THE AYATOLLAH OF COLLINSPORT

Maggie is steering a new industry to Collinsport and Barnabas is in the middle of it. Louella is being haunted by Beth Chavez and Barnbas and Willie put Derek to watch her. Joe Haskell is painting mysterious pictures guided by the spirit of Sam Evans, and Barnbas tries to riddle their meaning. David is a drug addicted werewolf and Barnabas wants him released into his custody.

Chapter 1

Barnabas stretched his arms. Was it an optical illusion or was the pile of papers actually shrinking? He dared not hope too much. But if he was able to cut the backlog...

He realized he was not alone in his office.

"You" he said to Derek "what are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be watching Louella?"

"She'll be all right for the moment" Derek scowled "she now believes that Quentin is coming back soon. I just want to get something settled before he breaks her heart again."

"So what do you want to settle? You want a raise?"

"Do you know how many sleeping pills she's got?"

"Too many?"

"And she's got booze, too. Do you know what kind of a combination that makes?"

Barnabas nodded unhappily "Deadly. But I wouldn't worry too much According to the Beth pattern, she should try to jump off Widow's Hill if she wants to kill herself."

"But don't you see? She doesn't need to want to. She only needs to get depressed enough to be careless. One shot of booze too many, forget to keep count. Then the sleeping pills... If she does it after dusk I may be able to stop her. If she does it before..."

Derek let that sink in. Barnabas could figure out the rest.

"You are right." Barnabas said "I should have figured it out by myself."

"We could put a suggestion in her mind to keep away from both."

"You want my permission to do it?"

"No. I want you to do it."

"Me? Why?"

"Because if I do this, I'll screw it up. The only time I tried something like this, it was to keep Mrs. Jennings from using me as bait. You know how successful I was."

"All right" he rose from his seat " you can come along if you want."

He shrugged. No pain. He should be able to fly,...

"Oh, God!" he said suddenly. "we can't"

"What's wrong?"

"What about the cross she always wears?"

"What does it matter what religion she is?"

Barnabas stared at Derek in disbelief. "You mean you don't know about crosses?

"What is there to know?"

"You shouldn't be able to look at them"

"Really?" Derek shook his head. "I don't know. There aren't that many of them these days. And anyway, the ones that wear them are Jesus Freaks, and I keep away from them on general principle...

"Derek.. Derek..." Barnabas shook his head " Eventually I will be able to make sense out of you. But I don't expect it to be soon."

"Why not go now and see if we can get around it?"

Louella was sleeping when they came into her bedroom. As Barnabas suspected she was wearing a cross.

"I cannot get to her this way."

Derek shrugged, picked up a piece of clothing from the bedside chair, and threw it by Louella's side, covering that piece of metal that was making Barnabas act up.

"Can you do it now?"

Barnabas wondered how come he had never thought about it Well, all he had now was to get enough control of Louella's mind to keep her from taking too many pills.

As he knelt by her side he was aware of the intent expression in Derek's face. Evidently Derek wanted to know how that kind of thing was done.

"This is not the kind of thing for which you want a witness" he thought.

If he were to write a book about his most embarrassing moments, this one would make the list, for sure. But, embarrassing or not, as Derek pointed out, Louella needed something done.

Iris was making a path through the snow when Elsa came by.

"Hard work, isn't it?" Elsa said.

"Plenty" Iris turned to the little girl "Aren't you supposed to be in school?"

"Not today. They cancelled school because of the snow.

"So you are just hanging around?" Iris threw more snow to the side and tried to dislodge a piece of ice that had frozen glued to her driveway.

"I just have noting to do...do you mind if I stay?"

"Of course, I don't"

"Representative Evans is going back to Washington"

"Yes, she is."

"I imagine that you must be glad."

"Glad? Why?"

Elsa shrugged "I saw her and Barnabas at the hotel."

'Yes. He made her check there" What was the brat hinting at?

"The way he looked at her...As if he had just signed Mr. and Mrs. Smith in the register.

Iris looked at Elsa again. She was actually enjoying this, the b rat!

"Did they actually cancel classes?"

"Of course!" Elsa said heatedly.

"I think that I will call the truant officer and ask him about it."

"No! Don't do that!"

"Playing hooky, I see. Well, Miss Quarles, if you don't disappear in the next five minutes, I will call him."

The sheriff opened Chris' cell

"Your lease has just run out. Sorry to have to evict you, but that's how things are.

"You mean I am free?"

"Your wife left for DC, and the hospital withdrew the charges. You are a free man now."

Chris looked with regret at the crossword puzzle that he was close to solving. "Can I take it with me?" he finally asked.

"Of course, you can. Now go out and try to calm your sister."

Chris smiled cordially "You know, I am going to miss living here. I am not being sarcastic. I actually had a good time in your jail."

"Doesn't surprise me" George said "life without responsibilities is always an attractive proposition."

Willie led Phillip into the Old House.

"As I told you, there is not much to do. Keep the place minimally clean, get the mail and the phone messages. Keep it supplied with candles. This place has no electricity, so you have to make do. The Laundromat isn't too far away. You get use of the car, since he prefers to fly. There is a portable icebox where you can keep your food. There is also an alcohol heater, so you can live quite well. Try not to run too high a gas bill. If you want, I can give you a battery-operated TV."

Phillip shook his head.

"You should get it. A TV would help you catch up on the things that changed since you...disappeared."

"Where does he...he,..? :Phillip was surprised that he would have the courage to ask it.

"Here" Willie swung open the secret door behind the library.

Phillip looked inside, not daring to come into the room. Seeing the coffin was b ad enough. Seeing what was inside...

"In the old times." Willie continued "you'd also have had to keep watch that nobody got suspicious of his not being around during the day, but now he's gone public."

Phillip felt his legs give way He slid to the floor.

"What's the matter?" Willie helped him to stand. "Are you sick?"

"No..." Phillips said with a strangled voice "it is just that I can't believe this is happening...That I am taking this job...that I am keeping house for...for the thing that wrecked my life. Mine and Megan's"

"You hate him still, don't you?" Willie said gently "Look if it is too much for you, you don't have to take this job. You can help me in the shop."

"No. I'll be all right. I know I shouldn't hate him. We were both Jeb Hawkes' victims. And anything he promised since I came back has happened. I am free. I have a place to stay. I have a chance to start over. I really shouldn't ask for anything else. But Damn it!" he screamed "I want Meggie!"

Thirty pushups. Xavier Davenport was worried. Granted that he was tired today. He should be able to do fifty. If he didn't keep in shape, he stood no chance of winning this year's Polar Bear contest...

He saw the mail truck approach his house. He went to the door to pick up the mail. He did not expect much. He didn't think that there would be any change from the usual official double-talk he got regularly.

But he was wrong. Somebody had sent him a letter of interest. Strong interest in his ideas. Referred by Representative Evans.

Now that he thought about it, Representative Evans had shown more than polite interest when he spoke to her. And it seemed to have been genuine...

And he had always known that it would happen. As oil became scarcer and scarcer, people stopped taking him for a kook, and wondered if he might, after all, be right.

He smiled. The only thing that would make this day better would be to receive a letter from the Air Force showing as much interest in U.F.O.s as Mr. Collins showed for the hydroelectric center.