This story is part of Dark Shadows 2, my concept of a sequel to Tim Burton's version of Dark Shadows, including the deleted scenes on the Blu-Ray Disc. It will appear in Dark Shadows 2 [if I ever finish it] as a flashback. I risk committing spoilers by publishing it now, but it is finished and I am so pleased with it that I have to publish it now.
"Julia and Roxanne" is also a sequel to:
1. the fanfiction story "Pretty Young Thing" by NichtBenz. I hope it will meet with her approval.
2. my fanfiction story "Doctor Hoffman, Vampire."
3. my fanfiction story "The Roxanne Drew Story."
This story finally connects "Doctor Hoffman, Vampire" and "The Roxanne Drew Story."
I promise that I will finish "Elizabeth's Secret" and reveal what happened to Paul Stoddard - which are 2 different things.
I do not own Dark Shadows or any of its characters, institutions, or entities.
"Julia and Roxanne"
Roxanne's phone rings. By now, she has stopped crying, but only because she is exhausted. She is still huddled on the floor behind her front door.
After the 1st ring, she says out loud, "Maybe it's Miss Elizabeth. Maybe she will tell me that she and her family are all safe."
After the 2nd ring, she struggles to her feet, saying, "Maybe she will tell me the charges were a crock, and she has already beaten them."
After the 3rd ring, she walks to the kitchen while saying, "Maybe she'll tell me to meet her at the Collinsport Inn tomorrow morning. We'll set up a temporary office and get started on the insurance claims."
After the 4th ring, she stares at the red telephone on the wall of the kitchen and says aloud, "Maybe I'll flap my arms and fly to moon."
She picks up the phone in the middle of the 5th ring. "Hello." Silence. "HELLO!" Just what she needs right now, some asshole of an obscene caller.
After Roxanne's 1st "Hello," Julia opens her mouth and moves her tongue and lips. No sound emerges. Stupid! Speech is modulated exhalation, which means you have to INHALE first. She inhales and tries again. "Roxanne Drew, please."
"This is she." Roxanne's brow wrinkles with concentration. Where has she heard this voice before?
"Roxanne, this is Julia Hoffman."
"Doctor Hoffman! Thank God you're all right! I thought you were dead."
Julia wonders, "Where did she hear that?" To Roxanne she says, "To paraphrase Mark Twain, 'Reports of my death are ... incomplete.' Roxanne, I need your help. Is your husband at home?"
"I'm not married. I never have been."
"The phone is listed under Edward Drew."
"My father. He died 2 years ago and my mother never changed the listing. I changed it after Mom died, but it won't show up until the new phone book comes out."
Thank God, Julia thinks. "Is Tony there with you tonight?"
"No, why would he be?"
Thank God again. "Do you have a car? Can you please come and get me?"
"Yes, where are you?"
"The phone booth in front of Parker's Market. Do you know where that is?"
"Of course, I can be there in 5 or 10 minutes."
"Wait a minute, there are ... complications."
"Complications?"
"I can't explain right now, but I don't want anyone to see me. What will you be driving?"
"A red and white '59 Ford station wagon."
"I'll be waiting in the alley between Parker's Market and Scott's Hardware. Approach from the north. If no one is in sight when you arrive, then stop in front of Scott's. Don't pull over to the curb, just stop in the street. Open your door a crack, just enough to make the inside light come on. When I see it's you, I'll come out of the alley and get in your right rear door. Be sure to leave it unlocked. And when I say no one in sight, I mean no car lights in any direction and no people on the side walks. If anyone is in sight, keep going. Drive around the block and we'll try again on the next lap."
"OK, I'm on my way."
"Wait, Roxanne ... there are other ... complications. I have ... changed since the one time you met me, at the Happening. When you see me, you might want to have nothing to do with me. I'll stand in the light for a few seconds so you can take a good look. If you want nothing to do with me, just drive away. No hard feelings."
"OK. Any other complications?"
"Yes, but they can wait. Thank you and God bless you, Roxanne."
Julia knows what red and white looks like and what a station wagon looks like, but she has no idea what a '59 Ford looks like. Hence the request that Roxanne open her door.
