Bert    I was the best friend that kid ever had! He told me so himself! We were buddies, f’chrissakes!

Raymond    You have blood on your hands, Kowalski, blood, but in a sense I blame myself. I ought to have nipped your malign influence on him in the bud straight away.

Bert registers the blood on the floor again, he touches it, raises his hand. He looks to Philomena, then to Raymond, who falls silent. He then starts to look through Charles’s drawer. He finds the soiled diaper.

Bert    . . . Christ!

Raymond looks across.

Raymond    . . . What’s . . . what’s that?

Raymond goes over to Bert, who is staring at the bloody diaper.

Bert    . . . Charlie’s fucken diaper. It’s . . .

Raymond walks away and scouts the empty whisky bottles.

Raymond    . . . I need – really I need a drink.

Bert stares hard at the bloody diaper. Something has dawned on him. He looks at Raymond.

Bert    . . . You – fucken – you’ve been . . .

He shoots over to Raymond and shoves the diaper in his face. Philomena looks up and pulls herself to her feet.

Raymond    Get – what’re you –

Bert    Up to your old tricks, eh, Ray!

Raymond    Get that thing out of my face!

Bert    You – should o’ known, should o’ fucken known. What am I here, a fucken schmuck?

Raymond    You’re insane!

Bert    This – it explains – this explains it all, you piece o’ shit.

Raymond cuts away from Bert, who angrily follows him around the room. Raymond is nervously on the back foot as Bert taunts him with the bloody diaper.

Raymond    I’m warning you, stop waving that thing in my face.

Philomena rises to her feet.

Philomena    What in the name of Jaysus is going on here?

Bert    Old habits die hard, uh, Ray?

Raymond    If you’re – you’re sick if you’re insinuating that I’ve anything to do with this, Kowalski.

Bert    You can’t keep that dick o’ yours out of assholes, can you, Ray?

Raymond    I could have have you – slander! It’s slanderous what you’re –

Bert    It ain’t slander, Ray. It ain’t fucken slander. It’s sodomy, Ray. Fucken sodomy, that’s what it is.

Philomena    What are you saying now, Bert Kowalski, you vile little man!

Raymond    He’s lost his mind. (To Bert.) All those drugs – you’ve lost your mind, do you hear!

Raymond tears the diaper from Bert’s hand and hurls it out the window. There is silence.

Philomena    It was Charlie’s diaper. I told him to see a doctor, about his back passage. It was bleeding.

Bert    Looks like he saw Doctor Ray here!

Philomena looks at Raymond doubtfully.

Philomena    I’m sure Raymond . . . Mr Benedict-Porter, wouldn’t . . .

She steps back from Raymond.

Raymond    I only wanted –

Bert    I know what you wanted, Ray . . . Ray?

Raymond    What?

Bert    I know what you wanted. You wanted to take advantage, Ray. I know all about you.

Raymond    What’s that supposed to mean?