Beyond Midnight - The Crystal Ball aka Yellow Dressing Gown

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Harold's Old Time Radio – “Beyond Midnight: The Crystal Ball aka Yellow Dressing Gown”

Host: Harold's Old Time Radio
Episode Date: March 13, 2026
Running Time: ~30 minutes

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Episode Overview

This episode revives the classic radio drama “Beyond Midnight,” presenting the haunting episode “The Crystal Ball” (also titled “Yellow Dressing Gown”). Set against the backdrop of postwar domestic life, the story delves into the emotional turmoil of Lillian Hammerton, a wife and mother coping with a husband’s infidelity, a daughter's disability, and her own mental fragility. The episode uses the motif of the crystal ball to blur the lines between reality and premonition, weaving a psychological thriller that explores despair, jealousy, and the will to survive the unimaginable.

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Key Discussion Points, Plot Developments & Insights

1. Lillian’s Inner World & Emotional State

• The episode begins with Lillian Hammerton at her writing desk, memorializing the struggles of her married life. She reflects on daily domesticity and her garden, setting a tranquil but melancholy tone.
  • “Poor Lillian, poor Lillian. Oh dear, we must mow the lawn. So much work to do.” (01:26)
• Her thoughts reveal her insecurity over her marriage, dissatisfaction with self, and simmering resentment toward her husband Jason and his mistress, Carola (“La”).
• The recurring imagery of the yellow dressing gown hints at Lillian's desire to assert her own identity in a life increasingly out of her hands.

2. Jason & Carola: The Love Triangle

• Jason’s emotional distance is palpable. He arranges for Lillian to rest away from their disabled daughter, Henrietta:
  • “Darling, you need time off from the child. You need a change of scene as well.” (05:00)
  • “You should always wear green. Remember how you used to try to wear blue? It never suited you.” (05:32)
• Carola is portrayed as manipulative and careless with language, seeking influence and security:
  • “My dear, I do hate it. La is so much friendlier.” (06:20)
  • Lillian’s inner turmoil grows as Carola’s presence in her life shifts from friend to rival.

3. Henrietta’s Illness & Lillian’s Guilt

• The revelation of Henrietta’s polio—and Lillian’s guilt for not having acted sooner—deeply colors her desperation.
  • “It was my fault. Always my fault. I was stupid.” (08:39)
• Lillian’s relationship with her daughter becomes a source of both strength and torment, especially with Jason’s increasing neglect.

4. The Crystal Ball: Premonitions and Madness

• The discovery of the crystal ball marks a turning point. Lillian, nostalgic and fraught, gazes into the past and future, blurring memory with prophecy:
  • “She used to believe she could tell fortunes by it. Smiling nostalgically, she brought it up to her face, almost caressing its cold, spherical surface.” (12:45, 16:07)
• Through the crystal, she sees herself about to commit a terrible act—smothering her sleeping daughter while wearing the worn yellow dressing gown.
• The horror of this vision leads Lillian to the brink—anxiety about her own sanity and the possibility she could become a murderer.

5. Jason’s Absence & Lillian’s Isolation

• Jason disappoints Lillian yet again, citing business:
  • “I can't get down tonight. In fact, I doubt very much whether I can manage tomorrow either. I'll be with you for lunch on Sunday...” (19:07)
• Lillian’s loneliness escalates into a psychological crisis. She contemplates suicide as a way out but clings to the hope that knowing the future means she can avert tragedy.

