is not for any of us to question this

Suddenly there is a lot of noise and excitement. The news reporter turns away from Grace to look

News reporter - It appears Mrs Ballinger is now coming out of court

The news reporter rushes over

News reporter - Mrs Ballinger!Mrs Ballinger! Can you spare us a few moments of your time?

Ruth - Certainly, I am in no great rush, I just ordered a taxi and I have to wait for it to arrive, I am more than happy to answer a few of your questions

News reporter - How does it feel to have got off?

Ruth smiles sweetly

Ruth - Got off? What a peculiar turn of phrase...I did not get off as you choose to put it. The truth finally came out about my complete and total innocence

News reporter - Can you tell us anything about your time in prison Mrs Ballinger?

Ruth - Certainly...it was hell, absolute hell. Prison is torture for innocent women such as myself, trapped in there with all those vile, violent criminals. I didn't belong there with that pile of scum, they made my life pure hell. I tell you there were nights I simply cried myself to sleep

A bitter angry-looking Bea gets up and switches the TV set off

Bea - It's time we got back to the laundry before we have the screws down on us

Cheryl - Yeah I reckon I've heard enough of that

Bea - So have i

Looking angry and downbeat the women move off out of the rec room

Outside court Ruth is making her way to her taxi as a frail, fragile-looking woman runs up. The woman is shaking

The woman - Want to know who I am Ballinger?

Ruth - Get out of my way, I have a taxi waiting

The woman - My name is Deirdre Kennedy and my daughter was Claire Kennedy, does the name mean anything to you?

Ruth - No why should it?

Deirdre - Claire was 11 years old when she ran away from home to live on the streets. 11 years old when you lured her into drugs, prostitution, and child pornography. She was 13 when her body was found abandoned like some old pile of rubbish

Ruth - My dear I had nothing to do with it

Deirdre - That wasn't what the evidence said at the time, you were linked into it

Ruth - The evidence was wrong as today has proved

Deirdre - Today was a total farce!

Ruth's taxi drives away

Ruth - HEY STOP!!

Ruth turns to Deirdre

Ruth - You stupid old bag, look what you've done!

Deirdre - Just tell me now, there are no cameras on you anymore, no one can hear us, it's just the two of us, just tell me the truth.

Ruth glances around, no one else is in earshot

Ruth - Of course, I remember Claire darling, she was a right little slut, made me lots of money...until she became too reliant on drugs, too much of a pathetic sniveling wreck. that's when I got shot of her

Deirdre looks like a broken woman

Deirdre - She was my only child, all I had in this world. Now I have nothing you took her from me. She had her whole life ahead of her

Ruth - My dear woman don't try and make out that everything was perfect before she met me, we both know it wasn't. If it had been she would never have run away, would she?

Deirdre - Sure we had problems, I can not deny that but we would have fixed them somehow....but you murdered her, my beautiful child.

Ruth - Well now you know the truth, is there anything else you want to say? I would rather you didn't I do have things to be pressing on with

Deirdre looks shocked

Deirdre - You don't even care do you?

Ruth -No, any reason why I should?.....and now if you'll excuse me I have to try and get another taxi since you so inconveniently made me miss the one I booked

Ruth walks away from a heartbroken Deirdre

Richard Moss approaches Ruth

Richard - Arnie will be in touch about the divorce

Ruth - That's good Moss because I intend to take him for every penny he has, you can tell him that

Janice walks past and comes face to face with Grace

Ruth - Good work inspector

Grace - You scratch my back, I scratch yours, that's the way it works right?

Ruth - Right... I'll be in touch

Ruth smugly strolls on past where she finds Janice getting quietly into her car

Ian rushes up

Ian - Jan are you ok? You looked pretty wound up in there? Jan?