Julia steps out of the shoes, Thank God! She picks them up (by their strings, as usual) and runs back to the truck. She is about to drop them in the bed of the truck, next to the corpse, when she realizes there is urine on the soles. Cops have used urine stinking phone booths too, will they check the phone booth if they notice the urine on the shoes? She quickly walks to the end of the pier and drops the shoes in the water. She wonders what the police will think of the corpse's missing shoes. Then she runs back to Parker's.
Is there a way to find out what numbers were called from the pay phone? Julia does not know. But if there is, she does not want the police to use it and find the call to Roxanne. If the police don't know the murder was committed next to the phone booth, then they will have no reason check the calls. At least she hopes so. Therefore: get the truck, corpse, flask, and shoes away from the phone booth. And spread out the blood stains to where they can't be seen, or if seen, not recognized. And now all that is done.
She waits in a dark shadow at the mouth of the alley. 7 minutes later (7 minutes closer to sunrise, as Julia now measures time), she sees 4 headlamps approaching from the north. She watches with part of one eye past the corner of Scott's Hardware. About a hundred yards from the alley, the headlamps drop from 4 to 2. It must be Roxanne! She knows Julia is waiting in the alley and has dimmed her lights for Julia's sake. Please be Roxanne!
The car is a red and white station wagon and it stops in front of Scott's. The driver's door opens a few inches, the inside light comes on ... yes!, it is Roxanne at the wheel, red hair, half-moon-glasses and all.
Julia steps out of the alley and stands in the luminance of the headlamps to let Roxanne get a good look at her, to give her a chance to drive away if she wants to. She tries to smile at Roxanne but it feels grotesque and it must look even worse.
While Roxanne looks at Julia, Julia looks at Roxanne's car. So that is a '59 Ford, just like the police car in Psycho. And the phony police car in ... oh, what was that movie? Lee Marvin (whom she loves), Angie Dickinson (whom she loves even more), lots of violence, Ronald Reagan as the villain. Julia watched it on the Late Show during a drunk, sleepless night a few months ago. How can she wonder about something so trivial at a time like this?
In the meantime, Roxanne is thinking, "My God! What the hell happened to her?" But she keeps her foot firmly on the brake pedal.
The car does not move. Julia walks to the right rear door, opens it and says, "Thank you, Roxanne." She tries to get in ... and runs into what feels like a stone wall. She staggers back from the impact.
"Doctor Hoffman! Are you all right?"
Good question. A thought occurs to Julia. "Roxanne, may I get into your car?"
A puzzled Roxanne replies, "Yes, of course. Hurry before someone comes."
Julia gets in, no stone wall this time. An occupied car is a kind of dwelling place, and a vampire needs an invitation to enter. She closes the door, and sits down on the floor behind the front passenger seat, with her feet on the floor in front of her.
Roxanne drives away.
"Doctor Hoffman, what is going on? Why are you on the floor?"
"Drive now, talk later. Please. And please call me Julia."
"OK, Julia." Roxanne smiles for the 1st time since greeting Miss Elizabeth that morning. Part of her still wants to cry, but she smiles as she drives away with Julia. "You must be cold. I'll turn the heater on."
"No thank you, I'm fine. I'll explain later."
A few minutes later, Roxanne turns into her driveway and parks in the garage, as always. She turns around to talk to Julia. "We're home Julia."
"Describe the layout, please. I can't see much from here."
"We're in the garage. It's detached from the house. I always leave the garage door open because it's too heavy to fool with. I also want the neighborhood cats to have a place to get out of the rain."
"Do you have a cat or dog?" Julia does not know how animals will react to a vampire.
"Popper, Mom and Dad's cat, died a year ago. I haven't gotten a new kitten yet."
Popper? Julia will have to ask about that later. "Which side of the garage is the house on, left or right?"
"Left."
"Go inside, same as you always do. I'll follow in a few minutes. I'll come to the door with the least light on it. I guess that's usually the back door. I'll knock 3 times and then twice. I'm sorry about all the cloak and dagger shit."
"No sweat. Would you like me to have a drink or a cup of coffee waiting for you?"
Julia answers, "No, thank you." But she thinks, "You WILL have a drink waiting for me, but not the kind you mean."