6. The Climax: Revelations in the Crystal

• Peering deeper, Lillian’s vision exposes that the true murderer in her vision is not her but Carola—clad in the same yellow dressing gown.
  • “She saw the hair tossed aside, but the hair was black. … the woman in the yellow dressing gown was la.” (27:12–28:58)
• This realization transforms Lillian’s internal threat into an external one and ultimately spares her from acting on her fatal impulses.
• The episode ends ambiguously, suspending the listener in the uncertainty between prophecy, fear, and reality.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On resignation and suffering:
  “But there'll never be any scenes. I shan't allow Jason ever to think that it gives me pain. That would only make him choose between us and give her great satisfaction.” (05:38)
• On guilt and despair:
  “If he ever left me, I don't think I could go on living.” (09:56)
• Premonition of horror:
  “And Lillian Hammerton watched herself in the future, in the crystal, take a pillow from beside the sleeping child's head. And press it over its head. And press and press and silence.” (18:11)
• Moment of realization:
  “She saw the yellow dressing gown, old, frayed. She saw the mane of hair… but the hair was black. … The woman in the yellow dressing gown was la.” (27:54–28:58)
• Bittersweet acceptance and gratitude:
  “Dear Crystal Ball, it's you I have to thank. You saved my little girl's life.” (23:24)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• [00:42–03:45] Introduction, Lillian’s daily routine, poetic narration, and domestic backdrop.
• [04:20–07:26] Marital discord, discussions of Jason’s affair, Carola’s intrusion, psychological tension.
• [08:07] Henrietta’s illness and backstory; Lillian’s overwhelming guilt.
• [12:25–13:39] Lillian finds the crystal ball.
• [16:54–18:28] Lillian’s vision of murder; seeing herself in the yellow dressing gown.
• [19:07–19:47] Jason’s call, Lillian’s disappointment, growing despair.
• [21:16–21:53] Lillian’s thoughts of suicide as a self-sacrifice.
• [23:01–23:35] Lillian chooses instead to thank the crystal ball for preventing tragedy.
• [27:07–28:58] Final vision: revelation that the murderer is Carola, not herself.

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Tone & Style Notes

• The episode masterfully blends introspective narration with dialogue, fostering intimate empathy for Lillian’s predicament.
• Sound design and atmospheric tension echo the tradition of psychological horror typical of the “Beyond Midnight” series.
• The dialogue retains a clipped, British formality, underscoring the postwar domestic setting.

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Final Thoughts

This “Beyond Midnight” episode is a rich tapestry of psychological suspense set in the microcosm of a fragile, upper-middle-class family. It draws listeners into the private torments of Lillian Hammerton as she faces infidelity, maternal guilt, and creeping madness—before spinning the very real threat outward onto her romantic rival. Through the crystal ball motif, the narrative both terrifies and provides catharsis, leaving the audience with the signature ambiguity of golden-age radio: was it all “rubbish”—or a glimpse into a fate narrowly averted?

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Transcript

[Narrator]

The sun shining, birds are singing, and all feels right in the world until

[American Psychiatric Association Foundation Representative]

the season changes and suddenly you lose your motivation to get out of bed. In fact, one in five people experience some form of depression, no matter the season or time of year.

[Narrator]

At the American Psychiatric association foundation, our vision is to build a mentally healthy nation for all because we want you to live your best life and be your best you all year round.

[American Psychiatric Association Foundation Representative]

Please visit mentallyhealthynation.org to learn more.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Lillian Hammerton sat at the writing table in her bedroom. She turned her head and looked out of the window at the garden in which she spent a lot of her time. The roses were blazing in the two long beds. Lillian Hammerton sat at the writing table and slowly, in a style that was not good but colorful and evocative, penned the story of her married life in a thick school exercise book. The last chapter was not going to be written, of course, for the final chapter of any autobiography must remain unwritten.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Poor Lillian, poor Lillian. Oh dear, we must mow the lawn. So much work to do. Delphiniums, Campanula regale lilies, Canterbury bells all dead now Must remove their little dried

[Jason Hammerton]

up heads Roses alike neon lights Never seen roses of bright like neon lights.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Jason, Jason. He was her husband. His favorite color was blue and on their honeymoon she had worn blue to please him. But blue had never suited her and so she had stopped wearing blue. Greens and burnt oranges suited her best. Yellow too. She looked good in yellow. She looked especially good in her yellow dressing gown. Biotex the New Soak and Pre Wash Powder Presents Beyond Midnight by Michael McCabe.

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[Lillian Hammerton]

When a story is unfolded through the pages of a book, we can cheat if we wish. We can look at the last page, the last line. We can prepare ourselves for shock if there is one. When a story is heard, though this is impossible, not even Lillian Hammerton could look ahead to the last chapter. We too shall have to wait a while before we learn the last chapter's secret. But it is permitted to glance at the pages which tell of the present and the immediate past.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Blue was always his favorite color. Blue, of course, is for Corolla Haig Dunfield, his mistress. Blue sets off her beauty to perfection. Never thought I'd have a husband with a mistress. Strange. A husband with a mistress called Carola. A husband who buys a cottage in the country for me.

[Jason Hammerton]

It's very beautiful for a roses galore. You know how you like roses. It's not far from Pangborn and within easy reach of London. I'll tell you what we'll do.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Listen.