Janice (dismissive) - Leave me alone Ian, I'll talk to you later ok

Ruth - Going quietly I see Raymond? It's the best way to do it, accepting I have won with a bit of dignity

Janice ignores her, quietly shuts her car door, and drives away

Ruth and Ian stand to watch her go

Ian - I suppose I should congratulate you on your victory today

Ruth - Thank you Henderson

Ian - I wouldn't mind working with you again now you're on the outside. I like being on the winning team which is clearly you and I like making money

Ruth looks at him with disdain

Ruth - Frankly Henderson I hope I never see you again, you aren't even fit to lick the shit off my boots boy, now run along back to Wentworth

Ian stares angrily at a smirking Ruth, he is about to say something but changes his mind. With an angry shake of the head, he stomps off

As Ruth stands to watch him go a large truck comes hurtling along. Deirdre is standing on the pavement apparently in some kind of trance. Ruth looks at her and smirks

Deirdre steps out in front of the truck as if in a daydream

The truck can't stop in time and hits her at full force, sending a spray of blood everywhere. witnesses stand watching looking stunned.

As Ruth watches on a taxi slowly drives past, Ruth hails it and gets inside

The driver is a woman wearing sunglasses

Ruth - Take me to the Grand Plaza hotel, central Melbourne

The taxi pulls away

Ian, Richard Moss, Grace, the news reporter, and various other people who are still mooching around rush over to where Deirdre's body is lying in the middle of the road

Grace kneels to examine her

Grace - She's dead......

The truck driver, a lad in his early 20s, runs over in a panic, nearly crying

Truck driver - She just stepped out in front of me, I didn't have a chance to break

Grace - It's ok son we know, we all saw it. It's not your fault

Truck driver - Is she dead?

Grace - I'm afraid so son

The truck driver buries his head in his hands and cries

Truck driver - Oh no.....

Ian comforts the lad

Ian - Come on man, she just stepped out in front of you, she didn't stand a chance. you can't blame yourself

An unknown member of the public - I wonder what made her do it?

Richard Moss - I saw her talking to Ballinger just before

News Reporter - Yes so did I...I wonder if that had anything to do with it?

Grace - Well we'll never know now will we

Ruth is sitting in the back of the taxi without a care as it suddenly pulls off the main road and down a dirt track into some woods

Ruth - What on earth do you think you're playing at? Take me back to the main road at once

The taxi pulls up in a clearing surrounded by trees

Ruth - Why are we stopping? Didn't you hear me I said take me back?

The woman turns around to face Ruth, she takes her sunglasses off. The woman is Kay Desmond

Kay - You're not going anywhere until we have had a little chat Ballinger

Ruth - I don't have time for a little chat, I have business to attend to...who are you anyway?

Kay - I'm Kay Desmond

Ruth (startled) - Desmond?

Kay - Yes Myra's daughter..and you are not leaving this taxi until you have answered a few of my questions, like why you murdered my mother for example

Ruth - I don't have to sit here and talk to you about anything

Ruth tries to open the doors to find they are all locked

Ruth (angry - LET ME OUT OF HERE NOW! I'M WARNING YOU!

Kay - I told you, you aren't going anywhere until we have had a chat

Ruth looks panic-stricken

Bob and Jim are sitting in a pub

Jim - This feels so surreal after all this time

Bob - Yes I know..I'm sorry we lost touch Jim

Jim - So am I but it happens...hows whats his name these days?

Bob - Alan?

Jim - Yes that's it, Alan

Bob - Alan lives in Perth now, we don't keep in touch much anymore

Jim - Really that's a shame. you always seemed very close....so how do you know Maxwell?