[Jason Hammerton]

We'll leave Henrietta behind in Cheney Gardens at weekends. Nurse Rooney can have her.

[Henrietta]

Why?

[Lillian Hammerton]

Why?

[Henrietta]

Yes, why did we have to leave Henrietta behind?

[Jason Hammerton]

Darling, you need time off from the child. You need a change of scene as well. Nurse Rooney can take her own two half days off during the week. She can have sole charge of Henrietta at weekends.

[Lillian Hammerton]

You will have a rest.

[Jason Hammerton]

And Henrietta will appreciate you all the more for not seeing you so often. Don't think me Victorian, but I'm all for children not seeing too much of their parents.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

It's a lovely idea, having the cottage and that. And I'm sure it is lovely. If you say so.

[Lillian Hammerton]

But at the end, you'll be able

[Jason Hammerton]

to do your writing. You'll have complete peace and quiet.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

My darling.

[Jason Hammerton]

You should always wear green. Remember how you used to try to wear blue? It never suited you.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Once upon a time, Carola was a friend of mine. I even introduced her to Jason. So long ago it might have been part of another incarnation. In fact, it was only four years ago. And now she's his mistress. He doesn't even think that I know. She knows, though. She knows how aware I am of the situation. But there'll never be any scenes. I shan't allow Jason ever to think that it gives me pain. That would only make him choose between us and give her great satisfaction. Corolla la. Oh, how I hate the way she puts everything into its diminutive Penny.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

So lucky to have such a beautifully secure childhood. I mean, despite her illness. I mean, it must be so nice to have such secure parents. My childhood was positively penniless. Absolutely nomadic. And Roo is so good to her. You Know you mean Nurse Rooney, don't you, Corella? I thought fun. Yes, that's what I said. Rue is so good to her. She's like a mother. I was going to say I met Gin the other day. Oh, and please don't call me Corella, my dear. I do hate it. La is so much friendlier. Anyway, I met Gin down the other day and a Julio with me. You're determined to take the long way around, dear, aren't you? Anyway, Jim has become the complete bohemian, and she has no sense of responsibility at all.

[Jason Hammerton]

Oh, you too?

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Hello, J. Darling. I was just telling Lily about Jim. Oh, isn't Lily funny, Jay? So serious. Anyway, would you believe it? Jim's working in that same dreadful little art gallery I was in. The one in Knightsbridge. Oh, you must remember.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

There are many women, I suppose, who would never understand why I don't confront Jason. Why I don't tell him that I know Carola is more than just a family friend. But I shan't tell him that I know. I'm too frightened of what would happen. And at least this way, he is mine, even if I have to share him occasionally. He was always faithful to me before Carola, I think. Yes, I know he was.

[Henrietta]

It's hard to think she took him

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

away while Henrietta was ill. I suppose she has no real feelings at all.

[American Psychiatric Association Foundation Representative]

I.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

To take a woman's husband away during the sickness of their only child would only have added spice to the affair as far as she was concerned. Poor, poor Henrietta.

[Lillian Hammerton]

And Lillian looked out again at the roses and the dried heads of the Canterbury bells. And tears of sadness came into her eyes as she thought of Henrietta. The child had been 10 when polio had struck. And it had left her paralyzed in her. Her arms and her right leg. It had happened when they had gone as a quartet on holiday to the west of Ireland. Lillian had thought that the little girl had been suffering from flu. And a lot of precious time had been wasted before a doctor had been summoned from Limerick.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

It was my fault. Always my fault. I was stupid. I should never have another breakdown. Though I shall remain strong from now on. I shall put up with the. This piracy. No matter how many times Jason mysteriously finds that he's got to be away on working weekends. I shall never admit that I know I won't give her that satisfaction. And I've got Henrietta. There was a time when I felt that it would be easy for me to kill Mark. Oh, yes, I believe I could have killed her quite easily. Especially the day when she first let me Know about her and Jason. And she did it so cleverly, without saying a word. Just by her silences when I talked about him. Of course I'm fortunate.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Don't think I don't realize that as a clever husband.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

And it's awful to say this, but

[Henrietta]

when his mother dies, he'll be even richer. Little Henrietta would be an heiress.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

It's a little loyal to Jay, darling. He appreciates it so much.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Does he?

[Henrietta]

Yes.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

You know he does, don't you?

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Yes, he appreciates me. I love him very much.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

And if he ever left me, I don't think I could go on living.

[Henrietta]

Cats.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Oh, my cat, darling. Oh, cat.

[Henrietta]

Oh.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

You know, there are unsaid cats as become perfectly attached to me since your holiday in Yugoslavia. He lets me do anything with him. Don't you, bulls?

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Don't you, love?

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Who cares? Say hello to Lillian. I'm not your owner. You are a bad boy. Oh, Lillian. Stay walking.

[Henrietta]

Oh, yes.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

There's a monster.

[Spreaker Advertiser]

Go on.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

D been shouting. He didn't even say hello to you. Oh, darling, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to steal old doggy from you.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

They're fickle animals.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Yes, they are, aren't they?

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Poor Cass. He doesn't know he's only a dog. Perhaps Ms. Haig Dunfield's mission in life is to steal things. Husbands, dogs. And Jason treats me well. Really. Even when he invites her to Cheney Gardens, he still goes through the rigmarole of inviting another man so that the numbers are even. She's made up her mind to marry him. I know that. But she believes she's got all the time in the world. She reckons that if Jason can persuade me that his happiness lies in his freedom, I'll give him a divorce. But I know Lar far better than Jason knows her. In the drama of her life, she

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

has reached the end of Act 1.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Now she wants a man of her own. She wants permanent security now. Well, she's got to be attracted to him as well, of course. And after all, she ought to know by now what kind of man attracts her. Her experience must be boss. Only I can't write down any of this. Poor Jay thinks I'm writing short stories. Five o'.

[Henrietta]

Clock.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Jason should be here by half past seven at the latest. Cold supper? Vichy soir, salmon and strawberries and cream. Please don't phone Jason and say you

[Henrietta]

can't come till tomorrow.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Oh, please don't. I've got everything ready. I couldn't bear it. I know. I'll go and tidy up the border. It's lovely in the garden at this time of day.

[Lillian Hammerton]

And she began the usual hunt for her secateurs. They weren't in the garden shed. And so she came back into the house and began pulling out drawers and opening cupboards. She discovered several bills that needed her attention, but no secreteurs. Electricity, Water rates. Garage. And then she found the crystal ball. I say found. She knew it was there, of course. She used to believe she could tell fortunes by it. Smiling nostalgically, she brought it up to her face, almost caressing its cold, spherical surface. Crystal ball. And if Corolla, Hague, Dunfield, what an unattractive name had come to the end of act one of her life, then so had Lillian Hammerton, as she sat quietly by the writing desk and gazed deep into the crystal.

[Spreaker Advertiser]

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[Jason Hammerton]

I feel like a new man.

[Lillian Hammerton]

It's a lovely day today.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

I thought I had flu.

[Lillian Hammerton]

I took a Grandpa headache powder, and I'm worlds better.

[Jason Hammerton]

When colds and flu are about, Grandpa

[Lillian Hammerton]

headache powders are what you need.

[Jason Hammerton]

Grandpa headache powders work fast because they dissolve almost immediately. Grandpa makes all those dreadful flu symptoms disappear quickly.

[Lillian Hammerton]

So whenever you're in pain, get fast relief. Get Grandpa Headache Powders.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Ah, Grandpa.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Oh, darling, don't you look as though you're enjoying yourself? The party's great.

[Jason Hammerton]

Yes, it was until I ate well.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Take a dye gel. I always keep some in my bag.

[Jason Hammerton]

But I already took an antacid.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Yes, darling, but dye gel is much more than an antacid. Dygel has double action. There's a layer of antacid plus a layer of some. It's the cumin that relieves that dreadful bloated feeling.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Here, try a dye Gel.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Like they say when you eat too well. Demand di.

[Biotex Advertiser]

Gel.

[Lillian Hammerton]

It lay amidst a cluster of bulb catalogues from de Yaga and the bills. It lay hard and cold and forgotten. And smiling nostalgically, she took up the crystal ball with which she had once told fortunes.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

I'd forgotten all about you. He'd be so angry. Jason would sing me.

[Jason Hammerton]

Hold this again.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

My psychic powers were always very modest. Oh, Jason. You were born with a dislike for all soothsayers and seers. Nothing. It looks dead empty. I used to see things. I did, really. No matter what Jason may think. I used to see things. Good things. Bad things too.