Bob - Kath is Alan's wife

Jim looks shocked

Back with Ruth and Kay

Ruth - There is a law against holding someone against their will Desmond, now if you let me out now I am prepared to forget the whole thing, if not I will see to it that you pay

Kay - I just want you to tell me why you killed my mum Ballinger, once you have done that I'll let you go

Ruth - Why? What difference does it damn well make now? The woman's dead and frankly I am sick to death of hearing about and talking about her. She was a pain in the backside when she was alive and she's even more of one now she's dead

Kay - She was my mother, I loved her. Sure we didn't always get on but she was the best mum I could have ever wished for. She helped me come off drugs and get my life back together and I never even got a proper chance to tell her how grateful I was and how much I loved her

Ruth - You're boring me Desmond, I would like to get out of this taxi right now

Kay - And you know we had plans for things we would do when she got released. we wanted to spend quality time together as a family. Alan, my brother, he and I wanted to take mum away on a nice holiday so we could thank her for everything she did for us. We wanted her to be able to forget her time in prison and have a happy future, she deserved that Ballinger

Ruth smirks

Ruth - She deserved nothing, she was a waste of space

Kay - She was worth 10 of you Ballinger!

Ruth - She was a fool nothing more..and I can see you take after her

Kay - She has a little granddaughter now who she'll never get to meet, she always wanted to be a grandmother and you robbed her of that experience

Ruth loses her temper

Ruth - I DON'T CARE, LET ME OUT OF THIS TAXI NOW DESMOND!

Kay - Fine I can see I am wasting my breath trying to get through to you, you may as well go

Kay releases the door locks

Ruth - Thank you!

Ruth gets out and starts to leave in a rush as another car pulls up and Janice gets out. Janice is wearing black leather gloves

Janice points a gun straight at Ruth's forehead

Janice - Where are you going in such a hurry Ballinger?

Ruth looks horrified

GATESLAM

PART 2

Back with Jim and Bob

Jim - Maxwell is Alan's husband? I don't believe it

Bob - It's true...we've known each other for years, the three of us

Jim shakes his head

Jim - Small world eh

Bob - She shouldn't be in there Jim. I am going to do all I can to get her out

Jim - Look no offense, Bob, I realize she's your friend but she did kill her own child you know, the woman deserves to be punished

Bob - You don't need to remind me what she did Jim, I remember it all too well, it's etched on my memory like a beetroot stain that won't come out of your favourite shirt. I was there with her watching her suffering

Jim - Yes she likes to play the suffering card

Bob - I meant Linda's suffering, not Kath's. Come on Jim you of all people should know the damage Nam did...the damage didn't stop on those battlegrounds, it didn't stop when the fighting finally did, it went on ruining peoples lives, creating misery. That's the ugly thing about war, it leaves behind an ugly legacy

Jim - Yes I know

Bob - Trust me, Jim, Kath loved her child very much, she only wanted to help end the misery in the end. She has had enough punishment she doesn't deserve any more. Don't judge her Jim, I know you're a good bloke. She deserves only compassion for what she did for Linda..... the same as you did when you helped that soldier die on the battlefield

Jim - Hey that was different, he had just had three of his limbs blown off, he was screaming in agony, he couldn't move and the enemy would have tortured him had they got him

Bob - Linda was screaming In agony too Jim, there were some days she couldn't move either, the pain was so bad. The point is none of us judged you for what you did, we understood. Kath deserves the same understanding

Jim bows his head and looks guilty

Kay stands beside Janice

Janice - Do you want to pull the trigger or shall I?

Kay - I would love to but I think its best if you do, you need a steady hand for it and right now I'm shaking like a leaf

Janice- That's no problem at all, I'm happy to do it

Ruth smirks calmly

Ruth - We both know you won't Raymond, this is just talk. Your way of trying to scare me

Janice - Is it?

Ruth - Of course, it is.....why don't you put that gun down and we'll talk sensibly

Kay - That's funny, that's what I wanted to do just now but you didn't seem so keen then

Ruth - So I was wrong, now I can see that the three of us need a nice civilized talk

Janice - I think the time for talking has now passed quite frankly Ballinger

Kay - Yes so do i

Ruth - Kill me now and you'll both go down for it. What good will you be to your children then?

Janice - It's because of my child that I am going to kill you. After what you did to him I knew right away I had to kill you