[Lillian Hammerton]

The minutes went by, and while she concentrated, the interior of the globe clouded and then gradually cleared. Like morning mist, dissolving under the onset of the sun. She was peering into. Into a room papered in stripes of lime and lemon. A bed was pushed up against a wall.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

It's the ground floor room in Chamy Gardens. That's Henrietta lying on the bed. I can see her. See her?

[Henrietta]

In the crystal.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Oh, if only I could show you, Jason. You'd have to believe you'd.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Oh.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Someone's come into the room.

[Lillian Hammerton]

And clearly in the crystal, the Lillian saw a door open and a figure enter the room. The figure was a woman. And the woman was wearing a yellow dressing gown.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

When.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

When was this? I only bought that dressing gown yesterday. I bought it at Harrods. This is the future. Hasn't happened yet. It isn't new anymore. It's faded with washing. It's old now, the dressing gown. She is asleep. Henrietta's asleep.

[Henrietta]

What am I doing? What am I doing?

[Lillian Hammerton]

And Lillian Hammerton watched herself in the future, in the crystal, take a pillow from beside the sleeping child's head. And press it over its head. And press and press and silence.

[Henrietta]

What was I doing? I was smothering her. I was killing my baby. It can't be true. Jason's right. It is rubbish. Nonsense. Because if it was true, how could I go mad, insane, and be the murderer of my baby? Life couldn't be so terrible. It couldn't.

[Spreaker Advertiser]

Oh,

[Henrietta]

Jason. Must be Jason. Julius, isn't it? Jason.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Lillian.

[Henrietta]

Yes.

[Jason Hammerton]

You took so long to answer, I

[Biotex Advertiser]

thought you must be out.

[Jason Hammerton]

Look, I can't get down tonight. In fact, I doubt very much whether I can manage tomorrow either. I'll be with you for lunch on Sunday, and we can drive back together after tea. I'll come by train. I have a date with a fellow from Barringer's in New York. He should have been here today, but He. He couldn't make it. Got tied up in Paris, you know. But these tycoons alike. Only time you'll be able to give me is tomorrow evening. Sorry to change plans at the last moment. There it is. It might lead to a big deal, you see. Look after yourself, Lillian.

[Henrietta]

I quite understand.

[Jason Hammerton]

Is anything wrong?

[Henrietta]

No, no, Jason, nothing. I'm. I'm just disappointed.

[Jason Hammerton]

Well, goodbye, old girl.

[Henrietta]

Goodbye. I'd like to be imprisoned in this garden forever. In a timeless and beautiful children lie. I'd be safe. Then I'd never have to see another human being. Never. Not Ms. Rooney, not Jason, not Henrietta.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

And especially not La. Oh, for the first time. The very first time. Now I think I hate her. Only 90 minutes away. He could come. Even though he's got a business dinner. He could still come here. He's free tonight and most of tomorrow. So I'm sure. Ms. La.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Jason.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Jason.

[Henrietta]

I need you. I need to tell you what I see. You've got to help me. Got to help me not to kill my little girl.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

We should get back to Journey Gardens before Sunday. He might stop off to say good night. Henrietta Might even read to her for a little while.

[Henrietta]

Maybe he was at the flat when he telephoned.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Maybe she was there too.

[Henrietta]

Oh, Jason.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Jason.

[Henrietta]

I'm going to be a murderous. I can't bear bells. Oh, dead. I'm going to come mad. I'm going to kill the one little tiny thing I love most in the world.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

What of us has to die? It must be me. It must be me.

[Henrietta]

Must

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

be me. Jason adores her. He'll look after her. He'll take care of her.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

If.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

If I do it, it won't matter. I'll be stabiling Henrietta. I'll open the way for Jason and Lar.

[Henrietta]

But it doesn't matter.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Jason won't suffer. Lar will make him see that it isn't his fault. She's so persuasive. So a steward.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Poor Lillian. Oh, J. Darling, I'm not to blame yourself. She was always unstable. Darling, you mustn't fret so. I understand in a way she acted very courageously.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

It's all over now. You must think about yourself. Me and me. No. Not a farewell. No explanations. I'll lock the door when Mrs. Roberts comes in in the morning. She won't be shot. She knows something's wrong and won't be too. Too upset. She'll give her help and it won't

[Henrietta]

be hard to die.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Then she went and got a bottle of whiskey from the cupboard. And the little box of white pills. And climbed the stairs to her bedroom, passing on her way the theatrical prince. The Victoriana she and Jason had discovered on a barrow in the Portobello Road. When they were putting the finishing touches to the cottage together.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Dear Crystal Ball, it's you I have to thank. You saved my little girl's life.

[Henrietta]

You've shown me what I was doing. Thank you.

[Lillian Hammerton]

In a recess of the bureau, above the line of drawers. There was a photograph of herself and Jason taken on their wedding day.

[Henrietta]

How young I was.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Jason.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Jason. So handsome. Funny little pages. Funny little bridesmaids had once got no front teeth.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Mark.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Mark Thornton and Jenny Fenley. I can't remember the names of the others.

[Henrietta]

Can't remember. Can't remember.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Thank you, my dear. Darling.

[Jason Hammerton]

Just

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

happy.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Of course.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Can I have another one of those please, Jay?

[Lillian Hammerton]

Certainly.

[Jason Hammerton]

They're quite free and they come in all

[Henrietta]

sizes.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Not like that.

[Lillian Hammerton]

And in the cottage in the country. In a bedroom above the garden where the Canterbury bells had faded and turned brown and brittle, stood a half empty whiskey bottle. On a table beside a bed near it, a box that had once contained pills. On the floor lay a strange crystal ball. On the bed lay a woman. A once beautiful woman. Even now very attractive. Her hair was auburn and her eyes were brown.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Where's the crystals? Where is it? Oh, there it is. Put you down there.

[Lillian Hammerton]

And cupping her hands around the smooth glass sides of the crystal, she gazed into its depths. It was difficult to concentrate. She wanted so much to sleep. Sleep. A fast, hard 90 minutes drive away. Jason Hammerton sat with.

[Henrietta]

Oh, Jay.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

You are an oath.

[Henrietta]

What did you do there?

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Him.

[Henrietta]

Jay, where are you going?

[Jason Hammerton]

Oh, I must go and see Henrietta.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Don't leave me.

[Biotex Advertiser]

I must.

[Jason Hammerton]

Just read her a story, darling, and then. What's the matter?

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Matter?

[Jason Hammerton]

You look cross.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Must you read her a story tonight?

[Biotex Advertiser]

Oh, I promise.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Sometimes I believe you care more for

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

her than you do for me.

[Jason Hammerton]

She's my daughter. My poor little crippled child.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Ah, yes.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

Well, we all know who is to blame for that.

[Spreaker Advertiser]

That's enough.

[Jason Hammerton]

That's dead and gone in the past.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

I love you. I can give you more than anyone else in the world.

[Jason Hammerton]

I know, I know.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

No, never forget that.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

I won't.

[Jason Hammerton]

Just five minutes.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

A short story.

[Jason Hammerton]

Laha. Just a little one.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Jerry.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

Little cripple. How I loathe into test. Hurt child. Dear little Henrietta.

[Henrietta]

I can see you.

[Lillian Hammerton (Inner Thoughts)]

My sweetheart. My poor, poor darling.

[Lillian Hammerton]

But this time she forced herself to watch for longer. And the scene in the Crystal Ball continued. Lillian sat horror stricken as she watched herself rush rise from smothering her child and throw the pillow aside. She forced herself to accept the role of spectator, to be present at the culmination of a murder which now would never occur. She saw the yellow dressing gown, old, frayed. She saw the mane of hair cascading down across the shoulders of the gun. She saw the hair tossed aside, but the hair was black.

[Corolla Haig Dunfield]

You are funny, Lillian. Why can't you always get things wrong? You're so utterly pathetic I can almost feel sorry for you.

[Lillian Hammerton]

Through waves of infinite fatigue, Lillian saw the woman in the picture in the crystal rise from the bed. The scene in the crystal had a flawless clarity, and she was helpless to withdraw her gaze. As she got to her feet. The woman in the crystal turned her head on its lovely neck and looked straight in her direction, and the beautiful azure blue eyes were bright with malice and mockery. Lillian was incapable of rousing herself. She was sinking fast into the quick sands of inertia. The woman in the yellow dressing gown was la.

[Biotex Advertiser]

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[Lillian Hammerton]

Midnight is presented every Friday night at half past nine by Biotechs the new Soak and Pre Wash Powder. The program is adapted for broadcasting and Produced by Michael McCabe.